Friday Food: Unusually Succint

Friday 

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, boiled potatoes, carrot sticks with curry dip

Long version: I made extra of the cheeseburgers and potatoes so A. could take them the next night for his camping night in the mountains on his elk hunt.

He saw six bull elk crashing into each other at the top of the mountain, but no cows (females). His tag was for cows. So no elk this year. He enjoyed the burgers and potatoes, though.

Saturday

Short version: Personal pizzas, pickled radishes, carrot sticks, green chili hamburger soup

Long version: A. was in the mountains and Cubby was on a school field trip, leaving just me and the younger three children for dinner. I was making bread again, and I had just enough leftover pizza sauce and asadero cheese to make a pizza for each of the three. They were pleased with this. 

I made the soup with the remaining pound or so of ground beef that hadn't been used for the cheeseburgers, as well as the leftover boiled potatoes, a scoop of the squash I had roasted while making bread, and the last of the cream gravy I had brought home from the school cafeteria, plus onion, garlic, green chile, carrots, peas, tomatoes, and two containers of beef stock from the freezer. That's what I ate.

Did I also eat some pizza from the children's "personal" pizzas. Well, yes. I'm not made of stone, you know. They didn't even finish all of it, anyway, so there was enough for them to share with me.

Sunday

Short version: Beef pot roast with tomatoes and garlic, roasted carrots, rice, frozen green peas

Long version: Chuck roasts make the best pot roasts. Gotta have that fat.

No homemade dessert this week, because I told the kids their two pieces of Halloween candy every night the week before took the place of the Sunday dessert. Then I asked them if they wanted to stop getting the candy every night in exchange for having a homemade dessert the following Sunday. All of them but Poppy did, so I put their candy bags into the general candy bowl (they each got a quart-size zip-top bag that they could fill with their favorite candies and keep separate to choose from). 

The remaining candy in that bowl will go into the freezer next week to be used as bribes for haircuts or for Easter baskets or whatever until next Halloween, at which point whatever remains will be thrown out in anticipation of yet more candy coming in. 

That's my Halloween candy system, in case you were curious.

Random photo break!

This little dump truck is no match for the numerous apricot leaves. It blends nicely, though.

Monday

Short version: Leftovers, cafeteria rolls

Long version: Hello, Monday leftovers! Cubby, Jack, and I had the leftover soup. A. had some of that, too, plus some leftover pot roast. 

Calvin and Poppy had pot roast and peas. 

All the children had some of the dinner rolls I brought home from the school lunch leftovers. They were very soft, and quite sweet, so of course they all loved them.

Tuesday

Short version: Shepherd's pie, squash

Long version: Shepherd's pie is one of those things that the children reliably take seconds on, so anytime I want to be sure they'll all eat a reasonable meal, I make it. 

Same squash I had put in the soup on Saturday. It's handy to have in the refrigerator as a ready-to-go vegetable/starch substitute.

I think we need a photo here, yes?

Poppy the Mummy. Amazingly, she actually enjoyed this game.

Wednesday

Short version: Must be leftovers

Long version: Yes, it was a workday, so yes, it was leftovers. Poppy, A., and I had leftover pot roast with squash and carrots. Poppy and A. also had rice.

The rest had leftover shepherd's pie.

Thursday

Short version: Beef stir-fry, rice, oranges

Long version: I sure love having the already-prepped beef for stir-fry. With a bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables--my last bag, so it's definitely time to re-stock on that--it makes for as close to a fast-food meal as I ever get.

The oranges came from my most recent Sysco order through the school. I've been waiting to order oranges until I thought it was really orange-harvesting time in California. Because an out-of-season orange is a very sad thing.

These were not quite in-season yet. I'll try again next month.

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