Friday Food: I Have Feta, Yay!

Friday 

Short version: Bull and potato skillet, carrot sticks, watermelon

Long version: I had some more processed bull meat in the refrigerator, so I fried that in the rest of some rendered beef tallow that had been in there awhile, then added the leftover boiled potatoes from the night before, along with a bunch more fat in the form of bacon grease and butter. Both potatoes and that very lean bull meat will absorb astonishing quantities of fat. I think I added at least half a cup of fat in the end, and it wasn't greasy at all.

I also added some already-cooked onion from the refrigerator, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and grated cheddar cheese. 

Not pretty, but tasty.

Saturday

Short version: Chili, cornbread, popsicles, early carrots, later cookie bars

Long version: I made chili mostly because I had several cups of chicken broth in the refrigerator from cooking the chicken breasts a few days earlier. I needed to either freeze that or use it. So I used it. In chili.

Also in the chili was ground bull meat, a quart jar of pressure-canned pinto beans, the last bag of pureed calabaza that had been in the freezer since 2022, a can of crushed tomatoes, the last pint jar of green-tomato salsa from last year, a whole diced onion, a few cloves of garlic, a bit of apple cider vinegar cumin, paprika, and chile powder.

It was really too warm to be simmering chili for a few hours, but I did that in the morning, and it was very good chili.

It was definitely too warm in the afternoon to be baking cornbread, but I did it anyway. Since I had the oven on anyway, I also made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars. They baked at the same time, and also used the same dishes the cornbread had (bowl, Pyrex measuring cup, spatula), so it made me feel a little better about heating the kitchen more.

We had popsicles only because I had made smoothies for lunch, and there was some left over. So I just poured the extra into the popsicle molds and froze it. They were a bit more icy than the ones I usually make with heavy cream, but they were still eaten.

The children ate the carrot sticks with some curry dip while I was making dinner, and the cookie bars at around 6 p.m. because we ate dinner at about 4:30 p.m., which is early even for us.

Sunday

Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, half corn on the cob, cucumber and tomato salad, brownie sundaes

Long version: I just used some of the store ground beef for the meatloaf. We hadn't had it in awhile, and it was cool enough to run the oven to bake it.

I only had two ears of corn left, which meant only half an ear for each child. Much grumbling about this.

A. and I had the cucumber and tomato salad, featuring tomatoes from the garden of the guy who runs the tiny store in the village, a small shallot from our garden, and feta cheese. It was so good. I really love feta cheese.

A.'s plate, just because I'm sure you needed a visual of meatloaf.

We had been at our parish picnic in the afternoon, so I hadn't made a dessert when I started making dinner. That's why I made the brownies.  They are very fast to mix up, could bake with everything else in the oven, and turn plain old ice cream into a Sunday dessert. Especially with the addition of the chocolate syrup I always have in the refrigerator.

Monday

Short version: Pizzas, kohlrabi sticks, ranch dip

Long version: Still cool, so I baked bread and then used some dough for pizzas--one cheese, one pepperoni.

I had found a few bags of roasted tomato sauce still in the freezer from last year, and I used one of those as the pizza sauce. It really makes them so much better. Hurry up, this year's tomatoes.

The kohlrabi was the very last one from the garden, which caused some sadness among the children. They do love kohlrabi.

Tuesday

Short version: Leftover pizza, Frito pie, carrot sticks

Long version: With one child at work and one at a sleepover, there were only two children to feed. They had the leftover pizza, heated in a cast-iron skillet so it wouldn't be wet and gross.

A. had leftover chili in Frito pie. And I just had leftover chili.

Wednesday

Short version: Roast lamb, potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad, hummus, yogurt sauce, vanilla ice cream with a choice of toppings

Long version: We had guests with us this night, which is why we had such a large meal on a random Wednesday. I had one boned leg roast and one not-boned . . . something. It was labeled roast, but it might have been a front leg? I don't know. I had A. bone that one for me too, just to make sure I would have enough meat.

I used this spice mixture again, except I again didn't use as much garlic and lemon juice, and I had to substitute thyme for the oregano, but it was still very good.

Poppy helped me skin the chickpeas (for very smooth hummus), and I really appreciated her help, because these were dry chickpeas I had cooked myself, and they definitely did not pop out of the skins as easily as the canned ones. They taste way better than the canned chickpeas, though, I am forced to admit, and they made some delicious hummus.

With olive oil, za'atar, and paprika on top.

I made quite a bit, but most of it was eaten before dinner with tortilla chips as everyone sat around talking.

I had one of my own cucumbers to put in the salad--which also had feta in it, yum--so that was exciting.

I eschewed making a real dessert, instead pulling out the gallon of vanilla ice cream and setting out chocolate syrup, maple syrup, and apricot puree for everyone to choose their own topping. I made the chocolate syrup and apricot puree, so I'm calling it a homemade dessert.

Five of the seven people chose chocolate syrup. In case you were curious. 

Thursday

Short version: Lamb and potatoes, frozen green peas

Long version: There was enough leftover lamb and potatoes to fry it all together in a skillet for another meal, so that is what I did.

Refrigerator check:

Feta front and center.

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