Multi-tasking to make the week easy.

I know this will be a crazy week, but I do NOT want to stop and get take out.  So I spent three hours today preparing for the week.  I know it will make life much more simple in the long run.
I shopped yesterday and spent just over $130. to feed the family all week, plus I fed 18 hungry teens at Youth Group tonight and made a dozen breakfast burritos for the freezer.   Here's what the week will look like and how I prepared much of it today.

First I stuffed a turkey breast with oranges and pears, seasoned it and put it in the oven to roast.  This will provide sandwich meat for the kids for two weeks, at least.  I will also have some for turkey and cranberry layered enchiladas at a later date (maybe Friday).  Russell and I also had wonderful turkey sandwiches on seeded whole grain bread for dinner tonight.

I browned a 2 lb packet of ground beef, peeled and boiled some Yukon Gold potatoes, browned a pound of chorizo. Stoves do have 4 burners, so why not use them all at once?   While the stove was busy, I grabbed the blender and made the sauce for the Youth Group dinner (see bottom of this post).  As items on the stove were done I set them in the refrigerator.  (Please remember basic food safety.)

Half of the ground beef went into a casserole (yup - still can be a casserole queen when I need to be) with frozen mixed vegetables, onions and sauce.  I mashed part of the Yukon Gold to top the casserole for a Shepherd's Pie.  It is resting in the refrigerator and Sawyer will pop it in the oven for dinner tomorrow.  (I'll be at a late meeting and probably Zumba.)  I seasoned the rest of the ground beef for taco salad for Thursday and popped it in the freezer.

I cooked three packets of fettucine for the Pasta in Spicy Peanut Sauce for Youth Group.  Thank you Sawyer for helping!

Then I heated up a few breakfast sausages, grabbed the chorizo, cooked some egg beaters, shredded some cheddar, opened a can of green chiles and found some left over refried beans in the refrigerator.  I now have 14 breakfast burritos individually wrapped, labeled with the ingredients and in the freezer.

I sliced the turkey and it is in bags in the refrigerator waiting for the kids to make sandwiches.  It is so much better than the salty, deli turkey. 

So while I feel like I lived in the kitchen this afternoon (at least I could watch the Packers while I cooked!)  I know I will be providing nourishing, healthy meals instead of stopping my Sonic.

This week:
Monday - shepherd's pie
Tuesday - I do need to grab something quick and take to Pinnacle HS for the basketball games
Wednesday - Turkey with cornmeal dumplings
Thursday - Taco Salad
Friday - Grilled fish tacos with cabbage and cilantro.
Saturday - Italian Sausage and polenta with fresh vegetables
Sunday - Turkey and cranberry layered enchiladas

Pasta with Spicy Peanut Sauce
    Blend together 4-5 cloves of garlic with about 1/2 cup of vegetable stock.  Add juice of 2-4 limes, 3-4 TB lite soy sauce and thai red chili paste to taste.  Add 1/2 cup (approximate) peanut butter and blend.  The amounts can be varied depending on your preference as well as how many you are serving.

    Saute vegetables, tofu (or chicken) -- I usually use carrots, tofu, peas, and broccoli.  Cook pasta (I use what ever shape I have handy or let the kids choose the shape).  Toss the veggies with the pasta and sauce.  Top with chopped green onions, chopped peanuts and juliened cucumbers.