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 Monday : 2/12/18

Garlic-crusted pork tenderloin, 

cheesy mashed potatoes and a 

green bean mix. 

The pork : A 1.5 lb pork tenderloin, sprinkled with a generous amount of garlic powder, and baked for 1 hour at 400 degrees.  

The potatoes : 5 small-medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft.  Mash with 2 oz cream cheese, some milk, a dash of salt, a generous shake of garlic powder, and a small handful of shredded cheese (I used monterey).  

The green beans : Chop 1/3 of an onion and saute with 3 pieces of chopped bacon.  Add two 12 oz packages of frozen french cut green beans when the onions and bacon have reached the desired crispiness.  Cover and steam, stirring occasionally.  Chop 10 mushrooms, add them and a large handful of spinach when the beans are done.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has wilted.  

For each meal, I put in a large spoonful of mashed potatoes, filled half of the container with veggies, and added 2 slices of pork. I made 4 lunches because that is all the lunch containers I had at the moment, but had plenty of food left to portion out later in the week. I only needed 4 lunches anyway, because I have some leftover pasta & meatballs from last week. 

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If you aren't a super-active person or are watching your weight, you can leave out the cream cheese, shredded cheese, and bacon.  This meal will still be delicious without them!

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I had this meal prepared Friday night, and then Saturday evening I went to church and discovered that Lent starts this week, which means no meat on Wednesday or Friday.  So I got back in the kitchen on Sunday night and made some bacon-less green beans and some black bean salmon burgers.

Salmon burgers : 1 small can boneless/skinless salmon, 1/3 cup (ish) of black beans, bread crumbs, garlic powder, 1 egg.  I mashed up the beans, beat the egg, and mixed everything together.  I kept adding breadcrumbs until the mixture didn't seem to wet anymore.  I shaped the mixture into 4 burgers, then I put a little bit of olive oil in a pan and cooked them for 3-5 minutes on each side.  

Meal Prep Monday : 1/29/18

This week it's mushroom risotto with ground pork and veggies.

The risotto : Chop 1/3 onion.  Cover the bottom of a medium saucepan with olive oil and add onion.  Cook on medium heat until onion is translucent.  Add a chopped clover of garlic and 1 1/2 c white arborio rice.  Stir well to coat the rice with oil, then add enough chicken broth to cover the rice.  Stir occasionally, and add more broth whenever the previous broth has been absorbed.  I used 32 oz of broth, and then added an additional cup of water with a bit of salt.  I added 3 grated carrots and 6 large mushrooms (chopped) before adding the cup of water.  When most of the water was absorbed, I added the risotto to the pan with the meat & veggies, and mixed it all together.

The meat : I put 1 lb of ground pork in my large pan and let it cook covered.  I occasionally stirred it around and broke up the meat into pieces.  When it was about done I added the veggies.

The veggies : I chopped up a small cabbage, and added it to the pan with the meat when the meat was about done.  I cooked it, stirring occasionally, until it was about done, then I added a 12 oz package of frozen peas and let it continue cooking.  When the peas seemed done, I added the risotto to the pan.

I boxed up this meal into about 6 lunches, with enough left over for another 2 smaller lunches.  

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What are you eating this week?  Leave me a comment!

Meal Prep Monday : 4/3 - 4/7

Lunch This Week 

Leek-Mushroom-Swiss Mac

Baked Chicken Thighs

Mixed Veggies

The Mac : 1/2 lb rotini pasta, boiled and drained.  2 large leeks, stalk portion only, chopped, and rings separated. 4 mushrooms, rough chopped. Leeks were steamed til tender, then I threw the mushrooms in and cooked for another few minutes.  Cheese sauce : 1.5 tbsp butter, 2 oz cream cheese, big handful of shredded colby jack, 2 slices of swiss cheese, 1/2 c milk, 1/4 c flour, garlic powder.  I mixed it all together and poured into a glass baking dish, then I spread 4 slices of swiss cheese on top.  Baked at 425 for 30 minutes (til brown on top)

The Chicken : 4 chicken thighs, baked at 425 for 1 hour.  I didn't season them at all. 

Mixed Veggies : 4 small carrots, sauteed in olive oil until they started to brown.  Then I chopped and added the  leaves from the leeks, 6 mushrooms, and 3 small yellow squash.  

The meal : ...Not the healthiest one I have made, but leek mac n cheese is so delicious!  Gouda is usually my go-to fancy cheese for mac, but I've been on a swiss kick lately so I decided to use that instead.  I won't be eating this every day anyway, I still have some lunches left over from last week because it was a hectic week and I ended up not needing my lunches every day.  (Tuesday was provided by a coworker, and I was out of town Thursday-Sunday)