Last week, I had a big bag of cucumbers, and some corn given to me. And we harvested a pile of zucchini from our garden. So I’ve been working on preserving those. We have some corn, then I froze 11 ears. (That sounds funny! lol) I made a batch of relish, with a lot of cucumbers left over to become pickles this week. And I’ve been working dehydrating the zucchini, with lots more to go!
I got 5 pints of relish. I would like to get 5 more. This is sweet relish. That’s the kind I like to use. We rarely put relish on hot dogs or hamburgers. We mostly use it during the summer for potato salad, macaroni salad, and tuna salad. I might be able to get by with 5 for a year, but I would love having 10, than I wouldn’t have to buy any at the store next summer 🙂
I recently got these ceramic mini bread pans at a yard sale for 50 cents each! They all have Christmas designs on them. I’m looking forward to handing out zucchini bread or banana bread in these for Christmas presents!
I am on a mission to make meals even simpler than they have been. We will soon be full time caregivers for parent. You can read more about that at The Sandwich Generation. I will be gone most of the day, only next door, but still out of the home. My 18 year old daughter will be helping me get dinner every night. We will be preparing as much as possible on the weekend when I will be home, to make the weekdays easier.
As you can see by my menu below, each day is assigned something. Chicken, beef, soup, etc. I’m going to leave those headings on my menu. My menu won’t vary from week to week. I will use the same menu all the time. Only changing it if time warrants, or for a special occasion.
I decided to go ahead and implement my new menu so I can test it to see if it will work for us. And so I can use the extra time to complete some projects, and for canning. Lots of family favorites on still on the menu. Only two days will have possible substitutions. So it should be really easy to stick to this menu, and prepare these meals. Here’s my new weekly menu:
Monday- baked chicken, baked potato, vegetable
Tuesday- spaghetti with meat sauce, vegetable OR take out pizza once or twice a month
Wedensday- tacos on store bought tortillas, vegetables
Thursday- Chicken, potatoes, carrots in slowcooker
Friday-Hamburgers OR sloppy joes , vegetable – most likely these will be on homemade buns
Weekends will be more flexible, or leftovers. When fall and winter hits, soups and stews will take the place of some of these options.
Breakfasts will be homemade muffins, toast, cottage cheese, fruit
Lunches will be sandwiches (tuna, chicken, or grilled cheese), fruit, pickles, vegetables, or the very occasional chips
So, what do you think? Does that menu look easy, nutritious, and workable? Do you have any ideas for me?
Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?
In the Kitchen with Linda – Dinner Menu:
Saturday – Sabbath- Make ahead meals- Birthday Dinner Out
Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Leftovers for lunch, Dinner at my Moms
Monday – chicken – Baked Zesty Lemon Chicken, baked potatoes, zucchini from our garden
Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad
Wednesday – beef – Tacos with all the fixings
Thursday – chicken – Chickens, potatoes, onions, and carrots in the slow cooker
Friday – beef – Sloppy Joes on homemade buns, carrots
For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday
Your menu looks great. I used to get the “what is for dinner” question all of the time. I finally started to post it on the refrigerator! I have a couple of friends who check the menu and invite themselves for dinner on a regular basis!
Found you for Orgjunkie – now following your social media.