Meal Prep 2/24/20

Creamy Cheesy Chicken with Quinoa and Brussels Sprouts

Chicken : 5.8 lbs B/S chicken breast.  Chop into bite sized pieces, cook in a large skillet with a little bit of olive oil.  When you can't see any pink, add garlic, ground ginger, 2-3 tbsp dijon mustard, and1 c heavy cream.  For thicker sauce, mix 2 tbsp corn starch with a bit of cold water, then pour over chicken mixture.  Add 2.5 oz spinach and 4 oz chopped mushrooms.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until spinach is wilted and mushrooms are cooked.  Add 2 large handfuls of shredded cheese, stir til melted, and remove from heat.

Quinoa : Cook 3 cups quinoa according to directions on package.  We used about 1.5 cups of tri-color and 1.5 cups of red quinoa. 

Brussels Sprouts : Chop 3 lbs brussels sprouts, spread out on baking sheets, coat with olive oil and garlic powder, roast at 400 for 30 minutes. 

Makes 12 meals. 

5.8 lbs chicken $11.64

4 oz mushrooms $0.99

16 oz quinoa $3.50

2.5 oz spinach $1.75

3 lbs brussels sprouts $7.23

$25.11 / 12 = $2.09 per meal

Meal Prep 2/17/20

Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole

1.3 lbs pasta shells
36 oz canned tuna
12 oz frozen peas
24 oz frozen cauliflower
1/2 c navy beans
minced garlic
2 (ish) cups milk
4 tbsp butter
1/3 c flour
shredded cheddar cheese
breadcrumbs

Cook pasta according to directions on box.  Cook the beans according to directions on package, then drain excess water. Drain the tuna.   Cook frozen cauliflower in a wok or large skillet.  Add minced garlic (to taste) and dijon mustard (to taste) when cauliflower is no longer frozen.  Add peas.  Cook til peas are no longer frozen.  Turn off heat, add tuna, mix well.  In a saucepan, combine butter and milk.  Stir on medium heat until butter is melted.  Add flour, stir til combined.  Add a few big handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese.  Stir until cheese melts.  In a large glass baking dish (or 2), combine pasta, tuna/vegetable mix, and cheese sauce.  I filled a 9x13 inch dish and a 7x11 inch dish.  Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and more shredded cheddar. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 25-30 minutes.  Makes 12 lunches.

Workout Wednesday 2/12/20

Monday's exercise line-up at school : 

40/12, 1:20 rest between sets, 3 rounds

Yesterday, I did another circuit workout, this time at home, with my mom. 
I used the TRX bosu/for a few exercises.  Modifications for no TRX are in parentheses. 

40/12, 1:20 rest between sets, 3 rounds

1) jumping jacks
2) 1 leg TRX pistol squats (variation : regular squats with weights)
3) calf raises
4) TRX row, standing on Bosu (variation : shoulder L)
5) TRX Tricep extension (variation : tricep chair dips)
6) pushups
7) lunges
8) boxer twist
9) shoulder bridge
10) plank

Meal Prep 2/10/20

Venison Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans this week!  Hubs decided to spread the meatloaf out in the pan instead of making it into a loaf shape, so we ended up with something resembling a meat cake with ketchup icing!

Meatloaf 
3 lbs ground venison, 2 eggs, 1/4 c (ish) Italian breadcrumbs.  Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes (internal temp 160).  Ketchup sauce : a mix of brown sugar and ketchup.  I paid zero attention to the amounts this time...

Mashed Potatoes 
5 lbs yukon gold potatoes.  Boil til soft, then mash with 1/4 c butter, 2 oz cream cheese, milk, garlic powder, and salt to taste. 

Green Beans 
36 oz frozen french cut green beans.  Sauté with garlic and mustard to taste.

Grayson Highlands 1/25/20

Brrrrrrrr...it was so cold!  And windy!  And there was snow blowing around!  But we had a great time wandering around in search of ponies and views.  Walk faster stay warmer is what I always say!

5 people crazy enough to go hiking in the winter.  

Surprisingly, we were not the only ones out there!

February running challenge

Aaaand of course I forgot to post the February running challenge.  6 days late is better than not at all (like the January challenge...) right?

I didn't quite manage to complete the January challenge (thanks, flu), and I modified 1 or 2 of the boxes I did complete, but I did my best!  I'm hopeful that I will actually complete this one...

Here's what January's looked like : 

Workout Wednesday 2/5/20

I just made it to 4 weeks with 2 workouts per week!  My abs still feel like they are dying every time I try to do any ab work, but hopefully they will start feeling stronger soon... On the not so bright side, my favorite pair of pants, which have been getting reeeallly hard to pull over my quads for awhile now, finally ripped in the seat yesterday so...RIP, favorite pants. 

Here's this week's workout from my class at school.  

3 rounds, 40 seconds on, 12 seconds off, 1:30 rest between rounds

Yesterday I did TRX at home, and then I added the Bosu for some of the ab work.  Apparently I like to torture myself.  I'm gonna get those abs stronger one way or another!

Meal Prep 2/3/20

Back to one of my all-time favorites...pasta and meatballs!  I'm glad my sister helped me chop all those carrots because that pile was never-ending! 

Meatballs 
3 lbs 80/20 ground beef
1 lb 93/7 ground beef
1/4 c (ish) italian bread crumbs
2 eggs
oregano and garlic powder to taste

Mix it all up together and shape into balls.  I made 45 (3 for each lunch).  Layer in a large pot (I fit 30 on the bottom layer and then just spread out the remaining 15 on top), cover with your favorite sauce (Prego Fresh Mushroom) cover, turn heat to medium, and cook for about 1.5 hours.  Cut open a meatball when you think they are done to make sure there is no pink.

Pasta
Cook 2 lbs of pasta according to directions on box.

Veggies
Chop about 3 lbs carrots and saute in large pot with some olive oil.  Add 1 bag frozen peas when carrots are soft.  Add garlic powder to taste.