Friday
Short verson: Shepherd's pie, green salad with vinaigrette, brownies
Long version: I used two pounds of ground beef and one pound of ground sheep for this shepherd's pie. Well, actually, two shepherd's pies. I made a small one for our new priest, who is quite young and trying to learn to cook. And also doesn't eat wheat. Shepherd's pie is a good option for such a situation.
My children were happy because we got a can of corn from I think Rafael, so I used that with the frozen peas instead of carrots in the meat.
They were REALLY happy about the brownies. Did you know July 7 is World Chocolate Day? I didn't either, until one of my kids clicked on the little icon on the bottom task bar of the Windows desktop when they were putting on a video and told me. "We should have chocolate!" they said.
I am not typically one to celebrate these "Days," but I had the oven on anyway to bake the shepherd's pie, so I quickly made a pan of these brownies to general approbation.
Saturday
Short version: Smoked sausage, bread and butter, frozen peas
Long version: I spent most of the day at a going-away party for our neighbor children with my youngest two kids. The party was at the closest public pool, which is 100 miles away.
The distance meant it really was a full day. Of course, since we were in a (small) city, I stopped at the grocery store. That's where I got the sausage. It was a smoked sausage from a Texas company. It was tasty, but spicy. Too spicy for me to eat by itself, but good in my salad.
I think we need a photo here.
Sunday
Short version: Roast chicken, garlic bread, carrot sticks with curry dip, oatmeal-chocolate chip bar cookies
Long version: A whole chicken, salted, rubbed with butter, and squirted with bottled lemon juice. I didn't overcook it this time, which is always a win. I tend to overcook chicken because I'm sort of paranoid about it being undercooked.
I made bar cookies because I really didn't want to make anything at all, and bar cookies are easier than regular cookies. There were no complaints.
Monday
Short version: Bunless cheeseburgers, bread and butter, fried mushrooms and onions, green salad with vinaigrette
Long version: I used half ground beef and half ground sheep again. That really is a good combination. The sheep meat has a lot more fat than the beef, and just generally makes for a more flavorful and richer end product.
Getting a sheep professionally butchered doesn't actually make as much financial sense as getting a cow butchered--there's just so much less meat in the end that it ends up being more per pound--but I really like having the ground meat and chops.
Tuesday
Short version: Middle Eastern-ish meatballs, rice, green peas, watermelon
Long version: I used the rest of the ground beef/sheep to make the meatballs, along with the tomatoes left in the can when I drained off the juice into the shepherd's pie meat. I also used frozen onions and za'atar in the meatballs, which is what made them Middle Eastern. Ish.
They were good, anyway.
The watermelon was one I got at the grocery store on Saturday. Encouraged by the children, I got the biggest watermelon in the bin. It was HUGE. A. estimated 25 pounds. I trust I need not tell you it also had seeds.
Wednesday
Short version: Chicken fried rice, more watermelon
Long version: My plan all day was to scramble some eggs and make breakfast tacos. But then I went into the kitchen and made fried rice instead.
I obviously had leftover rice, to which I added a can of commodities chicken, cooked onions from the freezer, frozen peas, eggs, garlic powder, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger.
Thursday
Short version: Birthday sheep ribs, pasta with pesto, carrot sticks, ice cream, Mexican wedding cookies
Long version: Our new eleven-year-old requested this meal.
A. made the ribs on the grill again.
I've had a lot of trouble with my basil this year. None of my seedlings came up to start and I had to re-start them, and then they almost died while we were in Arizona. The plants are not really big enough for harvesting yet, but by getting three or four leaves from each of the ten remaining plants and combining those with the tops from the carrots I harvested for the carrot sticks, I had enough pesto for the pasta.
The only problem with having ice cream and cookies for a birthday dessert is the candle situation. I mean, I guess you can stick candles in ice cream, but I went with a different option: peanut butter.
7 comments:
Fri- I was tired, so chicken strips, fries, apple slices for the kids. Husband had leftover Pasta and miscellaneous.
Sat- a cooler day, so home made individual pizzas with sausage or pepperoni.
Sun- a beautiful spring day in July, so I actually felt like cooking. Grilled chicken, hobo potatoes, broccoli, grapes, rice, and a bagel to help fill up picky eater.
Mon- very tired so hot dogs, chips, apple slices, and salad with leftover chicken for husband.
Tues- my awesome sister came to visit, but it got hot again, so italian sausage, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken patties, homemade applesauce sauce, chips, salad, apples. Boys made rice krispie treats for a sweet.
Wed- very hot and I'm not sleeping well. Then we noticed the fridge did not keep things cool - so emergency menu to use up some things I couldn't put in basement freezer while we defrosted the fridge.
So leftovers and a new bag of chips. Sisier didnt mind because she's great and at least her wine was cool enough! Kids didn't mind because they like chips and aunt had taken them out for ice cream in the afternoon :) . I did have to throw out some raw hamburger that didn't look right and a few miscellaneous bits.
Thurs- not so hot, and I wanted to make some effort for awesome sister, so grilled pork chops, grilled asparagus, hobo potatoes, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes for kids. Picky eater ate the corn and made a chicken patty and bagel. Usually I like to make pork roast for sister, but it's too hot to mess with a roast. I used the instapot for the corn and it came out fine- much less steam in the kitchen compared to boiling.
Candles in peanut butter? Genius!
Enjoy the weekend!
Saturday: a pasta bake, salad, and French bread. Got a migraine so it was rough. My dad was leaving for Africa and we were getting ready to have our house repaired from a water pipe breaking. So, I wanted something that I knew would have leftovers.
Sunday: breakfast casserole… I sautéed vegetables to add into it, so I considered a complete meal on a zone, but I think my daughter added fruit as a side. My son said it was gross and had chicken nuggets.
Monday: leftovers for the kids. It was my birthday, so my husband took me out but the kids decided they wanted to stay home.
Tuesday: another leftovers night
Wednesday: I picked up a pot pie from the grocery store and heated that up. My daughter ate it but my son said it was gross and talk to his sister into giving him a hot dog when I was out of the kitchen. I think he also ate cereal, yogurt, and applesauce. His picky eating stage is really starting to irritate me.
Thursday: fish, rice, greenbeans. Even my son likes fish and said green beans were gross but agreed to eat some.
mbmom11: I have fed my guests leftovers many times. The best kind of guests are the ones who will eat anything without making you feel guilty.
Andra: Every one of my children went through a picky phrase around 3 or 4. They all grew out of it, too. Here's hoping your son will, and soon. It does have a disheartening effect on the cook when all she hears are complaints.
I made a giant ham in a crock pot this week and it has provided the substance for most meals.
Cooking has gotten to be a giant burden all of a sudden, which is not uncommon, but normally it doesn't really stop me in my tracks. But last night we had mac and cheese, leftover bacon, and tortillas with peanut butter and cinnamon sugar because the thought of yet again making something was ... too much. So it goes. We will live.
I keep wanting to say something about grilling, about how it keeps your kitchen cooler and one thing another, but I know you hate it. Is it maybe that you have charcoal? I'm not sure I would ever grill if I had to hassle with that every time, either. (Only good intentions here. Promise.)
Karen.: Yup, only charcoal.
Friday-we were in the middle of a camping trip this day. We had individual pizzas cooked over a fire using pita bread, pizza sauce in a can, cheese, and leftover hamburger. You can cook them on a griddle on a camp stove in a rain storm, too, and I can prove it. But luckily I didn't have to. Salad out of a bag, marshmallows.
Saturday-stirfried eggs and spinach for some, plain eggs for others, and I made biscuits on the griddle. I take the dry ingredients in a ziploc bag and add the milk when I want to cook them, then flatten the dough with my hands and cut it into squares so it fits on the griddle. Works well and everybody eats them. More marshmallows.
Sunday-brats on buns, summer squash. Marshmallows.
Monday-grilled cheese sandwiches, grapes, cookies out of a box. Can you tell it was our last night?
Tuesday-home again, meat pies out of the freezer, peas, ice cream.
Wednesday-egg salad sandwiches, coleslaw
Thursday-a family birthday party and I didn't have to bring a thing. It was great.
I'll cook for 8 people on a two burner stove in the rain, but I don't grill or cook on a fire. At all. Ever. Got to draw the line somewhere!
Monday-
We have a family tradition called Fun Day Friday. We started when Amigo (high functioning autism) was in his teens as a way to help him develop social skills, and we liked it so much we still do it today (Amigo is 31!). We go out to lunch on Fridays, always somewhere local. No chains. Lunch is economical, and we support local businesses. Today was a new taco place in town. Simple menu, reasonable prices, and delicious tacos. Win-win!
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