Jimmy Jam gave us this pound of ground venison quite some time ago and I'd never gotten around to using it. Since it's been in the freezer a long time, I decided I wasn't going to make anything for us with it, but it would be just the thing to make a batch of dog food out of. The large yam has been taking up counter space for a while too. Even if food is free or it doesn't cost much, I am still loath to let it go to waste.
I put the meat and chopped yam in the pressure cooker with a couple of eggs and their shells. Once it was cooked up, I added a blend of EVOO/Safflower oil. Since dogs need calcium too, I turned two 1000mg with zinc pills into powder in the coffee grinder. I think this batch of food will feed our girl for three days. She will love it!
A friend passed a long two bags of homemade pirogie to us. They were potato and cheese filled. All I needed to do was fry them. The kielbasa was an awesome "Use Today" bargain for a buck. On the side, I made a cold salad based on bagged shredded cabbage and carrots, a chopped apple, walnuts and craisins. It was tossed in an apple cider vinaigrette. For dipping, a mix of sour cream and plain Greek yogurt. TBG grilled the sausage.
I thought a semi-sweet hard cider would be the perfect beverage. This was made by the Embark Cider Company. The apples are from Laggoner Farms in Williamson, NY. I bought a four pack while at camp a while back. It was an awesome pairing.
TBG rated this as the best summer meal I've made so far. It started with a free ingredient that made me think of all sorts of things to put it together with. If we include the price of the beverage, I would guess this was about a five to six dollar meal. There is also one and a half lunches left over.
I rarely turn down free food. Those "Use Today" buys are also a staple of our meals. It's not necessary for me to know what I want to do with the food before I accept it. I know I will always find a good way to use it. Tonight, it was delicious!
I would have used the meat for myself since food in the freezer will not spoil. But, I am quite sure your dog enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI never turn down free food, either. One day a week I fix a meal for exbf when he comes up. I think he appreciates how cheaply I can cook.
Once I thawed the meat, I saw it was in fine shape that I could have made us something. However, I didn't have another type of ground meat to mix it with and venison needs to be mixed with something that has more fat. Her food is frozen to be a treat in the near future. I know she will love it!
DeleteFree food rocks! I'm enjoying free blackberries right now - also getting more strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers from the garden, not free but decreasing in price by the moment as they continue to give me veggies. I am sure Teddy will enjoy those meals, who wouldn't?
ReplyDeleteI wish I had time to go around and find wild berry bushes to pick. I'm going to buy a lot of cheap berries this week to make jam and another pie. Cheap is almost as good as free!
Delete