Friday
Short version: Spanish tortilla
Long version: I ended up with fifty pounds of potatoes from excess commodities to add to the twenty pounds A. had bought literally the day before we got those. So! Let's use some potatoes!
It was just me and the younger two children this night. Both of them love Spanish tortilla, so that is what I made. I used bacon and tomatoes in it, plus some already-cooked onion and shredded cheddar. An easy meal before the last-minute scramble to get costumes on before trick-or-treating.
Saturday
Short version: Pork, peas, and rice skillet
Long version: Still just the three of us. I had put some cooked pork chops in the freezer a few weeks prior during one those rare periods when I had too many leftovers and we weren't going to be getting through all of them before they went bad. In such situations, I take a look to see what will freeze and defrost the best. This time, that was cooked pork chops.
I took these out and trimmed and diced all the pork, then used the pork with leftover rice, pickled onions, and frozen peas to make a skillet meal. In this case, I just fried all of that in a bunch of butter, not even bothering to add any spices except salt and pepper.
Sunday
Short version: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, tomato salad, chocolate ice cream
Long version: Everyone was home. Thus, a full meal.
I made the meatloaf with both ground beef and breakfast sausage, because that is what I had.
Did anyone need more dessert after the post-Halloween candy glut? No. But it was Sunday. And I did have a bit of chocolate ice cream left in the freezer.
Monday
Short version: Leftovers, pickles
Long version: I had another ridiculous Monday afternoon of driving hither and yon, with the added complication that I had to go to an pep rally at school at 2:30 that was partially in honor of one of my sons. This meant I was gone from 2:15-5:45. Before I left, I microwaved a few more potatoes to add to the leftover baked potatoes, then chopped those and fried them. I chopped the leftover meatloaf before I left, and then when I got home, I just re-heated the potatoes with the meatloaf in the skillet. In a lot of butter, which is the best way to re-heat leftovers.
There was also leftover Spanish tortilla, which I also fried in butter to re-heat.
It was far from gourmet, but everyone was fed.
Tuesday
Short version: Tuna mac, tomato and cucumber salad
Long version: I was at First Communion class this night, so before I left, I made a casserole of essentially macaroni and cheese, with a can of tuna added. I used Parmesan, cheddar, and a Mexican cheese that was pretty much exactly like fresh mozzarella, but way cheaper. A very cosmopolitan mac and cheese.
Every time I use fresh tomatoes now, I hear the drumbeat that heralds the end of fresh tomatoes for the year.
Too dramatic?
Wednesday
Short version: Lamb ribs, chicken slop, mashed potatoes, green peas
Long version: I'm mining the depths of the freezer now as we get to the less-desirable meats that I've been avoiding. Among those is lamb ribs.
A. gave me a recipe for a Carolina barbecue sauce--heavy on the vinegar--that he thought would work well as a marinade for the lamb ribs. I marinated them for a few hours, then cooked them on low heat a few more hour, still in the marinade. I'm told they turned out well. I don't really eat them.
For the rest of the family that doesn't appreciate lamb ribs, I used the meat from a chicken I found at the bottom of the freezer. This was one of ours, a hen that had been getting bullied so badly by the others that we had to remove her from the flock. She was pretty old, which means long cooking. I basically made stock, then pulled off the meat and used that plus some of the stock, garlic, some dried thyme the MiL sent me, cornstarch, and milk to make chicken in gravy.
The MiL used to make something like this after Thanksgiving with leftover turkey and gravy served over mashed potatoes. She called it turkey slop. This is the chicken version.
Thursday
Short version: Leftovers
Long version: I had a very short time in between the children getting home from school and the time I needed to leave with Poppy for the volleyball game she was cheering at. There was enough time to feed children before we left. Two of them had the rest of the tuna mac, to which I added the last bit of chicken and gravy. The other two had mashed potatoes and cheese, plus fried eggs. They all had leftover peas.
A. had lamb ribs, mashed potatoes, and peas.
Refrigerator check:
4 comments:
Where's the milk in your fridge? Is it in the door? I can't imagine you not having milk .
Fri- husband made burritos with leftover taco meat, everyone else scavenge before trick-or-treat.
Sat- pasta, sausage from the freezer, broccoli.
Sun- chicken in gravy, rice, homemade bread, carrots.
Mon- baked more chicken, used up leftover chicken, mashed potatoes, buttermilk bread from a friend.
Tues- tacos.
Wed- basketball season starts! I bought deli meat for sandwiches, teen made fries and a few chicken strips. Grapes. I had popcorn at the game, and the boy at my granola bar and peanut butter crackers on the way home.
Thurs- out of town for a doctor appointment. Those at home were supposed to have sandwiches chips, and apple slices. Teen with me had chips at Sam's club, then nuggets on the way home. I got home to find no kid had dinner yet. So there was some frantic sandwich and grilled cheese making. I had made a pan of shortbread, so they forgave me.
Enjoy the weekend!
There is milk! One gallon on the door where I keep the open one, and one way in the back behind other stuff. We have school today to make up for having election day off, so I'll be going in to get my usual four gallons of Sysco milk today. Then the milk will be much more noticeable in the fridge. :-)
Girl don't ever call yourself lazy! Your shirt tail never hits your back( as my granny would say). You do a good job keeping your family fed.
Ha, that's a great saying. I should perhaps have qualified that I am lazy about cleaning and organizing my refrigerator. Not in other ways. :-)
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