Friday Food: Vermont and Back

Starting with last week's Thursday, because I was traveling and didn't know what we would be eating when I posted last week's food recap ahead . . .

Thursday 

Short version: Chicken, roasted vegetables, crackers and cheese

Long version: This was our day of traveling to Vermont. We arrived at the rental house about 7 p.m. My parents and my sister and her fiance were already there. My parents had bought a bunch of food for the house, including rotisserie chickens. They also roasted some vegetables--sweet potatoes, squash, peppers--and so we sat down to eat as soon as we got there.

You can also assume there were lots of snacks and desserts in addition to the actual food. Because there were lots of snacks and desserts at the house.

Friday

Short version: Pork and vegetable stew, bread and butter, cheese

Long version: My mom had planned the stew and bought all the ingredients for it. She chopped most of the vegetables while I was cutting up and browning the pork tenderloins, but then she had to leave for the rehearsal dinner, so I finished the stew. It had sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, bell peppers, spinach, beef stock, tomato sauce, a bunch of random herbs, and cream in it. I also added a couple of tablespoonfuls of bacon grease that had been saved from breakfast. 

I put out the bread and butter and cheese because I wasn't sure how much of the stew the kids would eat, but everyone seemed to like it in the end. They ate the bread and cheese, too, though.

We ate outside on the porch. It was a little chilly, but the view was worth it.

So Vermonty.

Saturday

Short version: Eclectic wedding food

Long version: The food at this wedding was just a bunch of things the bride and groom like. There were pizza and sliders and roasted vegetables and potatoes and turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce and a tomato and mozzarella salad and probably more things I'm forgetting.

My plate.

Also cookies and brownies. The cake was made by my sister's fiance. The bride--my sister's step-daughter--did not want a commercially baked cake. Smart girl. So my sister's fiance made the chocolate cake with chocolate frosting he always makes for my sister's birthday. It was all homemade and it was very good. Certainly the best wedding cake I've ever encountered.

Sunday

Short version: Whatever

Long version: This was our family's last night at the rental house, so we were just eating whatever was around to finish it up. I had the last of the pork stew, plus some of the leftover boursin cheese from the wedding. The kids had rotisserie chicken and I think crackers, plus fruit.

Monday

Short version: Breakfast burritos and green salad with vinaigrette at home

Long version: This was the day we flew home. We got home just about the time that A. got back from his school bus run. I made some very fast breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, cheese, potatoes (pre-cooked in the microwave), and salsa to wrap in flour tortillas.

To my surprise, the lettuce that had been in the refrigerator was still good. I didn't have any other vegetables to add to the lettuce, so it was just the lettuce and a vinaigrette, but at least I got some kind of vegetable into everyone.

Tuesday

Short version: Chicken and rice with caramelized onions, baby carrots with ranch dip, honeydew melon

Long version: I used one of the roosters to make the rice and caramelized onion skillet dish everyone likes. 

I don't ever buy baby carrots, but my vegetable options at the tiny store in the village were pretty limited. And then when I got home from that store and was getting some collards for my salad, I saw the carrots in the garden.

Whoops. Forgot about those. I dug one just to see how big it was and was surprised by its size. Yay.

The honeydew melon came from the commodities boxes that were delivered this day. We got two of the melons. They were HUGE. Like, the size of volleyballs. I cut one up this day and everyone ate as much as they wanted. 

Wednesday

Short version: Cheeseburger casserole, green peas

Long version: I used one two-pound package of ground beef to make the casserole, which also had potatoes, diced dill pickles, onion, garlic, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, grated cheddar, milk, and one of the many, many small cans of cream of chicken soup I keep getting from commodities in it. 

A. calls this Big Mac casserole, which is also appopriate.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken and rice soup, garlic bread, cheese

Long version: I was supposed to sub this day, so I made dinner ahead of time. I made all of the vegetable and stock part of the soup Wednesday while I was making the casserole, and then just added the leftover rooster and rice, plus a couple of cans of canned white chicken (also something I've been getting a lot of from commodities) in while I was heating the vegetable part up.

The vegetables were onion, garlic, carrots, leeks, collard greens, sauerkraut, some of a can of spaghetti sauce, and a can of corn. Pleasingly, five of those things were from the garden.

These four fresh things--collards, carrots, garlic, leeks--plus the sauerkraut I canned last year.

I made the garlic bread the day before, too, when I was baking bread. And then I didn't have to sub after all and already had dinner made. Sweet.

Refrigerator check:

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