One of the big things I wanted to work on this year was cutting my time down in the kitchen. The goal is to get most of our meals for the week made in just one or two days each week so I have more time to dedicate to outdoor garden projects and hobbies. I have a feeling that I am going to be VERY busy once spring and summer rolls around and so by working out the kinks of this whole meal prep thing now, I hope to have it down by the time the ground thaws and I have better things to do.
This week I spent 3 days shopping and/or making food. 2 of those days were spent cooking with Mrs. HB. But habits take time to develop, and since I totally get that… My hope is to have a solid meal prep schedule down by the end of this month.
Crock Pot Meal of the Week: Kung Po Chicken
Mrs. HB and I wanted to try some new recipes this week and Crock Pot kung po chicken was one of them. That Mrs. HB, she LOVES spicy food, but my people said the chicken was way to spicy so I’m going to give it another go this week. I’ll post the recipe for you once I’ve perfected it for the I don’t want my mouth to be on fire when I eat crowd.
Freezer Meal of the Week: Sweet and Sour Meatballs over Rice
I made one batch for dinner and another batch to pop in the freezer.
Freezer Clean Out Meal:
Zaycon ham, corn, and the green bean casserole and potato puffs my MIL sent us as part of our Christmas dinner box from Omaha Steaks. My husband LOVES the green bean casserole {I think it might have some sort of mushroom sauce in it} and there is just enough with each portion so I can put the leftovers in his lunch the next day.
Breakfasts: Muffins, Pancakes and Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs and Toast
Soup of the Week: Miso Soup
Mrs. HB and I got together and not only went to the Korean market in Lakewood for all the ingredients but made the soup together last Friday. I haven’t talked to her since so I’m not sure what her clan thought about it, but the HH and The Girl both thought it was too fishy and it only needed half the seaweed I used…. So it looks like I’ll be making it again to see if I can get it up to their standards. 😉 Whateva. I’ll share the recipe once I’ve perfected the soup.
Salad of the Week: Quinoa Salad with Feta, Avocado and Kale
Ever since Mrs. HB and I started making this last spring, she has faithfully made this salad every.single.week. since then. She says it’s her go to lunch. I seem to make it about once a month and honestly, I could eat it every single week too so maybe to save some time in the meal planning department I should just do that too. Simplicity, it wins out every time.
Staple of the Week: Beans and Rice
Sometimes I’ll add half of a chopped avocado or a couple of tablespoons of salsa over the top to jazz things up a bit. Most people would balk at the idea of eating beans and rice as a quick snack {my husband included} but The Girl and I… we love it. It might be because we are both kinda the eat to live and not live to eat sort of people I guess.
Baked Goodness of the Week: Jane’s Blueberry Muffins
2 Quick and Easy Meals of the Week: Sheet Pan Nachos and Soft Tacos made with homemade tortillas.
Groceries purchased this week:
Costco – Mini Wontons $9.49
I was in a hurry and looking for spring rolls or something else to serve with the Miso soup I made and grabbed these mini wontons. I didn’t see the word MINI and after making them totally regretted the purchase. Sure, they’d be fine if you needed a little appetizer for a party but honestly, they were not as enjoyable to eat as a wonton you can get three bites out of.
Winco – $32.01
I LOVE Winco. Not as much as Aldi though…. But Winco does have great prices on everyday items and I like that I can get around the corners of the store without a bunch of cardboard cutouts of new products or obstacles. What Winco lacks in flashiness, it totally makes up for in low prices. Plus I can get in and out of there in about 10 minutes flat {when I’m not shopping with Mrs HB}.
Korean Market $18.94
Have you ever made Miso soup before? See anything there that doesn’t belong? Does all miso soup have bonito flakes and seaweed in it?
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Total Spent This Week $60.44
How about YOU? Did you buy anything exciting this past week? Do you do the whole food prep thing or are you happy cooking from scratch every night? We’d love to know.
~Mavis
Jeanie says
I have made it (miso soup) before but have not used bonito flakes in it, just seaweed.
Teresa Young says
My goal is to plan a month of meals at a time. So far, so good 🙂
I’m also trying to cook dinner as early in the day as I can, then just reheat at dinnertime.
We ate out this weekend and I had Dan Dan Noodles for the first time and loved it, so that’s a recipe I am hoping to replicate at home. It’s a spicy ground pork with peanuts over noodles. Does anybody have a recipe to share?
Carrie says
No recipe, but I meal plan a month at a time. It is so much easier. I have a calender from the dollar store where I make which nights I don’t need to cook, or need a crockpot dinner or anything specific. Then I fill in the rest of the days. I also make a shopping list for each week as I go through my recipe binder. I then see what I have and cross that off. Then I shop for all non perishables the first week. Then if I need to move things around during the week its easy. If I forgot to defrost the meat, I grab another recipe in the month I have everything for. I generally leave about 3 open spots during the month and I don’t put the easy meals (spaghetti and frozen meatballs, quesadillas, tacos) on the menu but save them for the open days or when I need something fast.
Teresa Young says
Thanks for the tips. I printed out a blank calendar and wrote general meals, like ‘chicken’, ‘slow cooker’, etc – it’s working this month because I am making meals from what I have on hand in the pantry and freezer. But once I have to shop more regularly, I like your idea of buying all the non-perishables the first week.
Mrs. C. says
THe bonito and seaweed make the dashi base. This is typical. Here is another recipe: http://thewoksoflife.com/2017/03/superfood-miso-soup/
You might need to cut back on the seaweed.
Shari Harniss says
I like miso soup, but, I don’t eat the seaweed. I also prefer less fishy tastes. I miss our Korean market, Hmart, in Houston. The closest one is almost 2 hours away!!
Deb K says
When I have miso soup, sometimes it has a small amount of seaweed, sometimes none at all. I don’t know what bomito flakes are. Years ago, I quit using tofu, now I put in small, diced vegetables instead. I love it that way.
Shari Harniss says
Bonito flakes are made from dried fish.
Brandy says
If they complained about the fishy ness of the miso soup, then blame the bonito flakes. If you’re using a paste sometimes they include it, so check the label first.
Michelle says
Learning to meal plan and prep ahead {in the least amount of time possible} is one of my goals for 2018, so I’m rall looking forward to reading more about this!
Carrie says
I make a weekly meal plan but I don’t do a lot of prepping. I’ll make chicken broth every other week from a rotisserie chicken from Costco (we usually eat the legs and some breast one night, I shred the remaining breast and thighs for soup, tacos, and on top of salads. Some weeks I’ll make beans or rice to prepare for the week. I do wash and cut up fruit to pack for lunches every Sunday and Wednesday night. It saves me a lot of time instead of doing it every morning.
Beth says
As usual your meals look delicious! I haven’t made miso before but noticed miso broth at Trader Joe’s the other day and almost added it to my cart but decided against it. We are transitioning to a primarily paleo diet so I bought lots of fresh fruits and veggies at Winco yesterday and did lots of food prep- nothing more fun than a little quality time with my salad spinner! I made a fantastic chicken coconut lime soup (lots of shredded veggies in it) and today I will make a double batch of paleo meatballs and a sweet potato bacon chowder. I also made banana chia pudding that can be breakfast or dessert. I do know the key to this being a success is to meal prep a lot so I don’t resort to processed food or takeout but I’m committed so I will meal prep each weekend and have a couple of core go-to meals ready to heat and eat.
sharon says
can you share soup and pudding recipes?
Janet says
HI Mavis. Totally off topic for today but my husband and I just watched A Man Called Ove this morning. What a good movie! You were right! We have found a few Scandinavian movies on Netflix that we really like. Thanks for the head’s up about it.
KC says
I use miso paste, a specific kind of dried seaweed (only a bit, since it expands), tofu, and water, and that’s it for me (although I’ve also enjoyed miso soup with mushrooms, etc. also in there). Incidentally, boiling the soup vs. just simmering it after the miso paste is in changes it (not for the better, in my opinion). My usual method: put water in the pot, start it heating, add seaweed, add tofu, then add miso paste, heat until just simmering (make sure the seaweed has un-dessicated), then serve immediately. However, I’m not Japanese – but this has resulted in a miso soup pretty close to what I’ve had in Japanese restaurants, and I like it, so, eh, good enough for me?
Bonito is a common ingredient in Japanese broths, but I’m not used to it being in plain miso soup, and if fishiness was not desired, I’d just cut the bonito. (and *definitely* you should not be putting Pocky in there, ha!)
The type of miso paste you use will also have a huge effect on what kind of miso broth you get, although every variety I’ve tried has been good – just different. But there may be some people who have strong preferences for a specific kind.
Lauralli says
I’ve never had Miso soup but I have had Pocky sticks! Surely that’s what “doesn’t belong”. 🙂 Though, I dunno, I think they would make a great snack before the soup or dessert after so then they would belong!
Rachel says
If I could get my husband on board, I’ll do way more beans and rice. I LOVE them. I do make a huge crockpot of refried beans for burritos, tacos, nachos, etc. every other week but I think if I made what you did and said, “Dinner!” he would be a little bit sad 🙂
Audra from Ohio says
My husband and I are also trying to reduce the time we spend cooking (and cleaning up!) from each meal. We did our first ever couples bulk cooking day on Saturday. We made black bean and avocado enchiladas (x4), Crockpot curried lentils (x2), and vegetarian pot pies (x4). We ran out of time to make the last recipe I had planned, but I’m going to make it later this week and just double the batch to freeze. I’m hoping that over time the shopping doesn’t take so long! The morning together was fun though!
Connie says
I need to do more meal prep.. But I do not like to use microwave so needs to be foods that will reheat in oven or stovetop. You inspire me to try new things
Mimi says
I love to make a quick lunch with mini won tons simmered in homemade chicken broth. Add a little ginger and shredded carrots to the broth and top with chopped scallions, a fast healthy meal. A little sriracha doesn’t hurt either. 🙂
MT Mich says
When I make miso soup for a meal, I love to add mini wontons to the soup as little dumplings, they work so well together! I usually stock up on the Trader Joe’s mini wontons but I am excited to look for those ones at Costco
Ginger says
The ones at Costco taste exactly like the ones at TJ’s so you’ll be really happy with that purchase. Sometimes they come on sale at Costco, too. Last time I stocked up on 2 huge bags.
Amy says
Those mini wontons are so tasty. We like them as a fast snack and I also made wonton soup with them, yum!
Maritza says
As a Puerto Rican and having eaten more rice and beans then I care to remember, try adding sofrito to the beans. It makes the beans so tasty and flavorful.
It’s easy to make all you need is a bunch of cilantro, 1 large yellow onion, 1 green bell pepper, a whole head of garlic or you can cut that back to a few cloves if a whole head is too much for you, and to add some spice add a few ajies dulce peppers(sweet chilli peppers) or cubanelle peppers if you can’t find those, and if you can find it adding a few leaves of (recao) culantro an herb similar to cilantro but more pungent in flavor (but not needed in my opinion it’s fine with or without it). Wash all ingredients, stick in a food processor until well pureed with just a small amount of chunks and viola. The recipr makes about a quart all you need is a tablespoon or two at a time. You can stick the sofrito in ice trays freeze them and store until you want to use them. Sautee it in a little bit of oil before cooking the beans or add it to whatever meat your cooking or even adding it to soups or chilli it’s pretty versatile and goes with almost everything. Hope you can give it try and enjoy it.
Mel says
This is off topic but thanks so much for telling us about the London Fog latte in a previous post. I just got an espresso maker and I was craving a warm creamy latte tonight but of course I cannot have espresso after 6pm. Then I remembered the London Fog beverage, and since I have Earl Grey tea on hand I am now sipping a sweet creamy less caffeine latte. Delish!
Mavis Butterfield says
The best drink EVER. 🙂
Mel says
We’re still chipping away at the 200-some freezer meals I made this summer, and it’s delightful.
I make side dishes and sometimes also rice or pasta fresh each night, but the frozen main dishes cut down significantly on the time spent planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning each week. Every couple weeks, I make and freeze small batches of things like bread, pizza dough, and doughnuts or scones. We do oatmeal for weekday breakfasts, but the frozen doughnuts and scones are for weekends.
Laura says
I love miso soup but I’d leave out the bonito flakes. I don’t like the fishy taste. It’s so good without it.
Peg says
When I was actively doing cross stitch, I would coffee or tea stain the fabric first. I suppose you could also do it after the piece was finished, but I’d be concerned about colors running.
rosemary says
Add the mini wontons to leftover chicken broth. Add vegatables and fresh ginger. Garnish soup with green onions. Yummy.
Mrs. Z says
I relly don’t mind cooking from scratch each night this time of year. I despise it during the summer when I could be out on the patio or playing with flower beds. I eat simple lunch and breakfast like your beans an rice as well.
Carrie says
I’m the same way. I usually grill a bunch of chicken on Sunday and use it for dinners throughout the week. We eat a lot of salads and BLT’s in the summer too.
Cindy M. says
I was ready to tell you about an amazing old deli in Butte, MT, that waaaaaay back when, that had an amazing selection of baked goods – Gamers Delicatessen. I am a native of Montana up until 12 years ago and have been in and through Butte a gazillion times ☺️ When we were in college, circa 1976 (like I said, waaaaay back when) my college basketball team was playing Mt. Tech in Butte and we stayed in a motel in the old part of town. We walked around to find somewhere to eat breakfast and found Gamers – we had superb breakfasts and then we all had to by some of their scrumptious pastries. I just googled it and there is still indeed a Gamers Cafe (the building is quite historic, looks like the original facade) but by their menu, it doesn’t look like they have a real bakery anymore, BUT, they DO have a casino…oye vey…help me Rhonda…anyway, the old section of Butte is kind of fun to check out -Copper King Mansion and the Berkley Pit are quite interesting. As far as Missoula and Bozeman, again, been to and through a gazillion times but not familiar with bakeries! Good luck!
Julia says
This is a busy week fir us as it is PA Farm Show week. Our son is in 4-H and raises rabbits. He has two rabbits in the show as well as quite a few other projects and competitions which makes meal planning a bit more challenging as we won’t be home much. Fortunately we live five minutes from the Farm Show. I made a big pot of home made beef a roni, got chicken ceasar salads from Costco, turkey and cheese for sandwiches to take with us, a rotisserie chicken from the market, and a bunch of fruit. This should get us through most of the week. Of course we will be eating food at the Farm Show as well cause who can turn down chocolate covered bacon, potatoe donuts, maple ice cream, pulled pork, milkshakes and deep fried veggies! The blended mushroom and beef burgers are exquisite. Just saying.
Brenda says
Have you ever made the recipe on the can of Goya Black beans. Very good..never eat plain black beans again.
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 cup Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Green pepper, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
15.5 ounces Black Beans, undrained
3/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 packet Goya Sazon without annotto
1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar
Preparation
Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add onion, pepper and garlic, cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Emiko says
I would omit the bonito flakes from your miso soup. If you’re making the “dashi” broth, then you can use it to flavor the dashi base along with a piece of kombu seaweed. Or you can buy the miso paste that already includes the dashi which would add a little more flavor.
Jenny Rappaport says
The fishy taste may be due to technique. Here’s what I do:
Fill a 2-3 qt pot with cool water and place a 4″ piece of konbu in it. Walk away and let it soak for 20 minutes. Turn the heat on, and bring to a decent simmer. Do not boil the konbu! When the water is going, remove the konbu, and throw in one handful of bonito flakes. Bring to a boil, and hold for one minute at a rolling boil. Remove from the heat. Wait until the bonito flakes fall to the bottom of the pot, and then strain the flakes out with a fine mesh strainer.
Clean pot (remove flakes that stick to it, etc), and return dashi to the pot. Warm up the dashi, then remove some broth to a small bowl. Mix at least a tablespoon of miso paste to the bowl. And mix well. Return the broth mixture to the main pot, and simmer gently until fully warm (1-2 minutes at most). Put any tofu, wakame, etc into the pot and you’re done.