So...whats for dinner?

Beaverntx

Dinner tonight was a continuation of t-giving jump ups. Now down to a bit of cranberry sauce and a fair amount of Turkey breast--at least two or three meals worth. Time to get creative!

Forecast is for a hard freeze tonight; highs in the 80s last week, more likely the 50s this week. Wardrobe transformation, anyone?

WC3

Dinner was a big bowl of broccoli, some baby golden potatoes with margarine, sour cream, and a bit of ketchup, a turkey drumstick and some strawberries.

carolehalston

DH made a huge pot of chili with pinto beans cooked from scratch and ground beef. We had bowls of chili and a chopped salad with mayo dressing.

Tonight we will mix some pasta with some chili for a variation. Winter comfort food.

We had frost this morning and the furnace is humming away, keeping us warm and snug. The sun is shining.

ChiSandy

Last night I had just put the turkey carcass (with one slab of white meat clinging to it) into the freezer and started reheating some turkey scraps, gravy, yams & brussels sprouts when Bob called and said he'd be home for an 8pm dinner (after first telling me it'd be a late night due to office hrs.). So I went to the basement and hauled up his leftover steak, added a couple oz. of my leftover ribeye, my steakhouse potatoes (he'd eaten all his at the restaurant Sat.), asparagus and half the lobster mac & cheese. Tonight--usually an early day due to it being a clinic-only day--he was supposed to order and pick up from Everest (scallops with cabbage, tenderloin with oxtail sauce & corn, and Alsatian cheesecake). Well, good thing I didn't call ahead to order--he's going back into the hospital (sigh)--he's taking every cardiology consult he can get to keep the practice afloat so his partner (who as an internist doesn't do cardiology) won't have to dip into her retirement savings. Sigh.

So I'll have a salad, whatever pre-existing raw asparagus are still edible, my leftover steak and his leftover lobster mac & cheese. He says he'll get his own dinner at the hospital or a drive-thru en route home. A satsuma or two for dessert.

Brunch was a small tuna salad sandwich on low-carb bread with lettuce, tomato & red onion.

Beaverntx

Had my new permanent 3 teeth bridge "seated" today and mouth is tender so soup for dinner. Made tortilla soup using turkey instead of chicken, turned out to be tasty and filling. Applesauce for dessert. Should be able to bite down comfortably soon and found a good way to use some of the leftover turkey!

CeliaC

Beaverntx - Congrats on getting your bridge. Hope it works out well for you.

I received my single tooth one last Weds. I thought it would be "affixed" to the adjacent teeth, but it is one that you pop in, rinse off after eating, clean in polident and remove overnight. I wore it for 6 hours on Weds before it started bothering my gums. Cosmetically, not quite what I expected to fill the gap from tooth that was removed. Not wearing everyday since not going anywhere. Oh well, it was only $1,300 as opposed to going through the lengthy & much more costly implant process.

Finally used up TG ham leftovers yesterday. Just had some mac-n-cheese with shrooms for dinner. Shrimp were thawing in the fridge, but still too frozen to use & did not want to "quick thaw" in cold water. Will whip up something with these tomorrow & eat more vegs.

eric95us

We were out for a walk in a undeveloped city park (wilderness flood control channel) and a cat followed Sharon and I for more than a mile. He got in the car.

He's quite friendly, wary but not scared of the dogs, extremely clean and was excited when he saw an unopened can of cat food...and even more excited to see it when it was open.

Tomorrow we will go to the vet to see if he has a "chip". If yes, getting him home would be the best.

If not, we will have a cat....or a cat will have us. :-)

He is a tan domestic short hair cat with a white "dress shirt" and white paws.

carolehalston

Last night's dinner was ho hum. Thawed a package of cooked linguine and heated with some of the leftover chili. Salad was very nice, though. Butter lettuce with avocado, blue cheese and home-made blue cheese vinaigrette.

eric95us

"Kitty" has been reunited with his family. The lady who came by to get him said her 7 year old daughter has been extremely upset about it and that this would "make her day". :-)

MinusTwo

Eric - such a great ending. Thanks for following through with the cat. So many people don't.

Not sure about tonight. Basically lazy so it will likely be 'jump ups'. There's always plenty of those when cooking for one. Tomorrow will be the chicken Florentine recipe that I adapted to shrimp previously.

auntienance

Awww, Eric - glad Kitty found hisfamily but was secretly hoping for you 😊

Tonight is Kirkland lasagna and garlic bread courtesy of Costco. Still feverishly painting trying to get it all done before next week’s packing marathon.

Reader425

Tonight was the meatloaf recipe I made for our first date where I cooked dinner for DH. He was delighted and said "are you still trying to catch me?" Caught him and think I'll keep him.

With the meatloaf I made macaroni and cheese in the crockpot (first time doing that) and baked scalloped tomatos I needed to use up.

To support the above I need to reinvigorate my Leslie Sansone walking routine.

Eric glad for the happy ending, but was also rooting for you and your wife getting a new furry child.

illimae

Big salad night. So good but I often forget, gonna have to make this a weekly thing. You can’t see it all here but it’s 3 kinds of lettuce, green and red cabbage, red onion, green onions, radishes, cucumber, cheddar, chickpeas and grilled chicken.

MinusTwo

Mae - looks delicious. I'll have to remember to toss in chickpeas.

eric95us

The cat was what I call a "love slut". I'd go into the room where we were letting him relax and he'd come out of his hiding place in the closet to rub against my leg. When I'd sit down in the chair, he'd jump up into my lap and settle in place for ear rubs and if I laid on the bed, he'd lay next to me for ear rubs. If I didn't pay sufficient attention to him, he'd start tapping my hand and if that didn't work, he'd start kneading with his paws...and if that didn't work, the kneading included claws. :-)

Dinner tonight was the vegetable soup I froze as leftovers from my last 8 quart batch of soup. And, rising in the oven is sourdough. I didn't get started on the sourdough until after noon and then the day kind of went every which way, so I'm a bit behind on that.

DD had her car in the shop and it was done earlier than expected. DD had tested positive for Covid a couple of days ago, her boyfriend is in California and no one wanted to give her a ride to the car shop. She says her symptoms are being a bit more tired than usual and a runny nose; nothing else. Anyway, I and a friend went to get her car and drop it off at her apartment. At the same time, Sharon was driving her mom to the doctor to see about dealing with kidney stones (3, all around 1/2cm in size and causing her quite a bit of pain). Her mom's car wouldn't start, so she had to figure out how to get her mom (barely mobile) into the 4WD 1 ton pickup truck that has the camper on it. They managed, but the doctor said "no extra people in the office" so Sharon went home and when she returned to pick her mom up, she brought a step stool. Sharon said that the stool made things easier...not easy, just easier....

That salad looks good, Illimae. I think we have most of that in the refrigerator or pantry....maybe something like that for lunch tomorrow

It's been a bit cooler here (high in the upper 50F degree range) with 25-35mph winds. So, there is a good chance that we will make a pumpkin soup tomorrow. It's quite rich, very filling and really warms one up.

illimae

Love slut, lol

ChiSandy

Both my kitties are love sluts. Happy gets insanely jealous of anything or anyone that diverts my attention from nuzzling and petting him: Saturday, he threw up on my acrostic puzzle book (but only on the front page, nowhere near the puzzles); today, during a Zoom rehearsal for a Bar Show number, he kept walking across my lap, hogging the camera.

Had a (hopefully) uneventful mammo today--had to redo one view because of a slight motion artifact. But because I'm back to routine annual screening rather than diagnostic, I got sent home rather than waiting for a radiologist to read the films. Fingers crossed there's nothing in my patient portal inbox in the next couple of days--back in 2015 (my last "routine screener") the tech said I should get a "letter" in a week, but the very next morning there was a message in my inbox that there was a "focal asymmetry" in my R breast, which led to ultrasound & then biopsy...and here I am 5 years down the line. I shouldn't have, but for old times' sake I stopped in at Hoosier Mama Pies and got a slice each of passionfruit meringue and dark chocolate cream to go--it was my go-to after the biopsy and each radiation session back in the day--but had only a sliver of each for dessert tonight. I can't believe I used to be able to eat a full slice and want more.

For dinner, we ordered out from Wing Hoe, an old-school Cantonese-American joint (reminiscent of those of my Brooklyn youth) in an old mansion that will be closing Dec. 12. Not due to the pandemic--in fact, for the past few years they've done mostly takeout and have been busy "A.F." since the shutdowns began--but because the elderly owner has been at it for 40 years, and the offer he got from a developer for the mansion & parking lot was just too big to turn down. Sigh--it won't be Christmas Eve (those of you here who are "members of" my "tribe" know what I'm talking about) without them.

We had all the stuff I normally shouldn't eat (I took a starch blocker): wonton soup (Bob's hot & sour was way too cornstarch-thickened for me, and I ate only one wonton); a puu puu platter (sparerib, crab Rangoon, fried shrimp, egg roll--I didn't eat the Rangoon nor the shrimp), char siu pork (sauce on the side), shrimp kow in white sauce, and yang chow fried rice (a couple of Tbs. did it for me). Enough leftovers for tomorrow.

carolehalston

I cooked chicken and sausage gumbo yesterday and it turned out delicious. The brown rice turned out just right, too. I had some home-cooked okra and tomatoes and andouille sausage in the freezer.

I like to add gumbo file to the pot the way my mother did, but dh likes adding it to the bowl so we do it his way.

The scalloped tomatoes sounds interesting. Details?

It's mustard greens season. I may go to the nearby produce stand today.

Betrayal

I had mustard greens for the first time in New Orleans at the USO lunch show in the WWII museum and fell madly in love with them. They were between slices of the pork roast they served. I asked what they were and expressed how good they tasted to the waiter. The waiter told the chef and he sent out a generous portion to me. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find them in PA and wish I could. Now I can find all the collard greens and kale anyone would want but I don't have a taste for either. So I envy you being able to find them locally.

ChiSandy

"The girls" are good to go for another year--got the "all clear, see you next year" mammo form letter in my patient portal inbox this morning.

Leftover Chinese food tonight--early dinner, as Bob has echo-readings at zero-dark-thirty tomorrow.

eric95us

That's great news Sandy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

illimae

Tonight is 1/2 a grilled NY Strip with creamy garlic Brussels sprouts, roasted carrots and garlic bread from leftover rolls. It’s delicious and my 1st time grilling this year. I’m the griller here (DH can get distracted and overcook). I missed it but couldn’t grill when I couldn’t eat, too sad for me.

Beaverntx

illi, I am intrigued by your creamy garlic brussel sprouts. Could you share your recipe?

Our dinner was the next to last of the turkey, smashed yellow potatoes with gravy, green beans with lemon oil and vinegar, and the last bit of cranberry sauces. Kinda like T-giving but not so close as to be totally boring! Have cubed the last of the turkey breast, topped with bbq sauce and will fix with mac and cheese tomorrow. Getting comfort food in before it warms back into the 70s next week

Lacey12

Illimae, I don’t think that it’s just because I rarely eat beef, but....BOY! Does that look delicious! It would have been tough to go through a non-eating period when you make such delectable meals. Happy for you that you are back at the table....and beside the grill!

Special, thank you for the recipe for the potato patties! Last night we had fresh baked cod, butternut squash, salad, and I finally used the remaining mashed potatoes from T-giv to make “your” potato patties. DH was delighted and I managed to scarf down a few myself. It’s probably a good thing that white potatoes rarely make an appearance in this house. They were good!

I have been busy (preoccupied!) making masks for my sister’s school. She works in a small rural town in VT, which has finally been catching up with everyone else in terms of positive Covid cases. Her school has in-person learning, and she recently expressed concern about the masks the students wear are woefully inadequate for safe daily wear. I know she is worried about her exposure to Covid, especially since she lives alone and is in her late 60s. So, given that she is a very independent gal who never asks for help, I decided that I would “gift” her with a bunch of kid masks that she could give to their school nurse for the neediest kids there. I’m hoping it might “prime the pump” for the town to start a little “sewist brigade” to keep the masks in supply for as long as they are needed. Our town here has so many people making masks that any time there is a need in the schools or town agencies, and beyond, in MA, those needs are met pretty quickly. Once again the ongoing inequity in our country becomes evident, sadly.

We’ve been eating kale soup a lot this week, and ALMOST had a week’s worth of turkey rice soup. DH is moving into a new sphere....deciding that he can not only shop for groceries....but can try to cook them too! Yay! Except, after making a lovely turkey broth with the T-giv carcass, he made a soup that smelled delish and he was quite proud of....until he decided to add rice. When he went back to the kitchen to check on it, it was no longer soup but thick turkey rice porridge. Unfortunately, I don’t even like soups with rice...let alone turkey rice porridge. He managed to finish a few bowls of it over the week, but definitely decided it will NOT make it into any recipe box he starts! But definitely gets anA for spirited effort! 😉 I do love that he is, after 47 years, interested in expanding his cooking skills beyond the showy and delicious paella he makes a couple of times a year. A true secondary gain of the Covid quarantine for us. I am not even close to as productive as he has been while we’ve been hermits.

We have had such mild weather here over the past few weeks, but are expecting snow this weekend. I would be quite content if it bypassed us. Tho it sure beats drought feeding fires that the fire fatigued folks in CA are experiencing again. Do you get remnants of ash, Eric? I recall in August we had days of no sun in NH that was related to the West Coast fires. We are certainly all connected.

Reader425

Carole the baked scalloped tomatos are a loose rendition of one from The Joy of Cooking, original. I use a square, low (old pyrex) dish. Rough chop (or use 1 can) of all the tomatoes and place in the dish. In a small fry pan add about 2 tblsp. butter, a cup or 2 of panko or breadcrumbs, and about 2 tbsp of brown sugar, then salt and pepper if you use it. Stir fry until toasted then pour mixture over the tomatoes. Grate a little nutmeg over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Very forgiving on amounts and we like it.

Tonight as DH said "Dinner smelled better than it tasted." Greek chicken thighs in the crockpot. Garlic, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and broth did ver little for the flavor. And over bland couscous. The best part of the meal was the tzatziki and lavash. We use very little added salt and I'm wondering if I rinsed away all the flavor. A dud. Saving grace was it really only made one meal!

ChiSandy

Salt often makes the difference between savory and meh. Not so much salt as can be identifiable as such, but just enough to enhance underlying flavors (sometimes, even sweetness). The late Italian chef Marcella Hazan once conducted an on-camera demonstration: a blindfolded tasting of two red wines. The participants all picked the second one. Turns out, though that both were the same red, but the second of the pair was sprinkled with just a few grains of table salt (not even a pinch or dash).

We splurged and bought a black Perigord and a white Alba truffle for cooking this week. (Eataly had a sale). They keep only about a week (10 days, tops, for the black) so we will use them on anything in which we'd normally have used truffle oil & truffle salt. (Chefs hate those oils & salts because they're "spiked" with the synthetic "essences"--not actual extracts--of truffle aromas, may never have been near an actual truffle, and they claim that it blunts people's ability to appreciate the real thing. I only buy truffle oils and salts with no "truffle essence:" the salts have pieces of truffle, the oils are a base of olive in which truffle pieces were steeped). I see a lot of scrambled eggs and cauliflower risotto in my near future, maybe zoodles & whole wheat spaghetti cacio e pepe (hold the pepe). Gonna haul out the truffle shaver, which I'd only used for chocolate over the past five years. Black truffle in the scrambled eggs, white shaved over the risotto or pasta already on the plate.

Also got salmon & whitefish roes--had them with the remainder of the Mumm Napa rose bubbly we opened last night, to celebrate my uneventful mammogram. (I had mine on cucumber slices, Bob had whole wheat crackers).

carolehalston

Reader, thanks for the recipe. I have the original Joy of Cooking and the revised one, too.

Last night's dinner was enjoyed by both of us. Warmed up chili with sour cream and grated cheddar, cornbread, and a nice salad with the rest of the butter lettuce and additions like avocado and blue cheese. DH has more additions than I do.

Tonight will be the second round of chicken and sausage gumbo with a salad and probably some French bread from the nearby Piggly Wiggly.

Mustard greens, turnip greens and turnip roots are grown in the winter gardens in this area. My parents preferred mustard greens. They ate the turnip roots but my mother seldom cooked turnip greens. She never cooked collard greens, which are leathery and bitter. I tried cooking collards a couple of times and wasn't converted to liking them.

auntienance

Hooray for the uneventful mammogram Sandy! Always good to get those I can relate.

I love greens of all kinds, even collards (if they’re cooked well - something I’m unable to do .) My favorite though is a mix of different types - usually turnip, mustard and collard. Growing up we had mostly mustard and turnip from my grandfathers garden. I will eat kale if it’s mixed with others and chopped small. There is a bbq joint near here that I patronize just for their greens. Don’t know how they do it but they taste just like my grandmother’s.

One more room to paint this weekend. Don’t know what dinner will be - probably flank steak or possibly breakfast. I’ve been craving pancakes or waffles but can’t do them for breakfast because they slow me down even with a heavy insulin dose.

Hoping the decent (50s) weather holds out.

SpecialK

chisandy - yay for a normal gram! I love me some "unventful" results.

DD has my MIL's well used copy of Joy of Cooking, and it sits right next to MIL's vintage-ish KitchenAid mixer on her kitchen counter.

Dinner last night was spinach and ricotta ravioli with marinara and a ciabatta sliced horizontally and made into garlic toast in the broiler. Our turkey is gone and I put the remaining ham in the freezer for another day - we are over the T-Giv leftovers for the moment. Tonight will involve kale in some iteration, likely salad but maybe soup? We had some chilly weather earlier this week that prompted a change of sheets to the cozy fleece ones, but now back to normal for the time of year. DS arrived in CO last evening, which I am relieved about because he was hauling a big trailer and I was not relaxed about his travel. He texted me a cute pic of his truck with trailer right next to the Welcome to Colorado sign. He reports to the Army base fire station on Monday so has a few days to get things situated. He has a good friend about 25 mins away that helped him unload last night. I am sure he is relieved to be there finally, this is the culmination of a many years in the making dream of his to live there. CO is def colder than VA so he might need some kale soup...

eric95us

I made pumpkin soup last night and Sharon made enchiladas, so we have dinner set up for a few days.

Special, glad your DS made it to his destination. Maybe, to hold the kale soup, a soup tureen for a house warming gift?????

I think I'm going to take a day off from the yardwork and work on my old Jeep truck. It needs new engine mounts and I just got them in the mail a couple of days ago. On that truck, it's an easy job.