It’s that time of the year, and it comes so quickly. The semester is beginning to end, and that means we are all exhausted. Our lives are slowly winding down, but that means the exhaustion is here to catch up with us. Knowing that it’s tiring ahead of time means we can plan for the busy-ness. If I don’t take this into consideration with meal prep, it’s going to be Taco Cabana every night. This week, I made an incredibly easy meal prep, but they are still super tasty. Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Bleu Cheese Burger Salads.
Busy weeks mean that my food is going to be more of the pre-made items. These are typically more costly, so I adjust the rest of my meal planning and groceries to offset the cost. I don’t add these items on a regular basis, but for those crazy weeks (the second half of the second semester, in especially), they can save your sanity.
Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
All cards on the table, my husband and I both prefer the ‘fake’ mashed potatoes to the real. This comes in handy for weeks when we’re wanting to take it a little easy. What we did this week for meal #1 is chicken, baked style in the crockpot, with pre-made mashed potatoes and broccoli.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs. chicken tenders
- 2 bags Campbell’s Skillet Sauce (use the flavor of your choice– I chose Creamy Parmesan)
- Bob Evans mashed potatoes
- Broccoli
- Beef Broth
- Garlic
- Salt and preferred seasonings
Directions
- Put the chicken and one sauce into the crockpot, set to low for 2 1/2 hours.
- Heat the mashed potatoes in the microwave and divide equally, using a half cup measurement (make sure not to push it down or the 4-5 servings will quickly become 3).
- Take the raw broccoli (I get them broken up, but you can get the whole crown and break it up), and divide it into the containers. I keep it raw, because it will soften when you heat it up. If you cook it first, it can become soggy when you reheat it. I sprinkle a little salt and call it a day. Play close attention to the serving sizes, so you don’t jip yourself that awesome fiber.
- Take the second sauce and mix it in a sauce pan with browned garlic. Add broth until it is the consistency of gravy you prefer.
- Add the chicken to the containers and add the gravy to the potatoes and chicken.
As promised, this is as easy a day as you can possibly imagine. It’s filling, tasty and super fast. I promise this does not taste like the broiled chicken we have all come to dread and associate with ‘healthy eating’.
Bleu Cheese Burger Salads
Oh. My. Goodness. I know you, too are excited about this one. We ran out of fat for our macros, but if you have some to spare, you can add some turkey bacon and make this a bacon burger! The nice thing about salads is that the prep work is minimum and you can vary them so greatly every week, so you can keep from boredom.
Ingredients
- Bags of romaine lettuce (you can also grab the ones with little extras in them)
- Cherry tomatoes (one container per person per week)
- Bleu Cheese (One container per person per week)
- Mushrooms, optional
- Radishes, optional
- 3 lbs. ground beef
- Seasoning of your choice
Tips
- I browned the ground meat with garlic (catching onto a theme?) and seasoning, but I then keep it in a separate container. I refuse to eat cold ground beef on salads, but I’m not about to nuke the greens. This is my dinner for the week, so that I don’t have to take both containers (the meat and the salad).
- Make it your own! You’ll notice Giles (the salad on the left) has mushrooms and regular cheese (weirdo doesn’t like bleu cheese), but I have radishes (I love them and hate mushrooms).
- Add or take away, according to your own preferences. I love mixing it up by doing themes (like a bleu cheese burger), or sticking with something more classic (like a waldorf). Normally, I would have added bacon to this, but as I said, my macros were just shy of allowing it.
Hopefully, your weeks have not been too chaotic, but the end of the semester is nigh! In the meantime, a bleu cheese burger salad should help.
