So...whats for dinner?

Thanks Nancy. I will add that to the "big" grocery list.

Candi,

I will start with, I really dislike most Boars Head products. Sorry.... but, with a little effort you can make something FAR tastier at home. You should be able to buy a turkey breast at your local supermarket. Then brine it for 24 hrs in a flavorful brine. [Here is his post:http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html ], but scale it WAY back for a half breast. I would then roast it at 425º until the internal temps reach about 170º. Remove from the oven and let rest for about half an hour. Slice and enjoy!

Once you have tried his brine, play with the ingredients. For example, I love lots of fresh thyme in my brine for poultry. What do you like?

Don't be too fooled by marketing gimmicks like "nitrate free" or "natural nitrates"... the fact is nitrates are a naturally occurring item. Nitrate free foods generally use celery essence as a substitute which is, da da!, pure nitrate. High quality cured meats should not be an issue. That is truly different than processed foods which is food that has been broken down and then rebuilt, such as chicken nuggets.

I love roasted turkey. Makes the best sandwich ever. Just don't overcook, and you will be happy.

*susan*

Eric, thanks for the recipe suggestions. I will look for them.

Susan, thanks for the info and link. I've never brined anything before but love to cook and will give that a try. I like thyme and rosemary.

We'll since I had a salad for lunch I thought I would indulge for dinner. I went to Five Guys burger joint. I know I shouldn't have gone but I wanted a burger...it wasn't that great not sure if it's because my taste buds are slightly off.

Can't wait to try some of the recipes next week.

Seaside I did the same thing. They had retake and makeup day at our school to. But check on when it is. It could be real soon or a couple of weeks.

Candi. It could be the taste buds. Mine got back to almost normal just before the next tx.

Laurie the pics are always a bit off. I dont think we ever got great ones. But put together after they grow up its amazing the memories!

Susan thanks for the link.

Minus about the gastro stuff. Ill pm you.

Eric, the chicken rice salad sounds do good ill dig for it.

Lexi that chicken fried steak sounded real good for a treat!

Lovewins thats going to be a big list all right.

I had another salad today and leftover pork chops. I had to freeze the other 4 chops cause my DH is not home this weekend. Hes at the farm sighting in his rifle and helping to set out the tree stands.this will be his first time he gets a whole week to hunt in quite a few years. There is no outage this year. Usually there is and its always during hunting season. So hes looking forward to it. Venison here we come.....

Laurie, the pic with the peanut butter mustache sounds adorable! You'll treasure it in years to come. Maybe more than the spit polished pics. Sounds smart to buy the small package and have your own copies made.

I enjoyed reading all the posts I missed the last couple of days. A question for Susan: Does brining make the turkey salty? I watch sodium. Oh, and I love Boarshead products! I buy the low sodium ham for dh, who is big on sandwiches for lunch.

Chicken is a favorite meat with me, too. A really easy preparation is chicken parmesan (or cheese of your choice). I flatten 1/4 of a breast from Fresh Mkt and 1 boneless thigh. Quick pan sear in a little oil. I've been using grapeseed oil from our oil and vinegar store. Then smear some marinara sauce on top and spinkle cheese. Into the toaster oven on 350 or 400 for a few min. to melt the cheese. DH prefers thighs so I buy those for him.

Yesterday I had the whole afternoon HOME ALONE, so I made ravioli using the light wheat recipe in the Kitchen Aid booklet that came with the pasta attachments. My filling was fine-chopped steamed fresh spinach, part-skin ricotta cheese, 1 egg, and grated parm-reg, s & p and a little garlic powder. Pretty standard type of filling.

While the dough was resting I put on a lb of black beans to cook. I will freeze them in 1 cup portions. I also made a white bean soup that came out good. When the weather gets cool, I like having soup on hand to warm up for lunch. Plus I had a standby in case the ravioli were a flop! I cooked the beans with small-chopped onion, carrot, and celery and black pepper. Also small-chopped Andouille sausage. When the beans were tender I added diced tomatoes and salt. I would have added fresh spinach but I used it up in the ravioli filling.

The ravioli were good but the pasta was a little chewier than white pasta would be. We ate it with a little marinara sauce. I want to try the browned butter with sage sauce. I have a whole pan of the ravioli in the freezer. Today I'll transfer them to a freezer bag.

In a little while, I'm off to the Farmer's Mkt in Covington, about 7 miles away. The problem there is getting a parking place.

Happy Saturday to all!

Vivian, I hope you're feeding a lot of people with a 7 pound chuck roast lol!

Vivian,

I have been wanting to try this recipe from America's Test Kitchen/ Cook's Country. http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/Chuck%ADRoast%ADin%ADFoil/27308?extcode=L3KN3AA00 They even have a video on how they make it that you can watch. Haven't gotten around to it yet but have made many of their recipes and have not had a bad one yet!

I have made this one http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pot_roast/ and thought it was really good!

7 pounds is a pretty big roast. These may need to be split into 2 batches or adjust the cooking time accordingly!

Hope this helps!

Carole,

Brining the turkey does not make it salty at all. In fact, there is still less salt than a low sodium commercial product. The salt simply allows the flavoring of the brine to permeate the meat. That whole osmosis thing we learned about in high school.

School photos are one of the greatest rip-offs of all time. My mother refused to ever buy them. I, remembering how much that disgusted me, did buy, but I never found them particularly useful. My mother-in-law is the only person who liked getting one.

Will get to work on chuck roast next. I usually grind those for burgers!

*susan*

Carole,

Do you have Kitchenaid Pasta set with the Ravioli attachment or do you do them by hand? I've been eyeing a set on Amazon and, if you have the attachments, would love to know if you like them!

Moon,

Good point on the photo retakes! Sometimes they are held within just a few days of the photos coming home.

Nancy,

I posted a recipe for Cuban style black beans way back on page 24 that's pretty good. Not sure if that's the style you're looking for.

Thanks, I reading all recipes and trying to decide.

Did I mention I'm Cuban, never too much food. I actually discovered market fresh market and chuck roasts were on sale.

I have 2 boys who eat like food is going to end tomorrow. I pack lunches for them and my SO , so good gets eaten. I am also freezing at least 2 portions when I cook for quick meals. I use a Pyrex and it goes from freezer to defrost to oven and the food tastes great . No freezer burn like plastic or ziploc . After I discovered this I wait for sales and have been buying them for my freezer . I marinate my meats/ chicken breast after I buy and store them Pyrex . Red lids for meat, hamburger, blue for chicken, green fish, white for cooked I tape a note with what it is and how to reheat or cook because memory a bit fuzzy and in case one of my kids / SO needs to do it. Although I try to market every few days and but fresh. Sometimes larger portions are cheaper or sale items.

Plus my freezer looks so organized, when I can buy more, I'll work on fridge. Then kitchen cabinets. I love how everything looks so organized in magazine pics of cupboards. And glass is more expensive but last much longer than plastic and no odor or staining issue with sauces.

Trader Joes is my new favorite market but for meats Market Fresh is awesome for variety but very exp. I buy their sale items and plan around them.

Thanks again and if you all ever need a recipe for anything Cuban , just let me know.

Happy Cooking,

Vivian

Thank you all,

Chuck Roast in oven. I combined a few recipes and tweaked. I  carmelized onion,carrot  then red and green peppers ,garlic and mushrooms . Cooking in wine as I had no stock or beef broth. Need to get those for future. I'l llet you all  know in several  hours.

I think I'll serve with potatoes, maybe mash. I'm going to find a recipe I saw earlier for a cake and I think I have all ingedients. Must be the steroids.

Vivian

Vivian - sounds yummy and I know it will be.

Pork tenderloin here, just the one 1.15 pounder. Out of onions, shameful. It is a "peppercorn" seasoned one from Hormel. Will prob. just bake it and maybe put an apple around it. Somewhere I have a really small roaster pan, chicken size. Wish I had some little red potatoes. Only the gigantic baker kind. Waiting for rain/possible storms later.