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nancypullen · 4 years

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Heatin’ Up the Kitchen

You guys. Am I the only one ready to throw in my apron and quit this job? I love to cook, I especially love to try new recipes and twists on old favorites. But something about not picking my own groceries, the fact that each day is just a repeat of the day before, and that it’s a thousand degrees here in Tennessee - well, I just don’t want to be in the kitchen. I used to cook 21 meals a week. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. A couple of months ago I started skipping breakfast (most days) so every Sunday I make a week’s worth of these cups for Mickey.

There’s a little bit of diced (cooked) potato, green onion, bacon pieces, and cheddar cheese in them. He cracks an egg into it, stirs it up, and zaps it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. He stirs it again, cooks it another 30 seconds or so and he’s got a yummy breakfast. He usually has a piece of fruit with it and declares himself full. They’re so versatile. I’ve made them with lots of veggies, different meats or no meat at all, but this is the combo the mister prefers. It’s easy for me and he’s happy. For lunch he prefers soup and sandwich or leftovers. Per his request, every week I make a pot of taco soup (seriously, who eats soup in the summer?). So breakfast and lunch are pretty quick - I slap together a sandwich for him while the soup reheats, throw everything on a plate, and he’s satisfied. Dinner is a different matter all together. I need to start doing meal prep for dinner so that we can just grab something and reheat it without having to turn on the oven or stand over a hot stove. Actually, this was my dinner tonight. It was perfect for a 96 degree day.

Vanilla yogurt, delicious plump raspberries, and a sprinkling of walnuts. It was plenty. I sauteed some chicken for Mickey and tossed it over a big salad. We’ve been eating a lot of roasted broccoli, though that requires turning on the oven. Ugh. It’s so easy and yummy. Just chop off some florets...

Why yes, those are brownies in the background - those were actually worth turning on the oven, trust me.

Anyway, toss your florets with a good drizzle of olive oil, and treat them to some salt and pepper. Then spread them on a baking sheet.

Pop them into a 400 degree oven and then mop your brow with a handy dish towel. Roast them for about 25 minutes - more if you like them softer. Toss your florets with some grated parmesan (Mickey’s favorite) or with a tablespoon of lemon zest (my favorite) and enjoy. It really is that simple. Great side for anything off the grill this summer.

If you’re willing to stand over a hot stove, at least keep the pots and pans to a minimum. This meal requires just one pot and one skillet. It’s a delicious pasta dish and if you’re a single or couple, provides plenty of leftovers which is always a win. I start by filling my pasta pot with well-salted water and bringing it to a boil. Then I heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add sliced onion and green pepper.

The herbs and spices are key in this dish. It’s full of big flavor. You can use Italian seasoning (use plenty!) or this mix that I found online. It’s easy to mix up a big batch and keep with your spices.

I use a tablespoon of that mix in this recipe. Half a tablespoon goes in with the onions and peppers, the other half goes in later. Here’s a tip. If you’re using Italian sausage, you really don’t need the extra fennel, but it doesn’t hurt. You could just use Italian seasoning and pepper it up. If you’re using ground beef or ground turkey, you’ll want the fennel in there. Either way you’ll want a little zip to it, so if you’re not using cayenne, black or white pepper to taste. Can you tell that this is one that I made up as I went along? But it’s good! Once the onion and peppers are tender, add your meat. I had Italian sausage this time. After I dumped it in I remembered that I only intended to use half because it was something like 19 ounces. Oops. We had a very meaty dish this time.

You’ll need a can of good crushed tomatoes.

Add the tomatoes to your meat and veggie mixture and stir in the remaining half tablespoon of Tuscan Spice (or whatever you decided to use).

Your water is surely boiling by now, turn the heat down on your sauce and drop your pasta into the water. I can’t stress enough how much better this is with fresh pasta. It makes a world of difference. It’s still quite yummy with any dry pasta you have handy, but fresh pasta elevates it. If you’re using fresh, it’s only going to take about two minutes to cook, If you’re using dry pasta, probably 9-11 minutes depending on the pasta you choose. Once your pasta is cooked and drained, put it back into the pot and pour the sauce over it. Toss that all together before serving. In the past, depending on the amount of liquid in the crushed tomatoes, I’ve added a splash of good chicken broth. If you want to make the sauce extra delicious, take it off the heat and stir a tablespoon of butter into it before tossing with the pasta. That’s REALLY good. Would you believe that I forgot to snap a picture after putting our dinner into pretty white bowls and giving everything a sprinkling of parsley and grated parmesan? Dang it. You’ll have to look at this photo of the leftovers being plopped into a container for the next day’s lunch.

Since this is sort of a made-up recipe anyway, tweak it to your tastes. It’s not fancy, it’s not difficult, and you probably have everything in your pantry. Ingredients you’ll need - 1 green pepper

1 yellow onion

1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes

pasta

ground meat - Italian sausage, ground beef, ground turkey, your call! The spice blend is up to you, whether or not you finish the sauce with butter is up to you, whether you use fresh or dry pasta,etc. Any way you go, it’s a quick dinner with big flavor. It heats up the kitchen, for sure, but you’re not in there long. Could this post be more confusing? I said I’m tired of cooking and then shared more recipes. One of the recipes is all over the place and I hardly even gave measurements. Pffft, you guys get it, right? I think I may stick to yogurt for dinner from now on. At least until October or November.

Stay cool, stay well, and remember that ice cream is a dairy and dairy builds strong bones. Fight osteoporosis with a sundae! Also, I’m a terrible life coach. Don’t listen to me. XOXO - Nancy

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turkeyfeet8-blog · 5 years

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Cheeseburger Dogs with Special Sauce

Just to echo the general sentiment on the Internets right now…

How the hell is it already Labor Day??!!!

I’m heading up to Maine tomorrow, and while I’m giddy at the thought of being surrounded by my favorite people in my happy place, I feel a little bit sad and a lot alarmed that the summer has come and (almost) gone.

I’m guessing the combination of honeymoon and book writing (T-2 months to deadline…cue shrieks of terror) is responsible, but I don’t think a summer has ever flown by quite like this one. I realized this morning that in addition to being sickly pale and not having had a single picnic, I’ve only eaten one meal cooked on a real live grill this season. FOR SHAME! I love me some grill pan action, but it’s not the same. It’s just not.

Funnily enough the aforementioned grilling took place in Maine over Memorial Day, so I suppose this shall be the summer of bookended bbq meals, since I plan to crush many a grilled delicacy come Sunday night. If there can’t be Rubirosa, there shall be burgers and dogs!! Or in my case, a CHEESEBURGER DOG. (And this mac and cheese. Duh.)

If you’re not familiar with the burger dog, I am thrilled to introduce you to this simple yet beautiful creation: two butterflied hot dogs, lightly charred and topped with melted cheese (I vote for good ol’ American, but you do you), lettuce, tomato, and plenty of special sauce. It’s the hybrid sandwich of my dreams and is perfect for weirdos like me that love hot dogs but much prefer burger fixings. Heaven.

The thing that really puts these burger dogs over the top flavorwise is the special sauce, which ranks in my top 3 homemade condiments of all time (after Srirachup and Spicy Almond Dressing). This is actually the special sauce recipe from The Dude Diet—my go-to for everything from burgers to chicken fingers—and it’s the perfect balance of creamy, sweet, tangy and spicy. It does involve a touch of the devil’s condiment mayo (somehow I still love it despite my general anti-mayo stance), but if you’re extremely averse to the stuff, just use all Greek yogurt.

For those throwing end of summer soirées this weekend, I think these burger dogs would make adorable sliders for a crowd. Simply cut each dog in half crosswise, and serve them on slider buns (big fan of Martins party potato rolls) with chopped lettuce and cherry tomato rounds. People LOVE tiny food, and I’m squealing internally at the mere thought of the mini burger dog cuteness.

Happy long weekending, friends and lovahhhhs!! I hope it’s filled with the best weather, friends, food, and summer bucket list activities. Catch you on the flip.

p.s. If you need some more recipe inspiration for the long weekend, this roundup is filled with summery ideas.

Cheeseburger Dogs with Special Sauce Serves 4

Ingredients: 8 100% beef hot dogs (I like Applegate Organics.) 4 slices American cheese 4 hamburger buns 1 large tomato sliced into rounds 1 Romaine heart torn into large pieces For the Special Sauce: 5 tablespoons minced bread and butter pickles ¼ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt 3 tablespoons ketchup 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon Sriracha 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions:

-In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the special sauce. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

-Preheat a lightly oiled grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

-Butterfly the hot dogs! Slice each hot dog lengthwise almost all the way through—you want the dog to remain attached on one side—then fold it open like a book.

-Grill the dogs for about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until lightly charred.

-During the last 2 minutes of cook time, arrange the dogs into 4 pairs of side-by-side dogs. (These are your “patties.”) Top each pair with a slice of cheese and allow it to melt.

-If you like grilled buns (who doesn’t?), place the buns on the grill cut side down on the grill for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until grill marks appear. Add a burger dog to the bottom of each bun and top with tomato, lettuce, and plenty of special sauce. Sandwich everything together and go to town.

Cheeseburger Dogs with Special Sauce

Ingredients

8 100% beef hot dogs (I like Applegate Organics.)

4 slices American cheese

4 hamburger buns

1 large tomato sliced into rounds

1 Romaine heart torn into large pieces

For the Special Sauce:

5 tablespoons minced bread and butter pickles

¼ cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Sriracha

1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the special sauce. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat a lightly oiled grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Butterfly the hot dogs! Slice each hot dog lengthwise almost all the way through—you want the dog to remain attached on one side—then fold it open like a book.

Grill the dogs for about 4 to 5 minutes per side or until lightly charred. During the last 2 minutes of cook time, arrange the dogs into 4 pairs of side-by-side dogs. (These are your “patties.”) Top each pair with a slice of cheese and allow it to melt.

If you like grilled buns (who doesn’t?), place the buns on the grill cut side down on the grill for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until grill marks appear.

Add a burger dog to the bottom of each bun and top with tomato, lettuce, and plenty of special sauce. Sandwich everything together and go to town.

4.29

https://domesticate-me.com/cheeseburger-dogs-with-special-sauce/

Source: https://domesticate-me.com/cheeseburger-dogs-with-special-sauce/

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seecourtneytravel · 6 years

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September 22, 2018

Don’t waste a Saturday

Friday’s excursion was epic. But I still had Saturday and Sunday to fill. On my way back from Friday’s trip I talked Ronja into coming with me to a surfing spot in Calicoan Island. It was called ABCD beach. I picked it because it was on a google article and Flitz said it was a good spot.

Going off of basic research and resources, I convinced Ronja it would be an excellent spot to hit up especially as a beginner surfer. I honestly didn’t know how big the waves would get being there and just took a risk. We planned on staying the night but didn’t plan the spot and just hopped a place would be there and available.

Ronja and I planned on leaving at 630 in the morning. We would catch the jeepney to downtown to catch the “Vanvan.” I had no idea where the Vanvans were and we didn’t know how often they departed. Ronja led the way and and I just followed. When Ronja and I got there we found out they depart when they are full capacity. That seemed to be the thing around here.. no time slots of departure, just “leave when it’s full.” While waiting, we bought some really weird citrus fruit that you peel, it has seeds, and it is light green/yellow. Almost tasted like an orange but then tasted like nothing at the same time. I’ll have to find the name of them at some point while I’m here.

We started our departure, which was a crammed hot 3 ½ hour ride. Ronja and I talked for a while, it was too bumpy of a ride to try to fall asleep. About half way through the van broke down. After about 10 minutes of trying, it started again. I’m thinking “what’s stopping this thing from really quitting on us the next time.”

I tried to sleep. I took a towel out of my bag and rolled it up and leaned it against the window. It was so bumpy I would bounce my head off the window and then try to readjust my towel. I felt the driver hitting the gas when he was approaching sharp turns constantly then would slam on the breaks during the turn. I didn’t expect they drive on the right side of the road here like we do but they do!

We stopped at a rest stop after about two hours and paid 5 pesos to use the bathroom. Getting out of my seat I felt like I slipped out because of the sweat. I felt like I didn’t pack enough. I packed one set of clothes, shampoo and conditioner, bathing suit, hat, bug spray, sunblock, and a towel. Ronja packed much more but was prepped for anything. As the trip unfolds it looks like I was a pretty unprepared packer.

Getting back on the bus we drove about twenty minutes more and the vanvan breaks down again. This time the drivers calling someone after he totally flooded the engine. The van is completely packed. So packed a family of five was in the way back seats alone with three rows of three people ahead of them. The van started instantly getting hot. It felt like life was being sucked out from me. The driver got out and lifted his seat and played around with the mechanics for 10 minutes, hopped back in and the van started again right away. I was super impressed that a vehicle can be fixed like that and that fast.

Arrived to Guiuan

We arrived to Guiuan not knowing what was in any direction but was just dropped off in the city. My Nanay’s husband was from Guiuan, she advised me we would have to take the motorized tricycle the rest of the way. Ronja and I wanted to grab lunch but we are both kind of picky eaters. As soon as we set foot browsing the cities food selection, the towns aggressiveness was heavy towards us. People would yell things out their window, try to touch our arms, constantly trying to sway us on their transportation device. It was much different than the people of tacloban.

We stumbled upon the market in Guiuan and browsed all the huts and food selections. To me, none of the food looked at all appetizing. I settled for the last hut and pointed at the pork and rice. Ronja went and bought some lumpia’s and came back. My food was, interesting. I felt like the texture wasn’t something I’ve had before but I just kept going. Each pork bite had a little rice to just mask my questions of what it really was. When I finished I asked how much it was. I felt the woman stall and take a few seconds to think about it and then she said 70 pesos. I paid and left knowing I was charged double. Ronja was shocked I didn’t question the price first. There was another learning lesson. But 70 pesos is not really even $2.

We happen to be right at the transportation terminal. We went around asking “ABCD beach?” to every person we approached. Some peoooe pointed to tricycles, Ronja asked how much it would cost to go to the ABCD beach. The man looked us both up and down and said, “300 pesos..each.” Both Ronja and my jaws dropped. Ronja said, “no I was told it would be 40 pesos.” We began walking away and someone else grabbed us agreeing he would take that offer.

When we were the 8th and 9th person on the tricycle we were able to go the rest of the way to the beach. I was sitting on the outside in be front and was getting smacked with leaves on the shoulder of the road. When we arrived, another woman got off and paid the driver 10 Pasos. Four times the price compared to 200 times is a better trade off I would say.

We hopped off and looked around thinking, “is this it? Is this really it?” Their literally was a villa hotel, a bar called the goat house, and then a surf camp cabin. We started walking without direction and a man from the surf camp started waving us down. I immediately started heading in his direction. The surf camp was packed and full of people just sitting around socialising. I introduce us and said we wanted to surf, and asked if that was possible. He said “of course, anytime.” It didn’t seem like there was not s single tourist at this beach. It was only surfing locals. I asked him where we could find a place to sleep, he offered some hammocks to us or we could check in to the hotel/vila across the street. Ronja and I looked at each other and read “hotel/vila” vibes. But I guess if the hotel was booked that’s what we would have had to do.

The hotel was not booked, we arrived and asked for a pricing list so we knew we wouldn’t get ripped off. The room was 2,000 pasos for one night and two beds. Not bad at all for your own private and non crowded beach!

The hotel was set back about a quarter mile away from check in and the ocean. I guess if you’re in a typhoon neighbourhood that’s the smart way to go about it. We walked to the second floor of the hotel room and checked into room 208. The room was basic but ultra fancy compared to what we were used to in tacloban. Mine and Ronjas face lit up when we saw a real shower. We were in a no signal zone and the wifi wasn’t working. We set an alarm and decided to rest for about 40 minutes.

I woke up in a panic thinking I slept until the evening. I looked and it was 15 minutes before my 1430 (230pm) alarm. Ronja heard me and woke up herself. We mozied out of bed and got ready to get our surf on. We were exhausted and I was trying to fight the tired demons to carry out with the day. I didn’t want to wast the only opportunity we had on such a short weekend.

We headed over to the surfing hut and the owner pointed to a smaller hut where two goofy guys were standing waving at us. “Those are your instructors” he said. We walked over and introduced ourselves and shared our passed experience with surfing. They said it was 250 pasos (php) for the board per hour and 250 pesos for the instructor. I asked if I could just rent the board. The instructor said no, I needed to go with him because I wasn’t experienced enough. I didn’t argue.

Ronja and I went out into the ocean that was surprisingly warm. The waves were choppy and frequent. Our individual instructors followed. Ronja and I separated and were in different areas to surf. I was a bit disappointed the instructor wouldn’t let me surf on my own. I wasn’t even allowed to turn on my own when a wave was coming. Then, without warning, the instructor would push my board with the wave without trying to teach me to paddle hard with the wave. This went on for the entire lesson. The lesson was supposed to be an hour but it extended to over two hours which was nice.

I asked my instructor why I couldn’t try to do it all on my own with his supervision. He said, “because you don’t know how to read the waves.” I responded, “how am I supposed to read the waves if you’re doing all the work and picking them.” I then asked him to teach me how to read the waves and how to turn on the surf board. He simply said, “you will know how to turn when you know how to surf.” It was very frustrating. The entire month in Ecuador I was able to rent my own surf board. I’ve been degraded to the bumper lanes in bowling.

I had no problem standing up, there are things I know I have problems with that the instructor didn’t want to teach me. I told him my problem was with paddling out, getting under each wave to get out where I need to be, and paddling hard with the waves before surfing. Instead he had his fins on and ushered me around to some okay size waves and gave me a kiddie push.

Ronja did great! She was able to stand for her first time surfing. When we finished we made our way back to the hotel to shower before dinner.

We had dinner at the restaurant connected to the hotel near the beach. I ordered a banana shake, pancakes, and a grilled ham and cheese. I was feeling the real American diet. Ronja had vegetables and lumpia. The food took nearly a hour and a half to come out and it came out really spaced apart. During our wait it started to monsoon pour, the rain was starting to blow sideways into the picnic seating restaurant. When I asked about my sandwich an hour in, I could see the cook just grabbing the bread.

I felt such a heavy wave of exhaustion. I was super tired even with napping. Ronja asked l, “Do you still want to go to the goat house?” You could hear the laughter from across the street. They have been doing karaoke since mid day. Part of me wanted to go to bed in the nice air conditioning, the other part just said, “Yeah, let’s check it out.”

As soon as I arrived, there was a warm welcome of people offering their chairs and being super friendly. It was the owners wife’s birthday and it was a large celebration. Apparently we picked a good weekend, the area is typically a quiet ghost town just for people to surf and leave.

I headed to the bar and got a beer. I instantly clicked with a nice Filipino that I exchanged a few words on the beach. His name was Kevin and super friendly.

Kevin

Kevin is a Filipino guy from Cebu City. He spent 9 years in Sydney, Australia studying business and engineering. He came back to the Philippines to continue his family business. He seems happy with where is life has been and where it’s going, taking it day by day. A no regrets kind of guy.

I spoke to Kevin for a little bit while Ronja went back to get her sweater from the hotel. The rain made it quite chilling. Then I met Blui, Kevin’s friend from Cebu city. Both of them were tall unlike everyone else. They both seemed very western.

I met a lot of familiar faces. They were all surfing that day, including the Mayor from a nearby town. The Mayor was hilarious and was a riot during karaoke.

I sang a few songs with some help of my new friends. I went from being too tired to go out to not wanting to leave. I had a sudden moment of clarity that we should head back to the hotel for possible surfing the next day.

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wellpersonsblog · 6 years

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A Week of Component Food Prep and How To Use It

Here’s a week of component food prep from a Registered Dietitian and how to use it to make quick, healthy meals during the week!

Hi friends!

I’ve been meaning to write a post like this for a while now and I finally got my act together. You guys know I love food prep. You may also know that I don’t typically prep full meals…instead, I prep components and then throw them together, as well as cook some new things, to make meals during the week. Last week I documented what I prepped and then all of our meals so I could show you how I use what I prep throughout the week.

If you’re not already, be sure to follow me on Instagram, where I share my food prep sessions on Sundays, plus meals during the week.

So here’s what I prepped on Sunday:

I made:

Sweet Potato Muffins

Carrot Oat Bars

snacking veggies

massaged kale

roasted broccoli & sweet potatoes

Sweet Potato Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Thai Chili Salmon

roasted potatoes

Farro

roasted green beans

rice

Sweet Potato Banana Bites

Salsa Verde Chicken

Not pictured: BBQ mushroom chicken that was in the crockpot

On my Instagram stories, I shared exactly how I prepped everything. In case you don’t follow me there, I grabbed screenshots of the process so here’s what I did:

One of my favorite food prep tips is to think about what you can do ahead of time what takes minimal effort. On Saturday evening I had about an hour before we were headed to a dinner party. I turned on the oven, dumped a bag of baby carrots on one pan and put 5 sweet potatoes on another pan and stuck them both in the oven at 400 degrees. Literally took 1 minute of effort and by the time we were ready to leave, they were both done and in the fridge, ready for me to use in the morning. I also pulled one of my freezer crockpot dump meals out of the freezer and stuck it in the fridge.

So, when I woke up Sunday morning, I turned on the oven first thing and dumped the crockpot meal into the crockpot. While my kids were eating breakfast, I spent 5 minutes chopping the sweet potatoes and regular potatoes and stuck them in the oven to roast.

While those veggies were roasting, I got out the carrots I’d roasted the night before and whipped up a batch of Carrot Oat Bars. As soon as the veggies were done, I stuck the carrot bars in the oven, rinsed the food processor and used one of the sweet potatoes I’d cooked the night before to make the batter for my Sweet Potato Cottage Cheese Pancakes. I cooked those on the griddle while the bars were in the oven.

I had about 5 minutes left before the bars were done so I chopped up a head of broccoli and snipped the ends off green beans to get them ready to go in the oven. I also dumped some rice in the Instant Pot (I do 1 cup white rice to 1.5 cups water for 7 minutes, quick release) and started some farro on the stove. I put the farro and water in a pot, cover, bring to a boil, crack the lid, reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes, then drain the water.

After I took the bars out and put the veggies in (I spray with avocado oil, and roast at 400 for 12-15 minutes), Little Miss and I made some Cinnamon Raisin Sweet Potato Muffins. I subbed chocolate chips for raisins. We had them ready to go into the oven as soon as the veggies were done.

While the muffins were baking, I did some dishes, started transferring stuff to my Pyrex containers. I can’t find my exact set but this is a similar set of Pyrex containers (aff link) and made a batch of my Sweet Potato Banana Bites. We were out of chocolate chips so I added frozen wild blueberries and chocolate covered chia seeds from Salba Chia.

Once I put the sweet potato bites in, I threw some chicken into the Instant Pot with a package of Frontera enchilada sauce that my mom bought sometime while visiting. The chicken breasts were thick so I cooked them for 16 minutes and then shredded.

I also put some salmon on a pan, added a little sweet thai chili sauce and had it ready to go in the oven when the sweet potato bites were done.

The last thing I did was chop some veggies for snacking and prep the kale. I remove the stems, chop it up, wash it and spin it dry, then put it in a ziploc, drizzle a little avocado oil on it and massage it until it starts to soften.

Once everything was done, here’s what it looked like. Plus the bbq chicken and mushrooms that was still in the crockpot. (Recipe will be in my freezer ebook) Since most of these are components, I wanted to show you guys how we used the food I prepped throughout the week to make quick meals.

The baked goods are often eaten for breakfast and snacks. Both my kids eat Dole peaches in 100% juice and yogurt almost every morning. Then we change things up with either a fried egg and toast, pb&J toast, oatmeal etc. My youngest usually eats a muffin. She also eats 2 carrot oat bars when she wakes up from her afternoon nap every single day. I usually eat a fried egg on toast with avocado and a muffin for breakfast every day. My husband doesn’t eat breakfast.

Everything in red in the meals below is from my food prep session.

On Monday, for lunch, the kids at some of the shredded chicken, with cheese in a taco. They each had a clementine and Squish had sweet potato bites while Little Miss had a carrot bar. I made a bowl with farro, shredded chicken and roasted sweet potatoes. I topped it with avocado, salsa and chips. My husband had to run out to get lunch between work meetings. He usually comes home for lunch since his office is close to home.

For dinner, I made a package of cheese ravioli from the freezer and the kids both ate that, plus a sweet potato cottage cheese pancake, banana with peanut butter and some leftover Braciole (stuffed flank steak) that we brought home from dinner at my in-laws on Saturday. I have the recipe for Braciole on the blog. I made quick soup using some shredded chicken and roasted carrots, plus some Lotus Foods ramen and chicken broth but only ended up eating about half of it (thanks pregnancy). My husband had leftover braciole, some roasted broccoli, farro and snacking veggies, plus fruit.

On Tuesday, for lunch the kids had naan pizza. I usually have mini naan bread in the freezer so I just pulled a couple pieces out, microwaved to thaw, topped with hummus, some shredded chicken and cheese. Squish had his with carrots and ranch and apple slices with peanut butter. Lyssie had hers with roasted sweet potatoes and strawberries. I had a couple sweet potato pancakes, plus a few omelet spirals that I made that morning to shoot for the blog. My husband had shredded bbq chicken and mushrooms, rice and broccoli plus fruit.

For dinner, my hubby grilled a few burgers and a package of chicken we bought over the weekend. The kids each had half a cheeseburger, avocado toast and sweet potato bites for dinner (plus Little Miss had some roasted potatoes. I had another bowl with farro, shredded chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and roasted green beans topped with salsa, avocado and chips. My hubby had a burger, roasted potatoes and snacking veggies and strawberries.

On Wednesday, we went to the bakery after swimming. For lunch the kids had pb&j on farmhouse white bread from the bakery (they typically eat Dave’s Killer Bread), veggie straws, clementines and sweet potato bites. I had some of the bbq chicken and mushrooms on a bun+ snacking veggies. Hubby had a burger, plus green beans, rice, kale and snacking veggies and some strawberries.

For dinner, I made a box of mac and cheese. I added some of the roasted broccoli and leftover grilled chicken to it. Plus they had roasted sweet potatoes and strawberries. I had mac and cheese with some of the shredded chicken and roasted sweet potatoes plus a few sweet potato pancakes and leftover omelet spirals. Hubby had leftover grilled chicken, plus farro, roasted potatoes and green beans.

On Thursday, for lunch turkey and hummus sandwiches, leftover ravioli, some sweet potato chips I’d tested for the blog that morning, a green bean and leftover omelet spiral. I had a bowl with farro, green beans and shredded chicken and hubby had leftover grilled chicken with bbq sauce plus rice and broccoli.

For dinner, Squish had a date with pb, cottage cheese, hb egg and bbq chicken and mushrooms on a bun. Little Miss had an egg, roasted potatoes, shredded chicken and sweet potato bites. I had two eggs on avocado toast and hubby had 3 eggs, avocado toast and some roasted potatoes and kale.

Here’s what was left from my food prep session after dinner on Thursday night:

some kale

about 1 cup rice

2 muffins

a few sweet potato bites

about a cup of potatoes

some shredded bbq chicken and mushrooms

a few broccoli stalks

some chicken (which wasn’t cooked until Tuesday and not part of my Sunday prep).

On Friday for lunch, Little Miss had a muffin and roasted potatoes, plus turkey and leftover tortellini. Squish had apples with pb, Love Grown sea stars cereal, tortellini, turkey and sweet potato bites. I had an egg on toast with pumpkin energy balls. Hubby had chicken, rice and potatoes, kale, hummus and veggies and strawberries.

We always go out to dinner Friday night….so after lunch on Friday, here’s all that was left:

1 muffin

5 sweet potato bites

1 cup kale

1 cup bbq chicken and mushrooms

1/2 cup rice

(plus some grilled chicken).

Here’s a side by side of what we prepped and what we ended with:

A few notes:

We obviously don’t mind repeating the same meals a few times during the week, but the beauty of component food prep is that you can do that, or put it together in different ways and flavor differently using sauces etc.

No, our family does not all eat the exact same meal every night. I realize this isn’t the norm but it works for us. Because of the component food prep I do, it’s easy for me to quickly throw together different combinations as shown above in the same amount of time as it would take for me to make one dish for all of us to eat.

No I don’t prep every single thing we eat all week. You can see that I cooked a few things during the week. I use food prep to help me but don’t think you need to prep every morsel of food for the week in order for it to be successful.

We do a pretty good job of not wasting food, but it does take a little practice to understand your family’s needs. I always suggest under prepping as you learn what works for you and then slowly increase the amount you prep until you find what works best.

Most weeks, the majority of the food I prep Sunday nights is gone by Thursday. Most leftovers are good in the fridge for 3-4 days. We typically stretch it to 5 days but it’s certainly up to you and your food safety comfort level when it comes to food prep. If you like to err on the safer side, you can prep enough to get you through Wednesday as well as a freezer meal that you could thaw overnight and cook to eat on Thursday. It’s all about finding what works for you and your family!

If you want to see how much of the meals my kids actually eat, be sure to follow me on Instagram. I share before and afters of their plates for most lunches and dinners.

Hope this helped!

Enjoy! –Lindsay–

First found here: A Week of Component Food Prep and How To Use It

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