Last night we had fried spam, seasoned french fries, and baked beans. I was raised on spam and other similar fare, and Dad likes it too, so we enjoyed it.
There's a sushi place in Minneapolis that does spam nigiri. They even use a pig-shaped cutter for it.
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I buy the reduced-sodium version of spam. Dad doesn't notice the difference, but the original is too salty for me.
Dad is safely back home from his second Moderna vax dose, so I making beans & ham bone for him tonight. Got some Goya ham base/concentrate a couple weeks ago, so I'll try that in it and see how it goes. Last night's chili was a bit too spicy for him, so I'll have that myself as leftovers.
Probably going to make a pineapple upside down cake in the next couple days or so. It's stupid easy to make and goes well, and I'll slice off a good chunk for my sister and her kids.
Dad had leftover beans & ham, and I toasted up three brown & serve dinner rolls (400°F for 6 minutes, then rub butter on top) for him. I instead had a roll, a radish, and a banana (not hungry, but I'm trying to make myself eat a little something on a regular schedule).
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Sunday night was a homemade pizza I banged out with:
* 6.5 oz pouch of pizza dough mix
* ~6 oz of crushed tomatoes w/ Italian seasoning, garlic powder and minced onions added
* ~3 oz leftover fontina cheese, 4 oz of mozzarella, and a hearty sprinkle of parm
* a crumbled up Italian sausage and 2 strips of chopped up bacon
Worked really well.
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Monday night was (from frozen) individual chicken pot pies and baked tater tots
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Tonight was boneless beef shoulder roast, mashed & gravy, green beans, and hawaiian rolls.
Because I'm stupid, at the same time I was working on the gravy & taters, I also made up a batch of dozen honey-banana bran muffins. I don't eat bran muffins and I hate banana muffins/bread, but my nephews absolutely love them both, so I bodged them together into a single recipe.
I'm thinking I'll make pineapple upside-down cake tomorrow. If I don't, I know I'm gonna crack open that jar of maraschino cherries at some 3AM and gorge on them.
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Pineapple upside-down cake turned out excellent. I know I shouldn't stress eat, but damn this cake is delicious.
And it's stupid easy. I'm embarrassed I didn't start making them years ago.
Its not dinner. But I am loving thr hell out of my vitamix and making smoothies. Lots of strawberry and blueberry smoothies. Start the day with milk, bananas, strawberries and blueberries and blackberries, sometimes with a citrus fruit in there. Its not sour and I start my day feeling the power.
Yesterday I started a top round roast in the slow cooker, then had to dash for a personal engagement. My daughters ended up using the shredded beef in my absence. Apparently the meat was delicious, none of the veggies or broth was used at all, and nearly all of the fresh bagels we had are also gone.
On the plus side, they cleaned it all up before I got home. Downside, a nearly 3 pound roast was shredded and consumed by 2 girls on the older one's boyfriend, leaving me no leftovers (except for boiled carrots, onions and celery).
I'm glad your daughters got a homecooked meal, but dang it really sucks they didn't leave anything for you. >:(
When I made the roast on Tuesday, I peeled a whole head of garlic and braised it with the roast. The roast and the gravy were very good, but the most delicious part of that meal for me was eating all of the garlic cloves slow-roasted in those juices.
My back hurts, my left knee hurts, my shoulders hurt, and all of my knuckles really hurt (stupid arthritis), but dinner is prepped and in the oven! Tonight for dinner we're having homemade lasagna & garlic toast. The 9"x9" one is in the oven now, and I have two half-size lasagnas (made in foil bread loaf pans) sitting in the freezer. If I'm going to put in the work to make lasagna, it's not much extra effort and mess to make a couple for two future ready-to-bake meals.
Thank heavens for naproxen.
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My back hurts, my left knee hurts, my shoulders hurt, and all of my knuckles really hurt (stupid arthritis), but dinner is prepped and in the oven! Tonight for dinner we're having homemade lasagna & garlic toast. The 9"x9" one is in the oven now, and I have two half-size lasagnas (made in foil bread loaf pans) sitting in the freezer. If I'm going to put in the work to make lasagna, it's not much extra effort and mess to make a couple for two future ready-to-bake meals.
Thank heavens for naproxen.
And now we play the waiting game.
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And now we play the waiting game.
You're in luck, Mr. Gator. The leftover lasagna & 2 pieces of garlic bread actually is in the back porch fridge; the cake is on the shelf below it.
Help yourself to the bottled water or canned ginger ale (I can't drink it anymore; it upsets my stomach). You can probably have a bottle or two of Dad's beer, but I warn you, it's Busch (bleech).
Don't eat the kitten chow; I'm trying to put some weight on the stray cat.
Please don't eat mamma possum, she's harmless, but feel free to eat all the raccoons or cane toads you can catch.
You can probably have a bottle or two of Dad's beer, but I warn you, it's Busch.
Head for the mountains! Because that's away from the beer, I guess.
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Making chicken parmesan muffins this weekend. Haven't made them in a while.
In fact! I got the idea because yesterday I was trying to remember who started this thread, and why, and saw that I had mentioned it in my first post in this thread.
This thread is nearly 2.5 years old, and Ambrosia Slaad started it. What a ride.
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And now we play the waiting game.
You're in luck, Mr. Gator. The leftover lasagna & 2 pieces of garlic bread actually is in the back porch fridge; the cake is on the shelf below it.
Help yourself to the bottled water or canned ginger ale (I can't drink it anymore; it upsets my stomach). You can probably have a bottle or two of Dad's beer, but I warn you, it's Busch (bleech).
Don't eat the kitten chow; I'm trying to put some weight on the stray cat.
Please don't eat mamma possum, she's harmless, but feel free to eat all the raccoons or cane toads you can catch.
Dad went out to an family Easter get-together & dinner. About a dozen people there, only one besides Dad has had even one vaccine shot. Dad has had both his shots, but I still wish he wouldn't've risked it.
[Resists ranting more about @#$%^&! anti-vax idiot family]
Anyway, Dad had Easter ham, potato salad, other sides, and loads of candy for Sunday dinner. I went out and got a Monster burger & fries from the drive thru.
Tonight, I did a lot of running around, so we had chicken noodle soup & grilled cheese. Chicken noodle was condensed from a can, with the addition of a couple 5oz cans of chunked chicken breast & juice and extra garlic powder & poultry seasoning blend. Grilled cheeses were white bread, toasted + margarined, with American cheese slices.
Tomorrow will probably be pork fixed some way.
Tonight was braised pork chops, mashed & gravy, salad, and dinner rolls. Found Mom's springform cake pan but didn't have time & energy to make dessert, so hopefully tomorrow.
Wow, I just realized I had not checked this thread in three months (family emergency happened, all is well, but had after a break temporarily limited attention to PBPs when I had time, and then to the Wandavision thread, because I needed escapism). I missed some good stuff. Hope y'all are well.
I finally made homemade cream of mushroom soup that tasted good (which is to say, I like the soup in general but prior homemade attempts were not great). It was based on Longwood Gardens' recipe. Only thing was I forgot to get sherry so put brandy in it instead, because that's like just more hardcore fortified wine, right? Which was fine. Different but fine. I recognize cream of mushroom soup tends to be a love or hate it kind of thing so I do not expect everyone to be excited about this, but I was proud of myself for getting it right.
I now need to figure out what to do with the giant bunch of tarragon (could not get smaller) I bought to season it. It isn't exactly an herb you want to use in huge quantities usually. Freeze it?
(I also have leftover thyme but that tends to dry well on its own with minimal effort and then you can just use it dried.)
WB, DQ.
I know that this is only going to be moderately (or less!) helpful, but dried tarragon is my favorite thing to put in scrambled eggs.
Thanks! I love a "fines herbes" (tarragon, parsley, chives) omelette. Hmmm... maybe a quiche with tarragon?
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Wow, I just realized I had not checked this thread in three months (family emergency happened, all is well, but had after a break temporarily limited attention to PBPs when I had time, and then to the Wandavision thread, because I needed escapism). I missed some good stuff. Hope y'all are well.
I finally made homemade cream of mushroom soup that tasted good (which is to say, I like the soup in general but prior homemade attempts were not great). It was based on Longwood Gardens' recipe. Only thing was I forgot to get sherry so put brandy in it instead, because that's like just more hardcore fortified wine, right? Which was fine. Different but fine. I recognize cream of mushroom soup tends to be a love or hate it kind of thing so I do not expect everyone to be excited about this, but I was proud of myself for getting it right.
I now need to figure out what to do with the giant bunch of tarragon (could not get smaller) I bought to season it. It isn't exactly an herb you want to use in huge quantities usually. Freeze it?
(I also have leftover thyme but that tends to dry well on its own with minimal effort and then you can just use it dried.)
I'm glad you and your family are okay.
Also, freeze the tarragon in a ice cube tray with an oil that works well with it.
Oh wait. You said it was huge.
Maybe try to grow your own? Plant it?
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I usually go pretty light on salt, but I do salt and pepper my eggs -- over easy, scrambled, poached, hard-boiled, deviled.Not a fan of salt, but hard-boiled eggs are one of the two things I must have a pinch of salt on. (A big red tomato is the other.)
According to my various cookbooks and preferred cooking shows, salt is definitely encouraged as a seasoning on eggs.
The only cheffy warning is when you add the salt. IIRC (take this with a giant grain of, well.... ) salt will alter the protein in eggs; added just before cooking it will help tenderize eggs, but added too early (like you beat eggs and then let them sit awhile) they will get tough and help separate the liquid from the solids, resulting in watery eggs. Generally, if you add salt before cooking, add it just prior. And obviously you can't add salt to an egg cooked in its shell until after you open it, and for fried eggs adding after is usually fine too. ATK's recipe for poached eggs instructs you to salt the water before adding the egg (which probably helps the egg hold its shape in this method of cooking).
I'm glad you and your family are okay.
Also, freeze the tarragon in a ice cube tray with an oil that works well with it.
Thanks!
Freeze in oil. I'll try that. I've tried freezing before and it didn't work well, but adding oil makes sense.
It's a large amount given it's an herb where typically a little goes a long way, but it's not an insurmountable quantity to try this method.
I've heard of freezing fresh pesto in ice cube trays, so maybe make the tarragon into a pesto and freeze? I don't cook with tarragon, so I'm not sure how strong that'd make it. The freezing pesto trick works though.
The only cheffy warning is when you add the salt. IIRC (take this with a giant grain of, well.... ) salt will alter the protein in eggs; added just before cooking it will help tenderize eggs, but added too early (like you beat eggs and then let them sit awhile) they will get tough and help separate the liquid from the solids, resulting in watery eggs.
Huh. I crack the eggs into a bowl, add a splash of milk, add salt, and then I whisk 'em. This is for when I scramble them, and I'm not sure if what you're describing is for any particular method or not. I recall that I've forgotten the salt before, and I don't recall any difference in consistency, but I also wasn't looking for any difference.
I'll have to try and add the salt to the eggs later and see if it makes a difference.
I think it has to sit in salt for a good while before it really matters.
And please note I might be entirely making this up/misremembering.
Amby, tarragon when concentrated has a licoricey flavor so I'm not sure how it would work as a pesto, although it'd probably be a great rub for chicken that way.
LICORICE FOREVER
I am not a licorice/anise fan. But Thai basil is supposed to be more licorice-y, so maybe use your frozen tarragon for pho?
I seem to remember a Good Eats episode where Alton discussed the chemistry of not adding salt too early to eggs, but I don't remember the reasoning.
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I am not a licorice/anise fan.
-_-
I seem to remember a Good Eats episode where Alton discussed the chemistry of not adding salt too early to eggs, but I don't remember the reasoning.
Double -_-
As an aside, I am growing my own Thai basil.
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I used to grow chives, Genovese basil, and sweet oats (cat grass). The chives worked well, but once the basil was established it grew like crazy. Each crop of the sweet oats grew well until one of the cats re-discovered it and would try to eat it all in a day; the chonky sister cat would mow a crop down and then sleep in the planter which killed off all the new sprouts.
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Saturday night was tacos with all the fixings and Doritos instead of corn shells.
Sunday night was fried spam and baked beans.
Tonight is warmed up "Tuscan herb" rotisserie chicken from the supermarket deli and hawaiian rolls. I didn't get the coleslaw made in time because I was making up two meatloaves to freeze (plus usual Monday chaos commuting, chores).
Probably have leftovers for Tuesday dinner, and then on Wednesday one of the meatloaves with mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and some vegetable. Hope this new meatloaf recipe turns out well.
Meatloaf dinner was pretty good tonight. I made the meatloaves one after the other, but I forgot to put the egg in the first one, so that was the one I baked tonight. Without the egg and a bit too much moisture from the ingredients, the meatloaf was a bit fall-apart-y. Think I got the seasoning pretty close, maybe a little too much tomato paste mixed in.
Glad I had it premade, frozen, and ready to go; I was more scatterbrained than usual this evening fixing dinner.
Leftovers tomorrow for dinner, maybe? I guess it depends on how well tomorrow morning & afternoon goes.
Made some salsa: tomato, kiwi, onion, cilantro, habanero, salt, and lime. I really like the sweet-tart flavor of the kiwi in it. I'm already looking forward to making pineapple-habanero salsa this summer (it's my favorite topping for brats).
Dinner tonight was leftovers from last night: slow-cooker bottom round with potatoes and onion cooked around it. Instead of corn on the cob, I made up coleslaw. I also finally got around to making the flourless chocolate torte w/ganache from a box; it's chilling in the porch fridge until 8PM.
Don't know about dinner tomorrow. Probably either sheetpan chicken & veggies or homemade pizza.
Also, some of the caramelized onions are in a separate baggie. Tomorrow night for dinner I'm doing egg and onion sandwiches paired with canned bean and bacon soup.
Have you every had a Spanish tortilla? I've been wanting to make one from this recipe and those caramelized onions would be great in it.
I'm going to give making some tortilla triangles of some type I found on reddit a go this week. Will try for veggie ones first.
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I'm making the conscious decision to include less meat in my diet for a number of reasons, so we've been trying out some new recipes. Tonight we mad a dish of roasted broccoli and brussel sprouts with (slightly over-cooked) green lentils, served on a bed of arugula and topped with a lemon vinaigrette dressing. It was pretty good! Very hearty without being too heavy.
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So apparently just storing tarragon in a vase with water like flowers helps it keep for quite awhile.
Good luck on the flexitarian meal options Andostre. In honor of similar plans I made homemade hummus for lunch, yummy.
Ha! I've never heard "flexitarian" before. Nice.
I also finally got around to making the flourless chocolate torte w/ganache from a box; it's chilling in the porch fridge until 8PM.
The torte was like a denser, moister, super chocolate-ly version of a brownie. Like if you're in chocolate withdrawal, you'd have to take it easy eating this.
It made for a small torte, but it included its own cardboard cake "pan", so I didn't need one after all.
Don't know about dinner tomorrow. Probably either sheetpan chicken & veggies or homemade pizza.
Neither. On Monday, we had Aldi red bag chicken patties (baked) with Aldi seasoned fries (canola oil fried). I like their store brand tater tots ("puffs") baked, but their seasoned fries are only ok baked or fried.
Dad had tilapia baked in parchment and a baked potato tonight. I had a BLT minus the T (tomato went bad) and potato chips.
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Oooh, maybe fish in parchment is what I'll do tonight. I've got some salmon in the freezer and I've been eating too heavy of late.
Made homemade pepperoni pizza tonight. Pizza sauce not quite right without onion powder, but it was close enough and I don't need the heartburn from onion powder.
Maybe have hoagies/sub sandwiches & potato chips for dinner tomorrow.
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Made homemade pepperoni pizza tonight. Pizza sauce not quite right without onion powder, but it was close enough and I don't need the heartburn from onion powder.
Maybe have hoagies/sub sandwiches & potato chips for dinner tomorrow.
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Thursday dinner was hoagies and potato chips.
Friday dinner was leftovers.
Tonight was braised pork shoulder, mashed potatoes & gravy, and cooked apples. I browned the pork, then baked it in the dutch oven on low with a quartered onion. After an hour, flipped the roast over, added 4oz of low sodium chicken stock, a 1/2 tablespoon of beef base, and a 1oz dry packet of baja citrus marinade mix. After another hour in the oven, I added a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and black pepper to taste (didn't need any salt) and finished the slow braise cooking, turning over every hour. It came out very tender (as expected), and the strained liquid (over two cups worth) was thickened into gravy with a couple whisked in tablespoons of cornstarch. It was a nice change, the flavor a blend of traditional porky-beefy and Cuban-y mojo.
Cooked apples was Mom's standby recipe: a couple pounds of peeled, cored, and sliced apples dumped into a big 5 quart microwave safe bowl. Stir in a 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1oz of water, and a good shake of apple pie spices (ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves); toss to coat and microwave uncovered for 5 minutes. Take out, stir, adjust seasoning to taste (sugar and spices), then microwave another 5 minutes. Repeat stirring and microwaving in further 3 minute increments until apples are your desired level of doneness; Dad likes his around 16 minutes.
Wow, that pork shoulder sounds delicious.
Question, AS: Do you have all these recipes that you got from your mom in your head, or do you refer to them written down somewhere?
Tonight's dinner is burgers, tater tots, and a salad.