Friday, March 27, 2020

Friday Food: And Then There Was Mutton


Friday

Short version: Scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, refried beans, carrot sticks with curry dip, cookies

Long version: I thought I was conquering the excess egg situation in my refrigerator when I was down to only five dozen eggs. Then our neighbor brought us three dozen more, and here I am, with ridiculous quantities of eggs in my refrigerator.

Not that I am complaining, given the difficulty some people seem to be having getting eggs at all and here they are just appearing at my door. Luck of the Irish, I guess.

It's been awhile since I've made the curry dip, which is simply mayonnaise and sweet curry powder, and it really is very good. Good with the carrot sticks, of course, but particularly good with the roasted potatoes.

I made chocolate chip cookies as a reward for the children. They really did remarkably well during their first week of Mom School. I know, you're not supposed to use food as a reward. I did anyway. So there.

Saturday

Short version: Elk, mutton, cornbread with or without cracklins, frozen green peas

Long version: This was the day A. slaughtered the wether. He always removes the tenderloin while he's skinning the carcasses, because those are the pieces of meat that run on the outside of the animal, on either side of the backbone. They're easy to take off without cutting the whole animal up, so we almost always eat those first.

The tenderloins were pretty small on this sheep, so I added some elk to the marinade too and cooked them both together, just pan-frying them. I set up a taste-test with some elk and some mutton on everyone's plate and had them all guess which was which. They all guessed right. That wether made some good meat.

Cracklins are the bits left from rendering fat. They're traditionally used to flavor cornbread. I didn't have any stone ground cornmeal left, so I made these muffins instead, but in pans because I loathe cleaning muffin tins. I made one pan plain and one pan with finely diced cracklins. A. loved the cracklin cornbread, though it wasn't so popular with the children.

Sunday

Short version: Elk stir-fry, rice

Long version: Nothing to see here. Just the last of the bag of elk marinated and put into stir-fry. Jack was very happy.

The two older boys have been spending a lot of time riding Samson around our ghost village and letting him graze, so we don't have to feed him so much hay.


Good for the horse, good for the boys. And good for Mom to have two of the four children out of the house for awhile.

Monday

Short version: Creamy green chili chicken stew, cheese, root beer float popsicles

Long version: One package of chicken drumsticks simmered until the meat could be stripped, and there was good stock. Then onion, garlic, green chili, juice from a can of tomatoes, diced carrots and potatoes, and a can of corn Miss Amelia gave us added to the stock and chicken. Sour cream at the end to make it creamy and tame the green chili a bit.

This was one of those stews where I just kept adding things until I somehow ended up with a totally full pot. That's cool, though, because I purposely made a lot so I could bring some to Rafael and his wife. I would've brought some to Miss Amelia, but I think she's staying with her daughter in Santa Fe right now.

When the MiL came to visit, she brought the ancestral popsicle molds. These were the popsicle molds she used when A. was a boy. She has no further use for them, and I certainly do, so she passed them on to the next generation. I still have that flat root beer in the refrigerator, so we made the same popsicles as before, with the root beer, cream, and vanilla.


Popsicles and goons.

Tuesday

Short version: Barbecue pork, sourdough biscuits, baked beans, frozen green beans

Long version: The pork was simply one of A.'s chunks o' butt (heh) cooked slowly in the oven, then shredded and mixed with barbecue sauce.

While that was in the oven, I also put in the beans. That was just some already-cooked pinto beans that I had frozen, which I put in a casserole dish with diced onion, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, vinegar, and maple syrup. I don't have a real baked bean pot, but then, these aren't real baked beans. So I can bake them in this cool Art Deco casserole dish the MiL got me from our very elderly neighbors' estate sale when they moved.


Much prettier than a bean pot.

The biscuits peeking coyly into that photo are these biscuits. I made them because I was already in the process of making bread, so I just took some of the dough out in the morning to serve as the starter for the biscuits. Hard to beat hot biscuits.

Wednesday

Short version: Jack's special mutton bits, leftover pork, roasted potatoes, carrot sticks with ranch dressing

Long version: This was the day we butchered the wether (it hangs a few days to tenderize and improve the flavor), which is why I had planned on leftover meat. The last thing I want to do after handling raw meat all day is cook any.

However.

While A. was doing the initial cutting, he set Jack up with his own cutting board and a paring knife to work on a small piece of meat. What Jack did was cut that one piece into many very small pieces. So I cooked those for him, because he was very proud of his end product. I just fried the pieces with paprika, garlic powder, and salt, and he ate them with ketchup. He was very happy with this.

I was very happy with the ranch dressing and roasted potatoes. Just as good as curry dip and roasted potatoes.

Thursday

Short version: Italian sausage, pasta, green salad

Long version: This time I roasted the Italian sausage, which is a much better way to cook it than spattering grease all over my stove top.

For the pasta, I just mixed in butter, cream cheese, garlic powder, and pepper. So good.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week? And a bonus Bizarro World question: If you've been to a store lately, what's the situation there? I haven't been in about four weeks, but I've heard from others that our regular stores are pretty depleted.

14 comments:

  1. Store situation has improved since last week in central PA. Still can't get flour.
    More lovely news this morning... PA has the most virus cases right now, at least that is what our local news is reporting.

    chicken, noodle, vegetable soup & homemade biscuits on the side (with some unbleached flour that I had)
    scrambled eggs, bacon & biscuits
    pizza, salad
    salmon patties, roasted potatoes, green beans, biscuits
    chicken breasts sauteed with mushrooms & spinach, over noodles with spaghetti sauce, biscuits
    chicken, vegetable soup & BLT's

    Linda

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  2. Don't know first hand store situations locally.
    We are always stocked up for about 4 month at least. All the time.
    So if something like this comes up ...we are ready.
    At 61 and 64 we are staying home(about 80 acres)to ourselves.
    As an introvert, I am fine and dandy. Computer keeps me in the loop and land line phone.
    Walks, wood cutting,the spring flowers and wildflowers are blooming.
    I do enjoy , so much, reading about you and your family. Normal regular folks...well to me normal...I wish everyone could live as you do at least for a little while. Much appreciation would be gained and lessons learned that are common sense and need learning to be a good person.
    Thanks so much for sharing. Take care.
    love ya almost like you are part of my own family...hope that doesn't sound weird but you have brought so much joy over the years here.

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  3. Monday - white bean, potato and onion pot pie (not as weird of a combination as one might think....its surprisingly good), cottage cheese, carrot sticks

    Tuesday - sautéed peppers, carrots and shrimp over rice with spicy orange sauce, bannana slices

    Wednesday - peppers stuffed with black beans, corn and pepper jack cheese, wheat bread made in the bread machine

    Thursday - scrambled eggs with green onions, hashbrowns, biscuits (red lobster copy cat recipe), leftover pot pie

    Friday - have pinto beans in the crockpot cooking. Will eat with cornbread and the last of the tangerines

    To answer your question. Here in Washington state where I am, grocery shelves are very bare due to people panic buying. I've been only going grocery shopping once a week and everything from the freezer section to pharmacy items have very limited supplies. Many stores, in a attempt to help out seniors, have been designating certain times just for them to shop, usually the morning after they restock, which I think is great. Hopefully things are calmer where you are and that everyone looks after one another.

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  4. Oops! I meant to say that PA has the most NEW cases right now. See that is how rumors get started!! :)

    Gemma's person - don't take this the wrong way, but I thought you were younger. My husband & I are both 61. And your 80 acres sounds positively divine as I am an introvert as well.

    Linda

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  5. Last went grocery shopping a week ago. Regular grocery store was bare looking. Produce looked like they hadn't had a shipment in days. Coolers were bare and the scraps left looked like they needed to be composted. The rest of the store had a lot of blank shelf space. I found some of the things I was looking for though. Then I went next door to Trader Joe's when they opened at 9AM. They were only letting in 10 people at a time so there was a line outside. It took 15 minutes of waiting before I got in. I was pleasantly surprised to find it well stocked and got everything I needed quickly since the aisles had few people in them due to the limiting at the front door.

    I'm planning to shop again in 4 or 5 days, or once the refrigerator is bare. I hope that I'll find things have gone back to normal and people have stopped hoarding food.

    I live in Redmond, Wa

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  6. I went to a high-end grocery store yesterday to seek toilet paper. The youngest step-son heard a rumor that they had some. Indeed, they had individual rolls of expensive recycled "Green" TP. I was allowed to buy six. I didn't pause to wonder how one recycles toilet paper (HA). Anyway, everything else was restocked. Stores such as Target, however, are running low on things like peanut butter, canned goods, and eggs, and all the self-serve salad, hot food, and deli areas are shut down. Mary in MN

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  7. Regarding your over-abundance of eggs...years ago we always had a small flock of laying hens just for the summer. We didn't have facilities to keep them warm during the cold of winter. Every spring we acquired about 20 laying hens from an egg-producing facility that got rid of their hens once they were past their prime. When they came to us from their caged existence they thought they were in paradise! Free-range, with all the bugs and grubs they could consume, plus grain supplied to them. There was no problem keeping us supplied in eggs - often we had excess. I whisked the yolks with the whites and put them in suitably-sized containers for my use and froze them. Good for scrambled eggs and for baking. After defrosting, just mix them again before using. 1/4 cup equals one egg. Defrosted, they keep well in the frig for a few days. And those hens - come winter time - gave up their lives for soup! Ruth

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  8. Linda: Yikes. That's a bad reason to be number #1. I hope y'all stay healthy.

    G.P. Thank you for your kind comments. It has been my pleasure to babble on endlessly for years. :-)

    Anonymous: I would LOVE that pot pie. A.? Not so much.

    Sheila: That sounds like Bizarro World for sure. But I'm glad you got what you needed.

    Mary: I have to think that the "recycled" part means they used recycled paper to make the t.p., not that it was made from recycled t.p. Ew.

    Ruth: With six people eating eggs, I get through them fast enough that I don't need to worry about preserving them. It's nice that eggs last so long, even from a store. I'll keep your advice in mind, though, if I ever find myself with something like 12 dozen in the refrigerator. It could happen.

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  9. Friday: cheese omelet with cheddar; broccoli, strawberries and yogurt
    Saturday: cheese omelet with provolone; broccoli; canned beans
    Sunday: tuna salad; green peas; fresh whole wheat bread (I made four small round loaves this week, much more logical than two big ones)
    Monday: barley, pork, and mushroom soup
    Tuesday: polenta with meat sauce (leftover from last week); an apple
    Wednesday: polenta with sauce (remains of meat sauce and soup mixed together)
    Thursday: a sweet potato and a drumstick, removed from the chicken I had cooked for the cat (much more economical than canned food), a few cannelloni beans.

    If I remember to write my dinners down this week they will certainly feature polenta again. And cannelloni beans.

    On groceries: meat is plentiful at the Shur-fine; vegetables and baked goods are more than adequate; very little pasta, but the vegetable rotini is well-stocked; no toilet paper, but I located a roll in the upstairs north half-bath.
    On eggs: I recall that J. relishes egg salad; I'm not sure about the other wee ones. And it's time for me to head up the road and see about a dozen.

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  10. Decided no matter how much I say I will keep track of my meals I don't. So, thanks for making your barbecued pork meal. I always forget that one when I plan my menu. When I have pork loin that's thick, I bake it stuffed with a mixture of spinach, garlic, onion and cheese. Smaller loins I like marinated in italian dressing and barbecued. Since I have some more thick loins, I'll cook one this week just like yours. Ah, bonding from a distance. By the way, thanks for the awesome pictures! Ah, to be there in person.

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  11. Linda , Younger, well thanks, I think. Unless I sound green behind the ears.
    Do tell?
    Sorry Kristin for taking over the comments for a second.

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  12. I'm too lazy to type out all our meals. :P

    I will say that I'm grateful to have egg chickens right now.

    Stores in Texas are short on eggs, milk, and all paper products, but it's not too bad. We live in HEB territory, so the stores here actually more or less had a plan for pandemic prep.

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  13. I actually made a menu this past week and followed it! (mostly)
    Sunday: Omelets, toast and fruit smoothies

    Monday: Cobb Salad for him; I made a very yummy Spinach, Feta, Strawberry, Egg and sugared pecan salad. SO Good.

    Tuesday: We took the recycling in to the city bins, so did a Taco Bell drive-thru. It was just 'ok.'

    Wednesday: Salads again (see Tuesday)

    Thursday: Waffles, bacon & smoothies

    Friday: Homemade Chicken nuggets (chicken chunks, dipped in butter and seasoned bread crumbs., pour over remaining butter and crumbs. bake on oiled pan.

    Saturday: Made some homemade mayo to make Tuna Salad for lunch. Then homemade pizza, topped with ground beef and cheese. (I also made blueberry muffins and zucchini-lemon muffins for the week.

    Today: I plan to grill ribeye steaks, bake potatoes and salads this evening. I also have a pork roast that's been hanging out in the fridge all week. I will make carnitas this afternoon for this week.

    Grocery stores are still out of TP. It pops up from time to time but not continuous supply. Flour also. Eggs are out. No dry milk. Very little pasta. Of course no sanitizer, hand soap and disinfectants. The local natural foods store was stocked as of last week, but I didn't get there this week. I did a Wm pickup of some bananas, cheeses.

    There are local producers that used to supply the high-end restaurants in the city with produce. Of course that avenue is out. So they are starting up a pickup business starting this week. Fresh lettuce, greens & herbs and some eggs. I can't wait!

    All in all, we are doing ok here in rural Nebraska.

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  14. Here I am again...
    Gemma's person, your comments sound like they are coming from a much younger person. Nothing wrong with that!
    Sorry Kristin for the numerous comments.:)
    Linda

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