So...whats for dinner?

debbie6122

Minustwo- Your so lucky to have a theater for plays in your area, the only place close to us is about 2 hours away. When we lived in Hawaii we got to see Cats and the phantom of the opera. I would love to see the jersey boys heard it was excellent.

Kaara- Happy Birthday, im sure i will say it again too but in case you are MIA on sunday, and yum on the red velvet cake. 

SpecialK- Thanks for the recipes they all sound so good, i might try the mandrin orange one tomorrow to go with my meat loaf. 

Lacey- Glad you had a nice birthday, hot chocolate cake is one of my favs. I hope you get plenty R&R with cutting back on your work.

carolehalston

Dinner last night was turkey salad and green salad with fresh tomatoes and cucumber and mixed salad greens.  Chipotle ranch dressing on the green salad.  I seldom buy dressings but this one caught my eye in the refrigerated section.  It's good.  With the turkey salad I tried to duplicate a delicious version served by a local health food store at their lunch counter.  Diced celery, grated carrot and raisins with mayo dressing.  It was very good.  DH put walnuts on his.

Company for dinner tonight.  Menu is shrimp with linguine, asparagus and green salad.  I use a scampi recipe for the shrimp.  Very simple.  Butter and EVOO in a saute pan, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and parsley.  You cook the shrimp no more than 4 or 5 min. until they turn pink.  Toss the shrimp mixture with the cooked linguini and spinkle Parm Reg. 

The other couple are also golfers so we'll probably have the US Open playing on the big screen tv.

Kaara, happy birthday on Sunday! 

SpecialK, those dressings look good. 

Happy Saturday!

Tazzy

Carole that's a great recipe for the shrimp and how easy to do for company too - I'll be trying that one out.   We had the lamb chops from my friends Mum's farm... all I did was pick mint from my garden - finely chop an mix with lemon juice and use as a rub then on the bbq - they were delicious.. I am thinking of buying half a lamb from her.  Served it with fresh corn and a green salad. 

Tonight we are at a work colleagues bbq - but the weather just sucks at the moment... been raining all night - hope it clears up for this afternoon.  They are providing the chicken or steaks and the rest of us its a pot luck.   I am doing a pasta salad.

I hope you all have sunshine where you are and enjoying your days.

Tazzy

Hey Laurie...love your new picture.

eric95us

Saw a small turkey in the freezer... It's in the oven.

LuvRVing

Eric - I have a turkey taking up too much space in my freezer...need to cook it in the next couple of weeks.  It's been there since Thanksgiving and I'm tired of looking at it.  Maybe I'll smoke it, haven't done that in a long time. 

I have been a busy bee this morning.  My DH told me I could buy cheery new "melamine" plates for the summer if I could figure out how to fit them into our tiny cupboard space.  Yesterday I bought service for 12 (we always have a crowd during the summer) of this stuff:

Revelation - that stuff takes up a lot less room than stoneware, especially my grandmother's Currier & Ives dishes.  And it's a whole lot lighter.  Mission accomplished, surprisingly.  I even bought a dozen plastic tumblers to match.  Amazingly, it's all clean and put away.  And I finally planted some flowers in my wicker plant stand plus added rosemary, basil and parsley to my huge pot of chives that came to life again.  I should do a second pot with dill, thyme, sage and whatever else is still hanging out in the greenhouses around here.  It's getting late but I didn't want to plant anything until we got back from Paris, lest the little plants wither and die from lack of water while we were gone.

Now for some lunch - I'll be eating my leftovers from last night's restaurant meal...lovely lobster poached in butter over a bed of gnocci with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and peas, in a sauce that was fantastic!  That said, our meal at La Morra was way better overall.  The food came out too fast last night.  When I'm in an upscale restaurant, I don't expect to have finished a 3 course meal in just about an hour and 15 minutes.  That was something the Parisians got right, regardless of the "fanciness" of the restaurant.   Luckily, someone gave us a Phantom Gourmet gift card for Christmas, which covered about half the tab. 

And what luck...remember that Russian restaurant I mentioned that we found the night we went to La Morra?  Well, boston.com/deals had an offer for a 4 course meal for 2 for $35!!!  What a great way to try out the food at this place!  Needless to say, I snapped up that deal without hesitation.  Rick loves Russian history so I won't have any problems talking him into going back for dinner. 

Speaking of dinner, we are babysitting the grandkids tonight so DD and DSIL can go out on the town.  He was a saint to let her go to Paris for 9 days and I'm sure he's ready for a date night.

 Carole - I love scampi, and it is so easy to make.  I remember one Mother's Day when my kids (teenagers) make shrimp and chicken scampi for us rather than going to a restaurant.  They did a great job and I think it was the first time they ever really cooked a meal for us.

Tazzy - sure hope the weather clears up for your bbq.  It was nice here this morning, and now it's cloudy and chilly.  That's not the weather we were promised...lol!

eric95us

That's exactly why it's in the oven!

If I have time, I'm going to try one of the dressing recipes tonight. I have to take my 94 year old mom to bet new glasses today and tomorrow I'm driving a bus load of people to Flagstaff.



Eric

Tazzy

What a pretty summery pattern Michelle.  And dont you just love leftover lunches... I do anyway.  Great deal on the meal as well.   Here in Canada we dont get such good deals as you do in the States.   DH and I try to do a couple of road trips a year to the states (except for this year)... and we are always so happy to go shopping there and get good deals for restaurants.   Hope you have fun babysitting this evening.  

You sure are keeping busy there Eric.

Lacey12

Very cute dishes , Michelle! Are they diswasher able? Just think how happy your kitchen cabinets must feel with a lighter load! LOL Sometimes I worry that my cabinets are going to come crashing down with the heavy dishes I have piled in them.



Where was the Russian restaurant? Washington St? I love the way you are scoping out good eating places to pair with your DF treatment appts. Am also impressed with the way you are keeping the Parisian trip alive by continuing to have great meals here now that you are home. Our Parisian friend is in town and we will be celebrating Father's Day with him and his daughter for brunch tomorrow...probably not too special a place since he is now retired and watching his bank acct....his pharma expense acct was way more fun for all of us! Paris is now so expensive he has even moved to Brussels, and may land in the US for financial relief. Who knew?! Actually probably Michelle since you just returned from there.



Laurie....Here's hoping that biker week is just about over so you can get back to your two parent family. I always try to avoid being at the lake during that week since I find it hard to sleep with the noise going all day and night. I'm sure it is great fun for those making the noise, however!



Well, break over....Back to my computer to get my last (forever!!) six progress reports done..... Wonder if I will ever feel bored enough to miss this consuming task?



Once done, DH and I will head to our next door neighbors' church fair for dinner where they feature all of their wonderful Middle Eastern fare. Yum..... That tasty plan is keeping DH focused on getting some more major yard work completed while I hack away at the computer.

debbie6122

Carole- Enjoy your delicious sounding dinner for tonight. I also cook my scampi dishes this way but i will add a tiny splash of heavy cream, just to make it even more fatning.

Michelle- Those dishes are very pretty and springy looking. That lobster gnocci sounds fabulous.

My freezer is too small to try to put a turkey in there, so don't buy them unless im cooking it right away. 

For breakfast i had some yummy fresh ripe fruit, strawberries, blueberries, cantelope with some yogurt and some banana nut muffins i got at our local bakery yesterday. I plan to start walking today to get those xtra pounds off i gained this last couple of months. The weather has been beautiful lately so better get my walk on while it last.

Everyone have a good weekend.

(((deb))))

luvmygoats

Got a minor problem to solve.  DH made a frozen Stouffers lasagna last night and neither one of us liked it.  Nothing nasty wrong with it just runny, not much taste and neither one of us is very picky about food.  If I don't have to cook, clean up after work I'll eat pretty much anything.  It was one of those smaller Farmhouse? kind about 1/2 left.  Thought about pulling it apart and layering it with some frozen chopped spinach sauteed with garlic maybe rosemary.  Dried spices I have but rosemary, mint only fresh ones. Love the garlic in a jar!  Does that sound doable (is that a word??)?  Have Parmesan, mozzarella, microwave bacon.  Standard stuff for cupboards.  Any suggestions?  Probably have some frozen focaccia or similar to add to meal.  Feel like it needs a vegie with it/in it.  DH doesn't think like that.  It was easy for him and most imp. since he usually has dish duty it didn't make a mess. He's been my rock and at least we ate since I spent until 0130 this am finishing paperwork.

DH might not eat it with spinach in it but I would no problem.  Open to any and all suggestions so long as I don't have to drag my bu** out to the grocery.  Will find something nicer in freezer for Father's day.  Probably we'll have our pork chop day.  

Tazzy

What about trying this... if you have the stuff in your cupboards.  

Can of diced toms drained, pasta sauce, and cream cheese.  Use as much as needed for size of lasagne.  Diced toms and pasta sauce in skillet and bring to boil, add cream cheese and stir in until thickened and melted, add the mozza and put lasagna back together - add additional herbs to tom mixture as needed.   Oh! and of course garlic.   I love that garlic in a jar :-)  Any broccoli ?  if the DH not keen on spinach?

    

LuvRVing

Zucchini would work, too, if you have that in the fridge, or mushrouoms. And some garlic, basil and oregano along with some pepper. Oh, bell peppers, too!

debbie6122

Tazzy, you got good advice for the flavor but as far as runny have you checked it today? Sometimes letting it sit overnight in the fridge will thicken it up.

debbie6122

oops meant to say luvmygoats.

Tazzy

Hmmm good point debbie.... unless you take it all apart and put in with the tom mixture... but what a pain in the ar*e to do that...Luv Luv's suggestions too.

Tazzy

Hey... just found a recipe for lasagne soup... you have the lasagne...just add the bits you haven't got...  would go well with your foccacia bread and woulld be an answer to the 'runnyness'.  Even if you dont have all the required ingredients... you have the main one of the lasagne  and you can just adjust accordingly.

Ingredients
for the soup

2 tsp. olive oil

1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage

3 c. chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 T. tomato paste

1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

6 c. chicken stock

8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta

1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
 
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.  

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and
simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt,
and pepper.   

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle
the hot soup over the cheese.

debbie6122

ohhh Tazzy thats an excellent idea. I make a pizza soup and i bet that could come close to taste. yummm!

Kaara

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes!  With the US Open on this weekend, we'll probably go out for lunch and a movie...as long as we're home before Tiger tees off..BF couldn't miss that.  He was nice to take me to dinner and the concert the other evening, so I've more than had my share of birthday surprises.  Now I just look forward to that big piece of red velvet cake with Bluebell ice cream on top.  Our local grocery makes the best there is and they sell it cut in slices so I don't overdo...maybe I'll buy two pieces;)

Hope all your DH's and SO's have a great Father's Day tomorrow! 

eric95us

Turkey and all the usual stuff. It was like Thanksgiving in June...



I also made a salad...

8 ounce can crushed pineappe

11 ounce can mandarin oranges

1 pound sour cream

Shredded or flaked coconut



I pour the juice out from the cans of fruit and save it, mix the oranges, pineapple and sour cream together. I mix enough coconut in to give it the texture I like. If tne coconut is dry, I add a couple of tablespoons of the juice.



Some crushed walnuts can be sprinkled on top...and a cherry or two adds some color...

chabba

eric, add some mini marshmallows to that salad and you have what Mom used to call heavenly hash when I was a kid.  You can use almost any combination of fresh or canned fruit cut in bite size pieces.  Fresh pears, apples and dried cranberries make a nice combination with the coconut and sour cream.

You can also layer mandarin oranges and/or pineapple chunks with sour cream sprinkled with brown sugar.  This can be a salad but also makes a nice light dessert.

deborye

He did leave this world peacefully, my Brother was with him when he passed and my niece who is a nurse knew he was on his way to meet my Mom in heaven.  My Brother called me at 6 AM I arrived at 6:35, he passed at 6:10.  Everyone did such a great job, we had a lot of friends and relatives at the house, it was a beautiful day.  Most of the people stayed outside talking and eating.  

debbie6122

Deb- Hope you find some peace soon. I know how hard this is. Sending love and hugs!

debbie6122

Eric- And don't forget the cherries too. '-)))

SeasideMemories

Deborye....



Sending you the hug that I wish I could deliver in person.... Thinking of you tonight.....

eric95us

Deb. Thinking of you. I'm not very good at this... I'm sorry seems so "nothing".



Eric

MinusTwo

Deborye - you are in my thoughts & prayers.

I got a light cake recipe from one of the BCO threads, but I don't think it was on this "dinner" thread.  I made it today & it was a HUGE success & unbelievably easy so I'll share it.  You can pick up & munch squares on the go, or top with whipped cream.  If it came from this thread - thanks to the author. (sorry. can't figure out how to fix the print size)

1 box angel food cake mix  (Pillsbury)
1 can (20 ounce size) crushed pineapple with natural juice
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In medium bowl, combine cake mix and pineapple with juice. Mix, but do not over mix. Batter will be fluffy. Pour mixture into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

No frosting is needed, but you may top with whipped topping.
 

Tazzy

Deborye...thoughts with you and your family.  (((hugs)))

And why is it that all the cakes and cookies and lovely things to eat are fattening... just not fair!

MinusTwo

Hey Tazzy - On the front of the angel food cake box it says "No Fat" so I didn't read the calories.  And the pineapple is in natural juice w/o added sugar.  So I convinced myself it was healthy.  Denial anyone??

eric95us

A 50 cent candy bar at the store is 240 calories (I looked).



I run. A 7 minute mile is about the very best I can do these days and the doctors estimate I burn about 110 calories per mile of running.



I can eat that candy bar in 30 seconds. 240 calories worth of running takes me 15 minutes...it's another indication that life isn't fair. :-)



Eric