This is an odd week to start a food blog. I decided that my kitchen is overly full of food. The kids who eat escargot (KWEE, aka my kids) will help reduce stores. I decided to buy nothing but milk, bread and fruit at the grocery store this week. Here’s how it has played out, thus far.
Saturday evening, the boys came home from visiting their dad. They were pooped and had spent the day at Concord Mills, so the last thing they wanted to do was go to a different mall to flesh out their fall school wardrobes as we had planned. So I had to make dinner when I planned on eating in the mall.
So I started on my pantry cleanout initiative – operation clean out. I had a bag of frozen meatballs. I rarely use prepackaged products, but had them in the freezer, so they fell to operation clean out. I made spaghetti and meatballs, which um, confession time, here, my kids who eat escargot don’t like spaghetti. They will eat escargot and try absolutely anything, but they just aren’t wild about spaghetti, so unlike most American families, we don’t eat it particularly often.
Basic Recipe for Bolognaise with Frozen Meatballs.
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 rib of celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 full size carrot, scrubbed and chopped
• 1 big (28 oz?) can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine
• Dried oregano (or fresh, if available)
• Fennel Seeds
• Red pepper flakes
• 1 bag of frozen meatballs. I think it was 1 lb or so.
Sauté vegetables in olive oil in a very large skillet or Dutch oven. When onions are translucent, add tomatoes, beef broth and wine. Roughly cut up the tomatoes in the pan. Bring this to a simmer; add herbs and spices to taste. Add frozen meatballs and simmer/low boil until meatballs are hot and the sauce has reduced somewhat, stirring occasionally. This takes about 30 minutes.
Serve over spaghetti, vermicelli, or on crusty Italian bread as a meatball sub. We had meatball subs with the leftovers on Sunday after church.
Monday, both of the KWEEs had soccer games and playdates but mercifully no homework. The 5 year old KWEE’s friend was at our house. The 10 year old KWEE was at his buddy’s house. Since mom de KWEE (Aka, your blogger) forgot said soccer matches until after all play dates were set up, I had to get elder KWEE home at 5:00 and did not have a cell number for the mother of the child who was visiting my house. She was getting her hair done.
I called a teammate of the elder KWEE to get him a ride to the game because he needed to be there about the time that the younger KWEE’s friend’s dad was expected. So I now had a fun supper issue. I had a nonKWEE at my house for dinner and am still in the first wave of Operation Clean Out. The freezer rendered 4 chicken and apple sausages. Aidelle’s is the brand, I think. My kids love them and they’re much healthier than hotdogs. As a matter of fact, younger KWEE calls them hot dogs.
To serve with the chicken and apple sausages, grilled on my grill pan, my pantry rendered 2 very large sweet potatoes that I baked. My crisper drawer provided about ½ a package of Brussels sprouts – which the mom de KWEE had to learn to eat as an adult.
Brussels sprouts were the only food that I flat wouldn’t touch for the first 36 years or so of my life. I had one sprout sliced and sauted in butter from my mother’s plate in a restaurant in Richmond, Va. I decided they were edible when not boiled or steamed the way she made them in the 80’s. So I started playing with them. Here’s what I did with them
Brussels Sprouts Redeemed
• ½ bag or fresh Brussels sprouts – maybe 15? Ends cut off and sliced through the core
• ¼ large onion chopped
• ½ roasted red pepper, chopped
• 1 ½ T butter
• Splash olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the onion in the butter until it’s translucent. Add sliced Brussels sprouts and sauté until they become more green. Add the red pepper to warm through, add olive oil if more fat is necessary.
Yes, I am the sort of person who has leftover roasted red peppers in my fridge, frequently. The nonKWEE child visiting my house evidently doesn’t eat meat at home. He scarfed down his Chicken and apple sausage and about 1/3 of a sweet potato. I apologized for spoiling his dinner to his father, who was dumbfounded that he ate meat by his own volition!
On Tuesday Night, we had an afternoon appointment and an evening PTO meeting, so I pulled a macaroni and cheese that I had stuck in the freezer for such an evening out and baked it. Macaroni and cheese is a near religious experience in the KWEE extended family. I will devote an entire entry to Macaroni and cheese, but not now.
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