So each week has it’s own considerations-here’s what I’m working with
1. The weather is forecasted to be a *bit* cooler this week-the beginning of the week should be in the low 80′s (with nights dropping into the mid 50′s!), then the second half in the mid-high 80′s. So I could probably use the oven around suppertime without roasting out the whole family on Monday and Tuesday at least.
2. Not a lot of “required” evening meetings/activities during the summer. Yankee Bill has pool on Wednesday night.
3. I’ll be running some errands in town on Thursday afternoon, so I better have something ready to go when we get home. I really am not in the mood to cook after shopping. I’m thinking a slow cooker meal would be good.
4. Last week I was doing my “church lady” thing and made lasagna for a couple where the wife just had surgery. Since it’s just as easy to make 2 lasagnas as one I did-and stuck the extra in the fridge for us.
5. The garden is on the verge of exploding into production. The spring vegetables are almost done-the peas withered up and the radishes gone woody, but I still have lettuce and Asian greens that haven’t bolted. The zucchini has 4 little squash going and the green beans are winding up the vines-soon I’ll be inundated with produce. . . so I’ll be adding a lot of that into the menu as it comes in. Oh yeah, and I had a couple of renegade potato plants that were growing in my garlic bed. The garlic was done (it was pathetic) so I dug it up and I went ahead and dug up the unplanted potatoes. As a result I got a nice little bowl of new potatoes and an empty bed in the garden that I added even more beans too.
6. I’ve got a ham bone that should be used for soup or beans soon, a pork loin and some bratwursts I just couldn’t resist buying. I also get a dozen eggs a week from a local family who has a flock.
7. We are having the annual family reunion on Saturday at my Mother in Law’s.
8. 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: Lasagna and Salad
I’ll just pop the lasagna I made in the oven an hour before I want dinner and make a nice green salad from the lettuce and such in the garden.
Since it’s a cheese lasagna, this is my meatless meal for the week.
Tuesday: Baked Fish, Boiled New Potatoes and Salad
Our lovely neighbor gave us some fish she caught a week or so ago that I put in the freezer. We’ll bake that in the oven, boil the new potatoes & serve with butter, and make more salad.
This is my fish meal for the week.
Wednesday: Grilled Pork Loin, Citrus Rice and Greens
We’ll rub the pork loin down with seasonings and then cook it slowly on the grill. I’ll use rice from my stash (I always keep a 25lb bag of rice on hand) to make my Citrus Rice recipe, and I’ll sautee up a mix of mizuna and bok choy from the garden.
Thursday: Lentil Soup and Bread
I’ll make lentil soup in the crockpot with the ham bone. I know that sounds more like a cold weather meal-but I’ll make it more broth-y than I usually do (I usually do a split pea soup consistency) and add in some more veggies to make it a bit lighter. If I get around to it I’ll bake bread one of the nights after the temperatures drop-if not I’ll buy a loaf of nicer stuff from the local store.
This is my bean meal for the week.
Friday: Homemade Pizza!
Using the Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe of course.
Saturday: Family Reunion
Somehow I got the easiest job ever-bringing the paper supplies, so I don’t have to cook anything. Bonus!
Sunday: Bratwurst in Rolls with Grilled Zucchini
I’ll decide later if I want to make the bratwurst on the grill or if I’ll do the crockpot/beer method. Either one doesn’t add much heat to the house-and if I use the crockpot I can start it mid morning and not have to worry about cooking in the afternoon. I should have a good sized zucchini by then, so I’ll grill some of that to go with as a veggie.
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Are you interested in learning more about menu planning? Check out my post “Why Plan a Weekly Menu” .
I’ll decide later if I want to make the bratwurst on the grill or if I’ll do the crockpot/beer method. Either one doesn’t add much heat to the house-and if I use the crockpot I can start it mid morning and not have to worry about cooking in the afternoon.
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