Menu: July 29-August 4; using leftovers and restocking the freezer

With all the leftover food from the wedding on Saturday, and specifically the veggies we forgot to take for the salad and veggie trays, we have a LOT of produce. Produce purchased in plastic packages (oh dear, way that 5 times fast!). It has struck me how these packages involve so many chemicals that I can smell and taste them. It has been so long since I used pre-packaged broccoli and carrots that I forgot what that tasted like. It gave me a headache. But I can't bring myself just to throw it away! And it isn't as obvious when you don't eat them raw. Still, in the future I think it is worth the effort to chop up some broccoli and romaine!

We had a bit of a mishap right before we left on vacation. An impulse buy of ice cream bars got shoved haphazardly into the big freezer, and kept the door from sealing properly. Mr. Moon found the issue the next morning, but not before we lost quite a bit of our stores. Mostly vegetables, bread products, and our homemade food items. We took the opportunity to remove some items that had questionable origins or storage times, so while we aren't working with a totally clean slate out there, at least all the items on our inventory list have estimated or accurate purchase dates now. And of course, with vacation and it being the end of the month, there isn't much wiggle room for finances to just buy whatever.

What's a homesteading couple to do? Try to use up as many of the abundance of veggies as we can, and re-stock the freezer with the things we like to eat!




Mr. Moon has a new schedule with more early days, so leisurely mornings and late evenings are out. We basically skipped our chores the week before vacation so it's been two weeks for most things. We aren't trying to do any marathon cleaning sessions, we are following Nony's advice and just going through our routines. We DID make a point of not planning any "projects" for the week, and just focusing on getting back into our cleaning routines, allowing that they will take a bit longer than they have been to get caught up. Slowly but surely, the house will get to some semblance of order.

What's on the menu?

Breakfasts: Mr. Moon: Oatmeal, cereal; Me: Eggs, yogurt, fruit.

Lunches: Salad, quesadillas, ramen/pho soup.

Snacks: Veggies, OatDough (check back on Thursday about this!), fruit.

Dinners:
Monday: Day off! Grocery shopping, food prep, bathrooms all on the to-do list.
Batch cook: Broccoli Mac, one for dinner and two for the freezer. [vegetarian; pasta; leftovers; batch]

Tuesday: Day off! Coffee date in the afternoon, Laundry Day, vacuuming, and Bedroom pick-up.
Chicken & Mushroom & Rice casserole [bird; rice; casserole; freezer]

Wednesday: Mr. Moon works early. Kitchen and Lounge day. Date night in the evening.
On Your Own Night. Mr. Moon and I are pooling our leftovers and having a bruschetta night. Looks like right now for toppings we have a smoked salmon spread, plum jams (pepper and rosemary both sound good with this), goat cheese (plain and herbed), maybe a spinach artichoke dip, roasted red peppers (that I will mix with something to make a topping, probably a traditional tomato garlic bruschetta topping), and pickles and olives. [OYO]

Thursday: Day off! Dining room and Laundry room day. And also trash and recycling. Gosh our days are so exciting. But since we are having people over Saturday after he gets off work, getting ahead on the living room pick-up is in order.
Steak Pita Sandwiches with Broccoli Salad [beef; pita; salad; sandwich; freezer]

Friday: Mr. Moon works a double. We've taken the chores entirely off this day, because there was no point in pretending it was going to happen! They got shifted to other days, and this is the week we test the new routine. But also important is making sure there is a dinner plan in place that won't tempt us to grab take-out mexican on the way home (the only thing open when he gets off work).
'Rents: Clam Chowder (freezer); Us: Ribs, which don't take that long to cook if they're thawed ahead of time; leftover broccoli salad. [fish; pork; freezer; easy]

Saturday: Mr. Moon works and early shift after a double--brutal! But it means he gets a weekend night off work, and that's saying something. Chores should be quick after work, vacuuming and picking up the living room and bedroom. We are having friends over for our much-anticipated bahn mi sandwiches and mojitos. Not too spicy on the meat or fridge pickles, I'm going to top them with cilantro and make a jalapeno lime aioli sauce (and then just use mayo for the 'rents since they don't like spice). Probably serving on a ciabatta roll because as much as I love them on sourdough baguette, the ones we can get around here are WAY too chewy for my poor jaw to manage, and the soft ones I like I only know how to get through a food service supplier. [pork; Cuban; pot luck; spicy; freezer; sandwich]

Sunday: Mr. Moon works the late shift, so everyone is On Your Own for dinner. I expect leftovers. Otherwise there is chicken we can cook. [OYO]

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What's on your menu this week? Need planning ideas? I'll be linking up at orgjunkie.com, if you need other ideas!

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