Meal Plan 3/19

This unexpected early spring has really put a whammy on my meal plans.  It’s so lovely out that I start doing things outside and next thing I know we are right on top of dinner and I haven’t even started cooking.  That resulted in one dinner out last week and an emergency substitution of spaghetti & meat sauce on another night. . . and last minute plans to spend Sunday afternoon up on the land led to a crockpot meal that wasn’t on the menu.

Ah well-these things are plans, not laws, and it’s ok to switch them up sometimes!  Let’s look at what is going on THIS week.

1. I never did use the fish I defrosted for last week-so I’ve got to use that.  I really like the fish pie idea, so I’ll be trying that tonight.  I don’t want the defrosted fish to sit there any longer in the fridge!

2.  I’ll be out of town on Tuesday night-so Yankee Bill is dealing with the kiddos.  I like to either leave something going in the crockpot or else buy an “entree in a box” type thing for him.  I’ll be home by supper on Wednesday night, but I probably won’t feel much like cooking, so simple is best there.

3.  Weather-wise it is supposed to be AMAZING for the next few days.  70’s and even up to 81.  Trust me-I won’t feel like slaving over a hot stove or eating casseroles.  Next week it’s supposed to be a more normal for March 50’s range so I’ll leave those comfort foods until then.

4.  My goals are always to have one venison, one fish, one bean, one meatless and one soup meal each week.

Taking all that into account here is my game plan:

Monday: Fish Pie

This will use the fish I defrosted.  I’ve got a couple of recipes to look at and choose from-I think that it’s going to wind up being a sort of shepherds pie type thing with potato on top-a “one dish meal” type.

This is my fish meal for the week.

Tuesday: Crockpot Macaroni & Cheese

I’ll get the crockpot macaroni & cheese going before I leave in the morning so Yankee Bill can have a hot meal for the kiddos when they all get home.  They’ll just crack open a can of greenbeans or something to go on the side.

This is my meatless meal for the week

Wednesday: Venison  Burgers with Carrots & Fries

If the venison is already defrosted then making burgers is actually pretty quick and easy-I’ll just serve with some boiled carrots out of the garden and I’ll splurge on some store bought frenchfries (ohhh, the luxury!)

This is my venison meal for the week.

Thursday: Grilled Venison Packets, Couscous and Green Beans

This was another one of the meals that was on the plan for last week and just didn’t happen.  Again, the weather is predicted to be gorgeous, so cooking on the grill sounds fantastic.  Maybe I’ll take some pictures of the packets for a future post. . .

Friday: Pizza

Made with the Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe of course.

Saturday: Lentil Casserole with Rice and Greens

I love the lentil casserole recipe from Home Ec 101.  It tastes sooo good and the leftovers can be used anywhere in place of ground beef-it’s especially good in pasta sauce or tacos.  I’ll just make a big thing of rice and defrost some of the frozen greens from last summer.  (frozen is much better than canned for greens in my opinion-but I intend to do some canned next year as well)

This is my bean dish for the week.

Sunday: Stone Soup and Bread

By Sunday the temperature is supposed to be back down in the 50’s, so soup will be nice.  Stone Soup is basically making soup out of whatever is in the fridge–it just sounds better than “garbage soup” or “clean out the fridge soup”.  It’s a great way to use up leftovers!  Pair it with bread (or biscuits, or cornbread or popovers) and it’s a meal.

This is my soup 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” .