Meal Prep Ideas

Pictured: Everything Anything Rice with sriracha

Here is a much requested blog post on meal prep and easy, weeknight meals.  Life is so busy! Weekday meals are challenging. But, with a little creativity and a bit of meal prep a quick and delicious meal is just minutes away. If we can take an hour every weekend to prep a few staples, then weekday dinners can and will be so much easier. 

Here’s a few preps I like to do…

---Bake a huge pack of chicken breasts…

• Place chicken in a 13x9in pan and season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder
• Drizzle a little olive oil on top
• Bake at 375 for about 40 mins or till cooked through 
• Cool the chicken then dice up/shred
• Separate and store 2-3 cups in quart size Ziploc bags.

Ideas for using shredded chicken…

--- Add to cooked pasta with peas. 1/2 cup shredded parmesan, a splash of cream or half and half, maybe some cooked mushrooms. Add a quick salad from your already prepped veggies and you are good to go. This would take you less than 20 minutes

Pictured is a version of the dish

--- Fry up some of the cooked chicken in a bit of butter, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. (It won’t be hot but adds tons of flavor). Heat up some refried beans (add a tablespoon or 2 of butter to the beans). Heat up some flour tortillas. Chop some green onion, shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, avocado and salsa. Bam!! Chicken Burritos your kids will love and devour.  

--- How about Broccoli Chicken casserole (see previous posting)? Make on meal prep day to cook and eat on a weeknight! 

The possibilities are endless! Just use your imagination

Next, I like to make sure my family gets vegetables in their diet. One thing I like to do is prep a salad.

• I take my biggest Rubbermaid bowl and put in our favorite vegetables. I will chop celery, cucumber, carrots, radishes, grape tomatoes, red or orange bell pepper and any other vegetable they request. 
• I’ll add some chopped up nuts, such as, walnuts, almonds, cashews, or pumpkin seeds. Then a small handful of Craisins to round it out. 
• On top of the veggies I place a head or two of chopped Romaine Lettuce. No need to mix till you are ready to use it for the first time.  
• Place a paper towel or two on top before you place lid on. Store in fridge upside down. The excess moisture will be absorbed by the paper towel and you will have yummy salad through out the week. Just mix and add dressing when ready. 

This makes a lot so you could use it for a few family salads. I like to add the baked chicken I mentioned above, and serve with a warm loaf of bread.

***Always chop extra vegetables to set aside for other meals.

Another good meal prep is to cook up some rice. With the cooked rice you can make a quick meal that I like to call Everything and Anything Rice. 

I usually make Everything and Anything Rice with sausage that I cook but this time I cooked up some extra bacon and bratswurst earlier in the week and I didn’t want them to go to waste. This is what I came up with…

• In a skillet add 1T olive oil and I chopped red pepper

• Sauté for 3 minutes then add shallot (you can do onion but I had a shallot I needed to use)   
• Cook 2 minutes
• Then I added leftover peas, about a cup of frozen corn, chopped leftover bacon and 1 diced bratwurst

• Heat through; stirring occasionally 
• Add 1 Tablespoon butter
• When butter has melted add the cooked ( 3 - 4 cups) rice you have prepped.  
• Heat through, Serve and Enjoy

This took me less than 10 mins because my veggies were prepped and my rice was cooked earlier in the week. It made enough to feed 4 adults and make 2 lunches. 

It makes you feel so much better during the week to have some of the work already done. Just put on some music or a TV show and for one hour prep some meals for your week. Its easy on the budget, because you won't be eating out. And, it's great for those nights you need to feed your family in a hurry.
Next week, I will be showing how I meal plan for our family. Eating nutritious healthy meals doesn’t have to be complicated or break the bank. It just needs a little bit of planning and organization. 

Remember cooking for your family is an act of love not a chore. 

Till next time!

Lar