I picked up a second job on weeknights so I'm not there to make dinner. I finally finished canning my garden so now on Sundays I try to make time to cook ahead for the week. That way if my mom doesn't feel like cooking she can just heat up stuff from the fridge.

Yesterday I made some broccoli cheddar soup in the slow cooker while I was cooking other stuff. Served it with the leftover cornbread from last week's beans. There was enough leftover for 2 lunch portions. I just peel and chop 2 large carrots, half a white onion, and get that going with half a stick of butter in the slow cooker. Then I add a cup of whole milk, a cup of cubed Velveeta, and seasoning. I like to use seasoned salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Garlic powder is good too. I stirt in while my crockpot heats on high. Then I add about 2 cups or so of frozen broccoli florets and some ham cubes, put the lid on and let it cook for 4 hours on high. When it's done I use my immersion blender to make the broccoli a little smaller.

While that was going I browned some ground turkey and boiled a bunch of eggs. Couldn't afford anything but 3 lb chubs of ground turkey last time I was at the store, so I use those in place of beef or chicken. I've found that adding beef bouillon and Worcestershire sauce makes ground turkey more like beef. Depending on the dish, you can use brown gravy or dry beef onion soup too.

Anyway I used half the 3 lbs of turkey to make a Mexican casserole. I added beef bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, and a packet of taco seasoning, then a can of Rotel and a can of chili beans plus some tomato juice I had leftover from canning that morning. I layered that with corn tortillas, sour cream, a can of black beans, and 2 kinds of cheese in a 9x13 pan, topped with more cheese, then covered, labeled, and refrigerated.

While all that was going on I had a double batch of rice going in the instapot. I used half of it with the other half of turkey to make a rice casserole with cream of mushroom soup, a packet of ranch seasoning,  minced garlic, 8oz cream cheese, and some zuchinni. I topped it with cheese and french fried onions, covered, labeled, and put away in fridge.

I used the boiled eggs and some canned tuna to make tuna salad for sandwiches for lunches during the week. The remaining rice was used for cold rice salad to have as a side for a dinner mom will make, probably pork chops or chicken legs.

Now at least I won't have to worry about not having anything for lunches this week or going hungry at dinner time. And I feel super productive and also relieved that I was able to get my canning all done.