I have been wanting to make a menu plan for a few weeks, but haven’t had time. I’ve been too busy gathering, canning, and preserving for winter. I will assure you, we have been eating never-the-less! Now, it’s time to plan meals that use my preserved food. I am not one to can/freeze food and then want to hoard it. I figure I’ve gone to all that work, now I want to use it up!
I usually plan one meal for each evening, and plan the leftovers for lunches and perhaps one night later in the week. This week, I’m trying something a little different.
When I plan menus, it saves me time, money and stress. Since I get home at 6:30, 3 nights a week, the rest of the family gets hungry before I get there most of the time. Last week, I made chicken breast, drumsticks and turkey meatloaf on the weekend, and put them in the fridge. Then, it was easy for Rob to grab what he wanted, make a couple of side dishes, and serve dinner. The girls clean up the dishes, since it’s their chore, and they save me a plate. Except for the night they didn’t, but that’s another story:)
I asked him how it worked, and he said it helped him a lot. When he gets home from his job, he is tired, but has been trying to do at least 1 extra job around the house or shop each evening. I’m all for that!! So, if dinner is cooked or in the Crock pot, it makes that do-able for him. Because I have appointments for the girls both Wednesday afternoon and Friday afternoon, I will make sure the meals are pre-cooked those days, as well, or in the Crock Pot.
Sunday: We had ham and scalloped potatoes for our family Sunday dinner. My sister hosted this week, and I made a small broccoli salad, marinated cucumber salad, and lettuce salad. I used garden produce in all 3 salads, with only a few purchased items. The garden is coming to an end, but there are still items out there, and I want to use them.
Food for Rob to choose from for the next few days and lunches for himself and the girls. I will also use some for lunches during the week:
I cooked a roast in the crock pot while I was gone today. He can serve it as meat on a plate, or take it in his lunch, or make a sandwich.
Spaghetti sauce: I will make this and use it for lasagna one day, and spaghetti another. I have a quart of tomatoes that did not seal and needs using up. I also have zucchini from the garden, and I may make part of the noodles in the lasagna out of them. I usually put a little chard in the sauce, too.
I am cooking up some taco meat right now. If people are hungry after evening youth group, they can have tacos, if not, it will be a choice in the fridge.
I want to do a beef stew with carrots, since I have 4 gallon Ziplocks left from what we dug up. I also have some garden potatoes and onions.
You may notice a lot of beef-based meals. Let’s just say we had a LOT of chicken last week:)
I want to do either potato soup or clam chowder.
I have a loaf of rosemary potato bread I got from the day-old section when I visited Bob’s Red Mill. We had some for lunch today, but will add the rest to meals during the week. The non gluten-free ones in the family love having a treat that has wheat in it occasionally. Since I don’t even keep a speck of all-purpose flour in the house, I don’t mind buying them things when I can. I always have whole wheat bread for their sandwiches, but I don’t make it anymore.
I plan to make gluten-free foccocia bread. I have a recipe that has zucchini and parmesan on top. It’s good. I will also make cornbread, as Rob is hungry for that. If there is time, a batch of muffins would be great for breakfasts. Of course, I can make any other baked item that comes to mind, if I have time.
In the garden, we still have purple beans, lettuce for salads, cucumbers marinading in the fridge, snow peas and raspberries. The cherry and pear tomatoes are still producing well, but the larger tomatoes are not very prolific any more. Still, I may get a few. The basil and cilantro are great from the last planting I did. There is chard and kale, and a few zucchini and peppers. I have 1 head of lettuce from the store to mix with my limited supply of leaf lettuce, and can start buying a few veggies, if needed. I think there will be plenty for this week in the garden, though. We should use some of the preserved green beans if we run low on fresh produce. There are an AWFUL lot of them out there in the shop:) It’s so fun to look back on our summer’s labor, and just settle down to start eating it up!
Now, I will get busy cooking. I will do a couple of things tonight, and likely the rest tomorrow. I will continue searching this week for a great deal on Rob’s coffee pods, and butter for a price I like:) Otherwise, I think we are set for a while.
Your plan sounds like a winner but BOO on Mom not having a plate saved! With only the two of us I do a lot of freezer cooking. I make an effort to use those meals every week so that they do not get freezer burnt. No point in doing the work to let it go to waste or lose flavor.
One thing I remember when my grandma was a widow was my mom making small portions of our meals for her and freezing them. Then, she would load Grandma’s freezer and she could have variety in her diet! It’s great that you use it up quickly!
No one was trying to be mean about the plate–it was just a miscommunication:)
No thoughts of them being mean but poor you arriving home and no dinner ready!
I felt a bit pouty, I will confess, but there was plenty to get for myself, so I did:)
Hi Becky! For some reason you showed up as a no reply blogger when you commented on my blog. I loved reading about your children and that you are reading Kisses from Katie to them. Isn’t that book something? Isn’t Katie something? Isn’t GOD something??? I think the new book comes out October 3, but I think it can be pre ordered now. I promise you will love it!!
I’m not sure how to fix the no reply thing. Do you?
Yes. We are loving that book. I can hardly stop reading!
I am lazy when it comes to meal planning! I generally cook two main entrees each week and rotate them! Fixing something for dinner has never been a problem, but figuring out what to take for breakfasts and lunch have always given me headaches!
For me, the lunches and breakfasts are the easy part. I eat eggs frequently, and often eat leftovers:) for breakfast. Lunches are usually leftovers. So, that leaves me to make a few entrees each week and then we just eat them over and over until they are gone. I just can’t seem to cook small amounts.
Your comment “I have been wanting to make a menu plan for a few weeks, but haven’t had time”, Is like saying I am so busy I don’t have time to breathe. Sounds crazy, but it can be true. Hang in there.
Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com
It is true. Homeschool takes most of the day from 8 am until around 1:30. I can do a few dishes, maybe, but otherwise, I’m actively engaged with the girls the entire time. That’s just how it is with these 2. If I turn my attention away, I’ve lost them:) I had about 1/2 hour yesterday where they worked independently, and I graded during that time.
Then, I go to work and don’t get home until 6:30 on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. At that time, I’m toast, but we are still trying to do at least 1 thing each evening–either clean something, cook something, mow the lawn, fold laundry, etc. I also eat then. On Wednesdays, when I don’t work, we have appointments almost every time and then go to church. By then, I’m toast! Plain and simple.
This year, I am experimenting with giving the girls a piece of paper with assignments to do on Fridays and we are not meeting. I have ended up running multiple errands on Fridays, done canning, and also have had a lot of appointments then, too. (We have orthodontist, regular dentist, therapies, my doctors for diabetes and regular, the kids’ doctors for ADHD and regular),—we have many, many appointments and they all take time. That doesn’t even count Rob or appointments for things like fixing the tires, etc., or anything Lovana needs, since she doesn’t drive.
In theory, Fridays are going to be for me to get all my stuff done. And, I have gotten canning done and grocery shopping. Saturdays have been filled with tasks such as wood hauling, shop cleaning, cooking for the week, and watching Jake. Sundays are for church and family and Jake and more church for the girls in the evening. (Youth group)
I normally handle this just fine, but last week there were more appointments than normal, and that threw me off. Everything will settle down into a routine, and it will help when the garden goes to bed and the canning is done:) So, that’s one reason why I just have been cooking a ton on the weekends, and warming it up all week.
Whew! I remember those days when we were homeschooling. Then suddenly they were gone and now it is quiet. It is like when there is a large sound then immediate silence but your ears keep ringing. That is how it has been this year. Suddenly silence. I am adjusting but still waiting for direction from God. I suppose I will hear from Him when my ears stop ringing.
Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com
Every time I think that’s what’s going to happen to me (things getting too quiet), God sends me a little more commotion–like another daughter, or a niece to homeschool, or puts another person in my path that He is clearly directly telling me that he/she/they are my next ministry. Sometimes, it’s someone that I’m supposed to bring food to over an extended period of time. Sometimes it’s a person or people I’m to pour into for a while in another way. I will remember earnestly explaining to quite a few friends and family that yes, indeed, we were done having children. 7 special needs kids were enough. We were NOT going to have any more unless God sent one knocking on our door, and then I’d chuckle. But, we were not going to seek out any more, not worries, we were done. It wasn’t long before DHS was literally knocking on our door……and here we are. God does have a sense of humor.
I’m glad you are waiting for direction. When you have it, you will plunge in, knowing you are doing the right thing–the thing you are supposed to be doing at the time. Enjoy your rest period! You’ll be busy again soon enough:)