What I Prepped For This Past Week

I was feeling rebellious last weekend and decided to try 2 dishes i’ve surprisingly never cooked myself before – Shepherd’s Pie & Baked Ziti! I had to of course cook a favorite in our house (Cajun Chicken Vegetable Skillet) to have a “safe” meal on the menu as well haha. Here’s how I made everything – let me know if you have any tips to improve these first-time dishes!

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Cajun Chicken Vegetable Skillet

• 1 cup jasmine rice

• 20 oz chicken breast, diced

• 1 red bell pepper, sliced

• 1 zucchini, sliced

Start cooking rice first (I use a rice cooker). Heat olive oil in a large pan, add diced chicken and cajun seasoning (I also like to add some garlic powder and onion powder and some salt + pepper). Cook chicken and then add bell peppers and zucchini. Cook until desired texture (if reheating as meal prep keep them a bit firm). Portion rice and chicken + veggies into containers & enjoy!

Shepherd’s Pie

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced

• 1/2 cup carrots, diced

• 1/2 cup frozen peas

• 1/2 cup frozen corn

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp thyme

• 1 cup beef broth

• salt, pepper, olive oil

• Mashed potatoes (I used a bob evans pack)

• Shredded cheddar cheese

I honestly had no idea what I was doing but here’s what I did: Preheat oven to 375°f, heat olive oil over medium heat, sauté veggies for 5 mins, add garlic and sauté 1 more minute, then add ground beef. Brown, drain the fat. Stir in tomato paste, worcestershire, thyme, salt, pepper, then add beef broth and simmer until slightly thickened. I assembled in my containers individually (meat layer then mashed potatoes and then cheddar cheese). Place glass oven-safe containers on baking sheet & bake at 375°f for 20 mins. PLEASE share tips below if anyone has any, I don’t even know if the way it tasted was right but it was decent and we ate it! Fun to make so that’s what counts in my book

Baked Ziti

• 8 oz noodles (I had penne, not ziti)

• 1 lb ground sausage

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 jar marinara

• Italian seasoning

• 3/4 cup ricotta

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsp grated parmesan

• salt, pepper

• shredded mozzarella

Again, first time making this but here’s what I did anyways: Preheat oven to 375°f, cook pasta until just shy of al dente (I did 1 minute less than box directions). Cook sausage until browned, drain fat. Add diced onion, sauté until soft, add garlic and sauté another minute. Add marinara + italians seasoning and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Make cheese mixture (ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt, pepper). I assembled this in individual containers (meat sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, more meat sauce, then mozzarella cheese on top). Place glass oven-safe containers on baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake at 375°f for 20 mins. Enjoy!

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This was a fun lineup to make, and I really enjoyed utilizing the oven for cute individual baked meals. I do regret having 2 ground red meats this week, I prefer to have 2 chicken meals instead. I hope these meals inspired someone today!

Happy meal prepping! 🧡