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26 Meals for $200

I know I've been very absent from blogging lately and that's only because I've let real life take priority. And real life right now is busy. Good, very good but so busy. Emmie is crawling now and getting into everything and Spring sports and activities are in full force. But we still need to eat so I've been meal prepping like crazy, of course. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen plenty of my instastories how-to's. And if you've followed my most recent insta-story, you've learned my secret: gangster rap.

So yes, after shopping at the store, throw some of that on in the car and get pumped up for prepping the next 6 weeks worth of meals.

For this round I did a lot of burgers and sandwiches because two nights a week we have t-ball games that fall smack dab in the middle of dinner time so I have to pack something. Sandwiches and burgers are super easy to turn into a picnic dinner.

So here it goes...

Menu |
Pulled Pork
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Caribbean Jerk Chicken
Zesty Herb Chicken
Sesame Ginger Beef Stirfry
Sirloin Burgers
Veggie Burgers
Chile Mango Sausage and Broccoli
Mango Salsa Pork
White Chicken Enchiladas
Chili Dogs
Turkey Burgers
Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches

Grocery List |

Meat:
1 giant pork loin (to divide into 4ths)
3 3-lb. bags of chicken breasts
1 3 lb. package of beef chunks or stew beef
2 packages of sirloin burgers (comes in packages of 8)
3 packages of veggie burgers (comes in packages of 4)
4 packages of chile mango sausage
3 lbs. ground beef
2 packages of hot dogs
4 lbs. ground turkey
2 chuck steaks (or roasts)
2 bags pre-made meatballs

Refrigerator:
16 oz. sour cream
2 containers of mango salsa

Canned:
2 cans green chilis
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans black beans
2 cans chili beans
1 jar pepperoncinis
2 French onion soup
4 jars marinara sauce
2 cans cream of chicken

Seasoning:
Memphis BBQ Pit seasoning packet
1 bottle Caribbean Jerk Marinade
1 Zesty Herb seasoning packets
1 bottle Sesame Ginger marinade
Brown Sugar
Chile Powder
Garlic Powder
Worcestershire sauce
2 ranch seasoning packets

Frozen:
2 bags of vegetable stir-fry
2 bags sweet potato fries
2 bags broccoli florets

Bread:
6 packages of hamburger buns
4 packages of tortillas
2 packages of hot dog buns
2 packages whole grain noodles

*Hefty zipper lock gallon-sized bags
*slow cooker liners

When you get home, label bags. For this round of meals I had quite a few things that just needed to go into the freezer: veggie burgers, sirloin burgers, and chile mango sausage. For those meals, I'll just thaw and grill them. I know those aren't typical things I call "meals" but this time around I want them ready to go in the freezer.

I then like to pile each bag into a pile that has the same kind of meat (a trick you may have seen on my insta-stories). This helps me move through all the meals efficiently because I'm only dealing with one type of meat at a time.

Then I go through each one meal by meal.

Recipes| (make 2 of each)

Pulled Pork
1/4 of the pork loin (about 4 lbs.)
1 packet Memphis BBQ seasoning
1 heaping tablespoon of brown sugar

Add 1 cup of water upon cooking. Cook on low for 8 hrs. Shred and serve of buns with BBQ sauce.

Spaghetti & Meatballs
2 jars marinara sauce
1 bag meatballs

Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with noodles (keep noodles in the pantry).

Caribbean Jerk Chicken
1.5 lbs. chicken breasts
1/2 bottle of Caribbean Jerk marinade

Thaw and grill.

Zesty Herb Chicken
1.5 lbs. of chicken
1 packet Zesty Herb seasoning packet

Thaw and grill.

Sesame Ginger Beef Stirfry
1.5 lbs. of chunk beef
1/2 bottle of Sesame Ginger marinade

Thaw and grill. Freeze stir fry bag with this and then steam it while cooking the meat. I'll probably add some rice to this meal.

Sirloin Burgers
Freeze with hamburger buns. Thaw and grill.

Veggie Burgers
Freeze with hamburger buns. Thaw and grill.

Chile Mango Sausage and Broccoli
Freeze.

To cook, simply thaw and grill. I like to roast the broccoli in olive oil, salt and pepper.

Mango Salsa Pork
1/4 the pork loin (about 4 lbs. of it)
1 tub mango salsa

8 hours on low. Shred and serve with the tortillas you will freeze with it.

White Chicken Enchiladas
1.5 lbs. chicken breast
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken
1 can diced green chilis
Cumin and chile powder

8 hrs. on low. Shred and rolls into tortillas with cheese. Place in pan, top with extra sauce from the crock pot and more cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Chili Dogs
1 lb. cooked ground beef
1 can tomato sauce
1 can rinsed chili beans
1 can rinsed kidney beans
Chile powder
Garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar

6-8 hrs. on low. Grill hot dogs (or warm them in a separate crock pot) and serve on buns topped with chili, cheese, and all the fixings.

Turkey Burgers
4 lbs. ground turkey
2 eggs
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Smoked paprika
Garlic Powder
Salt and pepper

Hand mix and form into patties. Thaw and grill. Serve on buns. The Worcestershire sauce is everything in these.

Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches
1 chuck roast or chuck steaks (3 lbs.)
1 ranch seasoning packet
1 can French onion soup
1/2 jar of pepperoncinis

8 hrs. on low. Shred and serve on buns. I like to add cheese and BBQ sauce because that's who I am.

Done. {Insert applause}

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