Hello, little blog. I've thought of you often, yet I've had a hard time stopping by to talk with you. Life always seems to get in the way. I know, I know... you've noticed that I've been hanging out a lot with the little blue bird, but he doesn't require much of my time. Mere seconds, really. But I do need you, dear blog. Life seems to run so much better when I remember to visit you more often and discuss my weekly plans.
That being said...
I need some help figuring out menus for the next month. I feel as if I've fallen into a rut and I'm using a lot of the same things over and over again. I have several things that I need to use up, especially since we're trying to empty out one of our freezers so we can unplug it.
Here's what I have to work with:
4 lbs. chicken leg quarters
3 lbs. whole split chicken
1.5 lbs. boneless pork roast
1.5 lbs. beef tips in gravy (I'm worried that it's more gravy than beef... might have to stretch it by adding veggies & using it in a stew)
1.5 lbs. boneless turkey breast
1.75 lbs. fully-cooked breaded party chicken wings
1 lb. beef hot dogs
20 oz. steak fajitas (I think this is a mixture of beef strips, pepper strips, and sliced onions... so it won't go terribly far among 5 people. What can I do with this other than making fajitas?)
1 lb. battered fish pieces
1 lb. ground beef
several lbs. of breakfast sausage links
several lbs. of smoked sausages
1 lb. frozen green pepper and onion mixture
3 lb. frozen green beans
1 lb. frozen peas & carrots
several lbs. frozen corn
20 oz. frozen shoestring fries
1.5 lbs. frozen rice with red & green peppers
4.5 lbs. frozen potato medley (diced potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion... definitely a soup/stew mixture)
1 lb. dried 16-bean soup mix
several lbs. of pinto beans
several lbs. of black beans
several lbs. of rice
corn muffin mix (as well as other flavors of muffin mix)
several boxes of mac & cheese
3 lbs. sweet potatoes
2 heads of cabbage (1 red, 1 green)
lots of fresh apples
lots of potatoes (both red and smallish white or Yukon)
lots of carrots
lots of onions
lots of beets
This is by no means an exhaustive list of what we have in our freezer/fridge/pantry. There's also the usual pantry staples like cans of soup, tuna, powdered milk, pasta, etc.
Any tips? I welcome any and all suggestions (although the simpler the better).
