Our school cook was out sick all week, and I was asked to sub for her. So I got paid to cook this week. Not something I have ever had a great desire to do, and not something I really want to do again in the future, but I got it done. So this week's post will have the added bonus of what I cooked at school, as well as what I cooked at home. All I did was follow the menu already planned out.
I'm very tired of cooking now.
Friday
Short version: Pot roast with potatoes and carrots, frozen green peas
Long version: Still working my way through the big roasts in the freezer in preparation for filling the freezer in a couple of weeks with the cow we bought from a neighbor.
In related news, I didn't actually ask for any roasts except brisket for this cow we have coming. My cut sheet for the butcher asks for pretty much steak and ground beef. Plus bones for stock and all the gross stuff for the dogs.
Because what's the point of custom butchering if I can't get exactly what I want?
Maybe I'll find I get tired of steak and hamburger, but since those are the things I get most excited about actually using, I figured I'd go for it.
Saturday
Short version: Beef soup, cheese, blueberry muffin cake
Long version: All the leftovers from the pot roast, plus some extra onion, a jar of beef stock, and some green chile. Tasty, if unexciting.
I made a double recipe of these muffins, but spread in a 13"x9" Pyrex instead of in muffin cups. It's supposed to be a muffin recipe, but I just call it cake, because that's pretty much what it is. Delicious, but questionable as a healthy breakfast option. It is good for dessert, however, and much appreciated by the children. Especially after a dinner of soup.
Sunday
Short version: Roast chicken, roasted potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing, math cookies
Long version: These were the two chickens from the four A. butchered awhile ago that he thought were young enough for roasting, rather than just for stock.
The math cookies were a recipe for no-bake cookies Cubby brought home from school. His math teacher had his class make the cookies because they were working on doing stuff with fractions, so they had to convert decimals into fractions and double it. Or maybe halve it.
I'm not clear on the actual mathematical functions that were involved, but the end result was cookies. Cubby liked them so much that he asked for the recipe to bring home, and that's the one I used. They only have peanut butter, honey, oats, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and vanilla in them (and coconut, which I didn't have), and were much less sweet than any other no-bake cookie I've ever had. That, in addition to the protein in the peanut butter and nuts, actually makes them a pretty respectable cookie, nutrition-wise.
I love that he actually titled it "Math Cookies."
Monday
Short version: Leftover beef soup, pizza, carrot sticks
Long version: I had made the crust for one (half-sheet-pan-size) pizza the day before while I was baking bread. The crust was baked, and I had
baked some of the sauce on it, too. I stuck the whole pan in the refrigerator, and then when I got home from work, all I had to do was grate asadero cheese to top it and bake it all another ten minutes or so.
This works well, although it does require a lot of space in the refrigerator.
At school this day, all I had to do was boil some hot dogs and heat up an industrial-sized can of pork and beans.
Tuesday
Short version: Cafeteria hot dogs, chicken-stock rice, frozen green peas
Long version: There were some hot dogs left from school lunch on Monday, which I brought home. I fried them in butter to warm them up. I didn't have any buns, so I made rice instead, with some of the chicken stock I was simmering on the stove from the two chicken carcasses.
At school this day, I cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal for seventy people. Granted, most of it was pre-made, but it was still a lot. Turkey (just breasts) and gravy (from a packet), mashed potatoes (not pre-made--it takes about an hour to peel and chop potatoes for seventy people, in case you were wondering), mashed sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows (yuck, but a specific request), rolls (frozen), and pumpkin pie (fully cooked and frozen) with generic Cool Whip.
It was very odd to be "cooking" all that pre-prepared food, but I wasn't about to volunteer to make half a dozen pies and several dozen rolls from scratch, so frozen it was.
Wednesday
Short version: Chicken slop with peas, leftover rice, peaches
Long version: I had pulled the rest of the meat off the chicken carcasses after simmering them for several hours to make and reduce chicken stock. I chopped up that meat and heated it with some of the stock--thickened with corn starch--and frozen peas and served that over the rice.
I wasn't sure anyone would really eat that much of this, but of course they all loved it and wanted seconds and thirds. There wasn't enough for that, though, so I got out a jar of peaches and everyone got some of those after dinner.
At school, I made nachos, which featured cheese sauce from a can, ground beef, and pinto beans. And some chips that were stale because the bags had apparently popped open due to the elevation gain getting to our school. They weren't stale when I served them, though, thanks to the MiL's trick of spreading stale chips on a baking sheet and baking them in a low oven until they're crispy again.
In this way, I saved two large bags of tortilla chips. Thanks, MiL.
Thursday
Short version: Lotta stuff
Long version: Cubby's team was playing in a basketball tournament in a town an hour away. We got out of school a couple of hours early for our Thanksgiving break, so Poppy and I hopped in the van and went to the tournament. Poppy got a corndog at the concession stand there, and Cubby got a cheeseburger and chips.
When we got home around 7:15 p.m., we all had some of the leftovers from the school lunch, which were mashed potatoes and meatloaf. A. had some of that, too.
A. brought the other two home after school and fed them quesadillas with canned refried beans and cheese before they went to judo.
They got home around the same time we did, and the children all got a small sliver of the last piece of cafeteria pumpkin pie with the fake whipped cream that was also from the cafeteria.
At school, I made meatloaf and re-heated the mashed potatoes and rolls from Tuesday.
Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?
14 comments:
Fri-pasta , red sauce or cheese on top,and broccoli
Sat-leftovers as husband suggested cinnamon swirl bread. That came out if the oven in the afternoon, and everyone nibbled. So no one was too interested in dinner.
Sun- beef stew, noodles, broccoli, homemade oatmeal bread.
Mon- chicken strips, fries, pineapple, broccoli.
Tues- hamburgers, hot dogs, hashbrowns, pineapple, applesauce.
Wed- grilled cheese, chips, applesauce, and used up the leftover burgers and strips.
Thurs- I took son out to away basketball game ( over 1 hour away. Gotta love rural communities! ). Made him eat a hot dog before we left. Husband and boy split a blue box of Mac and cheese, someone had the last hot dog, someone ate toast. Son and I had cereal when we came home, and I had bought popcorn at concession stand and ate it during warm up. Did not hit any deer on the ride home- did see one with big antlers - but he went back over the field and not in front of my car, and the snow was just a flurry. I really don't like driving at night on rural roads.
I baked cookies,homemade donut holes, cinnamon rolls, cheese braid, and the breads. It did get cold here!
Enjoy your weekend!
Hello, this week we ate:
Sunday - Went to Five Guys for a little bacon bacon burger and fries.
Monday - Meatballs, roasted potatoes, roasted green beans and tomatoes.
Tuesday - Leftover meatballs on top of spaghetti...and yes, all covered with cheese, lol...sauteed bell peppers and bread to go with.
Wendsday - Italian chicken and beans, toasted bread.
Thursday - Mushroom strudel, green salad with blue cheese, apples, dried cherries and walnuts.
Friday - Planned ahead and made leftover chicken and ham pot pie filling
with some stray veggies that needed to be used up so when I get home I'll just dump it in a premade pie shell and chuck in in the oven, rolls and cheese to go with.
Saturday - Plan on making baked yams topped with pepita's, roasted root veggies to go with.
Happy weekend everyone.
takeout
cabbage/grd. turkey/mushroom casserole, garlic knots
grd. beef/broccoli cheesey skillet, roasted potatoes, garlic knots
chicken/potatoes/vegetables in crockpot, salad, garlic knots
chicken salad sandwiches, salad
crockpot beef stew, salad, bread
And for tonight meatball subs, salad.
Linda
I love that the recipe is written on a 3 x 5 card. Like all great recipes!
Love the math cookie recipe!
Sunday: Chicken taco soup. We tried a new recipe that involved pre cooking some veggies, blending those veggies with broth, cheese, and tortilla chips, to make it thicker, and then adding the chicken and the rest of the veggies. We really liked it!
Monday: Started cooking a butternut squash recipe but it wasn’t ready in time, so we paused halfway through and ate leftover soup.
Tuesday: Butternut squash and apples with coconut milk couscous. An old favorite!
Wednesday: Preschooler’s choice, which tonight meant cereal
Thursday: Savory french toast
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Date night!
Friday-chicken enchiladas, peas
Saturday-salmon, baked potatoes, broccoli, coconut macaroons
Sunday-homemade baked beans, fresh bread
Monday-curried chicken, rice, peas
Tuesday-leftover cabbage and potato soup, sourdough biscuits
Wednesday-more enchiladas (my go-to make ahead meal)
Thursday-meat pies, coleslaw
I can't believe you can peel potatoes for 70 in an hour - I'm very impressed!
mbmom11: Sounds like you and I had remarkably similar Thursdays. I didn't hit anything on the pitch black road home, either. Yay us!
Kit: Thankfully, they were very large potatoes, so I didn't have to do one per person. It was more like forty-five or fifty big potatoes. Although, yes, it probably was slightly more than an hour by the time they were all cut up and in the pot. Felt like a lot more hours than that, though. :-)
This week was a rough one with my daughter sick all week. Yay for an antibiotic finally.
-Friday: My husband went out for Veterans Day with my Dad. He brought home chicken Parm for my daughter and my son and I had fish.
-Saturday: Thanksgiving Dinner. My dad is leaving so we celebrated early.
-Sunday: I do not remember. This was the day my daughter took a turn for the worse so I think everyone fended for themselves while I took care of her.
-Monday: some type of pasta. It took a few hours to get out of the doctors office. And then I had to deal with getting the antibiotic. Thankfully, it was in stock and she is able to take an adult dosage.
-Tuesday: Homemade fried rice and veggies for me and the kids had chicken nuggets and applesauce I think
Wednesday-We went back to the doctors to make sure she was responding to the antibiotic and her heart rate was better. Picked up pizza on the way home
Thursday-fish, rice, veggies finally made an actual meal
Glad I don't go to your school! I would revert to my 3 year old self making faces and saying gross. Except for the real mashed potatoes. Do they really not serve anything better or dare I say it, healthier? T-day isn't until next week. Does your school system do it a week early?
Sat -chicken quesadillas and salsa with fill the rest of your plate with random raw vegetables, blueberries, late season but tasty farm fresh watermelon
Sun - more chicken with more vegetables and fruit
Monday - chicken soup, raw vegetables, steamed broccoli, banana, blueberries, pick your citrus.
Tuesday - chicken and avocado on a warm pita or tortilla, more raw veggies with ranch dip this time, pick your fruit as I had been shopping.
Wed - baked sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, pick your fruit, yogurt with a bit of honey
Thur baked fish, left over sweet potatoes as I always bake a full cookie sheet pan worth, stir fry vegetables, pick your fruit
Friday clear the fridge plus roasted garlic potatoes, baked banana with honey and not sure what else
Sara: It actually wasn't gross, and all the kids were pretty excited about it. We have this whole next week off for Thanksgiving, which is why we have the turkey meal the week before.
Andra: I hope your daughter continues to improve. It's always a particular bummer to have sickness in the house on a holiday.
I should have written that better. The "gross" was for the hot dogs and canned beans. Just seems a bit lacking for children in the public school system. It makes me sad actually. The t-day menu wasn't bad. In comparison the menu on the same day at our public school, elementary was cheesy chicken, brown rice, roll, green beans, raw carrots, lettuce and tomato cup, frozen fruit sorbet and milk. Not perfect but more variety for nutrients. The next day was turkey breast, roll, mashed potatoes, green beans or broccoli with cheese*, green salad, milk, cornbread dressing, gravy apple crisp.
*guessing they didn't have enough of either one.
They have fruit and a very well-stocked salad bar every day, too, but I didn't have to cook that.
My daughter got breakfast at school last year during the federal program for everyone to have free meals at school. She said in order to get it free she was required to get fruit so I just assumed that it was regulated that fruits and vegetables have to be provided and it has to meet at a certain guideline. The problem is that a lot of kids will waste the fruits and vegetables. For instance, my daughter was not able to eat the apple that they would make her take but they did not give her an alternative and she has braces. She is not able to bite into an apple so she would either bring it home or give it to someone else. A well-stocked salad bar would be awesome! But, her school is way too big to do something like that. It would be a nightmare for them to have to keep up with keeping it cleaned and stocked.
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