What Did We Eat Today?

[supposebly]

Sandwiches I took home from a work event.

[Bastet]

I wound up roasting Brussels sprouts as the side for last night's tri-tip, so I guess that was my version of a St. Patrick's Day dinner.  (I'm not Irish, so it's not a thing for me, and I don't like corned beef, so even if it was, I would not celebrate with that.)

I'm having beef again tomorrow, as I'm going to my parents' house and my dad is grilling rib-eye steaks, so I may start mooing; that's more beef than I normally eat in several months. I'll make sauteed collard greens with garlic and red pepper flakes as the side (I hate braised greens that cooked low and slow for a long time, but absolutely love them cut in thin ribbons and cooked about ten minutes).  My mom is in charge of the salad, so I don't know what it will be.

Tonight will be Sole Meuniere, but I haven't decided on side and salad yet.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Bastet

[annzeepark914]

We just had grilled mahi mahi, pilaf, and a tossed salad (with Ina's Greek salad dressing that I add honey to as it can be a bit *tart*). 

[oliviabenson]

Sushi and salad 

Cooking a big piece of corned beef and air frying baby potatoes 

 

[Leeds]

This week I've been eating what could be called "dump soup".

I went through my fridge and freezer and used up a bunch of things that had been loitering for a long time, or had a short shelf life.  I sauteed half a leftover onion then just threw in stuff like half a jar of marinara sauce, the end of a tub of salsa, some frozen spinach, a few peeled garlic cloves, some kimchi that had been fermenting so long it was incendiary and thus hard to eat "au naturel", a small container of frozen mashed potatoes marked "too liquidy: use for soup", Ajika (a Mediterranean red pepper appetizer), coconut milk, the stalks from fresh coriander and parsley, tiny red lentils (lenteja roja), which cook really quickly and "dissolve" so are great for thickening and as a protein sauce. There was no doubt other stuff that I've forgotten (just remembered there was Major Grey's mango chutney). The only thing I remember opening new is a can of pureed tomatoes.

Usually I blend my soups (my stick blender is my favourite kitchen tool), but for some reason I didn't with this one.  I've been loving it, adding variously chili oil, TJ's chili onion, Greek yoghurt, coriander chutney (delicious stuff, available at Asian supermarkets).

Of course it made so much that there is now a jar in the freezer!

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Leeds

[annzeepark914]

14 minutes ago, Leeds said:

This week I've been eating what could be called "dump soup".

I went through my fridge and freezer and used up a bunch of things that had been loitering for a long time, or had a short shelf life.  I sauteed half a leftover onion then just threw in stuff like half a jar of marinara sauce, the end of a tub of salsa, some frozen spinach, a few peeled garlic cloves, some kimchi that had been fermenting so long it was incendiary and thus hard to eat "au naturel", a small container of frozen mashed potatoes marked "too liquidy: use for soup", Ajika (a Mediterranean red pepper appetizer), coconut milk, the stalks from fresh coriander and parsley, tiny red lentils (lenteja roja), which cook really quickly and "dissolve" so are great for thickening and as a protein sauce. There was no doubt other stuff that I've forgotten (just remembered there was Major Grey's mango chutney). The only thing I remember opening new is a can of pureed tomatoes.

Usually I blend my soups (my stick blender is my favourite kitchen tool), but for some reason I didn't with this one.  I've been loving it, adding variously chili oil, TJ's chili onion, Greek yoghurt, coriander chutney (delicious stuff, available at Asian supermarkets).

Of course it made so much that there is now a jar in the freezer!

 

Dang...and I thought I was really clever tossing in a few leftovers of this 'n' that when making various soups. You cleaned out the whole refrigerator!  My "never throw out leftovers!" husband would be so impressed 😁.

[Leeds]

9 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Dang...and I thought I was really clever tossing in a few leftovers of this 'n' that when making various soups. You cleaned out the whole refrigerator!  My "never throw out leftovers!" husband would be so impressed 😁.

The problem is, I will now go through my stash of so-far unopened sauces and condiments, and will overbuy produce because I can't resist a good-looking vegetable, and a new generation will be spawned.

[chessiegal]

On Mondays, The Fresh Market has BOGO on their seafood cakes. Dinner tonight will be wild salmon cakes, asparagus, and baked potatoes. So easy it's like cook's night off.

[BooksRule]

I've working an evening shift today, so I just have a Lean Cuisine-type dinner in the staff breakroom freeze for supper and I just snacked for lunch.  But I did make a big pan of corned beef hash for a late breakfast and it was really good.  I softened some onions in a little oil,  minced up the last of the corned beef brisket I cooked this past weekend, and added it to the pan along with a can of drained whole potatoes that I cut into little chunks (I keep a few cans of potatoes on hand because I like to put butter and garlic salt on them and brown them in the oven for a side dish now and then). They held their shape very well. 

[Leeds]

2 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I've working an evening shift today, so I just have a Lean Cuisine-type dinner in the staff breakroom freeze for supper and I just snacked for lunch.  But I did make a big pan of corned beef hash for a late breakfast and it was really good.  I softened some onions in a little oil,  minced up the last of the corned beef brisket I cooked this past weekend, and added it to the pan along with a can of drained whole potatoes that I cut into little chunks (I keep a few cans of potatoes on hand because I like to put butter and garlic salt on them and brown them in the oven for a side dish now and then). They held their shape very well. 

This is interesting to me since I've always been afraid to try canned potatoes because the concept just seems wrong!  I don't suppose they're expensive, so you've given me the impetus to buy some and try them out.  I'm thinking your approach sounds like a good start.  Do you or anyone else have any other suggestions?

A couple of hours after getting back from shopping this afternoon, it struck me that I had bought Cambazola cheese but I didn't remember putting it in the fridge.  Apparently it'd been hiding in my car, which was far more toasty warm than my apartment, never mind my fridge.  So dinner tonight is delicious creamy blue cheese at the ideal oozy consistency with crackers and butter lettuce salad.  Oh, and Grillo's pickles, the best pickles I've tasted in the US outside of a New York deli.

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Leeds

[annzeepark914]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:33 PM, chessiegal said:

On Mondays, The Fresh Market has BOGO on their seafood cakes. Dinner tonight will be wild salmon cakes, asparagus, and baked potatoes. So easy it's like cook's night off.

This gave me an idea. I have Wegmans salmon fillets in the freezer (they thaw so easily) and think I'll make salmon cakes. Haven't made them in a few years.

[BooksRule]

8 hours ago, Leeds said:

This is interesting to me since I've always been afraid to try canned potatoes because the concept just seems wrong!  I don't suppose they're expensive, so you've given me the impetus to buy some and try them out.  I'm thinking your approach sounds like a good start.

I buy very few canned veggies (I try to stick to fresh or frozen), but I do buy canned tomatoes, beets, and potatoes.  The potatoes are really good if you drain them, cut up the bigger ones into halves (you can buy cans of sliced potatoes, but I never liked those for some reason), put them into a baking dish and dab some butter on them.  I also sprinkled either some paprika or garlic salt on as well, but you could use whatever seasoning you like.  I just bake them in the oven (350 or whatever temp I have it set on for anything else I'm baking at the same time--usually chicken or a pork chop), and take them out when they start to get a slight color from the butter.  You might want to give them a stir halfway through baking.  I don't know how long I usually bake them for--it depends on what temp I have it on at the time.  I've never burned any, though. Occasionally, I do get a can that has potatoes that are slightly watery in texture (I hate that), but most of the time they are firm and don't get mushy at all.  I don't know if different brands are better than others, but I usually get Del Monte.  I've also tried making skillet potatoes out of them (just heating/browning them in a little butter in a skillet on the stove, but I like the oven method better.

[SuprSuprElevated]

9 hours ago, Leeds said:

Do you or anyone else have any other suggestions?

I've used canned potatoes in various forms (diced, sliced, and whole) off and on for years. My mom (a relatively awful cook) used them for 'fried potatoes', and I've done that maybe once, and won't again, lol. I use the diced in casseroles/soups as a time saver, and they are perfectly suitable for that imo. I have also (carefully) skewered the whole potatoes as a component in grilled shish kabobs.

Edited March 23, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[Leeds]

4 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I buy very few canned veggies (I try to stick to fresh or frozen), but I do buy canned tomatoes, beets, and potatoes.  

Apart from a couple of months a year, fresh tomatoes here are tasteless and have a terrible mushy texture, so I basically rely on canned/jarred.

I'm adding beets to my "veggies in cans I should try" list.  I've always thought they will be too soft and sweet for my taste.  I imagine these days they can be found without added sugar at least.

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Apart from a couple of months a year, fresh tomatoes here are tasteless and have a terrible mushy texture, so I basically rely on canned/jarred.

I'm adding beets to my "veggies in cans I should try" list.  I've always thought they will be too soft and sweet for my taste.  I imagine these days they can be found without added sugar at least.

I utilize canned beets, and don't find them mushy.

[JTMacc99]

I use canned beets to make my own pickled beets as well. 

[chessiegal]

I make my own pickled sliced beets from a can or jar as well because the canned pickle beets have sugar added to them. In fact, I'm making them today, and will be adding hard boiled eggs so both the beets and eggs will be ready to put on a spinach salad tomorrow.

[Gramto6]

I usually have canned potatoes on the shelf too. I use them in soups and quick stews and in the summer make a small potato salad with them (and mayo, hardboiled eggs, pickles and a few sliced red onions).It is really just a quick serving maybe 2 meals for me with some sort of meat. Very easy!

[BooksRule]

10 hours ago, Leeds said:

I'm adding beets to my "veggies in cans I should try" list.  I've always thought they will be too soft and sweet for my taste.  I imagine these days they can be found without added sugar at least.

I find canned beets to be pretty firm.  I like the kind of earthy taste, too.  ETA:  I cooked fresh beets one time, and thought it wasn't worth the trouble.  The red juice stained everything and the results tasted just like the canned ones to me.  I'll stick to canned beets.

Edited March 24, 2023 by BooksRule

[JTMacc99]

10 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I cooked fresh beets one time, and thought it wasn't worth the trouble.

Same here! I grew them, and therefore had to cook them. 

I don't grow them anymore. Also, they required a lot of anti-rodent protection, as everybody loves to eat the beet greens.

[annzeepark914]

I learned to roast beets from Joanne Weir. Roasting gets rid of that earthy flavor. And I wear those disposable gloves when working with beets so, no stained hands.

[PRgal]

Baked egg whites and a bit of tempeh with salad and a slice of homemade bread at lunch and poached rainbow trout and steamed vegetables at dinner.  Breakfast was not of any significance.  Just berries, kefir and a bit of cereal. 

[annzeepark914]

Crispy Chicken Schnitzel (w/ a squirt of fresh lemon), steamed asparagus w/ a drizzle of Thousand Island-ish dressing, and a Greek-ish salad with Ina's Greek dressing. 🥰

[annzeepark914]

Turkish shishkabobs: veggie for him, beef for me--so delicious! We stopped off at a Turkish restaurant tonight. We hadn't been there in a few years but made a resolution to go there more frequently. For me, Turkish is like Greek but with the volume turned up (as Ina says).  

[ebk57]

Went to Miss Shirley's in Baltimore today for brunch.  I had this omelette:

Fried Buttermilk Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces, Peppadews, Green Onion & White Cheddar, topped with House-Made Pimento Cheese Biscuit & Chicken Andouille Sausage Gravy, dusted with Cajun Spice

 

I'll never eat again. 

[Bastet]

I cannot for the life of me decide what to make for dinner.  And I do indeed need to make something, rather than ordering in, as I've wound up with too many leftovers and things I thawed (I bring meat home fresh from the butcher, of course, but I also tend to stock up and freeze when there's a great deal) but didn't wind up using.  So I should just go in order and make whatever needs to be used first, but nothing is speaking to me.

I have a thawed salmon fillet and two thawed lamb chops.  Leftovers, I have "Italian dressing" marinated tri-tip and tequila-citrus marinated chicken.  The salmon ought to be used first, I suppose, but I'm not feeling it.  Both that and the lamb chops (which I'm not particularly feeling, either) will be perfectly fine tomorrow, but if I have something else tonight, so that one of them gets put off until Sunday night, it could get iffy.  So I need to decide between the two.

I have longaniza and kale soup on the stove, but that's just waiting to cool enough to be put in the refrigerator -- soup is lunch, not dinner, in my world.  (Same with salad, generally; today's lunch was a spring mix salad with avocado and shrimp topped with cilantro pepita dressing and extra cotija and pepitas.)

[DearEvette]

High stress work week. NO desire to cook.  So had a big bowl of peanut butter Cap'n crunch cereal for dinner.

[annzeepark914]

Grilled Portobello mushrooms on brioche rolls with sauted red bell peppers & onions, and aioli; sweet potato fries with spicy ketchup, salad, and Lemon Icebox Pie for dessert.

[isalicat]

I had to go get a PET scan today so fasting until 3 PM....and then the smoked turkey, red onion, thin sliced cucumber, wild greens and mayo on fresh sourdough sandwich I brought with! Best turkey sandwich in the back of the car evah! 😺

[Lovecat]

19 hours ago, isalicat said:

I had to go get a PET scan today so fasting until 3 PM....and then the smoked turkey, red onion, thin sliced cucumber, wild greens and mayo on fresh sourdough sandwich I brought with! Best turkey sandwich in the back of the car evah! 😺

Post-scan meals are the best!  I wish you low (or at least manageable) scanxiety and good results <3

[Bastet]

I haven't done this in a while, but tonight wound up being one of those nights where dinner is a bowl of spinach, artichoke, and cheese dip with chips.  That it's not a regular thing is why I'm down with it, given how happy it makes me each time; I often tie it into some dinnertime sporting event, but then sometimes it's just 11:00 on a Friday night and I don't feel like making a proper meal.

For the rest of the weekend, there will be something with crab (I'm determined to make something other than my typical crab cakes, delicious though they are) and something with squid, as that's what I picked up at the seafood market.

[chessiegal]

I made shrimp tacos last night. I used Ina's method of roasting the shrimp with olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic. 450 degrees for 4 minutes in my Breville countertop oven with convection on. Perfectly cooked shrimp. Thank you, Ina!

[Gramto6]

I made smoked pork street tacos last night. I had some smoked pulled pork in the freezer so grilled some red peppers and onions, added sliced avocado and sour cream with just a touch of hot sauce. Easy quick dinner!

[PRgal]

Brunch/lunch (since it was more lunch food):  ordered an avocado and tomato grilled cheese with a side salad.  Also had a hard boiled egg.  Kiddo had scrambled eggs, fruit and part of a croissant. 
 

Dinner:  short rib ravioli soup (basically frozen ravioli cooked in broth) and greens.  I ended up using chicken bone broth because I thought the container of broth I had left was beef. 

[annzeepark914]

Latkes and a tossed salad (I think I got the latkes at Trader Joe's). Tasty supper, and no big effort. 

[PRgal]

42 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Latkes and a tossed salad (I think I got the latkes at Trader Joe's). Tasty supper, and no big effort. 

Sour cream or apple sauce?  Or both?  Neither (I often do Greek yogurt)?

[annzeepark914]

56 minutes ago, PRgal said:

Sour cream or apple sauce?  Or both?  Neither (I often do Greek yogurt)?

Neither.  I had some leftover Comeback Sauce that made a nice dip. I treated them like mini veggie schnitzels ☺️.

[Leeds]

On 4/18/2023 at 4:10 PM, PRgal said:

Sour cream or apple sauce?  Or both?  Neither (I often do Greek yogurt)?

I usually have my latkes with sour cream and fresh salsa.  Yum.  (I'm generally more of a savoury than dessert eater.)

[PRgal]

8 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I usually have my latkes with sour cream and fresh salsa.  Yum.  (I'm generally more of a savoury than dessert eater.)

I've never thought of pairing it with salsa.  Makes sense.  Potatoes + tomatoes...I suppose if salsa isn't available, there's always...ketchup (not that ketchup is a bad thing.  I put it on mac and cheese, which my husband won't do). 

[Leeds]

8 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I've never thought of pairing it with salsa.  Makes sense.  Potatoes + tomatoes...I suppose if salsa isn't available, there's always...ketchup (not that ketchup is a bad thing.  I put it on mac and cheese, which my husband won't do). 

No ketchup at my place, but always Emerald Valley salsa in the fridge!

[PRgal]

5 minutes ago, Leeds said:

No ketchup at my place, but always Emerald Valley salsa in the fridge!

We don't have that brand here - I always get pico de gallo from a local brand called Mad Mexican :) 

[DearEvette]

We had Spicy lentil soup and it was excellent, very flavorful.

My son is taking a nutrition class as one of his electives this semester and cooking meals is part of the class.  This week it was the soup. 

[Bastet]

I hadn't made saagwala in eons (generally when I want any sort of curry dish, I like it spicier), but got a craving today, so that's what I just had for dinner.  The side was cauliflower and onion stir fried with cumin, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, and garlic.  Salad was cucumber, mango, red onion, cilantro, and peanuts with white balsamic vinegar and a chili-infused olive oil a friend made as the dressing.

[DearEvette]

Last night we had udon noodles in a peanut sauce with spinach and crispy tofu. 

[BooksRule]

I had a doughnut for breakfast (yes, I'm bad, but I blame it on the staff person who showed up at my office door with the box. I probably would have been able to resist if he hadn't said that the doughnuts had been warm when they were brought in a few minutes earlier). Tomato soup for lunch.

I'm making my 'mock jambalaya' for dinner. I call it that because it's definitely not the traditional dish (which I love). I just soften some chopped onion in a little oil, add some sliced beef sausage (I use Bryan Smoky Hollow), and while that's cooking I put a large can of whole tomatoes and a can of Rotel into a strainer (smooshing up the tomatoes with my hands) and let them drain into a large measuring cup. I then measure out however much uncooked white rice that I want to add (it depends on how big a potful I want to make and sometimes how much rice I have on hand) and put that in the pot. Finally, I add enough water to the tomato liquid to make twice as much liquid as the rice and add that.  Then, I just bring it to a boil, stir, reduce to low and cook until the rice is done. Tasty, but definitely not Cajun!

[annzeepark914]

On 4/27/2023 at 12:19 PM, DearEvette said:

Last night we had udon noodles in a peanut sauce with spinach and crispy tofu. 

I'm comin' over to your house.  You cook very interesting meals.  How do you get tofu crispy?

[JTMacc99]

The request for buttermilk waffles for breakfast came to me via text at 7:02 AM. Not a bad idea, to be honest, so that’s what we had. 

[DearEvette]

11 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I'm comin' over to your house.  You cook very interesting meals.  How do you get tofu crispy?

The key to a good crispy tofu is to get as much of the moisture out of it as you can.

You can use a tofu press. I don't have one so I just cube it, set it between two very clean cloths and set a very heavy cast iron skillet on it  and let the moisture express out and get absorbed into the cloths over about 45 mins. Then you toss it with a little sesame oil, some Tamari and a little cornstarch (or nutritional yeast if you want a little more flavor). And then you can bake or fry. I usually bake it.

[jenh526]

Lately I’ve just been making stir fries. Last week I bought a plastic bin of cut up steaming vegetables (produce aisle), a pound of raw shrimp in a package, and a stir fry packet. Froze the unused vegetables. So this week I bought a package of cut up stir fry beef from the meat section. Took out some of the frozen veg and put it in the fridge to defrost. I’ll chop up the veg into smaller pieces. When I was buying the meat I noticed they had sliced stir fry pork too, so maybe have that next week. So easy.

Made chocolate chip cookies yesterday and then put them in the freezer. I have 2 potlucks later this week so I will take some for each.

This morning, scrambled eggs with a defrosted croissant and cocoa. I’ll stick the croissant in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up the outside.

[Bastet]

On 4/30/2023 at 6:01 AM, jenh526 said:

Lately I’ve just been making stir fries.

I love stir fry as a simple, quick-cooking, let me just toss together what I have hanging out in the refrigerator meal.  That's what I made last night, with chicken (marinated in peanut oil, lime juice, and garlic with a little honey), asparagus, red bell pepper, and snow peas, topped with scallions and chopped roasted peanuts.

Tonight, I'm going to make another of my favorite go-to dishes: chicken, mushroom, and scallions sauteed with a whole lot of minced garlic and ginger, with some tamari and rice vinegar added near the end and topped with minced cilantro.