Friday Food: Still Tomatoes, Hooray!

Friday 

Short version: Tuna/rice/cheese skillet, eggs for me

Long version: I had extra cheese sauce still from when I made the cheesy potatoes a few days previously, and a bunch of already-cooked rice, so I made a skillet meal with those, plus a can of tuna, onion, mayonnaise, and green peas. Sort of like tuna-noodle casserole, but in a skillet and with rice.

It was very pale and creamy. Not much to look at, but it tasted pretty good. Everyone liked it.

And to continue my inadvertent "Fridays are for eggs" theme, I had a couple of fried eggs with leftover calabacita vegetables.

Saturday

Short version: Green chili hamburger soup, garlic bread

Long version: Still working my way through the roasted green chilis we froze last fall so I can start using the multiple bags given to me by Miss Amelia. It was only about 80 degrees this day, so I could get away with soup. And I used one of the multiple containers of frozen sheep stock that's been in the freezer since we butchered the wether in the spring, so that was nice.

I don't know what it is about those roasted chilis, but they make anything with meat waaaay better than you would think. Are they like mushrooms? Is there an element of umami there? Has anyone studied this? I would legitimately like to know.

Sunday

Short version: Pasta with chicken for the kids, vegetables with chicken for the adults, chocolate pudding

Long version: It was another day over 90 degrees, so I cooked the chicken--fully frozen legs, just simmered in salted water until I could pull the meat off--intending to make chicken salad. But when I pulled the chicken out of the pot to begin shredding it, the meat was still warm. And I had a bowl of tomatoes on the counter. And a head of already-roasted garlic in the refrigerator. And basil in the garden. And already-shredded asadero in the freezer.

So I made a pasta sauce instead and put the chicken in that.

The box of pasta I cooked for the kids were these tiny elbow shapes, and let me tell you, with those small shapes, there is a LOT of pasta packed into a pretty small box. I had way more pasta in the pot than I was expecting, and not enough chicken and sauce. So to the pasta I also added a couple of cubes of garlic scape pesto, some butter, and a little half and half.

A. and I had our chicken with sauteed calabacita/onion/tomato/garlic. Is it getting old? Never.

The pudding was actually two packets of instant chocolate pudding that was in a box of food given to us by the guy who runs the tiny store in the village. One of the elderly residents of the village gave it to him because that person couldn't use it all. He's a single guy, so he passed it along to us. This happens literally almost every week now. If it takes a village to raise (and feed) a child, we are in the right place.

Anyway. I forgot all about the pudding, but Cubby didn't. As soon as we got home from church, he announced that he would make Sunday dessert. After perusing cookbooks, and hearing Jack's announcement that he was tired of cookies (say what?), Cubby decided to make the pudding. Being instant, it literally took two minutes to mix and put in the refrigerator. 

I admit I was a bit skeptical of it, but it was really pretty good. The texture was thinner than homemade, but the taste was more chocolate-y than I was expecting. And it sure was convenient. Especially because I didn't have to stand at the stove stirring pudding for 45 minutes.

Monday

Short version: Chicken patty sandwiches and raw tomatoes for the kids, leftover green chili soup for the adults, watermelon

Long version: Yup, there's those convenient and slightly unwholesome chicken patties again. What can I say? It was a work day. I was tired.

The watermelon was one of our Moon and Stars ones. It was good. Not great, but pretty good.

Small, but mighty.

Tuesday

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, roasted potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: These were more of the par-cooked and frozen roasted potatoes that I just finished roasting from frozen for about twenty minutes in the oven.

The salad was very satisfying. The lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots in it all came from the garden, as did the dried dill weed in the ranch dressing. Cubby's lettuce was appreciated by all.

Wednesday

Short version: Italian sliders with fried tomatoes, leftover pasta with chicken for the kids, mashed squash

Long version: I saved just enough of the ground beef from Tuesday to make a few sliders. A. and I ate most of those, while the kids went for the pasta. Of course.

Thursday

Short version: Pork chops, garlic bread, roasted tomatoes and garlic, raw carrots and green beans

Long version: Miss Amelia gave us a pork loin roast, which I cut into chops. My last batch of yogurt turned out very thin--don't know why; the next batch was normal--and I had about a cup of that left. So I used it to make a marinade with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Then I just fried the pork at dinnertime. It came out pretty well.

Oh, and here's a photo of A.'s garlic before he harvested it.

With some feral children just for fun. Someone give that girl a haircut. Oh wait. Someone did.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?