So...whats for dinner?
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Thanks for the “better back" healing wishes, friends. Slower process than I (or DH!) would hope for, but compared to what so many folks are dealing with in their lives now, I should not complain. It's just been so frustrating that my level of household activity and productivity has been totally shut down. And walks are impossible. PT starts on Thursday when my therapist returns from vacay. Looking forward to it except for possibility of Covid exposure. It was set up for a quieter time at the practice. The muscle relaxant makes me a bit loopy, so I'm not taking a full dose.
By yesterday, there was improvement....no spasms, just pain...so I did stand in the kitchen long enough to make the lobster/mushroom cream sauce with fettuccine for dinner. We BOTH appreciated that menu!
Poor DH is now feeling stretched with the cooking tasks. Today he is making a Moroccan red lentil soup from a package of dry ingredients I bought him a few months ago to try his hand at soup making, an interest expressed by him. So far he seems a tad overwhelmed by the recipe instructions, and our pantry supply of ingredients (all the containers of broth have passed the “best by" dates). Eeek! I have to remember that he doesn't possess a “cooking gene", so he feels less secure about doing anything beyond exactly what the recipe states, so substitutions are a challenge. Since he does possess an amazing “persistence gene", he'll manage, and we will get through this together. If he didn't have to eat, I'd be perfectly happy to live on oatmeal, yogurt, cottage cheese, or any odd “throw together in two minutes" item in the kitchen. Here is the lobster fettuccine:
Eric, I think the idea of inviting DMIL for an “audition visit" to try out living with you, with lots of reinforcing comments about how wonderful (and easier) it is for you two to have her there is a lovely idea. And given my “trade", I wonder if there is a geriatric social worker in your area who might be available to consult with about how to construct a plan that is likely to work, respecting everyone's needs. Always a challenging life transition...
Minus, sweet potato muffins are new to me. Sound so yummy! Where did you find the recipe?
Carole, I'm vehemently with you about the hypocritical vaccine line jumpers!
Nance, I chuckled to see you wondering how you lost track of those beans. What??!! I might have lost my mind if I tried to accomplish all that you have during this crazy year! I hope you are loving having a worthy kitchen again.
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Lacey - be still my heart...lobster/mushroom cream sauce? Can you please share that recipe?
The sweet potato muffin recipe was from the Bob Evans web site. Next I'm going to try Shepherd's Pie with lentils instead of meat.
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Lacey, what a beautiful plate of food! I continue to hope your back pain goes away.
I had a yen for a burger and fries yesterday and dh was agreeable. For lunch I went to my closest McD's and picked up two Deluxe burgers the only ones that are "dressed" with lettuce, tomato, and pickles and slathered with mayo. Also a large fries to share.
We have a nearby Five Guys (right number?) burger place but its location is in a more congested area and McD's is easy. I may scope out the Five Guys the next time I'm over that way.
For dinner I had crackers and cheese, finishing up a delicious Havarti that I have been whittling away for some weeks. Dh warmed up a bowl of rice and black eyed peas.
I may buy some mustard greens today at the produce stand if fresh greens are available.
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carole - yes, right number of guys! Five Guys started as a family owned burger place in Fairfax County in VA where we lived for 10 years. The owners named it after their five sons, and we often went to the one down the street from us after our own son's baseball games. Initially they just had a small group of locations that they ran themselves locally and refused to franchise until their sons were all adults and could be part of the company. Now they are everywhere, but I can testify that their quality is just the same regardless of where I have had the food - and I have sampled coast to coast, lol! It tastes to me like homemade old school burgers and fries with the skin on, like my mom used to make. You order with specific toppings to your liking, and no burgers are pre-made. My understanding is that they are very strict with quality control and must only use the original ingredients, and the franchises are surprise inspected by the corporation to ensure everything is being done according to their specifications. I was a barista at Starbucks and they did the same kind of surprise inspections, although Starbucks is not franchised, except I believe in airports.
Edited to add that I made a corn, ham and potato chowder for dinner for DH last night and DD's lunch for today. I am back on my elimination diet and potatoes are out
and I had a big bag so I am trying to use them up. The soup turned out well according to the reviews, and there is enough for tonight as well, so yay - dinner for tonight is already made - at least for one of us. Off to the dentist for a cleaning!0 -
Tonight is pan seared pork chops with a balsamic glaze, DH’s creamy Brussels sprouts and sautéed spinach.
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Before I went low-carb, Five Guys was one of my favorite chains. (They even post on which farms the spuds for that day's fries were grown). Unfortunately, none of them in the Chicago area have drive-through windows nor do they offer curbside pickup. (Probably because each burger is made to order and you have to pull your own drink from the DIY soda fountain machine). And the one near my neighborhood was bought out and became a Halal Guys...which delivers. But when it comes to Middle Eastern food, there are closer places.
Dinner will be leftovers from WF's "chef's case" delivered yesterday: the other half of my salmon filet and broccolini with roasted garlic. (Will cut up the broc, so it'll nuke faster). I will supplement it with Jerusalem salad I had delivered (along with falafel, babaghannouj & hummus) on Sat. May also add a falafel to my plate.
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We have 5-Guys out here in metro Phoenix. I love the place, although I don't eat there that often.....trying to do less meat (sort of vegan)...which has pleased my physician because my diet changes lowered my cholesterol levels enough that I won't need any meds.
Lacey, I must have missed out about your back. I'm glad it's improving. As for MIL, she is (hopefully) getting the first of her 3 kidney stones smashed up tomorrow. They are doing it under (very) heavy sedation, so she will be spending the night here with us. I'm hoping that when all is finished, she will be able to get back her ability to move.
Illimae, as usual, awesome and mouthwatering pictures. :-)
I'll see if I can find Sharon's lasagna soup notes. She's snoozing right now and I don't want to wake her because MIL needs to be at the hospital at 6:30am. Anyway, on the "next time try" list is to use a more tomato paste as we decided it was a bit thick.
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Oh, the joys of jumpups/leftovers. Dinner is so easy to reheat. Last night DH had pork tenderloin and I had the last of the meatloaf with the cooked cabbage and a small baked potato. Tonight DH had another baked potato smothered in chili with a green salad and I had a bowl of chili with air fryer fries. (I am going easy on green salad for a few days until I finish my current round of an antibiotic known to cause diarrhea.)
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Last night was breaded pork chop cooked in skillet with small amount of grape seed oil and baked sweet potato.
Tonight will be pasta. Linguine with enhanced Rao's.
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Mix & match supper: mini-quiche from Whole Foods, discarded the crust; Jerusalem salad; and broccolini with roasted garlic. Brunch was a small cream cheese & lox sandwich with onion, tomato, dill & capers.
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Since I had two zoom meetings in a row this evening dinner was a quick chicken Enchilada dish using rotisserie chicken, green chilis, enchilada sauce and shredded cheddar. 🥘🥗
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With the bubbly we just popped (on this thread I'm not allowed to say why), we noshed on blini with creme fraiche and Spanish salmon roe (smaller eggs than the Russian or American stuff, but still very reasonable).
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I felt like a beachy seafood platter, i blackened a gulf snapper and added frozen popcorn shrimp, corn and a piece off warm buttered bread. Then, I decided the meal needed a beer too.
Fortunately, since DH drives rock star tour buses, we always have random leftover, beer, wine and alcohol from all over the country. Tonight’s beer is Southampton Double White.
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Mae - looks delicious. Reader - I see something similar in the near future. May add black beans.
Tonight was fried rice w/everything I needed to use - onions, celery, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, chicken & some soy. Oh my - I just this minute realized why it was so moist and didn't hold together. I forgot the darn egg. Oh well, I can add an egg when I re-heat the leftovers. That's what comes of cooking when you're trying to understand the news.
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Chicken enchiladas are always appealing to me.
A measuring tech came yesterday morning and measured our counter tops. I have picked out a white quartz at Lowe's and got the process started for changing out our forest green formica counter tops which are still in good condition except for the area over the dishwasher. I consulted cabinet companies some years ago and was told I would have to be without a kitchen for a week or two. Not the case now. The measurements are taken with a laser machine. The counter tops are made. The company comes and removes the old and installs the new in one day.
Dinner was almost an afterthought last night after watching tv all day as events unfolded proving that words do matter. If there's a plus to the madness, I'm glad it happened ahead of Inauguration Day. Maybe the police will be more prepared for white terrorism. Their unpreparedness was the only surprise in what happened.
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Tonight is lasagna, you know I’ll post a pic, lol
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Doing chicken stir-fry
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Spinach Lasagna w/ garlic bread and a side salad. DH is watching carbs, so the right side was a noodle-free lasagna pie.
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Tonight was the last of the jump-ups, chili. Have to get creative again tomorrow!.
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Last night was a ribeye and a big sheet pan of roasted veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato.
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A couple of nights ago I broiled a marinated flank steak, and made some sauteed zucchini and brown rice to accompany. Leftover flank steak was a stir fry the next night with broccoli, red pepper, and carrot over yellow rice for DH, no rice for me. I had a weird day yesterday for timing of lunch, ended up eating tuna salad on gluten free crackers after a late afternoon doc appt, so I had no dinner and DH had penne with marinara and meatballs. No idea what dinner tonight will be - I had some cooked mahi mahi that should have been flaked over a salad for DH for lunch today, but he didn't eat yesterday's lunch, so I think that will be his dinner tonight - not sure what mine will be.
illimae - I recently bought this interesting lasagna pan that is rectangular, but is divided up into three long sections with walls so you can make three different kinds of lasagna in one pan! Each section is the exact size of one lasagna noodle, but I am sure you could use zucchini slices or anything else to make a noodle free one, or really make any kind of casserole or oven baked dish in small batches that you wanted to.
https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-26783-Professional-12-5-Inch/dp/B00WDZOPII
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Flank steak on the menu tonight here too although I’m not sure what form it will take. Last night was Portuguese chicken - sautéed chicken breasts in a wine reduction and sofrito. Brown rice and sautéed broccolini were sides.
Beautiful pictures illimae!
Carole, I’m anxiously awaiting our new countertops too which is scheduled for the end of this month. We opted for a presealed gray granite, which is not supposed to need resealing. Color me skeptical. I don’t find the sealing to be particularly cumbersome so it doesn’t worry me one way or the other. Your quartz sounds lovely
We’re off to the storage unit to get more “stuff”. DH has decided he missed his power tools and so is now setting up a basement workshop. I really don’t see him doing much woodworking anymore but it keeps him out of trouble.
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Special, I saw that lasagna pan too. I’ve been thinking about it.
Tonight is leftovers, either from last night or from lunch later today with former coworkers.
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auntie - keeps DH out of trouble..., lol! We have just commenced a mini makeover of the kitchen and family room, which are open to each other. I am getting all new Kitchenaid appliances to match the newer dishwasher. I currently have a black JennAir built in wall oven and dead microwave, which will both be replaced with astainless Kitchenaid combo, and a stainless Samsung fridge, which will be replaced with a stainless Kitchenaid one with handles that match the oven and microwave. I currently have a Kitchenaid gas cooktop which we put in when we bought this house to replace a glass top with downdraft since this is in the island. I found a Kitchenaid gas downdraft cooktop so in order to meet code we are replacing that too. Will donate the current one, but put the fridge in the garage. I have 42" maple cabinets and I want to pinstripe the grooved edges with black glaze to bring out the dark colors in my granite, which is Baltic Brown - a mix of tan, black and gray. We just bought a new sectional and 9x12 rug - both coming next week. Also plan to have someone come and frame my bathroom mirrors, and re-carpet my master and paint in there. We are moving various pieces of furniture around to other rooms, getting rid of one couch and doing a swap of other household couches and rugs to different rooms. I am already tired, I am not sure how you did all you have in the last few months!
illimae - its a crazy pan, right? It is very good quality - heavy and durable. I haven't used it yet but need to! You could even do cake or scalloped/au gratin potatoes in it with diffferent flavorings.
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More jump-ups tonight--the last of the seafood linguine (only the calamari rings remain in it), or maybe Bob's rigatoni Barese (tomato sauce, peppers, sausage). I'm not a big fan of pasta I can't twirl, so will likely stick with the former. Wanted the remaining falfel & hummus, but Bob snuck downstairs in the middle of the night Wed. and polished it off. So I might--if he hasn't killed those off too--have leftover babaghannouj & Jerusalem salad (with perhaps a frozen falafel). Carby, but these days I need hot comfort food (so a tuna sandwich won't cut it). Last night I stretched the linguine with cut-up broccolini and grated Parm. (which I didn't sprinkle on it until I'd finished the seafood).
Keto choc. chip waffle for brunch. Meh.
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The appliances here are "whatever was available when it was needed". :-)
We had a late lunch, so no dinner.
The sourdough is going through its the first rise. I didn't get started with the bread until a bit after noon and then I got busy for a couple of hours, so the bread won't be ready to bake until 10pm or so.
DD is on the phone. She's just finished her first week of work and I'm interested in seeing what she thinks of it
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This was more of a dinner in the sense of the word when it was in transition from the mid day meal to the evening meal, but after a week being too busy to have a proper meal I had chicken noodle soup, turkey sausage and kale soup, roasted chicken breast, a Lebanese styled dolma, a slice of cake, two cookies, some strawberries, a few grape tomatoes and half a bagel with margerine. I feel like the hungry caterpillar.
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Wow, Special, you're doing a major renovation. My "re do" started when I ordered a new rug for the dining area which adjoins the kitchen. At dh's suggestion, I selected a rug with color and design to replace a tan rug that was still serviceable but badly needed cleaning. When the rug arrived, it was something of a surprise, not what the picture had led me to expect. He loves the new rug which clashes with the wall paper and brings a whole different palate of color. Rather than go to the trouble of replacing the wallpaper, I will attempt to paint it, having, of course, done some research into the process. Now the agonizing selection of a color by a Pisces. I found another rug at Lowe's with colors that would be more at peace with the wallpaper, but, no, he likes the new rug better.
One thing leads to another.
Last night we had Laurie's Salsa Chicken and it was not wonderful. I used boneless chicken thighs and a can of black beans and a whole jar of salsa. There was too much liquid. I should have removed the lid and allowed for reduction during the cooking process in the oven. We had guacamole, sour cream, grated cheddar and some corn tortillas.
I will use the leftovers to make a filling for enchiladas tonight. So home-made Mexican two nights in a row.
We received a gift of three meals for two from Hello Fresh. DH picked out the meals. This will be interesting. I have not experimented with meal kits before.
Today is the visitation and funeral service for a neighbor who died at his house about a week ago. We will not attend out of health concerns.
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carole - I'm also taking down the 20 year old window treatments that span the entire back of the house, which is mostly sliders and windows and replacing them with matchstick blinds, and cream linen drapes in the family room only, and painting additional parts of the house with the kitchen paint color, and refreshing the kitchen paint as well - a neutral latte shade. This has been coming for a while, but having spent the last 10 months in here looking at everything has spurred me to action. I had the same approach with the master a few years ago - I spent so much time in there during chemo and the million surgeries I had that I had one day when I snapped and took out the linens, the drapes, changed the color scheme - everything. Unfortunately, the day of snappage was the day before Thanksgiving and I had 20 people coming (oh the pre-Covid days...) so it was not an opportune time for redecoration. Somehow I managed to do both things, but was a bit fatigued on Black Friday, lol! I will be curious how you like the meal kits - I think moon tried a few and liked some of them quite a bit. Sorry about your neighbor and also sorry that we are all still in a situation that attending someone's service is dangerous. Ugh.
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Special - that doesn’t sound like a ”mini” makeover to me lol!
Now all this makeover talk has inspired me to start painting the kitchen. I was going to wait until after the countertops went in but now I’m anxious to “git ‘er done” .
Last night ended up being last minute delivery pizza so the flank steak will be tonight - probably in the form of pepper steak if I can get to the store for some peppers. I seem to be missing one ingredient for a lot of my flank steak recipes in spite of a substantial grocery pickup two days ago. Poor planning on my part which seems to be the story of my cooking life.
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