Sweet Pennies from Heaven

Meal Prep Supplies List (Works for Batch Cooking Too!)

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meal prep supplies list and batch cooking supplies list

 

Hey there!

Are you ready to stop dinnertime insanity?

Meal prepping is one of the most important things you can do to STOP the dinnertime rush! Especially when you prep your whole week’s menu in ONE day, instead of every evening!

BUT the biggest issue that most of us face when we begin meal prepping is that we start off on the wrong foot.

Let me show you HOW to get started on the RIGHT foot, RIGHT now, so you can be successful at this meal prepping thing!!!!

Meal prepping and batch cooking can be SUPER easy to do, but you first need to make sure that you have everything you need to keep up the momentum! Below, you’ll find our complete meal prep supplies list. I use and recommend EVERYTHING on this list!

 

Meal Prep Supplies List: Everything we recommend!

 

Menu Planning and Meal Prep Supplies list

  • A Weekly Menu Plan (either one you’ve written yourself, or you can use a menu plan service. We highly recommend eMeals. You can try them FREE for 14 days!)

 

TOOLS:

 

chef's knife

 

paring knife Rada

 

plastic 3-pack cutting boards

  • Cutting Boards (preferably more than 1)
    I’ve got plastic and wooden ones. I love them all. Any of these cutting boards will work perfectly. I do suggest getting dishwasher safe ones though. That’s just my personal preference. I also love having a few because when I’m prepping, I like to use one for produce and another one or two for meat.

 

stainless steel measuring cups and stainless steel measuring spoons

 

 

Mixing Bowls

  • Extra Set of Mixing Bowls
    Same as with the measuring cups above…extras are essential. I love this set of 4 nesting mixing bowls because of the handle and the spouts! Makes for easy pouring!!

STORAGE:

  • Ziploc Bags (various sizes, including snack size, sandwich, gallon).
    I prefer the original style of ziploc bags, not the ones with the sliders. Just my personal preference.
  • Aluminum Foil
    Any brand works, but I really like the heavy duty kind. It’s just more durable and holds up better in the freezer with stacking of pans, etc.

 

disposable pans

  • Disposable Aluminum Pans (various sizes)
    You can wash and reuse these a few times before throwing out. I use the 9×13 size more than anything else, but I do also love the pie pans for smaller dishes that I’m freezing.

 

rubbermaid plastic containers

  • Plastic Containers w/ Interlocking Lids (various sizes!)
    I love, love, love this Rubbermaid Food Storage Set with the interlocking lids because they don’t get lost in my cabinet!

MACHINES:

While these are not required things to meal prep and batch cook, they DO make life in the kitchen a little easier.

classic white kitchenaid mixer

  • Stand Mixer
    I use and LOVE this Classic KitchenAid Stand Mixer! However, any KitchenAid mixer that you use, you’ll love! I use mine all the time when prepping foods for the week — mixing up meatballs or meatloaf, mashed potatoes, dips, doughs, cookies, cakes, and even shredding chicken!!!

 

oval stainless steel crockpot

 

Ninja Mega Kitchen System

  • High Quality Blender/Food Processor (choose an all-in-one machine!)
    Save money and counter space with a food processor and blender, in one! This Ninja Mega Kitchen System is what we’ve been using and we love it! Everything swaps out seamlessly!

 

OXO Salad Spinner Green

  • Salad Spinner (life saver when cleaning and cutting up salad for the week!)
    I recently bought this OXO Salad Spinner and I use it each and every week! I got sick and tired of washing my salad greens and having soaking wet and wilted salads each night for dinner. Bleck! I did buy the large version, so I can spin a whole week’s worth of salads at once!

 

Ozeri Digital Food Scale

  • Food Scale
    You never think you need a food scale, till you NEED one!!! I got this Ozeri Digital Scale because it has excellent reviews. It comes in handy – especially if you’re counting calories!

 

Food Saver vacuum sealing system

  • Food Saver (vacuum sealer, great for freezing bulk meat)
    We have this Food Saver system that comes with a bonus starter kit. If you buy meat in bulk or family size packages very often, a vacuum sealing system is pretty necessary! It sucks all the air out, and you don’t have to deal with freezer burnt meat anymore!

 

At a Glance Supply List:

Here’s an At a Glance list in case you need to skip all of the details of each item.

  • weekly meal plan
  • high quality chef’s knife
  • paring knife
  • cutting board(s)
  • extra set of measuring cups and spoons
  • extra set of mixing bowls
  • ziploc bags (various sizes)
  • aluminum foil
  • disposable aluminum baking pans
  • plastic food storage containers, with interlocking lids

Machines: (not required, but very useful)

  • stand mixer
  • crockpot
  • blender/food processor
  • salad spinner
  • food scale
  • food vacuum sealing system

 

What am I missing? If you see something I’ve forgotten, please leave us a comment and let us know!!

Turkey Bacon Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Recipe

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Turkey Bacon Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Every fall when it starts cooling off and I’m spending a bit more time in the kitchen, I start looking for more recipes to make. Hearty “stick to your bones” recipes. This recipe and photo have been provided by eMeals. If you’re not familiar with them, let me tell you why I love them and then I’ll share the recipe below.

First of all, eMeals creates my weekly meal plan and shopping list FOR me. Yes. Yes, they do! That way I never get in a rut with dinnertime ideas and I don’t have to stress out about looking to and fro’ for new recipes to add to our menu. If you didn’t know by now, menu planning saves a TON of money! Yes, yes it does! eMeals offers many different meal plan options. You can choose from the classic meal plan, paleo, gluten free, vegan and several more.

They create meals based on foods and produce that are IN season at the time. Because they actually “get” that in season is less expensive than out of season. They also use common ordinary ingredients. Not weird things you’ve never heard of, ha! I chose Walmart as my store to shop from and they prepare my grocery list based on Walmart’s prices. You can opt for Walmart, Kroger, Target, Aldi, Publix, Whole Foods and more!

eMeals meal planning

Their year’s subscription is just $5 per month!! That works out to roughly just $1.25 a week!! That is totally worth the time I don’t have to worry about spending on coming up with a menu plan on my own AND having to work up a grocery list! Love, love LOVE eMeals and I highly recommend using them!

 

Turkey Bacon Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon
  • 2 lb lean ground turkey
  • 1 (8-oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 T Italian seasoning
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 T coconut oil
  • 2 (14.5-oz) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes

Instructions

Place bacon on a paper towel-lined plate; microwave on HIGH 1½ to 2 minutes or until crisp. Crumble bacon. Combine ground turkey, bacon, mushrooms, onion, Italian seasoning and egg; shape mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Heat oil in a large deep nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook meatballs 4 minutes or until browned and no longer pink in centers, stirring frequently. Remove from skillet, and keep warm. Add tomatoes to skillet; bring to a boil, and simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add meatballs to pan; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Recipe Serves 6

Turkey Bacon Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Recipe
Author: Jenni
Ingredients
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 2 lb lean ground turkey
  • 1 (8-oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 T Italian seasoning
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 T coconut oil
  • 2 (14.5-oz) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
Instructions
  1. Place bacon on a paper towel-lined plate; microwave on HIGH 1½ to 2 minutes or until crisp. Crumble bacon.
  2. Combine ground turkey, bacon, mushrooms, onion, Italian seasoning and egg; shape mixture into 1-inch meatballs.
  3. Heat oil in a large deep nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook meatballs 4 minutes or until browned and no longer pink in centers, stirring frequently.
  4. Remove from skillet, and keep warm. Add tomatoes to skillet; bring to a boil, and simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
  5. Add meatballs to pan; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
  6. Recipe Serves 6

 

Here are more yummy recipes you can’t miss….

tater tot casseroleTater Tot Casserole

 

baked mac and cheeseEasy Baked Mac and Cheese

 

corn and sausage bisque chowderCorn and Sausage Bisque (chowder)

 

Crock Pot Recipes20 Delicious Crock Pot Recipes

 

 

What are some of your favorite dishes when it starts getting cold outside?

 

NutellaGrams – A Yummy and Healthy #BackToSchoolSnack

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Nutella Back to School Snacks


Check out these YUMMY NutellaGrams!! My son loves graham crackers and he has a new found passion for Nutella! What a great combination. Basically all you to do is break up your graham crackers, dip them in Nutella and sprinkle on a little crushed pecans or other nuts. You could even use sprinkles or leave them be, just with the Nutella! It’s a perfect after school snack!

I’m always up for any kind of quick and easy, yet healthy, snack options for my family! My little guy is just so picky, so I really have to think outside of the box to get him to eat certain things. If it doesn’t involve peanut butter, some type of cracker, bacon or pizza…he’s generally not too interested! I know!!! Drives me wonky! So, anytime we find a winner — momma’s happy! I found this awesome idea at eMeals.com! They are my go to meal planning program and have been for a few months now!

I do often gush about eMeals and their app which is so easy to use. It makes my shopping list for me each week and helps me out with the “brain freeze” I often get while making up a menu plan. I get in a rut, having the same old thing every week. Since using eMeals, we’re always trying new things and have found several new dishes that we love!

They’re currently offering 15% off a subscription RIGHT NOW when you use code: SCHOOL15. For a very cool added bonus, they’re offering their Back to School 31 Days of Snacks calendar for free for anyone who signs up!!

What fun back to school snack ideas do you have?! Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear them!!!

The New FREE emeals App for iPhone – Meal Plans Made Easy

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emeals app


If you use emeals for your weekly menu planning, then you have got to check out their new and FREE emeals app for iPhone!! You simply download the emeals app from HERE or from the Apple App store and login to your account. You know the saying, “there’s an app for that!”. It is so true. We always have our phones with us and having this app makes it so easy to shop at the store you’ve chosen in your emeals account.

emeals app

 

emeals app

Now, instead of having to print out your list or write it down, it’s ON your phone in one easy-to-use app. Just pull out your phone and your complete shopping list is right there according to the meal plan you’re using. That is super duper cool. I also love that you have the option to add items to your shopping list. You know…the random Little Debbie Cakes, baby food, diapers, etc.

I love that the emeals app even includes the cooking instructions, just as it does on the website. I love to take pictures while I’m cooking or baking (for upcoming blog posts and recipes) so I always have my phone in the kitchen with me. All I have to do is pull up the app on my phone and the meal, recipe, instructions for cooking is all right there. I love that I don’t have to print off the recipe or bring my laptop into the kitchen.

I’m all about finding ways to make life move a little easier, and with as little fuss and muss as I can get by with. These sort of apps really do make the most bothersome tasks so much easier. If you’re not already using emeals, I highly recommend it. Then you can download the app to make your experience so much better!!

*Please Note: The app is free to use, however, you will be charged for your emeals account. They have different meal plans to choose from, the lowest being $5 per month (annual fee).

ENJOY~

the chick behind this blog! I'm your ordinary, everyday wife and mom to an incredible pair of stinky guys! I am a self diagnosed coffee addict with a ginormous sweet tooth, preferably baked goods!! My hope is to help you, teach you, and entertain you on your way to a more thrifty and frugal lifestyle! Along the way, you'll find awesome recipes, great tips, and tons of randomness! We have loads of fun, so ya'll come back now, ya hear?!

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