Once we got home from Montreal, we knew that we had a very busy few weeks ahead of us. The weekend before our crazy week, I decided to prep a ton of food so that we wouldn't have to mess about in the kitchen making lunches each evening. Some foods pack better than others and since I had some ground meat in the freezer, I decided to do meat loaves, 2 ways. An Italian-deer version for C and a turkey-veggie one of myself.
I started with the same base for each of them. Shredded carrots and onion, to add flavour and give the loaf some moistness. I pulled out the veggie bag from the freezer to add the discards to for making soup stock and then popped it back into the freezer for later.
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| veggie discards for future soup base |
Carrots and onion were roughed chopped and the placed into the food processor.
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| Carrots and onions about to be blended |
A few pulses in the processor keep the vegetables minced, without getting too mushy.
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| Carrots and onion minced |
I started with the deer meatloaf. C hunts and this ground meat was from last season. Danny's Whole Hog does the processing for us. Ground meat, sausages, patties, smokies.
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| Deer sausage |
A packet of deer sausage, an egg, some panko (I was out of regular bread crumbs), basil, oregano, and some of the carrot and onion.
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| Deer meatloaf ingredients |
Now, the fun part. Mixing up the ground meat, shudder. I squished the meatloaf mixture up until well blended, then shaped hunks of it into large meatball sizes, and flattened them. A little pasta sauce on top, baked for about 20 minutes and done!
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| Mini deer meatloaves - perfect lunch size! |
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| Some pasta sauce completes the protein dish. |
Now, time for some turkey meatloaf! Same carrot and onion base, ground turkey, and fresh cilantro.
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| Ground turkey meatloaf ingredients |
Another meatloaf on the way. Mix mix mix. This time, a real meatloaf, instead of individual ones.
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| Turkey meatloaf, ready for baking. |
Baked meatloaf and it smells amazing! Hearty slices of lean meat with veggies, perfect for my lunch protein.
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| Ground turkey meatloaf slices |
A few Tupperware containers, some pasta salad that I made earlier, and the bulk of our lunches are ready!
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| Lunch prep |
Next on the list...using up some coleslaw that was beginning to turn. We used to make our way through the big bags of coleslaw but lately, we have been slowing down on using up this mix. I wasn't willing to see 1/4 of a bag go to waste, so decided to make my mom's creamed cabbage as a side for lunch. My mom used whole cabbages for hers, but I figured that I could make it taste the same with shredded cabbage.
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| Leftover coleslaw |
First, the coleslaw needs to be sauteed down until just tender.
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| Cooked cabbage |
With the cabbage cooked and off the heat, I started making the white sauce. Melt about 2 tbsp of butter in a pot and then add equal parts of flour. Mix until thick. Then, add about 1 cup of milk and mix over the heat until it's thick. Now, you have a white sauce. Add some cheese, and you have a cheese sauce. Voila!
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| Melted butter |
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| Butter, flour, milk to make a white sauce |
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| Add cheese to make cheese sauce |
Simply combine the cheese sauce with the cooked cabbage, top with breadcrumbs, and bake. This didn't taste like my mom's creamed cabbage, but I find it's impossible to recreate family favorites.
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| Creamed cabbage bake |
Alright, we're on a roll here. Next item. Snack. I buy the big bags of almonds from Costco now and to jazz then up, I like to add some spices and bake them. Making your own flavoured almonds are super easy, and by using egg whites instead of oil, you get a healthier snack than the store-bought variety. One egg white, some curry powder, paprika, cinnamon, coriander, and chili powder.
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| Egg white mixed with spices |
Mix the almonds into the egg white mixture and then bake until crispy. You'll need to check the almonds a few times, and be sure to shake them up a bit because they'll start to stick.
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| Mix almonds into egg whites and spices |
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| Almonds, roasting |
Since I am on a roll, it's time to make dinner. Mexican flavours are on the menu with black beans, jalapeno peppers, red pepper, corn kernels, fresh salsa, onion and cilantro.
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| Mexican frittata ingredients |
I chopped up all of the larger ingredients and mixed in the drained and rinsed beans and corn. I just love colorful and flavorful dishes like this one.
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| Mexican mix |
Now, dump all of these ingredients into a lightly greased oven-proof pan, I like to use cast-iron.
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| Mexican mix into greased pan |
Mix together some eggs and milk, grated cheese, salt, pepper, and pour this into the pan, over the vegetable mixture. Put the pan into the oven and bake until brown and puffy. You can test the frittatta by inserting a wooden skewer into the egg to check for done-ness.
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| Frittata before the oven |
This is how your frittatta should look when it comes out of the oven. Browned, hot, and raised.
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| Baked frittata |
I think it is time to take a cooking break now. All the week's lunches are made, the lunch side dish finished, snacks for work, and dinner ready. Time to sit down, enjoy a hot hearty meal, and relax with my hubby. As I type this, it is the end of a long weekend. Hubs is in the bedroom reading a book about Tent City that he's absorbed in, I'm writing this blog post with Law & Order on in the background. The time is 6:18pm. Time for dinner. We have lots of leftovers so I'm not sure what we'll eat, but I think dessert tonight is going to be a fruit crisp. I bid everyone adieu, a happy Thanksgiving weekend, and a relaxing evening with their loved ones. Hugs.
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| Dinner |
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