Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
- Frozen cooked ground beef (pulling this for lunch)
- Frozen waffle fries (dropped off by my mom from Sam’s Club yesterday)
- Fresh from Costco this morning: ground beef, chicken breast, two whole chickens, a Carver ham, Teton Ranch Polish sausage, flank steak
Morning — SAT Day
My teen had her SAT this morning so I got her up early and made sure she had a real breakfast:
- Bacon, toast, cereal, yogurt — something solid that would keep her full and her brain sharp
Fresh bacon for the rest of the kids after we dropped her off. My 10-year-old had hers with a baked potato, as is her way.
Costco run — in and out by 9:45:
Got there right when they opened — not crowded, completely delightful. Managed a Costco return AND a Target return next door before 10am. Felt like I could conquer the world.
Pro tip: if something isn’t stocked yet, ask the butcher in the back. The ground beef wasn’t out yet — I asked, they brought some out. They just weren’t quite ready for Saturday morning traffic. Which, Costco, it’s Saturday. Be ready.
What I bought:
- Ground beef
- Chicken breast
- Two whole chickens
- Carver ham
- Teton Ranch 100% grass fed uncured Polish sausage
- Flank steak (deliberately picked the smaller ones — more grill space for multiple proteins tonight)
Stocking up heavily because the freezer needs replenishing after this week, and we had company coming tonight — their family of 8 plus our family of 7 plus four adults means I wanted at least three protein options on the grill.
Lunch — Dinner Insurance at Work (Again)
Got home from Costco and had no interest in cooking a real lunch when I had a big dinner to prep for. So I didn’t.
- Pulled frozen cooked ground beef out of the freezer
- Microwaved it 30 seconds to soften, then into a pot with a quarter cup of water, lid on, medium low
- Waffle fries in the oven
- Sweet potatoes because I just prefer them with burger bowls
Burger bowls for everyone. Minimal effort, totally satisfying, and it freed me up to focus on dinner prep. That’s dinner insurance used for lunch — same concept, any meal.
Afternoon — Full Dinner Prep
With guests coming, I wanted three proteins on the grill. Here’s how I set everything up before church:
Flank steak (x2 — the smaller ones):
- Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, Italian seasoning
- Into the fridge to marinate
Chicken breast:
- Cut and sorted into two bags — smaller pieces for tonight (cook fast on the grill), larger pieces for tomorrow (went into the basement fridge to marinate overnight)
- Both bags seasoned the same: salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, olive oil
Iowa Girl Eats allergy-friendly chocolate cake:
- Baked in a half sheet pan (same gluten, dairy, egg, nut free recipe)
- Pourable frosting: Nature’s Charm coconut sweetened condensed milk melted with dairy free chocolate, poured on top, finished with sprinkles
- Cosmic Crisp brownie vibes — absolutely delicious
Other prep before church:
- Veggies cut for an arrival snack
- Mushrooms and onions prepped for the stove
- Potatoes diced and sitting in water
Dinner — Three Proteins, Full Crowd
Came home from a long mass and walked straight into execution mode. Everything was prepped, I just had to cook it.
- Potatoes drained, blotted dry, tossed with salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic powder — into the oven
- Grill on and blasting hot
- Flank steak on first — turned a couple times, and once it shrunk enough I had room to add the chicken
- Once the flank steak hit done, pulled it off, into a pan, covered, into a warm oven to rest
- Teton Polish sausage on last
For serving a crowd, everything got sliced:
- Flank steak sliced against the grain into a bowl, covered with foil
- Polish sausage sliced into chunks
- Chicken left whole with a cutting board and knife set out — parents of little kids always want to cut their own pieces
Sides:
- Roasted potatoes
- Plain frozen green beans (kids like things plain — I accommodate this without complaint)
- Sautéed mushrooms and onions
- Watermelon (my friend brought it)
Dessert: The allergy-friendly cosmic crisp brownies. Then we watched a little Kentucky Derby and had a genuinely great evening.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge now:
- Leftover flank steak
- Leftover Polish sausage
- Leftover grilled chicken (small pieces from tonight)
- Raw chicken breast (large pieces — marinating overnight, grilling tomorrow)
- Two whole chickens (uncooked)
- Carver ham (uncooked)
- Ground beef (fresh from Costco)
- Half a sheet pan of allergy-friendly brownies
Tomorrow:
- Grill the marinated chicken breast
- Do something with the ground beef — get that cooked and stocked
- Sunday dinner at my parents’ house