Since giving birth in November, I’ve really struggled to menu plan. Getting my act together just continued to elude me. The Winter Dinner Queue that I published in January definitely helped me get by without a real plan. At the end of February, we had our last CSA pick up until June, leaving me even more directionless.
And then COVID-19 happened and I suddenly found myself home a lot more and at the supermarket a lot less. The first week of social distancing was no better in the planning department. The lack of dinner organization was just one more layer of disruption amidst the Corona Virus chaos. During the second week of self-isolation, I took stock of our freezers and pantry and made a plan. It made for a much smoother week – we ate dinner earlier, had more complete and nutritious meals and I had less stress. Below are that first plan and the plan for this week. Both menus are based on what we’ve stocked up on and are certainly less creative (but no less delicious) than what I sometimes make.
Last week:
Jambalaya (adapted from Serious Eats), with salad greens
Simple Sesame Noodles (The Pioneer Woman) with frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrots mixed in; served for 2 dinners
beef tomato soup, made by my mom when my son was born
black bean tacos with cabbage slaw
pizza with sausage topping, with salad greens
black bean and rice-filled enchiladas, with salad greens
This week:
leftover enchiladas, with salad greens
pasta with tomato sauce and sausage (the other half of the pizza topping), with salad greens
lentil sloppy joes over potatoes, with frozen vegetables to be determined
Okonomiyaki – Japanese Savory Cabbage Pancakes (Budget Bytes), with fried eggs – we still have cabbage from our CSA!
tortellini, tomato and spinach soup
kielbasa over polenta, with frozen vegetables to be determined
