I haven't done a meals' post in a while. I spent some time this morning menu planning for this coming week. In February, I find we are in use-it-up mode with regards to everything in the freezer. So here's our coming week in meals, should all go according to plan.
Dinners
Monday
Bean burgers w/ cheese slices, mustard sauce using some honey mustard lingering in the fridge
Roma tomato slices
Steamed carrots
Choice of instant mashed potatoes or leftover cooked rice
Mixed frozen fruit crisp
Bean burgers w/ cheese slices, mustard sauce using some honey mustard lingering in the fridge
Roma tomato slices
Steamed carrots
Choice of instant mashed potatoes or leftover cooked rice
Mixed frozen fruit crisp
My two daughters cook dinner for us on Monday and Wednesday. This is part of how they contribute to the household. In recent weeks, they've been teaming up on Mondays and making double what is needed for one meal and serve mostly leftovers on Wednesday. They call this effort "twinner."
I help in the menu planning for their meals, guiding them in what's available to use or in need of using. This week, we have leftover cooked pinto beans and leftover cooked rice. I also helped with the dessert today. I made a mixed fruit crisp, using 3 different fruits from the freezer, apples, blackberries, and rhubarb.
Tuesday
Beef stew w/carrots, peas, onions, frozen garden greens, barley, and beef
Cole slaw
Banana muffins
There are two almost black bananas sitting on the kitchen counter. Those will go into muffins for this night's dinner. I'll also be using random garden greens that I find in the freezer in the stew, along with the other ingredients. Cole slaw because cabbage is one of our cheap veggies.
Wednesday (the second half of twinner)
Bean burgers w/ cheese, any remaining mustard sauce
Apple wedges
Steamed carrots
Bean burgers w/ cheese, any remaining mustard sauce
Apple wedges
Steamed carrots
Leftover rice or potatoes
Thursday
Chicken shepherd's pie, using carrots, onions, frozen celery, frozen garden greens, frozen peas topped with mashed potatoes
Friday
Pepperoni pizza
Broccoli
Tomato and cucumber slices
Spiced fig applesauce
The weekend dinners will consist of one vegetarian Mexican night, with refried beans, cheese, rice, salsa, avocado, tomatoes, and corn tortilla chips and one leftovers night, using what ever is left in the fridge.
Lunches
Curried pumpkin-peanut butter soup pot, using some frozen pumpkin puree
Cream of frozen garden greens soup pot
Cabbage patch soup pot, using canned tomatoes, cabbage, frozen garden greens, onions, garlic, and TVP
Assorted breads and other leftovers
Breakfasts
Breakfasts are a get-your-own sort of thing in our house. My husband likes to cook himself some meat and have toast with it. I alternate between toast, egg, turkey bacon and a bowl of bran flakes and stewed dried fruit. There's also peanut butter granola in a jar on the counter, and there will be lots of leftovers, including leftover fruit crisp and leftover banana muffins.
What's your plan for this next week's meals? Do you plan ahead a week or plan one day at a time?
Nice sounding meals that you will be having this week! I usually make a bigger meal on Sunday so we have leftovers on Monday. I shop my freezer Sunday and pull out things to make during the week. I've been called back to work in the office 3 days of the week so I plan more on Sundays for the coming week.
ReplyDeleteWe had roast beef, scalloped potatoes and green beans Sunday and Monday. Tuesday beef fajitas with onions and green peppers. Wednesday is tortellini with tomato sauce and alfredo sauce baked with sausage. Salads to go with Tuesday and Wednesday. I have some peach jello that needs to be eaten. Thursday is a review of what's left or not and then make something if we need it. I have some chicken/apple sausage and brown rice that I will cook one evening because it is thawed so it needs to be cooked and we can add it in to any meal this week as needed.
Alice
Hi Alice,
DeleteI think for your situation of being out of the house most weekdays, cooking a large Sunday dinner planning on leftovers for Monday makes a lot of sense. You do a great job working for a paycheck and getting the meals done.
We rarely write anything down for a meal plan, but talk about what needs to be used, what we have in the freezer, and try to work with those. Have you figured out how to easily accommodate the different dietary restrictions in your house?
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteIt sounds like your method works well for the two of you.
Thank you for asking. For the most part, I just skip anything that I know will cause an issue for me. We had a salad with nuts in it last week. I simply tossed it without the nuts, then topped everyone else's salads with nuts and left them off of mine. So many of the meals we eat are made with simple, plain ingredients, which makes spotting offending foods easy. And I think we're all considerate of each other's allergies and intolerances.
I love how well your daughters work together--"twinner"--what a great idea! I fall somewhere between planning and winging it. I generally check out the grocery ads on Sundays and purchase sale items, and that guides what I serve during the week. I also try to keep track of foods that are at the end of their life span in my fridge and incorporate those into meals. In addition, it seems like the busiest time of day for us is between 3:00--7:00, so my meal choices reflect that. For example, my daughter's work schedule on Fridays is 4:00-8:00 and she likes to eat a very early supper, so I find that it's easiest to have soup in a crockpot--she can have a warm meal and my husband and I can dip into it a few hours later and also have a warm meal. It sounds like we all have adapted to doing what works best in our individual circumstances.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteThat's a great solution for the evenings when your daughter is working! I wish I would have thought of that in the years one daughter had a lot of evening rehearsals.
I agree, we've all found ways to work within our specific circumstances.
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point, knowing what to thaw in advance or make-ahead. I found in detailing my own menu plan for this week, doing a full week in advance, I was able to double up on a few prep items. Tonight, I made the banana muffins to go with stew and will also serve as tomorrow's breakfast. Since I was chopping veggies for the stew, I also did enough carrots and onions for Thursday's shepherd's pie. I don't always like meal planning, but it sure does make meal cooking a lot less complicated.