Back On The Meal Prep Wagon

It's Monday which means normally in this little space of mine I'd be recapping my weekend for y'all.  However, let me sum it up for you real quick: Nyquil, Shameless on Netflix, meal prep, & getting my teaching stuff out of storage.  There ya go, real hard hitting stuff.  

I went back to work full time last week so getting back into a routine was necessary.  I used to meal plan & do meal prep all the time.  I was good at it & I liked it.  Then, I moved up to Fort Worth, got a roommate, & got sort of bad at it.  Having to cook in a kitchen that doesn't feel like yours & having to share fridge space made me just not care as much.  I had planned on starting meal planning again once I moved into my own place next month, (33 days!), but I got a wild hair & decided to just make life easier for myself & make all my food for the week.

So, instead of my typical recap I'm going to share with you what I made this week.  I spent less than $40 at the grocery store to make all of this.

**I slightly altered the recipes either in the what went in it or how it was cooked, my alterations are what I have typed out.  If you want prettier pictures & the original recipes links are provided above each picture.**

Breakfasts - Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

I only made the gravy from scratch.  I bought biscuits & eggs to go with it.

1 lb - ground pork sausage

3 Tbsp - bacon grease

1/4 c - flour

3 c- milk

salt & pepper to taste

1. Brown sausage in frying pan.  Once cooked set sausage aside but leave drippings in the pan.

2. Add bacon grease to the pan.

3. Stir in the flour until golden brown.

4. Whisk in milk until smooth & thickened.

5. Add sausage back into the mixture, season with salt & pepper, simmer for 15 minutes.

Lunches - Pepperoni Pizza Chicken

14 oz - pizza sauce

1.5-2 lb - chicken breast/tenders

1 Tbsp - olive oil

1 tsp - oregano

1 tsp - garlic powder

1 pkg - sliced mozzarella cheese

2 oz - sliced pepperoni

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2. In a small sauce pan, simmer pizza sauce for 20 minutes to reduce

3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan & sprinkle oregano & garlic powder on both sides of chicken

4. Cook chicken for 1-2 minutes on both sides, just long enough to brown it

5. Place chicken into a casserole dish, as small as you have while still allowing the chicken to fit in one layer.

6. Cover the chicken with sliced mozzarella, then cover with pepperoni slices, followed by pizza sauce

7. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes

Suppers - Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Soup

The best part about this recipe is that it goes in the crockpot.  Crockpot cooking for the win!

1 - small onion, diced

2 pkgs - Microwave Ready Three Cheese Little Potatoes (before you go searching at your local grocery store...they're at Walmart)

1 lb - bacon

32 oz - chicken broth

4 Tbsp - flour

1 oz - ranch dressing mix

2 c (1 pint) - half & half

1 c - sour cream

2 c - shredded cheddar cheese

1. Dice onion & cut potatoes in half

2. Place onion, potatoes, & broth in crockpot on low for 4-5 hours

3. Mix flour, ranch dressing mix, half & half, sour cream, & cheese packets from the potatoes together.

4. Mash up some of the potatoes, making it as smooth or chunky as you desire.

5. Add bacon, cheddar cheese, & flour mixture to the crockpot.  Let cook for 1 hour on low.