If there’s one thing they don’t tell you about living on your own, it’s the struggle of cooking for one. That’s why we started collaborating to meal prep lunches together! It’s a super simple system that any group of friends can start. All you need to do is find a pal, get a list of the ingredients they don’t like, and take turns cooking every other week! Need help getting started? Here’s a few of our favorites!
Katie's Grandma’s Chicken Salad
My favorite food of all time when I was a kid was chicken salad. My grandma Decker always whips this up on family vacations and we eat it on crackers or some of her homemade rolls. This is one of those recipes that seems so simple, but I can never make it taste just like hers. It’s so simple, but soooo good. I also don’t measure anything when I make it, and I don’t think my grandma does either. Here is the recipe just as she gave it to me!
Ingredients:
Chicken
1 tsp of chicken bouillon
Celery
Onion - maybe 1 tsp...not really sure
Miracle Whip
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp of Lemon Juice
Grapes (optional)
Cook chicken in boiling water with a teaspoon of chicken bouillon. Cut up celery and a little onion in really small pieces. Shred the chicken and add to the onion and celery with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Use Miracle Whip to taste and stir with a fork. Add about a teaspoon of lemon juice.
I personally really like grapes in my chicken salad, so I always cut up a few and add them to this recipe!
Katie's Copycat Chick-fil-a Salad
I never had Chick-fil-a until I came to college, and BOY have I been missing out! There is not one thing on the menu that I don’t like, although you can never go wrong with a chicken sandwich smothered in Chick-fil-a sauce. When I’m feeling like eating healthier (aka when I want to take a bite of what my mom is eating) this salad hits the spot! You can enjoy any type of dressing on it, but I love Chick-fil-a sauce so I’ll include a recipe that you can whip up at home! Again with this recipe, I don’t measure anything, sorry!
Ingredients (salad):
Chopped Romaine Lettuce
Spring Mix Lettuce
Carrot and Red Cabbage Blend
Monterey Jack cheddar cheese blend
Roasted Corn
Chopped Bacon
Hard Boiled Egg
Grape Tomatoes
Sliced Chicken
Ingredients (Sauce):
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
Mix everything together to make a salad, then dump on that yummy sauce!
Emily's Burrito Bowls:
As any good college kid does, I have the biggest heart eyes for Pancheros. We all know that your body can only handle so many Panch burritos, so what do you do when you crave it? Try this easy burrito bowl recipe! I, like Katie, don’t usually measure, so just adjust to your taste!
Ingredients:
Sliced chicken breast or shredded pork tenderloin, cooked with mexican spices as desired
Sliced bell peppers
Sliced yellow onion
Chopped romaine lettuce
Steamed white or brown rice
Black beans, drained
Lime wedges
Shredded cheese (optional)
(If you’re feeling extra, this yummy corn salsa recipe is great, too: https://cookieandkate.com/fresh-corn-salsa-recipe/)
Saute the peppers and onions with a little olive oil. Layer your rice on the bottom, then peppers and onions, meat, and cheese. Use a divided lunch container and place black beans in their own partition (this keeps all the black bean goodness from running all over everything else), and the lettuce in another (helps the lettuce from getting soggy!). Squeeze lime over top and enjoy!
What are your meal prep recipes? Let us know in the comments!
