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| Thursday's salad -- Citrus-Cabbage Slaw |
Friday
- olive pizza (we ran out of pepperoni)
- steamed carrots
- roasted frozen broccoli cuts
- leftover Christmas cookies
Saturday
- leftover shredded beef (from New Year's Day) and potato hash
- pumpkin soufflé (made with pumpkin that I processed in November)
- frozen peas, microwaved
- fresh tomato wedges (a very mediocre tomato, very disappointing. What did I expect from a tomato in January?)
Sunday
- bean and cheese burritos in homemade tortillas, homemade salsa
- canned green beans
- Cole slaw
Monday
- spaghetti casserole
- steamed frozen cauliflower
- fig-applesauce
Tuesday
snacky dinner -- Epiphany
We take our tree down on Epiphany every year. But before we do, we have a snacky sort of dinner in the living room next to the tree.
deviled eggs, crackers, sliced cheese, sliced chicken, dried fruit, tangerines, pickles, celery sticks, green pepper strips, gold foil wrapped chocolates -- I looked through the pantry, fridge, and freezer for odds and ends, and this is what I came up with.
Wednesday (my easy night. Tuna melts are an easy and somewhat hot meal. I try to do one easy night a week.)
- tuna-avocado melts (on fresh home-baked ww bread)
- smashed purple potatoes with rosemary, garlic, olive oil, butter
- frozen mixed vegetables, steamed
- apple wedges
Thursday
- beef and vegetable stir fry, with frozen broccoli cuts plus fresh mushrooms, celery, and carrots. (Before slicing the beef, I trimmed the fat off of it then diced and rendered the fat to save for cooking fat later.)
- brown rice
- citrus cabbage slaw -- shredded cabbage, thin-sliced celery, chopped orange segments, sesame oil, soy sauce, chive blossom vinegar, ground ginger, crunchy chow mein noodles
- gingered pears (these are the Asian pears from my neighbor that we chopped and froze in late September. We still have a lot of frozen fruit to use this winter and hopefully into early spring.)
Thursday's salad is a winter staple in our house. It's inexpensive, seasonal, and easy, but it's also very flexible. I shred or finely chop cabbage, slice a stalk of celery thin, and segment 1 orange then cut each segment into bites. The dressing is a mixture of toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and vinegar to taste. Just before serving I toss with either chow mein noodles, sesame snack sticks, or sliced almonds. To turn this into a main dish salad, I add some diced cooked chicken. If what I have is tangerines and not oranges, I use two small tangerines. This salad also works with canned mandarin oranges. It's a delicious salad and a nice alternative to traditional Cole slaw.
I don't do a full menu plan a week in advance. Instead, I plan two to three days of dinners as the week progresses. I look over the previous few days and see what foods we should add in for the next two or three. It helps me round out the nutritional value of our meals across the week without having to sit down and plan for all seven days at a time.
What was on your menu this past week? Do you plan meals as you go, a week at a time, or a few days at a time? What has worked best for you and your situation?
I think my husband would like your Asian cole slaw. He doesn't like traditional cole slaw because of the mayonnaise.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI like to change up the dressing on cabbage salads. We sometimes make a vinaigrette with olive or avocado oil and vinegar. One of my favorite salads using avocado oil also has chunks of avocado in with the shredded cabbage. That's really good.
In an earlier post I said it would be a no spend month and I'm not sure if mentioned that daily essentials aren''t included because we need milk, eggs and other fresh item and the cats need their food. So, yes, I needed to shop for milk, eggs, half and half, cat food, bananas, raspberries and a few other things. But I'm still using pantry and freezer things. We had a pesto alfredo over noodles with two small chicken breasts sauteed and diced mixed into it. A roast beef cooked in the slow cooker in case anyone needed more protein. The leftovers were used for beef nachos with shredded beef and a light drizzle of BBQ sauce topped with diced peppers, onion and tomato with provolone cheese. That was very good.
ReplyDeleteWhen dad died I went through their freezer and found what mom called "spaghetti sauce". It was frozen mixed peppers, onion and tomato ready for a spaghetti sauce. That is what I took and now am using for some of my meals. I also found several jars of her famous relish (mostly this was dated 2021). All of it was still edible.
Alice
Your meals sound delicious, Alice. Even when I'm trying to not spend very much on groceries, we still need a few things almost every week. So, I understand what you mean.
DeleteI'm glad you found some useful foods in your parents' freezer and pantry. Do you have your mother's recipes? I have many of my own mother's recipes, and I find they help me feel connected to her even all of these years later. I'm glad you now have several jars of her relish.