So...whats for dinner?

auntienance · January 2017

Freya, I freeze mine in 16oz and 32oz containers. I would like to have a pressure canner but haven't made that jump yet.

Peggy, I agree the cool rise dough is the best but it means I have to plan ahead a little more. Something I seem to lack more and more lol!

carolehalston · January 2017

Shepherd's pie for dinner. Plan is to use up some potatoes. Ground chuck and carrots will be included. Will be checking out some recipes for hints

Did not know about the Chris Kendall feud with ATK until recently when I saw an ATK program without him. He was on a morning news show this morning advertising his new magazine and cooking show.

eric95us · January 2017

I "can" my turkey and chicken stock in 12 ounce jars and keep a couple of dozen jars in the pantry. Stock day seems to come around about every 6 months.

Freya244117 · January 2017

Nothing better than having fresh stock on hand, either frozen or canned. My canner gets used a lot for our fruit and vegies. I haven't tried canning meat or chicken, the amount of salt needed puts me off.

I will have to check out the cool rise dough, I have not heard of it.

ChiSandy · January 2017

Apparently there was quite a bit of friction between Kimball and the ATK staff over the years—because he created the franchise he was a bit of a control freak. I like the vibe of Julia & Bridget co-hosting (one gets the sense that they really like each other), and more airtime for some of the other chefs.

Went to see Hidden Figures and Manchester by the Sea, with late lunch/early dinner in between. This time instead of the Carbon Arc bar/cafe attached to the theater we walked two doors south in the other direction to Fork, a farm-to-table wine-tasting restaurant. We shared a kale/fried pork belly/poached pear salad and a very good bouillabaisse (could have used a bit more garlic but otherwise excellent). After the second movie we were still hungry but our car was parked a block and a half south and it was very cold, so we looked for a bite to eat in that direction. Didn’t find anything open that floated our boats, so we ended up at the Fireside (open till 3 am). Not the best food, but hearty portions, reasonable and easy parking. I was jonesing for schnitzel, so I had the country fried steak with sausage gravy (which was bizarrely spiced with Cajun seasoning), fries and steamed broccoli—most of which we took home because we were freezing cold despite sitting near the gas heaters.

carolehalston · January 2017

I never liked Chris Kimball. Dh thinks ATK won't make it without him.

The shepherd's pie was enormous. The meat mixture on the bottom was better than the potato topping, which dried out some during the oven stage. I made the mashed potatoes with quite a bit of butter and some milk. We will be having the leftovers a couple of times.

SpecialK · January 2017

carole - I sometimes add some shredded cheddar to my potatoes before I top the Shepard's Pie, seems to help keep them more moist, and what in't better with cheese?

ChiSandy · January 2017

Jonesing for matzo ball soup, so that’s either what I’ll make tonight or pick up at the kosher deli/pharmacy. Got some leftover chicken-fried steak, fries and broccoli too.

MinusTwo · January 2017

Yesterday I had a prime rib French dip after one of my season ticket Sunday afternoon plays - small theater, usually off Broadway shows & often edgy. The play was about love - Who Am I This Time, young, middle age, old - what does love mean & and how do we relate to each other as we all grow & change. Very moving & funny & uplifting. Playwright was Aaron Posner and the show was based on three early stories from Kurt Vonnegut. I never would have guessed Vonnegut.

Dunch today was the other half of the French dip. Although I must confess I did order their French fries as a side yesterday (instead of asparagus) and ate every single tiny one in the restaurant. They are marvelous and I very rarely eat fried foods.

Going tomorrow to an AARP get together so see what programs they have in my area - and what kind of advocacy & lobbying they are doing in our behalf. Should be interesting since after all, this is Texas - EEK. And then a friend has talked me into going to a "Silver Sneakers" exercise class. It's mostly chair exercises and the weights are only 2 lbs, so maybe I'll do OK in my weak, protesting frame of mind, not to mention body.

ChiSandy · January 2017

I have BCBS as my Part B supplement, and they don’t do Silver Sneakers. They used to have a plan where, for $25 a month, you had unlimited access to a network of gyms including, inter alia, L.A. Fitness and the local JCC. You could go to any one as often as you wanted. They are ending that this month, and instead just offering a discount on memberships at L.A. Fitness, Curves, and a number of lesser gyms—and you are limited to just one branch, the one where you enrolled. Think I’ll stick with my exercise bike & treadmill.

SpecialK · January 2017

Tonight was chili, since (don't hate me northerners!) it is chilly. For Florida. Dropping down to the 40's tonight - all my tropical plants are saying wtf?

Freya244117 · January 2017

Mushroom, thyme and sage pasta is the plan for tonight. Probably not the best dish for a hot day, but the mushrooms need to be used.

ChiSandy · January 2017

Had the leftover chicken-fried steak and French fries from last night—gonna munch on the broccoli as a snack. Earlier, I stirred the leftover sauteed kale into some chicken soup.

For dessert, I had some sugar-free ice cream, Halo Top. <300 cal. for the entire pint, but I had just a half-cup. Most of their flavors are awful: anything chocolate-based and sugar free tastes “off” to me; I found the vanilla tasted like saccharin and the mint chip like toothpaste. Was going to see what the Red Velvet was like, but I saw Salted Caramel instead, so I bought it. It’s actually pretty decent.

SpecialK · January 2017

chisandy - your post reminded me of drinks my college roommate and I had at some party back in the day - made with Crème de Menthe, we called them Scopes!

Moonflwr912 · January 2017

Hello All! Welcome to Peggy and Freya.

Happy for Lacey the CT was good.

Sk, was it you going for the colonoscopy? Ive run into a few weird roadblocks every time i schedule one. So ive not had one yet. Tried to make an apt and my record had a hold til July. LOL. Trying to see what got messed up there, but my DD2, the GI nurse, has been bugging me so much I want it done. LOL

The whole family has been down with the flu. First my DSIL2, then the 2 year old. Then my DD2calls me cause shes so sick and so is the 2 year old. Buscia to the rescue. Come home after 2 days of helping them out, my DH is now crawling into bed with the flu. 2 days later he heads back to work and I'm alone. Sit for my DD2 family as usual cause she's on call. Leave and start coughing my head off. Make it home and crawl in bed. That was Friday. Fever is only 99 this evening, so I think I'm on my way to better, but I'm dragging. Ugh. Be glad this isn't smellovision..... LOL

Been eating light and not cooking much for myself. I am looking forward to my Home Chef box coming Wed. Haven't had one since 2 weeks before Christmas. I might even be able to cook something by Wed.

I did cook for my daughters family while i was there. I made chickem and rice in a 9x12 pan. Then i took all the bones, made stock in the pressure cooker. Left her with it to warm up with the leftover chicken. In hindsight, i should have kept it fir myself....LOL

Much love to all around the expanded table!

M0mmyof3 · January 2017

Ham steaks, home fries and a veggie

MinusTwo · January 2017

Moon - great to see you. Sorry about the flu running through your family.

HappyHammer · January 2017

Last night I made spaghetti sauce with fresh Italian sausage our neighbor made. It really was yummy! DH likes baked spaghetti so after making the sauce and cooking the pasta- into the oven it all went. During dinner we talked about how baked spaghetti was what I made with leftover sauce and pasta when the boys were young. Now, it is just what we have initially as that is what my guys like. We never have "just" spaghetti and sauce.

That leads me to ask- any one else have something like this that you make for your family that sort of changed up over time?

ChiSandy · January 2017

My chili has gotten spicier, and I’ve used more actual chili peppers (soaked and seeded anchos) and less tomato.

eric95us · February 2017

Chi, I'm following the same path with my chili. In my case, I use Chiltepin peppers because i grow them in the back yard.

Freya244117 · February 2017

Thats a great question Happy. Since I have stopped working and have a lot more time, I cook and bake so much more. We try and travel to Europe every second year and I always do a 1 or 2 day cooking class for a particular dish or just the basics known to that area.

Now I just cant bring to mind anything I have made our own lol.

april485 · February 2017

I adapted recipes that my kids wanted to eat so that they are healthier and not filled with as much sodium. For example, my kids would eat at a friend's house and have "Hamburger Helper" cheeseburger mac. That stuff is nasty so I made my own and they did not know the difference until they were older and used to it. Or, I would make chicken soup but buy special little macaroni (like stars or little dinosaur shapes) and make them "real" homemade soup. Also make homemade "rice a roni" so anything they wanted, I would adapt to a recipe. Guess that is about it for me.

Tonight is chuck roast with potatoes, onions, parsnips, celery and carrots made in the oven until it falls apart. I browned it last night and will throw in the oven when I get home at 4:30 and it will be ready for 7. Eating later tonight as I have a meeting from 5:30 to 6:30.

M0mmyof3 · February 2017

Making hamburgers for tonight.

eric95us · February 2017

I found some dinosaur meat in the freezer...So we will turn it back into London Broil.

Valstim52 · February 2017

Whether it was being 'broke' on purpose: saving for another house, vacations, etc. or due to having 3 children in 4 years, my recipes have changed. We made the decision early on that I would be a stay at home mom for the kids. As a result, we ate very little meat. One chicken breast (bone in) would serve our entire meal. Usually in some form of casserole or skillet dish.

Very much like April485. I would do the homemade version of hamburger helper, rice a roni etc.Don't know how I fed and clothed everyone on one salary but I did.

Now, i use more exotic ingredients. Different veggies, and experiment more on the gourmet side of cooking. My cooking is spicier as well.

'

SpecialK · February 2017

val - we made that same decision, mainly due to being a military family and feeling that at least one parent needed to be more available - at least until my children were older. We didn't take vacations and had to be careful with spending, we didn't eat out and stretched the grocery budget similarly! We ate a lot of pasta dishes and rice based ones, always with lots of vegetables. If I cooked a larger piece of meat it appeared in lots of different dishes made with leftovers. My children were not adventurous eaters in childhood, but are very much more so as adults. DS is a great cook, DD not so much, lol!

Dinner tonight is thin pork chops. Will marinate in organic soy sauce and garlic, then dredge in cornstarch and pan sauté. Steamed broccoli and brown rice as sides. Love this prep method as the marinade leaves even the thin chops pretty tender, and they cook super quick.

Freya244117 · February 2017

SpecialK, it is amazing how tender the soy and cornstarch makes meat. I use it a lot with chicken in asian dishes.

It's 5 am right now, but tonight we will have a crunchy asian style salad with teriyaki glazed chicken balls. I'm having trouble controlling pain at the moment, so making easy meals using things I have premade and frozen for these situations.

Val, I'm using a lot more herbs and spices these days as well.

MinusTwo · February 2017

Freya - sorry to hear about your pain. I hope you get some relief.

I too was mostly stay-at-home. After my DS started school, I worked part time jobs so was I there see him off to school in the morning and home when he got back. I'm still glad I made that choice, but it sure plays hell on the retirement funds or pensions that of course are not there. Oh the plethora of tuna casserole, chili w/mostly beans, fake beef stroganoff with hamburger, cheese enchiladas, fried rice w/tiny pieces of meat, etc. A special treat was hot dogs & a bit of cheese rolled around Crescent Rolls. Eeek. I too have increased the use of spices and rarely cook meat more than twice a week.

One question my DS asks is why we only had iceberg lettuce when he was growing up. Well - it was the cheapest for sure, but also what was available if you lived in a city w/o a garden. He ate it only under protest. It's amusing that the only vegetable he liked was corn (off the cob) and now he's been with a vegetarian for 16 years.

Val - I like your one chicken breast stretched for a whole meal memory. Now one half chicken breast will usually last me 3 meals in different dishes.

Dinner last night was steamed BokChoy with a touch of olive oil & some garlic salt. (I sure wish Spice Islands still made MeiYen seasoning). Accompanying that I had 1/2 a toasted rye bagel with salmon & cream cheese spread. Tonight I'll do a riff on Laurie's beans & chili with some leftover rotisserie chicken from the freezer.

Love the concept of dinosaur meat Eric. I definitely have some of that in the back of my freezer.

I miss Bedo!!! And what about LuvMyGoats?

MinusTwo · February 2017

I've copied this from a study about mortality after breast cancer & eating grilled, BBQ or smoked meats, which was inconclusive. Although the study was flawed, I think some of the information is good. The comment about herb marinade is interesting. You can read the entire report at the BCO 'Breaking Research" thread.

...When meat is cooked at high temperatures until well-done, a group of chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) forms. The longer and hotter the cooking, the more HCAs form, especially in the blackened parts of the meat. The National Cancer Institute has identified 17 HCAs that may increase the risk of cancer. Another group of chemicals -- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) -- form in smoke produced when fat burns or drips on hot grill coals. PAHs have been linked to breast cancer.

...We do know that HCAs and PHAs produced when meat is charred are linked to cancer. To keep your exposure to these chemicals as low as it can be, you can:

Choose lean cuts of meat and trim the fat to avoid PHAs.
Grill at lower temperatures.
Consider precooking (roasting or baking) meat before grilling to cook off fat.
Don't use recipes for "blackened" foods.
Trim off any charred or burned parts of food.
Avoid overcooking (and undercooking) by using a meat thermometer to cook meat to the correct temperature indicated on the thermometer.
Marinate meats in herb mixtures to reduce HCAs. Research shows the herbs in marinades reduce HCAs.

carolehalston · February 2017

A new concept for me to dredge in cornstarch. Is that Asian?

We're having catfish fillets for dinner. A side of brussel sprouts and probably a romaine salad with avocado and blue cheese and kalamato olives.

Another gorgeous spring like day today. I played golf in cropped pants and short-sleeve shirt. I have a suspicion that winter may end early without having made much of an appearance.

I have been missing Luvmygoats, too. She has been absent a long time. I wish our newcomers could meet Susan. Does anyone know how she's doing with her treatment

So...whats for dinner?

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