Menu Plan Monday…

Operation “Clear Out the Refrigerator and Freezer” is in full swing this week.  We have ordered a new refrigerator to be delivered this coming weekend and I need to drastically reduce the stock.  We also have a deep freeze which is full to the brim with no room for the peaches, corn and other goodies starting to come into season here.  I just did a bit of an inventory, at least of the front and top layers, and made a list.  Now let’s see what I can come up with…

Monday:

• red beans (from freezer)
• freshly cooked rice
• jambalaya (from freezer)
• homemade potato salad with lots of eggs (I have 6 dozen in the fridge!)
• fresh fruit (strawberries and grapes)

Tuesday: 

• tacos or burritos with cooked shredded chicken from freezer (I’ve got tortillas in there, too)
• salad
• Spanish rice made from last night’s leftover rice
• chips and salsa

Wednesday:

• pasta salad with tiny shrimp (from freezer), peas, hard boiled eggs, cheese cubes
• candied carrots
• homemade rolls
• baked apples

Thursday: 

• pancakes 
• scrambled eggs 
• bacon (from freezer)
• smoothies with fruit from freezer

Friday: 

• grilled hamburgers
• steak fries  (from freezer) 
• breaded okra (from freezer)
• green beans (from freezer)
• squash casserole (have two fresh on hand, will add any leftover bacon from last night) 

Saturday: 

• After all that cooking, I’ll be ready to go out to eat! 

I plan to make more broth from the chicken carcass I have in the freezer then freeze the broth. I also have a bag of vegetable scraps in the freezer and will make veggie broth from that to replenish my freezer supply of broth.

I made 7 jars of blackberry freezer jam this past week and this week I hope to find time to make some grape jelly from the bottle of organic grape juice in the cupboard.  When the peaches are in, I’ll make some peach freezer jam and then I should have plenty for this coming year.

This past Saturday I put up four jars of bread and butter pickles but need to do the same with the rest of the big jar of dill pickles I bought for this purpose.  I’ll give a couple of  jars to my son-in-law who loves them and if my youngest brother is in the area over the upcoming holiday, I’ll give him some, too.  If not, we’ll have plenty of pickles for awhile.

Another much-needed task for this week if I can work it in is to make a batch of homemade bread (my recipe makes 5 loaves) and hopefully homemade hamburger buns before our Friday meal of grilled burgers.