"Thank God It's Friday!"

I have been living off my freezer this week partly out of necessity and partly because I could not get in my freezer. Every time I opened it I would have a bag of frozen broth (which is like a brick of ice) fall onto my foot.

I scavenged my freezer and pantry for the week. These are some of the meals we ate:
shrimp and chicken etouffee with Andoulle sausage
pork chops and mashed potatoes
cumin chicken breasts and Birdseye rice
pork chopsuey in the crock pot

 Today was my shopping day. Our budget was $100.00 and I ended up spending $108.00. It kills me that we didn't go on double coupon day but I still saved $24.00 in manufacturer coupons.

This is the plan for the week:
crock pot BBQ spareribs and potato
steak, mushroom, and cheese french dip subs
arroz con polo (Sunday meal)
black bean and beef burritos with Spanish rice
Shlamfooey..(recipe to follow)

The name Shlamfooey my Mom made up. I am not sure why lol! But it's a easy recipe to put together when you are in a hurry.

Shlamfooey
1 small can Campbell's tomato soup
1/2 bag cooked wide egg noodles
1 can corn drained
1 lb ground beef browned
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef. Salt and drain fat off along the way. When browned add to cooked egg noodles and can of corn. Stir in the can of tomato soup. Add salt and pepper. And that's it. It's very easy.


Sunday Dinner Arroz con Polo with gandules

I purchased a fryer chicken that has already been taken apart. I freeze the breasts and will be using them for chicken chipotle soup. The rest I use in the Arroz con Polo. I do not use the breasts because they also take longer to cook.  Both the achote seeds and Adobo can be found in the Mexican section of your supermarket.

                                                  
4 chicken thighs
2 chicken drumsticks
2 chicken wings
2 cups long grain rice         
4 cups chicken stock
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP capers
2 turns of olive oil
1/4 c olives chopped
Adobo seasoning
flour for dredging
1 tsp achote seeds (may be omitted)
1 large onion diced

In a separate pan take achote seeds and brown them in olive oil for about 2 minutes. The seeds should not burn or it will leave a burnt flavor to your oil. Remove seeds with a spoon.  Add oil to the stock pot.

Coat a large stock pot with the olive oil and bring the heat up until the oil is shimmering. Dredge the chicken in flour.  Season with Adobo seasoning or salt and pepper. Place chicken in pot skin side down. Brown on both sides about 4 minutes each. Remove from pot. Brown onion until translucent scraping the bits of chicken off the bottom of the pot. Add 2 cups of long grain rice and stir til golden brown.  Add chicken stock, tomato paste, and capers. Bring to a boil. When to a boil add chicken back into the pot reduce heat and cover with lid. Do not peek. Simmer on low for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes take off lid and add drained gandules. Serve and enjoy!