Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
- 2 grilled chicken breast
- 2 burger patties
- Taco meat (last little bit)
- Leftover summer sausage (small amount)
- Cooked breakfast sausage
- Leftover Costco pizza
- Buckeye Valley Beef Cooperative defrosting in the fridge (pulled Wednesday night): ribeye, New York strip, filet mignon, ground beef, pizza burgers–this was gifted to me and they sent a little bit of everything…so I thought we’d do a sample night!
Morning
Light breakfast on purpose — we needed everyone to eat an early lunch at 10:40 before heading out:
- Last of the bacon
- Toast and cereal
- one kid had some yogurt and complained that I haven’t made granola recently…so we’ll be doing that soon!
Lunch (10:40 — Full Clean-Out Before We Left)
Warmed up all the remaining odds and ends:
- I had a salad with the one grilled chicken breast
- A couple kids had nachos (taco meat, gone ✓)
- One kid had a burger patty
- Little bit of summer sausage to round it out
→ Fridge officially cleared of the week’s leftovers. Clean slate going into the weekend.
Afternoon — Geography Co-Op (Alaska & Hawaii)
We do a little geography co-op with friends every few weeks — today was the last one of the year, wrapping up our study of the US with Alaska and Hawaii.
My friend called her local Kroger and asked if they had any flowers to give away — they did, she picked them up for free, and all the kids made their own leis. So cute.
I put together a mocktail drinks bar for the Hawaiian theme: fruit juices, flavored sparkling water, fresh limes — kids made their own concoctions. A big hit.
Snack
Came home and warmed up the last of the Costco pizza. That pizza had a good run.
Dinner — Buckeye Valley Beef on the Blackstone
Buckeye Valley reached out and sent me a selection of their beef, pork, and chicken to try
Tonight I cooked six cuts on the Blackstone and cast iron:
- Ribeye
- New York strip
- Filet mignon
- Pizza burgers
- Ground beef → made into 4 smash burger balls
The smash burgers were genuinely delicious — super flavorful, and you could tell the quality of the beef was different. The steaks I may have pushed a little too far (the Blackstone temperature is always a challenge for me with thicker cuts), but the burgers were the star of the night.
Also made:
- Brussels sprouts
- Sliced the Brussel sprouts, added 1 sliced onion, then seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning…threw that on the Blackstone too
- Roasted potatoes
- Sliced with the skin on, and seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little smoked paprika. Roasted in my oven with the convection setting at 400ºF. I tossed it around every 10 minutes till nice and crispy and brown!
We ate almost everything. One pizza burger left standing and a little bit of potatoes left…I’ll use those for some breakfast potatoes this weekend!!
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge now:
- 1 chicken breast
- Small amount of breakfast sausage
- 1 pizza burger
Tomorrow’s plan:
- Breakfast → fresh bacon + homemade biscuits
- Lunch → burger bowls using cooked ground beef pulled straight from the freezer — already cooked, so it’s quick and easy
- I’ll go to Costco either Saturday or Sunday for a full restock!