Weekly Menu: Repurposing Leftovers

One of my goals at the beginning of this year was to try and eliminate as much food waste as possible. Sadly, I was tossing way too many leftovers and "what am I going to do with this?" ingredients. As a result, the last few weeks I have been trying to purchase only fresh produce during the week, and using up freezer and pantry items.

It's a bit of a daunting task to try and use everything to the point that we are not throwing anything away, but I think we've made good progress. I got 5 meals out of two whole roasted chickens a couple weeks ago!

Here is our menu for this week:

Sunday-Spaghetti and Meatballs, Green Salad, Ciabatta Bread
-I used my last batch of homemade meatballs from the freezer. (I freeze them in one meal increments). I look forward to cleaning out the freezer a little more so I can make another big batch soon!

Monday-Taco Bar, Green Salad, Black Beans
-I'm using up the rest of the lettuce I purchased this week on the salad and also chopped up for taco toppers. I also made a double batch of my black bean recipe for tomorrow.

Tuesday and Wednesday-Black Bean Soup, Warm Tortillas
-I'm using a bunch of black beans for this soup. It's very inexpensive and looks wonderful. I'll share the recipe if we enjoy it!

Thursday-Teriyaki Chicken, Grilled Pineapple, White Rice, Green Beans
-This is an easy "go to" meal, as I almost always have chicken and frozen veggies in the freezer, and everything for teriyaki sauce in the pantry (essentially a mix of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, cornstarch, and ginger.)

Friday-Pizza and Breadsticks
-We haven't ordered pizza from our favorite local joint in months. So we're treating ourselves this week. I'm very excited! Ham, pineapple and bell pepper is my favorite.

Saturday-Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowls, Sauteed Veggies
-This should finish up the leftovers for the week, and hopefully clean out the fridge as well. Any additional fruit will go into breakfast smoothies this morning or tomorrow, and any veggies leftover will go into tonight's Rice Bowls.

What's on your menu this week?

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