Eating from our plenty

OK, I can’t go grocery shopping anymore, because I have no where to put the food. Now, that doesn’t stop my boys (15, 13, 9, and 42;-) from saying, “There's nothing to eat in this house!” (Of course, 42 also says, “You went grocery shopping again?!” every time I walk into the house with food, so I can’t win that one anyway.)

Since I can’t go shopping anymore or fit food in my fridge, freezer, or pantry, we’re going to get creative (and by “we’re” I mean “I’m”). Now, my challenge will be two-fold, to make things exclusively out of what we have in, and to make them palatable enough that the boys aren't complaining. (And when I say I can't go shopping anymore, I’m not being unrealistic; of course I’ll have to replace the essentials, after all, we went through 7 gallons of milk last week when the boys were home from school!)

Day 1: We’re cleaning out the fridge for dinner. Everyone will likely have something different, the only rule will be they must have 1 protein and 1 vegetable, the rest will be a free-for-all. There’s 1/2 serving of Indian chicken, a nice salad, 2 servings of lubee (Lebanese beef stew with green beans over rice pilaf), 2 servings of pulled pork, a couple of grilled Italian sausages (I can already predict the squabble those will cause, maybe I’ll serve them as dessert for anyone who eats their dinner without complaining :-D)

Once I have all that food out of the fridge, I’ll be able to pull other things out of the freezer and start to get creative. Stay tuned.

Getting dinner on the table, Part 1

We always need a quick dinner, but Quickies cannot always be last-minute. It takes some planning to come up with healthy meals, and some variety too. You can only serve a salad with grilled chicken so many days in a row before someone — likely everyone — whines.

In that vein, take advantage of a slow, lazy day to get a jumpstart on some Quickies. Make a big batch of sauce with meatballs and Italian sausages (OK not the epitome of a healthy meal, but it’s got protein and the family will eat it and be happy — to increase the healthy factor, use ground turkey for the meatballs, and Wild Harvest Italian Chicken Sausage which tastes just like the real thing). With some Italian bread in the freezer, we have some options for Quickies: Meatball Subs, Sausage & Pepper Subs (peppers & onions can be sautéed in the time it takes to cut the bread and heat the sausages in the microwave, plus, they’re your veggie! Add olive oil and paprika to the peppers and onions), and extra sauce for a quick pasta dinner is always great to have on hand.

To get dinner on the table, you do have to plan ahead a little, but come Wednesday night, you'll be glad you've got dinner in the freezer.