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

Steak Fajitas (make 1)

Sausage & Shrimp Skillet

Teriyaki Chicken

Grocery List |

Produce:

2 sweet onion

3 red bell peppers

3 orange bell peppers

3 yellow bell peppers

Meat:

2 2-3 lbs. carne asada roasts

2 bag meatballs

5 lbs. ground beef

2 3 lb. pork loins

5 smoked sausage links

2 lbs. ground Italian sausage

3 3 lb. bags of chicken breasts

2 bags peeled shrimp

Canned:

6 jars marinara

3 cans black beans

2 jars roasted red peppers

2 cans tomato sauce

Seasoning:

4 packet taco seasoning

Bay Leaves

Brown Sugar

2 bbq seasoning packet

Cajun Seasoning

2 Mojito Lime or Mesquite Lime seasoning packets

3 Fajita seasoning packets

Marinades:

1 bottle orange sauce

1 bottle Mr. Yoshidas

Refrigerator:

2 packages of ravioli

4 cups shredded mozzerella

Freezer

2 bags of frozen french fries

2 bags popcorn chicken

2 bags broccoli florets

2 boxes of Texas toast

2 bags of veggie stir fry

Dried Goods:

2 packages of spaghetti noodles

6 2 lb. bags of rice

2 boxes taco shells

Bakery:

2 packages of burrito sized tortillas

2 packages of rolls

2 packages of flatbread

3 packages of small tortillas

Other:

Slow Cooker Liners

2 disposable trays (for baked ravioli)

Hefty Gallon sized storage bags

When you get home, unload (and disinfect...ha) your grocery. Start cooking the five pounds of ground beef and two pounds of ground Italian sausage, separately.

Then label your bags according to what meal they will contain. Smoked sausage & shrimp, Cajun rice, and orange chicken are meals I will prepare the day of so those items can just slip into the pantry or freezer.

Then just start dumping.

Recipes |

California Burritos

2-3 lbs. carne asada

1 packet taco seasoning

8 hours on low. Cook French fries to package instructions and serve in tortillas with cheese and pico de gallo

Spaghetti

1 bag meatballs

2 jars marinara

2-3 bay leaves

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

7 hours on low. Serve over your choice of noodles.

Orange Chicken and Broccoli

1 bag popcorn chicken, cook to according to package instructions

Steam 1 bag of broccoli

Add orange sauce

Serve over rice.

Tacos

2 lbs. ground beef

1 taco seasoning packet

Warm in skillet. Serve with taco shells stored in pantry.

Pulled Pork on Pretzel Rolls

3 lb. pork loin

1 bbq seasoning packet

8 hours on low. Shred. Serve on rolls.

Cajun Smoked Sausage and Rice

1 sliced smoked sausage

1 can black beans

2 cups brown rice, cooked

Drizzle with EVOO and season with Cajun seasoning to taste (~1 Tbsp)

Warm in skillet

Baked Ravioli

1 package ravioli

2 jars sauce

Top with mozzarella

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Roasted Red Peppers & Sausage on Texas Toast

Texas Toast

Roasted Red Peppers

1 lb. Italian sausage

12 oz. tomato sauce

Warm sauce and bake toast according to package instructions. Serve sauce on top of toast.

Mesquite Lime Chicken Flatbread Wraps

1.5   lbs. of chicken breasts

Mesquite Lime seasoning packet.

Grill and serve on flatbread

Fajitas

1 sweet onion

Yellow and Orange bell peppers

Steak strips or 1.5 lbs. chicken

Fajita seasoning mix

8 hours on low. Serve in small tortillas.

Burgers and buns + French fries

Sausage & Shrimp Skillet

1 smoked sausage

Shrimp

Cajun seasoning

Serve with rice

Teriyaki Chicken

1.5 lbs. chicken breasts

Teriyaki sauce

1 bag stirfry veggies

Thaw and grill chicken. Steam veggies and serve over rice.

 And that's it! We are good to go for another six weeks or so. Hopefully by then I'll be able to hug more people. ;)