With the start back to school and getting into the grind of fall sports, I feel it is necessary to meal prep or at least have a menu planned out for the week so we know what we are going to be eating when life gets busy. Both of our boys are in soccer this fall with practices during the week and our Saturdays and Sundays are packed with games. I try to take a look at our schedule on Sundays or on the weekend sometime when I am not working. I like to see what days I work that week and try to make meals during the week that will have left overs making it easy to pack and easy to heat up during the week when we are in a hurry. Don’t get me wrong, we will get our occasional take-out and go to Chipotle. But, I have found I like to know what is in our food (since we have some food restrictions) and cooking at home allows me to do that. I decided I would share several meals that are on repeat in my home, which are meals that I have made this week with busy work and sports schedules. Obviously there are ways you can adjust the recipes based on your needs or likes (or even what you might have in your fridge). Let me know if any of these recipes work out for you and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Hope you enjoy J
Burger Bowls
Ingredients:
-1 pound of ground beef or ground chuck (I will do 2 pounds so I can have leftovers for the week)
-Salt and Garlic Powder to season the ground beef to taste
Toppings:
-Romaine lettuce or your lettuce of choice (I love crunch lettuce here and I love to get icicle lettuce or baby green leaf lettuce from Giant Eagle of I have also found good lettuce at Whole Foods)
-Bacon (will make ahead on my skillet and let it cool while I prepare everything else)
-Avocado
-Pickles, chopped (We love Grillos pickles because they are so crunchy and healthy)
-Tomatoes
-Sliced red onion (we use shallots here)
-Shredded cheese, optional (I am dairy free and haven’t yet found a cheese that I like so we usually just leave out the cheese
French Fries (you can use pre-packaged or will make them homemade):
-2-3 russet potatoes sliced into ½ inch slices or even wedges are good. I leave the skin on (I like how crispy they get)
Directions for Homemade French Fries:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (I like the convection option on my oven but conventional is great too.)
2. Slice potatoes and place in bowl with cold water and ice and soak for 20 minutes (this helps to remove the starch and then they get extra crispy in the oven). I have also not soaked them when I am pressed for time and they just a little extra time in the oven. Dry potatoes wellness with paper towels after soaking. Place potatoes in plastic bag and drizzle olive oil in (I just do until they are covered, so it will be your preference). Shake up real well. Place potatoes on parchment lined cookie sheet and spread well so they are not overlapping. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can add any other seasoning you prefer. I tend to stick with just salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes and then flip. I will set the timer for an additional 10 minutes and then will flip again and depending on how crispy you like your fries, you might need to bake them a little longer. I tend to cook in 5 minute increments and check on them often.
Burger Bowl Prep
1. While the fries are cooking, I prepare the ground beef and bacon. I always try to time it up (although I know life happens and children always need fed too) and like to have everything finish at the same time so everything is still warm.
2. To prepare the Burger bowl, place the lettuce, ground beef, pickles, onions, bacon, and avocado in your bowl. You can put your fries in the bowl or on the side or a little bit of both J
Burger bowl dressing
½ cup avocado mayo
3 tablespoons of ketchup (love Primal Kitchen ketchup)
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
**Or we have also started using the Primal Kitchen Special Sauce (I have purchased at Thrive Market or have seen at Fresh Thyme)
Tacos (We are a big fan of taco Tuesday in our house or tacos any other time of the week)
Ingredients:
1-2 pound of ground chicken, beef, or turkey (or meat of your choice)
Taco seasoning (I like to make my own because some of the store bought kind has some not so good ingredients and is load with a ton of sodium. I did find that Primal Palate and Siete brands has good taco seasoning if you want something quick and easy. The following recipe is one pound of meat. Just double the recipe for two pounds.
-1 tsp of chili powder
-1 tsp of garlic powder
-1/2 tsp of paprika
-1/2 tsp of cumin
-1/4 tsp of oregano
-1/4 tsp of salt (you could always add more for taste)
-1/4 tsp of pepper
Directions:
1. Cook meat through well. I usually will add a bit of water to the meat and then will add in the taco seasoning. Mix well and let water and seasonings absorb before removing from heat.
2. Serve with soft or hard tacos (we love Siete brand soft and hard tacos) and top with lettuce, olives, tomatoes, avocado/guacamole, and sour cream (For dairy free option, I love Culina or Cocojune plain yogurt. Tastes delicious.
**We love leftovers of the taco meat and will make wraps or taco salads for lunch or dinner on the go. Such a quick and easy meal.
Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds of boneless chicken breasts/chicken tenders cut into chunks
3-4 cups of flour (I use arrowroot, but you can use whichever flour suits you and your family best)
4-5 eggs
4 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
Avocado oil
Directions:
1. Using two bowls, place cracked eggs into one and the flour, salt, and pepper into the other bowl.
2. Dunk all the chicken into egg and flour mixture and place on plates or I use a cookie sheet.
3. Place avocado oil in a pan (I like avocado oil because it doesn’t burn and I use the All Clad Week night pan).
4. Heat the pan and place several chicken at a time and cook 2 minutes on each side for temperature of 165 degrees (we love using the Thermapen meat thermometer)
5. When removing the chicken bites when finished, I always put them onto a cookies sheet with cooling rack to properly cool (and I find they stay crispy)
**I like to make a big batch so we can eat them different ways. We like to eat them with buffalo sauce or BBQ sauce and then top with dairy free ranch (just like boneless wings).
**We also like to use the chicken bites and make Chinese with them, our favorite is General Tso or Teriyaki (We love coconut aminos or primal kitchen also has a teriyaki sauce as well .
***I love to make recipes that are versatile and can be used in many different ways. This allows you to make so many meals during the week, saving time during especially during the busy week.
Pulled BBQ in the crock pot
Ingredients:
1. 3-4 pounds of boneless chicken breast
2. BBQ sauce (I am very generous and just pour enough to cover the chicken)
3. 2-3 tablespoons of Italian dressing (although I have to be honest I don’t measure and just poor a bit in)
Directions
1. Spray your crock pot or instant pot. Place chicken, BBQ sauce, and Italian dressing inside and mix well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (for thawed chicken 7 hours worked for me). Once cooked, pull chicken with a fork.
**Serve however you choose. I like to serve as a BBQ chicken bowl with diced sweet potatoes and coleslaw. My husband likes to eat it as a pulled chicken sandwich. This makes for great leftovers, whether for lunch or dinner.
Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies
Do you want an easy one pan meal that is so delicious and makes great leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day? I have recently started making this recipe and it is so delicious and I love how easy it all comes together. I tend to make a double batch to ensure we have leftovers.
Ingredients
12 oz of smoked sausage (I used kielbasa but whatever you have on hand or prefer also works great), sliced
2-3 sweet potatoes cut up and diced
Brussel sprouts (16 oz)—>I end up getting a small bag of fresh brussel sprouts and cooking them all) and cut them in half.
Half of an onion, sliced
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp of salt and pepper
The sauce
1/3 cup of maple syrup
1/3 cup of Dijon mustard
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut up sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts on the sheet pan, with the brussel sprouts facing down.
- Roast for in the oven for 15 minutes.
- While vegetables are roasting making the sauce. Combine the Dijon mustard and maple syrup and mix well.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven and add the sliced sausage, garlic and red onion. Drizzle half of the Dijon-maple sauce over and mix well. Return to the oven and roast for an additional 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Drizzle remaining sauce on the sausage and veggies.
- Enjoy and savor in the leftovers the next day!
Let me know if you have any questions about the recipes or if you made the recipes and liked them. Would love to hear about it!