So...whats for dinner?

Eric, that's an interesting recipe for pot roast. The vinegar makes me think, German?

Dh and his brother (visiting from Chicago suburb) had lunch out yesterday after Russ arrived. I was planning to serve a heavy dinner last night but ordered a pizza instead.

So tonight I'll cook linguine and warm up the giant meatballs and red sauce. And make a romaine salad with additional ingredients.

They went to the WWII museum and will be having lunch there. So probably won't be hungry.

It has turned "cold" and windy. Summer taking a break and letting winter visit for a day or two. The azaleas are already partially in bloom

Hi Cliff!

Tonight am doing a small-ish ham, some au gratin potatoes, and steamed carrots with thyme. DH loves ham and it is a good source of multiple meals. I usually do a mac 'n cheese with the leftover ham, ham and cheese omelets, and ham salad (deviled ham?). I also like to make chef salads with julienned ham, roast beef, and turkey.

SpecialK, that was a great idea, the 34 things for 34 years, and well done on 34 years too!!! DH is on his prep for tomorrows colonoscopy, if he misses a meal he thinks his throat has been cut lol. I've just had my first lot of this chemo, so not much happening for dinner tonight, I might just have an omelette, and find somewhere to hide to eat it.

Minus, I cannot believe you got lobster tails so cheap, so envious!

Thanks Peggy.

Speaking of cookies. Since I've moved to Spokane my cookies have been crisper than usual. I don't think my oven is off though I will buy a thermometer. Both sons have suggested it could be altitude. Pontiac Michigan was 950 ft. I'm about 2700 ft here. If that's the case, what the heck do I adjust. I just want soft chocolate chip cookies! Betty Crocker website advice was increase/decrease flour, increase/decrease butter - all contradictory and less than helpful All suggestions welcome. I don't bake that much so have no clue what's going on. TIA.

HUGS!

This is my most favorite meatball recipe:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

1 medium onion, finely chopped

6 large garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 cup plain dried bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 1/2 pounds ground pork

1 pound ground beef

Preheat the oven to 400° and brush 2 rimmed baking sheets with olive oil. In a medium skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, fennel seeds, sage and crushed red pepper and cook over low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, 5 minutes; scrape into a bowl and let cool.

Add the bread crumbs to the bowl with the cheese, eggs, milk, salt and parsley. Add the pork and beef and knead gently until combined. Roll the mixture into 32 meatballs, about 2 1/2 inches each, and arrange them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until nearly cooked through, shifting the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking.

I then add them to the tomato sauce to finish cooking or once cooled, freeze them. They are delish.

ANance- thank you so much for the recipe and, yum, oldies but goodies are usually so comforting.  Yours sounded delish!

Susan makes pasta, I make pasta, Carrie makes pasta. I know Carole makes orechiette at least. Lotsa pasta makers here. In fact, I plan to make pasta (lasagna) Friday but it also involves making the sauce as well as ricotta so it's a bit of a time commitment. Well worth the effort though.

Dinner tonight was leftover green salad with honey-mustard dressing, Brussels sprouts, and green beans, with a piece of brioche loaf. Gordy got to the leftover chicken breast, shepherd's pie and mushy peas before I could. No booze—we shared the entire bottle of wine last night and I got heartburn from Hell during the night. Calmed it down, propped myself up to sleep, only to get a nasty shin cramp over the hardware in my tibia.

The guy from Cora Italian Specialties came by today to pick up my machine, and to my horror when he lifted the tank out to empty it, there was about half an inch of plaster debris at the bottom. Hope the works aren’t so gummed up that I’ll need a new machine, but if I do it’ll be on State Farm’s dime. (They’ll probably only pay the depreciated value, even though the same machine will cost me $300 more now than when I bought it). He agrees with me that my grinder definitely needs new burrs, but that’s not due to the plaster dust, so I’ll pay for that.

Minus - no apology necessary - no hurt feelings here. Your comment just started me thinking about pasta making and makers. Pasta is never far from my mind anyway (unfortunately) lol! I should have been born Italian.

Which reminds me, Sandy - a while back you mentioned instant pho. I came across some at Costco which i was tempted to get and wonder if it is the same thing? I don't make it very often because DH is unenthusiastic but I love the stuff.

Oh boy, Swiss Steak! AuntieNance, I have not made that since I was maybe a newlywed to my first husband (the mid 1970's!!) and it sounds yummy! Thanks for posting your recipe. What type of meat did you use? I would likely used cube steaks for this and make it on top of the stove. I have my new pressure cooker but have not used it yet...I MUST do that sooner or later...LOL

I make home made pasta about maybe 1/2 the time or I use good imported pasta in a box (DeCecco is my favorite) Minus but thanks for remembering that I do make it when I have the time or energy. The women on this board make lots of things I would never be able to or want to do the work to make so a little pasta with a pasta machine is not a culinary triumph...LOL I do love the real stuff though!

My meatballs are pretty standard. I use 1.5 lbs of ground beef and 1 lb of ground pork, 2 eggs, 2 slices of bread soaked in milk, and squeezed out, 1/3 cup of dried Italian flavored bread crumbs, one small finely minced onion and 6 or 7 cloves of minced garlic, fresh parsley, 2 tsps. of worsterchire sauce or to taste, salt, pepper, a few flakes of pepperoncino (red pepper flakes) cause hubby does not like spicy, and 1/2 cup of grated parm cheese.

I mix with the two tools that work best (my hands) and then I shape into medium balls and spray with my Misto (I use olive oil in it) and bake at 375 until done. I usually get about 16-18 balls with this recipe. Sometimes, I fry them on the stove but lately I take the lazy way out and imho, I can't tell that much of a difference after I plop them into a pot of sauce (also home made as I NEVER could stand jar sauce with the exception of Rao's which is very rarely in my cupboard) . Some people don't like to cook them in the sauce, but I do like it that way. I also fry up 1 lb of sweet Italian sausage and 1/2 lb of hot sausage some times and plop that into the pot as well.

That is about it!

Yum...the meatballs and homemade pasta- need that tonight.  Instead, took some chicken noodle soup out of the freezer and had it with a tossed salad. Good but not pasta and meatballs. 

Well I really like Annie Chuns's bowls. When you live alone and cook for one, it doesn't make much sense to cook huge portions. It's the same reason that Carole & I decided long ago that we could afford Raos. And the reason I don't make my favorite ham hock & beans very often.

April - thanks for the meatball receipe.

Nance - thanks from me too for the reminder about swiss steak.

Carole - bread is my absolute favorite. I would eat it all day long. For that reason I rarely have bread in the house except dark pumpernickel for an emergency sandwich. Oh and I do buy the small 4 pack of Hawaiian Rolls. They last forever so must be full of bad stuff, but I eat maybe one a week so I doubt I'll die of preservatives. If I buy a round of say, fresh rosemary garlic sourdough, I will eat nothing else until it's gone. And so much for my weight control.

Bedo - so glad to see you checking in.

leftover meatloaf, homemade mashed potatoes, gravy and a salad

stephilosophy00, to be totally honest with you, if we paid attention to every single "warning" about what causes cancer we would be in a padded room eating nothing but rice and water (filtered water of course and brown rice...LOL) so I just eat everything in moderation. I eat red meat (but not daily or not even weekly) and fish and chicken/poultry and lots of veggies and a bit of fruit. I eat dairy (including cheese) and eggs and sweets too. I think if we just pay attention to trying to buy things with the least preservatives (free range, organic etc.) then we will be fine in the long run. My MO does not eliminate things from diet but tells me moderation is the key.

Please don't worry too much. Do the best you can. (((Hugs)))