This weekend, I sorted our two freezers with Alexander and Dominic. One is now dedicated to meat, poultry, seafood, stock/broth and things like that, while the other is for vegetables, fruit, coffee, dairy products, breads, nuts, flours and things like that. I don't have them inventoried yet, but we discovered some treats we didn't realize we still had, which was nice. We also rearranged the freezers on the refrigerators to reflect how we use them better. This is making cooking from our own stores much simpler.

It turns out that we still have a ton of beef and lamb left, too. We are lower on seafood and pork than I thought we were, so we know to buy more of that when we can. We were gone so much last year, with business trips and family things, that we didn't end up cooking as much at home as we normally do. Our steer from last spring is going to last us until probably June. Rich has been busy butchering turkeys, and we've put three in the freezer already with three to go. I'm so excited to have these for our family. We can't wait to cook up a turkey we raised and butchered ourselves. I'm thinking of using one for Laetare Sunday.

Today, we are having Amira's birthday party. We did a small family party on her actual birthday. I brought her flowers in the morning and she chose our breakfast and dinner that day. Today, we will get to feast and have a great cake and do presents with her friends.

This week is also the feast of St. Patrick, so we'll be feasting on corned beef. I actually corned our own brisket from our steer. This is the first time I've corned my own meat, and I'm pretty excited about it. I am doing this as part of Charcutepalooza. I'll be making the bacon and the duck breast soon as well, though most likely after Lent.

• Sunday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Mango-Apple Sauce, Milk, Tea
  Dinner: Pizza Party and Chocolate Cloud Cake* for Amira's Birthday


• Monday
  Breakfast: Oatmeal with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Costa Rican Black Beans and Rice with Fried Eggs, Avocado and Lime Wedges


• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Almond Butter on Toast, Sliced Oranges, Milk
  Dinner: Sausage and Spinach Calzones, Carrot and Celery Sticks


• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Granola and Yogurt, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Minestrone Soup, Whole Wheat and Rye Rolls


• Thursday St. Patrick's Day
  Breakfast: Spinach Omelets, Toast, Mint Steamers
  Dinner: Corned Beef (that I corned myself!!!), Garlic Hasselback Potatoes, Baked Cabbage, Soda Bread (the recipe is formatted a little oddly, the raisins are optional, not the buttermilk)


• Friday
  Breakfast: Pretzels with Almond Butter, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Potato, Pepper and Onion Frittata, Olive-Herb Bread*


• Saturday
  Breakfast: Banana Bread, Hard Boiled Eggs, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Fr. Jeff's Salmon, Pepper-Garlic Pasta, Cabbage Salad

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Bought:

Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Lent, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen