So...whats for dinner?

10 hours in the slow cooker and the roast was "fork tender". It's that balsamic vinegar-honey recipe I posted earlier. After 35 years of experimenting, I've finally found a pot roast recipe that I like.

I spent all day working on mom's house...and I'm spent.... So many memories that I'm having to get rid of...but it has to be done. A lot of the stuff is going to younger "test daughter" (will be age 39 in August) and her family. They are getting rid of the "pressed board with wood looking paper" stuff and upgrading to real maple, oak and cherry wood furniture from mom's house. This is absolutely perfect as I consider her family by choice.

We had a skillet dish that was tasty and satisfying. Ground turkey, chunky diced zucchini, rotel tomatoes seasoned with garlic and onion powder. Finished off with heavy sprinkle of Romano and handful of bagged Italian cheese. Forgot the penne pasta that was cooked and added near the end. This was good enough to cook again.

Side was kale chopped salad with added avocado.

If all goes well I have today "off." The golf tee times were early so I enjoyed staying in bed instead of playing.

Dinner tonight will be a beef and broccoli skillet dish, either flank steak or skirt steak and fresh broccoli. Recipe has a good Asian type sauce. As most nights, we'll have a salad, probably romaine.

We are in the day time 80's all week

I got home last night. I had a wonderful trip visiting with old friends in Oregon & Washington, and actually was fortunate to have 2/3 sunshine - or at least no active rain. I ate Dungeness Crab (more to follow), walked on the Straits of Juan de Fuca by Sequim, got caught in a snow storm in the Olympic Peninsula, went to a lecture about Constitutional Law, visited a great Indie book store, saw the Yaquina Head natural area & tide pools, even visited a Medical Marijuana dispensary with one friend who had a prescription for pain from a congenital bone problem.

I can't possibly do justice to the food in a short post, so I'll try to just summarize some of the seafood experiences. Of course there were good salads & interesting veggies & excellent bread & nice wines & Tuaca to sip, but it was only a back drop to my eating pleasures. Dungeness Crab Cakes to die for from a local market. Crab Louie w/HUGE pieces of D. Crab. Fresh grilled Halibut stuffed with D. Crab. Bakery in Sequim with wonderful bread that also carried Lesley Stowe's Rainforest Crisps from Canada (maybe the best crackers I've ever tasted w/Brie & goat cheese, etc). Several excellent seafood chowders w/local fish/oysters/shrimp, Smoked Ruby Red Trout. Rock Shrimp Linguini (a restaurant week special but the least tasty meal of the trip because it was too dry). Wild King Salmon. D.Crab & shrimp mac & cheese. Red Curry BBQ shrimp. Local Pacific oysters fried in Panko & herbs served for breakfast with eggs & potatoes. Last but not least (or really first), I did get my whole Dungeness Crab. I'd looked at one restaurant menu and it was offered for $70.00 (gulp). Luckily one of my friends knew a true village fishmonger with their own boat who serves 6 tiny tables where they sell the catch, mainly from their own boat. Whole steamed Dungeness crab with melted butter, coleslaw, fries, bread - $26.00. I ate the entire thing - although as those of you have had indulged will understand, it took a long time to crack & ferret out all those delicious bits.

I thought I'd be cold with 37/55 temps because of my "thin" Houston blood (yesterday I flew from 54 degrees to 84 degrees), but I was actually quite comfortable with my layers. Gorgeous country. Interesting conversation with intelligent people. I had no access to electronic devices or internet. Like me, my friends don't watch much TV. They read me snippets of news from their morning papers, but otherwise it was nice to skip the "sturm und drang" - a real vacation. My own bed did feel good, but I'm ready to turn around and go back.

Sounds like everyone here had a good 10 days with some excellent meals. Fun reading about the nasty meatloaf. I'll have to dig in my freezer or have canned pork & beans for dinner. Carole - glad your Mom is doing better and has taken more control of directing her health care. Sounds like the Hospice program will facilitate that. Susan - I loved my power port. Hope yours makes infusions easier. And I'm glad you talked to someone about cleaning up after the guests so you can guard your energy. I can't imagine keeping up with Olivia. My niece is the same age and a 'whirlwind'. Eric - interesting about your dutch oven cooking class & good you're feeling better. Will DD come home for spring break? Can you please post the pot roast marinade recipe again? Hi to everyone else. I'll gradually catch up once my body is back on Central time.

Welcome home Minus - sounds like a successful trip! Mouthwatering over the crab dishes.

Tonight DH is having tacos - chicken tamales for me. Sides will be black beans that I made a few days ago and guacamole made with some slightly-past-their-prime avocados.

Getting ready to start overnight rise pizza dough for pizza tomorrow night. Good thing I have a stand mixer to do the kneading because my arm is sore from weights workouts three days this week. My body doesn't know what to think.

Minus, Welcome home. Glad you got good weather and better food!

Carole, I too missed Windows 7 but I'm not quite happy with Win 10. I downsized to at 15" laptop last time I purchase Not a combo.

Leftover pizza tonight and Trader Joe's Lambrusco for dinner while I watch more NCAA basketball. My Gonzaga Bulldogs are in the Elite Eight. Tomorrow #2 DS and I will watch them play for the quarter finals and then go out for dinner. DIL has a scrapbooking class and won't join us.

Happy Dry Weekend, All.

HUGS!

Windows 10 tried to automatically populate my computer too, but I was able to get it off and stay with Windows 7 (for the time being). I installed a program called "Never 10" that kept Windows from being able to "invade".

Nance - if I'd been stuck with Windows 8, I probably would have loved 10. How's your Dad doing?

Celia - glad to have you at the kitchen table.

Peggy - I thought you originally said you didn't cook much. Looks like you've been cooking up a storm - and it sounds good.

Nance, I selected my laptop as the least expensive small one. $700. By the time I paid transfer of contents of old computer to new computer and to external hard drive plus sales tax, the total was $900 plus. Ridiculous for someone who uses a computer so little. I use my IPhone as a tiny portable computer.

I didn't even realize the new laptop was also a tablet. I went into Best Buy to see about having the old laptop repaired. I was seeing a "blue screen" and eventually couldn't open Windows. The young tech hated for me to pay $150 only to be told the hard drive had crashed.

The weather is iffy today with threat of storms. I'm leery of going to the nursing home and exposing my little car to possible hail

Leftover spaghetti for tonight!

I loved Windows 7 but when my old computer was starting to die a little at a time I bought a new one that runs Windows 10. Not exactly happy with 10 but I have adjusted to it. Plus it helps that I bought a Windows 10 for Dummies book to help me understand it better.

Gave some thought to home-made pizza tonight but decided instead to go lighter since I'm planning to go to WW tomorrow. Skipped last two meetings because of my mother's hospital stay.

Thawing out a huge chicken breast that I will halve and flatten for cutlets. Sides will be asparagus and salad

Bob's problem is that the laptop is 4-5 yrs old and Windows 10 doesn't recognize the DVD drive--and the mfr of the drive didn't issue a Windows 10 driver for it

We awoke late and had an herb-and-Boursin omelette for brunch. (Hint: never use a 10" frypan to make a 3-egg rolled French omelette)—and those “copper ceramic" allegedly non-stick pans from the As Seen on TV aisle at the drugstore don't work after the first few uses. They stick, stick, stick! I think that for each item they demonstrate on the infomercials they use a brand-new pan straight out of the package. Oh, well—only $20 down the drain.

Back to the 8" All-Clad for omelettes—hope I can get the same 10 yrs. out of my new one I got from the first, since I use it for omelettes and nothing but (and only I am allowed to wash it). As for 10", I ordered the OXO Good Grips on Amazon. (My 10" All-Clad's nonstick coating is badly worn—and since 10" & 12" pans get so much use and nonstick coatings wear so quickly, I'm not gonna buy the same $100 nonstick pan over and over every year or two). I love my cast iron, but there are things you just can't cook in them (unless you want to go back and start the whole seasoning process over again).

My 12" non-stick T-Fal fry pan is on its last legs—can't get the “walls" completely clean w/o fear of flaking off the coating, the coating on the cooking surface is roughening, the handle can't be screwed back on tightly enough because the threads (both the screw & hole) are stripped, and the cooking surface domes up in the middle and stuff runs to the edges. ATK top-rated it when I bought it, but for thirty bucks you get what you pay for. Their new top-rated nonstick 12-incher is the OXO Good Grips Open Frypan, for $40—but like nearly everything they top-rate* it's sold out everywhere—Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, you name it, even the OXO site. I had to spring for the “Pro Dishwasher Safe" (never put nonstick in the dishwasher, no matter how it's lableled) version for $60, and it'll take at least two weeks to get it. With kitchenware, I have learned my lesson about settling for second-best: not only doesn't it last as long, it just doesn't work as well. Meanwhile, for large stir-fries and pan-searing fish I will haul out the 12" All-Clad nonstick I got as a gift and have barely used because it's so pricey and delicate. When the OXO arrives I will alternate using them.

*(Took over a year to get the China Grill brush ATK recommends—coils instead of dangerous wire bristles—and I had to buy it from the mfr. who is swamped with back orders).

Celebratory meal of "linner" after the U of SC won their bball game today.  We are in the Final Four- so exciting.  Sort of a buffet of buffalo chicken soup, tossed salad with or without grilled chicken (several homemade dressings- Italian, ranch and bc) and thin crust veggie  pizza with white sauce-spinach, mushrooms, red onion, cheese and artichokes (Papa Murphys and really delish!)  . Also, had a bit of hummus with carrots and tortilla chips and salsa.  Unsweetened Palmer to drink (unsweet tea and lemonade).  Fun with family and friends!

Chi, look around the thrift stores for a smooth surfaced cast iron skillet. With just a quick spray of olive oil, a cheese omelet will just slide out when I tip the skillet...and a wipe with a dry paper towel is all it needs for cleaning.

My favorite one belonged to my great grandmother, so there isn't really an issue with the skillet wearing out.