Current Fridge Protein & Leftover Inventory (Weekend Prep Mode)
LOTS of raw protein from the Costco trip last night
Fresh produce and salad ingredients
Breakfast sausage
2 pieces of bacon for the kids to fight over
Morning — Simple Breakfast, Big Work Day
This morning was intentionally a very basic breakfast.
I knew I had a lot of kitchen work and filming ahead of me, so I wanted to keep breakfast simple and get the kitchen cleaned up quickly.
Breakfast was:
- cereal
- bagels
- the last couple pieces of bacon
My teen made herself a breakfast wrap that looked fantastic.
Her method:
- crack an egg into a skillet
- add cooked breakfast sausage
- break the yolk because she likes fried-hard eggs
- add cheese
- place a tortilla on top
Once the egg is cooked, she flips the whole thing so the tortilla can warm too.
Then:
- salt
- pepper
- salsa
Simple and very effective.
Morning — Protein Prep + Filming Day
This morning ended up being filming and protein prep.
So by 9am I already had:
- taco meat going
- loaf pan chicken in the oven
- beef summer sausage mixed and curing
Taco Meat
I used:
- 4 pounds ground beef
This will give us:
- lunches
- dinners
- freezer backup
Beef Summer Sausage
I also used:
- 2 pounds ground beef
to make homemade beef summer sausage.
I’m completely out of my freezer stash, which almost never happens, so it was definitely time to restock.
That’s curing overnight and I’ll cook it tomorrow.
Loaf Pan Chicken Breast
I also made loaf pan chicken using chicken breast today.
This is one of my favorite forms of dinner insurance because it freezes beautifully and reheats exceptionally well because of all the juices.
By lunchtime, the kitchen already felt fully stocked again. I even refilled all my flour bins!
Lunch — Taco Platters
I had to run my teen somewhere in the middle of the morning, so I left the taco meat simmering on low while I was gone.
When I got home, lunch came together almost instantly.
Everyone built their own version:
Some had:
- nachos
Some had:
- taco bowls
I had:
- taco salad
Which remains one of my favorite lunches.
I genuinely don’t think I could get tired of taco salad.
Afternoon — Focaccia Pizza Day
After lunch, I got a double batch of focaccia started.
And this is exactly the type of summer recipe I love:
very little hands-on work,
lots of flexibility,
feeds a crowd.
I use the King Arthur Big and Bubbly Focaccia recipe as a starting point, but I make a few changes.
My Focaccia Process
First Rise
I double the recipe.
Then I do all the folds.
Actual hands-on work:
maybe 7 minutes total.
Then I let it rise in the bowl for about two hours.
Today it sat while I was taking kids to orthodontist appointments.
One of my favorite tricks:
I place the bowl on the counter above my running dishwasher.
It’s consistently one of the warmest places in my kitchen.
Second Rise
After the first rise:
- parchment paper in half-sheet pan
- generous olive oil
- carefully transfer dough
I make sure the dough gets coated on both the top and bottom with oil.
Then I cover it and let it rise again.
Today that second rise lasted another two to three hours.
This is much longer than the original recipe suggests, but because I’m:
- doubling the recipe
- filling a large half-sheet pan
I think the extra rise time gives a much better final product.
Evening — Focaccia Pizza for Dinner
When I got home from my daughter’s sewing lesson, I cranked the oven to 475 degrees.
Then:
- dimpled the dough
- added pizza sauce
- pepperoni
- sausage
- cheese
And baked it until beautifully golden.
What I love about this recipe is that it looks like a six-hour project.
But in reality?
Maybe ten minutes of actual work spread throughout the day.
The dough does all the heavy lifting.
Dinner was:
- giant focaccia pizza
- side salads
And everyone was thrilled.
I can’t eat it because of the gluten and dairy, but my family absolutely loves when I make this.
And now we have leftovers ready for tomorrow too.
Post-Dinner / Looking Ahead
What’s stocked and ready now:
Fresh taco meat
Loaf pan chicken breast
Homemade beef summer sausage curing overnight
Leftover focaccia pizza
Cooked ground beef in freezer
Fresh produce
Breakfast ingredients
Dinner insurance continuing to grow
Tomorrow’s projects:
- cook the beef summer sausage
- continue rotating proteins
- start baking my husband’s birthday cake
And after today’s prep session, the kitchen is feeling very prepared heading into the weekend.