It’s cold cold cold here in New York this week. . . 
Here’s what I’ve got going on this week:
1. Monday was a federal holiday, then back to school for the kids–except we’ve got some serious cold weather with an evil wind chill that may cause a school delay or cancellation. It’s hard to tell right now.
2. We’ve got our regularly scheduled evening and after school activities. Yankee Bill had a monthly meeting tonight and plays pool later in the week. Princess has OM two nights, as does Buddy. We’ve got scouts, the Pinewood Derby, and my volunteering at the food pantry.
3. In the fridge I have some venison sweet Italian sausage a friend gave us, carrots, leek tops, cabbage and romaine lettuce. I have plenty of potatoes and onions in the basement and butternut squash on top of the cabinets.
4. I’m feeling behind, which means I’m trying to cram lots of work into each day. THAT means I lose track of time and run up against dinner hour without realizing it. Things that are easy to make and don’t require long prep time would be a good idea this week.
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: Pork Soup and Bread
This was a last minute, what the heck am I going to make sort of meal. I pulled out frozen turkey stock, home canned boneless pork, leftover rice and some veggies from the fridge. Toss in herbs and garlic, viola. Dinner.
This is my pork meal for the week.
Tuesday: Baked Fish, Couscous and Salad
I have to say, this was one of my lamest dinners EVER. The fish was pretty much tasteless. I just did some butter and herbs, but obviously not enough of either as it just was bland. Edible, but bland. Blech. The couscous I cooked in beef broth and added some butter too, so at least that was yummy, and salad is always tasty.
This is my fish meal for the week.
Wednesday: Spaghetti with Venison Sweet Sausage and Green Salad
We got some venison Italian sweet sausage (homemade) from a friend, so I’ll cook some of that up quickly and add to homemade spaghetti sauce I canned and serve it over pasta. I have leftover salad from last night, which I can bulk up with some additional lettuce. Easy meal for scout night.
This is my venison meal for the week.
Thursday: Baked Chicken Thighs, Baked Potatoes, and Sautéed Carrots
The itty bitty hometown grocery store here has chicken thighs on sale for $.59 a LB. You read that right–$.59. It’s crazy. So I’ll be buying a whole bunch–I’ll bake some for dinner, freeze some in marinade and cook some up for canning. The baked ones will just be done with a quick marinade then baked, served with potatoes from the cellar and carrots from the fridge (co0ked of course)
Friday: Pizza
Because it’s Friday.
Saturday: Venison Stirfry with Rice
I have no idea what I’ve got going on for Saturday–but there always seems to be something! So I will plan a pretty simple stirfry using some of our venison and veggies.
This is my venison meal for the week.
Sunday: Lentil Casserole with Greens and Potatoes
I haven’t made Lentil Casserole for a while. It’s tasty, and the leftovers can be used for a ground beef type substitute next week in spaghetti or tacos. .. or just saved for a quick lunch for me. The greens will be canned from this year, and the potatoes again from the two bags our buddy gave us–probably just boiled with salt and butter.
This is my meatless meal and bean meal for the week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you interested in learning more about menu planning? Check out my post “Why Plan a Weekly Menu” .
Leave a Reply