PAID MEMBERS: A FREE PDF printable is linked at the bottom of today’s kitchen log!
Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
- Grilled chicken breast (at least 4 pieces)
- Taco meat (roughly half a batch remaining)
- Leftover burgers (several)
- Cooked breakfast sausage
- Bacon (prepped yesterday)
- Leftover stuffed shell bar fixings
- Half a Costco pepperoni pizza (from my mom)
- Summer sausage (pulled from freezer yesterday to defrost — homemade, one of three I made a few weeks ago)
Morning
Breakfast was fast because of yesterday’s prep — exactly the point:
- Kids had bacon (so glad I made that big batch yesterday)
- Toast
- My teenager made herself apple pecan cinnamon oatmeal with heavy cream and maple syrup — it looked genuinely delicious
Snacks
My 7 year old and I made two quick banana recipes after we did some morning school work….Banana Bread and my Banana Oat Cookies. I just follow a generic banana bread recipe that is egg free, but the Banana Oat Cookies is my own recipe. I’ll link the PDF printable below for free!
Tip: I DO NOT like to make quick breads (like banana bread) in a loaf pan. They take too long to bake, the center can be soggy, and slicing can get messy. INSTEAD…I use a 1/4 sheet pan. Total game changer!
Lunch (+ Thursday Co-op Lunch Prep)
Wednesdays are always double duty — I make lunch for today and pack all the Planet Box lunches for co-op tomorrow.
We’ve had our Planet Boxes since my teenager was in kindergarten — she’s 16 now — so at least ten years. We’ve slowly added to the collection over the years, even inherited some from my brother’s family when they were done with theirs. One of my 3-year-old’s favorite Wednesday activities is going through and picking everyone’s magnets. (and yes, she’s wearing a swimsuit…because I’m not fighting with a 3 year old and she just wanted to!)
Today’s lunch — everyone used up leftovers their way:
- Several kids wanted a repeat of last night’s stuffed shell bar (no complaints here)
- One son wanted a burger — burger it is
- I made myself a taco salad — I could eat this every single day and never get tired of it
Thursday co-op lunches packed:
- Sliced homemade beef summer sausage (defrosted perfectly overnight from the freezer)
- Some kids doing a little charcuterie situation — summer sausage, cheese, crackers
- Others doing summer sausage with a sandwich
- Different sides and snacks for everyone
- Bringing the leftover pizza from my mom as a supplemental snack — cold, because honestly cold pizza when you’re hot and sweaty after running around outside hits differently and my kids know it
Dinner — King Arthur Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza
Sunday’s dough was ready to go today — this is exactly why I make it ahead.
The process (it really is this easy):
- Pulled the dough out of the fridge at 2pm
- Added a little oil to two cast iron skillets, barely stretched the dough in
- Covered with plastic wrap, set both pans on top of the running dishwasher (the counter gets warm while it runs in the afternoon — perfect proofing spot)
- Let it rise for 3 hours — came out beautifully
I do 1.5x the recipe for my family — fills two cast iron skillets perfectly. Doubling makes the crust too thick. 1.5x is the sweet spot.
Cooking:
- Preheated oven to 450°
- Pulled plastic wrap, added toppings, straight into the oven
- When it came out, the pizza slid right out of the pan
- Cleanup: wipe out the cast iron, re-season, put it away — that’s it
I’ve made this probably 50 times at this point. Zero mess, weeknight friendly, kids devour it every single time. Everyone should be making this pizza.
Served with side salads. Kids ate about one and a half pizzas — half a pizza left for later.
Pizza week continues.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge now:
- Grilled chicken (still a solid amount)
- Taco meat (about half a batch)
- A few leftover burgers
- Half a pan pizza
- Half a Costco pizza
- Cooked breakfast sausage + bacon
No new proteins needed tomorrow — we are covered.
The plan:
- Thursday (co-op day) → packed and ready, no cooking needed
- Thursday dinner → pull from what’s already in the fridge (“Pick Your Plate” night)
- Friday → pulled something from the freezer today to defrost — want fresh protein going into the weekend since we’ll likely be low after Thursday dinner and Friday lunch
→ Fridge is full, lunches are packed, dough is gone. A very good Wednesday.