So...whats for dinner?

SpecialK

During the time my DH was active duty we were stationed at bases all over the world - at almost every one there was a fundraising cookbook, and I have a bunch. Reading the conversation about tater tots, hot dish, and Johnny Marzetti made me check a couple of them. I found a recipe for Johnny Mozzetti - ground beef, green pepper, onion, celery, mushrooms, tomato soup, whole tomatoes, tomato paste, green olives, egg noodles, cheddar cheese. The tater tot one is ground beef, onion, French style green beans, mushroom soup, cheddar cheese, tater tots. What was also fun about looking is that each of those recipes were submitted by people I knew well! Memory lane! My MIL had a recipe called Mulligan Stew - ground beef, green pepper, onion, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste, salt/pepper/oregano, and large elbow macaroni. It’s a throwback dish for DH, was my MIL’s go to for her five kids on nights she and my FIL were going out.

eric95us

Special, my mom had a lot of the base fundraising cookbooks from the places dad was stationed. My brother has them. While we were boxing them up I read through a few of them and the international influence on the recipes was VERY evident.

auntienance

We know that dish as American chop suey too. It’s a DH favorite. Carole is in the “land of 1000 hot dishes” so I know she’s versed in the subject lol.

Little bits of this and that in the fridge and freezer so tonight is baked sausage filled ravioli and cannelloni. If I make it to the store there will be salad.

eric95us

If you like shrimp, squash and heat.....

Sauté 3 strips of bacon until browned. Add 1/3 cup of chopped onion and 1-1/2 tsp of minced garlic and continue to sauté until the garlic and onion are soft. Add a minced habanero and 2 tsp of fresh rosemary and cook for another 2 minutes (have the vent fan running when you start cooking the habanero...it's like tear gas). Stir in 2 tbsp of lime juice and 4 ounces of beer (the other 8 ounces are to be consumed by the chef to offset the effects of the habanero!) and heat until boiling. Pour this into a dish that can go into the oven and add a diced tomato and a (peeled and diced) yellow squash, cover and bake until the squash is starting to soften. Add a pound of (cooked or uncooked) shrimp to the dish, cover and bake for another until the squash is soft....about 10-15 more minutes.

Spoon the shrimp-squash mixture over the top of cooked fettucine and....eat.....

My notes say that the amount of squash should be equal in volume to the shrimp and also, that one can use shredded spaghetti squash instead of the regular squash.

ChiSandy

When I lived in Seattle, we'd go to Thirteen Coins (Continental, open 24/7---a rarity). Our favorite dish there was a "Joe's Special:" a one-skillet dish of ground beef, green peppers, onions, Swiss cheese and eggs. The owner said it was a S.F. recipe.

Rosh Hashonah begins tonight at sunset. Normally, online temple services on Fri. nights run from 6:30-7:40; online High Holy Day services start at 8, and run till about 9:30. Bob wasn't going to be home till 8, so no way to eat first. So he'll hang around reading EKGs on the computer and get home about 9:30. I ordered sliced wine-braised brisket and tzimmes (traditional carrot-dried fruit side dish) from Whole Foods; will nuke it and add some pan-roasted broccolini (cooks quickly). No round challah bread, alas--but I'll be pushing it carb-wise by eating the traditional apples & honey for dessert.

MinusTwo

ChiSandy - great idea about the green wine sleeves. I wondered what I was saving all those for.

Nance - oh Meatloaf. Be still my heart. Funny how those things just jump into your card. It will eventually cool down in Texas & I'll have meatloaf again.

Carole - IDK - maybe it would be interesting to stick around and see snow on the lake? As long as the roads were clear & you could get away.

Special - so typical of "Men" not to follow directions (or "man" as the case may be). But glad to hear he's recovering in spite of himself. We actually had 77 degrees before 7am this morning when I left to walk. I wondered if I should find a sweater (LOL). Your 'closed caption" report is interesting. Maybe I'll try it.

Mae your salad looks delicious. I love hearing your tales of "packing" on other threads.

I made a salad out of leftovers tonight. A bit of cabbage/lettuce, a hand full of black olives and a pile of leftover sauteed zucchini & yellow squash (more than a cup). With some Jarlsberg grated on top,. Dressing was 1/2 Asian and 1/2 ranch. Weird - but surprisingly tasty. Served with some Kirkland Old Vine Zinfandel and 6 saltines - with butter of course. I'm really full & it was healthy AND I cleaned more things out of the fridge. Tomorrow is likely cottage cheese & tomatoes. Or maybe grilled cheese.

Cowgirl13

Yes, the Joe's Special originated in San Francisco at a restaurant named Original Joe's restaurant in the Tenderloin. It consists of eggs, spinach, ground beef, onions. I like my topped of with grated parmesan cheese on top. Of course you can add anything you might like. It's one of my favorite dinners.

ChiSandy

My bad, Cowgirl--it was spinach, not green pepper.

MinusTwo

Cowgirl - sounds like some of the things I mix up - probably w/o the ground beef.

Reader425

Enjoyable discussion of " hot dishes" of stripes. New ideas! Thanks all.

carolehalston

Hot dishes are casseroles here in MN, and many have tater tots as an ingredient. And ground beef. And canned cream soups are required.

We went to the gym yesterday morning and afterwards had breakfast at West Forty. I had a taco omelet and also shared dh's "cake" he ordered as a substitute for toast.

Dinner was chicken enchiladas.

Tonight's dinner will probably be fish from the freezer, compliments of a fisherman who is in the hospital on a ventilator. DH and I "winterized" his camper and he had a package of walleye fillets in the freezer. I also have some frozen crappie fillets given to us by another fisherman.

I'm sad over RBG's death.

Beaverntx

Carole, taco omelet?

MinusTwo

Carole - as am I. What a marvelous role model she was - and will continue to be.

SpecialK

Concur about RBG - what an example of a life lived with both heart and purpose. She will be missed but will continue to inform and inspire

auntienance

Sad here too. What a fighter and inspiration she was.

Dinner tonight is shepherds pie using the leftover mashed potatoes and other refrigerator bits and pieces. I picked up some of the Godiva chocolate pudding Minus mentioned. I have to say, I’m not a fan of instant pudding usually but this stuff is way better than the average bear. Can’t wait to try the dark chocolate. It’s especially good with a (heathy dollop of whipped cream 😋

Hope you Gulf coast folks aren’t in harms way again.

ChiSandy

Also mourning RBG--but vowing to fight.

Went to brunch (outdoors, tent) today, but there was a chilly breeze off the lake--we didn't make it out of the 50s. Bob insisted I didn't need a jacket over my sweater-knit long tee--but he hadn't spent much time outdoors this a.m. Going out to Gibson's Oakbrook tomorrow night for early dinner outdoors--will dress much more warmly.

Brunch was broccoli/cheddar quiche and salad, but the portion was humongous today--had to take half of it home. Dinner tonight will be leftover brisket, broccolini and tzimmes (supplemented with more carrots, prunes & dried apricots). Bob will have his leftover brunch potatoes too.

MinusTwo

Nance - glad you liked the Godiva. I've been making it with a 'smidge' less milk and it seems to set better.

Brunch was two hard boiled eggs. Supper was cottage cheese with Campari tomatoes. That's likely to be it for the day. I've been fighting for two effing hours to make a stupid USB headset & speaker work so I can give my financial report at at Zoom meeting Tuesday. All I've succeeded in doing is disconnecting my regular speakers. I can ONLY hear through the headphones now but still can't make the microphone work. URGH. Shutting everything down in favor of a large drink and some distracting novel.

ChiSandy

I'm gonna have to record part of a quartet song (trying to find a wall in my house with a large enough blank expanse, otherwise get a green screen) for the Bar Show. I suspect even that'll be easier than rehearsing by Zoom. (The first cast meeting last week went well, but none of us were singing or talking simultaneously--ah, the mysteries of the "mute" button)! When I record my part, I'll have to wear an AirPod rather than play the pre-recorded accompaniment on a separate speaker. Glad I'm not the one who has to edit & mix!

MinusTwo

I've been doing really well at 'creative' meals with whatever I had on hand, so I determined not to run to the store just because I was out of something - milk or lettuce or whatever. I'd planned to use frozen spinach instead of fresh in tomorrow's meal (bean enchiladas) and had pulled leftover rotisserie chicken out of the freezer for tonight's fried rice. However we have this storm with the stupid name headed this way. Who ever heard of a storm named "BETA"? So I went to fill my gas tank & pick up the items on my list I'll need for a week at home.

Looks like the main issue for me will be 8-12" of rain, and of course some wind. Depending on the progression of the storm & the updated target, I'll take plants & lawn furniture into the garage tonight. These are the times that make me wonder why I have more than 25 potted plants & hanging baskets.

eric95us

The storm naming folks ran out of names this year, so they go to Greek letters...there was a storm named alpha. Hopefully they don't need to go farther into the Greek alphabet!

Dinner last night was a mac & cheese dish with brussel sprouts baked in the air fryer. Neither Sharon or I have decided about dinner tonight.

I think she'll do the cooking tonight. I've been out doing yard work for the past several hours....103F/39C temperatures and it was also very dusty. Normally I wear a N95 mask when I'm doing this kind of work, but I'm saving those in case I need to fly to a deployment. I can say with some certainty that the procedure masks don't well. I feel like the dwarf, Sneezy!!!

The flour supply has normalized so I'm back to the normal sourdough backing schedule. Yeast, which I don't need, is still hard to find and canning jar lids are *g*o*n*e*. Fortunately I have enough lids for the next batch of vegetable stock (broth?),so I'm OK there.

ChiSandy

Stay safe, Minus. Hope Beta isn't a rerun of Harvey.

I think the storm-namers have gotten lazy--they say they don't use Q, U, X, Y or Z because there aren't names for that. Well, if they can come up with "Isaias," they sure as heck can come up with Quentin, Quincy, Quinn, Ursula, Uta, Uma, Ulrich, Xavier, Xena, Yetta, Yolanda, Yvonne, Ysidro, Ynez, Zachary, Zak, Zena, or Zelda before dipping into the Greek alphabet. (Or the Spanish numbers like Uno, Dos, etc,).

We did the full Rosh Hashonah thing for dinner last night: leftover brisket, "augmented" tzimmes (carrots, prunes, apricots added to the leftover side dish), sauteed broccolini, and roasted spuds left over from Bob's brunch. Dessert was apples, honey, and a round raisin challah Bob found at Whole Foods (their last one). Couldn't fall asleep (too much caffeine during the day, pulsatile tinnitus driving me nuts, cats on the bed making my throat tickle), so came downstairs and had a hi-fiber carb snack or two (I get those cravings when I have insomnia) while I did a crossword and took some more CBD. Slept in till 11:30, when it was cat-feeding time--but had no appetite, not even for coffee, till 3 pm (when the Bears pulled another win out of their butts). Had my leftover quiche & salad. Probably gonna have some tuna on a tomato tonight for late-ish dinner. Neither of us were up for a large steak dinner--and Gibson's Oakbrook had room only indoors. Nuh-uh. Only indoor dining I'll do is at Cellars, and only for the winemaker dinners--and if there's no other choice. (They put up a canopy 2 wks ago, just added tent walls, and will be buying torch-type heaters). When the weather makes even that untenable, it'll be back to ordering out or cooking in until late spring.

MinusTwo

Brunch was a cup of leftover watermelon. Supper was two tuna 'sandwiches' on the small Hawaiian rolls. Accompanied by not one - but two glasses of Kirkland Old Vine Zinfandel from Sonoma County. 2015 - one of the good years.

Eric - be still my heart for the sourdough baking!!! When we can travel again, it's worth a flight to Phoenix to taste some of your bread.

Reader425

A slow easy Sunday after a long hike yesterday. Tonight's dinner was a grilled, marinated not-by-me flank steak and a Lee Bailey tomato, red onion, and black olive salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. (Also added shredded parm...he suggested feta). Then in a small burst of energy I also made corn cakes. (Fresh corn off the cob, yellow squash, 2 eggs, cornmeal and seasonings mixed up and sauted in olive oil. My husband was seduced by our local butcher/fishmonger shop and I was not along to restrain him so I'll be cooking for the next few days. Salmon tomorrow...

Cowgirl13

Reader, that looks really good.

For dinner tonight I had a green salad with my homemade vinaigrette (EVO and balsamic vinegar, which I'm doing pretty well with) with sliced avocado and chicken salad. I used the half of the avocado this afternoon and then put the other half in the fridge. Mistake, because the avocado was too cold to have much flavor. I have to say, I feel like it is a miracle that I can make a decent vinaigrette. So encouraging.

illimae

Yummy food pics!

Beaverntx

👍👍👍

eric95us

I found this about the hurricane names. https://www.news4jax.com/weather/2020/09/09/why-isnt-there-a-q-hurricane-name/

I can remember, as a radio operator, when the typewriter had the original and 5 carbons, it got hard to tell QO and UV apart on the deeper copies...so maybe someone else had the same problem. :-)

SpecialK

cowgirl - I recognize a Cali avocado! Your salad looks yum!

Dinner last night was nothing for me initially, but some broccoli salad later, made a stir fry of shredded beef, onion, cabbage, and julienned carrot atop ramen noodles with most of the cooking water poured off for DH.

MinusTwo

Nourishment after my 4 mile walk this morning was 2 hard boiled eggs. Supper was fried rice with celery, mushrooms, onion, broccoli, leftover rotisserie chicken - and of course rice - with low sodium soy sauce.

Looks like the storm is dimishing.

SpecialK

DH had his first day back to half day work from home. Seemed to go well. He likes the commute, lol! Dinner last night was pork chops, baby red potatoes with parsley and butter, and aforementioned broccoli salad.

Going to DD’s this afternoon to finish rehab of a bookshelf for her foyer area. It is the hutch from her old desk sitting on a bottom piece of a different color that has drawers and a lower shelf. I painted it with gray chalk paint - the predominant decor color In adjacent rooms - and we are wallpapering the inner back. Lowe’s carries a “”re-stick-able” wallpaper and we got a gray leaf pattern on white background. DH is planning to paint the exterior sills where the new windows were installed. The old windows had been painted black on the perimeters, which looked good contrasted with the house, which is white and has black shutters. The new windows are white, because black hurricane framed windows were ridiculously expensive. Our thought is to paint a black border around the window, In the recessed opening, but not the frame itself. Hope it looks decent