Life is finally starting to be back on track! Yay! I love the holidays, but the lack of a regular schedule gets to me after a while. Are you back on track yet?
These are the considerations for this week:
1. It’s been super cold and it will continue to be cold (with the exception of bizarrely warm weather and rain just for this morning.) Warm and comforting are the things that come to mind when I think of meals for the week.
2. The kids are back to school, and with back to school come all the school activities. Odyssey of the Mind, Boy Scouts, and chorus. Princess was one of the middle school students who was asked to participate in the Highschool play, so that will start at some point. The kids are taking skating lessons on the weekends. I’ve got a meeting in town one day which I’ll combine with errands/shopping and a doctor appointment on another day. I always like to plan on quick and easy (or else slow cooker) meals for the days where I’m out of the house running around all day.
3. We are having some friends over for a special dinner on Saturday–so that will be steak and scallops.
4. In the fridge I’ve got several packages of chicken breast (sales), and some rabbit confit I made as an experiment (although that will store for quite a while). There are carrots, leeks, and celery. I’ve still got 2 big bags of potatoes in the basement, as well as many different types of home canned food. In the freezer is a good supply of frozen organic pork from our 1/2 pig, and the venison from a successful hunting season.
5. As always my goal is to have one venison meal, one fish meal, one pork meal, one bean meal, one meatless meal and one soup meal per week.
Taking all that into account here is my game plan:
Monday: Potato Leek Soup with Cheddar Biscuits
Last time I made potato leek soup the kids loved it and begged for leftovers in their lunch the next day. Except there were no leftovers! So I plan to make an extra large pot this time so that there will be plenty of leftovers for the kiddos. Since potatoes and leeks cooked in chicken broth with a bit of half and half is pretty low on the protein, I’ll be adding in some cheddar biscuits.
This is my meatless meal for the week.
Tuesday: Smoked Turkey, Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans
I couldn’t resist the frozen, precooked smoked turkey at Aldi while I was shopping last weekend. ($1.89 a lb!). It’s been defrosting in the fridge for a couple of days, so should just need to be warmed up in the oven or a slow cooker. There will be plenty of leftovers to use, freeze etc–and I’ll make a really great soup out of the carcass next week. Mmmm.
The potatoes will just be scrubbed, chunked up, tossed with some bacon fat (mmm!), fresh rosemary, salt and pepper and roasted. Then I’ll add a can of green beans.
Wednesday: Italian Pork Chops and Sauerkraut with Mashed Potatoes
I just love this pork chop, sauerkraut & stewed tomato recipe–especially done in the slow cooker(it can also be baked). I’m going to try to remember to take some photos so I can finally publish it! You’ve already got all your veggies and protein in the main meal, so I just need a starch to balance things out. I’m planning on mashed potatoes, but that could just as easily turn out to be rice or noodles depending on my mood.
This is my pork meal for the week.
Thursday: Venison and Vegetable Stirfry with Rice
I don’t actually have a recipe for stirfry–it’s one of those things that comes out differently every time. Thin sliced meat, veggies from the crisper (usually carrots and onions feature largely in these things) and then create a quick sauce with soy, broth & spices. Serve over rice and call it dinner.
This is my venison meal for the week.
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Green Salad
It’s a tradition! Using our Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe, of course.
Saturday: Steak and Scallops with Broccoli and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
This is our big extravagant meal for the year. Usually we do “Steak and Lobster” but this year Yankee Bill suggested doing scallops instead, which I just love. While it is a very expensive dinner, it is still far less than going out to a restaurant. I’ll just do a simple vegetable and more of the roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary as a side. Our guests are bringing the dessert 😉
This is my fish (seafood) meal for the week.
Sunday: Baked Beans and Brown Bread
It’s been a long time since I’ve made homemade baked beans (and to my knowledge I’ve never actually made my own “brown bread”). They just seem the thing on a cold Sunday evening–and hey, it’s extremely tradition in New England where I was raised.
This is my bean meal for the week.
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Are you interested in learning more about menu planning? Check out my post “Why Plan a Weekly Menu” .
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