So...whats for dinner?

bedo

Arrgg I just erased my whole post.

Naiviv, Happy Birthday! I think? Is that what BD means?

Special, so glad that you are doing better

Debbie nice rant. Mean people s^*%k.  Meanie. I am sorry for your loss and the way you had to find out.

Minus Nice dinner. I especially like the chicken dipped in salad dressing part. I sounds yummy, even though I don't eat chicken. And the raw broccoli is a nice touch

Nance, speaking of yummy, I discovered that the gruyere was particularly yummy while making your bread recipe, so I ate 1/2 of it then realized I didn't have enough for two loaves, or any salt. So I plowed ahead, as I told my neighbor I was making her one. I didn't know how to adjust the heat to the one loaf which I split into two small loaves, so I burned the bottom, but did not discover it until I got back from proudly giving my neighbor her tiny loaf I think they needed salt and cheese, but they were so beautiful!

Then I went to eat mussles and veggie platter with a friend and she MADE me split a pitcher of white sangria and it was only 4 o'clock so I came home and fell asleep until 9pm and now I'm wide awake.

I have a date on Tuesday

My plot in the community garden opens soon.

I am going back to my violin group on Weds, but now I really stink.

I gained 10 pounds in Alaska. Everyone's Bad Cholesterol is about 80 from all the omega 3 they get in the fish.

It's amazing

I am trying to decide between 2 jobs, each 3 days a week.

I am sorry for anyone I missed.

MinusTwo

Bedo - good luck on your job decision.  Can you win an appeal on the insurance? 

Carole - this is the chocolate mix I used to make years ago.

SWISS MISS    Makes 55
cups

Mix & store in air tight containers

1 - pkg (8 qt size) non-fat powered milk

1 - 6 oz jar coffee mate

1 – box Nestles Quick – 1 lb

1 – jar chocolate malted milk – 1 lb

1 – cup powdered sugar

To serve – mix 1/3 cup powdered mix with 1 cup boiling water

MinusTwo

Oh Bedo - forgot I wanted to share this delicious quote from Louise Penny's book The Beautiful Mystery set in a monastery in remote Quebec around the Gregorian Chant - 

The difference between a violin and a fiddle:  A violin sings and a fiddle dances.

Lacey12

Lovely quote, Minus!

chabba

Carole, I used to make my own hot chocolate mix but can't find the recipe. If you don't find a recipe why not just make your own? I know I used dry milk, creamer, sugar and cocoa. That's what I did.

SpecialK

carole - here is one I used for holiday office gifts for DH a few years ago, but I didn't use the chips.  Mix 3-4 generous tablespoons with hot water.

 

2 cups nonfat dry milk powder3/4 cup sugar1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips1/2 cup powdered nondairy creamer1/8 teaspoon salt

Moonflwr912

I remember making that recipe with my girl scouts! Well, that and Russian Tea! LOL

carolehalston

Thanks for the hot chocolate mix recipes!  Today I bought nonfat dry milk, which wasn't cheap.  A large box was almost $8.  I looked at the nondairy creamer but it features partially hydrogenated fats so I bypassed it.  I'll experiment and see if I can come up with a combination that tastes good. 

DH and I enjoyed a bowl of the left-over gumbo for lunch.  It was dee-lish!  Dinner tonight will be leftover linguine with meat sauce.

Bedo, I enjoyed your post.  Sounds like your winter in AK did you a world of good.

SpecialK, I hope you are healing well. 

The 5th wheel camper is parked outside.  We're going on a 5-day rv trip to Gulf Shores, AL, departing on Wed.  So I'll be trekking back and forth between the house and the camper, carrying clothing and some food.  We're meeting rv friends who live in FL.  They're embarking on a bucket list trip.  The situation is sad.  My friend whom I'll call M was in remission from ovarian cancer that appeared in the linings of her organs.  I forget the name.  She underwent horrendous surgery and heavy-duty chemo and is feeling good enough to make this long rv trip.  But a tiny new tumor has been detected and she and her drs. agreed for her to take some time to enjoy life and decide later whether to undergo further chemo.  Her drs. pretty much told her to do anything she really wanted to do while she felt good. 

Good advice for all of us?  Thanks for letting me share.

auntienance

Carole, I'm sorry about your frIend. I'm glad you get to take this trip with them. We love Gulf shores. A good place to rest and recuperate.

I know what you mean about the powdered milk. I must say I was a bit shocked at the price. I have several bread recipes that call for it. I hadn't bought it for a long time prior to that.

Tonight is dried lima beans (meh) and ham. I'll throw some spicy smoked sausage in it to improve the flavor. The highlight of this meal for me will be the cornbread :-)    Not so for my dh, the lima bean lover.

eric95us

....probably the omentum.........   I, too, am sorry for your friend.   

Eric

bedo

Carol, I am sorry about your friend. I am glad that she has this time to enjoy. I hope for the best of days for her

Minus. I definitely don't sing any more. Only dance. And badly. It is one of my main disappointments in myself that I can't force myself to practice.

I just saw a commercial with an "older" couple and a silver stream enjoying life and eating an arugula salad at the Grand Canyon :O I thought Oh my goodness, my dream has become a stereotype!

Don't care. Will do it anyway.

Tonight I'm making this.

The Salmon Capital of the world got me over the fish thing.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/salmon-sweet-potato-broccoli-chowder-10000000663033/index.html

I will use veggie broth can't tell the difference anyway. They both taste like salt

MinusTwo

The salmon chowder sounds great.  I'm always looking for new things to do w/salmon.  Thanks.

Carole - sorry to hear about your friend but so glad you'll get to spend this time w/her.

Moonflwr912

Carole sorry about your friend. I'm glad you get to spend some time together. 

Bedo that's a good site for recipes. I also like a good salmon chowder. But i use leftover salmon in my chowders. I always have leftovers.  And I think veg stock works well. So does claim juice! 

Much love

Anonymous

I am a film student, and I am currently working on a film about my mother whom had breast cancer. The climax scene happens around the dinner table, so I thought it might be relevant to this thread.. They are having microwaved meatloaf, prepared by the son.. I would not recommend it..!

The film is called "Mom," and when it is done, I wish to show it to families affected by cancer, to empower people struggling with grief. 

We would appreciate support or simple spreading the link to our fundraising campaign, if you would like to! We are currently raising funds here: www.momshort.com

THANK YOU!

Lacey12

Sorry to learn such sad news about your friend, Carole, but it sounds like she has a great attitude about how to spend her shortened days. Have a safe trip and meaningful visit.

Finally got around to making the banana bread today before the three bananas turned into mold! I used Mark Bittman's recipe, but not sure I am crazy about it...based on the tiny test loaf I also made so I would not risk giving my neighbor junk. Also, it called for coconut, and what I unearthed in the cabinet was old, so I skipped it and added cranberries along with pecans. I could add dried cranberries to just about anything and be happy.

Tonight, after a very rigorous stretching class ( in my next life I hope to return as our adorable, petite and flexible instructor who stretches with such ease;) we finished up the lamejun and some little ground lamb finger pies (no idea what they are called) and had the creamy asparagus soup I made yesterday. Definitely  could have used more spices or at least onion, imho. 

At Trader's today I was hoping to find packages of baby kale...unsuccessful. Do any of you folks who are farther west (like almost everyone;) see that item sold at your Trader's? It's an easier leaf to use for salads than the large leaves with the big ribs that need to be removed.

Off to watch UCONN/KENTUCKY play for the championship. Rooting for the Huskies tonight, but tomorrow night want my ladies from ND to dominate the UCONN gals...tho not likely with ND's strongest player out with a torn ACL. Amazing what these kids put their bodies through......

naiviv

Carole ... I hope you and your friend have a great trip.

Bedo .... Thank you, yes BD was my birthday.

Dinner today was Roasted chicken, mash potatoes,broccoli and asparagus. Leftover cake for dessert.

Good night all

Vivian

Laurie08

Carol- I too am so sorry about your friend.  I hope you have a great tme together and make wonderful memories.

This may be a downer post.

I haven't posted because I have been cooking whatever and thing with my MIL are bad.  The kids and I have had anything from breakfast for dinner, spaghetti, pork chops, chicken nuggets you name it.  Dh was supposed to come home Sunday now it looks like maybe Thursday.  My MIL is now in hospice care and is on morphine and O2 due to breathing issues.  The siblings are fighting about her and everything and it is just ugly down there.  Dh is the calm one and feels he can't leave her or leave the situation as he is the one person who keeps everyone calm.  It's bad.

To top it off DS1 is now getting sick and I am afraid it is turning into pneumonia.  We will end up at the Dr tomorrow.

So to be honest it is tough going all around.  I was hoping to go grocery shopping tomorrow.  I miss real dinners.  It all is what it is and both boys are behaving great.  Thankful for little things.

Hope all are well.

auntienance

Oh Laurie, that is such sad news. These things are so difficult. I don't know what happens with siblings when a parent dies. It happened in my mom's family and dh's too. It created such a lot of hard feelings for such a long time. I hope your son's illness isn't pneumonia and that you all are feeling better soon. I'm happy you checked in in spite of all that's going on.

Moonflwr912

Laurie you do what you have to. Eat up. You'll get back to normal later. It's especially hard when people are fighting. Luckily the only fight my DH had when my in laws passed was over the tombstone. They worked it out. Although  his Mom and Dad now actually have different headstones! LOL.  Side by side. LOL 

Lacey12

Laurie, glad you posted...I figured things have been difficult. So sorry that DH is having to play peacemaker at a time when he should be able to be dealing with his own feelings about his mom. Families can be tough at times of loss....for some it is easier to express anger than sadness, but boy is that hard for all concerned. And I hope DS1 does NOT have pneumonia....good he's seeing the doc tomorrow. Stress all around....but you'll get through it! Do PM me if you need anything or just to vent. Keeping your whole family in my thoughts......

carolehalston

Laurie, my sympathetic thoughts go out to your dh. 

Funny story about my home-made hot chocolate.  The Swiss Miss (60 cal) I had been drinking was only 1 pt and it tasted pretty good and satisfied my craving for chocolate.  The new box (80 cal) I bought at Sam's upped the pts to 2 pts.  So I decided to try making my own.  When I factored in the ingredients, my home-made is 3 pts!  And it's no taste improvement over Swiss Miss.  Goes to show you home-made isn't necessarily best.

Dinner tonight will be leftover gumbo and brown rice and salad. 

luvmygoats

Laurie - My prayers here for your DH and your family. Hard enough when
close by but throw in travel oh my.Fix what sounds good to eat, this is
not the nutrition finals and a couple of weeks of less than nutritious
fare won't matter in the long run. Make sure you get some self care
time. So glad you had your ski week before your MIL (and family
squabbles) got worse. Hope your DS is on the mend.

Carole - Is the change in points more a true reflection of the serving size? I forgot what it was that DH and I were eating but the serving size was ridiculous.

MinusTwo - I agree with Moon. Your weird dipping dinner sounds good.

Last night was chicken breasts with Shake N Bake pretzel coating (not buying that again, not so special) and bag of frozen vegies. Tonight will be baked pork ribs, Spanish rice and maybe fresh carrots. I am absolutely stuffed. Went out to local restaurant after Bible study today and had 1/2 of large salad with grilled vegies. Yummy and brought the other 1/2 home in doggy bag. Think I will have an early dinner and keep my maindish for tomorrow. I can't keep the salad since it already has dressing on it. I did finally get everything for stuffed shells, planning on making that tomorrow. Have a church meeting Thur night early so no cooking unless it's earlier - might do the shells and save them for Thur.

We went to OK on our 2x/year camping trip this past weekend. Too much food for me, I can't eat 3 huge meals a day and neither can DH. Don't know how the other participants do it. Lake has no water in the slew cabin is on. Walked out where the water would be and fed a mama goose. My excitement.

I think I took a survey here of what the new upscale market coming to Ft. Worth might be. Carole I think you guessed Fresh Market. You win. It will join Central Market, TJs and Sprouts in a small area along with an excellent health food store and a local small grocery with a superb meat market not to mention other big chains. I think it will be very interesting. Also heard HEB (south Texas chain that owns Central Mkt.) is looking for a Ft. Worth location, they have one south of the city.

Moonflwr912

LMG, that's a lot of great stores together. Now all you need is a paycheck to hit all of them.... LOL and the serving sizes are ridiculous.  One container of hummus stated it was 10 servings. It was such a small serving size that's ridiculous.  

If I do get Swiss Miss I get the decaff. Cause I usually get a craving at night. Supper tonight was leftover meatloaf potatos and glazed cartots. I thought I'd finish them off. Unfortunately there's enough for one more meal..... LOL. 

bedo

Laurie these times are always tough. Most Hospices come with a grief counselor to help even  with "anticipatory grief", a social worker and a chaplain. Do you think that any of these would help? Stress does seem to bring out reactions in people that are unexpected.  I hope things get better for you. Kids love Spaghettios.  They're easy. Take it easy. Things will get better.

For dinner I had a salad, mussles , bread and a lovely glass of white wine at a very nice Italian Restaurant The man who took me was charming and a real "Jimmy Stewart" kind of guy. (I have had a crush on Jimmy Stewart since I was about 16.) I think I will see him again.

MinusTwo

Laurie - prayers & hugs.  Families can be so difficult.  I agree about the Spagetti-Os, or Kraft boxed mac & cheese or take out MacDonalds.  Hope DS is OK and doesn't have pneumonia.  We'll all keeping you in our thoughts.

Bedo - sounds like a good date all the way around - good food & good company.  Glad you had fun.

eric95us

Laurie..prayers to you and your family.  I always look at this time as "the harder it is, the more the person is loved."  Unless someone is, for certain, deliberately trying to make things worse, I just think the stress is getting to them and try to let it go.  

Sharon cooked the Tarragon Basil Egg Salad with Quinoa from this month's Clean Eating magazine.  It was very good.  Most of the fresh herbs came from the potted herb plants scattered around the outside of the house...so maybe that helped.

Not much else going on around here.  Sharon had to move her oncologist appointment that was scheduled tomorrow.  They didn't object and I'm taking as a good sign.

Laurie08

Thank you so much everyone.  I give you all a huge cyber hug.

My MIL has been unresponsive for two days and today woke up and wanted to eat and go for a walk.  Bizarre.  The siblings are taking what they can get.  I let Dh know sometimes there is an energy surge before passing.  I have no idea.  But I want him to be prepared.

The kids are being great, tonight was frozen ravioli and sauce with garlic bread.   I took DS1 to the Dr and it is allergies and asthma.  They put him on steroids and he is doing so much better.  SO THANKFUL!   My brother is here for me as are my in laws so I am not alone.  Again, so thankful.  

I miss DH.  It has now been 10 days since I have seen him.  Boys sleep with me which helps, I dont know if they will ever go back to their own beds!

Anyway- I should be in bed.  Sweet dreams.

Oh and Bedo

carolehalston

Off to Gulf Shores, AL, this morning with the camper.  Wish us a safe trip.  The camper has been parked since last Sept.

Will check in during the trip if we have internet.

auntienance

Safe travels Carole! Have a great time and eat some royal reds for me!

Lacey12

Have a safe and enjoyable trip, Carole, and as Laurie said, make some wonderful memories with your friends.

Nance, what are royal reds? Fish? Fruit?

Laurie, so glad you have your supportive brother nearby....and I bet your kids are too!  Do the boys have a chance to Skype or do Facetime with dad?? Technology can be so useful for such necessary time away.  Hang in there.......

Yesterday, DH was almost alarmed that he lost a few more lbs (male perspective, I guess....I would be thrilled), so I stopped at the store and picked up a london broil, ( a rare beef treat) some french bread, and apples to make an apple crisp (I had a box of apple crisp mix......super lazy!). We had asparagus and salad too. I probably gained from that meal! ;/. Both off to the gym this morning......