Oh and enjoy the shot of the breakfast I had to eat the other morning. I actually made home made Strawberry Julius for the family (it was actually pretty good, but not exactly like I remember Strawberry Julius being) and I had some of the leftovers with breakfast the next morning. It was actually a pretty good breakfast :).
First, I wanted to field a few questions people have asked. One, what are larder beetles? Well, pretty much everywhere I've ever lived had the suckers, but we didn't know them as larder beetles. Most people know them as black and tan beetles. Big thing I've found that the pesticide outfits don't cover is that they nest behind baseboards, true, but they also love to nest ANYWHERE dark, so clutter is a must to get rid of if you want to rid yourself of these disgusting little buggers once they are in your house. You can read more about them on the following Orkin site Larder Beetles, definition and treatment. The one thing, I luckily have going for me is that I keep the cat's dry food in a sealed five gallon bucket as well, so now I'm just having to chase (and chase, and chase) all of the little nesting places the icky things have been able to find and eradicate them with extreme prejudice and super duper uber clean things over the next couple of months. Not easy with a special needs kid, but I'm determined to get rid of the suckers. Period.
Second, about the Monthly Goals this month. Well, since nuking the house from orbit to get rid of the bugs once and for all isn't an option, right now my monthly goals are pretty much centered around cleaning, cleaning and cleaning some more. I do have some other goals that I'm writing down and will share, but they will probably be kind of like my shopping goals and just span this and next month with me amending the list next month as needed. I've got a lot to do, not enough time to do it in (so it seems every day) and am trying to manage my time more wisely. Writing things down really does seem to help.
Complicating my schedule is that Alvah is starting intensive ABA therapy through the rest of the summer now that school is over, so we're trying to transition him into that the first couple of days this week (today did not go well, but I expected that). He'll be in therapy five days a week for two and a half hours a day, so that bites into my time to get things like cooking, baking and housework done. So, writing things down, checking them off and such is definitely a must the next little bit :).
So, anyway, now that I've rambled on a bit, let's get to this week's menu plan!
Monday: Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (I'm PLANNING on making both tomato and Julia Child's Edible Pea Pod soup, but using just frozen peas in their place and messing with the recipe a bit...we'll see how that goes. The leftovers will go into the freezer for quick lunches later on).
Tuesday: Chicken curry and rice (this is one of the Revolution meal kits I got for free. Since both kids have swimming tomorrow on top of therapy I wanted to do something simple).
Wednesday: Ham steak, potatoes, salad
Thursday: French Dips (make rolls for sandwiches), french fries, peaches
Friday: Roast chicken, roast veggies, rolls
Saturday: Chicken salad sandwiches (use leftover chicken) on home made bread, home made potato chips? (Not sure about the potato chips, really, as it depends on what kind and how much vegetable oil I have).
Sunday: Pork Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans, apple sauce
Desserts (tentative depending on time): Apple bundt cake (Wednesday), ice cream (whenever), Mincemeat tarts (Friday)...leftover desserts can be eaten on different days, of course.
And there you go folks. What we are (hopefully) eating this week. How about you?
I'm always in awe of people that plan out "I'm having this dish on this day" kind of menus. I meal plan based on what's on sale and what we have in the house, but I'm more of the style of looking at my grocery list and make a list of meals I can make that week/grocery period and not assigning them a day. I've tried doing the "Tuesday, we're having THIS dish" style planning, only to wake up on Tuesday and that doesn't sound good at all (but on Thursday, it will). So I pick from my weekly list what we're having and what I have time/energy/the physical ability to make or what I feel like eating from it that day. :) Leftovers play a big factor in my planning too; if we have a ton of leftovers from dinner, we usually just eat it again a second night (and sometimes I'll throw in bread or a sandwich or salad to stretch it further if need be). We had butternut squash and tomato soup soup with grilled cheese (on homemade bread!) for dinner tonight; we'll see about tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best on tackling the larder beetles. Having dealt with something similar in the past, I know the kind of stress it can be, and I'm hoping the Pied Piper of Larder Beetles comes calling and lures them all away for you!
People may be more familiar with relatives of the larder beetle known as carpet beetles. All members of a destructive family. Sick 'em!
ReplyDeleteI am impressed you keep at it, every week I am like I am going to write down the menus, I am going to use the leftovers..I am going to..and then its Thursday :)
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to use up the vegetables I have before they go bad - I don't want to waste a thing. And I want to keep my meals frugal, so this menu reflects that. Other than Friday's supper, they're all pretty quick to put together as well.
ReplyDeleteMonday: Bean tostadas with lots of toppings; cucumber slices; leftover birthday cake
Tuesday: Sweet and sour pork and vegetable stir fry; rice
Wednesday: Crockpot beef and vegetable stew; biscuits
Thursday: Baked beans; wieners wrapped in crescent roll dough; coleslaw; chocolate pudding parfaits
Friday: Pork, cheese and spinach stuffed roulades braised in marinara sauce; fettucine noodles; steamed broccoli
Saturday: BBQ'd hamburgers; potato salad; corn on the cob; carrot and celery sticks with dip
Saturday: BBQ'd chicken souvlakia in pita bread; Greek salad; leftover potato salad; lemon roll cake
Enjoy your menu this week everyone.
I pulled quite a few kinds of meat out of the freezers, including turkey drumsticks that had been there for over 2 years. They came out great, when I made a BBQ-style sauce, and cooked them in the Crock pot. I have several things to use up that are getting kind of old. The chest freezer is the worst for things sinking to the bottom and getting forgotten.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is working on some brisket we've had hanging around from our last 2 ---1/4 beef purchases--time to use them. He is making jerky with one, and 10-12 hour BBQ for family Sunday dinner with the other, following recipes from the internet and a cookbook he bought at the library for $1.50. I also did a roast in the Crock pot with carrots. It wasn't old, but I cooked it anyway because I was really hungry for roast.
We've had many, many veggies from the garden, including lots of salad, tomatoes, and zucchini, and more zucchini. (Like way over 30 this week alone. I checked out a library book and made zucchini dill chips today with part of them). We had mixed grill basket with some of them, along with stir fry, zucchini bread, and zucchini muffins.
I now have a lot of meat cooked and plan to freeze smaller portions of anything that is left for busy days. We have all been eating it, too. Since we are eating every meal at home right now, we are using more food. We will go to our daughter's house for lunch tomorrow, so that will be a nice change. I have also been taking my aunt small portions of both veggies and meat because she had surgery on her wrist and can't cut with a knife yet. It seems funny to cut up her meat, and chop or snap her veggies before I take it over there, but I do. She has other people bringing/making her food, and she can handle simple things, so I just send a few things every few days when I cook--it gives her variety. My husband will take her roast and carrots in the morning, from tonight's dinner. She is so special to us it makes me happy that I can do this small thing for her right now.