Simple Meal Plan for the First Week of December

 

I love to cook, and meal plan (usually).  But in this month, I don't want to spend a load of time in the kitchen prepping meals.  I want to spend time baking, decorating, reading, soaking up the sun on the chilly days, etc.  

I also want to sort of trim grocery costs this month.  We did a big stock up after our November pay came in.  I thought we'd concentrate on eating some of the older entrees I've shoved in the freezer and that I'd pull the bins and look to see what older items we might use up.

With cooler weather coming in, we can make more one pan/one pot meals that have vegetables and protein and starch all in one.  Salads will still be on the menu, but they won't be the summery salads.  They'll be heartier salads with seasonal foods in them like the salad I made one evening last week with pomegranate seeds and apple chunks.  So good!

Two meals I plan to make each and every week this month:  Breakfast for supper and Soup.  This time of year, these two meals are comforting and cozy and can be varied enough so we don't get bored with them.

If you're thinking dinners this week may be simple but are definitely hardy you are perfectly right.  Our highs in the week ahead are to be in the low 50's and the nights in the mid 20's.  Goodness!  You'd think we could glide slowly down and enjoy some of the in between temperatures, lol, but nope, we're going to head right into winter ones...

Breakfast for supper: Sausage and Egg muffins, Hash Browns, Toast.  The 'muffins' are an old Atkin's Diet recipe that we enjoy making still. You smush the sausage meat into a muffin tin, then break an egg into the sausage lined cup, top with grated cheese and bake.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup, Crackers with cheese.  I don't plan to make broth from my turkey breast bone because I've got quarts of turkey broth in the freezer to use.  I bought wild rice last pay period specifically to make this soup.

Ham and Broccoli Strata, Waldorf Salad   A few years ago I had a Broccoli Strata in an old restaurant and the kitchen cook kindly wrote down the ingredients for me on a meal order ticket.  There were no measurements just a listing of ingredients.  I thought I'd take the basic recipe and add chunks of ham to it.  I have a whole bag of bread end pieces in the freezer that I can use for this and best of all, I can make it early in the day (or the evening before).

White Turkey Enchiladas, Skillet Street Corn, Green Salad with Orange Segments

Beef Pot Pie, Carrot and Raisin Salad.  Typically, I'd make this with ground beef, but we have some leftover steak and there's a jar of Beef Gravy in the pantry.  I think I'll line a pie dish with a crust, add in our meat, vegetables and gravy then top with a second crust.

Turkey a la King over Rice, Mandarins.  Made as Mama used to make it, this dish has onions, celery, pimentos, peas in the mixture so we'll get plenty of vegetables.  

Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Casserole, Brussels Sprouts, Corn Muffins.  

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