Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
- Leftover smash burgers (last of them)
- Leftover rotisserie chicken from my mom’s (last of it)
- Cooked ground beef (plain, in the fridge)
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs (raw — prepped yesterday alongside the loaf pan chicken)
- Leftover roasted potatoes from Sunday
- Half a Costco pizza (incoming — more on that below)
- 1 log homemade beef summer sausage
Morning
- Finished the last of the leftover bacon
- Bagels
- Smoothie with my three year old helper — banana, heavy cream, watermelon, frozen Costco berries, and a cutie orange. No Greek yogurt today so heavy cream for the added fat. She loves this.
- Pantry snacks mid-morning
- I don’t post a lot about homeschooling on here, but my kids caught a rare photo of me trying to help with math while also keeping the 3 year old happy/entertained. She was playing ‘baby’ and wanted me to wrap her up!
Lunch — Burgers, Multiple Ways
Used up the last of Sunday’s smash burgers and everyone did their own thing:
- A couple kids had a straightforward burger on a bun
- One kid did a burger bowl
- My 7-year-old decided he wanted a grilled cheese — so I suggested putting the burger patty inside and making a patty melt. He made them for himself and my teenager. They were great.
- I had the last of my mom’s roasted chicken on a salad with a dressing I made from avocado salsa, regular salsa, and a splash of vinegar — topped with crumbled tortilla chips
My dad happened to be near a Trader Joe’s this morning and brought us blue corn tortilla chips. The blue corn tortilla chip and avocado salsa combo is elite. That’s just a fact.
Snack — The Snack Fairy Strikes Again
My mom showed up with a Costco pizza. She does this often and it never gets old. Everyone had a slice and now I have over half a pizza sitting in my fridge ready to bless us later in the week. Honestly it’ll probably come with us to the final co-op day on Thursday as an afternoon snack.
Afternoon — A Full Cook Session
Banana bread — made by my 7-year-old and 3-year-old together:
Quarter sheet pan, not a loaf pan — and I will die on this hill. Quick breads are just better this way. The center cooks through, the top doesn’t over-brown, it’s easier to slice, and a glaze covers the whole thing evenly. My rule of thumb: keep the same temperature, cut the time in half, then check every 5 minutes after that. Look for it to spring back when pressed, a clean toothpick, and a nice golden top.
Breakfast sausage:
- Completely out, so I restocked
- Two bags into the freezer, one into the fridge
- Ready to go for the week
Chris’s eggs:
- Prepped three days worth — same method as always, barely over easy into a glass dish, he reheats with almond flour tortilla and sausage in the morning
Dinner
Grilled the boneless skinless chicken thighs — prepped yesterday when I was already doing the loaf pan chicken, so they were ready to go.
Sides:
- Leftover roasted potatoes from Sunday, crisped back up in the oven
- Green beans two ways — because I have kids who want them roasted and kids who want them plain and I just want everyone to eat a vegetable:
- Roasted: frozen green beans on a sheet pan with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning at 400°
- Steamed: frozen green beans in a pot with a little water, plain and simple
Classic protein, carb, veggie dinner. Dessert was ice cream and banana bread. A complete and very solid Tuesday.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge now:
- 2 leftover grilled chicken thighs
- Cooked ground beef
- Half a Costco pizza
- Breakfast sausage (fridge + freezer restocked)
- Chuck roast in the freezer (cooked, waiting to be pulled)
- 1 loaf homemade beef summer sausage (I’ll be using this to prep co-op lunches tomorrow)
Tomorrow:
- Pulling the frozen chuck roast to make barbacoa beef for a full Mexican night
- We have avocado salsa, we have toppings, we have the setup — it’s going to be so good