Garry F. Liday - June 2023

Take a Break

Have you ever had those days when you don’t want to cook? What about times when you’ve had a long day at work, and the last thing on your mind is dinner? Pulling out your pots, cutting boards, and food can be stressful when you’re mentally and physically weary. Is there anything you can do to make this part of your life easier? Meal planning and prepping takes the stress out of cooking! What are some benefits of meal planning? Know the answer to “What’s for dinner?”: There’s nothing more frustrating than opening your pantry, looking at the food, and not knowing what to eat. It can be draining to decide what to cook each night. But meal planning helps you determine your dishes in advance, so you never need to wonder what you and your family will eat that night. And best of all, you only need to cook at least once a week. Keep more money in your pocket: Sometimes, when you are unsure of what you want to eat, your first option may be to order takeout. While this is a quick and easy way to get dinner, it can create a huge hole in your wallet — especially if you eat out more than once a week or feed a family. You will no longer need to make nightly food runs when you meal plan! You can buy your food in bulk, prepare a few nights’ worth of meals, and save tons of money. What hinders people from meal planning? Making meals too complicated is the main reason why meal planning doesn’t work for some people. When starting out, it’s best to create easy and basic foods. Once you begin meal planning, you will discover more simplistic ways to make intricate dishes. Another reason people avoid meal prep is the amount of time spent in the kitchen. However, you will save yourself time each day, so you can continue doing what you want throughout the week and less time ordering takeout or quickly throwing a menu together. Meal Planning Can Help With Indecisiveness

Goat Cheese and Thyme Stuffed Chicken Inspired by BBCGoodFood.com

INGREDIENTS

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

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4 pieces of thin-sliced bacon

Olive oil

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3.5 oz firm goat cheese

2 zucchinis, thinly sliced 1 large tomato, thinly sliced

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus 2–3 sprigs

DIRECTIONS

1.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Split the chicken breasts almost in half along the long side, open them like a book, then flatten the sides out. 3. Put the goat cheese on the “open book” side of the chicken and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Fold the chicken over to enclose the cheese, then wrap each breast in 2 slices of bacon. 4. Lightly oil a shallow gratin or casserole dish, then arrange overlapping rows of zucchini and tomatoes on the bottom. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then set chicken on top. Place thyme sprigs on chicken. 5. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the bacon is crisp and golden and the zucchini is tender.

Go online to find meal prep guides and a multitude of recipe options. We can’t wait to hear about your meal-prepping experience!

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