To create this meal plan, I went through the recipes on my blog and tried to find ones that I wanted to cook during the month of November. Each week, I have listed 4 meals. We can have leftovers or eat out for two of the days. The other day is our Sunday dinner.
Ideas for Sunday dinner: Roast – I have a new recipe that I need to cook at least one more time before I put it on the blog. Pork Roast – Chicken – Soy Sauce Pork Chops
A year ago yesterday, we drove down to the New River Gorge area. Hubby, my sons, my niece and nephew, and a few of their friends were going white water rafting. I was just there because my niece was going.
I took over cooking for the group of kids. We had a small fridge, a microwave, toaster, and coffee maker. That’s it. No sink, so everything needed to be disposable if we had any dinner.
There was a sink in the bathroom of our cabin, but it was so small that it was hard to clean anything there.
I brought my Instant Pot to cook the dinners while my nephew brought something to cook pancakes on for one of the breakfasts.
So what did we eat during the 2.5 days we were there. I had 2 dinners and breakfast to consider. Lunch was on the river when they went white water rafting.
The two dinners we had were spaghetti and hot dogs with Mac and cheese.The hot dogs were frozen before we left for the trip. Even driving the 4 to 5 hours to New River Gorge did not defrost the hot dogs. They tried roasting them over the fire, but they remained cold inside. Ugh!
The favorite meal was the spaghetti. There was nothing left after the meal. I believe we had some sort of bread with it.
Breakfast was pancakes and cereal. They had milk and juice to go with their breakfast. We forgot to bring a spatula, so that was interesting using my wooden spoon to flip the pancakes.
We also had lots of snacks for the boys. Plus the boys brought their own food. One brought MREs to share with their friends.
Hubby and I were able to sneak away for a while. Since the teens we took were older teens except for Youngest, we didn’t need to watch them constantly. We went to Sheetz for coffee and their snack packs. We ate it while walking to the overlook.
After walking under the New River Gorge, we left. We needed to get food before leaving. Our original plan was to go to Sheetz for cheap eats. Instead we went to the Secret Sandwich Society for good burgers and pimento fries.
Five months after to visiting the Secret Sandwich Society, it burned to the ground.đŸ˜ I can just picture us sitting there on the patio waiting for the food. The teens just talking about whatever popped into their head. We were saddened to hear of it’s demise.
So why am I sharing this menu with you? This started a trend for me. I went on a few pandemic trips where I needed to plan out the meals for the trip. In a week and a half, I’m leaving once again for a trip. I planned out the food for that trip. I’ll share it with you once we get closer to the trip happening.
I’ll also share the menu from my Epic trip with my friend Molly last July and our menu from our beach trip last December. I can plan meals like nobody’s business but can’t keep a meal plan to save my life.
Menu:
Breakfasts: Cereal, French toast muffins, cheese, applesauce, or fruit cup – Juice and milk
Lunches: On the river and at Sandwich Society
Dinners: Hot dogs with Mac and cheese Spaghetti with Hawaiian rolls (favorite meal)
Dessert: S’Mores on the campfire
My coffee that I got at Sheetz on the way down to the campsite. Meals that were eaten on our trip.
I planned out the meal for Memorial Day. Then Oldest needed to make sure it was an American meal. I don’t know what an unAmerican meal would look like according to him.
Here is our menu for the week. As you can see most of it is easy meals to put together. I think Friday’s is going to be the hardest meal because I’ve got to make the crust. I have a pizza crust kit, so that shouldn’t be too hard.
Monday – Memorial Day
Burgers (Impossible burger for me), Corn on the Cob, Chips, Baked Beans, Cucumbers
Tuesday
Rice and Beans, Roasted Cauliflower & Broccoli
Wednesday
Tacos, Roasted veggies
Thursday
Shrimp scampi on gluten free pasta, chicken from freezer for the family
Friday
Pizza and cheese bread
Breakfasts for this week keep changing. I ordered Kodiak’s gluten free protein pancake mix which came yesterday. So that is going to be some of my breakfasts. Another breakfast idea is to have smoothies with chia seeds and hemp hearts, if I can find them. They were not at Aldi’s when I checked the other day.
Lunches are often difficult for me. I’ve been on a grilled cheese kick lately since I have some gluten free sour dough bread. I’ll eat the grilled cheese with either a salad or a veggie. Another lunch idea is a snack plate of cheese, olives, nuts, maybe a hard boiled egg, and crackers. I may add some tuna to it. I eat a mostly vegetarian diet with the exception of seafood.
If you would like some other breakfast ideas, please click on this link. Here are some lunch ideas. And dinner ideas
Monday was Youngest’s 15th birthday. He has changed a lot in the ten years since I started this blog. Since it is still the pandemic, we didn’t do much for his birthday. He got to pick what he wanted to eat for lunch and dinner. He chose a local place called Hot Head Burritos for lunch. He loves creating and eating a huge burrito. Then it was Chick Fil A for dinner.
I highly recommend getting the family meal deal at Chick Fil A. We did the 30 piece nuggets and the 4 pack of waffle fries for Hubby, myself, my mother-in-law, and him. Then we got 2 of the 8 oz cups of 2 of his favorite sauces. Since it was his birthday, I allowed him to get a milk shake as a drink. I had points to redeem so I got Oldest’s meal with those points. The whole meal was 30 dollars which isn’t bad. We already had lemonade at the house.
Oh, and he wanted chocolate pudding for his birthday instead of cake. I also made him Rice Krispy treats.
Two of the meals this week are going to be meals that my grandma used to make for us. I’m so excited to eat them this week – Johnny Marzetti and Green beans, potatoes, and ham. Yum!
Now onto the menu for the week:
If I use one of my freezer kits for a meal this week, there is going to be a star next to it.
Chick Fil A, fresh fruit (grapes and cherries), and celery Pudding and Rice Krispy Treats
We don’t plan Saturday meals because we often will forage for food. If we need a meal, Youngest and I will make breakfast for dinner. He loves to make the eggs when we do BFD’s. This week we are going to have IHop pancakes and bacon.
It’s been a while since Hubby has worked 5 days during the week. This week is one of those weeks. I’ll cook for the boys and myself on the days he is working. He’ll eat the leftovers the next day or when he gets home from work if he is hungry.
In a couple of weeks, I’ll be changing the YOYO to Wednesdays when I begin to go to Celebrate Recovery on Wednesday evenings. I help make and receive dinner while there. Oldest is not too happy about the change in plans.
If I use one of my freezer kits for a meal this week, there is going to be a star next to it.
Date NIGHT! – Hubby has to work on Father’s Day, so we are going out tonight for dinner instead. We could take the kids with us but with the quarantine and being around them all of the time, we need time away from them.
*Cool Ranch Tacos, seasoned black beans, and corn with Cojita cheese (frozen from Trader Joe’s) – I also have pico and lettuce for the tacos.
We don’t plan Saturday meals because we often will forage for food. If we need a meal, Youngest and I will make breakfast for dinner. He loves to make the eggs when we do BFD’s.
When the boys were younger, we did family dinners almost every night. It really fostered family bonds. Then we started slacking because life got tough. During this time home, we’ve begun to do more family dinners together. I’m seeing my Youngest coming around. Being almost 15 years old, it is sometimes difficult for him to want to spend time with his family.
Last week, we were in West Virginia camping for a few days. I had a menu for the trip but didn’t post it here. We had hot dogs over the campfire with mac and cheese on Monday and spaghetti on Tuesday. Wednesday was FREE pizza night. Hubby had some coupons. Even though I had a menu for the remainder of the week, I just winged it.
Thursday – We had rotisserie chicken with pasta side dish. All of us were exhausted from the trip. Friday – Breakfast for dinner – Apple sausage from Sam’s Club and frozen waffles. Saturday – I made cilantro lime chicken with rice and a salad. Sunday – My mother-in-law came over for dinner. I made spaghetti, sauteed zucchini, frozen peas for those who don’t believe in eating zucchini, and brownies. She hadn’t had spaghetti for a while, so she was delighted with the dinner.
On Friday and Saturday, I made freezer kits. This week, I’m going to use a few of those freezer kits. If it’s going to be one of those meals, I’m going to put a star in front of it.
*Orange Chicken with rice, stir fry veggies
*BBQ Chicken sandwiches, roasted potatoes, corn (I have a half opened bag of corn left.)
YOYO – The Columbus Zoo reopens, so Youngest and I are going to spend the day there. I’m planning to go to the Trader Joe’s close to the zoo for dinner.
We don’t plan Saturday meals because we often will forage for food. If we need a meal, Youngest and I will make breakfast for dinner. He loves to make the eggs when we do BFD’s.
Happy Memorial Day! We are going to have hamburgers, pasta salad, corn on the cob, watermelon, and peach crisp for dinner.
Salsa Chicken (chicken tenderloins cooked all day in pineapple salsa), tortilla chips, queso dip, seasoned black beans
Trader Joe’s Roast, roasted potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob
Pork tenderloin cooked in the slow cooker – Pulled pork sandwiches, chips, veggies
Leftovers
We don’t plan Saturday meals because we often will forage for food. If we need a meal, Youngest and I will make breakfast for dinner. He loves to make the eggs when we do BFD’s.
If you need any inspiration for possible Memorial Day dinner ideas, click here.
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