I’m a week behind in even writing this post. Some weeks, the diary posts are getting more difficult to motivate myself to write. That probably means they are getting less interesting for you to read as well. But I committed to memorializing our quarantine life this way, and I still believe it will make for an interesting read down the road when this period in history is just a memory. So here we go on week 29’s food journey.
Thursday (10/8) – Once again, the husband and I just did leftovers. My stomach had been upset all day, and I just didn’t have the energy to deal with dinner. Besides, I still have the goal of not wasting the leftovers. So the hubby reheated to lasagna I had frozen.
Friday (10/9) – I made my Disheveled Josesphs and baked some tator tots. I used half pork/half beef for these, and they were very good. I did the version using the chili sauce since I had it. I also remembered that baked tator tots are just not quite as good as deep fried. I know they are healthier but definitely not as much of a treat. And before I get yelled at, the entire weekend is not devoid of vegetables.
Saturday (10/10) – I took the leftover Disheveled Joseph mixture and topped it with drop biscuit dough and baked it. When it was near done, I topped it with cheddar and baked until starting to brown. No lie, this was fantastic! I guess I’ll call it a sloppy joe casserole? It reminded me of a Hamburger Helper dish my sister and I use to make but without all the sodium and preservatives.
Sunday (10/11) – I pan fried pork shoulder steaks with garlic and rosemary and sautéed some green beans in butter and garlic. These pork shoulder steaks were from back when I ordered a ton of meat from Whittingham & Sons, and they were fantastic quality. I’m tempted to order from them again, although last time I looked they didn’t have the same combination I previously ordered as an option.
Monday (10/12) – I attempted to recreate the creamy ricotta, spinach and pesto pasta I made one night in a “save dinner” mode when a main ingredient I needed for the originally planned dish turned out to be bad. I kind of failed. It just was not as flavorful as the previous time. I’m not sure what was different, as I didn’t write this one down the first time. But I definitely want to figure out how to make it as good as the first time, as the husband really liked it. The kid will eat almost any cheese sauce based pasta dish.
Tuesday (10/13) – We had another leftovers night. We still had more pork steaks and the sloppy joe casserole to eat up. Also, if you haven’t noticed a pattern, we tend to have leftovers more frequently on non-kid nights. This is because she has a weird thing about leftovers, though it is improving, and because I haven’t learned how to make my meat dishes more proportional it seems.
Wednesday (10/14) – I decided to make a mushroom risotto using the mushroom broth I made previously. This was not a flawed decision. This risotto was delicious. I served it with red lentils and Brussels sprouts. This prompted a lengthy discussion on red beans and rice and its many variations throughout the world. So good food and good conversation.
It wasn’t a bad cooking week. It also wasn’t as exciting as some weeks. I would say the highlights were that sloppy joe casserole and the mushroom risotto. My thinking is that if there are highlights, it’s still a good week. Also, I’m going to try to make up for it in the next week’s post.
Foodie's Delimma 