So...whats for dinner?

Auntie Nance. Maybe tomorrow . Hotel steered us to Helen's Fitzgerald. BUT they were so crowded wait time was 45 min. LOL Panda express was just across the street, so oooh. LOL. Hop in the pool, then bed! LOL

Wally, Congrats on the good eye exam. I'm glad you made it to the dedication.

Minus, Living in the South really expanded my culinary repertoire. There are so many more potluck events where recipes are traded.

I used to go to St. Louis annually when DH attended a poultry breeding conference there. I always had some of the local barbecue which was distinctively different from that in other areas of the country. My favorite is still the northern Alabama white vinegar style but I enjoy trying the other varieties as well.

We drove out to an apple orchard today to buy apple cider donuts. I don’t generally like donuts but these are really good.

Dinner tonight was Kung Pao chicken on rice.

Monica - Helen Fitzgerald's is good and popular as you found out. Your location is near a lot of eating establishments. If you head north on Kirkwood road to Kirkwood proper there are many more.

Dinner tonight was meatloaf mashed potatoes gravy and cauliflower.

I call the bathroom scale "Sharon's mood measurement box". :-)

Illimae, I hope your nausea settles soon.

Carole, Fresh seafood is something I would miss. The Legal Seafood location I can get to easily is closed for renovation. Hopefully it will reopen in the spring.

Dinner tonight was angus strip steak, cauliflower and potato salad.

Reader - got my covid booster at my PCP's office on 10/14. Shot in the butt not the arm because of Lympnadema. The first two nights, even turning over in bed hurt & woke me up. Today it's still sore but not as painful. Hope I can sleep through the night tonight.

Dinner was weird - well nothing new for me. Cucumber spears, a mini Boston cream donut. and raspberries with heavy cream. I had intended to serve some guacamole, and maybe cottage cheese with fresh tomatoes - but I just wasn't hungry.

Rischaller, pickled beets are popular in the area of MN where we spend the summer. The Amish vendors at the farmers market always have jars of them. I tasted them somewhere, don't remember where, and the flavor was spicy, as in all spice or cinnamon. I'm used to a vinegary flavor with cooked beets. If you try them, let us know your opinion.

Your vegetables sound wonderful.

I have a butternut squash that has been sitting around for a few days. We'll have it for dinner tonight. DH watched a reel with Pepin and thought his recipe with butternut squash was interesting. He added honey and balsamic vinegar. I may look it up. I'm also thinking of…what else? chicken thighs! Oven fried is appealing but I may just stick with roasted. I do love chicken.

We tend to keep cooked chicken in the refrigerator for snacks or a "minimal effort meal". Most of the time it's cooked in the dutch oven pictured in my avatar. The broth is saved for the dogs' kibble.

There is a butternut squash on the counter here. Fortunately they have a long shelf life. The typical preparation for that is cubed, a bit of olive oil, some salt, pepper and paprika, then "fried" in the air fryer.

It's been below freezing several times here, so everyone's gardens are finished for the season. All that is left in the one in our backyard is carrots, beets and onions. Once i get the garden tilled and fertilized for next spring, I need to get some garlic to plant.

Sharon loves beets…me…NO!!!!!!! :-)

I hope the power stays on there, Wally. Losing electric power is annoying.

Neither Sharon nor I have any ideas for dinner tonight.….maybe a "minimal effort meal". :-)

Rhonda, Cranberry walnut bread sounds delicious. Your CSA fresh produce is continuing longer than I thought it would.

Carole, Aldi’s sells tomato sauce made with pumpkin or squash seasonally. I cook stew beef or chicken in it and at the end add butternut squash pieces lightly covered in olive oil and salt baked in the oven. I regret not buying more sauce since it is gone now.

Wally, I wish there were somewhere near here to get good Mexican food. I’ll have to travel south or west for that. There probably is somewhere good in NYC but the Hispanic food I’ve had there was South American or Caribbean.

Minus, I prefer fresh veggies. Flash freezing might preserve more nutrients but not the taste and texture. I can no longer get fresh lima beans so I’ll buy those frozen.

It seems I’ve lucked out in the weather department: mid sixties and sunny going down to the forties at night.

Dinner tonight was leftover steak with mushrooms and bell peppers in Alfredo sauce on farfalle.

DH found the Jacque Pepin reel with the butternut squash recipe, but it was stovetop and required tending. I was lighting the oven anyway for the oven fried chicken thighs so I used a pan. I saw a tip online on a video to poke fork holes in the whole squash and microwave it for three minutes to make peeling easier. Still not "easy." I need to get a different peeler since mine is mostly for potatoes and carrots. Anyway, I tossed the peeled and cubed squash with olive oil, s & p, honey and balsamic vinegar. It was really, really good. The chicken thighs ok.

I am craving fried chicken so a Popeye's meal is in our future. The popeye's is never as good as imagined but cures the craving.

Tonight will probably be ribeye and potato salad. I have potatoes that need to be cooked and I have a yen for my mashed potato salad.

Minus, I have wondered whether your diet includes adequate protein.

No rain last night. The shrubbery looks desperate for water.

We never did lose power, thankfully. We have finally started getting some rain. No rain since March…trees and shrubs must be thrilled.

My Thanksgiving cactus must be a halloween cactus; it is the second time it is blooming.

Today will be the 1/4 pound hotdogs. My sis raved about these, so I hope we love them as much as she says we should, LOL.

I've never had fried chicken. Maybe that will be my next meal on the outside.

The grilled ribeye and mashed potato salad meal last night "hit the spot." Whatever that means. LOL. I made a lot of potato salad in order to have leftovers for lunches for dh. Deli potato salad became a regular item on the grocery list this summer. He can add onions, if he likes. I realized I was out of yellow mustard when the time came to assemble the potato salad last night, so I substituted Grey Poupon. A slightly different taste but still good.

Tonight will be red beans and rice with the frozen red beans in the freezer. Side will be either romaine salad or coleslaw.

Hard to imagine a Popeye's without chicken. Some of the big gas stations with food are known to have good fried chicken and good fried catfish. My mother cooked fried chicken in a large cast iron skillet with high sides. The hot oil popped and made a mess of the stove. My best memory of fried chicken. She cut up whole chickens to turn them into the maximum number of pieces for a large family. There was one "wish-bone" piece out of the breast. And the wings were two pieces with a little drumstick.

Carole, DH really likes Aldi’s potato salad. They have a more expensive steakhouse version which is excellent and another more traditional version which is good. I thought they were done with it for the year but I found some of the regular salad last week.

Eric, 6-1/2 miles is impressive whatever your pace. Do you have to rewire the lamp?

Dinner tonight was chicken and onion in sour cream sauce with mashed potatoes.

Making a crustless quiche tonight…A cross between a fritatta and a quiche.

Maggie, yup, with the "quiche," I add some cream and it is softer and fluffier. My filling is more frittata like.