Week 2! Can you believe that already?! Let's get to it.
Friday evening I
took meat out of the freezer to thaw. A
package of Italian pork sausage and some steak.
Sausage & pasta sauce set aside for later in the week |
Finished pasta sauce |
Saturday morning we
shopped. I meal prepped on Saturday by
browning the sausage. I removed 1/3 of
it and set it aside to freezer for pizza topping, then added sliced mushrooms to
the rest of it and cooked that until they were tender. I put a can of pasta sauce and 2 cans of
Italian style diced tomatoes into my medium slow cooker. I added a large spoonful of minced garlic and
a tablespoon of dried basil. Once that
was stirred together I removed a 1/2 cup of the sauce to use for pizza
sauce. I then added the meat and
mushroom and allowed it to simmer on low for 4 hours. . I
cooked up a pound of spaghetti, drained it, and put it into a bag. The sausage and pizza sauce went into the
freezer. I also put half of the finished
pasta meat sauce into a 4 cup container and put it in the freezer. The rest was put in the refrigerator with the
pasta.
Cooking the pasta |
That was pretty much
it for the meal prepping for the weekend.
Not too bad, huh?
Steak seasoned with fajita seasoning, fresh cilantro & lime juice |
For fun I bought the street size |
These were soooooo good! |
Sunday - I pan fried the steaks which
came already seasoned for Carne Asada and finished them off with a handful of
chopped cilantro and a lime. I heated
the corn tortillas in a dry pan, sliced up the steak and served it with grated
cheddar, sour cream and salsa.
Delicious!
Monday - We heated
up the pasta meat sauce in the microwave and I warmed up the cooked spaghetti
in a pan of hot water. My youngest made
a quick Caesar salad with romaine, croutons and dressing. Dinner was on the table in 15 minutes.
Freshly made pico de gallo or fresh salsa |
Inside each burrito |
Tuesday - In the
morning I cooked up a cup of rice, transferred it to a dish and placed it in
the refrigerator. That evening I made a quick fresh salsa of diced onion, diced tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, salt & pepper. I used
the leftover steak, some rice, leftover cheese and leftover flour tortillas to
make Carne Asada burritos. I served
those with the fresh salsa, sour cream and some guacamole. Dinner was on the table in 10 minutes.
Wednesday - While a
pan of french fries cooked in the toaster oven I pan fried salmon burgers. I also boiled up a couple ears of corn. The burgers were served on whole wheat buns
with lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced pickles and leftover homemade tartar
sauce. Dinner was on the table in 20
minutes.
Spicy goodness |
Thursday - As soon
as I got home from work at 3:45 I put all of the ingredients for Thai curry soup into my slow cooker - coconut milk, shredded cabbage, water chestnuts,
some Asian seasoning sauce, and a large spoonful of red curry paste. I let that cook on high. By the time I picked up the girls from their
schools and made it home the soup was ready.
All I had to do was soak the mung bean noodles in hot water for five
minutes. I put half of the soup into a container
to freeze for a future meal. I added the
noodles to the remaining soup. It made
for a super easy one pot meal. Total
prep time was less than 10 minutes.
Friday - In the
morning I removed the sausage and pizza sauce from the freezer to thaw. That evening I made a batch of pizza dough in
the bread machine. I prepared a pizza and
put a crust into the freezer for another meal down the line in less than 30
minutes. I served the pizza with a
simple salad and the last of the spaghetti and meat sauce.
Rice finishing, chicken cooking & veggies - sauce included! |
Saturday - I had
picked up some stir fry veggies that were on markdown when I had shopped and
used those to make a quick chicken stir fry.
Quick and easy.
We had plenty of
leftovers each day for lunches. Once
again everything flowed smoothly. I
found that planning out and prepping 5 meals is more than enough for us. It leaves Saturday free to use up any
leftovers, prepare something else entirely or go out to eat. I like having that flexibility.
Getting dinner on
the table each night is, without a doubt, super quick and easy, with minimal
dishes and clean up. Stress free for
sure and I definitely didn't feel like I was spending a ton of time in the
kitchen over the weekend getting everything ready with only one meal to
actually prep. I'd say it was a success,
once again!
You did very well!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteLooks like a really great week of meals! I think I will "steal" this week from you and implement it next week. :^)
ReplyDeleteOh please do! That is a great idea! :0)
DeleteSounds quicker than having to go out and pick up something at a fast food place. Great!
ReplyDeleteD.
Much tastier and healthier too. :)
DeleteYour food looks so yummy
DeleteThank you Lee Ann!
DeleteSuch a good idea.. Getting all the prep work done ahead. Love it. Will share this with my busy daughter [she teaches school, and her girls --like yours are busy with activities]. Know it will help her. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful Judy. I hope it helps her.
DeleteFantastic! It all looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI like your point about only planning 5 meals leaving room for leftovers etc.I need to get planning as in the U.K. the school term starts soon.
Thanks Felicity. I was almost afraid I was making too much food, but starving teenagers make quick work of it.
DeleteYum, you're meals look delicious!
ReplyDeleteI'm always looking for new ways to use what I have at home or the great deals I find at the grocery store.
Since we mainly eat every dinner at home (we go out to eat a handful of times a year) planning and prepping is key!
Thank you for the great tips and recipes you share, I hope you and your girls have a wonderful day~
Like you I'm always looking for ideas too. I'm so happy you are enjoying these posts.
Delete