Friday Food: Chili and Chowder

Friday 

Short version: Chili beans, rice

Long version: A very busy afternoon and evening. I went to the school at 3 p.m. for volleyball games and was home for about 45 minutes after those before leaving for a football game. I needed to make something ahead that could be eaten whenever.

So I cooked a whole pound of dried pinto beans and then made them into chili beans with chiles, onion, some of those banana peppers that were suprisingly spicy raw but not too hot cooked, some of the pureed squash from last year I took out of the freezer, garlic, tomato, and spices. Served over rice with chili toppings (cheese, sour cream, diced onion, hot sauce).

It was a little dicey with this pot until the liquid reduced a bit.

Saturday

Short version: Lamb and chickpea stew, bread with herb butter, giant oatmeal-raisin cookies

Long version: The few bags of lamb I still have in the freezer from last year are all stewing pieces. Good thing it's stewing season again! I used four shanks and a piece of stew meat to make stock and then pulled off the meat. I used both of those in this stew, which also had cooked chickpeas to supplement the lamb.

I went out to the garden to harvest the carrots, leeks, and parsley I used in the stew.

The leeks continue to be impressively large, and the carrots continue to be amusingly twisted.

The garlic in the stew came from the garden, too, although that was harvested awhile ago. And then I added tomato sauce, the leftover caramelized onions, the rest of the bag of pureed squash from the day before, potatoes, instant potato flakes to thicken, and yogurt at the end.

It ended up being very thick from the potato flakes, and very filling. Tasty, too.

Everyone loved the bread, too, which was just bread spread with the last of the herb butter from the steaks we had a few days previously. 

I made the cookies for Poppy's school snacks this week and, as is my custom when making these cookies, I made one giant cookies for everyone.

Sunday

Short version: Chili beans+meat, cornbread, brownies with vanilla ice cream

Long version: I added a couple of pounds of ground beef to the chili beans to make, well, chili. It's better with the meat.

Monday

Short version: Chicken fried rice or chili

Long version: I used the leftover rice from Friday to make the fried rice, adding a couple of cans of white chicken to the eggs, etc. There wouldn't have been enough of that, so I let everyone choose if they'd rather have the fried rice or leftover chili. There was about an even split, which worked out.

Tuesday

Short version: Infuriating beef ribs, rice, cabbage, commodities baked fruit with cream

Long version: I had taken a few packages of beef ribs out to thaw and when A. saw them, he mentioned how much he liked the beef ribs he got at a Chinese restaurant in New York City years ago. Hint hint.

So I baked them in a sauce of brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, some already-cooked leeks, and garlic. Unfortunately, the same thing happened with them that ALWAYS happens when I need to braise anything that's too big to fit in a pot with a tight-fitting lid and use aluminum foil to cover: The foil never gets tight enough, the liquid dries out, and whatever is in there burns.

This sauce REALLY burns, thanks to the sugar. Luckily, I caught it before it was inedible and added more water. A few times. But the sauce still tasted a bit charred. And it was an unfortunate color.

One son looked at this and said politely, "I'm sorry to say, Mom, that that does not look appetizing." I KNOW.

The general consensus was that they were pretty good, despite their unprepossessing appearance. A. was happy with them.

I needed to use up half a cabbage, which I did by making something like Holy's cabbage, but with a lot less butter. The ribs were plenty fatty enough (another reason I hate dealing with them). I saved a couple of chunks of raw cabbage for the two kids who prefer it raw.

The baked fruit was two cans of commodities peaches, one can of commodities pears, one can of commodities unsweetened applesauce, plus sugar and spices. This was very popular. Unsurprisingly. All those unsweetened canned fruits need is sugar and spices. And cream.

Wednesday

Short version: Roasted chicken and potatoes, corn, rice pudding

Long version: I had two whole chickens in the freezer, one of which I roasted this night. I salted it heavily for an hour or so, and then drizzled olive oil and lemon juice over it, plus garlic powder and thyme, before putting it in a  400 degree oven to roast until it was done. Potato cubes in with it, in a separate pan, because I can't fit all the potatoes I need in the pan with the chicken.

Pleasingly, I had beef tallow to roast the potatoes in, because I had rendered a pot of tallow the day before. The same day I was dealing with the greasy ribs. There was entirely too much fat in my kitchen on Tuesday, but I was pleased to have the tallow this day.

I had made the rice pudding the day before while the ribs were in. And there was happiness in the house. One child was saying that I should make double the amount of rice pudding I typically make. I told him I make a triple recipe as it is, and then showed him what an actual serving of rice pudding would be for a normal person. He was aghast.

This is what a triple batch looks like once my family gets to it.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken corn chowder, biscuits, lemon jello

Long version: I used the chicken carcass, which still had some meat on it, to make the chowder, of course. Just put it in a pot covered with water, throw in a few onion tops (I save these in the freezer whenever I chop an onion), and simmer until tender. 

Bones, meat, broth, and dog scraps.

I used one leek from the garden, two big carrots from the garden, onion, garlic, potatoes, tomato sauce, basil, and corn in this. I took the opportunity to use one of the cans of corn we keep getting from commodities. I could have used two cans, but frozen corn is better, so I used some frozen, too. And then some sour cream at the end.

Standard baking powder biscuits. And jello made with lemonade and gelatin that was mostly for the child whose stomach was iffy, but there was enough for everyone else to have some, too.

Refrigerator check:

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