What Did We Eat Today?

[Mountainair]

OH Geesh! I'm giggling out loud over here!

2nd year in a row that I'm not hosting thanksgiving which is fine by me. Last year we went out of town to my parents and this year my sister in law is hosting, down the street! I presume we will all bring a dish to share. I will also make my own thanksgiving dinner here just so I can have leftovers!

[annzeepark914]

I cook pork tenderloin all the time, and the way you get it to not come out dry is to not overcook it.  When I was growing up, pork chops had to be cooked to death for fear of trichinosis, but nowadays it's okay for the pork to be slightly pink in the center.   What I often do is quickly brown the tenderloin on all sides in a skillet, then put it in the oven on high heat (425 degrees) for `12-15 minutes.  Here's one recipe I've made and enjoyed http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-pork-tenderloin-maple-apples.

I made this for tonight's dinner and it's a keeper.  Love the sauted apples and shallots in the maple syrup/lemon juice and buttery sauce. Yum. Thanks for posting the recipe, ALenore!

[harrie]

The hub is making roast duck tonight, with sweet potatoes and a bulgur pilaf thing.  Haven't eaten yet, but everything smells wonderful.

[ALenore]

I made pasta shells with turkey sausage, broccoli and goat cheese last night.   Pretty good, but the sausage was a little too spicy.   Tonight I made curried chicken wraps, a quick easy meal since we're getting ready to go to another convention (2 in 2 weeks).  We normally hardly leave the house for months at a time, so it's quite tiring to go on two trips so close together.    We'll probably order out pizza or Chinese tomorrow.  

 

harrie, I love roast duck, but only have it occasionally. Might have it for Christmas or New Year's.   I'm not hosting Thanksgiving this year, we'll be going to my brother and sister-in-laws.   I'm trying to decide now what to bring, I'm think I;m going to bring something different than I usually bring (sweet potato casserole and grated apple pie.)

[EllieH]

 

Tomorrow we find out if this baby is another boy (to add to the two we already have) or our first girl. I'm anticipating a boy that way I can be pleasantly surprised if they tell me it's a girl!

 

And what is it?

 

Fish and potatoes for us tonight.

[Mountainair]

And what is it?

 

Fish and potatoes for us tonight.

Oh Sorry! I update elsewhere and forgot to come back here and update! 

 

It's a GIRL!!!!! I am so excited! My husband on the other hand is apprehensive. He's used to having baby boys so this is all new territory for the both of us (this will also be the first child I nurse so it's even more new).

[WendyCR72]

Congrats to you and the rest of your family, Mountainair!

[grisgris]

Congratulations Mountainair!

[annzeepark914]

Wow!  A little girl.  Congratulations!  Tiaras, pink, silver, leotards, ballet shoes, tea parties, etc.  So much fun :>)

[chessiegal]

I didn't  feel like cooking dinner tonight. I opened the freezer and the angels sang - frozen homemade chili from the other week. Whoot!

[PRgal]

I made an old favourite last night:  Baked sweet potatoes with a turkey and vegetable sauce (basically ground turkey breasts, onions, frozen veggies and tomato sauce).  Tonight, PRguy and I are going to a fundraiser at a church for their upcoming trip to Ireland.  Dinner is apparently Irish-themed.

[Mountainair]

It's a cool, rainy day here and the baby was craving some spice :) I made a big pot of chili for dinner. Topped it off with some raw onion, Gouda and a dollop of daisy. It hit the spot!

[annzeepark914]

Tonight for dinner we had Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan.  Gosh I love that and I've been nibbling on the leftover eggplant slices.

[ALenore]

Just got back from another convention this weekend, the second in two weeks.  I had enough energy to go food shopping, but then when I got home I didn't feel like cooking.  I checked the freezer and surprise! found a container of minestrone I'd made over the summer.   I reheated it, it tasted great. We ate it with bialys on the side, since I didn't have any Italian bread.    

 

Today I'm more rested, and will be making fish tacos, one of my husband's favorite meals.  

[DeLurker]

Mine too!

 

I've been on a soup kick lately - between slightly cooler temps and new meds playing havoc with the stomach, seems like the safest bet. 

 

Since I finished the last of my rice soup, a very plain congee that I love, I moved on to some store bought soup.  Tortilla soup from HEB but with an added can of black beans and some leftover chicken tossed in for good measure.

 

My kids need a more varied diet than I do so spaghetti with meat sauce for them, plus fresh fruit and veggies to round us all out.

[blixie]

We've had unseasonably warm weather for November, but yesterday was the first frosty evening, so we had Shepherds Pie, with 50/50 ground lamb to ground beef mix, carrots, garlic, and onions, and nice big layer of mashed potatoes. Then a side of Garlic green beans. Sooo satisfying. 

[Mountainair]

Tonight I'm going to make Swedish Meatballs with egg noodles and some sort of fresh veggie on the side. I've never made this before but it seems like something my kids will like and that's what determines most of my menu planning lately :)

Edited November 10, 2015 by Mountainair

[JTMacc99]

I made pasta shells with turkey sausage, broccoli and goat cheese last night.   Pretty good, but the sausage was a little too spicy. 

I made one of my standard after-work meals on Monday which was a box of flavored rice doctored up with whatever ingredients I have handy.  In this case the rice mix was Jambalaya, and the extras were an onion, half of a red pepper and some Johnsonville smoked sausages. I used a couple of their smoked turkey sausages which I tossed in with the onion and pepper for a few minutes before adding the rice mix and water, and then I chopped up a jalepeno cheddar one which I thought would add a little kick.

 

It actually added a lot of kick.  My 4th grade daughter had a fine time eating a couple bites, then making the "my mouth is on fire" sound and face, assuring herself that I acknowledged her reaction, making a show of taking a drink, and then going back to eating it.  Her older brother just shoveled the whole thing into his mouth and went back to watching youtube videos.  I like that my kids are willing to try and even enjoy spicy foods. It lets me experiment with more types of food as we go along.

[ALenore]

It's cold and damp out today, so I'm making beef stew, using the meat I got at the Farmer's Market.  It's got potatoes, carrots, peas, onions and mushrooms.  I'm cooking it in a pressure cooker. Hope it comes out good, I haven't used this recipe before.

[chessiegal]

Chicken fajitas.

[DeLurker]

I think tonight will be chicken fried rice.  The kids will be a revolving door due to their commitments and my nephew should be stopping by to take a look at a broken lever for me.  I can make it in advance and they can heat it up at will.

[Mountainair]

Last night I made red beans, a brown rice and quinoa mixture and kielbasa. The family ate it up!

Tonight Ive got corned beef and cabbage in the crokpot :)

[annzeepark914]

Well...I'm sick of cooking (I go through these phases) and so I picked up a rotisserie chicken at Wegman's and made customized Stovetop Stuffing and steamed some fresh broccoli and made some gravy.  I also picked up some roasted cauliflower at the buffet in Wegman's.  So easy, so quick and maybe I'll be in the mood to cook tomorrow (not promising, though!)

[Mountainair]

I love picking up a rotisserie chicken on those I don't feel like cooking nights.

Friday's in my house are usually house cleaning days and I like to cook for the weekend so I stay pretty busy. Hubby is working overnight tonight so it's just me and the boys. I picked them up a frozen pizza for dinner and I'll throw in some raw veggies on the side :) I'm going to make a big pot of French onion for myself to eat for dinner and throughout the weekend. And, for the baby :) I'm making a peanut butter Oreo no bake desert.

[Bastet]

I never made it to the market this week, and I have dinner plans tonight through Sunday night so am not intending to go until Monday (I do not go shopping on weekends unless I absolutely have to).  So last night's dinner was "pasta with whatever I can find in the fridge."  It turned out tasty -- I doctored up some marinara sauce that had been included with my calamari order earlier in the week (I use tartar sauce for dipping it instead, but the marinara is decent so I saved it to enhance with extra garlic and basil), cooked some sweet Italian sausage, cooked some whole wheat penne, wilted in some spinach, and topped with a little Parmigiano-Reggiano and torn basil. 

[DeLurker]

Tonight is clean out the fridge / fend for yourself night at Chez DeLurker.  My son started early and finished last night's chicken fried rice (which was a good choice for the household schedule last night).  Other options include spaghetti and meat sauce, some rotisserie chicken and pot roast.

[KnoxForPres]

Tonight is clean out the fridge / fend for yourself night at Chez DeLurker. My son started early and finished last night's chicken fried rice (which was a good choice for the household schedule last night). Other options include spaghetti and meat sauce, some rotisserie chicken and pot roast.

Gosh I wish I lived with you.

Yeungling at the moment- frozen broccoli and ham maybe later. The good life.

Edited November 13, 2015 by KnoxForPres

[chessiegal]

Simple and healthy - grilled salmon filet marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, and dill, steamed broccoli, and baked potato.

[ALenore]

Fridays are the only night I don't cook dinner.   Instead we have wine, cheese, fruit and bread (which I usually make the day before). I sometimes make hummus.  My husband helps me get it all together, cutting up fruit, toasting bread, pouring wine.    

 

Last week we were out of town, so didn't get to do the usual Friday night tradition, but we're back home this week and I've been looking forward to it.   

[DeLurker]

That sounds really nice ALenore!

 

KnoxForPres - this week I'm particularly flush with leftovers.  I made a couple of meals that ended up being bigger than I thought they would be.  Plus, I've spent most of the week eating one form of soup or another.

[sunshinelover]

 

I'm making this soup tonight.   http://happymoneysaver.com/homemade-creamy-cheesy-broccoli-soup/

 

Cheesy broccoli soup with cheddar and gouda.  I'll probably add some red potatoes to make it a bit heartier.  I've made this a few times before and  I love it

[ALenore]

I made Colorado Green Chili Pork.   It was a lot of work, involving cutting up a pork roast, broiling, peeling,and chopping 13 chilis, and chopping onions, garlic, and tomatillos.  It was really good, but a bit on the spicy side.  Topped it with sour cream, and served cornbread on the side.  

[annzeepark914]

Marinated and grilled portobello mushrooms with aioli and TJ's roasted red peppers; some pilaf, and a salad.  I got the ones they called "sliders"...small portobello mushrooms that can be used as hamburger rolls, I guess (don't think I'd want a burger on them but that's just me...I prefer burgers on real rolls).

[BooksRule]

It's been a busy week at work and I have a ton of housecleaning to look forward to this weekend (I have to finish the fall housecleaning that I started a while back!), so tonight is my night to be a total couch potato.  I have a three-meat pizza from the deli in the toaster oven and if I want something sweet later, I have a single-serving of peach pie in the freezer that I can zap in the microwave.   Easy peasy!

[mansonlamps]

It's been a busy week at work and I have a ton of housecleaning to look forward to this weekend (I have to finish the fall housecleaning that I started a while back!), so tonight is my night to be a total couch potato.  I have a three-meat pizza from the deli in the toaster oven and if I want something sweet later, I have a single-serving of peach pie in the freezer that I can zap in the microwave.   Easy peasy!

Mmmm, gotta love three meats on pizza. Although I also adore plain cheese or Margherita, so go figure. I went for crispy Sriracha wings from a new BBQ place near me and boy they were good. Rounded out with their cole slaw and brownie, not healthy choices haha, but very tasty.

[ikmccall]

Chinese food from Wegman's.  Not bad but basically meh.

[ALenore]

Thursday, I made salmon, couscous pilaf, and broccoli.  Tonight I'm making one of my favorite easy dishes, chicken pot pie.  I'm using roast chicken left over from earlier this week, frozen peas & carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms, plus cream of chicken soup.  For this recipe, you stir all those ingredients in a skillet until bubbly, then put them in individual ramekins, then top them with pre-rolled pie crust that that you've already cut into disks and browned in the oven on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 8 minutes.  The recipe calls for it to be served right away, but I usually put them back in the oven for a few minutes so they get nice and hot. I also put the scraps of pie dough on the bottom of each ramekin before I put in the filling, so there's no waste.   When I make this I usually have extra filling left, which I freeze and can use for a really quick future meal.   

Edited November 21, 2015 by ALenore

[chessiegal]

Fish tacos. My Whole Food had mahi mahi on sale. I use a spice rub from a Bobby Flay recipe we love. The grillmaster grills it, and I serve it with mango salsa from the WF salsa bar and cheese. I also have cabbage slaw and broccoli slaw (from the WF salad bar) for the one of us (me), that wants some veggies with dinner. So easy.

[MargeGunderson]

Yum, pot pie! I will save some of my leftover turkey for pot pie with biscuit topping.

I made really easy delicious fajitas the other night. The recipe is http://rachelschultz.com/2014/06/02/oven-roasted-fajitas/I made her homade taco seasoning to use (look in the comments for the one which cuts down the recipe to a smaller amount). I love just putting a bunch of stuff on a baking sheet and letting it go. So easy!

I also made caramelized onions in the crockpot, and froze most of them in small spoonfuls to use later.

I started Thanksgiving cooking. Rolls are done and in the freezer (just needed to do a second rise and bake day of). Pie crust is also in the freezer. Today I made cranberry sauce with bourbon and dried cherries and a large Dutch oven of turkey stock. Tomorrow, I spatchcock a turkey!

Dinner tonight - Italian subs.

Edited November 23, 2015 by MargeGunderson

[Mittengirl]

I also made caramelized onions in the crockpot, and froze most of them in small spoonfuls to use later.

.

Details, please! I love camelized onion dip, but my efforts at carmelizing have been a failure. They either end up slightly tan or blackened.

Of course, if I master carmelizing onions I then run the risk of oinking out on onion dip, but I think I am willing to take that chance.

[Quof]

Barefoot Contessa's caramelized onion dip is the bomb.

[MargeGunderson]

Details, please! I love camelized onion dip, but my efforts at carmelizing have been a failure. They either end up slightly tan or blackened.

Of course, if I master carmelizing onions I then run the risk of oinking out on onion dip, but I think I am willing to take that chance.

Me too, which is why I tried the slow cooker method. It takes forever though - 10 hours at a minimum, more if you can. I started them overnight on low. I used the recipe on The Kitchen - http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-caramelize-onions-in-the-slow-cooker-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193413 . In the end I think I let them cook for 12 hours, 10 with the lid totally on and 2 with the lid partially off.

My one tip - stir a few times in the first hour because there isn't enough moisture yet to prevent the onions from sticking and getting too brown on the sides of the crock.

The Barefoot Contessa dip is the bomb!

Edited November 24, 2015 by MargeGunderson

[MargeGunderson]

Thanksgiving sides. My timing was completely off yesterday (thanks, oven! I hate you) so I was totally over it by the time we ate yesterday. I enjoyed them much more today. Now I'm going to whip some heavy cream, mascarpone, bourbon and maple syrup for the pumpkin pie!

[Tabbyclaw]

I've been living off of club sandwiches from Honeybaked Ham the last couple days. Not exactly by choice -- that's who catered the Black Friday madness at my store -- but I'm not exactly complaining either.

[MargeGunderson]

Last night I used up leftover mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, and stuffing to make turkey croquettes. I needed fresh bread crumbs, so I used rolls. It made more than I needed, so the rest went in the freezer (uncooked) for later. We had them with cranberry sauce and the rest of the green bean casserole.

Tonight, I made sweet potato and turkey gumbo and cornbread. That does it for the turkey!

[BooksRule]

My dad gave me two big grocery bags of mustard greens from his garden on Thanksgiving, and I finally got around to cooking them.  I always preferred turnip greens (just the greens, I don't care for the root) over mustard, because mustard can be so bitter sometimes.  However, these are some of the small new leaves, so I'm hoping they won't be bitter.  They have a little while to cook, but they do smell good (I put a couple of slices of bacon in first, browned them, and then put the greens in with some water).  I always eat my cooked greens with a little drizzle of white vinegar over the top (that might be a southern thing).  I'm also baking a chicken leg quarter with some BBQ sauce.    

[annzeepark914]

I made Dan Dan Mien for dinner tonight.  Didn't have all the ingredients the recipe calls for so I tossed in some raw fennel sliced and bell peppers and extra scallions. It was quite tasty.

[Bastet]

I love mustard greens, which is kind of funny since I hate mustard, but not because it's mostly the vinegar in mustard that I hate, not the mustard seed itself.

[Mountainair]

Well, my fetuses love of all things sugar has run its course. I've been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. Nothing new here- I had it with my first child as well, oddly enough it skipped my second. 

 

Now I can't simply just cook and enjoy the meal. I keep a notebook and write down every meal and do math!!! Ugh! I just found out on Friday after failing my one hour glucola test so I'm hoping to avoid taking the three hour test by just going ahead and saying I have diabetes. 

 

The hard part is trying to menu plan for my family so I'm not cooking 10 different meals a day. Anyone here have some good go-to diabetic family

friendly dinners?

[DeLurker]

That's a tough one Mountainair - complicates your life quite a bit, huh?

 

My Dad has diabetes and between the meds* and my Mom watching his portions of concerning food, things are usually kept under control.  I know that is not particularly helpful.

 

The only thing I can offer up is I make a veggie drink in my NutriBullet most days.  It is a mix of baby spinach, kale & swiss chard which I buy in a pack (but wash anyway when I am using it).  I add a piece of ginger root (not too big because that stuff can easily overwhelm) and an orange or two.  The resulting drink is an unsightly green, but lots of vitamins and I find quite filling.  Not good tasting, but not bad either and, much to my surprise, oddly addicting.  I drink about 4 - 6 oz. usually in the AM.

 

Well, that and eating tree nuts - almonds, cashews and walnuts come to mind,  I get mine from Trader Joe's because they sell raw, dry roasted & unsalted, dry roasted & 50% salted and dry roasted & salted.