As someone who likes to eat, I have to keep focus on what I eat to keep my weight under control. For me this doesn’t mean not eating what I like, but rather portion size and planning. As a Londoner, we have access to some amazing cuisine. But this must remain a treat in order to keep my weight and health in check. As a result, I am a rare Londoner who cooks most of my meals (perhaps something I am used to from my rural U.S. upbringing).
For me meal prepping is about trying to pack as much flavour into something that reheats well. My husband and I both keep a pretty intense work schedule, so I try to prep lunches for Monday-Thursday on Sunday night for both of us to help keep life on track.
This recipe has become a regular favourite for us. It reheats well and I pack it with tons of coriander, cumin, and other punchy flavours that just seem to get more flavourful throughout the week.
I tend to cook without a recipe and try to use what I can. Make changes to your taste. For example, you can easily make this more of an Italian style with basil, parsley, oregano and more garlic.
More meal prep recipes to come…but here is what I will call my Southwestern Tray Bake.
Southwestern Tray Bake
6-8 Servings
Ingredients
- 500-750 grams of ground beef or ground turkey (1 to 1.5 pounds)
- 2/3 cup brown or white rice – long grain rice is best
- 1 tin of black beans drained and rinsed – or your favourite type
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste/puree & 3 small round tomatoes chopped
- Or a tin of any kind of plain tomatoes (crush or chop if they are whole)
- 1 large bell pepper minced – pick your favourite colour
- 250 grams of grated mozzarella cheese (about 0.5 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons beef stock powder
- 2 onions minced – pick your favourite kind
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- Splash of port wine
- Adjust these to your taste
- 3 tablespoons cumin
- 60 grams of fresh chopped coriander / cilantro (this is a lot so adjust to your taste)
- Hot sauce – Tabasco Chipotle is my favourite
- 3-4 green chilis minced (keep the seeds in if you like heat)
- Salt
Method
- Cook your rice as you normally would and ensure all moisture is gone. Place in a large bowl
- Preheat oven to 180 C Fan / 200 C / 375 F
- Prep all your ingredients
- Brown the meat in a pan on high heat
- Add the garlic, onions, and pepper (you can drain some fat if you used a high fat protein, but leave some)
- Reduce heat to medium
- Once the onions are soft, add these ingredients, combining well
- Tomatoes
- Smoked paprika
- Paprika
- Beef stock powder
- Wine
- Cumin
- Coriander / cilantro
- Hot sauce
- Salt to taste
- Cook until most of the liquid is gone about 7-10 minutes.
- Gently stir in the beans and cook for another 5 minutes until the beans are hot.
- Add the mixture to the rice and combine the two
- Pour into a baking dish and top with the grated mozzarella cheese – 13inx9in or a 32cm baking dish tends to work well
- Bake in the oven until the cheese is brown
To prep for meals, let it cool and place in the fridge. Once it is chilled, it can easily be sliced and portioned.
