So...whats for dinner?

carolehalston

Last night's dinner was a pork steak roasted in an aluminum pan in the grill's oven mode. Sides were a broccoli salad and sliced golden beets sprinkled with white balsamic vinegar. I bought the beets at the farmers market and they are very good.

My mother used the name "tuna fish."

goldie0827

Minus, Jazzy may have posted here before. I just don't recall seeing her at the table.

Funny, all the talk about tuna, or tuna fish! I had a friend that would put grape jelly on his tuna fish sandwich.....eck!

wallycat

Tonight we'll have the other 1/2 of the socca "pizza" and not sure if I'll add a side.

I've learned to try weird combinations because you just never know...a co-worker (I was in my 20s) brought PB and pickle sandwiches to work. I scoffed. Tried it. Never looked back. It is the only way I'll eat it now.

SpecialK

Weighing in on the tuna discussion - I would say it is an Americanism - but tuna fish or salad refers to the canned or jarred version combined with other things - olive oil, mayo, onion, relish, celery, etc., while tuna refers to a tuna steak? That would be my interpretation. I definitely say tuna fish, and I don't really eat much of any other kind of fish except freshwater trout on occasion, and usually only in citrus wine sauce with toasted pecans.

I roasted some giant chicken breasts, like dinosaur sized ones - skin on, bone in - and we have been eating the results for the last couple of days. DH had some the evening I prepared them with Brussels sprouts and some mashed potatoes. Last night was a salad for him with romaine, julienned carrot, red onion, chicken, avocado, and sliced almonds with balsamic dressing. I made some chicken salad with apple, celery, and vegan mayo and also had some of the leftover loaded baked potato salad. I just have a little left after also sending chicken for the last two of his lunches, so I need to go in a different direction tonight! I have some hot Italian sausage and some cauliflower pappardalle so may go that route, with an alfredo-ish sauce.

minus - I feel ya on the ice maker! Same story, but different - we had all of our glass doors replaced and they were ordered in Feb. of 2021. They are custom doors due to the height of 96" so we knew it would take a minute to get them. They were supposed to be held at the warehouse until all three doors arrived - they were coming from differing manufacturers. That didn't happen and they were delivered one by one over the course of several months. Had to keep them in the garage instead of my new car. Meantime they resurfaced our streets in my community, my car was filthy for a month. When the last door arrived they were installed. One half of the French door was warped. In addition to the custom size, the mullions were also custom to match the interior French doors in the house because they are all visible from any vantage point. A new half door was ordered but when it arrived - three months later - the mullions were all wrong, so the two doors were different. The door had to be ordered again - another three month wait - and it was finally installed less than a month ago. I just got a congratulatory email from the store that my installation was complete, and would I take a survey about my level of satisfaction. Um...they seriously don't want to hear from me... This is after the refrigerator fiasco, 11 month wait for it when I ordered an entire suite of appliances and the cooktop and wall oven/micro arrived in a reasonable amount of time.

eric - I am late on Father's Day wishes for you! Hope you had a good day.

goldie - hope you're feeling better each day.

I am not much of a weird combo person, but I do have a recipe that I have made many times that is an appetizer - it is a creamy bacon and cheddar spread with pecans, green onion, and cayenne, that is served with strawberry jam and crackers - it is an epic salty/sweet/spicy/crunchy mix. My MIL also had a crazy jello salad she made for holidays that had three layers - one was raspberry jello with whole berry cranberry sauce, middle layer was lemon jello with salted pecans and cream cheese whipped together, last layer was lime jello with grapefruit slices. This was served with a dollop of mayo, which is bizarre, but somehow worked. All of my DH's sibs love it, all of the following generation - including my children - won't touch it with a 10-foot pole. Lol!

ChiSandy

Nice day today (highs in the 70s)--will try to suck it up and don socks (as loose as possible) & sneakers and do my walk--with the cane if necessary. Got read the riot act by my weight loss NP yesterday, who told me I have to try to tolerate more exercise and intermittent-fast--especially not eat ANYTHING after dinner, much less the carb pity-party I've been throwing myself. She said that it's more important not to lose my inhibitions at night, in order to keep the insulin & therefore glucose "spikes" down. Tough to stick to an 8-hr eating window, especially with Bob's work hours so unpredictable. Dinner at 8 most nights is as early as we can eat--often, much later depending on new admissions and traffic woes. As it is, I have to wait till after 2pm most days before solid food touches my lips. (That's not a problem for him, as he fears eating before leaving for work will "get him going" during his commute, with nowhere safe on the South Side to make a pit-stop en route). She says I can't let him dictate my eating hours any longer--but if I eat alone I tend to overeat out of sheer boredom, since I really need the distraction of personal interaction rather than either watching TV or staring off into space.

So she suggests eating out less often, and not drinking when eating at home alone (it loosens my inhibitions against cheating and night-snacking). She also says one slice of low-carb hi-fiber wholegrain bread a day (preferably at lunch or brunch) is fine, but switch to the keto (labeled as such) white bread or buns for other stuff. She wishes she could eat it, but it has "vital wheat gluten" as its starch and she has both celiac disease & Type 1 diabetes. I need to be more careful about what websites call "dirty keto:" fake versions of carb-y snacks, even Birch Benders waffles & pancakes. Sugar-free chocolate is okay, but if I limit myself to one small square of "normal" very dark chocolate she says that's preferable because it's more satisfying and won't trigger cravings.

Last night we went to Regalia for my "farewell to undisciplined eating" meal. We shared everything. I did eat the complementary rosemary-shallot foccaccia (small piece) to dip in the cannellini-olive oil dip. (One of the few upscale restaurants these days that doesn't charge for bread service). Appetizer was Wagyu carpaccio with toast and pumpkin seeds (I had the seeds, Bob had the toast). Next, a house salad--basically a Greek salad but with mesclun greens instead of lettuce. We shared spaghetti cacio e pepe--I had 1/3 of the plate. Finally, a veal chop Parmigiana. Haven't had veal Parm--or a veal chop--in three years. I scraped off the breading (easy, as it fell off anyway as I cut each piece). It came with Vesuvio potato wedges (I forgot to specify veg. instead, so Bob ate half the spuds and we brought home the other half with the leftover veal). No dessert or limoncello there--we were stuffed and slightly tipsy anyway. (We walked, of course). When I got peckish later, I had a small slice of the coffeecake ring his patient baked, and a little chunk of sugar-free halvah.

Done eating well before midnight. Not going to eat brunch till after 3pm. (Nursing a pourover of Ethiopian coffee right now). So it's a 15-hr fast. If he makes it home for dinner tonight, I'll give him the veal and make broccolini & a salad for the both of us. I'll grill a duck breast I defrosted overnight. If I have dessert, it'll be plain Greek yogurt and whatever fresh berries Bob didn't kill off during his middle-of-the-night fridge raids. (I think he "sleep-eats"). And it'll be several hours before my head hits the pillow.

Speaking of the frozen duck breast, I bought it yesterday at Wild Fork. I'd driven past a few outposts of it and thought it was just another gourmet grocery. Turns out it sells only frozen foods--no fresh produce, dairy or eggs. But the meats, poultry & seafoods are reasonably-priced and tend to be cuts that most grocers don't sell: the aforementioned duck breasts, heritage pork, fully-cooked zero-sugar sausages (including blood--no rice!, weisswurst, knackwurst, several kinds of brats, even bison hot dogs), ostrich & bison filets, and seafoods that Hooked on Fish has only occasionally as its fresh weekly selections. I like that I was able to buy a single small duck breast rather than a package of two large ones, which Whole Foods occasionally has. I can steam the sausages atop a choucroute.

ChiSandy

Oh, and I could never stomach tuna melts. I may not have a microscopic drop of Italian DNA, but I grew up eating in enough Italian restaurants that I believe seafood & cheese simply don't go together (at least not on the same plate).

wallycat

I'm saving my leftover socca for tomorrow, when we get back from Sequim. DH has decided he wants to go there tomorrow so I can maybe find a pair of glasses I like at Costco. It figures the pair I have, I love, but they no longer make the frames and these are getting sorry looking on the nose/bridge area. I can find the frames on line but no idea how much they would charge to switch the lenses.

I'm making a riff on Mapo tofu and instead of rice, DH wants udon noodles.

Sandy, I'm sorry about the stress of the eating/weight loss. I'd offer you tips but you have probably heard them all (maybe). I guess the only thing I can repeat is to think of eating as a way of life not a moment to lose weight. Hard, I know. I guess the only good thing for me is that if I eat really late at night, I have a hard time falling asleep because it feels like it just "sits there" and doesn't make me feel great. DH and I had long agreed that just because we love each other doesn't mean we need to eat together. Sure, we try, but when he worked crazy hours or I got hungry, or went to night school, it was just too much work to figure it all out.

I tweaked my back lifting 3 big bags of compost 3 days ago, then a bag of ammo and guns to get to the range yesterday. Trying to be kind to it before it flares worse. I hope your PT goes well.

Sorry to all with appliance hell.

illimae

I love tuna melts and have added tuna to the shopping list. Seared tuna steaks are great too, DH won’t touch it though, traumatic memories of his granny forcing fish oil down his throat as a kid. More for me then 🙂

MinusTwo

Latest possibility is that my son may come Saturday or Sunday for a day or two. His Dad tells me that he'll go home Tuesday morning. Guess I'd better cut my 'honey-do' list by a factor of 5. (it's currently 2 pages, single spaced). It will be easy to cut the outside stuff. It's just too hot. He hates Houston summers, but I haven't seen him in a year so he will try to make it.

Meal choices have also changed. I really don't want the oven on since I have a French Country Kitchen - and the table is way too close to the oven. I will still do Hawaiian Sliders (both ham & turkey w/swiss & cheddar) for the night he arrives. I can prepare ahead and it's only a few minute in the oven. I'm going to try Laurie's Mexican Chicken with pre-cooked rotisserie chicken breasts and make it in my electric skillet with the black beans & salsa. IT will be interesting to see if the flavors "meld" correctly. And his other choice was pork medallions with brandy cream sauce. Kroger no longer carries the small Hormel tenderloin, so I bought a couple of tenderloin chops & will cut to size. Better than cooking a whole large loin in the oven.

As for me - tonight is leftover guacamole. Tomorrow is sauteed spinach with fried egg on top.

Oh meant to add - weird foods. Our kids all took lunches to school. One of my son's friends would take only butter & brown sugar sandwiches. Another would take only mustard & pickle sandwiches. My son took peanut butter - which I guess is no longer allowed.

wallycat

My twin had to have cream-cheese and jelly sandwiches. Blech. But she always got her way.

carolehalston

Some odd sandwiches I haven't know about. Also have not ever eaten a tuna melt.

We joined a couple for dinner at Clancy's. Early, for us. 5:30. Normally we have cocktails at 5 and eat at 7. We met them years back when they rented a site in the resort and had a camper behind our site. We've seen them most summers, even stopped at their town in southern MN one year on our way north. They're vacationing in the area for a few days.

Clancy's wasn't crowded on a Thursday at that early hour. We sat at a booth overlooking Island Lake, "our" lake which we can see from our deck. The special was tacos. I had two beef taco's (without onion) and the salad bar. DH ordered the same. I enjoyed my meal and am beginning to favor a short drive to Clancy's over cooking.

goldie0827

More on tuna...I guess I've never had good tuna. Only ever the stuff in a can such as Starkist. Of course growing up, tuna noodle casserole was a cheap dinner, not a fan tho. I do like macaroni salad with tuna.

Wallycat, can you call Costco and ask them if you order the frame if they would switch out the lenses?

Illimae, lol at your DH and the fish oil!

Minus, I hope things go smoothly this time around with your DS's visit. Where is he coming from? Those are some weird sandwiches! I can remember as a kid just having Miracle Whip sandwiches.

Had lunch with my doctor's wife yesterday, Peninni sandwiches and strawberries with homemade yogurt and raw sugar. Dinner was just some Cheez-its!

Carole, I always eat early, usually betweet 3-5. Heck, most nights I'm in bed by 7!

MinusTwo

Many pages back, someone converted our founder Laurie's Salsa Chicken from oven to crock pot (maybe Carole?). Now my neighbor wants to cook it in an Instant pot. Anybody done that yet?? Oven is 1-1/2 hours on 350. Crock pot is 3 hours on high. Thoughts on an instant pot? I don't have either of the above 'pots', but to beat our 102 degree heat, I bought a huge Costco rotisserie chicken yesterday. I will simmer the beans & salsa in my electric skillet & add the chicken breasts just enough to warm. Likely won't be as good, but needs/must.

Goldie - I still don't know where my son might be coming from, and that's IF he gets on a flight. Maybe Washington, D.C., maybe San Francisco. I'm still planning on Hawaiian Sliders (both turkey & ham) for tomorrow night since I can make them ahead. After I pick him up at the airport (whenever), it's only 10 minutes in the oven.

I'm trying to eat up the things he doesn't care for to clear the fridge - so yesterday was guacamole (and that will be breakfast tomorrow) and tonight was steamed spinach with two fried eggs on top.

wallycat

Leftover socca bbq "pizza" with a small salad on the side.

Costco had the copper river salmon for 13.99/pound, so we got a package (froze one big fillet and will cook the other tomorrow). It is a tad more than QFC price but looked so much better. Not sure what the sides will be yet.

Minus, if you have an outdoor outlet, you could plug the crockpot in outdoors and cook it outside, to keep the heat from inside the house. A friend of mine does that when it is too warm for them.

A lovely man helped me at the costco optical (I think he was gay and he sure knew how to be nice to this old gal). He steered me to the children's (or as they say, "youth") section and I found a pair of frames that weren't horrible looking. We'll see how well they make the lenses. 30 day return so not much to lose. I'm always tempted to get a brand new shape/style of frames when I replace my old pair, but truth be told, with my squarish face/jowls, the shape I have works well, so I just looked for something similar.

MinusTwo

Wally - the problems is I don't have either a crockpot or an instant pot. Got rid of the former when ceilings were re-done & never had the latter. And I do like the children's glasses frames. Good idea.

Goldie - I too eat early - between 4-5pm. Works for me. However I'm never in bed before 10pm, and tonight it will be 1am. Too many last minute things I want to tweak since my son hasn't been here in a year.

Carole - I looked up Clancys. Boy - you are seriously UP NORTH.

wallycat

Minus, apologies, I missed that you don't have those. Do you have a grill? If you had a le crueset type pot, you could set the whole thing on the grill grates and close the lid. I've seared duck that way using a cast iron pan on the grill (so the fat collects in the pan not on the heating elements). I've made the dish and I think it could be done on the stovetop---but that still heats up the house. And if push comes to shove, if all the items are already cooked, I would venture heating it through in the microwave, once composed, would work OK. I know some people are super tasters and can pick out the minutia. I'm not amongst those.

Copper River salmon tonight!

SpecialK

I am kind of in the camp of no fish with cheese, but since I don't eat much fish, it is not an issue, lol! Exception to the rule - I do love a tuna melt. This also begs the question - why isn't it a tuna fish melt if we are following the tuna fish sandwich line of thought? Food for thought, ha!

Two nights ago I asked DH hot or cold for dinner - he voted cold. I had an abundance of broccoli so made a broccoli salad, which I usually do with a dressing of mayo/sweetener of some kind - lately monkfruit/cider vinegar. This is the salad you have all prob seen or had - almonds, bacon, red onion, broccoli, dried cranberries. I ended up making an almond butter dressing with a little soy sauce, brown sugar Swerve, vinegar, and some sambal oelek. The other ingredients were the same, but I also added celery. It was yummy. I also made a cobb salad but had no avocado, and subbed chopped red pepper for the tomatoes, as DH is anti-tomato, and crumbled goat cheese for the blue cheese. Dressed it with plant based blue cheese dressing. Very yum on a hot night. Last night was a pasta dish using the Caulipower pappardelle, hot Italian sausage, spinach, onion in an alfredo sauce made with plant based butter, vegan cream cheese, plant based TJ's milk, vegan parm, S&P. This was very good and I will definitely make it again. I cooked the sausage with the onion first, removed it from the pan and poured off almost all fat. Sauteed the rinsed spinach, removed it from the pan. Added the butter and cream cheese and melted and whisked, then added the milk and parm, and spices. Added the spinach and sausage back in, and when the pasta was done (frozen - cooked for several minutes at a rolling boil) I added it to the pan and tossed, topped with extra parm.

Edited to add to minus - I really like using an electric skillet, and they are more versatile than one would think. When DD was doing her paid internship at Theater of the Sea down in the FL Keys, she lived in an efficiency that did not have a stove or oven. She survived with a microwave and electric skillet - made spaghetti - sauce first then removed it to a bowl, then boiled water and cooked the pasta, chili, quesadillas, enchiladas, grilled cheese, pancakes, mac n cheese. Re-heated stuff in the microwave like we all do - it worked well for the year she lived there. She was glad to be back in a normal kitchen with the job she moved on to, but learned a lot about how to survive and eat well without a major appliance.

wallycat

My sides were roasted maitake and lion's mane mushrooms in butter, steamed broccoli and red rice.

I also poured my first gin of the year. It is a Bombay Red label. I am miffed that my favorite Beefeater has lowered its ABV and people say, the taste is off. I can't believe I used to be a bartender but cannot make a decent martini in my own home. It hit 75 or 77 (depending on where you checked) and for us, that is HOT. Worse tomorrow. before the cool down. Then hopefully, back in the 60s. I am in awe of those of you living in constant high temps most of the year.

Thanks to those who humored me on my tuna "fish" discussion.

MinusTwo

Wally - Bombay is my son's gin of choice. I drink Gordons if I'm mixing with tonic - but for martinis I'm a Tanqueray person.

Nope - no grill either. But it worked REALLY well in the electric skillet. Served over 7 grain rice.

Elderberry

Somehow I have been missing this thread. I love my Instant Pot. It is so good for braising meats and making soups. However, nothing beats the roasting of a chicken in the oven. Crispy skin!!

My DH says I am good with the "loaves and fishes" -- taking what looks like nothing at all in the fridge and pantry, a piece of this, a sad stick of celery, and turn it into something really really good. That being said, I love the neighbourhood I live in where you can get pretty much anything you want to eat within a few blocks either way from my home. I liked having people over so I could pull out all the stops and knock them out with a great meal.

SpecialK: can I come over for dinner? How can anyone NOT like tomatoes? For me, the are part of the essential food group, along with garlic and onions.

Not a gin fan. It must be the juniper berries. It is too "perfumey" for me. I figure that is what Chanel No 5 might taste like. I have tried it in G&T, martinis etc. I usually think the first sip is okay then it is -Nope.

My DH is the same. He always says "That sounds good" Occasionally he will announce a craving. Like pan fried oysters. Fortunately we have a fresh fish market/shop about a block and a bit from where I live.

Wallycat: where do you live? I like a temperature around 70-75 F. When the Pacific Northwest got hit with the heat dome I thought I would die.

I made a big vat of a veggie soup (carrots, peppers, celery, zuchinni, eggpplant, onions, garlic) with beans and fire roasted tomatoes in my Instant Pot today that I will chill in the fridge for dinner tomorrow and freeze the leftovers for later. I'll add some fresh basil on top from my herb patch when we eat it.

wallycat

Elderberry, I live in Port Townsend. We are having another "heat dome" experience, except the high pressure is further south, so no 100s ...yet.

I only recently developed a taste for gin. I'm usually a wine gal, but with spirits, single malt, rum and brandy/cognac are my go-to. Bourbon is an "i'm not sure"...sometimes yes, sometimes no (must be the wild turkey fiasco when I broke up with my first long term boyfriend in my 20s--I'll spare you). I've only had tequila a few times so I am not sure how attached I am to it, LOL.

Minus, so happy the electric skillet worked out.

Special, your salads sound wonderful. I'd have to sub the almonds (allergies); off to copy/paste your ideas.

DivineMrsM

Interesting reading about the crazy food combos posted here! I'm usually willing to try a bite of something new. I always told ds any time he tried a taste of food and didn't like it, he was allowed to spit it out in the trash can. That way he'd be more willing to try new foods. These days seems he's always introducing dh and I to different things we never ate before.

When dh was young, his dad shoved tomatoes in his mouth to get him to eat them so of course dh hated them. After growing tomatoes in the garden for me for many years, he gradually started to like them.

I don't like tuna steak and never cared for salmon. But I like tuna salad and tuna melts.

One thing that makes a tuna melt is the bread that's used. I love something with a crusty buttery brown crunch. A restaurant called First Watch serves a roast beef and havarti cheese sandwich on the most heavenly grilled Parmesan-crusted sourdough bread. Oh my. Most excellent! Melts in your mouth. Mmm mmm!

I'm part Italian through my mother who was a great cook. I never eat out at Italian restaurants. I was recently talking to a woman who also has Italian roots who said she never eats out at them, either.

Elderberry, I am envious of your being "good with the loaves and fishes", able to toss things together to make a tasty meal.

Illimae, I took a screenshot of your creamy Brussel sprouts recipe and plan to make it some day. Speaking of recipes and hearing another mention of Laura's salsa chicken, if someone would share the recipe, I'd love to try that, too.

MinusTwo

Here you go Devine: SALSA CHICKEN

2-4 chicken breasts- put them in a Pyrex dish and dump a jar of your
favorite salsa over it. Open a can of black beans and drain- dump that
over it too. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. (it works like a
fast slow cooker and makes a sauce out of the black beans and salsa, the
chicken just shreds apart.)

Make some brown rice and 2 minutes before you are ready to eat uncover
the chicken and top with cheddar cheese, or mexican blend, what ever is
handy, We eat it using the salsa mixture on the rice as a type of sauce
and a spoonful of sour cream on the chicken.

ChiSandy

I'm not a gin fan either (also not into vodka). But I do like juniper berries in my choucroute, and the couple of times I had Dutch genever liqueur (in Amsterdam and on a Viking river cruise ) I really enjoyed it.

Last night we went out with the kids for belated Father's Day and advance 51st anniv. to the Palm (much better than I'd expected). My last visit there was in 2019, shortly after the Landry Group takeover--and remodel (from a clubby old-school NY-style Italian steakhouse to, as some described it, airport sports bar). The bar, which had been against the window-wall, was enlarged to an oval with sports TV screens. The divider partition between the bar and dining room was removed, along with the trademark caricature walls and tall wooden booths--plus the expert career wait staff. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a new post-lockdown main dining room with fewer, newer local-oriented caricatures of live people. (You got a caricature either by being a celebrity who was also a loyal customer, or someone egotistical enough to trade their frequent-diner points for their picture on the wall instead of free meals & discounts).

The menu has been tweaked since then. We split a seafood tower: oysters, clams, king crab legs, jumbo shrimp, lump crabmeat, a large lobster tail and "Sicilian poke" (which had olives, capers and for some weird reason golden raisins). I also had some of Bob's "Gigi" salad (he ate the avocado, shrimp & egg). For our entree we split a porterhouse, because he likes filet mignon and I don't mind strip steak if I don't get my first choice of ribeye. Sides were hashbrowns (I demurred), creamed spinach and sauteed broccoli rabe (aka rapini). Ate too much to even contemplate looking at the dessert menu. Tonight we split the leftovers: a shrimp each, the poke in lettuce cups, the steak, and the green veggies (again, I left the spuds to Bob). Tomorrow night I'll grill the duck breast and have the rest of the leftover rapini, with maybe some tomatoes--it's his late night at the office.

carolehalston

Last night I made our usual romaine salad on dinner plates and topped with strips of crispy chicken. I coated thin chicken breast fillets with panko crumbs and cooked in a skillet.

DH ordered a pizza stone. We will try cooking pizza on the grill.

wallycat

Had to google Gigi salad. Yum.

Carole, is it a stainless "stone" or tile? Let us know how it works. That is a great idea.

I'm in meltdown mode...PTSD for a simple meet/greet with doc for colonoscopy...not even the procedure yet. Leaving in about an hour. I hate that my body does this. Rant.

Leftover copper river last night.

Tonight will be whatever I pull out of the freezer-pre-made meal. Should be our last hot day. Hopefully no more 79-80ish for the year; a gal can dream.

eric95us

We just got the internet service established!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I can use something other than the "painfully" slow to use "smart" phone.

KotchAJ

Hi everyone,

Tonight for dinner is a summer favorite in my house. We call it pasta zucchini basil. Here's the recipe below. We usually add more cheese than is listed, because...cheese.

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings

• 3-4 medium zucchini and or yellow summer squash, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1 pound pasta, use your favorite cut
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Lemon juice, for serving (optional)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup grated parmesan or manchego cheese
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Start your pasta first, cook your zucchini in the olive oil with the garlic. I add the basil in when the zucchini has softened. Mix everything together and top with the fresh tyme. Yummy.

MinusTwo

kotchaj - The zucchini looks good. Thanks for sharing,.

Elderberry

wallycat: you are in my neck of the woods. I thought you might be in Alaska. My friends in Seattle was saying it was getting too hot. We are only about 4 - 6 degrees cooler than you guys, normally, and I have managed to keep the house cool by letting air in late at night, then closing everything up during the days and leaving fans running. If we get another Heat Dome I won't even do that. We West Coasters as whimps when it comes to extremes.

kotchaj: someone I knew once said "You can have too much cheese" You can? Really? How much is too much? Your pasta zucchini would be good cold too. I like making cold pasta salads with tomatoes, cukes, peppers, artichokes, black olives, fresh herbs.

The Salsa Chicken sounds great. However, in an Instant Pot you have to have a least one cup of liquid. You could put the breasts on the trivet that comes with the pot and have the meat above the liquid.

CaroleHalston: I keep a pizza stone on the bottom shelf of my oven. It is there all the time. I just shift it to the middle rack when I do pizzas. I let the oven reach it optimum heat but wait another 15 or so minutes so the stone is good and hot. For Wallycat: mine is baked clay of some sort. Not metal.