Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
- Grilled chicken (still a solid amount)
- Leftover sirloin steak (small amount — last of it from Sunday)
- Smash burgers (a few remaining)
- Chuck roast (full batch in the fridge — decision to be made today)
- Thick cut pork chops (defrosted, waiting to brine)
- Leftover Chick-fil-A from yesterday
- 4 brats (defrosted)
- Cooked ground beef (small amount in fridge)
Morning
Found a hidden container of bacon in the back of the fridge — bonus bacon, the best kind of surprise. Kids had that plus more bagels and smoothies.
My 3-year-old loves to help make smoothies and then immediately covers her ears when the blender turns on. Every single time. She likes banana, yogurt, heavy cream, and frozen berries. I like use the full fat yogurt and heavy cream for added fat.
Last regular school day of the year — we got everything finished and then went to check out the newly reopened library. They remodeled it after being closed for about six months. Worth the trip.
We actually do school year round, but now that our co-op is over, we’ll switch over to a lighter summer-school.
We did ‘car snack’ on the way to the library. I use these character cups from Dollar Tree and kids grab random things from the pantry…I also rinse some veggies and fruit and just place them in little baggies then those go in the cups as well. Each kid has one cup and it fits in their cup holder in the car!
Lunch
My mom brought so much Chick-fil-A yesterday that there were actually leftovers — warmed those up for most of the kids. Crispy chicken salads, platters, whatever sounded good.
I used some of my grilled chicken and warmed it up with barbecue sauce for a barbecue chicken salad. Really good — that’s a keeper lunch.
Afternoon —
Chuck roast decision — freezer:
Looked at my fridge and ran my three day rule: With grilled chicken, ground beef, and a little steak already in the fridge, I didn’t need the chuck roast this week. And honestly, I didn’t buy it because I needed it this week — I bought it because it was $8 off at Costco. The whole thing went straight into the freezer.
Chuck roast is my second favorite protein to have fully cooked in the freezer, right behind ground beef. It reheats beautifully and can go in so many directions when you pull it out.
Brine for the thick cut pork chops:
Last time I made these they came out tough and dry — Instagram collectively told me to brine them, so here we are.
My brine:
- A lot of salt
- Splash of vinegar
- Water
- Italian seasoning, dried onion, garlic powder, smoked paprika — basically whatever sounds good with pork
Bring it to a simmer until the salt dissolves, pull it off the heat, dump into a big bowl and add ice until ice is no longer melting — that’s how you know it’s cold enough. Transferred everything into a ziplock bag with the pork chops.
I also butterflied the chops because they seemed too thick — sliced them in half so they’ll cook more evenly on the grill tomorrow.
Brining overnight. Grilling tomorrow.
Bacon — four trays:
Made two full packages (four trays) this afternoon because co-op is tomorrow and we have to be out the door early. No time to make it fresh in the morning, so I got ahead of it tonight. Bacon grease saved, obviously.
Cauliflower + tortilla chips sheet pan:
I’ve been experimenting with this — roasted cauliflower with tortilla chips on the sheet pan. I know how that sounds. It’s actually really good. I’m not going to tell you to try it. But I’m also not not telling you to try it.
Co-op lunches packed:
Used half a log of homemade beef summer sausage, packed all the Planet Boxes for tomorrow. Done and ready to go.
Dinner
- Brat bites (four brats, sliced up and cooked)
- Pasta
- Cutie oranges
Easy, kids loved it, nothing complicated. And before you ask…yes, my husband has been gone all week (he was gone last week too!)…so I’m leaning into EASY dinners!
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge now:
- Grilled chicken (still going)
- Ground Beef (I ate the last of this for a quick snack)
- Pork chops (brining overnight — grilling tomorrow)
- Smash burgers (1 left)
- Bacon (four fresh trays, ready to go)
- Summer sausage (lunches packed and ready, 1/2 log left)
- Chuck roast (freezer — fully cooked, ready to pull whenever)
Tomorrow is co-op day — lunches are packed, bacon is made, pork chops are brined. About as set up as you can be for an early Thursday morning.