So...whats for dinner?

carolehalston

Chabba, do you ever freeze the fresh pasta to cook later?  I read that you can do that and the pasta is still very good and cooks quickly, 3 or 4 min.

Could you share a pasta dough recipe?  I notice that some recipes have egg and some don't.

LuvRVing

I'm baaack!  Survived the 18 hour return trip from Kuaui and even slept some (thank you ativan and temazepam).  Went to bed at 9:30 and slept right through until just after 6, went to chemo for 8 and found out my appt was for 9:30...oops.  So we went for breakfast and then went back.  My chemo was changed to Gemzar so I got my first treatment (30 minute IV) and now we are home.  This will be 2 weeks on, 1 week off.  And I have a CAT scan tomorrow morning to see how much progression there has been (tumor markers indicate a lot).   All in all I feel pretty good, I hope Gemzar is easy.

Carole - you're giving up a food you love for a couple of bucks???  Get those artichokes and enjoy them.  Life is too short...

LeeA - I'm sure your mac nut crusted mahi will be delish!  It can't be hard - all those fish diners in Kauai whip it up in no time.

We're having spaghetti and meat sauce (Paul Newman Cabernet Marinara) for supper tonight.  One of these days I'll make my famous (LOL) sauce and get some in the freezer.

I owe you pictures and a report of our trip.  I'll work on it in the next few days.  We have a few "food porn" pictures but surprisingly, we ate at more local diner-like places this time.  My palate wasn't up for gourmet dining so we kept it simple (and therefore "cheap").

auntienance

Welcome back Michelle. Hope gemzar is kind to you and beats those markers down.



Carole, I know what you mean about lack of space. My pasta machine sits on the washing machine when it's not laundry day.

LeeA

Welcome back, Michelle!  Wishing you excellent results with Gemzar and looking forward to photos!  That's a long trip home but hey, paradise is worth it, right? 

gardengumby

Welcome back, Michelle, and good luck with the Gemzar.  We're just beginning to start planning another trip to Hawaii - this time just to Oahu to visit the kids/g-kids.

Laurie08

Welcome back Michelle!  I too home the gemzar knocks your counts back to where they belong and is gentle on you while doing it.

We are having the left overs of Michelle's famous sauce tonight.  I am going to make chicken parm with it.  Tomorrow is grocery shopping day.  I need to plan some meals and find some energy.  Started another round of antibiotics today. 

On a total side note- my father sent me an e mail (yes an e mail) to tell me he is engaged to a woman he has seen off and on for the past year and is getting married in October.  I don't trust this woman and I don't know why but it is really bothering me.  Making my mothers passing seem like yesterday.  I am thankful I have a wonderful DH who is there for me and my brother who is on the same page as I am, just less emotional.  The thought of my dad having this other woman move into his house and use all of my mothers stuff makes me cringe.  It's a while long sorted story.....

carolehalston

Michelle, it's good to have you back!  I so hope that the new chemo will do its job.  You're right about the artichokes.  I shouldn't be such a cheapskate.  Thanks for the reality check.

Laurie, I can't believe your dad sent you an E-MAIL to tell you something that important!  He must have known you wouldn't be happy over his news.  

SpecialK

michelle - glad you back and sure hoping Gemzar is the ticket and reduces your markers.  Looking forward to the "food porn" even if it not up to the Paris standard!

laurie - so sorry you are having this experience with your dad - I have a good friend who lost her mom to BC several years ago and her dad just remarried, it brings up a host of emotions and feelings - none of them easy. 

Laurie08

thanks ladies.  I am surprised at the feelings this is bringing to the surface.  I appreciate the support

eric95us

Welcome back Michelle! I'll add to chorus that the new chemo does the job for you.





Remember how I said it was so warm Monday? Today it snowed at the National Guard Armory in Phoenix. I spent a lot of time out in the rain. I was comfy and dry, so it wasn't a too big of a deal...until it switched to hail..



Eric

carberry

Welcome Back Michelle:) time to show that cancer who's boss...You and that Gemzar are gonna kick some serious butt!Cant wait for the Hawaii pics and some good food porn.

Laurie That is hard concept to accept. Have you met this woman? or are you going on instinct and emotion?  It is very hard for men to be alone, and maybe your Dad is very lonely and looking for someone to share his days with. I am sure he will never forget your mom.  Maybe you can make an arrangement to go to his house and take all of your moms personal stuff and momentos to keep for you and your brother. Family stuff sure is complicated.

Went out last night to see the Syracuse game, I was not feeling too great and got hoodwinked into going...all in all it turned out ok, and I just had a salad for dinner.

Tonight will be tuna noodle casserole....wind chill here makes it -7 degrees.  Maybe I will bake bread to warm this place up.

Eric Oh what crazy weather!

eric95us

Laurie....for what it's worth....some random thoughts of mine.



Sharon and I have been married more than 23 years. I care for her very, very, very (you get the idea) deeply.



Yet.....Mickey has a special place in my heart and I will always remember her.



If she had not so strongly insisted that I find someone else, I may not have bothered...even with all her insistence it still took a long time for me to "crawl out of my hole" and start dating again. And when I did, I felt like I was cheating on her...





Eric

Laurie08

Eric and Carrie- Thank you.  I have met her several times.  She comes across as very dishonest and a gold digger.  When she and my dad were first seeing each other after 4 months she pushed for marriage or she would end it.  He did not want to get married so they broke up.  About 5 months later he started seeing her again and found out after about a month that she was engaged to someone else!  He was devastated.  Fast forward 4 months and she broke off the engagement and is back with my dad again.  Now, 5 months into it they are engaged.  Kinda slimy huh??  I have not had a problem with my dad dating.  He started dating less than a year after my mother passed away.  He has dated several women.  I don't like this woman and I see no reason for the rushed marriage.  Ok- thanks for letting me vent!!

Tonight will be shake and bake pork chops, nice and simple.  We went grocery shopping today and I think my children were possessed!  Usually we have so much fin together today they were off the wall and had me so flustered I even forgot to buy milk and butter.  Doh!!

SpecialK

laurie - seems as though you are also fearful of your dad being hurt, as well as just not liking her, which sounds pretty legit!

eric95us

I agree...that does sound weird......



Eric

LeeA

Chiming in: fishy.

carberry

Laurie  Gotcha...yeah maybe some alterior motives there.  this thing kinda happened to my father-in-law, but the funny part of the story is...they were both in a nursing home! Families thought she went after him because he still had a car and she wanted to escape the nursing home. He bought her a diamond ring and took her to a really fancy resort/hotel and no one knew till my sister-in-law came to visit and he was gone.  Long story short he was located and promptly moved to a home closer to his daughter where she could keep an eye on him.  He had LOTS of money that could have been lost!! Her daughter was fully aware that she did this to several of the men in the home....maybe a little dementia?

carolehalston

Laurie, given those details, I empathize with your concern and disapproval. 

For dinner tonight, chicken breasts flattened and lightly breaded and browned in a little olive oil and butter.  Carrots steamed in chicken broth and then sauced with small amt of butter and splenda brown sugar.  Chopped salad of iceburg lettuce, tomato and cucumber dressed with vinegar and light mayo.

Lacey12

Laurie, sorry your Dad's engagement is a complicated, not so savory one to witness. Maybe if she's that flighty, she will not make it to the altar. Re: the gold digging part, would he be open to you and your brother having a chat with him about his wedding plans and talking about pre-nup agreements that older folks with assets often have? Or does that sound too bold?



Michelle, hoping for you that Gemzar is a true "gem" for you! Looking forward to the food porn when you get the chance to post. It will probably be way before I get on to my computer and figure out how to post pix of our visit to the grandkids and the "grand house" , which we finally experienced....and enjoyed. So now, our house here feels cozy!



Today I had a wonderful lunch out.....BLT and amazing "frites" with salad at Petit Robert Bistro in my town with a few friends. Am stalling about dinner....tired, and not in the mood to go food shopping which is required for us to eat homemade tonight. Maybe we'll "order in" which seems rather obscene after having lunch out.....but I am really tired....did I tell you?!



A very happy thing that happened with the grandkids was that our little six month old diva LOVED her new pink taggie I made for her, and when she got fussy was easily distracted by playing with and sucking (she is a very oral baby) on the ribbons. Now....DGS has had two wonderful taggies which I made during his infancy....a Red Sox one and a Celtics one, both very colorful, which, to my knowledge, he has never touched. But now that baby Ava loves hers so much he is thrilled with his (and hers....sibling rivalry prevails!). I am now a happy GM that my labor has not gone to waste.....even tho I was willing to suck it up. I make those taggies for so many babies, I couldn't not do it for my own......Thank you little Ava for loving yours!



Expecting some more snowy weather this weekend. Wish a bit more had melted first.

gardengumby

Laurie - I can only say that I hope things work out for the best - it doesn't sound good.

For dinner, leg of lamb (I cooked last night), rice and salad.

Lacey12

Garden, wish we were at your dinner table!

As I was about to order pizza, recalled that I had a Trader's Greco-Roman pizza taking up real estate in the freezer, so heated that up instead....not the most sating....but dinner nonetheless! This is a rarity in our house, where we basically must eat too much!



In fact DH heated up the rest of last night's broccoli rabe/sausage lasagna leftovers (also from the freezer), since the pizza wasn't enough. Last night, the lasagna was wonderful after being in the freezer for a month.....or I was just really hungry!

By the way, Yellow Tail Merlot goes really well with Trader's Greco-Roman Pizza! Very high end



Reminds me..... our little dry town has just granted six liquor licenses to new stores...major town change! It will be so interesting to live in a non-dry town...and with all of the new stores looking for business. I think I've spent my young and older adult life driving to town borders to buy a bottle of wine. Too bad the MO says one 4 oz glass of wine daily, max. I expect my town stores will be offering lots of wine tastings.



Nite all.......

Laurie08

Lacey- Your story of the taggies made me smile.  Awesome, they are so lucky to have you. Also 4oz has to be wrong for wine consumption?

Carrie- OMG!  Hard to believe the elderly can be that crafty?!  Thankfully the e mail did include the fact that he will do a pre nup, what it includes/excludes Lord knows.  At this point he knows how I feel and am staying my distance.

Tomorrow the kids will hang out with their grandparents for awhile (hooray!).  Lots of stuff to get done while I have the time.  I started going through the list of dinner ideas with DH before he headed to bed, he stopped me on the firtst one- eye of the round.  So a roast for dinner tomorrow it is!  And left over pepper steaks for the weekend

eric95us

Laurie, I hope your dad finds someone special that is both good for him and good to him.



I managed to luck out twice in that regard.... :-)



Dinner tonight was chicken & jasmine rice...I put a little bit of cinnamon onto the chicken before I put it into the dutch oven..... I got home "early" at 7:30 and Sharon was looking tired from teaching, so I volunteered to cook and decided it needed to be fast so we wouldn't be eating at 10 o'clock. Jasmine rice cooks in 15 minutes so it's done slightly faster than the chicken...

carberry

Lacey  Those are so wonderful for the little ones....my kids had the blankets with the satin edges that they loved to touch and put next to their faces.  I really thought my son would have to take his to college, but no, I found it all folded neatly in the back of his closet.  My daughter just wore hers out.

Daughter comin home from the big city tonight YAY!  Have to pick her up from the bus station at 8:30pm so we will stay in town and go somewheres to feed her.

Laurie Wish my hubby liked roast...maybe its the way I cook it?  but he is not thrilled.  I am not sure if I am needing a boost to my red blood cells or not, but I crave red meat...cant get enough steak.  I was never like that before ca.

LuvRVing

Carrie - hubby and I both love beef and I can eat rare beef because it's nice and moist.  Have you tried the recipe with the eye of the round?  It's easy and produces a tender, medium rare roast.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/High-Temperature-Eye-of-Round-Roast/

My RBC are lingering outside the low end of normal so I've been indulging in beef - burgers, especially.

Hubby announced that his best friend from Kansas City wants to meet him in Phoenix to play golf soon.  Since he won't leave me home alone, I will go with him, which is perfectly OK with me!  Nice to have something else to look forward to!

carolehalston

Carrie, I love red meat, too, and a good hamburger is a major treat.  DH has 3 stents so we try not to eat red meat often.  His cardio dr. would just as soon he didn't eat it at all.

Michelle, that's a very easy recipe.  It just requires timing to have the roast ready for meal time.  I seldom ever buy that cut of roast.  Our beef choice is a good ribeye, about 1 lb, which we share.  Winn-Dixie supermarket sells prime.  Fresh Market also sells a very good ribeye. 

Eric, was that a whole chicken you cooked in the iron dutch oven?  Stove top cooking or in the oven?

The dinner menu is full of blanks at this point.  Maybe pork loin medallions.  Maybe lamb chops.  Maybe a quinoa side. 

susan_02143

Food has been rather uninspired around here lately. Thank goodness the husband has had a few cravings. Last night I did a lemon, garlic chicken with mushrooms that came out very well. I invited the kids to stay for dinner after our tax session this afternoon, so now I have to actually figure out what to serve. Needs to be something that doesn't require too much tending. Have I told you I am having a wedding reception at my house in March? The planning meeting is this afternoon before the tax session. And the kids need to be at a dance [they love swing dancing on Friday nights] by around 8pm at the latest.

I have, perhaps, over-promised once again. When will I learn?

Michelle, really hope that the new drug is the magic bullet and that your red meat diet helps those blood counts improve.

Laurie, who knows what this woman offers your dad, but I suspect that your gut reactions are accurate. Maybe you can collect a few of your mother's items so that they are discarded? The whole situation is complicated.

*susan*

eric95us

This time it was already thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts (but I have done whole chickens too). I put a bit of chicken stock (left over from the Lebanese Couscous) in the dutch oven to speed things up. I think it took 15-20 minutes on the stove top to cook.



I'll put the dutch oven in the oven, but I usually reserve that for things that will be cooking a long time....such as a pot roast.

Laurie08

Michelle- Maybe it is a french thing?  We always do eye of the round as well and cook it the same way.

Susan- can you share the recipe for the garlic lemon chicken with mushrooms?

Carrie- Yay for your daughter coming home!!

Have to run!

carolehalston

Dinner menu more definite at this time of day.  Lamb chops, baked sweet potatoes and either chopped salad or cole slaw. 

We're going to try the same cooking technique for the lamb chops that we've been using with ribeyes.  Sear the chops in an iron skillet that has been heated in the 500 degree oven.  Finish cooking the chops in the oven, 1 or 2 min. on each side.  We usually marinate the chops a few minutes by rubbing olive oil and fresh rosemary and black pepper on them.  I'm wondering if the searing would burn the rosemary.