Friday: Crispy Meatloaf Bites, Steak Nachos & Refrigerator Dinner Insurance

Got up this morning and one of my kiddos headed out with my parents for Mass and breakfast.

They take one of the kids with them about once a week, which is always a fun little outing for whoever gets to go.

The rest of us finished off the last of the bacon, had more of the Costco bagels and some cereal, and then got to work on our homeschool morning.

The End-of-the-Week Refrigerator Clean-Out

If you’ve been reading these Kitchen Logs for a while, you’ve probably noticed a pattern.

By Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I start getting pretty aggressive about working through what’s already in the refrigerator.

I know we’re going to reset over the weekend, so I don’t want a bunch of random containers hanging around when I bring home new groceries.

Today’s lunch was definitely one of those meals.

I basically pulled out everything that needed to go and turned it into platters for the kids.

Crispy Meatloaf Bites

First up was the very last of the meatloaf.

One of my favorite ways to use leftover meatloaf is to turn it into crispy meatloaf bites.

Get a pan blazing hot and add a little fat.

Dice your cold meatloaf into bite-sized pieces and add it to the hot pan. Let those cut sides hit the pan and get really browned and crispy.

You’re not trying to cook the meatloaf again. It’s already cooked. You’re just heating it through and creating all those crispy edges.

So good.

Alongside that, I found a tiny bit of Chick-fil-A left from earlier in the week and some chicken nuggets from yesterday’s post-co-op snack.

I reheated all of it, added fruit and vegetables, and called it lunch.

Random?

Yes.

Did everybody eat?

Also yes.

And several more containers left my refrigerator.

That’s the goal.

We Finally Found the Library Nintendo Switch 2

This afternoon we headed to the library for books, and we finally reached the conclusion of what has become a very long Nintendo Switch 2 saga.

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you may remember my rant earlier this summer.

Our library advertised that they were getting a Nintendo Switch 2.

Except every time we went…no Nintendo Switch 2.

Then there were rules about needing to be 13 or older to use it because it’s in the teen space, even though we’re basically talking about one big room.

Well.

Today we walked in, and there it was.

The elusive Nintendo Switch 2 was finally available.

Of course, everyone was hovering to make sure only my older kids touched it, while my seven-year-old was basically trying not to cry because he couldn’t play.

And then my 13-year-old tried it and admitted that it wasn’t even as good as the Nintendo Switch we already have at home because ours has the games and updates they actually want.

So after approximately three months of anticipation:

We finally played the Nintendo Switch 2.

It was underwhelming.

We will not be doing that again.

What a journey.

Steak Nachos for a Protein Snack

When we got home, everybody was hungry.

I still had a little flank steak from earlier this week, so I turned it into a quick protein-heavy snack.

Same reheating method I’ve been using all week:

Dice the cold steak fairly small.

Get a pan searing hot.

Add a little fat.

Throw in the steak and quickly sear those edges.

Then I put everything out nacho-style.

Some kids did steak with chips and cheese.

Some wanted chips and steak.

Some added salsa.

Use whatever vessel you want.

This is one of my favorite things about leftover steak. You don’t need enough to feed everybody a full steak dinner. A relatively small amount, diced up and spread across a platter of nachos, can become a substantial snack.

And that took care of another leftover.

Refrigerator Dinner Insurance

Dinner tonight came from somewhere else entirely.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought one of the Carver hams from Costco.

I actually made a Reel about this because I think it’s a rare example of refrigerator Dinner Insurance.

Normally, my definition of Dinner Insurance is something in the freezer that can sit there for a long time until you suddenly need it.

But these hams usually have dates several months out.

So I can buy one, put it in the basement refrigerator and basically forget about it until I have a night like tonight.

I pulled this one out, checked the date—it was good until sometime in October—and dinner was handled.

Don’t Bake an Already-Baked Ham to Death

I don’t actually follow the package directions when I heat this ham.

It’s already fully cooked, and I find that trying to heat the whole thing can give me exactly what I don’t want: dried-out meat on the outside while I’m still waiting for the center to get hot.

Instead, I only cut off what we’re actually going to eat.

Tonight I used about half the ham and left the rest cold.

I sliced that half into nice thick pieces.

Then I warmed my largest pan with a little fat and olive oil and arranged the ham inside.

Put the lid on.

Keep the heat low.

After about five minutes, I use tongs to flip and rearrange the pieces so everything heats evenly.

Then put the lid back on and let it finish warming through.

That’s it.

The ham is already cooked. I’m not trying to cook it again.

I’m just gently getting it hot while keeping as much moisture in there as possible.

Dry ham is sad.

The Accidental Trader Joe’s Hash Brown Discovery

I made side salads to go with dinner and then completely forgot to take a picture of them.

But the surprise hit tonight was the potatoes.

A while back, my dad went to Trader Joe’s, and I asked him to pick up the frozen shredded potatoes I like.

Apparently they didn’t have them.

So he brought home frozen hash browns instead.

They’ve been sitting in my freezer ever since, and tonight I finally pulled them out.

Oh my gosh.

The kids LOVED them.

Everyone thought they were delicious.

And really, how could they not be?

It’s basically a giant, crispy, greasy French fry.

Apparently we need more Trader Joe’s hash browns.

Going Into the Weekend

The refrigerator clean-out has gone pretty well over the last couple of days.

The meatloaf is gone.

The leftover flank steak is gone.

A bunch of random odds and ends are gone.

But I do still have some of Wednesday night’s grilled chicken, and that’s definitely getting eaten for lunch tomorrow.

Then we’re planning to go out to dinner with my parents after church tomorrow night.

So Saturday should require very little actual cooking.