Slow Cooker Basil Chicken Dinner Idea

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It sure has been busy around here the last few weeks. Spring is in full bloom here in Central Florida and the last thing I want to do is spend all this precious time cooking. Spring in Florida is the best time, we finally get to enjoy the outdoors and have fun. One thing to help me spend less time in the kitchen and more time outdoors with my family is by Meal Planning. I usually Meal Plan one week at a time and it is such a big time saver and money saver, too.

Meal Planning for us eliminates the 5 o’clock phone calls “What’s for dinner” or the run to the nearest drive thru because you can’t come up with a quick meal for the family. We take our weekly sales paper and plan our meals round what’s on sale that week.

I picked up some Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ Food Containers at Walmart on my last visit for my leftover meals that I can use for lunches at work. I love that the Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ are Crystal clear and stain resistant food containers, 100% leak-proof guaranteed, are stackable and Microwave safe + splatter-proof. They are new to Walmart, be sure to check them out for your Meal Planning. We fell in love with these containers and use them every day at home to store our meal prep as well as on the go for our leftovers.

There is also an  Ibotta offer that will make this product purchase even sweeter, get details here and you can save:

• $0.75 off any Bertolli® pasta sauce variety at Walmart
• $2.00 off a single Rubbermaid Brilliance container at Walmart
• $5.00 off the Rubbermaid Brilliance 10 piece set at Walmart

See, the savings are already rolling in and you haven’t even started the entire Meal Planning and Meal Prep thing. I’m telling you, it will be so worth it. We love the convenience and stressless evenings knowing that we are prepared for our family dinner’s in no time.

Make one day a week your prep day, for us it is usually Sunday’s. We grab the newspaper, check out the Walmart ad for sales. We look for recipe ideas that go along with the sale items to make our Meal Plan for the week. Once we finished that we head off to Walmart to pick up all the items on our list. Last week we grabbed a few extras of the Bertolli® pasta sauces and so I worked my Meal Plan around the extra product along with what we had in the fridge/freezer for extra savings.

Here is what our Meal Plan looked like for the week.  It really is simple.

• Monday:         Bertolli® Basil Chicken with Pasta (See recipe below)
• Tuesday:        Pork Chops and Mashed Cauliflower & steamed veggies
• Wednesday: Bertolli® Creamy Basil Alfredo with Chicken, Veggies & Pasta
• Thursday:     Spaghetti Bolognese (use your favorite Bertolli® Sauce)
• Friday:            Pizza on the Grill
• Saturday:      Hamburger Gravy & Rice
• Sunday:         Mom’s night off, dinner at Mimi’s house

Meal Planning doesn’t have to be difficult. Grab a few extra Bertolli® sauces the next time you are shopping, we love the fresh ingredients and artistry handed down over 150 years. They are so delicious and can be used in many different meals not just your everyday spaghetti dinners and Walmart always has them for the best price.

When I Meal Plan I also keep leftovers in mind and see what works well to take to the office for the next day so while you are cooking make an extra portion or two and you will save lunch for the entire week by not eating out. Cook once and put everything in the Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ Food Containers, store in the fridge and grab on the way out in the morning. The best part, you can cook to your family likes. I love to add lots of fresh ingredients and veggies and can control what my family eats.

My Basil Chicken recipe was the hit the other day. It was so easy and took me no time at all. I used our favorite Bertolli® Tomato & Basil sauce, added frozen chicken to the Slow Cooker and left for work. When I got home that evening I quickly steamed some Asparagus, boiled some Pasta and dinner was served in like 15 minutes. With plenty of leftovers for the next day.

I kept some plain pasta for the kids in the smaller Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ container, since they are see through the kids knew exactly where to find their leftover pasta the next day and hubby & I used the larger size for our lunches. Perfect size and perfect meal solution when you want to feed your family fresh, healthy meals and stay on a budget.

Now you know how I manage my family of 5, work outside the home full time and still dish up healthy and delicious meals every night and bring a delicious lunch to work every single day. If i can do it, you can do it and with a little help of Bertolli® and the Premium Rubbermaid® Brilliance™ Food Containers you will impress your family as well.

Do you Meal Plan for your Family? Would love to hear some of your tips and ideas, leave me a comment below. Happy Cooking ….