Friday Food: Not a Lot of Cooking

Friday 

Short version: Popcorn and a cocktail, plus leftover soup, for me

Long version: The first night the rest of the family was camping in Arizona. I had my cocktail and popcorn, and then later the last bit of chicken soup from the night before. 

I'm not sure what the campers ate this night. I think the pork and bean burritos. This might have been s'mores night, too.

Saturday

Short version: Pork fried rice for me

Long version: There was leftover meatless fried rice still, plus some of the pork I hadn't used to make burrito filling for the campers, so I combined the two to make pork fried rice. 

I think the campers had the hot dogs and hamburgers brought by A.'s brother.

Please enjoy this photo of Poppy's requested hairstyle. I took the photo so she could see what it looked like in the back.

I am so far from a skilled hairstylist. Sorry, Poppy.

Sunday

Short version: Spiral ham, cornbread, green salad with vinaigrette, baked fruit with cream

Long version: This was the night A. and kids got home, but I wasn't sure when they might be getting back. Also, my brother and dad were driving an RV from Iowa to Arizona for my brother's friend, and stopped here for the night. 

I decided to cook the big spiral ham I had in the freezer, figuring that give me enough food for eight people and also would hold well if A. didn't get back until late. They arrived about 8 p.m., and everyone was very hungry. They appreciated the ham and cornbread.

The baked fruit was just frozen strawberries and blueberries, with the last half-pint of overly sweet peach jam from a couple of summers ago, some more sugar, and vanilla. I was going to add some rhubarb, but the plants aren't quite big enough yet to start cutting.

Moody fruit.

Soon, though, I will have enough rhubarb for rhubarb pudding. That will be an exciting day, indeed.

Monday

Short version: Tuna melt quesadillas, creamy chicken soup, raw produce, leftover baked fruit and pudding soup

Long version: Between what A. brought home from their trip, the soup I made on Saturday, and other leftovers, there was a LOT of food in the refrigerator. Starting with the most-perishable first, I used up the tuna salad from the trip in quesadillas. Those quesadillas also used up the leftover sliced cheese from the trip that had gotten warm and then cold again, and so was sort of fused into an unappealing lump. It worked well in the quesadillas, though.

I had made the chicken soup on Saturday just because the carcass from the rotisserie chicken I had bought a few weeks ago was taking up way too much room in my smaller freezer, but I knew if I put it in the big chest freezer, it would get forgotten. So, soup. This worked out well, as I had been meaning to bring some food to a lady from our church who had a stroke a couple of months ago and recently got home from the hospital. 

Even after giving her a quart jar on Sunday, and also some to our priest, there was still enough for everyone who wanted it to have a bowl with their quesadillas. A good combination, in fact.

The pudding was soup because, well, it didn't thicken. Not sure why. This was the pudding I had made on the Thursday before A. left on his trip, to use up the gallon of milk that was starting to sour. I had sent two pint jars of the pudding, with cream mixed in, on their trip. Those jars came back home, since they had so many other treats over the weekend. We had no trouble finishing them this night, even though the consistency was thin enough to drink.

It was actually really good. Sort of like melted ice cream.

Tuesday

Short version: Green chile hamburger stew, bread and butter, yogurt with strawberry jam

Long version: Our neighbor Ms. Amelia's daughter showed up on Sunday night with a big container of green chile hamburger stew she had made for us. It was too spicy for the one member of the family who is very spice-averse, but I did have one serving left of the creamy chicken soup. So that worked out.

Wednesday

Short version: Ham sandwiches, carrot sticks, cottage cheese with pineapple, oatmeal cookies

Long version: Sandwiches sound like a good fast option on a night when I get home after 5:30 p.m. from First Communion class, but they actually take awhile to make for five people (I didn't have a sandwich). They were good, though, and quite popular. 

It wasn't really quite enough food, however, which is why those who needed to topped off with the cottage cheese and cookies.

It was 80 degrees this day, and my tulips pretty much gave up the ghost in the heat.

This one on the table was the last survivor.

Thursday

Short version: Lamb chops or ham, rice, more carrot sticks, this time with curry dip

Long version: About half the family went to a school crafting party in the late afternoon at which there were many snacks. I had made the rice ahead of time, and A., who was home with one child, made the lamb chops. The ham was for those who aren't wild about lamb. Also because there weren't enough lamb chops for everyone.

Refrigerator check!

A bit echoey in there.

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