An Hour's Preparation is Worth a Week of Meals

I'll continue to emphasize the importance of having a freezer full of ingredients that you can quickly turn into meals with little prep time. Many people do this by purchasing expensive prepared food. While there's nothing wrong with that once in a while (I'm a devotee of Kashi's frozen entrees, which I buy ONLY when I have double coupons, as well as many of the excellent frozen ethnic dishes that Trader Joe sells ready to microwave). But that sort of behavior isn't very parsimonious, and honestly, wouldn't you rather spend your money on a vacation or on cashmere, or in my case, an Audi A4 convertible?

So find an hour somewhere in your week (I know, I know) to get this prep work out of the way. You will thank me every time you are faced with little fresh food in the fridge, growling stomach(es) and a tight deadline for getting food on the table.

Dried beans
chickpeas and white cannelloni beans are the favorites in my house, but you should buy any type your family likes. Don't bother with name brands - a dried bean is a dried bean. I buy Stop & Shop's dried beans and they cost from .79 to $1.00 for a 1 pound bag. Pour the beans in a large bowl and cover with water and leave them overnight (or do this first thing in the morning and they'll be ready to cook when you get home from work). Drain the water, rinse and put in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then lower the flame and cook until firmly done, but not mushy. Just fish out a couple after 25 minutes and see if they're done to your liking. If not, keep cooking. If ready, drain and let cool. Bag them in Ziploc and freeze until you need.

What are you going to do with them to make a meal?
You already have some pre-cooked pasta in the freezer (see below), so nuke a packet of beans and of pasta. Toss with lots of grated Parmesan cheese, some garlic that you chopped up and sauteed in some olive oil while you were nuking . Throw in any leftover vegetable(s) you have lying around. Add fresh herbs if you have that basil or parsley plant on the windowsill, and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Does it get any easier?

Whole Wheat Pasta
You should feel guilty about eating a lot of regular pasta, but go ahead and eat whole wheat pasta; whole grains are the crux of healthy eating.Whenever you cook some for a meal, cook the entire box. When cool, stick portion-sizes of the pasta in Ziploc and freeze. It will reheat beautifully in the microwave.

Brown Rice
Same as above. I use that 2 qt Pyrex measuring cup to cook large amounts of brown rice in the microwave to have on hand for a quick meal. Put a couple of cups of raw brown rice in the Pyrex and add plenty of water. Cover the Pyrex and microwave for 35 minutes, or until al dente.

Here's a good strategy to have on hand; I had it just last night and it was tasty and comforting in all this rain and gloom (we all needed comfort while watching those Republicans debate).

While the container or brown rice was in the mic, I heated a little oil in a skillet and added some cabbage and shredded carrot I found in the fridge along with a little chopped garlic. If I had ginger, I would have minced some and added it.  Anyway,  use any vegetable you have. (Maybe there's something in the freezer?) I put the rice in a bowl, tossed on the sauteed vegetables, and then fried an egg in the empty skillet. Upend the fried egg onto the rice and vegetables and add some soy sauce, some or Srichacha sauce and/or Trader Joe's inexpensive version of that Thai sweet chili sauce that you scarf down when you order in Thai. Protein, complex carbs and hardly any fat. And obviously, it cost pennies.

Barley
Do the same as you did with the brown rice. One morning when you are tired of microwaving the pancakes you made earlier with soured milk, or of oatmeal, or your yogurt parfait, nuke the cooked barley and and some milk and maple syrup and some fruit, and you will have learned the true meaning of power breakfast. Or add some to pureed vegetable (any kind) and potato and you'll have an almost instant sop - rich and fulfilling and quite bi-partisan. So make some tonight when you watch the President (and the NFL)