Menu Planning When You Have No Kitchen

NOT!

Before I explain about my menu, you need to understand a few thing about my life right now. First is that my kitchen looks like this:

I haven't had a kitchen sink since early December. We have the countertops installed now, but I painted them with a product called Spreadstone, which must then be sealed with a sealer that is apparently manufactured in Outer Elbonia because my local supplier has been trying to locate it for 2 weeks. My beloved is working on getting the floor ready to install laminate, and last night he got out the sander (when I was at work) and started sanding the old glued-on gunk, and covered everything within twenty feet, including clean dishes and open food containers, with a thick layer of 30-year-old particalized floor gunk!!!!!!!!!........DEEP CLEANSING BREATH......

I'm OK now. Anyway, meals are a little difficult right now. They have to be very simple and require minimal preparation. I have a stove and I have a kitchen table, which is usually covered with an assortment of tools and hardware, so I CAN cook, but nothing requiring lots of time and preparation.

The second thing you need to know is that I have bad knees which hurt when I go up and down the stairs. Our freezer full of meat is in the basement, and the stairs were apparently built by someone who is 6'7", not 5'3' with bad knees. So it hurts to go down the stairs and I avoid it at all costs.

So here is my menu planning process:
Sometime in the morning, when I remember, or even the night before if I really am on the ball, I holler down the stairs to whichever child is handy. Usually it is my 13yo son.
"Brutus!"
No answer.
"BRUTUS!!!!!!"
No answer.
"BRUTUS!!!!!!!!!"
"You don't have to yell, mom, I'm right here."
"Please go look in the freezer for some meat for supper."
*Big sigh and presumed eye roll* "OK mom."

Repeat process a half hour later because he forgot.

Son brings up white packages of meat. He brings three packages because we are a big family that likes meat. Unfortunately he brings three different kinds of meat. He swears this is all he can find. He is sent downstairs to look for three of the same kind of meat.

He is reminded a half hour later.

He brings up three of the same kind of meat, with a sheepish grin on face.

I look at what he brings me and figure out what I can make with organic sheep's tongue or whatever.

Yes, it is an interesting and exciting process. However, very soon I do plan to brave the stairs and actually go down and look in my freezer. I have made a vow to eat from my pantry as much as humanly possible till we have got room in the freezer for the bulk beef my beloved wants to buy.

So, here is what I have for a menu so far this week. I actually do have a fair number of freezer meals stored up, which helps tremendously when the kitchen remodeling goes into high gear as it has the past few weeks.

Monday: Chicken enchiladas...I have some home-canned chicken and I want to try out my new tortilla maker.
Tuesday: Meat Loaf from the freezer and potatoes and peas
Wednesday: Beef stew from the freezer and cornbread and carrots.
Thursday: Porkchops, potatoes, and broccoli
Friday: Early Valentine's dinner of homemade gyros.
Saturday: Spaghetti from the freezer
Sunday: Life Group, no menu planned yet.

For more menu planning ideas, visit the Organizing Junkie.