So...whats for dinner?
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Nice lunch spot, Eric!
Nance, what kind of grilled chicken? Whole or parts? Skin on? Bone in? We don't grill chicken because--well, maybe we don't know how. LOL! Chicken grilling tips welcome.
I love the finches that we have all winter. They're turning a beautiful yellow now which means they'll be flying north. The house wrens are checking out my porch for possible nest locations. Also dh's workshop.
Dinner tonight will be a re-working of last night's meatloaf. I thought I would slice it and simmer in a marinara sauce, maybe Rao's. Cook some whole wheat pasta (bought 3 varieties at Fresh Market yesterday). Grate some parm. reg. or asiago. Mix together. Serve with a tossed salad. Ta Da! Dinner.
The 21 lb. ham is thawing in the camper fridge. I've been making assignments for Easter dinner side dishes. The popular thing in this area for Easter is a big crawfish boil but we'll be eating indoors. The live crawfish are expensive, plus you need all the outdoor boiling equipment, tables and chairs and someone who's expert at cooking the mud bugs. Then there's the break-down and clean-up afterwards. So we'll have boring ole ham. Dessert will be strawberry shortcake. The strawberries are plentiful and the ones I've eaten have been delicious.
DH has fond memories of the hams cooked in his family. Heavily studded with cloves, decorated with pineapple and cherries during the last phase of cooking, glazed with grape jelly. This is his tradition so that's what we'll do. Eater beware the cloves!
We've been strong for two nights. No cocktail. I guess the healthy stretch just ended because dh just got home from his golf and is making martinis.
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Carole--gorgeous flower. I can't wait until the flowers around here start popping. Our yard is not set up yet, but DH's folks next door have quite the park-like setting. Lots of long walks through the acreage will be just what I need when rads are done. I think we can only do amarylis indoors here. Not sure.
Auntie--I think we get house wrens and Bewick's too. I'm not sure of the other, probably not. DH is the bird expert, not me. I just try to keep up with him the best I can. He works for the Dept of Fish and Wildlife. Your story about the wren hiding behind the fridge is funny. Instead of a partridge in a pear tree, you had a wren in a wreath! It's almost poetic. LOL At our old place we used to have hummingbirds that would get trapped in our garage. We would gently capture them in our hands and release them before our very fast cat could make a snack of them. Their tiny hearts feel so amazing--this tiny, speeding flutter that you can barely feel on the palm of your hand.
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We do leave the amaryllis in the ground. I also have some pink ones that are gorgeous.
Joyce, sorry about the damage to your NH house. Maybe some good can come of it?
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MZ- we've had trapped hummers too. I'll not soon forget the feeling of those tiny little feet perched on my finger waiting to get his strength back enough to fly away. Truly amazing. Are you in DC or Washington state?
Carole. I'm grilling parts. DH only likes the breast and that's the only part I don't like. My favorites are wings and legs so I buy parts. I don't have many tips for grilling. The breast is skinless, the rest is not. I soak the chicken in buttermilk then season it. Tonight I'll rub it with lemon and garlic butter. Throw everything but the breast on a hot grill then turn off the middle burners. When the legs are halfway, I'll cook the breast. Won't take long and it's easy to overcook if you're not careful. Oh, we're having boring ham easter too.
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Ham sounds good, if I don't have to cook it....I asked my dad what he would like and he said its just another meal, so I don't care. And so I said, would you like Hungarian and he said yes, lets do that--- so, it will be a"Heavy" meal of meat, potatoes, gravy, applesauce, green beans. May try to pick up a lush desert at Fresh Market to split. Cast comes off tomorrow. spent the am fighting with the insurance over a cream that the ortho wanted me to have. BCBS refused and pharmacy said because of the item, and when I called them, they said it was because of the initial cost, it needed to have prior authorization, so they were faxingto the doc. and would do their best to expedite the review Pharmacy said my out of pocket w/o insurance was a little over 200.00.... I said no thank you, if I spend that much on a crème its going on my face and not my inner arm...thank you very much.....MZ- the oils my massage therapist gave me are doterra brand. I agree I'd rather inhale the orange one...
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Auntie--WA State. Hummers are very easy to scare off from their nests. But one year, we were privileged to have some make their teensie nest right outside the sliding door of our bedroom. We spent the whole time moving very carefully in our room and we didn't use that door. The result was getting to watch as the nest was built, the eggs were laid and then hatched. The tiny chicks were fed and then we saw them fly off one by one. It was such a treat. I had never seen anything like that up so close. One time, when the mama was away, we sneaked out very carefully and peeked into the nest. You could hardly tell that the "lint" pieces in the nest were babies. Very fun.
Carole--I often hear of soaking things in buttermilk before grilling or cooking them. Does this tenderize? Add flavor?
Joycek--What would you downsize to? Hmmm...males and reality. I definitely go through thoughts like you are having, but then I note that my DH is thinking the same thing about women! LOL My mom thinks that having men and women get along under the same roof is one of God's big jokes. hahaha
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Loving the pretty pics and talk of birds. I can't wait to get to NH and set up our hummingbird feeder. We can't have regular bird feeders there due to the bear "invasion". One year a neighbor took a picture of a bear on his kids' swing!
We had a beautiful sun shiny day today, but it was still pretty cold..in the high thirties when I was out doing errands. Will our Spring ever arrive?! People who have one or two tiny crocuses popping up are deleriously happy. We are crazy people living on a tundra! Last week the kindergarteners were all wanting to show me the faintest bits of color they saw coming up next to their classroom.
Joyce, I'm sorry to learn about your house storm damage. So awful to have to return home to that! We were lucky to avoid serious damage despite the mammoth ice dams. I was busy redirecting window frame water for those weeks that DH was laid up, and I guess it paid off since we did not have any waterfalls on the walls. I hope that your ins co is generous!
This morning I had my annual physical. Interestingly, they are doing depression screenings now, and I was in a pretty low mood when taking it...partially since I have been really tired of late, and have been noticing some unpleasant symptoms in my surgical side, which has me worried. My doc (recently having finished her own bc treatment) said she would be in touch with our shared oncologist and bump up my mammogram, which has been scheduled for early June. As Rosanna Rosanna Dana said...."It's always something!"
Carole, your Easter meal sounds well organized....and huge! Not sure I have ever seen a ham that large. It sounds like DH is going to be very happy!
Speaking of DH's mine informed me that Hertz just sent us a bill for administrative costs to cover sending the Italian gov't our contact info so they can send us a bill for a moving violation. I was the driver and am really annoyed at these scams that they do in Italy....even more so because our travel agent told us about this, and we were very careful. As we learned, there are cameras everywhere that take regular pix of cars all day long and cite "foreigners" thru their rental agents, for breaking obscure local rules. I Will be interested (and annoyed) to see the mystery broken rule we (I) were sited for. DH is waaaaay to mellow....figures that it is just something that one has to factor in as a trip expense when going to Italy.Gotta love him!
Am on my own for dinner, which I love since I am so tired of cooking a full meal. Will probably sautee my new pink and green kale and pop a couple of eggs over it.....yum. Yes I have weird tastes...but some are so healthy!
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Oh MZ, what a lovely story about your being able to witness the birth of a new generation of hummers. They are such wonderful little beings!
And I forgot to say how much I enjoyed your bird behind the fridge story, Nance.
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Lacey--I'm glad they are being careful at the doc's office, but I'm sorry you are feeling blue and that scary things are lurking. Gentle hugs.
I didn't know a foreign country could cite you for something in that way AFTER you have left the country. I think I would be growling too.
Carole--I missed the ham pic somehow. I'll have to comb back through the posts to find it.
We are having Easter at our house. My DH feels bad that all of my memories in this house are connected to being sick. I'm too tired and sore to pull Easter together myself. So he is on a crusade to take care of everything and make it beautiful for me. (I'm getting old or something. LOL I can't remember if I mentioned this already!) This will be the first holiday dinner we have hosted in this house. Makes me happy.
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Carole - part of my childhood memories are of my Dad grilling 1/2 chickens - split right down the middle so they were flat & easy to cook. They were marinated in Trader Vic's San Francisco Style Vinegrette French Dressing. That's what they served for company and Mother had huge "chop" plates that held the half chicken as well as salads & potatoes & bread. I had to let the plates go when she died since they wouldn't even fit in my cupboards.
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MZ, sadly, Italy is known for doing this to tourists, and our AAA agent warned us about it, (based on many of her customers's complaints several months after their returns home) and our Italian landlord confirmed it, saying that it was particularly prevalent in Florence. So, we took the train to Flirence to be safe. This supposedly happened in Pisa....whatever it was!! To be continued.....
And thanks for the hug!
Tomorrow I get to be with those cute kindergartners.
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Nice looking Amaryllis.
The birds around the feeder are Sparrows (usually the Black Throated ones), House Finches, Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves, Cactus Wrens and LeConte's Thrashers.
I've seen one Gila Woodpecker working on the neighbor's palm tree.
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The huge Smithfield ham was on sale after Christmas for $1 a lb. I considered having it cut into two hams but didn't. My brother who's a good cook responded to my text asking for green salad as his contribution with a yes and the information that he was planning to cook fettuccini, too. That means a huge pan of fettuccini alfredo with big juicy shrimp. So there will be lots of left over ham. Does cooked ham freeze well? I'll probably send zip locked bags of ham home with those who can eat all that sodium. I'm sure I've mentioned that the planned meal concept has not made it to my family. The more carbs and proteins, the better. The buffet concept.
The meatloaf in Rao's sauce was tasty. Like meatballs in chunks. I cooked bowtie wheat pasta and it was a bit chewy after 15 min. in boiling water but I enjoyed my small portion.
Not sure what dinner will be tonight. There is some leftover pasta dish, maybe two small portions.
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Special, I saw brown rice "bread crumbs" at one of my supermarkets and bought a box. The numbers were great. Zero sodium and low calories. Since I like brown rice, why not brown rice crumbs? Will be interested to see what it's like. Pricey, though. The no gluten trend is very visible on the shelves.
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carole - yes, more and more GF stuff is becoming available - I am sampling judiciously. I don't really eat bread - just haven't found a brand worth eating, but the crumbs are good. I like to make homemade Mac & Cheese and use leftover ham chunks. I have also done a baked rotini and white sauce with parmesan, with ham, peas and asparagus. You can top it with Parmesan and the GF bread crumbs0 -
Lacey, I really hope your discomfort turns out to be nothing. It seems like after cancer, a dr.visit is never just a checkup. It's always "something" even when it turns out to be nothing. (((Lacey)))
Carole, that signs like a great thing to do with leftover meatloaf. When you mentioned it I immediately thought it sounded like meatballs.
I have no idea what's for dinner. It's a warm but rainy day here and I'm off to the grocery store soon seeking inspiration.
I found an empty hummingbird nest once that had blown out of a tree after a storm. It was so tiny and well constructed with lichen and soft materials, it was hard to imagine anything being small enough to fit in it. The hummingbird cams are very cool.
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Thunderstorm this am
--now everything smells fresh, even though it remains overcast and more rain today and tomorrow. See doctor at 12:45 for cast removal.....Picked up interesting book at the library--Salad Love by David Bez He says its not a cookbook---its just a ton of salad combinations with simple dressings--mostly just oil and balsamic with some herbs or salt & pepper. Picture on every page, each salad serves 1. Lots of them are grain based as well as greens.
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Popping thorough... you might want to see if your library has "Raising the Salad Bar." Some really lovely salads in this book and some very tasty dressings. I find the "winter" salads especially interesting since I wasn't raised on those heartier winter vegetables in salad form.
*susan*
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Thanks susan, I will look for it!
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Congrats on getting your cast removed Red.
Decided on tikka masala with naan and a cucumber/yogurt salad for dinner. Lots of folks out shopping for chocolate bunnies today.
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Red, I know you'll be glad to get rid of the cast. Take it easy!
Lacey, hope you get some reassurance soon. We all jump to the most dire conclusions out of fear.
You won't believe how hot it is...already. And this is early April.
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Red--glad the cast is coming off
Carole--I freeze cooked ham all the time but I don't like serving it by itself after that. I chop it into pieces and freeze it in measured portions. It gets pulled out for my cheese chowder, pressure cooked ham and beans (served over rice), breakfast hashes, casseroles, etc.
We actually cooked tonite. DH made teriyaki marinated fresh albecore tuna on the grill. DH goes fishing every year so we always have tons of tuna and such. Marinade is homemade. We kept it simple with brown rice and veggies. Everyone kept telling me to go rest, but I sure enjoyed being in my kitchen, even if all I got to do was steam broccoli!
Our marinade has soy sauce in it. I think I saw someone post a soy sauce alternative. Has anyone actually tried it in anything? Good? Bad?
I'm done with rads!! Happy dance!!
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Well, today is the day. My PET scan to see how those little tumors are doing. As preps go, PET scan prep is pretty simple, just not to my taste. Dinner last night was meat with butter. Breakfast, which must be eaten before 5am was two eggs with a few slices of leftover meat. Coffee with no cream. Hardest part is convincing my stomach, which doesn't care much for food first thing, to keep those eggs where they belong. Except, that a plate of meat as a meal just feels so wrong. I was only able to eat about 2ox before I became totally, and completely, bored. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of a PET scan, when I arrive I am weighed [though they just let me tell them the number these days] and they inject radioactive waste into my veins. You hang in a quiet room for an hour. My hospital allows you to read, some don't. Then I am strapped to a board and pushed into the tube for about 35 minutes. I find none of this traumatic. To be honest, my biggest problem is that I keep falling asleep in the tube and wake myself when my breathing gets funny. I never sleep on my back.
Results won't be available to me before I have an appointment with my oncologist on Thursday.
*susan*
p.s. Mombie, congrats on the end of your rads! I found radiation to be very difficult and threw confetti after that 8th boost.
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susan, good luck--surprised to see someone else up this early. I have my first PT at 7 am.....praying my ride, who insisted she could get me here is on time. She is not a morning person at all.
Mombie congrats about being done with rads. THAT IS A HUGE RELIEF. or it was to me. A big milestone to check off the list.
Still can't drive Had a major cry after I came home. My arm really hurts without the cast and I tried to write a note for an easter card and the pain ws horrible, but if I put the brace on It is painless Arm doesn't look like my arm anymore
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Hugs for Susan and Redheaded.
I haven't been in a cast (fingers crossed) but limbs never look natural when the cast is removed.
MZ, great news that you've finished rads. Hope you get your energy back quickly. It's wonderful that your family take care of you.
Happy Good Friday.
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Carole, do you still RV? My first name is Carol but I go by Suzanne at my mother's request and I was an elementary teacher. A few things in common besides BC.
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Suzanne, we are phasing out rv travel. We found a spot in northern MN where we like to go for the summer. Near Park Rapids. This year we plan to go there again and leave the rv. It will become a summer "cottage." We bought our first camper, a tagalong, in the 80's and have pretty much travelled the US and much of Canada. Our current camper is 38 ft. with 3 slides. It makes a comfortable little house when set up.
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Susan, wishing you luck with your scan. Fingers crossed for you.
Red, pt should help you a lot, although they can make you cry lol! Hope your pain resolves quickly.
MZ congrats on finishing rads. One less treatment hurdle.
Carole, I don't ever bake my hams -- they always get too dry for my taste, so they freeze well. I will sometimes warm them, but usually just serve at room temperature (assuming this is an fully cooked ham. If I want a glaze, I have one that I apply dry and then melt and brown with a kitchen torch.) I agree with MZ, frozen cooked ham is best used in other dishes, although I will brown it for breakfast and eat it that way.
I don't know what's for dinner but I promised dh English muffin bread today. Good for me because he will use it to make French toast for me!
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red- your arm will eventually look normal - I had a cast for 12 weeks on my leg and thought it would never match the other leg afterward, it took some time but it did. The look was compounded by some seriously long leg hair, lol! Try not to worry! Sorry your arm in painful, but hopefully PT will help, along with the brace.
susan - I have had a few PET - my procedure sounds exactly like yours, as well as the diet prep - which makes sense for the procedure, but is weird nonetheless. Sending hopeful vibes and support, we are here regardless, but I want good news for you.
MZ - I have not used Coconut Aminos in marinade, mainly because we are currently without a grill, but have subbed it in things that call for soy sauce. It works - but I have also used organic soy if I only need a splash.
Last night was broiled sirloins, green beans steamed and then tossed with diced bacon, red onion, garlic and a tomato paste kind of glaze. I also made a pilaf - old family recipe from my MIL - but used gluten free pasta. It took forever to cook and that pasta seems to give off more starch. I also had to use more stock to get it to soften, but it was good.
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Susan--I hate PETs. Ours won't let you do anything at all. So boring. Do they make you drink a large amount of something that makes you pee and have diarrhea? Mine did. I don't know how you fall asleep with that going on. I thought I was going to pee my pants the whole time I was laying still. When it was over the tech comes in and asks me if I would like a drink of water. Are you kidding me? LOL I'm sorry you have to go in for scans. I hope you get the best results possible. I'll be thinking about you.
Red--So sorry your arm hurts so much. Kind of anticlimactic for getting the cast off. Did they give you some exercises to do to help get past the pain and weakness?
On the ham issue, Auntie's comment reminded me that I don't bake mine either. I put it in a crock pot or in the oven inside a Guardian Service roaster. It works like a dutch oven that way. I suppose the latter might be considered baking, but it's different from traditional I think? The ham gets real tender and falls right off the bone. It also leaves me plenty of juices to make ham and beans in my pressure cooker later.
Thanks for all the congrats. I'm completely flattened by a herceptin treatment, so I won't be throwing confetti today, (LOL) but it's sooooo nice that I have the luxury of going NO WHERE. I'm planning to rest and practice my skills at being a vegetable today!
Everyone who is having tests and scans--I'll be thinking of you today.
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