Friday, August 25, 2023

Friday Food: Down and Out

I am uncharacteristically late this morning because I'm sick. But the show--and the food reporting--must go on.

Friday 

Short version: Bull and potato casserole

Long version: I had to get the food processor out to chop up another bag of the commodities almonds I use for granola and cookies, so I also used it to process a jar of pressure-canned bull meat. And why is that? Because I never use the food processor for just one thing.

Anyway.

I had six potatoes in the refrigerator that I had baked a few days previously just to have on hand, so I chopped those up, added the last of already cooked diced onion from the freezer, the bull meat (processed with bacon grease and garlic for extra flavor), frozen corn, the last of a some tomato juice in the refrigerator, some heavy cream, grated cheddar, and a little ketchup.

I actually baked it in the morning while I was making the granola and a sour cream-chocolate chip pound cake, and then when it was even hotter at dinner time, I re-heated it in the microwave.

It turned out better than you'd think, given the total randomness of its assembly.

And did I count the corn as a vegetable? Yes, yes I did. Not sorry, either.

Saturday

Short version: Sandwiches, pickles, faked beans, chocolate ice cream

Long version: A. went to the store on Friday and I had asked him to get deli ham and salami. These are very rare purchases for us, and I decided to take advantage of having them by having sandwiches for dinner. I really didn't feel like cooking, so it seemed like a good idea.

And then I ended up cooking anyway, to make the faked beans. These are baked beans, except they're not baked at all. I used two jars of pressure-canned pinto beans, two pieces of chopped bacon, diced onion, the very last of a bottle of Dinosaue BBQ Sauce rinsed out with water, ketchup, yellow mustard, and maple syrup all simmered together for about 40 minutes.

Passable baked beans, actually.

For the sandwiches, I set out the last of the tuna salad, the two kinds of deli meat, slices of cheddar, lettuce, sliced onion, mustard and mayonnaise, and let everyone make their own.


Sandwich bar ahoy.

Sunday

Short version: Quesadillas, leftover vegetables and ranch dip

Long version: We went to a church potluck in the early afternoon at which there was a LOT of food. Only a few people were hungry at dinnertime, so for them I made cheese quesadillas with flour tortillas. The vegetables and dip were my contribution to the potluck, and there were enough left for those kids to have with their dinner.


This is obviously a Before Photo.

When I make ranch dip for vegetables, I make it the same way as ranch dressing, but I use sour cream instead of yogurt. This makes it much thicker, so it doesn't just drip off the vegetable being dipped.

Monday

Short version: Crepes, eggs

Long version: I had been planning to make eggs for everyone when I got home from work, but then a few kids didn't ride the bus, so A. didn't have to continue his bus run after getting us home. Since he was home, I asked him to make crepes for the children. Two had them with butter and syrup; two had them with sour cream and rhubarb-plum jam I had made.

A. and I had the eggs. And A. also had the rest of one of the previous night's quesadillas that wasn't finished. He had to eat it because it had pickled jalapenos in it, and I will not eat jalapenos in any form. Too owie for my sensitive mouth.

Tuesday

Short version: Chicken and rice casserole, carrot sticks

Long version: A. had bought a package of enormous bone-in chicken breasts. The entire package was about five pounds, and there were only three breasts in it. Those are some seriously well-endowed chickens. Kind of alarming, to be honest.

Anyway.

I poached two of them in the morning in water with the ends of an onion, a bay leaf, and some peppercorns. Then I used the resulting broth to cook some rice. The rest of the onion was all sauteed in a pan. Some of the onion went into the casserole with some of the rice, and the shredded chicken. 

I made a cheese sauce, too, with cheddar cheese, but it needed a LOT more cheese sauce. Like double the amount. It was a bit dry and bland. Still okay, but could definitely have been better.

Wednesday

Short version: Chicken fried rice

Long version: The third chicken breast I had de-boned the day before. I cut the meat into smaller pieces and left it in the refrigerator. I used that, plus the rest of the onion, the remaining rice, some frozen peas, and eggs, to make the fried rice when I got home from work.

The one child who doesn't much like fried rice was in luck this evening: I had just enough leftover baked beans and plain rice for one child-sized meal. I do not typically offer alternatives to whatever I've made for dinner, but I wanted to finish off those beans, so that worked out.

Thursday

Short version: More cheesier chicken casserole

Long version: I was up and down all the previous night with a sick child. The sort of sick that requires a bowl at hand at all times. I wasn't quite as sick, but neither of us were in great shape. I was still feeling functional enough in the afternoon to make some rice with rooster stock, just in case either of us felt strong enough for solid food. (We did not.)

For the rest of the family, I added some of that rice to the leftover chicken casserole, along with extra butter, salt, and shredded cheese. 

Shortly after that, the fever began and that was pretty much it for me. But at least I got dinner made!

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


7 comments:

  1. Here's hoping you feel better soon!

    This week was odd because we had a kid scheduled for a consult with the oral surgeon regarding his wisdom teeth. The last time we did this, with his older brother, the oral surgeon said, "Hey, those do need to come out, and I have time today, let's do this thing!" Which was a surprise to say the least.

    So we planned the week as IF kid #3 was going to get his teeth out, just in case. So I had planned some soft-ish food meals.

    Weekend: homemade pizzas.

    Monday: Burgers and salad bar (this was the day before his appointment and I figured kid #3 would like one last chewable meal before the soft foods, plus he loves salad bar night and I would have been sad if he had to sit it out.)

    Tuesday: Lentil crockpot soup with kale, leftover burgers, chocolate pudding (I finally figured out how to freeze nearly expired milk and thaw it and use it, yay me). Turned out, though, the oral surgeon did NOT have time, so the scheduled him for October. Woo.

    Wednesday: Had planned baked mac and cheese (soft), but seeing as how a) #3 could chew food and b) it was really hotting up around here, I pivoted and we did sub sandwich bar night, watermelon and popcorn (trying to use up microwave popcorn I found in the pantry). Well-received.

    Thursday: Two of the kids had tacos at home, the rest of us went to a cat shelter in the big city for volunteering, and then had gyros out. When we got home my husband used the taco leftovers for a second dinner (one gyro is just enough to get him through a hour drive, then he needs more dinner!)

    Friday: probably will be tuna burgers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm sorry you're not well- back to school means back to sharing germs unfortunately. I hope you all have a speedy recovery!

    Not much cooking this week due to temps being insane. We turned the central air on Saturday and have had it on since.

    Fri- grilled chicken, chips, apple slices. Made some bacon as the meal looked skimpy, and husband was inspired to make a BLT.

    Sat- baked Banana bread, cookies bars, and muffins for the freezer as the temps were beginning to soar. That used up my energy, so it was hot dogs, chips, and apples at dinner.
    Sun- a convenient gift card and half-price sale aligned, so Domino's. I got extra for lunches as husband and 2 kids still at home, and plenty for a future dinner hidden in the freezer.
    Mon- tacos- I cooked the meat out on the grill, apple and pineapple. Quesadilla for picky eater- microwaved.
    Tues- more chicken strips than I thought in freezer, so decision was easy. I did plug the fryer on the back steps to keep the house cool. Fries and fruit as well. I was able to do all the frying while the family was at the pool, so no one tripped over the fryer.
    W- so so hot- like Satan's oven out there- and my first day of classes, so hot dogs and chips with apple slices. I did make orange Julius for dessert while the boys watched Ferris Bueller. Much enjoyed.
    Thurs- hot enough that they canceled school (announced the night before- which is why we had the movie on a school night). Tired of hot dogs, so I planned for pasta, garlic bread (both cooked on the grill) , broccoli, Italian sausage from the freezer. However, the grill ran out of gas right after I put on the bread to warm. So I boiled water in the electric tea kettle to pour into the sauce pan, boiled the pasta quickly on the stove and put the broiler on briefly to crisp the bread and melt the butter. I'm not a big pasta fan, so I had some sausage and bread, and apple slices later.
    The weather supposed to break tonight, so I'm looking forward to less potato chip-based meals.
    Enjoy the weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope you feel better soon!

    I cannot remember everything or what days but the meals I do remember:

    Fish, rice, a vegetable (either asparagus or green beans)

    Tacos and quesadillas

    Chicken meatloaf, whole wheat noodles with breakcrumb topping, roasted potatoes, brussel sprouts

    Oven fries pork chops, broccoli, roayred potatoes

    Chicken tikka masala, rice and naan bread, broccoli

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hope you feel better soon.
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nothing like building up your immunity again when school starts, is there? I hope you're feeling better!
    Friday-baked beans, fresh bread
    Saturday-kielbasa, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, popsicles
    Sunday-ham and cheese sandwiches, potato salad, green beans from the garden, ice cream
    Monday-tuna salad, green beans, tomatoes
    Tuesday-chicken enchiladas from the freezer, tomatoes
    Wednesday-swiss steak, baked potatoes, green beans
    Thursday-leftovers

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey, we've been back for two weeks and one of my students gave me a back to school cold too!

    Sunday: Cheesy chicken and spinach stuffed shells using leftover grilled chicken from the previous week.
    Monday: Leftovers, so we could get out of the house quickly and get to the library for Lego night.
    Tuesday: Preschooler's choice, she's been on a corn dog kick lately.
    Wednesday: Leftovers
    Thursday: Hamburgers on the grill
    Friday/Saturday: Leftovers, or something easy from the pantry.

    Have a great weekend everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ugh...there's nothing like the first two weeks of back to school.. feel better soon.

    This week we ate:

    Sunday - Crockpot chicken parmesan over penne, carrot sticks, bread.

    Monday - Burger patties, roasted yams, cob corn.

    Tuesday - Wasn't feeling the whole lets cook in 90 degree weather vibe so I just made avocado toast with leftover bacon and cheese on top. It was good.

    Wendsday - Tortellini, chicken tenders, cucumbers and carrots.

    Thursday - Punked out and just made egg salad sandwiches which we ate with watermelon.

    Friday - Random vegetable stir fry over rice, watermelon.

    Saturday - After a toxic work week all I want is simplicity so I'll just bake up some potatoes and set out assorted toppings to go with.

    Feel better!

    Happy weekend everyone!

    ReplyDelete