So...whats for dinner?

MinusTwo

Eric - I agree about appetite. It's so weird. I can walk 6 miles & never be hungry enough to eat at all. But when I sit in my recliner reading all afternoon - I'm starving.

wallycat

Eric, you have NO idea how loud this creature can be. Well, maybe you do, LOL. He sounds like a 3 year old throwing a fit in the middle of the store, heaving big tears and wailing. No joke. I feel like he'll ruin is vocal cords or something. Insane.

I miss running. We'll hit 50 but my knees don't care. Used to do 15 mile days in my 30s and my orthopedic guy said if I didn't want knee replacement in my 50s, to stop running. Maybe I should start again and find a new doctor

MinusTwo

Wally - I don't run for that very reason. But I do a reasonably fast walk - 15 minute miles. My ortho said that was much better for my knees. Edited - guess I should say 'brisk' and not fast.

ChiSandy

Lunch was avocado toast--made with fresh ripe avocado rather than guacamole; tomato, sweet onion, and cilantro topped by a Vital Farms egg. (Technically sunny-side up, but I sort of "cheat" over-easy by covering the pan and turning off the heat. The yolk begins to film over--so it's over-easy without flipping it and risking a broken yolk).

Dinner was chicken broth, mesclun salad with cherry tomatoes, the rest of that half avocado, and lemon vinaigrette; two blistered shishito peppers and a smsll portion of the leftover paella (almost no seafood or green beans remaining in it) which I heated on med-hi till it formed a soccarat. That's more like it. BTW, this was also the first paella I'd ever had there--or anywhere--without peas or peppers. The original tapas chef long ago retired, his successor decamped to his own place in the west suburbs and also retired. At this point, the only truly authentic paella I've found in the Chicago area (other than properly-made DIY) is at Little Madrid, a BYO hole-in-the-wall in Andersonville. (So BYO, in fact, that we bring our own corkscrew because theirs doesn't work well and our own Govino plastic glasses because their only glassware are large thick water goblets). But their paellas are very small. Wish I'd been able to try Cafe Iberico on LaSalle St. before the pandemic closed it almost two years ago.

carolehalston

DH finally got his chicken and dumplings last night. He had requested it for our stay at home Thanksgiving dinner but we didn't stay at home. It was delicious. I enjoyed every carb laden bite as much as he did and there is a big container of leftovers.

These "dumplings" are really home-made noodles not spooned dough. There must have been some Germans in the area of Mississippi where my mother grew up. The labor intensive part of making the dish is rolling out the dough and cutting it into pieces to drop into the bubbling chicken broth.

I never enjoyed running but do enjoy walking. Fifteen minute miles is fast, Minus. In my 40's I walked 12 minute miles and that was travelling, with the rolling hips. I enjoy walking on the street but my knees prefer walking on a treadmill or bicycling on the upright bike in the gym. The elliptical gets my heartbeat up faster than either treadmill or bike. I benefit a lot from the senior exercise classes at our YMCA that combine cardio, weights and stretching. I also do a chair yoga class that helps greatly with maintaining range of motion. We do some standing yoga poses, too.

No clue about dinner tonight.

MinusTwo

Carole - I haven't gotten back to SIlver Sneakers at the gym. Too many people here believe there's no such thing as Covid and are happy to breathe on you to prove it. Even more, I miss the chair yoga class that was held at a local hospital. Of course that hasn't started up again.

Yesterday's meal was Black-Eyed Pea Casserole with a side of spinach and two flour tortillas. A friend brought over the casserole. I do love the recipe, but she makes it really thin like soup broth, adds a lot more bulk sausage than I do and doesn't add as much green chili. Oh well, I'm thankful that someone took the trouble to make it and share it with me.

serendipity09

My son requested the spicy sausage with rigatoni and vodka sauce, but this time I'll be using Rao's instead of homemade; salad and garlic bread on the side.

ChiSandy - Cafe Iberico was my favorite. Their paella was the best. I loved their pollo a la brasa too. I used to drive down to Chicago just to go eat. Haven't done it since covid, I miss it!

Moonflwr912

Happy New year. I am slowly recovering from Covid. I tested again on day 5, last Friday and it was positive. No taste or smell issues, but had a fever til day 9. Who knows, it could have been flu and covid! Well you just never know. The runny nose and dry cough ( who'd have thunk you could have BOTH those symptoms at 1 time) my husband has shown no symptoms, except for tiredness. He had 2 shots and a booster. I did not have a booster. So hes been feeding me. He doesn't cook, but has been making the rounds of fast food places. Culvers has mashed potatoes and soups and grilled chicken, and its 2 blocks away so it got business from us. Unfortunately, it was closed early (4:00) 2x cause of staff shortages so he had to run elsewhere. Hot and sour soup actually was fantastic. Lol and the chicken and rice was great too. My blood sugar shot up from the fever and illness so i figured id just go for it. I actually made a quick supper yesterday as im feeling so much better, we had pan fried pork chop with steamed green beans. I needed something green, and salads are a no for me while suffering, um, certain side effects, LOL.

We will have my brothers Mass on Saturday, for whoever wants or can show up. Got a meal planned for after, its all set now. One of my brothers may not be there cause hes sick as of Sun. He said we should postpone, but, um, no. Church, musicians, food, etc already paid for, 4 days is too late to cancel. However hes got 2 +boost so maybe hell be ok. Just want it over.

We havent had our Christmas with the family either. Thats planned for the following Saturday. Heres hoping, fingers crossed. If we have to move it again, well drop off or mail all the presents ( in the middle of our living room yet) and just go from there. This means tree and all are going to be up and extra week. We usually take them diwn the weekend after Epiphany, Jan 6th. LOL

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, MUCH LOVE!

ChiSandy

Monica, so sorry to hear you're still sick. Unfortunately, it is quite possible to have both flu and COVID at the same time. There's a strain of flu going around that isn't one of the four in this season's vaccine. The lack of smell & taste issues suggests Omicron rather than Delta, but the fever sounds flu-ish (as does the "issues" you mentioned). Feel better soon. Hot & sour soup was the only thing that got me through the laryngitis that came with my whooping cough in Dec. 2019. The chicken broth in it breaks up the secretions and the white pepper, vinegar & chili oil are counterirritants. By all means steam your veggies (even canned or frozen).

Well, no Chez Joel takeout for us tonight--they're closed till 1/11 (nearby UIC is not back in session, so their customer base is staying home). We'll be walking to Regalia instead, as tonight will likely be the last night till Sat. that walking will be tolerable. Bob's off tomorrow night, so we'll likely supplement tonight's leftovers with a small steak &/or veg.

carolehalston

Moon, sorry that you've been ill with Covid and possibly with the flu, too. Hoping your dh continues to avoid getting sick.

Last night's dinner featured a vegetarian skillet recipe from Allrecipes called Winter Vegetables Hash. Ingredients were potatoes, butternut squash, mushrooms, bell pepper, spinach and seasonings. Also butter and olive oil at the beginning. I made some substitutions such as using spinach instead of chopped kale. It was quite good. Side was a romaine salad.

Tonight will be warmed up chicken and dumplings.

SpecialK

carole - I think we had the conversation long ago about the chicken and dumplings that are not really classic dumplings. My MIL grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country (Lancaster, PA) and made what she called chicken pot pie, that was not a pie, but rather a chicken stew situation with large flat square noodles, maybe 3-4" squares. Is that what your dish is? I looked at the recipe for Winter Vegetable Hash - looks yummy! I was considering doing the squash and potato in the oven and then adding them to the cooked mushrooms and kale/spinach. I wonder how that would be?

Last night was dog meal prep, DD salad making, and DH had leftover soup made from a ham bone, potatoes, carrots chicken broth, canned coconut milk, onion, turmeric, and frozen peas. It was very good - I also made him a little sandwich to go along with it. For DD I made a rice salad (Rice-A-Roni based) with chicken, artichoke hearts, red bell pepper, scallion, and a creamy dressing (mayo, thinned with some bottled vinaigrette, and curry powder), topped with chopped cashews, and a straight up 3-bean salad - she loves both of those - I used to make them for her when she was involved with dolphin and sea lion training for the US Navy and had to go out to the pens and stay there for the day - had to take her food with her.

Tonight I am pretty sure I am making stuffed zucchini - plan to use chicken Italian sausage, some added veggies, and DF mozzarella. I used to make them all the time but somehow they fell out of the repertoire.

ChiSandy

Those chicken & dumplings recipes are quite similar to what Cook's Country (or was it ATK?) did a couple of years ago--with the dough cut into elongated "diamond" shapes.

Bob couldn't pick up from Chez Joel because it's closed during the nearby UIC's winter break (with faculty & staff making up most of their patrons). So we walked to Regalia...because we could. We started by sharing the egg-battered artichokes piccata; then spaghetti cacio e pepe and a house salad. For the mains, Bob had a sauteed whole branzino with spinach and I had the spatchcocked whole roast chicken with peppers & mushrooms instead of potatoes. Since Bob had only a Costco hot dog (in his car) for lunch--as his standby Pompeii is closed this week--he polished off his plate. I ate a dark quarter of my chicken plus the veg, so we will split 3/4 of a chicken tonight--and I will spiralize a zucchini over which to pour the sauce. I'll also pan-toast the remaining paella so Bob can have a starch. And we will start with a Caprese of heirloom tomato, mozzarella and my windowsill basil. Staying put tonight because the polar vortex will be doing its thing overnight--time to put the faucets on dribble.

Betrayal

Live about an hour from Pennsylvania Dutch "Amish" country so we can purchase Pennsylvania Dutch (brand name) pot pie noodles which are square. Used to be "bot boi" noodles on packaging but they seem to have Americanized the spelling. If you order this meal in a Pennsylvania Dutch restaurant they include sliced carrots, and celery along with the chicken and noodles. They are filling so a "stick to the ribs" meal that the Amish favor since they do heavy manual labor. They still plow their fields using draft horses and I love to drive out there in March to see the early prep of their fields. Some of the restaurants used to do family style serving where you were assigned to a table, they just kept bringing Amish style foods and you ate until you burst. Definitely not low carb meals and my favorite is apfle und schnitz which is dried apples cooked with homemade dumplings. My Mom used to make this for dinner when my Dad worked 4-12 shift since he did not consider this a meal but with milk over it, it was a complete meal and one we looked forward to for dinner. Never did find her recipe which was a huge disappointment and ones I have found, including in Pennsylvania Dutch recipe books, are just not it.

Pre-Covid there was a German festival held every summer where we could gorge ourselves at the Mennonite church sponsored tent restaurant and eat all of our favorite dinner foods followed by milk tart or shoo fly pie for dessert. We usually ate the milk tart and purchased a wet bottom shoo fly pie to take home. Bought my DD and DSIL a "happy cake (also a pie)" one year and my DS's dog counter surfed it and ate half managing to get the heavy saran wrapper off. DD had been instructed to pick it up early but delayed and Boomer had a field day. Needless to say "he was happy" with it. I need to go to the Amish countryside to have a good meal and some fresh air.

ChiSandy

Paradox; "Hsppy cake"=pie; "Boston Cream Pie"=cake!

The bakery on the corner, "Edge of Sweetness," is closed 1/1-12 ostensibly (so the sign says) so that "the staff can enjoy an extended holiday with their families." I think the truth is a bit more ominous: the owner is an ER nurse, and she's probably been pressed back into service, as she was in spring 2020.

Moonflwr912

2022 isn't starting off that great. I did this to myself.

Ok, heres the big reveal.

Ready?

Picture is This morning, Jan 5th,

2 days ago,

I got out of bed.

Walking to the bathroom, about 6 feet or so from the end of the bed.

Floor is perfectly clear,

No cat around

And I trip. On,

No kidding,

On

My

Own

CANE.

Which is still in my OWN HAND.

Almost go splat, but somehow manage to stay upright.

Then I proceed to the bathroom cursing myself, and limping, because it MF HURTS.

THE END.

Hope you've all enjoyed this little trip into my life...

Dinner was Culvers again. LOL

carolehalston

SK, I think your cooking method would work fine.

Sandy, I remember that chicken and noodles (slicks) recipe on ATK or Cook's. Nance has cooked the dish. She may chime in.

DH and I finished off the chicken and dumplings last night and the scale reflects my carb indulgence. Morning tv was full of lines of people picking up King Cakes from a famous bakery in NO and I asked dh to please not bring one home. Every supermarket will have stacks of them from now until Easter Sunday. We love the "filled" ones with goey cream cheese and berry jams. I can resist the plain version with cinnamon flavoring.

Moon, your post brought to mind "an accident waiting to happen." Ouch on the bruised foot.

illimae

We're at the cabin for two weeks, so dinners will be easy. We've precooked chicken breasts, ham & beans, veggie sides, turmeric cauliflower steaks and soup. Planning pork chops and fajitas next week and I brought some quick and easy stuff, like boca “burgers", vegetarian fried chicken patties and sandwich fixins'.

The weather here is great. It's currently 54 degrees but feels warmer, low humidity and bright sun.

wallycat

Oh Moon, I do hope you'll feel better soon...between the foot and the resp. stuff...blech. Gotta say how much I miss Culvers! Kopps was THE best custard...EVER.

We ended up having frozen burgers with the last of the leftover carbonara and some broccoli. The cod did not thaw enough. We'll have it tonight with the leftover broccoli.

We're having a heat-wave here, LOL. All my snow is gone...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!

MinusTwo

Moon - so sorry about your foot. Hope it's only a bruise.

Mae - what a gorgeous view. You can see forever.

Special - the 'rice-a-roni' salad sounds interesting. Where & when I was growing up, salad was never pasta or rice - only greens w/a tomato added. If my Dad was out of town, maybe something like carrots & raisins or a pear half with mayo on a lettuce leaf. Potato salad was an occasional exception. Oh - and the ubiquitous molded jello salads with fruit - at least twice a week.

M0mmyof3

Thinking of making the stuffed Chicken breasts tonight

auntienance

Yep - much of my adult cooking life has been spent trying to replicate my great grandmother's dumplings. I have finally gotten close to it or at least as close as I'm likely to get. She never measured anything, much less wrote any recipe down. They are definitely a carb indulgence that "stick to your ribs" and are more doughy (similar to Cracker Barrel's) than a traditional flat noodle. The Pennsylvania dutch ones may be somewhere in between. And now I'm going to have to make some.

The area we moved from last year has a very large Amish and Mennonite community. Walmart even built a covered "buggy port" for the horses and most businesses in town have a hitching post. No restaurants but they often take baked goods to local farmer's markets and fairs. I found them to be mostly too sweet. I used to buy fresh chickens and honey from one of the local Amish farmers. You ordered them ahead of time and drove out to pick them up the day they butchered.

Tuesday night's dinner was senate bean soup. Last night was a choucroute garnie using some bratwurst, kielbasa and country style ribs. It was delicious though the bratwurst was sort of lacking in flavor I thought. Next time I'll try a different type of sausage. Definitely into cold weather cooking now.

Tonight I think it's going to be chicken cacciatore. I have a few mushrooms languishing in the fridge that need using. Sides will be a tiny bit of pasta and a small salad.

Monica - are you sure nothing's broken? When I broke my toe, it looked much like yours. Big ouch!

Betrayal

Wish I could find a filled King cake in this area. Local bakery only makes the dry as dust ones (cinnamon) so the one we ate in NO and then brought one home is what I really want.

Moon: hope your foot heals quickly. Try arnica on the bruise, it does work.

eric95us

Ouch, Moon. No breaks, I hope.

That is an awesome view, Illimae.

I have less than zero energy today, so I'm alternating between reading a book and reading on the computer screen. I got my hair cut yesterday, so maybe that's the problem. :-)

carolehalston

View envy from looking at Illimae's beautiful photo.

LOL at your lack of energy, Eric.

ChiSandy

Ouch, Monica! Hope it's only a bruise. At-home accidents seem to be due to embarrassingly incongruous causes. In late Oct., I broke a toe as I was using my Rollator walker and was wearing sandals indoord. (I had a really bad back sprain, and the walker not only helped me get around but the seat held stuff like my food plate & coffee cup). I stopped short to avoid running into an Amazon box (which my cats had moved themselves!) and my foot rammed into one of the walker's rear wheels. On July 4, I opened my fridge door and a bottle of wine fell out onto my shin; it didn't spill or break, but left a nasty bruise and goose-egg. And a couple of years ago, I was climbing my carpeted inside stairs while wearing backless sherpa-lined clogs. I hadn't realized when I reached the top step that one had fallen off--the lining felt like carpet. When I got to the wooden second floor, the height discrepancy between legs threw me off-balance and I fell forward, breaking my fall with my L hand and tearing my TFCC (wrist cartilage). 2 months later, as I was en route in the hospital corridor to my orthopedic clinic for another cortisone shot, my rubber-soled shoe "caught" on the terazzo floor and down I went--breaking my R elbow & L scaphoid (inner palm) bone, not to mention my cheap Zenni glasses that flew off my face, cracking one of the temples off.

Dinner tonight will be a ribeye (on the stovetop in cast iron--too cold to grill outdoors), sauteed mushrooms, roasted Brussels sprouts, and another Caprese salad.

wallycat

Our cod turned out just so-so. Not sure if it was "old" when we bought it..."open nature" from safeway and we thought it would be great. I used Illimae's linked recipe. Not bad, just not as amazing as the last time we made it. It couldn't have been too bad as we ate a very healthy amount. We have a small amount left and I think I will make a rice "mac & cheese" base and flake the leftovers into the cheese sauce with the leftover broccoli for tomorrow.

I'm having a small pour of bourbon. I want to love bourbon. Maybe with current prices, I should stop trying, LOL.

Sandy, YIKES. Glad you survived it all. The worst experience (well, second worse) was when we lived in WI and DH fell down a flight of stairs, trying not to wake me so the lights were off, and he landed on the marble bottom. I had ear plugs in (he snores) and still heard a thud so loud it frightened me. I'm glad I took the plugs out and walked down...he was paralyzed but speaking. I called 911. By the time he got to the hospital, any paralysis was gone (thankfully). Scans showed nothing. He was never on any meds and the doctors did not believe him. I had to mention the doc I worked with at the time, and they sped things along (sad commentary that you need to "know" someone...so I envy you, Sandy...'cause you KNOW a lot of people!) and by 5am, we were released. Worse than the time his ladder broke while he was patching our roof and slid down the shingle/asphalt-stuff. No bad accidents in WA...either of us...yet.

MinusTwo

Eric - love the Sampson reference. Glad to hear you're taking a lazy day.

Dinner was leftover turkey tenderloin and mashed potatoes with Trader Joe's turkey gravy. I'm thinking tomorrow I'll make a quiche. Or fried rice. Something to use up fresh mushrooms, celery, onion and the last tiny bit of the turkey (at least the half that i didn't freeze earlier this week).

ChiSandy

Wally, I'm not well-connected enough to "jump the line" when it comes to my health care, as those I "know" (Bob's colleagues) are not in either of my own health systems. So any strings I try to pull many well result in unraveling.

Dinner was a ribeye, broccolini with garlic & lemon, and sauteed mushrooms. Dessert was a square of Lindt Excellence 85% dark chocolate. But because it's so chilly in the front room, I also had a mug of chicken broth.

carolehalston

Dinner last night was a pork steak, breaded with seasoned bread crumbs, and cooked in the air fryer. Sides were romaine tossed salad and butternut squash, peeled and cubed, cooked in the microwave. Everything tasted ok and was filling.

I did the Zoom questionnaire today through my Facebook account and stopped when it came to payment. Has anyone used Zoom? It sounded a lot like WW.

What's for dinner? I think I'll search some vegetarian recipes for inspiration.

SpecialK

moon - crap, girl! Gotta stay upright! That said, I have had my share of those same type of falls (am I surrounded by a gravitational field?) One resulted in a broken ankle (2 locations) that needed 12 weeks in a non-weight bearing cast. On my right leg, so I couldn't drive. Had two teenage kids without licenses and a lot of extracurricular activities. And lived in a 3-story townhouse. Bleh! Hope it is just bruising for you, cause the other is no fun and you've had your share of no fun lately!

illimae - um...the view...spectacular!

carole - Zoom or Noom? I have lately been enjoying buying the butternut squash that is pre-cut - I hate trying to cut the whole ones, so take the lazy way out - and roasting it in the oven after tossing in olive oil, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Sometimes I add potato. Makes a quick and easy side.

eric - yes, funny Samson reference!

Yesterday was an adventure. I have two skin cancers that need(ed) MOHS removal. One that is recurrent on my wrist, and one on my face. I scheduled the appointment for yesterday with two MOHS slots so I could do both at once. When I had a MOHS on my shoulder last year I needed a Covid test prior, which was arranged by the derm office - I was just told where to go and when. Because that didn't happen this time my assumption was that with more people vaccinated - and they can see I have been fully vaxxed and boostered on my patient portal - no Covid test was necessary because not one word was said about getting a test! So, derm office called two days before this appt and said I didn't need a test for the wrist MOHS because my mask could stay on, but I did need one for the facial MOHS because the mask has to come off - the cancer is on my cheek. Arrgghhh! So, I checked CVS and Walgreen's to see if I could get a rapid test - nope - all full for the next week. Briefly considered going to the city and/or county testing sites in the park for a walk-up rapid test, but then regained sanity because there is no social distancing, likely the people in the line have symptoms, and I have been too careful, for too long, to risk that nonsense. This is Florida - where people are mask-less and silly, and don't care. So, I had the wrist done, the incision is larger than I thought it would be, goes across the entire top of the wrist - and maybe I am crazy - I watched my doc do the closure, which was fascinating. Usually these are in spots I can't see while they are being treated. I was alone in the MOHS waiting room for the first time. They had a bunch of cancellations. which would have been the perfect time to have done both... I now have an appt for a drive-thru rapid test 48 hours before my cheek MOHS, which will take place two weeks from now on the day when the wrist stitches come out. You can be damn sure I will be asking if I need another rapid test 48 hours from the cheek stitch removal appt since my mask will have to come off again for that. Sheesh!

Dinner tonight is TBD since I can't really do any slicing with a knife, the downward pressure hurts my wrist. I have some cooked Italian chicken sausage, baby bella mushrooms, and leftover marinara, so may cook some penne (chickpea - which I haven't tried yet) and call it a day.