Singles Cooking - 1st prep day

Due to New Year's being on Friday and this being my last weekend before school resumes, I will do my 1st full prep day tomorrow.  If you are following my menu exactly, you just need to follow my steps; however, I want to explain what a prep day means and how it will actually save you a lot of time in the long run.

Today, I went to the grocery store and bought everything I will need for the week.  My weekly menu actually is:

Fri - Black Eyed peas with smothered beef
Sat -  Orange caramelized pork and onions
Sun - bean and meat chili
Mon - antipasta and crudite platter w/ hummus
Tue - Pork sandwhiches w/ veggies and / or chili
Wed - Black eye pea salad w/ fruit
Thur - meatloaf
Fri - chili w/ chips or cornbread chili pie
Sat - pork stir fry w/ leftover pork and pre chopped veggies

For the prep day, rinse all veggies and cut.  I got bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, celery and cauliflower.  Also, peel and chop a whole onion.  I sorted out all the meats I will need for the week.  Pork roast was on sale, so I bought a 5 pound one and then cut and divided for 4 meals.

I already had beans and chickpeas, so I didn't need to purchase those.

On Thursday, I will rinse and cook all the beans I will need this week.  Since I already have chickpeas cooked, I won't need to cook those, but I will cook the red beans and the black eye peas.  I will also prep and cook the orange caramelized pork roast w/ onions so that I won't have to cook on Saturday.  I will prepare the meatloaf and then freeze.

I always use dried beans, and here is how I cook them.
Measure out the beans you will use.  For my chili, I use 2 cups of red beans.  For the black eye peas, I will use only 1 cup because I am the only one who eats these.  Rinse the beans thoroughly.  Add to a saucepan and cover with water.  I add salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Cook on low for about 2 hours, checking the water level and stirring often

Once the beans are a bit soft, remove the lid, add 1/3 cup oil (or fat) and simmer on medium for 30 minutes.  When using the beans for chili or salads, I do not allow the beans to make a thicker gravy.

Smothered Beef

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 chopped onion
salt, pepper, paprika and garlic

Mix the meats, onion and seasonings.  Divide into 2 portions.  With 1 portion, brown in skillet and crumble.  With the other portion, make into 8 small patties.  The crumbled portion and the drippings will go into the chili.  Once cool, move to a container, cover and store in the refrigerator.

For the patties, saute in a skillet turnin
g often until browned and cooked almost through.  Remove from pan.  Add flour to drippings and stir well, cooking on low.  Once the flour is well mixed, add 1.5 - 2 cups of water to get to the consistency you want for the gravy.  Stir often and add more water if needed.  You can use milk instead of water to get a creamier consistency.  Once the gravy is ready, return the patties to the gravy and simmer on low to coat.