What Did We Eat Today?

[ALenore]

With a group that size, with so many food restrictions, I would hand everyone an apple and a glass of water.

 

Sometimes I'm tempted to do something like that.   But fortunately some of the people don't actually stick strictly to their diets.  The guy who is trying to be vegan eats eggs, and some of the gluten sensitive people drink beer and eat cookies.   

[Quof]

And this is why I have no patience with people with food "issues" short of an actual allergy.    What it really means is "I eat what I like, invent a label for the things I don't like, and expect people to cater to it."

 

I eat what I like, politely decline those things I don't like, and keep my lifestyle choices to myself.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Quof

[EllieH]

Breakfast for dinner last night -- eggs, ham and English muffins

[harrie]

Last night was zucchini fritters/pancakes with tzatziki; tonight is either broccoli bread or portobello mushrooms some way.

[ALenore]

I spent today cleaning up the house for guests that will be coming tomorrow, so I made an easy dinner, Pasta Shrimp Florentine.   You just sauté shrimp, garlic, and red pepper flakes in butter, add cooked pasta, and then a bag of baby spinach and stir until it wilts.   Tomorrow our guests have offered to take us out to dinner, which I gladly accepted (we don't eat out much).   Wednesday is a big barbecue, which I'll start cooking side dishes for tomorrow.   

[mansonlamps]

Last night was zucchini fritters/pancakes with tzatziki; tonight is either broccoli bread or portobello mushrooms some way.

Do you make your own tzatziki? I have mediterranean chicken skewers that I'm going to eat on pita with lettuce, onion and hummus. I wanted to drizzle some tzatziki on top but couldn't find any in the store.

[harrie]

Do you make your own tzatziki? I have mediterranean chicken skewers that I'm going to eat on pita with lettuce, onion and hummus. I wanted to drizzle some tzatziki on top but couldn't find any in the store.

 

I made it from Ina Garten's recipe.  It's really easy; and if you don't want to add the sour cream, you can ignore it., and everything will be fine.  You can also get plain Greek yogurt and skip the draining step if you like.   Your chicken skewers sound delicious -- enjoy!

[Quof]

Agree Ina's tzatziki is the bomb.

[harrie]

We splurged for lunch today -- fried whole belly clams and shrimp.  (And we both got to say one of our favorite movie lines:  "I ate fried food today...")   Thankfully, dinner will be a salad topped with roasted beets and maybe some goat cheese.  And nothing else for about three days, probably.  But so, so worth it.

Edited July 14, 2015 by harrie

[harrie]

Last night turned out to be pita chips and leftover tzatziki.  Tonight is stuffed bread - broccoli, mushroom, and a little free range veal pepperoni.

[ethalfrida]

Today it was steamed broccoli with coconut oil and pepper flakes; baked shicken wingettes, baked carrots with garlic, coconut oil, ginger, honey, salt, pepper; gluten free cornmeal muffins with cultured butter. I was determined to do the right thing today, however, the 6 giant cornmeal muffins are 308 calories each. Glad I forgot to spread them with garlic jelly... but there are still 4 left.

[Lovecat]

Today I made the tuna mac, and it was so delicious I wanted to stuff my face in the bowl. But I refrained :)

[blixie]

I had spicy calabicitas garnished with mexican blend of cheese, scrambled eggs, and pan browned some kielbasa. Tomorrow I'm going to make crabstick pancakes and kimchi fried rice. 

[JTMacc99]

Today I made the tuna mac, and it was so delicious I wanted to stuff my face in the bowl. But I refrained :)

I hate it when that happens.  Well, the part where I don't refrain. 

[ALenore]

Well, we had the barbecue yesterday and it went great.   There were 14 people, including me and my husband.  I didn't have any trouble with the various food preferences, the only thing I did is marinate chicken in two separate bags of marinade, one thighs with garlic in the marinade, and one drumsticks without garlic in the marinade.  There was so much chicken that I had to do it in two separate bags anyway, so this wasn't any problem.  Everyone who had the burgers made with the local beef loved them.   I did have to microwave the chicken after I took it off the grill, the pieces were pretty large and they were taking forever to cook, so I just gave up and nuked them so we could use the barbecue grill for the burgers.   I never wound up grilling the hot dogs or kielbasa, there was plenty of food without them.   Several people brought side dishes, so there was a nice variety of potato salads, bean salads, and wine.   We had blueberry bars, watermelon, and cherries for dessert.    Everyone seemed to have a great time.  

 

We still have lots of leftovers, so I won't have to cook dinner for a few days.  

[ethalfrida]

Love leftover barbecue... so, can we come over?

[annzeepark914]

Oh my...after all these wonderful posts about great meals, all I have to offer is that tonight I served Summer Spaghetti + some shrimp grilled in my brand new Cuisinart Griddler (first thing I tried with this new gizmo...hmmm...I think shrimp are better grilled on a regular grill).  But we love Summer Spaghetti...so easy to prepare early in the day and then just ladle over hot spaghetti.  And, fyi--I'm first in line at the door of ALenore for take-out of her leftovers ;>)  

[ALenore]

Tonight I'll just grill the kielbasa I never used for my barbecue, and have it with some corn on the cob and leftover potato salad and cole slaw.   That will pretty much use up the last of my leftovers. 

 

annzeepark914, what is Summer Spaghetti?  It sounds interesting.  

[mbaywife123]

Loaded baked potatoes and grilled corn on the cob. I am also curious about the mentioned summer spaghetti.

[ethalfrida]

I had broth that had squash and carrots in it. Added rice noodles, scallions and sauteed shrimp. It was really tasty. 

[sunshinelover]

Was out of town to visit Ikea today, so we met up with a friend for dinner. He recommended a dive type place with excellent burgers.  I had a "Gold Rush" burger which had fried mac n' cheese, bacon and onion fritters.  I'd seen mac n' cheese burgers and wanted to try one so this was a good opportunity.  It was delicious *but* I think my burger would have been just as delicious without the mac n' cheese.  I would have been fine getting my cheese flavor from just regular cheese because that's how it ended up tasting.  

[ethalfrida]

Found some catfish in the freezer so it looks like blackened fish today with a salad.

[blixie]

Grilled salmon and skillet fingerling potatoes, left over green beans almondine.

[annzeepark914]

Tonight I'll just grill the kielbasa I never used for my barbecue, and have it with some corn on the cob and leftover potato salad and cole slaw.   That will pretty much use up the last of my leftovers. 

 

annzeepark914, what is Summer Spaghetti?  It sounds interesting.  

@ALenore:  Here's my recipe for summer spaghetti.  It says to leave in refrigerator for 5-6 hours but you can do less (the other night I made the "sauce" in the afternoon so it only was in the fridge for a couple hours--still delicious).  It's supposed to be the cold sauce hitting the hot pasta that brings out the flavors. 

 

SUMMER SPAGHETTI

1 lb ripe tomatoes, seeded

1/2 medium Vidalia onion

6 green olives (w/o pimientos) 

2 medium garlic cloves –or less

1/3 cup Italian parsley

2 Tablespoons fresh basil sliced

2 Teaspoons rinsed & drained capers

1/2 Teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (optional)

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 cup light olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon oregano or marjoram

1 lb spaghetti

Parmesan Cheese (if desired)

 

Chop tomatoes coarsely. Chop onion and olives. Mince the garlic. Combine tomatoes, onion, olives, garlic, parsley, basil, capers,  pepper flakes & oregano. Drizzle vinegar over tomato mixture, then pour over oil. Mix well and refrigerate at least 5-6 hours. Just before serving, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain and mix immediately with the chilled sauce. Serve at once, offering cheese if desired.  Serves 4.

 

My note:  I use Roma tomatoes & a few Campari tomatoes, & make this “sauce” year-round.  I use small garlic cloves; otherwise it can get quite garlicky.  You really end up making this your own sauce by omitting or adding ingredients you think would be good and the only thing heating up the kitchen is the pasta water.

[ethalfrida]

That sure does smell good, lol. Going to copy and paste so thanks bunches for posting and to Alenore for asking...

[ALenore]

anzeepark, this looks like a good recipe.  I actually made something very similar yesterday, minus the onions and olives.   Usually I use Roma tomatoes, but this time I used a variety of tomatoes I bought at the Farmers's Market including yellow, red, and dark green.   Next time I make it, I think I will try the Visalia onions and olives, it would add some nice different flavors.   

[Mountainair]

Well, I've missed this thread. Back in May I posted about making a months worth of freezer meals all at one time. I finally ran out. The experiment was not worth it. We ate most of the food but I missed cooking on a regular basis so I still ended up spending money at the store for splurge meals on the weekends. Oh well.

Yesterday I made cowboy casserole (ground beef, potatoes, red beans, corn, diced tomatoes) and the rest of the family ate that for leftovers tonight. I'm pregnant so trying to eat "right" when I can so I had salmon, Brussels sprouts and Quinoa all coated with a balsamic vinaigrette sauce.

[Athena]

Welcome back Mountainair!

 

What do you think were the best recipes for the freezer experiment in terms of value and taste? I don't freeze much food (except broths), but it's handy to know which meals you thought would be worth it as emergency or no-time to spend meals.

[Mountainair]

Considering most of what I made was pasta sauces I'm a bit limited in my ability to answer that question. For the sake of the experiment I followed the bloggers advice to the "T" which was kind of my first mistake. I did enjoy being able to thaw out spaghetti sauce and put it in the crock pot and go about my business. I made a chicken spaghetti which was really good and a good tip I picked up in the process is to line your cesserole dish in foil first, then cook the casserole. That way you can lift the casserole out of the pan before freezing it, therefore keeping your pan for later use.

Long story short- I made a lot of pasta variations which freeze very well. I also made BBQ out of a pork shoulder and froze that and it worked really well.

As I near my due date (way in the future) I think I'm going to start doubling recipes as I make them. Freeze one and eat one now. I freeze pretty much all leftovers anyway and they keep well and taste good re heated. I have heard that potatoes aren't good for re heating after frozen. But again, you could always make the recipe minus the potatoes, freeze and add the potatoes in at the last minute.

[Shannon L.]

I found a recipe for savory zucchini pancakes. They have eggs, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, flour, sweet onion and butter in them.  Is this something that you would eat without any topping?  If there are any that you think might be good with it, let me know....I'm interested. 

[harrie]

I made something like that last week except it also had feta in it. I used tzatziki as an accompaniment, but also thought about using tomato sauce and cheese - sort of parming it up.  

[blixie]

I made a batch of spicy butternut squash (sweet onion, chipotle chili) for tacos, with corn tortillas and cotija cheese. Nom.

[EllieH]

Breakfast tacos!

[sunshinelover]

I tried my hand at chiles rellenos the other night.  The recipe I found for called to stuff with only cheese, but I made a ground turkey and black bean mixture to put in as well.  Once I got them in the pan to fry them I spent a long time wondering what I was doing wrong since the egg coating was still so soft.  Well silly me, the flame on my stove had gone out.  They turned out pretty good, the couple that fried well looked really nice, but they all tasted good.  

 

Tomorrow I'm having some pesto we made a couple weeks ago and froze, to go on top of cheese ravioli.  Probably some griled chicken breast and asparagus with it.

[ethalfrida]

Family arrived from up north so we went out. Had Soul Food.

[ethalfrida]

It would really be nice to have a great chicken soup recipe.  Something flavorful for a change and not just egg flower soup with chicken pieces. 

[Athena]

It would really be nice to have a great chicken soup recipe.  Something flavorful for a change and not just egg flower soup with chicken pieces. 

 

Do you make your own chicken broth? I believe that really is the basis for a great soup.

 

I also grew up drinking chicken soup and broth with pork bones. I'm smiling thinking about how good it is.

[ethalfrida]

Sometimes I make my own broth and just learned to patiently let it cook down to become thicker. Like just this week, lol. But if anyone has like a great ingredient list to add to that it would really be appreciated.

[Athena]

Sometimes I make my own broth and just learned to patiently let it cook down to become thicker. Like just this week, lol. But if anyone has like a great ingredient list to add to that it would really be appreciated.

 

I make sure my broths are as savoury and umami rich as I can get them so some of things I have done:

 

• Add other bones/meat - I use pork bones in with my chicken broth
• If the bones are from roasted meat, even better
• Parmesan rinds
• Mushrooms - I make a homemade vegetable mushroom broth
• Spices and Herbs: Bay leaves, thyme, paprika (either Spanish or Hungarian), lots of peppercorns (black or white), whatever you like
• Miso
• Lots and lots of vegetable scraps

 

I don't put all these things in the same pot, but some of them have really helped. Then I freeze the broth and when I make soup, I add more stuff.

 

Hope this helps. I love making my own broth based soups. I'm not perfect; I will buy store low sodium sometimes, but I always enjoy eating soup I've made from scratch. It is delicious and I feel more accomplished too. :)

[Bastet]

I am blanking on the name of it right now, but one of my favorite simple soups is the one made with chicken, escarole, vermicelli or spaghetti noodles broken up, and a lot of garlic (add some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to the cup/bowl) .  And, yes - homemade stock (made with plenty of bones, some parmesan rind, and allowed to cook for hours).

 

I don't add miso, but otherwise mine is similar, Athena.  And no two batches are ever the same, because it just depends on what vegetable scraps I've saved up in the freezer.  Always mushrooms, onions, garlic, and celery because I break my seasonal and local rule to buy those year round, but the rest just depends.  I only use chicken bones, but I use a lot of them.  Herbs (and herb scraps) vary, too, but always bay leaves. 

 

I freeze it in ice cube trays and then put into a freezer bag; that way, I have 1/2-ounce cubes and can thus easily defrost a few when I need to add a small amount of stock to something.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Bastet

[ALenore]

One thing I do when making chicken broth is add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the pot.  You can't taste the vinegar, but it helps draw out the calcium from the bones into the stock.   

[Miss Dee]

I think I eat very boring food compared to all of you!

[Mountainair]

Tonight I did chopped zucchini, onion, red potatoes, green pepper in the crock pot with browned Italian sausage links and a half cup of white wine (I actually used chicken broth). The whole family likes this one plus it uses fresh veggies from my garden :)

[WendyCR72]

I think I eat very boring food compared to all of you!

 

I'll sit next to you.

[annzeepark914]

One thing I do when making chicken broth is add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the pot.  You can't taste the vinegar, but it helps draw out the calcium from the bones into the stock.   

 

Interesting. Thanks, ALenore for this tip!   I think I read somewhere, not too long ago, that adding white wine vinegar to chicken broth is a good substitute for wine in a recipe (if you don't have any wine on hand or, don't want to use wine in preparing food).  Vinegar usage continues to amaze me.

[QuelleC]

I put my soup ideas in the Make It Yourself thread because I thought that's where it belonged.

 

Tonight I took a quart of nice, if I say so myself, spaghetti sauce out of the freezer.  I have a bag of organic veg that includes yellow and green squash and the usual rest.  I think I'll make a baked pasta topped with cheese and bread crumbs.  I'm always about the herb flavors too.

 

As far as stock it's all about skimming and straining.  I have - I kid you not - old gauze diapers that I never used for diapers and I rinse them out thoroughly after laundering (no soap) and strain my stock through that.  Then launder again.

[Athena]

One thing I do when making chicken broth is add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the pot.  You can't taste the vinegar, but it helps draw out the calcium from the bones into the stock.   

 

 

Interesting. Thanks, ALenore for this tip!   I think I read somewhere, not too long ago, that adding white wine vinegar to chicken broth is a good substitute for wine in a recipe (if you don't have any wine on hand or, don't want to use wine in preparing food).  Vinegar usage continues to amaze me.

 

I just remembered I've used Apple Cider Vinegar before. You can't really taste it, but it's a nice acidic note if you're putting a lot of sweet veg or savoury rich foods. I like ACV in my dressings too.

[ALenore]

I've got a lot of blueberries from the store and Farmer's Market recently, so I made blueberry muffins from Alton Brown's recipe.  I used it because it was the easiest, and I had all the ingredients on hand.    They were great.  After eating the first couple hot from the oven, I've been splitting and toasting the others in my toaster oven, then buttering them.   Have to force myself to have only one a day.  

 

I made moo shu pork for dinner last night, and decided to add a little hot chili oil.  I liked it fine, but it was too hot for my husband.  Next time I'll just add it on the side. 

[annzeepark914]

I made Ina Garten's fattoush for dinner tonight.  It was really good and I bought pita that supposedly is made at a Middle Eastern bakery somewhere in our area. I baked them a little, then tore up pieces and tossed into the fattoush (per Ina's instructions).  They picked up some of the good dressing.  A keeper!

[annzeepark914]

It would really be nice to have a great chicken soup recipe.  Something flavorful for a change and not just egg flower soup with chicken pieces. 

 

Several years ago I saw a recipe in the Washington Post called Saucy Lo Mein that I've messed around with.  I use low sodium chicken broth and begin to add stuff like sliced celery with minced celery leaves; minced Italian parsley; diced carrots; diced onion; diced scallions; some ground ginger, 2 tsps Better Than Boullion, sea salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, Mirin, and a dash of sesame oil.  Then I add some cooked chicken breasts, simmer a few minutes and pour over cooked vermicelli or Chinese noodles.  It's pretty good.