Friday
Short version: Fish sticks, mashed potatoes with cheese, green salad with vinaigrette
Long version: I bought some fish sticks for Lent, which is the only time I do buy them. They were just Great Value ones, which are fine as long as you definitely do NOT follow the instructions for baking on the bag. Baking these for 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees would result in some seriously floppy, nasty fish sticks.
I baked them for at least 45 minutes at 450 degrees. They could even been in longer, but everyone was hungry and they got crispy enough that they weren't gross.
I made tartar sauce for the fish sticks, because everyone in my family prefers that to ketchup. I kind of use this recipe, but I never have capers and I use bottled lemon juice.
Saturday
Short version: Chicken, pork, and rice casserole, strawberry yogurt
Long version: I took out a big bag of chicken leg quarters to thaw and used two of the legs to make this casserole. I just simmered them in water with red chile peppers and onion until I could pull off the meat and there was chicken broth. I used the broth to cook the rice. The peppers and onion were pureed and put back with the shredded chicken, plus a can of black beans and frozen corn Then I mixed all of that with the rice and added spices, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese. At the last minute, I found about a cup of the burrito pork in the refrigerator and threw that in there, too.
Very much a throw-it-together sort of thing, but it worked out.
I had made strawberry jam and more yogurt this day, so everyone got themselves some of that after dinner.
Sunday
Short version: Trout, leftover pork, rice, green salad with vinaigrette, chocolate pudding with cream
Long version: A. went fishing with three of the children and they caught a big rainbow trout. They got home in time to have it for dinner. It was baked whole and mostly plain, with salt and parsley in the cavity, and then I made a lemon juice and olive oil dressing to pour over it after A. boned it out.
Boning in progress.
I had enough chicken-y rice that I had left out of the previous night's casserole for everyone to have it, and then I also fried the last of the pork shoulder to make the meal filling enough for all.
The pudding also helped to fill everyone up.
Monday
Short version: Greek chicken, garlic bread and hummus, carrot sticks, baked apples with cream
Long version: The majority of the bag of chicken leg quarters I had thawed was what we had this night. I used the rest of the lemon and olive oil to marinate the separated thighs and drumsticks, then baked those until they were done and browned them some under the broiler.
I had made the garlic bread the day before when I was baking bread. The hummus was some from a giant batch that I had frozen awhile ago. And the only reason I made baked apples was because the oven was on for awhile for the chicken anyway, so I figured I might as well dump a couple of jars of canned apples in a dish and bake those with more spices and maple syrup.
That was a good call.
Tuesday
Short version: Chicken and potatoes or leftover chicken and rice casserole, raw radishes or bell peppers
Long version: There were four pieces of chicken left. I stripped the meat from those, chopped it up, and fried it with some nuked potatoes, plus spices and frozen corn, before I left to take Poppy to First Communion class. When I got home, I re-heated that with grated cheddar cheese.
Exceptionally ugly food.
Some had that, some had the casserole.
Wednesday
Short version: Salisbury steaks with milk and onion gravy, mashed potatoes, frozen peas, strawberry yogurt
Long version: Definitely time for a break from chicken and pork. The hungry boys were overjoyed to see large mounds of ground beef and gravy on their plates.
They didn't eat so much that they weren't able to find room for strawberry yogurt after dinner, though. That strawberry jam I made did not last very long.
Thursday
Short version: Sausages, cornbread, raw radishes and bell peppers
Long version: I cooked one package of sweet Italian sausage and one of jalapeno/cheddar, and then there were two Salisbury steaks left for the child who doesn't care for sausage.
The cornbread recipe I use calls for 2.5 cups of corn flour. I usually use about half masa and half cornmeal. This time, I had almost 2 cups left in the bag of masa. I wanted to use that up, so I only used a little cornmeal. This made a much softer cornbread. I thought it was good, but it was not popular with my family. Oh well.
Refrigerator check:
Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?
8 comments:
Fri- tuna salad, grilled cheese, chips, apple sauce.
Sat- pulled pork, which turned out dry? I shouldn't have followed directions about draining the liquid. Hot dogs, apple slices, chips.
Sun- beef stew, string beans, carrots, rolls, mashed potatoes I think.
Mon- baked chicken , baked potato, sweet potato, rice, broccoli, string beans.
Tues- tacos. Fruit. I had a bagel.
Wed- roast pork which didn't defrost enough, so I had to microwave pieces to complete the cooking. Put the partially cooked hunk into the freezer for another day. Hash browns, string beans, rolls, broccoli?
Thurs- turned leftover chicken and rice into fried rice for husband. Picky eater grabbed nuggets. One son at pep band bought concession stand food. The two other kids had a late snack before their special olympics basketball game against the high school teachers. ( so the pep band). They had muffins and some other stuff when we got home. I had some popcorn at the game. It's a goofy sort of game, though sometimes the teachers ( football coach/history teacher, math teacher who was the superstar on basketball and football teams a few years ago) do some real basketball just to show they can. My son practices with the special olympics team to help them learn, and he occasionally plays on the team for games that don't count towards stats. He won't play on the team next week when we go to states- a snowstorm canceled sectionals so they did a random drawing to determine which team gets to go to states. We got it, though there are a few teams who can play real ball. I feel bad for them, but we'll go to states snyways and lose gracefully.
I do the same thing for fish sticks- cook them for a lot longer. Deep fat frying makes them crisp but too moist inside. Have a great weekend!
Fish sticks are terrible unless you really over cook them. I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t tolerate even looking at floppy gooey fish sticks!
Fri- potato soup, sourdough
Sat- ground beef in a mushroom cream gravy over rice with swatted vegetables (onions, green beans, and carrots)
Sun- people came over and we had salsa verde chicken tacos with black beans and rice. Dessert was peanut butter dark chocolate cookies with Maldon salt on top
Mon- lasagna, bread sticks, salad. I cannot stand making or eating lasagna so I only do it a couple of times a year. It’s just so much work!
Tues- Breakfast for dinner! Baked oatmeal and frittata with bacon, sausage, and potatoes
Wed- it was my birthday and my one request was that I didn’t have to cook or clean. I knew that would mean dinner was eating out or leftovers but I didn’t even care. It ended up being leftovers!
Thurs- dinner for a family with a new baby and they requested chicken spaghetti, salad, fruit salad, and sourdough
Happy birthday! That is the best birthday request for the main cook in a household. I always plan on either leftovers or something from the freezer for my birthday. Often something I put there a couple of weeks previously just so it would be ready on my birthday. :-)
Saturday: We went to a baseball spring training game mostly to see our granddaughter sing the national anthem. This is her fourth year; the first time she was twelve. Did a wonderful job. Afterward we went to our son and daughter-in-laws, and spent time with her parents, sister and sister’s family. There we ate Cuban sandwiches, subs, chips, dips, lots of raw veggies, and pound cake with strawberries. A lovely day.
Sunday: grilled cheese sandwiches and minestrone soup.
Monday: bourbon marinated salmon on the grill, “baked” potatoes on the grill, roasted zucchini, sliced tomatoes, avocado and cucumbers, plus toasted cheese bread.
Tuesday: mahi seasoned with Saxon completa and sautéed on the stove, rigatoni with Alfredo sauce, green beans and sliced tomatoes, Italian bread.
Wednesday: out with our next-door neighbors for burgers at Chili’s.
Thursday, thin sliced chicken breast with Saxon completa and sautéed on the stove, roasted broccoli and Brussel sprouts, boiled new potatoes, and Italian bread.
Tonight we are going to our favorite Mexican restaurant.
Oops! I used Sazon completa. It autocorrected me.
Good to know about the fish sticks. I tried them once as a shortcut for fish tacos. Once being the key word! They were terrible. I have an air fryer that would probably do the trick now of making them palatable. I’ve seen advertising for some gluten free fish sticks, so I may try again. Fish sticks were definitely a part of my childhood.
I’m slowly getting back to cooking. Standing for long periods of time on the “surgical” leg is getting much better. Sometimes, I need to sit for a bit though. I do have a stool, but so far haven’t felt like I needed to use that. I have family coming next week, so the stool may become my saving grace.
That's so great that your granddaughter can and does do that. I love it when an actual person sings the national anthem, rather than a recording of a professional singer.
I think the air fryer is the most recommended way to cook them now, but I don't have one. They're also good pan-fried in butter, if you're not making a huge quantity like I have to. :-) I'm glad you're recovering and I hope you can host family without too much pain.
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