Menu Plan: Nov. 30

Good Monday Morning!!! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! We stayed home and made thanksgiving dinner ourselves and our only dinner guest was my youngest sister. So we had a nice leisurely and slow paced day. For the first time this year I tried out Amy’s “cook the turkey the day before” tip and really liked how much easier it made my day! I put the turkey in on Wednesday and once it was finished, cut all the meat off the bone and popped it in the fridge. Then I took the whatever was left of the turkey and placed it in my canning pot, covered with water and a bit of vinegar, and let sit and simmer all night. The next morning I tossed in some veggies, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and let it simmer yet some more. It was great having such nourishing broth sitting on the back of the stove! I boiled my potatoes in it for mashed potatoes and it made gravy making a bit easier as well. Plus I got over 2 gallons of it to freeze! I’ll definitely be making it this way again, so Thank You Amy!

This week will be another busy week in the kitchen as I join in on another ‘once a month cooking‘ adventure! It’s something I’ve fallen in and out of habit doing for the last few years, but it definitely makes my life a bit easier come dinnertime each night!

Here’s what I’m thinking I’ll cook up for dinners:

• Burrito Bake (x2)
• Turkey soup (x2)(minus the noodles)(I just cook the noodles when I need them in some homemade broth)
• Spaghetti sauce (x2)
• Chili (x4)
• Bean soup (x4)
• Taco seasoned ground beef and homemade tortillas (x3)
• Sausage patties (x1) for nights we have ‘brinner’
• Premade salad (just for this week)
• Meatballs (x1)
• Italian Cream Cheese Chicken (1 batch split int two dinners)
• Mac and Cheese w/ chicken and broccoli (1 batch split in two dinners)

And for snacks/misc:

• Homemade wheat thins (adjusting and playing with the recipe)
• granola bars (x2)
• Blueberry muffins (x2)
• Gluten free carrot muffins (x2)
• Banana bread (x2)
• Soaked pancakes
• Caramel corn (x2)
• Deviled eggs (x12)
• Cut veggies for the week

And the ‘if I have time/energy’ items:

• marshmallows
• mozzarella cheese
• chocolate ‘pudding’

This list should give us plenty of snacks as well as about 14 dinners and a few lunches for Todd. And while not all of it is likely to be finished, a list like this helps me out immensely in my grocery shopping. I tend to make one large shopping trip each month and buy most of the staples I’ll need for each meal and then shop the other weeks for simple things like fresh produce.

Our dinners this week:

• Monday – Tacos and salad
• Tuesday – Bean soup/Turkey soup
• Wednesday – Omelets, potatoes fried in beef lard, and sausage
• Thursday – Steak and steamed veggies
• Friday – Italian chicken casserole and salad
• Saturday – Homemade pizza for the family, mom’s night out for me!!
• Sunday – Beef roast and veggies

So what kind of meals do you make ahead? I’d love some new ideas for next month!