The Plan:
Day 1: Butternut squash soup, Crusty sourdough bread
Day 2: Mozzarella stuffed turkey meatloaf (sub kale for spinach), Roasted Delicata squash
Day 3: Homemade pizza
Day 4: Potato, fennel, and leek soup
Day 5: Root vegetable hash topped with fried eggs
Day 6: Black bean enchiladas, Orange slices
Day 7: Fridge dump! Eating all the leftovers from this week and cleaning out the fridge to prep for the holidays
This meal plan was curated using local foods that are in season now or preserved during the peak growing season in the U.S. Midwest. The plan is an exact replica of what our family is eating this week unless we are out of town. Meal plans are developed using whole foods and my meal planning system (click here!) and are meant to be healthy and easy to prepare. Most recipes will take no more than 30 minutes of active cooking time. Occasionally meals may require all day slow cooking, advanced prep, or some oven time. Recipes are provided when available. I sincerely hope this will help with your own meal planning!
Pantry Shuffle:
Out of Storage: (preserved when in season and coming out of my root cellar, freezer, canned, or dehydrated stash)
- Delicata squash
- Fennel
- Sweet potatoes
Into Storage: Last big storage efforts from the final CSA fall/winter box
- Acorn squash, festival squash, spaghetti squash (store in root cellar)
- Beets (store in produce bags in refrigerator “root cellar”)
- Celeriac (store in produce bags in refrigerator “root cellar”)
- Green cabbage (store in produce bags in refrigerator “root cellar”)
- Garlic (root cellar)
- Onions (root cellar)
- Kohlrabi (store in produce bags in refrigerator “root cellar”)
- Potatoes (root cellar)
- Beauty heart and purple daikon radishes (store in produce bags in refrigerator “root cellar”)
Notes: Fridge dump!
In a week, my kids will be out of school and the holidays will be upon us. My kitchen gets a major workout this time of year. One way to make things a little easier and avoid food waste is to do a good fridge cleanout right before you begin to fill it with all the delights for Christmas, New Year, or any other holiday you celebrate around this time.
Take it shelf by shelf. Remove everything and evaluate what needs to be eaten now. Set these things aside. Wipe down the shelves, and neatly put back the items that you will continue to store. Then, it is a free for all to make dinner that night with the stuff that needs to be eaten. Get creative and make yourself a crudité plate with homemade dip with that bit of leftover sour cream and some spices of your choice. Make some nachos with all sorts of interesting toppings (pickles anyone?). Make a meatloaf sandwich. Or just enjoy a slice of cheese and any other leftovers from earlier in the week.
Whether you do it now, or the end of the week like me, a fridge dump will help you feel a bit more organized heading into one of the busiest times of the year. Bonus that it makes dinner a snap!
