Too Busy To Cook Weekly Menu

After a week of being sick, I’m behind around the house, with my blog and with work. But with gorgeous Fall weather beckoning, I want to spend as little time inside as possible. Busy weeks mean quick easy meals and an overworked Slow Cooker!

Did you notice I mentioned that I was sick?

It was MISERABLE. Constant low grade fever, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough and no energy. Basically- an especially nasty cold. It probably wouldn’t have been that bad if I weren’t already super tired, and (frankly) feeling kind of sorry for myself that my back up is several thousand miles away. Keeping up with a 5 year old while sick during military separations is both easier and more challenging than it was as a newborn, toddler and four year old. School and a wonderful baby sitter definitely were an out of this world blessing. That, and the ability to feed myself almost completely from the freezer meals I’d stocked up during my Whole30.

The bleedover into this week is that I have an incredibly busy few days ahead of me. From laundry to errands to the barn to catching up on a 100 work tasks and an over-flowing inbox, I just don’t have time to cook and I don’t want lose all the nutrition clean up I managed during the previous 30+ days. So, I built the week’s menu around Slow Cooker dishes and protiens that stretch to 2 or more meals. It’s all about the strategy, right?

Breakfasts

I’m planning to continue my soup-for-breakfast plan.

 

Lunches

Salad-In-A-Jar with chicken-avocado, leftover protein or leftovers themselves.

 

Dinners

pasta with broccoli and chicken

Roast Whole Chicken with Roasted Root Veggies

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin with New Potatoes

Chicken Tortilla Soup (use whatever crunchy component works for you!)

Cuban Pork With Green Salad

Beef Stew

Spaghetti with homemade marinara

Meal Prep

I’ve mostly exhausted my freezer meals so most of these meals utilize prepped ingredients instead. I’m finishing up the odds and ends left in my freezer so I can do a complete restock.

Freezer Protein

I buy most of my proteins in bulk. Both the Pork Tenderloin and stew meat for Beef Stew are already seasoned and prepped in the freezer. I have several whole chickens cleaned and prepped in my freezer. It makes getting a healthy dinner on the table so much more likely to happen when it’s easy!!

Slow Cooker Cuban Pork

This is one of my favorite ways to use pork – citrus-y, light and incredibly versatile. Using them in lettuce wraps makes for an insanely easy and super fresh tasting dinner. I used the leftover tenderloin from Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin – leftovers with a completely different taste! And it cooks away in the slow cooker while I go on about my day. All that is left is pulling out what is needed for dinner and prepping the rest for the freezer in dinner size portions.

Salad-In-A-Jar

Every week, you just can’t beat the convenience!

Creamy Roasted Vegetable Soup

The best part about this soup is that all I’ll have to do is prep double the recipe of roasted veggies with my whole chicken for dinner, then pop it in a pot and add stock! That’s my kind of easy recipe.

Whole Roast Chicken

If you can only make one thing from scratch – this should be it. A whole roast chicken produces an incredible amount of food. 3 or more meals plus chicken broth and all with whatever seasoning you like. What’s not to love? De-boning takes a little time – it’s a great time to chat with the kiddo or a spouse or think through the coming week. The chicken could be used to soup, on salads or in chicken salad.

What’s on your menu this week?