Friday Food: All By Myself

Friday 

Short version: Cheese pizzas, ranch dip, raw radishes

Long version: I needed to bake bread, so I decided to do it this day and use some of the dough to make pizzas for our first meatless Friday in Lent. One pizza had pickled onions on it, but they were otherwise just cheese.

Saturday

Short version: Chicken and pasta casserole, Holy's cabbage

Long version: I simmered one big package of chicken leg quarters to make stock, and then stripped the meat and used some of it to make a casserole. It was very like the one I made a couple of weeks ago with canned chicken and canned cream of chicken soup, except this time I used fresh chicken and made my own bechamel to make a cheese sauce. I still used corn and pureed calabaza in it, though.

The resulting casserole was much better than the overly salty canned version. No surprise there.

The cabbage was one of the bags of Holy's cabbage I had made in the summer with garden cabbage and froze. Everyone will eat it, and two of the four children really love it. It's handy to have in the freezer and just microwave as needed.

It did not make for a lovely plate, however.

I don't think even parsley would do much for this food styling.

Sunday

Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, various cabbage preparations, chocolate pudding with cream

Long version: I used ground elk for the meatloaf, which I mostly made because I knew the leftovers would be good cold in the car for A. and the children when they left the next day to drive to Arizona.

There was enough of Holy's cabbage for those who wanted it, and then I also had half a jar of sauerkraut I heated up for others, and the one child who prefers his sauerkraut raw had that from the jar in the refrigerator I've kept there since last summer.

I made the chocolate pudding to use up some milk that was close to its use-by date. There are never any complaints about that.

Monday

Short version: Vodka and soup

Long version: I made some chicken soup to use up a bunch of things in the refrigerator--chicken stock and meat, sauerruben, one and half leftover baked potatoes, some of the milk--so that's what I had for dinner. I could eat soup for dinner and not worry about making anything else, because there was no one else here and I actually like soup and don't need to eat a lot of other things with it.

I even ate it out of a mug, because why not?

I also had a cocktail of peach vodka, lemon juice, and seltzer. I love the peach vodka. It sort of tricks my taste buds into thinking there's something sweet in the drink even though there is no added sugar. 

Can a cocktail be healthy? Sure.

Tuesday

Short version: Barbecue meatballs, honey-oat bread

Long version: I made the honey-oat bread to use more of the milk on the verge. Most of it I put in the freezer for when my family gets home, but I did eat a couple of pieces. It's hard to resist. And then I had frozen some meatballs from some of the meatloaf mixture, which I decided to bake while I was making the bread. So I had both for my dinner.

Wednesday

Short version: Salad

Long version: I had the last of some romaine hearts that really needed to be used up, so I made a salad with that, the barbecue meatballs, feta cheese, carrots, radishes, and pickled onions.

Healthier than a cocktail. 

Thursday

Short version: Popcorn and vodka

Long version: I drove to the city this day to do a few errands. Usually I'm in a rush to get home, so I don't do anything extra. This time, however, I had all day. So I went to a midday Mass at a lovely old church there, and then went to lunch at a restaurant recommended by one of my friends. It was a sort of New Mexican diner, I guess. It's in the old part of town and has been there a very long time. It was filled with local families, which is always a good sign. There I ate two stuffed steak and avocado tacos. They were delicious.

Good thing I had all day, because this took all day. I left at 10 a.m. and didn't get home until almost 5 p.m.

By the time I made it home and got everything put away, I still wasn't hungry. So I just made myself a drink--same thing as Monday--and some popcorn later. 

Is this what they call a "girl dinner"?

Refrigerator check:

Lots of dairy is a sign I've been to the store recently.

The rest of the family is coming home tomorrow, so my days of solo dining--and minimal cooking--are done now. Back to the kitchen for me!

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