Postpartum Meal Prep

 

Postpartum Meal Prep

 I only got a few pictures because I'm exhausted now. Here's what I made:

- Instant Pot Pinto Beans by BudgetBytes. I made bean and cheese burritos with them, and a few of them I filled with a microwaveable Spanish rice packet so they are bean/cheese/rice. 5 cups of beef broth for 49 minutes in the Instant Pot.

- Slow Cooker Sesame Honey Chicken by Skinnytaste. I left out the cornstarch because I read it doesn't freeze well. So I'll just throw it in the crockpot or Instant pot and serve over rice. 

- Mandarin Teriyaki Chicken. This was just using up ingredients of what I had. I had a half bottle of Panda Express Mandarin sauce and a half bottle of Lawry's Pineapple Teriyaki Marinade. So I threw that in a bag with sriracha, sesame seeds and some squeeze ginger with jarlic along with some chicken.

- Freezer breakfast sausage burritos. I cooked up a pound of breakfast sausage along with scrambling 18 eggs with heavy cream (only because I had some, if I didn't I would have just used milk), salt and pepper. Then I made burritos with the sausage, eggs, and cheddar cheese wrapped in a tortilla.

- Freezer breakfast sandwiches recipe by Tastes Better from Scratch

- Slow cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken recipe by She's In Her Apron. I did add some garlic and pepper and I'll probably serve it over mashed potatoes with a side of frozen veggies.

- Veggie & Beef Lentil Chili. This was another clean out the pantry meal. 1 lb ground beef, 1 can lentils, 1 can corn, 1 can white beans, 1 can chili beans, 1 can Rotel. I also added bell peppers, zucchini, celery, onions, garlic, 1 can tomato paste, 2 cups beef broth. Spices I used were (about 1 & 1/2 tsp of each): chili powder (2 tbs), garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne, salt/pepper, 1 tsp sugar. I just warmed it up on the stove then transferred it into 2 freezer safe Ziploc bags. I could serve it with frozen Texas Toast, cornbread or even like a small quesadilla. I'll see how I feel when the baby is here lol.

- Mini lasagna's. The pans were a little too small, but I didn't want to make a huge 9x13 pan because that's too much. I just grabbed a generic lasagna recipe, I based it off of this one by About A Mom. I used 1lb ground beef & 1lb Italian sausage. I only had 1 container of ricotta so that was kind of lacking, and only 1 & 1/2 24oz jars of marinara, so I also added a bottle of pizza squeeze lol. I also added a zucchini since we have so much from the garden. 

EveryPlate Sweet Chili Chicken

 

EveryPlate Sweet Chili Chicken

Normally I wouldn't get a chicken dish from a service like this since I cook so much chicken normally anyway, but I forgot to pick my meals lol. This was actually really good! I did do a few things differently though. I added garlic to the chicken, a squeeze of tube ginger to the rice, and the carrots I added a zucchini from the garden plus a bit of garlic/onion/cayenne powder just because. I also cubed the chicken before I cooked it, then I tossed it in the sauce. I was surprised how much I really loved this, the sauce was super good.

EveryPlate Cheesy Southwest Beef Tacodillas

 

EveryPlate Cheesy Southwest Beef Tacodillas

Not a very pretty picture, but I only wanted one lol. These are delicious of course, I mean who doesn't love taco meat in a quesadilla. Plus homemade salsa and a lime crema. The only changes I made were that I had cilantro already chopped so I added that to the salsa, plus a little garlic. My husband said they're "too cute" of course, but he should be happy that he has a homemade meal lol. 

My only complaint is that they did NOT add enough cheese for all those tortillas! If I only used what they sent, each tacodilla would only get a tiny sprinkle. I added cheese we already had so we could actually taste cheese. 

EveryPlate Creamy Tomato & Pork Sausage Linguine

 

EveryPlate Creamy Tomato & Pork Sausage Linguine

This was really good, easy to recreate at home too. I threw in half a chopped giant zucchini since we have so much from the garden, and some red pepper flakes. Other then that I made the recipe as written! I'd get it again for sure. I really liked the ciabatta with the homemade garlic & herb butter!

Saucy Potsticker Rice Bowls

 

Saucy Potsticker Rice Bowls

This is a mish mash of all the TikTok recipes for this dish using what I had lying around basically. I really liked it but it's not my fav recipe ever but it was good and I'd make it again. The boys all said they liked it too so that's good. Plus it was fast!

Ingredients:

- half of a big bag of frozen potstickers (or 1 small bag)

- 1 can coconut milk

- 1 tbs tomato paste

- 1/4 cup maybe of Lawry's Teriyaki with Pineapple Juice Marinade (or just soy sauce or soyaki)

- 2 tbs red curry paste

- 1 tsp sesame oil

- leftover shredded carrots (cabbage would be good too)

- 1 tbs jarlic

- 1 squeeze of refrigerated tube ginger

- 1 bag steamable frozen broccoli

- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar

- chili crisp

- 1 cup rice

- green onions

- cilantro

Directions:

1) Make rice as directed

2) heat sesame oil in pan, sauté carrots for a bit until soft, then add jarlic & ginger

3) add coconut milk, tomato paste, teriyaki, curry paste, rice wine vinegar and stir

4) add potstickers

5) cook for 10-15 minutes covered

6) While everything is cooking, heat broccoli in microwave

7) Plate!

EveryPlate Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken

 

EveryPlate Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken

This was good, the chicken portions were kinda small but there was a lot of veggies and potatoes. I did add a zucchini to the carrots because we have so many from the garden. The only other changes I made were that I used extra seasonings that I had laying around. I added some ranch seasoning to the chicken and carrots, plus some garlic powder to the carrots/chicken/potatoes. I really enjoyed this and I would get it again, the boys haven't tried it yet but I'll update their reactions so I know if this is another recipe to order!

EveryPlate Cheeseburger Crunchy Wraps

 

EveryPlate Cheeseburger Crunchy Wraps

I loved these! But I'm a sucker for any type of crunchwrap recipe. I made way too much burger sauce so I also put it aside for dipping for the fries. I did season the fries a bit with some fry seasoning, but other then that I made it as is. I'd definitely order again. 

I almost didn't make the pickles because we have some Grillo's, which are amazing but I figured I didn't want to waste the cucumbers. So I put the leftover pickles in the Grillos container after!

Every Plate Shawarma-rama Beef Tacos

 

Every Plate Shawarma-rama Beef Tacos

We had a coupon to try out Every Plate so why not! I guess it's really just Hello Fresh? This recipe was okay, it was a little bland. Maybe it was the cucumber/tomato salad that could of used more flavor. Next time I'd add some onion and maybe more salt and lemon zest. The meat was okay.....idk I felt like something was missing.

The zucchini was just some from the garden that I tossed in a buffalo ranch seasoning with garlic and air fried at 400 for 12 minutes. 

HelloFresh Cheddar Grilled Cheese & Creamy Tomato Soup

 

HelloFresh Cheddar Grilled Cheese & Creamy Tomato Soup

Grilled cheese & tomato soup is one of my fav meals, but I wouldn't normally get it from Hello Fresh since it's so simple to make at home. But it was offered for like $5 as an add-on, not as one of the dinner options. I figured $5 for a quick lunch is great.

But this is incredible. It's the best grilled cheese & tomato soup I've ever had. The herb butter really makes it, and they actually gave slices of Sargento cheese. Sourdough is always the best for grilled cheese, and the soup was thick and flavorful. I would definitely get this every time I see it if it is like $6 and under lol. Maybe $7. 

                                               Click here for the recipe card from Hello Fresh

Zesty Refried Bean Cheese Dip

 

Zesty Refried Bean Cheese Dip

Terrible picture lol. I made this with all low fat/fat free ingredients for more of a low calorie option. It tasted good but it was super duper thick, like you couldn't use it as a dip so I used it as burrito filling. Next time I would probably only add 1 can of refried beans and mixed in either salsa or queso to make it more dippable. I did add cilantro because we had some. 

Actually now that I'm re-reading the recipe, it only calls for 1 can of refried beans.....whoops. I was looking at a few different recipes to try so I must have gotten it mixed up. 

Click here for the Zesty Refried Bean Cheese Dip recipe from Stuck on Sweet

Honey Mustard Pretzel Sliders

 

Honey Mustard Pretzel Sliders

These were pretty good, but the boys said they prefer the Hawaiian roll sliders so I'll probably just make them next time. It was interesting trying the pretzel buns but they didn't have too much flavor so I probably wouldn't make them again. Nothing wrong with the recipe, but you just can't beat Hawaiian rolls. Although I liked the honey mustard!

Click here for the Honey Mustard Pretzel Sliders recipe from The Creative Bite

Gouda Pork Burgers with Caramelized Sriracha Onion & Potato Wedges

 

Gouda Pork Burgers with Caramelized Sriracha Onion & Potato Wedges

Honestly, this is incredible. I LOVED this. It's in my top Hello Fresh meals if not my fav recipe I've made. It's easy to recreate at home for sure, but it's super nice to have everything all ready and not have to think after a long day. I will get this every time I'm subscribed and it's available for sure. So much flavor. I added the extra sriracha to my burger and left it off my sons since he's not into too much spicy. 

Click here for the Hello Fresh recipe card

"Easy" S'mores Bars

 

"Easy" S'mores Bars

These were a huge pain lol. Next time I wouldn't microwave the butter/marshmallow mixture, I'd melt it in a pot like I normally do for rice crispies because it makes it so much easier to stir in. Other then that they are delicious! They do taste like s'mores but they are missing the warm gooey marshmallow that really make it a s'more. I'd make them again though! My husband really liked them, which kinda surprised me. He doesn't like recipes that are "too cute" generally.

Click here for the Easy S'mores Bars Recipe by Our Love Language is Food

Zucchini Corn Salad

 

Zucchini Corn Salad

I forgot to take a picture of this but it's super easy and delicious! I did make a couple of changes though. I switched out the feta for cotija since I have a bag and I'm not a huge feta fan. I also next time would use less oil, there really wasn't a need for that much oil. I also just air fried it at 400 until it started to brown because I don't know how to use Craig's grill lol.

My husband has been growing a lot of zucchini so we've been looking for recipes to use it up. I LOVE this and I'll definitely make it again!

Click here for the Zucchini Corn Salad recipe by Live Eat Learn

Hello Fresh Creamy Caramelized Onion Meatloaves

 

Hello Fresh Creamy Caramelized Onion Meatloaves

These were really good! The instructions called to make 4 loaves but since there is only 3 of us I made 3, which was the perfect size. My teenager also had some garlic bread on the side. I did add an egg to the meatloaf because we had it, and I added garlic to everything. I would get this again for sure. I kept skimming the directions and couldn't for the life of me find what to do with the broccoli (I was very distracted lol) so I just air fried it at 400 for like 15 min. Later I saw what the instructions said, oh well still good since I love roasted broccoli.

It was also pretty quick to make so that's always a plus!

Cinnamon Peach Bread

 

Cinnamon Peach Bread

It was hard to get a good picture of this bread! I had bought a bag of peaches and a bag of nectarines that were super rock hard, ripe for like 2 days max then started to turn. So I needed to find a recipe that used up a lot. I used both nectarines and peaches in this bread, and I didn't peel them because it was a pain and was just squishing. I also added a little bit of Truvia brown sugar to the batter. Instead of the glaze I just sprinkled on a combo of sugar/cinnamon/Truvia brown sugar. A glaze would have been good too though! I was just impatient.

We loved it, my youngest wouldn't try it. I'd definitely make them again, they were super moist and flavorful. I tried telling my youngest that it's just like banana bread (which he loves) but for some reason he's weirded out with cooking with fruit. 

Click here for the Cinnamon Peach Bread recipe from Our Balanced Bowl

Hello Fresh Chicken Thyme with Zucchini Couscous

 

Hello Fresh Chicken Thyme with Zucchini Couscous

Hello Fresh sent some good coupons and I really needed a break from meal planning so I decided to resubscribe for a week. I know generally meal services like this are super expensive, but when they have good coupons it's 100% worth it. You don't have to find recipes, grocery shop....nothing. They send what you need and you don't have to think lol. Plus it's a good way to try new things you might normally try. We are pretty adventurous but there are recipes I would never normally choose so that's fun.

This was SUPER good! One of my top fav Hello Fresh recipes now. It made a lot of couscous but the chicken portions were kinda small, so I was worried it wouldn't be enough for my husband and teenager. We have a loaf of rosemary sourdough that I toasted with butter, garlic and parm for some garlic bread. It's perfect. The freshness of the lemon with the zucchini is so good. It actually called for way more lemon zest and lemon juice then I added, I thought it was plenty....maybe they gave us big lemons. The sauce/gravy is DELICIOUS, like I need to recreate it even without a subscription.