So...whats for dinner?
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Well there has been food here this week - potato leek soup, sloppy joes, fish tacos and tonight - chili. Tomorrow will probably be drunken noodles that has Italian sausage and colored peppers, that will require a short trip to the grocery store.
Winter is wearing on here, although tomorrow is supposed to be near 60. That will take care of the last of our snow. DH and I have been amusing ourselves by rearranging the furniture in preparation for the delivery of a new sofa and chair on Tuesday.
Looking at your pictures and reading your descriptions always make me want salad. Salads always seem better when someone else prepares them.
Lacey - good luck with the toddler adventure. It should be fun lol!
Minus - keep a bottle of Chardonnay to cook with
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Nance - how are you feeling?
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Minus - after being really tired for the first few days out of the hospital, I’m feeling pretty good now. Thanks for asking
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auntie - so glad you are feeling good! Yay!
illimae - Happy Belated Birthday! Hope you had a fun one!
minus - on our drive to CO from FL we stopped at the Pioneer Woman restaurant for dinner and had garlic fries, among other things - which were all good. They believe in LARGE portions in OK! We ate some at the restaurant, had some again later, and then made home fries with what was left by cutting the fries, which were big, into more bite sized pieces and cooking in a skillet with some onion. I haven't yet met a potato in any form that I didn't like...
lacey - how are you feeling, are you making progress?
I will prob do our taxes next week. They are a bit more complex as DH has a military pension, regular job, VA disbursement, and I have SS, and two houses, but it really is pretty easy. I actually itemize because I make a lot of donations and can exceed the standard deduction, so that part is time consuming, but worth it. I had done DD's taxes up to now, but with her LLC and annual offroad event it is now too complicated. I don't want to make any errors - so she now has a CPA. Yay for me!
I have been trying to winnow down my cookbook collection so that it fits into one skinny two level bookshelf between the kitchen and laundry room. My approach has been to look at every recipe in a book I suspect I don't need to keep, and photocopy the recipes I like, then donate the book. In some cases I have only liked one or two recipes, but these tend to be from older books with more outdated recipes, or ones that have ingredients I can't eat any longer. I had a whole slew of Southern Living Annual recipe books going back to the 80's! Got rid of all except for the books from the years my kids were born - thought they might want them - kind of like a culinary time capsule. I have loose leaf binders for entrees, desserts, etc. that the photocopied recipes go into. Takes up way less space and is more organized. That way I have a whole book of different recipes that are just salads, or just appetizers. Makes it easy to find something I might want to make instead of looking through 10 different books. Probably some of you would do this electronically, but I am old school! My problem is I have emotional attachments to quite a few of the books - military assignments, neighborhood fundraisers, books from my mom and MIL, gifts from others. Because people know I like to cook they tend to give me cookbooks - I have received three new ones over the last two Christmas holidays - does that happen to you all?
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Lacey, Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife) wrote several cookbooks featuring ways to "sneak" veggies & fiber into meals kids will eat. I also found that when Gordy was little, he'd devour raw veggies--even broccoli--even when he'd turn up his nose at cooked ones. Stuff like "ants on a log" (celery stuffed with either nut butter or cream cheese studded with raisins) is usually a hit. Beet puree in red velvet cake, apple or prune butter replacing some of the shortening in brownies are "stealth fiber" solutions.
Friday night Bob worked late, so I had leftover ribs, salad, pickled carrots, baby asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Last night we took the kids to Regalia. My app was duck leg confit over polenta (I shared the polenta so I had only a couple of tablespoons). Then instead of spaghetti cacio e pepe I had cauliflower cacio e pepe. My entree was cioppino: shrimp, Manila clams, calamari & mussels topped by a filet of barramundi, in a delicious tomato broth. We took home lots of leftovers--by now they know we love variety at dinner but don't want to fill up. I'll combine my leftover cioppino with Bob's fettucine di mare for dinner tonight (Bob gets all the pasta of course) and make some whole wheat spaghetti in the microwave "Fasta Pasta" so Bob can also have some of the cacio e pepe sauce. He has leftover salad, too. Our app will be arugula with smoked shrimp (from Calumet Fisheries) remoulade (Pike Place tartar sauce, Maille grainy Dijon, and Crystal hot sauce).
Bob's bringing home quiche & salad for me (he's having a couple of hand pies and an IPA) from Beard & Belly. After bingeing Jack Reacher, he will also bring peach pie if they have it. (It's sort of a theme).
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I have 800+ cookbooks that I moved from WI to WA and let me tell you...I still can't part with many of them. I'm working on it.
We had leftover rockfish and bok choy last night; I added brown rice. Tonight, I used the brown rice to make an egg-fried rice of sorts.
The asparagus looked decent so I used that, some napa cabbage and new-to-me, Lion's Mane mushrooms. Easy, quick and delish. Leftovers tomorrow. I may add some onion and dried shiitake to flesh it out.
Happy belated b-day Illimae!
Auntie, glad you are feeling better and home, enjoying home cooked meals.
Minus, 20 free bottles is still great. YUM on the Baily's and I agree, chard. for cooking.
Sandy...drool on your meals. I've never considered cacio e pepe with cauli...next time!
Lacey, I love the eggplant and it may convince DH to eat it. He's not a big eggplant guy; I usually make it asian or babba ganoush.
Such great ideas here.
p.s. I caved and shared a bag of potato chips with DH. Glad it is the only one in the house.
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My brother wanted the Officers' Wives Club cookbooks from the various duty stations mom and dad ended up at. They go back into the early 1950s and, like you say, Special, they are culinary time capsules. Most of them are from marine bases, but there are some from "other" branches as well. Oh, sometimes we do get cookbooks for Christmas or birthdays, but usually we just buy them for ourselves!
I think I've mentioned it before. When I find a recipe we like, I type it up on an old manual typewriter using archival bond paper and put into a notebook. The paper and typewriter ink can withstand water and the notebook doesn't need electricity, so it is a good fit when we are dry camping somewhere in the truck camper
Wallycat, I no longer have any idea of the weight of our books unless I were to go pull out the list and add up the box weights. I do know that a regular large rental truck won't be able to manage it in just one load. I think we are trying to out book the local library! :-)
Auntie, I'll add my "glad you're feeling better and are back home" wishes.
Mom was a NP midwife and Mickey was going to be a pediatrician, so they both had their collection of "how to make vegetables and fruits be exciting to kids" recipes. Unfortunately, that stuff is all packed up.
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Eric - have you decided where you first (interim) move will be? Sounds like you're getting close.
Dinner was a riff on three different shrimp & pasta dishes - one from Jazzy on BCO. Sauteed shrimp w/onion & garlic in butter & EVOO w/a bit of chardonnay. At this point it called to add pasta, broth & milk and simmer until the pasta was cooked. I was doing my first trial of leftover gemeli pasta from the freezer, so it basically just needed to be simmered to heat. Then I tossed in some spinach & let it wilt. It missed the thickening aspect with the pasta being 'pre-cooked' so it was a bit soupy, but a good flavor.
Carole - I think you were the one who said we could freeze pasta. Thanks, It was as good as new.
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Thanks for the birthday wishes, DH made me California style carne asada burritos and margaritas. I bought myself some really nice cupcakes and it was a nice, no fuss day.
Speaking of camp food, there’s these bagged salads that come with dressing and toppings, which have been great for the cabin/RV. They easily portion out to 2 large or 4 smaller salads and are far less bulky for travel.
Planning regular home cooked meals for this week, definitely more veggies after birthday food.
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I guess I missed that Illimae. Happy Birthday.
A friend owns a vacant lot, with full hookups, within an RV park in Congress, AZ, and they've said we could live in our truck camper there while we're looking for a new place.
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Minus, SpecialK shared the valuable hint that pasta could be frozen and I tested it out with success. Now I always cook the full package of pasta.
I, too, am keeping some cookbooks because of associations. My friends Toby and David, artists and now both deceased, started an organization called Pets and People to help poor pet owners with expenses of pet ownership. As a fundraiser Toby helped to publish a small cookbook. There are other small self-published cookbooks with stories. They don't take up a lot of space. I am now down to two shelves. My plan is to donate the discards to Friends of the Library used book store. Most of the cookbooks look new because I didn't mark them up or use them much. I always read cookbooks after I acquired them.
My most-used cookbook is a loose leaf notebook of recipes I printed out from websites or typed and printed out. I refer to recipes as a refresher. Occasionally I go through the notebook and discard pages.
This week's weather is a harbinger of the return of warm and muggy weather. We're supposed to hit 80 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yard work and perspiring are in my future.
Tonight's dinner will feature catfish fillets yet to be purchased.
Eric, we spent four months in a truck camper travelling to and around Alaska. DH found the experience more challenging in terms of living space than I did. I liked having my bathroom handy at all times. LOL.
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Warm-ish yesterday & today. Heavy rain starting around 6pm. Gonna freeze way up north but not here. Our Snowmageddon will be Thurs. into Fri.
Last night was smoked shrimp remoulade over mesclun, and reheated cauli. cacio e pepe with a half-portion of Bionature whole wheat spaghetti (which pasta is definitely not "carb-worthy" IMHO--like all whole-wheat it goes from raw to mush with no al dente in between).
Lunch (after 2pm) today was avocado toast (homemade guac) with an olive-oil-fried egg. Tonight will be the rest of the cauli. cacio (no pasta), the leftover broth from the zuppa di pesce, and about half the leftover seafood. (Will put the other half on Bob's fettucine for him to snack on late tonight). For veg, probably will steam asparagus with lemon & garlic, dressed with EVOO.
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Dinner was leftover sauteed cabbage with carrots & onions & sunflower seeds. Side was two brownies. This is a perfect example of why I never make desserts. I'll be eating brownies until the cows come home - or I'll end up throwing them away.
My second LE treatment today. The LEPT is doing a marvelous job of breaking up the old cording that I'd actually learned to live with. What a difference.
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Minus - so glad your treatments are working!
I’ve been a collector of cookbooks over the years. And yes, people still give them to me too. I had the Southern Living collection too. When we moved I got rid of a great many but I still have more than I need (including a couple of those Southern living books). Most of the recipes I use are printed out and stored in a rather large basket. No organization there - except I do have separate folders for holiday recipes, baking and pressure cooking/sous vide. I use Pinterest boards for most of my organization.
Tonight was the drunken noodles with Italian sausage. The noodles were pappardelle. Pretty good stuff
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LE treatments are awesome! Mine were in early spring 2016, and my LE never returned.
Dinner was pickled herring, reheated duck leg confit, and the remaining cauliflower cacio e pepe with shiratake (konjac root, zero net carbs) fettucine.
But I just put in my pačzki delivery order for next Tues. (Mardi Gras is sneaking up on us). It's a half-dozen--I'll eat the chocolate or cherry one (probably cut them in half) and see who wants the rest (raspberry, apricot. vanilla, and lemon curd). The bakery is Smack Dab in Rogers Park--they usually have only cake donuts and pizzas, but every year they also do yeasted sufganyot (sort of like mini-pačzki) for Hanukkah and hamantaschen for Purim. I gave up Krispy Kremes because they no longer give out freebies for being vaccinated and the only one in the city is down in the Loop near my dentist's office. Not worth the hassle or the calories without a special occasion.
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Glad your LEPT is helping, MinusTwo. Happy Birthday illimae. I haven’t had carne asada burritos and margaritas in ages. I should put that on my list. Nance, I have never had drunken noodles, so I’ll be googling that. ChiSandy, the cauliflower cacio e pepe sounds interesting. What does shiratake taste like
Tonight I made pork chops with a roasted red pepper mojo (Milk Street recipe) with roasted potatoes and plain peas.
The red pepper sauce was something new for me, and DH and I both liked it. I made a half recipe, but we still have lots of leftover sauce. Any ideas on how to use that? Maybe put it in quinoa?Tomorrow will be leftover Shepherd”s Pie from Sunday (no lamb, just ground beef) and a salad. I like the HelloFresh recipe that only has onions, celery and carrots with the meat. At boarding school, they made it with canned corn and I was not a fan of that version.
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Cynthea - the recipe I use is an Italian version of an Asian dish. The recipe is here:
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Happy belated Birthday illimae!!
Today's menu will consist of chicken gyros with homemade tzatziki sauce along with a greek salad and some sweet potato wedges or fries.
My son enjoyed the spicy Korean pork I made some weeks ago and asked if I'd make it again, so that's tomorrow's meal along with some vegetable fried rice.
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I fleshed out the leftover egg fried rice with shiitake and red onion last night. Still can't say enough about the short grain brown rice. I'm going to place an order for the Carolina Gold in the next few weeks...when deliveries won't be impacted by temp or other weather. We actually had a dusting of snow yesterday, back to a night time low of 29 and snow flakes are flying but not sticking. Such a treat as most years, we see zero snow. God I miss winter. The 54 days this early made me quite despondent.
Tonight, I'll be making a BBQ chicken socca "pizza" of sorts.
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Thanks for the link, Nance. It looks yummy! Perfect comfort food
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Tonight is a beef stir fry. I didn’t have ginger or sesame seeds but it was still good.
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Looks yummy Mae. Do you just use cornstarch & something like pineapple or orange juice?
Yesterday I picked up sandwiches at Panera Bread for a back yard party with some friends in the neighborhood. Everyone brought their own drinks & I brought a bag of Ruffles. Since we'd missed the hostesses' birthday, I picked up a black forest cake. One of the guys brought a fresh strawberry pie with whipped cream from Flying Saucer Pies. Needless to say, that outclassed my dessert by a mile. We all had a piece (or two) of each. Extra pounds for sure....
Meal today was an omelette with fresh spinach, mushrooms and Monterrey Jack cheese - served with two English muffins & butter. I was sauteing Asparagus for something else, but the phone kept ringing about Civic Club/Neighborhood issues so the asparagus was sidelined for tomorrow.
Edited to say I had 2 LARGE glasses of Shiraz from my ex-DH's wine cellar while I was solving all the problems.
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Leftover socca bbq chicken 'za with a side of salad.
We spent the morning-part-afternoon shopping in Sequim for our Costco/walmart run. The catfood shelves at walmart are still bare. Bought a few bags of dry for the ferals dealing with the cold; I am in pure bliss with the cold and snow but sadly, it will not last. I'm grateful for the meager dusting and won't complain I can't get feet of it.
I splurged on the ginormous shrimp at costco and will figure out something for tomorrow....I have bok choy and spinach. Noodles, rice and lots of other stuff to choose from...maybe that can lull me to sleep--thinking up a meal.
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Hi all
It's my 10th year anniversary of my Breast cancer today, luckily I've been breast cancer free but unfortunately I got Bowel Cancer in 2015. I'm having my 3rd lot of chemo, since 2019, 56 rounds so far.
Sometimes my appetite isn't that good but hoping to get some inspiration on this thread. This week I've made apricot chicken, had lasagna and roast vegies and brought some Chinese takeaway.
It was nice to see that a couple of you remembered the Aussie girls.
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aussie - congrats on 10 years! Those of us who have been on this thread, and site, for a long time couldn't possibly forget the Aussie girls - I definitely followed ChrissyB's epic visit to the US and her meet ups with many BCO members.
Last night I cooked some brats and then sliced them on the bias and combined with all the random veggies from the fridge - carrots, broccoli, red onion, mushrooms, yellow pepper - and made a sauce from some chicken broth, tomato paste, and a little cornstarch. Served with rice pilaf. Tonight I am thinking lentil pasta with turkey/pork/spinach meatballs and some marinara. I got some DF parm shreds from the store but I didn't like the texture so I put the whole tub in the mini food processor and ground it slightly - much better. Will top the pasta with it.
I am caffeine free (and food free...) this morning as I have to go for labs at noon. Food free is no problem, I am an accidental intermittent faster since I am not really a breakfast person. I am considering taking a Yeti with my coffee in it so I can drink it immediately after the draw, while I am waiting for the quick CBC result. I am hoping my white count has improved. I am always amazed how fast I get the no caffeine headache, and how fast it goes away as soon as I have some coffee. I have made DH stop in a Starbuck's drive-thru on the way home from surgery. More than once.
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Aussie - Congrats on 10 years out from BC but so sorry to hear about your bowel cancer. Many of us are still cooking regularly and several have changing diets so hope we can provide inspiration. Apricot chicken sounds interesting.
Thanks for the recipe Mae.
I think today will be Naan Pizzas after I get home from the dentist. Only a cleaning but yuck - I really don't care for dentist visits.
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Water is essential to life. Without water one can not make coffee. :-)
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eric - you get me.
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I used udon, bok choy, 1/2 a napa and the shrimp, Asian style. I tweaked a Nina Simonds recipe and it was easy and delicious. Leftovers tomorrow.
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