Just kidding. Meal prepping CAN be easy. You just have to be willing to eat the same thing sometimes or do several meal preps at once and then pull things out of the freezer. This weekend I had to put in two meal prep sessions to get everything in, but now we are eating for the entire work week (breakfast, lunch and dinner) on what we prepared this weekend. Saturday morning, I put in an hour and a half, and had all my dinners prepped for the week. This afternoon, I put in about 30 minutes and now all breakfasts and lunches are prepped for the week.
So what are we having? Let's cover dinner first! I'm pretty sure it goes without saying that I am not a photographer. I stink at taking photos, but I'm pretty sure you didn't come here for that anyway. Maybe I'll get better - we can hope.
It sounds like a lot, but I took two chicken dishes we love and made all our dinners (and cleaned up everything) in less than two hours. Just as a disclaimer, I did not dream up these recipes in my head, except the breakfast burritos. I dream about breakfast burritos all the time. For my dinner options, I took what I know from the Pioneer Woman's excellent recipe blog, altered them so my family would eat them (and we could eat a lighter version) and went on my merry way. For lunches, I put on a big pot of my Granny Judy's vegetable soup recipe and made 8 lunches, plus Sunday night dinner.
Saturday morning I prepped the pot pies and chicken spaghetti. Here are the recipes for those...
Before you get started, boil some chicken. I boiled up two packs of chicken breast tenders. Put the tenders into a soup or stock pot, cover them with water, and make sure they reach 165 degrees. Once the chicken breasts have cooked, put them in your stand mixer for easy shredding. Turn it on with the paddle attachment and watch the magic happen - you're welcome. With two packs, I had enough chicken for both recipes, and then put two extra cups in a freezer bag for later for quick tacos or to repeat the chicken spaghetti recipe. Save the stock you boiled the chicken in for the chicken spaghetti recipe! The picture below is a Thermapen. I have bought them as gifts for people I like mine so much. Just do yourself a favor and never cut into a chicken breast again to make sure it's done. Peace of mind and prettier fried chicken: win-win.
CHICKEN POT PIES
* Krusteaz pie mix (in the blue box) for a double crust pie
* 3 cups shredded chicken breast
* 2 tbsp butter
* 1/4 cup large onion, diced (I used the rest in the other recipes)
* 1/2 cup carrot, diced
* 1/2 cup celery hearts, diced
* 3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
* 1/4 cup all purpose flour
* 1/4 cup fat free half-n-half
* 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (this gives the mixture the color you expect - rich, buttery)
* dried thyme to taste
* salt and pepper to taste
Makes 4 Individual Pies
Dice up your veggies. Place the butter in a soup or stock pot and melt it over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery hearts and cook until softened and onions are translucent. Add the shredded chicken. Pour in the flour and mix around well until well incorporated with the chicken and veggies (about a minute). Add the chicken broth and mix everything around until the golden bits on the bottom start releasing. Once the mixture begins to thicken, add the turmeric and thyme and any salt/pepper to taste. Pour in the half-and-half and let the mixture thicken about three more minutes. If it gets to thick, just add a little broth. Remove the mixture from the heat.
Make the pie crust per the directions, except separate it into 8 balls of dough. Flour your surface and roll the dough to fit in individual pie tins. Put a layer on the bottom of each tin, and make sure it goes up the sides of the tins (to meet the top edge). Fill the tins with about 1 cup of the cooled mixture each, and top with the other pie crust. Cut slits into the pie crusts for baking later. Place the pies on a cookie sheet and flash freeze for 45 minutes to one hour.
Remove the pies from the freezer and cover in cling wrap and foil. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you're ready to serve the pies, put them in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. Uncover the pies and place in an oven preheated to 350 for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
* Pot of water that you cooked the chicken breasts in earlier (if you don't have that, mix about a cup of broth into enough water for 3 cups of spaghetti)
* 2 cups shredded chicken breast
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* 1/2 large onion, diced
* 1 small jar pimientos, drained
* 3 cups spaghetti broken into 1/3's
* 2 cans reduced fat, reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup
* 2 cups shredded cheddar (reduced fat is great)
Makes 2 - 8x8 pans, 4 servings each
Bring the chicken stock back to a boil. Add the spaghetti noodles and cook until al dente (don't overcook)! Mix the chicken, pepper, onion, pimientos, soup and 1 cup cheese in a large bowl.
When the noodles have cooked, drain them and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add the noodles to the mixture and stir well. Put into two 8x8 pans and top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Allow pans to cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and foil, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. I recommend writing cooking instructions on the foil so anyone can pull it out, uncover it, and cook!
When you do take it out, pull it out of the freezer and let it sit in the fridge for 24-36 hours in advance. Preheat the oven to 350, uncover the dish and bake for 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted and contents are warmed through (buy yourself a Thermapen - seriously, do it. I use it for EVERYTHING).
I kept one pan for us this week and took the other to my grandparents so we could have a nice lunch together. Put both in the freezer, or share one with your tired neighbor, the new mom down the street, or someone else that you love!
Love you recipes.