(Ugh, I'm getting to be terrible (more terrible) about following up with posts.)
Hope everyone else had a good, stressfree holiday, however you choose to observe it (or not observe it).
For Thanksgiving dinner, I ended up making... nothing. Nephew and his vegetarian girlfriend* had dinner with her Dad & family down here first, then came over for dinner at my sister's house. So she wasn't particularly hungry anyway but she did try to. Oh well. There was more-than-plenty of food, and everyone got leftovers to bring home for leftover lunches and dinners.
* She was delightful, and they're both completely smitten.
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Tonight, I baked an AdapTable lemon peppercorn-marinated pork loin. Ordinarily it'd be way too pricey, but it went on sale for $3.99 (for a 22oz vac-packed in marinate) a month ago so I grabbed one and froze it. You just stick it in an oven-safe dish and bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes, no seasoning or fiddling with it. It was pretty darn good, and I didn't need to add any seasoning or even salt. I did smear a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of the dish first, and for the last 15 minutes I raised the oven temp to 375F to crisp up the thin bit of fat on top. I served it with some of my sister's leftover rolls and warmed-up mega-garlicky green beans; Dad had his with his jarred applesauce, and I had mine with leftover whole cranberry-orange relish.
There's enough pork & rolls remaining for leftovers tomorrow, so that's what we'll do, maybe with glazed carrots or something as a new side.
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Glad everything went pretty well, Amby. Although the multiple Thanksgivings the girlfriend had makes me think of that Vicar of Dibley episode where she is invited to five separate Christmas dinners...
Our small Thanksgiving went pretty well, even though a tad more informal (Dad wanted to help set up things nicer but he has long COVID and anemia and the poor man is just constantly exhausted). We saw friends of the family for the first time in two years and had a nice dinner. I roasted brussels sprouts instead of butternut squash and our notoriously reticent friend said he loved them and asked me how I made them, so that was nice. (For the record: tossed in olive oil and garlic salt, roasted at 400 for about 15-20 min, then tossed with butter and a drizzle of honey.)
I got overexcited about leftovers and we had very little leftover stuffing, so I bought a small half-off tray from the fancy cafe that makes Thanksgiving take out dinners on Black Friday. And then realized after two meals of leftovers I had more than enough, so baked all my leftover turkey and stuffing into a casserole with some green beans (see, I get it somehow) and have put portions into the freezer to have an easy lunch a couple weeks from now.
And then I made tacos for dinner. (Used ground turkey but the spices sufficiently made it taste entirely different.)
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I tried a chana masala recently. I liked it enough, and the girlfriend liked it enough that I immediately made it again a few days later. It will probably go into my regular rotation of things to make because it was super easy and I could make a full pot of it to make leftovers.
We had a snowstorm hit yesterday, and she and I are both on winter break. I bought potatoes, brussel sprouts, and some frozen meal options.
I'm super happy with my fried rice now. I marinade some diced EF tofu in honey, dark soy sauce, and chili crisp oil, then I fry it until I'm too hungry to wait any longer. I season the rice with chili crisp and dark soy sauce as well.
For Christmas, I'm bringing my savory bread pudding and squash. 3 kinds of cheese melted into a pile of sourdough bread. I made it for thanksgiving, but I skimped on the cheese and cream. It was good, but not as gooey as I wanted it to be. Closer to the consistency of normal stuffing. I bake it on top of the spaghetti squash in the dutch oven normally, but I may have to use the crock pot.
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Hope everyone had a good Christmas/Boxing Day/Festivus/Happy Hondadays/etc. Dad & I got invited to my cousin's place for her big Christmas Day shindig, but we decided instead to stay home for a nice quiet day. Christmas Eve we had an informal get-together at my sister's house where we had subs/hoagies and picnicy sides.
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Still not doing much new or exciting cooking-wise. I did make corned beef hash and a cheesy tater tot casserole last week. The hash was fine, though I'm not a corned beef fan. The tater tot casserole was cobbled together from ideas from several recipes I found, and it was pretty close to perfect. Not bad for first ever attempts at both, and Dad really liked them, which was the important thing.
Tonight was a meatloaf experiment and mashed potatoes & milk/country gravy. The meatloaf was an attempt to put the flavors of a French dip roast beef & au jus sandwich in a meatloaf. I'm not sure I completely pulled off the French dip flavors, but it was pretty darn good; next time though I'll skip the ketchup-honey glaze on top. Caramelizing all those onions was a pain though. I made a big batch of the meatloaf mixture, so I have two extra meatloaves made up in the freezer for quick future dinners.
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I'm thinking of turning leftover Christmas ham into a tot casserole, Amby, any advice?
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I'm thinking of turning leftover Christmas ham into a tot casserole, Amby, any advice?
Other than trimming the ham of any tough-to-chew outer "rind" and cutting it into small bite-size chunks, probably not. I know the outer thin layer is where a bunch of the flavor is from the basting and the Maillard reaction, but it bugs me from a chewing texture issue.
I'm not sure my advice is valid, especially when you have more cooking experience than me and I've only made a tater tot casserole this once. Anyway, here's what I did:
[Ingredients]
1 tbsp butter (or non-stick cooking spray)
1 10-3/4 oz can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
4 slices of bacon, cooked & chopped
1 (1-oz) package dry Ranch dressing mix
3/4 tsp sweet paprika
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
1/3 cup jarred fire-roasted red bell peppers, drained & chopped
1 lb frozen tater tots
3 oz fried onions, slightly crushed
[Directions]
Place butter into one 8"x8"x2"/2 qt baking dish, place dish in oven, and start oven heating to 350F. Remove dish once butter has melted. Tilt dish from side to side to allow butter to coat bottom and halfway up the sides.
Mix the soup, bacon, Ranch mix, paprika, and peppers in a large mixing bowl. Add in the cheddar and roughly half of the mozzarella and mix well. Add in the tater tots about a third at a time and mix to coat (keep the tots in the freezer until right before using so they don't break apart).
Once all tots are coated, pour tot mixture into buttered baking dish and bake uncovered at 350F degrees for 50 min. Remove dish from oven, and increase temp to 375F.
Sprinkle top with remaining mozzarella cheese and and onions, then bake for another 5-10 minutes until onions are golden brown.
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I could easily have left the bacon and peppers out because I couldn't taste them in the finished dish at all. I used Aldi brand mozzarella, soup, Ranch seasoning, and tater tots; the sour cream and fried onions were WinnDixie/SEG store brand. The cheddar was Cabot's; SEG and Kraft would have worked but I hate all Aldi's cheddar cheeses. Everything was regular full-fat, as I dislike reduced-fat soup and cheeses; if reducing fat, I'd cut back on the amount of cheese rather than attempt to use reduced-fat alternatives.
It's hearty, satisfying, and filling, but definitely not healthy. I tend to undersalt food, so I found it just a hair salty even without adding any salt, but full-salt Dad loved it and sprinkled a bit more salt on top. When I make it next time, I'll probably look for a reduced-sodium soup or make my own Ranch mix from scratch. Last time in the supermarket, I discovered that Campbell's makes a cream of cremini & shiitake mushroom soup (it's not vegetarian though), so I may use that next time. I'm also considering baking the tots for 8-10 minutes separately on a baking sheet first, letting them cool, and then mixing in to re-bake so they are a bit crunchy & browned in the casserole.
Hope this may help is some small way.
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If you're looking for ideas for using up leftover ham, I suggest throwing some chopped ham in your scrambled eggs next time. All it needs is some buttered toast or a biscuit as a side. That's how my grandma taught my mom to make it.
I also imagine you could mix in some chopped ham into a potato chip Spanish tortilla (and even skip the aioli).
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That was helpful! I wasn't sure whether to throw tots in frozen or bake first, and I think I will follow your thoughts and bake them first. At this point I have more leftovers than I will eat before they need to be thrown out so the plan is to make a mini casserole to freeze. I also have some tots to use up so I thought they'd be a good mix. I could put it in a frittata (per your omelette thoughts) and freeze it but I am more likely to use the casserole for lunch.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
I already put some of the leftover ham in a pasta dish with parm and roasted cauliflower and that was nice.
Glad it was helpful, and will be happy to hear how your tot casserole turns out.
Last night was just grilled hot dogs, canned pork & beans, and potato chips. I got chicken breasts out of the freezer to thaw; tonight will either be my mom's oven-fried chicken or maybe Tuscan chicken/marry me chicken (for something totally new), I haven't decided yet which it will be.
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Turkey curry, with the leftovers from dinner on the 25th marinaded all day in red wine vinegar, achar spice mix, onion and garlic powder, and a little chili powder, then done in a frying pan with onions, garlic, blended tinned tomatoes, and peas. This was accompanied by rice boiled up with a Maggi stock cube.
Still not doing anything exciting dinner-wise. Yesterday was slow-baked boneless skinless chicken breasts & gravy, plus mashed potatoes and glazed carrots.
Tomorrow, I'll make boneless pork loin chops, dry-rubbed and slow-baked with bbq sauce at the end. Probably fry up some french fries and make garlic toast. I've got 3lb of apples, so I'll peel, core, & slice them and cook them in the microwave with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and a little lemon juice; it sounds like it shouldn't work, but it does, and Dad loves his cooked apples.
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Sounds good. I've done "baked" apples in the microwave to pretty good effect.
Made my dad a steak yesterday (he bought it and asked me to cook it for him), and overcooked it slightly but it was still pretty juicy. While it rested I sauteed some shallots, soy sauce, and water to scrape up the pan drippings and that was not a half bad sauce to go over the steak and mashed potatoes. Plus scraping the pan drippings I feel like helps get a little more iron scraped up; whatever might help his anemia!
(Also served salad and some steam-in-bag mixed veggies).
I was chatting with my boss about bangers and mash, and I remembered Trader Joe's usually sells Irish style bangers in their store usually this time of year so I might go see if they have some yet. Cook's Illustrated has an article on how to make the onion gravy for bangers & mash and I am going to try it (though it calls for Marmite to enhance the savory flavor and I think I am going to skip that as I have no use for it otherwise; I might put in some soy or miso or worcestershire or something as an alternative).
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Monday was a cold day by Florida norms, so I made a can of condensed chicken noodle soup and grilled cheeses. I can make better soup homemade, but Dad likes the old classic red & white label brand. I do dump in a 5oz can of chunked chicken and a little extra seasoning (garlic powder, ground coriander, and celery seeds).
Tuesday was ground chuck tacos with the seasoning pouch and boxed taco shells. Nothing fancy, but the tomatoes (Red n Tasty brand) were perfectly ripe without mushy; they were sublime.
Tonight was bbq pork and french fries. The pork was leftover butt roast that I thawed, then sliced thin-ish. I heated it up together with a bit of chicken stock, a couple spoonfuls of leftover onion-y pork gravy, and a maybe a half cup of bottled St Louis-style bbq sauce. Fries were just Aldi brand crinkle cut fried in canola with a little bacon fat added for flavor.
Tomorrow is... I dunno yet. Probably cleanout the fridge so I can thaw the turkey breast, then bake a pumpkin pie or make choc chip cookies.
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Always nice to see this thread pop up. :)
My inner ear problem is acting up so I had scrambled eggs and toast tonight. My stomach would like more to eat as long as I sit still, but it keeps changing its mind every time I move my head, so I figure simple food is probably best.
I have a metric ton of chili leftover from a potluck I brought it to. It's not bad but I'm sick of it, and I have a feeling if I portion it off and freeze it, I'll just wait till it gets freezer burned and toss it anyway. I made it soupier than I usually do so it would stretch farther for the potluck which obviously turned out to be unnecessary (it was one of those things where we weren't sure if 5 or 50 people showed up), and it tastes fine but I don't like the texture after several days. I did give some to my dad. I did put some of the chili over some chips and cheese for nachos for dinner one night which was fun.
One of the last times I visited my dad he also made me his meatloaf (I was sous chef so he didn't have to stand and chop) which is always tasty. Just ground meat and onions, peppers, ketchup, and egg and bread, and a little cheese on top; pretty standard fare but always turns out tasty.
I'm in one of my "too bored/tired to cook" modes and need to pick some easy things to make/have one or two servings of leftovers for. I think I have some chicken in the freezer, maybe I should make some homemade soup.
Always nice to see this thread pop up. :)
Yay!
My inner ear problem is acting up so I had scrambled eggs and toast tonight. My stomach would like more to eat as long as I sit still, but it keeps changing its mind every time I move my head, so I figure simple food is probably best.
Hope your inner ear has eased up on you, at least a bit.
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Thursday night I remembered I still had a pound of spiral sliced smoked ham in the freezer, so I reheated that in the oven and made a box of mac & cheese to go along with it. Dad had a scoop of applesauce to go with his ham.
Friday night/last night was just leftovers. This morning, I crushed up the two remaining toasted taco shells and gave it to the squirrels as a post-birdseed snack. They really seem to enjoy it.
Tonight, it's cool-ish weather here, so I'm making chicken pot pie. I've reduced the recipe a bit so everything should all fit in-between the crusts this time, but it's still going to be too much for just the two of us. Going to try to talk my sis into taking some home for her and hubby for their dinner.
Tomorrow? Who knows.
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I made mac & cheese yesterday, with some of the cheese sauce put aside for some cauliflower cheese for my other half, who likes to avoid carbs. Putting onion & garlic powder, a spoonful of English mustard, and some aged wash-your-sister sauce in the cheese sauce gave it a little something extra - everyone seemed to like it, anyway.
My partner's Mum came to stay earlier this week, and cooked us various Ghanaian dishes, so that was a treat, though their dumplings are only for the experienced - I was full to bursting after eating a whole one.
Tonight, it's cool-ish weather here, so I'm making chicken pot pie. I've reduced the recipe a bit so everything should all fit in-between the crusts this time, but it's still going to be too much for just the two of us. Going to try to talk my sis into taking some home for her and hubby for their dinner.
Tomorrow? Who knows.
That was kinda scary. The oven decided that no, baking the pot pie wasn't sufficient; that pot pie needed to be fired like a clay pot. The pie had been baking in the oven for 15 minutes, I added the crust shield to keep the edges from burning... and noticed the oven seemed hotter and crust a bit darker than expected. I closed the oven, double-checked the temp setting (425F), and sat back down with Dad for it to finish. Only 2-3 minutes later, the oven started beeping like the timer was going off... and kept right on beeping. I opened it to check, and the oven was blazing hot, hotter than broil, and still continuously beeping while displaying some four character error code I'd never seen before. I turned the oven off, unfortunately clearing the error code, but the top of the pie was already evenly blackened. I finished the pot pie in the little toaster oven at a 375F. Other than the slightly charred top crust and insufficient salting, the pie was good, and what we'll be having for leftovers tonight.
Once the oven was cooled to merely hot, I pulled out the bottom bin to reach the wall plug and unplugged it. I plugged it back in this morning to make over-easy eggs for breakfast on the stovetop, which worked normally, but the electronics part (where the controls and display are) is making a low buzzing like a florescent ballast. So it's unplugged again. Oh well, I'm thankful at least that I didn't wander off to do something else, and that I never ran the self-cleaning cycle a couple weeks ago on a cold overnight; I might have burnt the house down and Dad in it.
I am glad you and your dad are safe!! That sounds terrifying.
Thanks to you both.
Sigh. The control board is all solid state electronics and the oven hasn't been physically damaged or moved. If it's failing -- power spike, dying capacitor, whatever -- it's going to keep failing. I love when my diagnosis gets ignored for someone (aka Dad's favorite) with no electronics/computer skills. Sigh.
So, I replicated the issue exactly today to prove it. Got the error code, looked it up, and yep "FE E2" is the Kenmore oven control board failing. When the oven cools down, I'll unplug it again.Then maybe I can drag it out and find a model number on it somewhere.
Anyway, I've had the beef roast in the slow cooker since noon-thirty, and I stuck the russets in the toaster oven at 5PM to bake. Going to warm up a can of butter beans for Dad and make cheesy risotto for me.
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Tonight, it's cool-ish weather here, so I'm making chicken pot pie. I've reduced the recipe a bit so everything should all fit in-between the crusts this time, but it's still going to be too much for just the two of us. Going to try to talk my sis into taking some home for her and hubby for their dinner.
Tomorrow? Who knows.
That was kinda scary. The oven decided that no, baking the pot pie wasn't sufficient; that pot pie needed to be fired like a clay pot. The pie had been baking in the oven for 15 minutes, I added the crust shield to keep the edges from burning... and noticed the oven seemed hotter and crust a bit darker than expected. I closed the oven, double-checked the temp setting (425F), and sat back down with Dad for it to finish. Only 2-3 minutes later, the oven started beeping like the timer was going off... and kept right on beeping. I opened it to check, and the oven was blazing hot, hotter than broil, and still continuously beeping while displaying some four character error code I'd never seen before. I turned the oven off, unfortunately clearing the error code, but the top of the pie was already evenly blackened. I finished the pot pie in the little toaster oven at a 375F. Other than the slightly charred top crust and insufficient salting, the pie was good, and what we'll be having for leftovers tonight.
Once the oven was cooled to merely hot, I pulled out the bottom bin to reach the wall plug and unplugged it. I plugged it back in this morning to make over-easy eggs for breakfast on the stovetop, which worked normally, but the electronics part (where the controls and display are) is making a low buzzing like a florescent ballast. So it's unplugged again. Oh well, I'm thankful at least that I didn't wander off to do something else, and that I never ran the self-cleaning cycle a couple weeks ago on a cold overnight; I might have burnt the house down and Dad in it.
Jesus.
Be careful amby. We need you and your dad, and you both need a place to live.
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@Amby I could go on a rant about dads not listening to the daughters doing a ton of the work to help them... but this is not the thread or time for that... but suffice to say, sorry you had that bit of frustration on top of dealing with the broken stove.
Anyway: I have some boneless skinless chicken breast. Make fajita strips and serve with leftover tortillas, or put them in a one-pot rice dish made with Trader Joe's whole grain medley?
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In case anyone was burning to know this, I made fajita strips. Marinated the chicken briefly in lime juice, cumin, and chili pepper. Sauteed those, took them out to rest and threw in onions and garlic (bell peppers hurt my stomach sometimes) and cooked them and then I needed some liquid to deglaze the pan with so I used a little witbier (which had citrusy notes) to do that and that turned out to be frikkin' delicious.
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Hey hey hope all you home cooks are doing ok out there.
I wanted to report a successful episode of "let's throw stuff I need to use up in one pan and see what happens." The stuff I needed to use up was some speck (basically, a dryish ham) from a charcuterie plate we got at a restaurant, broccolini I had forgotten I had bought, and an apple from the farmer's market that had some bruises so needed to be used up quickly (farmer gave me a free apple for the spotty one).
Chopped up all and sauteed in pan for a few minutes, then lowered heat and let steam under lid (there's a lot of moisture in the apple I figured would help) for 5 min. After taking out of the pan, squeezed lemon juice over all and added pepper. Was remarkably tasty. Flavors complimented each other nicely.
I think any old ham would do for something like this, as would any old crucifer.
Less successful was my attempt later this evening to make pisanki (eggs decorated with layers of color using wax to create designs) the way my mom taught me to do when I was a kid, but I clearly forgot something and was too proud to look up a tutorial online (plus a lot of the tutorials are far more fancy than the fairly simple versions we did at home with beeswax and a pencil with a pin stuck in the eraser). I couldn't get the damn wax to stay hot enough, so I sort of smeared the egg with blobs rather than make nice neat swooshes. Ah well. But they are pretty colors anyway.
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Howdy all, sorry for being scarce. Still don't have a functional big oven yet. Dad disabled to connection in the back non-customer-serviceable area so the top oven burner element doesn't get power anymore; the oven seems functional for minor, short cooktime stuff like heating frozen garlic toast or a frozen pizza, but I don't trust it for anything where I'm not going to be immediately nearby. I can still hear it cycling power on & off noticeable more frequently than it did when it worked normally, and I don't have an oven thermometer to track it's temp accuracy, so for now it's receiving minimal use.
Making due with the outdoor gas grill, the ancient (from the mid 90s) toaster oven, a slow cooker, and the big oven's cooktop burners. On Tuesday, I attempted to make ATK's roast pork & 40 cloves in the slow cooker, but it definitely wasn't as good as it should have been if baked normally in an oven; the sauce in particular failed to thicken. Last night was just spaghetti (marinara from scratch) & meatballs (frozen Aldi's brand) and garlic toast (frozen). Probably have it & the roast pork as leftovers tonight, think Friday I'll attempt a quick sheet pan Mediterranean chicken & veggies kit and fresh-baked dinner rolls (rolls baked first separately, then chicken & veg) in the big oven.
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I'm just glad that Amby and DQ are still with us, as they are both from the 70s-80s or so. Though they look circa 90s-00s or so.
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So, my bonus isn't high enough to Take Ten successfully for much of anything; is it okay to post about the recipes I had to roll for?
Make a Persuasion check (the DC is -45)
Recently, folks have wanted soup, so I made leek and potato, and broccoli and Stilton. I thought the latter tasted better, but Stilton is one of my favourites anyway, so no surprises there.
I also made my own naan bread, which was far easier than I expected it to be.
So, my bonus isn't high enough to Take Ten successfully for much of anything; is it okay to post about the recipes I had to roll for?
Sure, why not? I think taking ten in this thread is really only against starvation checks, and most non-chef-y cooking also involves frequent Bluff checks (vs the palates of the diners) and Intimidate checks (vs the ingredients being prepared).
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Oh crud.
I forgot to tell everyone I made chicken soup last weekend.
I made chicken soup last weekend.
I am also a backer of the Battletech kickstarter, which will have a food recipe book for the various cultures of the Inner Sphere and maybe the Clans too(boo). I don't think my faction, the Republic of the Sphere(yeah I back them what of it? DEATH TO THE WOLF EMPIRE! VENGEANCE FOR THE REPUBLIC OF THE SPHERE) will have anything particularly interesting as we...you know...live on earth...but I'll make something for one of the other factions! Maybe the Magistracy of Canopus will have something interesting! NYA!
Yay, managed to change out the leaky kitchen sink faucet today. A valve repair kit was looking like a $60-$70 special order, so we went with a new nearly-all-plastic faucet for a cheap $27. Went in with a minimum of fuss but back is definitely going to be sore tonight.
...think Friday I'll attempt a quick sheet pan Mediterranean chicken & veggies kit and fresh-baked dinner rolls (rolls baked first separately, then chicken & veg) in the big oven.
I still think the big oven isn't getting quite hot enough now, but it did cook the chicken & veg all the way through.
The seasoning kit wasn't bad, but I think it could have used another 25%-33% more of the seasoning blend to adequately coat everything. The directions call for 3 tbsp of veg oil to whisk together with the seasoning blend, but I could quickly see it was going to need more; I used 4 tbsp of olive oil, and then added 1 oz of chicken stock to help dissolve/hydrate the seasoning blend completely before I added in the chicken & veg to coat. The directions are flexible on the veg to use, so I went with a 10oz peeled yam, 1 large red bell pepper deseeded, and half a large sweet onion, all cut up in ~5/8 inch chunks. I dry-brined the chicken for an hour before tossing with the seasoning & veg, and even then I'd recommend adding more salt (and I'm usually a low salt seasoner).
Overall, I think it came out pretty good if not gourmet, and it was pretty simple to prepare and cook if you've got a reliable oven.
Oh crud.
I forgot to tell everyone I made chicken soup last weekend.
I made chicken soup last weekend.
That reminds me I need to get my cousin's decadent potato soup recipe.
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I half-assed some good old-fashioned white girl coconut chicken curry. It's one of the only recipes I don't need a recipe for, though I did use one here. It's very tasty, considering, like, half my ingredients were vaguely sus. Curry paste that expired two months ago, for example. Bon appetit, housemates.
I half-assed some good old-fashioned white girl coconut chicken curry. It's one of the only recipes I don't need a recipe for, though I did use one here. It's very tasty, considering, like, half my ingredients were vaguely sus. Curry paste that expired two months ago, for example. Bon appetit, housemates.
This seems a similar approach to building up an immunity to iocaine powder. Good job, Kobold.
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Sorry for being absent. Didn't have home DSL for a month (@#$%&*! CenturyLink) and then Dad was in the hospital* for just over a week, but stuff is settling back down now.
Still not cooking anything new. Last night was fried spam, a can of pork n' beans, and boxed mac & cheese.
Tonight was ~1.75 lb top round in the slow cooker braised like pot roast, with fresh mashed potatoes & beefy gravy, and a can of green beans heated up.
Tomorrow will probably be leftovers.
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I'm glad you and your dad are okay. I will even refrain from breaking into your home to eat your food like some kind of raccoon or opposum.
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Glad you and your dad are doing okay, Amby. I try to do what I can for my aging dad and things can get scary sometimes quick.
Though speaking of my dad, he and I got nice stuff from the dirt cheap farm stand near where he lives on Sunday, and had fresh local tomatoes and cucumbers and sweet corn for dinner, and dang was it good. And yes it was enough. (I'm not going to tell you how much of each we ate, but it was a lot.) (Up here where we have seasons, tomatoes and corn and cucumbers are only *really* good this time of year.)
I had some tomatoes and the leftover corn to deal with tonight on my own. And I happened to have some spring onions I needed to use up, and a shallot, and an avocado I forgot I bought. And a jalapeno I had bought for some reason. And tortilla chips I needed to use up. Oh shucks.*
So hardship of extreme hardships, I made myself pico de gallo with corn and guacamole and ate all of it. Because sometimes we must suffer for our cooking art.
* Corn pun possibly intended.
So hardship of extreme hardships, I made myself pico de gallo with corn and guacamole
and ate all of it.
You need to announce your dinner plans earlier.
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So hardship of extreme hardships, I made myself pico de gallo with corn and guacamole
and ate all of it.
You need to announce your dinner plans earlier.
So that's not you making that ungodly noise outside? Best go get the baseball bat...
Also, next time, just ring the doorbell. ;)
I'm glad you and your dad are okay.
Glad you and your dad are doing okay, Amby. I try to do what I can for my aging dad and things can get scary sometimes quick.
Yeah, he's not doing quite as well physically as he'd like everyone to believe but I certainly can't complain about how far he's bounced back in such a short time.
I will even refrain from breaking into your home to eat your food like some kind of raccoon or opposum.
If you want to dress up like your opossum fursona or not, you'd be welcome to stop by for food. There's not much on the porch fridge that's immediately edible, though the Cabot seriously sharp cheddar is in there, as is the leftover shrimp & red peppers scampi (the shrimp and sauce came out good, but the Aldi spinach ricotta ravioli was very disappointing). I drank up all my Leinenkugel so the only beer there is Dad's Busch (blech).
I hate raccoons though. I'd rather deal with a gator or Burmese python than a friggin raccoon.
Though speaking of my dad, he and I got nice stuff from the dirt cheap farm stand near where he lives on Sunday, and had fresh local tomatoes and cucumbers and sweet corn for dinner, and dang was it good. And yes it was enough. (I'm not going to tell you how much of each we ate, but it was a lot.) (Up here where we have seasons, tomatoes and corn and cucumbers are only *really* good this time of year.)
I had some tomatoes and the leftover corn to deal with tonight on my own. And I happened to have some spring onions I needed to use up, and a shallot, and an avocado I forgot I bought. And a jalapeno I had bought for some reason. And tortilla chips I needed to use up. Oh shucks.*
So hardship of extreme hardships, I made myself pico de gallo with corn and guacamole and ate all of it. Because sometimes we must suffer for our cooking art.
* Corn pun possibly intended.
Mmmm, that sounds really good.
I'm glad you and your dad are okay.Glad you and your dad are doing okay, Amby. I try to do what I can for my aging dad and things can get scary sometimes quick.Yeah, he's not doing quite as well physically as he'd like everyone to believe but I certainly can't complain about how far he's bounced back in such a short time.
I will even refrain from breaking into your home to eat your food like some kind of raccoon or opposum.If you want to dress up like your opossum fursona or not, you'd be welcome to stop by for food. There's not much on the porch fridge that's immediately edible, though the Cabot seriously sharp cheddar is in there, as is the leftover shrimp & red peppers scampi (the shrimp and sauce came out good, but the Aldi spinach ricotta ravioli was very disappointing). I drank up all my Leinenkugel so the only beer there is Dad's Busch (blech).
I hate raccoons though. I'd rather deal with a gator or Burmese python than a friggin raccoon
Opposum it is, then.
I will drill a hole in DQs place large enough that I will be able to hop into it and come out somewhere around your place.
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Tuesday night was leftover bbq boneless center cut porkchops, buttered corn, and cornbread. I was rushed Monday night, so I didn't get to low & slow the porkchops like I needed to. They were still ok, but not nearly as tender as they should have been.
Wednesday night was Aldi "red bag" fried chicken breast fillet sandwiches and Aldi crinkle cut french fries. I baked both in the oven because I'm watching Dad's vitamin K intake and that means no canola oil for frying. The chicken fillets were fine, but the french fries needed to be fried. So next time I'm at the store, I have to pick up sunflower oil.
Tonight I was running short on time, so I made hamburgers on the grill with potato chips. Dad is supposed to avoid mayo because soybean and canola oils are high in vitamin K, but he bled a bit more than expected when the doctor checked his INR levels today, so he got regular mayo on his burger tonight (I'll have to pick up some Sir Kensington's sunflower oil mayo for Dad too). Also, my grill supervisor politely demanded two bribes tithes tonight (cat bite-sized bits of burger), so I may have to start grilling a separate meatball just for her.
I've got no ideas yet about dinner tomorrow night.
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Kitty!
Tonight I sauteed some mushrooms and garlic with some ham bullion and wine and paprika, and then mixed it with some greek yogurt (stirred into some of the hot liquid to temper it), and then stirred egg noodles into that. It was yummier than I expected to be honest.
Previous evenings I was mainly eating recycled leftovers and farmer's market tomatoes. Sometimes just a fried egg and hash and tomatoes makes a good dinner.
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An Exciting First recently, in that I successfully made Kreplach, and everybody ate it. Tonight, folks are in the mood for stodge, so I shall be doing mac & cheese. I always put a teaspoonful or two of mustard powder or English mustard in the cheese sauce, just to pep it up a bit.
One of my favorite mac n cheese recipes puts a bit of garlic, yellow mustard powder, and cayenne in the sauce. Not a whole lot (it is neither notably garlicky or spicy), just gives a little something something.
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Yeah, Mom's baked mac & cheese recipe (from her mom) always called for yellow mustard powder too. It tastes like something is definitely missing without it.
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Last night, Dad finished off the last of his pot of (great northern) beans & ham. Tonight I made grilled chicken breast fillets and baked potatoes and jarred applesauce.
I've learned brining the chicken breasts first almost guarantees flavorful, juicy chicken. I fillet each big boneless, skinless chicken breast, then lightly sprinkle kosher salt flakes and "Montreal Chicken" seasoning blend on both sides. Then let them rest uncovered in a pie plate for an hour in the fridge before grilling. And that's it. I brine all solid hunks of meat now, and it works great on pork chops and steak too.
Use a paper towel to rub a little olive oil on the grill grate before cooking. I only need half the grill for the four fillets and only need to heat the grill on the lowest burner setting because of the flareups from the old burner. Four minutes on a side, 20 minutes total, and move them around to keep them cooking even. If you want a sauce, just whisk up a little homemade Italian dressing with a bit of pickle juice before you start the grill, or just use storebought BBQ sauce.
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Yesterday night was leftover beef pot roast, egg noodles cooked in the jus, and green peas.
Tonight I made white chicken chili from a seasoning pouch. I only needed one boneless skinless chicken breast (almost 1.75 lb!), cut into chunks, and browned in the slow cooker. Then I added half a 14.5 oz can of fire-roasted tomatoes, 1/2 cup fire-roasted red bell peppers (from jar), a 14.5 oz can of cannellini beans, 4 oz of water, and 1 tsp of chicken bouillon paste. About an hour before serving, I stirred in 1 tbsp of masa harina to thicken it. Made cheddar biscuits (from the box mix) to go with it.
I got a lb of strawberries still in season and small pound cakes on-sale at the supermarket the other day. I sliced up the berries, added a little water, sprinkled sugar over them, stirred it up, and left in chilling in the fridge this morning. Dad already got into them at lunchtime, which is fine, anything to keep him eating regular and it was a nice cooldown after puttering on his camper.
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I made marry me chicken the other day.
I'd rather just make chicken marsala and call it a day.
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I don't know what's wrong with me but I've had no energy most of the week. I think the most ambitious thing I cooked is what I call "homemade instant soup." Bring to a boil 1 c chicken broth, 1 c water, a bloop of miso, a dash of chili garlic paste, and some dehydrated veggies. Take off heat, let nest of bean thread noodles reconstitute in the hot liquid, and once noodles are soft, soup. It's remarkably tasty for dried and processed everything.
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Last night made suuuper yummy, super easy braised green beans:
Sauteed half a large white onion. Added a couple smashed and chopped cloves of garlic. Stir until sweating out a bit, just a few minutes.
Add trimmed green beans (I happened to have a 12 oz bag on hand, but probably better if you had a whole pound), a pint of grape tomatoes, and some oregano (fresh would be better but I used what I had, dried) and a little red pepper flake. Oh and salt of course.
Squeezed in a small amount of lemon juice and about a third of a cup of white wine (broth would be fine, with a bit more lemon juice)--just enough to thoroughly cover the bottom of the pan.
Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring once or twice. (While it simmered I pan-seared some chicken to go with it).
Finish with more lemon juice and serve.
Suuuuper tasty, very little prep. Think you could do this with frozen green beans, just add them halfway through.