What's For Lunch? (Friday Five Edition)

With my new job, we are located downtown and in a part of town where there is not a lot of lunch options.  We do have a cafeteria but it doesn't have a huge selection that I like and it's very expensive.  We have a Subway across the street and a pub a few blocks down.  For anything else we have to drive at least 15 minutes.  It makes it hard when you are hourly.  So I just bring my lunch.

 

Lately I have been making different casseroles on Sunday night and splitting it up for the week.  That way I have dinner for Sunday and don't have to figure out what to make each evening when I get home late.  Yes, sometimes by Friday, I am tired of it, but that rarely happens.  When it does, I bring a sandwich or plan on buying my lunch.   Here is what goes into the process.

1. Meat - I chose what type of meat.  I can't eat red meat, so I usually rotate between ground turkey and chicken.  I'll cook up the ground turkey and add some spices.  Once it's cooked thoroughly, I add salsa.  This gives it a little more flavor and makes it easier to stir in other ingredients.   

 

2. Carbs - I decide between pasta and rice.  I usually go for pasta, but sometimes I need to shake things up and I cook up some rice.  For the rice, I just use those boil a bag, just cause it's a lot easier.  If I use pasta I pick from any shape and style.

 

3. Vegetables - I usually pick whatever looks good in the grocery store.  A lot of my go-tos are broccoli, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and cauliflower.  I don't have a steamer (or even room for one in my tiny kitchen), but I found this basket thing that is boil proof. 

 

I just chop up the vegetables, put it in the basket, put the basket in the pot and cover for 5-10 minutes.  

 

The vegetables turn out great.  I have been getting cherry tomatoes and cutting those in froths.  I won't steam them, but just add them raw.

4. Cheese - Every casserole has to have cheese.  And I believe that more is better. :)  For all but one of my dishes I just buy a bag of shredded cheese at the store.  If I am making something with the ground turkey, I usually go for a nacho type mix.  If it's chicken, usually sharp cheddar.  I have a Mac & Cheese recipe from my grandmother that I do sometimes and add chicken and veggies if I feel like making it healthier.  For that one I get cubes of sharp cheddar and then sprinkle on some different shredded cheese on top.

 

5. Bake - I mix everything in a casserole dish and put it in the oven for 10-15 minutes.  Everything has already been cooked, except the tomatoes, so it shouldn't take long for the cheese to melt and give it that nice crunch on the top.

 

Once it's done, I usually have a bowl for dinner and then put the rest into tupperware for the week.  These that I use you can get from getting Chinese delivered, or do what I do and buy 25 for like $10.  They are the perfect size for a lunch and not too bulky to put a bunch in the fridge for the week.

 

With so many different choices I can make, I have yet to get bored with my lunch. 

Do you bring your lunch to work?  Do you have any lunch hacks that are good and easy?  

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0