So...whats for dinner?

Tonight was leftover short ribs with teriyaki sauce, steamed green beans & orange pepper slices accompanied by a Michael David Earthquake Zinfandel.

I might finish it off with a small eggnog....

Jane

IL extended license tab/plate renewals to 11/1, and DLs to 2/28/21. Bob tried to renew his (at 71, he is required to take an eye test) but the line was so long that they couldn't get to him before closing. They're supposed to put seniors at the head of the line, but for line-preference purposes they have defined "senior" as >75. That was last week. Now, that office (near his hospitals) is closed for 2 wks. due to COVID among staffers. So his inability to progress far enough in line to get indoors was a blessing in disguise.

I threw my back out Wed. night (first time I had a full "lock-up" in nearly 2 yrs), so had to blow off my mani and yet another (postponed 3x already) allergy-challenge appt. We're under a stay-home "advisory" anyway. We had a combo of Friday the 13th and Mercury retrograde: my cellphone's text app went blooey and won't let me delete the second-from-the-top message, regardless of what it is, until it becomes 3rd in line. My satellite receiver kept giving me "771" and "775" errors despite clear dry calm weather, and when I searched for a program to record tomorrow night, I got a message that "a large number of Pay Per View titles are unavailable because you are not connected to the Internet." Spent over an hour with tech support (somewhere in Asia, and the tech obviously knew little more than I did--I could tell he was scrolling through a manual), who was unable to help, as my password kept getting rejected by the satellite box. So I had to have a service tech visit yesterday. He examined the cables & dish, and told me that those 771 & 775 errors were due to automatic downloads of new software & firmware, and only hard resets (sometimes 2 or 3 in a row) could fix it. He offered me a new whole-house "Genie" system, but that would mean losing everything Bob & I have on our DVRs' hard drives. (Back in the day, you could transfer content between old & new boxes, or even record to DVD-R, but the content providers decided to embed anti-piracy codes, with no exception for official DirecTV service techs to salvage and transfer content). But somehow, after only 2 tries, he was able to remotely reset the wi-fi interface between the box & my wireless "mesh" router and get it to accept my password. Whew!

Ordered from Jewel on Instacart, specified substitutions for some items and "do not substitute" for others. The shopper was a newbie: came an hour late; and she ignored a specified substitution (one of 2 alternate brands of low-carb bread) and instead of calling to give me an out-of-stock heads-up, substituted Pepperidge Farm (high-carb). And they were out of all major-brand paper towels--so she assumed incorrectly that "any" was better than "none" and brought me store-brand instead. Not just that, but one of the cucumbers I ordered was rotting and even moldy. At least I got a store credit. I didn't reduce her tip, though--she meant well even though she didn't follow procedure, and heaven knows she likely needs every cent she can get. But that's the last time I will have Instacart deliver from that chain.

Last night we had our Thurs. night leftovers (gorgonzola meatloaf, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes) from Cellars. Tonight I will have leftover cold shrimp Bob brought home from Costco, and make a remoulade to go with them. Will char shishito peppers and stir-fry snap peas too. I have gained a couple of pounds due to my relative immobility from the back strain plus bedtime "pity-party" snacks of Cheerios & raisins, so it's back to no grains or sugar, plus no snacking after dinner. (De facto intermittent fasting).

Oh, and Lord willing & the creeks don't rise, Cellars may make it through the winter, and hopefully out the other side of the pandemic. At first, it appeared that Halloween would be its last day ever. Then, with a small-business loan they were able to plan to operate through next week and have to hibernate till spring, due to a ban on indoor dining and cold weather making the patio uninhabitable. (They can't use propane heaters because the city doesn't allow them with tents and the sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate tents, open-air tables, heaters & pedestrians; and the cost of retrofitting wiring for infrared heaters is prohibitive--they don't have a parking lot and the street isn't blocked off for tables as in some restaurant-centric neighborhoods).

But an unexpected warm spell last week gave them an extra 10 days of outdoor dining capability, which was always at legal capacity, and they were able to dip into savings. But then their home water heater & boiler blew. One of their friends started a GoFundMe, which goal was met & exceeded w/in 2 weeks. We donated, and plan to order out at least twice a week (plus re-donate periodically). They are able to cater takeout Thanksgiving dinner--we'll order the 2-3-person "Just Us" package for Bob & me, since the kids are working TG & Black Friday. Because Bob can't pre-emptively quarantine (he must go to his hospitals, clinic & office) and I am by necessity exposed to him, we are a greater danger to them than they are to us "oldies." So TG eve, we will gather with them socially-distanced and bundled up on our deck (or porch if it's raining or snowing) for nibbles & drinks (masked between sips & bites, of course).

Glad you had a nice family day minus.

I rarely have a taste for meat lately, so tonight was corn on the cob and some rice cooked in chicken broth, DH just had the chicken. We’re out of sync food-wise but it works out.

It's such a treat to see your name come up Lacey. Agree about the kiddos. Fun but exhausting. My grand-niece starts sentences with words like 'Actually...', 'or on the other hand...'. And called me on it when I forget and use the word "stupid". (That is apparently the new "F" word.) Her Dad tried to tell her the word is OK when talking about things, just not people (I was talking about the virus), but she was adamant. So I asked her what word I could use instead. She said not 'dumb' but it was OK to say 'bad'. I countered with 'ignorant', and she repeated it several times. I may not have done her nursery school teacher any favors.

Great news about the new skills your DH has learned. See - retirement CAN be fun. Is the chicken grilled outside? Or sauteed? Wishing you positive news for an easy fix at the spine doc.

Not sure what dinner might be since I'm still trying to eat up what's becoming endangered. Nothing is prepped since after my 6 mile walk this morning, I promptly spent the afternoon in the recliner reading the Sunday paper. Well, at least I made it through the first section with lots of dozing. Six or eight more sections to go before the funny papers.

illimae - I am sometimes out of sync foodwise with my DH! I used to love pizza, but cannot eat it anymore, the combo of ingredients causes me trouble but he loves it! I have started getting flatbread crusts by Brooklyn Bred and he makes his own - and seems to get a kick out of it! He is also a wing fan, me not so much. Too much work, not enough reward, lol!

Dinner last night was...nothing. We both ate late snacks during football and DH had a big breakfast, so we were not hungry at dinnertime. We had cheese/crackers and some fruit which was enough to hold us over. I did start on DD's lunches for this week, she stopped by to give me the containers to use. She collected chicken salad and raw veggies to dip in Ranch dressing, and a shrimp and roasted vegetable salad over Israeli couscous, and breakfasts of ham/cheese omelet and an English muffin sandwich with some melon. After this week she will be working six days a week for the foreseeable future, so while I am somewhat of an enabler, I think she deserves a relaxing day off not spent in the grocery store planning lunches. I am cooking anyway, so it is really not any kind of burden. We also went through some casual jewelry of mine that I have not been wearing so she has options for looking more corporate. I need to go over to her house tomorrow afternoon for the final small finish on the window install now that the city inspection has been done so I will take the three remaining sets of meals over and drop them off. On the agenda are broccoli salad and a chicken and rice salad with curry, artichoke hearts, topped with chopped cashews - those are old stand-by recipes that she loves. I am making an Asian chicken salad with napa cabbage and toasted ramen/sesame seeds/almonds for dinner tonight, so that will be in there too. I'm also thinking a beef and vegetable stir fry. I struggle the most with breakfast but did make some little frittatas in a muffin pan with spinach, onion, artichoke heart and goat cheese - I didn't have any but DH pronounced them delish. I need to find a healthier recipe for something like tiger bars that is an easy breakfast on the go.

Special - have you made the muffins with AllBran & dates or raisins that you leave the batter in the fridge until you want to make a few (maybe DH) or make some ahead (DD). They last for a long time. Or rather they keep a long time if they are not eaten up. I've had that recipe for ages. My BFF has started making something along the same line & I can ask for her recipe too if you want.

Love the "somewhat" an enabler. The elder daughter of the neighbors across the street still lives at home. She at least 26 & a school teacher. Her mother takes her a cup of coffee in bed every morning or she wouldn't get up. That's a serious enabler.

Special - love the chicken story. I'm certainly not criticizing. I love that your DH will bring you coffee also. I too love doing things for people. I wish my son lived closer - but being a guy I'm quite sure he wouldn't want any special stuff anyway. He asked this week if we were getting close to finally stopping Christmas boxes w/presents in the mail. The answer was no. I bit my tongue & didn't follow up with "not as long as I'm alive" - but he'll just have to grin & bear it or be annoyed.

I'll ask my BFF for her breakfast muffin recipe. I don't think it has any bran.

Homemade chicken pot pie

Had a long dental appointment today so dinner was one quick to prepare, penne pasta with jarred Alfredo sauce with chunks of Turkey and frozen peas added.

Minus, two upper middle capped front teeth were broken; one cap was chipped, the other capped tooth broke off at the gum and had to be pulled. Going with a permanent bridge with a cap on either side of the missing tooth for something to attach to. Today was the foundation work for the bridge. Unfortunately the temporary "filler" that has been there for a month would not let loose and had to be removed in pieces. That meant another temp had to be made as well as doing the molds for the bridge. After that I had to go to a dental lab for a "custom match". Turned out to be out in the country behind two gates due to free roaming goats and chickens and was frustrating to find. However, that part is done and on December 1, I am scheduled to get the permanent teeth. Took only a second or two to fall and do the damage and more than two months to deal with the damage. Have been dismissed from PT and the soft tissue injury to my arm is almost completely healed, still have to be careful about how much I lift with it but everything else is back to full function.

Whew, sorry to be so windy!

Either leftover meatloaf or chicken pot pie

beaver - glad you're on the mend and getting the teeth handled. My implant saga lasted 18 months because they had to go slow due to having been on Prolia shortly prior, but the processes themselves were relatively easy. The one shining light was my maxillofacial surgeon - he is a gem and one of the happiest people I have ever met!

Dinner tonight was spinach salad with crumbled bacon and sliced hard-boiled egg with red wine vinaigrette (that is how my mom made spinach salads when I was growing up - with just picked spinach from the garden) and angel hair alfredo with shrimp.

minus and mommy - funny intersect with the chicken babysitting and pot pie - I won't tell the "girls" as DD calls them. They really are beautiful chickens and pretty tame - they let her hold them and are always trying to come in the house. When she worked from home they would come and peck on the office door.

DD had a slightly traumatic day, she found out that the person she spent last Thursday and Friday with training has tested positive for COVID. She was expelled from work and went and had a rapid test this morning, which was thankfully negative, but we are behaving as if she could still be positive and staying away for the quarantine period of 14 days. Thankfully that time is up on T-Giv.

Fingers crossed that your DD continues to test negative, Special! We are definitely not doing T-day this year--weather permitting Thanksgiving eve, drinks & dessert on the deck with Gordy & Leslie; then just Bob & me for the main event the next day. (Cellars is catering takeout--the 2-3-person "Just Us" is a turkey breast, gravy, and 4 half-portions of sides. We chose cranberry dressing, maple-pecan sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and roasted mixed veggies. Bob is buying a Costco pumpkin pie (they're huge, dunno what we'll do with it if the kids don't want it, our HK sure doesn't); Cellars is offering whole or quarter pecan, pumpkin or apple pies. Think I'll order a quarter of the pecan. They will hibernate starting Black Friday until either indoor dining is reinstated, they get a grant or loan (in which case they'll resume doing takeout) or outdoor dining becomes feasible again, whichever is first. They won't go under--their GoFundMe has hit nearly double the goal, and their landlord reached an agreement with them (who else would rent a large corner restaurant space during a pandemic)?

We're under a "stay-home advisory," which is nonetheless far less restrictive than the stay-home order we had last spring. (Salons still open, but I'm not going to reschedule my mani from last week--we'll see what shape my toenails are in for next Wed.'s scheduled mani-pedi--if they're not ingrown & bothering me, will skip that too). Bob went to Costco and brought home a rotisserie chicken (they ran out of ribs) and a 2-loaf pack of Natural Ovens "Keto-Friendly" (0 net carbs) bread. Actually tastes like normal white bread, only a bit heartier. If I didn't have my ocular-onc checkup tomorrow at noon, I'd use it to make French toast. (Will have just coffee, maybe toast a slice of it). I fridge-foraged sides to go with the chicken: roasted broccoli florets left over from a crudites platter, nuked Seeds of Change Ancient Grains, and blistered shishito peppers. (Out of a dozen, I ended up with the only two spicy ones). Had lemon-ricotta keto pancakes (Birch Benders mix) for brunch this a.m. Will make cauliflower risotto, a Caprese, and pan-seared asparagus for tomorrow night's leftovers. The hospitals have ramped up their COVID ICU wards again, but (to my relief) shut out non-infectious-disease and non-ICU docs, except for remote consults. No elective stress tests or echoes. No procedures that would require even an overnight stay. So Bob will be home for dinner every night. Whew!

Back is still stiff and sore but definitely improving. Cut back to only Tylenol & a single Aleve BID, and Baclofen only at bedtime. Got a new heating pad too (my old one croaked Sunday after only a couple of years).

In south Louisiana, oyster dressing is popular at Thanksgiving. Consequently the supermarkets have a supply of raw oysters. I bought a pint and will cook them for dinner tonight. DH chose fried oysters over oysters Mosca (Italian baked oysters). I will buy some poboy bread today.

I am so hoping the Covid numbers in our area don't rise to the point of closing the gyms. I enjoy the senior exercise classes held in the gymnasium at our YMCA where exercisers are spaced far apart. The range of motion stretches are beneficial.