So...whats for dinner?

Reader425

Have enjoyed catching up on a few pages of missed days. On Monday I roasted (sort of) a 3 lb. Chicken in the crockpot as I knew I'd be out at the hospital getting a scan then to a few local shops. Hospital seemed to be quite safe / orderly.

Anyway, chicken was surprisingly delicious and I served it with stuffing, gravy and green beans. (Fave of DH). Tonight was a (well cleaned!) Green salad I made and Moosewood eggplant parmesan from the freezer.

carolehalston

Last night was linguine with Rao's sauce. I seasoned half a lb. of ground turkey with fennel, onion and garlic powder, red pepper flakes, s & p. Sauteed it in olive oil and added the jar of Rao's. Delicious every time. Cooked a whole lb. of linguine, added some to the sauce and froze the rest.

carolehalston

I'm thawing cod fillets to cook tonight. Minus or Lacey, if you happen to read this, would you refresh my memory on Lacey's recipe for baked cod? Meanwhile I'll try doing a search and also consult with Google.

ChiSandy

I just got a Butcher Box shipment of frozen cod fillets. I usually marinate & pan-sear.

SpecialK

Just lost my post, but here is what it said:

carole - found a post from lacey where she said she cooks the fish fully by itself. In the post she said it was served on that occasion with peppers, mushrooms, onion, and yellow squash with Rao's puttanesca, over orzo. My interpretation would be sauté the veggies, add sauce, nap cooked fish and serve over orzo. I'm not so much a fish person but with cod I usually lightly bread and pan fry. Make fish tacos by serving it in a flour tortilla with shredded cabbage, pickled red onion, and a drizzled crema made from sour cream cut with a tiny bit of milk and sriracha. Good luck!

Tonight is beef stew - kind of a winter dish but I have all of the ingredients so that is what I'm doing, lol! I was instructed to wash my surgical site on my face twice daily and dress again, and took the opportunity to reposition the bandage so I could open my mouth! Yay! I get to eat!

MinusTwo

Carole: Here's the post I copied. It's delicious. Thanks again Lacey.

Lacey's cod with tomato sauce.
I find that it is a good quick dish if I use a bottle of Rao sauce....either Puttanesca, Marinara, or Ariebietta (sp?), anything you like. Our local grocery store has Rao's on sale every few weeks for $6 so I stock up then.
I like my sauce to be filled with veggies, so I cut up a large onion, some mushrooms, and red peppers, and sauté them,
remove from pan, add pieces of the fish to pan and start to pan fry it until it is almost cooked through.
Then I add the sauce and the cooked veggies with chopped basil and any other spices you choose. Cook until the sauce is bubbling, and fish seems flaky and opaque. then keep it simmering for a bit.
While the fish/tomato is cooking, I boil water and cook either orzo, orchiette, or any other pasta we are in the mood for.
Drain that and put in a casserole with a bit of sauce in bottom of casserole first.
Then I pour the fish mix over the pasta....your choice if you want the fish to be in serving sized or smaller pieces over the pasta in the casserole. I usually buy less than a lb. of a firm white fish for this, and use about a half lb or sometimes 3/4 lb of pasta. We always have a leftover meal out of this, especially if we use a larger pasta.
It is good with grated cheese (I know, I know, Mario.) And I really love it with dried red pepper sprinkled over the top on my plate. You will note that I never include times in this loosely woven recipe...because

MinusTwo

I went to Central Market today to pick up my yearly batch of Hatch Chili Scones. I freeze a dozen individually wrapped. It's such a good thing I don't live closer. I always find such tempting & interesting things. Because the Hatch festival is only a couple weeks long I bought: two Hatch salmon patties, Hatch Chili quesadillas (ready to cook), Hatch pepper/jack cheese, spinach-artichoke dip - not related but I needed it for the Boudin Twice Baked Sourdough crackers that I found (imagine - from my favorite bread store in San Francisco). Picked up Kettle cooked Waffle Cut Garlic Hatch potato chips, blue corn hatch tortilla chips, a jar of Hatch Chili Cream Cheese Dip, and.... Oh and I picked up some fresh, homemade tortillas - half corn & half wheat - so I can finally make the enchiladas with Reader's recipe. And two cans of Hatch Chili Enchilada Sauce - one green & one red. Do you get the feeling I like Hatch Chilis?

Also got some pumpernickel bagels - the only place in this huge city that I can reliably find them. Oh and a 'personal' watermelon and, and... Like I said, it's a good thing the store is across town. I only get there 2 or 3 times a year. Dunch was a Turkey & Havarti sandwich on 9 grain bread so I'm way too full for dinner.

SpecialK

minus - wow! Hatchapalooza!!!

ChiSandy

Went to Cellars--I decided if ever there were a time for a mini-pity-party, this was it. So I had egglplant parm over linguine--barely made it through 1/3 of the gargantuan portion. (Yummy). Originally wanted dessert, but no room whatsoever. As 10 pm (my NPO deadline approached), I savored a single Girl Scout Thin Mint. It was okay, but not that much better than my FatSnax keto double-chocolate cookie, When I get home tomorrow, if I have an appetite I will send Bob down the block for chocolate frozen custard (kid-size portion) with sour cherry topping. I will have to get back on the straight & narrow soon, as I am hoping the procedure will work for at least 5 years--and I don't want to get fat and pre-diabetic agin.

Reader425

Thinking of you Sandy. Best wishes tomorrow! ❤👍🙏

carolehalston

Minus, thanks for posting Lacey's recipe. I baked the cod fillets in the microwave/convection oven at 400 degrees. I followed a recipe I found online. The "sauce" was 1/2 block of soft butter, juice of a lemon, minced garlic (I substituted garlic powder), onion powder, 1 T flour, 1 tsp dejon mustard. I spooned the lumpy mixture on the cod, which had been salted and peppered.

The outcome was good but not memorable. The main taste was lemon with a hint of the mustard. Side was steamed yellow squash and a salad of cucumber and tomato.

I will probably start buying the cod which is not as expensive as Canadian walleye. I think the lightly breaded and pan fried version would suit dh and me, too.

SpecialK

carole - do you like pecan or other nut crusted fish? I just found an easy recipe for pecan crusted cod baked in the oven, I would be happy to post it if you think it might be a possibility? I used to work in a restaurant and one of my favorites there was a pecan crusted trout with a citrus chardonnay sauce. I actually had a dream about it once and I am not even that crazy about fish...

Ended up having pasta and a salad last night - angel hair in tomato cream sauce with the leftover cooked sausage and a romaine salad with a creamy balsamic vinaigrette and some additional veggies, will make the beef stew tonight. DH had his scans yesterday but doesn't have his return visit to the ENT until Tues. It will be a long weekend. We looked at the disk, and it had some stark differences from one side of his face to the other - but we don't know what it means yet.

chisandy - in your pocket, hoping for smooth sailing.

M0mmyof3

Hubby requested cheeseburgers tonight. It's been scorching here lately and he's been trying to give me breaks with cooking by saying to cook something quick and easy.

MinusTwo

MOmmy - good to see you. Hope you & your family are well.

M0mmyof3

We are. The heat waves we have gotten lately have been terrible. Even with air conditioning its been hard to sleep.

ChiSandy

Uneventful ride down to UIC. Bob was able to go home, as the surgeon called him with a time frame. I was awake for the whole thing (albeit with some "happy juice" in my I.V., and an anesthetic block to the eye). The block wore off around noon--and I am in considerable pain. But the surgeon told me what pain I will feel (especially when blinking) and why, so it's a bit easier to emotionally tolerate. He explained that the plaque was placed at the front bottom of the eyeball, and the gold edges are slightly visible along the lower lid. I look like a creature from Alien landed on the right side of my face (dressing, lead shield, pressure dressing held in place with a stockinet headband, which I clipped up above my L eye so I can see). I have my reading glasses on, so I can type & read via my L eye to some extent, but I'm still kinda tired (Sleep-deprived, though I did get in a brief nap when I got home). So I will be taking a break from posting for awhile (which is why I'm posting this on 3 threads). I got an Rx for Tyl. #3, but I am saving those for when the pain starts getting worse and I need to sleep (1 Tyl. #3 and 1 extra strength, q.6 hr. 4 hrs. into extra-strength Tyl. x2--counting the hours till 7pm....

Have to keep the dressings & lead shield on overnight, then start the various drops & ointments tomorrow, with the lead shield in place, covered by a regular perforated stainless shield (like after cataract surgery). Mercifully, I have a slightly later arrival time for Monday's removal surgery. Surgeon/onc says I shouldn't have too much vision loss--maybe no worse than 20/100 and may improve down the line. I need to wait 4-6 weeks before being refracted. Of course, my depth perception is not great, so no driving till I get the go-ahead. (My follow-up appt. is 8/26).

No alc. while on codeine, of course. Dinner tonight will be some nuked leftover eggplant parm. (Breakfast was cranberry juice & shortbread cookies in post-op, followed by black coffee at home. Dessert will either be a couple of Girl Scout Thin Mints or--if he goes down the block to Lickety Split--some frozen custard with toppings.

Di2012

Get well Sandy.......lots of snoozing is in your future to help the healing.

DI

MinusTwo

Sounds like everything went well Sandy. Yes, relax & take care of yourself.

Beaverntx

Sandy, thanks for posting. You have been on my thoughts all day long so glad to hear you are back home and counting the hours until Monday. Keep ahead of the pain, as you well know. Looking forward to having you back, when you are ready. In the meantime, take it easy.

eric95us

Take it easy Sandy.

carolehalston

Hoping for a great outcome, Sandy. Take care of yourself.

SpecialK, a restaurant here has a delicious fish entree, Pecan crusted walleye with lemon butter sauce. With that said, I'm a little embarrassed to say that dinner last night was hot dogs with Nathan wieners. DH also had a salad of tomato and onion.

We rarely go over to Mary's deck for happy hour but we did yesterday. She made jalapeno poppers and had made a point of telling me by way of invitation. We don't feel comfortable with the lack of social distancing, plus the gathering starts earlier than our time for cocktails. And we enjoy sitting on our own deck.

auntienance

Heal fast Sandy

M0mmyof3

Gotta go freezer diving to see what I feel like making!

Cowgirl13

Thinking about you today Sandy. I hope your pain is being able to be controlled. In your pocket.

CeliaC

Sounds like things are going ok so far. Take it easy, rest and here's hoping for a relatively pain free recovery. Hanging around in your pocket and wishing you healing thoughts.

MinusTwo

Carole - don't be embarrassed by hot dogs. I wish I had some. I've been working outside most of the last two days as the painters are here replacing warped boards & painting the outside. Yesterday it was too hot to consider eating at all. At 9pm I had a bowl of watermelon & eight crackers with spinach/artichoke cream cheese dip. I expect tonight will be about the same.

99 degrees and 109 heat index. Got old window coverings off the garage door windows today and installed new light cream colored panels. I use a staple gun so they don't swing when the doors open. I think the garage was hotter than the front porch, where I was using clorox and a wire brush to scrub over spray from the last painters many years ago. They started last Saturday and are doing a fantastic job. Looks like tomorrow they'll finish up.

Lacey12

Hope your recovery is going gently and quickly, Sandy.

Back in NH after two day trip home for med appts and tending to things needing tending...and more stuff that cropped up. Hoping to stay put here for a while...even brought more sewing supplies so I can make masks on rainy days.

Sorry I wasn’t here to address Carole’s request for my favorite cod dinner. But Minus and Special did a great job remembering it. Thank you, ladies! I think it ends up being different every time I make it...basically sautéed veggies with garlic, Puttanesca sauce added to those, then add the cod (which I sometimes have cooked in oven first for a firm texture), and once it is all piping hot ladle over orzo or orchiette pasta. I also really like cod baked in the oven with a simple bread crumb/garlic/ parsley topping.

DH outdid his new food shopping passion today by hitting three food stores for basic groceries, a farm stand for corn and tomatoes, and another farmers’ market (which is really more of a weekly craft fair) in search of fresh eggs which he missed. Tonight we will have grilled salmon, and I might make a recipe called disappearing zucchini since I have some needing to be used. It is basically shredded zucchini sauteed with onions, garlic, and spices mixed with orzo and parm cheese. Seems like it will go well with the salmon. I’ll also make a salad.

Trying to figure out a nice way to celebrate DH’s 75th next weekend. We have yet to go out to eat here...or anywhere. His BD is Sat, but I think I might just take purchased cupcakes to our Friday Cocktail hour on the beach with our socially distanced neighbors, which ends up being most attendees dinner. So cupcakes could be dessert, and a chance for DH to get the birthday chorus! If I can get reservations on Saturday for the outdoor deck of the nicer restaurant that overlooks the lake, perhaps we’ll go there. Otherwise, it will be an unmemorable Covid birthday dinner at home and we will just celebrate his being alive at 75! Not bad at all,these days!

ChiSandy

Thanks for the well-wishes, sisters!

Tonight Bob will go foraging for dinner at Whole Foods. I had wanted to grill lamb chops with fresh mint, but it's supposed to storm at dinner time. I will have to start using up the cherry tomatoes that fell off during the storm, as well as those split & ripened, so whatever he brings home I will supplement with a Caprese. (Picked some basil earlier today). No wine, of course, until 24 hrs. after the plaque-removal surgery (and that's assuming I also will no longer have codeine at bedtime).

MinusTwo

Lacey - if the zucchini recipe turns out to be good, I'd like a copy. Seems like I always have a stray zucchini hanging around. Can't believe how great a shopper your DH is becoming.

Painters finished at 2pm I'm trying to move water every 30 minutes since EVERYTHING is dying in this heat.

carolehalston

Last night was fresh green beans cooked with new potatoes cut into chunks. Meat was flattened chicken breast fillets breaded and pan fried.

I thawed a small pork roast overnight and will cook it in the slow cooker today.