Friday Food: Fast Food

Friday 

Short version: Smoked sausage, rice, green salad with vinaigrette

Long version: I went all the way to the grocery store by myself this day, and while I was there, I took a look at the sausage selection. I can never resist looking for sausage, even though it's usually not very good.

This time I got some smoked pork sausage, which was almost exactly like giant hot dogs. The kids liked it, of course. It wasn't bad. It wasn't really good either, but it was okay.

Saturday

Short version: Pizza, green salad with ranch dressing

Long version: Making bread, making pizza. And this time I didn't screw up my dough, so the crust was delicious. Yay, me. I also got pepperoni at the grocery store, and I got the fancier Dietz and Watson pepperoni that was near the deli, instead of the Hormel or whatever we typically get. It was a lot better than the cheaper stuff. I don't like pepperoni, but this I could actually eat.

Sunday

Short version: Leftover pizza, sausage and rice skillet, chocolate ice cream

Long version: I started feeling a cold coming on this day, so I didn't really want to cook. Unfortunately, some children got into the leftover pizza while I was resting during the day, so there wasn't enough for everyone. There was, however, leftover rice and leftover sausage, and those two things, along with the sauteed diced onions I had stashed in the freezer and frozen peas, became a skillet offering to fill out the pizza.

Fast food, my way.

Monday

Short version: Mexican bull casserole, raw cabbage

Long version: I was still not feeling well, and I stayed home from work. I had a period of slight improvement in the late morning that allowed me to put together the casserole--processed bull meat, black beans. corn tortillas, cheese, and a kind of enchilada sauce I made by pureeing a can of whole tomatoes and cooking it down some with chile powder, garlic, onions, cumin, and paprika.

That was a good idea, since by dinner time about all I felt capable of doing was shoving the casserole in the oven and whacking some chunks off a head of cabbage.

Tuesday

Short version: Spaghetti with sheep sauce, raw broccoli with ranch dip

Long version: We had a ewe literally kill herself with greed on Sunday by eating too much alfalfa hay. Since she didn't die of anything nasty and we found her shortly after she died, we could butcher her. So we did.

The meat has to age for at least a couple of days, which much improves its taste and texture. Because it was too warm to hang it outside--flies were an issue as well--A. quartered it and put the pieces in our big cooler with blocks of ice we made by freezing water in gallon ice cream buckets. 

Meat just chillin'.

We did all the cutting up, grinding, and packaging this day.

I used some of the ground sheep meat to make spaghetti sauce. Very good sauce it was, too.

Wednesday

Short version: Leftovers, cucumbers with ranch dip

Long version: Spaghetti with sheep sauce for the kids, Mexican bull casserole for A., salad for me.

So much for the long version, huh?

Thursday

Short version: Pork, garlic bread, sauerkraut, steamed carrots and broccoli

Long version: I cooked a big pork picnic roast in the morning, which I then pulled apart and broiled in some of its own rendered fat. I flavored it with mustard and maple syrup, which is an excellent combination for pork.

Garlic bread because I was making bread, and I had just made pizza.

Sauerkraut because I love it with pork. I only canned about four pints with the spring cabbages, but my parents were visiting and my father also loves sauerkraut, so I decided the time had come to use one of those precious pints.

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