Friday
Short version: Baby back ribs, sauteed shrimp, pureed sweet potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing, rice pudding
Long version: We actually had the ribs, shrimp, sweet potatoes, and salad around 2 p.m. due to one child leaving in the early afternoon. I think this might have been the first time I have ever served pureed sweet potatoes to my family. I love sweet potatoes, but I only get them to roast cubes of them for my salads. However, this week, in addition to the sweet potatoes still in the refrigerator from A.'s last shopping trip, I got two bags of sweet potatoes from the excess commodities.
I had put several in the oven with the ribs to bake, figuring I would do something with them at some point. And then I thought, well, why not with this meal? So I pureed them using my immersion blender, and added butter, cream, and a bit of maple syrup.
With those additions, is it any surprise that every one of the children liked them? Nope.
I had baked the rice pudding while the ribs were in because I had some milk that was no longer good for drinking. This worked out very well, though, as the child who left doesn't like rice pudding. So at our usual dinner time, I just gave everyone rice pudding.
They thought this was great.
Saturday
Short version: Sauteed shrimp, fried enchilada bull/leftover chili, mashed potatoes, raw broccoli, chocolate chip/raisin/oatmeal/almond cookies
Long version: There was some shrimp to be cooked, but not enough for everyone. So I used some of the processed bull meat that had the enchilada sauce added to it, from the freezer, and fried that with the very last of the leftover chili.
I like using raisins with chocolate chips because I have a literal case of raisins thanks to excess commodities. Cookies with only raisins aren't as good as cookies with only chocolate chips.
But I don't get chocolate chips for free. So if I use some chocolate chips along with some raisins, the flavor of the chocolate is there but boosted by the sweetness of the raisins.
And as I have mentioned, I also have a literal case of almonds from excess commodities. Whenever I have the food processor out, I chop/grind some of these whole almonds. I keep a bag of these in the freezer to be added to cookies or granola.
Sunday
Short version: Cheeseburgers on homemade buns, baked beans, pots de creme
Long version: Since I was making bread anyway, I made some buns for cheeseburgers. And I remembered to use the container of baked beans I took out of the freezer on the very first day. Yay me.
We hadn't had pots de creme for Sunday dessert in awhile. It's just as popular as it ever was.
Monday
Short version: Ground beef and bean tacos, homemade corn tortillas, banana ice cream
Long version: I hadn't made tortillas in a very long time, but it seemed like a nice thing to do on a holiday. I should have had A. take a picture, in case he ever ran into the censorious Walmart Lady again.
It had also been a very long time since I had made the banana ice cream. I had four spotty bananas that were getting a bit too brown for enjoyable eating, so I froze them in slices to make the fake ice cream.
It ended up being quite a nice holiday meal, if not exactly particularly American.
Tuesday
Short version: Bull patties, rice, raw kohlrabi
Long version: In my continuing effort to use up the bull meat, I opened another jar of pressure-canned bull and threw it in the food processor with half an onion, mayonnaise, mustard, and lots of parsley. The resulting puree looked a lot like canned tuna, so I decided to add bread crumbs and eggs to it and make it into patties, just like I do with tuna.
When I asked A. after dinner what he thought of the patties, he said evasively, "I ate it."
He did. And that is one of the nice things about A.: He will always eat what's put in front of him without complaint. But I got the point that this is not a good candidate for a repeat preparation.
Wednesday
Short version: Bull and rice casserole, rhubarb pudding with cream
Long version: I had more of the uncooked bull mixture left, so I mixed that together with leftover rice and grated cheddar cheese and baked it. This was a much better use for the bull meat. It really seems to work best in casseroles.
I made the rhubarb pudding as a consolation dessert in case the casserole wasn't very good. It actually was good, and everyone had seconds of it, but no one minded having the pudding as well.
Thursday
Short version: Pork steaks, pureed sweet potatoes, roasted garlic, green salad with very herby ranch dressing, gingersnaps
Long version: We had some spice rub leftover from the pork ribs earlier in the week, so I used it on a package of pork steaks. I cooked them at 300 degrees for about an hour to make sure they were tender. They were.
I had actually baked the sweet potatoes the day before when the oven was on for the casserole and pudding, and then pureed the sweet potatoes with cream, butter, and maple syrup right before I did the dishes. So they were ready to go and just needed to be re-heated.
A. brought in five garlic plants that were starting to scape (the scape is the flower stalk of the plant), so I cut off the heads and baked those in aluminum foil while the pork was in.
The scapes I took off the plants and chopped fine along with a bunch of fresh dill and parsley from the garden.
I use this recipe for gingersnaps. My children would rather I made Grandma Bishop's molasses cookies every time, but these gingersnaps don't need to be rolled out and cut, so they're a bit faster. They do taste different than the actual molasses cookies, though, as they rely more on spices and less on molasses for flavor. I use slightly less brown sugar than the recipe calls for, a bit of cloves in place of the allspice, and no white pepper at all. I find them to be spicy enough with the amount of ground ginger in the recipe.
Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?
You have an inspired menu this week- even with herding sheep you create so much in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteIt's hot and I'm very tired, so my meals were very boring.
Fri- saved from cooking as husband's work had a picnic. Most of the family ate something- I had the blandest hotdog- it wasn't bad just strange. All kids had the ice cream. I made a grilled cheese for the fussy eater on return home.
Sat- celebratory end of year pizza from Domino's.
Sun- leftovers and chicken patties, salad.
Mon- grilled chicken, chicken patties, chips, salad. Homemade yellow cake, which is never quite right. It does taste better the second day, though, so the kids ate it. Ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauce helped it go down.
Tues- leftovers
Wed- kids ate tortilla chips and cheese, salsa, salad for husband, I had ice cream.
Thurs- grilled steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli (first vegetable all week ) , bagels for those who do not like potatoes. I made cottage cheese cookies but put them in a jelly roll pan for bars. They came out great.
Your husband's remark about the bull patties reminded me of my dad. He grew up in a big family in the depression, so he would eat pretty much everything. However, if my mom experimented with a meal, he would eat it but later say, " You don't need to make that again."
Enjoy the weekend!
I don't know exactly what we ate other than fresh fruit until you pop.
ReplyDeleteFor sweet potatoes as somewhat meal prep, bake a pan full. Allow to cool then into the fridge after eating your fill with that meal. We just split one, bit of butter, sprinkle of salt. Over the next days, including for breakfast, peel some sweet potatos. Slice thin as you can (It's not that thin but try. 1/4" is normal) lengthwise. Heat a skim of your choice of grease in a skillet. Lay slices in, one layer. Fry both sides until quite browned and crispy. Whole thing doesn't get crispy if too thick. So you might want to strip any thicker ones into smaller stripes. They do get crispier as they cool. If you don't like crispy, just take them out sooner. Salt as you remove them to a paper towel lined plate.
Southern....every on-the-farm stand has sweet potatoes late summer/fall. Cheap. Extra bonus, sweet potatoes keep all winter, into summer, as long as they were cured properly. I always buy 50-100+lbs. We make them in every possible way. I never cook enough for just one meal. I fill up that dedicated cookie sheet when I bake. Unlike white potatoes, they freeze really well too. Just freeze not touching so they don't stick together then toss in bag for freezer storage. Pull one or ten out when you need them. Of course we usually just eat the entire pan over the week.
Anyone that hasn't made baked sweet potatoes. They will ruin your baking sheet. Natural sugars come out and burn. So either line the pan or plan on that being the dedicated sweet potato pan.
mbmom11: Thankfully, I don't have to do too much sheep herding. The children can usually manage on their own now.
ReplyDeleteSara: I don't know why, but the phrase "dedicated sweet potato pan" is amusing to me. I've never lived anywhere where sweet potatoes are available in quantity like that. Bummer.
Come to NC ! My mom has a dedicated sweet potato pan.I have tried and tried to like them, but I just can't find a way. My mom is a huge fan, to the point she craves them!
DeleteNo menu, just commentary.
ReplyDeleteI am very on-the-fly, always, and our 13yo, Ivy, told me this week a couple different times, "Mom, you know some people plan whole weeks of menus, right?"
So, she wins. I will make her learn to cook. Then she will understand ... bwahahahaha.
Sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes in every form. Mashed sweet potatoes are actually my favorite with just butter, though I would certainly not turn down cream and sugar.
And canned beef (bull, steer, heifer, old cow, or otherwise). This week I semi-invented a casserole of cubed potatoes, can of tomato soup, can of cream of chicken soup, quite a bit of leftover beef pot roast gravy, shredded cheddar, and a quart of beef. Recommend this mixture, though I realize it's a little cheaterpants with canned soups in it. It's actually very similar to what my grandma called Johnny Mazato, which (evidence shows) in some places is called Johnny Marzetti, and most of the time has bell pepper in it. I like it that way, but I cave to child request.
I... honestly don't remember what we ate. I know I made stir fry with leftover pork chops at one point, and hamburger helper with ground pork.
ReplyDeleteI did a lot of canning and freezing food this week though. Two types of jam and a lot of frozen berries.
Friday-stirfried hamburger and broccoli, baked potatoes
ReplyDeleteSaturday-corn and cheese bake. Sort of like a souffle. A new recipe and as A would say, I ate it. And as mbmom11's dad would say, I don't need to make it again.
Sunday-hamburgers in buns, salad, tapioca pudding
Monday-taco salad, seven layer jello, strawberry shortcake
Tuesday-leftovers
Wednesday-potatoes and peas in cheese sauce, leftover hamburgers
Thursday-chicken pies, strawberry sundaes
I usually have mashed sweet potatoes (unseasoned, just baked and mashed) on top of toast with a fried egg and hot sauce for breakfast most mornings. I'll bake a few at a time and eat it out of the fridge for a week or so. I love them!
ReplyDeleteThis week was “eat down what we have before going out of town”
Sunday: Early memorial day celebration with my family, we brought coleslaw
Monday: Burgers at home, produce on the side
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Preschooler’s choice, mac and cheese. My husband and I cut up an extra burger patty and mixed that in with ours, it was good!
Thursday: Leftover chicken patties from the freezer, leftovers buns from the earlier burgers
Friday and Saturday: We’ve been in Idaho, so we've been enjoying someone else cooking and we also had Chinese one night
Rhubarb pudding?! I'm looking this up. My rhubarb is growing like wildfire. I made rhubarb ginger jelly today. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteDaisy: Just click the hyperlink on "rhubarb pudding" in the post. It's my own recipe. Or rather, a modified one from the MiL's old cookbook.
ReplyDelete