So...whats for dinner?

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  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,283

    Last night's dinner was chili and Nathan's hot dogs, no buns. Easy with canned pinto and black beans, mild Rotel, and ground beef.

    We have to be at the surgery center tomorrow morning at 6:30 for dh's knee surgery. We're both nervous and hoping for the best outcome.

  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 3,913

    Carol - best wishes for both of you. It's a few weeks of challenges but totally worth it. It's been years since my knee was this good. Just be sure he does the physical therapy because it makes all the difference.

    Tonight is a crockpot dish using turkey tenderloins, a box of store bought stuffing mix, and frozen green beans cooked in layers. We'll see how that turns out. It better be good as I still have sticker shock over the price of the turkey.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,398

    Carole - hope DH's knee surgery goes well. Nance is correct - following the PT recommendations after surgery is critical.

    Trying to decide between cheerios with a banana or meatloaf sandwich.

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 1,453

    I'll be thinking of you and your DH, Carole. It is as hard on the spouse as the patient, emotionally anyway.

    I'm shredding up some braised country style ribs in red wine and will pour tomato sauce (jarred) into it, then over Ziti. May toss in some veggies.

  • maggie15
    maggie15 Member Posts: 1,457

    Carole, I hope your DH's knee surgery goes well and improves his QOL.

    Nance, That recipe sounds like Thanksgiving dinner in a crockpot.

    Wally, I add white wine to cream sauce all the time but haven't thought to add red wine to tomato sauce. I'll have to try that.

    Dinner tonight was baked salmon with fig sauce and sauteed yellow squash.

  • eric95us
    eric95us Member Posts: 3,170

    Carole, I, too, hope DH's knee surgery goes well, and helps.

    We currently have a very young Golden Retriever in our house. She was hiding in the bushes along our driveway—no collar and not chipped. We had a loud thunderstorm Friday and I'm hoping she got out rather than someone dumping her.

    Frankie (our dog) was used as a bait dog when he was a puppy and in many cases doesn't get along well with other dogs. So far, they are getting along okay…she is asleep on the floor and Frankie is in Sharon's lap.

  • specialk
    specialk Member Posts: 9,262

    Hi all - we have been busy here still doing some cleaning up around the house, and now waiting for the yard debris to be picked up. The trash folks have had their hands full picking up household debris and the yard stuff has been on the back burner. All of the tree limbs gathered have now dried out and the leaves are coming off, so there will be some additional clean up and raking up leaves when it is finally hauled away. The good news is that the neighborhood has been diligent about the clean-up and a lot is bagged up near all the driveways waiting. I am in the throes of packing and prep for a trip to CA, leaving Wednesday afternoon. I have a couple of appointments and need to vote at the early voting that opened today since I will be out of state on election day. My BFF is having back surgery on Fri so I am going to help her for two weeks. DH will stay here and take care of the house and cat. Unfortunately, I will be gone for his birthday - so I need to make some plans with DD for a gift for him and a cake, etc. DD has returned to work as of this past weekend. DH has been volunteering with World Central Kitchen distributing food both in Treasure Island (very hard hit by Helene) and here in Tampa in the University area, which is quite inland but had issues with a failed flood control pump which caused a lot of damage. I went down to Bradenton with Mercy Chefs and helped with both dishing food into styrofoam clamshell containers to be taken to the distribution sites, and prep for fruit and green salads. It was a long time standing in a parking lot and we were hot and a bit sore/tired when we were done. Meals have been hit or miss - DH's days over in Pinellas are long since it is a commute on top of the volunteer hours. He has not been super hungry when he gets home so we have had some sandwiches. There was discussion earlier of Mississippi Pot Roast - I did make that on the Bradenton day and had the leftovers on rolls with melted cheese. I found a 4-pack of jalapeno rolls at Sprouts that were yummy as the bread for sandwiches with the leftover roast. When my friend was here (fellow volunteer from Gainesville) we also had Green Enchilada Chicken Soup with toppings of cheese, avocado, sour cream, and corn chips. Since both dishes had leftovers that solved cooking on a couple more nights. We went to The Villages on Saturday to meet up with a visiting old friend and her DH (we've known each other since we were 15!) and had a nice mid-day meal of chicken piccata in an Italian restaurant on one of the squares. I was glad they came to The Villages this time, as they often go to Orlando and I hate going over there because of the crazy traffic.

    Hope everyone is doing well and hanging in!

    carole - hope DH's knee surgery goes smoothly!

  • maggie15
    maggie15 Member Posts: 1,457

    Special, What a complicated life! It's wonderful that your DD is back to work and your DH isvolunteering to help with the cleanup. You seem to be organized despite the chaos caused by Helene. It sounds like you managed to fit in some delicious meals as well. I hope you have a good trip and your BFF has a successful surgery.

    Carole, I hope your DH had a successful surgery, too.

    Dinner tonight was pizza made with refrigerated dough, Rao's margherita sauce, mozzerella, nitrate free sausage, mushrooms, green peppers and black olives.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Member Posts: 9,850

    Thinking of making waffles and bacon tonight

  • maggie15
    maggie15 Member Posts: 1,457

    m0mmy, DH loves breakfast for dinner. I haven’t had a waffle iron for quite some time but I should buy a new one.

    Dinner tonight was leftover pizza.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,398

    I love breakfast ANY time, except before 10am.

    Went with a couple of friends to Laurenzo's for a late lunch. Started at 1:30 and still there after 3:30pm. I found out my favorite waiter had passed away, so several other employees came and sat at our table one by one to share the story and tell us about the memorial service.

    Delicious Prime Rib French dip. The lunch menu comes with fries AND a salad. I was only able to eat 1/4 of the sandwich so I have some good leftovers. Started with 'Thousand Stories' Cabernet and ended up with coffee & Sambuca. Even eating less than half of the French Dip, I am still so full at 9:30 pm that there's no way I can go to bed.

    Prolia shot tomorrow for my osteoporosis and then eye doc to see if we can figure out how to stop the constant burning & stinging.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,283

    Minus, that's a sweet story about the wait staff coming over to share memories.

    I brought dh home yesterday in my Prius. The surgery center attendant managed to get dh into the passenger seat. At home I backed into the carport in my slot next to dh's brand new pickup. That's not my practice so it took me a few minutes. We got him inside and positioned in his chair. There was a lot for me to do and fetch and I got a little flustered but all worked out. The little ice machine he bought from Amazon works nicely. We both got sleep last night and things are going well today. Big sigh of relief. The nurse has been here today and the therapist is coming a little later on.

    Dinner last night was left over chili and hot dogs. Today I'll be cooking a pot roast with vegetables and using the oven. It's not oven weather but if necessary I'll lower the a/c.

    All in all, I'm relieved that the surgery is over and recovery is in progress. So far dh's pain has been manageable with the three levels of pain relievers, Tylenol, tramadol and oxycontin. Last night he resorted to one oxycontin before going to sleep. The advice has been to take whatever is needed.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Member Posts: 9,850

    Thinking brats and tater tots tonight.

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 1,453

    YAY, carole!!!

    Today should be the last of the pork/ziti thing. We went out for lunch today…I had a fish taco and dh, shredded chicken taco.

  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 3,913

    Carole - so glad things went well and recovery has started. It's hard on the caregiver I know. I felt bad that DH had to wait on me so much because there was so little I could do at first. You're right, there's a lot of fetching involved. Hang in there - it does get better!

    Tonight is a mystery. Last night I made pasta fagioli which we finished off for lunch. I'm tired today so we'll probably carry something out. All I know is it won't be McDonald's lol.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,283

    I did something goofy with my fingers on the keyboard and the text size on bc.org became huge. Thanks to Google I figured out how to shrink the text size.

    DH has had a tiring day. The nurse and therapist came. They both were somewhat concerned about the appearance of the bandage, which absorbs blood. It clearly had absorbed a lot. He got a call this afternoon from the therapist who said dh would discontinue PT for three days. She had taken a picture of the bandage for the surgeon to see. The lapse in therapy is disappointing but the surgeon evidently thinks wound healing is top priority at this point.

    I wonder if he shouldn't have spent another day and night in the hospital. He was still having some drainage when he was discharged.

    Nance, I know dh doesn't like feeling helpless and dependent. He's typically very self-sufficient. I get anxious and probably hover too much. We'll get through this!! Thanks, everybody, for listening.

    The pot roast smells good.

  • maggie15
    maggie15 Member Posts: 1,457

    Minus, Sorry about your favorite waiter. It seems that he was well regarded by his coworkers, too. Hopefully something can be done for your eyes.

    Carole, I’m glad that you made it home without incident and your DH’s pain meds are working. It’s too bad that he has to wait to continue PT; hospitals seem to focus on discharging people as soon as possible to keep health insurers happy but it’s not necessarily the best thing for the patient.

    Nance, On the way to Boston yesterday my DH ordered a quarter pounder with no cheese and extra onions, something he hasn't had in over 5 years (he thinks Burger King beef is better.) Of couse, everyone knows what the breaking news was last night. At least we are in a different geographic area from the e.coli outbreak so hopefully the onions were OK.

    Made it back from the outskirts of Boston and an IR clinic location where I had never been sent before. There was free parking (Yay!) but the traffic was still horrendous. Dinner tonight was butternut squash ravioli in a sauce made from Rao's and ground beef.

  • reader425
    reader425 Member Posts: 967

    I just lost a long post...was hoping it made it to drafts but it didn't..ugh. Not sure how that feature is supposed to work.

    Glad surgical and other medical visits are going generally as expected.

    An easy cheeseburger mac with a side salad was on the menu tonight. After a long day in lines for early voting I lost ambition for anything more complicated. Maggie, I'm glad it seems your DH is not currently on the " bad hamburger" train!

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,283

    No chance of my getting ill from onion slivers. LOL.

    DH was too tired to eat last night. Lots of leftover pot roast for dinner tonight. He's up and settled in his chair and drinking morning coffee. Another brilliant sunshiny day outside.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,398

    Carole - glad to hear your DH is progressing - even if slowly. I know they delayed PT until the bleeding lessens. I think you said 3 days? Will they start tomorrow or wait until next Monday?

    Picked up another Rx for eye drops today. Hopefully a week on these steroid drops will do the trick.

    Dinner tonight is the last of the meatloaf as a sandwich. I'll be taking care of my 10 years old grand-niece tomorrow so maybe spaghetti & meatballs or maybe mac & cheese - served with a melon fruit bowl. I give her the choice of what she wants to cook for desert - Specials Devil's Food Kahlua cake or Ghirardelli triple chocolate brownies.

  • m0mmyof3
    m0mmyof3 Member Posts: 9,850

    Chicken pot pies

  • maggie15
    maggie15 Member Posts: 1,457

    Carole, Glad your DH is comfortable today. Hopefully he will be healed up to start PT on the new schedule. Pot roast makes great leftovers.

    Minus, I hope your eyedrops are effective. I’m a chocoholic so both of those desserts sound good to me.

    Reader, I hit “Save Draft” often so that posts don’t disappear. Hopefully you had good weather while waiting in the voting line. No early voting here and absentee ballots are limited to a few specific reasons so I will be standing in line on 11/5.

    Dinner tonight was sis kofte, Arabic lamb meatballs on rice.

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,746

    Back in Houston since the tumor board met and recommended targeted brain radiation for the 2 spots that were previously questionable.

    Dinners have mostly been snacks and a loaf of French bread from HEB, which I can’t stop eating. Lol, I am literally tearing off handfuls of the bread, (sometimes more than one) every day. And a fresh loaf is definitely coming home with us.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,283

    DH did eat a small serving of pot roast and potatoes and onions for dinner last night. Today I plan to cook a chicken and sausage gumbo to be served with brown rice.

    No progress to report but at least no backward movement (that I know about) with dh's recovery. I think this is much harder for him than he expected.

    Illimae, I hope the radiation does its job.

  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 3,913

    Carole - my sympathies to your DH. It was much harder than I expected especially those first few weeks. I didn't expect to be so immobile and I also didn't expect as much pain as I had. But it does get better. Keep icing and hang in there.

    Minus - I have chronic dry eye. So much that I had punctal plugs put in a year ago that helped tremendously but I still use three different eye drops and a thermal eye pack every day. It's such a pita.

    Tonight is pizza night from our favorite wood fired pizza joint. The gumbo sounds good Carole. I think I'll have to make that soon.

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 1,453

    I tried a new to-me tofu recipe (salt and pepper tofu) and it was just OK. My dredging didn't stick to the tofu but it was still decent.

    Those with dry eye…have you tried maqui supplements? Supposed to help but I know not everyone gets relief from it.

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10276697/

  • eric95us
    eric95us Member Posts: 3,170

    I hope the targeted radiation fixes the "questionable areas".

    Carole….I'm sure DH will soon be back on the forward path.

    The dog that showed up at our house (most likely dumped off), with no collar, no ID chip and very scared, is progressing nicely. We plan on keeping her and have scheduled a vet appointment for him…and our #1 dog as it is time for his "well check".

    Friends are coming over tonight and we are having BBQ chicken and corn on the cob. Mexico's corn harvest is now arriving here, so we have corn again…for awhile.

    I already voted. The medical team was on deployment alert and would have missed election day, so I went as soon as early voting was opened.

    Eric

  • maggie15
    maggie15 Member Posts: 1,457

    Illimae, Sometimes cravings are your body telling you what it needs. I hope the radiation goes well and is effective.

    Carole, DD who is a surgical/post surgical PA claims that TKR is one of the 5 hardest ortho surgeries to recover from. Chicken and sausage gumbo sounds good but there is no fresh okra up north now.

    Wally, Thanks for the dry eye tip. What my optometrist recommends doesn’t help much.

    Eric, Congratulations on the new dog. Sometimes the best pets find us. I envy your fresh corn.

    Dinner tonight was corned beef, cabbage and boiled potatoes.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,398

    Wally - I've been using Systane PF for dry eye, but will try your suggestion.

    Well my 10 year old grand-niece chose mac & cheese, served with a large melon fruit bowl. She loves black olives so I set out a bowl as an appetizer - but she put them on top of her mac & cheese. In between walking to the creek to feed the turtles, visiting two neighbors with spectacular Halloween displays, cooking & eating dinner, cooking brownies to split with a neighbor in the hospital, watching several You Tube videos so she could explain her favorites series of books (Wings of Fire) (I am NOT a fan of graphic novels), researching why I believed a cricket on the hearth is lucky… We finally sat down to watch my old VHS copy of the original Cinderella. I'm exhausted. This is why old people don't have young children. Midnight - but I think I'll have my pre-dinner drink before bed.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 8,283

    The chicken and sausage gumbo is good but more leftovers.

    Your grand niece sounds delightful, Minus, and I totally empathize with your exhaustion.

    I remind myself that things could be so much worse with dh's post surgery days. He doesn't complain and is making every effort to be a good patient. A therapist will come today. I think dh will get a boost mentally to be resuming rehab. Now if he could only make a successful bathroom trip. Sorry if too much information. Normal bodily functions are important.

    The stray dog is lucky, Eric, to have found you and Sharon.