Saturday: Cleaning Out the Fridge Before Costco
This morning I made a fresh batch of bacon for the weekend. We also had a little bit of leftover Chick-fil-A breakfast from when my parents took my two youngest to breakfast after Mass on Friday.
It’s funny—the kids always eat all the crispy chicken but leave the biscuits. So I just warmed up the biscuits, served them with fresh bacon and fruit, and suddenly we gave those sad lonely biscuits a second life. Everyone was happy.
We spent the morning getting things done around the house, and I had originally planned to go to Costco today. Then I looked at the weather and realized it was supposed to pour. There are few things I dislike more than coming out of Costco with a cart full of groceries while it’s raining on everything, so I decided to wait until tomorrow instead.
That meant today’s goal became clean out the fridge.
Lunch
Lunch was a collection of all the little leftovers.
I warmed up the last of the focaccia pizza from earlier this week (that recipe really does make a lot!), and then I cooked one package of the Teton Waters Ranch Polish sausage from Costco.
I usually grill it, air fry it, or roast it, but today I simply diced it into bite-sized pieces and sautéed it in a very hot skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil until the edges browned.
Everyone had little platter lunches with:
- Focaccia pizza
- Polish sausage
- Fresh fruit
- Veggies
Kids also finished off a little leftover pasta with marinara sauce.
My husband reheated the leftover meatloaf from the other night with some rice and the tomato-onion sauce.
Another successful clean-out-the-fridge meal.
A Favorite Healthy Treat
After lunch I made one of my favorite little healthy treats.
I’ve shared this before during one of my Ingredient Household After Dark videos, and my dad always laughs because he says:
“It sounds really good…until you mention the cauliflower.”
But I genuinely love it.
I combine:
- Riced cauliflower
- A small amount of oats
- Cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- Maple syrup
- Chopped pecans
- Just enough water to cover everything
Then I microwave it for a couple of minutes until most of the moisture cooks away.
Finally, I stir in a generous handful of frozen wild blueberries (the Costco ones are so sweet).
It ends up warm, comforting, naturally sweet, and surprisingly satisfying. If you’ve never tried cauliflower mixed into oatmeal, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Dinner
Tonight we went to Mass, and afterward some sweet friends invited our whole family over for dinner.
Honestly, once you have a family of seven, inviting everyone over is such a generous gift. They made a big taco bar, which was perfect because everyone could customize their plates exactly how they wanted.
Everything was delicious, and it was such a fun evening together.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow is definitely Costco day.
We’re officially running low on just about everything. I cut up the last of our bell peppers today, we’re low on cheese, dairy, produce, and proteins, so it’s time for a full restock before the week begins.