What Did We Eat Today?

[DearEvette]

Chili mac and cheese

[chessiegal]

Last week I ordered an extra from Blue Apron of lemon orzo soup. I made that for dinner tonight, added shrimp to the soup, and served it with toasted wheat baguette with garlic herb butter.

Edited January 15, 2023 by chessiegal

[BooksRule]

I made a pot of chicken gumbo for dinner (I had a bowlful over rice), so I'll have plenty to have some tomorrow and will probably freeze the rest for future meals. I'll just have to cook some rice to go with it.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Baked chicken parmesan with bowtie pasta yesterday

Egg/sausage/potato casserole for breakfast, chicken dumpling soup for main, chocolate brownies for guilty pleasure.

No exotic garnishes or accompaniments to report.

We are carb-loaded for bear!

Edited January 17, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[PRgal]

We had lentils and quinoa with ratatouille and a soft boiled egg for dinner.  Actually, the soft boiled egg, meant to be a bit runny, but whites set, turned out to be somewhere between medium boiled and hard boiled.  Oops!  Kiddo loved the egg though.  

[Bastet]

I'm not sure yet about tonight.  Probably some sort of pasta, with a simple mixed greens salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Last night I made baked chicken thighs, seasoned with equal parts salt, pepper, brown sugar, and paprika, then put under the broiler briefly at the end to get a nice crisp on the skin.  The side was sauteéd spinach and cremini mushrooms.  Salad was mixed greens with avocado, cucumber, and carrot with creamy garlic dressing.

Now that I type that - this thread helps me think - I may decide to do fetuccine alfredo with chicken, mushrooms, and spinach.  That's a basic combination I wouldn't mind repeating two nights in a row.  Or I could do shrimp instead. 

 

[SuprSuprElevated]

Oven baked baby back bbq ribs, pan sauteed sweet potatos & onions.

Mighty fine.

[Bastet]

Tonight is going to be green curry scallops with mango salsa over cauliflower "rice".  I just made the salad -- kale, with scallions, yellow peppers, cilantro, peanuts, edamame, and a sesame garlic dressing.

While I wing it a lot, I know my next two main courses as I've had to prepare ahead due to marinating -- tomorrow will be chicken souvlaki, and Friday will be tri-tip.  Sides and salads still to be determined.

[isalicat]

I'm doing rosemary lemon chicken tonight: baked chicken thighs on a bed of rosemary sprigs from my garden that have lemon (from my garden also!) juice squeezed over them, then some garlic, black pepper and a tiny touch of salt plus a little more fresh rosemary, with big pats of butter on top. In at 375 degrees for an hour. Super easy so perfect for a busy day!

[annzeepark914]

We just had Social Security Chicken Soup 😉 (so named because I made it while on hold, waiting to speak with a customer service rep). I listened to their hold music (not bad...sounded like Bruce Hornsby music).  A human *finally* came on the line while my hands were kinda greasy from pulling apart a rotisserie chicken.

[PRgal]

Weekly takeout brunch (we've been doing takeout since the pandemic began.  Now that indoor dining is okay, we just don't feel like leaving the house.  Plus kiddo has piano (teacher comes to our house)) and I had a spinach salad with scrambled eggs plus toast with almond butter.  

 

Dinner:  Kale and arugula salad with tempeh and cannellini beans.  It's my play on eating "Buddha's Delight" or "jai" on the first day of the Lunar New Year.  Jai is also a catch-all phrase for anything vegetarian.  So salad is vegetarian, therefore it's "jai" even though it isn't REAL jai (as in the dish).  

Edited January 23, 2023 by PRgal

[Anela]

I'm about to have a cheeseburger.

I think I need to give up on trying to cook a whole chicken, unless I'm just simmering it to make stew. Mine are either undercooked, or overcooked/too dry. It isn't the oven, it's me. 

I made a chicken thigh and potato dish that was just fine, a greek lemon and olive oil recipe from Phoebe Lapine. 

[annzeepark914]

Penne with Italian Turkey Sausage  & Vegetables. It's from Cooking Light. I use mini penne or rotini and, of course, add seasonings (& a little marinara).

[SuprSuprElevated]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

I think I need to give up on trying to cook a whole chicken, unless I'm just simmering it to make stew. Mine are either undercooked, or overcooked/too dry. It isn't the oven, it's me. 

I had the same problem over many attempts...then I gave it to the slow-cooker gods, and voila!  Seriously, it's slow cooker or never again for me and whole chickens.

[isalicat]

8 hours ago, Anela said:

I think I need to give up on trying to cook a whole chicken, unless I'm just simmering it to make stew. Mine are either undercooked, or overcooked/too dry. It isn't the oven, it's me. 

If I want a whole chicken, I now buy a delicious rotisserie chicken all seasoned and cooked at my favorite supermarket - they are done in house, cost $8.99 and that is 4-5 meals for me with either salad or something else on the side. I did whole roasted chickens a lot when there were three of us, but now with just me I'm too lazy, frankly. One tip: put a fresh lemon, cut in half in the inside cavity while you are roasting the bird - puts out a lot of delicious moisture and won't clash with whatever other seasoning you are using.

[SuprSuprElevated]

34 minutes ago, isalicat said:

If I want a whole chicken, I now buy a delicious rotisserie chicken all seasoned and cooked at my favorite supermarket - they are done in house, cost $8.99 and that is 4-5 meals for me with either salad or something else on the side. I did whole roasted chickens a lot when there were three of us, but now with just me I'm too lazy, frankly. One tip: put a fresh lemon, cut in half in the inside cavity while you are roasting the bird - puts out a lot of delicious moisture and won't clash with whatever other seasoning you are using.

I didn't renew my Costco membership this last time, so yeah, no $5 roasters.😥 Our local suprmarket's $8 undersized roasters are just north of vile, so I'm back to doing my own.

[Bastet]

I roast whole chicken a lot, because it's easy and gives me multiple meals.  I stuff the cavity with lemon, rosemary, and garlic, season the outside with salt and pepper, and pop it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes per pound (I get ones that are 3-1/2 to 4 pounds; I don't like the unnaturally large ones).  That gets it just cooked enough - I don't like anything cooked one degree over what it needs to be to be safe to eat - and a nice crispy skin.

I eat the wings while letting it rest, and then have either a leg or a thigh as my dinner.  I don't really care for the drumsticks, so sometimes I'll just eat the thigh and add the drumstick to the "for chicken stock" bag in the freezer.  That gives me the other leg as a second meal, and then all the breast meat to use in pastas, salads, chicken salad sandwiches, etc.

I also like to cut up a whole chicken and roast it in a wine herb sauce, but the sauce limits the other applications the leftovers can be used in a little more.

[annzeepark914]

Asian-style salmon, noodles in peanut sauce, and tossed salad.

[PRgal]

Lunch today was oat fusilli (yes, oat pasta exists!) tossed with greens, cherry tomatoes and tempeh.  

Tonight, I think I might make a mushroom and tomato omelette!  Breakfast for dinner totally rocks.  

[chessiegal]

Today is my husband's birthday. When I asked what he wanted for dinner, he said steak, baked potato, and asparagus. I went to The Fresh Market and got filet mignon, sweet potato for him, white potato for me, and some beautiful asparagus. They had shrimp cocktail on sale, so bought that for an appetizer. We don't eat dessert, but birthdays call for some. They are gearing up for Valentine's Day with lots of heart shaped goodies. I got an individual serving heart-shaped chocolate cheesecake for him and strawberry cheesecake for me.

[luv2lurk]

I had grape tomatoes that were purchased around Christmas and not used. They had become wizened, but otherwise OK. So I decided to put them in a pot of water for a couple of days to plump up. Also had a few "new" potatoes from last fall that are growing eyes but otherwise ok. Decided to make soup.

Sautéd an onion in olive olive, added a few peeled and smashed garlic cloves and peeled and diced finely potatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half and added to the pot. Plus freshly ground sea salt & pepper. Then for a little more liquid I added some Tomato & Clam juice (I know most Americans can't access this product, so regular tomato juice would work). Simmered on low, covered for 45 minutes.

Blitzed with immersion blender.  What would really be nice is basil but at this time of the year there is none in my garden and no way I am purchasing from the grocery store. Happily I had some Boursin cheese (basil and chive flavoured) so put a couple of dollops on top of the soup.

This turned out to be really delicious and best of all saved food waste 😀

[wilsie]

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Today is my husband's birthday. When I asked what he wanted for dinner, he said steak, baked potato, and asparagus. I went to The Fresh Market and got filet mignon, sweet potato for him, white potato for me, and some beautiful asparagus. They had shrimp cocktail on sale, so bought that for an appetizer. We don't eat dessert, but birthdays call for some. They are gearing up for Valentine's Day with lots of heart shaped goodies. I got an individual serving heart-shaped chocolate cheesecake for him and strawberry cheesecake for me.

That sounds wonderful.  Happy Birthday to your husband!

[SuprSuprElevated]

16 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

Then for a little more liquid I added some Tomato & Clam juice (I know most Americans can't access this product, so regular tomato juice would work).

I beg your pardon.  We're not heathens you know. Any self-respecting American Bloody Mary connoisseur has Clamato in inventory. 

clamato

[DearEvette]

I've always heard that the use of Clamato instead of just tomato juice made it a Bloody Caesar not a Bloody Mary.

I could never bring myself to use Clamato. LOL.  Something about clam juice in my drink just makes me squick.

[PRgal]

3 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I've always heard that the use of Clamato instead of just tomato juice made it a Bloody Caesar not a Bloody Mary.

I could never bring myself to use Clamato. LOL.  Something about clam juice in my drink just makes me squick.

Clamato DOES indeed make it a Caesar.  Says this Canuck.  Brunch drink of choice for many.

[Bastet]

I want a Bloody Mary, not a Bloody Caesar, so no Clamato for me.

[annzeepark914]

Grilled pork chops, roasted potatoes w/ aioli, and baked tomatoes au gratin.

[PRgal]

On Saturday, my family and I had our “Spin of Prosperity” dinner for the first time since the pandemic.  This is an annual tradition (or was until the pandemic hit) where we’d go to a revolving restaurant for lunch or dinner on the first weekend after the start of the Lunar New Year.  I was boring and had chicken but everyone else in my family had steak (actually, only my son had steak (yes, steak frites was on the kids’ menu)) but the restaurant’s prime rib looked more like steak than a traditional prime rib. 

[Bastet]

Pizza night.  I am lucky enough to have numerous great options in my neighborhood, so when I'm in a pizza mood I usually order delivery.  But my neighbor who makes pasta and bread and shares her new attempts with me brought me a whole wheat (knowing that's my jam) pizza dough this weekend.  So tonight I am going to make a thin crust (always!) pizza topped with olive oil "sauce", then a layer of mozzarella, followed by caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and leftover grilled chicken breast, and topped with spinach and Parm.

The salad will be arugula with shaved Parm and lemon vinaigrette. 

[PRgal]

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

Pizza night.  I am lucky enough to have numerous great options in my neighborhood, so when I'm in a pizza mood I usually order delivery.  But my neighbor who makes pasta and bread and shares her new attempts with me brought me a whole wheat (knowing that's my jam) pizza dough this weekend.  So tonight I am going to make a thin crust (always!) pizza topped with olive oil "sauce", then a layer of mozzarella, followed by caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and leftover grilled chicken breast, and topped with spinach and Parm.

The salad will be arugula with shaved Parm and lemon vinaigrette. 

How long did you cook the pizza for and at what temperature?  Thinking of making homemade pizza that isn’t from a frozen crust.  

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, PRgal said:

How long did you cook the pizza for and at what temperature?

I put a cast iron pizza pan in the oven on the middle rack, turned it to 500 degrees, and let that heat up for at least 45 minutes.  The actual cooking time for the pizza was just about ten minutes; definitely no more than 15, but I think much closer to ten (I was just eyeballing it and took it out when it looked right).

[annzeepark914]

I've made pizza in a cast iron pan using a flour tortilla for the crust. Haven't done this in years, but it was quite good. I bought pizza dough at trader Joe's but can't seem to get up the courage to tackle it. Pizza dough always shrinks back no matter how much I roll it out and fling it around. 

[oliviabenson]

Burrata mmm yum 

It’s so expensive so truly a treat!

[PRgal]

Kept lunch light (a reasonably sized salad (spring mix with tofu, tomatoes, avocado and a hard boiled egg) since it was technically brunch) and tonight's dinner:  Super Bowl junk (pizza, nachos, wings and crudite with hummus dip...okay, so the last one isn't junk...I only added that in because I needed veg).

Edited February 12, 2023 by PRgal

[annzeepark914]

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes & gravy, and sauted fresh spinach. 

[JTMacc99]

My kids are off this week. One of them has a birthday today, so I left him a fresh baked loaf of banana bread before I went off to work this morning. I think he'll appreciate it.

[wilsie]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

My kids are off this week. One of them has a birthday today, so I left him a fresh baked loaf of banana bread before I went off to work this morning. I think he'll appreciate it.

I can't imagine him not appreciating your thoughtfulness.  Happy Birthday to your son!

[chessiegal]

The cherry tree in our yard is in full bloom. It didn't get above 35 degrees today with snow showers most of the day. Crazy. For dinner, I'm making pasta and chickpea soup (from Blue Apron), adding some shrimp and serving with crusty herb garlic bread.

[Bastet]

I'm not sure about dinner - maybe salmon florentine - but I know the night will end with a snuggler (hot cocoa with a shot of peppermint schnapps) in front of the fireplace, as it has been raining for two straight days.

[isalicat]

17 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I'm not sure about dinner - maybe salmon florentine - but I know the night will end with a snuggler (hot cocoa with a shot of peppermint schnapps) in front of the fireplace, as it has been raining for two straight days.

It is very chilly and rainy here (snow all over the upper hills in central coastal California - extraordinarily rare) and I so wish I had a fireplace! But I do have some lovely left over prime roast so tonight's dinner will be that, plus salad and a nice Australian cab.

[oliviabenson]

I was craving hamburger helper yesterday. So leftover hamburger helper!

[DearEvette]

Cheese Tortellini with baby spinach in a creamy tomato sauce and garlic bread sticks.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, isalicat said:

I so wish I had a fireplace!

I have three (two in the house and one in the bonus room attached to the [detached] garage).  It's been so gloomy I've had to have lights on during the day for two days now, which drives me nuts, but having a fire going in the evening turns a stormy night into a good thing -- especially with a warm drink after I'm done with dinner and dishes.

I've decided to indeed make salmon florentine tonight.  I make it with a lot of spinach and mushroom, so it's a main and side in one.  The salad will be cucumber of some sort -- maybe cucumber, radish, and dill.

[EtheltoTillie]

I made a big pot of Ukrainian (hot) borscht last night.  We had that for dinner and will eat it for a couple more days and still have enough to freeze a container.  It gets better with sitting around.  I have been making this recipe for at least 45 years.  It is adapted from the ancient NYT cookbook by Craig Claiborne.  I have probably made this recipe more often than almost any other except spaghetti and meatballs and macaroni and cheese.  I first had this at the Russian Tea Room (of blessed memory)* in about 1971.  I had to figure out how to make it myself.

I make a very chunky version with 4 chopped beets, 1 turnip, 1 potato, 4 tomatoes, 3 carrots, 1 onion.  Sweat the vegetables in 4 Tbs butter, with sugar and cider vinegar and salt to taste.  Then add a whole head of cabbage chopped into strips.  The vegetables must be coarsely chopped, like large julienne.  (The original recipe tells you to shred the vegetables, but that does NOT work for how I want it to taste.  You lose taste of the vegetables.  I tried, as it would be easier to use the food processor . . . So it has to be hand chopped with a knife.)  (The original recipe has you add meat, but I don't do that.) 

Cook some more till the cabbage is sweated down with the vegetables.  Then add some beef broth and water to cover the vegetables, bay leaf and fresh dill.  Adjust sugar, vinegar and salt.  Cook for as long as necessary till the vegetables are cooked.  Serve with sour cream and more fresh dill.  This is a very chunky soup with a small ratio of liquid to vegetables.  If you had this at Veselka on the Lower East Side, it would have more liquid.   I don't find that satisfying to eat. 

This is different from cold borscht, which people would eat in the summer.  Just beets and not the other vegetables and not the same sweet and sour flavor.  Served with a boiled potato or a hard boiled egg and sour cream. 

* actually the restaurant is still open but it has had different iterations and owners.  I have not been there in decades.

Edited February 26, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[wilsie]

4 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I made a big pot of Ukrainian (hot) borscht last night.  We had that for dinner and will eat it for a couple more days and still have enough to freeze a container.  It gets better with sitting around.  I have been making this recipe for at least 45 years.  It is adapted from the ancient NYT cookbook by Craig Claiborne.  I have probably made this recipe more often than almost any other except spaghetti and meatballs and macaroni and cheese.  I first had this at the Russian Tea Room (of blessed memory)* in about 1971.  I had to figure out how to make it myself.

I make a very chunky version with 4 chopped beets, 1 turnip, 1 potato, 4 tomatoes, 3 carrots, 1 onion.  Sweat the vegetables in 4 Tbs butter, with sugar and cider vinegar and salt to taste.  Then add a whole head of cabbage chopped into strips.  The vegetables must be coarsely chopped, like large julienne.  (The original recipe tells you to shred the vegetables, but that does NOT work for how I want it to taste.  You lose taste of the vegetables.  I tried, as it would be easier to use the food processor . . . So it has to be hand chopped with a knife.)  (The original recipe has you add meat, but I don't do that.) 

Cook some more till the cabbage is sweated down with the vegetables.  Then add some beef broth and water to cover the vegetables, bay leaf and fresh dill.  Adjust sugar, vinegar and salt.  Cook for as long as necessary till the vegetables are cooked.  Serve with sour cream and more fresh dill.  This is a very chunky soup with a small ratio of liquid to vegetables.  If you had this at Veselka on the Lower East Side, it would have more liquid.   I don't find that satisfying to eat. 

This is different from cold borscht, which people would eat in the summer.  Just beets and not the other vegetables and not the same sweet and sour flavor.  Served with a boiled potato or a hard boiled egg and sour cream. 

* actually the restaurant is still open but it has had different iterations and owners.  I have not been there in decades.

This sounds wonderfully delicious!

 

[SuprSuprElevated]

6 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I made a big pot of Ukrainian (hot) borscht last night.

I would love this, but as usual, with any dish involving (most) vegetables, my husband wouldn't eat it, so I won't bother with it.

~sigh~

 

[EtheltoTillie]

29 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I would love this, but as usual, with any dish involving (most) vegetables, my husband wouldn't eat it, so I won't bother with it.

~sigh~

 

Well, there's more for you!  It's so delicious and freezes well.  It's a lot of chopping, so I make big batches.  My husband actually loves it also. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I would love this, but as usual, with any dish involving (most) vegetables, my husband wouldn't eat it, so I won't bother with it.

I like almost all green vegetables (and absolutely love many of them), but I'm not real big on root vegetables*; I hate potatoes, turnips, and beets, and don't care for cooked carrots, so I'd join your husband in taking a pass on this, but soup is so easy to freeze, if you'd love it you should go ahead and make yourself some -- should you find yourself in the mood for all that chopping someday, anyway.

*I do dearly love, and use in many things, horseradish, onions of all kinds, garlic, turmeric, and ginger, though.  And I like carrots, jicama, radish, and kohlrabi, using those more sporadically.  But there are quite a few I cannot stand. 

I need to use the last of the mushrooms tonight, so even though I just had spinach and mushrooms last night, it's not a combination I could ever tire of, so I'll probably make my usual fettucine alfredo with chicken, spinach, and mushrooms tonight.  Or maybe those ingredients in enchiladas with a tomatillo sauce. 

[PRgal]

Dinner tonight was chicken rice bowls and salad plus air fryer falafels (tweaked from this - to get it crispy, I cooked it at 350 for 20 minutes, flipping at the 12 minute mark.  But I also had to add hummus to make the batter stick).

[EtheltoTillie]

I call a frozen container of borscht a borschtsicle