Friday
Short version: Pizza elk, pasta, frozen peas
Long version: "Pizza elk" = browned elk cooked with marinara sauce and covered with mozzarella.
The pasta for the kids ended up being mostly butter and garlic powder, because I didn't have much of the sauce left. They didn't care. Pretty sure they'd eat pasta with nothing on it at all.
Saturday
Short version: Barbecue elk, rice, squash, raw tomatoes
Long version: I cooked the elk pieces in some of the smoked venison stock to get them tender, then added some barbecue sauce.
The squash was another one of our big green volunteers, and that means a LOT of squash. Good thing it's tasty.
Sunday
Short version: Leftover elk, bread and butter, coleslaw, more squash
Long version: I had actually made the coleslaw a few days before to use some of an enormous cabbage Rafael gave us, but there were some delicate digestive issues in the house, so I held off on serving it until everyone was feeling better. Unhappy stomachs are not going to be soothed by coleslaw.
Monday
Short version: Breakfast sausage, fried eggs, bread and butter, more coleslaw, more squash
Long version: Hello, workday.
Tuesday
Short version: Elk, bacon, roasted potatoes, more coleslaw, more squash
Long version: This elk was marinated in vinegar, olive oil, salt, and garlic, then seared on my grill pan after I cooked a few pieces of bacon that needed to be used up.
Finally finished the coleslaw. Nowhere near done with the squash, though.
Wednesday
Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, squash, green beans
Long version: My parents arrived for a very short visit right before dinnertime. It was a workday for me, so I prepped the meatloaf the night before and just shoved it in the oven along with the potatoes--parcooked in the microwave for a few minutes first--as soon as I got home.
Both the squash and the frozen green beans came from our garden, which is kind of fun. If you're crazy like me, that is.
Thursday
Short version: Chicken tacos with homemade corn tortillas, pinto beans, blueberry pie, butter pecan ice cream
Long version: It's not a visit from family if I don't make corn tortillas with the tortilla press my dad made me. Plus, my parents never arrive without bringing coolers full of produce--because they know the way to my heart--which is why we had lettuce AND tomatoes AND avocados.
A feast, indeed.
The pie was the same one that's always at the lodgings my parents stay at when they're here. I usually get vanilla ice cream, but the store was out, so we had butter pecan with it, instead. An excellent combination.
Before dinner, my mom and the two younger children made guacamole, out of which I pretty much made my meal.
Fun with Nana. And a large knife.
Meanwhile, my dad-the-former-pilot was instructing the older two children in the use of the flight simulator on the brand-new computer my parents brought for the children's Christmas present.
Because if you're going to be staring at a screen, you may as well be learning how to fly a plane.
