There’s nothing better than coming home and eating a delicious, home cooked meal after you work a long eight hour shift. Although, this isn’t always possible everyday. This is when meal prepping comes in handy! By creating meals that you’re able to eat throughout the week and don’t break the bank, meal prepping is optimal. Below are 3 ideas that may pique your interest.
- Apple Spice Pork Chop Meal Prep
https://www.budgetbytes.com/apple-spice-pork-chop-meal-prep/
https://www.budgetbytes.com/apple-spice-pork-chops/
This meal consists of pork chops, mashed potatoes, and green beans.
The prices for this meal prep are:
Apple Spice Pork Chops: $9.40
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes:: $2.17
1/2 lb. Frozen Green Beans: $1.15
Total Cost: $12.72
To make the pork chops, add oil into a pan, season the meat, then sear the pork chops. Once they have a brown crust, saute apples, onions, butter, broth, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into the skillet and then add the pork chops to simmer in with the mixture. The apples with the pork chop make for an aromatic blend of sweet and savory flavors, perfect for the fall season. The mashed potatoes can be made by peeling and cubing potatoes, adding them to an instant pot with chicken broth and seasonings, and then steaming them. Once the potatoes are steamed, mash the potatoes and add butter and any additional seasonings. The green beans can be made using any method of your liking or by following the directions on the back of the packaging.This recipe takes around 45 minutes to make.
- Skillet Meatballs and Marinara Meal Prep
https://www.budgetbytes.com/sunday-meal-prep-skillet-meatballs-and-marinara/
https://www.budgetbytes.com/skillet-meatballs-and-marinara/
This meal is pasta and meatballs with broccoli.
Prices:
Skillet Meatballs and Marinara: $7.98
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan $0.31
1 Large crown Broccoli, steamed $2.40
4 Bananas $0.99
Total cost: $11.68
To make the meatballs, use Italian sausage and squeeze the contents out of the casing and add breadcrumbs, egg, and diced onion. Stir the mixture and create the meat into ball shapes. Cook the meatballs until brown in a skillet with olive oil. For the marinara sauce, saute diced onion and garlic cloves until soft, then add crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and tomato paste. Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 15 minutes. Cook the pasta as per instructions on the box and steam the crown of broccoli. This recipe takes 45 minutes total.
- Cold Peanut Noodle Salad
https://www.budgetbytes.com/cold-peanut-noodle-salad/
This meal is a pasta dish with cabbage and vegetables, paired with a tangy peanut lime dressing.
Prices:
Salad Dressing
3 Tbsp natural-style peanut butter: $0.21
1 Tbsp brown sugar: $0.04
1 clove garlic, minced: $0.08
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger: $0.05
1 medium lime, juiced (2 Tbsp juice): $0.69
2 tsp soy sauce: $0.08
1/4 cup neutral oil: $0.82
Salad
8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti: $0.55
4 cups finely shredded red cabbage: $1.12
2 carrots: $0.22
1/2 bunch cilantro (about 1/2 cup chopped): $0.75
4 green onions (about 1/2 cup sliced): $0.45
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped: $0.24
Total Cost: $5.30
To make the dressing, you need to combine the ingredients above and either whisk or blend them until smooth. For the salad, break spaghetti in half and boil. Finely shred cabbage and carrots, chop up cilantro, peanuts, and green onion. Combine the ingredients and toss the salad. Serve salad with dressing. This recipe takes 30 minutes total.
I hope you gained some new ideas by reading this article. These recipes are incredibly simple to make and fulfilling. They also are healthy meals that are a better meal choice than going out to eat fast food every night.
