So...whats for dinner?

Reader425

Eric bringing the cat seems significant. Keep us posted! 🐈

Illimae your soup sounded good. Glad things seem to be settling.

Special congratulations on 10 years! Indeed a milestone.

Dinner was fine (crockpot chicken barbecue and leftover potato salad and caprese tomato salad without basil due to ours being done).

But very disappointed as i tried to make an oatmeal bread from the More With Less" cookbook-- flat as a pancake. Didn't even try to salvage breadcrumbs or anything from it as it also just didn't cook right. I saw that the first yeast packet did not bubble so I tried a second one that did...a little. I'm guessing it must have been almost dead. Of course it didn't rise well either. I made that recipe many times but years ago. I will try again but any additional insight appreciated. 😩

Beaverntx

Reader, sounds like it was the yeast!

WC3

I had a coupon for free salmon so dinner was rice, broccoli, zucchini and salmon.

It was farm raised salmon which, in my opinion, tastes better than the wild caught I have tried but is extremely greasy so I poke holes in it and bake it in an improvised grilling pan and then press it to get more of the grease out.

M0mmyof3

no clue yet what to do for dinner. Might just make soup and sandwiches

SpecialK

Thanks all for the congrats!

reader - I made the Jenny Jones No Knead bread over the weekend - was also disappointed. It was beautiful but I didn't like the texture and the crust was too hard to cut through even with a serrated bread knife. DH made a channel in my bamboo cutting board so now it can't be effectively cleaned

illimae - beef and barley soup (even if beef-less) sounds really good - it is a childhood favorite of mine.

Dinner last night was tomato soup and crackers for me for me, late, and I made a cabbage/kale/steak and blue cheese salad for DH. Not sure what dinner tonight will be - I have a bunch of veggies to use, so maybe another main dish salad is on the horizon.

ChiSandy

Brunch today: low-carb (1/2 large slice of bread) BLT (with homegrown beefsteak & Green Zebra tomato slices) and a fried jumbo egg.

Chilly night dining out at Cellars yesterday--bundled up (sweater under open denim jacket while at table, topped by a zipped down vest while walking) under the tent. Indoors was pretty much deserted--had we known it would be, we might have gone in so we could hear the weekly guitarist more clearly. We shared an app of calamari fritti. Entree was gorgonzola meatloaf with mushroom gravy over mashed sweet potatoes and green beans.

If Bob gets home in time, tonight he will bring Boston Market stuff and I'll have last night's leftovers tomorrow night. If not, leftovers tonight and I'll defrost something tomorrow night and maybe order out Fri. night. He'll be staying down in Oak Lawn tomorrow & Fri. nights due to early-a.m. echo & EKG readings on Fri. & Sat. He'll come home Sat. night because he's not punching a time clock Sunday (though he does have to go in).

Beaverntx

Dinner will be leftovers from takeout last night-- chicken pad Thai for me and Human chicken with fried rice for DH.

Edited to finish the sentence, hit send instead of delete!

MinusTwo

Chicken & new red potatoes tossed in EVOO w/rosemary, salt, pepper, paprika, onion & garlic then roasted on a foil lined sheet pan at 425 degrees. Called for thighs, but I had breasts so I cut in similar sizes. Thighs would have been more moist.

Tomorrow is Lori's Salsa Chicken.

eric95us

DD's boyfriend was very nice and easygoing.....and he spoils his cat, Lucy. As expected, the dogs were curious and the cat stayed atop boyfriend's shoulders until we sat down to eat. Then Lucy was put into a closed room...and the dogs immediately lost interest. Afterwards, Lucy was brought back out and went back to "shoulder surfing". The dogs just "stole a glance now and again" but otherwise didn't push things with the cat.

Today was landscaping in 105F/40C heat. I moved around 1500 pounds/700Kg of dirt. Fortunately (for me) ET called and asked if, tomorrow, I could stop by her house and take a look at her water softener. So I'll get a day off from more dirt moving. :-)

Dinner tonight was spaghetti with canned tomato sauce with added onion, bell pepper, serrano pepper, basil, oregano, garlic and mushrooms. The mushrooms were getting a bit "old", so all of the mushrooms went into the sauce.

illimae

Feeling better today, so I made squash “veggetti” with asparagus and sautéed shrimp in a creamy parm/provolone sauce. The side was an easy Cesar salad.

MinusTwo

Oh that looks delicious Illimae. And glad you're feeling a bit better.

Eric - thanks for reporting on the boyfriend. So he's at least a keeper temporarily. Can't imagine the piles of dirt you are moving. Are you setting up raised beds?

I made Laurie's Salsa Chicken with one chicken breast. But I was running late so what I had for dinner was 2 bean burritos. Flour tortillas with shredded cheese lightly nuked then topped with the beans from the Salsa dish, sliced avocado and sour cream. I'll eat the chicken & the rest of the beans tomorrow - likely on rice.

Beaver - are you having the lovely 68/69 degree "cold" nights we're enjoying in Houston?

Beaverntx

Minus, yes to cool nights and early mornings. Our dinner tonight was similar to yours-- cheese quesadillas with salsa, advocado, and sour cream and "cowboy beans"--great minds???

Illi, looks yummy. Glad you are feeling better.

Eric, sounds like a good visit!

eric95us

I'm glad to hear you're feeing better Illimae.

I'm cleaning dirt out of landscaping gravel. I had a day off today, which didn't hurt my feelings as it was 106F/41C today Instead of shoveling gravel, I went to ET's (Evil Twin) house and took care of the water softener problem.

Now that it's cooled down to 91F/33C , I'm going to go run. It's almost 9pm and if I wait too much later, the trails close before I can get done.

ChiSandy

Ilona, you've got me drooling again!

Eric, can we split the diff between your 91F and my 48? Brrr....

Couldn't understand why I couldn't fall asleep last night, and why my pulsatile tinnitus was back as bad as ever (even more discouraging now that I know it's a congenital anomaly that can't be fixed). Went downstairs to try and tire out my brain. Normally, I'd sneak a bowl of keto cereal + grain-free granola, but I seem to have gained a pound--so no night-eating. Ah, if only I'd gone into the kitchen then--I'd have seen the little shot glass with all my bedtime meds (except the CBD & melatonin, which I took early because they take up to 2 hrs to kick in; meant to take the rest after feeding the cats, who distracted me with their finickiness). Had another couple hrs. of tossing & turning (now with a stuffy nose & itchy eyes, then a nasty calf cramp), even using the sound-generator app on my phone with AirPods. Alas, that app burns through battery life in my earbuds, so the brown noise stopped dead--and not just my audible heartbeat but Bob's snoring and his own cell blowing up with text notifications took its place. Gave in, went down for coffee and morning meds and D'OH: there were the night meds, which included the Xanax that would have made me sleepy, the magnesium & Baclofen to prevent muscle crampings, and the montelukast & Zyrtec which would have kept my nose clear and my eyes calm. Learned my lesson!

No breakfast before my mani-pedi, so when I got home I had a small tuna sandwich with lettuce, homegrown tomato & red onion. Dinner was a 2-egg (1 reg, 1 jumbo) omelet with red & green bell, jalapeno & poblano peppers and cheddar. The latter was 15-month Kerrygold, which turned out a bit too mild for my taste. Need something sharp enough to smell across the room. Topped it with a salsa cruda of homegrown cherry tomatoes, basil, Greek olive oil & flake sea salt.

Our fave neighborhood eatery, Cellars, may have to close at the end of the month after 25 years. They stayed afloat during the spring by doing takeout and getting a small business loan; then once outdoor dining was allowed in June and the weather was good, their patio was booked every night and most weekend brunch days. When indoor dining at 25% capacity became permitted, they did get some indoor patrons (especially when it was rainy or the bees were table-hopping), but they never hit 25% except at the winemaker dinners. Today, the city began allowing 60% capacity, which would let them accommodate 40 patrons; but the owners warned that if not enough people feel comfy to dine in (or they don't get the tons of takeout orders they had all spring), and if the four winemaker dinner seatings (two nights per week in mid-Oct.) don't sell out, Halloween will be their "last hurrah." I had that sandwich too late today to order out for dinner before closing, but I will order tomorrow night. (Probably the bourbon salmon with veg., wedge salad and soup du jour--it'll be just me, as Bob's down in Oak Lawn till Sat. night). He probably got the same e-mail and is just as bummed out as I am. They're the only place I trust to be safe dining indoors (we've done it twice for weather reasons, but the room was safely but distressingly empty. That "last hurrah" will feel more like a wake. We've held celebrations (birthdays, anniversaries, even funeral repasts) there ever since it opened. Half our cellar came from those winemaker dinners. I need to rethink my trepidation about dining inside there: the staff is in there for hours day in & day out; and Bob eats in the hospitals' doctors' lounges (he also reports seeing SW side Mexican restaurants crammed to overflowing, in defiance of state law. (Seems like all the enforcement is here on the N. Side). The owners have become our friends in every sense of the word.

carolehalston

Dinner last night was chips and salsa for dh and peanuts for me. We arrived home about 4 pm and agreed to delay unloading the cargo trailer. DH went for ice since the ice maker had been turned off all summer. We had our cocktails and then our dinner/snacks. Lunch was a burger and fries so we weren't starving.

It's good to be home but there's much to be done, including grocery shopping.

I wish this "cool spell" would last.

MinusTwo

Carole - welcome back to the South. Yes, isn't this cool spell marvelous. Don't rush with the unpacking. You have all winter. Take some time to just enjoy the unusual weather.

Have to do something with a bag of spinach today before it totally turns, and a cucumber, and some leftover black beans. Thinking about sauteing the spinach with onion & garlic, tossing in the beans & serving on top of a bag of leftover "Ancient Grains" from the freezer. Maybe some sour cream? And the cucumber??? It could be a really strange dinner.

SpecialK

chisandy - I hope Cellars can hang on - I feel like I’ve been there as I’ve read your posts.

I am enjoying a slightly cooler stint here in FL, weighed myself and was unhappy with what I saw, so have walked the last four days in a row, inspired by minus - 5 miles - and rededicated myself to cleaner and more restrictive eating. I already feel better.

minus - do you have any tortillas, tomato sauce, and cheese? You could do spinach and black bean enchiladas, and the cucumber salad with sour cream and vinegar.

MinusTwo

special - I do have tortillas but the left over black beans are from enchiladas/burritos so I wanted to do something a little different. Also I just finished polishing off a cucumber/sour cream/tarragon vinegar/dill salad. Thinking I can save the cucumber for one more day and add to fried rice tomorrow. This has gotten to be a contest between me & what ever I have on hand. It's been 14 days since my last grocery store run, but this is the last of my fresh green stuff so I'll have to go by mid week.

Good for you with the walking. The cooler weather really helps with momentum. How far is it to DD's house?

M0mmyof3

Woke up to about 40 degrees outside this morning. Tonight I made Sloppy Joes since Hubby pointed out that we hadn’t had them in a long while. Got enough left over for another night.

eric95us

I just finished a large batch of black beans in the pressure cooker and a batch of brown rice in the sauce pan. The, sourdough is rising in the "light is on, but otherwise off" oven and we are using the microwave oven as a safe place for the thawing salmon.

Minus, I don't think it's that strange of a dinner you were talking about. I'm thinking of putting the salmon on a bed of rice and then, to go with the rice and salmon, make a salsa with the beans and some corn. I've been freezer diving and we've been trying to use up the multiple partially full bags of frozen vegetables. Today I found several bags of frozen corn and between them all, there was one cup of corn. The corn looks "unhurt" by the however long time it spent in the freezer, so it's going to get used. I also found a little bit of frozen mango, so that may also go into the salsa.

I'm laughing, M0mmy, I saw the 40 degrees reference and had to remember where you were from before I decided if that was Fahrenheit or Centigrade degrees. I guess that's a "symptom" of living in Phoenix. :-) It was 106F yesterday and hotter where we live.

I hope Cellars can hang on, too. It has to be hard for the owners to watch their dream founder, especially after 25 years of success.

auntienance

Cool here too. Didn’t get over 55 today and tomorrow night is supposed to dip to 34 - yikes! Time for the orchids to come inside. We saw what we think is the last hummingbird two days ago. I’ll leave the feeder up for a week or so just in case.

Glad you are home safe and sound Carole. I hate the unpacking though, even though I’m always happy to sleep in my bed.

Sandy, I’m sorry about Cellars too. I always enjoy your descriptions of the wonderful meals you get there. I hope they can hang on.

There has been food here if not very exciting. Chicken pot pies last night. But tonight is good old canned tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It’s been drizzlly and cold all day and I’m suffering from my usual change of season allergy issues. That old stand by is what sounds good.

M0mmyof3

Eric, glad I could give you a chuckle. It only got to about 63F here today. Going to start bringing down some more clothes for the cooler temps from my attic since it seems like Fall has finally arrived here.

SpecialK

We are still humid here and in the 80's forthe most part. Humidity level makes it feel very different at 80 F than it does at 90 F though. I did wear a tank top to walk yesterday and underestimated my exposure enough to get a little pink. Naughty!

minus - DD is 14 miles away - not walking that far, lol! She was very excited to be equidistant to her horse, the waters she fishes in, and our house.

I put a chuck roast I found in the freezer in the crockpot this morning with sliced mushrooms, sliced onion, mushroom soup, and French onion soup. I ate it with just the sautéed zucchini, but DH got mashed potatoes too.

illimae

Tonight will be a 1/2 pork roast sandwich. I had a leftover Baja fish taco around noon and a celery with peanut butter at 5 but I’m still not really hungry now, so just nibbling for dinner.

Might snack on a slice of cucumber, it sounds pretty good right now, thanks minus

ChiSandy

Bob will still get home too late for dinner tonight, and so I will order out from Cellars again. Last night was leftover salmon over sweet potato slices & julienned veggies (I was too full to eat the other half of my wedge salad, so that'll be my first course tonight). Will get a pasta for Bob and probably chicken piccata for me (getting a second veg instead of the mashed potatoes it comes with). I'd rather have fried calamari, but I've gained 1.5 pounds and my weigh-in is on the 22d, so I have to cut way back on carbs (and my night snacking is definitely a problem). I still don't feel comfy dining indoors there alone, and it will be in the very low 50s, maybe even 40s, for dinner time.

Besides, I don't want anyone to see me sans mask (which I'd have to remove to eat)--my cat Happy nipped my face yesterday (I wasn't paying enough attention to him while he was on my chest & purring, so he got angry). After the appropriate first aid (this has happened before), I went to Immediate Care and am now sporting three little "spot" Band-Aids. On antibiotics for the next 4 days too.

M0mmyof3

Had a late lunch today so it's soup and sandwiches tonight

illimae

DH didn’t want to do anything for his birthday, so I tried a new recipe, it turned out great. Spinach and Feta stuffed chicken with roasted rainbow carrots and red potatoes.

MinusTwo

Mae - looks delicious.

I had more chicken to process tonight. There really isn't any substitute for Campbell's Mushroom Soup (or celery or chicken). Plain cream is too thin. Decent white sauce is thicker than I wanted. I made the Mushroom soup in a pan so I'd the leftover of that too. Chicken chunks, mushroom soup, green peas and mushrooms - served over Ancient Grains. I love this Ancient Grains mix - a delicious combination of rice, Bulgur wheat, Barley, Wheat Berries, Red Rice, Oats & Quinoa from Italy.

WC3

I envy all of you who have conventionally cool falls. Fall here is the hottest time of the year. We get in to triple digits in some parts and the kicker is, the clothing stores still break out the jackets and sweaters. And when it does cool off in mid November it's not a subtle transition. It will fluctuate between hot and cold for a week and then stay cold. I find myself in the strange position of having the gas company do a heater check when it's 95F because if I call a week later when it's dropping in to the 40s at night they will be booked up until January.

Dinner was chicken noodle soup from the market cold case, zucchini, and an orange.

carolehalston

Last night was salmon fillets cooked at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes. This recipe calls for the salmon to be cooked with a topping of yogurt, mustard, and dill. I had to substitute sour cream and liked it better. DH is not a salmon fan but doesn't complain when I cook it occasionally. The side was cauliflower mash.

Saturday night was fried catfish with multi-color small carrots and a romaine salad.

Looks like we got home in time for another hurricane.