Meal Prep 3/23/20

Potatoes, Pork, & Beans

Potatoes : 4-5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled, boiled, and mashed with 4 tbsp butter, 2 oz cream cheese, milk (to desired consistency), garlic powder and salt to taste. 

Pork : 4-5 lb pork loin cooked in the crockpot with 1 can of beer, 1-2 cups of apple cider,  and about 1 cup of barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 6+ hours until internal temperature reaches at least 190.  Pork is safe to eat when internal temp reaches 145, but it will be more pull-able if the temp reaches closer to 200.  

Beans : 2 lbs green beans, tossed with olive oil, garlic powder, and salt.  Roasted at 425 for 15 minutes. 

Meal Prep 3/1/20

Ground Turkey, Risotto, and Broccoli

3 lbs ground turkey ($9.99)

1+ lb arborio rice ($3.00)

2 lbs broccoli ($9.23)

I cooked the turkey in a wok with blueberry barbecue sauce and added some chopped mushrooms at the end.  I made the risotto with chopped onion and chicken broth (64 oz @ $3.98).  I roasted the broccoli at 400 for 30 minutes. 

Makes 12-15 meals, depending on size.  ($2.19-$1.75 per meal)

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.

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.

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. 

Meal Prep 4/8/19

I used to want to be really creative with my meal prepping each week, partly because it was fun and partly because it's nice to eat really different meals every week.  Lately though, I just want to do whatever is quickest and easiest so that it doesn't take too much time out of my weekend.  This weekend, I was sick in bed with the stomach bug all day Saturday, so I found myself once again wanting something super quick to cook on Sunday.  Didn't want my whole weekend to be spent either in bed or doing chores!

Pesto pasta : 1 lb pasta, cooked according to box.  (I used Barilla Cellentani, whatever you choose make sure it has at least 8 servings).  Once pasta has been cooked and drained, return it to the pot and toss with 4-5 tbsp pesto.  Make sure you get 1-2 tbsp of oil out of the jar.  If your pesto is drier, add some olive oil to the pasta.  Sauté 1/2 yellow onion and about 8 mushrooms, then mix in with the pasta.  Divide into 10 portions.

Chicken : 2 packages b/s chicken thighs (about 14 thighs).  Layer in a large glass baking dish and sprinkle with garlic powder.  Bake in the oven at 425-450 until internal temperature in the largest thigh reaches 160 (25-40 minutes).  Chop and divide into 10 portions.

Brussels sprouts : 2 lbs fresh sprouts. Chop into bite-sized pieces, toss with olive oil and garlic powder, distribute evenly onto 2 baking sheets, bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.  Divide into 10 portions.

We are excited for another delicious meal!

Meal Prep 4/1/19

Last week's lunches were delicious, but there was something in those brats that tore us up!  I don't know if it was just the fact that they are full of preservatives and we are not used to eating such processed food, or if it was something else, but by Wednesday I was eating around the brats and throwing them out.  I hate wasting food, but my stomach thanked me for not eating them any more.  This is the downside to eating healthy, if you want to call it a downside... The further away I get from processed foods, the harder it is for my stomach to handle them on the rare occasions when I do eat them.

After last week, I felt like we needed something much lighter this week, so I decided to make tuna risotto.  With double the veggies.

Risotto : Chop 1 sweet onion and brown in olive oil in a large pot.  When onion is browned, add minced garlic to taste, and 1 pound of arborio rice. Stir to coat rice with oil, then add enough chicken broth to cover the rice.  Simmer, adding chicken broth as necessary.  If you run out of chicken broth, use water.  I used 32 oz of broth and about 2 cups of water. Chop 8 or 9 mushrooms and add them with the last 1/2 cup or so of water.  Rice is done when it is creamy and not crunchy.

Tuna : Open and drain 3 12oz cans of tuna.  Add to the risotto after it has been removed from the heat and mix well.

Veggies : Chop and roast 2 lbs of Brussels sprouts in the oven around 450 for 10 minutes.  Chop 10-11 medium carrots.  Sauté in a skillet with olive oil and garlic powder to taste.

Meal Prep 3/4/19

Back to one of my favorites...pasta and meatballs!  

Meatballs :  3 lbs ground beef (I used 80/20 this time.  It's fattier than I normally buy, but it comes in a 3 lb package for convenience.) Mix ground beef with 2 eggs and about 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs (you know I didn't measure those breadcrumbs, I just poured them).  Shape into 25-30 balls.  Drop into a pot filled with sauce, cover and cook on medium for 90-120 minutes.  For sauce, I used a big 2 lb 13 oz jar of Prego Fresh Mushroom.  

Pasta :  1 lb of penne rigate, cooked according to package instructions.  Mixed with the sauce left in the pot after I removed the meatballs.  

Broccoli :  2 lbs fresh broccoli, coated with olive oil and garlic powder and roasted.  My oven was set to 425, I think it was actually around 475.  The broccoli roasted for 10 minutes. 

I turned the oven setting down to 395 after that to roast something else, and when it dinged to say it was at 395 I checked the thermometer I have in the oven.  It said 450.  A new oven is next on our list of big-purchase items.  As soon as we make time to go pick one out...  

Meal Prep 2/25/19

Pot Roast : (It's actually a london broil because it was cheaper...) 2.5 lbs of beef, place in bottom of crock pot, season with garlic powder and salt to taste.  Add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, and one can full of water.  Cook on low for about 6-7 hours.  This one cooked until the power went out due to high winds...I think it was right around 6 hours.  Might have been a little less. Use forks to shred the meat. 

Risotto : Chop 1/2 onion and saute til starting to brown.  Add 1 lb arborio rice, stir to coat with oil, then add enough chicken stock to cover the rice.  Cook slowly, adding chicken stock or water as needed, until the rice is creamy and not crunchy.  Season to taste.  You know what I used...garlic powder and more garlic powder.

Carrots : Chop 2 lbs of carrots and saute. 


The vegetables came up a bit short on this one, I ended up supplementing two of the meals with other veggies I had leftover in the fridge.

Meal Prep 2/18/19

Pork Tenderloin : Cover with garlic powder and bake in the oven at 400 for 60 minutes (until internal temp reaches above 140)

Sweet Potatoes : Peel 3 small-medium sweet potatoes and cut in half.  Place in a pot, cover with water, boil until soft enough to mash.  Mash with milk, salt, and garlic powder.

Purple Potatoes : Peel 6 purple potatoes.  Place in a pot, cover with water, boil until soft enough to mash.  (The water turned turquoise while they were boiling...so weird!) Mash with milk, salt, and garlic powder.

Green Beans : 2lbs fresh green beans. Check through the beans and remove stems.  Spread out on a large baking sheet, coat with olive oil, garlic powder, and a bit of salt.  Bake for 12-15 minutes. Stir about halfway through.

Meal Prep 2/11/19

Chicken : Boneless/skinless thighs, 2 packs (6-8 per pack).  Season with garlic powder and bake in the oven at 425 for 35 minutes.  (Use a thermometer to check for thorough cooking - I stuck the thermometer in several different pieces to be sure they had all reached an internal temperature of 165.)

Brussels Sprouts : 2 lbs of sprouts, cut into bite-sized pieces.  Tossed with bacon grease and seasoned with garlic powder.  Roasted at 425 for 12-15 minutes. 

Pasta : 1.5 lbs of tri-color rotini, cooked according to instructions on the box.  Tossed with Classico Sundried Tomato Alfredo sauce.

Makes 11 meals.

Meal Prep 2/4/19

Pork-Turkey meatballs

Risotto

Broccoli

Meatballs : 1 lb ground pork, 2 lbs ground turkey, 1 egg, garlic powder.  Shape into 30 balls, place them in a single layer in a large skillet, cover, cook on medium heat.  Stir occasionally.  Add some soy sauce and mustard to the liquid that gathers in the skillet.  

Risotto : Chop some onion, brown in a saucepan with olive oil.  Add 1 lb arborio rice, stir to coat with oil.  Add enough chicken broth to cover, cook on low, adding more broth or water as it is absorbed by the rice, until the rice is done.  

Broccoli : Coat with olive oil and garlic powder, roast in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes.  

Meal Prep 1/28/19

This week I roasted everything in the oven!  Temperatures are approximate, because my oven is temperamental and I am fairly positive that it always runs hotter than I set it to.  When in doubt, set your oven to 400 and check every ten minutes for done-ness...

Pork Tenderloin : Sprinkle garlic powder and oregano over a 2.5 pound pork tenderloin, then bake at 400 for 45 minutes.

Brussels Sprouts : Chop 2 lbs of sprouts, coat with olive oil and garlic powder, and roast at 425 for 10 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes : Peel and chop 3 potatoes, coat with olive oil and garlic powder, and roast at 450 for 20-30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Petite Tri-Color potatoes : Chop 20 potatoes, coat with olive oil and garlic powder, and roast at 425 for 10-20 minutes.  Stir halfway through.

I ended up with about 1 extra serving of potatoes and 2-3 extra servings of brussels sprouts. 

Meal Prep Monday 1/21/19

PB Beef Stir Fry

makes 8 servings

Rice : Cook 1.5 cups brown rice according to directions on package.  

Broccoli : Spread 2 lbs fresh broccoli on a baking sheet.  Coat with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic powder, and roast at 400 for 12 minutes.  

Marinade : Mix 1/2 c chicken stock, 1/4 c soy sauce, 2 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp wasabi paste, and 1 tbsp ginger powder.  

Beef : Toss 3 packages of stir fry beef with the marinade, let sit while you heat olive oil in a large skillet.  When oil is hot, add beef and marinade.  Stir in a heaping 1/4 cup of peanut butter.  Stir frequently, remove beef and liquid from the skillet to a large bowl when the beef is done. 

Cabbage : Chop a small head of cabbage, and cook in the beef drippings after beer and marinade have been removed.  Once cabbage is cooked, add it to the bowl with the beef and mix well.  

I had about 1 serving of beef and cabbage left, but the rice and broccoli came out to 8 servings each. 

Meal Prep 1/7/19

As I typed the date in the title for this post, I realized that I most likely wrote 2018 on the last check I filled out...oops.  Time to get used to writing a new year on everything! 

After a long and relaxing break filled with family time and Netflix, I head back to work today!  While I can't say it was nice to wake up to an alarm after days of sleeping in til 10, I am ready to get back into my daily routine.  I definitely function a lot better on a set schedule! 

Ground turkey was on sale this weekend, and we really liked the turkey meatballs I made a little while back, so I decided to make them again.  Add some fried rice and roasted brussels sprouts, and we are excited for this week's lunches! 

The meatballs : 2 lbs ground turkey, one egg, scant 1/2 cup italian breadcrumbs.  Shape into 20-25 balls.  In a large lidded skillet, place meatballs in a single layer.  Pour in just enough liquid to cover the bottom of the skillet.  (Last time I used chicken broth.  I didn't have any broth this time, so I used beer...) Mix 2 tbsp mustard, 1/2 c soy sauce, and some garlic powder, and pour over the meatballs.  Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally to turn the meatballs.  When they are about cooked through, remove the lid and allow most of the liquid to cook off. 


The brussels sprouts : Quarter 4 lbs brussels sprouts and spread them out on 2 large baking sheets.  Coat with olive oil, garlic powder, and a dash of salt.  Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.  (It may take longer....I'm fairly certain that my oven runs hot.  According to the thermometer I put in it, it is running at least 25 degrees hotter than it is set to.)

The rice : 2.5 cups brown rice, 5 cups water, dash of salt, garlic powder.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until water is absorbed.  Chop 5 carrots and 1/4 onion.  Cook the carrots and onions in the meatball drippings, then add the rice.  Fry the rice, adding oil as needed.  We didn't fry it too heavily or add egg like I originally intended because it was a LOT of rice.  (2.5 cups was 10 servings according to the bag, but we ended up with closer to 12-13 portions.)

Meal Prep 11/12/18

The Protein : 2.58 lbs catfish nuggets.  Cooked in a large skillet with some olive oil and about 1 tsp of yellow mustard, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and 1 tbsp minced garlic.  (I totally guessed on those amounts...) I kept the lid on for most of the cooking, stirring occasionally. 

2nd Protein : 1 cup navy beans, simmered until done.

The Veggies : 13 carrots, 12 oz frozen corn, 6 mushrooms.  Sauteed with garlic powder in the drippings left in the catfish skillet.

The Carb : 2 cups tricolor quinoa, cooked in 2 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water, with some garlic powder and a dash of salt.  (Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 15 minutes)

Makes 10 meals. 

Meal Prep : 11/5/18

Oh, Daylight Savings Time...When are we going to abolish this ridiculousness?  I've gotten used to driving to work in the dark, I'd much rather keep that than deal with this running in the dark evenings thing...  Also, I couldn't sleep in yesterday morning because the sun woke me up. I was worried the girls would be up even earlier than usual because of the time change, but instead I was the one who got up early!  Since I couldn't fall back asleep, I made the most of it and got lunches cooked and packed before we left for breakfast and church at 9:30.  (With help from Coby when he got up and joined me not too long after I got started).  Teamwork always helps make this meal-prep adventure go even faster, which allows more time in the day for fun stuff!  

2.8 lb pork tenderloin

7 small-medium russet potatoes

3 large sweet potatoes

3 lbs frozen green beans

onion

mushrooms

The pork was crusted with garlic powder, oregano, and basil, and baked at 450 for 1 hour.

The potatoes were peeled and boiled (1 pot for the russets, and 1 pot for the sweets), then mashed together with a dash of salt, some garlic powder, and just enough heavy cream (we were out of milk...).

I browned some onions in a large skillet, then added the green beans and steamed/sauteed them.  I added a large handful of chopped mushrooms near the end.


The pork was split 10 ways.  Coby got 2 large spoonfuls of potatoes, I got 1.5 spoonfuls.  I got about 4 scoops of beans and Coby got about 3 scoops.  There were no leftovers of pork or beans, but there was 1 sandwich-container full of leftover potatoes. 

Meal Prep : 10/22/18

4 lbs boneless chicken thighs

1 lb arborio rice

24 oz frozen peas

12 oz frozen corn

3 carrots

onion

mushrooms

Chicken : Preheat the oven to 425.  Lay the chicken in a large glass baking dish, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with a generous amount of garlic powder.  Bake for 30 minutes. (Use a thermometer to check that they have reached an internal temperature of 160-165 before removing from the oven.)  

Risotto : Chop about 2/3 of a sweet onion and brown in olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the rice, stir to coat with oil, then add enough chicken broth to cover.  Simmer gently.  When most of the liquid is soaked up, add the drippings from the baking dish you used for the chicken.  Add minced garlic if desired.  Continue adding chicken broth as needed.  Grate the carrots and them to the pot.  Remove from heat when rice is creamy and tender.  

Veggies : Cook frozen veggies in a large skillet with some olive oil, garlic powder, and a bit of water.  Add chopped mushrooms, cook til done. 

Meal Prep : 10/15/18

I was not impressed with any of the meat prices this week, so I ended up with a package of 10 for $10 boneless pork chops.  Not the best deal, but not the worst either.  I had already decided on sweet potatoes for the carb, and then I picked up a 2 lb bag of fresh broccoli and 2 bags of frozen cauliflower. 

I chopped up the pork and put it in a large skillet, covered, on medium heat.  I removed the lid occasionally to stir.  When most of the pink was gone, I removed the lid and added seasonings : garlic powder, ginger powder, mustard powder, a dash of pink salt, and some soy sauce.  After a few more minutes of cooking, there was still a lot of liquid in the pan from the meat, so I mixed 1 tsp of corn starch with about 1/2 c chicken broth, and added that to the pan.  I let it cook til the liquid thickened into a light gravy. 

The sweet potatoes were chopped and cooked in a bit of olive oil with some garlic powder and salt. 

The broccoli was steamed in a bit of water, and then seasoned with garlic powder. The cauliflower was sauteed with a bit of olive oil and then seasoned with...garlic powder of course.

Everything was divided equally between 10 lunches. 
Total time spent on this meal was 1 hour, with my husband and I working together.