Meal Snaffoos

This week has been the week of 'no menus'.  No plans for what we'd eat each meal of the day.

Admittedly, I prefer having a menu planned out for the week - now that it's become a habit.

Each day I found myself scrambling come lunch and dinner because I had NOT planned ahead.

Well - I decided Wed to 'make a plan' for the rest of the week.  Not as detailed as I usually do, but at least a mental picture of what I'd make each lunch and dinner for Wed - Sat night.

My agenda was set.  I had a 'rough draft' of what we'd be eating for the main two meals for each day of the week until we went to the store again on Sat afternoon.

Preparing to start dinner Thur night, I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the recipe I had printed off.

Cabbage roll casserole!  This would use up some of our MANY heads of cabbage left from Bountiful Baskets and be a healthy, filling meal to boot.

Gathering all my ingredients I first started with the frozen homemade tomato sauce in the freezer. Next the hamburger meat (also in the freezer -- had less than expected, but figured it would suffice).  Finally I headed to the pantry to grab the rice.  I ALWAYS have rice.  Well..... guess what...... I. WAS. OUT!!!

Once again, my mind raced frantically, knowing that if I'd PLANNED better, I would have realized I was out of rice and would have purchased it at the grocery last weekend.  UUGH!

What to do, what to do?

I searched all the shelves in hopes a small bag or box of rice was 'hiding'.  NO luck!

Finally, I conceded that my cabbage roll casserole was a flop.

Back to the fridge I went.  Scanning, thinking, slumping.

Techno was willing to take us all to the Bear Tree for dinner, but I'm REALLY trying NOT to go out to eat -- to save that money.

I opened the freezer.  What do I see?  A nice big bag of frozen BBQ pulled pork/chicken. When we had this last, we had plenty of leftovers, so I had frozen it for 'just a time as this'.

Phew!

With some of that cabbage I whipped up some coleslaw; chopped up kale and mustard greens and made 'chips'; tossed 1.5 bags of frozen blueberries from pappaws garden into a pot of water with some sugar; while that came to a boil I mixed up some biscuit dough to make dumplings for that huge pot of blueberries.

Dinner was served.  Didn't end up taking me any more time than the cabbage roll casserole; still used up some of that cabbage; AND I made the kids OOOOBER THRILLED!  They LOVE blueberry dumplings.

Still - I AM returning to my meal planning ways.  I prefer knowing what's on deck for each meal -- makes my frustration levels much lower.  The kids also enjoy having a preview of meals to come; (not to mention, preferring mom's frustration levels to be lower.)  LOL!