these next few weeks I'm looking to restock my freezer to prepare for my next pregnancy, since between the first trimester nausea (aka no cooking was happening) and that second trimester fatigue (aka some cooking was happening), having a few things in the freezer would've been so nice. read my full list of all i'm doing to prepare for baby #2 here.
sunday: grill and chill
- read all the ways our weekly ritual of grill and chill helps us here
- brett grills chicken for burrito bowls (+ extra chicken for the week):
- fajitas? quesadillas? burrito bowls? dip meat in queso and mashed avocado? anything goes.
- or just do mashed avocado + black beans + fritos/tortilla chips?
- I'll probably also have Brett grill some shrimp in our freezer that he can use for tonight's burrito bowls or Wednesday's pasta (and we need KK to try shrimp to be exposed to that allergen - see more about KK's baby-led weaning journey here)
- mexican rice (I omit the vegetable oil and just throw it all in my rice cooker)
- instant pot black beans (1 cup dried black beans, 3 cups water/broth, high pressure 30 minutes in my instant pot, natural release, mash a few beans to release the starches so that it thickens, season to taste)
- guac + costco queso + crema + quesadilla cheese + heb's that green sauce or trader joe's jalapeno sauce + pico + diced red onions
- guac...or a big bowl of mashed avo
- sometimes I add in cotija and pepitas, as shown here
- obsessed with my avocado tool
- brett requests I also add that trader joe's cotija street corn frozen thing
- brett cooks his quesadillas in the cast iron, but I love my quesadilla maker
- also also can brett make a few quesadillas for quick lunches this week?
- freeze leftover grilled meat by end of the week
- brett loves his grill, his smoker, and his prep table (see other grill and chill favorites here)
- see our other weekly routines here and our yearly traditions here
weekly meal prep:
- here and here's how I meal prep
- shop my favorite meal prep goodies here
- I love this article for inspiration
cut or supreme citrus
make food for me (and KK)
- *I adapt all these things for KK if need be if it's something we will share
- see more about feeding KK here
- make a batch of this oatmeal for the week, if needed
- make peanut butter banana oatmeal bake
- or make a batch of baked oatmeal for the week - like this! (I learned I love to eat it warm with milk or greek yogurt YUM)
- or make fruity baked oatmeal cups for KK - I'll sometimes change out the fruit, double the recipe, and freeze leftovers. you're welcome, future haley!
- make a batch of waffles, pancakes, or muffins, if needed
- make sheet pan banana pancakes (add in one mashed, overripe banana)
- (or make a batch of sheet pan pancakes, like these or these)
- freeze leftovers, or double the batch and freeze half
- make eggs for the week, if needed
- like my trashy tater tot baked omelette
- or make these egg cups
- or make sheet pan omelette for us + KK for the week
- or make hardboiled eggs using this method for KK + Brett this week
- make smoothie cups and/or yogurt parfaits, if needed
- see my "smoothies" highlight on my instagram
- see more about my yogurt parfaits here
- make snack boxes in divided glass containers like this, if needed:
- see my "snack box" highlight on my instagram for this better explained + past boxes
- see my Pinterest boards to see where I save all food inspiration for snack boxes/adult lunchables/bistro boxes/whatever you call them
monday: soup + sandwich night
build your own sandwich bar (what we do/have explained in linked post)
or, or!
chicken caesar wraps
- use grilled chicken from sunday
- use refrigerated caesar dressing (near the produce) - its SO MUCH BETTER
- we use halved cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and shredded (not powdered!) parmesan cheese with good flour tortillas
- brett crumbles croutons (either caesar croutons, or cheese/garlic croutons) to sprinkle on top - this part is essential to add crunch to every bite
- brett adds thinly sliced red onion to his
- see this post and this post for photos + ingredients + step by step
tuesday:
- but lets make a smaller batch in my favorite pyrex pan, and make a few pans for the freezer
- this instagram post shows a visual of this
- i love these smaller aluminum pans for freezing
- lets use that rao's vodka sauce in the pantry, and let's add crumbled italian sausage so brett will be 1000% on board with this meal
- could use that garlic bread in the freezer, too with a bagged caesar salad?
wednesday:
or breakfast tacos
thursday:
Breakfast casserole - double recipe for freezer
- (the other best thing to keep on hand for nausea, pregnancy hanger, and nursing)
- don't laugh. this is one of my favorite things. (but know that mcdonald's sausage egg and cheese biscuits are some of my favorite things, and this casserole takes just like those. I have eaten this while suuuuper nauseous and pregnant, I have eaten this while hangry after a hard swim, I have eaten this while nursing a newborn KK, I have eaten this on a plane (yes, a plane). my love for this casserole is IMMENSE. it's the best thing to freeze.
- I personally bake the casserole (or two casseroles), and then once cooled, I cut the casserole into strips. I flash freeze the strips, and when those are frozen, I pull them out, throw them into a big ol bag, and keep The Bag O Casserole Strips in the freezer. the strips make it easy for me to just pull out, say, five strips and reheat in the oven for a quick breakfast. (please don't microwave. the oven does these strips the best amount of justice.) Am I making sense? I have got to start writing things down better.
friday: fajita friday or leftovers
- shop my favorite leftover containers here
- also, on fridays I menu plan + order groceries. I try to post my step-by-step each week in my instagram stories if you want to see how I menu plan, but I have a highlight of me talking through my process in my "how I menu plan" highlight, if you prefer that.
- here are my three go-to dinner strategies I repeat over and over. and over.
- here's what I do when I don't feel like making what's on the menu plan.
saturday: snack dinner saturday
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