Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
- 2 leftover steaks (from my mom’s Sunday dinner)
- Grilled chicken breast (cut thin, marinated, raw — prepped yesterday and ready to go)
- 6 lbs ground beef (untouched — fresh from Costco)
- Leftover pasta from yesterday’s lunch
Morning
Breakfast was simple and used up what we had:
- Finished the last of the bacon (story of my life — more bacon tomorrow)
- Kids had the rest of yesterday’s homemade biscuits
- Fruit and yogurt on the side
Lunch (Not a Typical Monday — But It Worked)
Mondays are usually leftover days from the weekend, but I was low on cooked protein and had a window of time — so I used it.
Homeschool wrapped up by 10:30 for the morning work, everyone took a break, and I fired up the grill.
Grilled the marinated chicken breast:
- Already cut thin and marinated from yesterday’s prep (I used olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning
- Took maybe 10 minutes — I literally just grabbed the bag and walked outside
- No raw meat handling, no extra work
Served lunch as:
- Fresh grilled chicken
- Heated up leftover pasta
- Fruit and veggies
- I had mine on a salad, kids had platters
Resurrection Rolls (a Monday surprise):
- We’ve been meaning to make these all Easter season and finally did it today
- Large marshmallows dipped in butter, rolled in cinnamon sugar, wrapped in crescent roll dough and baked — the marshmallow melts away inside. I like to drizzle the tops with the leftover butter/cinnamon sugar. I bake them at 350ºF for about 10-15 minutes till bubbly and lightly brown.
- My 7-year-old and my 16-year-old made them together
- Served alongside lunch and the kids were very into it
→ Ended lunch with a big batch of fresh grilled chicken now ready for the rest of the week
Snack
80 degrees again — shaved ice, obviously.
- Another round of homemade shaved ice
- Nuts from the pantry
- One kid had a drinkable yogurt
- I had some questions about how we like to make shaved ice. I buy the Torani syrup or we make ‘mocktails’ with fruit juices, fresh citrus, sparkling water…it’s so refreshing on a hot day. I’ve owned the shaved ice machine for 6 summers!
Afternoon Protein Prep (The Big Cook)
Around 3pm I tackled all 6 lbs of ground beef:
Burger patties:
- Made at least 20 patties from the first 3 lbs
- Grilled for dinner tonight
- Leftovers going into the fridge
Taco meat:
- Cooked the other 3 lbs on the stove
- Seasoned with taco seasoning
- Didn’t serve it today — just went straight into the fridge
I don’t even know exactly when we’ll use it, but having a fridge full of taco meat makes me feel like I can take on anything. Taco salad for lunch every single day? I would not complain.
Dinner
- Fresh burgers off the grill
- Chips, veggies, fruit
Simple, crowd-pleasing, done.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge now:
- Grilled chicken breast (big batch)
- Leftover burgers
- Taco meat (full batch — untouched)
- 2 leftover steaks (still from my mom’s)
Feeling like a million dollars going into this week.
The plan:
- Lunch tomorrow → probably steak fajitas using my mom’s leftover steaks (the kids love when I do this)
- Dinner tomorrow → something with the grilled chicken
- Taco meat will find its moment — it always does