Friday
Short version: Crispy elk tacos, still-frozen green peas
Long version: A. and one son were gone, so for the other three, I made tacos by quickly frying corn tortillas to make them pliable, putting in leftover elk steak, cheese, and salsa, and then frying them until they were crispy and the cheese was melted.
If the whole family had been here, I would not have done this, because I would have had to make too many. I made eight, and that's about the amount I want to deal with frying.
Saturday
Short version: Ram and elk stew, cheese, cornbread
Long version: I used one small bag of ram stew meat for this, plus the rest of the elk steak, and some beef tallow. So three kinds of animals contributed to this stew.
I made the cornbread because I found two bags of cornmeal in the big freezer when I was organizing it. I need to use more cornmeal.
Sunday
Short version: Elk chorizo and scrambled eggs, leftover cornbread, chocolate ice cream
Long version: I spent much of the day in the kitchen making the black-eyed peas for New Year's Day, as well as a pecan pie. The elk chorizo was the first thing I grabbed out of the freezer. It made a good, fast dinner, and was a good pairing with the leftover cornbread.
The only tricky thing about chorizo is that all the parprika in it makes it hard to tell when it's actually cooked.
The ice cream gave me the opportunity to finally use the last of the salted caramel sauce from the birthday dinner two weeks ago.
Monday
Short version: The whole New Year's Day shebang
Long version: On New Year's Day, we must ensure our health, wealth, and happiness in the new year with pork, greens, and black-eyed peas, respectively. And, in my house, rice for peace.
This year, the pork was a picnic shoulder that I cooked slowly, pulled apart, and broiled with the rendered fat and juices, mustard, and maple syrup.
I had no greens from my garden this year, but I did still have about a cup of blanched beet greens from summer before last that were still in the freezer. And then I decided sauerkraut counts, too. The cabbage was green at one point. And sauerkraut is delicious with pork.
I had made the black-eyed peas the day before. I had also made a pecan pie.
I have never made a pecan pie. I don't think I have ever even eaten a pecan pie. But one child enthusiastically informed me that pecan pie is his favorite, this while he was eating the pie provided by the school cafeteria for their Christmas meal.
I thought if he loved a Sysco pecan pie, he would really love a homemade pecan pie. So I made one.
I mostly used this recipe for the filling, except I toasted the pecans as recommended in this one. I was going to do the chocolate layer also mentioned in that second recipe, but that would have required yet another session of chilling, and I was kind of over the making of the pie by that point. So I just did the standard filling.
It was very good. Very nutty, and not too sweet. I whipped cream for it, too, although I have no idea if that is traditional. About half the family ate it with the whipped cream.
The only problem I had with it was that it was not very solid and pretty much fell apart while I was cutting it. I don't think it needed to bake longer. Maybe it was the fact that I used the maple syrup instead of corn syrup. The fact that all the pecan halves were left whole also made it harder to cut.
I don't know. Everyone liked it, though, even if the pieces were not very aesthetic.
Tuesday
Short version: Tuna-rice casserole, still-frozen peas, pureed squash
Long version: I had a lot of rice left over from the day before, so I used it to make a casserole with a big can of tuna. I fried a few pieces of bacon, diced those, and cooked onion and celery in the bacon grease. Then I put in some mayonnaise, milk, and grated cheese, along with salt and pepper. Kind of like tuna-noodle casserole, except with rice.
Wednesday
Short version: Elk burgers on homemade buns, roasted potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing, cookies
Long version: My brother and one of his daughters arrived for a quick visit this day. I had been making bread the day before, so I used some of that to make hamburger buns.
I used the very last two bags of ground elk to make the burgers. I'll have to get out some of our excessive elk stew meat to grind. Ground meat is much easier for me to use than stew meat.
It belatedly occurred to me that I had replicated a very standard traveling meal of hamburgers and french fries. Sure enough, my niece did indeed have a hamburger while traveling, but I'm confident mine was better.
The cookies were standard chocolate chip, except I replaced some of the butter with peanut butter. So good.
Thursday
Short version: Carnita-ish tacos on corn tortillas, pinto beans, brownies
Long version: Real carnitas fry in their own fat after all the liquid from stewing it has evaporated. These weren't real carnitas, because all I did was stew the pork roast, then remove it, shred it, and fry it in its rendered fat with cumin, chile powder, and paprika.
Since it was a snowy day and we were all home all day, I made the corn tortillas myself.
I used my last jar of pressure-canned pinto beans, so that's going on the list of things I need to make soon, along with more ground elk.
And the brownies were extras from . . . some holiday event that required a baked treat. I can't actually remember. Whatever it was, I had stashed some extra brownies in the freezer so as not to add to the sugar overload during the last week of school. That was an excellent idea, as they came in very handy for dessert this night.
I didn't make a separate vegetable, but there were lettuce, tomatoes, and onions out for topping the tacos.
Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?
Fri- pasta, sausage, garlic bread.
ReplyDeleteSat- tacos (because I wasn't feeling well and these are easy)
Sun- leftover stew meat from freezer, rice, carrots, broccoli, very very good homemade bread.
Mon- I took down the tree and Nativity (some years I can wait until Jan 6, but this is not that year)so I wanted easy. Chicken strips, pineapple, apple slices, and deconstructed waffle fries. There were supposed to be bags of fries in the freezer, but alas, I was wrong. I found one bag of waffle fries with basically just the little nibs left. A few people ate them. I think some kids ate cereal to help fill up.
Tues- home basketball game in our actual gym, as the school renovation is now complete, so very exciting night. I needed easy. So leftover stew, biscuits, mashed potatoes. (Also had a dr appt and labs drawn, so easy was all I had energy for).
Wed- 2 kids and I went up to run concession stand for Special Olympics at a public school volleyball game. (Different clubs take turns running the stands, and they share the money proportionately after its all done.) I made everyone eat early, grilled cheese, chips, apples, bacon. I left food for husband. However, I got back before he did, so he got fresh grilled cheese and some beans and rice and pears. Kids at concessions with me also got a slice of pizza for their help..
Thurs- took kids out to trampoline park to celebrate the end if break and the end of one son's online class. Got home tired and needing to go get more labs drawn. So , no surprise, tacos. I had toast.
Pecan pie is my husband's favorite holiday pie. And the whole nuts look so pretty but they are such a pain to cut without destroying the pie. I used too many pecans this year and it was challenging to cut.I had to substitute honey for corn syrup; maple syrup has a different thickness but little less sweet that corn ayrup. Honey is closer in thickness and sweetness. However, I think pie lovers aren't too fussy! And whipped cream or ice cream make any pie excellent.
I hope you have a lovely visit with your brother. Enjoy the weekend!
I've tried a lot of pecan pie recipes, but my hard and fast rule is to chop the pecans first so that it cuts more easily.
ReplyDeletembmom11: That IS exciting that your school renovations are done! We're still in the demolition phase, and it's a pain. It sounds as if you've had a challenging week, health-wise. I hope you're feeling more yourself soon.
ReplyDeleteJody: The pecan pie people have spoken, and I am definitely going to chop them from now on.
Oh, I love pecan pie. Yours looked so delicious.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Eggs in the pie filling?
ReplyDeleteHush puppies with the cornmeal?
That pecan pie looks SO good.
I think I ran into an instruction to bake pecan pies at a low temp for longer to ensure a better structure for cutting.
ReplyDeleteFriday-all visitors left today, and all those left at home were sick. Ham sandwiches, cookies, over and out.
ReplyDeleteSaturday-soup made with leftover cube steak, leftover bacon, leftover vegetables and a can of tomatoes. Ritz crackers.
Sunday-scrambled eggs, potatoes, peas
Monday-happy new year. I joined the pinkeye sufferers. So we didn't have the usual kielbasa and sauerkraut. But we did have ham (that's the pork) and coleslaw (the cabbage), also scalloped potatoes.
Tuesday-salmon loaf, baked potatoes, peas
Wednesday-creamed chicken and vegetables over rice
Thursday-venison patties, leftover scalloped potatoes, cauliflower