My Meal Prep for Baby’s Arrival

Make Ahead Parmesan Chicken Cutlets from Bon Appetit

I didn’t think I would do much meal prep this time around.  I thought I would just wing it.  Then the prepared civilian in me started to freak out and I went on a rampage in the kitchen (that, btw, left me exhausted.)  I just didn’t want to be in the hospital/breastfeeding/sleeping thinking about what I would feed my family that night.

The guy who lived in our house before us was Dutch and our entire house has a European flavour to it.  Drawer dishwasher (yes – drawer…), super water saver shower, heated towel rack, and a fairly European sized fridge.  That means it’s pretty small.  Not bar fridge small, but no bigger than the fridge we had in our London apartment.  That means I had to be fairly savvy with what I chose to make.

I started with these chicken cutlets from Bon Appetit which I have to admit don’t make for a very easy meal.  But, they make for the start of a meal and everyone loves them.

Here’s what else I made:

• Shepherd’s pie/paté chinoise (the Quebec term) – I didn’t really use a recipe but I did end up throwing in quite a bit of lentils, leftover hemp seeds, carrots, and leeks to boost up the healthy quotient.  A pretty classic make ahead dish.  I used Epicure’s Marinara Sauce Mix in the meat mixture and it was really good.
• Pork & chorizo enchiladas from BBC Good Food’s most recent issue.  I was a bit hesitant about this one a) because the ingredients seemed to really add up and b) because I hate bland, overly tomato-y tasting enchiladas but these were really good and it made a lot (3 family portions and 2 individual portions).  I used Epicure’s Fajita Seasoning and also throwing in some carrots that I blitzed in the food processor.  I also blitzed the 4 peppers in the food processor for the benefit of my picky-eating son.
• Danish Meatballs – OK I didn’t actually use my own recipe (I forgot about it!) but I know this is a good one.
• Glo Bars from the Oh She Glows cookbook.  OK – I actually made these before (this is where the leftover hemp seeds from the shepherd’s pie come in) but I’m so glad I did a double batch and will have them on hand.  I used corn syrup instead of brown rice syrup resulting in bars that were a bit too soft, so they have to stay in the freezer, but they are still darn good.

What are your favourite make ahead meals?  I’d love to hear!

ps Not make ahead but this is one of my fave meals to quickly whip up, and this is a good one too.

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ps Epicure sent me a bunch of stuff.  All opinions are my own.