This is a week built around four things you cook once: roast chicken thighs, a pot of rice, a pot of black beans and a tray of roasted vegetables. Every dinner after Sunday is assembly, ten to twenty minutes, and nothing is eaten the same way twice. Serves four each night.
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Load this week into Mealfolder3 bell peppers · 3 onions · 2 zucchini · 1 head garlic · 2 limes · 1 bunch cilantro · 1 bunch scallions · 5 oz bag spinach · 1 lemon
4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs · 8 oz cheddar (block) · 6 eggs · small tub sour cream or plain yogurt
3 cups long-grain rice (dry) · 1 lb short pasta · 2 cans (15 oz) black beans · 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes · 8 flour tortillas
Olive oil · salt · black pepper · ground cumin · smoked paprika · chili powder · soy sauce · a jar of salsa · grated parmesan (optional)
Food-safety note: cool cooked food quickly, refrigerate within two hours, and reheat leftovers until steaming hot throughout.
Uses: the whole thighs you kept back, a third of the vegetables, a quarter of the rice. Do: serve hot from the oven with a squeeze of lemon and a spoon of yogurt. This is the one night that is not leftovers, so eat it while everything is crisp.
Uses: a quarter of the rice, half the beans, a quarter of the chopped chicken, a third of the vegetables, salsa, cheddar, cilantro, lime. Do: reheat rice with a splash of water, warm the beans and chicken in one pan, build bowls, top with cheese, salsa, cilantro and lime. 12 minutes.
Uses: the pasta, crushed tomatoes, 3 cloves garlic, a quarter of the chopped chicken, the spinach, parmesan if you have it. Do: boil the pasta. Meanwhile soften garlic in oil, add tomatoes, ½ tsp salt and a pinch of chili powder, simmer 8 minutes, stir in chicken and spinach until wilted, toss with pasta and a ladle of pasta water. 20 minutes.
Uses: the tortillas, the rest of the beans, a quarter of the chopped chicken, the last of the roasted vegetables, most of the cheddar, sour cream and salsa to serve. Do: spread mashed beans on half a tortilla, add chicken, vegetables and cheese, fold, cook in a dry pan 3 minutes a side. Two per person. 15 minutes.
Uses: the remaining half of the rice (cold, which is why it fries instead of steaming), the last quarter of the chicken, the remaining onion, the eggs, scallions, soy sauce. Do: fry diced onion in 2 tbsp oil until soft, push aside, scramble 4 eggs in the gap, add rice and chicken, high heat, 2 tbsp soy sauce, toss 4 minutes, finish with scallions and the second lime. 15 minutes. The fridge should now be empty of this week's cooking.
Each component appears in three or four dinners, but in a different cuisine each night, so nobody notices they are eating Sunday's chicken again. The sequence also matters: the pasta uses the spinach on day three before it wilts, and the fried rice is last because it takes whatever is left. Swap the protein for a tray of roasted tofu or a second pot of beans and the plan still holds.
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