Plan & Prep | March 6th - 12th

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Busy weeks like this one make me extra grateful for meal prepping! Lunch prep in particular helps ensure that we don't need to purchase our lunches at work, and it allows us to stay within our health goals.

This week I planned my meals to take advantage of leftovers from the previous week, on sale produce that I picked up over the weekend, and a great sale on ground beef. Taco salad is always my answer to leftover taco fixings, and Smash Burgers feel like a restaurant meal indulgence. I also picked up a few cube steaks from the clearance bin, which are quick and easy to cook. 

I tried a few new recipes this week, including the Pioneer Woman's Potatoes au Gratin - I cannot say I recommend this recipe, as it became gummy and started to curdle a bit on the edges. I try to incorporate a new recipe every week or two, unfortunately some just don't work out the way you hope! However the gingerbread cupcakes came out great, and I look forward to testing out the sauce from Sticky Ginger Chicken Wings to make an entrée with chicken breast.

Since I do most of my grocery shopping on Friday or Monday, you may notice items on my plan and prep that were not on the previous week's "what we spent" reflection. Shopping on these days however helps to ensure that any fresh items get prepped and included in meals since I do most of my prepping between Sunday and Tuesday, depending upon how many leftovers we have.

Meal Plan & Prep for the 2nd Week of March 2021

Ingredients

From the Fridge, Chest Freezer & Pantry that Need to Be Used Up
  • Leftover Roasted Cauliflower & Asparagus
  • Iceberg Lettuce
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • Fresh Strawberries
  • Fresh Blueberries
  • Ground Beef
  • Cooked Taco Meat
  • Petite Sirloin Steaks - I ended up freezing all of these
  • Cube Steaks

Meal Prep 

  • Yogurt Cups (maple sweetened yogurt, strawberries, strawberry jam, and walnuts)
  • Cheerio Cups
  • Goldfish Cups
  • Baked a Blueberry Zucchini Lemon Quick Bread
  • Diced a Small Quarter of a Watermelon
  • Ground Beef Prep - I cooked 3 pounds and dived it into four freezer bags, used a little over a pound to make Smash Burgers for two dinners, and then froze the rest (raw) in three-quarter pound portions
  • Prepped Lunches from Monday's Leftovers - Green Beans, Potatoes au Gratin, Steak/ Meatballs
Later in the week I will make the pizza dough for King Arthur's Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza and making lunches using the sauce from Sticky Ginger Chicken Wings with cubed chicken breast and bell peppers baked in the oven to make an entrée that can be served over brown rice.

This weekend I also baked a Giant Cinnamon Roll to take to my in-law's for breakfast. I did not get pictures of it iced, but I highly recommend this recipe if your looking for a simple recipe that looks impressive - as a bonus it is also much easier than dealing with individual cinnamon rolls!

Giant Cinnamon Roll

Meal Plan

Breakfasts for the Week
  • Yogurt & Cheerios
  • Granola Bars w/ Peanut Butter
  • Breakfast Snack Box (grapes, cheese, crackers, sliced ham)
  • Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches if Needed
Yogurt Cups, Cheerios, Cooked Ground Beef, and Seasoned Beef for Smash Burgers

Lunches for the Week
  • Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs from the Freezer w/ Roasted Cauliflower
  • Leftover Steak or Turkey Meatballs (freezer) w/ Potatoes au Gratin and Green Beans
  • Taco Salad
  • Sticky Ginger Chicken w/ Bell Peppers and Rice
  • "Pickity Bits" (cheese, crackers, nuts, etc) and Misc. Leftovers from Dinners
Potatoes au Gratin, Prepped Lunches, and a Gingerbread Cupcake

Dinners for the Week 
  • Saturday - Catered Dinner at a (Very Small) Wedding
  • Sunday - Smash Burgers w/ Baked Fries and Onion Rings, Cucumber Slices
  • Monday - Cube Steak w/ Potatoes au Gratin and Green Beans
  • Tuesday - Tacos w/ Cucumbers & Carrots
  • Wednesday - Shake & Bake Chicken Tenderloins, Green Beans, Rice, & Crescent Rolls
  • Thursday - Smash Burgers w/ Chips & Crudité
  • Friday - Crispy Cheesy Pizza and Salad
Snacks for the Week
  • Blueberry Zucchini Lemon Bread, Blueberries, Strawberries, Grapes, Watermelon, Goldfish
  • Gingerbread Cupcakes w/ Maple Whipped Cream
  • Also Available: carrots, popcorn, cheese sticks, nuts, pretzels, etc
What's on your menu for the week?

Comments

  1. Lynda WMarch 15, 2021 at 4:45 PM

    What are smash burgers? I love hamburgers more than steak!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MalloryLMarch 16, 2021 at 8:32 AM

      Smash Burgers are I believe a riff on on Freddy's Burgers (a restaurant I've never been to). I got the "recipe" from Ree Drummond - it's more of a technique really. You take a golf-ball sized amount of ground beef and "smash" it onto a hot skillet (I use a cast iron skillet and bacon grease), flattening it with a spatula. This gives you a crispy crust on the burger! Here is the link from Food Network's site: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/smashed-burgers-3091493

      Delete

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