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Our daughter mentioned so many meals at school were based on frozen foods, and shelf staple ingredients as they worried about volume stores on site and risk of food going bad should large number of kids be quarantined or the school need to pause. She wants fresh, good home cooking. Well, this is a good time to teach her or improve her cooking as she can help both decide meals and prepare them. Last week was a lazy week though. Knowing I was going to do a lot of cooking, meals were just easy.
- Sunday: Leftovers including Gyros, pizza, and assorted things from freezer (making space!)
- Monday: Chow Mein and rice
- Tuesday: Chicken cheese and macaroni hotdish
- Wednesday: Tika masala and rice, leftover chicken mac hotdish
- Thursday: Turkey Dinner with ALL the sides
- Friday: Take out pizza and hot wings
- Saturday:Turkey noodle soup
Options are wide open. I want to use up what we have, but I'm freezing any leftovers today not yet eaten and will have her shop if there are things we need. It's doubtful I will make an Aldi run as I can easily come up with a full menu for a few weeks! We're even getting Take Out again today, celebrating the end of the Thanksgiving/birthday weekend, supporting a business in town that served meals to any one in need for Thanksgiving, and one more day without cooking. What we don't eat of the soup for lunch will be frozen along with any lingering turkey. I am really happy my daughter was able to get a smaller bird. Here's options that if followed, would take us two weeks out.
- Turkey stuffing hotdish (I froze a meals worth of turkey and have leftover stuffing croutons)
- Ground turkey white bean chili
- Cheddar broccoli soup
- Sausage, cheddar apple meatballs, side of some sort
- Pork chops and rice with apple sauce
- Tuna hotdish with vegetables
- Chicken skewers with vegetables and rice pilaf
- Rice Hotdish with carrots and celery
- Mandarin Orange Chicken, rice and steamed veg
- Hamburgers with the fixings, fries
- Spaghetti or some sort of noodles and sauce, with cheese and vegetables
- Chicken cordon bleu or kiev, rice and vegetables
- Cranberry sauce glazed meatballs (equal parts ketchup and leftover cranberries with meatballs simmered for along time) and zucchini fritters
- Chicken Tortellini soup and bread sticks
Everything sounds great Sam! I think I still did really well with our budget this month somehow even with all the holiday meals. I'm happy to say not a single thing wasted all month either :)
ReplyDeleteA no waste month is a good accomplishment. I'm striving for that in December.
DeleteI cleaned out all of my cabinets back in March and was so happy to only have one can of soup (which we don't buy or eat anymore) that was expired. I hate throwing out food so I try very hard to keep up on what we have and I only stock up on the things we routinely use.
ReplyDeleteYour meal options sound good. It's so nice to be able to make meals out of what you have on hand.
I just don't want to go, or have my family go, more often to the store. Odd that I never thought about it in the past, but even during annual cold and flu season, I think we all could stay healthier if people styed put.
DeleteI need to plan a similar menu through mid-December, when we head to Oregon
ReplyDeleteFrom what you've said, that's just three weeks now, so likely will fly. I hope your boys keep helping.
DeleteAnd, I love the idea of the cranberry glazed meatballs - I'm going to try that!
ReplyDeleteWith the cranberry swapped in for grape jelly, I think it will be tasty. It would be good on a turkey meat loaf as well.
DeleteHello Sam, thank you for visiting my blog - I have just nipped over to explore yours :) You certainly are very organised and don't waste anything in the kitchen! I don't like cooking but am doing my best lately to make healthier meals for the family - interesting that in your part of the world, the food choices are not quite like ours :) we tend to trot to the shops for just about everything and sometimes, sadly, it's cheaper to buy than to make. The outside of your house, all done up for Thanksgiving looks so homely and welcoming. Betty :)
ReplyDeleteI just made the outdoor transition from pumpkins to greenery, even though not yet snowing and still technically fall. I'm more organized on paper than I a able to execute, but I'm trying.
DeleteNice menu! I had a hamburger for lunch- the first one I've had for some time since I mainly eat chicken if I have any meat at all. I was thinking a couple of cookbooks would be a nice gift for your daughter- I always send my soninlaw one from my collection which I'm trying to reduce- no exaggeration but I must have a 100 cookbooks. Pioneer Woman has great illustrations and tells you what to do- plus she uses pretty common ingredients. Skinny Taste has some great recipes too and many are healthy. We've been having weather in the 70s but looks like Tuesday will be a cold morning- I hope it puts me in a Christmas mood. It's hard when you go no place but Aldi everu few weeks!
ReplyDeleteMy take out was a hamburger as well, and we ordered for a late lunch. I was so full-we all were so full,no one needed dinner later. Some day I need to photocopy the cookbook I use most form 1987, our church cookbook. I have a more recent one too and a copy for her when she wants, but in a dorm, not quite the right time to pass on to her but a really good idea.
DeleteI smiled a bit as when I was young my younger cousin could not say bread but said bed sticks. I suppose they are like bead sticks. :-) thank you for the small unintentional smile at a memory long forgotten.
ReplyDeleteDarn my vision and sumbling fingers. I'm happy to have given you a smile though. Bed sticks is so cute.
DeleteI have never had to live on cafeteria food unless I was traveling with a team and it would get old.
ReplyDeleteNormally her cafeteria serves very hoey, chef quality foods. This year it was the concern I'm sure of wasting huge amounts of fresh meat, veg, dairy, and fruit. She never complained last year at all.
DeleteYour meal plans sound very good! I absolutely have to get the laundry room cleaned in the next few days so I can defrost/inventory the freezer
ReplyDeleteEverything is same old and carry forward when not yet made, but it will keep us fed. Good luck with that freezer.
DeleteWhat is hot dish??
ReplyDeleteHotdish I guess is just how my part of the country refers to casseroles. Basically, a main dish in one (protein, strach, sauce or binder, with a veg and often with a topping like cheese or bread crumbs).
DeleteIt seems we never have leftovers to freeze. lol...we eat them all. Your menus sound great.
ReplyDeleteI think you make small portions. I sometimes cook for a family of five!
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