October is here. In lovely Upstate NY that means pumpkins and corn stalks are everywhere and the trees are changing colors, making every drive beautiful. It also means scouts, the play and sports are in full swing for the kiddos.
I’ve got several things to consider this week:
1. I’m heading into town on Monday (today) and will be gone a bit chunk of the day. I’m supposed to be out Wednesday as well, but I think I’m going to cancel–I’m just totally overwhelmed and need the time. For evening activities, we’ve got meetings, games, or events in the evening (scouts, home games, confirmation class, karate) 4 days of the week that I need to be at with some combination of the kids, plus one of those nights Yankee Bill has a meeting. On the weekend we’ve got a really packed Saturday, that includes both a BBQ and an Eagle Scout ceremony, so I won’t have to cook. So basically every weekday I’m either gone during the day or having to head out right after supper. Why is that important? Because it means that meals need to be quick and easy to prepare (or in the slow cooker). . . it’s not the time for complicated new recipes or things that take a lot of prep.
2. I’m finally able to see some space in my fridge. I still have a bunch of cucumbers and beans. There is squash all over the game table in my front parlor as well. In the garden there is plenty of kale and chard. I’ve got some dried bread cubes I’ve been storing in the cupboard for a while that I’d like to use up as well.
3. Still plenty of pork and venison in the freezer. Some beef, but not as much. I also picked up a big bag of frozen Whiting and have some frozen salmon from a friend.
Taking all that into account here is my game plan:
Monday: Ginger Soy Fish with Rice and Sauteed Green Beans
I’ll use the Ginger Soy Fish Marinade on the frozen whiting and then cook it in the oven. I may even use foil packets–I haven’t decided yet. The leftover marinade will be boiled and then thickened with cornstarch as a sauce. The rice is from my bulk rice purchase and I’ll saute up the Asian Footlong beans I have in the fridge.
This is my fish meal for the week.
Tuesday: Pork Chops with Stuffing and Fried Squash
I have home dried bread cubes that have been in the cupboard for a long time. I’ll moisten with broth, add celery, onion, spices and butter and then I’ll cook it in a pan with the lightly browned pork chops on top. Probably I’ll cover it with foil so they don’t dry out. I’ve been meaning to try breading and freezing a bunch of squash to use for fried squash later in the year, so I’ll try to hit that project on Tuesday and then just reserve out some of the squash to make in my fry daddy for dinner. Buddy LOVES fried squash (Hey, what’s not to love).
This is my pork meal for the week.
Wednesday: Stuffed Pepper Soup with Bread
I know it was only last week that I made the stuffed pepper soup in order to use up some of the peppers I had in the fridge. Well, it was a big hit, so I’m going to make some more this week with ground beef from the freezer. I may even make a double batch-hat way the kids can take it in for lunch as well and I can try freezing some. Plus I’ll be able to take some nice photos and share the recipe here on the blog.
This is my soup and my beef recipe for the week.
Thursday: Pizza
I know I try to do pizza (using my pizza hut crust clone recipe) on Fridays, but this week Buddy and I are going to try to get back to Karate on Friday night. I don’t want to be making pizza before 4 am or to eat after 7pm on Friday–that’s too stressful. So I’ll do it on Thursday instead when we aren’t under such a time crunch.
Friday: Chard Quiche and Green Salad
I didn’t make the quiche last week, so I’ll do it this week. Hopefully I’ll actually get it made earlier in the week and then folks can just heat themselves up a slice for dinner on Friday night. That will make it easy to eat before or after Karate for Buddy & I, and let the rest of the family eat easily while we are gone.
This is my meatless meal for the week.
Saturday: Out
We’ll be out. If I make homemade hummus from chickpeas to take to the party, does that count as my bean meal for the week?
Sunday: Pan Fried Venison Lion on English Muffins with Marinated Cucumber Salad
Our favorite way to eat venison loin (the choicest part!) is to just lightly pan fry it in some butter (venison is super lean so it needs the fat) and then serve it on buttered English muffins with a bunch of sauteed onions. Mmmm. Good eating. Because man does not live on meat alone, I’ll use up some of the cucumbers by making a marinated salad to go along side. That will also help cut the butter 🙂
This is my venison 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” .
Kayte says
Looking forward to the stuffed pepper soup recipe. Sounds absolutely perfect for autumn!