Well, today I don’t have much for you in the way of recipes. I didn’t make anything too new this week. Monday was leftovers of the gouda/sausage/mac dish, Tuesday was Salmon and grilled brocolli/kale, Wednesday was poker night at our house (= pizza night) and last night was a shepherd’s pie with lamb in it.
I got my 4th to the last box from our CSA last night and it was full of peppers, beets, turnips and brocolli. I have tons of veggies in the fridge that need to get eaten. Near the end of the CSA season it seems like there is always stuff that goes to waste and rots in our crisper. I just get overwhelmed with the quantity and the time commitment of figuring out just what to make to utilize what I have.
My little helpers and I cut up a bunch of peppers, celery and onions. The celery will be dipped in peanut butter at snack time today (Anya only – Kai has a peanut allergy kid in his class) and I froze a bunch of the peppers for use in chili and goulash during the winter. I still have to freeze the onions.
I went to Kai’s Parent Information Night totally smelling like onions and peppers. I didn’t realize it until I was sitting there wondering what was that pungent, oderiferous odor. Yes, it was me. 😯
My plan for this weekend is to make a large pot of chicken noodle soup with LOTS of veggies in it. That should freeze fairly well and something I can take out this winter when needed. I will put my carrots, celery, turnips, red onions and cabbage into it, some herbs from the garden and chicken from a butcher where my parents live. Keeping it local! Keeping it yummy!
One thing I like to do with the beets is to bake them in the oven (400 degrees for about 40 minutes – just lop off the ends and clean them up), then let them cool and refrigerate. When they are cold, I can easily take off the skins and I either chop them up and add to some greens or mix them with goat cheese and a thyme-balsamic dressing for a salad of them on their own. Yum!
Oh, and another thing I made last week was stuffed jalapeno poppers for the grill. I got a whole bag of them from a friend’s garden, so I cut off the tops, cut them in half, took out the seeds (WEAR GLOVES – unless you want your hands to feel like they are on FIRE for hours afterwards), filled the boat with cream cheese and wrapped in a half slice of hickory smoked bacon. I flash froze them in a single layer on a jelly roll pan and then packaged them by the dozen. Now we can pull them out for quick appetizers on the grill. Double Yum!
I can see my grilling time is coming to an end. We don’t have much for light on our deck, so within a month it is going to be too dark to grill. It is definitely lacking in that department. Maybe I can keep it going for a little while though. I’d hate to give up my easy grilling food for the next 6 months or so. It shouldn’t snow for another month…Hopefully.
Shepard’s Pie? you had Shepard’s PIE!!!!! where was my invite???? LOL
Same thing here the grilling light is going fast. Fall is definitely in the air.
You’ve got a good plan going! I have a delicious cheesy chicken soup recipe that freezes well…when you’re ready to eat it, you just add the rice and velveeta. Okay, it’s obviously not healthy. Let me know if you want the recipe!
Did I ever thank you for the sweet baby hat? We love it SO much. M will get it out every few days and say, “I can’t wait for Luke to wear this!” Tonight when I clicked on your blog, I told her you made the hat. She was in awe. I’m not sure she realized someONE made it for us! THANK YOU!!!