MPM--In Which Mark Bittman Saved Me Hundreds of Dollars

Happy Monday all!

Remember last week, where, inspired by Mark Bittman's appearance at our city's library, I was using my freezer to make dinner?

Good thing, as it turned out.

Whether the last person in the freezer (who could have been anyone, really) didn't close it all the way, or whether it pushed itself open from freezing over, I'll never know.

But yes, my freezer defrosted itself again.

It wasn't a total tragedy this time. I really think it was the permafrost just gently tipping it open, because it was only the stuff on the doors and the popsicles that were lost. For the most part, the meats (thank goodness) were still frozen completely solid. But it did change the meal plan last week. The shrimp--I was unwilling to take the chance. But some tilapia were still frozen, so we ate those, plus some sides, and a Trader Joe's pizza for the kids, and since many of the Dinner A'Fare meals all said "Defrost" anyway, I just cooked 'em up and ate 'em all week. So it wasn't what I thought I was doing, but it's a good exercise.

I'm ready to write the thing off. My husband wants to give it one more try. I have the feeling if we got rid of it, I'd miss it, because my kitchen one is so small. BUT it might be a worth experiment as there would be less impulse buying. Plus, there are probably ones out now that are far more energy efficient.

But this week continues the theme: Things We Can Eat from the Fridge.

And as you might guess, I never made it to Mark Bittman. BUT--thank you to the Free Library of Philadelphia--you can listen to the podcast here. (It's free, though I try to donate to them once a year in the annual giving campaign at work to keep it coming!)

Happy Columbus Day to all!

Monday: Grill leftovers (primarily steak) with CSA veggies

Tuesday: Happy birthday to my oldest! The traditional birthday tacos will be squeezed between gymnastics and football.

Wednesday:Can't resist a good pork roast recipe: must try this one. Mashed potatoes, and something else from the CSA box.

Thursday: Leftovers in a hurry before practice.

Friday: Game night!

So in the cooking frenzy that was last week, in addition to the freezer eat-down, I tried a new soup with the delicata squash that were hanging around (really, I just like an excuse to use my immersion blender). I went with this recipe because it was easy and I have everything but the cream. Now, let's be honest: Anything with that much cream should be frozen and served on a cone, but it does make the soup awesome too. This was a little bland, though, so I experimented (! shocking for me, but there was a ton of soup) with herbs. Rosemary was ok but a little overpowering. But still--on the chilly cold damp days--bliss. I also made the sauerkraut soup with the defrosted peas and the CSA leeks. I never thought I liked sauerkraut except with tons of molasses under a pork roast. But that was the fakey stuff in a bag. I'm really addicted to the "just cabbage and salt" old school versions in the glass jars. Yum.

And of course it wouldn't be a week if I didn't try a new DALS recipe, so there I was, raiding the canned goods (see, I'm keeping the theme here) to try the Six Kid Crowdpleaser of chicken in creamy tomato sauce. For some reason, both of my chicken eating kids flat out rejected this one, but I thought it was amazing and rediscovered mascarpone ... oh, yum.

Here's to a better week all around...go see I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menus!