Category: recipes

recipe · recipes

Survival & Sanity: 2 Weeks of Reserve-Based Meals (Weeks 3 & 4)

JoLeave a comment

If you’re anything like me — fibro-fogged, recently-hip-replaced, raising a gloriously neurodivergent teen, and running on caffeine, hope, and probably expired groceries — then planning dinner might feel like launching a rocket from your laundry room.

This meal plan is for those of us trying to survive the week without crying into a dish towel. It’s a real-life, spoon-theory-approved guide with easy cook-day meals and fallback reserves that don’t require your whole brain.

🗓️ Printable 2-Week Meal Menu (with Attitude)

Week Three

DayMeal
MondayMac & Cheese with Sausage — Leftovers from Sunday. Bonus: Only one pan to clean and minimal effort to reheat. That’s a win in my book.
TuesdaySausage & Peppers over Egg Noodles — Bright, flavorful, and uses enough veggies to pretend we’re balanced adults.
WednesdayChicken Strips + Knorr Side — Reserve meal MVP. Add a veggie if you’re feeling wild.
ThursdayBaked Chicken + Roasted Veggies — Sheet pan magic. Roast everything at once and act like it was on purpose.
FridayReserves — Classic, comforting, and suspiciously filling for something this lazy.
SaturdaySausage + Eggs + Toast — Breakfast-for-dinner, aka using breakfast foods to emotionally reset.
SundayCoke Pulled Pork + Mac or Egg Noodles — The crockpot does all the work. You take the credit.

Week Four

DayMeal
MondayPulled Pork “Tacos” — Leftovers dressed up. Throw in onions, peppers, canned tomatoes, and rice. Tortilla optional. I like to make it a rice bowl or in tortillas, we have also put pulled pork leftovers with some salsa and nachos.
TuesdayMeatballs in Marinara — From the freezer to the table. Zero regrets.
WednesdayEggs + Toast + Hashbrowns or Fruit — Breakfast, again. Because we do what works.
ThursdayChicken Stir-Fry + Rice — Takes 15 minutes and makes you feel like you’ve got your life together.
FridaySoup + Crackers or Sandwiches — More reserves. Less thinking.
SaturdayPasta Bake or Lazy Lasagna — Toss it in a dish and bake until bubbly. Cheesy redemption.
SundayMaple Glazed Chicken + Buttered Noodles — The Pinterest recipe you actually pulled off. Hubby-approved. Next time we’re reducing that glaze for stick factor.

🍳 Ingredients for the Cook Day Hits (Sarcasm Included)

Sausage & Peppers over Egg Noodles
Ingredients: sweet Italian turkey sausage, red and green bell peppers, yellow onion, garlic, broth (instead of wine), canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried oregano, olive oil, egg noodles. Honestly I tweak this every time. If it sounds like it’d be good in it I’d try.
Mood: Colorful enough to feel like you’re trying.

Baked Chicken + Roasted Veggies
Ingredients: chicken breasts, potatoes, carrots, olive oil, salt, pepper, whatever seasoning makes you feel chef-y.
Mood: Toss it all on a sheet pan. Roasting = pretending you’re fancy.

Coke Pulled Pork
Ingredients: pork roast, 1 can of Coke, BBQ sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder.
Mood: Dump, set, and go live your life.

Meatballs in Marinara
Ingredients: frozen meatballs, jarred marinara sauce, spaghetti or mashed potatoes.
Mood: It’s giving “fake it till you bake it.”

Chicken Stir-Fry
Ingredients: chicken breasts, frozen stir-fry veggies, soy sauce, splash of broth, oil, rice.
Mood: One-pan wonder with zero side-eyes.

Pasta Bake or Lazy Lasagna
Ingredients: cooked pasta, any ground meat, jarred pasta sauce, shredded cheese.
Mood: Layer, bake, and pretend you slaved.

Maple Glazed Chicken
Ingredients: chicken thighs or breasts, maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic powder or minced garlic, BBQ sauce.
Mood: So good your partner eats the leftovers. Sauce could use a glow-up — try reducing it next time.

🍆 Reserve Staples to Keep on Hand

  • Chicken strips (frozen)
  • Eggs
  • Bread (for toast & sandwiches)
  • Canned soups
  • Frozen vegetables
  • Hashbrowns
  • Knorr sides or boxed pasta mixes
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Tortillas
  • Jarred pasta sauce
  • Shredded cheese
  • Bacon or sausage (for breakfast-for-dinner days)
  • Instant mashed potatoes (optional but very sanity-saving)

🚨 Final Thoughts

You don’t have to be a perfect parent or domestic goddess to feed your family. This plan makes use of what you already have, lets you lean on frozen staples without shame, and helps reduce decision fatigue. Keep showing up, spoon by spoon. You’re doing better than you think.

Want more meal plans? Stick around — we’re doing this every two weeks until I run out of freezer space or patience.

Printable grocery list? Right here. Pinterest-worthy recipes? Working on it. Sanity? Pending.

You’ve got this. Til next time gang!

Grocery list
Recipes
Jos recipe
recipes

Chicken Tacos

JoLeave a comment

First up, a family favorite from way back. These are not tacos, and they aren’t fajitas, its the best of both, so fajaco? Tajitas? I’m sure there are better names for it, but my family has always gone with chicken tacos. And they are SO easy, and you can make them even easier! Ok here we go:
You’ll need a frying pan, a sauce pan and a spatula or slotted spoon:
1 lb chicken breast
1 onion, small diced
1 pepper sliced
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
Ro-Tel
tortillas
2 cups minute rice
sprinkle cheese as needed
Super easy – Slice and dice the chicken breast then fry on medium high for maybe 10 minutes. I’m bad with time I typically go by sight and the sponginess as I’m pushing it around in the pan. Once its cooked through you add the fresh veggies stirring through out until the onions soften and become kind of translucent.
Then you add the tomatoes and turn the water on for the minute rice
When the water boils you dump the rice in for five minutes, continuing to stir your meat and veggies.
Then we do a taco bar and everyone fixes their own but the only CORRECT way (lol) to make Chicken tajitas (fajacos? I don’t know) is a thin layer of cheese, layer of rice, thin layer of cheese, meat and veg mix, fold and done.
Now, ways to cheat and make this easier
I sometimes will get a rotisserie chicken from Walmart, but even if I were to make one myself, I never eat it all on the first day and this is a brilliant way to use left overs.
Frozen veggies- skip the cutting, you can use frozen veggies, they even have a blend of onion and pepper. If you go this route start with the veggies and add the meat once the veggies are soft, you need to cook it some because there’s a lot of water in them so boil as much of it off as you can.
boil in a bag rice – skip the mess and clean up.
I don’t have a way to get the nutritional info on this, which means I should maybe have checked it first, but like I said, judge it by the taste, and its amazing. Anyone who makes this let me know what you add or take out to make it your own and what you thought of it. Til next time (when I will hopefully be more prepared) be kind to yourselves, and each other!