Throwing things together for dinner just doesn’t work for me. I have to have a plan! I love making menus at least a week in advance, making a grocery list, checking off the things I already have and then buying the things I need. No guesswork. I know on Monday what we’re having for dinner on Thursday and Saturday and every day that week. I’m not a “fly by the seat of my pants” kind of girl.
Both big freezers need defrosting. Deer season begins again on Saturday and chances are a few of those rascals will end up in the freezer. Not only do the freezers need defrosting, but they are stuffed full! Instead of making a menu for this week, and probably next week too, I’m using food out of the freezer. If I can get one freezer halfway empty, I can defrost it, then put everything back, move stuff from the other freezer into that one and get it defrosted.
What I’m doing is opening a freezer, pulling something out and figuring out what to do with it. Yesterday I had a round steak so I made it with gravy and cooked a pot of rice. Today we had open face sandwiches with chopped steak and gravy for lunch.
Tonight we’re having pork chops. These are some we cut from a whole pork loin and they’re not as tender as we like to grill so I browned them, added onions and made a gravy. It’s kinda like what we had last night but with pork instead of beef.
Pork
Several years ago I canned a lot of potatoes so I opened one of those jars, drained them, seasoned them and browned them a bit with the pork chops.
Potatoes
Since they were canned, they’re cooked so I’ll put them in the gravy right before we eat. Maybe I’ll open a can of green beans and serve eggplant salad from the fridge.
I have a package of ground beef out for tomorrow night. If we have saltines, I’m going to make chili. It’s supposed to be in the low 40’s tomorrow night so it will be a good night for chili. If I can’t find crackers, I guess I’ll make a meatloaf.
It’s kinda fun, though kinda frustrating, to be eating out of the freezer and pantry for several weeks.
Roberta says
We had pork chops for lunch, our big meal of the day. Made some dressing with four slices of bread, celery, onion, craisins, apple, more of the veggies than bread. We had creamed onions and buttered beets. Sort of a throw together meal too.
Hugs!!!!
Linda in NE says
I guess I’m more of a “thrower togetherer.” LOL (I make up words too.)
Have you canned deer? I did a few jars for the first time last year. We find that we like it better than canned beef…..better flavor and no wild taste whatsoever. In order to get the contents of the freezers down a little I thawed out some deer that had been cut up to grind for jerky and canned it. Canning some chicken today that I bought frozen on sale. I have room for a couple deer now, but don’t know how that will work out. They’ve been hunted heavily the last two years and last year so many got sick and died from a disease carried by midges that are bad when it’s so dry. On top of that we get way too many out of county and out of state hunters who pay the local farmers small fortunes to hunt on their land, leaving local landless people with very few places to hunt. I’ll miss the deer if DH doesn’t manage to get one ( or two).
JudyL says
The deer here are fairly small so we usually save the backstrap and maybe a few steaks but most of it goes into ground meat for sausage and sometimes we’ll save some for jerky but no, we don’t get enough meat off the deer to bother canning any of it.
Gwen says
Cornbread goes great with chili. Plain or with cheese, onion, creamed corn and jalapenos added. Now my mouth is watering!
CindyM says
When we were getting ready to empty out the kitchen for the remodel, I was throwing things together from the freezer and pantry — there was always something that worked, plus it was nice not spending any money at the grocery store!
CindyM says
My daughter and I were talking at lunch the other day… we are both trying to eat healthier (I won’t get into our “plans” since I’m sure they are controversial. But she really cooks a lot of food on Sundays and then puts it together during the week for their meals. Considering what an unorganized being she was 10 years ago as a high schooler, I’m quite impressed with her organization. Like you, Judy, she plans the entire week, and then does a lot of the cooking. She also plans her “free” days (free from calorie counting). She has 1 entire free day a week, plus one free lunch a week (which she often spends with me!!!!). I need to take organizational tips from her.
Judy D in WA says
Once in a while the kitchen freezer is just too full so I love to challenge myself to only use what’s in there and in the pantry trying not to grocery shop. Since I hate grocery shopping, I find it quite fun to see how long I can go without going. 🙂 Most of the time I have a plan for the week. Sometimes my plan goes off on a journey of it’s own. 😉
Peggy says
That is the way I cook all the time. Some days I take something out of the freezer to make and we decide to have something else. I have tried menus, but our desires change. So I just go with the flow. Tonight…now…I am making steak and eggs with home fries. My husband doesn’t eat breakfast most of the time, so breakfast for dinner is good.
Gwen says
I was planning breakfast for dinner, but that changed to pinto beans and cornbread with jalapenos, cheese, creamed corn, onion and cooked ground beef. 6:30 can’t some soon enough. The cornbread will be done by then!
Ida Tendam says
Judy,
Do you use a software program to help plan meals, or not. I notice Allrecipes has a software meal planning program, but it’s not free. I like free stuff 😉
Mary Jo says
Just flying by the seat of my pants is the way I cook most of the time. My husband’s schedule is always subject to change, even as late as 4:00 pm and we both have way too many night meetings. I have learned to put together a pretty good meal even if at 4:30 most of what I plan on cooking is still in the freezer!
Kim Paventy says
I shop the freezer and cabinets before I plan the weekly menu. I hate shopping and I only go to the store once a week so planning ahead is the only way I can get that to happen.
Diana says
Me too !! I like to plan the meals as I have done for years. It makes it easier on me to have all the ingredients instead of oops I don’t have this or that .. I am right there with you ! Plan the meal then you know what you have or dont have !
Evelyn Starfishy says
One thing I do is to break our meats down into very small portions and vacume seal them. 1/4 lb of hamburger defrosts in a snap in the microwave compared to a pound. I have 2 big deep freezes, but think I want to get rid of the oldest one for a much smaller one… but with it being a 12 hour day to go grocery shopping – I have to consider that. This fall my friend and I boiled TONS of frozen rhubarb and made rhubarb punch to make room for deer! Evelyn
Evelyn Starfishy says
One thing I do is to break our meats down into very small portions and vacume seal them. 1/4 lb of hamburger defrosts in a snap in the microwave compared to a pound. I have 2 big deep freezes, but think I want to get rid of the oldest one for a much smaller one… but with it being a 12 hour day to go grocery shopping – I have to consider that. This fall my friend and I boiled TONS of frozen rhubarb and made rhubarb punch to make room for deer! Evelyn
Catherine Pritchard says
I read your blog every morning here in the UK. Love your cooking/knitting/quilting life and love to hear about a different way of life too. I wanted to join your KAL but couldn’t get the yarn in the UK. Shame!
I’m a planner too as I hate waste so use up food in the fridge on a Wednesday before shopping on a Friday. You’ve reminded me to eat a few things from the freezer too so that there will be room for Christmas cooking too.
Janna says
When I get up in the morning, I decide what to cook for lunch–our big meal of the day–my freezer and pantry are so stocked I can prepare just about anything–supper is hard for me as we don’t want to eat another big meal but we have to eat something.