One of the things I have always liked to do is to make sure there substantial things on hand to always be able to throw a good meal together on the fly. There’s nearly always a grain on hand in the fridge and some sort of bean/legume/pulse that can be easily combined into a simple, quick, fiber-rich and nutritious meal.
Lately, I’ve been on a kick where I been baking my rice because it comes out a whole lot better than the on usual on-the-stove method. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Start your rice out on the stove the normal way, but with about 1/4 cup extra water per cup of rice used. I used a 4 qt stainless steel pan. Add your seasonings and bring to a boil. Cover. Transfer to the oven. Whatever the stove top directions are, you typically want to add another 15-20 minutes of cooking time. Lately I’ve been making mine with about 2 Tablespoons of cumin, plus a tablespoon of fennel or salted fennel and a few sprigs of saffron. It’s the best rice I’ve ever made. The results are impressive. Flaky, granular rice that doesn’t all clump together. It’s the only way I make rice anymore.
Then there’s the beans. I bought a seven pound bag of mayocoba beans from Costco for next to nothing and have been eating off of them for months. I’ll scoop out two or three cups at a time and soak them overnight. The last batch I made got cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh garlic, onion, carrot, marjoram, ancho chilis, chili powder, and tomato paste. They’re delicious. Sixteen minutes on manual in the Instapot and then I forgot about them so they sat there just stewing. Even in a burrito I was commenting how amazing the beans were.
Some huge tortilla wraps on hand, a bottle of hot sauce and maybe a few diced, raw onions a great lunch time meal.