So...whats for dinner?

deborye

Can I bring my sister?

Moonflwr912

Cute pic, Deb. Hope the MRI goes well.

Michelle, you deserve to rest, busy day!

Kidsandlabs, just enjoy a nice dinner sometimes taste buds are affected and later food doesn't taste right. So enjoy it now. But, do drink a lot.small SEs.

Laurie, 10000 posts is great.

Lacey12

Wow! Congrats Laurie and everyone else for the milestone on this thread. Pretty impressive!

I too have had the cooking bug (in truth, I think I am avoiding clearing out house clutter, which I should be heavily involved in) But since I bought a ton more delish tomatoes yesterday I was determined to roast lots more. I plan to freeze some and use some in a pasta or lasagna dish I will bring to a pot luck on Friday. Also made a fresh corn and black bean salsa, (for the first time)which turned out great....and for dinner tonight I made my favorite lamb burgers topped with feta, red onion, roasted tomatoes and lettuce. Yum!!! I guess there is nothing like a little cool weather to get us folk cookin'! But I can hardly hold a candle to your efforts, Michelle, and your culinary from-scratch creations, Susan. I recently bought tamatillos, but never used them before...shall I be roasting them also? I was thinking about a salsa....but with tomatillos can they be raw in salsa like tomatoes?



Since I can never seem to get pictures (of food, family, etc.) on the posts, I'll bring them to Pickety Place on Sat.



Yes, I am having the same snafus and messages when trying to post.

susan_02143

I find raw tomatillos to be too "raw." They aren't really related to the tomato in spite of their appearance. They are actually a type of gooseberry. This is a really nice salsa that freezes very well. My only tip is to roast a bit extra pepper, and then add slowly to the blender, tasting in between each addition. There should be some kick, but enough to make you weep. To use it as an enchilada topping, cut with some chicken stock, or cream for Enchildas Suisse.

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=324

*susan* 

Lacey12

Thanks Susan....will try.

Lacey12

Thanks Susan....will try.

Lacey12

Thanks Susan....will try.

Moonflwr912

Tip, to avoid double posts, afterthought hitting the submit button, after it turns green, instead of waiting forerver or hitting the button again, go down below that and hit favorites, it somehow pusheses the post through.

Laurie08

now I want enchiladas- anyone want to share a recipe?

eric95us

I would freeze grapes, blueberries, strawberries and melon balls on a glass sheet and then put them in a plastic bag. On chemo days, I'd put them in a tiny styrofoam cooler with a pound of dry ice and bring them with us. She'd eat them, one at a time, like M&M candies.



The nurses liked the idea of food and cold stuff.

deborye

LOL, three time's a charm Lacey. 

susan_02143

laurie,

The long method is to poach a chicken with some veggies and then use the poached chicken. The faster method is to buy a rotisserie chicken from the store. Either way, shred the chicken. Preheat your oven to about 375º. Cut some onions [I like doing crosswise] and toss them in a bowl with a bit of oil and salt and let marinade.  Warm your tomatillo sauce [salsa verde] in a sauce pan with some chicken stock or water. Shred some cheese, cheddar, monteray jack, or a combination. Heat a frypan and add the onions. Let them get brown and mix into the shredded chicken.

Smear some sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.

Add some oil to the fry pan over medium-high heat and, one by one, fry the corn tortillas, 15 seconds per side. When the tortilla is ready, place it on a plate, fill with the chicken mixture, roll and place in the baking dish. Continue until you have enough filled tortillas. The seam side should be down.

Spoon more tomatillo sauce over the stuffed enchiladas. Top with cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If the cheese isn't browned, turn on the broiler for a few moments.

If you buy your salsa verde, I highly recommend the Fontera brand label tomatillo sauce.

Phew!

I hope this helps,

*susan* 

debbie6122

Laurie- My favorite is cheese enchiladas. Lightly spay the tortillas with pam spray and warm in pan just until soft. Shredd med cheddar and montery Jack cheese in a bowl. add diced onion, and if you like( olives, optional) add a small can of chopped olives (drained) to the cheese mix, with salt, pepper and garlic powder. mix all well in bowl. In a pan warm, I large can each of La victoria red enchilada sauce and the green verde enchilada sauce, bring to a boil to thicken then keep warm.- Dip the tortillas in the sauce and assemble in a baking pan put cheese mix down the middle and roll up where fold will be facing down. (reserve some of the mixture for top) Bake at 375% for 25 minutes then put reserved cheese mix on top and return to oven for another 10 minutes. When I get ready to plate it, I top it with sour cream, shredded lettuce. chopped green onions and sliced avocado. So yummy I get asked for my recipe all the time its simple but yummy. I think I will make these tomorrow.

Wish I could be there to meet you all at pickety place, Its great you all live close enough to do that.

debbie6122

Moon- I tired it the way you said with hitting the fav button and it Worked! YAY!

chabba

I love the "White Enchiladas" a friend of mine makes.  She uses flour tortillias and fills them with a mix of shredded chicken, jack chees, diced canned green chilis,onions, a hint of garlic and sourcream. She tops it with a jack cheese cream sauce that has a bit of sour cream in it. Yum.

Kaara

A big week for me.  I have a friend coming up from Ft. Lauderdale to visit for a visit.  We have lots planned to do with this great fall weather, and I have to do some meals that are quick and easy, but good at the same time.  I will do my lasagna for sure, probably a pot roast, asian lettuce wraps, and the rest of the time we'll eat out...hopefully!  This is supposed to be a vacation for me too!

I'm feeling so much better since getting the all clear on my mammo.  I guess it was in the back of my mind even though I wasn't thinking about it until just the day before.  I slept very well last night for the first time in a while. 

LuvRVing

Congrats, Kaara!  Have a great time with your friend!  And nothing beats a good night's sleep!

All this talk about enchiladas reminds me that we are supposed to meet DD and family tonight for taco Tuesday, then DGS#2 is supposed to spend the night - no school tomorrow.  They get off every Jewish holiday, so there has not been a full week of school since it started before Labor Day!  I need to check with her. 

carberry

CHEERS Everyone! This is either one fantastic thread or we just like to talk alot....I am siding with the first version.

Thank you for posting the enchilada recipes.  there is a commercial that shows them making enchiladas and my husband always ask "how come we never have those?"  Now I can make him some.

Just came back from wandering into the grocery store to get some immodium.....ahem...I am not getting any better in that department. got some bananas too.   I look like crap and just prayed I would not run into anyone I knew. It was 7:30 in the morning and not many shoppers, but of course the checkout girl made a mistake with the "one" lady in front of me and it took forever!!

So still no cooking for me, even though the cool weather has me wanting to cook also.

Laurie  Happy Birthdays out to all of your family members, Dont fret, you will get it done, and if not, no one will rpobably notice anyways.

apple

even with the repeats, we'll hit 10,000.  I am having my favorite breakfast of 2 scrambled eggs on buttered toast with a super sharp cheddar on top and Prego bacon and provolone flavored tomato sauce on top  (it rocks).  I can never quite finish (while my doggie is waiting patiently).

carolehalston

I'm very interested in the roasted tomatoes and roasted tomato sauce.  I've never made either.  I think it was Lacey and Susan?  Could you give a little more detail? 

We should be back home in Louisiana on Sunday after a summer of living in our 5th wheel camper in northern states.  I'm looking forward to being back in my house kitchen!  Then maybe I'll have something to contribute.

Here's an easy dish dh's niece made when we were visiting her and her family in Fowler, IN, recently.  It's a chicken dish.  Place chicken breasts in a glass baking dish.  Cover with slices of cheese of your choice.  Pepperjack or whatever.  Spoon canned chicken soup over the chicken breasts covered with cheese.  Sprinkle dressing (Stovetop or other brand) over the top of everything.  Dribble melted butter over the dressing.  Cover with foil and bake in 300 degree oven for an hour.  Uncover and bake another hour.  As you can guess from the ingredients, the dish was high cal and high fat, but it tasted good.

If I make it, I will cut the chicken breasts in slices and probably used "heart healthy" canned soup.  Or you could make your own white sauce and use some chicken broth with the milk.  You could make your own dressing with some good bread crumbs and grated Italian cheese and herbs.  In other words you could take this super easy recipe and make it more labor intensive!  For me a recipe is only a working guide.  I always feel free to tinker with it.  The niece has four kids and is a school teacher so the easier the better for her and her dh.  Actually her dh assembled the dish from a recipe she had found in a cookbook.  It really tasted good as I've already said.  The cheese and soup formed a rich sauce and the dressing provided some crunch.

Thanks, Laurie, for starting this thread, which I really enjoy.

susan_02143

Roasted Tomato Sauce

This is my basic recipe, and then I riff on it depending on what ingredients are affordable. Generally, I triple this recipe. When it is done, I put them into ziplock bags [1 cup per bag] and lie them flat on a sheet plan in the freezer so they are easy to store. Of course, you can can as well, but I never have. This is a very dense sauce. We like to serve it on ravioli or use as a pizza topping. When I defrost, I reheat on a sheet pan in an oven, adding a bit of fresh olive oil to recapture the fresh roasted flavor.

Ingredients

About 8 pounds, ripe tomatoes, any variety, cored and quartered [I love to have a mix with romas being about half.]

10 medium onions, peeled and quartered [white is better than red]

10 cloves garlic, left whole

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup chopped fresh herbs, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, chives or any combination [Parsley seems too bitter. I love basil, oregano, and thyme]

About 1⁄4 (quarter) cup good olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper [I use about 1 tbl kosher salt and no pepper]

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450degrees.

2. In a large roasting pan, gently toss the tomatoes,onions, whole and chopped garlic, herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes in the oven. Gently stir the sauce. Roast another 20 minutes and gently toss.

3. Roast until the tomatoes are cooked and softened and broken down somewhat into a sauce, with a golden brown crust on top. Total roasting time should be about 90 minutes but wildly varies depending on how juicy the tomatoes are.

4. Taste the sauce. If it is bitter, add a bit of sugar. This should not be needed if the tomatoes are very ripe. 

Lacey12

http://www.ediblevineyard.com/index.php/stories/article/1192



OK, I am prepared to send this out three times since I just lost a post with the suggested ways to push it through.. must be IPAD specific

Anyhow, I use this recipe for the roasted tomatoes, with some variation....reduce the olive oil considerably....blend the oil and balsamic together well before drizzling over....use various herbs. Yesterday I really liked the ones with fennel powder added.

Am going to try this again now...and if it does't work I'm off to walk off my frustration!

debbie6122

Kaara- Have fun with your friend, and Congrats on the mamo!

Michelle- Have fun with your DGS! 

Carrie- funny how that happens when you hope you won't run into anyone at the store and it seems everyone is there when you look your worst. Hope you feel better soon, I find eating lots of cheese plugs me up!

Apple- Your breakfast reminds me of the hawaiian version of a LOCO MOCO- It is 2 beef patties on rice, with grilled onions, beef gravy with an egg on top! Sound weird but good.

Carole- I bet you will be so glad to get back in your own bed, but envious of all the traveling you do sounds like you have been having a wonderful trip. That recipe sounds delicious too!

Susan- That recipes sounds yummy will have to try it.

Laurie- As Carrie said, you will get it all done, or at least I hope you did, sounds like you have been very busy, and Happy Birthday to all of yours. And hope you feel better too.

eric95us

Got the temporary crown. It was a tooth in my upper jaw so it was *N*O*I*S*Y* for about 45 minutes but completely pain free. It didn't even approach "uncomfortable".



I kept thinking of how easy this was in comparison to what Sharon and "all y'all" have endured.



Eric

Laurie08

Thanks everyone for the enchilada recipes.  I have made them before but not for quite awhile- I think it is time I give it a go again.

This cold is just dragging on...it's only been 5 days but with so much to get done it is kind of frustrating me.

Tonight I made chicken marsala, it came out great and I had seconds:)

debbie6122

Eric- Glad your crown was uneventful and painless. I hate the noise that's why i find some one to put me out when I go, not to mention the pain. Ouch!!

Laurie- Seems like this season has been a bad season for colds and the flu, that and people who don't normally get alergys are getting them. Hope you got through all your tasks you had to get done. And feel better!!

Was planning on surprising my dad and driving down there Friday, Mainly because I knew he would not be in any shape for company staying there and he would insist on us staying there just because he thought he should regardless of how he felt. So we booked a motel for 2 nights and thought when I called him if he felt good I would say guess what? We are here can I come by and give you a hug. I knew it probably was not a good idea but Chuck talked me into it because he had plans to play golf with my brother. My dad got wind of it and told me he was not up to company or even felt like talking right now, i of course told him he was absolutely right and didnt know what i was thinking, now he is feeling bad that he had to tell me not to come. I know how bad i felt going through chemo, and was not thinking straight. I told him when he finishes his TX we will celebrate and have family time then when he feels better. But now I just feel so horrible i put him in that position. This is all about him and getting better, which i told him that. But still how could i of even thought this might be ok!! He is not doing well, his plateles were border line just after his first chemo. So tomorrow we will see what last weeks chemo did to his blood counts. He is weak and feels like he is going to pass out.  Thursday will be his third chemo and so worried about him. So again, please keep him in your prayers and thoughts.

Thanks for letting me vent!

chabba

debbie, my prayers are with you and your Dad every day.  My heart holds a special place for you. 

Moonflwr912

Deb, prayers for your dad..

debbie6122

Aww thanks Chabba!! I feel the same way!

Moon- Thank you too, I hope you are feeling better.

apple

I made quinoa yesterday.. ick... I just don't care for it. Son #1 the super athlete liked it tho.