So...whats for dinner?
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Good luck today Sue!
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Joycek I dont what kind of healthcare you are in, but i am a nurse and i agree, it can be very challenging! Now that I have lost my job, i am looking at other options.
Sue good luck with your treatments, keep posting and let us know how you are doing.
Michelle love all your pics...your family is amazing! Love your DD t-shirt...did she get that just for the party? And BTW those eclairs would not have survived a minute if I was there?
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Carrie, that is a crime that you lost your job. I am so angry about it. It really sux. I think a better one is out there for you though.
Michelle, congrats on finishing chemo. That looks like a great party you hosted. Glad everyone enjoyed it.
Sue, thinking of you today. Hope everything goes well. I just finished in the end of July. You will get through it. Best of luck on minimal SE's.
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Carrie - Christine already had that t-shirt. She said she had bought it a couple years ago at White House Black Market. You can usually find them in more upscale malls. When she coordinates something, she thinks of everything!!!
I have to say, raising four kids was not easy. We had our challenges like all parents/kids do during those growing years. And when I was diagnosed, my daughter begged us to move back to the area. Well, my kids have come through for us in so many ways, I can't begin to list them all. Each, in their own way, have been here for us since day one. And my son-in-law, too, who has let Christine be here with me whenever we needed her. That means he had to rearrange his work schedule, manage three young children with all their comings and goings, and all the other "stuff' that comes with running the household when mom is gone. He is an amazing husband and father!
We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams!
Michelle
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you look great bald too luvrving.
here is a place to order FREE sourdough bread starter.. i like this guy
but he died in 2000 at a ripe age.
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yay, congradulations
I love the pictures. You are beautiful. I wear a wig at the bank where I work part time that is very similar to yours, and when I get in my car, to leave, I throw the wig off and put my hat on, for a comfy drive home 0 -
Thanks everyone for your kind words!
I managed to go clothes shopping for an hour near the chemo clinic, then I got my Neulasta shot and then spent about 30 minutes in the grocery store.
DH is working late but he'll come home to one of our favorite pasta concoctions - sweet Italian sausage (normally I use hot but can't do that right now) with onions, peppers, mushrooms and zucchini, spiced up with garlic, basil and parsley. Think stirfry - keep the veggies a bit crispy. I add a jar or can of spaghetti sauce (current favorite is Hunt's Garlic and Herb) then add in about 12 ounces of cooked penne. Bertucci's served a dish like this many years ago and I recreated it to our tastes. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes. And it's very yummy!
Michelle
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Michelle- As always you amaze me! Your dinner sounds really good and easy. I'm glad it sounds as though you had a good day.
I'm doing the hamburger on top of zucchini dish that DH loves so much. It's easy and everyone eats it.
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I don't know what is for dinner yet, but I just walked in from work and there was a package of oreos on the counter. It took about 10 seconds to eat 5 of them with a glass of milk. I will have to kill my husband now for bringing them in the house. I was doing so well!
He did also buy some fresh fruit and put it in a basket on the dinner table, but did I see this when I walked in???? Of course not.
Aaaacccckkkkk!!!!!!!
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Dinner tonight is a home-made pesto pizza topped with tomato slices and fresh mozzarella.... A bit like a caprese salad pizza....
Lol shelleyj43.... Those oreos would have been a goner here too!
Laurie,
Is the zucchini dish the one you got from someone you camped with? If so, it's still on my list to try!
Welcome sue-from-wi....
Hope your first chemo was uneventful and that the side affects, if any, are mild! Hugs!
Michelle,
That pasta dish sounds like something we all may eat in my house if I leave out the mushrooms... My husband and I love them but, the kids.... not so much!
Hope your doing well today and hope you all have a blast at Pickety Place this weekend! What a cool name for a place... Kind of makes you smile just saying the name....
The food that your daughter put together looks sooooo yummy!
Debbie....
Tamale pie sounded very good!! I absolutely adore mexican amd tamales are one of my favorites but would be fairly complicated to make... This sounds like a way to get the same flavors!!0 -
Oh... one more thing.....
I agree with joycek.... The picture of Michelle with the sunglasses on bares a definite resemblance to Jackie O... Sleeping beauty.... Jaclyn Smith... Jackie O... No Matter which one you pick, you're in good company.....lol0 -
Doing a Lazagna tonight with Garlic Bread toasted. I went to farmers market in my town and bought some tomatoes, apples and a granola mix of yummy oats and nuts and raisins.
Sue, I'm hoping you have minimal SE on your treatments, I did not have chemo so I don't know what it is like.
What is the reservation name under @ Pickety Place?
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I failed at copy and paste for my pics, they don't show.
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Deb - the reservation is under the name Michelle Hall.
I went to the chemo center today and walked in with a short blond bob wig and my regular glasses. They have decided that I am a chameleon! I thought about it for a minute and then said yes, I am a Camillian. My mom's name is Camille! Too funny!
Michelle
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This post turned out a lot longer than I thought it would.
Debbie, per your request and for anyone else who is interested, here is my family's recipe for braciole and gravy. I believe this is the first time this recipe has ever been written down. It gets passed down through the generations by watching how it's done.
Here's the recipe for my family's braciole. For those of you who aren't familiar with this dish, it is thin piece of beef that is spread with a stuffing, rolled up and tied, then cooked in a tomato sauce. Bracioles are stuffed with all kinds of things hard boiled eggs, bread crumbs, pignolie nuts, figs, pancetta, cheese... My famly recipe is pretty simple. There are no set amounts of anything, you just put the ingredients on in a thin layer.
Ingredients
flank steak, grated romano cheese, flat leaf parsley, fresh garlic, raisins, black pepper, and butcher's twine to tie the braciole
Have your butcher butterfly the flank steak (cut it in half, almost all the way through and open it like a book - so that is is half as thick and twice as long). If you don't have a butcher who can butterfly it, you can do it yourself with a very sharp knife. Check on line for a video. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and pound it to flatten and thin a bit, especially along the seam in the middle.
Chop the parsley and mince the garlic. Sprinkle a thin layer of grated cheese over the flank steak. Then sprinkle on a thin layer of chopped parsley and minced garlic. Sprinkle a layer of raisins on top. (Not too thick a layer, there should be a little space between each raisin). Put some black pepper on top. Starting at the narrow end roll up the meat and put it seam side down.
Now you need to tie it. This is a technique my mother never quite mastered.There would be so many little pieces of string, it would take forever to cut it off and get dinner on the table. And, someone always ended up with a piece of string on their plate
But, through the wonder of modern technology (you tube) I am able to tie a braciole like a pro. This is the video that taught me how. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RThPiTb3-g Once it's tied refrigerate it, so the meat gets firm. I usually make the braciole the day before I make the "gravy." Heat a thin layer of oil in a sauce pot and brown the braciole on all sides. Then add the ingredients for your favorite tomato sauce recipe, cover the pot and simmer over a low heat. Stir every so often. The longer you simmer the more tender the meat (couple of hours) Remove the string, slice and serve with the sauce. You'll probably have enough sauce for pasta to accompany the braciole.
My Family's Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
Meat - a braciole, 1/2 dozen or so italian sausage (hot, sweet or both), 1 package country style spare ribs
1 onion (chopped roughly). 3-4 cloves of garlic, fresh basil, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, 2 cans of Pastene kitchen ready tomatoes, 1 can of Pastene tomato paste.
Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a large 6 - 8 quart pot and heat. Brown the meats on all sides. When browning the sausages poke holes in them so some of the fat comes out. You'll need to brown the meat in batches. Don't crowd the pan, keep an eye on it and keep turning it so it doesn't burn. Remove all meat to a platter.
If there is not enough fat from the saugages to cover the bottom of the pan add some oil. Saute the onions, add the garlic cloves and saute until soft. While you're doing this use a spoon to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Put in the 2 cans of tomatoes and can of paste. Put a little water (inch or two) in each of the cans and swirl to get all the tomato from the sides, add the water to the pot - this is the old family secret part. Put all the meats in the pot (make sure it's submerged under the tomatoes), add 2 or 3 fresh basil leaves, a few pinches of dried oregano, a pinch or two or three of crushed red pepper (depending on how spicy you like it), salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot. Let simmer over low heat for at least a couple of hours. Stir every so often to make sure nothing is sticking, add some water if it's getting too thick add more seasoning if you think it needs it.
Because this gravy has pork in it, you will see oil rising to the surface - don't skim it off, just stir it back in. This is my favorite treat - a slice of fresh italian bread dipped in the gravy, right through a puddle of oil into the tomato sauce below - mmmmm mmmmm. Remove the meat to a platter. The pork will have fallen off the bone. Slice the braciole. Serve with your favorite pasta. You can eliminate the pork, use chicken thighs or legs, uncooked chicken or turkey italian sausages, make your favorite meatballs and add them. The different kinds of meats give the gravy a different flavor. As I said this is not an exact recipe. I learned from years of watching, stiring the pot and sneaking slices of bread dipped in gravy. Any questions, I'll try to answer them. Enjoy
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Oh Hauntie, that recipe sounds so delicious when i go shopping saturday im going to buy the stuff to make it, will make it sunday and will let you know how it turned out, this is the kind of stuff my DH and i love, I know it will be good, thank you for sharing your familys recipe.
Seaside- It does make you smile when you say pickity place huh, LOL! too cute.
Laurie- Did i miss anything on your anniversary, where you went? hope you had a great time.
Shelly- LOL my favorite store bought cookie is oreos with milk yum,!
Chicken stir fry for dinner- easy and made it healthy too,
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Apple- What a great link for the starter bread, what caught my eye was the oregon trail, which i live in oregon so wanted to read all about himl very interresting, and there is a great recipe for oatmeal bread using the starter, i copy/pasted and will make that, Thanks for the link
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Debbie - Since you had the healthy stir fry tonight, you can go all out on the braciole and gravy on Sunday. If you really want a spectacular feast, I'll give you my recipe for homemade manicotti. If there's extra, the gravy and meat freeze really well. I'm glad you asked for the recipe. Now I have an old family recipe written down for the next generation. If you make the braciole on Saturday, I'll be around if you have any questions. Just PM me. I'll be a Pickety Place on Sunday with some of the other BCO gals.0
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Correction - OH NO - I left out one important step for the italian gravy recipe. While you are sauteing the meat in batches, juices will flow out of the already sauteed meat, as it rests on the platter, pour those juices into the pot after you put the meat in the pot. Stir it in. There's a ton of flavor in those juices that you don't want to go to waste.0
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I am happy to say that Chemo #1 is history for me and so far, the side effects have been minimal.
Good news on the dinner front, too. After the treatment, we went to the little cafe where DH picked up lunch for some gelato. About halfway through, the very nice young man behind the counter asked if we would taste a new entree he was trying out. We said 'Sure' and about 10 minutes later we were enjoying Chicken Artichoke Fettucini - enough to make a meal and quite tasty, albeit a bit early.That was really a sweet way to top off the experience!
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Oh Hauntie!
That recipe sounds just fabulous!
And yes, it is so important to get those recipes written to pass down.... My best friend's Mom passed away this year and she did take the time to pass on her recipes.... I can remember eating meals there that you just couldn't believe how good it was.... I can also remember helping to bake all kinds of Italian baked goods at the holidays even though I am not Italian (they truly embodied the.... when you're here, you're family... mentality)
I can't imagine those recipes being gone forever... My friend and I have known each other since the 7th grade and her Mom was SUCH a good cook!0 -
Sue,
So glad that chemo 1 is in the past!!! Chicken Artichoke Fettuchini sounds really great! Especially if followed by Gelato...lol.....0 -
I made a greek style pasta salad for dinner. I used whole wheat Penne pasta, black olives, onions, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, red, orange and yellow pepers, olive oil , red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. It was yummy
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Hauntie- I will be making it sunday, the directions look so easy but if i have any problems i will pm you, and you are right the juices from the meat is like gold, never throw them out LOL! My mouth is watering just thinking about it now. Seaside is so right, its important to have all those recipes written down so they dont get lost or forgotton. My mom wrote a lot down but there are some i wish i could just call her and ask how she made a certain dish, that makes me sad, so i made a cookbook just for my daughter so she would have those should somthing happen.
Sue-Glad you are doing well and enjoying your great sounding dish, i know for me i felt good for a few days after chemo then by the 3rd or 4th day i started feeling kind of crappy, so i always tried to get things done in the first few days of chemo. Hope you have minimal SE
Zumbagirl.- I make a pasta salad siminlar to yours but add pepporini slices artichokes and parmesan cheese to it, i get asked for the recipe all the time when i bring it to potlucks. Also add peppadews, got to have my peppadews haha!
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that sounds yummy Debbie, I will have to add those items to my pasta salad :O)
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Debbie - What's are peppadews? I had an aunt who's family owned an Italian bakery. She was very secretive about her recipes. She made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world, but even with her recipe, no one can duplicate hers. Her grand daughter inherited all her cookbooks and some hand written recipes, but she does not have the recipe for her all time favorite cookie that her Nana used to make. I don't understand why people are so secretive about recipes. Unless you're marketing the product, it's not like someone is going to cut into your profits.
In our family, it's not that the recipes are secret. It's that there are no written recipes. If you asked my mother how much of something to put in she would tell you, "until it tastes right" or "until it looks right". One of my aunts used to say "until it's nice." What the heck does that mean? When you hang around the kitchen long enough - watching, tasting, and helping you learn exactly what those expressions mean. It's really hard to translate into cups and teaspoons and tablespoons, but it's worth the effort in order to preserve those old family recipes.
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Hauntie-That is so funny, i had to giggle at what your mother and aunts would say "untill its nice"" LOL! I think some of the best cooks just go by how they do it not so much by a recipe. But i need exact ingredients in mine LOL! I can sometimes wing it especially when im just winging it and trying new stuff. You are right though, why not share those secret recipes so everyone can enjoy them when they are gone. We have a friend in ky who owns a pizzaria place is so packed 7 days a week, he will not share his recipe, one time we were all out having a nice dinner with a bunch of us and he got a call saying he was almost out of pizza sauce so he left to go make some, instead of training one of his chefs to make it, seems silly to me!! My mom always made things from scratch but she always told us how to make it when asked, with ingredient amounts LOL!
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My Mother (and those of many of my friends) neglected to pass the recipes to their sons. After Mom died Brother started asking "How did Mom make _______?" I've written down or copied most of them for him but there are two that I have never been able to get on paper with accurate enough measurements to duplicate them without hands on instruction like she gave me. One is special potato bread based roll and the other is a modernization of an old Norwegian potato dumpling made with raw potatoes. The measurements in both are so dependent on variables like the amount of water in the potatoes, the humidity, etc. that you need to know and feel how the dough looks and feels, even how it smells, to get it right. Since he moved a thousand miles away shortly after she died we have never had the time when we to get together to spend the needed hours working on those two things. At least he did find someone who could teach him how to make lefsa---and she wasn't even Norwegian.
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