Meal Plan 9/8

It’s the first full week in September and my kids are heading back to school in the morning.  Maybe we’ll be able to start getting into a routine again (although I’m heading out on a week long business trip soon–but that’s another story).

I’ve got several things to consider this week:

1.  Monday was Labor Day which is a big big deal in our town.  We were busy all day and then were at a friends for a BBQ.

2.  While the kids have a few after school activities, this week there is nothing going late enough to effect supper.  I on the other hand start a twice a week evening class on Thursday night.  I’ll have to make supper and have it ready for everyone to eat after I leave.  Yankee Bill has NY Guard one night.

3.  It is smoking hot.  Like mid July hot around here this week, although by the end of the week we are supposed to be back in the high seventies.  Suffice it to say I’m not really in the mood for thicky bubbly casseroles right now, although that may change by the weekend.

4.  I have leftover marinated chicken legs, steak, some onion & green beans in broth and over a dozen eggs in the fridge.  There are some odds and ends of vegetables to be used up, and in the poor neglected garden I do have some shelling beans, some zucchini, tomatoes and kale I could harvest among all those weeds. . .

5.  I’m trying to use up some odds and ends from the cupboards over the next month or so, including some bottled sweet and sour sauce, polenta, two quinoa & rice mixes and some canned green tomatoes.

6. As always my goal is to have one venison meal, one beef 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: BBQ with Friends

We got together with friends.  My job was to bring some hamburgers (actually beef/venison sausage mix) and pasta salad.

I guess I can count that as my venison meal for the week.

Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner — Waffles

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I’m not going to make a big breakfast or anything, so I figure we’ll do a big “breakfast” tonight.  Also, Yankee Bill is at meetings tonight which makes it a good night for this–he doesn’t like Breakfast for Dinner.  I’ll use up a couple of the eggs anyway!

This is my meatless meal for the week.

Wednesday: Beef and Vegetable Stirfry over Rice

I’ll thin slice the leftover steak and briefly marinate it in some soy sauce mixed with some water & herbs.  For the vegetables I’ll stirfry together whatever I can find in the garden–some greens, some beans, some squash.  I’ll have to use storebought onion and garlic.  The marinade from the beef will go right in with the vegetables & beef and I’ll bump it up a bit with some bullion and thicken it with some cornstarch.  The whole shebang will be served over rice from my 5 gallon pail and cooked in my rice cooker.

This is my beef meal for the week.

Thursday:  Chicken Soup

Soup made in the slow cooker is perfect for a night I’ve got to be out the door before 6pm for class.

I’ll use the broth/bean mix I’ve got in the fridge and add some more water and bullion as needed.  The meat will be taken from the marinated and cooked drumsticks in the fridge.  I’ll add part of a box of quinoa/rice mix, along with some veggies from the fridge and freezer.  We’ll just use storebough bread and butter to go on the side.

This is my soup meal for the week.

Friday:  Pizza Day

I haven’t made homemade pizza all summer!  So with back to school I’ll try to get back on track a bit for homemade pizza night.  Of course I’ll use the Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe and top it with cheese and pepperoni.

Saturday:  Chickpea Curry with Rice

I don’t actually have a recipe in mind for this–I know that Chickpea curries are delicious, and I have a cupboard full of spices of all kinds. . . so I’m sure if I hit my cookbook collection I’ll find something good.  Whatever it winds up being, I can serve it over rice.  If I need a vegetable, I’ll cook up some more of the zucchini.  I really have to use up zuchinni.

This is my bean meal for the week.

Sunday:  Teriyaki Salmon Packets, Brown Rice/Quinoa mix and Sauteed Kale

Sometimes it’s just fun to cook foil packets.  This time it is going to be the salmon (frozen from the store) cooked in a teriyaki/honey glaze.  I may put some onions on there too.  For sides I’ll use the second box of brown rice/quinoa mix and I’ll steam and then saute up some Kale.

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” .