Mondays and cooking the wolf

I recently talked about keeping food around for when people are hungry.  Soup is really one of my go tos.  But what happens when no one know what is for dinner?  I start looking through the refrigerator to find something to make into dinner.  None of us are very found of going out.  

Lately, I find I have been making casseroles that are rifting on Mexican flavors.  I try to keep a couple jars of cooked beans in the refrigerator at all times.  That way I CAN have soup any time I wish.  There is normally cheese and recently, there have been tortillas.  The boyos find they are a helpful side.  If there are any meat bits, they can go in.  I can add vegetables if there is something that fits the flavors.  Then the possibilities are endless.

The one pictured above is quite simple.  I really only had tortillas, cheese, and beans.  But I warmed the beans, flavored them milder then I normally do and added oregano, and layered with cheese and tortillas.  I popped it into the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until bubbly.  It tasted like enfrijoladas but in a casserole.  The only problem was there was not enough leftover for the boyos lunches.

One that I did not take a picture of, I used a green chili enchilada sauce as a base.  And soup. I used soup as one of the layers.  It was put together very similarly to the first one but I think I had a little leftover ground beef.  It tasted totally different.  But this time there was enough for the boyos the next day.  Then my Beloved started figuring how cheap it was to feed the crew for two meals.  It was about $3 a meal per person.  He was comparing this to going out.  But it was food that was close to being inedible.

This last week, I made something that was vegetarian again because I had no leftover meat bits.  I did have some cream cheese that was close to going bad so I blended that with a jar of cooked beans to be used as a sauce.  I heated four jars of plain beans and seasoned them spicy this time.  I had Koda Bear grate cheese for me and he and my Beloved layered beans, cheese, bean sauce, salsa, and tortillas into the casserole pan.  I baked until bubbly and it fed everyone at the table.  It fed the boyos the next day.  Plus it was my lunch and the Tall Short Persons.  

I have started with the Imperfect Produce boxes and I will see how that changes thing.  We do eat veg but Mondays have seemed to be using leftovers.  But I can be creative.  I did laugh at the bunch of turnips and the bunch of beets.  They were both one huge one!  But I like both roasted so it is all good.  I wonder how that roasted veg would taste in one of these......

How to cook a wolf

I am really not cooking wolves.  I am referring to the book written by MFK Fisher called How To Cook A Wolf.  Basically, it is a well known treatise on who to make ends meet in a very common sense way.  It was written in 1942 and still is very wise.

Where it comes to play in my life, is that we have added three people to our household.  Plus the boyos in the shop.  We have money for food but when there are no plans for food, what to eat at 7 pm becomes difficult.  Because the food in my kitchen is food that needs to be made into something most of the time.  Which means that food for dinner might not happen until 9. 

Also, Koda Bear can come home from school hungry.  I do not plan snack food.  There is usually bread but what if more is wanted.  Or needed.  He is growing.

One part of the solution is to make sure there is soup in the house.  I took a potato bacon soup that Koda Bear did not really like, greens that really needed to be used, beans, and vegetable broth and put is all into the slow cooker. 

I let it cook all day.  Then blended it.  I adjusted the seasonings and all was good.  I served it to family company later the first evening.  I ate it before I went coaching.  It is just nice to have in the refrigerator as a go to.  And it is made!

More of this is happening in my life.  It also cleans out the refrigerator a bit.  When I have veg that is not at its best, I can always blend it into soup.  I do admit, most of these come out vegetarian but it does all depend on what bits and blobs are left over from past meals.

the infusing has begun!

Monday night, my Beloved, a friend, and I went out for dinner.  We went to a place that was known for its tacos and infused tequilas.  El Bad Big.  Their tacos are yummy. Their vegetables are fabulous.  And their tequila!  It is wild.  They actually store all the infusing tequila in a three story case so you can peer at it all.  So fun!  But it gave me ideas, especially after having a margarita made with infused tequila.  

The boyos and I went to lunch at the liquor store that also has a gourmet grocery and a deli.  I bought tequila for sipping, margaritas, and infusing.

I decided I was going to infuse all of this:  tea, blackberries, coffee, grapefruit, orange peel, ginger, and habanero.  

Three days to four weeks.  I get to see how this tastes.  It is how I make my own vanilla but I use rum and vanilla beans.  My sister uses vodka and vanilla beans.  She made some at Christmas and I am excited to try it.

Patience.  I just have to have patience.