Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Start of Day)
Cooked burger patties
Roasted chickens from yesterday’s comparison project
Rotisserie chicken from Costco
One package chicken thighs (uncooked)
Brats (pulled those out of the freezer to thaw on Thursday)
Ground beef (one 6 lb package that needs to be cooked today)
Pork breakfast sausage
Fresh produce and salad ingredients
Bagels from Costco
Morning — Mother’s Day Breakfast
Mother’s Day started with another double batch of bacon.
Yesterday we officially ran out of the prepped bacon stash, so it was time to replenish.
I’m still very much in “vacation prep mode” for our upcoming trip to Charleston because I refuse to spend vacation mornings scrambling to feed seven people breakfast.
So:
- one package of bacon for immediate eating over today and tomorrow
- one package headed to the freezer after cooking
I cook it to what I’d call “medium done” because I’ll reheat it later either:
- on a sheet pan in the oven
- or in the air fryer I’ll probably bring along
Breakfast this morning:
- bagels
- bacon
- eggs and sausage for my husband
- Paw Patrol yogurt drink for the three-year-old, naturally
A small Mother’s Day miracle…ALL 5 KIDS smiling at the camera!!!
Church Snacks Strategy
We headed to Mass this morning, and as always, I packed snacks for my three-year-old.
One thing that helps us so much:
I use a little insulated cooler with built-in ice packs around the sides.
I packed:
- cucumbers
- cut peppers
- popcorn
- easy snack foods
Church starts at 9:45, and by the time you hit 10:45 with a three-year-old, you are basically heading into lunch territory.
At this point in parenting, I fully embrace the idea that strategic snacks make everyone happier.
Lunch — Brat Bites + Chicken Leftovers
When we got home from church, I made a huge sheet pan of brat bites for lunch.
But I also still had plenty of roasted chicken leftover from yesterday’s chicken comparison project, so lunch kind of split into two directions:
- brat bites and waffle fries for most of the family
- chicken salads for me, my husband, and my teen
The waffle fries were from a frozen bag my mom picked up at Sam’s Club last week, and they paired perfectly with the brat bites.
Big lunch.
Minimal stress.
Everyone happy.
Afternoon Protein Prep
After lunch and kitchen cleanup, I got right back into protein prep mode for the upcoming week and vacation.
Homemade Beef Summer Sausage
I used one full Costco ground beef package and made:
three logs of homemade beef summer sausage.
Normally I make a two-pound batch, but this time I scaled it up to three pounds because I want extra stocked for the trip.
The logs are curing overnight in the fridge and I’ll cook them tomorrow.
Meatloaf Restock
With the remaining three pounds of ground beef, I made:
two meatloaves.
My meatloaf recipe changes slightly every single time depending on what I have, but today’s version included:
- ground beef
- pork sausage
- gluten-free breadcrumbs
- ketchup
- garlic powder
- dried onion
- salt
- pepper
- Italian seasoning
Sometimes I add brown sugar.
Today I didn’t.
Then I baked both loaves in loaf pans while simultaneously cooking up the remaining pork breakfast sausage my mom bought me from Sam’s Club.
It sounds like a massive amount of work written out, but once everything was moving, it only took about twenty minutes of active prep time.
Rotisserie Chicken vs Homemade Roast Chicken
This afternoon I also fully broke down and compared:
- Costco rotisserie chicken
versus - homemade roasted chickens
And spoiler alert:
the rotisserie chicken is absolutely the better financial deal.
At $4.99, it’s incredibly hard to beat strictly from a cost-per-pound perspective, especially when compared to the Costco two-pack raw roasting chickens that cost over $30.
BUT…
I still personally prefer cooking chickens myself sometimes.
Reasons:
- I can season them exactly how I want
- I get incredible drippings and broth
- the cooking liquid alone is valuable to me
When I roast chickens myself, I end up with cups and cups of flavorful liquid that later becomes:
- broth
- soup base
- rice flavoring
- cooking liquid
With rotisserie chickens, you can absolutely still make broth from the bones and skin, but you simply don’t start with the same amount of liquid and flavor base.
So my conclusion is:
there is definitely a place for both.
Rotisserie chickens:
- fast
- cheap
- convenient
Homemade roast chickens:
- customizable
- richer flavor
- broth bonus
- more flexible long term
And I ended up freezing the rotisserie chicken for future “dinner insurance” this summer.
Dinner — Mother’s Day at My Parents’ House
Tonight we celebrated Mother’s Day at my parents’ house.
My mom made it really sweet:
- little decorated chairs for the moms
- place cards
- napkin rings
Such a fun dinner setup.
And of course, I came home with leftovers:
- steak
- vegetables
- cooked pasta
- fruit
Which means we’re heading into the week with a VERY full fridge in the best possible way.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s in the fridge/freezer now:
Cooked meatloaf
Three uncooked summer sausage logs curing overnight
Cooked breakfast sausage
Roasted chicken leftovers
Steak from Sunday dinner
Vegetables and pasta leftovers
Chicken thighs (only major uncooked protein remaining)
At this point, the kitchen is stocked heavily enough that I feel very prepared heading into this next week before vacation. I will cook the leftover bones/skin and make chicken bone broth tomorrow. I will also freeze some of the meatloaf and breakfast pork sausage.