u/Ok_Champion2717

meal prepped some pozole rojo with moritas/anchos/chile de arbol/guajillos/scorpions/scorpions because nothing says 2-alarm fire like actually hopping out of the fire engine with a fire in my bunker pants.

Usually make two lunches and two dinners to bring to work for my four on/four off shift work but I’m off my second day work this week so one lunch and two dinners it is. Jerk chicken salads w/ mandarin/pineapple dressing, quinoa + veg, cherries, and black tea with pomegranate/blueberry juice for dinners. Salmon bowls with farro/sweet potato/sprouts/radish/spinach/carrots/cabbage/pistachios with a maple-miso sauce, peach, and same tea + fruit juice mix for lunch.

Jerk chicken salad: Marinaded butterflied chicken breast in jerk seasoning for ~8 hrs. Walkerswood makes a good jar of premade seasoning but I made my own from ginger/soy sauce/lime juice/scallion/cilantro stems/garlic/scotch bonnets/thyme/all spice/clove/nutmeg/brown sugar/cinnamon/pepper/salt. Bit of a drizzle today so cooked indoors on a grill pan for about 3mins a side on med-high (adjust based on breast thickness and water content). Tossed simply with lettuce/pineapple/radish/sprouts. I reserved about 1/4 of the marinade mix before adding to the chicken and blended that with about 1/2C each of pineapple/mandarin oranges along with some salt/EVOO/apple cider vinegar to make a dressing.

Quinoa w/ veg: Cooked the quinoa and allowed to cool. Mixed in drained and rinsed black beans, finely chopped celery, julienned carrots, finely chopped kale before tossing with a dressing of the grated zest and juice of 1 lime, a handful of fresh basil, and EVOO.

Salmon bowl: Marinaded salmon for ~3 hrs in a miso blend. Marinade consisted of white miso paste mixed with garlic, sambal, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and maple syrup and whisked. Cooked the salmon in a skillet for approximately 3mins a side on medium heat (personally I like mine cooked to just before any albumin starts to leak out and still a light pink in the center. While the salmon cools, I roasted approx 1/2” sweet potato chunks in the oven at 425 after tossing lightly in cumin/vegetable oil for 30 mins. Cooked the farro and allowed the salmon/farro to cool to room temp before assembling the bowl. Sauce was identical to the above marinade but I mixed in extra grated ginger and toasted sesame seeds.

Lettuce, carrots, radish, cabbage, scallions, garlic, cilantro, jalapenos, scotch bonnets, sprouts, thyme, basil, are from the yard. Tried to grow celery but the aphids got em this year. Wanted to incorporate my blackberries instead of the cherries but dang birds keep getting to them before they ripen.

yellowtail tossed with ponzu/honey/sesame oil/grated ginger/rice vinegar. Edamame, jalapenos, farro seasoned with furikake, red cabbage, carrots, radish, cilantro, shallots, seaweed.

Decided to make use of the curry plant I finally got to grow this year.

Two day shifts followed by two night shifts and four days off between (career fire dpt) so I make two lunches and two dinners on my last day off.

Marinaded some salmon in soy/mirin/ginger/garlic/rice vinegar/brown sugar/pineapple juice for several hours. Seared on a skillet a few minutes a side on medium heat until cooked through but before the albumin starts coming out. Served with quinoa cooked in seafood broth and black beans. Large diced some mango/orange bell pepper/serranos/red onion and tossed with lime juice/salt/cumin/cilantro for a super simple salsa. Salad with alfalfa sprouts/radish/lettuce from my garden.

Chicken 65 for dinners. So fine chopped some fresh curry leaves (I have a curry plant in my garden but most Indian/Asian grocers will stock fresh leaves. It really does make a huge flavor difference vs using powdered/dried). Cut chicken thighs into ~1” cubes and marinaded with the chopped curry leaves/corn starch/rice flour/turmeric powder/kashmiri chili powder/garam masala/lemon juice/yogurt/salt/garlic cloves for several hours. Fried green chilies (seeds removed so they don’t pop/splash) and whole fresh curry leaves in ghee for ~30 seconds before removing. Then added more ghee and shallow fried the chicken thighs for 3-5 minutes until cooked through and crispy. Tossed the fried leaves/chilies with the chicken. Served with quinoa/roasted red potatoes tossed with garam masala and chickpeas.

Quick salad with spinach/dates/quick pickled red onion/tomatoes/cucumber and chopped dill and splashed with olive oil and fresh lemon juice+zest.

The sauce is an herb sauce made by blending cilantro (leaves + stems), mint (just leaves), green chilies, lime juice, yogurt, salt, 4 garlic cloves and 3 ice cubes (keeps the sauce green/fresh-looking by prevent the herbs from oxidizing).

The naan was simply just activating yeast with warm water/sugar then adding to my flour/yogurt/salt/oil before covering and allowing to rise over an hour at room temp. I don’t have a tandoor so just rolled out and cooked on a flat skillet with ghee and tossing with more cilantro.

My shift work is two day works followed by two night works so I try and dedicate my last day off to meal prep two lunches and two dinners for the work week.

Thai peanut shrimp salad and fruit bowls for lunches. Gentle sautee on the shrimp in a skillet with a bit of lime juice, fish sauce, and honey marinade before removing to let cool. Had some bib lettuce and romaine growing in my yard that I picked, rinsed, and dried with a salad spinner. Tossed with some radishes, red cabbage (mandolin sliced), carrots (julienned), sliced serranos, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, mung beans, crushed peanuts, and a side of peanut dressing (equal parts sambal olek, melted peanut butter, rice vinegar, brown sugar and sesame oil to taste). Cantaloupe, mangos, and kiwis for the fruit bowl.

Thai red coconut curry. So on med heat, ~3 tbsp of canola oil and red curry paste (I make my own but jarred works fine, it’s just more concentrated) until the paste becomes “dry” aka starts to clump up and stick to the wooden spoon. Mix in grated ginger, bruised and thinly sliced lemongrass whites, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1tbsp palm sugar, 1tbsp fish sauce, grated galangal (ginger is fine) and a handful of kaffir lime leaves for about 5 minutes. Add ~1.5C of seafood or chicken broth (store bought works fine but I had some seafood stock from prawns/clams in my freezer that I used) along with 14oz of coconut milk (about 1 can). Let simmer and emulsify for a few minutes. Add about 1C pumpkin or sweet potato, 1C green beans, 1C shiitake mushrooms, about 10 finely diced thai chilies (more or less to your spice preference), and 2 chicken thighs cut into 1” chunks. You can sear/brown the chicken in a separate pan beforehand for texture/flavor if you’d like. Add the juice of 2 limes and lower the heat to a simmer and let reduce and cook for about 30 minutes until the veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir in ~10 thai basil leaves and cilantro right at the end.

Thai beef nam tok. So reverse seared a strip steak and let cool. Cooked some vermicelli noodles in some leftover seafood stock (get the stock to a boil, remove from heat, soak the noodles for about 4-5 minutes, that’s all they need) and let cool. thinly chiffonade of thai basil and mint to toss the beef with. Sauce is made from tamarind paste, garlic, toasted rice (ground in a mortar), lime juice, shallots, thai chilies, palm sugar, fish sauce, finely sliced scallion whites, and a splash of water.

Basic white jasmine rice to serve with the curry.

I like to try and eat healthy/colorful. Too easy in the fire/EMS/nursing field to scarf down junk food from gas stations and we rarely have the sufficient down time to sit down and eat firehouse cooking when I’m on the medic.

Marinated chicken drumsticks in cajun spices/jerk seasoning (cayenne, thyme, scotch bonnett, oregano, celery seed, brown sugar, onion, garlic, all-spice, honey, lime juice, scallions, salt, pepper, olive oil) before cooking on the grill. Grilled zucchini/squash/peppers and roasted some potatoes and tossed with the cajun rub and lemon juice. Served over quinoa. Made an herb vinaigrette from cilantro/parsley/oregano/thyme/grilled poblano/grilled scallions/EVOO/red wine vinegar/salt. Side of couscous salad with tomatoes/cucumber/red onion/dill/mint.

Poke bowls with lomi-lomi cured salmon tossed in sauce of yuzu/sesame oil/soy sauce/mirin/chilies. Cucumber, edamame, mangos, seaweed salad (seaweed stem pickled in vinegar/salt/sugar), pickled ginger served over furikake and rice wine seasoned farro. Coleslaw with daikon, watermelon radish, pineapple, carrots, red cabbage, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, lime juice, and fish sauce.

Career fire dpt so I work two days followed by two nights followed by four days off. I try and meal prep two lunches and two dinners that can be eaten cold or warm as a kitchen/microwave isn’t always accessible.

Marinated chicken breast in lime juice/oil/fish sauce/minced lemongrass/garlic/ginger/soy sauce before grilling. Served with pad thai noodles, watermelon radish, jalapenos, cilantro, basil, carrots, red cabbage, sprouts. Made a peanut sauce from peanut butter, palm sugar, lime juice, sambal. Baked wonton wrapper cups with mangos tossed in thai chilies/mint and over a slaw of chopped cabbage/almonds in rice vinegar. Beverage is thai iced tea (just add ice)

Lunches I seared skirt steak and blackened shrimp, sauteed a red bell pepper, a poblano, and a yellow onion. Served over quinoa and black beans. Made a red chimichurri sauce in the Chipotle style with oregano, lemon juice, EVOO, roasted garlic, roasted red pepper, chipotles in adobo, cumin, cilantro, and chopped radish leaves (ran out of parsley and I have radish in my garden). Watermelon and radish salad tossed with tajin and mint. Beverage is lime-ade with cucumber, cilantro, and more mint. I had a lot of mint in my garden to use.

I work two days followed by two nights and then off four so I meal prep two lunches and two dinners on my fourth day off.

Lunch: Made a jerk seasoning to marinade bite-sized pieces of salmon before searing in cast iron and finishing with a bit of thyme and honey. Cooked some farro mixed with greens, radish, broccoli sprouts. Made a tropical pico with pineapple, tomato, red onion, serranos, cilantro, lime juice, ginger, and mint. Side of ruby red kiwis and blueberries.

Dinner: Marinated some chicken breast in yogurt and harissa before searing in a pan. Made hummus with chickpeas and dill and cooked some orzo. Kale massaged with EVOO, pickled beets, chopped cucumber and tomatoes, olives, and peppers. Store bought pita that I crisped up in a pan. Dressing made with maple, lemon, and tahini. Oranges for sides.

Beverage is black tea with slices of citrus. Just need to add ice.

Meal prepped for work. Moroccan chicken/lentil/spinach/harissa stew with chickpea/onion salad with sumac for dinners.

Carrot ginger soba noodles and seared bison salad and melon/cantaloupe for lunches.