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Cook once, meals for a week

Author: Sarah Swain - Food writer, stylist and recipe creator

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Set aside three hours on a Sunday and do some pre-cooking for a week of easy dinners.

All it takes is one Sunday afternoon cooking session to have dinner sorted for the week ahead! With our three-part process, simply prepare the base mix recipes, store them in the fridge/freezer, and then it just takes some hands-on time to assemble your weeknight dinners.

Part 1: What to do on Sunday

Before you start, make sure you have…

For cooking

All ingredients from shopping list (see below)
Large roasting pan
Grater
Blender or food processor
Medium-sized saucepan
Sharp knives

For storage and labelling

Containers and freezer bags
Labels and marker pen

Food prep

Begin with preparing the Basic chargrilled vegetable salad (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below). Cook the first six listed ingredients in a large baking dish with the dressing for 20 minutes.
Start Basic lentil mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below).
Add sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms to chargrilled vegetables after 20 minutes. Spray with oil. Cook for 30 more minutes.
Cook Roasted garlic bulbs (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below), alongside the vegetables, for 30 minutes.
Make up Basic herby chicken mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below). Cover and chill then divide into 2 equal portions and label: ‘Chicken stir-fry with noodles’ and ‘Chicken rice salad’.
Make up Basic spicy lamb mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below) then divide into 2 equal portions and label ‘Lamb tacos’ and ‘Lamb lentil salad’.
Finish Basic lentil mix and once cooled, divide into 2 equal portions and label ‘Lamb lentil salad’ and ‘Lamb tacos’.
Remove chargrilled vegetables from oven and once cooled divide Basic chargrilled vegetable salad mix into four equal portions and label ‘Chicken stir-fry’, ‘Lamb tacos’, ‘Summer vege pasta with tuna’ and ‘Lamb lentil salad’.
Remove garlic from oven and once cooled pack roasted garlic bulbs in a sealed container and refrigerate.
Make up Basic coleslaw mix (see Part 2: Base mix recipes below). For a very fine coleslaw, place the ingredients in a food processor. For a more chunky result, grate and chop by hand.
Divide coleslaw into 2 equal portions and label ‘Chicken stir-fry with noodles’ and ‘Chicken rice salad’.

After this cooking session you will have:

In the fridge

1 portion of Basic herby chicken for Chicken rice salad (Monday)
2 portions of Basic coleslaw for Chicken rice salad (Monday) and Chicken stir-fry with noodles (Thursday)
3 portions of Chargrilled vegetable salad for Lamb tacos (Tuesday), Summer vege pasta with tuna (Wednesday) and Chicken stir-fry with noodles (Thursday)
1 portion of Basic spicy lamb for Lamb tacos (Tuesday)
2 portions of Basic lentil mix for Lamb tacos (Tuesday) and Summer vege pasta with tuna (Wednesday)
Roasted garlic bulbs for Chicken rice salad (Monday) and Lamb lentil salad (Friday)

In the freezer

1 portion of Basic herby chicken for Chicken stir-fry with noodles (Thursday)
1 portion of Chargrilled vegetable salad for Lamb lentil salad (Friday)
1 portion of Basic spicy lamb for Lamb lentil salad (Friday)
1 portion Basic lentil mix for Lamb lentil salad (Friday)

Top tips for successful freezing

Foods to be frozen should be as fresh as possible.
Cool foods completely before freezing. Freezing food when hot will increase the temperature of the freezer and could cause other foods to start defrosting.
Never refreeze anything that has already been frozen.
Make sure you wrap foods properly and put them in a sealed container or bag.
Freeze items in the quantities suggested so you have no wastage.
Label foods clearly with a marker pen. Date items if you are not going to eat during the planned week.
Defrost food thoroughly before cooking. Remove from the freezer the night before cooking the following day and store in the fridge.
Remove as much air as possible from items being packed in freezer bags.

Shopping list

Fresh vegetables and fruit

1 bunch fresh coriander
1 bunch fresh mint
3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
1 bunch fresh basil
1 bunch fresh parsley
4 bulbs garlic
12 spring onions
1 red chilli (optional)
2 red capsicums
3 yellow capsicums
1 eggplant
3 courgettes
3 red onions
200g mushrooms
1/2 red cabbage
2 medium-sized carrots
1 bag mixed salad greens
1 bag rocket
2 punnets cherry tomatoes
1 apple
3 lemons
1 orange

Chilled items

reduced-fat cheddar cheese (1/3 cup, grated )
30g parmesan cheese
400g pack fresh spaghetti
1/3 cup low-fat plain yoghurt

Meat and poultry

900g lean chicken breast fillets
800g lean lamb steaks fillet

Bottled/canned products, dry goods

basmati rice (1 cup)
dried dates (1/3 cup)
sultanas (1/3 cup)
walnuts (1/4 cup)
red wine vinegar (about 1 cup)
harissa paste (4 teaspoons)
oil-free sun-dried tomato pieces (1/2 cup)
puy or green lentils (200g)
balsamic vinegar (3 tablespoons)
oil-free French dressing (1/3 cup)
honey (2 tablespoons)
rice noodles (200g)
orange juice (1/4 cup)
hoisin or plum sauce (3 tablespoons)
light flour tortillas (4)
passata (1 1/2 cups)
tuna in spring water (2 x 180g cans)
sun-dried tomato pesto (2 tablespoons)

Seasonings and pantry staples

Check your pantry to see what you already have.

olive oil
oil spray
salt, to season
black pepper
sugar (1 tablespoon)
ground cumin (1 1/2 teaspoons)
ground coriander (1 1/2 teaspoons)
paprika (1 1/2 teaspoons)

Part 2: Base mix recipes

Here are the base mix recipes (see Part 3: Your week of dinners below for the daily recipes).

Basic chargrilled vegetable salad

Makes 4 portions
Total cost $20.30
Time to make 50 mins

2 red capsicums, quartered
2 yellow capsicums, quartered
1 eggplant, sliced
3 courgettes, sliced
1 bulb garlic, broken in cloves
2 red onions, cut in eighths
1/2 cup oil-free sun-dried tomato pieces
3 cups mushrooms, halved
oil spray
2 tablespoons fresh basil, torn

Dressing

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Step 1 Preheat oven to 190°C. Place all vegetables in a large non-stick ovenproof dish, except sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms. Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over vegetables. Cook for 20 minutes.

Step 2 Toss vegetables then add sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms. Spray with oil. Cook for 30 more minutes until vegetables are lightly charred. Sprinkle with basil.

Step 3 Divide into 4 portions for Lamb lentil salad, Lamb tacos, Chicken stir-fry with noodles and Summer vege pasta with tuna.

Basic lentil mix

Makes 3 portions
Total cost $8.20
Time to make 40 mins

200g puy or green lentils
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sprigs rosemary, broken in pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 orange, zest and juice
1 tablespoon oil

Step 1 Place lentils in a pan with 6 cups water, salt, rosemary and garlic. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes until tender.

Step 2 Drain and place in a bowl. Add balsamic, orange zest, orange juice and oil. Cool completely.

Step 3 Divide into 3 portions for Lamb lentil salad, Lamb tacos and Summer vege pasta with tuna.

Roasted garlic bulbs

Makes 2 portions
Total cost $1.20
Time to make 35 mins

2 bulbs garlic
oil spray

Step 1 Place bulbs in an ovenproof dish and spray with oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 190ºC until golden brown and garlic cloves are soft when pressed.

Step 2 Place bulbs in a sealed container. Use in the Chicken rice salad and Lamb lentil salad, broken in cloves.

Tip: Roasted garlic is perfect to add to salads for a subtle sweet garlic flavour.