Now that school is
back on our weeks are plenty busy with after school activities along with all
the rest of the stuff we regularly do.
To help me out I decided to get back to meal prepping. To get started, a couple weeks ago I worked
on mapping out ten weeks worth of meal plans.
I made those menus based off of items I already had in my freezer and
pantry. With the exception of some fresh
produce and a few dairy items I pretty much have everything I need already on
hand.
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| This sausage & egg casserole comes together quickly and bakes in the oven while we get chores taken care of |
On Sunday mornings I
pull out all of the meats I'll be using and put them in the refrigerator to
begin thawing. Some components of each
meal may get prepared ahead, such as pasta, rice or chopped vegetables. I also cook up a nice big meal on Sunday with
the idea that there will be leftovers for another supper and a couple lunches.
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| A loaf of bread and variety of meat pulled from our chest freezer |
Right now I also
incorporate sandwich items for quick lunches.
This week I picked up sliced roast beef, turkey and ham at the Winco
deli. Last week I thawed some ground ham
I had in the freezer to make ham salad.
Next week I plan to make tuna salad.
I have several loaves of bread in the freezer and I take one out each
week to thaw in the refrigerator.
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| I make a big garden salad every week |
The rest of the
meals I have planned throughout the week are ones that are quick and easy to
prepare. Some can go into the slow
cooker in the morning and cook all day so they are ready to eat when we get
home. Along with salads I've got plenty
of canned and frozen vegetable that are easy to cook either on the stove or in
the microwave as a quick side dish.
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| Slow cookers are fantastic meal prep options |
My meal prepping
lately takes me less than an hour to do, but saves me loads of time throughout
the week. I'd say that is a wise investment
of my time. Plus, having a plan saves me
a lot of stress when it comes to figuring out what to prepare for supper each
night. Especially when we are tight on
time.
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| Stuffed bell peppers Larger meals = leftovers |
Let me know if you
want to see more detailed meal prep posts in the future.
Yes, I love meal prep blog posts. Even thought it's just hubby and me most of the time, it's nice not to have to cook every single day!!
ReplyDeleteGood to know!
DeleteAwesome! I usually decide what we're going to have for dinner in the morning. I used to make a list of what I wanted to cook that week, then grocery shop, then decide which meal from my list to cook each night. But when we moved, I shop differently (because the sales are SO much better here), and now I just buy the things we normally eat that are on sale and decide what we're having daily. It works for where we are now. :) I am planning on making a list of all the crockpot and Instant Pot meals I make, because those things make dinner so much less of a hassle, especially on evenings when we have stuff going on.
ReplyDeleteI am getting in the habit, however, of preparing- and freezing, if necessary- breakfasts and lunches for my son in advance. A friend is peanut-allergic so I want him to be safe around my kid's food, and my son hates lunch meat (and I don't just want to send him cheese sandwiches), so I'm having to get creative about what I send him. Some days he gets leftovers, some days I cook things like quiche and dole it out all week long. I've also been providing him with a homemade breakfast in the morning- made in advance, because I am NOT a morning person! That kind of planning absolutely saves me, as I just reheat breakfast, and pull out the lunch I packed the night before, and he's ready to go in the morning with no effort. :)
Being prepared saves a ton of time in the mornings, no doubt. Good for you.
DeleteI LOVE your meal prep posts and like to know how well items keep or if they freeze well. Just before I saw your post, I was wondering what I was going to do with 10 yellow peppers and 2 trays of hot turkey sausage. Of course you solved my problem for me--turkey sausage stuffed bell peppers it is!
ReplyDeleteBut do stuffed peppers freeze well? Do I bake first then freeze? Or freeze then bake? I would like your advice!
I bake, then freeze. I find freezing raw peppers turns them to mush. Thanks for the feedback on the meal prep posts! :)
DeleteEven as a SAHM, I find meal prepping invaluable. I should say "especially as," because I find that without the commitment of a daily, regularly scheduled job, my days have the potential to unfold far differently than I planned the night before! I would love to see more meal planning posts, as well as a recipe for stuffed peppers. (I think you posted it before, actually.)
ReplyDeleteYour home always looks so cozy in your pictures.
Thanks Meg! And thanks for the input. And yes, I did post my peppers recipe. :)
Deletehttp://thriftymominboise.blogspot.com/2018/04/stuffed-bell-peppers-or-meatloaf.html
So, with your stuffed bell recipe--how would you package them for freezing? How would you prepare them from frozen? I know you are a busy woman, but thanks in advance for your advice!
DeleteI would either put them in a freezer bag or covered container. I would thaw them first and reheat them in either the oven or microwave. The other thing you can do is make the filling and freeze it raw and then take it out and use it whenever you are ready to make peppers. I do that when I make meatloaf too.
DeleteThis all looks really good. We are having family at our lake place over the Labor Day weekend. Tomorrow I am prepping for it and some of the following week also. I need to start prepping for 2 weeks just to make life a little easier, especially since we are about to hit major wedding stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at how much time it saves. And then I can concentrate on other stuff. ;)
DeleteI would love for you to post what your 10 weeks of meals are! And yes to how you meal prep for them each week.
ReplyDeleteMelinda
Okay! Good to know. Thank you Melinda.
DeleteYes, I enjoy the meal prep posts : )
ReplyDeleteThey inspire me to change things up in my meal plans.
That is great Jo! Thanks :)
Delete