Chicken Soup

... I didn't actually meal prep this weekend.  We have 3 lunches leftover from last week because of various lunches provided at our workplaces, and we had enough leftovers from dinner last night for 3 more lunches.  And I only need 2 lunches for work this week because we get out at 10 on Wednesday.  So Coby can enjoy some Taco Bell a time or two, and I can make him sandwiches for any other days that he needs lunch since I won't be at work...

I made a giant pot of chicken soup on my snow day off from school last Monday, so I decided to post that this week in place of my normal meal prep post.  I used this recipe from Dishes and Dust bunnies for general guidance.

Chicken Noodle Soup.  Goes well with bacon.

Buy a whole chicken.  4-6 ish lbs is good, ours was 5.8 lbs.  Remove the packet of I-don't-want-to-know-what from the stomach cavity and toss it.  Rinse off the bird and place it in the bottom of a 12 qt stock pot.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil, let boil for a few minutes, then turn the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.  When the meat is starting to come off the bones, remove the chicken from the pot and pull the meat off the bones.  (Coby did this part for me while I was out losing my mind running the 1.1 mile figure 8 loop around our neighborhood for 8.5 miles because it was too snowy to run safely anywhere else.) Return all of the meat and the leg bones to the pot. 

Chop and add a few carrots, about 1/2 onion, a cabbage, a big handful of mushrooms, and a bunch of celery.  Add basil, garlic, and oregano, and salt to taste.  Bring to a boil for a few minutes, then turn back to low, cover, and cook for 2 more hours. 

I cooked up some egg noodles separately and have been adding them to a bowl and then pouring soup over them each time I've eaten the soup.  It also goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches. 

You will have enough soup for many, many meals.  Last time I made this, I froze a bunch of it.  And had enough broth leftover after eating all the substance out of the soup that I could use it to make a few batches of risotto.  This time...we might just eat it until it's gone.  We're about to go on week 2 of soup for dinner and it's so delicious we don't mind.

Meal Prep 12/10/18

Veggies : Quarter 1.5 lbs brussels sprouts, spread on a baking pan, coat with olive oil and garlic powder, bake for 15 minutes at 400.  Spread 2 lbs green beans on another baking pan, coat with olive oil and garlic powder, bake for 10 minutes at 400, stir, then bake another 7-10 minutes. 

Pork Roast : Cover with garlic powder and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

Risotto : Chop 1/3 sweet onion and cook in olive oil until translucent.  Add 1 lb arborio rice and stir to coat in oil, then add 1/2 cup wine.  When the wine is just about cooked off, add enough water to cover the rice.  Add salt, garlic powder or other seasonings to taste.  Simmer and add water as necessary until rice is smooth and creamy.  Add a handful of chopped mushrooms with the last bit of water.

**I only had 1/2 bag of arborio rice, and 1/2 bag of brown rice, so I made two pots of risotto.  Half our lunches have delicious creamy arborio risotto, and the other half have slightly crunchy brown risotto because I can't ever get brown rice to completely lose its crunch...

Meal Prep 12/3/18

36 oz frozen cauliflower : 

toss with olive oil and garlic powder, roast at 450 for 15 minutes, stir, roast 10 more minutes

24 oz brussels sprouts : 

toss with olive oil and garlic powder, roast at 400 for 15 minutes

3 lbs ground turkey : 

mix with 2 eggs and 1/2 c bread crumbs, shape into meatballs, cook in a large, lidded, skillet with just enough chicken broth to cover the bottom of the skillet. Remove lid when meatballs seem cooked through, let cook until all the liquid is gone and meatballs are beginning to brown. 

(Depending on the size of your skillet, you may not be able to fit all the meatballs.  I fit 32 meatballs, and then made 3 turkey burgers with the remaining meat. Each meal got 3 meatballs, so there were 2 leftover plus the burgers.)

7 sweet potatoes : 

peel, chop, boil, mash with milk and garlic powder