So...whats for dinner?

SpecialK

celia - Happy Anniverary!

Beaverntx

Celia, happy anniversary and enjoy the cookies!

MinusTwo

Found a delicious new snack that is ridiculously expensive. Stacey's Cheese Petites - made with real cheese. Bite size, crisp, baked crackers. I had White Cheddar with Jalapenos. Cheese is the first ingredients so there's 6 grams of protein per serving. Unfortunately I ate the entire 4 oz bag. oops..... supposed to be 4 servings. $3.99 for this small bag - but worth it for a splurge. That and two hard boiled eggs was my dinner.

eric95us

Happy Anniversary Celia!

ChiSandy

Happy 30th, Celia! I like Bonefish--the closest one is up in Skokie, so no delivery; we'd have to pick up or hope we can snag an outdoor table (of which they have very, very few).

Last night, since Bob had to make rounds after Union Health, I went freezer-foraging, Pulled out a foil-wrapped frozen length of mystery meat I assumed was a leftover sparerib, so I reheated it in the toaster oven at 225F for 35 min. To my surprise, it turned out to have been a leftover half of a grass-fed bone-in strip steak--shouldn't have heated it that long, since it came out medium-well. Delish nonetheless--had it with the remainder of the asparagus in the crisper, pan-seared in EVOO and balsamic.

MinusTwo

Nance - hope your packing & moving is going OK. We're all thinking of you.

Dinner was more cleaning the freezer. I had a good sized chunk of leftover eye-of-the-round in the freezer, previously roasted rare. I cut some of that in bite sized pieces, added a small can of sliced mushrooms & warmed in butter. Then I nuked a package of "Seeds of Change - Mushroom Simmer Sauce". That is a really good sauce. Cooked a big batch of rice again for the week and served my beef & mushroom simmer on a scoop of rice with frozen broccoli on the side. I never got around to opening a bottle of wine.

Desert was a slice of lemon pudding/pound cake, topped off by 1/2 a cup of Spanish Peanuts. Not together - separate dishes sequential times.

Made it to early voting today. I was pleasantly surprised that the polling location was very clean and the people were all masked & behind plexiglass. Lots of sanitizer sitting around.

eric95us

I helped with the moving of the larger stuff that wouldn't fit into her car. She took care of the cleaning and moving the small stuff herself.

I did have one "old normal" return. The Blue Bird brand flour, milled by Cortez Milling, is back on the store shelves (but only in 20 pound bags) and my sourdough has returned to normal. During the flour shortage, the flour most commonly available was from a company that used a spring wheat with a fairly low gluten content...which isn't so good for making bread. I could have fixed it by adding bread flour or wheat gluten, but neither were available so the bread was very dense.

Even though I will go through 20 pounds of flour in about 6 weeks, I don't like buying that much flour at time because I have to keep it on the pantry floor. Gypsy, our yellow lab dog, loves flour and if we're not careful about keeping the pantry door closed, we'll end up with a white faced yellow lab.

CeliaC

Thanks for the anniversary wishes.

Dinner last night was a stir fry of leftover anniversary dinner shrimp & broccoli & some of the crusty bread. Still have more shrimps leftover after DH made a curry dish for his lunch today. Will mix up remaining shrimps/sauce into a cold shrimp salad & have this with diced avocado, plus polish off the remaining crusty bread. I rarely eat bread, but am unable to resist warm crusty bread w/butter. Still have 3 choc chip cookies leftover, so dessert will be one of those.

Wow, Eric - that is a lot of flour. I can just picture your white faced yellow lab!

Minus - Glad you were able to vote safely. Lemon cake sounds delish. ALDI carries "crisps" similar to the Stacy's you mentioned. I love the Parmesan ones - made from 100% parmesan cheese, oven baked & 9 grams protein per serving. They also have a Cheddar/Jalapeno one. $2.89 for a 2.11 oz package, so $3.99 for 4 oz sounds like a good price to me.

Sandy - What a find on the black raspberries. One of the talks at my local Cancer Support Center advised they are a good cancer preventative. but hard to find. Is the organic chicken bratwurst the one that Whole Foods carries?

ChiSandy

I've been growing black raspberries every summer since we moved into our house in 1987! Yes, the chicken brats are the Gilbert's brand from Whole Foods. Last night after my inner ear & brain MRI--and a very harrowing drive home, having had to detour around the scene of a drive-by shooting & crash--I had instant cauliflower rice with curry sauce for dinner because Bob had already eaten. I'm dining home alone again tonight, since Bob will be down at the hotel near Advocate Christ Hosp. because he has a 7am echo-reading start; will likely nuke some frozen wings and accompany them with celery & carrot sticks and blue cheese dressing.

Tomorrow night is the MRA (brain arteries) and MRV (brain veins). I will take a (hopefully) safer route home. Hope Bob will bring food, either from his office or from Cellars.

MinusTwo

Wow - over 24 hours. I don't ever remember a time when NOBODY was cooking - or at least eating. Maybe everyone is getting ready for a big holiday?? FINALLY the Texas governor has made masks mandatory, closed the bars again and most of the beaches are closed for the weekend. But supposedly 200 police have the virus, so who will make the macho dudes wear masks? I'm staying home.

Tonight was a big salad with lots of extras & avocado/ranch dressing. Not wild about the dressing. I think it has Cilantro. Tomorrow will be another fried rice concoction with all the dark meat from a smallish rotisserie chicken. Don't know yet what else I'll toss in. Sunday will be ham hock & beans, but made with the yellow split peas that a neighbor gave me instead of navy beans + carrots & celery & onions.

SpecialK

minus - the last two nights have been assembled salads - not really cooking, just combining, lol! Last night was thinly sliced cabbage and romaine with previously grilled chicken, toasted crumbled ramen noodles, sliced almonds, sesame seeds, scallions, and a sweet and sour type dressing. Tonight was romaine, more chicken, halved red grapes, pecans, goat cheese, balsamic dressing. No big holiday plans, we are having a fence and gates built at the downtown house, so supervising that. DH just left to go up to our community center to watch the big fireworks in the golf cart, I am home with the dog - who is not a fan. Not going out and doing anything over the holiday weekend - too many positive cases here in FL. This is the first night I have really just not wanted to cook, can’t put my finger on why, other than I have cooked, or assembled (lol!), every bite of food I’ve eaten since March. Bleh

ChiSandy

Because I was getting home from my MRIs too late to dine out with Bob (and would have been too tired to cook for myself), he went to Cellars and brought me home bourbon salmon with broccoli & julienne carrots/peppers/red onions. This morning I had guacamole toast and a small egg. Tomorrow morning I will make us frisee salads with Dijon-lemon vinaigrette, lardons (from thick-cut bacon) and sunny-side up duck eggs. (Bob will also get croutons). Tomorrow night Gordy is coming over to dine with us on the deck (Leslie is staying home with their dog) and I will grill--probably steak or pork chops. Haven't figured out the sides yet.

Lacey12

I keep wondering how Nance is faring with her move. Hoping it is going well and that she is defying Mercury Retrograde! I don't really pay much attention to that (It rules my sister’s life), but was not happy to see that it started the day before DS2 closed on the new house...and was felt mightily! It even went through yesterday when the closing for his condo was delayed a day due to a screw up by the new buyer and his bank.

Last weekend we were very busy with Amelia who was happily exploring every nook and cranny of our house. A danger to herself and others! When she was last here, she wasn’t walking yet. Anyway, other than old folks exhaustion, it went well. Minus, I can so appreciate how hard the distancing must be for your great niece. I feel so badly for the little ones...as well as you! Our little one went back to day care on Monday, which means that we may be again distancing from her for a long time now. But she is a happy camper being back in that social setting...tho with only four other kids now. And her parents are so busy, it’s great for them that she has a good social caretaking option.

As far as dinners, I’ve been cooking a lot (again!) this week. Special, I totally agree with taking aN occasional night off from the task! Imagine if we didn’t know how to cook!? Tho I guess those folks keep the restaurants sort of solvent. I finally got to making my turkey/kale meatballs with light red sauce which we enjoyed over whole wheat spaghetti, along with my tossed salad. Last night we were going to have chicken marsala, but we got home too late from a neighborhood “Pandemic Porch Party” (a socially distanced performance by a twenty something gal who just spent the year entertaining on a cruise ship before landing home, along with her musical theatre brother and her Not musical sister). It was a riot! And all the neighbors sat on the medial strip grass or their driveways as audience.
Anyway, I wasn’t going to start making chicken marsala at 6:45 last night, so DH grilled the chicken and I made salad and farro. Tonight, we had leftover chicken and I used the fresh mushrooms which were needing to be cooked to make a mushroom/onion white wine sauce that I used to dress a bowl of delicious herb pasta that I found in the pantry....a leftover holiday gift from DDIL1 who buys specialty pasta in the town where she practices. I had no idea how it would turn out, but It was delicious! We had a baby spinach salad with pear, carrot and red onion. And I have lots of leftovers from a few meals now, so I hope not to cook much for several days after tomorrow when we plan to grill steaks, here at home...all by ourselves.

I have no strong desire to get back into circulation even tho MA is doing great statistically with Covid. We are even passing on our P-town week which starts This Sunday. We may make it up to the lake at some point. But I really do not feel cavalier about this virus, and even here, some folks are acting that way. For the most part up to this point, most people have been compliant with the Gov’s orders, but now that we are starting Phase Three, I can see people letting down their guard. Worrisome....
Hope you folks in the surging states can stay home and safe!

auntienance

Greetings all and happy Independence Day! We have survived the move which proved to be a nightmare, beginning with the movers showing up three hours late In a truck way to small for the job. There were many other misadventures but eventually it got done. I am now faced with the stress inducing task of trying to fit the even winnowed down contents of a large house into an apartment half its size. The kitchen and its storage Is totally inadequate. I am having to ruthlessly discard that which cannot be stored (I’m looking at you spice cabinet.) Pepcid and aleve are my current best friends

We only yesterday found the flatware and cooking utensils so meals other than breakfast and lunch have been via door dash. We were fortunate that my old neighbor provided us with a lovely meal complete with disposable utensils the day of the move. We have been using those utensils until yesterday. Today I’ll be cooking for the first time in the tiny kitchen - grilled hamburgers and brats, local sweet corn, a smashed cucumber salad and a fruit salad

We’ve had to venture out for some supplies a couple of times and I’ve been quite gratified to see how many are wearing masks here - even kids it makes me feel a bit better about being in close proximity to people

Living in the country, we haven’t seen fireworks displays for many years. Last night we were treated to several all around us without having to leave our balcony deck. The apartment complex is filled with dogs. I’m sure it was not enjoyable for them.

Have a safe and happy fourth everyone

auntienance

OMG Lacey - Mercury retrograde! That explains everything!

ChiSandy

Gordy is coming over tonight to eat grilled steaks & veggie skewers. WF was completely out of corn of any kind! May forage through the freezer & pantry to see if I can find any Niblets to turn into elotes. Leslie doesn't like being out in the heat too long, and wants to be able to comfort their pooch in the inevitable event there are pyrotechnics.

MinusTwo

Sandy - isn't Leslie from Houston? I would have thought she'd be used to the heat. We're having our 2nd day of 98 degrees before 3pm. Ugh. I did walk early (at 85 degrees), then like a fool stayed out in the yard (full disclosure - full sun) digging weeds while I moved the water around until after noon. I see a nap in my immediate future.

Nance - soooo glad you at least have a place to sleep. You can always stack the boxes in the corner and drape a table cloth over them. The "new" house my son recently moved to (think 1959) has a 4 burner electric stove but only one burner works - and they both cook. One of many projects to come once a new gas line is laid under the house. And they had to leave the spice rack he custom built on the wall for her - over 75 different spices.

Lacey - good to hear from you. We've had 'sit & sip' in neighbor's front yards, but wow - a musical production sounds great. Love the sound of the herb pasta.

Special - I'm with you about not cooking. I think I'll have popcorn for dinner, instead of the fried rice I'd planned.

ChiSandy

Leslie is most recently from Houston but has lived all over, even in Indonesia. There could be another factor for her not feeling up to socializing this weekend, given her youth (TMI, but we've all had it to some degree or another).

Gonna give the cats their 3:30 feeding, then nap for a bit, shower, dress and get cookin' (at least cleaning the grill and speeding up defrosting the steaks). Should be down below 80F by dinner time.

Lacey12

Yes, Nance!!! That’s why I was so concerned about you and your move!
I sort of wish I’d never checked to see when “mercury retrograde” was happening next, and almost died when it indicated that It started exactly when three people I knew were undertaking significant moves.

As you have experienced, DS2 has had his excitement bubble burst with Sooo many issues in their “new“ home (1942 vintage), including a really moldy looking basement that we have been bugging him to deal with FIRST, with a good wall scrubbing and applications of a special epoxy finish that will prevent moisture entering. I hoped he’d get to this before putting ANYTHING in that space. Tho there are so many other needs that have surfaced that I’m not sure if he is following our advice, and I decided to let it be. Not our house (which fortunately has an amazingly dry basement....a top priority for me since I grew up with parents always listening for the sump pump when it rained!). They were on a tight time schedule and there are soooo many things that needed doing before moving in. And the movers were also a problem as was the Moving day full of serious, work stopping thunderstorms.
And more surprises will ensue as they live there... they had been living in condos that had been newly renovated, so this is a shock to their systems. I honestly do not recall either of the houses we have purchased, or the lake house, having so many issues, (Electric, plumbing updates, total painting needs, new refrig, bathroom changes, etc. etc. but maybe we were less demanding life-style wise. The young ‘ens are heavily influenced by HGTV! Am guessing that in two years their house will approximate something like that, but what stress! Hopefully they will both stay employed so they can afford to accomplish their plans. And I have come to appreciate how well built our 100 year old house is!

So all that said, Nance, I hope you can find space to keep some of your cherished kitchen “stuff”!
And Minus, how sad indeed, to have to leave a custom made spice rack!

We are spending a very quiet day at home, and are about to grill steaks to have with salad and some of that leftover pasta we enjoyed last evening...a very unusual 4th for us! But also kind of pleasant actually enjoying our house and screened porch in the summer for a change.

Hope everyone has a good 4th and the pups are spared too many fireworks! What is with the firework craze I keep hearing aboutin every city since the quarantine ?

eric95us

Our dogs are busy barking at the fireworks.

ChiSandy

Gordy came over for dinner (his girlfriend was home doing website maintenance for her new job). He brought along flowers from her and a wicked good fudge cake for dessert (I take the 5th as to whether I indulged). We grilled ribeyes and veggie skewers. Our conversation was punctuated all evening by neighbors setting off fireworks (and dogs voicing their objectiona)--in fact, the city actually closed our block to traffic so that the fireworks could be set off in the middle of the street rather than in front of people's homes or in the alleys, risking fire damage. Seems to have begun to quiet down about midnight, with the occasional pyromaniac insomniac (in fact, just now, at 1:45) setting off the exploders rather than the stuff you can actually look at.

CeliaC

Nance - Glad the move is over. Good luck on the organizing. There seem to be a lot of helpful organizer items for kitchen cabinets that might help you as you conquer the storage challenges. We use "risers" that allow us to store items under & on top so as to stabilize & take advantage of vertical storage. We find these particularly useful for glasses, mugs, dishes.

Lacey - Herb pasta sounds delish.

Sandy - Glad you had a nice dinner with your son and that your house made it through the "explosive" 4th unscathed. Agree that the exploders are the most bothersome.

We had fewer fireworks in our neighborhood than anticipated. Someone in a neighboring street put on a lovely show of professional looking fireworks. DH and I stepped outside to watch them through the trees. By midnight, all was quiet.

Beaverntx

Dinner last evening was grilled salmon, air fryer baked sweet potatoes and skillet browned brussels sprouts with a dash of balsamic. Followed by an evening with a dog on my lap covered by a lap quilt. The fireworks were finally done about 1am, not certain how long the neighbor's noisy party went on. We watched fireworks on tv, the safe and sane way!

Happy Day after the 4th!

CeliaC

Beaverntx - Your dinner sounds like something I would really like. Alas, no grill or air fryer.

ChiSandy

Tonight will be my leftover salmon, plus a frisee salad with lardons, heirloom tomato, Dijon vinaigrette and sunny-side-up duck eggs. If Bob is really hungry, maybe pan-sear a halibut filet too. Not sure what to do with that fudge cake--I had a sliver last night, the guys had a bit more, but most of it is still sitting in the fridge. My HK is a health-conscious eater, and her DH is diabetic, so maybe I'll just have to try and freeze it.

Brunch at Cellars today was broccoli-cheddar quiche and mesclun salad. I left all the crust over this time--got a weigh-in coming up on 7/22.

MinusTwo

Made a delicious fried rice for dinner w/the bits & pieces from the legs & wings & thighs of a rotisserie chicken. My son hates peas, so in his honor (even though he's in another state) I used the leftover broccoli. Also sauteed 1015 onions since I didn't have green onions, and added a can of mushrooms since I didn't have fresh of those either. It was really good and I have at least two more full meals with this as the main dish & no sides. Good thing I like cold fried rice for breakfast. This rice with chicken was better than the rice with frozen baby cocktail shrimp two weeks ago. Probably the quality of the shrimp.

Celia - I have one of those stainless, smokeless grills for the kitchen counter. You put water in a pan under the grill. No charcoal taste, but I never have smoke or spatters on the wall or counter or anywhere. That's how I grill my salmon - and for that matter my occasional steaks too. But I just as often poach my salmon with dill. Oh my- I can see that I'll have to pull some salmon steaks out of the freezer.

ChiSandy

Texas 1015s are delicious even raw, like Vidalias or Walla Wallas.

MinusTwo

Yup - I look for all three and those are about the only onions I buy anymore. And with the other half of the 1015, I made cucumber & onion slices marinated in sour cream with lots of dill weed.

MinusTwo

Dunch was the aforementioned cucumbers & onions marinated in sour cream & dill. The main course was left over chicken fried rice. And that will likely be true for two more days. By the time I finished adding all the veggies, it was a HUGE amount. Not sure of the results if you freeze fried rice, but I think I'll try a small scoop or two.

My 'go to seasoning envelope has always been NOH Chinese Fried Rice Seasoning Mix. NOH is a Hawaiian company that makes several delicious seasoning blends & spices & marinades. I'm having a hard time finding it in Houston right now. Since I know several stores carry it, I'm guessing freight issues with Covid-19? Or problems with HI pretty much shutting down. Oh well, maybe I'll just have to go to Hawaii in a couple of months to re-stock. (much more fun than Amazon). And I might have to quarantine for 14 days....Oh no, quarantine in HI. Be still my heart.

The other thing I'm having trouble finding locally is Seeds of Change Simmer sauces. Mushroom simmer sauce, Sesame ginger teryaki sauce, Sweet & sour simmer sauce, Taco Roasted Chipotle simmer sauce, and several others. They are certified organic, non-GMO, w/no preservatives and quite good for quick meals. AND they donate 1% of all their sales to support & develop sustainable community based gardening and farming programs.

The wine with the meal was a Kirkland Signature (Costco) Sauvignon Blanc from the Ti Point Vineyards in Marlborough, New Zealand. Really quite good for a screw top wine at $6.99. I've had good luck with most of Costco's Signature wines. The Old Vine Zinfandel is another one I like.

ChiSandy

Bob is eating dinner in his office tonight, so I'll likely make myself that frisee salad. Brunch was leftover ribeye & veg skewer from Sat. night's cookout. Will likely freeze the halibut.