High five to me for not accidentally erasing all the meal prep photos from my camera like I did last week! Ha! The Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers I made earlier this week are absolutely perfect for meal prep, since they’re already in perfect little portions, so I combined them with some Cowboy Caviar and some tortilla chips that were in my pantry for this weeks Stuffed Bell Pepper Meal Prep.
I’m showing all three elements of the meal prep together in the same container so people can get the idea with a split second glance when they see this photo on social media, but in reality I would pack the chips in a separate bag to keep them from getting soggy. And since I like to eat the cowboy caviar cold and the pepper hot, I’d eat the cowboy caviar and chips as my appetizer, then heat the bell pepper for my main course. :)
Oh! And you may notice that my Cowboy Caviar looks a little different… They didn’t have any black eyed peas when I was at the store, but I did have a miscellaneous can of chickpeas in my pantry that needed to be used, so I just swapped them. It’s not the most ideal ingredient swap, but it works and makes use of what I have on hand, so that’s a win in my book!
For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.
Stuffed Bell Pepper Meal Prep
This Meal Prep Includes:
Chorizo Stuffed Bell Peppers: $8.15
Cowboy Caviar: $5.80
Large Bag Tortilla Chips: $2.50
4 lunches: $2.14 each
Leftovers: 2 stuffed bell peppers, 3 cups cowboy caviar, 2/3 bag of chips = $7.87
Notes:
- There are a lot of leftovers this week! Luckily, the bell peppers freeze well, so you can just package those up individually and pop them in the freezer (I like the blue-top Ziploc containers for freezing). There is a lot of leftover cowboy caviar and chips, but honeslty, I don’t have a problem polishing that off as a snack during the day or at another meal. Cowboy caviar also makes a great taco topper, so you could always re-purpose it for a dinner throughout the week.
- As I mentioned above, I like to eat the cowboy caviar cold and the stuffed peppers warm, so I would probably eat the chips and caviar as an appetizer, then reheat the pepper and eat that as my main dish.
- While I showed the chips in the container, I’d probably pack them separately to keep them from getting stale, since these glass containers do not fully seal off each compartment and moisture would likely be an issue.
- And there are no rules when it comes to meal prep! If you want to just package each of these items in separate containers, you can totally do that. The important thing is that you got four lunches or dinners taken care of in one swoop. :)
Why is this listed under vegetarian meal prep?
Just a mistaken click of a box, I’ll fix that. :)
Did you actually “meal prep” these? My concern is that if I’m making enough for 3-5 days of meals, will the peppers be soggy? Do they reheat well? Thanks!!
I did and the peppers hold up well. Baked peppers are going to be soft either way, but they are sturdy enough that they didn’t really get any softer upon reheating.
Some the best recipes I come up with have been from when I don’t have an ingredient and I spot something in my pantry and use it instead! It amazing what we have in those cupboards sometimes! On to this bell pepper, I love bell peppers! This would make a great lunch for work!
Me too! I love happy surprises that happen like that. :)
I hate peppers (yes, I’m a five-year-old) but this looks DELICIOUS. I’ve been wanting to do some food-related posts for my college budget living blog too, but I don’t really know how to cook anything except stir-fry tomato and eggs Chinese style. And cold tofu with soy sauce and ginger. And I can boil water, but I don’t think that counts.
Hey Beth, just wanted to say that I’ve been following this blog for a long time, and I LOVE this meal prep series that you do. There aren’t a lot of blogs or cookbooks that help with meal planning for 1 person. I don’t make many of the exact meals that you do, but I’ve learned a lot about how much of a recipe to make to last for a week’s lunches, how to combine different items into a satisfying meal, and how to store things properly, so they don’t combine into mush by the end of the week.
Also, upon reading your bio, I’m jazzed to learn that you’re a former microbiologist, as I study microbes for a living, too ;).
I’m so glad this has been so helpful!! I do miss my bacteria and parasites sometimes. Hahah!
I checked a couple of food safety websites that say 3-4 days keeping the opened canned beans under constant refrigeration, meaning take what you need out of the fridge when you need it and return any remainder promptly–don’t take my word for it, there is tons of info available. If you mix up the cowboy caviar on Monday morning, you should still be good for Thursday lunch–wouldn’t cause me any panic. Folks refrigerate things containing cooked beans like homemade soups, chili, and casseroles and even those stuffed peppers for 3-5 days all the time. I do know that cooked beans can ferment within hours at room temp whether you open a can or boil them up yourself. I think this lunch idea is perfect to keep me going for a whole week–the 2 components are among my favorite things. But if you don’t want to take a Thursday chance on the bean salad, use a big pile of fruit that last day instead.
The problem I have with the cowboy caviar is that every can of beans I buy instructs you to discard all beans 2 or 3 days after opening them (some cans say 2, some say 3).
The recipe for cowboy caviar makes waaaaay more than I can eat in 2 or 3 days. Would dried beans get around this issue?
I suppose you could cook your own dry beans and then make the salad with them. When I make my own dry beans I usually do one pound at a time, which is roughly about three 15oz. cans worth, and I freeze them. You could always just freeze them in six smaller quantities to make small batches of recipes like this. :)
I love the idea of the cowboy caviar. I may just have that with the tortilla chips for lunch :)
http://simplehealthstyle.com
Can you do a post on party appetizers? Preferably something cold that I can bring to a potluck.
Thanks!
Great idea!
I do the stuffing a bit different way but this one so great news to me ! Thank you so much !