So...whats for dinner?

Lacey12

Feeling like a runaway adolescent (I wish!), but more like an old lady whose arthritic hands (avoiding typing) and irritated dry eyes making screen communications pretty frustrating and painful these days. I have yet to catch up on so many pages, new "threaders", recipes, etc. Apologies…

Today is a “white out" with the N'oreaster blowing. Looks like someone went nuts in the confectioners sugar aisle, a very dry snow! Our plow guy has already been here once and you'd never know.

I have been cooking a lot these wintery days since we never eat out anymore, and only order take out once every few weeks it seems. Since DH has developed such a fondness for grocery shopping, our (annoying new) fridge is always full. So I have no excuse to not cook. Good thing I like to! Tho some nights I feel uninspired. Right now I have a hankering for cornbread…hmmmm, better check the pantry to see if cornmeal is there. Thanks, Eric, for that recipe.

I think it was before Christmas when I last posted. We had local son and fam here for the day, along with a drop in by next door family who was heading South until they got last minute word of a Covid positive relative at their planned destination. So we enjoyed a “safely tested" group, tho I spent too much time in the kitchen.
Must avoid that in the future.
DH decided it would be fun and unique to have lobster rolls for our Christmas dinner. BUT, DDIL2 doesn't eat seafood, so we also marinated and grilled some turkey and beef tips. I would go for an easier dinner next year…but hopefully next year we will be able to return to having dinner with our friends who have hosted a lovely feast for many years at their home. This year they played it safe just having their daughters' families with their young unvaxed children.

After Christmas, we had our little toddler “force" visit us for a few overnights while her daycare was closed and parents worked. She is quite a lively 2 and 1/2 year old now, and she had lots of fun cooking with me, having “dance parties" with her Papa, and delivering treats we made to our next door neighbors. We made (ready made crust) pizza for dinner, and the next day, chocolate chip cookies. Since that first effort, she enjoys making pizza whenever she visits here. I love cooking with her since food is not a main interest in their house and yet it is with her. She is always “making food" to feed her dolls, animals, etc., and loves using any prep item she sees in my kitchen to create unique recipes to offer us. Her fave last weekend was “orange soup", made by putting all of our mandarins in the salad spinner giving it a frantic spin and imagining that it turned into soup for me to try. Children so amuse me. She is also really exhausting, so DH and I take one or two full days to recover from these visits! We are old! We have to check our “post visit" schedules carefully before inviting her for overnites.

I'll post pix of some recent dinners…tonight will be leftovers from two different chicken dinners….one was Laurie's salsa chicken with pepperjack cheese melted over it, another was a stir fry chicken. Both tasty.

Laurie's salsa chicken with orzo and “my" salad. KungPao stir fry chicken,quinoa cuke/avocadosalad

Kale soup with garbanzo beans

Had to share this….since exactly 7 years ago, my next door neighbor (now a FL snowbird!) and I decided to make a timbale for an Italian dinner while our first (of waaay too many that 2015!!) snowstorm raged. The timbale making and dinner were great fun and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Good food, wine, fun company, and the meal topped off with my anise pizzelle cookies and my neighbor's champagne infused oranges. I'll think of this fondly and with some melancholy as I view their darkened house from our kitchen window, while warming leftovers tonight.

I hope you are all staying safe and enjoying favorite meals!
Thank you, Minus, for reaching out to this thread scofflaw!

Once my eye treatments work, I'll try to catch up on all of my back thread reading so I'll know what's happening other thanthis last page.

illimae

Beautiful meals Lacey! They look delicious 🤤.

Lacey12

Illimae, thank you, tho when I see how my pix come out, I have food photo envy for yours!

I love your menu ideas for your cabin retreat.

wallycat

Lacey, those meals look dreamy!

Serendipity, I forgot to thank you for the sweet potato crust recipe; thank you!

Sandy, so sorry for covid dx. Do keep us posted on your and Bob's recovery.

I guess no one has an opinion on the Raos sauce; I'll see what they have on Monday and maybe pick a few different ones, if they are available.

I think I posted I am making refried bean nachos tonight.

auntienance

wallycat - I think most of us here are fans of Rao's. IMHO, it's about the best you can buy.

Yay Lacey! I was afraid you might be without power. Have you recovered from your concussion? Please talk abut your dry eye treatments. I'm looking for relief in that department too. Your food looks lovely!

I'm so sorry Sandy but at least you know what's going on now. Hope it's mild for you and your recovery is quick.

serendipity09

illimae - cabin life sounds awesome to me.

ChiSandy - so sorry about the + covid. Hope your symptoms are minimal.

Lacey - your meals look so good!

wallycat - I really like the vodka sauce and the marinara. My favorite is the garlic Alfredo for days that I'm feeling lazy and not wanting make my own. The tomato basil is also very good. In all honesty, all the ones that I've bought have been very good. Will not buy any other brand if I don't have too.

MinusTwo

Serendipity - by all means, please share the recipe for Jibarito's. I have never tasted them.

Woke up at 3am & couldn't go back to sleep, so I read until 7 and then slept until 10am, But in the mean time, I finished the rest of the chocolate pie in my bed at 6am. Wonder what meal I should call that?

serendipity09

Jibarito

• 2 cups oil (for frying) typically vegetable oil
• 1 plantain, peeled and halved
• 2 tbsp oil (again whatever you prefer)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 4 oz skirt steak, cut into strips
• ¼ medium onion, sliced (I prefer white onion)
• 1 pinch oregano
• 1 tbsp mayo
• 1 slice cheese, halved (typically American, but I used a variety)
• Tomato slices (about 2)
• Lettuce leaves (about 3)

1. Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil in a large skillet or a deep fryer set to 350℉ (176.67°C).
2. Place plantains in the oil and cook for one to two minutes.
3. Remove plantains from oil and set them on a paper towel to drain.
4. Place plantains between two cutting boards and press to flatten.
5. Place the plantains back in the oil and cook for another two to three minutes until golden brown.
6. Remove plantains from oil and drain again.
7. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large skillet and add the skirt steak, garlic, and spices. Stir frequently until cooked.
8. Spread mayonnaise on plantain slice, then top with steak, cheese, lettuce, and tomato, topping with the second plantain slice.

I've tried air flying the plantains, but they come out very dry.

MinusTwo

Thanks. SOunds delicious.

ChiSandy

I start Paxlovid tonight--fingers crossed. What's weird is that but for the low-grade fever & slight headache I have now, this bout of Omicron COVID feels exactly like the coughing infection I had in Dec. 2019 a week after we returned from London. Maybe I had "COVID Classic" (pre-mutations) back then?

Illimae, it's not that simple. The at-home rapid antigen tests are very accurate about positives--the only one that gave false positives was Ellume, which was pulled from the market long ago. They do have a 10-20% rate of false negatives, especially when the viral load is low. Remember, the "antigen" they look for is a viral protein, not the actual DNA of the virus itself. The reason PCRs are more trustworthy are that they keep cycling through the sample until the viral DNA is detected--even an extremely low viral load (which viral particles may no longer even be viable). That's why the vast majority of testing centers without on-site labs (and assay machines) take 24-72 hours to produce a result. My health system's Immediate Care clinics, however, have on-site lab assay machines, which produce a result in 20-60 minutes. Mine came back positive at just under 20 minutes, which suggests the viral load was higher than I thought but still too low to detected by the rapid antigen test. Bob's rapid-antigen test (Abbott Binax NOW), produced a positive result at only five minutes (it could take up to 15). So he had a pretty hefty viral load. (BTW, to determine if one is ready to break isolation after 5 days w/o symptoms, never get another PCR test: because it will pick up even dead viral DNA, you can PCR-test positive for as long as 90 days after full recovery. But the PCR test can't tell whether the residual viral DNA is dead or alive. That's why you should re-test with a rapid antigen test at the end of isolation).

Spoke to the infectious disease doc tonight--he said that Paxlovid is superior to the sotrovimab infusion (90% vs. 80%), and that the reason Bob was offered the infusion instead was that his hospital's pharmacy didn't have Paxlovid. In fact, the I.D. doc said that as supplies of Paxlovid increase, it will be prescribed far more often than the infusion. (I'm not the world's easiest vein stick, so I appreciate being able to take a pill instead).

Not sure what I'll do about dinner--maybe a chicken thigh with Greek salad. Bob will likely want the breast over his half of the salad, as he prefers white meat. He can have the lemon rice and bread, of course. Getting a grocery delivery tomorrow, which will contain ample "no-nos" with which to comfort myself. But today will be largely a keto day for me, because that's what's on hand.

MinusTwo

Today's meal was a leftover rotisserie chicken breast sliced on Rosemary/Olive Oil bread. Yum. I'm baking gingerbread tonight for the first time in MANY years. I need to use up the rest of the heavy cream I whipped for the chocolate pie.

illimae

I ended up trying a new recipe, Honey Garlic roasted pork tenderloin, which was pretty good. I wanted to make an herb crusted one but couldn’t find it. Sides were tri color quinoa, sautéed cabbage/onions and roasted carrots and sweet peppers.

carolehalston

Lacey, so good to have you check in. I look forward to having you a "regular" again once your health issues are conquered. Your DGD sounds like a delight.

Illimae, what a beautiful plate of food.

I would definitely try the plantain "sandwich" if I had the opportunity.

Sandy, best wishes for recovering from Covid. I was afraid you were likely to be infected, given the home circumstances.

I'm thinking I will make a pizza for tonight, plus an extra for the freezer. Having a home-made pizza in the freezer is like dinner insurance!

Minus, I was awake at the same time last night. Or early this morning, to be more accurate. I eventually went back to sleep and slept until 8 am.

I'm looking forward to the football games today. I am glad to see the former LSU quarterback doing so well so I'll be cheering for the Bengals.

MinusTwo

Lacey - HOORAY - how did I miss your post? I guess just operating on no sleep. I love your oldest picture and memories of cooking with friends who migrated to Florida. It must be sad looking at dark windows. Fun toddler stories. Memories of "helping" cook with my grandmother & mother are so special. Yes, please do share about your eye treatment. Even if you're only able to check in sporadically - don't worry about reading everything, just let us know how you are.

RAOS - Wally, sorry we didn't answer sooner. There has been lots of discussion about Raos and I think all of us use it. I always have plain marinara in the cupboard and embellish it depending on what I'm making. Haven't thought about bean nachos in awhile - and I have a can of refried beans on hand.

Carole - great minds - I was planning on Naan pizzas tonight - with RAOS. But I really need to finish up the leftover stir fried rice first.

Mae - will you stay in town through the week? I'm not looking forward to lows in the 20s Thursday & Friday. Fingers crossed we don't have another lost power event like last February.

I was so excited with the accidental discovery of using a bag of coleslaw as the base for sauteed cabbage & onions that I bought another bag - on sale for $0.50.

MinusTwo

Forgot to say - thinking of you all in the winter storm and hope you are OK.

Beaverntx

I think I am the exception on Rao's-- too much fat and sodium for our anticholesterol/anti hypertension diet!

Carol, just watched the Bengals win! We spent many years in Ohio and are both University of Cincinnati grads so naturally follow the Bengals.

illimae

Minus, we’ll be in town for a couple weeks and yeah, 20 is cold but I checked and it’ll get down to only 9 degrees at the cabin later this week, brrr.

Tonight was seared chicken with a little pasta and mixed veggies. I really like having pasta as an ingredient, not the main and a little butter, garlic and chicken drippings instead of a high fat creamy sauce.

wallycat

I used a breakfast sausage tube (Jimmy Dean's Natural--trying to work through my freezer), red onion, spinach, Victoria pasta sauce (costco) and spaghetti. I think we'll have 2 days of leftovers. DH loved it. Easy, yummy and using up pantry/freezer stuff--a win.

Appreciate the feedback on the Raos. We'll see what is available when I get to the store tomorrow.

Hope all the Nor'easter folks are doing OK.

Sandy, I hope you are feeling better.

Illimae, love those pix.

CeliaC

Broccoli slaw (Josie's organic mix + homemade dressing) and lobster roll for dinner. I buy frozen Luke's Lobster at Whole Foods & it is very good - big chunks of meat! Brioche hot dog buns, "pan toasted" after slathering with butter. Melted butter, lemon and a dash of spice on the meat.

Celebrating the Bengals win - onward to the Super Bowl!!!!

carolehalston

I can see Raos growing in popularity. When It was first mentioned on this thread, by Susan, I believe, I could find it only at Fresh Market. Then it appeared on Walmart shelves, high up, not at eye level. Later on at Winn Dixie. Now it's in twin packs at Sam's Club and I see jars of soups and other products on shelves at Winn Dixie. I buy the marinara and ended up using a jar last night when I scratched the pizza menu and thawed some frozen Italian sausage and took out a bag of frozen cooked linguine.

I had some odd little chills yesterday morning and didn't feel my best. But today I'm feeling ok.

It's hard to believe that January of 2022 is already over.

Dinner tonight will likely be chicken thighs cooked in a skillet with Meyer lemon. My hair stylist gave me a bagful.

MinusTwo

Carole - glad the odd chills went away. Some days I think my 'not quite right' is just because I'm not 25 anymore (or 45 or 65 or... LOL)

Celia - I'm definitely going to look for Luke's Lobster the next time I get close to a Whole Foods.

Yesterday's food - a piece of GIngerbread for brunch, leftover fried rice for dunch, See's Peanut Brittle in the evening.

wallycat

Carol, glad you're feeling better. Out here, pollen has started already and I can just "feel" it. I'll have to remind myself of that when I feel "off."

I really liked the Victoria marinara (costco) so it will be interesting to compare it to Raos. I noticed that Prego and another similar brand have started offering no-sugar-added versions and they can be had for 1.99 or 99cents on sale, so worth doing a comparison. I think America's Test Kitchen rated Raos very highly; they also suggest taking a can of tomatoes and blending them and doctoring it for "sauce." Still, a decent can of tomatoes is no longer cheap. I grew up on Hunts. I still have 12 cans from Costco ....will have to check it all out and compare. Thanks again for the input.

My concoction of sauce, sausage, spinach and spaghetti turned out really great. Leftovers tonight.

eric95us

Wallycat, Sharon and I do a lot of what America's Test Kitchen talks about...doctoring tomato sauce. :-) One thing we always add are a couple of Serrano peppers from the garden to give it some "heat".

We had spaghetti the night before last, then for lunch and then for dinner last night. So, tonight...we're not sure yet...but the spaghetti is gone.

I'll probably have to interrupt the packing a bit to take care of the orange tree. One of the music jam members is willing to store in their freezer (and use, as well, which is perfect) the 60-70 1/2 gallon jars of orange juice. It takes about 4 days to pick and juice close to 700 pounds of oranges. About 150 pounds of oranges are given away, whole, so that is one *huge* and productive tree. I will miss it when we move.

SpecialK

chisandy - hope you are doing ok!

lacey - yay! Hi! Good to see you - I was getting worried.

carole - I am betting the broader dissemination of Rao's food products is linked to the younger generation of the Rao family selling the brand to a distributor in 2017.

I join everyone celebrating the Bengals - I love an underdog/cinderella story! I would have liked to see the 49'ers win - even though I am an LA girl, I haven't been a Rams fan for many years (you can't leave and come back, lol!) and it would have been interesting to see what happened to Jimmy Garapollo if he had managed to win the SuperBowl. As it is, I would imagine he is gone from the 49'ers since he takes up too much of the salary cap.

minus - I love gingerbread, it is so unique, throwback and classic - especially with whipped cream on top. Reminds me of my childhood. I miss dessert... I did order some California Brittle - milk chocolate, at Christmas. It was originally for my BIL/SIL, but we never ended up getting together over the holidays, so we opened the box in a moment of weakness. We have rationed pieces, like one a week, so most of the box remains. Calling me, from the cabinet...lol! Must resist...

eric95us

DD's cat (Lucey) is a Bengal. Her boyfriend (probably more than that) is news director at a TV station and used a picture of Lucey for a graphic. :-)

SpecialK

eric - that is one cute local tiger! Inventive caption to the photo!

Betrayal

Try ginger bread with a lemon sauce if you really want a treat. It is a special at a street fair we have and it sells out fast. Yum.

illimae

Tonight is simple, a big salad with everything and leftover seared chicken on a flatbread bun with provolone, red onion, mayo, avocado and lettuce.

MinusTwo

Mae - the Chronicle had a really neat article about Marathon today. I can't remember how far you are from there, but I'll be happy to try to find a link & forward.

Dinner was green salad with HEB 'sweet & sour' dressing. Accompanied by 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich - rosemary/olive oil bread & Gouda cheese.

Wally - we'll all be interested in your comparison survey of pasta sauces - canned or bottled BEFORE doctoring.

Eric - LOVE the tiger cat. Interesting comment - (boyfriend, probably more that that). Maybe an engagement in the spring?

Special - hows your DD doing? Have I caught hints that her significant other may be even more significant? And how the diet going?

SpecialK

minus - still on the eating plan - have lost a total of 10 lbs so far, since Oct. 1. That is on par with the last time I did this, but this time I am not going back. I can't do everything in moderation, doesn't work for me. I truly seem to be affected by any type of inflammatory state and will gain - and based on the improvement in gut health just by changing what I eat I feel like this is a thing for me. Even my LE is better when I eat like this - and there is some school of thought that LE has strong inflammatory links. The lymphedema drug study at Stanford is predicated on this. As far as DD - things are the same - they live together but there has been no future talk. I think one of the reasons is that her beau is in professional flux right now and also waiting on a back surgery (and waiting on the glacial bureaucracy at the VA Hospital for a referral to a surgeon), so can't move forward career-wise just yet. I don't think either of them feels strongly about getting married, and I don't want to ask, lol!