Monday, 10/4/21

 Jason made a sort-of rye bread, and we had grilled Swiss on rye, plus finally the last of the cauliflower. The bread turned out perfectly, and made for good sandwiches, even if Aldi's Swiss isn't as sharp as I would like.

Sunday, 10/3/21

 The second of my prepared meals, spaghetti and meatballs. I didn't have quite as much sauce as I thought I did, but no one minded. The meatballs were so filling, I could hardly eat any cauliflower. More ice cream sundaes for dessert.

Oddly, I was using a different brand of pasta and Carter noticed! Maybe he is a food prodigy?

Saturday 10/2/21

 Return of the tater tot casserole. I had prepped the filling on Friday, so all that was needed was to pre-cook the tots and throw the whole shebang into the oven. I don't care what anyone says, it's delicious. And no cans of creamed soup were involved! I always forget where I got the recipe so here it is:

7 tablespoons [100 grams] unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, diced

Kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 tablespoons [55 grams] all-purpose flour

2 cups [480 ml] whole milk

2 teaspoons chicken or beef bouillon base, or 1 bouillon cube

1 pound [455 grams] 80 or 85% ground beef

2 cups [240 to 280 grams] frozen corn, peas, or a combination of the two

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup [80 grams] sour cream

One 2 pound [910 grams] bag frozen tater tots

8 ounces [230 grams] sharp Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter or oil a 9 by 13 inch [23 by 33 cm] baking dish.

2. In a large saucepan or pot, melt 6 tablespoons [85 g] of the butter over medium heat. Add half of the onion, the carrot, celery, and a pinch of salt and cook until the vegetables soften and the onion turns translucent, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the flour and stir to incorporate it into the vegetables—they will clump into one dry mass. Cook for 2 minutes. Slowly begin to stir in the milk a little bit at a time, waiting until the vegetable-flour mixture absorbs the liquid before pouring in more. Stir in the chicken bouillon base. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. In a large skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the remaining onion and a pinch of salt and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to soften. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the beef, and cook until browned, another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the corn (and/or peas, if using) and cook for 1 minute more to warm through. Remove from the heat and season with the Worcestershire sauce and salt. Add the beef-corn mixture to the pan with the creamed soup base. Add the sour cream and mix to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Cooled and covered, the hot dish can be refrigerated for up to 2 days in advance. 

4. Top with even rows of tater tots (feel free to play around with the design) and bake for 50 minutes, or until the tater tots are browned and crispy. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the cheese, and continue baking until the cheese melts, another 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

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Friday, 10/1/21

 Jason and I went over to Jay and Jodi's for snacks, drinks and games. We brought pita and hummus (homemade pita, store-bought hummus) and Jay sauteed some zucchini and between that and the drinks, we didn't really need dinner when we got home. I had made hot fudge and caramel sauce earlier in the day, so Jason and I had ice cream sundaes and called it a day. Carter got dinner at work.

Thursday, 9/30/21

 This was a truly lackluster meal that shouldn't have been: cheese and spinach ravioli and garlic bread. OK, the garlic bread was good (made from a couple of leftover rolls that Jason made), but the ravioli was just bleh. I thought I had tried that Aldi brand before, but maybe the recipe changed or maybe it was a different variety, but in any event, Carter and I were not fans. disappointing. Jason also made himself a box of Flamin' Hot Cheetoh mac and cheese (it was on sale!) just for fun. It was such an unpleasant color that I couldn't even bring myself to taste it.

Oh well, every night can't be a winner.

Wednesday, 9/29/21

 Weird eggplant grinders; Jason made the rolls (which were pretty good), and the filling was some pan-fried eggplant that I had made over the weekend. I didn't even try that on Carter (he likes eggplant parm, but he isn't really a big fan of eggplant in other forms) and gave him macaroni and cheese. Filling, but not my favorite way to eat eggplant either.

Tuesday, 9/28/21

 Once again I was facing down a meal that I don't know why I chose: tofu burritos. Meal Planning Lace is apparently a lot more optimistic than Cooking Dinner Lace. Anyway, I sauteed up crumbled firm tofu with garlic, onions and taco seasoning, and then proceeded as usual with regular taco/burrito stuff. Carter was unimpressed, to say the least. It isn't that he doesn't like tofu, but it is not really a substitute for ground beef. But honestly, it was fine (and he ate it).