What is it with me and Mondays? I can’t seem to get the menu plan up on time to save my life.
Last week’s menu sort of re-arranged itself a bit. On Wednesday the internet provider went down for 3 hours. I’m embarrassed to admit that without being able to go online and check, I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to make for dinner! So I opted for the Bratwurst that were already defrosted for dinner in the fridge (that were supposed to be Sat’s dinner).
Thursday went as planned, but then on Friday my sweet MIL dropped off a whole casserole dish of Turkey Tetrazzini. Never one to make dinner when it’s already been provided, I was overjoyed. So we at that on Friday, which bumped the pizza to Saturday, which was ok since we had already eaten Saturday’s meal on Wednesday! Are you confused yet?
Then on Sunday I just couldn’t cope with cooking and we all had Ramen noodles for dinner. (Yeah, I know. Not very nutritious-but hey, frugal!) That’s how real life works, isn’t it? The whole point of menu planning is not to be rigid an lock you into anything, but rather to help you manage the flow of your week!
Here’s the plan for this week:
Monday-Tuna Patties w/Creole Hollandaise Sauce, Sauteed Garden Fresh Veggies
Now doesn’t that just sound like something off the menu at a fancy place? The tuna patties finally made it onto the menu. I make the packaged hollandaise, with only half the butter called for, and add some creole seasoning. The kiddos picked beans, broccoli, squash and a pepper from the garden. I added an onion and sauteed it all together.
Tuesday-Venison Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Still trying to empty out some venison space in the freezer! The potatoes will be from a box, but the beans are fresh from the garden.
Wednesday-Eggplant Parmesean, Grilled Squash, Bread Sticks
A friend gave me 2 garden fresh eggplants I need to use up, and I have a huge squash waiting to be used in the garden. I’ll whip up the bread sticks in the bread machine
Thursday-Grilled or Baked Chicken, Steamed Carrots, Rice
Grilling or baking will be weather dependent. I’ll be cooking extra for meat to use in meals next week.
Friday-Pizza
Homemade of course.
Saturday-Homemade Mac & Cheese, Salad and Bread
We bought some special extra sharp cheddar at a small local store last week. Not so frugal but ooooohhhhh so good. This is my meatless meal for the week*. Salad will be rounded out with garden veggies, and the bread of course is homemade. Extra will be saved for Monday’s school lunch.
Sunday-Fried Rice
This will be a clean out the fridge meal! Little bits and pieces of whatever leftovers can be thrown in to make an almost free meal.
*Note: I am trying to work in one meatless meal and one fish meal a week. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it does not!
Great move to work in meatless meals! At first I leaned heavily on cheeses and fake meats, but over time have gotten more creative, and boy are beans/lentils/tofu/pasta cheap!
Those ramen noodles are a lifesaver sometimes. We keep them on hand for those times when, like you, I just can’t deal with cooking for whatever reason. They make a pretty good weekend lunch, too, especially in the winter.
We usually add a beaten egg to ours.
Yum yum! Tuesday is the new Monday, haven’t you heard? 😉 I try especially in the summer to incorporate meatless meals. I also lean heavily on the 93% lean ground turkey I can buy at Cub Foods for $1.69/lb.
Have a great week!
Steph
My weekly meal plan gets bumped around due to similar issues. We have a standing dinner party we go to on thursdays and the hosts provide all the food and they do not eat leftovers ever!!!!!!!! I usually walk away with enough food to feed my family of five for another meal!!! When that occurs it saves me time amd money. I could never allow perfectly good food to go to waste… Also my friend who does all the cooking is hispanic and we are talking about the most delicious enchilada’s,green chile, carne asada, etc.. It is better than a restraunt!!!
I have tried Venison
and think it tastes a little diffrent. I am told the secret to cooking venison is the seasoning you use. Hey…………
There is a vlog topic for you……cooking venison.