I am fully back in the planning saddle again, trying to buy only what we really need and using leftovers to keep from creating more food waste than is necessary. This was the attempt to use the remaining Christmas foods, making the uneaten feel like new meals.
Planned:
1. Scalloped ham and potatoes, asparagus (using leftover ham)
2. Meatball sliders (using leftover dinner rolls and cocktail meatballs)
3. Grilled Cheese sandwiches, coleslaw (using assorted leftover cheeses)
4. Breakfast dinner, fried apples, possibly broccoli (leftover breakfast casserole and leftover fried apples)
5. NYE: steak, potatoes, and tossed salad (weather permitting)
6. Traditional NY Day meal: black eyed peas, collards, ham, cornbread
7. Something__Anything but leftovers!
Happened:
Monday: There was nothing inspiring about dinner Monday night. The casserole needed to be eaten or tossed and I hate to waste food, so. . .
Leftover breakfast casserole (finished) fried apples (finished) Brussels sprouts (finished) hash browns
Tuesday: We do not usually keep sliced bread here, but had a small loaf that needed to be eaten, along with a lot of cheese. Before Christmas both TheHub and I bought several different cheeses without the other knowing, and suddenly we had a dairy drawer filled with them. A lot of the hard cheese could be frozen, but some of the opened ones and some of the soft cheese needed to be used.
Grilled mixed cheese sandwiches, coleslaw (bread finished, some cheese used but not all)
Wednesday: Leftovers were reformed just enough that supper tasted like something new and different.
Scalloped potatoes with ham, steamed asparagus (ham finished)
Thursday: Found a bag of Trader Joe's cruciferous veggies in the produce drawer of my fridge and had to deviate from any plan I had. Fortunately I always keep smoked sausage in the refrigerator also (For the record I do not think Monroe is as good as Conecuh). I also had a large apple that was getting a little long in the tooth too. Oh well at least I avoided some waste.
Sausage and veggie saute, Waldorf salad
Friday: When I planned the menu I was not thinking about a football game day. This was a great day to use the leftover heavy appetizers. Instead of a meal I just kept pulling stuff out of the fridge and freezer, to load the den coffee table. (Ball game playoffs are the only days of the year we eat in the den. I am generally a stickler about eating meals at the table)
Dip and veggies, sausage balls(finished), steamed shrimp (actually bought NYE morning because TheHub wanted it) ) Sandy's meat balls* (still a few left), crackers and cheese (some finished), assorted cookies (all uneaten cookies were tossed)
Saturday: Gotta begin the new year with our traditional southern lucky meal! Did I mention this meal left us with a ton of brand new leftovers?
Black eyed peas, collard greens, baked sweet potato, ham, cornbread
Sunday: And what did I do but create more leftovers
Impossible chicken broccoli pie (not bad but definitely not great. I guess this will be my brunch for the week)
The plans for the week took a turn when I was reading the forecast. It has been abnormally warm here and we even turned the a/c on briefly a couple of times. Sunday I woke burning up and tooled around the house in flip flops and shorts. I went to bed and woke Monday morning to a light dusting of snow. Cooler weather is on tap for the week which is the perfect time to plan meals based on my love of soups. (TheHub refuses to have soup meals if the weather is not at least coolish.)
Planned for this week
1. Tazikis copycat lemon chicken soup, cuke tomato and onion salad, toast
2. Chili, coleslaw, cornbread
3. Collard soup, cornbread
4. Slutty Vegan copycat burger, "fried" pickles, blackberry mayo sauce
5. The Best lentil soup, tossed salad, rolls
6. take out
7. Spaghetti and meatballs, tossed salad
Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all
* These are the easiest cocktail meatballs ever. I make meatballs when ground chuck is on sale and freeze them for emergency meals. I used some of those for the cocktail meatballs I had made for Christmas. I had put the leftovers in the freezer and only had to pull them out for a quick thaw and warm up for the ball game table.
1 bottle bbq sauce (I use spicy hot bbq sauce but you do you) 1/2 jar pineapple preserves. Heat them together in a medium size pan until the preserves melt. Toss in room temperature meatballs. Stir and let them simmer for a few minutes. Thats it!
Before today we’ve been running our air conditioner too as it has been very warm here. Today we have snow, so go figure 😂.
ReplyDeleteYou did an excellent job of using up your leftovers. The grilled cheese sandwiches and Waldorf salad sound so good. We have finally finished our leftovers and I’m so glad. I was ready for new food.
We finished most of our leftovers (others have been sent to time out in the freezer) but I somehow or another created more of them. Guess what is for lunch and supper?
DeleteWell done you.
ReplyDeleteI am still working through my fruit salad (and still enjoying it). Himself has now finished his turkey breast and we are both continuing to eat and enjoy mixed salads. And yes, there is still some cheese to be consumed, which isn't a hardship.
We simply overbought cheese, but it has a long shelf life when unopened. Now the trick is to get TheHub to finish one before opening another.
DeleteWell you weather is like Idaho's wait 5 minutes and it will change.
ReplyDeleteWe usually have four seasons
DeleteSummer
Just past summer
Winter (about 10 days total)
About to be summer
We've not an abundance of freezer space -- but with the increasing number of Covid diagnoses, I need to start stockpilng more than our normal 3-4 days' inventory. What can I say, my hubby loves to visit the grocers. LOL.
ReplyDeleteTheHub does what I call recreational shopping. He stops by Publix nearly every single day and picks up an item or two__not because we need anything! I have 2 refrigerators with freezer space in addition to a regulation upright freezer and everything is full.
DeleteWow, look at you with all that snow!
ReplyDeleteHey if you are from the south and snow is a novelty, 1/2 inch is huge and worth celebrating. I stood outside at 1 a.m. just to watch the snowfall,
DeletePlanned overs are the best! We are trying to finish up the food our neighbors gave so generously. There will be more leftovers, later in the week from the almsgiving we are having, mid-week. :)
ReplyDeleteI love a tangy meatball. Sliders sound delicious. We had an odd meal last night that ended up being successful.
ReplyDeleteWe had a warm week and suddenly it was chilly this morning. It's going to be warm again tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI too think soups are much better on cold days. :)
Have a great week, Anne.
Thanks for sharing 😁!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely soup weather with temperatures in the teens. Our area had the first big snowfall of the season with some places getting over a foot. We got much less, thank goodness, and we still have power. Many are not so lucky.
ReplyDeleteSnow? Wow, I'm sure that was a big surprise. Apparently some of our winter weather has escaped the north. Lucky you, it won't last.
ReplyDeleteI made black bean soup this week, however my son won't eat it so it's lunches for me for a couple of days. I still have one chicken breast in the freezer from Christmas - I'll use it next week in a stir fry. Christmas baking is being tossed - most has been eaten, but the last of it tastes dried out.
I like Conecuh sausage better than Monroe sausage also. I like it better than any sausage actually… lol. Cindy in the South
ReplyDelete