Last week I decided to get everything I'd planned for meals out of the freezer on Monday to start thawing in the fridge. Naturally we didn't eat nearly as many meals at home as I thought we might. I came to the end of the week with two meals not used at all and for one of those I had meat thawed. I've planned that meal to be a crockpot meal for Saturday. I'll just chop my vegetables in the morning then leave in the fridge and start it up when we get in.
But this week I'm going to take it more slowly. I'll thaw foods for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and we'll see how that goes before I take out more to thaw for the rest of the week.
The first two meals listed will look like repeats because they are:
Stew, Muffins, Applesauce and Grahams. I'll make a post of what we actually eat this week just so you can see how things change as the week goes on.
Fried Chicken, Creamy Mac and Cheese, Whole Grain Bread. Fried chicken was bought from the deli today and at least two meals this week will only be partially from the pantry/freezer. I had the mac and cheese in the cupboard, the very last box of Kraft. From here on, I'll only keep a box or two on hand. This one was left from when I stocked it routinely for Caleb and Taylor's enjoyment. The bread was from our meal on Wednesday. I wrapped it really well when we got home and it was still lovely and fresh, especially once I'd warmed it in the oven.
Steak, Armenian Potatoes, Salad? Roasted Broccoli? I have plenty of Russet potatoes to use up and this potato dish will be a help. I have both lettuce and Broccoli on hand. I'd like to do something different than salad but not sure what different looks like at the moment, so we'll see.
We chose a sirloin steak at the supermarket yesterday. I hadn't planned on it but it was well priced and large enough that I think we can swing three meals from it. I'll divide it when we make this meal today and put the rest of the meat in the freezer.
Red Beans and Rice, Coleslaw, Mexican Cornbread. This a nice hearty meal for a cold day and one I think we will appreciate. I have some small pieces of smoked sausage offcuts I'm going to sauté with my celery, onion, and bell peppers.
Buttery Baked Chicken, Biscuits and Gravy, Peas. This is an old recipe, one that you might see in any of those women's club, electric co-op, or church cookbooks from the 1960s or '70s. It's such a good recipe for just an easy oven fried chicken and you bake the biscuits and make the gravy along with the chicken all in one baking pan. It's simple and one pan and hearty.
Barbecue Meatballs, Mashed potatoes, Creamed Cabbage. I might change the main dish to Porcupine Meatballs, which I love to serve over mashed potatoes. I like that tomato gravy. This is another dish that I think is well suited to cold weather.
???? I could make something from the leftover fried chicken, stripping the skin and bone and make a casserole of some sort. I might make soup which sounds wonderful just about now with my feet on the cold floor. Or I could pull one of those older freezer meals out and cook that. I might have enough leftovers of any meal but the Stew. We ate all of that Saturday night since we had only a small package of beef.
I do want to take the time this week to go over the pantry and freezer just to put the oldest things, so they are the first items I use over the next week...So, we'll see what I come up with for this last meal. I don't believe we'll be eating out any this week.
Now that meals for this week are planned, I'm going to take a few minutes to dig through the freezer and the pantry and see what I need to use up and challenge myself a little harder next week to incorporate some of those things.
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1 comment:
I did really well this past week. My husband went to the store and got the on sale cheeses we needed plus 1/2 & 1/2. That was it. All meals came from the pantry/freezer. I bought a lamb shank before Christmas and made a lamb stew. I had some chopped zucchini in the freezer and a beef “flavor bomb” (leftover juice from something) which I included in the stew. Used some dried minced garlic that’s been hanging out in the spice cupboard forever! Made broccoli cheese soup with a frozen collection of stems and leaves and. then puréed it. Added instant potatoes to thicken it as I have a big bag that are not good as mashed potatoes. My husband finished off the biscuits and several zucchini muffins that were in the freezer. I ate oatmeal I’d frozen twice. Finished off the week with a huge chicken breast, sausage links, and a pasta meat sauce I’d made … all from the freezer. Meals for this week are planned from items in the freezer/pantry. Fingers crossed! I’m starting to see a bit of room in the freezer and using up items that were expired, but safe to eat.
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