Menu Planning #2

Menu planning & meal prepping = life changing!

Tips:

• Prep with someone. I could do this all on my own and have tried but I just never end up doing it or doing it consistently. So find a friend, sibling, parent, grandparent, or neighbor and get to prepping!
• Read through the whole post so you can make changes or substitutions for your family, budget or items on hand. Some things you may want to make from scratch and some things you may want to purchase already made like fries or coleslaw can be done either way for example.
• This week we made one batch of pumpkin oatmeal because it was a new recipe and we weren’t sure we would like it. One batch made 3 servings for each couple, so we needed to make sure we had some of our own breakfast items for this week.
• 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.

NOTE: This is for 3 couples

Menu

• Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal & Bacon
• Zuppa Toscana with Garlic Bread
• BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Slaw & Fries
• Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes & Asparagus

Shopping List

Produce:

• 1 white onion
• 1.5 lbs yukon potatoes
• 5 lb bag russet potatoes
• 1 bunch kale
• 3 bunches of asparagus
• 1 bag of slaw (split between 2 couples)
• 1 small bag of shredded iceberg (for 1 couple)

Meat:

• 2 pork tenderloins
• 3 lbs of bacon
• 1 lb hot Italian sausage
• 3.5 lbs chicken breasts

Dairy:

• 2 eggs
• 4 cups milk (can be dairy free, we used almond milk)
• small container heavy whipping cream

Frozen:

• 3 packages of fries

Other:

• 8 cups of chicken stock
• 1 big bottle of BBQ Sauce
• Ciabata or sandwich rolls
• Loaf fresh garlic bread
• 4 cups Old Fashioned Oats

Pantry Items (these are items we keep on hand):

• Coconut aminos (use in place of soy sauce)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• Pumpkin pie spice (2 teaspoons)
• Maple Syrup (1/4 cup)
• Vanilla extract (2 teaspoons)
• Baking powder (1 teaspoon)
• Pecans or Walnuts and Pepitas
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Ground sage
• Brown sugar (1/2 cup)
• Balsamic vinegar (1/4 cup)
• Cornstarch or arrow root powder (1tablespoon)
• Butter

Instructions:

*Cook the chicken ahead of time for the BBQ Chicken.* See instructions below.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal & Bacon:

Bacon

• Bake on a sheet pan at 400F for 20 minutes, flipping half way through.
• Each couple got 1 sheet of bacon. 6 pieces were saved for the Zuppa Toscana.

Oatmeal

• We used this recipe: Kristine’s Kitchen Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
• Instead of pecans we used pepitas and walnuts (what we had on hand)
• We divided up the oatmeal so each couple got 3 servings to try
• Tip: put oatmeal in individual microwave safe containers for quick breakfast grab

When eating: Heat up the oatmeal in the microwave for 2 minutes at 50%. You can pour a little milk over the top and/or add a few chocolate chips on top too.

Zuppa Toscana with Garlic Bread:

• We used this recipe: Gimme some Oven Zuppa Toscana
• We added the rest of the chicken stock we had on hand and we added extra kale, making the soup stretch a little farther.
• Season the soup to taste after it comes together.
• Slice up the bread and divide between the 3 couples.

Night of the meal: Heat up the Zuppa Toscana on the stove and butter the bread and toast under the broiler.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Slaw & Fries:

• DO AHEAD OF TIME: Put all the chicken breast in a crockpot with 1 cup chicken stock. Add 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Set aside and save the liquid for the other meal’s mashed potatoes. Use a hand mixer for easy shredding!
• Add your favorite BBQ sauce to the shredded chicken. Divide up 3 ways.
• Divide up the ciabatta rolls and everyone gets a bag of fries.
• Tara and I split the coleslaw and we gave my parents shredded iceberg, which they prefer.

Night of the meal: Warm up the bbq shredded chicken on the stove. Cook the fries according to the directions, I prefer my air fryer! Warm or toast the ciabatta rolls, add the bbq chicken and top with coleslaw.

Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes & Asparagus:

Pork Tenderloin

• For the pork, we used this recipe: Food 52 Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin
• Divide up the tenderloins 3 ways
• Prepare the glaze and put in a container to make dinner even easier

Mashed Potatoes

• Peel and dice the russet potatoes. Add the liquid from the crockpot shredded chicken, some whole garlic cloves, salt and water to a large pot and cook until soft
• Strain the potatoes, add some butter and milk or heavy cream and then season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Use a hand mixer or masher.

Asparagus

• Clean and prep the asparagus.
• Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper and store in the fridge until ready to cook

Day of the meal: Cook the pork in the crockpot according to directions (6-8 hours on low). Preheat the oven to 425F and cook the asparagus on a baking sheet for 12-15 minutes. Warm up the mashed potatoes on stove.

Happy prepping!