So...whats for dinner?

Michelle  I think my mom made a dish like that, but there was tomato sauce mixed in the gr beef and a green vege (maybe green beans) and then the mashed potato on top and baked.   I will have to pick her brain.

Got stood up for steak dinner out last night. Hubby just too darn tired and cold. sometimes he has to be out back of the mill to make feed and it's freezing out there. So I did not cook thinking we were going out...It was blueberry pie and ice cream for dinner.

tonight is chicken breast ina garlic, wine, caper sauce and making the orzo salad (warm) to go with it.

Michelle  Did not read your blog, but hope things are ok with you.  So glad you are heading back to a warm spot, these cold winter months will go by so much faster for you.

Called my sis today to see if she would go to yoga classes with me to get us out of the house, but the answer was "no"  she doesnt like to be around people, never has.  She was put on AI and is not doing well, migraine headaches every day, she is calling the doctor tomorrow to tell him she wont be taking it anymore.

I cooked a delicious soup this morning with leeks, potatoes and pancetta as the main ingredients.  It was so easy.  I printed out two different recipes and consulted both of them and didn't follow either one!  I'm a seat of my pants cook by nature. 

I cut 4 thick slices of Boar's Head pancetta (1/3 of a lb) into small pieces.  Rendered it over low fire in a Dutch oven.  Removed the pancetta.  Added 2 T butter.  Sauted chopped leeks (3 large) sprinkled with salt to facilitate sweating.  Cooked the leeks on low heat until tender, maybe 15 min. longer.  Poured in a quart of organic low-sodium chicken broth and sprinkled some black pepper.  Added diced russet potatoes (2 very large).  Returned pancetta to pot.  Brought to simmer, covered and cooked for maybe 20 min.  Let the pot sit while I took a shower!  Ok, too much info!  Used my immersion blender to puree the soup.  Added part of a carton of fat-free half & half that I happened to have in the refrigerator.  Tasted the soup and it needed only a little salt. 

Alton Brown's recipe called for 1 c. buttermilk and some heavy cream but my lighter version is really good.   You could serve with some grated cheese and croutons.

I took half the soup to my mother, who turned 90 in Dec. and still lives alone in her house.  We had a bowl of it for lunch along with a shrimp on bun sandwich.  I sauteed the shrimp after sprinkling them liberally with Paul Prudhomme's salt-free Magic seasoning blend. 

Tonight's dinner is warmed up left-overs and a salad.  DH loves left-overs and I don't mind them.  We have linguine from last night and a chicken quinoa dish from Tues. night.

Hugs to Michelle.  That Chinese pie sounds delicious.   

Luvmygoats, leeks aren't terribly expensive.  I bought these at Walmart's and they weren't more than $3 for the bundle of three.  They are mild onions.  And you can use a good bacon instead of the pancetta, which is an Italian bacon.  Or you could make the soup vegetarian and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.  Give it a try!!!

Well I think there might be a WalMart trip planned for next Wednesday.  Have to see the BS for 6 month check.  Where do you buy pancetta?  Asking but also know I will probably stop by Central Market since I didn't get to stop this week and quite certain deli has it. Don't think I will be back in FW until end of February to shop. Oh, no vegetarian in this house. Have to pratically force DH to eat vegies. I do love WalMart's bags of sugar snap and snow peas.

When this thread first started, I tried to keep up with copying and pasting the recipes into a word file. That very quickly became unmanageable for me.



So what I have started doing is keeping a list of recipe titles that catch my eye and who posted it. My list happens to be on paper but I could see it being something kept on your computer. Makes searching for a recipe so much easier. And also makes it easy to find inspiration by scanning down the list and finding a recipe I had forgotten about!



Luvmygoats, I had forgotten all about that danish recipe! Thanks for the reminder!



Carrie,



Blueberry pie and ice cream for dinner sounds good to me! As does your chicken tonight! DH owes you an IOU on the steak dinner...lol!



Carole,



That soup sounds so good too!! Definitely going on my list!

I am living on the edge tonight! LOL The hubby is working, so I'm making a PJ sandwich (I do have organic peanut butter), and I have these new things called Wheat Sandwich thins (helps with the carb load).

I worked out for 2 hours, so I'm famished!

I need to get my veggies in for the day though, so probably later on I will steam some mixed veggies.  

I'm waiting for peanut butter to soften now - it's on the counter!  

Michelle (LuvRving),

I just visited your blog.  You are in my thoughts often, and you are one of the first people that I turned to when I didn't know what to do and had questions.  Much love and prayers going out to you.

I refuse to shop at Walmarts, so I have no idea what they might or might not have. I adore leeks, especially if they will be put through a food mill or blended! Then I don't have to make pretty cuts. To clean leeks, cut them so that you can expose the insides and put in a large bowl of water. Swoosh them around. The dirt will settle to the bottom of the bowl, so scoop the leeks out with your hands so you don't disturb the dirt.

Leeks are great in soups, stocks, tarts, soups [did I mention that], braised, gratin, and soups. :-) You can buy tons of leeks when they are cheap [late Summer around here], clean them and then freeze them. I don't. Simply don't have the room. But when I use the white part of the leek, I freeze the darker green parts for my chicken stock.

Dinner tonight was the Weisswurst, Munich-style pretzels, sauerkraut, and a few sautéed potato slices for Mr. 02143. We are actually doing a real food shopping trip tomorrow. 'Bout time! We have been running on empty for almost a month.

*susan*

Seaside,

Doesn't that just make your heart smile? I love when my little freezer gifts are actually good.

*susan*

I always used to freeze "starter" bags. Tomatos, peppers, onion, celery. Cooked to blend a bit of salt and pepper. Then in the winter, use it for spaghetti, or chili, or just soup. Tasted so fresh. Just adjust the seasonings when you use it, that way, I always had the right base to make anything!

That describes my grandkids and their parents to a "t"!!!  But the parents do limit the their usage.

If it weren't for Walmart, I wouldn't even be able to buy parsley in my little town (or anywhere for 30+ miles) much less something as exotic as leeks. Here, all the garlic comes in boxes. It's nice you have a better choice.

Hi all, yes it is a quiet day on this thread....

I got up early today to drive out to the Berkshires, where DH has a hospital board meeting this afternoon, after which we attend a dinner tonight. We may also remain here until Sunday and do some local stuff, since we get to stay at this beautiful estate owned by one of the other board members (a sinfully rich smart one who is basking in the sun on an island while he loans out his art filled "country home" to us proles.....but believe me I am not complaining, even tho the temp outside is 13 degrees...no Marco Island feel in Western MA). I feel like we are starring in Downton Abbey when we are here....huge estate, impeccable period decor and antiques in every room, original art work from all over the world, and just a few staff to meet everyone's needs for food drink, and anything else. But for all that he has, this generous man's wife died of breast cancer about ten years ago, and they had no children. So, aside from travelling the world and accumulating original artwork, he spends much of his fortune supporting young people who are starting out in that field. I am writing this as I look west over the pastures and to the hills....very peaceful.



Back to food....on the way here, we stopped for lunch and I had a delish basic BLT....always think of you when I have bacon, Michelle. Last night DH was out, so I ate the rest of a spinach pie I'd started while at lunch with a former colleague, along with the last of Amelia's soup. It was particlarly good after a few days in the fridge. Love the sound of your soup, Carole, and I might even try your minestrone, Nance....minus the celery which will set off another allergic reaction. I feel like I will soon be one of those people no one wants to have over for dinner, given these food allergies!



Luv, I had always been hesitant to work with leeks, also due to the cleaning issues, but found that it works fine if you do what Susan said. When doing that I usually cut mine in half-inch rings, allowing the dirt to release easily. I scoop the clean rings from the water with a chinese wire scoop (the name of which I obviously have no clue). Also Traders sells frozen sliced leeks which are clean as far as I can tell! I think it would be more annoying when you have to prepare leeks for brasing, taking each section of the stalk apart and washing all that dirt out.



Back to faux Downton Abbey....I think I'll head down to the library for a little read, while I wait for DH... or just take in all of the statues, paintings, rugs, etc.

Have a good evening all.....

We don't have have much of a choice either but we shop at Safeway any thing else we need we have to drive the 30 miles to Waldo's.

Lacey- sounds like a beautiful, peaceful setting.



Seaside- must of missed the post on spam lol i dont care for it at all,dh loves it but not sure he will eat it again after the last time he ate it he ate spam every day in Hawaii (mooseabe) ? Then one morning while sitting out by the beach he called me to tell me he wasn't feeling good, I raced down there and I guess his throat closed up and he had foam coming out his mouth scared the livin day lights out of me, he thinks he got an allergic reaction to the spam and won't eat it again, I think it was the tumor but at least I won't have to fix it for him any more lol

AWW! Susan~ Thank you very much!!!