🍱 This Week — Cook Fast

Jacob & Madina · built around Madina's menu + what's on hand · tap a step ↓

🥕 Market
🔪 Prep
🔥 Cook
🍽️ Eat

🍽️ Madina's menu this week

DinnerProteinWhen
🍛 Ground-beef Japanese curry + rice + edamame~40gCook 1st · best day 2 · covers 2 nights
🥦 Fried cauliflower cutlets (egg + panko) + edamame + guac~20gFun night
🥩 Beef short ribs + polenta~45gLater in week · weekend braise
🥫 Tuna sandwich / bowl~35gLazy night · no cook
🥑 Guac (extra)—Throughout

🥕 On hand — no shopping needed for these

ground beef ✓canned tuna ✓ eggs ✓S&B curry roux ×3 ✓rice + quinoa ✓ polenta ×2 ✓broccoli ✓edamame ✓ onion · carrot · potato ✓avocado · jalapeño · cilantro ✓cucumber ✓

🛒 Only-if-missing (a few dishes need these)

cauliflowerpanko / breadcrumbs beef short ribssandwich bread

Curry, tuna-bowl & guac run on what you have. The cauliflower cutlets need cauliflower + panko; short ribs + bread for the sandwich are the only real grabs — flag Madina if not already home.

📋 Shopping list page: jacob-market-list.pages.dev

🔪 Mise en place — do it once (~20 min)

Cut everything up front, then cooking is fast. Board + knife, top to bottom.

1
Thaw: ground beef to the fridge. Short ribs too if doing them this week.
2
Onion: dice 2 — for the curry, guac, tuna, and the short-rib braise.
3
Curry veg: chunk 1 carrot + 1 potato (bite-size) for the beef curry.
4
Cauliflower: cut into ½-inch slabs/steaks (they hold the breading better than florets).
5
Breading station: 3 bowls — flour+salt · beaten egg · panko. Ready for the cutlets.
6
Jalapeño + cilantro: fine-dice jalapeño (seeds out), chop cilantro → guac + tuna + garnish.
7
Cucumber: slice — for the tuna sandwich / bowl. (Optional green side: broccoli florets on an oiled tray — no dish needs it.)
8
Hold avocado — mash only the night you eat it.

Store cut onion/jalapeño/cilantro in the fridge — good 3–4 days. That's why weeknights are fast.

⚡ Fastest way to cook everything

  1. One 35-min session → rice + boiled eggs + edamame + all the chopping, and make the beef curry (it covers 2 nights).
  2. Short ribs = start when you've got a ~3-hr window (weekend) — 15 min hands-on, the rest is the oven doing the work.
  3. Cutlets (25 min) & tuna (5 min, no-cook) = quick à-la-minute nights, nothing to pre-do.

That's the whole week from basically one real session + one braise.

🔥 The 35-min batch (do it once)

Passive things first, everything overlaps:

0:00
Rice on (~20 min, hands-off) — feeds the curry + tuna bowl.
0:02
6 eggs to boil (12 min) — for the cutlet breading, a topper, + snacks.
0:05
Start the beef curry (recipe below) — simmers while everything else goes.
0:12
Eggs → ice bath. Edamame → 5-min boil, salt.
0:15
Chop the Prep-tab veg now if you haven't (curry veg, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, cauliflower slabs).
0:35
Done. Rice + eggs + edamame ready, curry thickened + packed. Cutlets / short ribs cook fresh their night.

Want a green side? Roast a broccoli tray at 425°F alongside — optional, no dish needs it.

🍛 Ground-beef Japanese curry (30 min)

Need: 1 lb ground beef · 1 onion · 1 carrot · 1 potato · 3 cups water · 3–4 S&B roux cubes · rice + edamame to serve

  1. Brown 1 lb ground beef in a pot; spoon off excess fat.
  2. Add diced onion, carrot, potato — cook 3 min.
  3. Add 3 cups water, simmer 15 min until veg tender.
  4. Off heat, melt in 3–4 S&B roux cubes; low 5 min to thicken.
  5. Over rice + salted edamame. Freezes great — make extra.

🥦 Fried cauliflower cutlets (25 min)

Need: 1 head cauliflower (½-inch slabs) · ½ cup flour · 2 eggs · 1 cup panko · ½-inch oil to fry · salt

  1. Steam/microwave cauliflower slabs 4 min so they cook through when fried.
  2. Dredge: flour → egg → panko (press panko on).
  3. Shallow-fry in ½-inch oil, medium-high, 2–3 min/side to deep golden. Drain, salt.
  4. Serve with edamame + a scoop of guac. Squeeze of citrus cuts the richness.

🥩 Beef short ribs + polenta (weekend braise)

Need: 2–3 lbs bone-in short ribs · 1 onion · 2 Tbsp tomato paste · 1 cup stock/water · salt · polenta (1 cup : 4 cups water) · butter

  1. Sear salted short ribs on all sides in a heavy pot; remove.
  2. Soften onion, add a splash of water/stock + tomato, return ribs.
  3. Cover, 325°F 2.5–3 hrs until fall-apart tender.
  4. Polenta: whisk into simmering salted water ~5:1, stir 15–20 min till creamy; finish with a knob of butter. Ribs on top.

🥫 Tuna sandwich / bowl (no cook, 5 min)

  1. Mix drained tuna + a little mayo/olive oil, diced onion, salt, squeeze citrus.
  2. Sandwich: on bread with cucumber. Bowl: over rice with avocado + cilantro.

🥑 Guac (5 min, day-of)

  1. Mash 2 avocados.
  2. Fold in diced onion, jalapeño, cilantro, salt, squeeze citrus. Taste + adjust.

🍽️ Build each plate (10 min a night)

NightBuild it
🍛 Beef curryreheat curry over rice + salted edamame
🥦 Cauliflower cutletsfry fresh → edamame + a scoop of guac + citrus
🥩 Short ribscreamy polenta → ribs on top → sauce spooned over
🥫 Tunasandwich w/ cucumber, or bowl over rice + avocado (no cook)

Order: beef curry first (covers 2 nights), cutlets + tuna on quick nights, short ribs on the weekend. Boiled eggs + guac stretch across all of them.

🍳 Fast breakfasts (hit your protein)

  • Greek yogurt + banana/clementine + a spoon of dates
  • 2–3 eggs + leftover veg
  • Boiled egg + fruit on the run

Built around Madina's menu · highprotein-plan.pages.dev
📚 Full system & everything else — the complete plan (breakfasts, freezer, rotation, tips) in case anything here's missing.