Danielle’s tips
The standardization chef at RICARDO, Danielle, has more than one trick up her sleeve when it comes to getting her hands dirty. A mother of three teenagers, she sets herself the goal of cooking a quick meal, but not one that’s lacking in flavour. Here are the ways she does it. We’re taking notes!
1. Frozen veggies
It’s always convenient to have frozen vegetables on hand. Danielle always keeps peas and corn kernels in her freezer. They’re easy to incorporate into recipes.
30-Minute Recipes
Pork, Corn and Cheddar Gemelli
2. Bacon
When Danielle cooks bacon (on a baking sheet in the oven), she adds more slices than needed, which she then keeps in the fridge. This leaves her with precooked bacon, which she can then easily add to a salad or sandwich.
Sandwiches
BLT Sandwich (Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato)
3. Meal prep
At least once a week, she prepares a second meal at the same time as that evening’s supper.
Batch Cooking
Extra-Tender Pork Meatballs
4. Double the recipe
Danielle regularly doubles a recipe when cooking, such as lasagna, meatballs or veggie burger patties, which she then freezes.
Vegetarian
Roasted Vegetables Lasagna
5. Double the ingredients
Whenever she cooks chicken, rice or potatoes, Danielle makes sure to make more than the intended serving. She then adds them to other recipes (tuna croquettes, fried rice, sandwiches, hot chicken) to accelerate recipe prep on busy weeknights.
Weekday Recipes
Kitchen Sink Fried Rice
6. Slow cooker
The slow cooker is Danielle’s small appliance of choice. Even if the recipe sometimes calls for a little extra prep work, the feeling of knowing that dinner will be ready (or almost!) when you come home from work is priceless!
