20 Burrito Freezer Meals for only $13

One of the things I've been trying to focus on this year is saving money. Now, a LARGE  (and boy do I mean large) portion of our budget goes to food. I travel every day for work, and my husband works a million hours a week, and I'll be honest ordering a sandwich or grabbing something on the go is really easy. However, it sucks for our budget and for our waist line. 

I love having freezer meals already to go, I find the whole thing freakishly soothing knowing that I have all these meals ready to go and I didn't really have to do a whole lot to get there. So here's where the burritos come in. They were actually super easy to make, you can make a ton at once, and it is actually really cheap.
I was able to go to Aldi and get all of the ingredients for this for a whopping $13.17!! That's only $0.65 a piece, and much cheaper than anything you could pick up on the road.


Shopping List:

Approx 3 Chicken Breast $5
 ( I used half of a large package for around )

1 pound of Ground Turkey $1.89
 (ground beef would work too it was just super expensive this week)

2 packages of tortillas $1.69 a piece
(Aldi's brand)

2 cups of white rice $0.50 
(large bag $1.99 and there's a TON left)

2 cans of corn $0.69
2 cans of black beans $0.69

Taco seasoning.

I use a homemade blend of Cumin, Chili Powder, Black pepper and salt. You are more than welcome to use the prepackage mixed if your crunched for time.

Now What?

First step was making the rice, I made in the microwave just to save time. While that was cooking I browned the ground turkey in a pan and added the taco seasoning when it was all cooked. 

I also drained and put the corn and beans into separate containers that would be easy to scoop onto the tortillas.

I put the chicken breast and some other taco seasoning in the crock pot earlier in the day while i was at the store so I could drain it and shred it before putting it in the wraps. The draining of everything is important so that the tortillas don't get soggy before they freeze or it can get kind of nasty.

Now that everything is done it's time to assemble.

I assembled these a few at a time since I don't have a ton of open counter space, it was easier to control this way. I played around with the amounts I was putting in so that I could still be able to wrap up the burrito with out it breaking. This took some time to get 100% but there are tons of tutorials on Pinterest and You Tube if your still getting stuck!

Once I was done wrapping I used single sheet aluminum foil, wrapped up and made sure the edges were rolled tight to make sure the to keep the freezer burn out. I wrote on the outside what kind of meat they were just so no one ahem: husband :ahem got confused. I stored these in my freezer in a couple of gallon ZipLoc bags so that they weren't just floating around in the freezer.

And there you have it! A super easy way to make 20 lunches for only $13! Enjoy!
t

Weekly focus: Health lunch options

The part of my day that I always have the most trouble with is lunch. I travel a decent amount for work and rarely have an opportunity to use a microwave or refrigerator to hold my food for that matter. Since I'm forced to carry lunch and snack options either in a cooler or in my car my options are sometimes limited. However eating out gets expensive and fattening very quickly!

My goal for this week is to show several healthy, easy, and portable lunch options.

Veggie and Chicken Soup

I made this one today with a little Pinspiration and a little of whatever was left in my fridge! It was super easy and really healthy too only 124 Calories per Cup!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: Crock Pot (4-10 hours depending on necessity)
Whole 30 and Paleo compatible


2 Chicken Breast (trimmed of fat)
1 Bell Pepper chopped
1 cup of Celery chopped
1 cup of Spinach
1 cup of baby carrots
1 container of chicken broth (16 oz)

1 Tbsp of Cumin
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp of black pepper

Here's the easy part take everything and toss it in the Crock Pot, turn it on and walk away!

Once the chicken in cooked take two forks and shred it, put the cover back on and let it cook for another half hour.

I served this with some crusty bread on the side and made a perfect dish on a cold winter night!

Bacon Jalapeno Cheddar Burgers

This one isn't SUPER healthy, but it is a healthier version of a bacon cheese burger so I'm considering it a win! There are definitely ways to cut some of the fat out, (use ground turkey or chicken) in this case I used 90% ground sirloin and turkey bacon. I also blotted the bacon and burger off with a paper towel to help absorb some of the extra grease.  You could also sub out the roll for a large lettuce leaf or go with light or Weight Watcher approved buns.

Prep Time:
5 

Cook Time:
20

Servings  

8  

Ingredients

• 1.25 lb of Ground Sirloin
• 1 Cup of reduced fat shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 small can of diced Chiles
• 4 sliced of cooked Turkey Bacon

Directions

1. 1. Cook 4 slices of Turkey Bacon in a frying pan
2. 2. Combine Ground Sirloin (or Turkey), can of Chiles, and cup of shredded cheese in a large bowl.
3. 3. when bacon is finished cooking, remove from pan and blot with a paper towel to help cut out the extra fat.
4. 4. Let bacon cool for a few minutes and then crumble and mix into the bowl with the rest of the mixture.
5. 5. Press the mixture into patties (should yield between 7-8 depending on your preference)
6. 6. Fry in frying pan or grill to your cooking preference (rare, medium, well done)
7. 7. Serve with a toasted roll
   

Sausage and Peppers Freezer meal

This is one of my favorite and quickest freezer meals. This is all you need; Sausage, peppers (green or red), onion, and canned tomatoes. I also add in minced garlic when I toss it in the Crock Pot, but it makes the Zip Loc bags stink if you plan on using them again.

 

 

 

I split this into two different bags:

 1 pound of sausage

1 1/2 or 2 peppers

 1/2 a large onion

1/2 canned tomato

 

 

*This photo was taken during " I need to clean out my refridgerator week" so I litterally used anything I had left. Thus the slightly sad looking peppers.*

 

I cut the casing off the sausages and put them in the bag first, its easier to fill them this way. Toss in chopped pepper and onions, and then scoop the tomatoes evenly in the bags. Push all of the air out and zip tight. Toss in the freezer and walk away.

 

 

Toss it in the slow cooker and set for 6/8/10 hours, whatever you need to do. I usually serve with pasta and bread.



 

Meal Planning and Freezer tips

Meal planning has become such a huge idea lately. It is a great way to save money at the grocery store especially when we all know how easy it is to wander around picking up random items and then getting home and having nothing to make with everything that you just bought. It also saves so much money by buying only what you really need, and cuts down on those middle of the week "we have no food" take out orders.  Making freezer meals doesn't have to be time consuming, tedious, and take all day. There's a lot of days where we simply dont have hours to prepare and assemble 6 months worth of dinners. Baby steps, people!

That being said, I am gonna get on my soapbox and talk about how it is much easier to assemble and prepare for the week on Sunday. As soon as Monday rolls around, and its back to school and work, its like all hell breaks loose and we go into "get me to Friday mode!"

1. Before I would stuff everything into the fridge and forget about it until it starts to stink, now I take the time and chop, dice, and slice everything ill need for dinner during the week. Even if you dont know what you are going to do with it seperating big bags of meat or chicken into manageable smaller bags, will save you from having the "I can for the life of me remember when I bought this" conversation.

2. Big gallon sized Zip Loc bags are your friend, and they're cheap! I usually pick up a few at the Dollar Store, its much easier to store than giant Tupper Wear containers.

3. MAKE A LIST. Pick your reciepes, right them down and stick it on the fridge. It will help you be more accountable when you think you're too lazy to cook dinner.

4. Write the date on the outside of the freezer bags. You will forget when you made them. I promise.

5. Prepare a freezer meal while your making dinner. It is so easy to take out what you need for that nights dinner, and stick the rest back in the fridge and forget about it. Grab a bag and create something for later on. These "extra" meals come in handy on weeks when you've run out of ideas or money!

6. Freeze fruit before it goes bad. If you know you wont eat it before it starts to turn, throw it in a baggie and toss it in the freezer. Add it to some yogurt for a quick breakfast smoothie in the morning when your pressed for time.


Feel free to comment and add your tips! I'll be adding to the list as I remember more!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

This one is SO easy!! It only take a few ingredients and its not ever bad for you. As some one who loves Ranch dressing but doesn't want to spend extra time on the treadmill burning it off this ones a no-brainer. the best part is a whole bottle is 1.75 grams of fat and 255 calories!

Ingredients:

1 cup of plain Greek Yogurt (any kind is fine)

1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Mix (this is important make sure its the dressing mix and not the dip mix, I promise you'll get VERY different results!)

1/2 cup of 1% Milk

Mix everything together until its blended and chill in the refridgerator for at least an hour before use.