We ate seven meals this week from just three packages of meat I purchased. That may be a record. Also, I'm trying to use up the bits of things in the pantry and freezer before we move. I'm doing pretty well with it.
Friday
Short version: Carnitas tacos, salad
Long version: One of the best things about cooking large hunks of pork is that you then inevitably have enough left over for another meal. I always either shred the pork and simmer it with barbecue sauce for pulled pork sandwiches, or chunk it up and fry it in lard for carnitas.
I went with the latter this time, frying it in the rendered fat that had solidified on top of the juices I poured off from cooking the pork butt earlier in the week. So thrifty. And tasty.
Saturday
Short version: Bunless grilled cheeseburgers, porky rice, Grandma Brown's baked beans, carrot sticks
Long version: I cooked the rice in the de-fatted juices from the pork butt. Doubly thrifty.
I sure did punk out on vegetables for this meal. Carrot sticks are what I consider a "grudging vegetable," meaning I know I need to serve some kind of vegetable, but I'm feeling sulky about having to make yet another thing, so I just peel some carrots and cut them up. Cucumbers also fall into this category.
Sunday
Short version: Sloppy joes, cucumber salad
Long version: A. and Jack were gone and the remaining children and I were due at baseball practice at 6 p.m., so simple was the objective here. I had some uncooked ground beef left from Saturday, which I cooked with a chopped onion, some barbecue sauce, and the remainder of two almost-empty bottles of ketchup that needed shaking with water to get the last bit of ketchup out. Waste not, want not!
Another thrifty thing about sloppy joes is that they are one of the only times you actually want to use the heels of the bread. The heels don't get soaked with sauce and fall apart like regular bread slices do.
The cucumbers this time don't count as grudging, because I made at least some effort with them. I made a dressing for the cucumber chunks with sour cream, red wine vinegar, salt, onion powder, and a little sugar. Okay, so it wasn't a lot of effort, but Cubby and Charlie seemed to like it.
Monday
Short version: Re-purposed leftovers, peas
Long version: Still just me, Cubby, and Charlie eating, so I heated up leftover sloppy joe meat with leftover rice and added some shredded cheese.
No one could ever accuse me of being a foodie.
Take note: Meal three with the ground beef I de-frosted on Saturday. But only because A. wasn't here.
And now! A break for a photo of the baby who still wants nothing to do with food except for greasy bones.
(New) toothbrushes are good to gnaw on, too, but much less tasty.
Tuesday
Short version: Odd pork chops, cornbread, roasted broccoli, roasted asparagus, raw radishes, baked apples
Long version: The pork chops were these boneless center cut things in odd shapes. Basically the leftovers from cutting more-standard pork chops, I suspect. Whatever, they were on sale and they were fine when grilled.
I made the cornbread to use up a bag of cornmeal that's been languishing in the freezer. While the oven was on to cook the cornbread, I roasted the broccoli and asparagus and made the apples. The apples were grocery store ones that were disappointingly soft. As they almost always are from the grocery store.
The boys ate the radishes, which A. picked up at the awesome produce store. They love them--and most other vegetables--raw. Man, I really need a garden.
Wednesday
Short version: Chicken and rice skillet casserole, green peas
Long version: The MiL sent A. home with several extra chicken breasts she had poached when she was making chicken salad for a party. So I cooked some diced bacon, then some diced onion, then added the diced chicken, deglazed it all with a little milk, then added some rice I had cooked in chicken broth earlier, then a couple of spoonfuls of mayonnaise, a little vinegar, and topped it all with shredded cheese before broiling it to melt and brown the cheese.
Got all that? Yeah, I don't know exactly what I did, either.
This was one of those sleeper hits where I wasn't sure anyone would eat it, and then they all ended up fighting over seconds and there wasn't enough.
Thursday
Short version: Chili, rice, carrots, roasted sweet potatoes, homemade tortilla chips
Long version: The chili I made from a large bottom London broil roast (plus onion, garlic, tomato, cumin, chili powder, and a little vinegar).
The carrots were eaten whole by the children before dinner.
The tortilla chips I made because I found a few packages of the inferior tortillas in the freezer and a bottle of canola oil in the pantry with just a tiny bit of oil still in it. Plus, the pan from roasting the sweet potatoes was still all oily. So I just smeared the tortillas on both sides with the canola oil, cut them into triangles, spread them out, salted them, and baked them for awhile at 350. They were a hit. Unsurprisingly.
Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?
9 comments:
Oh Poppy, you are too cute!
I'm going to try your chicken casserole. Sounds delicious!
Fri. - leftover turkey burgers, sautéed mushrooms
Sat. - nachos with blue corn chips, sautéed chicken thighs, spinach, salsa, whole milk yogurt in place of sr. cr.
Sun. - spaghetti & meatballs, vegs.
Mon. - meatball sandwiches, made with leftover meatballs & sauce, spinach salad
Tue. - out for dinner for work - I had chicken cheese steak sub & breaded mushrooms. Brought husband broasted chicken dinner with roll, coleslaw, & fries.
Wed. - salmon patties, green beans, roasted vegs.
Thur. - grilled chicken breasts, coleslaw, garlic bread, strawberries
Fri. - tuna salad over fresh garden lettuce, strawberries
Linda
I love your thriftiness and the meals you come up with using everything edible.
Poppy is so "way to cute". :)
I would eat every little thing you make. Especially since I wouldn't have to cook!
If the boys love carrots and cucumbers you are a winner.
You should have time to plant when you get there. With the heat you will have squash , cukes and beans in no time.
Unsurprisingly, leftover chicken salad. Thank goodness that J. ate so much when he was with me. Lettuce and more lettuce. I love lettuce.
The pretty baby with the greasy bones - bless her! BTW I have visions of you with a massive range or a SPIT cooking massive joints of meat now. I am so dull with food - it has been lots of salads, new spuds, pasta and venison meatballs with tom sauce and garden herbs, porridge with raspberries, roast chicken thighs with garden herbs, garlic and olive oil, and tonight on lazy night - jacket spud, fish fingers and veg. Like you, not a foodie, just like food x Have a great week-end - hope you don't have to hose the kids down too much or have to remove a ton of mud and grass from your bath plug :)
Same, same on this end as far as food goes. Pizza and chicken and pork and lots of roasted veggies to include squash, all kinds, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, brocolli, etc. Made a great salad with collard greens and a peanut butter dressing. The receipe calls for tahini but I didn't have any and peanut butter was just as good.
What I liked best about the blog was the picture of Poppy. She definitely looks like your food changes are working. Great mom you are!
It was an "too busy" week with VBS. I worked all day, was at church all evening, getting home at 8:30-ish. I cooked after I got home, which is pretty close to our normal time.
Sunday: ?? Dh ate before I got home. I was at church from 9 a.m. to 8:30 with meetings & VBS. I can't remember what I ate.
Monday: Inferior fish "sticks" which were more like fingers and frozen french fries.
Tuesday: Interior tacos made with nasty store taco seasoning because I couldn't remember if I had any of my homemade left. I did and if I hadn't I should have winged it. These were pretty awful.
Wednesday: Hot dogs on the grill.
Thursday: Last night of VBS so I was not home until 9:30. Then had to pick up DH from the hay field. Dh had toast and ?? I had raw yellow bell peppers, cheese and chips.
Friday: We got groceries and I didn't have to cook at dark o'clock. Better fast food. I had a salad with chicken, he had burger & fries. Ice cream for dessert. :)
Saturday: (today) It's hotter than blazes here. Dh is still haying. I've been cleaning and doing laundry all day. We picked up our beef so my freezers are plumb full. I'm thinking hamburgers but it could be steaks. We had Cobb Salads for lunch.
Looking forward to this week and it being less hectic. And looking forward to pantry and freezer eating. Should only have to buy fruit or milk this week.
Like you, Kristin, I'm getting ready for a big move. Whenever I feel the urge to feel overwhelmed, I just remind myself that I don't have 4 young children to work around! (On the other hand, I'm 40 or so years older...) Also like you, I'm eating down the freezer and panty. Reading your Friday meal reports helps me remember that altho I'm probably an 80% recipe cook, tossing together whatever's on hand can turn out just fine. Thanks!
Poppy is looking great!
We're still cooking without a kitchen, and I'm getting really tired of not having a stove or oven or even a sink. Monday I made planned-overs on the grill. That means as long as the charcoal is hot, I'll cook more than just supper so we can eat grilled deliciousness all week.
So in addition to the burgers (actual supper), I grilled a potato mix (reds and fingerlings, dusted with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme) in foil, yellow and green zucchini with onion, also in foil. On the top rack I cooked four of the local meat market's French Onion bratwurst, and around the burgers I tried a new experiment: grilling bacon.
I must be crazy. I'm tired just thinking about it.
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