So...whats for dinner?
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Carole, the one book I didn't like was the one about Helen's murder too (What He Said Before He Killed Her?) Of course I was completely pissed off at Helen's murder anyway -- so much so I almost quit reading them. I didn't think the Lynley actor was a good representation either.
Speaking of cooler weather, it's supposed to be in the 50s here tonight so at DH's request, we're having chili.
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I'm making pork chile verde in the Instant Pot tonight.
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leftovers
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Standard Friday night homemade pizza.
Eric, a getaway from the heat sounds wonderful. We've "cooled off" to the high 90s so staying inside has continued to be the order of the day!I
Read Elizabeth George's books years ago, but have not watched them in action. Got interested in them when I heard she had been a student at the university where I was teaching--under her real name of course (I don't remember what it is!).
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I had lunch with my friend Pat to celebrate our joint B-days this weekend. We went to Capital Grill and they really laid out the welcome. Decoration cut outs scattered all over the table cloth, special flowers, cards for each of us and free dessert on plates with Happy Birthday lettered in chocolate - along with burning B-day candles. We both had the 8 oz filet - mine medium rare. She had field greens salad and creamed spinach. I had a cup of Boston clam chowder and mashed potatoes. Dessert was mini espresso chocolate cakes and creme brule. I had an Australian Malbec & she had a Monterey Pinot Noir. The steak was delicious but WAAAAAY too much food for me even though I only tasted the potatoes and left most of the dessert on the plate.
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Happy birthday this weekend Minus! Sounds like you're off to a great start!
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Happy Birthday, Minus! What special treatment at a restaurant!
We had dinner with the golfing group at Hilltop restaurant in Hubbard, probably my favorite restaurant in this area. I had the pecan crusted walleye, a baked potato and a house salad. DH had the prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes and house salad. We enjoyed the meal and the company.
Off to the gym this morning with a stop at the farmers market for tomatoes. One of the supermarkets in town has Hatch chilis, not roasted, of course.
Not really looking forward to the Labor day party here at the resort. Management provides the meat and dh has decided on ribs so a lot of work for me (us). Buying and cooking for the 6 pm potluck on Saturday night.
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Dinner tonight was the belated birthday celebration for DD's 30th. Her BFF, a flight attendant, is in town so we grilled burgers and dogs and had cole slaw, potato salad, Mac n cheese. Chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. Between dinner and dessert they took the dog for a golf cart ride (his fave) and he almost caught a little gator by the pond! Eeeks! The girls are about to leave for line dancing and DH is watching U of Miami v U of FL, he is a 'Cane alumni.
Happy b-day minus!!
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Carole, cooking ribs in the pressure cooker then finishing them on the grill really cuts down on the prep time. And they come out really good. Not pit barbecue of course, but good nonetheless.
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Today I decided to take advantage of the "resort weather" we've been having and pull weeds in the backyard flower beds. For my efforts, I was rewarded by getting stung on my nose and back of my leg by a yellow jacket! My nose and sinuses feel like they've been shot with novocaine.
Tonight was chili mac using up the leftover chili.
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Happy Birthday, Minus!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thanks for the wishes everyone. Had a long visit with my son to fine-tune the San Francisco part of next week's trip. Met my niece & family on a freeway outside of town on their way back to San Antonio to pass on a box of children's books, then had a quiet day with continuing eclectic snacks. Chocolate devils food doughnuts from a neighbor went well with Tilia Malbec, avocado chunks & black olives with ranch dressing, organic multigrain tortilla chips, Jarlsberg cheese, fresh cantaloupe, smoked oysters. I think my bed time snack will be Green Tea ice cream.
Nance - oh no for the yellow jacket stings. I usually keep AfterBite, but I don't think it's strong enough for those babies.
Joyce - sorry for the slow recovery. I never heard of a 'bone stimulator' and had to look it up. Hope you get a good report this week. Both Special K and I get Prolia shots every 6 months for osteoperosis. It's working well for me.
Special - had to laugh at your DD's favorite B-day meal.
Carole - Funny to hear about you wearing sweat shirts when a tank top is too heavy here. Too bad the farewell dinner meat is so labor intensive, but I love ribs. When will you head back?
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minus - DD is not into fancy, lol! Her real fave is grilled cheese, tomato soup, and a steamed artichoke!
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Yellow jackets are the most painful of any stings I've suffered. Years ago I drove the Snapper riding mower over a nest in the ground and the yellow jackets burst out of the hole and chased me, delivering multiple stings. It was a nightmare and very painful.
Joyce, sorry you've had healing issues after your surgery. Wishing you the best. Not a good way to lose 10 lbs.
Nance, we will be buying and cooking ribs for 40 plus adults. We may use a big cooker like Louisiana folks use for crawfish boils to precook the ribs before finishing them on the grill. There is one available. DH wanted the ribs. Last year Mary prepared pork loin roasts which were easier but kind of a "blah" meat.
SpecialK, our caterer member, how many ribs per person? There should be lots of side dishes. We'll also have some burgers and hot dogs. Also, what kind of ribs? We've ruled out baby back because they're so small and relatively more pricey. I see St. Louis ribs in the supermarkets and another kind that's an "in between" size.
Last night was eggplant lasagna out of the freezer and a big tossed salad with romaine, tomato, cucumber, avocado, and Kalamata olives. Sweet onion added to dh's salad.
Very gloomy morning with drizzle. Forecast is for showers on and off. A cool August so far and no complaints from us. Locals are less appreciative of the idea of an early fall. Leaves are already turning yellow here and there.
Off to the gym and maybe to Walmart's for supplies if it isn't too rainy. Dinner may be meat loaf. I've used the convection/microwave oven a few times on the convection setting and it works fairly well.
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Yike Carole, that's a lot! I always figure 3-4 ribs per person. I think there are approximately 12-14 ribs per slab. That's a lot of ribs to prep, hope you can find some helpers. If I were there I would help you :-) (Pork butts would be a lot easier lol)
We are having friends over for bbq Monday. I'm doing kind of a mixed grill with chicken legs and wings, baby back ribs and pork burgers. But as for tonight, who knows? Certainly not me.
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Carole - I also would have said 4+ per person. I think that pork ribs are by far the tastier, but that may just be me. They are smaller for sure. I've baked ribs with sauce in the oven wrapped in tin foil and they come out very moist.
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I would agree with 4 ribs per person to make sure you have enough, and prob use St Louis. Some folks may opt for the burgers and/o dogs and sides and not eat ribs, but it's always hard to know or predict.
joyce - good to hear from you and hope you’re healing well enough to come to FL on your expected schedule.
auntie - ouchie on the stings! I’m super allergic and have noticed wasps lately in the grass when I take the dog out - I’m vigilant about trying to avoid them because I’m not sure what my reaction will beand I’m often the only one home.
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Fortunately, I've never had an allergic reaction although I know that can change at any time. In fact, I don't get bit or stung very often. The last bee sting I got was several years ago when a honey bee got caught in my flip flop. The little bastard that stung me yesterday planned to keep on until I high tailed it out of there before he could call his friends to join the fun.
Tonight is gyro style lamb burgers on pita with tzatziki and a Greek salad. Since DH is barely tolerant of ground-meat-that-is-not-beef, I'll make some Greek style potatoes as well.
When I was making the tzatziki, I had added the garlic and lemon juice then licked the spoon I had stirred with. BLECH! I had accidentally bought vanilla Greek yogurt instead of plain - big mistake and not a good taste lol! Thankfully, I hadn't added the cucumber, although that might have improved the taste some.
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Happy belated birthday, MInus!
Nancy, lemon & vanilla Greek yogurt play well together...garlic, not so much. I don't think the cukes would've rescued it. Bummer about the stings. Do you carry an Epi-Pen (or the budget equivalent)? When I was 10 up in the Catskills, unbeknownst to me a wasp had gotten into my cardigan overnight--at first it felt like I'd gotten one of those old-fashioned drycleaning-tag staples in my arm, but then YEE-OWWWWCH! I spent the entire morning in the resort's chlorinated outdoor pool up to my neck. My upper arm had swollen worse than a bad vaccination injection site reaction. Fortunately, no respiratory distress. I got stung by a yellow-jacket on the back of my neck as a teenager, waiting for the ferry back from Liberty Island. It hurt like having a zit lanced, but no other symptoms; in my 20s, I got stung by those little "sweat" or "meat" bees on my foot while driving. Not too painful, but not fun. I used to carry a Epi-Pen after that (Bob's fellow UIC residents urged me to because I have allergies to ragweed & penicillin too, which can increase the cumulative effect of bee & wasp-venom stings till a dangerous allergy to those develop too. I stopped carrying it because I'd never used it. Recently discovered it in an old purse--but I doubt it's still good after 40 years!
Friday night we went to Froggy's up in Highwood--"our" French restaurant. Our first time there was our 11th anniversary---right now it's 48 & counting. We had the "Chef's ChoiceTrio " 3-course menus: appetizer, entree, salad & dessert. We got to specify hot or cold app., and fish or meat entree (both courses had "trios" on the plate), and the chef chose what to serve us. I went "hot" app and fish, Bob cold app and meat. Well, the hot app included a wild mushroom raviolo and mini crab cake, so I traded them to Bob for a piece of cold seared ahi and salmon sausage. Entrees came--and I was better able to avoid the carbs (the veggies lay atop a small scoop of mashed potato). I had three fishes: pan-seared skate wing, grilled wahoo and broiled scrod. After a palate-cleanser salad with Dijon vinaigrette, we had dessert, which was where the carb-control wheels fell off. Bob had sorbet; I chose the seasonal berries over passionfruit mousse, which came with chocolate-dipped tuile cookies. I left the cookies (by then Bob was too full to take them), but against my better judgment ate the mousse. It was worth it, however.
I had more discipline at Riva Sat. night, where we went to watch the penultimate Sat. summer fireworks off Navy Pier. We had a cold seafood tower for two (2 ea. Cotuit & Blue Point oysters, jumbo shrimp, 3 ea. king crab "bites" and a generous portion of tuna tartare). My entree was a pan-seared filet of Chilean sea bass over steamed spinach. We split mixed berries for dessert and still took some home.
Last night I grilled a grass-fed ribeye (from my first Butcher Box shipment) and broccolini, and nuked some cauliflower mash that tasted just like spuds. We had some wine left over, so instead of desseet I put together a cheese plate of gruyère, La Dama Sagrada (goat), nettle gouda (WI), Swiss, Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar, and Bayley Hazen raw cow blue from VT.
Tonight, the king salmon filet I'd been defrosting was still frozen, so I rummaged through the fridge and threw together "My Big Fat Greek Salad:" mixed lettuces, sliced red & yellow homegrown tomatoes, kalamata & niçoise olives, red onion, feta, and the second half of a can of sardines. Dressing was the olive oil from the sardines and a squeeze of lemon.
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The meatloaf (mixture of beef and pork) was not to die for but, after all, it was meatloaf, a meat option dh likes so I make it occasionally. I made mashed potatoes using a large new potato and not peeling it. Yum. Very tasty. Salad was fresh sliced beets and cucumber, addition of onion for dh.
No plan yet for tonight's dinner.
Thanks for the advice on the ribs. I was also thinking 3 or 4 per person. So imagine me standing at the meat counter counting ribs in the slabs. LOL. DH has done a good job of e-mailing everyone and getting confirmation of the sides they will bring. Hope we have good outside weather. Otherwise the gathering will move into the garage/recreation building.
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Carole - regarding meat loaf - I make it a couple times a year because I LOVE cold meatloaf sandwiches. The original dinner? Not exciting.
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You guys need to make this meatloaf - it is that naughty one I have written about.
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I love meatloaf--but it has breadcrumbs as a binder so it's a no-no for me (as are meatballs and crabcakes for the same reason).
Tonight the salmon was still frozen so I did lettuce wraps (tuna salad & chopped liver) with a leftover half tomato for dinner (brunch was avocado toast--this time I used the plastic 'cado tool--and an olive-oil-fried egg).
Speaking of tomatoes, I'm fuming: one of the two almost-ripe-enough-to-pick Cherokee Purples was stolen by a squirrel overnight. (And they weren't half as big as the behemoth that took me 3 days to eat last week). All we have left on the vines now are 9 small hard & green ones--hoping we can nurse them into Oct. or at least mid-Sept. Got an equal number of ripening ones on the sill. From what I hear, we did better than most of our neighbors--and we have only 4 plants this year. We will have a bumper crop of Concord grapes, but they're not good eating out of hand. They're fine for jam & jelly, but require so much sugar! Bob jokingly asked if I could try to make Passover wine out of them. We shall see. Of course, the leaves are great for dolmades--which I make with ground lamb instead of just rice--and the pruned canes cure nicely for smoking on the grill.
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Darn! Lost my post and it was my own fault.
Last night was chicken enchiladas. The chicken filling included roasted hatch chilis and a roasted jalapeno. I bought the hatch chilis at a local supermarket and roasted them and some jalapenos on the grill. It was easy so I may buy more if they're available. Side was sliced tomatoes and cucumbers from the farmers market. Very enjoyable meal.
Tonight will be dinner at LaPasta with neighbor John the Texan.
I ended up not doing my Labor Day shopping yesterday so plan to do it today. Being outdoors should be more pleasant today since the sun is shining and it promises to be a nicer day.
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Hi everyone, tonight was baked chicken breast with crumbs and a sprinkle of olive oil, a beautiful romaine and tomato salad and twice baked potatoes. I hadn't done those before and they were simple. Hubby, who doesn't love baked potatoes really liked these (and I kept the ingredients pretty slim-a little skim milk and light sour cream to mash and less cheese than usual on top 🙂).
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Today was National Red Wine Day, so I pan-seared a couple of wild Alaskan sockeye salmon filets, and sauteed snap peas in garlic-ginger oil with toasted sesame seeds. For Bob, I nuked a container of brown & wild rice. (I had my starch--a slice of hi-fiber low-carb, 3 gm. net, Sami's Bakery cinnamon-raisin toast with cream cheese--for breakfast). For lunch, I had a packet of "Flackers" flax seed crackers (my MO says flax as a food is perfectly safe--as a weak phytoestrogen it competes with human estrogen for tumor cells' estrogen receptors, but the tumor cells can't use it to fuel growth). They have 1 gm. net carb per packet (about 9 crackers)--made only from flaxseed & apple cider vinegar. I used them to scoop up hummus, baba ghannouj, and spinach-yogurt dip. (There's a Middle Eastern bakery near us--called "Middle Eastern Bakery"--that makes nearly the silkiest hummus I've had outside Israel; Michael Solomanov, the chef-owner of Philadelphia's Israeli restaurant Zahav, makes the best I've ever had, plus ethereally pillowy pita, which--alas--is a no-no for me. He did a pop-up dinner & cookbook signing here in Chicago at Spiaggia, at the invitation of Tony Mantuano).
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Again, catching up after a busy week...
We had our crazy weekend with the five adults, one baby and two dogs, and much to my relief, it all turned out fine...even the chicken frying in the backyard part. That was Saturday, which included DH and I starting our day at a contentious assoc meeting (was supposed to be an easy vote on some not too controversial changes to the by-laws) due to a member who decided the whole idea offended his libertarian righteousness. He forcefully took over the meeting, swaying new members to join him in voting the effort down. I felt badly that the bi-laws committee (comprised of some very reasonable, thoughtful folks who worked on this for three years, with meetings to hear any concerns throughout that time) wasted a lot of their time and effort. Interestingly, people commented on the experience being similar to what we are dealing with in our country. Ugh! After that mess, we ran home to find my sister arriving with her dog (who behaved well for the full day...no counter surfing, no trying to bite DS2’s Scottie dog, no aggressing the baby). Whew!
We all piled in three cars due to baby seats and dog arrangements and went into the town for the Town Day activities related to the bicentennial, but couldn’t find parking easily, so ultimately bought some sandwiches for lunch, ate them at home, and headed off to the beach....baby bathing beauty pic below.
I was really glad my sister came to meet the baby. She is named after my mother, to whom my sister was very close, so it meant a lot to her.
After the beach, we christened the “turkey fryer” with the chicken...si ce there was not a turkey to be found in this town!, and had a nice simple dinner with that, mashed butternut squash, garden salad and sour dough bread. We’d planned to get local corn, too, but DS2 decided we needed to leave more room for dessert. My sister made and brought one of her delicious blueberry pies, and DDIL2 had made a blueberry cobbler. Both were delicious! My sister insisted on making the long drive back over the mountains home that night, and I was relieved she made it back safely.
Sunday, it was hard to say goodbye to our little sweetpea GD. She is getting to the stage of really responding to everyone around her, so we enjoyed lots of her smiles. But aside from her cuteness, we were again reminded of the demands of a young infant, and I was exhausted after the weekend.
Monday evening we headed home for DH’s long awaited doc visit on Tuesday. Clearly, this doc is a revered 40 something orthopod, with lots of experience doing hips, and while he exudes confidence, he is also very nice. His practice is like a well oiled machine, and we met with six different staff members each carrying out a specific task related to the overall process of the procedure. When the doc heard that DH was eager to get this done, he had his scheduling person offer DH the first (only) cancellation she had...Sept12th! DH had neglected to say that he is not actually available until Sept 23rd due to an important board commitment. So he had to give that up, but they promised there would be another cancellation he could be slotted into before his official date in LATE NOVEMBER! I sure hope so...
So today, after taking care of “stuff” at home, we drove back...mostly in rain. For dinner we had a small hodge podge....the leftover pizza from last night’s dinner, a Sicilian lentil soup I made from an Alessi package, (a really nice soup for a dry mix) and a garden salad. DH thawed out the last two pieces of my sister’s blueberry pie for us, which I had with a scoop of ginger ice cream. Yum! All this wanton eating must come to a stop soon!
Sweet pea DGD showing off her beach attire before she grows out of it, and later sporting her “gator” onesie for the Florida/Miami game. I believe here she was demonstrating how to kick a field goal for the guys!
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Almost forgot....hatch chilis are foreign to me. Does anyone on the East Coast find them
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reader - I'm a potato girl, love them in any form, but twice baked is a fave!
chisandy - thanks for the info about the Flackers, DD is once again Keto-ing.
lacey - we have hatch chilies in the store here in Tampa, but confess to only now noticing them due to the discussion here. DGD is a doll!!!
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