A Reverse Menu - What We Ate Last Week AND How I Prepare to Return Home From a Trip

I won't be posting a menu for the next couple weeks, so I thought I'd share last week's menu since I never got around to doing that. After the menu you'll find some tips on how to not waste food before a trip, and how I prepare ahead of time to return home to a kitchen full of good food almost ready to eat. But for a moment, back to last week's menu.


Sunday - broccoli and olive pasta -- I almost skipped Sunday on this reverse menu because this just sounds so boring. But it really was tasty! The broccoli gets broken down into a "sauce", though doesn't taste overcooked, and when mixed with the salty olives has a nice taste.

Monday - penne with steak and rosa sauce -- I used the marinade for the steak from the link, and my easy rosa sauce (1 can diced tomatoes, 3 - 4 oz. cream cheese, splash of milk, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper), tossed together with penne.

Tuesday - Went out to an Italian restaurant called Antica Posta for Theresa's birthday.

Wednesday - tomato bisque and grilled cheese sandwiches

Thursday - House Church Christmas party! I brought homemade spaghetti sauce and Christmas cookies.

Friday - chicken pot pie with butter crust instead of the puff pastry



Whenever I go on a trip I find myself cooking for a week or more beforehand preparing food for the freezer for when we return. Not only do I prepare a couple of dinners, but I usually make a batch of sandwich bread (or in this case, THIS sourdough sandwich bread), and usually some type of muffins or quick bread to thaw for breakfast when we get home.

This time I went a little overboard....Or one could say I was wisely using my resources. After our tomato bisque dinner I put the other half in the freezer, along with the bread for the sandwiches, so all we need is cheese to have that dinner again. Same with the chicken pot pie. Marshall and I were far from finishing that on our own, so that will probably be two dinners! I also made my usual frozen pizza with kalamata olives, and I have almost all the ingredients to make my curried pumpkin pasta with chicken peas and toasted walnuts. So that means with very little time, effort, or grocery shopping, we'll have 5-7 dinners for our first week back.

If it can be avoided, I don't throw out food. I had 2 1/2 bananas that were overripe the day before we left. I didn't want to throw them out so I mashed them up in a bag and put them in the freezer to make banana bread later! Have extra sauce? That can also be frozen for a later time. Even if it's not enough for a whole meal, you can mix it in with more sauce later to avoid wasting it. More vegetables than you'd like to consume? Steam, saute, and freeze them (or simply chop and freeze) for a soup, pasta, or rice dish later. Be creative! Just because your current ingredients don't add up to a whole meal on their own, doesn't mean they can't be saved and used later.

I'm not saying any of these ideas are profound, but I hope you find them useful, and that next time you go on a trip you aren't stuck throwing out a bunch of food before you walk out the door, ordering dinner the night you return, and grocery shopping first thing in the morning because you have nothing to eat for breakfast.

It does make for busy week before a trip, and I know not everyone has the time or interest to go through all the work required just to save a few carrots, but I find joy and pleasure in using what I have resourcefully to avoid wasting food (or in other words, money).

Though it makes for a busy week before a trip, it does provide a much easier week after a trip!