Since K and I don't eat dinner together often and the boys always want a simple meal, something that works really well in my house is for me to cook a few meals on the weekend, portion them out, and stick them in the fridge/freezer for easy grab and go through the week. K and I take them to work as well as heat them up to eat at home. And if the boys do happen to be curious enough to eat what I'm eating, it's easy to get that for them!
I have gotten out of the habit recently though. Working longer shifts at my day job and then hustling to build my oils business in my other time while trying to be a good wife and mama and keep the house from overtaking us all with clutter is a lot. But I'm really trying to take better care of myself, and eating real meals is a good place to focus on. I recently switched from contacts to glasses and hope that switching from random meals of pistachios and granola bars to something more realistic will help cut the migraines down.
This weekend I made tortilla soup, beef fajita meat, and ham and cheese sliders. I also made a Dr. Pepper cake for K's birthday, which I'm happy to also share the recipes for, but it was a birthday thing and not a meal prep thing!
For my tortilla soup, this is basically what I did:
1. In 8 cups of chicken broth, boil some chicken. I used about two pounds of frozen chicken thighs that I put in my pot like it was some sort of weird frozen kabob and then submerged as it defrosted.
2. Remove cooked chicken from liquid, leave liquid in the pot. Cut/shred chicken to desired bite sized pieces, add back to pot.
3. Add one jar of good salsa to pot. You can substitute two cans of Rotel, a hearty amount of pico de gallo, or fresh diced tomatoes with diced onion and minced garlic. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer.
4. Dice a yellow or white onion, add to pot.
5. Mince one bunch of cilantro, add to pot.
6. Allow to simmer together for about twenty more minutes, taste and adjust seasonings to taste.
7. Serve with tortilla chips on top! Additional optional toppings can include guacamole or avocado, sour cream, cheese, whatever you want!
8. If freezing, allow to cool in pot. Dish into freezer safe containers. Cool before placing in freezer to avoid ice crystals in soup. Defrost or microwave to enjoy later!
Ham and Cheese Sliders
This is specifically meant to load up the freezer. This is a great late night quick meal or something easy to throw in your lunch bag with a salad or some fruit.
1. Soften 1/2 cup of butter.
2. Add one grated yellow onion, 1 tbsp Worcester sauce, 1 tbsp mustard, and 1 tbsp poppy seeds. Mix well. Adjust to taste.
3. Spread sauce on slider rolls, top with shaved or thin sliced ham and swiss cheese. Spread more sauce on tops of buns, place buns on top.
4. Wrap in foil or place in freezer safe containers. We like to place two together.
5. Microwave aprox 2 minutes to eat! Can also place foil packages in oven at 400 for aprox 20 minutes.
Beef Faijta Meat
I'm lucky in that my local grocery store, HEB, has a lot of fun marinated meat options. This was a new one for us to try. I just cut the package open and put it in the crockpot on low to get the meat nice and tender. Once cooked, I shredded the meat and put it in one container in the fridge. For my lunch today, I put some meat in a bowl, some salsa in a small container, and a few tortillas in my lunch bag. I'll heat it all up and enjoy!
Later this week I hope to make teriyaki meatballs with coconut rice and buttermilk biscuits to have on hand.
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