What Did We Eat Today?

[harrie]

Tonight is pan chicken - sauteed chicken breast with mushrooms and a pan sauce with a dollop of sour cream. Sides of broccoli and butternut squash (again, made waaaay too much).

[grisgris]

I made up a bunch of single-serving dinners and froze them so I wouldn't have to cook when I was home recovering from hip replacement surgery. I'm really glad that I did. So tonight, I am having puerco cubano. When I made it, I paired it with orzo because at that time, I'd just finished up a big batch up vegetable curry with rice and I was really tired of rice. I'm also having green beans and a salad.

 

This recipe actually came from a culinary mystery novel. Many year ago I started the "Goldie Schulz" series written by Diane Mott Davidson. I picked the books back up over the summer and since there were several new additions, I re-read them all in order. Some of the recipes sounded good, so I decided to try them.

 

This recipe uses ground pork and is flavored with garlic, oregano and fresh orange and lime juices. It is very different. I'm not sure if I'll make it again, but it's a nice departure from my usual fare.

 

Another recipe I tried from those books was for a low-fat sour cream cherry coffee cake that I make frequently.

[Mountainair]

I sometimes read a chick lit series set in Georgia and the author often includes recipes in the back. I'm not a HUGE fan of southern foods (born and raised in the south but my mom spent her whole life in Alaska and she did all the cooking) but I did eat a lot of Brunswick Stew which the book had a recipe for. I want to try it but there are a ton of ingredients and around my parts growing up Brunswick Stew was only eaten if the men of the Methodist church nearby prepared it.

My parents arrive tomorrow for a long weekend birthday celebration for my almost 5 year old!! I am waiting for my mom to get here (make grandpa watch the boys) so we can go shopping together for the party.

So, in addition to cleaning the house top to bottom, today I made Pumpkin looking Rice Krispie treats for all the preschool kids tomorrow for my sons Birthday, I used some leftover chicken to make Buffalo Chicken Wontons for football watching, I made dinner (breakfast) which is quite time consuming with little ones, I made dinner for the crockpot (cowboy casserole, easy, cheap, yummy) for tomorrow night, tomorrow I have to make a sheet cake to serve 30+ people and in the morning go to the shop we have downtown and clean that top to bottom for the party site. I always hold parties at my house but I hate how dirty my house gets. This year I decided to hold the party at our place of business. It is essiently two small offices, two bathrooms and two oversized garage bays. People don't linger and my house isn't a wreck :)

[stillshimpy]

, today I made Pumpkin looking Rice Krispie treats for all the preschool kids tomorrow for my sons Birthday, I used some leftover chicken

 

Good luck with the party and your busy weekend, but when I was reading this I thought for a horrible moment you'd used leftover chicken in Pumpkin (looking) Rice Krispie treats and started laughing like a full-blown lunatic.  

 

Happy birthday to your son :-)  

Edited October 24, 2014 by stillshimpy

[mansonlamps]

Good luck with the party and your busy weekend, but when I was reading this I thought for a horrible moment you'd used leftover chicken in Pumpkin (looking) Rice Krispie treats and started laughing like a full-blown lunatic.

Happy birthday to your son :-)

Haha I thought the exact same thing! Mmmm, chicken rice krispie.treats.

Edited October 25, 2014 by mansonlamps

[BizBuzz]

Been kind of busy since I last posted, but while I had a moment, I want to thank whomever it was that posted the Roasted Shrimp with Orzo recipe suggestion.  OMG, I made it for a gathering and everyone kept coming up to me and asking for the recipe.  That is SO STUPID SIMPLE to make, it's going to be one of my go to bring and share dishes.  IT WAS DELISH!!!

[Bastet]

That was me, and I recommended it because that's exactly what happens to me when I take it to potlucks -- I barely have to be awake to make it, and then people devour it and rave about it as if I slaved over a stove all day.  Glad you had similar success, and you're welcome.

[Bastet]

Remember my saying that pasta carbonara is the easiest and most indlugent thing I know how to make? I forgot barbecue pork ribs. Pricey unless you find them on sale (I spend the summer stocking up!)

 

When I'm ignoring my rule about buying only from local, independent farms, I have been pleasantly surprised to find great pork ribs for a good price at Costco.  (We do them on the rotisserie, after marinating them for a couple of days.)

[harrie]

Potato pancakes with sour cream and smoked salmon.

[Tabbyclaw]

When I'm ignoring my rule about buying only from local, independent farms, I have been pleasantly surprised to find great pork ribs for a good price at Costco.  (We do them on the rotisserie, after marinating them for a couple of days.)

 

We ditched our membership a couple years back, unfortunately. However, a couple of my local grocery stores do "buy one, get two free" sales on the ribs a couple-three times a year, and we have a nice big freezer.

[ALenore]

Tonight I didn't feel like doing much cooking, so we ordered vegetarian pizza, but while waiting for it to arrive I sliced up some peppers,onions and garlic and microwaved some garlic, then put it on the pizza when it arrived.  it tasted great. We do the fairly often, order pizza but then add to it to make it taste better without much effort. 

[Jac]

Dinner last night  with leftovers for lunch today was Chicken Tortilla Soup, which was amazing! Dinner tonight will be Oven-Baked Sriracha Chicken with coconut red, white and black rice.

[harrie]

Thanks for the Sriracha Baked Chicken link, JacquelineLHope.   I'm going to try that next week - looks simple and yummy.  (And I've got an open bottle of Sriracha to use up, so.....)

[KnoxForPres]

I'm making the Neelys Chicken Parmesan (so good!) with a Caesar salad and side of spaghetti. Question: it's with an ex who I want back. What should I do with the pasta? The tomato sauce or something different? The secret to amazing parm is pounding out all your aggressions to where the chicken is thin.

[ALenore]

I made Braised Chicken Legs http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/braised-chicken-legs.  It was really good.   Along with it I made roasted red potatoes wedges, green beans, and  I warmed up a baguette to dunk into the braising liquid.   

[ALenore]

I'm working late tonight.  Usually on these nights I heat up something frozen, but tonight I didn't have anything I wanted to eat in the freezer, so I'm making a chickpea soup in the slow cooker.   I started it 9:00 this morning, after soaking the chickpeas overnight.   I microwaved chopped up onions, garlic and carrots with a couple of tablespoons of oil, then dumped it in the crockpot with the chickpeas and a few cups of chicken broth.   Tonight, a half hour or so before it's done, my husband will add sliced kielbasa and chopped swiss chard (the recipe called for escarole, but I had swiss chard that was beginning to wilt, so I'm using that instead).   I didn't add the kielbasa in the morning, since the last time I did that all the flavor leached out of it and I wound up with hard, grey lumps of sausage.   The kielbasa is cooked already, it just has to heat up.  

[sunshinelover]

Tonight I'm making turkey,  pumpkin and white bean chili.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/crockpot-turkey-white-bean-pumpkin.html

 

Along with some 5-minute artisan bread and a salad.  

[emma675]

Tonight I made an egg scramble with cheddar and sauteed spinach and onions with a side of turkey bacon. I've never made turkey bacon before. I think the cardboard package it came in might have had more flavor. Blech.

[Mountainair]

Back to just the four of us tonight. My parents left this afternoon. Between leftover party food and using what I had on hand already I came out pretty cheaply this weekend. For lunch today we went to a local BBQ joint, (it's delish but ever since Obama started eating there the lines are ridiculous, my parents love the place so thats the only time I go) It does make the best BBQ! Custom sandwiches. I always get the smoked turkey with sugared bacon, Brie cheese and pesto mayo served on Texas Toast. Yum!

My mom bought me some turkey legs I need to do something with soon. Any suggestions?

[mansonlamps]

From Chicago, is this a local bbq joint and what is the name please? Sounds amazing.

[Mountainair]

No, sorry. Asheville, NC. He visits here about twice a year and always eats at 12 Bones Smokehouse. If he can't eat there in person he has been known to have his aides deliver it to him before Air Force one takes off.

[stillshimpy]

Baked Ziti with tomatoes, onions, garlic and butternut squash (don't knock it until you've tried it).  

Also, separately, spaghetti squash because sqaushsquashsquashsquash.  

 

They're everywhere. 

[ALenore]

I made grilled tuna with avocado and tomato salsa, grilled zucchini and rice.  

[stillshimpy]

Well, I'm in a cooking mood today, so I'm making black bean, quinoa and roasted carrot burritos and I made the tortillas ...which is something of a rarity in the last six months or so,  but it's finally cool enough to hang in the kitchen, so I figured I  would just power through and keep making stuff until I figured out dinner.  I made enchilada sauce too, cleaned a squash for roasting, chopped a zucchini.   

 

Then I was feeling so ridiculously healthy from all of that that I negated all health benefits by making a Magic Cake to go with it. 

Edited October 29, 2014 by stillshimpy

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm making pork schnitzel, smashed potatoes and garlic roasted green beans.   

 

Man, I love schnitzel.  When I was stationed in Germany, there were so many different schnitzel restaurants around us, with a lot of different ways of making it.  Mmmmm.

 

Usually veal, though, but I've had pork as well.

[ALenore]

Tonight I'm making Shrimp Fra Diavolo http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-fra-diavolo-1  It's a nice easy recipe, I'm having salad on the side from a bagged salad, either spinach or "spring mix" to which I'll add pecans and sliced apple. 

[Mountainair]

I made "dump chicken" tonight with leftover rice and fresh salad. Naturally, DH didn't eat any. The kids, being excited for Trick or Treating, didn't eat any either. It was good. Overnight marinade with lemon juice and garlic, bake in the oven or crockpot the next day. Oh well. The never ending saga of chicken in my household. I love to eat salads for lunch so I have plenty of chicken now to throw in!

I did my big monthly shopping today and have a stocked fridge/freezer/pantry. They are calling for 12 inches of snow tomorrow!! What happened to fall??!!! I plan on making a pot of chili tomorrow for dinner. I have a great recipe for chili that I use all the time. I once left to recipe with DH so he could make the chili while I was away for the day. The recipe calls for 2 canned Adobe peppers with their sauce. 2 peppers. I got home and he had added two Cans of Adobe peppers! Talk about Fire breathing!

Anyhow, not ready for snow but am ready for some yummy chili tomorrow!

[harrie]

Whole wheat linguine with clams tonight -- perfect for a cold, rainy day. 

[Tabbyclaw]

We had a dinner a couple nights ago that really highlighted the varying tastes in my family. We had French onion soup (the frozen individual ones that Trader Joe's carries; we love those guys so much) and grilled cheese to order. Which means I grated sharp cheddar off the block and added horseradish and sriracha for myself, pulled some mild shredded cheese out of the bag for Mom, and put a couple Kraft singles on bread for Dad.

[ALenore]

Last night I made Crisp Brick Fried Chicken with Rosemary and Whole Garlic Cloves http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/crisp-brick-fried-chicken-rosemary-and-whole-garlic-cloves-0  (although I used sage instead of rosemary since I don't care for rosemary.   Along with that I made cows cous pilaf with golden raisins and pignoli, and roasted broccoli.   The only problem I had was the chicken weighed 7 pounds, and the recipe called for a 3 pound chicken.  I find it's really hard to get a whole chicken less than 5 pounds, they are all enormous.   I cooked the chicken for longer than the recipe called for, but I had to stick it in the microwave at the end.   It still tasted great though.

 

Tonight I'm having black bean soup I made a few months ago and froze.   All I have to do for serving is heat it up and top with some grated cheese and sliced green onions.   

[Bastet]

I am a bit frightened by the thought of a seven-pound chicken.  The chickens I get directly from a farmer or from my local market that purchases from small farms are about three to three-and-a-half pounds.  When I see them at the supermarket (e.g. Foster Farms), they're five to five-and-a-half pounds.

 

We got some much-needed rain this weekend, so I made chicken vermicelli soup.  Now we're back to 80 degrees for the week, so I guess that will go in the freezer.

[harrie]

I buy chickens from a local farmer, too; and sometimes they're large, like 6-7 pounds, especially at this time of year.  Even the large ones have been very tasty.  No growth hormones or antibiotics used, and they're as free range as is practical -- we have a healthy coyote population in the area, and occasionally bobcats show up, too -- so most farms around here move the chickens around the fields with portable fencing and stuff.  

[joelene]

Made some quick yummy creamy fresh pasta with bacon and bell peppers that I can have for lunch for a few days.

Fry up some bacon to chop and add at the end. Sauté onion and garlic in the bacon fat and some butter, lower heat and in with a couple of packs of crème fraîche, add some cream or milk so there's plenty of sauce, in with chopped peppers (I used red and yellow for color to complement the fresh spinach pasta) and whatever spices and herbs you have (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil and mixed herb spice) at the end add the fried bacon and pour the cooked pasta into the pan and mix. Terribly yummy, quick and lasts for days if you're a single person.

Edited November 3, 2014 by joelene

[ALenore]

The chickens I buy are from the supermarket, (Stop & Shop) and are on sale at 0.99/ pound, so they're a really good bargain.   I took what was left over from the chicken I had yesteday (and today for lunch) and froze it.  This weekend I'll make chicken stock.   I find that at least when I'm buying commerical brands, chicken parts are very large too.  Recpes typically call for 4 to 6 ounce chicken breast cutlets, but the ones I buy are at least 8 ounces, some as much as 12 ounces.  Now that I'm aware of this, I weigh the breasts when I get them back from the store, then label them and freeze them. When I use them in a recipe, I adjust according to size ( so two 12 oz. breasts instead of four 6 oz. ones).   

[Bastet]

My dad raised chickens as a kid, and when I grew up we always got our chicken (whole and in parts) from a family friend who raised them, and they were the smaller size like I continue to get now.  So the huge chicken breasts and, to a lesser extent, thighs on supermarket chickens are unusual to me.  (And they cause my dad to go off on quite the rant, so it's best not to defrost one in his presence.)

 

I have some breast meat left from my last roaster, and used most of it for a chicken salad (with tarragon) sandwich for lunch.  I think I may use the last of it in a quesadilla tonight, even though I may start clucking from that much chicken in one day.

[ALenore]

Last night I made cheeseburgers, with both sauteed and raw (Vidalia) onions, roast potato wedges and corn.  I actually made the cheeseburgers because I had a dream the other night where I was about to eat a cheeseburger, but then I woke up just before I took the first bite (very frustrating).  

 

 Tonight I'm going to make grilled Thai chicken thigh skewers,  with cucumbers and carrots on the side, served with rice.   

[Bastet]

I had some bean sprouts at the "cook them tonight or toss them tomorrow" stage, so I just made a stir fry last night with snow peas, bean sprouts, scallions and shrimp with a sesame oil, lemon juice, garlic and ginger sauce.

 

I took out lamb chops for tonight, but that's as far as I've come in the meal planning.

[grisgris]

I am having over-fried chicken and Martha Stewart's potato/tomato/zucchini gratin. I use Parmesan cheese, though. I also used on-the-vine grocery store tomatoes.

[Bella]

Sushi from Whole Foods, where I also purchased 3 small cheese samples to try out for a party we're having later this month. I could smell one of the cheeses all the way home, so I no longer consider it a candidate!

[Bastet]

Ooh, send it to me - that's probably the best one.

[Bella]

It probably is. I just don't want my car and entire house to smell like it.

[stillshimpy]

Polenta, black beans and tomatoes with sun-dried tomato bruschetta mixed in (I had a jar of it hanging out in my fridge and it's time had come).  I'm usually not the biggest fan of sun-dried tomatoes, but this jarred bruschetta mixture is actually good.  

 

Also, I'm cooking down three pounds of mushroom quarters to freeze for another night.  

[BizBuzz]

Oxtail soup ... with a side of minced ginger/white rice.  Yum.

[harrie]

Flounder and broccoli.  Yum?

[ALenore]

I made  butternut squash ravioli with spinach pesto.  I hand made the ravioli, although I did use wontons for the dough, rather than make it from scratch.  It took a while to make, (even with my husband helping) but came out really good.  

[Mountainair]

Corned beef and cabbage with carrots and potatoes. Nice meal for a cold night!

[ebk57]

I had 3/4 of a donut for breakfast.  I had 2 slices of pizza for lunch.  Mr ebk is working tonight, so I'm having...wine.  

 

That's a complete meal, right?

[mansonlamps]

I had 3/4 of a donut for breakfast.  I had 2 slices of pizza for lunch.  Mr ebk is working tonight, so I'm having...wine.  

 

That's a complete meal, right?

Absolutely! I am on a similar path.

[BizBuzz]

Corned beef and cabbage with carrots and potatoes. Nice meal for a cold night!

 

Geesh, a meal from my past that I have completely forgotten about.  Thanks for giving it back to me!

[Mountainair]

Hey, no problem! It's one of my favorite meals ever! 

 

Tonight we are taking the five year old to the planetarium. He is big into outer space so my in laws got us tickets for his birthday present. It's an hour away and they are going to watch the 2 year old for us. The tickets include a planetarium show, a "roller coaster" Mars Rover ride and then we get to visit the HUGE telescope they have on site and look through it. He is going to love it. Before hand we thought we would take him to a Japanese Steakhouse where they cook at your table. He has never been to one before I know he will dig it. So, that's what's for dinner tonight :)