Kitchen Happenings & Menu Planning Updates

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Kitchen Happenings

More Freezer Adventures

Recently I finally got around to doing a full inventory of our chest freezer. While I typically do a full re-arrange twice a year, this is the first time I've written down every item it contained. I'd have preferred to have done this before the days started to get warmer so that I could have done a full defrost, but the freezer was actually much less frosty than I expected, so I gentle scraping and wipe out was sufficient. 

I've always tried to make a point to rotate the items in my freezer on first-in first-out methodology, but it can be tricky with chest freezers as they become full. We use a mix of milk crates and plastic baskets to organize the freezer, which helps, but often items get slid down the front or sides of the baskets, making it hard to put items back where they came from.

A sampling of what my inventory sheet looks like

This time when we inventoried the freezer, I tried to group items not only by type and age, but also how often we access them. For example, the two black milk crates from the list above are kept on the bottom of the freezer due to their size. This time I made sure to keep the oldest of the ground beef and chicken in a top basket over the two crates, so that one, we wouldn't have to dig each time we wanted some (which is often), and two, the crates were easier to access for re-stocking the top basket. I also put all those items I'd like to use up soon to one side of the freezer, instead of the middle, making them easier to find. I'm hoping that some adjustments like these will help us rotate stock more efficiently in the coming months.

I was very pleased to find that I was actually not as low on chicken breast as I thought - hence the decision to inventory ALL the food, and was able to easily stow away fourteen pounds of ground beef I picked up on sale recently. Our local Market Basket often will freeze and mark down ground beef that is close to it's sell-by date, so if I find 93% or higher lean beef at less than $4 a pound I stock up. Since it was frozen, and not very freezer friendly shaped, I let it partially thaw and then cooked it all before re-freezing. Having cooked ground beef on hand is a great time saver for many meals, and it allows you to store it more efficiently.

 Menu Planning Update

I've decided to change up the timing of meal planning posts - as I'd like to be able to share a more realistic view of how we manage meals throughout the week, showcasing the adaptability of meal planning and how we make it work for our lifestyle. I am going to continue sharing what our *tentative* meal plan is, what I plan to use up, and any prep, but will then update the following week on how well we stuck with the meal plan, and where we made adjustments. 

One of the most important aspects of meal planning is making it work for your schedule! I typically start thinking about my meal plan on Thursday or Friday, prep Sunday, Monday, or even Tuesday nights, and then coast on leftovers and quick meals the rest of the week. Grocery shopping often occurs on the weekend or Tuesday evenings, with most fresh items rolling into the next week's meals, making it difficult to capture "real time."

What's on the Menu?

To start off the weekend we made some pancakes - with the help of Ebisu of course....

Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Bacon



Ebisu Supervising the Pancake Flipping

This weekend I pulled everything out of my fridge, thanks to a steak that leaked and got everywhere - including UNDER the shelve glass - thankfully it was easy to clean. This made menu planning easy this weekend, as I was able to see exactly what needed using up.

Use it Up

  • 3 Small Zucchini
  • 3 Beets
  • 1/2 a bag of spinach leaves
  • 1/4 head of cabbage
  • home canned rhubarb sauce
  • whole chicken
  • lemons
  • cherry tomatoes
  • lettuce
  • sliced deli ham
  • breakfast sausage from the freezer
On the Menu

Breakfast

  • Egg & Sausage Breakfast Tacos
  • Sausage, Peppers, & Egg Casserole
Lunches
  • Misc leftovers from the weekend
  • Pesto Chicken
  • Mac & Cheese
Dinners
  • Roasted Chicken & Vegetables with Baked Potatoes
  • Pesto Chicken w/ Salad
  • Maybe Porkchops?
This weekend I also made two pans of mac & cheese for a family dinner, and strawberry rhubarb bars to use up a small jar of rhubarb sauce that I accidently opened (this is what happens when you don't label your jars!).


Have a great week, and happy meal planning!


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