Friday Food: Company Food

Friday 

Short version: Corn dogs, tater tots, peach cobbler, radishes

Long version: The school cook sent me home on Thursday with all the leftovers from the last lunch at school for the year. That was the corn dogs, tater tots, and peach cobbler. I added the radishes.

So yes, for our first day of summer vacation, we had cafeteria food for dinner. Whatever. A. was gone in Las Vegas for his sister-in-law's memorial service and I didn't feel like cooking. 

Saturday

Short version: Ground beef and bean chili, bread and butter

Long version: I have definitely cracked the code on my children's favorite chili. I made it the same way I did last time, and now I can't make it again until fall. Because the secret ingredient is pureed calabaza, and my calabaza plants are currently about an inch high.

It would have been much more appropriate to make cornbread, but A. was still gone and I didn't want to. So there.

Sunday

Short version: Lamb ribs, rice, green salad with ranch dressing, chocolate cream pie

Long version: I had been promising Cubby lamb ribs for weeks now, but it was too hot for the long cooking in the oven they require. It cooled down so much this weekend that I was running the woodstove, so I figured the time had come to cook the lamb ribs.

I actually used fresh dill and fresh garlic for the ranch dressing. I must confess that I actually considered making it the way I usually do with dried dill and garlic powder before I overcame my lazy inclinations and took the few minutes to get the fresh stuff from the garden and chop it up.

It was Cubby's turn to choose dessert, and I found the pie dough in the freezer from when he made a double batch for rhubarb pie a few weeks ago and froze the extra. 

The chocolate cream pie recipe I used had two steps in it that usually cause me to abandon a recipe immediately: separating eggs, and using my hand mixture.

However.

We are awash in eggs right now, so I figured a recipe that used four at once was a good one. The recipe was from my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and actually called for using the yolks in the pie filling, and the whites to make a meringue for the top.

Since another thing I hate is having separated egg whites in my refrigerator, I went with the meringue.

It was okay. The pudding part was good, of course, but I thought the meringue made it too sweet, and I guess I find the pie crust to be extraneous. I would rather just eat a bowl of pudding. The children, however, all loved it, which is all that matters.

Monday

Short version: Sausage, spaghetti, radishes, green beans

Long version: When the MiL came a few months ago, she brought a package of hot Italian sausage with her, which I decided to cook this night. Since it was a pretty small package, and there are members of the family who definitely do not appreciate a lot of spice, I also made some of the Sysco breakfast sausage.

Still working through the dozen or so boxes of spaghetti that have accumulated from excess commodities. This time I sauced it with some leftover pizza sauce I had frozen, a cube of frozen pesto, and a bit of cream. 

Tuesday

Short version: Pork and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, baked carrots, green peas

Long version: My parents came for a visit, so I made them some heavily Teutonic food. Country ribs slow cooked with a jar of sauerkraut, and then another jar of sauerkraut baked separately, because sauerkraut totally disappears into the juices when it's slow cooked with meat. 

My mom brought me some very cheery flowers for my table.

The only greenery and color we're seeing these days has to be storebought. Boo on drought.

Wednesday

Short version: Ram gyros, homemade pita, homemade tzatziki, not-homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie with whipped cream

Long version: I took out one of the boneless leg roasts from the ram, marinated it in olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Roasted that at high heat for about an hour, then sliced it thinly.

This recipe for the pita bread.

This recipe for the tzatziki.

And the pie that is always left for my parents by the owner of the place they stay when they're here. It's really good pie.

Thursday

Short version: Steaks, dill potato salad, green salad with tzatziki/ranch dressing

Long version: Good thing I had already planned on something relatively quick to make, because we went down a canyon in the afternoon to hike and play in water and didn't get back until about 4 p.m.

Jasper spent the whole ride home smack between my feet. No doubt comforting for him, but somewhat uncomfortable for me.

I used the leftover tzatziki sauce and added a spoonful of mayonnaise and a bunch of chopped dill to make it into something more like ranch for the salad. It had more bite to it than the usual ranch dressing I make, but it was still good.

This potato salad, but with half the sugar.

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