Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
Leftover pork tenderloin
Grilled chicken breast
Homemade beef summer sausage (small amount)
Uncooked Brats
Pasta salad (small amount)
Spanish rice (small amount)
Fresh produce and salad ingredients
Birthday cake leftovers
Morning — Bacon, Yogurt, and Snack Plates
This morning I made a fresh batch of bacon for the kids.
My son is still recovering from his orthodontia work, so his teeth have been bothering him. Breakfast for him was much softer:
- yogurt
- Orgain chocolate protein drink
We’ve tried a lot of protein drinks over the years, and the Orgain chocolate ones from Costco are his favorite by far.
One of my daughters continued her usual breakfast preference:
- bacon
- baked potato
Which sounds pretty great to me. Potatoes and bacon are rarely a bad combination.
My youngest was in more of a snacking mood than a breakfast mood.
She had:
- a piece of bacon
- a snack platter
She has completely claimed a unicorn-shaped silicone baking mold that was originally intended for baking. Instead, it’s become her personal snack tray.
It’s basically her version of those muffin-tin snack boards people make for toddlers.
Today’s assortment included several little bites of whatever sounded good to her at the moment, and she was very pleased with the arrangement.
I had some leftover canned pumpkin from making Chris’ birthday cake, so I did an impromptu quick baked oatmeal. I didn’t measure anything, but I took some photos of each step. I know many people like to follow precise recipes, but sometimes I enjoy mixing things that I ‘think’ will work well together and just seeing what happens! Today I mixed pumpkin, banana, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, baking powder, maple syrup, lots of nuts, almond flour, oats, coconut milk, and raisins.
Lunch — Finishing the Last of the Steak
For lunch, I decided it was time to finish off the remaining steak from Saturday night.
I sliced everything into small pieces and then:
- heated a skillet until very hot
- added butter (or bacon grease)
- pan-seared the steak
I let the edges get just a little crispy before finishing with a generous sprinkle of flaky salt.
It’s one of my favorite ways to reheat leftover steak because it tastes completely different than simply microwaving it.
Lunch plates included:
- steak
- vegetables
- fruit
- potato chips
Simple, filling, and a great way to use up leftovers.
The steak is now officially gone.
Afternoon — Lessons, Swimming, and Heavy Snacks
The afternoon was busy.
We had:
- piano lessons
- violin lessons
So before heading out, I made a heavier snack to bridge the gap until dinner.
Chicken nuggets ended up being the answer.
After lessons, we headed to the pool and stayed for a late swim.
By the time everyone got home:
- tired
- hungry
- needing showers
I knew dinner needed to be fast.
Dinner — Brat Bites and Leftover Victory
Tonight was one of those dinners where the real win was using up several lingering leftovers.
As soon as we walked through the door from the pool, I turned on the oven and got the brat bites started.
That’s one of the reasons I love brat bites.
They’re:
- quick
- easy
- crowd-pleasing
And they’re ready in well under 15 minutes.
While everyone was:
- showering
- bathing
- changing into pajamas
Dinner was basically cooking itself.
On the Menu
Brat Bites
The star of dinner.
Reheated Sides
I finished off:
- the remaining Spanish rice
- the last of the pasta salad
- roasted potatoes from yesterday
Fresh Vegetable
I steamed broccoli on the stove.
And that was dinner.
No complicated cooking.
No major cleanup.
Just good food that got eaten.
Dessert
The last of Chris’s birthday chocolate cake disappeared tonight.
The cake officially had a successful run.
Birthday dessert season has ended.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge now:
Leftover pork tenderloin (still a full tenderloin)
Grilled chicken breast
Fresh produce
What’s gone:
Steak
Spanish rice
Pasta salad
Chocolate birthday cake
Tomorrow’s biggest decision is protein.
I still have that pork tenderloin available, but I’m also looking ahead and thinking it’s probably time to pull some cooked ground beef from the freezer.
My timing feels a little unusual this week because I did Costco on Thursday instead of my normal weekend schedule.
That shifted everything forward a few days.
But that’s exactly why I keep proteins in the freezer.