Modular Chow Recipe

This is mashed cauliflower, sour cream, cheese, onions, peppers, peas, and black beans with curry powder and garlic salt.

This is not a recipe so much as a class of recipes. Any or all of these ingredients can be added to a large pot and simmered. Any special preparation will be noted.

Starch/filler
Mashed Cauliflower – Cut off leaves and stem. Cut into 4 large chunks and steam for 12 minutes. Mash and add at the end.
Beans
Rice – 1 cup. Steam separately and add at the end.
Diced potatoes – Clean, dice and boil in salted water for 15 minutes before adding. I’m not sure about different varieties so you might need to look up other recipes.
Carrots – Chop and boil for 8 minutes
Corn – steamed or canned

Proteins
I recommend 1 lb of one of the following:
Tofu – Dice. You can fry in oil and spices separately to increase flavor, or just add it.
Beef – You’ll want to fry this separately to get some browning on the meat. I don’t recommend draining the fat since you’re losing calories and it’ll all mix in at the end.
Chicken – Dice and sear 5 min before adding.
Eggs – You can just crack and egg in the pot and stir it in.

Vegetables
Onion – Fry on medium heat for 20-25 minutes before adding
Peppers- Fry on medium heat for 15-20 minutes before adding
Peas – 1 lbs. If frozen, you can steam for a bit to thaw.
Tomatoes – dice, you can use canned or fresh.
Garlic – 5 cloves, chopped. You can fry them for a bit with the onions and peppers if you prefer a less spicy flavor.
Broccoli – Trim stem, steam for 3 minutes. Broccoli cooks much faster than cauliflower. Add it at the end to avoid overcooking it.

Dairy
Cheese – As much as you like. I usually add at least 1 cup of colby jack or cheddar
Sour cream – 1/4 cup. This is a good addition if you add hot sauce
butter – 2 tbsp

Spices DO NOT ADD ALL OF THESE.
Just pick 2 or 3 and experiment with flavors. As a general rule, use a tablespoon, taste and adjust depending on what you like.
Salt
Pepper – to taste
Chinese 5 Spice
Chili powder
Curry powder
Cumin
Turmeric
Coriander
Garlic powder – if you don’t use real garlic
Onion powder – if you don’t use real onions
Hot sauce
Herb de Province
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Old Bay
Whatever you like

You can make a big pot of this stuff, freeze it and thaw it throughout the week. Stews are great meals for prepping. You can add more starches/cheap ingredients like rice and beans if you are poor and if you’re looking to improve nutrition/lose weight, use more vegetables. It’s a great flexible way to cook convenient meals.