I have to admit something to you all. I lied to you. Last week’s menu plan was a partial fiction.
That’s right. Last week the Frugal Upstate household was NOT at the Frugal Village Homestead. Instead we were at a cabin in the Adriondacks with my lovely Mother-in-law and Grandmother-in-law. I figured it wasn’t in our best interests to let the entire internet know we were vacating the premises for a week straight. Since we stayed in a cabin though my MIL and I did share the cooking-and we did eat lasagna, pork loin and bratwursts. . . and the family party on Saturday did happen.
So we got back Sunday-but Monday was Buddy’s Birthday, so we ordered out Pizza (since it was hot and we didn’t want to cook) and then on Tuesday we decided that with the temp 96 degrees it would be a great day to go shopping and pick up all those things we had cleaned out of the fridge-milk, creamer, bread etc. Well by the time we got done with all that and still had a couple more stops to make errand-wise, it was 5 and we were hungry so-I admit it-we ran through the Taco Bell drive-thru. Yeah, I know. Not very nutritious or frugal. But to be fair we just got one thing each without any extras or drinks.
So now on to the rest of the week.
This is what I have to think about for the week.
1. Although today is supposed to be beastly again, the weather is supposed to start cooling off a bit-highs in the mid 80′s, nighttime temperatures in the mid to low 60′s. That means the house should cool off nicely during the night and I should be able to keep the house passively at about 70 during the day. I’d rather keep doing the bulk of my cooking in the basement (on our spare stove down there) or outside, but at least we might feel like eating something warm at night.
2. Yankee Bill has an insane week. He was home Monday, gone for back to back meetings yesterday, gone tonight, Thursday we take Buddy out for his birthday dinner, then on Friday he leaves for a week of drill with the NY Gaurd. So I just have to worry about feeding the kids and I.
3. I did my big shopping yesterday, so I’m not heading back into Binghamton again this week (well, except for the birthday dinner for Buddy). We’ve got little things to do in town but I will be around to do cooking whenever I need to.
4. I have a piece of ribeye steak left in the fridge (we cooked them on the grill for a vacation meal and there is a full size steak left). I’ve also got some leftover cooked lasagna noodles that I *think* are still ok.
5. The garden is chugging along. Although the beans, tomatoes and peppers are not producing I do have a zucchini to use, some cabbages, some broccoli and kohlrabi. I’ve got lettuce and bok choy that have bolted-and some that is still fine. I actually was reading up on how to use bolted lettuce-so I might do that this week.
6. As always my goal is to have one venison meal, one fish meal, one bean meal, one meatless meal and one soup meal per week.
Taking all that into account here is my game plan:
Monday: Pizza
We ordered pizza. So sue me. 
Since it was cheese and tomato this could technically be considered my meatless meal for the week.
Tuesday: Taco Bell
Yeah. Two days in a row. Just so you all know I’m far from perfect.
Wednesday: Lettuce Soup and Steak Sandwiches
I’ve found a recipe for Lettuce soup that uses garden lettuce, potato and chicken broth cooked & pureed together. I’m thinking that sounds like a nice soup to serve cold. I’m going to experiment and use the bolted lettuce-the cooking should mellow out any bitterness and make it work fine. I’ll slice up the remaining steak and serve it on some sandwiches with lettuce (from the garden) and some horseradish mayo.
This is my soup meal for the week.
Thursday: Eating Out
Each year for the kiddo’s birthdays we take them out to dinner without their sibling. They get to choose the place-and for the last 5 years running both of them have wanted to go to the Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse in Binghamton. They just love watching the chef cook on the table in front of them, light things on fire and flip knives around. Every year I remind them that they can choose another place if they like, and every year they insist that this is what they want. It costs a pretty penny compared to most other places in the area, but hey-it’s twice a year (once for each)
Friday: BBQ Ribs, Grilled Zucchini, Marinated Bean Salad and Buttered Noodles
I’ve got a blog post to do on BBQ’ing ribs-so we are eating ribs 
I’ve got one full sized zucchini on the plant right now (if I can conquer the squash bugs hopefully I’ll get more). I just love slices of all types of summer squash brushed with a bit of olive oil mixed with chili oil on the grill. Mmm. The noodles are just the leftover lasagna noodles, I’ll chop them smaller (hey-noodles are noodles right?) and warm them up in the microwave then toss them with a bit of butter & Parmesan cheese. The beans are dry beans I’ll soak up and cook, then marinate and serve cold as a side dish.
There are my beans for the week (whew-I wasn’t sure I’d get them worked in)
Saturday: Venison Burgers and Broccoli Salad
Hamburgers made out of a combo of Venison and Venison Sausage (mmmm!) on buns for the entree. I’ll put together a summertime favorite-broccoli salad! I’ve got broccoli in the garden that will flower if I don’t pick it soon. The salad also has grapes and bacon-what’s not to love. Come to think of it I don’t think I’ve ever posted that recipe before-I need to. It’s a great potluck/BBQ take along.
This is my venison meal for the week.
Sunday: Grilled Fish, Grilled Cabbage Packets and Cornbread
I have plenty of nice fish in the freezer from both my Brother in Law and my lovely neighbor. I haven’t grilled fish in years, so we’ll try it and see how I do I’ll make foil packets and do my hubs lovely cabbage recipe with one of the small cabbages from the garden, and I’ve got a big bag of cornbread mix my brother gave me.
This is my fish 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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