Friday: Basement Projects, Dinner Insurance & Our First Family Dinner Back Together
This morning two of my kiddos went with my parents for Mass and breakfast, so it was just my 11, 13, and 16 year-olds at home. It was the perfect opportunity to get a distraction-free school morning in without my almost-four-year-old keeping us entertained every five minutes.
Breakfast was simple—bacon, cereal, and toast—and then we got right to work. I also cut up the last of the watermelon. I like to cut up sections instead of the whole things at once.
Lunch
Lunch was all about using leftovers.
I had plenty of focaccia pizza left from last night’s half-sheet pan pizza, so I reheated that and served it with fresh fruit and veggies.
I also finished off the last of the Costco Carver ham. One thing I do differently with those hams is I don’t cook the whole thing at once. I find the leftovers stay much juicier if I simply slice off what we need and cook it fresh each time.
Today I diced the last of it into bite-sized pieces, got a skillet nice and hot, melted a little butter, and quickly pan-seared the ham until the edges browned slightly. Since it’s already fully cooked, you’re really just adding flavor and texture.
Everyone built little lunch platters with:
- Pizza
- Crispy ham
- Fruit
- Veggies
- Hummus
I added some of the ham to my salad as well, and now the ham is officially gone. My husband worked from home so I made him an open faced sandwich with the last of the ham and some grilled chicken. I layer them on a sheet pan and just heat it up in the oven before adding all the toppings.
The pizza is almost gone too—just a couple slices left.
Afternoon Snack
This afternoon turned into a big work day around the house.
We cleaned bathrooms, continued our massive basement purge, and worked on organizing spaces we’ve wanted to tackle for a long time.
By snack time everyone was hungry.
I diced up the very last of the grilled chicken from earlier this week, warmed it in a skillet with a little barbecue sauce, and layered it over tortilla chips with shredded cheese.
A few of the kids skipped the chicken and just wanted chips and cheese.
Others added avocado salsa on top.
Everyone was happy.
Dinner Insurance to the Rescue
By dinner I hit that point where I simply did not feel like cooking.
This is exactly why I keep Dinner Insurance in the freezer.
I pulled out one package of the meatloaf I froze a couple weeks ago, made my usual tomato-and-onion sauce in a skillet, and warmed the meatloaf right in the sauce.
I’ll link that recipe because it’s one of my favorite freezer meals.
To go with it I made:
- Pasta
- Roasted vegetables
- plain steamed vegetables
Very little effort, but it still felt like a complete, homemade dinner.
A Little Family Milestone
Tonight was actually our first full family dinner together in over two weeks.
My teen got home from Europe late Tuesday night, and then my husband immediately left Wednesday morning for a work trip and didn’t get home until very late Thursday.
So tonight felt like everything was finally back to normal.
Just everyone around the table again.
Those ordinary dinners end up feeling pretty special after you’ve missed them. I finished the night with a little puppy chow popcorn. It’s just a mix of peanut butter, chocolate chips, coconut oil…heat it up, dump in some popped popcorn, shake, add in some salt and a scoop of powdered sugar, shake.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow I’ll definitely be making a Costco run to restock for the week ahead.