If you’re not familiar with meal prepping, it’s simply a thoughtful way to plan out several days worth of meals for you and your family. And what’s not to love about that idea? It’s like taking the age-old question “what’s for dinner?” and turning it on its head.

In the spirit of making life a little less stressful and a little more delicious, our take on meal-prepping involves a collection of versatile recipes that 1) can be easily made ahead of time (Sunday afternoon, here’s looking at you!), 2) make a lot of servings, 3) keep well in the fridge, 4) offer a variety of flavors, colors and textures, and 5) can be combined in creative ways, so that you don’t feel like you’re eating the same thing every day.

Read on for the recipes, a game plan with tips on preparing, extras you’ll want to have on hand, and how to create different combinations throughout the week that will keep things tasty and interesting.

MEAL PREPPING RECIPES:

Instant Pot Pinto Bean Chili

White Bean Hummus

Cowboy Caviar

Buttermilk Cornbread

Greens

EXTRAS:

• Additional veggies like grape tomatoes, avocado, bell pepper, green onions, jalapenos, celery sticks, baby carrots, and olives
• Grains and breads like rice, pasta, tortillas, pita bread, chips and crostini
• Dairy/cheeses such as cheddar, feta, sour cream or Greek yogurt

GAME PLAN:

• Familiarize yourself with the recipes, and make a grocery list. Set aside a few hours of weekend time to shop, chop, and cook. Make sure you have lots large food storage containers on hand.
• Note that the chili is made entirely in the Instant Pot, while the hummus and cowboy caviar are cold dishes made with pre-cooked, cooled beans.
• Use your Instant Pot or a pressure cooker as much as possible. Or, multi-task by cooking one batch of beans in the Instant Pot while cooking another batch on the stovetop.
• Feel free to double the White Bean Hummus recipe, which calls for 2 cups cooked Camellia Brand Great Northern Beans. (Cook the entire 1-pound package, and you’ll have 4 cups cooked beans.)
• Cook a batch of your favorite rice and a pound of your chosen pasta. They’ll keep well in the fridge, re-heat easily, and are part of our recommended meal combos.
• The Greens recipe is simple and customizable. Any dark leafy greens will work, such as kale or mustard greens. Cooked greens keep well, can be eaten cold, room-temp, or warmed, and add a healthy punch to meal combos.

MEALS & MEAL COMBOS:

Buttermilk Cornbread in Cast Iron Skillet

Instant Pot Pinto Bean Chili served hot, topped with cheddar, sour cream, and jalapenos — and yummy Buttermilk Cornbread on the side.

Pinto Bean Chili Burrito Bowl

A combo of hot and cool, ladle warm Instant Pot Pinto Bean Chili over rice. Add colorful grape tomatoes, half of a sliced avocado, a sprinkling of chopped green onions, and a hunk of Buttermilk Cornbread.

Pinto Bean Chili Nachos

Spread layers of tortilla chips on a sheet pan, top with dollops of Instant Pot Pinto Bean Chili and layers of shredded cheese. Broil until browned, and sprinkle with grape tomatoes, avocado, green onions and cilantro.

Mediterranean Bowl

A colorful mixture of White Bean Hummus, Collard Greens, and rice (served cold or room-temp — your choice), plus grape tomatoes, olives, and crostini – which are great for dipping/spreading the hummus.

Hummus & Greens Wrap

White Bean Hummus, Collard Greens, julienned bell peppers, and feta, all wrapped up in a large tortilla and served with crunchy crudité like celery sticks and baby carrots.

Cowboy Caviar Pasta Salad

Mix Cowboy Caviar with cold pasta and additional chopped cilantro for a fast, easy lunch.  (The Cowboy Caviar marinates in a nice dressing. Be sure to scoop some  dressing from the bottom of the storage container to toss with the pasta.) A sprinkling of feta cheese is a nice addition.

Peas & Greens Trio Bowl

Cowboy Caviar, Collard Greens and Buttermilk Cornbread, all in one bowl. (Served cold or room-temp – your choice.)

Peas, Greens & Hummus Pita Sandwich

Line a pita pocket with White Bean Hummus, and fill with Collard Greens and Cowboy Caviar for a quick bite.

White Bean, Sausage and Tortellini Soup

White Bean, Sausage and Tortellini Soup is a great weeknight dinner because it cooks quickly and easily in an Instant Pot or multi-cooker. Featuring Italian turkey sausage, Great Northern Beans, fresh cheese tortellini and baby arugula, it’s got all the makings for pleasing kids and adults alike — and packs a nutritious punch. Just add a loaf of crusty bread, and dinner’s ready. The next day, fill a thermos with leftovers for a hot and filling school lunch.

Beans and Greens Soup

Beans and greens is a classic Southern combination, and a soup version is a delightful way to experiment with those ingredients. Our master recipe features basic guidelines and quantities and is meant to be personalized to your taste, encouraging you to try different varieties and combinations of beans, vegetables, greens, broth and seasonings. And whether you make it vegan, vegetarian or with chicken or beef broth, you’ll love the end result. For a complex, flavorful soup that’s incredibly satisfying, we used Green Baby Limas with a variety of onions and vegetables, plus vegetable broth. A real winner.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

You’ll love this heartwarming Split Pea and Ham Soup from our friend Mary Foreman at DeepSouthDish.com. Chopped onion, celery and carrot are cooked in bacon fat and combined with Green Split Peas, herbs, stock, a meaty ham bone or smoked ham hocks, and then simmered over low heat till the peas are broken down and thick. For over-the-top “croutons”, we made a grilled cheese sandwich with smoked gouda and sourdough bread, cut it up into tiny squares and added a sprinkle of them on top — along with crispy bacon crumbles. Talk about feeling all warm and toasty inside.

Yellow Split Pea & Butternut Squash Stew

Creamy, hearty and filling with a bright blend of spices and seasonings, our vegan Yellow Split Pea & Butternut Squash Stew is an aromatic dish similar to Dal. And its big flavor comes from the use of curry, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon. Along with onions, carrots, garlic and fresh ginger, the combination of spices and vegetables with the Yellow Split Peas and butternut squash make for a wonderful stew. A sprinkled of pepitas on top, and freshly mashed avocado toast alongside it add color, crunch and healthy fat – creating a super healthy meal.

Beef & Lentil Stew

Hearty and comforting, this Beef & Lentil Stew is a true crowd-pleaser. A great dish for Sunday dinner that’ll reward you with leftovers during the week, it uses boneless beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes, along with celery, carrot, onion, spices, beef broth, diced tomatoes and Lentils. A bit of red wine and fresh Italian parsley are stirred in at the end for wonderful flavor. The meat gets tender, the lentils creamy, and the whole thing offers up delicious stick-to-your-ribs goodness.

Beans & Greens – A Dynamic Duo

Beans & greens is a Southern staple — and one of those classic combinations that conjures up fond memories of home-cooked family meals around the dinner table. Cooked down, seasoned and flavored in countless different ways, any beans & greens mixture is a match made in heaven — from Southern Blackeye Peas snuggled up next to Collard Greens, to Shiitake Mushrooms, Butter Beans & Southern Greens over cheese grits, to Pork, Collard & Blackeye Pea Gumbo. Here, we bring you another delicious way to cook the dynamic duo — with a Beans & Greens Soup “master” recipe that features basic guidelines and quantities but is meant to be personalized to your tastes.

In our Beans & Greens soup, we used Green Baby Limas, leeks, shallots, white onion, red onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, fennel, vegetable broth and Swiss chard.

Beans & Green Soup: Step-by-Step How-To

This how-to is as simple as slowly simmering your favorite combination of beans, onions, vegetables, broth and greens. And whether you make it vegan, vegetarian or cook with chicken or beef broth, you’ll love the end result. You’ll start with a little bit of fat, add some spices throughout and end with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar for a wonderful, bright finish. For a complex, flavorful soup that’s incredibly satisfying, we used Green Baby Limas with a variety of onions and vegetables, plus vegetable broth. A real winner.

1. Sauté onions in fat. Our master recipe calls for heating up 2 tablespoons of your favorite fat in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat — like olive oil, avocado oil or butter. Then, add 2 cups of chopped onion, such as white, yellow or red onion, leeks, shallots or any combination of these. (We found that the greater variety of onions you use, the deeper the flavor.)

2. Add aromatic vegetables. Next, add 2 cups of chopped vegetables — anything from carrots and celery to bell peppers and fennel. Your choice. Then sauté all for a few minutes, add some garlic, and cook another minute more. The aroma is amazing.

3. Add broth or stock. Then it’s time for 8 cups of broth or stock. It might be vegetable, chicken, beef, mushroom or ham. Whichever you prefer will work; each will add a unique richness to your soup. (Got some homemade stock in the freezer? This is a great time to use it.) The master recipe is vegetarian, so broth or stock is where you can add a hint of meatiness, if desired.

Use whichever dried beans you have in your pantry. Got a 2 lb. bag? Double the recipe for an easy freezer meal.

4. Add rinsed and sorted beans. A 1-pound bag of rinsed and sorted Camellia Brand Dried Beans goes in the pot next (or if you have a 2-pound bag on hand, double the recipe for an easy freezer meal). You might like Great Northerns, Navy Beans, Lentils or Green Baby Limas. Any of our bean varieties will add their own special flavor and texture; to make your choice, think about how light or how hearty you’d like the soup to be. And keep in mind the cooking time required per the bean variety you choose. For basic cooking times for all of our dried beans, peas and lentils, refer to this bean cooking chart. Soaking, as always, is optional but not necessary.

5. Simmer till beans are tender. The recipe then calls for a sprinkling of red pepper flakes and bringing the whole mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer till beans are tender — mashing as you go if you prefer a creamier soup.

6. Add greens and seasonings. Once the beans are tender, stir in 3 cups of chopped greens — from kale, collard, spinach or arugula to Swiss chard, cabbage or watercress — or any combination of these, plus the vinegar, which might be red wine vinegar, cider, champagne, mirin or white balsamic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until greens are wilted. The more delicate greens will have a lighter texture and wilt quickly, in just a minute or two, but heartier greens (such as collards or chard) may take up to 10-20 minutes. Got some leftover greens? Throw them in and cook till just warmed through.

7. Enjoy! When done, you’ll be rewarded with a hearty, comforting pot of soup that’s satisfying in every possible way. Warm, filling and full of protein, fiber and nutrients — who could ask for a more perfectly pleasing dish? Top a bowl with some fresh Parmesan or croutons, make sure the cornbread’s warm, and sit down to enjoy.

Delicious Blackeye Pea Recipes & More To Start Off The Year Lucky

Who doesn’t hope for a new year filled with good fortune and prosperity? In most cultures, foods prepared for New Year’s Day are said to bring good luck. Every culture has variations, but the recurring themes are: beans – resembling coins or closed circles signifying the end of one year and prosperity in the next;  greens – representing wealth; and pork products because pigs root forward as they eat – symbolizing a positive direction in the upcoming year.

African Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries made one of the most enduring contributions to the modern holiday. Starting in the Carolinas – but later extending throughout the South – Hoppin’ John (blackeye peas and rice) and greens (collard, mustard, or turnip,) became traditional New Year’s fare. Blackeye peas to bring luck, and greens to represent money and prosperity. The tradition of using ham, salt pork, or sausage used to flavor the greens and the blackeye peas started as a frugal way to use less popular cuts from the pig, but the smoky flavor and richness they impart have become an essential and beloved flavor in the dishes.

Garlicky Shrimp & Blackeye Peas

Southern Blackeye Peas

Blackeye Peas One Pot Meal Recipe

Pork, Collards and Black Eye Pea Gumbo Recipe

New Orleans Style Blackeye Peas Recipe

Blackeye Peas and Spinach

Bessie’s Best New Year Blackeyes

Hoppin’ John Recipe

Slow Cooker Spicy Blackeye Peas

Cowboy Caviar

Blackeye Pea Salad

Camellia Brand Black-Eyed Peas

Southern Collard Greens

Braised Collard Greens Recipe

Ana’s Brazilian Style Collard Greens Recipe

Easy Pan Fried Pork Chops

Pork for the New Year

From Humble Origin to Holiday Favorite

The association of blackeye peas with prosperity and a new start can be traced to Western Europe in the Middle Ages, with the symbolic round shape of the dried beans signifying that the old year has been completed, and a new one can begin. Seeing the small dried beans expand in size as they absorbed the cooking liquid also came to symbolize expanding fortune in the coming year. And peas also resemble small coins.

Despite the centuries-old tradition in the Old World, American colonists originally rejected blackeye peas as beneath them. Prior to the Civil War, Northerners typically regarded the humble legume as suitable only as feed for livestock, while Southerners considered them a rough meal for field workers, as the beans were first introduced to the region by enslaved West Africans. When the Civil War finally ended, desperate and starving Southerners revised their opinion of the readily available and nutritious blackeye pea. Slow cooked with smoked ham hocks, or other “lowly” parts of the pig, pots of nutrient-rich blackeye peas literally saved the lives of many families, and that led to their inclusion into the Southern culinary canon, where they remain firmly entrenched and much beloved to this day, most notably as part of the New Year’s Day meal.

Southern Blackeye Peas

Blackeye Peas One Pot Meal Recipe

New Orleans Style Blackeye Peas Recipe

Hoppin’ John Recipe

Blackeyed Peas-and Spinach Recipe

Pork, Collards and Black Eye Pea Gumbo Recipe

Any Way You Slice It, Pork Adds a Beloved Flavor to Peas and Greens.

In the early 1540s Hernando de Soto and his men traversed the Gulf Coast and officially introduced fifteen hogs to the American South. At the time, the consumption of pork was a Christian duty for every Spanish-speaking Catholic. In fact, during the Spanish Inquisition, it became obligatory to have pork simmering in a cauldron or chorizo sausages hanging from the rafters as proof of the household’s faith.

Pork is considered lucky to eat on New Year’s Day in many cultures. The association was formed centuries ago in Europe when wild boars were caught and killed on the first day of the year – providing the family food for months to follow. Additionally, a pig uses its snout to dig in the ground in a forward direction – symbolizing positive momentum. Strengthening the association of plenty in America, on most farms the first cold snap signified that it was time for the annual hog slaughter. Neighbors gathered to pitch in at each house, and livers, cracklins, and chitterlings were enjoyed immediately. The hog fat was boiled and rendered into lard, and all scraps of meat were ground up for sausages. Sides of bacon, hog jowls, shoulders, and hams were cured in salt for weeks before they were hung in the smokehouse along with sausages, ham hocks, and knuckles. Every part of the hog was used, providing an abundance of pork in the larder for the following year.

Pork is an essential flavoring ingredient in blackeye peas and greens, adding a smoky, rich flavor that gives these tradional dishes their soul-satisfying staying power.

Easy Pan Fried Pork Chops

Braised Collard Greens Recipe

Pork, Collards and Black Eye Pea Gumbo Recipe

Greens for Greenbacks

In the American South, greens are a favorite side dish all year, but especially prized as part of part of the New Year’s Day meal. The symbolism is straightforward: greens — whether collard, turnip, mustard, or cabbage, represent paper dollars or “greenbacks.” Greens are typically flavored with ham hocks, salt pork, or sausage – both because those parts of the pig are a frugal way to add a deep and smoky flavor, but also because pigs root forward when foraging, symbolizing positive momentum for the new year. The slow and low cooking method brings out the rich and mouth-watering pork flavor and the tender texture of southern-style greens.

The southern style of cooking of greens originated with the arrival of African slaves to the colonies, and can be traced back to the resourceful cooks who discovered that slow cooking greens and seasoning them with various cuts of smoked pork resulted in a delicious and hearty dish that appears on family tables all over the south today.

Southern Collard Greens

Braised Collard Greens Recipe

Ana’s Brazilian Style Collard Greens Recipe