So...whats for dinner?

carberry

Thanks for the great pictures...looks like you guys had a blast.  Its good to put faces to the people we are talking to.  Everyone looks so happy and healthy!

Michelle  your hair looks marvelous...sooo cute. All of the trees here are in full bloom also, the magnolias are amazing.

Well.....yesterday my girlfriend kidnapped me for some shopping, and 5 hrs later, and after me locking her car doors with the keys inside, we made homemade pizzas for our combined families and watched the cuse game.....I was totally dead!  I know she is ADD and nothing is ever simple with her, so should have been prepared for a long day...but really?  I think she forgot that I am just  recovering from surgery..oh well...I will rest today, or as my husband always says "we will rest when we are dead"

Lacey12

Laurie, thinking about you and hoping that you are doing okay after what must have been a very painful and exhausting day. Sending Hugs your way......

Laurie08

Love the pictures from Pickety Place!  I am so glad everyone had a great time, the menu looked very yummy.  Still so sorry I missed it.

Carrie no wonder you were exhausted!  Hope you have gotten some rest now.

The funeral of course was very sad.  Seeing her little girl who is only 8 sitting in the front row was heartbreaking.   Everyone seemed to be doing well and holding up better then I would have thought though.  I've organized for people to bring my friend dinners this week, I will be doing Tuesday night.  Now I need to figure out what to bring.  

Last night we headed over to a good friends of ours that lives about 40 minutes away and had a big family slumber party.  They have 2 kids as well and the four kids had a blast together and were so happy to all camp out and sleep on a floor together.  We stayed up with our friends talking laughing and playing games until 2 in the morning!  So dumb but so fun!  

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.  I can't believe in just over a year we have over 200 pages on this thread....so glad we all found each other.

Kay_G

Hi everyone! Laurie, I am very sorry to hear about your friend's sister. How sad.



Thanks for posting the pic from pickety place! Looks like a good time was had by all.



Carrie, glad the sx ix behind you. Hope you're feeling better today.



Debbie, how's your DH doing? Did he have the sx yet?



Michelle, I can relate to the house issue. We lived in Michigan for a short period, and I hated it. I loved our house though. I SO wish we could have picked that house up and moved it up here. I've said that many times. We sold it for about $270,000, but it would probably cost a million if it were here in Phila. I wish I could post a pic of it. I loved it so much.



I'll check back later. Going out to a nice restaurant called the farmer and the fisherman tonight for our anniversary. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. It turned cold here. Brrrr.

debbie6122

Laurie-Glad you checked in today you have been on my mind. Your so sweet to get everyone organized for your friend. I saw the picture of the other kids on FB and they are cute as a button like your own sons. Glad you were able to Have some kind of fun out of a terrible day.

Michelle- Those are just such beautiful trees. when they are in full bloom they almost look like wisteria or liliac both being my favorite, thanks for the link.

Lacey- I will have to try dressing the kale a day in advance next time to see how it softens up the leaves, i love kale and use it in soups quite a bit or mostly  for chips but have not had it that way. Prepare your kale like you normally would for your salad i break mine in smaller peices put on sheet pan top with evoo, garlic, (i like lots too) kosher salt. pepper, if i make them spicy i will use chili flakes and cayenne toss well and bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes, turning and keep an eye on them they will get brown on the edges i like mine pretty crisp where they are crispy. Sometimes i put parmesan cheese on them too.

Kaara- Kale in smoothies, i have to give that a try, whats your recipe?

Carrie- Well, that will teach your girlfriend to kidnap you again lol Sounds like you had a great day though hope you are healing and getting better.

Made some yummy monte cristo sandwiches for brunch (since i get up late) used turkey, ham, cheddar, swiss put mustard on the inside dipped in custard mixt and fryed it was so good DH wanted more.

debbie6122

Joyce- Boy, it sure has been a hard week for you and Laurie-;-(((   

Kay- HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!  Hope you have a great time tonight!  Yes Chuck had his gamma knife almost 2 weeks ago i think, he opted for that rather than surgery because of the time he would of missed at work, he is doing fine now. 

apple

the good thing about kale is it has longevity.. I always almost have some on hand.  i wash it and keep it in ziplock and will cut some strips for salads, to throw in soups and throw in a smoothie.. I've had it 10 days and it still seems quite fresh.. my fridge is cold.

debbie6122

My ummm smoothie thingy broke, shoot cant rememeber what you call those but it broke LOL i wonder if you can make a smoothie in a food proccessor if the kale will become liquidy. I think i should go back to bed i realize im not making any sense LOL!  Must be from the Tv being too loud (chucks day off)

bedo

Debbie, is the word blender???  I went to make your soup today but couldn't find the creme fraiche  I couldn't find it and forgot to buy Greek yogurt to replace it also.  I went to local shops but they didn't have it so I will go to Stop and Shop tomorrow just for it for your pea soup.

I made Mrs. T's Potato and onion pierogies instead.  I boiled them and then added sauteed onions, butter, salt, pepper, hot pepper flakes and a cut up tomato.  I would not recommend this.

Laurie I'm glad that you had some fun this weekend.  I have been thinking of you.

debbie6122

 Bedo-  A blender yes, lol- I was thinking it was called somthing fancier i guess.. geeze! haha! If you cant find the creme fraiche or yogurt here is a recipe for it, its very good and this is how its made:

Don't worry about the creme fraiche spoiling while it's sitting on the counter; the acid in the mixture prevents bacterial disease associated with dairy products.

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Directions

In a bowl, combine the cream and buttermilk. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth in a warm, draft-free place and let sit until thickened, but still a pourable consistency, 12 to 16 hours. Stir and refrigerate until ready to use. (Can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

Kaara

Kay:  Happy Anniversary!  Enjoy your evening out.

Debbie:  The Kale smoothie recipe is simple...I use l head romaine, 3 handfuls of chopped kale, sweet red and yellow peppers, zuccini, apple, celery, several spears of pineapple and a few frozen strawberries.  Blend the kale and romaine first with 2 cups of water until smooth and then slowly add the other ingredients.  Turn on high for about 30 seconds to pulverize everything and drink.  You can also add protein powder if needed.  This makes a big 64 oz container (about 4 large glasses) so if you have a smaller blender you would have to cut the recipe in half.  This actually came from my DGD who is a vegetarian.  You can use spinach in place of kale if you don't have it.

Carberry:  You friend sounds like my daughter...she can really tire me out when we shop!

Just got back from playing golf and the weather cooperated...sun was behind clouds all day, and there was a nice breeze so didn't get too hot.  Also played rather respectable for not having picked up a club in two years.  Didn't keep score though which was just fine with me.

Brunch before golf was fantastic...raw bar, salad bar, about five entrees to choose from (small dishes to taste) and nice desserts.  It's all you can eat, but I was careful.  Leftover vegetable soup for dinner tonight! 

debbie6122

I just realized the word i was looking for, it was Juicer- My juicer started smelling like electrical wires were burning so afraid to use it, i didnt realize you could make such good smoothies like that in a blender with veggies, i have a blender yay!!!

Kaara- That reciepe sounds delishis i will have to buy some strawberries but have all the other ingredients to make it. Thanks! Glad you had a good day of golf i know you werent to excited about playing with BF boss. so glad it worked out for you.

Kaara

debbie:  Hopefully it's a powerful blender, and if not, just cut the veggies into very small pieces so that it won't overstress the blender blades.  My blender is a Vita Mix and it has a motor like a jet engine!

Lacey12

Kay, Happy Anniversary, and hope your dinner was delightful!

deborye

I have a 2 blenders, food processor, mini chopper, magic bullet and steamer.  I hardly use them.  I mostly use my cheap miracle slicer and something my Dad had that chops food real evenly.

deborye

deborye

Time to have a YARD SALE!!

debbie6122

Deb- Can i borrow one LOL!   I love my food processor it is the one thing i would take on an island with me if i had to make a choice.

Kaara- Its probably not that strong for things like kale so i may have to invest in a vito mix

Fixed DH chix and rice in a mushroom cream sauce, its what he wanted but for myself i made cod, asperagus, yellow squash, spincach and sweet potatoes. Then brownies for dessert.

debbie6122

Yikess, i just priced the vitamix machine and it runs starting around $300 up to and over $600 pretty spendy i might have to just buy a new juicer.

Momine

Deb, that first do-dad, it was sold on TV down here, and they called it the "Nicer Dicer." Dd and I used to watch the infomercial and scream with laughter, because one of the people selling it was a German lady speaking in English, but with a heavy German accent. We still say "nicer dicer" with a German accent and crack up. Yeah, I know, it doesn't take much, lol.

Kaara

debbie:  There are machines that do almost the same thing a the Vita Mix for much less money...you can find them at Walmart and places like that.  One that comes to mind is Ninja.  I think it's only $199 or something like that.  The Vita Mix is nice because you can make soups with it and it heats them right in the container.  It will also make bread dough and grind seeds for flour (something I will never do), also you can make nut milk like almond milk (not likely for me either).  It comes with a huge recipe book.

apple

i am going to be mostly gone all day and then from 5 until 8

I'll stick a chicken (peeled) in the crockpot..  maybe buy a packet of curry sauce mix and coconut milk for the kids to make a curry thing and see what happens.  I wonder if they'll bother to make some rice.

or it could just be soup.

carberry

Debbie you are pretty funny when your tired...wonder what your like drunk? ha ha  Your meal of cod and all those veges sounds wonderful...have been craving some fish lately.

Deb  I think I might have some gadgets in my house that I could sell you....they never work like you expect them to.  My DS took my breadmaker, smoothie maker, toaster oven(brand new in box) and my chopper.  He is a mechanical engineer and loves anything with moving parts! Definitely a gadget geek. He did a skit in high school with his buddy called "set it and forget it" with a microwave.

My DH just announced that I should not cook tonight because he has his leftovers to finish up from the weekend....ok with me!

Kay  good to see you here...Happy anniversary!

Laurie   Glad to see you got through the weekend and even found some laughter.

LuvRVing

My DH is on a plane heading to Mobile, AL until Wednesday.  My DS is here with me.  We moved out his furniture yesterday and today we will go back and finish cleaning out his apartment.  Oh how I hate moving!  I think I'll cook some sausage and peppers for dinner.  He likes that and there will be leftovers for DH.

Debbie - I have a large and small food processor which I use all the time,and a mandolin slicer which comes in very handy for making onion soup.  I haven't used a blender in years - but I do have a stick blender.

carolehalston

Thank you, ladies, for posting the picture and providing the names caption.  You all look happy with your meal and the company.  It would be great fun to have a big gathering of the What's for Dinner posters.

The redbud tree is quite common here in our southern zone.  It's usually an early bloomer and makes a glorious display.  But it's not a long-lived tree.  I planted one in my yard 19 years ago when we moved to this house.  It has since died.

Another gorgeous spring blooming tree that grows wild in the woods is the dogwood tree.  White blooms.  It is gorgeous especially blooming in its natural setting.

I started cooking kale about a year ago.  At first I tried sauteing it in EVOO with garlic.  It was tough and bitter.  I read about kale in America's Test Kitchen cookbook, VEGETABLES, in which it's classified as a bitter green.  The recommendation is to blanch it first in salted water for a few minutes.  I tried that technique and it worked for me.  Actually the kale is tender and good enough to eat after the blanching.  But I usually saute it with the garlic and EVOO.  Can't imagine eating it in a salad, but maybe the kale I buy isn't young and fresh enough. 

Laurie, I'm glad your sad day ended with the company of friends.  That's a neat idea--whole family sleepover.

Michelle, your home in the midwest is lovely.  We find the New England area very expensive when we travel there with our rv.  Beautiful but pricey.  And also crowded because of the nearness of Boston to the favorite vacation spots.  In contrast there are very nice states in the midwest that offer a better value to summer rv'ers like us.  We particularly enjoy the nice municipal golf courses in MI and MN where we can play golf for a reasonable price.  Not so in NE, although we love Bethlehem, NH, which does have a reasonably priced golf course along with the quaint village atmosphere.

Now I must get on the phone and call Roto-Rooter.  Last night when I was running the dishwasher, we had water rise in the hall bathroom tub.  Not good!  This house was built in the 1970's and the plumbing is in the slab foundation.  We've had Roto Rooter out before in past years.

Happy Monday to all.

Hauntie

I had a wonderful time with everyone at Pickity Place. The food was fabulous and the companionship and conversation couldn't be beat. I came home exhausted and was in bed by 7:00. Pretty much lounged around all day yesterday, even though there was a ton of stuff I should have been doing at home instead. Another very busy week ahead. Just snuck in to say "hi" while I'm eating my lunch.

Lynda

debbie6122

Kaara- I have a bread machine, so wouldnt need the vita mix machine i guess i will go on the hunt for a less expensive model

Apple- Your soup sounds yummy

Carrie- Well im def a Kook when i drink lol- I had an episode a few months back when i went out drinking came home and accidentl took more ambien than i thought and for some reason didnt pass out i stayed on the computer and when i woke up the next morning and read what i had written the night before i was horrified i didnt remember writing all those things and it didnt make any sense either i was so imbarrassed i had to erase most of it LOL! Now i drink responisbly but i do have a great time LOL!

Michelle- I have a stick blender too and have never took it out of the box yet i keep forgetting i have it i have to get it out and try it. I bet you are exhausted from moving all day hope you didnt over do it, boy, like Joyce says your the energiser bunny LOL!

Carol- When we first moved to kentucky and had met new friends they decided to take us out during christmas (it was snowing) in there old antique topless car to drive around and look at all the dogwood my friend barb made some hot toddies (driver didnt drink) and brought some blankets to keep us warm it was one of my favorite nights i had with them i just loved the dogwood trees. Sorry about your water problem hope it gets fixed soon.

Lynda- Glad you got some rest wished i could of met you and everyone else in person

debbie6122

 If you go to this link it will show you pictures of the trees here on the oregon/california coast they are the tallest trees in the world they are called redwoods and sequioa trees

www.monumentaltrees.com/en/trees/coastredwood/coastredwood/

LuvRVing

Debbie - I have been through the Redwood forest, just spectacular!  We drove from San Francisco up the coast all the way to Oregon then over to Ashland.  My daughter went to college at Southern Oregon State.  Just beautiful out there!

Another day of moving stuff.  Bonanza!  I found $1500 worth of uncashed checks that DS had misplaced, or forgot, or whatever!  They are all old but I deposited them in my checking account.  They'll either all sneak through or he'll have to go back to the payor and ask for a new one.  He needs the money, you'd think he'd pay better attention to his finances.  If they make it through, I'll give him the money before he leaves this weekend.  Then we had dinner because this energizer bunny needs to be recharged!  I am pooped!!!  I had pot roast, mashed potatoes and squash.  I've got half left for lunch tomorrow or Wednesday.  I will sleep tonight!

deborye

momine~when my Dad lived in his house, he mostly watched TV and bought a lot of stuff off the infomercials, almost tapped out all of his CC's.  Buy one get one free was his weakness.  Now he is in assisted living, I should of seen the signs of dementia when he was living here, I live in the house now with DH.  This is the house I was brought up in.  Seems weird to be back, we have been living here for 3 years now.  That do=Dad was a buy one get one free so now I have one and DD has one.  I love it.