Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
Leftover pork tenderloin
Grilled chicken breast (2 left)
Fresh produce and salad ingredients
Very little prepared protein remaining in the refrigerator
Morning — Teaching the Little Kitchen Skills
Breakfast was our usual routine:
- bacon
- fruit
- simple breakfast foods
Also took a few minutes to teach my teenager a very simple fruit salad.
Nothing complicated.
Just:
- strawberries
- blueberries
- bananas
Then:
- a splash of lemon juice
- a drizzle of honey
And gently toss everything together.
That’s it.
She took one bite and immediately said something along the lines of, “Why have I never been making this?”
That’s exactly why I like teaching these little kitchen skills.
It’s not always about complicated recipes.
Sometimes it’s showing them how to take ordinary ingredients and make them feel a little more special.
I want my teens to leave home knowing how to do more than simply assemble food.
I want them to know how to make food taste good.
Those small skills add up over time.
You guys always enjoy when I tell you what keeps my 3 year old busy while we do homeschooling…today she ‘decorated’ the fridge with Magnatiles.
Midday — A Scattered Lunch Day
Today was one of those days where everyone was in a different place.
A couple of kids had lunch with my parents.
My teen made her own lunch.
And I was back at our homeschool co-op building working on the move to our new location.
We’re getting closer to the big milestone this week:
the POD gets loaded on Friday.
Once that’s finished, this phase of the move is mostly complete.
Then we’ll eventually unload everything at the new location.
So while I didn’t actually prepare lunch today, plenty of people were still fed.
Just not by me. I did however come home with some food from my parents’ house….I always seem to leave their house with something! Today it was breaded chicken legs and some fresh cut produce!
Afternoon — Pool Snacks
After the co-op work, I took the kids to the pool.
Pool days always require snacks.
Kids become bottomless pits when they’re at the pool.
Today’s cooler included:
- yogurts
- cheese sticks
- fresh fruit
- vegetables
- chips
Nothing fancy.
Just foods I know will get eaten.
I especially like bringing produce because cold fruit and vegetables are surprisingly refreshing on a hot afternoon.
Dinner — Clearing Out the Last Proteins
Tonight was all about using what was left.
I still had:
- one whole pork tenderloin from Monday night
- two grilled chicken breasts
So I sliced everything up and reheated them separately in a skillet.
My method was simple:
- hot pan
- small amount of bacon fat
- quick reheat
Just enough to warm everything through and crisp the edges a little.
For sides we had:
- watermelon
- chips
- leftover steamed broccoli
- side salads
I made myself a large salad and topped it with the remaining grilled chicken.
The rest of the family mixed and matched however they wanted.
Simple.
Easy.
No extra cooking.
Exactly the kind of meal I wanted after a busy day.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s gone:
Grilled chicken breast
Pork tenderloin
Most remaining prepared proteins
What’s left:
Homemade beef summer sausage
Fresh produce
Cooked ground beef portions in the freezer
At this point, the refrigerator has been worked through exactly the way I intended.
The next step is pulling ground beef from the freezer.
And this is a great example of why I like keeping cooked proteins stocked.
Even though I feel a little off my normal rhythm this week because I shopped at Costco on Thursday instead of the weekend, dinner is still easy because the freezer is ready to fill the gap.
Tomorrow’s protein plan:
- pull cooked ground beef
- build meals around it
- continue rotating through the freezer stash
And that’s exactly what dinner insurance is for.