Friday
Short version: Larditos
Long version: I was huddled in bed most of the day with a fever, leaving A. as chef. We had some chicharrones (rendered pork skin and fat) in the freezer, so he decided to make burritos with those.
He used the giant seven-pound can of black beans that has been hanging around for awhile to make refried beans, too. He actually used the entire can, which is great, because now we have lots of prepared refried beans ready to go in the freezer.
Anyway, he added the chopped chicharrones to the refried beans, plus cheese, in flour tortillas. These were apparently very good. I didn't have any, but I heard many compliments about them. There was plenty of lard in the refried beans in addition to the chicharrones, which led one boy to dub these "larditos."
Saturday
Short version: Tuna salad, garlic bread, carrot sticks with ranch dip, experimental soup for me
Long version: I wasn't feverish this day, but A. was. Although I was better, I was far from completely recovered. I had been planning on making pizza, but I didn't feel up to it, so instead I made garlic bread with some of the dough and then made tuna salad.
Most people elected to have these together as a sandwich.
A very large sandwich.
I was still at the stage of stuffiness where I couldn't chew and breathe at the same time. I had a little chicken stock in the refrigerator, and cooked rice, but the hamburger patty that I had been thinking to use to make soup got eaten by a child before I could use it. I had some hardboiled eggs, though. In soup? Sure.
I chopped the egg and heated that up in the stock with some already-cooked onions from the freezer, the rice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
This was actually pretty good. I mean, I couldn't taste very well, but it served the purpose of feeding me with something soft and liquid-y at least.
Sunday
Short version: Spaghetti with meat sauce, green peas, chocolate milkshakes
Long version: I kept changing my mind about what to make with the ground beef I had taken out of the freezer. We'd been eating a lot of rice and bread because I'd been out of potatoes for awhile, so I thought maybe pasta would be a good change in starch.
Pretty basic meat sauce, which is never as good as meatballs but is undeniably easier.
I had just enough vanilla ice cream left for everyone to have a milkshake. To be honest, I was the one who really wanted the milkshake, but no one else minded having one either.
Monday
Short version: A seriously random collection of foods
Long version: The night before, one of the boys--the one who loves sandwiches above all else--had eaten most of the spaghetti on his plate, but not all the meat sauce. I saved that separately and made him a sandwich with it this night so it wouldn't be wasted.
Looks like he also had a mini bell pepper with it.
The other two boys had leftover spaghetti with the meat sauce.
A. had the meat sauce on leftover rice.
Poppy and I had oatmeal. I don't think I have ever in my life eaten oatmeal for dinner. I don't even eat oatmeal for breakfast, typically, but I was still feeling pretty bad, congested with lots of pressure and the kind of headachy soreness that comes from coughing and blowing my nose. I wanted something hot that didn't really require chewing. Oatmeal fit that description.
Oatmeal also happens to be one of the Poppy's favorite foods, whereas pasta is one of her least favorite foods, so that worked out for her.
Tuesday
Short version: Sorta Spanish rice, chocolate cornflake candy
Long version: I needed to make something ahead of Poppy's first Communion class so we could eat promptly upon returning home. More ground beef, plus rice, already-cooked onions, spices, salsa, and cheese. That works.
I made
this recipe for a dessert treat because one boy had standardized state testing this day that he was really not enthused about. I really didn't feel like baking, and I was out of marshmallows to make crispy rice treats. I did have cornflakes, though, and I figured there had to be some kind of dessert made with those.
Most of the family really liked these. The recipe as written says it makes fifteen of these clusters. They would be HUGE and really messy to eat if I had only made fifteen. I made 25, and I still thought they should have been smaller.
Yes, I know there are only fifteen on this tray. There was another pan elsewhere.
Wednesday
Short version: Leftovers
Long version: One kid had the last of the spaghetti. The rest of us had the Spanish rice. And there were enough of the cornflake things for everyone to have dessert again. Good thing, because the math portion of the state test was this day. Downer.
This was the day it occurred to me that I didn't actually have a cold anymore and really what I was dealing with was a minor sinus infection. Whatever the reason, I sure wasn't winning any awards for my cooking this week. Except maybe an award that acknowledged everyone ate every day. Some weeks, that's pretty good.
Thursday
Short version: Lamb chops, mashed potatoes, asparagus or raw radishes
Long version: Look! Not ground beef! Or rice!
This tasted so good after eating a lot of the same things all week. Especially the asparagus. We were definitely light on vegetables this week.
I couldn't fit all the lamb chops in one pan.
Refrigerator check:
Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?
