Quick! It's Dinnertime!

Ok, ok, I just hate the feeling of a post hanging over me, like a dead weight. So, because I promised it, and because I really truly want to be accountable to all of you, here is this past week, dinnerwise:

Saturday
Complete misunderstanding with DH led him to order barbeque without me knowing. I had asked for a break after a very long day of being out and about with kids (including a birthday party), he thought I meant I needed a rescue, and so he was providing one. But when I realized what he was doing I threw a little temper tantrum in the driveway, "NO! I didn't mean for you to get dinner, I just meant I needed you to keep the kids off me for a few minutes so I can take a break, drink my tea, and get my energy back before making dinner!" Too late, my knight in shining armor informed me, the order had been placed, and he drove off with all the kids to pick up dinner and give me a quiet home for a few minutes.

So, MAJOR frugal fail there, and complete dinner fail--but ain't my Dear Husband sweet? He brought home pork barbeque sandwiches (with extra sauce--a must) and pulled pork sandwiches you dip in what they call a molassas wash. Ohhhhhhhh, it is good. Sides of coleslaw, barbeque beans, and potato salad. All much better than KFC.

Sunday
Still eating pork sandwiches tonight for dinner, reheated in the oven until warmed to perfection, the bread almost better toasted than fresh. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Love being "flexitarian" at times like this.

Monday
Gone all day on a homeschool adventure with my two oldest and my dear Becky and her two girls--a live Science performance (awesome!) almost two hours drive from home, and then stopping by the Mission San Jose on the way back. (And thank you so much, my dear Rosa, for adding my littles to yours for the day!) Get home around 6:30, just fed the kids sliced garlic bread with cheese toasted on top (with tomato and avocado, yum)--can't recall what else I might have served with it, probably pear or apple, milk to drink. Oh wait, I think I served some of Great-Grandma Paulene's home canned plums.

Well, not a great meal, but not devoid of nutrition.

Tuesday
Finally made the dinner I was going to make Sat. night: one of my favorites, vegetable chowder from scratch. I vary the veggies used depending upon what I have on hand; this time I used fresh staples and also cleaned out the freezer of leftover veggies and so the soup had sauted onion and carrot, potato, zucchini, green beans, broccoli, sweet corn, canned kidney beans (drained and rinsed), kale and green peas, all in a milky broth thickened with shredded cheddar. No need for additional broth when you have so many good flavored things in it! I did add lots of pepper, dried basil and parsley. (If anyone is interested in a soup tutorial, just let me know. : )

Served with toasted garlic bread and milk.

(You may notice we don't eat a lot of fruit or raw veggies at dinner--we eat that mainly at breakfast and lunch/snacks, so don't get scared here by lack of such mentioning! Except you can tell we had a special on tomatoes and avocado here this week.)

Wednesday
Beans and rice are oh so nice. Canned black beans (did not think ahead to cook dry, too bad), rinsed and drained, served over rice, in today's case basmati. Topped with shredded cheddar, sprinkled with a little pepper and cumin, and fresh tomato and avocado. Eaten with corn tortilla chips and milk on the side.

(Can you tell I am into one-pot meals? Forget the side dishes, just toss your salad/veggie in with your main dish! ; )

Thursday
Decided to declutter some old squash (something like pumpkin) out of the freezer, and made it into a soup (can you tell soups are my fall-back dish when I need to clean out the fridge/freezer? That and they are really good for you--since you drink the broth no nutrients are lost in the cooking--and they are frugal and so easy!). Sauted onion and garlic in olive oil, added thawed and pureed squash and a can of organic tomato sauce, as well as the leftover black beans and rice from night before, let simmer for a while. Added lots of cumin and oregano and some tobasco-ish sauce. Tasted and decided it got too spicy, so added some milk and the last of the cheddar (not enough to taste it, but added nice body and toned down the squash flavor). Ended up pretty good, not amazing, but I found myself going back for seconds.

It was just Mexican-ish tasting that it tasted great with those tortilla chips again. ; )

Served it to the kids with a side of Great-Grandma's home canned cherries (can you tell I am also cleaning out the pantry?).

Friday
Finishing up the leftover soup and chips and home canned cherries.

So, there you have it. Not the best week for cooking dinners, and yet I did not feed the family complete crap. And like I hinted yesterday, my brain and blood sugar really liked that pork.

And I love having leftovers around--so awesome, esp. for that 4:00 low-blood-sugar daze when I need to eat something hearty to give me the energy to make dinner, which is of course so ironic and my major stumbling block (can't cook until I eat, but can't eat until I cook). This part of the cycle is when I can usually be found without energy and therefore hanging too long on the computer, which then makes dinner all that much harder to make, and all that much later to the table. . . which is why I meant to tell you the time I had dinner on the table each night too, but this far into the week I just don't remember anymore. But it was better!

I am amending my ways, ladies! Thank you for helping me get healthier cooking habits into gear!