No lengthy preamble here except to say that this post isn’t meant to shame anyone into cooking more during self-isolation. I just genuinely enjoy making things in the kitchen, but if you want to order take out, I’m here to to support that decision. This is just a list of things we’ve enjoyed making ordered from simple/quick to make, to a bit more involved. You choose your own adventure!
Quick-n-Easy
Baked Potato Bar — I always just give 4-5 Russet potatoes a good scrub, pack them in coarse sea salt and whack ‘em in the oven at 425 F for about 45mins. While those cook you can start prepping your “fixins’” (or toppings for anymore outside the US). I like to cook some Turkey bacon, get Kerrygold butter and shredded cheddar involved. But you could do any number of things that sound good. My Northern Irish husband likes a can of Heinz beans heated up and poured on top with cheddar. Serve with a side of roasted frozen broccoli from Costco, or just on their own.
Breakfast for dinner — obviously there are a million ways you could take this concept, but I’ll just leave you with my favorite blender pancake recipe.
Blend 1 cup of rolled oats in your blender until they become a powder-like consistency.
Then add one egg, about a half cup of almond milk (regular works great too!), 1/2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, a banana (the riper the better!) and a pink of salt. Sometimes I throw a dash of cinnamon in there too!
Let the mixture set in the blender for 3-5 mins while the oats absorb the liquid ingredients and heat your pan.
Then just pour onto the hot pan and enjoy. Best part? Only one dish to clean after and it’s your blender (I never rinse my cast iron pan after pancakes!)
In my experience this feeds 2-3 people, but you can easily double the recipe.
Cauliflower “Fried Rice” — Everything in this recipe can be made from frozen veggies and pantry items.
Heat a pan with some kind of high-heat oil, I use avocado, and add a drop or two of sesame seed oil for flavor if available.
Once at a med-high heat toss in a bag of frozen cauliflower rice and desired frozen veggies, I tend to use frozen peas and corn, pretty basic.
After the veggies have defrosted on the pan (about 3-5 mins) I add: a dash of garlic powder, ground ginger, onion powder and coconut aminos/tamari/soy sauce. Would it taste better if you minced garlic and added fresh ginger? Certainly. If you wanna elevate it I’m not here to stop you!
Mix it all in, and turn heat up and let sit until the cauliflower rice starts to brown and get the tiniest bit “crispy”.
Then turn down the heat and crack and egg directly in the pan and scramble it in until it is cooked and coats the veggies. Take off the pan immediately and start eating.
Optional fancy steps: 1) sometimes if I have kale or bok choy that’s on it’s last legs I’ll chop it up and throw it in before the egg at the end. 2) Have any kimchi sitting around? Chop some of that in and you’ll have kimchi fried rice. Thanks Gwyneth Paltrow for that tip! 3) I like to shake a few sesame seeds on my bowl at the end, if you have a few extra spring onions kicking about they are great on here too.
The Sesame Crusted Salmon You Didn’t Know You Needed by Rachael Good Eats — Okay I know not everyone loves salmon or fish in general. But if you do, this is a SUPER easy recipe and it’s fool proof for those of us slightly wary of cooking fish. Costco sells big bags of frozen, wild caught salmon filets. The hardest part of this recipe is just remembering to defrost them in the fridge the day before.
Whole Roast Chicken — Okay it took me AGES to have the guts to roast a whole chicken and now I just look back with regret because I could have been having delicious chicken at home instead of peeling back a sweaty bag from a rotisserie chicken.
Get a 3-pound chicken, rub it all over with 1 tablespoon of salt (no oil necessary—the natural fat in the skin will render and keep the meat moist). Roast it in a 425°F oven for 1 to 1½ hours, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the juices run clear.
Serve with whatever sides you want!
Turkey, Kale and Tahini Bowl, photo by Rachael Good Eats
A Minute in the Kitchen
So unlike the dishes above, these ones will require some chopping, but not a ton. They’re still super easy and delicious.
Turmeric Cashew Rice — Okay this is really more of a side, but I make a big pan of this and then save half of it for later for bowls or an easy toddler meal. It’s my take on an Alison Roman recipe (she would hate it if she knew I had changed the recipe, but it’s my kitchen so I think that means my rules! :P )
Measure out two cups of jasmine rice and set aside.
Then in a pot bring four cups (or one quart) of chicken bone broth and a good pinch of salt to boil.
Throw the rice in once boiling and let it cook for about 10 mins. You’re looking to make the rice “al dente” so to have a bit of a bite to it, there will still be bone broth left when the 10 mins is up, so drain the rice.
In a deeper pan (I use a cast iron one with 2.5 inch sides) heat a good glug of oil (I use olive or avocado)
While that heats, finely chop 2 shallots and sauté until translucent. Watch these though! They can get burnt really quickly!
While those are cooking crush up raw cashews and toss them in to the pan with 1 tsp of ground turmeric, a couple twists of ground black pepper and salt. Let everything “toast” for a minute and become fragrant.
Finally throw the drained rice in and combine everything until all the rice is bright yellow from the turmeric.
Make sure the heat is at medium-high and let it sit in the pan until the rice forms a crispy crust at the bottom.
Enjoy. It’s dreamy.
Turkey, Kale and Tahini Dinner Bowl by Rachael Good Eats — big fan of this recipe that’s dead-easy and goes well over rice. Her website in general is a GREAT place to find delicious, healthier meals.
Paleo White Chicken Chilli — Chances are nearly two weeks deep into self-isolation you’ve already made regular chilli. But what about white chilli?? After Danny was born our friend Audrey brought over a pot of this and we were sold for life.
Saute a finely chopped onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic and green bell pepper (poblano peppers are awesome here too if you’re feeling fancy! They lose their heat as they cook but add a smokiness that’s amazing!)
Add a tsp of cumin, chilli powder and oregano and stir into the veggies letting them get fragrant
Then add shredded chicken that you can achieve a variety of ways: from the roasted chicken you may have made earlier, or made in an instant pot.
Coat shredded chicken with flour (or arrowroot if you’re GF!) before adding in 1 cup of coconut milk and 3-4 cups of chicken bone broth/stock
Let the whole pot simmer and reduce down for about 20 mins before serving over rice (I love pairing this with yet MORE coconut rice)
Jamie Oliver’s Cracking Burger — this burger recipe is a staple in our household. Whenever we go to friend’s houses for BBQ we’re always asked to bring these to grill, but work just as easily on a pan at home (which is how we make them 98% of the time.) We bought a ton of frozen ground beef from Costco and as soon as the weather gets warmer we’re doing these ASAP.
Feeling Fancy
Red lentil dal
Preheat over to 425 F
rinse 1 cup of red lentil and put off to the side
Wash 2-3 sweet potatoes and chop into small cubes before roasting in the oven with a little bit of oil (I use coconut) S+ P, and fennel seed. Roast until cooked.
In a deeper pan (again, my 2.5 cast iron makes an appearance!) sauté 2 minced shallots in coconut oil. Once shimmery throw in a tsp of turmeric, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cumin, 1 tsp if coriander seeds and cracked pepper, let the spices toast.
Then throw in red lentils and let them start roasting on the pan too for about 3-5 mins on medium high heat.
Add 1 cup of coconut milk
Add 1 cup of stock (I like to use chicken bone broth but any will do!)
Cover and turn heat down to let simmer for about 25 mins, adding coconut milk if extra moisture needed, until the consistency of the dal is stewy.
Towards the end throw about a cup of frozen chopped spinach in the dal and let that heat up. If you have fresh stuff you want to use up, so that too!
Put into bowls and top with roasted sweet potato cubes.
Fancy bonus points: before you start this recipe take 1/2 of shedded coconut and soak in warm water. While the dal is cooking, drain the water and toast in a small pan with mustard seeds and salt. This will toast up quickly so keep an eye on it and put off to the side until ready to serve. Then top your bowl with it. It’ll make the dish and add some texture.
Farro Risotto, photo credit Laura Lea
Laura Lea’s Sweet Potato and Farro Risotto — love love LOVE this recipe. You absolutely do NOT need to soak your farro overnight to make this. I should know because I never do. Do however follow the rinsing instructions, otherwise your farro will get really gooey and not have that piece-y pasta like texture.
Healthy Crockpot Butter Chicken - This actually isn’t a hard one, it just requires some slow cooking which means thinking about making dinner 6 hours before dinner…which I RARELY do. But when I’m on the ball, this is a family favorite. I think you’ll love it.
Healthy Mongolian Beef - Again, it’s misleading to put this guy in “fancy” because actually it’s a super easy recipe, but I put it here because technically it’s not really pantry/frozen food dish. It’s just a really good one, so if you make an essential grocery run and want something fresh, I recommend this.
Okay that’s all for now. This actually took me a long time to put together haha, so I hope it’s helpful and at least gets the ball rolling for ideas to make on these endless days at home. Hope everyone is hanging in there!