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 2/25/19

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 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

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 : 10/15/18

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. 

Meal Prep : 10/8/18

White Bean Mac n Cheese

1 lb shell pasta

2 cups navy beans

2 bags frozen peas

1 head of cabbage

1/4 sweet onion

butter, cream cheese, milk, shredded cheese, sliced cheese, flour

I didn't intend for this meal to be vegetarian, but a) I forgot to add the tuna, and b) the mac and cheese is so full of beans it probably doesn't need any more protein.  

Cook pasta and beans each according to the directions on their packaging.  Saute onion until beginning to brown, then add peas and cook until done.  Add garlic powder if desired.  Chop cabbage and saute in olive oil on high heat until cooked through and beginning to crisp.  Add garlic powder if desired.  

For the cheese sauce, heat a few tablespoons each of butter and cream cheese in a saucepan with about 1 cup of milk.  Add 1/4 c flour and 1-2 cups of shredded cheese.  Stir frequently, cook until everything is melted.  Combine with beans and pasta, transfer to a baking dish, cover with slices of cheese, and bake at 375 for 35 minutes.  

Each meal was 1/2 c each of peas and cabbage, and a large spoonful of mac n cheese.  

Meal Prep 10/1/18

Meatballs : 1 lb ground turkey, 1 lb ground pork, 1 egg, 2 tbsp ranch dressing, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp oregano, 2 tsp ground mustard.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.  (Makes 27)

Sweet Potatoes : (5 medium-large) chop into bite sized pieces, toss with olive oil, garlic powder, and sea salt.  Bake at 400 for 40 minutes, stirring half way. 

Green Beans : (2 lbs) Toss with olive oil, garlic powder, and sea salt.  Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes, stirring half way. 

I was pretty excited when I realized this whole meal could be baked in the oven, at the same time.  Oven means no pots and pans to wash (just foil-line some baking sheets!) and since I could use the same temperature, I was able to cook the potatoes and beans at the same time, which saved time!

These lunches looked pretty small after last week's super full containers, so we will be supplementing with triscuits... Also I realized after I got in bed last night that I forgot to cook the cabbage I bought to go in these meals...oops.  I was too busy trying to get the cooking done so I could hang out with the girls before they left!  We do have it down to a pretty good system at least...while I am cooking, the girls help Coby with cleaning the house. 

Meal Prep 9/17/18

2.5 c brown rice

pork loin

1 package frozen peas

2 lbs carrots

5 mushrooms

onion

garlic

Place rice, 5 cups water, salt & garlic powder to taste in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then cover and cook on low for 45-50 minutes.  

Cook the pork with barbecue sauce and a can of Guinness in a crockpot set on high for 5 hours, then shred using two forks.  After shredding, I used a knife to cut the strips into bite-sized pieces.

Chop about 1/4 sweet onion and brown in some olive oil.  Add minced garlic and chopped carrots.  When carrots are almost cooked, add the frozen peas.  When peas are almost done, add chopped mushrooms.  

I made 10 lunches.  Each got 1/2 c rice, 1/2 c pulled pork, and 1 c vegetables.  There was some pork left over.  

Meal Prep Monday : 4/16/18

Chicken, Risotto, Broccoli & Carrots

14 boneless chicken thighs : $10.81

1 lb arborio rice : $2.49

2 lbs fresh broccoli florets : $4.74

2 lbs carrots : $1.79

8 oz mushrooms : $2.49

1 vidalia onion : $0.49

chicken broth : homemade

total cost : $22.81

14 meals 

Chicken : Bake in a glass dish at 425 for 25-30 minutes (until an internal temperature of 160+ is reached).  I did not put any seasonings on the chicken this time, it was baked as-is.

Risotto : Chop 1/4 onion and saute in olive oil until it begins to brown, then add rice, and stir to coat with oil.  Add enough chicken broth to cover, and simmer.  Add more broth as needed, until the rice is cooked.  When the rice was about done, I added about 6 chopped radishes and 4 oz chopped mushrooms.  I also added a dash of salt and a generous amount of garlic powder.

The veggies : Steam the broccoli with some olive oil and garlic powder.  Remove the broccoli from the pan to cool, then chop the carrots and steam them with olive oil and garlic powder. 

Meal Prep : 4/9/18

Pasta, Meatballs, Brussels Sprouts, & Cauliflower

1 lb ground beef 93/7 : $5.99

1 lb ground beef 90/10 : $5.49

1 lb ground pork : $2.99

2 lbs rigatoni : $2.00

24 oz brussels sprouts : $3.99

36 oz frozen cauliflower : $3.57

64 oz Prego fresh mushroom sauce : $5.49

8 oz mushrooms : $1.29

total cost : $30.81

(pasta & meatballs : 19 meals, veggies : 15 meals)

Meatballs : Mix the beef and pork with 2 eggs and a few tbsp of bread crumbs.  Shape into 1-1.5 inch balls, place in a large pot, and pour the sauce over them.  Cover and simmer for 1.5-2 hours.  

Pasta : Wait until the meatballs are done, Boil in salted water for 10-12 minutes, then mix with some of the sauce from the meatballs.  

Brussels Sprouts : Chop and steam/saute with olive oil, garlic powder, and a bit of water, until it's not too hard to pierce them with a fork. 

Cauliflower : Steam/saute with olive oil and garlic powder.  Add chopped mushrooms when the cauliflower is almost done.  

Meal Prep Monday : 3/26/18

Pork Roast, Mashed Potatoes, & Green Beans

The Pork Roast : Preheat the oven to 350.  Sprinkle the top of a 5.5 lb pork roast with garlic powder, basil, and a bit of salt.  Bake for 60-80 minutes (until internal temp reaches 140).  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.  Slice into 23 slices, then cut them each in half for a total of 46 slices.  3 in each lunch, 1 lunch gets 4 of the smaller end pieces.  

The Potatoes : I bought a 5 lb bag of Yukon Gold potatoes.  I forget exactly how many I peeled, but I would guess it was 3.5-4 lbs.  Peel and boil the potatoes, then mash with a few tbsp of butter (I used Kerrygold this week), garlic powder, basil, and just enough milk to get the right consistency.  Each lunch gets a big spoonful. 

The Beans : Steam 64 oz of frozen beans with a bit of olive oil and some garlic powder.  Add 8 chopped mushrooms when the beans are almost done.  In a separate pan, saute 2 chopped yellow onions with olive oil and garlic powder.  When the onions are done, mix them with the beans.  Each lunch gets 2 large spoonfuls.  

I got 15 lunches made this week. 

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Pork Roast : $11

Potatoes : $5

Beans : $2

Meal Prep Monday : 3/19/18

Pesto Pasta with Chicken, Veggies, & Navy Beans

*makes 18 servings*

cost : <$23.92 

(see bottom of post for ingredient list with prices)

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The pasta : Cook 2 lbs rotini, drain, and toss with olive oil and pesto.  I think I used 2-3 tbsp of olive oil and 4-5 tbsp of pesto. 

The chicken : Preheat oven to 450.  Coat 6 b/s chicken breasts with olive oil, then sprinkle on garlic powder, basil, and oregano.  Bake until internal temperature reaches 160.  I couldn't fit all 6 in one pan, the first 4 took 35-40 minutes and the last 2 took about 30 minutes.  Cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes, then shred/chop into bite-sized pieces.  

The veggies : In a large skillet, steam broccoli with some olive oil and 1/2 cup of water until tender.  Watch to make sure you remove it from the heat while the broccoli is still bright green.  If it turns dull green, it has been overcooked.  Once the broccoli has been removed from the skillet, add some more olive oil and about 2/3 c chopped onion.  When the onion begins to brown, add 1 lb chopped carrots.  When the carrots are almost done, add 1 package of frozen cauliflower.  Chop 9 mushrooms and add them when the cauliflower no longer looks frozen.  Cook til cauliflower and mushrooms are done.  Mix these vegetables with the broccoli.  Chop up any large pieces of broccoli or cauliflower so that all pieces are bite-sized. 

The beans : Pour one package of navy beans into a pot, cover with an inch or two of water.  Simmer on stove until soft.  

The meal : Each meal got 1/3 chicken breast, about 3/4 c each of pasta and veggies, and 1/8 c beans.  

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Ingredient List 

6 b/s chicken breasts : $9.28

2 lbs rotini pasta : $2.00

2 lbs fresh broccoli florets : $3.99

12 oz frozen cauliflower : $1.19

1 lb carrots : $0.99

1 lb navy beans : $1.39

8 oz mushrooms : $1.29 (I used about 3/4 of the package)

8 oz pesto : $3.79 (I think I used 1-2 oz)

My total cost at the store was $23.92, but since I had some leftover ingredients, the cost of the meal is less. 

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Wondering why I made 18 servings this week?  I've been making 10 servings a week for awhile now, to feed both my boyfriend and I.  Some of my coworkers have expressed interest in my meals on and off throughout the year.  2 weeks ago, I had some leftover food so I brought some meals for a coworker, and asked who else would be interested.  Since I was on spring break when I made this pasta meal, I had extra time, so it was easy enough to make all this extra food.  I imagine some of my coworkers will appreciate not having to worry about all their meals for the first week back from break!  

Meal Prep : 2/19/18

White Bean & Chicken Mac n Cheese

Peas with Zucchini

The mac stuff : 2 B/S chicken breasts, poached and shredded .  1/2 pound of navy beans, simmered til soft. 1/2 lb elbow macaroni, cooked and drained.  2 carrots, grated. 

The mac sauce : 2 tbsp butter, 2 oz cream cheese, 1+ c milk, 1/4 c flour, some garlic powder, 1 cup chopped swiss cheese, 1 cup chopped monterey cheese. Melt all ingredients together in a small saucepan. 

Building the mac : Layer the shredded chicken on the bottom of a glass dish.  Mix the beans, macaroni, carrots, and cheese sauce together, and then pour the mixture over the chicken.  Add a few slices of cheese on top.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. 

The veggies : 1/4 onion, chopped and sauteed in olive oil.  2 large zucchini, chopped.  2 bags of frozen peas.  Add the zucchini to the pan when the onions are translucent, cook for a minute or two, then add the frozen peas, cover the pan, and cook til done. 

Makes 8 lunches. 

Meal Prep Monday : 2/27-3/3

Well, I survived my black beans and lentils last week!  It did occur to me early in the week that I was eating baby food though...mushy beans, mushy potatoes, mushy lentils... I'm rewarding myself for all that protein-filled mush by eating pasta this week.

Lunch This Week

Meatballs

Pasta

Green Beans

Meatballs : 1 lb lean ground beef (93/7) mixed with 1 egg, a bunch of garlic powder, and some breadcrumbs.  Cooked in Prego mushroom tomato sauce with a bit of alfredo sauce for about 90 minutes.  

Pasta : Penne pasta, tossed in sauce from the meatball pot.

Green Beans : I sauteed some onion with garlic powder and olive oil, then added a bag of frozen french-cut beans.  Cooked til tender enough to eat.  I did cover the pan for a little while to let them steam.  

The meal : 3 meatballs, a large spoonful of pasta, and 1/5 of the green beans.  

Meal Prep Monday : 2/13 - 2/17

This week I had to do my cooking on Saturday instead of Sunday, since I was gone just about all day Sunday for the 10 miler in Blacksburg.  I didn't feel like being too productive on Saturday, so I went for something simple.

Lunch This Week

Chicken Breast

Pesto Pasta

Carrots & Cabbage

Chicken Breast : I had a pizza night with my friends a few weeks ago, and ended up with a jar of artichokes and a jar of sun-dried tomatoes to finish on my own.  Once I had eaten them, there was still lots of liquid left in the jars, that I didn't want to just dump out.  In a sudden moment of inspiration, I dumped out both jars into a pot with some chicken breast, added enough broth to cover the chicken, and poached the chicken.  It came out delicious and tender.  I happened to buy both artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes this weekend because they are yummy, and because I wanted to cook chicken that way again.  Except this time I stole the liquid out of the jars before I actually ate the food out of them.  

Place two chicken breasts in the bottom of a saucepan.  Add artichoke and sun dried tomato liquids, then add chicken or vegetable broth until the chicken is well covered.  Add a generous amount of garlic powder.  Bring to a boil, uncovered.  Once a boil is reached, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit for 15-20 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred, it should be very tender.  Last time I made this, I let the chicken sit in the liquid to keep it extra moist and just cut off the amount I needed each day.  This week I didn't want the "extra work" during the week so I just portioned it out. 

Pesto Pasta : I believe I cooked slightly less than 1/2 pound.  Cook pasta according to directions on box.  Toss with a generous amount of pesto, and a dollop of alfredo sauce.  

Carrots and Cabbage : I chopped about 5 carrots and sauteed them with some olive oil.  I covered the pan for a little bit at the beginning to help them soften faster.  I divided the carrots into my five lunch containers, then used the same pan to cook some finely chopped cabbage.  I didn't have a lot of cabbage left, so there wasn't very much to divide up in my container, just a spoonful for each.  I also added a tiny bit of sauteed onions to each container.  

The meal : Thin layer of carrots, spoonful of cabbage, covered with a serving of pasta, topped with some shredded chicken.  

Like last week, I will be supplementing each meal with some green grapes (on sale again!) or sugar snap peas.  

Meal Prep Monday : 2/6 - 2/10

Last school year, I had just about the exact same thing for lunch every day.  A tuna-egg salad sandwich, a golden delicious apple, and potato chips.  This was all well and good...relatively healthy, easy to make, and I somehow never completely got sick of it, though it did get old occasionally.

This school year however,  I am at a new school.  Where my commute is about 15 minutes longer.  And where I no longer have to wait in line for a microwave at lunch.  So I decided I was done with the sandwiches.  It saves me time in the morning if I can just grab a pre-packed container out of the fridge, and not have to make a sandwich and slice an apple (since I can't bite apples ever since my bike wreck in November 2015).

So now, I spend some time in the kitchen every Sunday afternoon, cooking up a meal to portion out into 5 containers to take to lunch each day during the school week.  I am loving this new routine.  I get to eat something slightly different each week, and it is so nice to just grab and go in the morning!


I've been keeping track of each week's meals for awhile now, but haven't gotten around to getting them on here.  I'm going to try to start posting them each Monday now.   And the one's I haven't posted yet will be saved for the random weeks when I don't get around to cooking and end up scrounging all week instead.

Lunch This Week

Pork roast

Risotto

Cabbage

Pork Roast : Pre-heat oven to 450.  Lightly coat a pork roast with olive oil, and then sprinkle the top with garlic powder (a lot of it, in my case) and oregano.  Bake for approximately 1 hour.  I use a meat thermometer to check temperature, and remove from the oven once it gets past 145 degrees.  A smaller roast will take less than an hour, a larger one takes more. 

Risotto : I'm not a huge fan of rice, I much prefer pasta.  However, I'm trying not to eat pasta every day...gotta change it up once in awhile.  And I do like risotto.  It's time consuming, so I don't make it too often, but occasionally I talk myself into it.  I have found that it does matter what kind of rice you use, I have had zero luck with brown rice, but arborio rice works great.  

First, I sauteed some chopped onion in olive oil.  While the onion was sauteeing, I grated a carrot and added that to the pot.  When the onions were translucent, I added about a cup of rice and some more olive oil, and stirred to coat the rice.  I then added about 1/2 cup of white wine.  I stirred occasionally to make sure nothing was sticking.  Then I warmed up about 4 cups of  chicken stock and vegetable stock in the microwave, and added it about 1 cup at a time, only adding more each time all liquid was absorbed.  When the risotto was almost done, I added a couple of chopped mushrooms and some garlic powder.  

Cabbage : I finely chopped some cabbage and sauteed it in olive oil with some garlic powder.  

The meal : A thin layer of cabbage, topped with a big spoonful of risotto, and 2 slices of pork. 

I usually cook more vegetables, but just wasn't enthused by any of my options this week.  I will supplement each lunch with some green grapes or sugar snap peas for extra fruit/veggie though.  I haven't had grapes in a while, but they were on sale this week and looked good so I couldn't resist!