We’re beginning to run out of food we grew or picked this summer. It’s all in our basement freezer and every time I use the last of the berries or the last of the tomatoes, I think about how it’s time to start planning for the next growing, picking, and preserving season. We still have plenty of food in the freezer that is being doled out slowly. I simply must savor the pesto. It’s green gold.

I am a freezer of food. I freeze everything that we grow or pick or turn into “freezer” jam or sauce but I’ve never canned. My plan this summer is to do some canning. I even have a large canning pot (which I bought at an estate sale for $5.00) complete with a rack for the bottom. If you have any great recipes or websites for me to check out, please share in the comment section below.

Weekly Meal Plan

I meal plan at the beginning of each week, before heading to the grocery store. Weekly meal planning saves money, reduces food waste, and keeps me from saying, “Let’s go out to eat!” If you need more reasons to meal plan every week, check HERE. Both of my kids cook dinner once-a-week and do the clean up after the meal. If you want to learn how to pull that off at your house, check HERE. If you’re looking for more meal planning ideas, check HERE.

This meal plan is from Monday, January 14, 2013 to Sunday, January 20, 2013.

Monday: Mexican pulled pork (from freezer) and pinto beans with brown rice and fresh salsa

Tuesday: white beans (from freezer) whole wheat pasta with sautéed vegetables (zucchini, red peppers, mushrooms, and spinach)

Wednesday: scrambled eggs, white beans (from freezer) whole wheat pasta with vegetables

Thursday: fish stew and cornbread

Friday: vegetarian chili

Saturday: vegetarian chili (leftovers) with cornbread (my daughter made dinner this night)

Sunday: fish, brown rice and green salad collard greens (my son made dinner this night)

What didn’t work:

• The white bean and pasta dish had such big pieces of vegetables that wouldn’t cook so I kept adding broth until it became what is probably more like minestrone soup; still good, but not what I had planned
• We had so much of the “minestrone soup” from Tuesday that instead of eggs, we just had the “soup” and it was good the second night.
• The lettuce at the grocery store was too expensive but I found collard greens that were on sale and my son cooked those up on Sunday. You would have thought he was from the South the way those greens tasted!

What’s for dinner at your house this week?

Go Gingham related links:

National Match-Up Day: A step-by-step on how to clean and organize your food storage containers!
Reusing glass jars and how to get them ready for re-use
Frugal grocery shopping – without coupons!
Pantry basics for the home cook – what’s in my pantry
Refrigerator basics for the home cook – what’s in my refrigerator
New to cooking at home? Fear not!