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 3/25/19

Leeky Mac n Cheese : 1 lb shell pasta, cooked according to directions on box.  2 large leeks, chopped, thoroughly washed, and steamed with olive oil.  Cheese sauce : 2 tbsp butter, 1.5 cups milk, 8 slices Swiss cheese, 2 large handfuls shredded monterey cheese, 1/4 c flour, garlic powder. Melt butter in saucepan, add milk and flour, stir til well combined.  Add garlic powder and cheese, stir til cheese is mostly melted.  Mix cooked pasta and leeks together in a large glass baking dish.  Stir in cheese sauce.  Cover top with a single layer of Swiss cheese slices.  (8 slices fit on mine).  Bake for about 30 minutes at 375-425.  Check after about 20 minutes, you are looking for the cheese on top to brown, but you don't want the pasta to burn.


Brussels Sprouts :  Halve 2 lbs of Brussels sprouts, layer onto 2 large baking trays, coat with olive oil and garlic, roast in the oven at 425-450 for about 10 minutes.

Chicken & Brats : 1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs (2.5-3 lbs), 2 packages Bratwursts.  I had one package of regular brats, and one of beer brats.  I reserved 2 beer brats for dinner Saturday, and cooked the remaining 8 brats in these lunches.  Chop the chicken and brats, cook in a large, lidded saucepan in their own juices.  Stir occasionally.  Add garlic powder to taste. Remove the lid when the pieces look cooked through.  When liquid is getting close to cooked off, add 6 ounces chopped mushrooms.  Cook til done.  Chop and brown a large sweet onion, add a spoonful on top of each serving of meat.

Extra :  We had some sauerkraut leftover from our St Patrick's Day Reubens, which is why we decided to buy brats.  We will have some sauerkraut with these lunches until it is gone.

Meal Prep 3/18/19

Pot Roast : 3+ lb roast.  Place in crockpot, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder.  Add 1 can of Guinness and 1 can of Yuengling.  (Or whatever beer you have lying around that you think will make a tasty roast.) Cook on high for 5-6 hours.

Potatoes : 8-9 medium sized red potatoes.  Chop into chunks and boil til soft.  Mash with butter, salt, garlic, and milk to taste. 

Broccoli :  2 lbs broccoli, roasted in oven for 10 minutes.  450-475 degrees-ish?

Extras :  I sautéed about 3/4 sweet onion and a giant handful of mushrooms to top off the meat. 

Makes about 10 meals.

Meal Prep 3/11/19

I usually try not to do the same carb two weeks in a row, but we went to Lewisburg to see friends and the Pony this weekend, so I wanted something quick and easy to cook when we got back on Sunday.  So here we are with pasta two weeks in a row.  I can't say I mind though...pasta is always my favorite! And just like pasta is our go-to carb, boneless skinless chicken thighs are our go-to meat!  So quick and easy in the oven, and they taste great even if you don't season them.

The Pasta :  2 lbs bowtie pasta, cook according to instructions on the box.  Tossed with 2 giant spoonfuls of pesto and about 14 oz of roasted garlic alfredo sauce.  

The Chicken :  2 packages of boneless skinless thighs (2+ lbs each). Sprinkle generously with garlic powder. The oven was set to 425 for 40 minutes, but knowing my oven it was probably closer to 475.  I had the thighs overcrowded in the baking dish, so that is probably why it took longer than the normal 30 minutes.

The Veggies : 7-8 carrots?  I don't think I ever remembered to count them.  The carrots were chopped and sauteed in olive oil and garlic powder with 3/4 medium sweet onion. I added about 6 oz of chopped mushrooms near the end.  We also chopped and roasted 2 lbs of brussels sprouts, about 1.5 lbs of which was added to the lunches.

I cooked the pasta in my stock pot so that I after I drained it, I could use it as a giant mixing bowl to mix the pasta and veggies together.  The chicken I chopped up in the baking dish after removing it from the oven, and then used a slotted spoon to lift the meat out of the ridiculous amount of fat it was swimming in.  I added about 2 spoonfuls of chicken to each meal.

We got 12 meals this week.

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 2/11/19

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 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 11/26/18

One Pot Beef Stroganoff

I used a 12 qt stock pot to cook this meal. It left plenty of room for stirring without splashing, which was nice.  

Chop and saute 1/2 lg sweet onion, 3 tbsp garlic, and 1 tbsp ginger root.  When the onion begins to brown, add 2 lbs stew beef.  Chop 12 carrots and 6 large celery sticks

Add 21 oz condensed mushroom soup, 1 can of Guinness, 12 oz marinara sauce, and 14.75 oz golden creamed corn.  Mix well, then add chopped carrots and celery.  

When carrots are soft, add 1 lb egg noodles.  When noodles are just about done, add 12 oz frozen peas.  Cook til done. 

Makes 11-12 servings. 

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 : 10/29/18

Pasta & Meatballs

The Meatballs : 1 lb ground pork, 1 lb 93/7 ground beef, 1 lb 85/15 ground beef. 2 eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic powder.  Makes 33 meatballs.  I cooked them in approximately 72 ounces of sauce for 60-90 minutes.  The sauce was a mix of tomato-mushroom, tomato-roasted garlic, tomato-basil, and alfredo.

The Pasta : approximately 1.5 lbs of bowtie noodles.  Cook, drain, mix in sauce left in meatball pot after meatballs are removed.

The Veggies : Sauteed onion, 5 carrots, mushrooms, and 2 packages of frozen cauliflower.

The veggies were split evenly 10 ways, each lunch got 3 meatballs and 1 cup of pasta.   There was still pasta left over, so Coby's lunches each got some more pasta.  There was then about 1 serving of pasta left, so that went with the 2 last meatballs.  (The 33rd got eaten as a taste-test)

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 10/1/18

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 Monday : spring break

 I'm on spring break this week, and staying with friends in Lewisburg until Thursday, so I haven't done any cooking.  But I started cooking weekly meals before I started posting them here, so I'm going to post my meal from the week of January 30-Feb 3.

Pasta Primavera with Chicken

I cooked up a bunch of rotini pasta, and tossed it with olive oil and pesto.  In a large pan, I combined some chopped carrots, a bag of frozen cauliflower, and a bag of frozen broccoli and cooked them together with olive oil and garlic powder.  I added some chopped mushrooms towards the end.  Then I mixed the pasta and veggies together, and portioned it into my lunch containers, adding a few small slices of chicken breast to each container.

Pot Roast Sandwich

For the Pot Roast:

Sprinkle whole wheat flour and brown sugar across the bottom of a crockpot.  Roll a 2.5 lb roast around in the flour and sugar.  Mix together 1/2 c pumpkin, 1/2 c orange juice, and 1 c cranberry juice, then pour the mixture over the roast.  Cook on high for 6 hours, then shred the roast.  

For the Sandwich:

Toast a whole wheat bun.  Put a handful of arugula on the bottom half of the bun.  Cover with pot roast.  Add some tomato slices and avocado. Add the top bun.  

Eat. Devour.