weeknight meals – Mind Body Classroom

Recently, I have noticed that education must have some sort of vendetta against eating lunch. Many teachers only get 30 minutes, which definitely isn’t enough time to wrap up, go out, and have a nice meal. Many of the administrators I work with forgo lunch all together. Not to mention that there is lunch duty and other responsibilities that call to us during our lunch hours. I know it is legally required, at least in the state of Texas, for educators to receive a 30 minute duty free lunch, but in our current landscape, that is often not the reality.

Let’s expand this vendetta against lunch to meals in general because let’s face it, eating is a challenge. When you get home the last thing you want to do is cook a meal. You’re exhausted mentally and physically. Sunday meal preps seem like an impossible feat when you must also create a lesson plan for the week. The Sunday scaries are real, and batch cooking 5-7 meals many times is not possible or sustainable. Soooo, what do we do?

A teacher suggested to me a quick meal called egg roll in a bowl. I made it when I got home, and it was so easy that it took less than 30 minutes and little to no prep. I also had lunch for the next couple of days. It made it that much easier to win a battle for food in this education world. It inspired me to go on a journey to find quick meals, I mean super quick meals, with the smallest amount of effort possible! Here are three of the recipes I found!

Egg roll in a bowl

For this recipe, I used Italian sausage because it is already seasoned, an “asian mix chopped salad” from Aldi, and PF Chang’s sweet red chili sauce. It was so quick, delicious, and I had enough for lunch the next day! I linked a full recipe if you need more step by step instructions! (the subheading of this section is a link to a recipe for this!)

Rotisserie chicken Alfredo

I got a rotisserie chicken from Kroger and Primal Kitchen’s dairy free Alfredo sauce, but you can use any Alfredo sauce. I sautéed some spinach, mushrooms, and combined it all together. Cook some pasta, and you have an easy, quick, after school meal.

Italian Chicken

My coworker told me about this one, and it was easy and great! All I did was wrap chicken and Italian salad dressing in foil, then bake it in the oven. Yes, it was that easy! I roasted some veggies and potatoes also, but you can make this even quicker by buying microwave steam-able veggies and potatoes.

I also have a blog post on eating well in a hurry, and I still employ those tips and techniques so, it’s linked to this post!

Eating Well in a Hurry!

Please, please, please eat well. Your body does so much for you, and it needs nourishment to function. So many times I have seen teachers and administrators alike skip lunch and eat snacks from the vending machine because they do not have the time to prep, and or they spent their lunch prepping for another class or task. I want us as educators to prioritize things that will enrich our lives both mentally and physically because both elements are more connected than you may realize.

With a Soy Alternative Option!

Week night meals remain the conundrum that is centerfront of my food life. How do I find time to make quick, healthy, delicious, and cost effective meals? Many a times I found myself at a loss and opening my uber eats app as a remedy lol. This is why I decided to share this recipe with you. It is quick and easy and maybe it can help you delay the call of take out for at least one night!

Recipe

Ingredients and Equipment

3 chicken breasts
1/2 of a white onion
chives (optional)
minced garlic 2tbs
soy sauce (or coconut aminos) 1/3 cup
olive oil
iceberg lettuce head
salt
Pepper

Making the Chicken

This shredded chicken is great for all types of recipes! You can really use any sauce with it. I love to use BBQ sauce and make chicken sandwiches. The possibilities are endless!

Step 1: Boil the Chicken

In a large pot, add 4 cups of water, 2 tbs of salt, and a quarter of an onion and bring to a boil. The onion does not need to be minced. Just cut the half of an onion in half and add it to the water!
Carefully add the 3 chicken breasts to the water and let boil until the internal temp. of the chicken is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.. The cook time may vary depending on the thickness of your breasts. It took mine about 10 minutes.

Step 2: Shred the Chicken

Using tongs, carefully take the chicken out of the water and place it on a cutting board or plate.
Using two forks, shred the chicken. Using the forks, pull the chicken in opposite directions, and it should begin to come apart!
Set aside for later!

Making the Sauce

Step 1: Create the Base

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat
Mince the other 1/4 of your white onion and add it to the skillet
Cook on medium heat until the onions become translucent (if your olive oil begins to smoke, turn down the heat)

Step 2: Add the Flavor

Add 2 tbs of minced garlic, a handful of chopped green onions, 1/3 cup of soy sauce (or coconut aminos for extra healthyness) to the skillet. Cook on low to medium heat until it begins to simmer.

Step 3: Assemble

Add the shredded chicken to the skillet. You don’t have to cook it, but just stir to make sure the chicken is fully coated in the sauce.
Fill one leaf of ice burg lettuce with as much of the honey soy chicken you want!

Thank you!

As always, I want to thank you for reading and supporting me! I love cooking and posting recipes. It has been my outlet, my way to express my creativity, and my gateway to communities. Let me know if you try it and what you think! And as always, don’t forget to make Everydaylicious!

Tag: weeknight meals

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