Friday Food: A Porky Week

Today is our first day of summer vacation. We're all ready for the break. 

Friday 

Short version: Pizza, raw fennel

Long version: One cheese pizza, one with leftover taco meat on it (better than it sounds), and no mess on the stove, hooray!

I may not be the quickest problem-solver, but I get there in the end.

Saturday

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

Long version: I had actually cooked the pork shoulder roast the day before, when it was cooler. I had poured the liquid and fat off into a jar and pulled the meat off the bone that day. So to reheat the pork, I sauteed minced green garlic in the pork fat, then added the juices and chunks of pork with salt and pepper, and when it was all hot, some cornstarch in milk to thicken it all. It came out very well.

I had also baked the sauerkraut with the pork the day before. One bag from the freezer, and one jar that had been canned last summer. I just baked it in a covered casserole dish with some butter. I like it better cooked right with the pork, but not everyone likes it as much as I do, so I kept it separate.

Sunday

Short version: Fried chicken, sorta-cornbread, cucumbers, roasted sweet potatoes, leftovers, chocolate banana fake ice cream

Long version: I had just six rooster drumsticks still in the freezer that I had separated from the carcasses before I froze them. So I marinated those in yogurt, then rolled them in corn flour and fried them in corn oil and olive oil. 

The cornbread was actually the batter left from the buttermilk pancakes I had made after church. I used yogurt, and it made very soft, almost custardy pancakes. Some of the children were not fans, and I didn't think the texture was quite right, either. The ingredients were very like those used in cornbread, however, so I added another cup of cornmeal to the pancake mixture and baked that. It came out very well, actually. Better than the pancakes, anyway. 

It didn't really rise, but no one minded flat cornbread.

The kids had the chicken and cornbread. A. had leftovers from the night before. I had a salad with my lettuce, yay! Plus some of the roasted sweet potatoes and tomatoes and cucumber and leftover taco meat.

I hadn't made that fake banana ice cream in awhile--you know the kind that's just frozen bananas and milk or cream--and I'm always amazed at how well it works. It really is almost indistinguishable in texture to soft serve. I always add cocoa powder to it. And I discovered this time that it doesn't work in my blender. I have to use the food processor. Boo.

Monday

Short version: Quickie pork stir-fry, rice

Long version: Two bags of frozen stir-fry vegetables, the rest of the pork roast diced up, soy sauce, garlic powder, ginger powder, vinegar, peanut butter, and there's a workday dinner.

Tuesday

Short version: Sirloin steaks, garlic bread and rolls, leftover mashed potatoes, sauteed and raw green beans

Long version: I had made the rolls with some of the bread dough while I was baking, thinking I could use them the next day for pulled pork sandwiches. But then they all got eaten after dinner. Of course.

The leftover mashed potatoes were for A., who didn't eat the bread, and Cubby, who ate the bread and wanted more food. 

A. and I ate the sauteed green beans (mine in yet another salad--still my lettuce yay!), and the kids ate the raw green beans.  Pretty typical.

Wednesday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: Last work day of the school year! These leftovers were actually from the cafeteria, where they had pulled pork on Monday and the cook sent the rest of it home with me. Bread and butter or rice, frozen green peas, and there's a work day dinner.

Thursday

Short version: More leftovers. Plus celebratory spaghetti with pesto.

Long version: Last day of school. Spaghetti with pesto for the kids, leftover steak, and raw tomatoes.

I ate the last of the cafeteria pork and leftover sauerkraut. Cold, because it was 90 degrees and I had no interest in hot food.

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