Monday, September 4, 2017

Meal Preppin' Monday {Rookie Edition!}

Welcome back, everyone!  First, let me start with this!


We will be celebrating at a pool party this afternoon with our fun little neighborhood group!  It should be a great day!

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And now to this weekend!  Not to brag but I felt like I killed it in the adulting department yesterday!

Y'all know by now I hate to cook.  HOWEVER, my tune has been changing just the tiniest bit lately.    I have no idea why.  And it is quite possible this is a phase that will be over tomorrow.  But for now, I'm going with it.

Last week was supposed to be my big week of organizing my life since we started back to school and sports schedules kicked into high gear.  But with so many distractions, it just didn't happen.  So this weekend I was determined to get a jump on starting my plans to be one of those Pinterest moms who seem to have it all figured out.

First up was doing some meal prepping!  I've never actually meal prepped all the way before.  I've grilled chicken and kept it in the fridge to grab throughout the week but that's about as far as it's gone.  But last week I saw this video on Facebook with some great meal prep recipes and I was inspired to do it myself.

Here's the video.


I decided to start with the first recipe because it looked easy and like something I knew Craig and I would like.  Since we are both home all day, we need lunch options.  And since we are dealing with 2 baseball teams and a football team during this fall season, our week nights are filled to the brim with practices and games.  So having something quick, relatively healthy and easy to heat up helps keep us out of the drive-thrus.

The first thing I did to prepare for my meal prepping was make sure I got everything I'd need when I ordered my groceries on Friday night.  Walmart Grocery Pick Up is seriously the greatest thing ever.  I was able to add everything I needed quick and easy, choose my pick up time for the next day and check out.  For $10 off your first order, go here!

 The second thing I did, was order containers off of Amazon.  I knew I needed all the right stuff in order to go all in.  My Tupperware collection is a hot mess.  I can't ever seem to find matching lids for half of my bowls.  I don't understand where they go.  They're like that pair of socks that go into the washing machine together but only one comes out of the dryer. 

Here's what I ordered.  They seemed to be a pretty popular choice when I was looking through meal prep ideas on Pinterest.


They come in a one compartment option (that's what I chose) and a 2 compartment one and it includes 7 containers.  They were a great size, are microwaveable, freezer safe and dishwasher safe.  BPA free and all that too.  :)  And you can't beat that price!  Just a little over a dollar per container.  I was very happy with their quality!

And at the last minute, I added these little 2oz jello shot containers.  They are the perfect size for portioning out salsa, sour cream, guac, cheese, salad dressing etc which will come in so handy!


$8 for 100 cups.  Not bad!  And with Amazon Prime, I got free, one-day shipping!  (If you don't have Amazon Prime you are missing out!!!  But that's a whole other post.)

So while I waited on my containers to come in on Sunday afternoon, I did this!


I poured salsa over the chicken after this picture (above) and then popped it in the oven for about 30 minutes.


After everything cooled, I portioned it all out into my containers.  (They arrived at my door just in time!!) My only fail was that I misread the recipe when it came to the rice.  It called for 3 cups cooked rice.  I messed up and made 3 cups of uncooked rice...which resulted in a lot of excess rice.  I went ahead and rationed it out amongst the containers, not really knowing how much it would make on a plate.

I put the layer of rice down first then added a little corn, black beans, chicken, veggies and cheese to the containers.  (I didn't measure anything.  Just eye-balled it.)




Craig came in as I was doing all of this and I think he really got a kick out of it.  Especially when I would shout out "BAM!!" after each step.  He asked if I was channeling my inner Emeril.  #ummmyeahIwas #Emerilaintgotnothinonme ;)


Look how awesome that looks!!  I'm not gonna lie.  I felt super proud.  And hungry.  I hadn't eaten lunch yet so I had to try one to make sure it was good before I got too excited.

I poured the whole container out on a plate and it was a lot of food because of my extra rice mess-up.  So I left half food in the container for later and heated up the rest.  

*I know these containers are BPA free and microwave safe but I try to avoid heating plastic when I can so I used a plate instead.

I added a little Fat Free Sour Cream and guacamole (I use the 100 calorie packs from the store) and after this picture, I also decided to throw in a little salsa.

Final verdict:  This was a total hit.  I loved it and so did the hubs (who didn't mind the extra rice at all.  He's a big man.)

As for the kids, well I have one who has never even tried a cheeseburger so trying this would be equivalent to when pigs fly.  And the other one hasn't tried it yet but I'm sure he will at some point this week.


The small containers are perfect for all your extras!


Find all the recipes from the video here!

And y'all, I didn't stop at just meal preppin' for the week.  I also had something in the crockpot for dinner!!  I know, I know.  Who AM I!!??!!  

I've had this Crockpot Sausage and Potatoes recipe pinned for awhile and have been waiting to try it!  And since my inner Emeril was acting all sorts of crazy, I added it to my list for the day.  

And while I was not crazy about peeling potatoes, it was worth it.  :)


Here's the recipe.  So easy.

INGREDIENTS:

2.5lbs of Russet potatoes, peeled & chopped

1.5lbs smoked sausage

1 onion, sliced or chopped

3/4 tsp creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's is our favorite)

1 10oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup

DIRECTIONS:

Add a crockpot liner (best thing ever!) or spray crockpot with cooking spray.

Add in all ingredients and stir together.

Cook on low 6-7 hours or high 3-4.  I think I had mine on high for about 5 hours because I forgot about it.  No biggie though.




We really liked this recipe but we would change a few things next time.  Maybe spicy sausage?  Or throw in some green beans as well?  We also needed to add a little salt.  But I loved how soft the potatoes were and how the sausage browned!  Soooo good!!!  The perfect fall food.  Pair it with some corn on the cob for a little Louisiana flair.  And I think this would be great with red potatoes as well!

All this cooking took me quite awhile yesterday.  I'm hoping it will go quicker the next time I do this.

Also, did I mention I did it all with a crazy sore back?  Craig had to dig me up a pain relieving patch to stick to my back just to get me going in the morning.  When I was going through closets the other day, I moved some incredibly heavy boxes around because I get in those "I can do anything" modes when there is no one there to help me.  I've been known to push incredibly heavy furniture up and down stairs by myself just because I'm in the zone and can't wait for someone to get home to help me.  #sostupid

So I woke up Sunday morning feeling like I slept on a rock.  My back was so sore and felt like it was spasming (is that a word?) so we skipped church because it hurt to even breathe deeply.  After I got the patch on, I felt some relief. 

I wish I could say I learned my lesson but I know I haven't.  ;)  But the fact that I did all of this with an "injury" made me feel even more accomplished.

It did help that I got to make my first latte from my new Latte/Espresso/Cappuccino maker!!  I'll post more on it later this week but I am a happy girl!!

This purchase was an early birthday gift from the hubby after I posted this on Instagram the other day.... (Hop on over to my IG for what's going on in this picture!  Find me on my personal page @amandanall or my Etsy shop @thatinspiredchick.


But my first REAL latte at home with my new maker looked like this and was sooo good!  I am still a newbie coffee drinker but I have a feeling this is going to open a whole new world for me.  And the price was so much better than I thought it would be!



Go here to check out the machine.  And like I said, I'll do a full post on it later this week!

So yeah.  Between meal preppin', a crockpot dinner and my new coffee maker I definitely felt like I was nailing this adulting thing.  I also painted 7 teacher name signs after I cooked because y'all are keeping me busy busy busy with teacher name signs lately!  I'm at 64 orders right now and I think at least 30 of them are teacher signs!

(Find the Etsy shop here).

So yeah.  I kinda feel like I nailed it yesterday.  #notsohumblebrag  :)

Be sure to pin whatever you might want to save for later!  And find me on Pinterest here.  (I really need to take some time and clean up my boards.  Why aren't there more hours in a day!!??!!)

Happy Labor Day, friends!!  Be safe and keep our Houston friends in your prayers!








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14 comments

  1. Looks delicious! All of that extra work will make you have the best week. Meal prepping always makes me feel like super mom :)

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    1. Yes!! I seriously feel like super mom!!! Hopefully I can keep it up!

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  2. I just made your sausage egg biscuit casserole for brunch. It was delicious so you have another cooking success for the holiday weekend!

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    1. Yay!!!! That makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks, Jennifer!

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  3. Oh yeah, I'd say you nailed it in the adulting dept!! I always say I'm going to meal prep and never do it either, but I did buy those same containers a while back, now I just need to use them, haha. These burrito bowls look so yummy, I will try this for sure! And those little jello shot cups, NEED! How smart!

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    1. Thanks girl! I nailed one day this week anyway. ;) Notice there is no Wednesday blog post...that's because I couldn't get myself organized enough with all of our stuff to find time to write it! haha! Baby steps!

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  4. I am impressed! Those chicken burrito bowls look SO good!

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    1. They really are good!! I've been eating them for lunch this week and I'm still not tired of them!

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  5. Look at you look at you! That's awesome! I might have to do this after baby to make sure I eat during the week! The rice and cheese had me sold on the meal! Salsa chicken is my favorite too! My friend on YouTube posted a yummy crock pot meal (similar to your burrito bowls but with salsa verde). Worth a try...looks easy and yummy!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBIMR4Yoos

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    1. Someone else below just mentioned a crockpot recipe for this! I'm all about throwing it all into a crockpot and letting it work its magic!! Thanks girl!!

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  6. I have got to get better at meal prepping! HA. You rocked it this week. The sausage and peppers looked amazing.

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    1. I rocked it this week. We'll see how I do next week! ;)

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  7. I found your blog through Mix&Match Mama. Love your burrito bowl recipe but thought I'd share the crockpot version. It takes 2 minutes to throw together and then dinner is done when you get home. 3 frozen chicken breasts, 1 can corn drained, 1 can of black beans drained and rinsed, 1 can of rotel (don't drain) and 1 package of taco seasoning. Put all in crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. Then shred chicken. It shreds super easy after cooking all day. We make ours into tacos, nachos or burrito bowls. My crockpot automatically goes to keep warm once the time is up and stays on that until I turn off.

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    1. This makes me SUPER excited!! I will definitely give it a try! Thanks, Rachel!

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