Things I Had in My Kitchen

I have been trying to stretch everything that I have lately as far as meals go. I will admit that it's partly for economical reasons. But it's also partly because I really hate driving on potentially icy roads. And even more so I just hate the cold. So, in my hermit ways of the last two or three weeks with only quick trips out for staples like milk and eggs, I have come up with some interesting meals. Fortunately, when we came back from our Christmas vacation, I made a prolonged grocery trip, which has helped immensely. As part of that trip, I found salmon on sale for a ridiculously low price. My worry that it might not be any good was outweighed by the fact that just the day before I had been thinking about how we needed more fish in our diet (and it was surprisingly good in the end). And apparently before the break, I had bought some tilapia and shrimp. And, before the break, some good friends of ours were moving and gave us some deer meat. So, yes, all of the following foods really were to be found in my kitchen.

Broiled Pelehu Salmon with broccoli (two separate times)

Patties of ground turkey, spinach, and feta with Persian rice

Kebab koubideh with Persian rice and veggies (two separate times)

Steamed salmon and asparagus with a homemade hollandaise sauce

Broiled barbecue chicken with broccoli

Venison schnitzel, green salad, and cornbread muffins made with honey and real kernels of corn

Pork chops and garlic mashed red potatoes and broccoli (we eat a lot of broccoli in this house)

Pasta of various kinds with a ground turkey meat sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese (this meal happens usually once a week or more)

Lots of ravioli with either a red sauce or an olive oil and herbs and grated cheese topping

Other frozen things from Trader Joe's and Costco (lots of Spanakopita from Costco -- one box goes a long way with just one person; pot-stickers; a couple pesto pizzas)

Multi-colored rotini with salmon and green peppers in a dill-lime sauce

A very strange but strangely good chili made with barley and garbanzo beans and leftover frozen Turkey (from Thanksgiving!) and frozen collard greens. Oh wait, I think the word for this is Slumgullion. Grandpa Lee would be proud.

Parmesan and lemon-pepper breaded tilapia with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli

Various breakfast/brunches/dinners of French toast or waffles and eggs or oatmeal, often with applesauce or jams

I volunteered to take "a salad of some kind" to a luncheon at a friend's tomorrow, but I didn't want to go to the grocery store, and I realized that I can make a fruit salad with fresh apples, frozen raspberries, and canned peaches. Random, but what fruit salad isn't?

I'm also taking a dessert to a friend's tomorrow night. And I had all the ingredients to make a flan.

And flan got me thinking of Mexican food this afternoon, so I spur of the moment decided to have shredded chicken in a mole sauce with green salad and home-made corn tortillas (the old lady at Tumacacori really inspired me). I didn't have masa, but I managed to make some pretty decent tortillas with cornmeal and flour. And I had a bottle of mole paste that I've been meaning to try for a while now.

Funny how when I force myself, I realize how much I have available to me in my own storage and freezer. I'm a lot farther along with the food storage than I thought I was. Of course, now I will have to replenish a few things, but we're supposed to rotate, right? (Says the girl who just found a can of sweetened-condensed milk from 2007.)