Friday Food: Elkloaf

Friday 

Short version: Oven barbecue chicken, roasted potatoes, frozen peas, calabaza, chocolate chip cookies

Long version: I took out two of the big packages of chicken leg quarters to thaw, knowing that would be more than we needed for dinner. So when I roasted them, I kept them plain except for salt and pepper, and then added (homemade) barbecue sauce to just about 3/4 of them at the end of the baking. That way I had some plain ones left over for something else.

I had used both my half-sheet pans to make cookies earlier in the day--chocolate chip with crushed almonds--and so I used one of those for the chicken and one for the potatoes without bothering to wash them. 

I had also baked one of the big calabazas earlier in the day and pureed it all, so we had some of that too.

And apparently I took a picture:

Of A.'s plate, I do believe.

Saturday

Short version: Elk meatloaf, garlic bread, mashed potatoes, maple carrots, chocolate chip cookies

Long version: We had some unexpected guests come stay with us, so the plan I had for the leftover chicken was not going to be enough food for everyone. Quick-thawing ground elk to the rescue! Which I used to make the meatloaf.

I let the kids eat the garlic bread while we were waiting on dinner, because we ate later than we usually do and they were very hungry. I had been planning on saving the bread for some other day, but I didn't have any particular plan in mind for it, so it seemed like appeasing hungry children was a good use for it.

The carrots were a bag of the blanched carrots that I stuck in the oven in a covered casserole while the meatloaf was baking until they were soft, then I just added butter and a small amount of maple syrup to them.

And I didn't even have to make a dessert, since I already had cookies on hand. Yay for on-hand cookies.

Sunday

Short version: Chicken and bean toasted burritos, raw radishes and bell peppers, vanilla ice cream with maple syrup

Long version: This was the leftover chicken I had been planning to use the night before. I just heated it up with salsa and spices, and then made toasted burritos with it, cheese, and canned refried beans.

Monday

Short version: Choice of leftovers

Long version: A. and two children had leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes, plus either pureed calabaza or raw vegetables.

The other two children wanted the chicken and vegetable soup I had made on Saturday with the leftover chicken bones and some meat. They also had cheese with their soup.

I had a salad with some leftover chicken in it.

Tuesday

Short version: Lamb curry (with chutney!), rice, peanut butter cookies

Long version: I took out a bag of lamb steaks that came from the back leg. This means they were quite tender meat that didn't need to be cooked a long time. I cut off the bony ends of them and used those pieces to make a stock, in which I cooked the onions, potatoes, carrots, peas, and diced lamb that came from the rest of the steaks. And I always add cream at the end to curry. 

I also had some pureed squash in the refrigerator, because our elderly neighbor --the one with whom we had butchered the bull--gave A. an odd squash she grew that she said did really well here. 

Luckily, it just barely fit in my biggest pan on the diagonal.

I pureed the resulting cooked squash, so I threw a few spoonfuls of that into the curry. 

And then last time I had cooked split peas, I made a whole pot and then froze some flat in quart bags for future curry-making. So I took some of those of the freezer to add to the curry too. The split peas and the squash thicken it nicely, as well as bulking it up and adding some more flavor and protein.

I am still very pleased to have the green tomato chutney again, even if only about half the family eats it on their curry.

These peanut butter cookies.

That recipe fills the cookie jar nicely.

Wednesday

Short version: More leftovers

Long version: Two kids had leftover meatloaf in sandwiches.

Very large sandwiches, as it turned out.

One had meatloaf with the last of the mashed potatoes. One kid and A. had leftover curry and rice. I had a salad with the last of the leftover chicken in it. 

Many containers removed from the refrigerator, which is always nice.

Thursday

Short version: Lamb and chickpeas, mashed potatoes

Long version: I had two big lamb steaks that I hadn't used for the curry. After simmering those so I could pull the meat off, I combined that lamb with already-cooked chickpeas I took out of the freezer, random pork stock from the freezer, duck stock from the freezer, some whole frozen tomatoes from the freezer, onion, garlic, and yogurt at the end. Plus some cornstarch to thicken it and make it saucy. That's what went over the mashed potatoes.

This is definitely the time of year when I shop my freezers heavily.

No, I did not forget to list the vegetable. I didn't make one. Oh well.

Refrigerator check:

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