patti

Being supportive is as valuable as a good idea. Thank you!

You are very kind. And despite the complaints I made in today’s post about this week’s meal, I am having fun (when I’m not this tired). 🙂 I get a lot out of it, for many different reasons. Thank you for appreciating this project.

I’m in the recliner, drinking coffee and resting my feet. In the words of an extended family member, “Long time I didn’t be so tard (tired).” Despite a number of mistakes made because I can’t count, 22 bagged meals were delivered to the community fridge. You can clearly see there are 22 containers of soup/stew. I saw 24. I have no excuses. (The containers are recycled chopped veg containers. Tacky? Maybe, but it saved a little money, and why have I been saving them if not to use them?) I cut the sheet pan cornbread incorrectly and didn’t notice till almost all of it was packaged for delivery that I was six pieces short. WTH? My husband went to Albertsons (nearest store) and bought some of their store made cornbread, which lists sugar as the first ingredient. It is cake. Ugh. Sorry to the six who got a dessert instead of something good to have with their soup. Again, there is no excuse. How could I not count correctly? My husband doesn’t always like the CFM because he isn’t a fan of casseroles, pasta salads, and a whole lot of other things, but he was really interested in this soup, and I had assured him there would be some for his supper. Ahem, well, when I make a batch for him this weekend, he’ll have some for supper. The 17 quart roaster full (spinach wasn’t in the recipe, nor was Italian sausage, but I included both): And a six quart pot, not as far along in the cooking. Most bags got three oranges, although only two in this bag. They were very small. Also, a spoon was added after the pic. Delivery didn’t happen till almost 2:00 pm. But it is done! I had intended a longer post, but this is all for now! Thanks for reading.

And there are days when hardly anything is going on. 🤷🏼‍♀️

The plan for today was to prep and cook the hobo stew so that flavors will meld for tomorrow’s meal. To that end, I grocery shopped yesterday and started assembling the ingredients this morning. Before I could gather it all to begin, I got a text from my son, asking if I’d cook dinner for them. Three out of four family members are down with cold and flu symptoms, and the three year old can’t yet cook! (I’d actually made the offer yesterday, when two out of the four were sick.) The extra grocery store trip and the start of the meatball stew (one of my son’s favorites, not mine) means I haven’t begun the CFM. Taking a break and gathering my energy for this afternoon’s work. Partially assembled ingredients: The gathering of the pots. First batch of meatballs browning. Meatball stew starting to simmer.

Hamburger steak with cheese and red onions. Air fryer green beans, while not pretty, are addictive.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been in the dinner thread. Hi, all! Air fryer roasted cauliflower with shredded cheese, bacon, and chives.

I am intrigued by Pizza Beans. Thank you for both of those. Yes, I do have a food processor and am not afraid to use it! My mother was originally from east Texas, but moved to south Louisiana as a teen and never left. She became a wonderful Cajun cook because of my dad, but was absolutely sometimes a “Homesick Texan” craving pinto beans and cornbread. Thank you for making me think of my mom, and also for the recipe.

I have double ovens, an air fryer, and a microwave, but no sous vide equipment. And I’m okay with that. (Do I sound like a Luddite?) 😜 This was a rabbit hole! I stayed awhile, and will return. Merci. I appreciate any recipes messaged to me, and I appreciated your sauerkraut suggestion! Thank you! I’m tempted to get the silicone thingys even if I just use them to freeze stock. And then work up the nerve to try them in my IP. Haha! While I hadn’t yet considered breakfast for dinner meals, as a fan of them, it’s something to consider. I like the hash brown patty and fruit idea, as well. Thank you. Funny you brought up polenta. An east Texas friend from many years ago introduced us to baked cheese grits as a side dish for barbecued and/or grilled meat. I just haven’t figured out which meat idea would work best. My husband said he’s unwilling to grill meat for 24. Too much pressure (he probably means from me, not the recipients) for it to be good! But it could ham or something else. A breakfast casserole is a great idea! I know they are very popular and not too hard to make. Thank you.

I rarely eat sauerkraut and wouldn’t feel confident using it in a meal. It’s not often found on menus around here. I don’t want you to think I’m close-minded, but I have to think about the general population around here and what people prefer to eat. Maybe a sausage and (unfermented) cabbage dish! There is a smoked sausage and potato skillet dish that my husband loves, so that’s a consideration. I’m so used to making crustless quiche (for low carb reasons) that I forget that they usually have a crust! So, essentially, egg bites. Is this where I admit that I’m afraid of my IP and hardly use it? I think this thread will reveal all of my cooking inadequacies. 😏

Once I’ve decided what I’ll be making for the CFM, I start planning the shopping. While I rarely use Instacart for delivery anymore, I still use the app to help me find which stores have the best prices that week. You can search across all local Instacart stores, such as my current search for ground beef prices. Super1 wins this weeks, with some multiple pound chubs. Walmart is not a part of Instacart here, so I check their app, but not always. And while the Instacart price is higher than the price you’ll pay if you shop yourself, it still tells me which store has better prices AND which stores have items in stock (although that part is not always accurate). I never shopped at Super1 Foods until I started this project. The prices can be excellent. Albertsons is my closest and most convenient supermarket, but Costco and Aldi are very nearby. Hobo Stew, which I will call Cowboy Stew on the labels, will be the main this week. Debating between cornbread or a small sleeve of saltines to go with. Each box of “fresh stacks” contains 8 smaller sleeves, so I’d need to get three boxes. Otherwise, I’ll be using six boxes of Jiffy in one sheet pan of cornbread. Which would you prefer to have? Disclaimer: I know it’s easy enough to make cornbread from scratch, but since I’ve already got the mathing done with six boxes being the right amount for a sheet pan, it’s easier to do that (in my mind, at least). ETA: Those are dog treats in the jar above the cornbread.

I’ve been looking at black eyed pea salads (Texas caviar), but maybe I need to broaden my scope, thank you!

I’ve done pasta salads a few times and they’ve been well received. The only real variation was a pesto pasta salad, and a vegetarian pasta salad. I’ve never considered meat, other than bacon, in potato salad! Interesting idea, thanks. While quiche is not on my working list, I really have been thinking about it for the future. I looked at individual foil containers they could be baked in, but that might add too much cost. I have to ponder and cogitate on that. 🙂 Thank you!

I am most certainly interested in knowing things like that! It is very valuable feedback. I really try to make the food and plates visually appealing, and I may have conveniently not posted pics of the less attractive dishes, like the turkey chili that I just didn’t get thick enough. I felt like I still needed to serve it, and did. I have no idea how it was received, and I didn’t ask! Also, shredded cheese went in the empty spot in those containers. (With apologies to all who love ground turkey, when someone asked how I made ground turkey taste good, I had to say by adding ground pork.) 😉 With regard to food that needs to be put in another container to heat … that is a quandary. Adding coleslaw or other salad to a plate puts a cold item with food that should be hot. I don’t know what else to do that wouldn’t add more packaging and more expense. Some of the recipients of the food are homeless, but many are not, so some have access to eat the food differently, while others have to take it as it comes. I season my food! This is Cajun country, and while all people are certainly not Cajun, the people who live here expect well seasoned food. Also, the food culture here sets expectations of what things go together, which might be unexpected to people from other places. Thank you!

Rancho Gordo bean donations are accepted, but not expected! 😀 And thank you for doing what you can! We are all in this together. 😍

My thinking process is slow, as well. These days I contemplate and weigh my options far too long! I absolutely love broccoli salad and have made it a time or two recently, but I hadn’t considered it for the fridge because I’m not sure if it’s universally appreciated here. I’ve done red beans and rice with smoked sausage (not andouille) & ham, with coleslaw and cornbread. I haven’t done gumbo yet, mostly because I hadn’t figured out the packaging. This will sound very dumb, but I was avoiding soup because I wasn’t sure how to package a deli container of soup with something to go with it, like crackers, or bread, or rice for gumbo. I knew the brown lunch bags I had were too small, and the deli containers wouldn’t fit in a styrofoam container that could hold the accoutrements. And then, duh, it hit me, buy bigger brown bags. I felt like an idiot. So that’s when I was able to do the tortellini soup and the bread to go with. I am now prepared to do gumbo. It would definitely be chicken and sausage. I’ve done chili/cheese baked potatoes and the feedback that week gave me pause, as one family was so excited because it was the first meat they’d had in a week. 🥹(Relayed to me by fridge/pantry manager.) I was also thinking of baked sweet potatoes with a pulled pork or chicken type option. Opinion?

I was just contemplating ham and mac’n cheese! Will be discussing soon. Here’s my current working list of ideas from notes on my phone. Asterisked ones are things I’ve done (which doesn’t mean I won’t do again). The second pic is something called “Hobo Stew,” which looks really good. I’d change the name, though! I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Smithy, thank you so much. I’ve saved the pdf and I’ll be checking out the links! Hobo Stew is a recipe I’ve been looking at, as well.

Yes, and yes.

I have some 2 oz lidded containers, but it would be a paltry amount of fruit, I fear. Adding various containers for condiments or toppings/extras has been on my mind, but added expense and time are the bugaboos.

Thank you! I get feedback from the woman who heads the church’s pantry and fridge because she interacts with the people who are regulars. She said they really look forward to my meals and love them. I’ve also met three or so recipients who were there when food was being delivered. They also gave me very positive feedback. I wish I could get real feedback on specifics of what worked and what didn’t. For instance, I made a salad dressing that I felt (after the fact) was not really very good. The meals are usually gone within a couple of hours. This is one of the hard parts. Leaving the food, and letting go of any preconceived notions of how it will work out. At first, I imagined 24 meals helping 24 people, but then I’ve never had food insecurity. The reality is that the first people there often swoop up as much as they can, and if I’m still around, I need to leave my judgment behind. For all I know it’s a mother with five kids at home and she is thinking she can feed them for a couple of days if she takes them all. Sometimes it’s someone who is also taking some plates for their neighbor who doesn’t have transportation or is disabled. Until people know that there will be food in the community fridge or pantry regularly, they take what they can when it appears. Every single community fridge in my area gets wiped out very soon after being filled. The need is great. I am looking for meal ideas, tips, hacks, advice, feedback, brainstorming, all of the above! Sometimes I can’t figure out how to accomplish what I want to accomplish, and I know the wise people of eGullet have opinions! Also, thanks for the link!

I’m quoting you a second time to say that the reason there aren’t pictures of the biscuit mix/milk going in, or the soup/stock layer … that’s when I was busy cussing. Mostly because of overthinking and looking at different versions of the recipe and confusing myself. Confuzzled is the technical term, I believe. 😀

Thanks! I would love to be able to afford lots of fruit/great produce for these meals. My husband’s help makes this doable, seriously. Oh, and I ended up putting two little oranges in each! 😁

I am not a biscuit maker, either, but this is just milk and the biscuit mix, whisked together and poured over the seasoned vegetable mixture. (I forgot to say that I seasoned that layer.) The box directions are not followed. The next layer is whisked together condensed soup and stock, which is also poured over (not mixed in). The bake time is supposed to be 45 minutes, but that’s for a single recipe.

My husband gets credit for printing and applying labels, taping up the completed plates, bagging and then packing the car, unloading the car at the delivery place, and cleaning the kitchen! And occasionally helping to fill the plates, and/or last minute grocery store runs.

Although the recipe I used for today’s CFM (community fridge meal) called for rotisserie chicken, the manager of the community fridge had given me some rescued frozen chicken breasts, so I poached and then shredded the chicken yesterday. I used 10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which came out to right under 5 pounds of meat. Melted two sticks of butter per hotel pan, layered the chicken, frozen peas and carrots (2 12 oz bags per pan), two packs of biscuit mix and 4 cups of milk per pan, and then 22 oz of cream of chicken soup (so sue me) and 2 cups of chicken stock (used the poaching liquid) per pan, and then baked at 375 much longer than the recipe said to. I also added a bit of grated cheese to the top. Not done enough! Back in the oven. Car packed for delivery. Delivery made!