Tag: easy meals

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Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites #81

Hello all!

Happy Friday! I hope you have had a smooth and successful week and were able to celebrate Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day. We made it to Friday which means the weekend is just hours away! I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the weekend.

Some sweet treats from Valentine’s day!

As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for some of my favorite things this week for this week’s edition of Friday Favorites. This is a mix of some books, music, food and some recent refreshes.

Let’s dive right in!

New Chair Cover- I’ve had the same desk and chair in my room since the second grade (yes, I still live at home and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made). The desk and chair are in great condition, however, they have endured wear and tear over the years, so I’ve had to get the chair re-upholstered a few times. This chair covering has gone from pink, to checkered, and now patterned. After more rips and tears, I decided to get it cleaned up again, rather than buy new. I found some of this patterned Paris fabric from a local remanent store and brought it to an upholstery store to get it fixed up. I’ve had it on my to-do list to get fixed for months and I finally got accomplished it. I’m so happy I was able to keep what I had and spruce it up rather than buy new. If you are looking to update something in your home, here’s your sign to do it.

New Lock Screen- Speaking of refreshes, this may sound silly, but I updated my lock screen for my cell phone and it was such a good reminder that the little things truly make the biggest difference when it comes to bringing joy in my life. I found this picture on Pinterest and swapped out the colors for my clock. I had a winter/Christmas background and now this one of Paris reminds me of the month of love. It’s a small change, but it makes me smile especially as we make our way through a new month. 

Little Italian Hotel– I finished “The Little Italian Hotel” on Libby this past week. I listened to it as an audiobook and loved my experience with it. I don’t often listen to audiobooks, but I decided to give it a try and was so happy I did. The story follows a talk show host who ends up taking her anniversary trip alone. Rather than go with her husband, she invites four strangers to accompany her. The five people bond over heartbreak and become friends as they create memories during their three-week trip abroad. I listened to the book in the car, while I was jogging, and while I was cleaning and doing things around the house. I like the narrator’s voice and she had me hooked the entire time.

Stir Fry- I have been enjoying easy meals this winter. I love easy soup and sandwich nights, a soup and salad for lunch or a stir fry. A hearty stir fry has been a go-to for lunches and dinners. I love this meal because it’s a great way to use what you have in your fridge and not waste food, it combines a lot of food groups, and it’s fast. This past week, I used leftover ground beef, rice and some frozen veggies to put together this meal in under 20 minutes. Major win! I also have made chicken stir frys, veggie frys and shrimp stir frys too….the possibilities are truly endless. 

Billy Joel’s New Song– I know this is a few weeks old, but I have been listening to Billy Joel’s new song “Turn the Lights Back On”, non-stop. This is the first song he has released in 30 years and it’s so good. I love the message and the melody. I really appreciated his performance during the Grammy’s too. If you haven’t listened to it, give it a listen.

That’s a look at some of the things I have been loving this week.

Tell me, what are some of your favorite things from this past week?

Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great weekend!

Categories
Fun Ways to Organize Let's Get Cooking

Meal Prepping and Planning

Happy Wednesday all!

It’s the first week of April, every day I feel like we are closer and closer to the consistent warmer weather. I can’t wait for sunshine, clear roads and blue skies.

The morning sunshine gives me hope.

Today we are talking about one of my favorite topics…planning and more specifically meal planning!

I’ve done posts in the past about outfit planning and getting your planner organized, you could say planning is one of my passions. My latest planning area is with meal prepping.

I pack my lunch every day for work. I packed my lunch all through grade school and high school and in college I ate lunch in the cafeteria, you could say I’m not big into spending money on lunch. When it comes to eating when I’m at work, it made the most sense to pack my lunch. Every day is different and I never know where I will end up, so always having my lunch with me works best. I always try to eat healthy and balance meals when I can.

If you pack your lunch like me, I have a few ideas for different meals that are affordable and healthy and keeps lunch time interesting.

I always like to eat a variety of things for lunch to keep it fresh and exciting.

In my lunch box, I typically have something substantial (my main meal), a fruit or veggie, something sweet and sometimes something salty. I don’t always eat all this stuff every day, but I try to have a variety available. For example, I may have pasta and veggies, pretzels, and trail mix. Some days, I may eat it all, other days, I may just eat pasta and veggies. I like that these meals are balanced and will satisfy me.

 I keep things for my lunches or snacks organized in a bin in my pantry. I like to keep back stock for different dry snacks. Right now, I have peanut butter crackers, pretzels, trail mix and goldfish all divided up. I shop when needed, but I typically buy things for meals once a week and then grab things for dry snacks as needed. This also gives me choices of things to put in my lunch.

A look at my snack bin. I divide up the pretzels or trail mix into like reusable containers for portion control.

When it comes to fruits and veggies sometimes I will buy bulk and separate them into reusable containers (one of my New Year’s resolutions was to use more reusable products and I’m so happy that I’ve been using less wasteful products). I will cut up carrots, peppers, celery or broccoli and store them and bring them in to eat. As for fruit, I will enjoy clementines, grapes, apples or even a banana.

For more substantial meals, I like to enjoy salads, either pre-made from the store or I will make a big one at the start of the week and I will bring dressing to add each day.

I also enjoy making baked chicken with seasoning (everything but the bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s is my favorite.) I just add that with some salt and pepper and bake the chicken and then refrigerate it and divide it up as needed. I also often make frozen veggies to add on the side.

A look at meal prepping of chicken and veggies and then chicken salad. I will cook them and put it all in one serving container and then I have a smaller one that I will use to bring into work.

Pasta and veggies is another go-to for me. I will boil a large pot of pasta and then add some butter and garlic and then make frozen veggies (often mix, but sometimes I’ll just choose a specific vegetable.)

Sticking with the veggie theme-Making rice with vegetable is always a tasty win too! I will boil brown rice and stir fry vegetables and add some soy sauce and then seasonings to add flavor. Sometimes, I will add chicken or shrimp, but other times, I just will go with the vegetables. 

A look at a veggie stir fry for this week.
The whole meal goes into one large container and then I divide it up into a smaller container.

As far as other alternatives, I often will enjoy a chicken salad, tuna salad, or egg salad and enjoy that with cracker or pita.

A look at my tuna salad in a large container and then separated out for each day.

In the winter, soup is always an easy go-to for me, especially with getting easy to go soup containers.

I typically will make all my meals during the weekend and then add snacks each day. I always get my meals organized the night before work so I can just grab and go in the morning.

An example of my lunch for a day. Tuna salad, crackers, trail mix, an orange, ad some peanut butter crackers.

I always like to break up what I eat and what I pack for meals. I find that having a variety of tastes and things in my lunch helps keep things fun and tasty. 

For those of you who pack your lunch, what are your go-to lunches? I’m always open to suggestions. 

Categories
Fabulous living

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

Hey guys! Happy Tuesday! 

I don’t know about you but I LOVE a good recipe to kick off my week. Back by popular demand I will be having more of my favorite foods on the blog in the next coming months. This summer my go to order whenever I was out was seafood tacos, whether it was fish tacos, shrimp tacos, or even lobster tacos…I loved mixing my two favorite foods of seafood and tacos together! After I ate and tried A LOT of tacos this summer, I decided to make up my own version of shrimp tacos.

  • Lobster roll
  • Fish tacos
  • Shrimp Tacos
  • Lobster flatbread

This is a light and flavorful meal, that can be assembled in less than 15 minutes depending on the prep. It was perfect for summer but still could be enjoyed in the early fall or even late spring. Plus, making this recipe now reminds me of the carefree days of summer!

Here’s what you need:

White flour tortilla shells

Grilled shrimp (for extra flavor)

Salsa (I love the peach salsa for something extra fruity)

*Lettuce

*Tomato

*Cheese

*Sour cream

*Guacamole 

*all of these are optional for extra flavor

Homemade Shrimp Tacos

To Prepare:

To begin you need to prepare your shrimp. I typically buy a frozen bag of shrimp and use it when I need it for a recipe. I begin to thaw it the night before I need it, then in the morning I boil them in a pot full of water with sea salt until they turn a light pink, typically between 12-15 minutes, once they are cooked to my liking, I drain the water and rinse them with cold water before storing them in the fridge with a few fresh cut lemons for flavor. 

Now, if you prefer to just have shrimp that’s not grilled you can begin to assemble your tacos, but I personally like extra flavor, so I remove the shrimp from the fridge and season it with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika. I mix in a bowl with shrimp and olive oil.  Then begin to grill them for a few minutes into the are golden brown.

Once they are done on the grill, it’s time to assemble the tacos. I personally like a few pieces of shrimp, peach salsa, and a pinch of cheese. 

Who doesn’t love a flavorful taco?!

If you want a healthier version, ditch the tortilla and make a shrimp salad with lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and shrimp. 

In retrospect, I should not have been writing this post when I am craving shrimp tacos and can’t make them at the moment. But, if you are a seafood lover or loves to try new tacos then this is the recipe for you!

What’s your favorite meal that’s fast and easy?