Friday Food: Consolation Prizes

Friday 

Short version: Tuna salad, individual garlic/herb  breads, cucumbers

Long version: A. was fasting and Cubby was gone at the FFA state finals, so I made tuna salad for the three other children, and also gave them each a ball of bread dough to spice as they wished. In this way, they had individual rolls of bread. 

Considering the spice options before going with everything on offer.

One child used his roll as a sandwich bun for the tuna salad, and the others ate them separately, but all three were happy.

Saturday

Short version: Sausage-y meatloaf, mashed potatoes, Holy's cabbage

Long version: I made this because Cubby came home after being gone for four nights at the state FFA judging competition. And then he was so exhausted he didn't even want to eat and just went to bed at 6:15 p.m.

It was good, though. I found one more pound or so of bulk breakfast sausage in the freezer and added that to the four pounds of ground beef. It adds fat and flavor to the grass-fed beef we get.

Sunday

Short version: Italian saucy beef, spaghetti, sauteed zucchini, frozen peas, baked custard

Long version: I had some sirloin steaks to cook, which need to either be seared and served pretty rare, or simmered to make them tender. I went with the latter this time. I even thought ahead and sliced it all thin and marinated the meat with oil, vinegar, salt, and garlic powder. Then I seared it before simmering it in a sauce of tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, onions, and Italian spices, with a frozen cube of pesto added at the end.

I used some of that sauce, plus more pesto and some Parmesan, for the kids' spaghetti.

And I didn't overbake the custard. Yay, me.

Monday

Short version: Cafeteria hot dogs, leftover mashed potatoes and cheese, sauerkraut, cucumbers with salt and vinegar

Long version: Good thing the school cook gave me leftover hot dogs, because the leftover meatloaf I thought would be enough for all of us definitely was not. A little mouse named Cubby might have been nibbling on it at night.

About half the children were thrilled to have hot dogs. The others only tolerate them, but that's fine with me as long as they eat them.

Tuesday

Short version: Ground beef and bean chili, cornbread

Long version: I made the chili mostly because I was canning beans (and re-using lids!) this day, so I had the cooked beans on hand. Also, it got one of the bags of pureed calabaza out of the freezer. Always a good thing.

I've settled on a permanent cornbread recipe. I use this one except with half cornmeal and half masa--instead of all corn flour--and I bake it in a 13"x9" buttered Pyrex. I like this recipe because it's fast and easy, and makes a good wheat-flour-free cornbread that isn't gritty or dry. I mix the dry ingredients first, then incorporate the wet stuff right into the same bowl. I melt all the butter in the Pyrex while the oven is heating, and then take out the butter needed for the batter and mix that in before dumping it all back into the Pyrex to bake.

Wednesday

Short version: Skillet food, peaches

Long version: The school cook gave me a bunch of the Spanish rice leftover from lunch, which was fairly tasteless. So I mixed that with some of the chili and a bunch of grated cheddar, and then let the kids put green chili and sour cream on to taste.

None of the children finished this meal, so I suppose it wasn't all that popular. But they all ate at least some of it.

I gave them the (home canned) peaches as a consolation prize. 

Thursday

Short version: Chili, french toast, eggs

Long version: A. brought the kids home on the school bus and then left with the older two boys about half an hour later so they could serve at the Holy Thursday Mass. One boy ate some chili before he left. The other had some celery sticks and Triscuits with ranch dip. The celery and dip were what was left from the food I sent in for the elementary Easter party.

Poppy woke up with a cough, and was very upset she couldn't go to the party. That's why I made french toast for her and Jack. It was her consolation prize for the night. French toast is a rare breakfast treat in our house, and they've never had it for dinner.

Making french toast for only two kids is a whole heck of a lot faster than making it for five people.

French toast for two.

Much as I would have liked to have made the french toast my dinner as well, I knew that wouldn't be a good idea. Instead, I fried a couple of eggs in the pan after the french toast was done, and then threw in all the cooked vegetables I could find in the refrigerator, which was sweet potatoes, zucchini, and onions. I also used a bit of the chili as a sauce for the eggs.

Not-french-toast for one.

The church crew didn't get home until much later than I was anticipating--8:30 p.m.--and of course they were starving when they did get home. I threw some split pea soup from the freezer, tortillas and cheese, and a cheese sandwich at them and hustled everyone off to bed. Because that's past MY bedtime.

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