What’s in Stuffed Bell Peppers?

Should I cook the bell peppers first?

I definitely suggest par-cooking the bell peppers first, just a little bit before stuffing them. Not only does this help to soften the bell peppers, but it also cuts down on your cook time. As the bell peppers are cooking you can make the filling, shaving off about 20 minutes from your total cook time.

What to serve with Stuffed Bell Peppers

The filling inside each of these stuffed bell peppers are pretty hearty by themselves, but if you want to serve something with it on the side, they would also be great with a simple salad or some crusty garlic bread. If you want to double down on the veggies, you can also serve these with some roasted broccoli, roasted Brussels sprouts, or a side of simple sautéed vegetables.

Storing & Reheating

Got leftovers? No problem! These stuffed bell peppers hold up very well in the refrigerator stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave or the oven and the leftovers taste just as good the next day, making them perfect for meal prep!

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Stuffed Bell Peppers

These Stuffed Bell Peppers are a classic comfort food that’s hearty, filling, has incredible flavors, and can easily feed a large family.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Total Cost $12.21 recipe / $2.03 serving

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 454kcal

Author Marsha – Budget Bytes

Equipment

• Deep Stainless Steel Skillet
• Glass Casserole Dish

Ingredients

• 3 bell peppers $3.97
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil, divided $0.08
• 1 lb Italian sausage $4.99
• 1 yellow onion, diced $0.38
• 3 garlic cloves, minced $0.24
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning $0.10
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder $0.05
• 1 1/4 tsp salt, divided $0.06
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.02
• 1 cup marinara sauce $0.71
• 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice $0.21
• 3/4 cup chicken broth $0.15
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella $1.25

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Wash and dry each bell pepper, then cut the bell peppers in half horizontally. Make sure to cut them as evenly as possible. Using a sharp paring knife carefully cut and remove the stem from the top half of each bell pepper (see picture below). It's okay if there is a small hole left where the stem was removed.
• Place each bell pepper half in a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Brush the bell peppers with 1 Tbsp oil and season with ¼ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp cracked black pepper. Bake the bell peppers in a preheated oven for 20 minutes to soften. After 20 minutes remove the bell peppers from the oven and set aside.
• While the bell peppers are baking, make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Brown the Italian sausage.
• Once the sausage has browned, add the diced onion and minced garlic to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
• Next add the uncooked rice, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, 1 tsp of salt, and chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine.
• Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the mixture to come to a full boil. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer, without lifting the lid or stirring, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest, without lifting the lid, for an additional 5 minutes.
• Next remove the lid, fluff the rice, and stir the mixture again to redistribute the ingredients. Begin to fill each bell pepper with the meat filling. Stuff as much filling as you can into each, filling them all the way to the top.
• Top each bell pepper evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Loosely place some tented aluminum foil over the top of the casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the bell peppers should be tender but not mushy.
• Now remove the foil and turn the heat on to broil. Broil the stuffed bell peppers for 2-3 minutes or just until the cheese gets a little brown on top. Be sure to watch the bell peppers closely at this step to prevent the cheese from over browning. Garnish with parsley, if desired, and enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

Serving: 6servings | Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 33g | Sodium: 1461mg | Fiber: 3g

Also try our Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers!

How to Make STUFFED BELL PEPPERS – Step by Step Photos

Preheat the oven to 350°F then wash and dry 3 bell peppers. Cut the bell peppers in half horizontally, yes horizontally. Most stuffed bell pepper recipes either keep the bell peppers whole or cut them vertically, but by cutting them horizontally you end up with a flatter bottom service and it’s easier to stuff. Trust me! Make sure to cut them as evenly as possible. Using a sharp pairing knife carefully cut and remove the stem from the top half of each bell pepper. It’s okay if there is a small hole left where the stem was removed.

Place each bell pepper half in a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Brush the bell peppers with 1 Tbsp cooking oil, divided between all 6 halves, and season with ¼ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp cracked black pepper, also divided between all 6 halves. Bake the bell peppers in a preheated oven for 20 minutes to soften. After 20 minutes remove them from the oven and set aside.

While the bell peppers are baking, make the filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of oil. Add 1 lb Italian sausage and cook until brown.

Once the sausage has browned, add the 1 diced yellow onion and 3 minced garlic cloves to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.

Next add ½ cup uncooked white rice, 1 cup of marinara sauce, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp of salt, and ¾ cups chicken broth to the skillet. Stir to combine. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow the mixture to come to a full boil. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer, without lifting the lid or stirring, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest, without lifting the lid, for an additional 5 minutes.

Next remove the lid, fluff the rice, and stir the mixture again to redistribute the ingredients. Begin to fill each bell pepper with the sausage and rice mixture. Stuff as much filling as you can into each, filling them all the way to the top.

Divide 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of each bell pepper evenly. Loosely place some tented aluminum foil over the top of the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the foil and turn the heat to broil. Broil the stuffed bell peppers for 2-3 minutes or just until the cheese gets a little brown on top. Be sure to watch the bell peppers closely at this step to prevent the cheese from getting too brown. Garnish with parsley, if desired, and enjoy!

More Comfort Food Recipes

Easy Homemade Lasagna

$14.96 recipe / $1.66 serving

Classic Homemade Meatloaf

$9.56 recipe / $0.96 per slice

Easy Baked Ziti

$12.16 recipe / $1.52 serving

One Pot Chicken and Rice

$5.82 recipe / $1.46 serving

The post Stuffed Bell Peppers appeared first on Budget Bytes.

What’s in the Sausage and Vegetable Skillet?

This meal is a result of me scavenging my fridge and freezer for whatever I had left and tossing it all into a skillet. And wouldn’t you know, it tasted great! The skillet basically includes some sort of seasoned meat (in this case sausage), frozen cauliflower, frozen peppers and onions, frozen kale, and your favorite seasoning.

What Kind of Meat to Use

It’s important to use some sort of pre-seasoned meat for this skillet for maximum flavor. In the photos here, I’ve used Italian sausage, but you could also use chorizo, or I’ve even used some leftover Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork. If you do plan to try this with a plain ground meat (turkey, chicken, pork, beef) you’ll want to add seasoning to the meat as it cooks as well as seasoning the skillet at the end.

What Else Can I Add?

You can experiment with adding other frozen vegetables, like broccoli, corn, peas, green beans, etc. Or try adding in some beans or roasted potatoes to bulk it up a bit. Another way to bulk this up is to increase the vegetables (you might want to increase the seasoning if you do so).

Extra toppings are always fun, like a fried egg, avocado, sour cream, cheese, salsa, or any other sauce or dressing that you like. But me? I keep it simple and just eat it as-is!

How to Serve Sausage and Vegetables

I’ve been eating this dish just the way it is straight out of the skillet, but if you want to bulk it up even more you can serve it over rice or mashed potatoes. A little Garlic Bread would also be awesome with this meal!

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Sausage and Vegetable Skillet

This super fast and easy Sausage and Vegetable Skillet is the ultimate busy-day meal and is perfect for meal prep!

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Meal Prep

Cuisine American

Total Cost $8.91 recipe / $2.23 serving

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 about 1.25 cups each

Calories 484kcal

Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp cooking oil $0.04
• 1 lb. Italian sausage $5.99
• 1/2 lb. frozen cauliflower florets $1.00
• 1/2 lb. frozen peppers and onions $1.00
• 1/4 lb. frozen kale $0.83
• ½ tsp seasoning salt or seasoning blend (or to taste) $0.05

Instructions

• Add the cooking oil and sausage to a skillet. Cook the sausage over medium heat until brown and crispy.
• Add the cauliflower, peppers and onions, and kale to the skillet with the sausage. Continue to stir and cook until the vegetables are heated through.
• Add a liberal amount (or to taste) of your favorite seasoning salt or seasoning blend and stir to combine. Serve hot.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.25cups | Calories: 484kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 40g | Sodium: 1178mg | Fiber: 5g

How to Make Sausage and Vegetable Skillet – Step by Step Photos

Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to a skillet and add the Italian sausage (or whatever seasoned meat you prefer). Cook the sausage until it is brown and crispy.

Add ½ lb. frozen cauliflower florets, ½ lb. frozen bell peppers and onions, and ¼ lb. frozen kale to the skillet. You don’t have to measure these exactly, just estimate based on the weight of the bag (if it’s a 12 oz. bag, estimate ⅔ of the bag to get ½ lb.).

Continue to stir and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are heated through. Don’t overcook the vegetables.

Then just add a liberal amount of your favorite seasoning blend. I’m using Tony Chachere’s here, but you can use just about any seasoning blend. I tend to use seasoning blends that already contain salt, but if yours doesn’t, just keep in mind that you’ll want to add some salt to help make the flavors in the skillet pop.

And that’s it! The skillet is done! The fat and seasoning from the sausage adds a ton of flavor and richness to the entire skillet, and then the added seasoning at the end adds a final layer of flavor. It’s simple, but SO GOOD.

And now my lunches for the next few days are done! :)

The post Sausage and Vegetable Skillet appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Vegetable Options

Protein Options

The Andouille sausage in this recipe is packed with herbs, spices, and a delicious smoky flavor, which ends up adding flavor to the entire dish. You can swap the sausage out with something like shrimp or chicken thighs, but if you do so, I suggest coating the chicken or shrimp well with plenty of Cajun seasoning since they don’t have seasonings built-in, like the sausage.

Bulk it Up!

If you need some carb action to keep you full and satisfied, you can serve these Cajun Sausage and Vegetables over a bed of rice. You can cook your rice in broth or add some herbs and spices for even more flavor.

Another option is to serve the sausage and vegetables over a bed of pasta. I think penne would be a great choice. If serving over penne, you can add a vinaigrette to help coat everything in flavor. I think the Smoky Vinaigrette that I used in my Smoky Roasted Sausage and Vegetables recipe would go nicely.

How Long Does it Last?

I generally keep meal preps like this for about four days, but the lifespan will vary depending on the conditions in your refrigerator, the freshness of the vegetables, and how long you cook the vegetables. Since I cooked this with the intention of reheating later, I purposely cooked the vegetables very lightly to prevent them from getting super soggy as they wait in the refrigerator. By nature, they will wilt a bit as the days go by, but undercooking them slightly can definitely help.

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Cajun Sausage and Vegetables

This simple Cajun Sausage and Vegetables meal prep is a fast, easy, flavorful, and delicious way to get your daily dose of vegetables!

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Total Cost $6.94 recipe / $1.74 serving

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 440kcal

Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Equipment

• Chef’s Knife
• White Cutting Boards
• Pyrex Glass Meal Prep

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini (½ lb.) $0.72
• 1 yellow squash (½ lb.) $0.70
• 1 red bell pepper $1.50
• 1 red onion $0.28
• 14 oz. Andouille sausage* $3.33
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil, divided $0.08
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika $0.05
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder $0.02
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper $0.02
• 1/4 tsp salt $0.02
• 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.02
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley $0.20

Instructions

• Slice the zucchini and yellow squash into half-rounds. Slice the red bell pepper and red onion into strips. Add all of the vegetables to a large bowl.
• Slice the sausage into rounds. Add the sausage and 1 Tbsp cooking oil to a large skillet. Cook the sausage over medium heat until well browned. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the sausage to a clean bowl.
• Drizzle the vegetables with the remaining 1 Tbsp cooking oil, then sprinkle the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper over top. Toss the vegetables to coat them in oil and spices.
• Place the same skillet back over the heat and turn the heat under the skillet up to medium-high. Once very hot, add the vegetables and sauté just until they are slightly tender. The vegetables will pick up the flavor left in the skillet from the sausage, so do not clean the skillet first. Be careful to not overcook the vegetables, as they will cook more when you reheat your meal preps.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cooked sausage and chopped parsley to the vegetables. Toss to combine with the vegetables. Give the sausage and vegetables a taste and adjust the salt or other seasonings to your liking.
• Serve immediately or divide into four portions and refrigerate until ready to eat.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*If you can not find Andouille sausage in your area, you can substitute it with any smoked sausage, like kielbasa.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25recipe | Calories: 440kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 36g | Sodium: 1043mg | Fiber: 3g

How to Make Cajun Sausage and Vegetables – Step by Step Photos

Prep the vegetables first, so they’re ready to go. Slice one zucchini and one yellow squash into half-rounds. Slice one red bell pepper and one red onion into strips. Place the vegetables in a bowl.

Slice 14oz. Andouille sausage into rounds.

Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Add the sausage and cook until the sausage is well browned. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the sausage to a clean bowl.

Drizzle 1 Tbsp cooking oil over the vegetables, then sprinkle with ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper. Toss the vegetables until they’re coated in oil and spices.

Turn the heat under the skillet up to medium-high. Once very hot, add the vegetables and sauté just until they begin to soften. The vegetables will pick up the flavor and browned bits left behind by the sausage. Be careful not to overcook the vegetables. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Return the cooked sausage back to the skillet along with a couple of tablespoons of chopped parsley. Toss to combine. Give it a taste and adjust the salt or other seasonings to your liking.

Serve immediately or divide into four portions and refrigerate until ready to eat.

More Easy Sausage Recipes

Sausage Kebabs

Sheet Pan Roasted Kielbasa and Cabbage Dinner

Cajun Sausage and Rice Skillet

The post Cajun Sausage and Vegetables appeared first on Budget Bytes.

What Kind of Smoked Sausage Should I Use?

You can literally use any type of smoked sausage for this recipe. I used beef sausage today, but you can use pork, turkey, kielbasa, or any other type of smoked sausage. The key here is to make sure it’s smoked sausage. You want that smoky flavor and a sausage that is firm enough to slice.

Can I Use Different Vegetables?

Absolutely! I would try to include some sort of onion in there, but other than that you can switch them up for anything else, like potatoes, zucchini, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mushrooms, or even potatoes. Just try to cut your vegetables in similar sized pieces so everything cooks are a fairly similar rate.

How Long Does This Keep?

As with most meal preps, I suggest keeping your meal for a maximum of about four days. This recipe probably isn’t the best candidate for freezing, but if you’re not too picky you might find it perfectly acceptable after freezing and reheating.

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Smoky Roasted Sausage and Vegetables

These Smoky Roasted Sausage and Vegetables are an easy sheet pan meal with a smoky homemade vinaigrette that gives an extra blast of flavor.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Total Cost $7.87 recipe / $1.97 serving

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 660.1kcal

Author Beth – Budget Bytes

Equipment

• Enamelware Sheet Pan
• Chef’s Knife
• White Cutting Boards
• Pyrex Glass Meal Prep

Ingredients

Smoky Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup olive oil $0.64
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar $0.20
• 1 tsp coarse deli mustard (or Dijon) $0.08
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder $0.02
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano $0.02
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika $0.05
• 1/4 tsp salt $0.02
• freshly cracked black pepper $0.03
• 1/4 tsp sugar $0.02

Sausage and Vegetables

• 12 oz. smoked sausage $2.75
• 1 lb. broccoli crown $1.69
• 1 bell pepper (any color) $1.00
• 1 red onion $0.44

For Serving

• 1 cup long grain white rice (uncooked) $0.20
• 1 handful chopped parsley $0.20

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl or jar combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette (olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic powder, dried oregano, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar). Whisk the ingredients together or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the vinaigrette aside.
• Slice the smoked sausage into 1/2-inch medallions. Cut the broccoli into small florets. Dice the bell pepper and onion into 1-inch pieces. Place the sausage, broccoli, bell pepper, and onion onto the baking sheet.
• Drizzle 2 Tbsp of the vinaigrette over the sausage and vegetables and toss to coat.
• Roast the vegetables in the fully preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until they're browned on the edges, stirring once half way through.
• While the sausage and vegetables are roasting, cook the rice. Add the rice and 2 cups water to a sauce pot. Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest, undisturbed, lid in place, for an additional 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork just before serving.
• After the sausage and vegetables have finished roasting, add half of the remaining vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season with an extra pinch of salt and pepper if needed.
• To serving, add about 3/4 cup rice to each bowl or container along with 1/4 of the roasted sausage and vegetables. Drizzle another spoonful of the vinaigrette over top, then finish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 660.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 50.2g | Protein: 17.6g | Fat: 42.8g | Sodium: 1117.63mg | Fiber: 4.38g

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

These are Pyrex 3-cup glass food storage containers. You can find them in my Amazon Shop.

How to Make Smoky Roasted Sausage and Vegetables – Step by Step Photos

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a bowl or jar combine ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp coarse deli mustard (or Dijon), ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp salt, some freshly cracked pepper, and ¼ tsp sugar. Whisk the ingredients together, or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the dressing aside.

This time around I used smoked beef sausage, broccoli, red onion, and a yellow bell pepper, but you can modify this to meet your budget or what you have on hand. For some ideas of what else might work, read my suggestions in the paragraphs above the recipe.

Slice the smoked sausage into ½-inch thick pieces, cut the broccoli into small florets, and dice the onion and bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. Spread the sausage and vegetables over a parchment lined baking sheet (I don’t have parchment in the photo, because I like to fight stuck on food. J/K, it’s just better for photos). 

Drizzle 2 Tbsp of the smoky vinaigrette over the sausage and vegetables, then toss until they’re well coated.

Roast the sausage and vegetables in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until they’re well browned, stirring once halfway through.

While the sausage and vegetables are roasting, cook the rice. Add 1 cup white rice to a sauce pot with 2 cups water. Place a lid on top and bring it up to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn it down to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat, and let it sit with the lid in place for another 5 minutes. Finally, fluff it with a fork.

After the sausage and vegetables have finished roasting, drizzle about ½ of the remaining smoky vinaigrette over top, and toss to coat. Season with an extra pinch of salt and pepper, if needed.

To serve, place about ¾ cup rice in a bowl or container, add ¼ of the roasted sausage and vegetables, and drizzle one last spoonful of the vinaigrette over top. Sprinkle a little fresh parsley over the bowl and serve.

You can refrigerate the Smoky Roasted Sausage and Vegetables for about four days. Hello lunch!

Love sheet pan meals? Check out my Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken Dinner, Sheet Pan BBQ Meatloaf Dinner, or Sheet Pan Greek Chicken and Vegetables.

The post Smoky Roasted Sausage and Vegetables appeared first on Budget Bytes.

The recipe for the Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles only makes about three servings, but since it’s so very rich and has a decent amount of sugar, I decided to divide it up into four smaller servings and I made a double batch of my broccoli salad. So, each of my “lunch boxes” is about 2/3 broccoli salad and 1/3 noodles. I think that’s a pretty good balance between healthy and indulgent. :D

For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.

Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodle Meal Prep

The glass meal prep containers pictured can be found here. And the small metal dressing cups here.

Notes:

• Okay, so this meal prep presents a couple of issues for people who are very texture sensitive, but you have a few options. I am not very picky when it comes to leftovers, so honestly I just poured my dressing right on my broccoli salad after taking the photos and am storing it with the dressing on the vegetables. You can, as pictured, keep the dressing separate until just before you eat, if preferred. You can also keep those crunchy lo mein noodles out of your salad and just add them on top before eating if you want them to stay super crunchy.
• The broccoli salad can be eaten cold, luke warm, or heated. So it’s up to you whether you’d prefer to eat the salad cold before reheating the noodles, or just heat them both together.
• The pork can be substituted with ground turkey or even fried tofu!

The post Pork & Peanut Dragon Noodle Meal Prep appeared first on Budget Bytes.

I’m showing all three elements of the meal prep together in the same container so people can get the idea with a split second glance when they see this photo on social media, but in reality I would pack the chips in a separate bag to keep them from getting soggy. And since I like to eat the cowboy caviar cold and the pepper hot, I’d eat the cowboy caviar and chips as my appetizer, then heat the bell pepper for my main course. :)

Oh! And you may notice that my Cowboy Caviar looks a little different… They didn’t have any black eyed peas when I was at the store, but I did have a miscellaneous can of chickpeas in my pantry that needed to be used, so I just swapped them. It’s not the most ideal ingredient swap, but it works and makes use of what I have on hand, so that’s a win in my book!

For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.

Stuffed Bell Pepper Meal Prep

This Meal Prep Includes:

Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers: $8.15

Cowboy Caviar: $5.80

Large Bag Tortilla Chips: $2.50

4 lunches: $2.14 each

Leftovers: 2 stuffed bell peppers, 3 cups cowboy caviar, 2/3 bag of chips = $7.87

Notes:

• There are a lot of leftovers this week! Luckily, the bell peppers freeze well, so you can just package those up individually and pop them in the freezer (I like the blue-top Ziploc containers for freezing). There is a lot of leftover cowboy caviar and chips, but honeslty, I don’t have a problem polishing that off as a snack during the day or at another meal. Cowboy caviar also makes a great taco topper, so you could always re-purpose it for a dinner throughout the week.
• As I mentioned above, I like to eat the cowboy caviar cold and the stuffed peppers warm, so I would probably eat the chips and caviar as an appetizer, then reheat the pepper and eat that as my main dish.
• While I showed the chips in the container, I’d probably pack them separately to keep them from getting stale, since these glass containers do not fully seal off each compartment and moisture would likely be an issue.
• And there are no rules when it comes to meal prep! If you want to just package each of these items in separate containers, you can totally do that. The important thing is that you got four lunches or dinners taken care of in one swoop. :)

The post Stuffed Bell Pepper Meal Prep appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Because I had all that awesome pan sauce it was only natural that I paired the chops with some mashed potatoes to go with that pork and apple gravy. To make the mashed potatoes I converted my Slow Cooker Mashed Potato recipe to use my Instant Pot (pressure cooker) and it worked like a charm. I may never make mashed potatoes any other way. I’ll include instructions for that later in the post.

And then for the “green” portion of the meal I tried something new and went with frozen green beans. The fresh green beans were looking kind of sad at the store so I thought why not buy the frozen beans, just let them thaw in the containers, then they’ll actually cook when the containers are reheated. The only flaw for this method is that the green beans that I bought ended up being super thin compared to fresh green beans, so I think they might over cook while reheating. Oh well, meal prep and reheating food is never perfect and I know I’ll still gobble up the whole box anyway!

For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.

Apple Spice Pork Chop Meal Prep

This Meal Prep Includes:

Apple Spice Pork Chops: $9.40

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (recipe below): $2.17

1/2 lb. Frozen Green Beans $1.15

Total Cost: $12.72

Cost per meal: $3.00

Cost of leftovers (2 servings mashed potatoes): $0.72

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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are fast and effortless with the use of an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker. Season to your liking!

Course Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Total Cost $2.17 recipe / $0.36 serving

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6 1 cup each

Calories 218.53kcal

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. russet potatoes $1.50
• 1 cup chicken broth $0.13
• 1/2 Tbsp seasoning* $0.15
• 3 Tbsp butter $0.39

Instructions

• Peel and cube the potatoes (about 1-inch cubes). Place them in the Instant Pot along with the chicken broth and seasoning of your choice (see notes for what I used).
• Close the Instant Pot lid, close the steam valve, and select the "Steam" option. The machine will auto-set to 10 minutes. Let the machine come up to pressure, cook for 10 minutes, then naturally release pressure.
• Once the pressure has released, open the pot and mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add the butter and stir or mash into the potatoes until melted. Taste and adjust the salt or seasoning as you see fit.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*I used the "Onion Salt" seasoning blend from Trader Joes. It's not very salty, despite the name, but added a wonderful onion and chive flavor to the potatoes. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 218.53kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 4.77g | Fat: 5.5g | Sodium: 578.17mg | Fiber: 3.17g

And I think that’s all I’ve got for you this week! As always, any questions or ideas can be left in the comments below. :) I hope you have a wonderful week!

The post Apple Spice Pork Chop Meal Prep appeared first on Budget Bytes.