It’s Monday! That means I become my own sous chef by getting ready for the week. One reason why I do this is so that meals come together quicker in my household. We are a family of 3 consisting of me, my husband and my son, who is 19. My son will only be with us for a little while longer as he is scheduled to transfer to a university out of town in the Fall. We are taking that as it comes due to the Covid virus situation that has so many college students schooling from home.
In any event, we rotate kitchen duties around here on a daily basis. Each day, one of us will cook, while another cleans up and another puts leftovers away and cleans the table. It works for us, but it is invaluable to my son who needed to learn how to cook and clean up when he leaves the nest.
I usually plan the meals, so I try to assign meals to my husband and son that I know they will enjoy making and are not too difficult. Here’s what is on the schedule for this week:
Menus
Monday: Italian Herb Marinated Chicken, Asparagus, Salad
Tuesday: Greek Calzones, Salad (This was actually on last week’s menu, but we didn’t make it)
Wednesday: Curry Chicken Broccoli Casserole, Salad, Green Beans
Thursday: Grilled Chipotle Lime Chicken, Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice, Salad
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Chicken Pot Pie, Spinach Strawberry Salad
Sunday: Buffalo Wings and Drumsticks, Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
Breakfasts for the Week: Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce, Berries with Sour Cream Sauce, Toast with whipped Cream Cheese and Fried Egg
Lunches: Greek Rice Bowls, Spicy Seafood Bisque, Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, Golden Squash Soup
Snacks: Hot Shrimp Dip, Fresh Tomato Bloody Mary, Thai Peanut Chicken , Cold Brew Plum Iced Tea, Keto Brownies from a box
Meal Prepping
Again, I gather my recipes and take an inventory of all the ingredients to make sure I have everything. If I am missing something, I can always pick up the missing ingredient at the store later. If it is an item that needs prepping, I will not be able to prep it today because I do not want to take up my prep time by going to the store. The idea here is to reduce the stress of meals and make them easier throughout the week. The ability to be flexible makes you powerful!
Now that I have gathered my recipes, the next step is to gather any meats from the freezer to thaw. When I make my list, it helps me to write the recipes that require that item next to it, so I know how much I need to take out of the freezer and what type; for example, boneless chicken breast versus bone-in chicken. This week I need to prep:
Thawing
Chicken – Curry Chicken Broccoli Casserole (cubed/shredded), Chipotle Lime Marinated Chicken (bone-in), Thai Peanut Chicken Satay (chicken thighs), Greek Rice bowls (chicken thighs), Chicken Pot Pie (cubed),
Shrimp – Hot Shrimp Dip, Spicy Seafood Bisque
Smoked Chicken Deli Lunchmeat – Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Wings and Drums – Buffalo wings and drums
Chopping/Slicing/Cutting
Now that the meat is out, I can begin thawing those meats that need marinating. I use the microwave to thaw my meats safely. Meanwhile, I chop, dice, trim, slice, halve, cut and cube. This part of my plan is what makes meals come together faster during the week. Let’s do it!
Cut Cauliflower into florets – Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
Trim Green Beans
Chop – 1 package of Green onions, Green pepper, onion, celery
Halve cherry tomatoes
Slice – Onion, red onion, leeks,
Marinating
By the time I have chopped everything that I can chop, most of the meat I need to marinate has thawed. I have quite a few meals that require marinating this week.
- Marinate chicken thighs for Greek Rice Bowls and Thai Peanut Chicken Bites
- Marinate wings and drums with buffalo sauce
- Marinate bone-in chicken with Chipotle Lime Marinade
Make Ahead
Now that I have everything prepped, some menu items can be made ahead. Sometimes I do not have enough time in the day to do this. If that is the case, I will make some items on Tuesday or make them fresh. Remember that flexibility is power!
Make Ahead Items
Items to Make Fresh
- Sour Cream Sauce
- Golden Squash soup
- Hot Shrimp Dip
- Cold Brew Plum Iced Tea
- Spicy Seafood Bisque
- Dressing for Greek Rice Bowls
- Candied Pecans for Spinach Strawberry Salad
- Thai Peanut Sauce
- Keto English Muffins in a Mug
- Assemble Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
Due to our Keto diet preference, I had to make some alterartions to the following recipes to transform the recipes into keto friendly items. You too can be adventurous when trying out new recipes if you are dieting. All you have to do is read through the entire recipe and think a little bit about how you can tweak the recipe to fit your diet.
- Ultimate Chicken Pot Pie – Used an almond flour crust instead of a flour crust
- Greek Calzones – Used a keto friendly fathead dough recipe instead of a flour crust
- Curry Chicken Broccoli Salad – Used cubed keto bread cubes instead of stuffing mix
- Grilled Chicken Sandwiches – Used keto bread instead of regular bread
- Hot Shrimp Dip – The recipe called for crawfish, but I used shrimp because that is what I had on hand.
I have meal prepped for about 9 months now. It has changed my life for my family. Not scrambling for ingredients each night is a huge time-saver and reduces stress; plus. the bonus is that it savse money. No plan and scrambling for dinner results in eating out, which costs a lot. The hardest part was setting my mind to do it and figuring out how to manage my time. Once you put your mind to it and get into some kind of routine with it, you will see how helpful meal prepping is. You can do it by yourself or get your family in the kitchen to help. Either way, it is beneficial.
