So...whats for dinner?

MinusTwo

Special - thanks for my laugh of the day.

auntienance

Haha SK, I suppose it's all relative!

SpecialK

You can take the boy out of Florida but apparently you can't take the Florida out of the boy, lol!  He is such a diva, he didn't go to the gym the other night because it was raining - he would have gone in the car and the gym is in the community center a mile away! He makes me laugh.  He wanted to put the heat on tonight but I refuse to heat the whole house when all he is going to do is take a hot shower, eat, and then get in bed. I enjoy colder temps, and even love the snow (although I think I would have reached my limit this winter a while ago!) and I am a California girl!

susan_02143

Luv, good news!!!!

Special, yes. You have cracked me up completely!

Red, I have no words. Can't imagine how difficult this must be for you. My father declined very quickly when his primary caretaker [my Mom] was not well. It was as though whatever had been holding him together just collapsed. He never came back. It may be that your injury has in some way made him realize just how much he has come to depend on you. I hope that the church folks let you be part of the conversation.

Carole, what is up with this appointment thing? My hospital has a 15 minute rule. If you haven't been seen within 15 minutes of your appointment time, someone will come out to discuss if you can wait, and let you know what is actually going on. When it is my oncologist, I assume that someone really needs her, and there will come a time that that person will be me. Other doctors? Not so patient!

Lacey, so glad that your neighbor is coming through for you. You are the shovel queen, but maybe being outside is a sort of meditation for you at this point?

Mr. 02143 ignored Lacey'sHusband tale of woe and went onto ladders today to remove the snow from the flatter roofs and to try to break up some ice dams. He agreed that he would NOT go to the top floor, and he didn't. Our streams of water have slowed dramatically, but there is water still coming in on the third floor behind all those lovely cabinets that I had custom made. At this point, the real hope is that we will not get any ice or rain this weekend. There isn't a house in the neighborhood that isn't affected. The roof guys are cleaning up, but, you would have to pay me a ton to go up on a roof in these conditions too.

After so much physical labor, Mr. 02143 needed a hearty dinner so we ordered Indian food, mediocre Indian food, but Indian food none-the-less. It wasn't horrible. Tandoori chicken and some Chana Masala, ordered spicy. And it actually had some spice! Yea! Enough leftover for another meal.

Managed to make some soup for lunch and a batch of granola with all the found time since I wasn't packing up food for Lacey.

*susan*

M0mmyof3

Moved the pork ribs to dinner tommorrow night, hubby got a couple of pizzas and bbq'd wings for dinner tonight! Got enough of my pizza to have for lunch tommorrow!

carolehalston

The chicken marsala sauce was so good that I had a light bulb moment and made some polenta.  I had put the polenta in a qt. jar and labeled it polenta, but no cooking instructions.  So googled recipes and the proportions are the same as for grits.  1 to 4.  Actually grits and polenta are the same thing, ground corn.  This polenta was coarse yellow ground corn and was really good.  I didn't make extra but just enough for a small serving for me and a larger one for dh. 

Susan, I'm re-reading Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking and marking some of the meat recipes to try once I get my lamb shipment.  Instead of the long stovetop cooking, I'm thinking I will try oven cooking and eliminate some of the tending and stirring.  I will also cut down on the amt. of oil even though she sternly warns against doing that.  LOL.  Actually just cutting the recipes into half will reduce the oil.  Most of the recipes are for 8 or more people. 

Joyce, I hope everything works out for you when you go north for a week.  That coffee with the liquers sounds delish. 

susan_02143

The roof guys are booked to come tomorrow. The ice dams on the third floor are just too huge to ignore. Will cost a small fortune, but still less than rebuilding that bathroom up there.

Joyce, stay where you are! It is really ugly round these parts. As to dinner tonight, sounds like these men like their meat. How about smothered pork chops with mashed potatoes, or a big tray of lasagne with a hearty meat sauce?

*susan*

susan_02143

Joyce,

And I am going to believe that you make a killer lasagna. Such a great dish since people can easily eat as much or as little as they want. Similar to the loaves and fishes around here.

*susan*

carolehalston

Susan, good idea to hire the roof cleaners, even if pricey.  Not a good idea for your dh to be on the roof lest he follow the example of Lacey's dh.  A few weeks ago my dh was all geared to trim a tree next to his workshop, a procedure that would have required him to climb a ladder with chain saw in hand.  I insisted we hire a tree man.  He didn't put up too much resistance and was pleased with the job done. 

Today I came to the conclusion that I will not battle the weather to get in a round of golf.  It was supposed to be a fairly nice day, judging from the weather forecast but the wind was so strong I couldn't wear a visor.  It kept blowing off.  And it was also cold and cloudy for the most part.  A lot like your weather, Joyce.   I came home and heated up a bowl of red lentil soup and am enjoying being indoors and warm. 

Tonight we're having dinner out with another couple.  I'm looking forward to being served! 

eric95us

Carole, from my experiences with going to disasters, chain saws and ladders don't mix well.

Eric

SpecialK

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe!  DD is home - filming a boat and tackle commercial - tonight is turkey kielbasa sliced and sautéed with red peppers, red onion, carrots, celery, with pineapple and a sweet and sour sauce made with the leftover pineapple juice, Worchestershire, brown sugar, vinegar, ketchup which is thickened with some organic corn starch - served over rice.

bedo

Thttp://happyhooligans.ca/3-ingredient-delicious-vanilla-snow-ice-cream (This is from )

3.0 from 1 reviews

3-Ingredient Vanilla SNOW Ice Cream

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Make a batch of rich and delicious Vanilla Snow Ice Cream with 2 ingredients and a big bowl of freshly-fallen snow!

Author: Happy Hooligans

Serves: 5-6 cups

Ingredients

• 8-12 cups fresh, clean snow
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 300 mls (10 oz) sweetened, condensed milk

Instructions

1. Scoop clean, fresh snow into a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle vanilla over snow.
3. Drizzle condensed milk over all.
4. Fold all ingredients together, and stir until well-combined.
5. If necessary, add more snow until you're happy with the consistency of your ice cream.
6. Scoop into a bowl, and enjoy!
7. To freeze leftovers, pat remaining snow ice cream into a freezer-proof container with a lid.

MinusTwo

Joyce - It's so nice to have you posting regularly. We've all missed you. Yum, smothered pork chops. Something I never make & dearly love.

Played dominoes this afternoon. It's an approved activity, since my physical & occupational therapists said it's good for neuropathy & for strengthening hand & finger muscles. Anyway - we nibbled all afternoon at spinach & artichoke dip, choc chip cookies, fresh cantaloupe & strawberries, cold boiled shrimp, etc. Dinner - if it happens at all - will be something like popcorn.

Special - wonder if I could substitute baked turkey chunks for the kielbasa? I have a couple of cooked turkey breasts in the freezer and a whole bunch of dark meat chunks. Or creamed turkey on toast? Any other ideas?

Susan - glad to hear you're hiring someone for the roof. And Carole - good thing your DH didn't do the ladder trick. Bedo - did you try the snow ice cream?

auntienance

Minus - pot pie?

Tonight was homemade pizza with colored peppers, roasted tomatoes, Italian sausage and fresh basil. Dh pronounced it delicious, but then he thinks all pizza is delicious.

I'm sitting here listening to the sleet hit the window. Could get some ice accumulation. Ugh.

MinusTwo

Food market I went to today had green, red, yellow & orange bell peppers - 3 for $1.00. I'm not a bell pepper fan but they were beautiful.

SpecialK

minus - you could absolutely sub cooked turkey in the dish - it is very forgiving. I just cook the vegetables in some olive oil, remove them before they are completely done and put them in a bowl. I add the sausage - which is fully cooked also - to the pan and heat it through, then add the pineapple and veggies back into the pan. I mix the sauce ingredients together and pour over. I bring it to a boil to let the cornstarch thicken the sauce - cook for about 5 mins or so, then serve over rice. The nice thing is that it is really a technique, with a sauce, so you can use whatever you have on hand. Let me know if you would like the sauce ingredient measurements.

eric95us

Sharon has Shingles.

carolehalston

Had my beef fix last night with a delicious filet.  The sides were a potato dish and sautéed kale.  The potato concoction was good but the kale was bitter and I didn't eat it.  My friend Linda had a grouper special with lemon sauce.  She mixed some of the sauce with her kale and made it edible.  I had two glasses of a really nice cabernet.  Indulgence is good occasionally!

Now I'm deciding whether to go to the gym or the farmer's market.  DH is off to an all-day seminar for wood turners.  The weather outside is gloomy and gray. 

Dinner might be the rest of the red lentil soup and a salad. 

SK, I know you are enjoying having DD in the house. 

Happy Saturday to all.

susan_02143

Roof folks are here... but they can't get their truck into the drive! So everyone is out shoveling the snowbanks to widen the entry.

What a mess! And thank goodness our opening is for a double drive with the neighbor.

*susan*

auntienance

Susan -- what a trial this winter has been. I know you will be ready for spring. So will I.

Eric - shingles - oh no! And I keep forgetting to get that vaccine. This is a painful (for Sharon anyway) reminder.

Minestrone and garlic knots for dinner. More snow last night so it's a good soup day. Thankfully, some nice neighbor plowed our street this morning. Our snowpiles are mere molehills compared to Susan's, Lacey's and Bedo's. Just looked out the window and a different neighbor is plowing our driveway again this time with a tractor and blade. Good neighbors indeed!

susan_02143

Ice dam(n)s are not totally gone, but the ones they couldn't get to properly now have channels so that the water has somewhere to go. Such a relief! They even shoveled all the snow and ice that had come off the roof. We were given the "previous customer" price. Three men, almost 3 hrs, total bill? $400! No one else in the neighborhood has gotten away for less than $1000. We grabbed a handful of $20's to tip the guys. Foreman, who is on salary, simply passed it onto the two per diem workers.

Doing a family dinner tonight. Have broken down a chicken, and it is dry-brining and will turn into fried chicken. I will make a ton of green beans and some buttermilk biscuits. Only wish there could be some sliced tomatoes on the plate. I did withhold one chicken breast which I will roast for chicken sandwiches.

Shingles? Poor Sharon. What a nasty disease, and can be so very painful. I bet she isn't old enough to get the vaccine.

No help with the peppers. I don't care for bell peppers. I am making myself eat some red ones and trying to learn to tolerate the flavor since Spanish food is always loaded with them. My mother used to stuff them, and everyone seemed to love that. I believe she did a meat, onion, and rice concoction.

Bedo, try subbing some maple syrup for that vanilla!

Carole, well cooked beef is such a treat!

Nancy, I hope you keep your power... well and that you don't get too much ice.

*susan*

M0mmyof3

So while trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight, hubby piped up with "how about Lasgna. You haven't made that in a while." So it was a quick run to the store to pick up the few things I needed for it. Its all prepped and ready to pop in the oven! Along with it I had planned a salad and Italian bread! Probably will get one to two more nights out of this dinner!

 

 

carolehalston

Susan, that sounds like a great price for the roof work.  Your dinner sounds wonderful, fried chicken and home-made biscuits.  Southern heaven! 

I have a 4 1/4 lb. chicken sitting in my refrigerator, purchased at the farmers' mkt, which won out over the gym this morning.  My mother would faint if I told her I paid $3.50 a lb for a chicken!  I also bought a bag of very pretty young Swiss chard, a mixture of types, for $6.  The young man assured me the greens had been triple washed and were ready to cook.  I also bought oyster mushrooms, turnips, and tiny beets.  A loaf of bread made with stone ground wheat flour.  And a lovely rosemary plant.  This one is the upright rosemary whereas the one on the patio that is ailing after years of production is the trailing variety.  The vendor with the herbs had a fabulous  assortment.   Next time I'll buy a tarragon plant. 

I could have saved a lot of $$ by going to the gym but I do like buying from local folks.  I tasted some kimchi a woman was selling along with some interesting crackers she'd made but I didn't buy anything from her.  About half the vendors are selling baked goods and food products they make, like dips and salsas.  I had to walk fast by a vendor with Italian fig cookies.

So I guess I'll roast the free range chicken tonight and sauté the swiss chard and oyster mushrooms.  Does that sound like a good idea?  The latter I have not cooked before.  It's not actually good oven weather since the temp. is in the low 70's and the muggies are creeping back.

Eric, I'm so sorry Sharon has the shingles.  I have been told how painful it can be. 

carolehalston

susan_02143

Those mushrooms are amazing!!!!! I am so jealous. I think they might deserve something a little more special than roasted with chard. Two classics would be softly scrambled eggs with mushrooms and thyme [an acquired taste, maybe] or a mushroom risotto. Or sautéed with a bit of butter and served as its own side dish. Can't wait to hear about the flavor.

*susan*

auntienance

Carole, wow beautiful mushrooms! Oh to be able to go to a farmer's market in February. I world not have been able to walk past the fig cookie man. Sigh . . . I vote for the risotto and then I'm coming to your house for dinner. I won't be bringing dh because a mushroom is just a fungus to him. Btw, love your new avatar!

Susan, I agree with Carole, sounds like an amazing price for the roof work. Especially since they could probably get by with charging whatever they want right now.

Eric, I hope poor Sharon's shingles heal quickly. My mom had them multiple times. So much pain.

I decided to make some hot cross buns for the neighbor who plowed our driveway. The house smells wonderful. In a typical Missouri pattern, the temp rose to 38 degrees today so whatever ice and snow we got overnight has melted along with some of the giant icicles that have been forming all week. I keep hearing these giant crashes coming off the roof. Of course it's going to be below zero again tomorrow night so we'll start again with the icicles.

Hope Lacey is coping and her dh is making progress.

MinusTwo

Special - yes please on the recipe if it's not too much trouble.

Eric - so sorry about the shingles. I need to have the test to see if I'm immune. Spent a week at 11 or 12 taking care of my baby brother when he had chickenpox but never broke out in any spots.

Carole - oh your farmer's market adventure sounds perfect. I think I'd like the mushrooms featured by themselves. Hard decision.

Susan - the snow pictures were amazing and the price so reasonable. I know you're glad that's done.

Nance - my Mother used to make hot cross buns. Thanks for the memory.

SpecialK

eric - so sorry about Sharon's shingles - I hope she is not miserable.

carole - love having DD here, and those mushrooms are amazing!  I vote for risotto too.

susan - yay for the snow clearing deal!  And I want to come over for fried chicken and biscuits too!

lacey - hot cross buns are a memory for me too - we had them every Easter! 

minus - here is the Sweet & Sour Sauce recipe - you can add stuff or substitute stuff - reserved juice from pineapple (either canned or fresh), 1/4 c. brown sugar, 2T cornstarch, 1 T. salt, 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/2 t. Worchestershire, 2T chili sauce, 1/3 c. ketchup.  Mix the sauce ingredients together until smooth, add to cooked meat and vegs and bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened. 

Note:  I usually add some water to stretch this sauce, and add a bit more ketchup.  Use any kind of vinegar you have on hand - I have used cider or white wine vinegar, I have skipped the chili sauce and added more ketchup if I didn't have the chili sauce on hand.  You can add hot sauce or chili flakes if you like it spicier, or sriracha.  You could also use white sugar instead of brown sugar.

bedo

Eric so sorry about the shingles

Carol our Spring Meeting for the community garden will feature a mycologist so I am looking forward to recipes from all of you

Susan Yahhhh! on the roof.

Today I made the World's Worst Soup, and I was thinking the whole time." Susan would be proud of me" I made Vietnamese hot and sour soup from the Moosewood Cookbook and even made the broth from scratch which took all day, but apparently didn't pay attention and added 9 instead of 7 cups of broth. I bought lemon grass and star anise and fish sauce and everything.

I'll eat it. I was taught to not waste food.

I am addicted to my fleece PJs as is my daughter. Won't tell you the brand. We both have 2 pair She wore hers for three days straight. I told her "that is disgusting" I wore my top to the store today- so comfy- I hope that no one knows they were PJs when the line was so long and hot that I took my coat off.

eric95us

Susan, that is good news about the ice dam and snow removal. It sounds like it was money well spent. .

I feel for both Lacey and her DH. I remember when I was unable to walk due to a badly broken leg. I was OK as long as felt bad. When I felt better, I probably got cranky.. I don't think it was due to "I'm supposed to do it myself"...instead it was, "I'm bored out of my mind".

Those mushrooms are amazing...my vote would be sauteed and served as their own dish.

Bedo, your book choices remind me of the airline pilot reading Airframe in the gate area of the airport.. :-) It's a Michael Crichton novel about an airliner crash....

Special, enjoy DD being home and I guess your DH's and my definition of cold is very similar! Below 70F degrees and I'm looking for a light sweater.

Last night, when the doctor diagnosed shingles and said she was going to include "high powered pain pills" with the anti-virals. Sharon tried to talk the doctor out the "pain pills" and is now glad the doctor insisted. I just got asked for another one....