12 Recipes to Enjoy All Week Long

Sunday cooking can be the most satisfying kind. Not only do you get the relaxing benefits of being in the kitchen and making dinner, but you get the peace of mind of knowing that you don’t need to sweat what you’re going to eat for the upcoming week. When you plan ahead, you create options for yourself—which is the best kind of relief that money (and time) can buy.

For most of us, this peace of mind is what we crave going into a hectic work week. Make these recipes over your weekend and get pumped for the week ahead. You’ll thank yourself on Wednesday, when you just can’t deal: 

• Miso Marinated Flat Iron Steak with Yuzu Kosho
• Dan Barber's Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Purée 
• Patricia Wells' Green Lentil Salad
• Carrot Avocado Salad
• Magical Coffee

What to do with the Miso Marinated Flat Iron Steak with Yuzu Kosho: Make some and have a few slices for dinner. Make a little more, and you’ll have enough for steak tacos or fajitas; you can also use it to replace the steak in this steak salad.

When making Dan Barber's Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Purée, make extra "steaks" and use them in place of the roasted cauliflower in this Curried Cauliflower Soup. If you cut yourself a hefty handful or two of raw cauliflower florets from the heads and set them aside for later in the week, you can add them into this satisfying Orechiette with Cauliflower, Breadcrumbs, Pancetta, and Pepitas.

Knowing how to make Patricia Wells' Green Lentil Salad is a great skill to have up your sleeve. Not only do these lentils make a lovely salad, but you can set some plain lentils aside before they get dressed to stir into soup, or grind them with walnuts for these fabulous tacos. 

Avocados are a staple ingredient: They’re a great source of healthy, delicious fats. Use them as the start to this Carrot Avocado Salad, which you’ll want to eat all week. If you stock up on a few avocados at the store, you can make Guacamole for taco night, as well as Avocado Caesar Salad.

Since it’s the weekend, make a double batch of Magical Coffee and you won’t even need to make your morning cup (or go out for it) all week long. Go ahead and make a batch of these Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, too, and you'll have a little something sweet to pack in your lunches.

Your menu, day by day:

Sunday

• Miso Yuzu Kosho Steak 
• Dan Barber's Cauliflower Steak with Cauliflower Purée
• Patricia Wells' Green Lentil Salad
• Carrot Avocado Salad
• Magical Coffee
• Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Monday

• Curried Cauliflower Soup 
• Carrot Avocado Salad

Tuesday

• Easy Lentil Walnut Tacos with Cabbage Lime Slaw
• Roberto Sanibañez' Classic Guacamole

Wednesday

• Thai Steak Salad 
• Rice

Thursday

• Patricia Wells' Green Lentil Salad
• Avocado Caesar Salad
• Leftover rice

Friday

• Orechiette with Cauliflower, Breadcrumbs, Pancetta, and Pepitas
• Leftover salad

To make your day of cooking just a bit simpler, we've written your grocery list for you:

Serves 4

From the refrigerated and dairy cases:

1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons crème fraîche
6 tablespoons miso paste, preferably red (aka Miso)

From the produce department:

1 large head cauliflower (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)
1 medium onion
2 pounds small carrots
1 orange
1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 avocado
2 cups mixed baby sprouts

From the dry goods, bulk, and international aisles:

1 pound French de Puy lentils
2 cloves
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon Yuzu Kosho
White pepper
1 teaspoon sake
1 teaspoon mirin

From the meat counter: 

2 pounds flat iron steak

We're assuming that you have a healthy supply of kosher salt, pepper, vegetable oil, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, dark brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and sugar. If you don't, add them to your list.

Fifth photo by Sarah Shatz, all others by James Ransom