Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 3, Episode 2 - Make-Ahead Meals - full transcript

I'm so excited about this.
How beautiful is that?

Baby's on the way, and I'm
getting busy prepping some meals

that are freezer friendly
or a cinch to make.

It smells so good.

Like my hearty black bean
and sweet potato burritos,

my potato bagel
breakfast sandwiches

stuffed with goodness,

a creamy spinach
and artichoke chicken casserole,

and a quick and delicious
salmon supper

cooked entirely on one pan.

How do you like it?
Oh, my gosh.



Perfect in all ways.

[ chuckles ]

oh, yah. Mmm!

Hey! This is me -- molly yeh.

I'm a cookbook author
and food blogger.

[ ding! ]

this is my husband, nick.

This is our new addition...

And this is our home,

our farm on the
north dakota/minnesota border,

the place where I eat,
sleep, and breathe food.

[ camera shutter clicks ]

these look like a party.

My food is a delicious mix



of my chinese and jewish
heritage

and a taste of the midwest.

♪♪

this baby is gonna be here
before I know it,

so I am filling up
my freezer with foods

that can be reheated
in a snap,

and I'm starting
with these sweet potato

black bean burritos.

The sweetness of
the sweet potatoes

and the heartiness
of the black beans,

it all plays together so nicely.

To start, I'm chopping up
my sweet potato,

and I'm gonna roast it.

And I'll spread these
sweet potatoes

out all over my roasting pan.

I'll drizzle my sweet potatoes

with about a tablespoon
of olive oil

to help them get crisp all over.

I'll season them
with some kosher salt

and some black pepper.

And I'll toss these around
to get them

evenly coated in the olive oil.

I have my oven preheating
at 425.

I'm only gonna bake these
for about 15 to 20 minutes.

I want them to still have
a bit of a bite.

I am gonna get my pan heating
with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

And now I'm gonna chop up
half of a spanish onion.

I was never a big meal prepper
before this

because I love cooking
every night.

I like cooking something new.

But I figure,
once this baby arrives,

I'm just not gonna have
as much time to cook,

so I am filling up my freezer
with things

that I can just throw in
the microwave really quickly

and be able to have
at a moments notice.

Oh, man.

Pregnancy breath is real.

I am going to put my onion into
my pan and get this softening.

I'll add a pinch of salt...

2 cloves of garlic.

Now I'll chop up my jalapeño.

I love adding heat whenever
I'm cooking with sweet potatoes.

The sweet and the spiciness
pairs really well together.

That is starting
to smell so good.

I have some chili powder,

and then half a teaspoon
of mexican oregano,

which has some
great notes of citrus.

I'm gonna stir this around,
and I'm gonna let

the spices toast, and that'll
bring out more flavor.

And now I'll grab
some tomato paste.

I am going to add some
drained black beans now.

And then a can of
diced tomatoes.

This spinach is gonna brighten
up all these hearty flavors.

I'm gonna pile it in,
and then it's gonna wilt down

and get all mixed in.

These are gonna be great
for nick, as well.

He loves beans.

I'm gonna check
on my sweet potatoes.

They're looking great.

They're crisp around
on the outside,

but they've still got a bite
on the inside.

I am just gonna dump these
right in.

I'm gonna chop up
some fresh cilantro,

which will add
beautiful brightness to this.

And a big old squeeze
of fresh lime.

I'll add some hot sauce
for some more heat.

Get some black pepper in there.

And now I'll crumble
in my queso fresco.

It's a fresh mexican cheese
that's heavy on the salt,

so it's gonna be so delicious
in these burritos.

But honestly,
you can use pepper jack,

or even cheddar will do great.

Look at all those gorgeous,
bright colors.

Oh, that's good!
Mmm.

The sweet potatoes
are incredible,

and they're balancing out
the spiciness of the peppers.

And that queso fresco
is just the perfect touch.

This is ready to go
into my tortillas

and roll up my burritos.

I'm going for about
a scoopful of filling

to the center of my tortilla.

Now I'll fold the bottom up
and the sides in.

And then I'll roll it
on to itself like so.

Super easy.

Okay, now I'm gonna wrap all of
my burritos in parchment paper,

which will make them
freezer ready.

And it'll be really easy because
then when I re-heat them,

I'm gonna keep them
in the parchment paper,

and then that'll help
steam the burritos.

And look how cute they are.

So these are ready
for the freezer.

They can stay in the freezer
for about three months.

And when they're ready
to reheat, just pop 'em

right in the microwave
for about 3 minutes,

and then they're ready to go.

♪♪

I am making bagels

that I'm gonna turn
into breakfast sandwiches

because bagels are
the best thing ever

and breakfast sandwiches
are the best thing ever.

Right now I am ricing
some russet potatoes

that I've boiled
until they were soft.

And ricing them is gonna
help them

incorporate into my bagel dough.

I've reserved 1 cup of the
boiling water from the potatoes,

and now I'm gonna add
1/2 cup of cool water.

I don't want it to be too hot,
otherwise it'll kill the yeast.

So, next I'm gonna add
1 teaspoon of brown sugar.

That's gonna help
the yeast activate.

And then I'm gonna add
2 1/4 teaspoons

or 1 packet
of active dry yeast.

And I'll stir this around,
and I'm gonna let it sit

for about 5 minutes
until it's foamy on top.

Meanwhile, I'll combine
my dry ingredients.

In the bowl of my stand mixer,

I'm gonna add 6 cups
of high-gluten flour.

High-gluten flour is gonna
give bagels

their signature chewy denseness.

Add 2 tablespoons
of brown sugar,

which will add nice sweetness
to the bagels.

I'm gonna add a tablespoon
of kosher salt.

♪♪

all right.

I'll dump the potatoes right in.

And then my yeast mixture,
which you can tell is activated

because the yeast
is fully dissolved

and the liquid is bubbly on top.

And now a key ingredient
for bagels is barley malt.

Barley malt is gonna
give bagels

that signature bagel-y flavor.

Okay, now I'm gonna mix this

and knead it for about
7 to 10 minutes

until I have a smooth,
thicky dough.

I am so excited for these.

I'm gonna gather it into a ball.

Now, it's important for this
dough to rest

so that the flavors develop
and so the glutens relax.

And so I am going to let this
sit in the refrigerator

for four to six hours.

Although, ideally, it's best
to let it go overnight.

Next up, I'm going to make
the ultimate

all-in-one breakfast
by turning these bagels

into perfect eggy sandwiches...

This one's a little rustic,

but it's gonna taste great.

...Which means we'll be ready
to rock 'n' roll.

Bagels that is.

♪♪

breakfast sandwiches are one of
my all-time favorite foods,

and so today I am
prepping a ton of them,

and it's gonna be super easy.

I'm gonna start by cracking
8 eggs into a bowl.

My chickens have been busy.

I'm ruined for store-bought
eggs now

because my chickens
make the best eggs.

Now I'm gonna add some richness
by adding 1/2 cup of milk.

Some sweet paprika
for some smokiness.

Then I'm also gonna add some
hot sauce for a touch of heat.

And then I'll season it
with salt and pepper.

♪♪

my egg mixture is looking good.

I have my pan here that has been
lined with some parchment,

and there are little wings
on the side

that help me lift out
the eggs once they're baked.

And I'm gonna add some
hash browns to the bottom of it.

I love the texture
that they add.

And I'm gonna season
these with salt and pepper.

Next, I'm gonna sprinkle
the hash browns

with some shredded swiss.

It'll make this nice and melty.

And now I'll pour in
my egg mixture.

Perfect.

I'm gonna bake this at 400

for about 20 minutes
until the egg is set.

My dough is rested.

Oh, it's so beautiful and soft.

Look at that.

And then I'm gonna use
my bench scraper to divide it.

I am so excited about these.

Bagels are definitely one
of my top pregnancy cravings,

so these are coming
at a good time.

All right, I am going to first
shape them into balls

to get them nice and round,

and I'm gonna make sure
that the seams on the bottom

are pinched really, really well.

And then to get the hole
in the middle,

I just take my thumb
and I stick it straight down.

And I'll use a couple of fingers
to make the hole bigger --

to about 2 inches.

I don't like my bagels to have
too big of a hole.

I like them to be puffy and just
really doughy and chewy.

Beautiful.

This one's a little rustic,

but it's gonna taste great.

And now I'm gonna
finish the rest.

♪♪

all of my bagels are shaped,

and they've rested
for about 15 minutes

just to add
some more rise to them.

And now I'm gonna boil them.

It's really important
to boil bagels.

That gives them their signature
chewy exterior.

So, I have some boiling water.

I'm also gonna add some
baking soda to the water,

and that's gonna
help them brown.

And then I'm gonna also add
a tablespoon

of that barley malt syrup

just to drive home
that barley flavor.

One minute on each side is the
perfect amount of boiling time.

And ready to flip.

These are looking gorgeous.

So I have two sheet pans here
that have been lined

with parchment and also greased
because at this point,

the bagels get really sticky, so
it's important to grease them.

♪♪

so, the last thing
I'm gonna do before

I stick these in the oven
to bake is

I am going to dust them
with some flour.

I'm gonna make it snow
on my bagels.

And this is just
my decorative preference.

You don't have to do this.
All right.

Now, before I can stick
these in the oven,

I'm gonna grab
my baked eggs out.

They are smelling so good.

This is looking beautiful.

It's a little bit browned on
top, and they're nice and set.

Now I'm gonna bake my bagels
at 450 for about 10 minutes,

and I'm gonna rotate them
halfway through.

And I'll know they're done
when they're golden brown.

♪♪

I'm gonna slice my egg
into nine nice squares.

♪♪

okay, I'm gonna check
on my bagels now.

[ sniffs ]

I really think that bagel
smell should be a perfume

because these smell so good.

To assemble,
I'll slice a bagel in half,

and I'll top it
with a piece of egg,

then a slice of cheese,

and then a piece
of canadian bacon.

I'm so excited about this.

How beautiful is that?

I have some cute
parchment bags here.

And I'll place this into a bag.

So, nick and I are definitely
gonna have to dive

into these right now,

but I'm gonna wrap the rest
of these up for the freezer.

And when you're ready
to re-heat,

just peel off the sticker,
and microwave it for about

3 minutes right in the bag.

Hello.
Hey.

I brought you a sandwich.
Oh, my gosh.

It's a potato bagel
breakfast sandwich.

There's canadian bacon
and swiss on it.

This is so good.

This is a test run just to
make sure that we like them.

I like that
they're super doughy.

Mmm.

How do you like it?

Oh, my gosh.

Perfect in all ways.

[ chuckles ]

next, there's my rich and creamy
spinach and artichoke

chicken casserole
with savory biscuits.

And nick is going to try
his hand

at making a beautiful
salmon supper with me.

What are my rules
about salting?

You must salt all layers.

Yes!

I am so in love with
this next dish

because it is the combination
of two of my favorite things --

chicken and biscuits
and spinach and artichoke dip.

I have some butter melting in
a big skillet, and to it,

I'm gonna add a whole onion
that I've chopped.

And I like this dish because
I'm starting it in

my big skillet,
and all the ingredients

are just gonna go right in here.

So it's pretty easy cleanup.

I'm gonna add a pinch
of salt to these.

Now I'm gonna add my garlic
to the pan.

And let the house start to fill
with this amazing smell.

Okay, so the next thing
I'm gonna add

is a 1/4 cup of flour.

And the combination
of the flour and the butter

is gonna make a roux, and that's
gonna thicken up my sauce.

Add 2 cups of milk,
but I'm gonna add it in batches

because I want it to thicken up
and get really smooth.

If I add it too quickly,
the sauce could break.

So I'm stirring this really well
to make sure that

that roux incorporates
into the milk,

and then the roux
is gonna thicken up my milk.

This is a step that you want to
stir almost continuously.

And when it coats
the back of a spoon,

that's how you know
it's thick enough.

Now I'll add my chicken bouillon
to the mixture,

and this is gonna make it taste
like cream of chicken soup.

I'm gonna add some dried thyme,

which to me is the signature
flavor of chicken and biscuits.

I'm gonna add a couple of
pinches of crushed red pepper,

just for a little heat.

I have some
chopped chicken breast here.

Chicken thigh will work, too.

And this has been cut
into bite size pieces,

and I'm gonna cook it
right in my mixture,

so it's gonna soak up
all of that delicious flavor.

I'm gonna cook the chicken
for about 10 to 15 minutes

until it's totally cooked
and no longer pink.

This dish is the definition
of comfort for me.

There's creaminess and chicken,
and with the biscuits

that are gonna go on top,
it's gonna be so good.

I am going to add a block
of cream cheese.

It's light cream cheese, though,
so it's good for you.

I have been craving so much
cream cheese

while I've been pregnant.

I put it on everything.

This is just a block
of frozen spinach

that has thawed and drained.

Okay, so the next thing
I'm gonna add --

I have some canned artichokes.

I've got them drained here.

When you're meal prepping, you
just want to simplify your life.

♪♪

who saw artichokes and thought,

"maybe if I wrestle with this
for a little bit

I can get something
tasty out of it"?

Thank you, first person,
for eating the artichoke.

And then I'm gonna add
some parsley

and fresh-cracked
pepper to this.

Okay, I'm gonna taste this now.

This is so creamy and delicious.

Now, I'm gonna do the scariest
kitchen task in the world,

which is opening
a can of biscuits.

Wish me luck.

♪♪

we survived.

Okay, so I'm making
mini casseroles today,

and I'm gonna put them
in these little foil dishes

because they're cute and I don't
want to have to worry

about re-heating
a giant casserole.

I'm gonna add a ladle-full
of mixture to my foil tin.

And now I'll top it
with a biscuit.

I love it when these bake
and the bottom of the biscuit

soaks into this mixture
and gets all nice and soft.

Okay, now I'm gonna brush it
with egg wash of top

so that it gets
shiny and golden.

And then I'll add
some fresh black pepper...

And some flaky salt.

I love these big salt crystals.

They add nice crunch.

And I'm gonna cover
it with foil.

And then it'll be ready
for the freezer.

And now I'm gonna
build the rest.

♪♪

these can go in the freezer
for up to three months.

To reheat them, just peel off
any stickers and pop them

in the oven at 400 degrees
for about 25 minutes.

[ ding ]

and then uncover them
and continue

baking for 20 minutes longer

until they're golden brown
and heated through.

I think you guys are gonna love
these freezer meals,

but I still have
one more meal for you.

Well, nick does.

Next up, something you
don't have to make ahead

because it's so quick
and easy --

my salmon sheet pan supper
with a creamy horseradish sauce.

I am ready to eat this.

Well, look who I brought
in from the farm.

Nick thought he was just getting
a breakfast sandwich,

but he's also gonna
help me cook dinner.

Are you ready?

We'll find out.
Okay.

We're making something
super easy.

It's a salmon
sheet pan supper.

It's one of our
weeknight go-tos

because it's
quick, delicious,

and they're isn't
a lot of cleanup.

So we're putting these
fingerling potatoes

on our sheet pan,
and I'm gonna toss them

with about a tablespoon
of olive oil

to help them get crispy.

And do you want to
season with salt?

What are my rules
about salting?

You must salt all layers.

Yes!
I've come a long way.

Okay, I'm also gonna add
some fresh pepper.

So these potatoes take longer
to cook than the broccolini

and the salmon that
we're also gonna be cooking,

so I'm gonna put these
in first.

They're gonna go in at 425
for 15 minutes.

Next, we're gonna make
a sauce for it.

We're gonna make a horseradish
yogurt-y mayo sauce.

So, I'm gonna get
a tablespoon of capers.

Do you want to add
1 1/2 teaspoons

of horseradish
to the bowl?

Next, we're gonna
add the juice

of half a lemon
into the sauce.

Nick: Okay.

Three tablespoons
of greek yogurt

and 3 tablespoons
of mayonnaise.

I am ready to eat this.

Let's season with
salt and pepper.

♪♪

while you stir that sauce,
I'm gonna check on the potatoes.

They're smelling good.

Okay, they are just
starting to get crispy

around the edges,
which is what I want.

You can do the honors.
Oh, okay.

Mmm! Mm!

It's really creamy.

So, do you want to grab
the broccolini

and the salmon
from the fridge?

Okay.
Yes.

And then the broccolini can just
go right in the middle.

Okay.

You can
just throw it.

Yes!
[ chuckles ]

I'm gonna start drizzling
this with olive oil.

I'm so glad that you
like salmon now

because I had
to eat it in secret

when you were away
on your travels.

[ laughs ]
I used to not like salmon,

but in the past few years,
I've come to love it.

I'm gonna season
with salt.

And that's basically it
for the prep.

Easy.
[ laughs ]

so this is gonna go in the oven
for another 15 minutes

until the salmon is cooked
through and firm to the touch.

♪♪

it smells so good
in here.

Nick made
a delicious meal.

I can smell it.
What does it smell like?

[ sniffs ] success.

[ laughs ]

let's see how it looks.
Do you want to get it out?

That's beautiful.
Mmm!

Look at what you did.

This looks great.

The salmon is done-zo,
so are the other veggies.

Now I'm gonna squeeze this lemon
all over the sheet pan.

It'll just brighten
everything up.

It's gonna go great
on the salmon.

-And now we plate.
-The best part.

Yeah.

Nick:
It smells wonderful.

Oh, I love
these potatoes.

Okay, here you go.

Mmm!

You made a great sauce.

I'm digging into
the pink potato first,

and I think that might mean
that we're gonna have a girl.

Nick: I can't wait
for our baby.

It's gonna have
no bad qualities.

One thing I really
look forward to is

watching our baby grow up
on this farm...

Aww!
...Like me.

It's like
baby meets farm.

[ both laugh ]