Veggie Prep for a Week

I hear from friends that the reason they don't cook every night is the amount of time it takes to make a "from scratch" meal. Between soccer, PTA meetings, WORK!, ballet, etc. there just isn't time.

Here's a trick that can help you. It requires less than an hour of your time- maybe the night you food shop, or Saturday/Sunday morning. The prep of all these veggies shown below took me less than an hour, about 40 minutes. And it's more than enough for the week's worth of fresh salads, steamed veggies, roasted veggies, stir fries, soups, stews, etc.

Wash all your produce and dry. Chop into pieces that can accommodate most of your recipes. You can always make them smaller if you need to. I use freezer bags, usually quart size but sometimes (for broccoli, which we eat a lot of, or lettuce), gallon size. Try to fill each bag full and fold over top before sealing and press out as much air as possible, this will keep them fresher. For the lettuce, always use a salad spinner to get out the water or it will be soggy.

Pictured below, again- less than an hour!

Red Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Romaine, Mushrooms, Eggplant, Brussels Sprouts, Onions, Zucchini, Corn, (if you want to freeze or use in soups/Chowders- cook first, let cool and using a sharp knife, scrape the kernels off.  Freeze flat on sheet tray and then place in Ziploc bags when frozen). Others you can freeze- Red peppers, Brussels, Broccoli,  if you can't use them all in a week.

So put some music on and get chopping!