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26 Meals for $200

Another six weeks later, and another round of meals. These ones are really easy and can hardly be considered "home-cooked" but they will keep us well-fed. Menu (make 2 of each) | Burgers + Fries Ranch Chicken   Fish Tacos   Cajun Smoked Sausage and Rice Sausage & Shrimp Skillet Fried Rice Tacos Chow Mein Vodka Pasta Spaghetti Grocery List | Meat: Sirloin burgers (1-2 packages depending on the size of your family) 5 3 lb. bag of chicken breasts 1 "carne asada" roast 1 3 lb. bag of Mahi filets 4 packages of smoked sausage (turkey or beef) 1 bag of peeled shrimp 4 lbs. of ground beef 2 bags of pre-made meatballs Produce: 1 sweet onion 2 orange bell peppers 2 red bell peppers 2 yellow bell peppers Seasoning: 2 Ranch seasoning packets 2 fajita seasoning packets 2 mojito lime seasoning packets 1 bottle of Caribbean Jerk marinade 2 packet of taco seasoning Bottle of Cajun Seasoning 2 fried rice seasoning p

Pandemic Cooking: 26 Meals for $240

When I did my last round of meals I was so thankful I had meal prepped right before the quarantine started and thought surely it'd be over by the time I needed to go again.  Alas, here we are. Still cooped up. Still social distancing. Still eating too many snacks and over scheduled with Zoom calls, figuring out how to home school our kids, and making a million meals each day. Meal prepping has continued to be incredibly helpful for us since we're avoiding going to the grocery store every five days. This round is not the cheapest. It is not the healthiest. But it was incredibly easy to throw together when I got home. (Only took me an hour!) Menu | Make 2 of each unless otherwise indicated California Burritos Spaghetti Orange Chicken and Broccoli Tacos Pulled Pork on Pretzel Rolls Cajun Smoked Sausage and Rice (make 3) Baked Ravioli Roasted Red Peppers & Sausage on Texas Toast Mesquite Lime Chicken Flatbread Wraps Chicken Fajitas Stea

Your Gratitude Sounds A Lot Like Complaining

"Your gratitude sounds a lot like complaining," I said to my kids after they said my dish washing was too loud while they ate a hot meal for lunch and watched a TV show. I think I needed to say those words out loud today so they would ring truth in my own ears. My kids were driving me nuts this morning, I'm disappointed our vacation is canceled this week, and I feel like I have no idea how to make this spring break "fun." Not the kind of fun we usually have anyway. I want to be at the zoo. I want to be at the beach. I want to be crabbing. I want to hug my friends. Instead I'm stuck at home with food and internet and creativity and sunshine just outside my doorstep. My gratitude sounds a lot like complaining, doesn't it? I'm not saying we shouldn't be allowed to feel all the things, because we all will rotate through every day with different feelings. But, let's make sure our complaints don't outweigh our thankful hearts. ❤

There Is Enough Time

When I became a new mom of two, my mom gifted me a book she read when she became a mom called 'There is Enough Time.' It was really old, an "original." It was written in the fifties is what I'm saying. I read most of it and nodded my head in a agreement a few times but mostly, it felt so irrelevant. Raising kids in the 50's was very different than it is now. But here's what I've noticed since I've been holed up with my kids for the last two weeks (yep, tonight is my 14 day mark), there is enough time. It's been forced upon us, yes. Something we Americans don't like - how dare the government tell us what to do? (gasp!) - it's like we got grounded because the neighborhood bully got us in trouble. But when all the "fun stuff" got canceled - the sports, the plays, the parties, the people - we were forced to reevaluate our days. It turns out, when you have nowhere to go there is enough time. Enough time to dance, to go on fam

Winger's Chicken and Waffles

If you've never had Winger's chicken, you're missing out. Our love affair with this restaurant started when Darren and I were in college and I found the best recipe for the sauce on the interwebs a few years ago. Pair it with waffles and game. over. For the chicken you'll need: 4 chicken breasts whole wheat flour (or white) Smoked Paprika Garlic Salt Mustard Seed Powder Cumin Brown Sugar Panko Breadcrumbs 2 eggs Coconut oil Slice 3-4 chicken breasts into strips. Dry Rub: 1/3 c whole wheat flour 1/2 T Smoked Paprika 1/2 T Garlic Salt 1/2 T Mustard Seed Powder 1/2 t Cumin 1 T Brown Sugar Mix the dry rub ingredients together and spread on a large plate. Gently toss chicken tenderloins or breasts (cut into strips) in the rub.  Scramble a couple of eggs in a medium sized bowl and give the chicken a quick dip before dipping them in breadcrumbs (We like panko). This recipe should be enough for at least 6-7 tenderloins or 3-4 chicken breasts. Heat a large

28 Meals for $215

Want to know how to definitely look like crazy lady?  Go meal prep shopping the night the governor locks down the state. I have never seen Winco so nuts. Empty boxes and shelves everywhere. I'm lucky I was able to get rice and pasta. Even frozen vegetables were dwindling. I saw one couple with seven (7!) packages of toilet paper. What the what? Meanwhile I was cruising through stocking up on chicken, seasoning packets, and pasta sauce. Oh, and wine. Definitely grabbed some wine. Anyhoo, I digress. I was able to get all the ingredients for my meals and now my freezer is full so my organized heart is happy. I prepped 28 meals for $215, averaging $7.67 per dinner for a family of five. MENU |   (I made 2 of each with the exception of orange chicken and spaghetti, I made 4 each of those. Kid favorites.) California Burritos Chili Spagetti & Meatballs Caribbean Jerk Chicken Garlic and Herb Chicken White Chicken Enchiladas Orange Chicken and B