A Day of Homemade Yum

Breakfast: homemade raisin, date, and walnut oatmeal
milk

Lunch: roasted (in my Crock Pot) chicken, broccoli and cheese sauce (not homemade), biscuits (not homemade)

After I got most of the meat from the chicken, I put the bones, skin, the onion I had stuffed in the chicken's cavity, a bit of white vinegar, and some water back in the pot with the broth. As the day went on, I added veggie scraps (carrot peels, potato peels, green cabbage, purple cabbage, and onion) to the "stock" pot.*

At lunch, I asked the kids what they wanted for supper. The answer? Bread bowls with cheesy potato soup like my mom makes. I don't have any Velveeta in the house. It was $5 last time I was at the store! I will not pay that! Anyway, I started brainstorming and came up with an idea for a new recipe. Wha-ha-ha, my children were my guinea pigs!

Supper: brewed iced tea
homemade bread bowls

Tuna Chowder (This recipe fed me and the kiddos.)

• 7 all-purpose potatoes
  
• 1 medium onion diced
  
• 1 large carrot diced
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 cans tuna in water
• ~2-4 T butter
• salt, pepper, and garlic powder (or a clove of garlic) to taste

Peel and chop the potatoes and put in a pot with some water. Cook until tender.

Peel and dice the onion and carrot while the potatoes are cooking.

Drain the potatoes in a colander over a bowl to reserve the water. Leave the potatoes in the colander until you are ready for them. Melt the butter in your potato pan, then add the onions and carrots.

Add the salt, pepper, and garlic and cook (and stir) the vegetables until the onions are starting to caramelize and the carrots are tender crisp. Drain the tuna part way (I gave the water to our cats later) and add it to the veggies. Add the milk and a little water to rinse the can out. Add the potatoes back to the pot. Cook to desired consistency adding potato water* as needed. I served this in bread bowls with a sprinkle of mild cheddar cheese on top.


So what did my guinea pigs think? They all gave as many thumbs and spoons up as they could while not missing a bite. Froggie asked if I would make it for supper tomorrow night!

*I'll strain the stock and pick the meat out of it tomorrow.

**I saved the rest of the potato water and I plan to use it to make bread tomorrow.