Food Prep, finally!

Food & Drink Completed Projects
1

I finally got around to making the salad in a jar I’ve had saved in my Pinterest, so I get to say I crafted another pin!

I also finally got around to doing some extra meal prep so we can just pull stuff out of the freezer on hectic days/weeks, etc. I’m really hoping to make this a habit once a month, at least… we shall see.

Photo of a wooden table showing food preparation items. On the table are a bowl with yellow liquid, a pair of scissors, chopped red onions, 2 jars of parmesan cheese, an empty bowl, a pot lid, and individual plates holding corn, black beans, and grape tomatoes. There is also a salad spinner with lettuce inside, a bolw of milk, a tray of white rice, and other items that are not identifiable.
Photo of a wooden table showing food preparation items. On the table are a bowl with yellow liquid, a pair of scissors, chopped red onions, 2 jars of parmesan cheese, an empty bowl, a pot lid, and individual plates holding corn, black beans, and grape tomatoes. There is also a salad spinner with lettuce inside, a bolw of milk, a tray of white rice, and other items that are not identifiable.1920×1440 395 KB

Photo of 5 glass jars containing a layered salad and 1 jar containing romaine lettuce and a folded paper towel. The layered salad shows, starting from the top, lettuce, corn, black beans, greek yogurt, and salsa
Photo of 5 glass jars containing a layered salad and 1 jar containing romaine lettuce and a folded paper towel. The layered salad shows, starting from the top, lettuce, corn, black beans, greek yogurt, and salsa1920×1440 354 KB

I had some for lunch today, and I will definitely be making it again. It was delicious.

Photo of salad in a shallow bowl with silver detail on the rim, and a spoon under the salad. Salad shows lettuce, black beans, cubed cheese, and corn.
Photo of salad in a shallow bowl with silver detail on the rim, and a spoon under the salad. Salad shows lettuce, black beans, cubed cheese, and corn.1920×1440 333 KB

The original recipe is from this website. Not a big fan of the name of the website… (we’re still encouraging people to “get skinny?” oof. But the recipe is good and saves time on busy days.

Lots of Brazilian rice, some to have this week and some to freeze:

20250412_Food Prep (4)
20250412_Food Prep (4)1920×1440 305 KB

And I didn’t take a picture, but the bowl in the first picture was the beginning of making a giant batch of pão de queijo, some to eat this week and some to freeze.

I also made more broth.

Photo of vegetable scraps in a large pot, showing the process of making vegetable broth.
Photo of vegetable scraps in a large pot, showing the process of making vegetable broth.1920×1440 350 KB

12 Likes
2

Yummy!
I often try to cook ahead for more than one day. But it seems with two teenage boys there are hardly any leftovers no matter how much I increase the recipe.

Also I didn’t know you could freeze rice.

Now over to your other post, checking out the cheese balls.

2 Likes
3

I miss having enough fridge space to do food prep for the week. We have a small fridge in the bus, bigger than a “dorm fridge” but still small emough to be frustrating. (Actively looking for a bigger fridge to keep at the bike shop though!) The salad in a jar looks like a great idea! I also saved your cheese ball recipe (my husband loves potato recipes and its gluten free!). What makes rice Brazilian though? I love rice dishes of many countries so now I am curious about this!

1 Like
4

Congratulations on getting all this done and completing a pin! TheMisterT has been prepping tossed salads in jars since I got him a mason jar vacuum sealer for Christmas and it’s been a wonder. With just the two of us, it’s not so much about saving time and such, but more about keeping the veg from going bad before we can finish it.

4 Likes
5

Those salads look so good!

1 Like
6

all of this looks amazing! Hooray for meal prep!

1 Like
7

This all looks AMAZING! I just bookmarked your recipe for the cheesy bread balls. I love those and the frozen grocery store ones can’t hold a candle to homemade ones. Frankly, they don’t even taste as good as the Brazilian chain restaurant ones.

1 Like
8

I never thought of doing that. I think my vacuum sealer might work on mason jars. It came with attachments that I’ve never explored. :thinking:

2 Likes
9

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

The trick to freezing rice and have it reheat as if you had made it fresh is to undercook it just a tiny bit, then spread it out on a cookie sheet so it cools down fast. Then freeze in small portions. It reheats well in the microwave, or if you want it to taste like you really just cooked it, you can also reheat it on the stove top by putting just a tiny bit of water so it won’t clump up or burn to the bottom. I’ve only ever frozen rice that I make the Brazilian way, where the grains are meant to not stick together, so I’m not sure how well “sticky rice” would freeze, but it’s worth a shot :slight_smile:

Both in Canada and the U.S. (at least where I lived), most people who eat rice are more familiar with rice that clumps together, as made in many Asian cuisines. This makes it easier to eat with chopsticks.

In Brazil, we make rice in a way specifically so it will not clump together. The ultimate delicious rice for most Brazilians is “arroz soltinho,” which roughly translates to “loose rice,” meaning the rice stays as much as possible as individual grains. I’ll try to post a recipe later on :slight_smile:

Cool! I didn’t even know that was a thing! That’s great for keeping things fresh longer.
I’ve been reusing the jam jars from Costco because they have really wide mouths and it makes it so much easier to get stuff out. Because there’s 5 of us, we get through whatever I made in them within the week, so it’s not as important to have it sealed. Having said that, putting the salad in a jar with the lettuce on top is a game-changer for keeping the salad nice and crisp until we dump it out :slight_smile:

Although homemade is almost always better, I must say I’m slightly jealous that you have these available at the grocery store and that there are Brazilian chain restaurants where you live, lol!! There’s nothing here. If I want Brazilian stuff I have to pay to have it delivered from Toronto. I’ve done it once as a treat, because it was soooooo expensive lol

2 Likes
10

Believe me, you’re not missing anything by not having the frozen grocery store ones. They are called Brazi Bites. And the ones at the restaurant were pretty tasty, but it is a churrascaria, so really more of a meat focus than Brazilian food as a whole.

1 Like