Welcome to Thanksgiving week here at Frugal Upstate! I bet you can guess what we are eating on Thursday already 😉
Here is what I am working around this week:
1. Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday of course! There SHOULD be leftover turkey, stuffing and potatoes to recreate into something yummy later in the week.
2. Because it’s Thanksgiving week the kids are off of school starting Wednesday. That also means no scouts or things like that! Dinner will be easier but there will probably be more actual “cooking” for lunch.
3. On top of all that, I’m a hunting widow this week (except of course for Thanksgiving Dinner-he’ll come home for that). So all week long it’s just the kiddos and me for supper.
4. I never did make the cabbage roll casserole last week-so I’ve got to make that this week. I’ve still got veggies growing in the garden so I’ll be able to use some of them (still Brussels sprouts, carrots, Mizuna and turnips). I can’t believe how long the weather has stayed fairly temperate. . . but that’s off topic 😉
5. My goals are to eat one venison, one meatless, one bean, one soup and one fish meal a week. (remember-some of those can be doubled up-ie venison chili counts for a bean meal and a venison meal)
Taking all that into account here is my game plan:
Monday: Cabbage Roll Casserole
Yes, I will make this Cabbage Roll Casserole if it kills me! I am using home grown cabbage (just two small heads left!), venison sausage from the freezer, rice from my 25lb bag… well you get the point. It’s all pantry, garden and freezer stuff. But then again-what did you expect. It’s me after all! I’ll just have bread or biscuits on the side-I haven’t decided which yet. This is my venison meal for the week.
Tuesday: Fish Sticks w/ Tartar Sauce, Stirfried Mizuna and Rice.
Both my kids have fairly wide ranging tastes and generally shun things you think of as typical “kid” foods. They don’t like hotdogs, American cheese or cheese sticks. Princess however has recently decided she LOVES fishsticks. I don’t usually buy them, but when I do she gets super excited. Who knew? Anyway, Tuesday is going to be my big shopping day this week-which usually means I’m exhausted come supper time. So popping some frozen fishsticks in the oven (yes, I know they are terrible for you) with some homemade tartar sauce on the side (made with my homemade yellow squash relish) is a pretty easy meal. Sure, I’ve still got to pick the mizuna, clean & saute it, but that’s not much. And the rice practically cooks itself in the rice cooker.
Despite it’s dubious nutritional quality, this will count as my fish meal for the week.
Wednesday: Potato Sausage Soup with Salad
I’ve got plenty of potatoes from that big bag I bought in the $40 Thanksgiving Challenge video–so I figured I’d make soup with some Aldi’s sausages I have in the freezer. Mmm. This is my soup meal for the week.
Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner
You already know what those look like 🙂
Friday: Turkey Fried Rice
There will be plenty of leftover meat to use!
Saturday: Homemade Baked Beans with Brown Bread
I haven’t made baked beans in a while, and I need a bean dish for the week. I’ll use some of the organic bacon that I got when I bought my 1/2 pig. That’s some of the best bacon you will ever taste in your life! I’ve never made the old fashioned brown bread like they used to serve baked beans with in Maine-you know, the kind that actually comes in a can! But I figure I can try it 🙂
Sunday: Turkey Tetrazzini and Steamed Carrots
The Crockpot Turkey Tetrazzini will be made with Thanksgiving leftovers, and the carrots will come from the garden.
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Are you interested in learning more about menu planning? Check out my post “Why Plan a Weekly Menu” .
What’s on your menu for the week?
I think your fish meal is actually nutritious. You are incorporating veggies and rice, much better than my inclusion of frozen french fries and corn that I would typically make with it in the past! You appear to make tons of homemade foods, I am sure it will be harmless and you thrilled the kiddos (better than a Happy Meal !)