So...whats for dinner?

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  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited December 2021

    Nance, I would eat the cheesy bread on top! It looks very appetizing. Illimae's soup looks appetizing, too.

    I hate to admit how weary I was yesterday afternoon after 18 holes of golf. The What's for Dinner? question became What's easy and takes little effort? The answer is either steak or pasta and pasta won. A couple of links of store made Italian sausage from Rouse's, a jar of Rao's, package of linguine, fresh grated Asiago. Ta Da. DH made a composed salad (a new concept for him!) with compari tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese, Kalamata olives (for me) and sweet onion (for him).

    Out of curiosity I will look up how to make pickled pork. It is usually available here in even small supermarkets in a section with seasoning meats and sausages. Tasso is in the same section but I have never used it.

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited December 2021

    Is pickled pork the key to tasty mustard greens? I'm tempted to buy them again but do not want a failure...maybe it is an acquired taste?

    I've seen Rao's sauce mentioned a few times. Is it really that much better than other pasta sauces? Say, for example, the stuff Costco sells??

    We had the vegetarian nachos last night. Tonight I will make a sort of tuna melt using naan bread and tuna-belly. Trying to figure out a creative way to present that since the bellies are oh-so-yummy and I don't want to mash them up.

  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited December 2021

    Wally - Lots of discussion in prior years about Raos. Yes, in my opinion there is no prepared sauce better than Raos. Costco usually does sell Raos, but as usual - in a BIG bottle. My BFF says it's not like her Mother's, but she is from a very small town in Texas that historically never had Italian residents, and is of German ancestry herself. It's not homemade but. I dearly miss my small, 60 year old family owned Italian restaurant that closed in 2019. Still,,, I always have two jars in the cupboard.

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited December 2021

    Butter ball soup recipe


    Broth:

    1 whole chicken with water covering the chicken (about 3/4 of a full pot), 4 stalks celery, 3 large carrots, 1 onion (quartered), 3 cloves garlic and 2 bay leaves. Salt to taste add throughout.

    Cook until chicken separates easily, remove chicken and veggies. Breakdown the chicken into bite sized pieces and refrigerate. Eat or use remaining veggies (they don’t go back in the soup unless you want them to). Chill broth overnight and remove fat layer (most of it) the next day.

    Noodles:

    1 12oz bag of Manischewitz fine egg noodles (I was told these are a must, you could substitute but I never have), these are found in the “international” isle at the grocery store.

    Butter balls:

    16oz plain breadcrumbs, 1.5 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1.5 sticks of butter (soft), 1 1/4 cup half & half (room temp) and 4 eggs.

    Add in mixing bowl in the order listed above, mix (I use my hands, freshly washed of course), mix should be sticky but firm enough to roll in your palms and should be golf ball sized. The typical yield is about 20, place in single layer on a plate.

    Reheat broth and taste, add salt if needed. Once boiling on med/high heat, add one ball and wait for it to float (should talk a few minutes). Once you have a “floater”, add remaining ball 2 or 3 at a time after each float to the surface. When all float, add chicken pieces, then add about a 1/2 bag of noodles, continue cooking until noodles are done (about 10 minutes) and enjoy. Soup the day of is great but the next day leftovers are even better.

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited December 2021

    Minus, thanks for the Raos feedback. I notice they have a website and decent pricing on the "basic" sauce. The bad news is free shipping has to be over $50.

    I'll have to try it again. Maybe I lack good tastebuds, LOL.


  • Goodie
    Goodie Member Posts: 244
    edited December 2021

    We went out for dinner last night in downtown Annapolis (DTA.) We were going to start with sushi but it was a 40 minute wait. So, we went to Galway Bay (Irish pub) for corned beef poppers, shrimp cakes and drinks. Then, we went back to sushi restaurant. We only had a few rolls since we also wanted to go to McGarvey's for wings. We get to McGarvey's and the kitchen was closed. It was only 9 p.m. The manager said the kitchen staff rule and they tell them when they are closing the kitchen. DTA was very quiet except for the sushi place - lol.

    Tonight, we are going local. Can you tell I don't want to cook? DS and DH love to go out to eat. I'm okay with going out since I had covid before Thanksgiving. I think I had the Delta variant. DS also got it in July. DH and DD are boosted. We are still cautious though and if a place is too crowded we go somewhere else. I think we are going after the dinner rush too so it will be a lot less people.

    I love the Raos sauce too. I like to puree it though. I don't like chunks. I like the Victoria marinara sauce too. Costco also sells the Victoria. I can also get them at the grocery store but for a lot more money. I've seen them on sale too sometimes. Call me crazy but I also like the Ragu traditional sauce.

    If you ever want to splurge for a real Maryland crab cake dinner, you can order them online from G&M restaurant. I order them for Christmas for my sister who lives in Utah and my brother and sister-in-law who live in California. They are pricey especially for delivery fee but they are so delicious! ChiSandy they do use some filler in theirs. I also get them the Maryland crab soup. I'm a nice little sister.

    Illimae - thanks for the Butter Ball Soup recipe. I definitely have to make that one!


  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited December 2021

    Not sure what I'll do for dinner--will depend on when Bob gets home and if the kids want to go out (their dog got sick on the drive home from TX and may not want to leave her alone). Had an egg at noon (to keep the weigh-in as light as possible--the NP is disappointed in the 6-lb. weight gain but says it's okay to try to maintain). After the virtual NP visit and Zoom session with the cantor, am having the second half of my brunch/lunch: guacamole low-carb toast with arugula, tomato, sweet onion & cilantro.

    A relief--turns out my co-leading Shabbat service stint isn't till 1/29. The 15th is the service where I'll be performing the hymn I wrote. WHEW!!

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited December 2021

    Tonight was leftover pork roast from the freezer with a individual au graten potato, boiled cabbage and roasted red onion & zucchini.

    image

  • serendipity09
    serendipity09 Member Posts: 732
    edited December 2021

    Tonight's dinner was roasted root vegetables with a bit of EVOO and air fried salmon and a slice of avocado, not the little dark one, the big green ones.

    illimae, your dinner looks delicious!!

  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited December 2021

    Dinner was leftover Crab Fried Rice from Eddie V's. Delicious the second time and I didn't leave any for a further meal. Dessert was See's Peanut Brittle. (Actually the Peanut Brittle was an appetizer.) Both were served with a tasty Costco/Kirkland Italian Pinot Grigio.

  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited December 2021

    Serendipity - apparently we were posting at the same time. Your roasted root veggies w/salmon sound delicious. As does Mae's leftover pork roast. I did move the turkey tenderloins from the garage freezer to the top freezer in my fridge. It's supposed to go from 83 to 33 by the weekend, so I'll be able to turn on the oven.

  • serendipity09
    serendipity09 Member Posts: 732
    edited December 2021

    MinusTwo - we sure were posting at the same time lol. Crab fried rice sounds so good! I love all fried rice! I make roasted pork on New Years Day and took it out yesterday, hoping it'll thaw out completely by tomorrow so I can season it and let it marinade for 2 days.

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited December 2021

    Well, our New Year's Eve is falling apart as we speak. Our godson, his wife & baby were in St. Louis for Christmas--and he (godson) just rapid-tested positive but asymptomatic. (Wife is negative, baby--3 mos. old--hasn't been tested). Godson's parents--our BFFs--also need to be tested because they're exposed to him, so that whole clan will be isolating for at least the next 5 days. Gordy & Leslie got back from TX last night--also found out today her BIL (the science teacher who boasted he didn't need a booster) just tested positive--the rest of her family tested negative. Gordy & Leslie (both boosted in Oct) are feeling fine but haven't been tested. They may or may not come over for nibbles & bubbles. Their dog got GI distress in the car en route home but seems to be improving. Bob won't be home tonight till after midnight (what else is new)? The kids are afraid of infecting us, but as long as they test negative we'll be fine. Obviously, not going to have friends over--we invited another couple plus a friend who hosted a small party we all attended 12/18, but I'd be extremely surprised if they were willing to drop by. And I see no restaurant dining--at least not indoor--in our future, probably for at least a month.

    Meanwhile, the hell with what my NP says. I don't feel like eating a plate of vegetables. I found a piece of fried chicken in the freezer--something I haven't had in months if not almost a year--and I'm nibbling it now. And I will order takeout from now on--just hope it can be as low-carb as possible. Tired of cooking for myself, tired of the dietary restrictions.

  • eric95us
    eric95us Member Posts: 2,845
    edited December 2021

    Hopefully everyone testing positive does not develop symptoms and everyone exposed continues to test negative.

    Dinner tonight was a late lunch.


    I just got an email from a friend in central Manatoba and they told me about their weather. After converting the temperatures to "degrees F", their high temperature today was -18F and is supposedly going down into the -30F to -35F range tonight. And I was griping about my low 50F range "cold'.

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited December 2021

    Oy, Eric! (But that's par for the course up in Manitoba--Winnipeg makes Minnesota look tropical).

    After the 6+" of snow predicted Sat., we will be going down into the deep-freeze Sunday: high of 10, low of 4. Time to run the faucets overnight. Sigh. From record highs to Chiberia in only a week.

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited December 2021

    Sandy, your post reminds me why we have not traveled. DH's immune system is compromised and I would hate to stress over traveling, much less dining out. So we shall dine at home, again-and-still for the foreseeable future.

    We've lived here for 11 years and this is the coldest it has ever been out here. -20 in WI would last for stretches. Here, 4" of snow and 17 degrees has practically shut everything down. I would cry if I didn't laugh...we went grocery shopping to stock up on things and the shelves were bare. The cashier said there have been no deliveries for 4 days due to weather...sigh. If I had a choice of -20 or 78-80+, I'd choose -20 any day. My husband disagrees greatly with me.

    Dinner was simple...I toasted the naan bread and laid out the ventresca on the toasted bread to warm it through. Served with a side of slaw.

  • Reader425
    Reader425 Member Posts: 653
    edited December 2021

    Burgundy Beef was for dinner tonight. With DH at work I couldn't ask him where the burgundy or even red wine was ( He organizes it all). So I went downstairs and picked a bottle. After bringing it up, I didn't really recognize it as one we drink and it was older looking. I decided to just use a bit more water and seasoning. Well when he got home and I told him the story above, he looked at the (still unopened) bottle and turned very pale. It seems that bottle was a gift from a colleague worth a couple hundred dollars! Really glad I thought twice on that one!! He retrieved an actual burgundy for me, I added it to the stew, and all's well that ends well. 🍷

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited December 2021

    Last night's dinner was seared small catfish fillets, steamed yellow squash and tossed romaine salad with additions.

    I have beaverntx's Cooking Light recipe for chiles relleno casserole written on a card and have the ingredients on hand to make it. I bought fresh chiles to roast and peel the skin off. I was thinking without enthusiasm about using the broiler when it dawned on me to use the outside grill.

    Thank goodness the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are all eaten.

    Like most of the US population, I really must try to lose some weight. Minus, are you maintaining your weight after all the lost lbs. during the renovation?

  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited December 2021

    Carole - more or less maintaining my weight loss. If I walk every day (which I'm not) and I never even smell a piece of bread - I can maintain. Funny, I can eat a couple of pieces of chocolate a day and it doesn't make any difference - but one piece of bread = a pound. With all the holiday festivities, I've gained 4 pounds - that will hopefully come off after the egg nog and date bread are gone and I quit sitting in my recliner reading books all day.

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited December 2021

    Guess what was delivered yesterday???? Yay! My new refrigerator! I ordered it last January, so almost a year ago. The one that had been in the kitchen is now in the garage complete with a water line so it can continue to make ice. Side by side freezers don't make a ton of ice at any given time, so it will be nice to have two. The kitchen is now complete with a matching suite of appliances for the first time in 15 years. As a result of that delivery happening at about 5pm, I opted for an easy dinner of cheeseburgers (DF cheese, GF bun) and sweet potato fries. And I had to figure where I put all items - I keep the burger patties frozen so had to figure out where they were, which fridge had the cheese, tomatoes, pickles, etc. First world problems...

  • serendipity09
    serendipity09 Member Posts: 732
    edited December 2021

    ChiSandy - yes the snow and cold coming this weekend, ugh, time to hibernate; granted I really don't go anywhere due to covid running rampage in WI.

    Today's dinner will be air fried or baked spicy chicken wings, sweet potatoes fries and a side salad. With my taste buds being off I'm finding that the spicier the better, to an extent. I was introduced to Uncle Dougie's wing sauce made with natural ingredients. It's so good!

  • CeliaC
    CeliaC Member Posts: 1,320
    edited December 2021

    Yesterday, I finally delivered CM presents to my dear friend w/Stage 4 brain cancer and cooked her requested items for dinner. We had roasted carrots & brussels sprouts (balsamic glaze & EVOO), cauliflower cakes (from Trader Joe's), sauteed chicken sausage (Trader Joe's sun dried tomato & basil) and baby bella shrooms.

    Speaking of water crackers - we always have at least 3 boxes on hand. Carr's are too pricey for the mass quantities DH consumes (as a Brit, they are his fave) but Trader Joe's has great, inexpensive ones and we also like the organic ones at Whole Foods.

    Pasta Sauce - I am hooked on Primal Kitchen's No Dairy Vodka Sauce. Their marinara is also quite good. Have never tried Rao's.

    Special K - So great that you have your new fridge! Forgot to post earlier on how wonderful your CM brunch and dinner spreads looked.

  • MinusTwo
    MinusTwo Member Posts: 16,634
    edited December 2021

    Special - Laughing about your fridge. Wow - 11 months!!! I've been thinking for several months I should go find a new one & get it on order. I only have the one in my kitchen and it's seriously aging.

    Celia - love the dinner you cooked for your friend. I'm going to try the cauliflower cakes.

    Mae - I saw on another thread that you'll head out to West Texas after NY Eve. BRRRR. New Years Day it will be 82 then dropping to 34 that night.

    I spent 4 hours in the yard today digging up my Plumarias for the winter. There are very large - one is almost 10 ft tall - so it's difficult to dig up alone. I've washed the roots, clipped the leaves & will tuck them away in the shed before Saturday.

    Dinner will be leftovers - tuna salad on Hawaiian sliders - and I'll eat the last Comice pear until next year.

  • Moonflwr912
    Moonflwr912 Member Posts: 6,856
    edited December 2021

    SK, glad your fridge arrived.

    Merry Christmas to all. Xmas dinner, balsamic maple pork tenderloin, small buttered potatoes,maple glazed carrots. It wasjust the 2 of us. Tablecloth was my first xmas one way back in 1973. I have to bring it out every year. LOL.

    image

    We were having our family gathering fir Christmas this weeke d. Until DD2 and family test positive this weekend. So pushed it off till the 15. My brothers funeral mass is Jan 8th. I was going to teach this Tuesday, but canceled because of the dx, as we had both kids on Friday. Good thing because on Monday, Ive got a headache, fever and cough. Still coughing as of today thursday, still feverish. Tested on Tuesday but negative. My sister tested positive. Im going to test again. The timing is just too close to be something else. At least i stayed home and didnt spread it. Heres hoping it stays no worse that it is niw. Happy New Year to all. This will be very quiet too, as im not cooking...

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited December 2021

    Minus, it’s going to be chilly with lows in the 30’s and highs in the 60’s but it snowed over night a couple weeks ago while we were there. I love it but only for a day or two. DH made a little snowman, lol

    image

  • illimae
    illimae Member Posts: 5,710
    edited December 2021

    Tonight is 15 bean soup with kale and it’s good but not great. DH usually makes the beans, I’ll let him handle it from now on.

    image

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited December 2021

    I made Indian using caramelized onions, canned garbanzos, spinach, tomato (actually, leftover salsa that was spicy enough) and some frozen cauliflower. Served with Naan bread. Turned out great.

    Tomorrow, ham and beans.

  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited December 2021

    Monica, so sorry you're under the weather. Did you at-home rapid-test or get a point-of-care PCR? Reason I ask is that around here, many of the PCRs are also testing for flu, which is what yours may be (this year's quadrivalent flu vaccine left out a variant that's going around. High fever is not a symptom of Omicron--in fact, most cases in fully-vaxed people are more like bad colds (and in boostered folks, usually asymptomatic). Fever, breathing difficulty, and loss of taste & smell are uncommon with Omicron--the usual symptoms are headache, fatigue, stuffy & runny nose, and dry cough.

    Brunch was a "bagel & lox," substituting Carbonauts Keto Seeded bread for the bagel (It doesn't really have any taste and the texture is so soft it's flabby, but toasted it makes an okay "vehicle" for the fillings). Cream cheese, cucumbers, onion, tomato, Nova lox, dill & capers. Dinner was a "power bowl" from Primal Kitchen: pesto chicken & broccoli with riced cauliflower. Not bad, and only 5 gm. net carb. Followed it up with my last 5 asparagus spears--steamed & dressed with lemon, olive oil & sea salt.

    My godson got re-tested 3 times (at different sites) today--all negative. Wife & baby, staying with friends across town, are neg. too. But his wife banished him to his parents' couch (without so much as a change of clothes) after her "crunchy granola" pediatrician back in Seattle insisted they still isolate from each other for TEN days. (So much for going back home to Seattle on Monday). Last night's sole positive test was done at one of those "pop-up hellhole" (as a local online paper calls it) walk-in parking-lot testing centers--they almost certainly mixed up his results with someone else's. (People there were asked to swab their own noses)! His parents--our BFFs--are negative. Gordy & Leslie will test in the morning, it being day 5 after exposure to her idiot BIL who insisted he didn't need a booster because he's a thirtysomething middle school science teacher who "knows a thing or two about science." He tested positive but the rest of the family--including his like-minded wife--are all negative.

    Still have 3 Abbott test kits, as well as two QuickVue and two (single) FlexFlow kits. Walgreen's had a 4-box-per-person limit.Have more on order from Wal-Mart, which should arrive Jan. 10 (just in time for the next round of 2x/wk testing).

    So NYE chez nous is still on--albeit small-scale with no restaurant meal beforehand. BFFs, one other couple, and another close friend are coming. Gordy & Leslie will stay out on the deck for drinks, and I will send them home with lots of munchies and an extra bottle of bubbly--same for my BFFs to bring back to my godson.

  • carolehalston
    carolehalston Member Posts: 6,887
    edited December 2021

    I made the chile rellenos casserole for dinner last night, with modifications. Used ground beef instead of turkey, fresh poblano peppers instead of canned. DH helped out by blackening the peppers on the outside grill. At some point I decided to lighten up this Cooking Light recipe by omitting the milk and eggs. I used less cheese, too. About 6 oz of pepper jack that I shredded. DH and I enjoyed the dish a lot and I will make it again. I think a welcome addition would be sliced fresh tomato. Or perhaps some salsa between the layers.

    Our side was a romaine salad with additions, dressed with white balsamic and EVOO.

    I am off today in search of a corned beef. To my surprise there was none available at two supermarkets yesterday. Many people cook the New Year's Day cabbage with corned beef. There is no problem buying cabbage and the required black-eyed peas, both of which are prominently displayed. I will cook the peas with ham and will also cook brown rice. Sam's Club has the ham steaks, three in a package, for a very reasonable price. I buy them to use for seasoning dry beans.

  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited December 2021

    I know this sounds horrible, but has anyone tried boiling their ham...to get rid of more salt? I have not checked the Costco small boneless ham's sodium content, but I can only imagine. I'm using some rancho gordo beans (scarlet runner) for a side. Not sure what the green veg will be.

    On a confused/happy note, I was just reading a Prevention Magazine from the library last night and though I've previously read that being a little heavier as we age is "better" for us, this article just floored me...having a BMI of less than 23 increases risk of mortality. Whaaaaaaaat??! And here I'm thinking I need to lose weight. I know my body shape has changed (thanks, menopause and cancer drugs) but I was schooled that under 25 was "good" for us. Just when you think you've figured it out. No wonder people hate dietitians, LOL.

    Sandy, sounds like an awful lot of hoops to travel. I hope they can all stay relatively well and enjoy some festivities and fly home. Those who are unwell, I wish speedy recovery.

    Happy New Year!

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