So...whats for dinner?
Comments
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I read your blog today Michelle.... hugs.....
Enjoy the ice cream.
Eric0 -
OK ladies, I have to learn what Chinese Pie is...
Here is my very long, but really pretty easy, recipe for
Amelia's Chicken Pastina Soup
Part I - To boil the chicken and make broth for the soup:
2 whole chicken breasts with bone in
6-8 cups water
Dash of salt
A few whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 sprig parsley or 1 Tblspn dried parsley flakes
1 med onion, whole
1 carrot peeled cut in two pieces
1 stalk celery if you like…cut in two pieces
Steps: Place all together in large enough pot and bring to boil. Simmer for 30- 45 mins.
Take chicken out and cool it…dice how much you want for soup, all or half, and use rest for chicken salad.
Pour broth through a strainer and reserve for soup. Discard or find another use for cooked veggies.
Part II - Use these ingredients:
2-4 cups chicken stock or bouillon or the new, Organic, Better than Bouillon chicken base
Reserved, strained broth (if you chilled it you can easily skim off the fat)
1 med to large onion diced small
2 carrots diced
1 stalk celery, diced (in truth, I never use celery due to an allergy I have to it, but most chicken soups have it)
½ cup dry pastina or soup mac (more if you prefer a thick soup)
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Cooked chicken breast meat cut in small pieces
Fresh cut diced or dried crumpled parsley
Optional ingredients I often use some of these (Amelia never did):
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups chopped kale or spinach
1 Tbspn Fresh mint leaves chopped
1 cup diced zucchini or yellow squash
Steps:
In a larger pot, add 2-4 cups chicken stock, bouillon or base to strained broth you made
Add diced onion
Add diced carrots
Add celery if you aren’t allergic! J
Bring to boil and cook on high simmer until vegetables are soft
Add ½ cup pastina or soup mac.
…more if you want it to be thicker with the tiny pasta. Cook 20 minutes longer.
If you want to add rice instead of small pasta, cook at a higher heat for several minutes longer until it softens.
Add fresh ground pepper (unless your family prefers it without)
Add the small pieces of cooked chicken and heat through.
Add fresh or dried parsley, to taste. Serves four to six
Serve with crusty bread.
Note: You can actually make this soup really quickly if you have some cut up chicken on hand, by just using canned chicken stock and/or bouillon and the diced vegetables, and pastina and parsley. I always feel it is better when made from scratch. But kids (and some grown ups) hardly notice the difference!
I hope my copy and paste worked. I am finding it hard to deal with posting from my laptop....no idea why except I guess I'm out of practice.
Good for you making that reservation, Michelle!
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(((((Michele))))).
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Eric, the same thing happened to us just last week. Took only five days to get the new card.
I'm dying to know what Chinese pie is. I'm just sure I'd like it :-)
Susan, I'm assuming that was kraut that you made? I only attempted that once long ago. Let's just say the result was less than satisfactory.
(((Michelle)))0 -
Lacey12, thanks for posting the recipe. I just copied it.
Michelle, I keep thinking of three words: you're a fighter (in a good, strong way). I also keep thinking about that funny pumpkin picture on your blog - so you have a sense of humor and you're a fighter. And you're a mover, i.e. Florida/Hilton Head/Kauai, etc.
Laurie, I hope tomorrow is better all the way around.
Eric, we had something similar happen a couple of years ago. The fraud was traced back to a Pizza Hut wings place in an unfamiliar neighborhood that I stopped at a few weeks prior. Really annoying but so glad our credit card company was keeping track. We use them for the airline miles (lots of good travel out out of them) and pay them off monthly so that part of it is all good but the fraud stuff is really scary.
Debbie, I look forward to seeing your vacation photos!
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(Michelle)
Eric, had it happen to me twice. BOTH times was just AFTER I activated my updated card I had received in the mail to replace my outdated one. Think there a connection? They caught it so fast, but it already had 5,000$ on it. stupid people.
Laurie, tomorrows coming. Things change. Is it bad I went out for breakfast, and couldn't decide between breakfast and lunch. So I decided to order breakfast, and take home the jerk chicken salad with pineapple for dinner? It sounded so good to me. I did just that. Turns out inform four meals out of it. Half an omelettes, with hashbrowns. Half an inlet for tomorrow with the pancakes. I only ate half the salad, they packed it so nice with the dressing on the side and the jerk chicken separately, so it stayed nice and fresh. When I'm by myself. Buying all the ingredients for all of that means I waste so much, this actually saves me money. just only about $4.00 a meal. So not bad.0 -
michelle - sorry to hear of your news. Enjoy Hilton Head - my in-laws live just north of there in Beaufort, have you been there before?
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(((((((Michelle))))))
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Kathy - I have been to Beaufort, probably to a restaurant on one of our trips.
OK, Chinese Pie (and there's nothing Chinese about it except that it was used to feed Chinese rail workers in Canada.)
Brown 1 1/2 lbs ground beef with some chopped onion. Season with salt and pepper and put it on the bottom of a casserole dish about 9 x 9. Add a bag of frozen corn (no need to thaw) along with a couple pats of butter and salt and pepper. Top the casserole with mashed potatoes. Hubby used store bought ones, he warmed them up and stirred in some cheddar cheese then spread the mix over the entire casserole. Sprinkle a little more cheese on the top then bake for about 30 minutes at 350 or until heated through and bubbly. It's perfect comfort food.
And here's the story about why it's called Chinese Pie even though it's a French Canadian dish:
http://www.whats-cooking.ca/2006/03/pate-chinois-french-canadian-shepherds-pie.html
When my daughter first made it for her husband, he took out the soy sauce...lol Now he adds ketchup!!!
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((((Michelle))))
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Lacey, Thanks for the soup recipe!! I love soup any time of year but with the ridiculously cold weather we've been having it will taste especially good... Will be making it soon!
Michelle, I'm glad that despite not feeling well that you were able to visit with Joyce and enjoy Marco Island. The Atlantic coast is nice but, oh, that Gulf Coast is something else altogether!
I'm sure coming home to the MRI/treatment and results less than hoped for was not on your list of 'Crap I want to deal with' but hoping that the next plan of attack is the right one!
I hope you enjoy Hilton Head. We've talked about trying there or Kiawah but thus far haven't gone. We vacation every summer just south of Beaufort on Topsail Island, NC and just love it!
Lol Moon!! We have a diner in town that we go to quite a bit and my family laughs at me because I agonise over what to get as if it's the last time we will ever be there!! Maybe next time, I'll follow your lead! Ps.... DH and I were just talking about food prices and how, depending on the place, it's cheaper than cooking for just 1 or 2!
Laurie,
Hope today went better....0 -
Michelle- Have fun on your next trip. I love your attitude, you remind me of my mom.
Thanks everyone for your support with my "bad" day yesterday. Today was better. I am hoping everyone is healthy enough for the boys to go visit their grandparents tomorrow. I need to grocery shop and clean and have some quiet time.
Dinner tonight is left overs- whatever is in the fridge. There is still a ton in there and I have little to make a dinner with. I am out of chicken, which seems to be what we eat the most and don't want to have red meat again tonight. So no cooking for me- but I have to be honest. I HATE leftovers.
Hope everyone had a good day.
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For lunch, I had a combination of two leftovers - both Asian.
Egg drop soup with a little bit of rice mixed in (our local Chinese restaurant) with sauteed vegetables from Panda (fast but healthy Chinese fast food) on top. The other night they had barely cooked the vegetables so my DH sauteed them in ginger and I saved them for a rainy day (literally) and it was quite good.
I'm not so crazy about my own leftovers (unless it's pasta or eggplant parmesan).
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Exactly LeeA- Italian left overs are good the reat- meh.
I am going to be a pain Susan, or someone who copied your minestrone soup recipe can you re post please? I think I want to make it tomorrow.
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Laurie,
I think it was Nancy's recipe and it is back on page 352 (or do a search on her user name and minestrone)... The only reason I know is that I tracked it down for someone else...lol!
Here was my post.... We really loved it!
"If you're looking for a really good soup that's got tons of vegetables and beans are OK for you, Nancy (AuntieNance) posted an excellent recipe for Minestrone back on page 352. I have made it a few times and, while I didn't use the crockpot, I can't see why that wouldn't work out just fine... I did use more of each vegetable and added a little but of cooked sausage that I wanted to use up but, it would have been just as good without...
If you do make it, Nancy's suggestion a couple posts after the recipe to boil the pasta separately and add to individual bowls at serving time was a good one if you won't be eating it all in one night. Otherwise the pasta sucks up all the liquid... "0 -
Seaside- I always wondered how you knew what pages stuff was on? Your wicked smart
Thank you!0 -
Laurie,
Unfortunately search only works if I can remember who the heck posted it, which half the time I can't....lol! So frustrating when you know someone posted something you really wanted to try and you just can't find it....
Glad I could help!0 -
I agree 100%- never thought of combining the persons name with the recipe mention though. I had saved her recipe along with a bunch of others with out saving to a word document and then caught a computer virus and lost them all.
I've decided I am feeding the boys and getting a sub for dinner delivered after I get them to bed. I am starving. I never eat much during the day and I don't want to patch together left over stuff.
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Michelle I think my mom made a dish like that, but there was tomato sauce mixed in the gr beef and a green vege (maybe green beans) and then the mashed potato on top and baked. I will have to pick her brain.
Got stood up for steak dinner out last night. Hubby just too darn tired and cold. sometimes he has to be out back of the mill to make feed and it's freezing out there. So I did not cook thinking we were going out...It was blueberry pie and ice cream for dinner.
tonight is chicken breast ina garlic, wine, caper sauce and making the orzo salad (warm) to go with it.
Michelle Did not read your blog, but hope things are ok with you. So glad you are heading back to a warm spot, these cold winter months will go by so much faster for you.
Called my sis today to see if she would go to yoga classes with me to get us out of the house, but the answer was "no" she doesnt like to be around people, never has. She was put on AI and is not doing well, migraine headaches every day, she is calling the doctor tomorrow to tell him she wont be taking it anymore.
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Seaside - Thanks for the tip. I still have all the makings for the crescent roll Danish and was toooo lazy to go back thru postings to find Nancy's recipe. Quick search turned it up.
Michelle - (((Hugs)))
Dinner tonight for me will be leftovers. DH is having colonscopy tomorrow so no cooking tonight.
I had the most fun earlier surfing recipes on Relish. And Gooseberry Patch. Now to get the stuff to cook them. I need to use up the kale I bought. Will probably do that Sat. when DH at work. Found lots of good soup recipes using kale.
Laurie - I'm with you. I would be devastated if I lost my bookmarks.
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I cooked a delicious soup this morning with leeks, potatoes and pancetta as the main ingredients. It was so easy. I printed out two different recipes and consulted both of them and didn't follow either one! I'm a seat of my pants cook by nature.
I cut 4 thick slices of Boar's Head pancetta (1/3 of a lb) into small pieces. Rendered it over low fire in a Dutch oven. Removed the pancetta. Added 2 T butter. Sauted chopped leeks (3 large) sprinkled with salt to facilitate sweating. Cooked the leeks on low heat until tender, maybe 15 min. longer. Poured in a quart of organic low-sodium chicken broth and sprinkled some black pepper. Added diced russet potatoes (2 very large). Returned pancetta to pot. Brought to simmer, covered and cooked for maybe 20 min. Let the pot sit while I took a shower! Ok, too much info! Used my immersion blender to puree the soup. Added part of a carton of fat-free half & half that I happened to have in the refrigerator. Tasted the soup and it needed only a little salt.
Alton Brown's recipe called for 1 c. buttermilk and some heavy cream but my lighter version is really good. You could serve with some grated cheese and croutons.
I took half the soup to my mother, who turned 90 in Dec. and still lives alone in her house. We had a bowl of it for lunch along with a shrimp on bun sandwich. I sauteed the shrimp after sprinkling them liberally with Paul Prudhomme's salt-free Magic seasoning blend.
Tonight's dinner is warmed up left-overs and a salad. DH loves left-overs and I don't mind them. We have linguine from last night and a chicken quinoa dish from Tues. night.
Hugs to Michelle. That Chinese pie sounds delicious.
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Carole and others - I have never cooked with leeks and frankly a bit afraid of the prep instructions. I would hate to screw up something that's so expensive. I think my local grocery has them; know they do at big guys in Ft. Worth. Do I need to get over my scaredy pants? DH loves onions so he should like leeks, right?
BTW - your soup sounds delicious. Enjoying the vicarious smell!
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Luvmygoats, leeks aren't terribly expensive. I bought these at Walmart's and they weren't more than $3 for the bundle of three. They are mild onions. And you can use a good bacon instead of the pancetta, which is an Italian bacon. Or you could make the soup vegetarian and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Give it a try!!!
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Luv, the hardest part of leeks is the washing. They are very dirty.
Everyone's soups sound delicious. I'd be very interested in your best soup recipes using kale as I really want to eat more, but I'm not awfully fond of it.
Thank you all for keeping track of those recipes. I'm away from my computer and can't access the copies. I didn't consider searching for them either. Good thinking!0 -
Well I think there might be a WalMart trip planned for next Wednesday. Have to see the BS for 6 month check. Where do you buy pancetta? Asking but also know I will probably stop by Central Market since I didn't get to stop this week and quite certain deli has it. Don't think I will be back in FW until end of February to shop. Oh, no vegetarian in this house. Have to pratically force DH to eat vegies. I do love WalMart's bags of sugar snap and snow peas.
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Luv, larger walmarts will often carry pancetta (mine doesn't) but really, regular bacon is a decent substitute. I usually get my pancetta at Costco and freeze it in 2 ounce pkgs.
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When this thread first started, I tried to keep up with copying and pasting the recipes into a word file. That very quickly became unmanageable for me.
So what I have started doing is keeping a list of recipe titles that catch my eye and who posted it. My list happens to be on paper but I could see it being something kept on your computer. Makes searching for a recipe so much easier. And also makes it easy to find inspiration by scanning down the list and finding a recipe I had forgotten about!
Luvmygoats, I had forgotten all about that danish recipe! Thanks for the reminder!
Carrie,
Blueberry pie and ice cream for dinner sounds good to me! As does your chicken tonight! DH owes you an IOU on the steak dinner...lol!
Carole,
That soup sounds so good too!! Definitely going on my list!0 -
(((((Michelle))))
There is no official report or plan. Try to stay focused on that and live in the moment, as I know you always do. I will be thinking of you. Will be back next week.
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I am living on the edge tonight! LOL The hubby is working, so I'm making a PJ sandwich (I do have organic peanut butter), and I have these new things called Wheat Sandwich thins (helps with the carb load).
I worked out for 2 hours, so I'm famished!
I need to get my veggies in for the day though, so probably later on I will steam some mixed veggies.
I'm waiting for peanut butter to soften now - it's on the counter!
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Seaside - I like your system.
Luvmygoats - Luv your name and your goat looks sweet!
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