So...whats for dinner?

Lacey12

Laurie, What a neat story about how you came to become a cook. I can also relate to having the mom who was a great cook, but proprietal about her kitchen. The only thing we were "allowed" to help with was the Christmas cookies. I remember the first time I actually cooked a meal when I was 16, and my parents were away, so I made a meatloaf dinner for my older brother, sister and me. I was so excited to be queen of the range! I was using a recipe from a kiddie cookbook (same vintage, but different than yours, Michelle) and the bottom half of the fraction for 1/4 tsp ground pepper was hidden in the book binding. Soooo, we had a full tsp of pepper in the meatloaf and I'll never forget my brother's complaints about what a terrible cook I was. So crestfallen was I at the time.

I never had restaurant experience, but just used my good cooking genes to learn as a young single person, and on DH when we got married. He always enjoyed anything I made, so I built a repetoire from there....positive reinforcement always works! Tho had I been smarter, I would have had him join me in the kitchen and we'd have two capable cooks in the house!

I love the creativity of cooking....and tho I bake, I am not a great chemist, so my baking can at times be less than perfect. Maybe if I retire, I'll take some baking courses to make myself totally legit in the kitchen!

Love all of your stories about your cooking histories. Keep them coming...



Continued healing, Lynda. You sound like you are doing great.



Last weekend I mentioned our failing dog....well we did find a gentle person to groom her (i just could not put her down looking unkempt and uncared for and I felt sure we were headed for that last trip to the vet)and she has shown much more spirit this week. We are totally puzzled, but maybe she just needed a "do" to get a bit of life back! A real stereotyped gal! So off to NJ she goes with us tomorrow. Oldest son will be happy to see her once more since he was her alpha male when she was a puppy.



Have a good weekend everyone.

Laurie08

Lacey- I am glad your dog got some spunk back in her.  It is so hard to have a pet you love not feeling well or nearing the end.  I had a springer spaniel that made it to 16, she was the best.  They told us she had a couple of months to live, her organs were failing.  There was a puppy who needed a home and we couldn't imagine having no dog so we took the boy puppy in.  That puppy helped my old dog live another year and a half!!  The vet couldn't explain it.  But, that puppy loved her and would not go outside if she didn't etc so....the old girl would take him out and look out for him and snuggle with him.  In that year and a half they gave alot of love and she taught him to be a great dog, just like her.  That puppy will be 7 this summer.  And I still miss our spaniel.....

(((((hugs))))))

Have a great trip.

carolehalston

I, too , have enjoyed the stories about cooking backgrounds.  i don't remember whether I helped my mother in the kitchen when I was living at home.  Most of our meals were made up of what is called "comfort foods" now.  Plain country cooking like fried chicken, steak and gravy, chicken and dumplings, stuffed pork roast.  My mother made biscuits for breakfast and baked yeast bread as a regular thing.  We kids thought bought sliced bread was a special treat!

My theory was that if you can read, you can do about anything you want to do.  So I learned to cook by reading recipe books.  When DH and I were first married and were living on a sailboat, I had a Good Housekeeping book called Cooking for Two.  I used it quite a bit.  Our meals were simple but good.  We couldn't afford to eat out very often.

After all these years, I'm still reading recipe books the way some people read novels!  I subscribe to Cooking Light magazine and read it from cover to cover. 

Julia's Beef Bourguignon turned out good.  The sauce was especially tasty.  I served it with buttered noodles, garden salad, and steamed broccoli.  The latter got overcooked.  I sliced some of my peasant bread, spread it with a home-made herb garlic butter and heated it in the toaster oven.  Our friends seemed to enjoy the meal

As an appetizer, I served a yummy cheese spread with crackers.  I dumped part of a bag of Mexican shredded cheese into a bowl, grated up some cheddar and added that.  Instead of jarred pimentos, I chopped up some roasted green and red bell pepper I had in the refrigerator and mixed the whole with some mayo.  DH had roasted the peppers whole on the gas burner of our stove one day.  We saw Paul Prudhomme do that on one of his tv shows.  Monkey see, monkey do!  Also put out a jar of sweet and hot jalopeno pickle slices.

Tonight we're having left-over last night's dinner.  Today I'm cooking a pork roast for tomorrow's dinner at my mother's house.  Studded it with garlic cloves and sprinkled it with Tony Cacherie's cajun seasoning.  Now the oven is doing the work.

Laurie08

Carol- you lived on a sailboat?  How cool is that?!  Glad your dinner turned out good:)  Did you melt the cheese in your spread?

debbie6122

Carol- Loved your story, and wow a sailboat? My DH and i always talked about doing that someday when we retire in hawaii. What fun!!

LuvRVing

Carole - I cooked a lot of comfort food when I was learning to cook, too.  My dad was a meat and potatoes guy, although we also ate plenty of spaghetti and macaroni.  Anyone remember Chef Boy R Dee spaghetti dinners?  It was a whole package deal!  My first cookbook after I got married was the Pillsbury Family Cookbook - and I still have one.  My kids destroyed the first one I had - it's a spiral notebook and they pulled so many pages out of it, so I found one on eBay about 10 years ago.  I still use the recipes in that cookbook as a basis for my chili and pan fried chicken.

Tomorrow I am cooking a boneless rib roast, roasted potatoes, and salad for seven.  My two DSs and DH will be thrilled.   I bought bread to go with dinner and apple pie, cheesecake and cannolis for dessert. 

SeasideMemories

Lacey... My heart goes out to you... Our dog took her last trip to the vet a little less than two years ago... She was my baby who was by my side through a series of crapola events and I still miss her everyday....



Anyway... As an aside... Even though this is a total long shot... My dog happened to be an Akita and I received an e-mail today from an Akita rescue group that I donate to that an dog that they were transporting as a rescue slipped its collar and is missing.... Last seen in Newfields, NH... I think it's not super close to where you all are but, hey... stranger things have happened....



Here's a link to the rescue group that has the story and a picture as well as contact info.... She bears a striking resemblance to my furbaby!



http://www.bigeastakitarescue.net/Welcome.html



DH is out of town and the kids are visiting friends so.... maybe cereal? eggs? All I know for sure is it will be something light snd then into my PJs to do a bit of reading....

debbie6122

 I made a hamburger soup today that is smelling so good, just had a taste and its delicious. Sauted some hamburger, threw in some lipton onion soup mix while it is sauting, added, whole peeled tomatoes that i put in food proscessor, some water, 2 beef boulion cubes, oregeno, italian seasiongs, onion and garlic powder, cubed potatoes, green beans, peas, and carrots. You could even throw some rice or small pasta in if you wanted. Last night i made a sausage stratta and let it sit in the fridge over night then popped it in the oven this morning for breakfast, this was very good! Heres the recipes;

 Sausage stratta;

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork sausage
• 6 (1 ounce) slices bread, cubed
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground dry mustard

Directions

1. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside.
2. Layer bread cubes, sausage, and Cheddar cheese in a lightly greased 7x11 inch baking dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt, and mustard. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cube mixture. Cover, and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
4. Bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.( I also change this up using foccacca bread, jack cheese, or riccota cheese, bacon. Also saute onions and mushrooms in it too, what ever you like just throw it in)

Laurie08

Seaside- I am in NH and just posted it to my facebook page and asked for other to do the same.  I hope it helps.  Poor puppy.

Debbie- the soup sounds good.  I wish my boys would eat soup, well the youngest one will but the older one not so much.

Michelle-enjoy dinner with your family tomorrow!

I am going to do pulled pork in the crock pot tomorrow and we are inviting friends over to play for the afternoon adults and kids.  I am also thinking of going to the store and getting what I need to try to make spring rolls/egg rolls.  A friend of mine shared a recipe and I am dieing to try it.  We'll see how the day goes....

SeasideMemories

Laurie,



Thank You!!! Hopefully someone will see her and it will lead them to finding her!



Loved the story about your older dog teaching the puppy and the puppy giving the older dog a will to go on... Brought a tear or two to my eyes....

SeasideMemories

Debbie,



We do a similar strata at Christmas time and it's always a crowd favorite!! Only problem is someone has to be sober enough Christmas Eve to put it together...lol. We tend to put it together early in the day!



When we have a really big crowd we also do a french toast casserole as well as an eggs benedict one....



The hamburger soup sounds yummy, too!

carolehalston

Laurie, the cheese spread was not melted.  It's actually a version of pimento cheese spread.  Your story about the young dog and the old dog was so sweet.

I love those breakfast casseroles like the strata.  My SIL always serves breakfast the next morning after Thanksgiving and she has cooked some delicious egg casseroles that she prepares the night before.  I have never cooked one because they're so large.

Michelle, your meal sounds wonderful.  I can enjoy a meat and potatoes menu as much as anyone.

debbie6122

Lacey- My heart goes out to you as well for your beloved furbaby!

Laurie- Loved your puppy story. If your eggroll recipe turns out good could you share the recipe please?

 

Michelle- Ohh yum, i havnt made a prime rib in ages they are usually so expensive for just me and DH but what a great treat for guest. Have a great time.

Seaside- Im so sorry about your furbaby too, it is so hard to lose your pet they are family!! LOL on the stratta dish.

Carol- If you wanted to, you could cut the ingredients in half and put it in a smaller dish.

Momine

All the talk of quiche got me experimenting. To avoid white flour and butter, I made the crust with wholegrain rye flour and olive oil, gathered with an egg. It was very tasty actually, so I will do that again. For the filling, I used a bunch of leeks and some low-fat goat cheese, similar to feta, that I found in my local eco-store. Low-fat milk and eggs for the custard part. It was really good, and ought to be much lower on dairy fat than a regular quiche.

LuvRVing

Debbie - I don't make prime rib more than once or twice a year, but my DH was pining for it, as if he never gets it in a restaurant...lol.  Actually, I was planning on making a boneless sirloin steak roast because they have been on sale for $4.99 a pound.  But when I got to the store, they had the boneless rib roast for $7.99 which, while still pricey, is less than I expected it to be.  And we've taken this gang out to dinner (being the parents and all) so this is way less expensive than the cheapest prime rib dinner around here (about $12 a plate).  It will be delicious, and the meat eaters will be in heaven.  It's what we moms do...LOL!

Momine - your quiche sounds very yummy.  I haven't made one in a while, maybe next weekend.

All this pooch talk makes me want another dog so bad.  We took a rescue dog about a year after we moved to Missouri, and we had Bailey for about ten years.  They think he may have been about seven when we got him, so he lived a long life.  He was the sweetest dog and loved to go camping with us, and we both cried when we had to take him for that final vet trip.

Kay_G

Well, lots of catching up. Thanks for the easy bread recipe, I will give it a try, just have to get some yeast. Hauntie, hope you continue to feel better and better. I hope your mom does too Carrie. And your dog too Lacey!



Some of you have really had such exciting lives! Sounds like a great adventure to live on a sailboat. It is fun to read about them.



I didn't cook until I moved out. My mother cooked all comfort foods, meat and potatoes, fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs. Although my GF lived with us and he liked a variety of foods. I remember him loving sardines, liver and onions, as well as all the staples. I remember a few experiments he wanted to try. I think he was the one who actually cooked them. The one I remember the best was pickled pigs feet. I can still remember how they looked in the package in the store. That one didn't turn out well. Not only did no one eat it, it stunk the whole house up. Thank goodness it was the summer and we could get outside.



We had a late valentines date night last night. Saw the artist which was recommended by my oldest son. I didn't know anything about it except that we had to drive 25 minutes to a movie theatre where it was playing. It was an artsy movie, but we really enjoyed it. It was pretty cool. Then we went to red stone American grille for dinner. They're a chain, but there are only about 5 in the country. Does anyone else have one around them? It was packed, but we had a reservation and sat right down. We had a gruyere cheese fondue with Jamaican jerk chicken, sour dough bread, grapes and apple slices first. It was delicious! Then I had a special, yogurt marinated pork loin satay skewered with red peppers and onions and basmati rice. It was also delicious, but half of it is in the fridge. Then we had a chocolate chip cookie sundae with candied pecans and caramel and hot chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Good thing we only shared one because it was huge, we didn't even finish it. But it was delicious. And the coolest thing of all, Ryan Howard was in the restaurant on the other side of the bar from us. The waitress told us he comes there all the time.



Making salmon tonight. Enjoy your Sunday everyone.

bedo

Lacey I hope your furbaby is doing better.

My Icon is Austin The World's Worst Dog.  He was 1/2 blue tick and 1/2 great dane and he howled All The Time. He would stand on his back legs and take whatever he wanted from the counter and on walks dragged me from garbage can to garbage can. He slept under the covers with me until DH #2 came along and then needed to be tucked under a blanket in his bed to sleep. I really should change my icon. When it was time for him to go the vet came to the house and he went to sleep on the couch, where he wasn't allowed, but spent most of his time.

My Mom was The World's Worst Cook.  Each day we would hope for something good, but never got it.  It went from bad to worse,  Minute steaks (Had to cut with a a chain saw) then liver and onions, next American Chop Suey (you don't want to know) then beans and that canned bread that she would slice up.  When I was 16 we all announced that we were vegetarian and could we please have money to buy our own food.  So she started making Ratatouille, which I hate but told her was good, and she continued to make it for me for the rest of her life and when I came home from college because I never had the heart to tell her.  She was a great Mom and I loved her so!  But a bad cook.

Tonight crock pot lentil soup, pears cheese crackers

Momine

Bedo, that cracked me up, both your dog having to be tucked in for bed and your mom being an awful cook. I was lucky there. My childhood was a mess, and my parents were/are quite clueless, but we had really good food at least.

LuvRVing

Bedo - would it have been B&M beans and B&M brown bread???  That was like a New England tradition when I was growing up.  Oh, and hot dogs to go with it!  Our family had that dinner many a Saturday night.  Very funny story about your pooch!

Kay - no Red Stone around here, as far as I know.  Your dinner sounds good.  I'm glad you enjoyed The Artist.  I may go see it by myself this week.  DH and I saw Star Wars I in 3D last night - that's more his speed. 

Kay_G

Michelle, the two ladies in front of us got up and left. But that was about 5 to 10 minutes into the movie, they didn't give it a chance. I am not one for artsy movies, I am much more a sucker for a romantic comedy, or a good adventure movie. DH isn't really into artsy movies either, but we both enjoyed it. I think not knowing anything about it helped. I hate when you go to a movie and you know the whole story and you've seen every funny part in previews before it's even started. This was a pleasant surprise to me. My son is much more into offbeat movies.

bedo

Yes Michelle, that would be it.  I went to the grocery store today and looked for the canned bread because I wondered if they still had it, they do in case you want it!  lol.  I don't remember about the hot dogs.  I do remember some strange little (Vienna?) sausages that came in a little can with a layer of congealed fat on top.  Those and canned peas and Pillsbury "homemade" buiscuts . PLUS we weren't ever allowed desert except on Sunday when "desert" was fruit with whipped cream on top. (Actually the desert wasn't bad)

Kay, glad you enjoyed the movie.  Has anyone seen 'Big Miracle'  a true story with Drew Barrymore about the whales that were saved in Barrow Ak  several years ago? I lived and worked up there on multiple assignments for about 1 1/2 years and can't wait to see Barrow again in the movie.

I want to live on a sailboat!  My violin teacher and her guy do!

deborye

Everything sound YUMMY.  I went to Market Basket and could not find blood oranges, I am going to make that salad I posted.  So I will substitute with strawberries.

deborye

Had a small Leidy Daisy Butt for supper with Garlic Smashed Potatoes and Honey Ginger Carrots.  I'm full!!

debbie6122

Michelle- Thats a great deal for prime rib per pound, i think its like $12 somthing a pound here, but i love prime rib when i worked in a restaurnt and could get it for free i ate it every night LOL! Awe, your dog bailey was so cute and what a sweet face!

Momnie- The quiche does sound good, i love feta and even though it is similar to goat cheese i have never liked it for some reason- Next time i make mine i will put leeks in it too.

Kay-What a great dinner you had out, you made my mouth drool! We dont have a red stone here either. Did you mean Ron Howard? Im glad my mom wasnt that adventurous, No pigs feet, or liver for us LOL!

Bedo- What a sweet and funny story about your moms cooking, i love that you never told her how you hated ratatouille LOL! cute pic of your dog Austin. I have not seen Big Miracle yet, but heard it was good. 

My soup was very good it was kind of a hobo soup it reminds me of when i was a girl scout cookie, we would go on camping trips and would make this soup on a campfire it was the best soup i ever ate. Ahhh, the memories!

debbie6122

Deb- A leidy daisy butt? LOL!!

chabba

What is a Leidy Daisy Butt?  Is it a brand name or a regional name for a cut of meat we might know by another name?

deborye

debbie6122

And there ya have it LOL!

JudiH

Hi!  One of my great "Canadian" meals for comfort is pork baby back ribs and rice.  It is sooooooo easy to make.  Take your baby 3 back ribs and dry roast in a covered roaster at 325 F for 30 minutes (it is o.k. for them to be on top of one another).  Reduce heat to 300 F and add your favourite BBQ sauce (you can make it homemade but I cheat and add a jar of Diana's BBQ sauce).  Baste occasionally and cook at this temp for 2 hours.  The meat falls off of the bone.  Very simple, eh?

JudiH

Hi,

 Sorry for the error .... there are no "3" baby back ribs - typo.  Just baby back ribs!