Coffee with MC: What We're Eating, Loving & Doing for Our Future Selves

This week's Coffee with MC is basically a collection of all the things making life a little easier — and a little more delicious — right now. We're talking recipes worth adding to the regular rotation, small ways we're looking out for our future selves, and the tiny luxuries that bring an unreasonable amount of joy.

If something from the episode caught your attention, we've gathered the recipes, links, and favorites all in one place below.

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First things first: food. Here's what we're cooking, saving, and coming back to lately.

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One recipe Meg is especially loving right now is the Zucchini & Sausage Baked Orzo with Hot Honey & Feta. It's a great one to make ahead and freeze so your future self has dinner waiting.

And speaking of recipes worth keeping in your back pocket, MC is sharing a few tried-and-true favorites of her own. First up: a family classic from Mrs. Carolyn.

A simple, classic taco filling that deserves a permanent spot in the dinner rotation.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. chili powder

Directions

1. Brown the ground chuck and onion. Drain off any fat.
2. Add the tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, salt, and chili powder.
3. Simmer until the sauce thickens.
4. Serve with your favorite taco shells or tortillas and toppings.

Savory, slightly sweet, and finished at high heat for those crispy edges — this one is worth the wait.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. beef chuck roast, cut into thirds
• ⅓ cup low-sodium tamari
• 2 tbsp. miso
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 3 tbsp. fresh ginger (about 3 inches), finely grated
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• Green onion, for garnish
• Sesame seeds, for garnish
• If using a Dutch oven or foil-covered roasting pan: 1 cup beef bone broth

Directions

1. If using a Dutch oven or roasting pan covered with aluminum foil, add 1 cup beef bone broth to the pot before roasting. If your roasting pan has a cover, you can omit it.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
3. Combine the tamari, miso, honey, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Whisk well.
4. Pour the mixture over the beef and toss to coat evenly.
5. Add the meat to your roasting dish, cover, and roast for 3 hours.
6. Check for doneness. If the meat pulls apart easily, shred it into large chunks and toss it in the juices. If it doesn't, cover and return it to the oven for 30 more minutes.
7. Once shredded, increase the oven temperature to 450°F. Return the meat to the oven uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the top layer gets crispy.
8. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion.

Slow Cooker Option

• Low: 8-10 hours
• High: 4-6 hours

For the nights when you want something cozy without spending the whole evening in the kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans corn, with liquid
• 1 package Ranch dressing mix
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 jalapeño, halved and thinly sliced (remove the seeds for less heat)
• 2 (8 oz.) packages light cream cheese
• 4 chicken breasts, or 3 breasts + 2 thighs
• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
• 2 cans Rotel

Directions

1. Sauté the diced onion in the olive oil.
2. Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Pour the corn with its liquid, Rotel, black beans, jalapeño, and sautéed onion over the chicken.
4. Add the Ranch mix, cumin, and chili powder, stirring the ingredients around the chicken.
5. Place both blocks of cream cheese on top.
6. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
7. At the end of the cooking time, stir the softened cream cheese thoroughly into the chili.
8. Use two forks to shred the chicken.
9. Stir in the chopped cilantro and serve.

Sometimes the best thing you can do today is make life a little easier for yourself tomorrow. These are a few things helping us do exactly that.

Put It on Paper

Meg's current go-to is the Ink + Volt Task Planner, which helps keep priorities, tasks, and all those things floating around in your head in one place.

And while we're talking productivity, Meg swears by the 4 D's of Time Management: Do, Defer, Delegate, and Delete. Read more about the approach here.

Comfortable Shoes Count, Too

MC is currently reaching for Rothy's Casual Clogs — because making tomorrow easier can absolutely include having a pair of shoes you're excited to put on.

Light the Candle

MC's current candle fixation comes courtesy of Hotel Lobby Candle. Consider this your permission to light the good candle on an ordinary day.

And finally, the little things. They might not be necessities, but sometimes they make an average Tuesday significantly better.

Meg's Favorite After-Dinner Treat

For something sweet after dinner, Meg's current favorite is Trü Frü. Chocolate-covered fruit in the freezer? Say less.

MC's Tiny Spoon Collection

Yes, tiny spoons.

Why? We may never fully know. But there's something delightful about an everyday object that exists mostly because it makes you happy.

Whether it's stocking the freezer with a meal you'll be thrilled to find later, getting tomorrow's priorities out of your head and onto paper, or eating dessert with an unnecessarily tiny spoon, this week's Coffee with MC is a reminder that taking care of yourself doesn't always have to be complicated.

Sometimes it looks like dinner already made. Sometimes it's a really good candle.

And sometimes, apparently, it's a tiny spoon.