Menu Planning #3

Menu Planning Week 3 | menu planning & meal prepping = life-changing!

Yes, menu planning and meal prep are life-changing but I picked recipes this week with way too many steps. Lesson learned! I would rearrange this menu to have one meal that is a little more complicated and the rest easy/quick.

There was a biscuit fiasco. I pride myself on my biscuits and gravy. I have never followed a recipe, so I wrote down every step and put one together. I need to schedule a day for a full recipe write out and photos so I can publish a real recipe!

Back to the biscuit fail. Because we were making this meal for 6 people I needed to double the biscuit recipe. I measured out a few doubled ingredients at home and brought them over to Tara’s to finish putting them together. I handed her the recipe and I got to work on something else. When Tara asked if the dough looked right, I thought it looked a little different but I chalked it up to her making it vs me. Well, something clicked and Tara asked if this recipe was supposed to be double because she was not doubling any of the ingredients. The result was some very floury and thick dough. We decided to try and save it and add in the extra ingredients but the dough was this gloppy gross texture.

We made it this far so we decide to bake a batch and they were a gummy mess. So we grabbed some Pillsbury Grands and called it good.

meal prepping pics

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.
• 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 separate.

NOTE: This is for 3 couples

Menu

• Veggie & Sausage Frittata
• Biscuits & Gravy
• Spinach Ravioli, Chicken Sausage & White Garlic Sauce
• Cherry Balsamic Pork, Roasted Potatoes & Broccoli
• Salmon Patties & Roasted Carrots

*Find instructions below for recipes with out links

Shopping List

Produce:

• 1 container spinach
• 3 heads of broccoli
• 3 lbs of potatoes (fingerling)
• 3 shallots
• 1 large red onion
• 1/2 white onion
• 1 lemon
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 bunch of carrots
• Fresh Dill
• Fresh Parsley

Meat:

• 3 lbs Jimmy Dean Regular (Costco)
• 3 packages Chicken Sausage (Costco)
• 2 lbs salmon
• 3.5 lbs pork chops or tenderloin

Dairy:

• 3 cups heavy cream
• Dozen eggs
• 1/2 gal milk
• Parmesan wedge
• 2 sticks of butter
• Sour cream

Other:

• Spinach Raviolis 3 (Costco)
• 1 small jar cherry jam
• Tarter sauce
• 3 can of biscuits
• Panko

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

• Flour
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Dried Sage
• Dried Fennel
• Paprika
• Worcestershire
• Mayo
• Balsamic Vinegar

Instructions:

Veggie & Sausage Frittata

This is a great way to use up extra veggies from meal prep or clean out the fridge/freezer.

• 2 C of veggies (we did spinach & peppers)
• 2 T oil
• 1/2 onion
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/3 C of meat (we used up extra sausage)
• 12 eggs
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 1 t herbs of your choice
• 1/2 C – 1 C cheese (we used the leftover parmesan)

Preheat oven to 350

In a large oven safe skillet on medium heat, add oil and cook onions for a few minutes. Remove from pan. Cook meat of your choice. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, sour cream, salt, pepper, herbs of your choice. Pour into your skillet, add in your veggies, onion and top with cheese (we used parmesan that was left over)

Pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Let cool and divide up.

Biscuits and Gravy

I normally wouldn’t eat this during the week but my husband requested it. Feel free to make your own biscuits – we tried and failed. Or just buy some Pillsbury Grands.

• 2 lbs of jimmy dean sausage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups heavy milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon of each: dried sage, fennel, garlic powder, onion powder

We sent everyone with a jar of gravy and a can of biscuits to make when they wanted

When eating: warm up the gravy in the microwave or on the stove. Tip: add a splash of milk when reheating. Serve over a split biscuit.

Spinach Ravioli, Chicken Sausage & White Garlic Sauce

Costco has these delicious spinach raviolis that come in a 2 pack. I always grab them, eat one that week and throw the other in the freezer for later. I also grab their 3 pack of chicken sausage which you can grab at freds or winco.

Feel free to grab a jar of pasta sauce or alfredo. I have been experimenting with making my own garlicy white sauce and I prefer to make my own that way I know what’s in it.

• 6 peeled & sliced garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 to 6 cups fresh spinach.
• 1 cup fresh shredded parmesan

In a saucepan add butter and garlic cloves on medium heat. Cook until fragrant 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the flour.

Add the milk and heavy cream, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer stirring constantly. Once it simmers add in the parmesan and spinach. Season to taste with extra garlic or salt and pepper. I love garlic so I go a little hard with it.

Divide up the sauce and send everyone with a package of chicken sausage and ravioli.

Night of the meal: Chop up the chicken sausage and brown in a skillet. Warm up the sauce, add a splash of milk if needed. Cook the ravioli according to their directions.

Cherry Balsamic Pork with Roasted Broccoli and Potaotes

Find the recipe here:Cherry Balsamic Pork, Roasted Potatoes & Broccoli

I like to double the sauce put definitely necessary

To prep this meal:

• We chopped up the broccoli and potatoes. Sliced up the shallot.
• Combine the sauce ingredients to save a step. Combine, vinegar, jam, water, salt, pepper, sugar, and butter.
• Divided up the pork.

Night of the meal: Follow the directions to cook this delicious meal.

Salmon Patties & Roasted Carrots

Salmon Patties

• For the pork, we used this recipe: Let’s Eat Cuisine Salmon Cakes
• On the recipe, click the 2x to easily double the recipe.
• We saved on this ingredient because relatives in Alaska sent us some delicious salmon
• We prepped the salmon patties but didn’t cook them. Everyone got 4-5 patties.
• We also divided up a jar of tarter sauce.

Roasted Carrots

• For the pork, we used this recipe: I Am Baker Roasted Carrots
• We washed and cut the carrots and stored in a some water. We also made the glaze ahead ot time to make meal night easier.

Day of the meal: Start with the carrots. I wouldn’t pair these things together in the future because of the vastly different cooking times. Lesson learned. Then fry up the salmon patties in a lot of butter, 4 minutes on each side, and enjoy!

Happy prepping!