So...whats for dinner?

Welcome Previvor!

Yumm,  Carole, love the object of your starvation-driven impulse stop! I was thinking of you as I made my smoothies today, and thought that the best idea for not having to look at that yuck color of greens in a smoothie w/o using the beet "dye" would be to put everything in your blender, have DH blend it, put an eye mask on and have DH hand it to you once prepared. Then you can appreciate the taste and not be offended by the color. Of course that does require a two person effort!

Last night DH grilled some chicken thighs that I marinated in teriyaki sauce (he picked them up at Trader's and thought they were breasts....hmmm not sure what that says about his visual skills or understanding of anatomy!). We had them with a big garden salad and some  leftover "forbidden (black) rice". I liked the flavor of the black rice better with beef than chicken...but interesting nonetheless. It was nice for DH to be able to finally enjoy grilling w/o his winter parka on!

I just saw our little solitary hummingbird again a bit ago. I worry about how he will do in the forty degree weather tonight. Our weather is really having bi-polar swings!

Tonight I was on my own for dinner,...so back to crazy eating. Had a few tortilla chips with some hot red pepper jelly, then a hard boiled egg and some kalamata olives. And I am not preggers!   Was planning to make some ratatouille and also kale soup today but got involved with sewing a taggie, thus ate  the crazy food that was handy. Could have used a Poboy! What is the RB "dressed" with? Sounds so good!

We just tried making popcorn in the microwave au natural, and every time we do this, we put it on "popcorn", it runs for almost the whole time, but stops a bit short with an "error" message...and about half the kernels popped. I get so worried that  the bowl or the plate is going to explode, but I suppose that the early stoppage is to prevent that! 

We have been trying the store brand popcorn, but wonder if we would have a better result with a good brand name variety. Tonight on second pop, three kernels popped and the error sign showed again. Ultimately we took out an old bag of chemical laden easy pop corn and made that in its own bag. Boy you really taste all the added stuff after tasting a few "pure" popped kernels! Yikes! i just looked at the ingredients of this Newman's Own light butter microwave popcorn, to see what I was eating, and after a long list of not so great (palm oil, butter flavor, annatto extract for color) and some okay stuff (vitamin E) the last ingredient info said "contains milk". What were the chances of that!! I guess there is some natural butter? Oy! As I said before, dairy is around every corner....hope the amount is minimal here.

Nancy, I'm so happy and relieved that you checked in!  I've been noticing your absence and thinking, "Now she has disappeared, too!" 

What a bummer that you couldn't get your marble top.  Maybe down the road you'll be able to replace the granite.  The perfect slab of marble may come available.   I would like the quartz countertops for my kitchen.  We still have 20 yr. old formica that's in good shape.  But when I looked into getting new countertops about 5 years ago, I was put off by the inconvenience.  I was also concerned about damaging the wallpaper above the backsplash when the old countertops were removed.  So I said to heck with it. 

Our house is a modest ranch style house in a neighborhood with larger, much more stylish homes.  Just down the street is a subdivision with houses that sold in the $1,000,000 and plus range.  We have a 2-acre property that is quite nice so whoever buys our house in the future would quite possibly tear it down and build something finer.  It is quite comfortable for us even though the yard will probably eventually become too much to keep up. 

Nancy, I hope you eat at one of those great restaurants while you're on the Hill. 

I'm planning to cook one of my alltime favorite dishes tonight:  Oysters Mosca.  It's a specialty at Mosca's Restaurant on the west bank of New Orleans, which reputedly was a favorite hangout of the New Orleans mafia in years past.  Maybe years present for all I know!  The dish is served in an aluminum pie plate, piping hot.  It's fresh oysters topped with seasoned breadcrumbs, green onions and garlic and parsley cooked in some olive oil and butter.  You add dry basil and dry oregano and grated parmesan cheese to the bread mixture which goes on top of the raw oysters.  The dish is popped into a very hot oven for about 15 minutes until the crumb topping is brown and bubbling.  Hot buttered French bread goes with the dish.  Yum.  Yum. 

I'll also make a salad but no other side dish.

Tonight is beef short ribs, bacon and cheddar mashed potatoes for DH, and some steamed broccoli.

Hope everyone is doing ok - I go tomorrow for my post-op at the PS. I should lose the drain, I have almost no output. I am not looking forward to seeing what is under the bandages, but I guess that will happen too. I can't move on to being fitted for a mastectomy bra and temporary prosthetic until that happens. The PS office is triangulated between the new Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Fresh Market, so I will console myself, lol!

After a couple nights of leftovers (spaghetti and chicken breasts/snow peas) have a roast in the crockpot. It smells great. Some sauce packet I picked up at the grocery. I should have put more vegies in it. I really don't like potatoes in the crockpot, too hard to judge timing. I will send some home with DD when she comes next week. Told her I would send her home with the remaining frozen stuffed shells. I think she actually made a yummy noise. Not sure roast is one of her favorite things though. Maybe I will take the saucy stuff and make a minestrone or something or even a beany soup.

Special - I hope your PS visit tomorrow is uneventful and you find tons of good food shopping buys.

Nancy - we're supposed to be mid 40s tonight. Finally had a good decent rain yesterday, the kind we wished would continue for about 48 hours straight. East Texas got way too much rain and some flooding even in the Metroplex. Our local lakes on the westside got nary a drop of runoff. Back so mid 80s again. I have the heat turned on but it didn't come on last night and might not tonight.

MinusTwo - what does MO say about the anemia? Does he have a theory about cause?

Welcome Previvor. We're like old friends chatting in the kitchen. Join in. Stay awhile (isn't that what Granny used to say?).

Luv & Lacey - thanks for your thoughts.  I got in to see the MO tomorrow & will go from there.

Lacey - sorry to hear about the pain in your hand.  It's easy to get carried away. 

Luv - we got very little rain from the projected 2 day deluge - one storm in the night.  Heard the storms were brutal in parts of Dallas.  But Yup - drought again!!

Special K - will look forward to tomorrows report about your doc visit.  Hugs & prayers.

Nance - glad to see you back.

What's happened to Laurie?

Carole, we went from a/c to heat in one day. 37 tonight. Brrr!

Special:  Hoping today went well.  Check in when you can. 

DH and I went into Kendall Square in Cambridge this afternoon to see Katie Couric's "Fed Up" documentary. I thought it was really good....alarming info about the direction of our young population's health with all the sugar marketing and resulting obesity epidemic.  After, we went for an early dinner at a restaurant in that high tech area. Had a beet salad with baby greens ( and it was compromised by the deletion of the blue cheese on top) and then a lamb shank served with potato gnocchi, sauteed kale, grape tomatoes, and kalamata olives. It was great! DH had five lacquered duck breast over drunken noodles with peas and other spring vegetable greens. He loved it.

Carole, yes, Laurie seems fine and busy from her Facebook posts. Going through Spring sports season with her kids. I recall that to be a crazy busy time with little time for meal prep!

Nance, hoorah! The Orville popcorn worked like a charm! 

minus - yes, socks in the bra!!!  And, yes, needs more time to heal.  I have been to a LE certified PT after my original LE diagnosis, then again after exchange surgery.  I live 10 miles down the road from the only NCI designated center in FL, and they have a very good PT dept. and all of their peeps are LE certified.  I have more pain than visible swelling, but because of the three surgeries in short succession I need some help with MLD massage in the short term. 

Dinner - raw cauliflower, broccoli, radishes & carrots with Ranch dip.  Dessert - fresh raspberries smothered by heavy cream & yes I used a little sugar.  I had a hard time stopping w/half the raspberries.  YUM. 

Hugs from here, too, Special. You are a trooper. Hope that LE pain resolves soon!

Last week, I wrote about learning of that sudden rare medical condition my RI friend contracted. Well, I knew she'd be an amazing fighter to regain her motor skills, and sure enough, she is progressing with amazing strength, and the docs are marveling at how well she is recovering, given the typically less positive prognosis of transverse myelitis. I am so relieved for her. 

Having lunch with the colleague who covered my caseload last year. We're meeting at a 50's style diner, so I'm sure I'll check out their BLTs. 

Hugs to all.....:)

Lacey, great news about your friend!

Monica, well the thing is, this really isn't a total kitchen makeover. But somehow, moving the refrigerator and adding one small base cabinet and top has created a big mess with moving things from one storage space to another and trying to make things fit where they never were before. I don't think I could deal with a complete remodel. I would have to move out.  Thankfully, it should all be finished next week when my DBIL comes to install the lighting and help with the backsplash. I will have to feed him well while he is here.

I admire you doing the jewelry for your DD's wedding. I did the flowers for my niece's wedding several years ago, hoo boy! Talk about pressure! Never again!

The lettuce is in a large container on my deck. Keeps the rabbits out and the plants warmer. It's enjoying this cold wet weather we're having. Not me!

of course she wanted lillies. Every one had to be plucked to get rid of the stamen or the yellow pollen would have stained her dress. LOL