What Did We Eat Today?

[mansonlamps]

Kitchen completely cleared out, starting remodel tomorrow, so takeout of some kind for the next couple of weeks. Will be starting with Potbelly tuna sandwiches tonight, just have a craving. Maybe more for the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie than the sandwich to be honest lol.

Forumfish, sounds like that cupcake maker is getting a workout.

Edited October 11, 2015 by mansonlamps

[ethalfrida]

I second that! We're supposed to hit 98 tomorrow -- and it's almost the middle of October. Good grief.

 

Lunch cooked all last night in the crockpot: London broil, carrots and potatoes. Today I grilled asparagus, and steamed green beans for my sister (she is not a fan of asparagus). I heated brown-and-serve rolls in the cupcake maker. No oven needed!

I really miss brown and serve rolls! But I might have to get a cupcake maker...seems like a must-have indulgence. Do you have a recipe for your London broil?

Kitchen completely cleared out, starting remodel tomorrow, so takeout of some kind for the next couple of weeks. Will be starting with Potbelly tuna sandwiches tonight, just have a craving. Maybe more for the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie than the sandwich to be honest lol.

Forumfish, sounds like that cupcake maker is getting a workout.

Buying a sandwich to get the cookie is a slick move!

[annzeepark914]

I love Potbelly's...the mushrooms and cheese sandwich is my favorite (I tell them to leave everything else out!)  I love how it's toasted.  Wish there were more Quizno's around here.  Their chicken bourbon bbq is delicious.

 

Dinner tonight is free-for-all.  Leftover chicken burgers w/ aioli, leftover pasta salad, leftover tossed salad, and Wacky Cake (that vegan chocolate cake...I guess I'll be the only one eating it).

[ALenore]

Kitchen completely cleared out, starting remodel tomorrow, so takeout of some kind for the next couple of weeks. Will be starting with Potbelly tuna sandwiches tonight, just have a craving. Maybe more for the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie than the sandwich to be honest lol.

 

I remember what it was like not having a kitchen for a few weeks when we remodeled our house.   I actually managed to not have to depend on take out most of the time (which is good because there are very few take out places in my town, it's all Chinese or pizza).   I had the refrigerator, a crock pot, and a microwave all in the living room and I was able to use them to cook most of our meals.   I was very glad when I had my kitchen back.  

 

Tonight I made gnocchi with browned butter pine nuts and spinach.   I used vacuum packed gnocchi instead of the frozen type that I usually do, and it did taste better, it was less mushy.   I had a tomato salad on the side.  

Edited October 12, 2015 by ALenore

[PRgal]

Had our Thanksgiving turkey today.  Mustard crusted boneless breast (because that's what you do when most of your family is not in town) with some quinoa mixed in with roasted eggplant and zucchini, feta, balsamic glazed carrots, fattoush, tabbouleh and hummus with some bread.  Dessert?  Slow cooked apples served with frozen chocolate banana kefir swirl, of course! :)

[EllieH]

Hamburgers, with coleslaw and cucumber/ tomato salad

[ethalfrida]

mansonlamps, yep, everything we've made in the cupcake maker has turned out well. I imagine that it will be used just as much even when the weather cools down enough to use the oven regularly.

 

ethalfrida, it was a good purchase -- I bought it on Amazon and had gift cards, so it didn't hit my bank account. It was a little under $30 so I combined it with another item to get free shipping. Here's the one I got: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009F92XQ6?keywords=cupcake%20maker&qid=1444620087&ref_=sr_1_3&s=appliances&sr=1-3

 

For years, my mom has been buying London broil when it's on sale to sub for roast or brisket. I like to use dry rubs. For this one, when I bought it a few weeks ago, I put Worcestershire pepper and garlic sea salt on it, then stuck it in the freezer. I thawed it in the fridge yesterday and last night, I put carrots and potatoes in the bottom of the crock pot, then placed the meat on top, so the juices could run down and flavor the veggies as it cooked. I added enough water to cover everything and cooked it on low until time to eat today (total cooking was a little more than 12 hours).

 

If it's not too hot to use the oven, I'll put a dry rub on the meat, wrap it in foil, and bake at 350° -- depending on size, usually about an hour. One time I found a hot cheese dip mix on sale at Big Lots -- buffalo chicken, I think -- and used that. Another time, I used chili powder, cumin and a little brown sugar. If I know what I plan to serve with the meat, I'll season it accordingly, but sometimes I fix it ahead and freeze it -- as long as I label it well, I don't end up serving BBQ beef with Italian pasta and veggies.  :)

Thank you! I am definitely getting both the cupcake maker and the London broil. I can taste the potatoes now. Always looking for recipes for the slow cooker...

[PRgal]

Tonight?  Yesterday's Thanksgiving leftovers (kind of turned the turkey, quinoa and veggies into a casserole), of course!

[annzeepark914]

Beef stew and whipped potatoes tonight for supper.  Gotta build up our strength for the first episode of the second season of Fargo!

[Bastet]

Something with Brussels sprouts and spicy Italian sausage, as that's pretty much all I have in the fridge.  (I really need to go to the market.)

Edited October 13, 2015 by Bastet

[mansonlamps]

Chick Fil A. Ugh I feel the pounds packing on already, can't wait until my kitchen is back in order and its only been one day.

[ALenore]

Last night I made chicken stroganoff, very easy and came out good.   Tonight I'm making bacon-corn chowder with shrimp.  I was going to make a more complicated dish, shrimp and corn cakes with heirloom tomato salsa, but I've just been too busy getting stuff ready to go to a convention.   I've made the chowder before, it's not complicated and it does taste good.  I'll just have the tomatoes sliced on the side, though I might put a few in the chowder. 

[annzeepark914]

Tonight was Ina's Herbed Roasted Fish.  I used tilapia fillets--and forget about individually wrapping them in parchment!  I just lay them out on a rimmed cookie sheet, put the fresh thyme, olives, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, etc on them and cover them with foil. Good with Ina's tartar sauce.  And I baked some tomato halves with Italian dressing, seasonings and freshly ground Parmesan. Who knew healthy food could be so good? (well, other than the Parmesan...is Parmesan healthy?)

[Quof]

Relatively speaking - how much Parmesan could you actually consume in one serving?

[harrie]

Relatively speaking - how much Parmesan could you actually consume in one serving?

 

How much is available?

[mansonlamps]

Relatively speaking - how much Parmesan could you actually consume in one serving?

 

 

My brother used to get a giant chunk of Parmesan in his Christmas stocking every year and ate the whole thing within a few days, so a lot.

[Quof]

See, I grow tired of grating it after about 1 tablespoon, and the food processor makes a mess of it.

[ALenore]

Tonight I made the Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili with Avocado that sunshinelover posted.  It was fantastic.  I did add cheddar cheese and sour cream on top, since I'm not a vegetarian.   Looking forward to having leftovers tomorrow.  

[BooksRule]

I'm having an odd combo for dinner.  I've been trying to have oatmeal for breakfast as many days a week as possible (for health reasons), but was unable to do so this morning.  So, for dinner, I'm having a big bowl of oatmeal.  Actually, I'm having some oatmeal with my fruit and nuts.  Oatmeal is not one of my favorite foods, but I like it much better when I 'doll it up'.  This bowl will have oatmeal with lots of cinnamon, fresh strawberries (chopped), a sliced banana and some chopped almonds.  I also put in a dollop of Sugar-Free French Vanilla coffee cream for some added 'sweetness'.  The oddness comes in because I like salty flavor after sweet, so I'll probably fix a big bowl of salty popcorn to eat later while I watch TV.

[BooksRule]

I never cared much for oatmeal growing up, probably because my dad and sister like so much milk I call it oatmeal soup. I like flavored instant oatmeal, mostly the extra protein one from Quaker that has almonds and cranberries. I don't add milk at all -- I prefer butter.

 

We never ate oatmeal when I was growing up.  Our 'grain of choice' for breakfast was grits.  I gave up grits a while back in order to eat more nutritional, healthy grains.  I don't think I'll ever love oatmeal but I've found that I can actually eat a bowl without feeling like I'm 'choking it down' as long as I disguise it with enough fruits and nuts (and cinnamon).  I did find that a bowl of steel-cut oats with butter and a little salt is a pretty good substitute for grits.  The taste is pretty close, but it only works with the steel-cut kind.  The old-fashioned style oats don't work--the texture is wrong.

[Bastet]

When I decided to start having oatmeal for breakfast a while back, I first tried it with rolled oats.  Hated it.  Then I tried it with steel cut oats.  Worlds better texturally, but I still thought chewing on some cardboard would be just as tasty.  I gave it a few more tries, though, and a switch was flipped – I love it.  I don’t add anything to it (although sometimes I have a glass of milk and a separate little bowl of fruit with it).

[Mountainair]

I put some ribs in the crock pot to have for dinner tonight. I'll make some brown sugar and bacon green beans and home made mac n cheese to go with. I've never made mac n cheese from scratch before as I don't usually eat it. I might make the Kraft kind for the kids twice a year but I had a craving for some this morning so I scratch made it will be!

[blixie]

I've been on a kale kick thanks to someone linking to Cookie + Kate. I made her Kale salad with Honecrisp, Fennel, and Goat Cheese, which is a great mix of tangy, salty, nutty, and  sweet against the earthy kale. Last night I made Lime Marinated Kale Rice bowls, which have a great black bean mixture and avocado-salsa verde sauce, lots of heat with jalapeno's in the marinade and cayenne/chili powder in the black beans. Both were great.

 

I also just signed up for Blue Apron to see what the fuss is about, and while the meals look yummy I'm trying to do WW and one of the freebie first meals (Ramen with pork meatballs, bok choy, and sweet squash) is 16 points! I can probably scale down it's portions, but then I might be hungry if I do. Eh we'll see.

Edited October 16, 2015 by blixie

[mansonlamps]

Blue Apron and all of the simlar services astonished me with their calorie counts for such small portions. Kind of makes me wonder how many calories I'm consuming with regular food in what I consider regular portion sizes.

On the other hand, couldn't be easier and the stuff really does look fresh and tasty.

[BooksRule]

I gave it a few more tries, though, and a switch was flipped – I love it.

 

That's how it was with me and brown rice.  I 'tolerated' it for a while, and then all of a sudden I thought 'hey, this is pretty tasty after all'.  Maybe the switch will flip for me with oatmeal one day!

 

I put some ribs in the crock pot to have for dinner tonight.

 

That's going to be my dinner tomorrow night (and probably Sunday).  I'm going to put some boneless country-style ribs in the oven with some BBQ sauce and slow bake them for a couple of hours until tender.  Maybe a baked potato or mac and cheese (probably Kraft, though, not scratch) with it.  Tonight is parmesan baked chicken thighs and some kind of salad or veggie--I haven't decided yet.

[chessiegal]

Weight Watcher recipe tonight (on maintenance  - yeah!). Stir fried chicken with asparagus and scallions on brown rice. Tomorrow another WW stir fry - shrimp with zucchini, thyme and tomatoes.

[Mountainair]

Last night's dinner was a hit. The Mac and Cheese was super yummy. We are having leftovers tonight and tomorrow it is dinner with friends (they are serving ribs) so, it will be a rib filled weekend. In other news- I can no longer stomach any meat at all. I went from no poultry to no meat. I'm sticking with the mac and cheese tonight. Of course, I can always stomach Ice Cream. And Brownies :)

[Bastet]

Maybe the fetus is a vegetarian.  :-)

 

Dinner last night was at a friend's birthday party - a casual, catered thing at a local event space.  The food all looked good, but most of it was bland.  Quite disappointing.  Oh, well - with a hosted open bar, no one really cared.

 

Tonight, I'm not sure.  Between football and my general emotional state, I think it might be one of those nights to make a big bowl of spinach, artichoke & cheese dip, grab a bag of tortilla chips, and call it dinner.

[Quof]

Nigella's spicy lamb meatballs, with basmati rice and tzatziki.

[MargeGunderson]

Tonight it's a variety of Trader Joe's Asian appetizers - our version of a pu pu platter. Tomorrow is a big pot of chili.

[harrie]

Nigella's spicy lamb meatballs, with basmati rice and tzatziki.

That sounds really yummy.

 

 

Tonight it's a variety of Trader Joe's Asian appetizers - our version of a pu pu platter. Tomorrow is a big pot of chili.

 

So does this - I love appy nights.  We may have to schedule one soon. 

 

Tonight I'm making this - shellfish in a tomato broth with some old bread toasted for dipping.  

 

The hub's birthday is tomorrow, so we're hitting our favorite neighborhood Italian place,  Then next week he's taking a second shift thing at his job, so at our house it will be more like "What's for Lunch?"   I don't know how second-shifters do it, hope I can get used to it. 

[grisgris]

It's fairly cool today, so I made my annual batch of chili. (For just me, one batch is enough for a season.) I also made a caramel apple upside-down cake. The cake part was pretty thick, then I realized that I'd used an 8" cake pan and the recipe called for 9". (Mental note to add a 9" round to my bakeware collection.) Actually, the cake developed sort of a crust, so it was pretty good -- interesting texture -- made better by some whipped cream!

 

Tomorrow I'm trying out an Asian-style dish with ground turkey, green beans and water chestnuts. It also includes hoisin sauce and other typical Asian condiments (can't think right now.) I thought it would be good with either rice or my Thai rice noodles that I need to use up.

 

I'm thinking of making some type of Oktoberfest meal for Halloween. I really don't want brats and I hate sauerkraut, which is sad because I am part German from my father's side. LOL! Dessert is a no-brainer with something Black Forest inspired.

[backformore]

When I decided to start having oatmeal for breakfast a while back, I first tried it with rolled oats.  Hated it.  Then I tried it with steel cut oats.  Worlds better texturally, but I still thought chewing on some cardboard would be just as tasty.  I gave it a few more tries, though, and a switch was flipped – I love it.  I don’t add anything to it (although sometimes I have a glass of milk and a separate little bowl of fruit with it).

Yeah, a few years ago I was on a weight loss plan, and I had oatmeal every day. I hated it at first, then found I craved it in the morning . One of the best things is that oatmeal fills me up , I don't get hungry for hours.

  

Tonight it's a variety of Trader Joe's Asian appetizers - our version of a pu pu platter. Tomorrow is a big pot of chili.

Sounds perfect. I love appetizers for dinner, and Trader Joe's has finally opened close to me, it's my new favorite.

[ALenore]

I made penne alla vodka last night.   I made a big batch since we've been getting ready to go to a convention later this week, so I can eat the leftovers for a few days.  I pulled out some kale chickpea chicken soup out of the freezer to have tonight.   I'll probably be eating other frozen meals until we leave.   

 

I'm reading about what everyone here is making for dinner, and I'm jealous, I'd really love to try to cook some of it, (ribs, caramel apple upside down cake, chili), but I'm too busy, it will have to wait until we get back.  

[grisgris]

We'll be here, so just ask for the recipes and I'll post mine for the cake. Have a good time (I think!?) :-)

[ALenore]

grisgris, I think I'll have a good time.  My husband and I are going to IlluxCon, a science fiction art convention in Allentown, PA.   We've been a few times before, and it's a lot of fun.  We get to meet a lot of artists and people interested in art.  What we're hoping to do is sell some art, both originals and prints.   We sell a lot some years, not so much other years.    

 

I'll have internet access, so I'll be able to participate in this forum, just won't be able to cook anything.    When I go on a trip it's kind of nice to eat out for a few days, since we don't go to restaurants very often at home.  But after a while I miss cooking, and look forward to coming home and cooking my own meals.   

[MargeGunderson]

Last night's appetizer dinner was a little disappointing. Shu mei were good, as was the crab Rangoon I got from Target(!). But the shrimp toast was boring, and the bird nests were soggy. I planned to make chili today but was distracted by cleaning out my closet. Instead I made pizza. Chili tomorrow!

Edited October 19, 2015 by MargeGunderson

[mansonlamps]

 But after a while I miss cooking, and look forward to coming home and cooking my own meals.

I honestly never thought this would happen to me, but this kitchen remodel has me itching to cook since I can't. I think the first thing I'm going to make when it's doneis some sort of pasta since I've been unable to boil water (!) for so long.

[annzeepark914]

Heated up leftover shrimp marinara and added some chopped clams (canned) and some more Trader Joe's Arrabbiatta sauce, on top of spaghetti (but not all covered with cheeeeeeese--I love that song).

 

I am loving this cooler (sometimes downright cold) weather these days.  Hooray for real fall temps!

[PRgal]

Slow cooker chicken tikka masala tonight so my husband and I can cast our votes (actually, my husband only.  I already voted earlier today), watch the results AND the ALCS. 

[Bastet]

Venetian shrimp and scallops, a Rachael Ray recipe.  I can't really stand to watch or listen to her, and I usually make an adjustment or two to her recipes, but there are some quick and easy gems in the mix.  This is one of them.  (And I need something I can get done during halftime, so quick and easy is the name of the game tonight.)

[Lovecat]

grisgris, I think I'll have a good time.  My husband and I are going to IlluxCon, a science fiction art convention in Allentown, PA.  

Hey, small world--I'm originally from Bethlehem (right next door), and will actually be moving back to the area in the next few months.  I currently live about an hour south.

 

Back on topic, last night I made a giant pot of chicken noodle soup...which is actually more noodles than soup!  I use a lot of veg (celery, onion, carrots, and mushrooms), chop up 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts I've roasted in the oven with some yummy seasonings, and add a whole mess of NoYolks noodles (I prefer them to regular egg noodles for some reason).  I never seem to have enough broth, so it's more of a superdelicious stew.  I also made some bread--fresh baked, but from a mix.  Enough of everything left for dinner tonight (and tomorrow...and lunch again the next day?)

 

Now that the weather is changing, I'm getting the hankering to cook more.  Someone upstream mentioned beef stew, and I started making yummy noises :)

[DeLurker]

Venetian shrimp and scallops, a Rachael Ray recipe.  I can't really stand to watch or listen to her, and I usually make an adjustment or two to her recipes, but there are some quick and easy gems in the mix.  This is one of them.  (And I need something I can get done during halftime, so quick and easy is the name of the game tonight.)

That looks seriously yummy!

[chessiegal]

I had planned on a marinated grilled chicken breast with baked potato and steamed veggie, but the chicken I pulled out of the freezer 2 days ago still wasn't thawed. So I did a what's in the frige frittata - sauteed asparagus, green and red bell pepper, mushrooms, and scallions, threw in left over garlic parsley linguine, and eggs. Started on the stove top, finished in the oven. Bonus - it made 4 portions, so left overs for dinner tomorrow.

[harrie]

Today was pan-seared salmon with sage brown butter sauce and chard.  Something weird happened with the honey in the butter sauce - it separated out and turned into a Sugar Daddy-like substance - but I was able to separate it an at least use the butter and sage part.  Not the greatest dish ever, but it worked well enough. 

 

Tomorrow is a tomato-based sausage and peppers (and mushrooms).  

[Mountainair]

Tonight I'm going to make Mozzarella stuffed turkey meatballs to serve with pasta and some garlic bread on the side. 

 

My parents arrive Friday to spend the weekend celebrating my oldest sons birthday. He will be 6! There will be lots of cooking this weekend. A breakfast casserole (I'm not much of a breakfast eater but my dad is),dinner, lunches (no skimping here- I'll go all out). Sunday we will have 14 people over (just family) to celebrate and I'm going to make Tacos for dinner. I'll do some sort of taco bar with all the fixings, queso, salsa, etc. This year I decided to hire a cake maker to do the cake. My husband is usually the cake decorator of the family but he's been working a lot lately and my son has requested a dragon cake. Dragons are kinda hard to pull off so I decided to go with a professional this time :) 

[DeLurker]

Souper Tuesday - hah!  My daughter loves puns and I'll have to pull that one on her at some point.  I've had to impose a Pun Moratorium - none before 10 AM because it makes my head hurt.

 

Continuing to refine my fried rice recipe much to my childrens delight so last night was chicken fried rice.  I really only like my Mom's, so getting to where I actually sort of like my own is a BFD.  Mommy's is still way better, but at least I am getting closer plus my kids say it is as good as Grandma's (which is totally not true, but sweet).

[mansonlamps]

Souper Tuesday - hah!  My daughter loves puns and I'll have to pull that one on her at some point.  I've had to impose a Pun Moratorium - none before 10 AM because it makes my head hurt.

 

Continuing to refine my fried rice recipe much to my childrens delight so last night was chicken fried rice.  I really only like my Mom's, so getting to where I actually sort of like my own is a BFD.  Mommy's is still way better, but at least I am getting closer plus my kids say it is as good as Grandma's (which is totally not true, but sweet).

 

When you've got it down, you will have to share.  I absolutely love fried rice, but can never get the texture right, it always comes out mush for me.  My new stove is going to have one of those burners with the round insert that holds a wok for stir frying, so maybe that will help.  Can't wait to stir fry everything!  Of course I say that now, we'll see what happens when said stove is actually in place.

[grisgris]

Hey PRgal, did you watch the ACLS game today?  May be best "Boys in Blue" win. Waving at you from Kansas City!

 

I have been eating my ground turkey/green beans dish. The sauce has soy sauce, chicken stock, hoisin, rice wine vinegar and sriracha. The recipe also calls for water chestnuts and I threw in some mushrooms. It's pretty good. I serve it over brown rice.

 

It's been unseasonably warm here this week (temps in the upper 80's.) I feel like making some one-pot meals, but not sure what I'm in the mood for -- light or comforting. The first part of the weekend is supposed to be cloudy and rainy, but not a whole lot cooler. I guess I'll still look for easy German recipes for a last-ditch stab at Oktoberfest.

[Bastet]

Tonight I had a craving for the shrimp tacos with mango slaw I make a lot, but mangos are no longer in season <sob>.  So I added a pinch of sugar to the dressing to make up for the fruit’s absence, and it came out as a pretty good fall/winter substitute.