Three budget-friendly meals to prep in February

we're still in cozy winter cooking mode

Hey! I’ve been slowly plugging away at an essay on aging as a millennial in the social media era, but my toddler has been coughing-breathing-sneezing in my face all week and refused to nap on top of that, sooo I am a shell of a human and certainly not much of a writer right now as I cough-breath-sneeze on my keyboard. I’ll keep working on the aging piece for paid subscribers because it’s something I’ve been thinking a LOT about, and I think it will resonate—but for today, here are three simple, high-protein, easy to prep meals I think you should make before we all start craving spring salads. I’ve been making some variation of these recipes all winter, and our budget plus my sanity has been better for it. Bon appetit!

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Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, shredded
4 c. torn fresh spinach or 1 pkg frozen spinach, cooked and drained
8 oz sour cream
¼ cup plain yogurt
2 T flour
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt
½ cup skim milk
4 oz can diced green chiles
Shredded cheese (measure with your heart)
Tortillas
Optional: enchilada sauce

Combine chicken, spinach in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine sour cream, yogurt, flour, cumin, salt, milk, and chiles. Divide in half, save some sauce for later (unless you’re using enchilada sauce as a topping). For filling, combine one portion of sauce with chicken and spinach. Fill tortillas and roll them. Place filled tortillas seam-side down in a casserole dish. Spoon the second half of the sauce over the enchiladas. (Or use enchilada sauce, if desired). Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins. Remove from oven and sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Return to oven until cheese is melted.

Extra veggie pasta bake

Make one box Banza chickpea pasta, al dente. In a separate pan, sautee onions and diced carrots. Add ground beef and cook when veggies are nearly cooked to desired tenderness. While pasta and veggies cook, microwave a steamed bag of riced cauliflower. Add the cauliflower rice and Rao’s tomato sauce to the beef and veggie mixture, stir with salt and pepper. Put pasta in a casserole dish, top with sauce mixture and a bunch of cheese, add a few dollops of ricotta cheese and bake until melted. With the added veggies, this makes so many meals!

High protein mac and cheese

I’ve been making this homemade mac and cheese recipe, but I sub plain greek yogurt for the whipping cream. I often use a high protein pasta like Banza or Jovial and serve the final dish with chicken and broccoli, stretching the meal for nearly a whole week. It’s super filling but not too heavy—just the right balance for comfort food.