Sunday Meal Prep

In an attempt to avoid the weekend crowds, I put off going grocery shopping until 7 pm yesterday. By that time most people had reached their dinner destinations so traffic was minimal; parking spots were abundant and till line ups had disappeared. I had time to peruse the aisles, thinking carefully about what I really needed and looking out for sales. So if you hate grocery shopping, I'd suggest trying for a weekend evening!

Today between tidying, laundry, and reading bits of medical things and Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See, I spent some time preparing lunches for the week ahead. As I can't remember the last time I brought something other than a peanut butter sandwich to work, I'm inordinately excited about having time to enjoy a lunch that isn't eaten out of a ziploc bag.

I decided to make salads as I appreciate fresh vegetables more than usual at this time of year. My approach to salads is to throw in anything I have on hand: lettuce, broccoli, carrot (side note: free, thanks to the Scanning Code), sweet potato, canned kidney beans, cheddar cheese, almonds, and, for protein, chicken breast.

...almonds and cheese to be added on the day of

I decided to try cooking the chicken breast on my George Foreman grill, rather than baking it as I usually do. I figured it would be quicker...and meat tastes better with grill lines, right? I thawed out 1 kg of frozen chicken breasts (it sounds like a lot, but I ended up with less than half this weight once they'd been cooked!), overnight in the fridge.

that's 1.046 kg for $4.33 -- the cheapest frozen chicken breasts I've ever bought

I washed the mysterious seasoning (salt and "flavouring" according to the ingredient list) off the chicken and, as I learned from a Google search, flattened out the thicker pieces a little by pounding them with the bottom of a mug.

4 for grilling; 1 saved for omurice

I grilled each piece for around 6 minutes. As my grill is little, I just cooked one piece at a time.

flattened chicken breast on the pre-heated grill

waiting 6 minutes

ready to come off the grill

the result

Despite my best attempt to wash off the seasoning, it seems that quite a bit remained -- fortunately most of it baked to the grill and in the drip trough, rather than on the chicken itself. Unfortunately, it made cleaning a tough task.

seasoning that leached out during cooking (better out than in)

I let the chicken cool, then sliced it up to put in my salads.

I'm not sure I'd make chicken on the grill again. As my grill has only one temperature setting (hot!), the outside of the chicken is starting to get dry and tough by the time the inside has cooked. I think next time I'll try pan-frying or return to baking.

I didn't prepare dinners for the week, as I suspect I'll be getting home at a reasonable hour on this new rotation and have time to cook on the weekdays. Failing that, I have a couple dozen eggs in the fridge that'll make for quick meals!

Do you prepare meals ahead of time?