Welcome to Menu Plan Monday, where you get a peek inside how my brain works. Or doesn’t work. It’s summer, and it’s hot, and I don’t have central AC, so we’ll be using the appliances this week as much as possible. I have this crockpot and this InstantPot, as well as this rice cooker and toaster oven at my disposal. Why do I need an oven?

Monday: Copycat Sizzling Chicken from TGI Fridays. Served with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday is back! We’ve got plenty of taco meat, salsa, refried beans, and cheese, so everything else is easy. 😉

Wednesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. Again, dipping into the pantry here. All I need is lettuce, a cucumber, and bread.

Thursday: Tilapia, rice, and broccoli. This meal is super easy, healthy, and everyone likes it. Can’t beat that.

Friday: Pizza night! My daughter’s cousin is graduating, so we won’t be home.

Saturday: Fend for yourself/freezer free for all.

Sunday: Dinner out. Am I the only mom on strike on the weekends? Leaving my poor family to starve in a houseful of food?

It’s been a week since I graduated with my Bachelor of Social Work degree, and two weeks since class ended. My to-do list is still quite full though. Somehow the laundry is not doing itself, and the pantry is overly full of odds and ends that don’t quite make sense. Why do I have 8 bottles of Italian salad dressing and none of either Caesar or Ranch? What happened to the 20 bottles of mustard I thought I had? I don’t know the answer to those particular questions, but I do know I need to keep better track of what I do have so I can round out my pantry.

Gah, y’all.

So, this week, we’re going to be eating a lot of the food that is already here.

Monday: Hamburgers and french fries and corn on the cob. I bought a big pack of hamburger meat last week when it was $1.97 at HEB, so this needs to get used up. French fries are from the freezer, but they’re also a good deal at Kroger this week with loadable coupon ($1.42 for Oreida).

Tuesday: Chicken and rice in the instant pot. I don’t know what I’m doing specifically, but I’ll work it out. 😉 I always have rice, and I bought chicken the last time I was at Sprouts. Maybe taco bowls? Maybe a citrusy version? Beats me. I’ll let you know on Facebook if it turns out.

Wednesday: Leftover night! I’ll be attending my goddaughter’s 5th grade graduation, but I probably won’t take my kids with me. They still have school and therefore bedtimes.

Thursday: Roasted pork tenderloin with roasted baby potatoes, cauliflower, and yeast rolls. If I’m turning the oven on, I might as well get it all out of my system. I have yeast rolls in the freezer and I want to experiment with them.

Friday: Pizza night! My daughter has a performance which means we’ll be at the school til late. If we don’t have pizza, it will probably be a drive through night for us.

Saturday: Fend for yourself.  Let’s face it.  I’m tired of cooking by this point.

Sunday: It’s Memorial Day weekend. We must have steaks! Okay, fine. Two of us will have steaks. One of us will have FakeSteak, and one will have a hot dog. With ketchup. Sometimes my kids are weird.

Monday: Chicken noodle soup! My husband and son have come down with the flu and I have quarantined them. I didn’t catch sick this go round, but I think it’s because I was so sick after Christmas! I made two batches of chicken stock by browning a cut up chicken in the InstantPot, and then adding celery, carrots, chicken breast, and noodles along with a generous amount of fresh garlic, onion, and seasonings.

Tuesday: This is my last official class period for my bachelor’s degree. I’m all full of feels. The people at home shall fend for themselves, and I will probably go out with some classmates.

Wednesday: Pork chops, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli.

Thursday: Leftovers or breakfast for dinner.

Friday: Pizza night.

Saturday: Dinner out, possibly?

Sunday: Mac and cheese and rotisserie chicken.

The semester is winding up, the temperatures are winding down, and I have a whole lot of food left in my refrigerator. I hope your holidays were wonderful, that your clean up was short but your wine glass was tall. This week, I’m taking it easy. The most difficult thing for the whole week is remembering to fill up both InstantPots.

Monday: It’s the last day of Thanksgiving leftovers! I made entirely too much cornbread dressing but it was pretty darn tasty. I think I didn’t make enough broccoli rice and cheese, or green bean casserole. *notes for next year*

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday! I have class so everyone else will have tacos, rice, and beans. 😉

Wednesday: Now that I have TWO count them TWO InstantPots, I can double up on dinner even easier! I’m going to make a batch of regular beans in one, and beans with ham from Thanksgiving in the other. I love butter beans. 😉

Thursday: Leftover buffet. If there is anything leftover. Otherwise, it’s to the freezer for us.

Friday: Pizza night

Saturday: Fend for yourself.

Sunday: Maybe just possibly lasagna day. Night. Whatever. I’ll be cooking all day if it is.