Friday Food: Ground Beef for Guests

Friday 

Short version: Baked cod, pasta, various leftover vegetables, strawberries

Long version: Lent isn't much of a penance for seafood-loving Cubby, since it's pretty much the only time I plan to cook fish. This was the two pounds of cod I bought from Misfits Market when I tried one of their cold boxes awhile ago. I had been saving it for Lent. I just squeezed half an old lemon on it, covered it top and bottom with butter, and baked it at 400 degrees until it was done. 

It was very good. And two pounds was just enough for everyone.

The pasta was egg noodles with the pizza sauce from last week, along with an extra packet of the cheese powder from the too-salty Annie's macaroni and cheese, plus some milk, and I also snuck in a few spoonfuls of pureed calabaza, since I had it out anyway. Popular with the children despite my sly addition.

There were leftover broccoli, cabbage, and calabaza, and I apportioned that all out based on who will eat what. I had all three. Yum.

Strawberries because they came in the Misfits Market box on Wednesday and strawberries only ever last a few days. It was time they were finished, so I sent them outside with the children when they went out to play some game after dinner. No strawberry juice all over my table that way.

Saturday

Short version: Bull meat, fresh bread and butter, roasted green beans and carrots, cucumber and tomatoes

Long version: I still have bull meat in the freezer, and probably a dozen quart jars of canned bull. I really need to use it. So I dumped out two jars, broke it up with my hands into smaller pieces, and spread it in two cast iron skillets. Then I poured about 1/3 cup of melted tallow on it (because it has no fat of its own), sprinkled it with paprika, garlic powder, and salt, mixed it all up, and roasted it with the green beans and carrots until it was a little crispy.

Tasty, but still a bit chewy. Which pretty much sums up the bull meat.

Sunday

Short version: Beef stir-fry, rice, chocolate-covered peanut butter balls

Long version: I had actually taken a bag of stir-fry vegetables out of the freezer before I thought about it and realized I had enough fresh vegetables to make stir-fry with those. And, more importantly, I had the time.

So I used an onion, a red bell pepper, green beans, carrots, and some frozen beet greens from last year's garden. Along with the beef, of course.

It was really good. And so pretty.

I like colorful food.

Monday

Short version: Leftovers, macaroni and cheese, carrot sticks with curry dip

Long version: More bull, rice, leftover pasta, and then I made the macaroni and cheese to drop more food into the bottomless pit of the track-running boy.

I used two boxes of the Annie's macaroni and cheese, but only one of the cheese powder packets. How does anyone eat that stuff if it's made according to the directions? It tastes like a soft orange salt lick. It was fine with half the amount of the cheese stuff, though.

Tuesday

Short version: Barbecue meatballs, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, green peas

Long version: Cubby had a friend over, and meatballs are a reliably popular food with most kids. Barbecue meatballs are just, uh, meatballs baked in barbecue sauce. I actually like these better than meatballs in marinara. My kids like them, too, and they're even better with coleslaw.

Look! A sheep!

Baa.

Wednesday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: Bull meat, meatballs, and some leftover pork roast from the school cafeteria. That last was a bit dry and bland, which I fixed by frying it in a bunch of butter with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and a very little bit of barbecue sauce. Much better.

Also, there was leftover rice, macaroni and cheese, and peas. Ta da! A balanced meal made entirely of leftovers. Perfect for a workday.

Thursday

Short version: Shepherd's pie, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: Cubby had a different friend over who eats as much as he does, if not more, so I figured I'd better make a large quantity of something. I decided on shepherd's pie, and my choice was validated by the universe when I was presented with like five pounds of leftover mashed potatoes on Wednesday by the school cook. I could have felt bad about taking them, except I actually peeled all 40 potatoes for her, so I guess you could say I earned it.

A bunch of the older kids were out for an FFA event, so she had a lot of leftovers. And that giant quantity of mashed potatoes was exactly the quantity I needed for the two shepherd's pies I made with four pounds of ground beef. The one in the 15"x10" Pyrex was almost finished, but I was left with the entire 13"x9" Pyrex untouched. 

Yay leftovers.

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