Sunday, January 13, 2013

6+ meals prepped in just an hour

I just prepped 6 Crock Pot Meals and (3) 1.5 pd bags of ground turkey to be used for another 3 meals, all in just an hour. I love planning our meals, shopping from a list and prepping our meals in advance. We work hard and after work we just don't want to have to think about what's for dinner tonight and start prepping and cooking when we get home from work. I grocery shop Friday or Saturday and then Sunday afternoon prep my meals for the next week, and in this case, we are covered for two weeks. I've been asked to share so here goes...

My tricks of the trade are as follows:
Print my recipes
Make my shopping list from the recipes always checking the pantry, fridge and freezer first
I buy in bulk when I can, large amounts of meats, veggies, etc.
I start my prep by pulling out of the vegetables, herb, spices, broth, sauces, etc.
I cut all my onions, garlic, etc. first
I write the name of the recipe and date the gallon size freezer zip lock bag along with how to cook it (crock pot, oven or skillet, temp, how long to cook etc.)
I work with one meat a time.
I then add the vegetables, spices, liquids and be sure the air is out of the bag, zip and sit in the fridge.
I then go the next meat.
This week I also purchased a bulk package of 5 lbs of Ground Turkey Breast and split it into 3 - 1.5 pds per freezer bag so I have meat for 3 meals for either tacos, spaghetti, chili or meatloaf. All I have to do is move the bag the day before from freezer to fridge and can cook that night.
Once all the bags are done I decide what we will have this week (today I made enough for 2 weeks). I left the bags of what we will be eating this week in the fridge and moved the other bags to the freezer, ready for next week.

Now, saying all of that, if you cook in the crockpot, note to self always be sure it is plugged in and turned on before leaving the house. I forgot to plug in and had to throw out a delicious meal I had planned last week.  BTW, I use 4 chicken breasts or boneless pork chops in my recipes so we have 2 meals out of it, all of the recipes can be made with 6 breasts or boneless pork chops. These are all low calorie and low sodium meals.

We will be having:

Rotel Chicken (for crock pot)
4 Chicken Breasts
2 cans Original Rotel Tomatoes
4 Garlic Cloves
1 onion, finely chopped
Fresh Cilantro (chopped)
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Cavender's Greek Seasoning
-Season chicken breasts with Cavenders, place in bottom of ziplock and add rest of ingredients. Cook in Crock Pot on Low for 6-8 hrs. Move back from freezer to fridge the day before. It can be cooked even if not totally thawed.

Savory Chicken (for crock pot)
4 Chicken Breasts
1 Onion, finely chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
3-4 Bay Leaves (remove after cooking)
1/2 cup Worchestershire Sauce
1 1/2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth.
Cavenders Greek Seasoning
-Season chicken breasts with Cavenders, place in the bottom of ziplock and add rest of ingredients. Cook in Crock Pot on Low for 6-8 hrs. Move back from freezer to fridge the day before. It can be cooked even if not totally thawed.

Sweet Potato Chicken (for crock-pot)
4 Chicken Breasts
2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 Onion, chopped
1 TBSP Ginger
1 TBSP Cloves
1 TBSP Nutmeg
1 cup Low Sodium Chicken Breasts
1 can Cream of Chicken (optional)
Cavender's Greek Seasoning
-Season chicken breasts with Cavenders, place in the bottom of ziplock and add rest of ingredients. Cook in Crock Pot on Low for 6-8 hrs. Move back from freezer to fridge the day before. It can be cooked even if not totally thawed. I will serve this with steamed green beans or a salad.

Teriyaki Chicken (for crock-pot)
4 Chicken Breasts
1 bag small, peeled, Carrots
1 Onion, cut in large chunks
2 cans Pineapple Chunks (add juice too), or 1 large pineapple cored and cut in chunks and add juice
4 Garlic Cloves
1 cup Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Cavender's Greek Seasoning
-Season chicken breasts with Cavenders, place in the bottom of ziplock and add rest of ingredients. Cook in Crock Pot on Low for 6-8 hrs. Move back from freezer to fridge the day before. It can be cooked even if not totally thawed. Please note you can add fresh broccoli when you place in the crockpot.

Beef Roast (for crock-pot) (I made 2 of these, one for this week, one for a wk in the future)
Pot Roast, London Broil, etc
1 bag small, peeled Carrots
1 Onion, finely chopped
4-5 Garlic Cloves
1 cup Worchestershire Sauce
1 pkg dried Onion Soup Mix
Cavenders Greek Seasoning
Fresh Rosemary (just a few sprigs)
1 cup water
-Season roast with Cavenders, place in the bottom of ziplock and add rest of ingredients. Cook in Crock Pot on Low for 6-8 hrs. Move back from freezer to fridge the day before. It can be cooked even if not totally thawed. Please note you can add potatoes, an hour before done cooking or from the start).

Turkey Spaghetti (for skillet)
1.5-2 pds Ground Turkey Breast
1 Onion, chopped
4-5 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 cup Dried Basil or Chopped Fresh Basil
1 can Tomato Sauce (or 2 fresh pureed tomatoes)
2 Jars Berloni Organic Tomato Basil Spaghetti Sauce
1 pkg Angel Hair Pasta (reg, whole wheat, etc)
-Brown meat. While meat is browning, saute onion and garlic, drain any grease (should be little to none), add sauted onion, garlic, Cavender's, stir. Add 2 jars of sauce, add can of Tomato Sauce. Simmer on low for 30+ minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from burning. Boil pasta according to box directions, drain and serve with fresh parmesean.

Bon Appetit!










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