So...whats for dinner?
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Rockfish with japanese rice cooked in pan fried bok choy and red onion. Not traditional, but a good way to use up my veg. I've coated the fish in a mayo/miso/sake/garlic powder smear and will oven bake at 425. Sort of like my recipe for the "fish sticks" using cod, but asian nuances.
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I pulled a 2" thick NY strip steak from Costco out of the freezer. Yes - I do have beef every month or two. Tender & delicious w/the leftover oven roasted petite potatoes. Desert will be egg nog with Gentleman Jack later this evening. Leftover chicken tomorrow and I think some sauteed cabbage.
Happy Boxing Day !!
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Last night was grilled lamb loin chops and baked sweet potatoes. The chops were delicious cooked to medium rare. The mint jelly had crystallized in the refrigerator.
I bought a tri tip roast yesterday. I have not cooked one before so came home and read about cooking in the oven or on the grill. It's quite small and marbled. Any advice?
I also bought salmon to cook for tonight.
Wally, you and Minus share a fondness for Asian.
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Carole, your meals always sound great. It's been a while since I've made tri-tip but if memory is right, DH would grill it to rare (a few minutes a side) and make sure to cut across the grain (sorry for stating the obvious).
I love almost all ethnic foods. I'm still getting used to some cuisines that add cinnamon and/or fruit to their savory meals. I know it is common, I am just not partial to it. Trying to keep an open mind and trying a few things at least once.
Minus, Raffles is a gorgeous hotel. Did not have the luck of staying there but did manage to have a drink there. Gorgeous!
I made way too much rice (I know, is that a thing? LOL) and will simply use it as a side dish with frozen burgers.
The winds are going to be nasty here and I hope we don't lose power. Did so overnight 2 nights ago but it was while we were sleeping, thankfully.
We go to Sequim on Thursday to see if DH can have rads on his aching back area. Lots of ups and downs with his health news; I'll spare you all, LOL. The only good news is I get another Costco shopping day, LOL. I'll probably make a bbq style socca pizza on wed. so we have leftovers for the long Thursday schlep.
I sometimes ask DH as a running "game"...if you could only have one protein or if you could only eat one ethnic style meal, which would you choose...mind numbing to decide!0 -
DD made it home to Detroit last night with no issues. And, we made it home.about 9pm, also with no issues. About 200 yards from the house is a cattle guard...it sounds so nice when I hear the tires roll over it. :-)
Now to eat our way through the leftovers and get the turkey broth "canned" (tinned).
The turkey carcass is simmering in a pot of water on the stove and both Frankie (our dog) and Duffy (MIL's cat) are both staying close to the stove.
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Minustwo, here’s the spinach artichoke dip recipe. It’s easily baked in the oven, but I personally think it tastes better cooked in the crockpot for a few hours. I think the long, slow cook time allow the flavors to blend well together. Lately we’ve been serving this with cantina style tortillas, preferring their thinness over a regular tortilla.
Spinach Artichoke Dip
1 10 oz. box frozen spinach (I used about 8 oz. chopped fresh spinach this time and it was delish)
1 jar (12-14 oz.) artichokes or artichoke hearts
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1 cup mozzarella
3/4 cup Romano cheese (or Parmesan; I’m a Romano girl all the way)
1 jar (15-16 oz) Alfredo sauce, any brand you prefer
3 cloves garlicSimply add all ingredients into the crockpot and give a good stir. Stir ingredients again after the cream cheese melts, usually a half-hour or so after start. Cook on low for a couple of hours. Enjoy!
If preferred, dip can be baked in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
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Thanks Devine. Looks delicious - and I just happen to have a box of frozen spinach in the freezer.
Eric - so glad everyone is home safe. Carole - I agree -your meals always sound good. I've always liked Chinese & did fool around learning a lots of different Asian foods during the COVID lock down.
As to Wally's question - if I could only eat one ethnic thing?? My parents took us to numerous different kinds of restaurants in the 1950 & 60s. I was fortunate that we lived in the San Francisco Bay area so there were LOTS of choices - French, German, Italian, Brazilian, Asian, Mexican, and .... Lately I've been enjoying Korean foods - but over all I'd have to say Japanese. Oh no ... but then what about pasta & Italian? Oh my yes a difficult choice. A protein choice is easier - always salt water fish & crustaceans.
Wally - hope your DH is is able to get helpful treatment. The Raffles coasters are fun, but my son did not stay there. One night - single room is up to $943.00. eeek.
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divinemrsm, that artichoke dip recipe looks delicious! (My SIL usually makes it for the holidays but we didn’t go to Florida this year, so I missed having some.)
After fighting with computer issues all day, I think Bailey’s or some wine is in order for this evening. I rarely drink alcohol, but a little drink is perfect this time of year
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You folks are much too kind. I usually feel apologetic when posting our meals but I enjoy reading this forum so try to do my part to keep it going. Lately I've gone to meals with two components, one main and one side, because we don't do well with using leftovers unless there's enough for another meal.
We both enjoyed last night's simple meal. I turned a boneless chicken breast into three cutlets and lightly breaded them with seasoned bread crumbs before browning in olive oil and butter. The side was zucchini cooked with a can of Rotel tomatoes and not overcooked. DH's condiment was chutney. I sprinkled Italian cheese mixture on my zucchini.
I don't like heavy breading so I eliminate the wet stage and the flour stage.
The salmon I bought will probably go into the freezer. The default meal with dh is always pasta so pasta and salad will probably be tonight's meal.
I was in Sequim many years ago visiting two writers. She was a romance writer (as was I) and he a mystery writer who was rather contemptuous of the romance genre. As I recall, Sequim was a small town then. It obviously has undergone development. From there we drove the Peninsula and stayed at a charming lodge. DH and I both like Port Townshend.
Eric, I know you enjoyed your Christmas with DD. I grew up with cattle guards so know the sound you mean.
That spinach and artichoke dish made my mouth water. Those two ingredients were meant to go together.
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Carole - Another perfect suggestion... I always saute onions & then add zucchini & tomatoes & ..... I never thought of Rotel. That will make things so easy!!
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Carole, I did not know you are a writer! That was my dream...to write a novel. And I can say I "know you."
I thawed the turkey pieces from my experiment with the crockpot, so it will be a BBQ turkey "pizza" (on socca crust) instead of chicken for tonight.
Sequim has always seemed a tad not-PNW to me. When we first got here, I thought it resembled more Florida than not--except for the oppressive heat/humidity. Lots of housing has gone in. The joke from the realtors (when we first started looking for a spot here or sequim) was it was "god's waiting room"...clearly referring to the age of the residents.
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What I remember most about Sequim in the mid-to-late '70s (besides the late great Three Crabs restaurant) was the clear extremely starry nights. We haven't seen the like since until we were in the middle of the Mediterranean, far from land, on a cruise in 2015. I imagine Sequim (and even the San Juan islands, where we watched the Leonid meteor showers from the deck of a ferry) is too light-polluted these days for people to be able to experience that. (One of the reasons the kids & Leslie's family chose Dripping Springs, TX for Christmas weekend is that it is far from Austin's city lights and has a strict ordinance limiting nighttime lighting--so much so that it's a destination for stargazers). They all drove down to Katy Mon. night to stay in her family's home before heading north tomorrow--hope they can outrun the rain. Much longer drive between Houston & Chicago than the drive down to the Hill Country was,
The Christmas dinner delivered by L. Woods was as promised--although the cranberry cobbler was replaced by an "apple pie roll" with caramel sauce and phyllo crust (which, with the profusion of desserts we brought home from Big Jones) we've yet to touch. Enough turkey (all breast meat) to last through tonight. As we killed off all the sides (Bob had the last of the starchy ones at breakfast today), I will accompany mine with asparagus. Haven't decided whether to steam them, topped with hollandaise, or saute them with balsamic. Appetizer was a bowl of instant miso soup with "windowsill" scallions. Last night was sauteed broccolini with EVOO, garlic, lemon, & red pepper flakes; brunch today was lox, schmear, tomato, onion, dill & capers on low-carb bread.
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Yesterday was a delicious chicken breast sandwich on toasted pumpernickel bread with LOTS of mayo. Desert was a ripe Royal Rivera pear - thanks to my 'other son'. Today was an omelette with sauteed potato slivers, mushrooms & spinach - topped with a couple of Swiss cheese slices. Desert will be "Snappers" pretzels with dark chocolate & caramel. I decided not to go to the store this week. I still have lots of things I can whip up into something interesting so no need to buy more.
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I had just arrived home yesterday (after senior exercise class at the Y) with a package of bulk Italian sausage when dh arrived home from golf with a bag from the Piggly Wiggly and announced his intention of cooking pasta and veggies for dinner. Great minds! He had bought a couple of colored bell peppers to combine with the two zucchinis in the refrigerator. He also cooked onions separately to add to his plate. We still have the Hello Fresh recipe card with the white sauce using cream cheese and sour cream.
So my Italian sausage went into the freezer. It was delightful turning over the cooking job to him and the one dish dinner was quite tasty. Of course, I added Italian cheese to my portion. Now we have cooked linguine in the freezer.
The nephew who was our Thanksgiving host sent us a food box for Christmas with English muffins, Canadian bacon and Hollandaise sauce mix. I'm thinking we will have eggs Benedict for dinner tonight since breakfast doesn't really work for us. DH likes a big breakfast but I don't and he's very structured with his routine.
Costco is finally building a store in my immediate area, fairly close to Sam's Club. We still don't have a Trader Joe's. The Fresh Market and Whole Foods aren't conveniently located but are accessible. We usually make a "run" to Winn Dixie, five minutes away, or to Piggly Wiggly where the in and out time is even shorter.
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Carole - yay for a new Costco. I knew you were an author but it had slipped my mind. Oh my goodness - 35 books published!!!
I'm still using up food in the fridge. Dinner was sauteed cabbage using a bag of coleslaw w/carrots, enhanced by sauteed onions, bacon, and a splash of tarragon vinegar. The side was fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter & mixed with the last of the leftover stuffing. While all this was cooking, I boiled the last few petite potatoes. After adding sour cream, mayo, dill and a hard boiled egg, it's just enough for a potato salad meal tomorrow. And I cooked some rice so it will be cold to make fried rice with asparagus tips, mushrooms & water chestnuts. I think I'll take a chicken breast out of the freezer in preparation for green chili/chicken enchiladas this weekend. But I also want to make Lacey's cod dish. Hmmm.
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Tonight was a throw together meal. Tagliatelle with Alfredo, squash and spinach with sautéed chicken sausage and bell peppers. The components were good but it just didn’t go to for me.
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We had the eggs benedict as planned. The meal was good but definitely not on the level of breakfast at Brennan's restaurant in New Orleans. I was pleased with the poached eggs. I think I will have some for breakfast on one of the English muffins.
Tonight may be a takeout pizza with thin crust.
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Any traditional New Year's Eve or New Year's Day meals being planned? I bought a package of Camellia black-eyed peas yesterday, also a head of cabbage and a corned beef brisket whose price was shockingly high, $8.99 a lb. I hesitated and then put one in my basket, knowing that dh would approve the extravagance. So our menu will be black-eyed peas cooked with diced ham, rice, corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Probably cornbread.
I will dust off the multi-cooker to cook the brisket. Since it's so large, 8 quarts, I'm thinking of replacing it with a 6 quarts InstaPot on the chance that I might use a smaller version more.
The traditional meal in this area is black-eyed peas and cabbage for good luck and prosperity. Nance, I believe you usually cook Hoppin' John.
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You have a good memory Carole. I do make hoppin John every year including this one. This year my DDIL actually requested it. We are having our “Christmas “ with them on New Year’s Day since we were isolated on Christmas. The menu that day will be the marinated brisket that has been previously designated for Christmas dinner, roasted tiny potatoes, green beans, hoppin John and cornbread. If it were only me, there would also be greens but the rest of them are greens averse.
We managed to escape COVID this time, for which I’m grateful I’m back to masking up while shopping and we haven’t eaten out for a while. It’s all so tiresome.Last night’s meal was part of a Costco rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli. Fairly boring. In fact, I’m finding eating in general boring. I blame it on my dislike of winter. I used to like winter cooking - the soups and braises and the like. Now I find my (older) self wanting lighter fare. Those of you who have tried the meal programs like Hello Fresh - did you like them? What do/did you like about it?
Minus - I’m in awe of your enthusiastic food prep.
Carole - I think you would like the 6 quart. It’sa good size for two people
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Bought a leg of lamb at costco yesterday (the $5.00 off was too good to pass up) so our nye/ny plans have changed. I'll be making some sort of Indian lamb dish tonight and plan for leftovers tomorrow. I'll thaw some of the big costco shrimp tomorrow and soak some Gigante (rancho gordo) beans and make a shrimp/bean dish of some sort for ny-day. Planning on leftovers of that too.
Editing to add: I think DH would pick Indian as his "lifetime cuisine." I think mine would be Italian because of the variety across the long countryside. I love Japanese, Mexican, Indian, blah, blah...but thankfully, it is only a game and I'll never be limited. My fav fowl would be duck; fish would probably be walleye and red meat would probably be elk. But my desert island pick would be eggs...SO versatile, LOL.
Editing to add: My lamb dish is: Lamb with Spinach sauce (Saag Gosht); I read about 4 different recipes and sort of tweaked it; also did not puree the spinach. I'm too lazy.
Our neighbor gave us some more crab this afternoon, so that will probably be next week.
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Carole, I love corned beef brisket and usually make it on St. Patrick’s day in the slow cooker with vegetables. Lots of cabbage if I remember the recipe correctly. Yeah, I think I pack it in there. I love cooked cabbage. My go-to sandwich at a restaurant is a Reuben. I’m not a burger girl at all, never order them out and don’t eat them at picnics when there’s usually a lot of other good food around.
In my neck of the woods, we cook pork and sauerkraut on New Years Day for good luck. I make mine in the slow cooker adding potatoes and kielbasa. When it’s done, dh makes Bisquick biscuits. I don’t care for them much but what the heck. I’m not really a bread/rolls/biscuits-with-dinner girl either, except for garlic bread with pasta.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!!!!!
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I haven't unpacked my sauerkraut crock (yet), so I can't make it right now. Soon.
Today is getting MIL's Dish satellite TV antenna placed, aimed and connected. And, if I have time, I'm going to can the 2-1/2 gallons of turkey broth.
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We made ham with scalloped potatoes for tonight with the leftover Christmas ham. For dessert we ate Kirkland Belgian chocolate cookies. Yum.
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Gigi - nice to see you. Hope you come back often.
For New Years, I I will cook black eyed peas and some cabbage, but I'm holding off on the meat. One of the gift baskets I received has 'link' of Dry Salami. Does anyone think some thin slices of that might work in the black eyed peas??? I do have a pork loin in the freezer, but our temperatures are back up to mid 70's. Don't want to run the A/C just to run the oven.
Today I ate my potato salad. YUM!! I did cook some brown rice w/ancient grains last night but decided to hold off on the fried rice. For dessert - I found a package of Girl Scout 'Adventurefuls' that was lost in the back of a cupboard. They're really quite good. Tomorrow I will make Lacey's COD dish with Rao's and fresh mushrooms, onions, red & green peppers and the leftover asparagus.
I got on a roll this morning and cleaned out the pantry and the freezer in the garage. I had more things than I thought, which I'd obviously purchased at the beginning of COVID when we didn't know if we could find anything the next week. Since we didn't have company over to eat and all gatherings became picnics, lots of items needed needed pruning. Tossed things like old spices - chili powder from 2008 - and some canned tomato paste from 2018 and frozen bread from 2021. I don't usually pay attention to the "best use by" as long as the cans aren't dented - except with acidic things like tomatoes. It's so sad that no one understands 'best use by' only mean the peak of freshness, not that the product goes bad. With all the people who are hungry, it's criminal that the food pantries will no longer take donations of canned items even a week past that mythical date. Managed to get 3 bags into the trash before the garbage man picked up.
I rarely make dessert but will whip up a package of Ghirardelli Salted Carmel Chocolate Brownie Mix for NY (another COVID purchase that needs to be used)
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Had an olive-oil-fried egg & small piece of low-carb toast at noon before heading off to first my PT and then the Subaru dealership to have my Outback "winterized." Dinner was a Caprese on field greens to start; then pan-seared sable fish and a stir-fry of snow peas, baby bok choy, red pepper, mushrooms & scallions. Dessert was a small slice of that "apple pie roll." Not much caramel sauce--too gooey to even drizzle off the spoon.
Tomorrow night we're going to Regalia for an early-ish (7 pm) dinner with friends & the kids, and then walk back here for bubbles & watching the "ball drop." We used to listen to WFMT's "Midnight Special" folk music live studio marathon (which I attended long ago) and sing along on "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight, but it's no longer the same. Lately, the network NYE specials have lost most of their appeal for me--especially since the musical guests are in genres I don't really follow. The local ABC station's meteorologist & young early evening anchorman do an elaborately choreographed dance duet to kick off the local countdown.
We'll put out postprandial nibbles: domestic caviars (paddlefish, salmon, whitefish), crackers, chips, salsa, charcuterie, cheeses, nuts, cookies and candy, candy, candy. I will also attempt to mix drinks (and decaf cappuccinos & lattes--both dairy & vegan).
I suspect that Sunday brunch will likely be leftover munchies. Might bake a batch of Lakanto keto brownies, topped with pecans & walnuts.
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Hi all
Three hours to go here until New Year. I never go out, just can't be bothered and nothing happening locally.
I meant to have chemo this week but it got cancelled as I have an infection from my kidney stent. So my week has been all over the place. Chemo next week then Jan 10 have toenail getting taken off as I have had an infected toe that still isn't healing properly.
Then Feb 8 have minor surgery to have the kidney stent taken out. I'm still not eating much as I think I have Colitis. Hopefully in 2023 my health problems will be better.
Food wise I had apricot chicken and rice tonight and a chicken burger for lunch. I've been trying to eat healthier but it's hard this time of year.
Happy New Year everyone. Best wishes for 2023.
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Aussie, Happy New Year to you! Best wishes to you!
Today will be leftovers; still have some potato soup that I made on Thursday. I use and love my sister’s recipe. Ingredients include potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, heavy whipping cream, a couple-inch thick chunk of Velveeta cheese and leftover Christmas ham. For yesterday’s meal, I bought frozen manicotti from the Italian specialty food store and a jar of Rao’s marinara sauce that so many of you have mentioned (I never had it before). I added some ground beef to make it a meat sauce and poured it over the manicotti, then sprinkled mozzarella on top, covered and baked 45 minutes. I also picked up a Caesar salad kit, assembled it adding all ingredients to a bowl, pouring the dressing on top then covered the bowl with plastic wrap and “shake shake shake” to distribute it all evenly. I always love how it turns out. I completed the meal with garlic knots; it was all quite simple to make and dh raved about it. It tasted delicious and plenty of leftovers.
I’ll make one more batch of spinach artichoke dip today since I have left over ingredients from what I made for Christmas. It’s something I only make around the holidays or it looses its specialness. The same with foods like the Waldorf salad, potato soup and cheesy potatoes.
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Wally, I have neighbor envy.
Minus, I, too, admire your food preparations. I will also throw away old herbs and spices when my order from Penzey's arrives.
Nance, great news that you and your dh did not develop Covid. I did order a 6 qt. Instant Pot from Amazon and got a great price for one with damaged packaging.
Eric, I didn't remember that you make your own sauerkraut.
Aussie, I hope your 2023 brings improved health and appetite.
Gigi, please do join us often.
Divine, I like Reubens, too, but also like hamburgers. In fact, I'm a fan of sandwiches.
Last night I pigged out on thin crust pizza and finished up the last pieces after dh had thrown in his paper plate.
Happy New Year to everyone. We will be staying home. I may walk outside and look at fireworks exploding in the sky, beginning about 10 pm. There's no telling how much money people spend on fireworks in this neighborhood. The big sales tents were erected more than a week ago.
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Dh and I celebrate ringing in the New Year at home. We'll watch one or several shows on the networks leading up to midnight. I want to check out the Miley Cyrus/Dolly Parton special. I think there's a special with country artists, too, so I'll do a little channel surfing to see what appeals to us. We'll nap out a bit in the evening, anywhere from 8 to 10 pm so we can wake by around 11 pm and get ready to ring in 2023.
I rarely drink alcohol but always have champagne at New Year's, Asti Spumante being my go-to brand. Right after midnight, we'll open the bottle and make a toast. This year I'm going to make a small batch of punch on New Year's day. I've not made it before but the recipe calls for cran-raspberry juice, gingerale, champagne and sherbet. I'll add some frozen raspberries, too. Other years I've had Mimosas on New Year's Day, orange juice and champagne, but prefer cranberry juice and champagne even more. This year I'm wanting to try the punch.
My New Year tradition, after the ball drops, is to open the back door to let the old Year out, then go open the front door to let the New Year in and as I do, I go out on the porch and scream at the top of my lungs “HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!" a whole bunch of times. Sometimes others in the neighborhood will scream it back. A handful of fireworks might go off. Then I go in and we pop the cork on the champagne bottle.
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Instead of getting ready to celebrate the new year, I've been outside installing a Dish satellite antenna for MIL. I'm sure this is a better use of my time. :-)
I need to make up one more end for the cable (looks like cable TV cable) and the aim the antenna toward the satellite.
I'm glad I'm done with the outside work that I had to do while "gloveless". It is windy and if it doesn't snow soon, I'll be surprised.
I'm not sure what we will be having for dinner. I'll probably have a cool, but not cold, ale. We bought six bottles last year and earlier today I saw four bottles in the pantry.
Edited to add....
The antenna is aimed and MIL's Dish service is now working. She is thrilled. :-)
Another edit. No snow yet, but it's cold enough, the clouds are thick enough and the wind is blowing about 35-40mph.
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