Friday Food: A Little Bit of Chicken Fried*

Friday 

Short version: Leg of lamb, rice, radishes, soup

Long version: I thawed the last of the boned legs of lamb we had done at the proper butcher awhile ago, then marinated it in olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, and salt. 

To cook it, I just browned it whole in bacon grease on both sides until it had gotten as crusty as it could without burning, then sliced it and briefly heated the pieces in the pan again, adding more salt and garlic powder at that point.

It was a pretty small roast, and would not have been big enough for all six of us to eat it. However, I had also made soup.

I mostly made the soup because I had made lamb broth several days earlier with a couple of lamb shanks, for a child who wasn't feeling well. I needed to use the broth or freeze it. I've been making stew a lot with the elk and ram, so I decided to do something different.

I used one of the two ham bones that had been in the freezer, simmered that in the broth--with onions and garlic added--then pulled off the meat and chopped it. There was about a cup of ham, to which I added the rest of the pinto beans I had cooked last weekend, diced carrots, the last of the pizza sauce, and rice. At the end, I also added a can of green beans we had gotten with commodities.

A good soup. I ate that, A. ate some with his lamb, and the sick child ate some of the broth with rice.

Saturday

Short version: Soup and bread at home, infinity concessions food at homecoming

Long version: I was with three of the children at homecoming, which is always a very long afternoon and evening. There are three basketball games and the homecoming court coronation. I had one boy playing in one of the games, one girl cheerleading, and one boy on the homecoming court. Due to various circumstances, we ended up rushing out the door to get the basketball player there on time, and I did not have time to get together a bunch of food.

This left me at the mercy of the concession stand. For six hours. With three children.

I must have spent at least $50 for, at various times, two Frito pies, two hamburgers, one hot dog, and assorted chips, candy, and drinks. It was a good reminder that it is totally worth all the somewhat obsessive planning and packing of food that I typically do for outings. 

A. was home with one sick child--luckily, the only child who did not have any part to play in homecoming this year--and they had leftover ham and bean soup and the fresh bread I had made this day.

Sunday

Short version: Tuna/salmon patties, leftover rice, artichokes, salvaged chocolate pudding

Long version: Two 12-ounce cans of tuna, one 14-ounce can of salmon, because we're starting to get salmon from the excess commodities again.

I bought the artichokes last time I was at the store. Because they had them, and one child really loves artichokes. My mother always made a dipping sauce for them with oil, vinegar, and Worcester sauce, and so I do, too.

Everyone knows the best part of the artichoke is the heart. Somehow, my children assume that they eat the leaves, and then give me the heart for my salad. I think we did this once, and now apparently it's tradition. Kids are funny like that. And I'm not complaining.

The pudding was a classic Kristin Following a Recipe mess-up. I somehow read a quarter cup of cornstarch as three quarters of a cup. You can imagine how thick the resulting pudding was. I realized my mistake when I had to gouge it out of the pot. So I put it back in the pot, added more of everything, heated it again, whisked it vigorously, and called it good.

It was good, actually. And we ended up with like a gallon of pudding, which no one complained about. Given the frequency with which I do something so boneheaded in the kitchen, it's a good thing I have the experience to fix it instead of just giving up on it.

I didn't spill any of it, either. Yay me.

Monday

Short version: Tuna-rice skillet, more pudding

Long version: I had some of the uncooked tuna patty mixture left, as well as a lot of rice. So I combined the two, plus already-cooked onion from the refrigerator, mayonnaise, frozen peas, and shredded cheese to make a skillet meal.

I had split the pudding into two containers, saving one for this night.

Sunday pudding on the left, Monday pudding on the right.

It's very nice having chocolate pudding at the end of a long Monday. I recommend it. So do my children.

Tuesday

Short version: Store fried chicken, leftover rice, grape tomatoes, chocolate-chip oatmeal cookie bars

Long version: In a complete departure from our typical meals, we had fried chicken from a grocery store this night. I was in a city to go to the doctor with the child who is soon to have his next foot surgery. We went to the grocery store before we came home, of course, and it was there that I bought the fried chicken, from the deli.

The reason I bought it was because of another child, who went to a Popeye's with A. on one of their adventures and came home raving about the chicken sandwich he had there. It was, I was told, fried chicken, lots of mayonnaise, and dill pickles. I had promised him we would re-create it at home, should we ever have the opportunity.

I don't fry chicken myself if I can avoid it, so I bought the 16-piece chicken offer from the deli, made sure to get dill pickles, and the Popeye's fan was in business. He was SO HAPPY with his sandwich. Sandwiches, in the plural, actually, since he ate two of them.

Everyone else had just the chicken with the leftover rice.

The chicken was not my plan for dinner this night, because I didn't think we'd get home in time for dinner. I had made a spanish tortilla for dinner, but that can sit quite happily in the refrigerator until it's needed.

I screwed up the cookie bars when I added too much of the dry ingredients and not enough butter, so they were kind of dry and crumbly, but no one seemed to have any trouble eating them.

Wednesday

Short version: More chicken sandwiches, lots of leftovers, green salad with vinaigrette, more cookie bars

Long version: Two children had the sandwiches. One had two pieces of plain chicken and some of the leftover tuna-rice skillet. One had a piece of the spanish tortilla. A. had the rest of the tuna-rice skillet and the last piece of leftover lamb. I had a salad with some chicken in it.

This cleaned out many leftovers, which is always satisfying.

Thursday

Short version: Spanish tortilla

Long version: Only half the family was eating, because two children came down the night before with a nasty stomach flu. Another child was at a basketball game. The remaining family members had the spanish tortilla I had made on Tuesday morning. And . . . that was it. I didn't make a vegetable.

Time for a refrigerator peek!

It's full! Because I went to the store on Tuesday.

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

* It's from a song. Of course. This one.