So...whats for dinner?

We're probably halfway through our snowstorm.....accumulation supposedly heavier through tonight....then the single digit and below zero temps will arrive. DH has his Nanook from the North gear at the ready for his snowblowing efforts tomorrow. . 

Today we just hunkered down in the house....he finished a book about a DJ he's been curious about. I cooked. Had lots of kale, so I happily made some kale and fruit smoothies, then my favorite kale and sausage and bean soup, then a chicken pasta toss with tomato, onions and black olives. I made so much of everything that I might not cook for a few days....I can wield a snow shovel the next few days instead!

I have to say that snowstorms are not so exciting now that I don't work in a school system. I always loved the thrill of checking the no school listings whenever we had a storm. Oh the child in me......;).

Hope everyone stays safe and warm.....

Really interested in the pork loin w/milk & cream.  Susan - I doubt I have the patience or stamina to take the time to cook it like the recipe you posted calls for.  Is there a way to get it started then pop it in the oven?  I found a couple of recipes for pork tenderloins or pork chops w/cream sauces, but the meat isn't cooked in the milk/cream.  Nancy - how would you do it in a crock pot? Thanks.  I agree w/Luv - it sounds Southern.

Added to the kids leaving thoughts, here's the crazy side.  I have one son who is now 43.  He went off to college to live in a dorm that was more like a two bedroom suite & "you" provided your own living room furniture which 4 guys shared.  Granted, he was in the same town, but we didn't see much of him.  But we could scour garage sales and find & move furniture for all the guys - the rest were from out of town.  We moved all the stuff to our garage the first summer (including a fridge).  Then we moved him back again.  Then he moved into an apartment.  Then a different apt. Always w/a roommate who's parents lived elsewhere.  Then he moved to Wash DC, then he moved to San Francisco, then there were 4 or 5 moves around the SF Bay Area.  I drove or flew out to help w/each move.  And often when I was visiting one of his friends would be moving so guess who got to help pack up the kitchens & clean the bathrooms.  Finally when the two of us were carrying a solid oak dresser down the steep sidewalks of San Francisco's Nob Hill district and then up the many narrow & twisting stairs of a converted old house ("oh Mom, there's only a few stairs"), I rebelled.  Now I don't go to visit until the move is finished.

Eric - love the 'you tube'. 

Minus, you are definitely a helpful mom!  Enjoyed the stories about helping your son move, especially the experience walking a piece of furniture in Nob Hill. 

We're having the Louisiana version of a cold winter, which means freezing temperatures at night and frost visible in the early morning.  Today the sun is shining and the high is supposed to be in the 40's.  I plan to go out and do some odds and ends shopping.  I don't mind winter weather since I enjoy wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts.  I have more problems with summer weather than our kind of winter. 

DH and I spent the winter of 1969 in Vermont.  The first year of our marriage.  We worked at Bolton Valley Ski Lodge and enjoyed the winter wonderland landscape.  We could sit at our little breakfast table in our rented mobile home and look out the window at a frozen waterfall.  I did get exasperated with locks freezing up.  Our transportation was a TR-4 convertible.  Top up in the winter!  I would get the door open, remember something I needed to get in the mobile home, go inside and by the time I returned the car door had frozen up again!  This southern girl had some adjusting to do!  DH grew up near Chicago so he had more experience with freezing temps.

In March DH and I thought about the azaleas blooming in Louisiana.  We headed south, shedding clothes as we went. 

This morning the scales reported that I am starting to shed some of the holiday pounds.  Tonight I plan to make a version of a recipe in the latest Cooking Light for mashed "potatoes" made with cauliflower.  This recipe is different from others I've seen because it includes one large potato.  It calls for some cream but I will substitute  Greek cream cheese.  I'm also thinking of making oven fried chicken with a recipe in a Sam's Club publication.  Of all companies to recommend healthy eating! 

Or I may thaw out some catfish fillets and pan sear them.. 

It will be interesting to see how Cooking Light subscribers like this latest issue because it reads like a WW recipe book.  Which suits me fine.  The editor succeeded in a weight loss effort last year. 

Everyone stay warm and safe.

Minus, the roast is browned in a tablespoon of butter on all sides, then transferred to the cooker. In the same skillet add a tablespoon of garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup white wine. 

Add 1 ½ cups whole milk,  ½ cup of cream, 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, 1 tsp. anchovy paste, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, minced zest of 1 lemon and 2 sprigs each of fresh rosemary and sage (tied.) Pour this mixture all around the pork, submerging the herbs. Cook on low setting until pork reaches 145 degrees (about 2 hours.)

Remove pork and tent with foil, discard herbs. Puree sauce with a handheld stick blender. Slice pork and serve with the sauce.

Minus, Kids don't call anymore, even each other! Most don't know what a dial tone is, it was found to be a problem in some offices,I read a study,  because there was no personal contact with sales and other things, the workers kept texting clients! lol  My daughter does it too

I apologize for not saying Hi to everyone, it's really hard to keep up.  I work 10 hours a day at least, and when I get home, I kind of zone out except for on weekends, tomorrow hiking with Doc again, My "admirer" is going to show me around on Sunday. He's really nice and funny, But I will be going home in 5 months, so I don't want to fall in "infatuation" lol  The  forest and trails are so beautiful I had to stop and smell everything, the tree stumps, let the water running in rivets down the mountains  run over my hands, and tell him to stop because I wanted to stare at the river and squeeze the rain soaked moss, Yes it was pouring when we hiked. I still sleep 10 hours a day, but feel good when I get up

I'm into garbage soup these days. I throw everything I have in the pot and eat it for 3-4 days. It's surprisingly good. I just made potato leek milk soup but left out most of the ingredients because I don't have them. Sometimes I eat it cold. It's good!  I am very proud of myself. These are the first times I haven't followed a recipe.

best of thoughts for everyone.

Yes, Bedo, I agree that for the most part, the younger generation prefer(s) to text or email....and even that's too slow for many! So when a random Sunday evening rolls around and DS2 actually calls us (on our land line no less!) to say hi and see how we are, we are thrilled. We do text back and forth, which is fast and dirty in my opinion, but I know I won't ever be changing tech progress, so I comply.

I do think that sons who live independently from the family tend to be connected in different ways than daughters, e.g. DS2 will occasionally call to invite us to tailgate and attend a UMASS or a Pats game with him and friends.....The connection is often about sports in our family...or about their work life. But they often just do not share the affective connection that a girl will with her mom....keeping emotional things a bit closer to their vests. I just keep hoping that whoever he settles with is a connector so I can have a bit of girl conversation....I actually have missed some of his girlfriends for that reason! The way my grown sons communicate to DH and me reminds me of the way they did upon their return from school daily as youngsters.....had little to share....whereas if a girl in the neighborhood was visiting after school, we'd hear everything that happened in school that day....to everyone!! Our pediatrician used to refer to DS1 as "John Wayne". 

Took a nice long walk today....and loved the crunchy still clean snow. Bundling up for the cold makes a winter walk quite nice! Once home, I noticed that I left a whole stalk of brussels sprouts in a cooler in the garage over Christmas week.....so I made a brussels sprouts and sausage soup. Looked kind of yucky at first, but tasted really good....DH had two bowls. So my fridge is loaded with soup. I have a training all day tomorrow, so soup choices for dinner will save the day!

Carole, we just this past week finished watching the final season of Treme. It has been broadcast as a series on HBO over the past three years. It might be worth your while to look into it....about the NO music culture and the effects on it by Katrina. We really enjoyed it.....hate when those kinds of series end. Good luck with your weight liss progress. I was happy to reach a new low today...makes it even easier to take those long brisk walks! 

Laurie:  Sorry to hear about your MIL.  I hope someone knows about Femara.  Yes - your sweet sons will pull away - at least some.  My son & I read snuggled in bed for hours every day & talked about everything.  It's not all bad.  As Lacey says, you just have to accommodate yourself to their schedule.  When they want to talk, they want to talk.  Otherwise, not so much.

Lacey:  Good luck w/ girl friends.  My son has been with the same young lady for 13 years now and we've never managed to bond.  DS says she's that way w/everyone.  I'm grateful that he emails regularly, and more than lucky that he wanted to come out for every surgery and stayed until I was off drugs and able to take care of myself.  He might not be huggy/kissy anymore, but he was a great nurse.  And he shows up at least once a year to take care of heavy chores.  So even if I'd like to "natter" more often, we have a good relationship.

Laurie, I wish you support with your MIL's diagnosis and wish her the best too. Sometimes Palliative care can help

As far as boys and girls, I have a twin who is 6 minutes older than I but have always been closer to my brother who is 3 years older than I , and my daughter and he talk a lot, so go figure.

I hope to upload a picture of a hike I took today in the world's largest temperate rainforest. It was so beautiful

Tomorrow I see my funny guy, will skip tangling yarn group.

Made great white bean, sweet potato and kale soup, double batch today. Yum!

Skipped rocks on the shore of the inside passage. I heard a worse saying about the 7 men to 1 women here. The first one I heard was, "the odds are good, but the goods are odd" The new one was :" You didn't break up with her, you just lost your place in line"  hmmmmmm. Not sure about that. I'm very picky and not ready for a 5 month relationship!

Looked for seal and whales today at the point but didn't see any today.

Laurie, sending comforting thoughts your way for you and your family.

I was the chatty son..until Mickey.  Then it was a "I have only so much time. I have to decide how I want to spend it" thing and the calls home slowed way down.  

When I was dating Sharon I had more time (we were both nearly 30), so I called home more often. After my dad died, I talk with my mom during my drive to and from work.

Odd, but I'd talk with future in-laws more than my own parents. I guess it was because I'd be handed the phone.  

Sharon talked with her parents quite a bit and I liked talking with them.

Mickey's dad was great and she would talk with him all the time but no so much with her mom.  I liked talking with her dad..and I tried (very hard) to not talk with her mom.

Laurie, I take arimidex which is the same type of medication, it prevents my body from forming estrogen from fat and other sources in my  body, that's why people who have had their ovaries removed or are postmenopausal take it. I've' had no side effects in almost 3 years. I am 98% estrogen and ?% progestin +. The only things I have noticed are "ahem" dryness, which can be worked around and I very mild buddah belly. I'm 5/6 and weigh 144 but my doc still wanted me on it. I tried tamoxifen but for whatever reason it made me cry, there was a lot going on so I'm not sure if it was the med. My hair thinned but only a tiny bit. I that like me, she barely notices it.

Yesterday afternoon I made giant meatballs, following an Italian neighbor's recipe.  Ingredients are 3 lbs ground beef, 1 lb ground pork, 1 finely diced onion, 6 cloves garlic, small box of seasoned breadcrumbs (I used 2 cups), 1 cup of grated parm (I used asiago), 3 eggs, pepper to taste.    Form large meatballs and cook them on a pan with a rack in the oven at 350 for 35 or 40 min. 

I submerged the cooked meatballs in a big batch of tomato sauce.  My oval porcelain over iron Dutch oven was almost full.  Today I warmed the meatballs and sauce in the oven and transported the Dutch oven and some other food to my mother's house for noon dinner.  I cooked some ordinary old spaghetti to serve with the sauce.  We had a delicious green salad with avocado and a creamed spinach with artichoke heart dish.  I recommend these meatballs.  They are delicious.  I shared the leftovers with my sister and my mother. 

The tomato sauce was good and easy.  3 cans of Hunt's Traditional pasta sauce and a large can of Cento crushed tomatoes.  The Hunt's Traditional is, IMHO, the best of the "ordinary" bottled pasta sauces.  It's always shelved down near the floor because the Pregos and other similar brands buy the eye-level display area.  When I'm cooking pasta sauce for dh and me, I always make it from scratch but my family are perfectly happy with Prego so I opted for easy and economical. 

One of my mother's neighbors brought over a bag of navel oranges and Meyers lemons from his trees.  My mother gave me the lemons since she has no use for them.  They are beautiful and as big as oranges.  Lacey and Susan, did one of you recommend making marmalade with the lemons?  I don't know if they will keep in my refrigerator for a month while we're in Australia. 

Lacey, I blew my weight loss during the holidays.  My jeans are very tight.  Congratulations to you for reaching a low weight on the scales!  I had hoped to have a little slack in my waistbands by this time, but it hasn't happened.  I did go to the gym and work out 3 times this week.

Laurie, so sorry about your MIL.  Seems cruel to give her an AI med, but maybe it will do some good. 

Carol,

I've tried to find where in the thread you tslked about your trip but a month in Australia? When do you leave?? Always have wanted to visit there!!  I hope, if you can, that you could share some photos!

Those meatballs sound fantastic and I have copied down your recipe.  It is similar to my meatball recipe but different enough that I want to give it a try!  I do bake mine too and then a simmer in the sauce makes them very tender!  

Mom's spaghetti and meatballs was one of my daughter's requested 'home from college' meals!  And my 'special' sauce is equal parts Classico Tomato Basil and Classico 4 cheese with a litle spice correction.... shhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell..lol!

Bedo  Don't stop! love the pics

We must have all been on the same page...spaghetti and meatballs for us too.  Plus garlic knots I made with leftover pizza dough and roasted asparagus. I skipped the meatballs though, not a big fan, but DH loved them.

We did a local Indian restaurant at my daughters request on her last night home. We rounded up nine friends and had a blast.  DH was not impressed ( he really cannot try new things) but the rest got a thumbs up from my daughter and the rest of us.   Good to have some choices in this very small town, that mainly has bar food type restaurants.  I think after my DD left, my DH and me slept for at least 12 hrs straight.  She is a busy "hurricane"

Btw, I know how wimpy all that snow stuff sounded to you upper Midwest and northeasterners!