Food photographer and custom baker Billie-Jo Cochran was set to open a brick-and-mortar café in The Block on Main when her life took a sharp turn in a new direction. Billie-Jo and her husband, Jimmy, adopted three children from foster care, and overnight their household of two increased to five. After hard-learned lessons adjusting to parenthood, Cochran developed meal planning and organizational structures that changed their lives — and she wants to share them with you, too!
BIG ADJUSTMENT: I like structure. I like to know how my life is going to be. When you become a mom overnight to three kids, every day wasn’t like that. The first year was very stressful. When I say I was drowning in my own chaos, I really felt like that.
I was running kids from one appointment to another, coming home and being like, oh my goodness, I have to cook dinner. What’s for dinner? Or, we gotta stop at the store because I don’t have this.
I still love being in the kitchen, but I was losing my joy.
TIME FOR A CHANGE: We are wasting money. We are wasting food. We are wasting so much time and energy. This is just not working. So after a month of really digging into it, I figured out how to meal plan where it could really work for any family.
I probably spend 15 minutes a week meal planning. Now instead of being stressed out at dinner time, I can have a kid help me, or we can hang out and go to the park after school, or just do something fun. Dinner is a breeze. If I cook, it doesn’t need to take me longer than 30 minutes.
BE PREPARED: Then I started meal prepping. We do Sunday brunch a lot. So if I’m already cooking a brunch Sunday, why don’t I just cook extra stuff and have leftovers for the week? Now I only cook three to four nights a week.
Cochran loves to involve her children in the kitchen.
LASTING IMPACT: Our life became so much less stressful within a month or two of us meal planning and meal prepping. The kids knew what was for breakfast or lunch, or they could check the meal plan. Then I implemented all these other systems into our house, and I got to be me again. As a mom, you lose sight of yourself; you put everyone’s needs in front of you. Now, I get to have time to go have a coffee. I can do something with another women’s group.
YOUR TURN: I teach a course on meal planning. I have a guide on it, and a video course is coming soon. I teach simple, easy meals. I teach you to only go to the grocery store once a week. I teach about leftovers and how to repurpose leftovers for so many different meals. Your dinner time is going to be a lot easier; you’re going to have all that time back in your day.
If you spend the time to learn how to meal plan properly, it will make a huge difference in your life. It changed our lives, and when mom’s not stressed, the kids aren’t stressed.
Find Billie-Jo’s meal planning guide, upcoming course info, and even one-on-one coaching opportunities on her website billiejoskitchen.com.
Recipes to the Rescue
Billie-Jo Cochran regained control of dinnertime chaos with mindful meal planning. She shares three of her family’s favorite quick meals for busy nights.
Recipes and photographs by Billie-Jo Cochran
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Don’t you wish taco night could be every night? We absolutely love tacos in our house. This one is so easy. Throw everything in the slow cooker and come home to a prepared meal. You can even use frozen chicken. The chicken comes out so juicy and full of flavor.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound boneless skinless chicken
2 tablespoons chili-lime seasoning (I use Trader Joe’s brand)
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup lime juice
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
8 flour tortillas
Toppings: cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cilantro, and taco sauce
a cilantro lime sauce (recipe follows)
CILANTRO LIME SAUCE:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Season chicken with chili-lime seasoning, salt, and pepper. Place in slow cooker.
- Add chicken broth, lime juice, and any leftover seasoning.
- Cook on high heat for 3 to 4 hours or low 6 to 8 hours.
- Shred the chicken. Add cilantro and stir to combine.
- Make cilantro lime sauce: Combine everything in a blender or food processor and mix.
- Warm tortillas in the microwave for 20 seconds.
- Add chicken to warm tortillas and top with your favorite toppings.
Beef and Noodles
This recipe, dreamed up by Jimmy, is on repeat in our house. It is full of flavor thanks to the Worcestershire and Montreal Steak Seasoning, and is so easy to make. Easy meals on busy days are the best thing!
INGREDIENTS
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Montreal Steak Seasoning
1/2 cup flour
4 cups low-sodium beef stock or beef broth
3-4 cups egg noodles
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add ground beef and onions, breaking up the ground beef as it cooks. Cook for 10-12 minutes. If meat seems dry, add additional olive oil.
- Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook noodles 2 minutes less than package directions.
- Reduce the skillet to low-medium heat. Add garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and flour. Stir for 2-3 minutes, until all flour is mixed in. Stir well so nothing sticks to the bottom of the skillet.
- Add in beef broth and stir until flour is completely incorporated. Cook for 7-10 minutes until the gravy has thickened.
- Drain noodles. Add the noodles to the meat mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with fresh Parmesan, if desired, and serve.
Easy Taco Pie
Change up Taco Tuesday and make this Taco Pie. Pie for dinner is a hit with kids — sometimes we all just need a little fun in our meals. Ground beef is usually one meat I always have on hand.
INGREDIENTS
premade pizza crust
2 pounds lean ground beef (I use 96% lean)
1 small or 1/2 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
4 cups grated cheese, divided
(Colby, Mexican blend, and cheddar are my favorite to use)
additional sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray the bottom of a pie dish with baking spray. Roll out pizza crust a little bit. You want the crust to hang over the edge about an inch. Place pizza crust in the pan and pinch the edges. Place some cooking beans (dry beans used to hold down the crust) on top. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove beans.
- While the crust is baking, combine ground beef and onions in a large preheated skillet. Cook until almost done. Throw in the garlic and mix. Drain meat if necessary.
- Add taco seasoning and water per package directions.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix in salsa, sour cream, and 2 cups of cheese. Stir until combined.
- Pour meat mixture into the cooked crust. Top with remaining cheese and bake for about 15 minutes, or until it is done enough for you.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream, if desired.
