Friday, February 4, 2022

Friday Food: Leftovers Every Day

Friday 

Short version: Pot roast, gravy, egg noodles, raw carrots, leftover steamed carrots and broccoli

Long version: The pot roast gravy was made with cornstarch and milk (and the meat juices, of course), and it was good, but cornstarch just doesn't make as thick and nice a gravy as flour does.

Every child had a raw carrot before dinner, because they just couldn't wait to eat something. Carrots work.

Saturday

Short version: Leftover white chicken chile or barbecue beef sandwiches, green salad, frozen peaches and peas

Long version: I made bread in the afternoon, which meant the main course of dinner was really just a complement to fresh bread. So some had the barbecue beef (leftover pot roast simmered with barbecue sauce) and some had the chile, but all had the bread.

The children had the frozen peaches and peas while I was making dinner and they were whining about being hungry. I invited them to browse among the frozen produce in the small freezer, and half had frozen peaches while the other half had frozen peas.

Remember when I suggested front-loading produce to get kids to eat more of it? As you can see, I really do practice what I preach on this one.

Sunday

Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, pasta with pesto, green beans, leftover broccoli, crispy rice treats

Long version: I still have quite a few cubes of frozen pesto in the freezer from the summer, for the simple reason that I have a hoarding mentality about it and hate to actually start using it. Which is, of course, crazy.

Anyway. I used some, and it was good. As were the green beans, which were also garden produce frozen at the height of summer.

It's always fun to have garden food in the deadest of winter.

Monday

Short version: Pot roast tacos

Long version: Since I had the oven on anyway, I cooked two chuck roasts on Saturday. The one I didn't use that night I sliced and saved for this after-work meal. All I did with the meat was fry it with cumin, chile powder, and salsa. Tasty, and very quick.

Tuesday

Short version: Scrambled eggs with cheese, leftover taco meat, bread and butter, carrot sticks with curry dip

Long version: We ended up going to the school basketball game unexpectedly, which meant I wasn't home to make dinner. So, when we got home at 6 p.m. with four starving kids, it was scrambled eggs to the rescue!

Those who don't really like scrambled eggs had the meat.

Wednesday

Short version: Lamb gyros with homemade sourdough pita bread, hummus, yogurt sauce, green salad

Long version: I go along making boring old hamburgers and random leftovers into meals and then . . . I do this. 

It all started with a boned leg of lamb (ram, actually) that I pulled out of the freezer. I cut the nicest part of that into strips and marinated them in olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, and salt.

Then I made the pita bread

Then I made the yogurt sauce with plain yogurt, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

The hummus was the last of the double-batch I made some time ago. I had one more container of it in the freezer, and I figured this was the perfect time for it. (This was the day's leftover, I guess.)

Butter lettuce with vinaigrette (the dressing was also actually a leftover) and . . . well. I don't like to brag, but you would have wanted to eat this meal.

It would have been even better with the cucumbers and tomatoes that were supposed to come in my Misfits Market delivery this day, but given that it looked like this outside all day, I can't say I was surprised FedEx didn't make it to my house:


Luckily, we weren't relying on FedEx to deliver Samson's hay.

This may have been one of the most delicious meals to come out of my kitchen in some time, but it was also definitely one of the messiest.


No such thing as a spatter guard for a griddle pan.

Thursday

Short version: Lamb stew, bunless cheeseburgers, frozen peas

Long version: The gnarlier bits from the leg of lamb went into this stew, along with potatoes and carrots and peas. Half the family ate the stew, half ate the cheeseburgers I made with the remainder of the ground beef from a few days ago. The latter group also had some potatoes from the stew, and still-frozen peas.

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

13 comments:

  1. chicken stroganoff over rice, salad
    takeout
    chicken patties, roasted potatoes, carrot stick, garlic knots
    baked spaghetti, brussels sprouts, garlic knots
    baked spaghetti, cabbage, garlic knots
    chicken, rice, cabbage, garlic knots
    And for tonight beef stew, cabbage, garlic knots & baked apples (Kristin's way)
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  2. Food prices are going up around here, so I was glad that the family voted for some frugal dishes (we vote on dinner ideas, and the dinners with the most votes are made, within reason)

    Sandwich night--my husband takes sandwich orders based on what we have on hand; we had frozen tilapia for fish tacos, makings for grilled cheeses, and egg sandwiches. Chips on the side so we didn't have to go to the grocery store.

    Tuna burgers--my youngest's absolute favorite. He was sad that he was out on an archery lesson when I mixed them up, he likes to help open the cans. Next time I'll time it better. Just 12 cans of tuna, some eggs and oat flour. I also threw in some leftover mashed potatoes, and I liked the texture.

    Chicken stew--a recent discovery, and a hit. I boiled noodles on the side for people to add if they wanted, and they fell on it like starved prisoners. My youngest was only a fan of the noodles. He was a fan of the chocolate banana crazy cake we made together that day, though!

    Homemade mac and cheese, made by one of the kids. Again, youngest is not a fan, so he had grilled cheese.

    Tonight is lentil soup and onion rings, and *sigh* the youngest will probably have grilled cheese. He eats veggies, though, so I'm not too worried.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Linda: Enjoy your apples!

    samcarter: I had to laugh about your son loving to open 12 cans of tuna. I would have to do that when I make tuna patties if I used those little cans, but I do not share your son's enthusiasm for the task. For that very reason, I buy the 12 ounce cans online a case at a time (also because I can't find chunk white tuna in big cans here and I don't like the chunk light). Then I only need to open 3.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yum! Your Gyro meal sounds fantastic!!
    Question - how do you decide who eats what on days there isn't enough for everyone? Do you just know what each kid prefers or do you ask what they want? Just curious how that works & if you are playing short order cook or not!
    Love following your blog & reading these posts :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. no kids will eat tuna in this house. You guys are lucky.
    Friday-chicken thighs, baked potatoes, salad
    Saturday-pot roast, noodles, carrots and celery cooked with the meat,pumpkin cake
    Sunday-spam (per request from the 6 year old), cornbread, carrot sticks. What can I say? I loved spam too when I was 6.
    Monday-curried chicken, potatoes, broccoli
    Tuesday-vegetable beef soup, sourdough biscuits
    Wednesday-salmon loaf, baked potatoes, salad
    Thursday-chicken enchiladas, carrots

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bri: I decide based on who will eat what. Usually I'm trying to use up something that isn't left over in enough quantity to feed everyone, and then I'll figure out something else easy (like eggs) for whoever doesn't like that one leftover as much. I definitely do not short order cook. That would drive me crazy. But serving different things to use up bits of stuff is another thing entirely. Wasting food drives me even more crazy. :-)

    Kit: We lived in Hawaii, the Land of Spam, when I was 6, and I don't ever remember eating it. My parents must not have liked it much.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We have been adopted by our neighbor and excellent cook, Deni, who knows that we are struggling with my recovering from knee replacement surgery and my husband's struggling to come up with different things and ways to cook to please my grumpy self. So we have had a series of excellent stews, some Mexican (my favorite kind of food) and some curried (a close favorite). Yum! Mary in MN

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mary in MN...so blessed you are with a neighbor like that!!! Jealous! Feel better soon.

    This week we ate:

    Monday - spicy/crunchy White bean and sweet potato patties... don't cringe...I topped them with avacado slices and a lemon wedge...which of course makes everything better...very good...ate with french bread and pineapple

    Tuesday - Steak and peppers over rice...Friend gave me a bottle of yoshedas teriyaki sauce which I used...so so almost couldn't eat it...so sweet...I prefer my own sauce but in a pinch for time it's not to awful..huzbeast liked it of course.

    Wendsday - Tossed cherry tomatoes with olive oil and garlic...put them in a casserole dish with chicken and some pesto...baked until done...had leftover bread to mop up the juices. Yum...and simple to.

    Thursday - Baked halibut...good lord the prices have gone through the roof on decent good for you food, geez...anyway, roasted carrots and green beans to go with.

    Friday - Had a late lunch today with husband so we just ate popcorn and a slice of cheddar for dinner...what??? Not sorry!

    Have a good weekend everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kristin,
    The apples were sooo delicious. I even made one this morning in the microwave to eat for breakfast.
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mary: Hooray for the neighbor! I'm with you on Mexican and curry, although I'm such a wimp that if anyone else made them for me, they'd probably be too spicy.

    Anonymous: Although I would probably like the white bean and sweet potato patties (assuming not too much spice--see above), I'm guessing they would not fly in my home at large. :-)

    Linda: So glad you liked them. I must admit, they are much more wholesome than pots de cream, and just as delicious in their own way.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kristin - Smart thinking! I agree, serving different things to use things up is totally different than short order cooking! I like that you just know who will eat what & then tell them what they're having. Wish I'd used that approach when my daughter was younger, since she was an only child she somehow ended up having way too much input on what we were eating & it drove me nuts some nights - you're smarter than I was! ;) I admire you using up all your leftovers and not wasting any food too - I strive to be more like you for sure! Thanks for sharing, it seems so random to me that I keep tabs on what your family eats each week but I keep reading all the same & quite enjoy it haha! Cheers to more good eats :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. That greek meal sounds so very good. Wish I could eat all the delicious garlicky food. Yum. However, the garlic infused oil helps.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Friday: fish tacos at a local food truck parked outside a brewery. Of course we had to have beer with the fish tacos
    Saturday: pizza with sauteed leek and swiss chard, yellow peppers, mushrooms and andouille sausage
    Sunday: chicken and rice soup made using the carcass and remnants of the previous week's chicken, cheesy biscuits
    Monday: a repeat of Sunday
    Tuesday: turkey, beef and bean tacos made using frozen remnants of previous taco dinners
    Wednesday: more tacos because I pulled too many remnants out of the freezer. We expected a friend to stay for dinner on Tuesday and so I took out enough to feed him. He did not stay and I didn't want to refreeze what was left
    Thursday: lentil bolognese sauce on paccheri pasta, broccoli
    Apparently the word of the day is remnants

    Kristen - I ate the membrillo with bellavitano cheese. We have had it with manchego also. I think I like the bellavitano a little better.
    Pam in Maine

    ReplyDelete