What Did We Eat Today?

[Mountainair]

Haha, yes. Sometimes I hate to visit this thread for that very reason.

Today was just junk food day. The boys and I had a play date after preschool so I picked up Chick Fil A on the way to friends house. Mr. Mountain is bringing home pizza for dinner. I've been trying to empty the fridge all week and not have leftovers since we will be gone until Saturday. I'll pay for it when we get back and I have no food in my house though!

[Bastet]

That's how I'll be on Sunday.  I've timed it wonderfully so that all the fresh food is gone as of today's lunch, tonight a friend and I are going out, and I leave tomorrow morning.  Sunday afternoon I'll think, "I need to go to the market.  Or if I went to help Dad put up their Christmas lights, Mom would feed me and I could go Monday ..."  I hate going shopping on the weekends; too crowded.

[PRgal]

That's how I'll be on Sunday.  I've timed it wonderfully so that all the fresh food is gone as of today's lunch, tonight a friend and I are going out, and I leave tomorrow morning.  Sunday afternoon I'll think, "I need to go to the market.  Or if I went to help Dad put up their Christmas lights, Mom would feed me and I could go Monday ..."  I hate going shopping on the weekends; too crowded.

 

Ugh....I hate shopping on weekends for the same reason.  I'm not a fan of Mondays, either - I feel like my local supermarket doesn't do the restocking until Monday night so it's just as out of stuff on Monday as it is Sunday afternoon. 

[EllieH]

 

Looks like several of us are having "clean out the fridge" dinners in advance of Thanksgiving

 

I'll be mixing it up with a "clean out the fridge" breakfast this morning... smoothie with spinach, greek yogurt and some fresh berries I need to finish off before I leave town.

[ALenore]

I actually cleaned out my fridge this past weekend.  I read an article with a timetable for hosting Thanksgiving, and it suggested clean out your fridge, both to make space for food, and because it probably needs it.  Well, my definitely needed it, so I thoroughly cleaned it out and am pleased that both I have room to put the turkey and other food for the big dinner, and also that I wont' be embarrased by my family seeing a messy refrigerator . 

 

I was going to order pizza tonight, since I'm still busy cooking stuff for Thankgiving, but it looks like we'll be having a big storm and I really don't want to make the pizza delivery guy come out in nasty weather, so instead I'm going to make one of my favorite easy meals Past with Fried Egg and Herb Topping:   http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/fried-egg-red-pepper-garlic-and-herb-topping-for-pasta-recipe0.html

[Mindymoo]

We had chicken instead of turkey last night for Thanksgiving, so I just made some hummus chicken salad for us to have for dinner tonight. It is absolutely delicious. You use hummus instead of mayo to bind everything together, and it has dried cherries, walnuts and celery in it. 

[miles2go]

Tonight, in honor of the Apple Bowl, I'm making squash and apple soup, warm chicken and apple salad, and baked apples for dessert.  The soup was in the freezer, so just needs defrosting, and the other two are easy recipes. 

[Mountainair]

We got home this afternoon to a very empty fridge. Unpacked and left the kids with DH while I went shopping. I spent $200+ on groceries and picked myself up a loaded salad from the grocery store salad bar for dinner tonight.

[harrie]

Tonight is pizza - no red sauce, just caramelized onions, sauteed portobellos and goat cheese.  And garlic. 

[ALenore]

Tonight I'm making butternut squash and kale lasagna.   For lunch today I made mashed potato pancakes with leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving. 

[miles2go]

Planning on baked salmon for this evening.  Also some veggies left over from Thanksgiving.

[harrie]

Baked salmon here too, with a honey/soy sauce glaze, Sides of roasted brussel sprouts and delicious majedra from our favorite Kosher deli.

[PRgal]

Had a lazy day today, so I made ummmm..... "Mexitalruvian Pilaf" (I think I just made up the name).  Shredded grilled chicken, quinoa, spinach (I used frozen tonight), a bit of shredded Asiago and Romano cheeses and black bean salsa tossed together and topped with a bit of guacamole.

Edited December 2, 2014 by PRgal

[annzeepark914]

Tonight was supposed to be the Barefoot Contessa's Eggplant Gratin but when I began slicing the eggplant, I discovered that it was brown inside (what's with that?). So, out with the eggplant and onward to: Penne with Italian Turkey Sausage & Vegetables (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe).  I use rotini instead of penne.  I "garnished" it with fresh mozzarella that melted on the top; it was quite tasty!  This is one of the very few recipes from Cooking Light I've made that we really enjoy.

Edited December 3, 2014 by annzeepark914

[ALenore]

I had actually planned baked salmon too, but PeaPod didn't deliver it, so I  made sloppy joes instead, using up the 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef I had in the freezer.   I doubled the recipe so I'll have it for easy future meals.   

[Bastet]

It's raining, so I'm in a soup mood, and I, like most, have turkey to use, so I'm making tortilla soup with turkey instead of chicken.

 

With the last of the turkey, tomorrow's lunch will be a turkey club salad with avocado dressing -- a bed of romaine lettuce, topped with pea shoots, then scallions, then chopped bacon, with a nice ribbon of turkey strips down the middle.  The dressing is just avocado, lemon zest and juice, garlic and red wine vinegar, olive oil and a little bit of hot sauce in the food processor.

[grisgris]

I want to try a recipe I found for harissa with whole wheat spaghetti. It has kale, black olives and pine nuts in it. I'm adding some grilled chicken breast to make it a complete meal.

 

The ethnic market where I've bought harissa in the past was out, so I attempted to make my own. I mixed it up around noon today and I am going to let the flavors meld and throw this all together for tomorrow night's dinner.

 

Wish me luck.

 

P.S.: It didn't help when I accidentally rubbed my eyes after handling the red chili peppers. Fortunately, they were on the milder side.

Edited December 3, 2014 by grisgris

[sunshinelover]

Tonight my dinner was chili made with ground lamb.  And plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

 

Last night I had grilled salmon.  Plenty of fresh citrus so I layered orange and lemon slices on the grill, as a bed for the salmon.  Salmon had sage, salt and pepper.  Probably my favorite way I've made salmon yet!

Edited December 3, 2014 by sunshinelover

[ALenore]

I'm making shrimp scampi tonight.  The recipe I'm using calls for raw shrimp, but I accidentally ordered already cooked shrimp from PeaPod.  I don't think I'll have a problem, I'll just saute for a shorter time.   I'll make spinach salad to go on the side. 

[harrie]

Tonight is veggie burgers and oven fries.  With last week's food and leftovers, some family drama, and general holiday season chaos, a meal that takes marginal effort seems like a good idea for tonight.  

[miles2go]

I'm aiming for something light this evening, maybe cottage cheese and fruit.

[annzeepark914]

Tonight was one of those easy meals that tasted great.  I picked up a pound of meatballs at an Italian specialty store on my way home.  Sauted the meatballs in a nonstick skillet (didn't even add any oil).  Then poured in a jar of Trader Joe's arrabbiata sauce.  Then, thought I needed a bit more sauce so I added half a jar of Mario's Original Marinara (not Batali...Mario's--from Rochester NY, a brand only available at Wegman's), a little garlic powder, dried rosemary, Mural of Flavor and a bit of sugar to cut the acidity.  It was delicious on spaghetti and tasted like I'd cooked that sauce from scratch.  With a tossed salad, we had a great meal.

[stillshimpy]

Last night we had red beans, cornbread and swiss chard.    Tonight we're having whatever goes along with an unrelenting downpour, because I am not going out in this weather to grocery shop.  

 

So tonight will feature whatever the cupboards, fridge and freezer naturally yields.  

 

I think my husband buys a lot of pickled things when I'm not looking.  Only reasonable explanation for how I've ended up with an absurd number of jars of olives.  

Edited December 5, 2014 by stillshimpy

[ALenore]

I made a pretty easy meal last night, frozen pirogies baked in a sauce made with cream cheese and chicken broth, topped with cheddar, then sprinkled with bacon, scallions and tomato after taking it out of the oven.   Tonight it's an even easier meal, wine, cheese, bread and fruit.   

[miles2go]

Will try my hand at chicken schnitzel tonight.

[ALenore]

I'm making croque-monsieur's tonight, and home made tomato soup (although I'm using canned tomatoes).

[mansonlamps]

Lentil salad with shallots, English cucumbers, colored bell peppers and a homemade Dijon vinegarette. Got the recipe from pinterest and can't get enough of this amazing salad.

[sunshinelover]

I had tuna melts, topped with cheese, tomato and avocado.  Side of green beans, and roasted pepper and tomato soup.

[stillshimpy]

My husband made dinner last night, which thrilled me to no end.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup, with a spinach salad, which sounds more basic than it actually was, because he used sourdough and spicy mustard on the grilled cheese.  

 

Tonight is baked Ziti with, ricotta,  black beans and tomato sauce.

 

Whee! 

[ALenore]

Last night I made chicken pot pies (and made extra filling to freeze for use at a later date).   Tonight I'm making tilapia with a pineapple and red pepper salsa, rice and zucchini.  

[PRgal]

Roasted hummus crusted chicken breast, butternut squash and apples.  Probably just going to heat up some frozen veggies as a side. 

[Mountainair]

Yum PRgal. Homemade hummus or store bought? Tell me how you make this! Sounds yummy!

I'm jealous of all you fish eaters! My hubby can't eat white fish and my five year old can't eat shellfish. He used to love shrimp no problems then one day when he was four he ate some shrimp cocktail and had a horrible reaction! Broke out in hives, throat closed up, etc. It could have been a fluke but I don't really want to take the chance of that happening again. So, I just don't cook fish at home. As a special treat every few months I'll treat myself to a nice piece of salmon and make a separate dinner for the rest of the house. As an aside, we have no peanut allergies here and way back in another life I used to love, love, love some boiled peanuts! One day I ate some and near about had to go to the hospital my reaction was so bad. I still eat peanuts but never have tried a boiled one since that day.

Tonight I made a one pot chicken, green beans and potatoes casserole. Put quartered red potatoes on one side, green beans on the side and chicken breasts in the middle of the dish. Recipe called for Italian dressing mix but I didn't have any so I used garlic powder, Italian seasoning, onion salt and about 4 tbs of Italian salad dressing (all I had left in the bottle) and a couple tbs of onion. Covered, baked about an hour and it was pretty darn good-the two year old almost cleared his plate and the hubby ate thirds and chicken never goes over well in my house!

[mansonlamps]

Tonight I made a one pot chicken, green beans and potatoes casserole. Put quartered red potatoes on one side, green beans on the side and chicken breasts in the middle of the dish. Recipe called for Italian dressing mix but I didn't have any so I used garlic powder, Italian seasoning, onion salt and about 4 tbs of Italian salad dressing (all I had left in the bottle) and a couple tbs of onion. Covered, baked about an hour and it was pretty darn good-the two year old almost cleared his plate and the hubby ate thirds and chicken never goes over well in my house!

I know it's not trendy but I absolutely love stuff like this. It sounds fabulous.

[Bastet]

I have leftovers of my mom's taco ground beef (the only ground beef tacos I'll eat), so I'm going to make tacos - the beef, some cotija cheese, scallions, romaine lettuce and the last tomato of the season - and a mixed greens salad with some cilantro pepita dressing I made this weekend.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Bastet

[sunshinelover]

I'm having a little bit of everything tonight.  Kale salad with avocado and tomato as a starter.  Then lamb with mint jelly, mashed sweet potato, green beans, and herbed ciabatta bread.

[Mountainair]

Yea, I can't afford to eat trendy (though I would love to) and with a young family whose taste buds can be picky I make food I grew up on i.e. Casseroles, one pot meals, etc. I like to use fresh veggies and introduce a couple of new things every month or so for the kiddos but I'd really rather them eat than not :) Hell, the other day I made chili for me and the hubs (too spicy for the kids) and was cutting up a red bell pepper. The two year old ate it faster than I could chop it and I don't even like raw red pepper!

I love tacos Bastet! The kids get a baked quesadilla and I fry up a couple of soft shells for us adults. Terrible for you which Is why that's only a once a month meal, if that but oh so yummy!

[Bastet]

I don't think I could ever get sick of tacos; one of my favorite foods.  I usually make them with shrimp, chicken, halibut or occasionally steak, but whatever my mom does to the ground beef is delicious, so I steal the leftovers whenever she makes them when I'm there (I go to my parents' house most Sundays for dinner).  I probably should write down how much of everything she puts in so I can make them for myself when the time comes; otherwise I'll be standing there at the stove muttering, "Okay, I know there's thyme and oregano ..."

[PRgal]

Yum PRgal. Homemade hummus or store bought? Tell me how you make this! Sounds yummy!

 

 

Store-bought.  Or more accurately, purchased at an artisan holiday market/show.  The vendor was from a catering company a couple of hours away from my city.   To make the chicken, I liberally spread hummus on each side of chicken breast and bake it at 375 F for 45 minutes.  Typically, I use roasted red pepper or "regular" hummus, but tonight, I tried the catering company's chocolate hummus (YES, CHOCOLATE) thinking that it would be a little like mole sauce or the chocolate balsamic chicken I made a couple of weeks ago.  Ummmmm, NO.  Going back to the regular or pepper.  Interestingly, I actually LIKED the chocolate hummus when I tried it at the market.  That's why I bought it!  Tomorrow, I'm going to try making homemade polenta (okay, not exactly homemade, since I am NOT grinding my own cornmeal) to go with my beef stew. 

[ALenore]

Tonight I'm making roasted pork tenderloin with maple glazed apples and roasted red potatoes and green beans.  I'm adding more apples than the recipe calls for, since I've got a lot of apples that I want to use before they go bad.  

[grisgris]

I made a recipe with spaghetti squash, Italian sausage, spinach, diced tomatoes, garlic, ricotta and mozzarella. It was nice and comforting, but next time, I will add some kind of extra seasoning to it. It was a tad on the bland side.

[emma675]

I had breakfast for dinner last night. I didn't eat enough protein during the day so I made an egg scramble (scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach and onions), bacon and chicken sausage.

[ALenore]

Tonight I'm making Arroz con Pollo, or as my husband knew it growing up Yellow Rice and Chicken.   I'm using packaged yellow rice, and I'm substituting roasted red pepper for the pimentos in the recipe, since I've got a giant bag of them.     

[PRgal]

Lazy today, so I'm partially cooking.  Bought spinach and feta stuffed chicken from the supermarket and will be roasting that with onions and veggies.  Side?  Buckwheat grains (yeah, I'm experimenting).  Tomorrow, I'm going to be baking eggs (usually, I add some milk, spinach, dried herbs and maybe cherry tomatoes and top it with some grated Parmesan).

[sunshinelover]

A coworker gave me some jalapeno cheddar venison, so I'm gonna try that in a chili tonight.  Will pair nicely with the "big storm" rolling in.

[Mountainair]

Blech! Tonight was your choice of leftover chili or spaghetti. I have an incredibly weak stomach (seriously, you should see my husband and I attempt to change poopy diapers) and this medication I am taking can cause naseua (if it says it on the warning label you can guarantee it won't agree with me) anyhow, one bowl of chili turned into four once regurgitated. I think I'm good on chili for a while now :)

[grisgris]

Feel better, Mountainair! There is a very nasty stomach bug going around.

Edited December 11, 2014 by grisgris

[harrie]

Hope you feel better soon, Mountainair.  

 

Tonight is the old standard, flounder and broccoli. Which I actually like, but it's so uninteresting.  

[grisgris]

Last night I had some salmon, braised kale and a "pilaf" made with barley and lentils and seasoned with cumin, coriander, curry powder and paprika. You finish it off with cilantro. I use smoked paprika, so everything makes the dish a bit too spicy, so I cool it down with Greek yogurt. That recipe is from Marlena Spieler's "Mediterranean Cooking: The Healthy Way." That's one of my favorite cookbooks.

[ALenore]

Tonight (actually I started it this morning, it's cooking in my Crockpot  as I type this) Italian shreded beef, which will go into sandwiches.   Sides will probably just be baby carrots and grapes.  

[Mountainair]

Aww... Thanks guys. I'm not sick. The stupid medicine makes me sick when I take it "as directed" with food and water. Screw following directions, I like to keep my dinner in my belly thank you very much :)

Tonight was tacos with fried shells. Yummy!

Tomorrow we have to go back down the mountain to my parents house again (2nd time in a month) for a Christmas party on my husbands side of the family that is so full of drama I think I may start drinking tonight and not stop until we get back Sunday. It's a five hour trip with both the kiddos, neither of which sleep in the car, ever and the two year old loves to screech bloody murder on car trips. UGh! So not looking forward to this. My MIL gave my husband an ultimatum about all her kids going to the party this year and wouldn't you know we are the only suckers going? Not to mention, we have to leave at the butt crack of dawn Sunday morning to be back in time for the kids preschool program. Ahhh. Sorry to rant!

ON topic, mom said she is making Lisa's Casserole for dinner tomorrow night (mentioned this recipe upthread somewhere). She is also making me her potato casserole since I'm required to bring food for this Christmas party. It consists of frozen cubed potato hash browns, cream of mushroom soup, cheddar cheese, cornflake topping. It's actually pretty tasty and a hit at potlucks. I also am supposed to bring homemade cookies with the recipe (lots of demands for somebody living five hours away, ironically my MIL, who lives down the street from me helped plan this thing) so my mom went and picked up some grocery store bakery cookies and a nice platter to put them on.

Thankfully, my parents are coming here Christmas night for a few days so this is my last trip dowdn the mountain for a while :)

Edited December 12, 2014 by Mountainair