So...whats for dinner?

carberry

Redhead..its all about quality of life, so glad you have an onc that listens to you and helps you find a good compromise. My Dad and I have the same onc and we feel that he also listens My Dad is on an oral med for his lung cancer and was realy struggling to the point of being housebound from the big D. At 84 years old, whats the point? So the doc said that he would put my Dad in charge of his med and he could adjust it according to how he feels...he pretty much does a week on and then a week off and that works for him.

Homemade pizza night tonight. Braved the cold today at 6am with unplowed roads and little visibility, had to follow the tracks of the person that went ahead of me....geesh I am so over this stuff. So tonight we stay home, warm and cozy, with pizza and tv

MTwoman

Hi MinusTwo, Isn't that funny, I hadn't really put 2 and 2 together (sudden recent interest again in CA and cancerversary). So far so good for me. I do have an annual coming up - I went down to annuals after a couple of years - which also may be giving me the 'wiggins'. I go for long periods of time sort of not really even thinking about it anymore (CA) and then it can just sneak up on me.

I am in Bozeman, Montana. Winters can be long, but playing in the snow makes it fun (not when it is this cold and windy though).

Lacey12

I like your plan for tonight Carrie! Especially after your intrepid drive this morning. This cold is brutal and we will be getting the snow you already have tonight and tomorrow.

April...delish looking cookies. I am making the last of my pizzelle tonight....trying new flavors since I already have anise. Lemon/ginger, as well as, orange/cardamon are the flavors I am experimenting with.

Had lunch at a local golf club tavern which overlooks the city (built on a landfill/dump!) with our local friends who we know from the lake neighborhood up north. It was a pretty good basic spot for lunch. DH had a cod sandwich with fries, I had a blt club with a kale slaw which was really good (says the kale fan!). I just finished the second half for faux dinner.

Tomorrow night, if weather cooperates, we will be spending the dinner time at a friends party, gnashing away on their good finger food.

Red, and Carrie, it's encouraging to hear about MO's being more flexible with oral chemo regimens for patients who are finding the side effects life quality altering. I so value my MO who is just really reasonable about such things. Unfortunately, as I have probably mentioned before, she has moved from my local hospital to Dana Farber. So I will trek into town to see her since I value the relationship and her work style. With good luck I will only need to see her rarely!

Carrie, I'm wondering if the oral meds your dad is on might be the same as the one my DDIL's dad is taking for his lung cancer. He had several rounds of chemo and now this oral meds....seems to be slowing things down, but he looks very tired to me. He has always been a ball of energy. Hope your dad does well with his new regimen

ChiSandy

Back is getting a bit better—as long as I get up and walk around every 1/2 hr. or so. Think I'll go back to just bedtime Flexeril. Our little black princess kitty Heidi had her kidney stone surgery this morning. Gordy just brought her home, and she was very confused at first, just walking in circles. She has a cone collar to keep her from licking her sutures, and we're not sure how her little face can get to the food dish & water bowl. She has to have her own litterbox, so we moved one and food and water dishes into the first floor bathroom. She's not supposed to climb stairs, but within 10 minutes of exiting her carrier she dashed upstairs to Bob's & my bedroom. We found this out when Happy (our orange patch-tabby "puppycat") stood at the bedroom entrance when Heidi dashed across his path (he fled in terror). Gordy immediately closed the French door so Heidi wouldn't escape and Happy couldn't challenge her to some roughhousing. He came back with her litter box & dishes to put in his bedroom and coax her into it (where she sometimes likes to sleep)…and found the master bedroom door (at least the one not anchored to the door) locked….from the outside. Had to tighten the doorknob and after the fifth try, the latch finally sprung open. Heidi's still hiding beneath the bed. Poor little thing. Gonna be an interesting weekend. We're about $2K poorer right now, but a furbaby is a furbaby.

I treated myself today to something yummy—with few calories, no salt, sugar or measurable carbs, no fat, no alcohol and no carcinogens….a black Perigord truffle! (GourmetFoodStore.com has them on sale, still expensive but not as much as usual). I know that i'll have to use it all up with five days or so (when day 5 arrives, I'll make and freeze some truffle butter before heading out to NY). Slow-scrambled some eggs this morning and then shaved a bit of truffle over them. Oh, my. I'd wanted to order one from Tennessee Truffle, a truffle farm near Knoxville (yes, under the right circumstances they can be cultivated—spores scattered immediately around oak trees and worked into the soil will eventually yield tubers within 5-10 years). Many black truffles used in U.S. restaurants come from that farm. I phoned, and alas, the owner informed me that the oak trees fell victim to a blight and that he's going to have to start all over again from scratch. He notified a friend of his in Idaho who cultivates white Alba truffles, which are in season a bit later in the year.

So for tonight I'm thinking steak, Brussels sprouts, and truffled cauliflower mash. Sadly, been carbing all day. (Pre-hibernation behavior hardwired into our DNA).

Redheaded1

Dinner is ham slice with a baked sweet potato. Wish it was the stir fry or the Rao's concoction talked about above.

By Saturday night, our wind chills will be below zero and single digits on Sunday.

..

MinusTwo

Lacey - my adored MO retired & moved to NYC. He was a doctor to the whole person - not just some oncology side effect. I could still go see him, but it would only be for a Broadway show or a gourmet dinner. He became that much of a friend.

Funny about docs we like. I live a LONG way from the medical center but I keep running into my retired OB/Gyn. One night she and her husband were eating at one of my favorite restaurants downtown. Last weekend it was at a Bach Society concert. Someone kept calling my name and I was sure I didn't know anyone there. We had a great visit, but not long enough to trade book recommends as we used to do. Turns out she recently joined the board of the Bach Society so I'll look for her in the future.

Redheaded1

I lied---dinner was a Stouffer's escalloped chicken TV dinner and piece of chocolate cake from the place I had lunch at ---The freezing rain is here in Central IL. People are sliding around everywhere. It took someone 2 hours to go from Bloomington to Carlock on Interstate 74....a trip that takes about 20 minutes maximum//// I was going to take out some stuff to my outside recycle bin and decided against it when I saw the glaze on my back sidewalk.

ChiSandy

Nasty out there, I know. We have gotten only snow thus far (2”, half of that enhanced by “lake effect”) but the forecasters were warning all day about “wintry mix” or freezing rain for areas s. of I-80. You’re certainly way s. of I-80, of course. Tonight’s snow is over, but round 2 starts in the morning and is expected to continue through midnight. We’ll have reached a high of 21, but then the temp will drop so fast that they’re predicting “flash freezing:” mostly black ice from melted snow. Our snow guy came by tonight and shoveled enough to make our sidewalk “legal” and clear the deck so melt water doesn’t puddle & freeze (the idiots who installed it didn’t allow enough clearance between the planks for water to drain—we’re thinking of having some holes drilled in it). He’ll be back after the last snow ends.

Took the path of least resistance—last night, Bob brought home some rigatoni (half his dinner portion is more than a full one from me) with sausage, peppers & chicken. Filled a small paper plate to the rim and nuked it. I feel satisfied—had I used a normal plate I’d have perceived I was the victim of portion control. Had an oz. of Fiddlehead Cellars Old Vine Zin—I’d Coravin’ed it three months ago and it’s as fresh as the day I had the first glass. Dessert will probably be a Krispy Kreme mini-cruller and a decaf cappuccino—or perhaps an almond-milk eggnog latte. (That stuff has only a little sugar and it froths up nicely). Somehow, hitting the freezer for gelato or limoncello just doesn’t float my boat tonight.

Bob just walked in, reporting the roads from Oak Lawn weren’t too bad tonight.

M0mmyof3

Took out chicken for tonight. Don't have a clue what I am making with it yet.

MinusTwo

The kid I stayed with in Hawaii is supposed to get here today for a wedding. His choice to meet was lunch today or Monday - so who knows when or what or even if we'll eat.

This evening I'm going to have cocktails & appetizers with two women I used to work with. (every once in a while I remember what English teachers are supposed to say - 'with whom I used to work'.) We're only allowed to bring one "treat". The hostess doesn't like to "make do" with appetizers, only regular meals, but the other lady & I like to have appetizers for dinner. I was going to make Hawaiian Bread Sliders but since I don't know if I'll be gone all afternoon I'm going to do frozen 'heat & serve' Crazy Cuizine Mandarin Orange Chicken from Costo. I think it's delicious.

auntienance

Minus, I saw that at Costco when I was there. DH is an orange chicken fanatic. I'll have to try it for one of those Too Lazy/Busy/Tired to Cook nights.

Nothing but ice here today. Yuck. I'm not going out till next week. Hate the stuff.

Lacey12

Minus, I always wince when I end a sentence with a preposition, yet read recently (wish I''d saved the article) that we are grammatically moving away from such rigid rules for the sake of easier, less formal expression. As hard as it is to follow the grammar rules we learned in casual writing, it is equally difficult to skip them!

Red....glad you opted not to "try out" the ice!

I never finished my pizzelle making last evening, so off to do that now. Need to have a large tray ready for a friend's party tonight. Hope it is still on.....we are in the midst of a very messy snowstorm.

auntienance

Major cookie baking going on here too. I'm sitting next to a large tray of cooling crispy oatmeal cookies. The warm caramel smell is tantalizing. Give me strength! 💪 💪

auntienance

I caved

eric95us

That shouldn't take that much strength.... cookies aren't heavy! :-)

auntienance

Doesn't matter Eric, clearly I have none lol

Redheaded1

Iced in here today too---I started to take stuff out this a.m. and had one foot on the sidewalk and the other one still inside the door and started to slip. Came back in, then realized I couldn't hear any traffic or anything. I am 5 houses down a side street from a major street here. I don't hear much traffic, but some. I have only had one car go down the street since 7a.m. and it was a big truck with a snow blade and it was creeping along. I had wanted to go out for a Mexican breakfast but quickly changed my mind. Made myself and egg on toast and had a glass of orange juice.

I have not even tried to get to the mail box either. Baked one batch of "cool whip cookies" I used Lemon cake mix. Would definitely boost the flavor a little with some extract if I did it again, but not a bad cookie for the amount of effort involved. Have supplies to do more baking, but was planning on hitting the dollar store for some containers....NOT HAPPENING.

Called the nursing home, talked to my dad---he wasn't hearing me real well, but he understood I wouldn't be coming out today or tonight. He was ok with it. Said he would read his devotional book to get caught up. Said he had two eyes and a white chest watching him--I thought he had a therapy dog visiting but it was the framed picture of his beloved (deceased) Kitty Cat Parker...Said he'd manage without me. and not to risk breaking my wrist again. I swear, when I start to fall and put that right arm up in the air I probably look like a 60 year old overweight wannabe ballerina auditioning for something....

I did get a jar and try to toss some ice melt the length of the back sidewalk to the edge of the garage---but it is going to stay below freezing here today and then get below zero after dark and into tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will be making deviled eggs for our bowling party on Monday. That is always a good time. Everyone has their "special " item for the food table.

Lacey12

Yes....you stay put, Red! I made those lemon cookues for avtailgate with DS2's college friends. They scarfed them all down with rave reviews! I forgot that cool whip was one of the ingredients.

Nance, what recipe do you use for those crispy darlings? Mine come out much denser, but would love to try this method. Thanks

eric95us

I meant it wouldn't take much strength to lift a cookie.. :-)

MinusTwo

Nance - I want to bite that thing right out your hand. Yum.

Red - I've been thinking about deviled eggs for a couple of days. Maybe tomorrow. Would you or Lacey please post the recipe for the lemon cookies with the cake mix & cool whip? Sounds about my speed.

Eric - any freezes your way at all? I'm so glad our 30 degrees will only be one overnight (so far). When is DD coming home for winter break? I'm sure there will be cooking. Thinking of you this first year without your Mother. It must be hard.

auntienance

Eric, I knew what you meant. You can see I didn't have any trouble lifting it :-)

Lacey, it's a cooks illustrated recipe. Here's an adaptation using quick oats. I will tell you that the original CI recipe specifically says not to use quick, only old fashioned rolled, which I do. I use Maldon on half the batch, the other half unsalted. They're delicious both ways. Excellent with a cup of tea or coffee. I also make the cookies smaller. They spread a lot.

http://bakingbites.com/2013/01/thin-crispy-salted-oatmeal-cookies/

april485

Ok, I will have one of the oatmeal cookies (or three) and a few of those pizelles and the lemon thingy majingys too. I made the Russian Tea Cakes this morning and will make the chocolate bark and my fudge tonight. Still have some chicken breasts I have to cook (boneless and skinless) so am deciding what to do with them. I use one big one for the chicken divan yesterday and now I have two huge ones left (bought a big package of 6 on sale and froze them 3 in each bag and these are the whole breasts with both sides attached) and am thinking since I have sauce and mozzarella, I might make chicken parm again.

I made it a few weeks ago but I love it so no biggie for me (except the waistline which with the holidays I have given up for much of the time) so I am thinking that is what I will do. I will bake them instead of frying to save some calories because pasta is a must with this dish for me. I don't feel like making from scratch so will use a box of DeCecco which I like well enough.

Enjoy your day everyone!

auntienance

Where is Carole?

M0mmyof3

Making a quick chicken parmigiana tonight.

bedo

Lacey hope you feel better

Minus Great news!

Black bean vegetarian crockpot soup for dinner.

It is really cold here

I am retiring on Friday

Well, by that I mean only PRN, or Locums jobs,and only when I want. Or not. lol

Sorry for those I've missed, there is so much to catch up on

ChiSandy

The temp is tolerable here, but according to Bob (who walked to brunch at B'way Cellars today while I copped some extra Zs, topped by my ginger patch tabby Happy), though driving is not too bad, the sidewalks are like an uneven skating rink. The roads were salted by the city, but the sidewalks were the province of those who might or might not have bothered to salt or shovel down to bare pavement. I have decided not to go to the party tonight, since my back is worse today than it's been a couple of days earlier (most likely because I'd decided to skip the morning dose of Flexeril…just gave in and took one, cotton-mouth or not). Even if we were to take an Uber, the footing between car & building at either end is treacherous. I have a couple of scripts to pick up from CVS—maybe Bob can call in some Baclofen instead of Flexeril, and then CVS can deliver the while shebang (or he can call in the Baclofen and pick everything up before church—he is atoning for having missed so many Masses by attending tonight and bringing a big donation). Tomorrow we are forecast to struggle to rise above zero. Definitely a “whole-family-nesting” day.

Monday I have an appointment with my LE doc who is also a physiatrist and is in the same bldg. as Evanston Hospital's PT clinic—perhaps he can do something about my back so I can travel by Thurs. I don't expect him to write me a script for Norco—nobody seems willing to prescribe opioids to outpatients these days—but perhaps he can assess just what is causing the pain: sprained or torn muscle(s) or ligament(s), herniated disk, pinched nerve, worsening scoliosis, hairline compression fx, or something more ominous that the Immediate Care NP missed on my X-ray two weeks ago Monday. This is the longest I've ever had a backache, and the first time it didn't a little bit better every day. I’d go to my chiropractor (one of the few who doesn’t either play “diet cop” or insist you sign up for a series of treatments), but he retired last month.

Dinner tonight will be the path of least resistance—maybe some fettucine & butter with some of that truffle shaved over it, along with a salad.(Bob brought me back salmon/gouda quiche with mesclun salad for brunch; I saved half for Gordy). I am carbing like crazy, since nothing else seems to satisfy me. No wonder people out here put on a layer of “winter fat," as I was warned when I first moved from Seattle in 1978. Had I been thinking straight, I'd have cut off a chunk of that truffle (bigger than I'd thought it would be) and have Bob give it to Tom (B'way Cellars' exec. chef & owner) because I doubt I'll use it all up before Thurs. There's a limit to how much truffle butter I can make.

Redheaded1

Can you believe we have more freezing rain now-----Honestly---I am goint to take a hot shower, eat and snuggle up on the sofa till bedtime.

The cookie recipe with the cool whip so easy===

1 softened container of cool whip

One egg

1 18.5 oz box of cake mix--your choice of flavor. Watch the size, as all cake mixes are not the same size if you can't find that size of cake mix, you will need to add some flour to make it right.

Stir it all together well ( it is quite sticky). Put powdered sugar on a plate and form balls by rolling dough in the powdered sugar. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. I got 28 cookies. Depends on size you make them. I have heard that the funfetti cake mix with the French vanilla coolwhip is good. I think I would have added a little lemon extract to the lemon ones.

If I get out to grab more cool whip I have a Banana spice cake mix and an orange cake mix to try. Will bake for the nursing home staff that works on Christmas Eve and Christmas.

ChiSandy

Think I’ll make panini for dinner—ciabatta bread, Serrano ham, provolone, red onion, tricolor bell & poblano peppers, the last of my fresh rosemary. And a side of fettucine or cauliflower mash with shaved truffle. We will definitely need to use up the last of our windowsill-ripened homegrown tomatoes, since after Thurs. only Gordy will be home but he detests tomatoes (whipped cream too, and cheese if it isn’t on a pizza or on chicken parm). Don’t want to come home to a sill full of inedibles!

MinusTwo

Red - thanks for the recipe. I think I'll try the lemon first and add extra lemon zest.

MinusTwo

Bedo - how great to hear from you. Ah ha, aren't you already part time? Do I remember something about the definition of the job changing? How is your daughter doing?