So...whats for dinner?

Another night of me not eating.

Wally, Sorry that the fishing trip had to be postponed. My knees require periodic cortisone injections to function but so far that’s been working.

Special, A supply of cooked chicken is very useful. I ate chicken and salad for lunch every day when I was working.

Minus, I’m sorry that you have to wait a couple of weeks for the testing to figure out the cause of the rash. I hope you can take something for the discomfort while you wait. Eat your fill of Hatch Chili Scones.

Illimae, My kids used to call a fridge cleaning meal Stone Soup after the folk tale where people add ingredients to a pot of water containing a stone to improve the flavor.

Dinner tonight was salmon, potato salad and corn on the cob. I don’t know where the corn was from but it was excellent.

Maggie, how charming that your kids came up with that name for your soups.

Wally, I'm disappointed for you on the cancelled fishing.

Minus, there is a children's rash that is being mentioned on the news here. Your habit of preparing foods for sides ahead of time seems to work well for you.

Earlier in the week, I splurged and bought a roasted chicken at Hugo's Supermarket. It was double the price of the rotisserie chickens at Sam' Club but I'm finding it tastes better. I have been including chicken in my lunches. DH hasn't touched it. He has been buying deli potato salad this summer and making it a component of his lunches. We make our own breakfasts and lunches the majority of the days, and I provide dinner.

We met a couple who are farmers market vendor friends at West Forty restaurant last night. It was their choice of place. The menu is a diner menu with sandwiches and plate meals. I had a chicken fried steak meal with mashed potatoes and gravy and roll. I thought there was a chance the chicken fried steak was prepared from scratch in the kitchen but, no, I'm pretty sure it came from a restaurant supply truck like Sysco. DH had a hamburger steak meal with mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw and a roll. He was very pleased with his meal. The hamburger steak was so tasty that he skipped the ketchup. It was prepared in the kitchen. The beef gravy was quite good.

Today I'm driving into town to Hugo's supermarket to buy ribeyes. They're on sale, still pricey but less pricey. And they're out of the case, not specially brought in for a sale.

I made an impulse buy today in honor of Minus. A little container of Hatch chili olive cheese spread. I bought another rotisserie chicken, waiting two minutes until it was cooked. I asked the woman who handed it to me if the chickens were injected with any flavoring. She said, no, they are seasoned on the outside and cooked for 45 minutes. Hence none of that taste that isn't chicken.

I managed to select smaller ribeyes out of the case that averaged about 1 1/4 lbs. A reasonable size. We have enough for the time left in MN. In fact, I will not be buying any extra meat for the duration.

Wally, dh grills the steaks and uses an instant read thermometer to cook to medium rare. We rest the steak 5 minutes and slice. At home I have used the sear and oven method, first heating the cast iron skillet in a 500 degree oven. Sear the steak on one side, flip it over and finish in the oven. I have also cooked the ribeye in the cast iron skillet on the top of the stove, using the 2 minute flip method. I saw this on ATK or Cook's.

Tonight I plan to use a small ribeye that's thawing to make steak fajitas with refried beans and other ingredients. Maybe my favorite way to eat ribeye steak. I have corn tortillas.

Wally I'm a fan of reverse sear too. Il always produced perfect results for me.

Carole, With the price of beef it's a good idea to take advantage of sales, especially when you know what you are getting.

Wally, Those mysterious bloodshot eyes make you wonder. The last one I had was caused by coughing and cured by cortisone ointment.

Nance, The tikka masala with naan sounds delicious.

Eric, I'm glad your fruit is good this year. Other than berries (which come from all over) the fruit here has been blah. Maybe the apples will be good but I'm not sure they'll do well with the heat and lack of rain.

Minus, I hope you are hanging in there and seeing a bit of improvement.

A week later we finally have hot water. The long lasting tank couldn't be replaced by a similar model. Even though the manufacturer has six plants in the US (including one in NH) there are supply chain issues with "the finest raw materials and components from around the world" used in their production. We went with what we could get.

Dinner tonight was meatballs in homemade sauce on spaghetti.

Thanks for the update, Minus. Only 96…ugh….We hit 68 again and I hoped no hotter. I'm spoiled. The few hot days are not enough time for anyone to get used to those temps here. I hope anyone in the hurricane path will be safe.

I used frozen thin (QFC) burgers and pan cooked them. QFC was having a huge sale on corn on the cob. I should have known it wouldn't be ideal. Still, we enjoy corn. Used 2 of our new variety (to us) zucchini from our garden in the air fryer.

I think Dr. google says 7-14 days for the bloodshot eye to clear. Hope they are right. This happened once to DH and it did clear in about 10 days. My eyes have "issues" so I am hopeful. Interestingly, I have not had an ocular migraine for nearly 2 years now. Of course, since I typed that….ugh…

Minus, I’m glad you are feeling somewhat better albeit drowsy. Who would have thought that a temp of 96* would mean that it’s a good day to cook.

Wally, What variety of zucchini did you plant this year?

Dinner tonight was chicken and onions is sour cream sauce.

The local corn here is quite good but I'm not as "wild" about corn as most people seem to be. I grew up with sweet corn my father grew in his garden. He picked it young, the way he liked it, and we had big pots of boiled corn on the cob with margarine.

DH mentioned that he'd read an article declaring that corn chowder was a must when corn is in season. I said Go for it. We had 6 ears of corn in the refrigerator, shucks on. So yesterday he made corn chowder while I stayed out of the galley. First, he roasted the ears with shucks on, using the gas grill. Everything dh cooks results in a large potful, and this was no different. So dinner was corn chowder (delicious!) and crackers with the cheese spread I bought at Hugo's. We definitely have leftovers.

I'm a big summer corn fan and it's been especially good this season. Corn chowder is my DH's favorite soup. I usually freeze some of the summer bounty just make soup in the cooler months.

Lucky me. DH wants to make blueberry pancakes for dinner. Yay!

Hope the eye gets better Wally !

I am sad to say the cob of corn I had tonight was so old/tough/icky, I actually tossed it.

minus - can you substitute Claritin non-drowsy, or does it have to be Zyrtek? Hope things clear up soon.

Our property in CO is for sale. It is in a development that has an HOA that requires a 2,000 sf minimum build. Building costs for Summit County are at about $700 per sf, conservatively. Doing that math put us right out of affordability. We will eventually buy something smaller and already built that is not in Summit County. We are waiting to see where DS lands - he currently is a federal firefighter/paramedic at an Army base near Colorado Springs, but has applied to various fire departments in a pretty wide swath around Denver. He and DDIL live in Denver and he commutes to work about 6 times a month. The goal with a place there is to be there in summer and we need it to be near wherever they are, so, we wait. We are going to CO in about a month for at least two weeks. My CA friend will be there as well, she is DS godmother, so this is her opportunity to see the kids. I will also be going to CA again with the same timing as last year for another back surgery for her. Same issue, other side, and she will need the assist. I will be there for at least two weeks. She is actually stronger this time because the back surgery last year was such a success - she has been playing soccer and cycling and is very fit.

I love corn chowder too but am not supposed to be having corn or dairy, so that kinds of eliminates it! I made some baked potato salad yesterday and roasted the chicken breasts. I tripped two and left two with bone-in and skin on. I made chicken and cheese enchiladas last night with cilantro lime rice and roasted some broccoli for DH. I think tonight may be a salad trio with chicken salad with pecans and grapes, a broccoli salad, and green salad for DH, plain chicken salad for me and a village style (no lettuce) Greek salad for me.

I got a bunch of blueberries the other day, they were BOGO. I may need to make blueberry pancakes, or at the very least blueberry coffee cake or muffins. I may flash freeze some and bag them.

wally - I have had that bloodshot eye thing too - the clearing up timeline sounds similar. Hope it resolves asap!

Last night's dinner was baby back ribs cooked in the slow cooker and seared on the gas grill. Side was salad with tomato and cucumber and his and her preferred additions.

DH left early to drive to Bemidji for MOHs surgery on his ear. We're hoping he doesn't end up with a deformed ear.

Carole, hope your DH does well with the MOH's. Special, no sunglasses for me. I agree with Eric, wish this happened around Halloween…quite the shock value 😅

DH's knee: ortho said he hopes he has knees like DH at his age. Suspects he did something on the beach/sand and inflammed osteoarthritis. Cortisone shot, took home a knee brace and will start PT on Thursday.

We stopped for Mexican at our fav food truck. Enough for dinner tonight. WOW, a first…zero cooking today.

Carole, I hope your DH’s MOHs surgery requires minimal layer removal.

Wally, Yay for a day without cooking. I hope the PT goes well.

Illimae, Two different meals from one cooking session is better than eating leftovers.

Bpgas, It’s a pain but I cooked for 18 years without dairy. There are decent substitutes for everything except cheese. DD is currently on a diet very like what you have been told to follow except she can have poultry but no soy (pediatrician’s orders since her baby couldn’t keep breast milk down.) She is pretty much eating vegan. Your diet would be vegan plus fish/seafood. It takes lots of label reading to begin with but gets easier as you find products you can eat. DD discovered she prefers vegan pretzels to regular ones.

Dinner tonight was corn chowder, all we wanted after lunch at the hospital cafe.