I have a very interesting relationship with cooking where I love to do it, but I will go crazy if I have to do it every day.
So, I have found a lot of joy in meal prepping. I typically make two meals a week and make three servings of each meal. I also will not eat meat past day three, so I chef it up twice a week.
These past few weeks, I have been leaning into fall produce and flavors to make some really delicious and cozy dinners and snacks. I’ve linked similar recipes for each of them below, so I hope you can find some inspiration from my favorite meal prep dinners at the moment!
Creamy Pasta with Chicken Sausage
A one-pan meal is my best friend, and this meal only gets two dishes dirty. I just cut up some baby tomatoes and chicken sausage, put them on a pan with some soft garlic herb cheese, and bake. Then I cook up my pasta, put everything on the pan in the pot, and add in a few handfuls of spinach.
The tomatoes end up getting crushed in with the cheese and coat the pasta to create an easy, yummy sauce. It’s super simple, and it’s a really easy way to use up some spinach.
Harvest Bowls
Sweet potatoes, quinoa, balsamic, spinach, chicken, and goat cheese— could it get any better?
I would truly eat this every day, but for variety’s sake I don’t let myself. This mix in a bowl is so warm and nourishing, and I tend to prep the chicken all at once with another recipe, so it takes me all of 10 minutes, not including the roasting time for the sweet potatoes.
Honey Garlic Salmon and brussels sprouts with mashed potatoes
This meal actually may be the easiest one, but it’s only because I use powdered mashed potatoes. Although I did not enjoy them, so I have to find a new brand.
Either way, all you really have to do is mix up some soy sauce, honey, garlic, and olive oil and drizzle it over a salmon fillet and a bunch of quartered Brussels sprouts. It cooks for about 20 minutes, and then you have a really filling and hearty meal.
Stirfry
I don’t know if I can classify this as a “fall” meal, but I have been enjoying the warmth and easy veggies provided by a good stir-fry, so it feels like fall to me.
I make this meal super easy by using Minute Rice and frozen vegetables. Aldi has frozen stir-fry packs that make this extra easy. So, all I really have to do is cook up some chicken and then let everything else defrost in a pan before cracking in some eggs, then mixing it all up and adding some soy sauce.
Pumpkin zucchini muffins
While this one is not a meal, I had pre-packaged muffins like this from Target that I kept in my bag for an emergency snack, and I was very sad when they ran out.
So, I grabbed a zucchini from a farm stand down the street and made my own! The zucchini makes them really moist, and to be an annoying protein-maxxer (and because I don’t have it), I substitute the vegetable oil with Greek yogurt.