So...whats for dinner?

Just made a big pot of tortilla soup with chicken, corn, tomatoes and extra pinto beans.  It has been raining and thunder and lightning all day so it sounded good and I had all the stuff in the house.  Enjoying a bowl now with crackers and cheese and sour cream on top (don't tell!) but the problem is that DD is spending the night near the aquarium tonight because her shift starts at 6 am tomorrow morning and it is an hour drive from here, DH is in S. Carolina taking care of his parents!  This is way too much soup!!! 

What is up with the soup? I made a carrot-ginger soup for our "starter." Main course was a mustard-leek tart from "Around my French Table." Absolutely delicious! A fresh salad would have been a good addition but I didn't make it to the farmer's market today to pick up lettuce.

Also processed a box of number 2 roma tomatoes. Cut in half, destemmed, drizzled with oil and a bit of salt. Slow roasted for 5 hours. I am freezing them and will vacuum them for Summer-in-December.

I want some tortilla soup now. Never heard of beans in this soup... will need to try that sometime.

*susan*

Soup is a winter dish for us.  Maybe because it isn't a "starter" but the main dish.  We usually make a big pot and have leftovers for lunch for days.

The "fish fry" with a family here in the campground was certainly different from a fish fry at home, which would feature catfish fillets.  At home everybody including the kids--or almost everyone-- would be eating the crispy fried fish.  Not so with this extended family.  They're from central MN where fish evidently is not a popular food.  Some of them just ate the side dishes, which were odd to us.  A jello salad, a pasta dish with egg noodles, bits of broccoli and bits of chicken, the noodles much overcooked.  Sliced tomatoes and cucumbers.  Everyone seemed to favor the jello salad which would be a rarity in south Louisiana. 

The walleye fish, cooked in pieces in a couple of deep fryers, lightly breaded in a cornmeal breading, was good but not cooked as crispy as we would have cooked it.  Regional differences in preparing food are always interesting.  Favorite side dishes at home would have been potato salad and coleslaw and maybe corn on the cob.

Tonight's dinner will probably be leftovers when we get home from playing golf, tee time at 4 pm.  Tomorrow's dinner will be the prime rib special at a nearby restaurant on the shore of this same lake.  We could easily row the canoe over to their dock but we'll keep our feet dry and drive the pickup!  I love prime rib and am looking forward to tomorrow night.

susan - I just added the beans to the tortilla soup because I thought it sounded good, I used pintos.  Also added the tomatoes and corn and chicken, same reason.  It ends up being more like a cross between a soup and a stew and we eat it for the main course since it has all the parts of a "balanced meal" all in the same bowl!  I sent soe with DD this morning but she had no time to eat today.  She is driving home and just called me to tell me how sad she was that her soup was next to her on the seat still in the lunchbag instead of in her tummy!

Ooooooo, Goats, good protein, I'm making your pie.  I was saving my mozzarella ball for more tomatoes and basil and mozzerella with pasta or bruchette (?sp) or whatever but I'm sick of that!

Making it with the pie crust. 

All over this!  Thanks!

Yes I use Cabot or Stonyfield Farm organic from NH.  Dairy and eggs are the two things I'm psycho about being organic and I try to buy pasture raised.

Laurie - It will make it soupier for sure but that could be a good thing over rice. What is "chicken rice"? You mean like Rice-A-Roni or something like it flavored with chicken? I think the chicken flavor might just get lost and better saved for something more plain. My DH wouldn't care, just make rice of any kind. Oddly enough he is not that much of a potatoes guy. I know many recipe sites say don't judge a recipe unless you made it like it says. I say "Phooey" - I couldn't make it like it's written 'cause DH won't eat mushrooms. I think I'd prob. add some onions but then I don't have kids eating it.

Bedo I'm glad my recipe inspired you. Now to just inspire me. LOL.

Off for fun time to give the dog a bath. Dinner here is hours away.

I have to go to get dog medicine tomorrow so going to a little town I very rarely go to and actually used to work in. I hope - fingers crossed - to stumble on a roadside stand. They're too small to have a true farmers' market. I would love some tomatoes. I did finally get a canteloupe from the local field that is on the way there. It was good and goaties enjoyed the rinds. I hope the roadside stand is open.

As a matter of fact I think I'll slice a grocery tomato and eat part b4 I make dinner.

Laurie - sorry the dish was bland. Maybe not enough basil/thyme. Maybe some garlic. It did sound interesting. DH tolerates eggplant because I like it; not his first choice for food. He likes corn, frozen is fine. I might have to make some frozen with his chicken whatever it turns out to be. I might just put in skillet with BBQ sauce.

Hauntie  - your tomatoes/bread sound good too. Icy cold sounds real good.

They are saying here in Ny that the cucumbers are not good this year....hence the prices for them is high/  I got a large basket of them to make pickles and they were 19 dol for the lot.  Made 20 jars of dill pickles.  the kids will be here for labor day and take most of them home.

Home late...dinner was eggs over easy and toast.

Hauntie   We like sliced cukes and tomatos with sourcream and spices...the sourcream gets real thin when the cukes give up their water and it can be used as a salad dressing or just eaten in a bowl.

I love tabbouleh. Haven't made it in years though. Costco sometimes has a pretty good fresh version. Even DH likes it.



Tonight was a pasta primavera, tomato, cucumber and green pepper salad, and garlic rolls. Dbil and Dsil arrived just in time for dinner. In the morning I'll be making blackberry and cherry handpies for the weekend. Pate brisee is all ready in the fridge.

carberry and specialK - I always laugh when I see people who say they love breakfast for dinner.  I don't like breakfast for breakfast, and whenever possible eat something different.  I'm definitely NOT a bacon and egg kinda gal, and cannot eat anything with wheat, so pancakes and waffles are out, too.  I do, however, like stew or soup for breakfast. 

For dinner last night we had leftover Ropa Viejo that I made and froze 1/2 of last week, with some fresh zuccini.  For dessert, hubby had some raspberry gelato and a piece of dark chocolate.  I just had the dark chocolate.  Tonight I was going to make a meatloaf, but just now realized that I forgot to take any hamburger out of the freezer, so now I'm not sure....

Debbie, condolences on the loss of your Father.



Minor surgery, I had a TE placed for the third time. Trying again, hope third times s charm! It's now twenty months since my right one was placed at my bmx. This left one was removed twice already. Keeping fingers crossed for this third try! LOL now if only the right one doesn't pop when he starts to fill it again! LOL.

Laurie, Thanks for letting everyone know about Debbie's dad. I feel so badly for her.



Moon, I also missed your anticipated surgery. Hope your recovery is speedy and better meals are on the way!



I am often in the company of tabbouleh made by my Lebanese neighbor....however, I have an allergy to parsley, so don't risk it. It had not occured to me to try to make it with just the mint but I should.



The last two nights we ate a shrimp pasta toss that I made with large shrimp (thank you DH for cleaning them!) several large-diced colored peppers and a large-diced onion, minced garlic cloves, black olives and chopped kale (snuck it in!)and a chopped cup of cilantro. Added a bit of cumin, some red pepper flakes and topped with parmesan cheese since that is what I had. We liked it a lot, so I wrote down what I did....or it would be gone forever. Laurie,I bet some spices would have made that dish more interesting...and some red pepper flakes?





Back at the lake today and plan to have dinner with friends at Giuseppe's (I will probably check outntheir pizza!)before seeing THE FANTASTICS, performed at the Winni Playhouse....their first musical! I got a kick out of learning that Jimmy Fallon named his new daughter Winnie after the lake. Lucky for her that her parents' fondest memories were not created here at Newfound or worse yet, Squam!