Actually, before I begin, the ‘Sunday’ I refer to can be any day of the week that you are not working and are at home. It is the designated day that you pull every leftover and bit from your fridge and plan your week meal wise. Because I have a bit more time these days I usually make just two extra meals while the evening meal cooks — usually in the slow cooker. Those meals are usually enough for 2-3 meals each, so I freeze the extras for the next week because my partner isn’t big on leftovers. A week goes by, something gets defrosted and voila, it’s brand new. At least to my partner that is. I even give him a choice; lasagna or baked ziti?
I like to pull everything out and see what I have prior to deciding on what to make so nothing goes to waste. Leftover veggies all went into veggie and beef pot pie this week. I had leftover potatoes from that night’s dinner that also got tossed into the pies. I make individual pies and the extras get frozen for next week and the week after. Recipe below. I also like to make filling for at least one type of sandwich. This week it was egg salad which I eat for lunch most days with toasted, homemade bread.
I find if I pull everything out, I am much more inclined to get creative and use up what I already have. I also will freeze something that I don’t want to go to waste. This week it was the homemade pastrami that I’d slaved to make (it requires little labor but must brine for three long days so it feels like a lot of work when it really isn’t). Clearly, something that special I didn’t want to go to waste. I can easily defrost it for deli sandwiches or sliced roast-style later this week. So, right there that is 3-4 meals that I am not having to deal with. I simply warm things up, add a salad (also made from pulling all the leftovers out) and there we are. Add in Taco Tuesday (my partner lives for taco Tuesdays) and the week is pretty much set.
This way I avoid the stress and mindshare of having to conjure up a meal at the last minute. Yes, I cheat a bit and stage Taco Tuesday nearly every week, but it is my partner’s absolute favorite and food proof. I make it in mere minutes. Maybe your go-to weekly meal is spaghetti and meatballs or burgers and fries, it hardly matters as long as you have at least one standby every single week that is cheap, easy to replicate and quick to make.
Veggie and Beef Pot Pie
Ingredients
3 cups veggies diced small (celery, carrots, Brussel sprouts, onions, whatever you have and can already be cooked
2 cups cooked diced potatoes (leftovers are best for this)
Handful of frozen peas
1 pound cooked and crumbled small ground beef (be sure it is drained well and cooled)
3-4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade (I like to use my concentrated frozen stock cubs for this)
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt, pepper, dried thyme to taste
1 batch of homemade pie crust rolled out or one roll puff pastry, thawed
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400-F deg. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and mix in flour, cooking out the raw flour taste. Slowly stir in the chicken stock and allow to thicken before stirring in the cream and then adding in all the diced vegetables. Stir carefully as to not break up the veggies. Season with spices to taste. If making beef pot pie, add in the crumbled ground beef. Because I make both, I ladle the veggie pot pies into small pie tins first and then add in the crumbled beef prior to ladling the mix into more pie tins. Cover with cut slices of pie crust or puff pastry to fit the tins. Cut slits into the pie crust/puff pastry to vent the steam and bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops are golden brown. To freeze extras: cool the baked pie tins to room temperature before covering tightly with foil and labeling. I then place the foil-covered pies in freezer bags. These will keep up to 3 months.
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