Menu Planning Week #1

Welcome to the wonderful world of meal prep! Tara and I started meal prepping together in November of 2021 and it is LIFE CHANGING! We take turns picking 3 dinners and a breakfast, make the grocery list and shop for all the ingredients. Then I go to Tara’s – because she has a dishwasher and a bigger kitchen and we divide up everything and cook and chop and it takes us about 2 hours. We also make meals for my parents which makes for a total of 3 couples. The meals average a total of $10 each – 4 meals for $40! Yes Please!

Reasons we like to Plan & Prep:

• We save money on ingredients by purchasing in bulk when we can or for ingredients we use often
• Less food waste! So much less…
• Less time spent each evening figuring out meals, cooking and washing dishes.
• We like choosing “better for us” ingredients when we can. Some of these recipes you can substitute with something pre-made which we all do sometimes. But when we can choose organic, whole, clean ingredients we try to.

Tips:

• Find a friend, sibling, parent, grandparent, or neighbor and get to prepping!
• Read through everything first so you can make substitutions or changes as needed.
• Every week you will need containers/bags to easily store all your meals. Some blue tape to label meals. And I also recommend a designated bin or shelf to keep prepped meals.

How it works:

• We alternate each week on who takes the lead.
• When it’s your week, you pick the menu. You create the shopping list.
• Our Fred Meyer ad comes out on Tuesday so we wait to see what is on sale and try to plan the menu around that.
• We ask each other what they have on hand or what needs to be used up.
• We also have some things that we like to get at Costco, like organic meat, cheese, and baking goods.
• The lead person prints out the recipes/pulls them up on the computer for easy prepping.
• They are also the one who writes out the directions for everyone. We typically write one out and make copies on my mom’s printer when we can. Sometimes we hand write out 3 copies. It doesn’t take that long.

NOTE: This is for 3 couples = 3 of each meal

Menu

• Breakfast Burritos (20 total)
• Teriyaki Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry
• Steak Salad with Avocado
• Chicken Enchiladas & Spanish Rice

Shopping List

Produce:

• 1 pack Pico de Gallo
• Large Mixed Greens
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Yellow Onion
• 3 Avocados
• 1 container Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 Green Onion Bunch
• 3 packs of veggie stir fry

Meat:

• 2 Lbs Chorizo
• 5 lbs Boneless Chicken Thighs
• 4 lbs Boneless Chicken Breast
• 1 pack petite steaks (3 lbs or 6 steaks)

Dairy:

• 18 ct eggs
• 3 cups sour cream
• Large Pack Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (8-9 Cups)
• Large Pack of Shredded Monterey Jack or block to shred (8-9 Cups)
• 3 Cups of Shredded Pepper Jack

Frozen:

• Pack of seasoned diced potatoes

Other:

• 3 (28oz) cans of Green Enchilada Sauce
• 3 (4oz) cans of diced green chilis
• 3 packs of Spanish Rice
• 6 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
• 24 10″ Corn Tortillas
• 20 Large Flour Tortillas
• Kinders Teriyaki Sauce (Got at Costco)
• Honey Mustard Dressing
• 1 box chicken stock or bone broth

Instructions:

*First cook the chicken ahead for the enchiladas for quick prep! See instructions below*

Breakfast Burritos:

Cook up the chorizo and the diced potatoes. Our fred meyer’s is often out of the diced potatoes, follow our pan fried potatoes for another delicious option. Scramble 12 eggs. Make an assembly line with chorizo, potatoes, eggs, shredded pepper jack, pico de gallo, and flour tortillas. We made approximately 20 burritos. Wrap each in parchment paper so they store and heat up easily.

You can adjust the ratio of everything to your liking.

When eating: Heat up in the microwave for 1:30 min at 50%. Or warm in the oven at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

Teriyaki Chicken & Stir Fry Veggies:

Divide up the chicken thighs between 3 containers and then divide up the Kinder’s teriyaki and pour over the chicken. Cut up the green onions for garnishing the chicken. And each person gets a pack of stir fry veggies. I like these packs of veggies and have found them at Freds and Winco. You can add the kit’s sauce if you want or leave it out and just eat the veggies with the teriyaki chicken.

Night of the meal: You can cook the chicken in the crock pot on low for 4 hours or cook up in a pan. Top with green onions. Cook the stir fry veggies according to package directions. You could also add rice or noodles if you prefer.

Steak Salad:

Divide up the steaks, 2 per couple. You can add a marinade, we always have the Montreal Steak seasoning on hand. Then divide up the mixed greens, slice and divide the red onion and cherry tomatoes. Boil the remaining 6 eggs and put 2 per salad. Each person gets an avocado. Divide up the honey mustard dressing.

Night of the meal: Cook up the steak to your preferred temp, rest and slice. Put the steak on top of the salad. You can add croutons, fried onions, cheese, and more.

Green Chicken Enchiladas:

Shred the Chicken: Start with putting all the chicken breast in a crockpot with chicken stock to make shredded chicken. Add 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Then shred. Use a hand mixer for easy shredding!

We used the Modern Proper Chicken Enchiladas and made some changes.

In a large bowl combine all the shredded chicken, 3 cups of sour cream, 5-6 cups of mozzarella, 5-6 cups of monterey jack, 6 tablespoons taco seasoning, 3 cans of diced green chilis, and one diced onion.

Pour 1 can of enchilada sauce in a shallow dish.

With the 9×13 pans ready to go. Dip the corn tortilla in the green sauce, scoop the filling into the tortilla and roll up. place in the 9×13 pan and continue for all 3 pans. We had extra filling left over and divided it up and put on top of the enchiladas. Divide the remaining 2 cans of green enchilada sauce and pour over the top of each pan. Then with the remaining cheese, sprinkle over the top of each pans. Cover with foil. Include a pack of spanish rice with each meal.

Night of the meal: Bake for 25 minutes at 375 F. Cook until cheese bubbles. Cook the spanish rice according to package directions.

Happy prepping!