What Did We Eat Today?

[DeLurker]

My day was a bit hectic so it was kids' choice night and they opted for pizza from Papa Johns.  I ate 2 slices for my dinner too and was rewarded with a never ending thirst from 11:00 on. 

I try to keep a handle on how much salt I use at home, so I always forget and get blasted when I eat out or get takeout.

[JTMacc99]

By the way, nuked cheese on a tortilla was one of my favorite extra meals I invented while I was drinking a couple beers between when the kids went to bed and when I went to bed. If the cheese was something like Jack or mild cheddar, I used to hit it with some Jalapeno Tabasco sauce to liven it up a bit. 

It's not really surprising it took me eight months to get back to normal size last year once I decided that was probably not a good plan.

[DeLurker]

If my nerves hold steady, I'll try to make one of my Mom's chicken recipes.  It is much loved by anyone who has ever tasted it, seems ridiculously easy (3 ingredients - chicken, soy sauce, lots of garlic, braise) but no one yet has been able to achieve the right balance of taste and visual appeal.  I've watched her make it a zillion times so, yet my efforts have been extremely subpar.

[annzeepark914]

Good luck, DeLurker!  Tonight I made a recipe sent by a friend: Chicken Parmesan Casserole.  I don't know where she found it (probably some place online). But you don't have to dip the chicken in egg + breadcrumbs, & that's what appealed to her.  It's a good recipe but it tells you to butterfly the chicken breasts. Well, being a bit of a know-it-all, I figured I could just pound the thickness out of the chicken breast.  After baking for an hour at 375, I cut into the casserole and the chicken still had rawness. Rats!  Back into the oven at 350 for 20 minutes and it was done.  Very good with extra seasoning, a little extra marinara, & thin spaghetti.  It's now a keeper and the house smells great :>) 

[chessiegal]

Chicken sausage meatball vegetable noodle soup. There was a rep offering tastings of a chicken sausage meatball (various ,flavorings) at the grocery store this week. I like the caramelized onion flavor. She mentioned they were good in soup. I found some chicken meatball soup recipes, and winged it from there. Sautéed some carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Added chicken broth, Italian seasoning, some frozen mixed veggies, the meatballs, and cooked egg noodles. It turned out rather tasty.

[DeLurker]

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Would you mind sharing the recipe?  Sounds good.

My chicken turned out pretty good - much better color this time and the flavor was definitely in the neighborhood I was looking for.

[mansonlamps]

17 hours ago, DeLurker said:

If my nerves hold steady, I'll try to make one of my Mom's chicken recipes.  It is much loved by anyone who has ever tasted it, seems ridiculously easy (3 ingredients - chicken, soy sauce, lots of garlic, braise) but no one yet has been able to achieve the right balance of taste and visual appeal.  I've watched her make it a zillion times so, yet my efforts have been extremely subpar.

Sounds like something my grandma used to make which she just called "chicken in a pot."  It took hours as I recall, but just melted in your mouth.  No one in our family can quite replicate it either.

[DeLurker]

My SILs that cook a lot, and very well, are certain my Mom leaves out a key ingredient or step when she gives them a recipe for something, but she doesn't.  She doesn't use recipes, so nothing is written down and she just knows how to increase or decrease ingredients based on how much she is cooking (she's made huge amounts of food for family parties and other gatherings - including a wedding or two).  She tastes along the way and makes adjustments based on that. 

Incredibly impressive and slightly infuriating when I try to replicate her dishes.  But my version of fried rice is now "as good or better than Grandma's" in my kids assessment and their review of last night's chicken was "really really good, almost like Grandma's".  Being on par with Mom/Grandma is the highest praise you can get in my family (among all of us - not just my part).

[annzeepark914]

16 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Would you mind sharing the recipe?  Sounds good.

My chicken turned out pretty good - much better color this time and the flavor was definitely in the neighborhood I was looking for.

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

4 chicken breasts, butterflied *

1-1/2 cups Panko

1 cup parmesan, freshly grated

1 cup mozzarella (use the sliced kind—easier to layer; I used fresh/sliced)

3 Tbsps parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

½ bunch fresh basil, chopped

2-1/2 cups marinara

1-1/2 tsps salt

Pepper to taste

In 8" x 8" dish, spread sauce evenly on bottom; then layer mozzarella; then basil evenly on top of cheese.

Season both sides of chicken breasts with S & P to taste; place evenly into pan over mozzarella/basil.

In bowl, mix Panko, parmesan, parsley & oregano.  Sprinkle evenly over chicken, then bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Serve with spaghetti & extra marinara.

My notes:  I used some garlic powder & Mural of Flavor (on the chicken, in the sauce & also in the Panko mixture).   You can use dried or fresh parsley. I put some butter on the top of the Panko mixture.  I could only find fresh mozzarella that was sliced--but I really liked its gooeyness when baked!

*next time I’m using chicken tenders or slicing up the chicken breasts.

Edited February 4, 2017 by annzeepark914

[MargeGunderson]

Thanks, @annzeepark914! My husband loves chicken Parmesan so this will be a huge hit. It's now on the menu for this week.

[Quof]

Roasted butternut squash and sweet potato soup.   I just topped it up with a little apple cider.  

[annzeepark914]

Bobby Flay has a great soup: Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup with Spicy Relish (I love the relish so much that I make a double batch).  I use the light version of unsweetened coconut milk.

[JTMacc99]

Made turkey teriyaki meatballs and rice. Good stuff 

[biakbiak]

Mussels with chorizo and arugula salad.

[harrie]

Rhode Island clam chowder.  

[mansonlamps]

Steak and eggs over cauliflower rice.  Trying to get back into low carb.

[Quof]

While I was making my soup, I decided I wanted bread, too.  But I decided to make no-knead bread, which has to sit for 12-18 hours.   So I just baked it for breakfast, and it's delicious.

[annzeepark914]

13 hours ago, harrie said:

Rhode Island clam chowder.  

@harrie:  is your Rhode Island clam chowder like the chowder they serve at Legal Seafood?  That's delicious!

[PRgal]

A 12" ish pizza, 1 lb of wings, a small bag of chips/guac and a small salad - Superbowl party food for my husband and myself.  Or, in other words, way, way too much food for two.

[harrie]

@annzeepark914, Sorry, I don't know.  I've never been to a Legal Seafood - have heard rave things about it, though.  I make clam chowder with a clear broth, using the (strained) water in which I steamed the clams, with potatoes and carrots and a little onion (and clams, of course). 

[annzeepark914]

Pineapple Fried Rice with some stir fried chicken.  Using up stuff from the freezer and fridge.

[Quof]

Grilled cheese on homemade white bread.

[MargeGunderson]

Husband had the leftover steak tips and potato skins from last night. I had a cheese stick as my indulgence yesterday left me with acid reflux. It was so good though!

[Qoass]

Hey, I made pineapple fried rice for the first time last week and am having the last bit of it at lunch with roasted chicken.  I'm not sure I would make it again but it was different from the usual side dish.

[biakbiak]

We had leftover Green Godess dip from our Super Bowl party so I thinned it out a bit and made a pasta salad with tomatoes, peas, arugula and red onion not only delicious but pretty.

[annzeepark914]

Grilled (indoors) pork chops, steamed fresh asparagus (thin and they turned out so delicious, dipped into homemade Thousand Island), and we tried for the first time Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes which were very good (I nuked them).  My sister raved about eating them when she was going through dental work so I thought I'd try them.  I bought the ones that are called Loaded (so of course they were quite tasty!)

[SoCal Mema]

Philadelphia (of the cream cheese brand) also makes a microwaveable mashed potato side dish, found in the refrigerated aisle that is quite tasty and great for a quick fix.

[biakbiak]

Yummy kielbasa (blanking on the type) that I bought on a whim from a polish deli that makes a gazillion varieties braised in saurekraut with dill potatoes, perfect meal on a windy and rainy day.

[annzeepark914]

Fried eggplant and modified Caesar Salad.  This afternoon I made the little strawberry-lemon heart shaped cake (Duncan Hines) for my neighborhood coffee tomorrow morning (hope some folks show up...we're supposed to have snow and you know how that goes in metro DC area!)  The glaze was white so I put a teeny drop of red (natural they say) food coloring in it and it turned pink.  Looks cute.  

[BooksRule]

Fried Spam sandwich, some chips and dip (and cupcake for dessert).  It's been a long day.

[DeLurker]

When I was growing up, every  once in a while we would have Spam & eggs for dinner. Good times

[JTMacc99]

Spaghetti night. Snowy day seems like a good time to make some sauce. 

[harrie]

Chicken quesadillas tonight with homemade guac on the side. 

[JTMacc99]

40 minutes ago, harrie said:

homemade guac

I'll be doing this with my daughter this afternoon. We've got some chips leftover from the weekend so that's snack time today. 

[ariel]

9 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Spaghetti night. Snowy day seems like a good time to make some sauce. 

Snowy days are the best to make sauce and/or chicken stock.

[PRgal]

Steamed stuffed peppers with ground turkey, steamed vegetables and sorghum (a kind of grain).

[annzeepark914]

@harrie:  you got me thinking about quesadillas and since I had some flour tortillas in the fridge, that's what I made for dinner tonight.  Thin slices of leftover pork chop, some leftover sauted mushrooms reheated, mild banana pepper rings, a little mild onion & Swiss cheese w/ a bit of Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce.  Definitely a keeper quesadilla!

[Qoass]

Quote

  23 HOURS AGO, JTMACC99 SAID:

Spaghetti night. Snowy day seems like a good time to make some sauce. 

Snowy days are the best to make sauce and/or chicken stock.

I made my ham and bean soup but this weekend we're getting more snow so I'll be making spaghetti sauce with meatballs.

[DeLurker]

Made my version of rice vermicelli noodles* last night for me, steak for the kids.

My noodles turned out decent, but visually unappealing.  I need to probably make 1/2 of what I made so it is more manageable for me to handle and not put purple cabbage (sliced very thinly) in.  The cabbage got a bit overcooked so is making the noodles near a piece of it stained the color of a bruise.

This is a dish my Mom makes and I love it, so still trying to get the taste right.  Last night's had shrimp, matchstick carrots, matchstick celery, green onions, bean spouts and purple cabbage in it seasoned with sesame oil soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and miso soup concentrate,  Oh, and white pepper.

*think Singapore Noodles but no curry because it is evil.

[BooksRule]

Skillet corn tonight:  Cook several slices of bacon and remove from pan.  Pour bag of frozen corn (fresh is good if you have it) into pan along with some butter.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until corn gets hot and some of the corn starts to brown a little.  Crumble the bacon back in and serve.  

[biakbiak]

We ordered Thai food a few days ago and for some reason they included a large container of peanut sauce, it didn't go with any of our dishes, so I marinated some chicken thighs in soy, ginger, garlic and sambal and did a pan-fried noodle stir fry with the peanut sauce and veggies.

[harrie]

23 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

@harrie:  you got me thinking about quesadillas and since I had some flour tortillas in the fridge, that's what I made for dinner tonight.  Thin slices of leftover pork chop, some leftover sauted mushrooms reheated, mild banana pepper rings, a little mild onion & Swiss cheese w/ a bit of Trader Joe's Aioli Garlic Mustard Sauce.  Definitely a keeper quesadilla!

That sounds excellent! I had banana pepper rings and completely forgot about them - duh!!

[Bastet]

Tonight is going to be one of those nights I make a vat of spinach, artichoke & cheese dip, open a bag of tortilla chips, plop down in front of the TV and call it dinner.  To balance that out in advance, last night I made a stir fry with snow peas, bean sprouts, and chicken (that was marinated with garlic, ginger and lime juice).

[JTMacc99]

Ground chicken was on sale today so I scanned my recipe apps and came up with Italian chicken sausage patties. Spice it up with basil, oregano, crushed red pepper and salt. Then interestingly bread crumbs and ground parmesan cheese. They were pretty good!  Served them on buns with coleslaw and roasted red potatoes on the side. 

[annzeepark914]

@JTMacc99:  That sounds delicious!  I make something similar for Ina's Italian Wedding Soup and have said--one of these days I should flatten out these meatballs to make patties.  Thanks for the good idea :>)

[biakbiak]

Mango stuffed sole with sautéed vegetables and brown rice. 

[annzeepark914]

Last night was Red Bean and Sausage Soup.  I added some extra tomato paste (frozen tablespoons--wanted to use them up, only a few left in the bag) and I think that made the soup even better.  

[JTMacc99]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Last night was Red Bean and Sausage Soup.  I added some extra tomato paste (frozen tablespoons--wanted to use them up, only a few left in the bag) and I think that made the soup even better.  

That's a good idea. I never thought of freezing it after I open a can. 

Vegetarian chili tonight. At least I know I will like it. 

[Spunkygal]

@JTMacc99, regarding freezing tomato paste, a friend recently taught me to cut both ends of the can and using one of the cut ends, push the cylinder of paste on the chopping board. Then slice into whatever size pieces you want and freeze. I have wasted so much paste in the past when I only needed a tablespoon or so.

i also freeze pesto in ice cube trays, pop out when frozen and put them back in the freezer in a bag.

Edited February 12, 2017 by Spunkygal

[harrie]

@Spunkygal, that's a great tomato paste tip!  We buy it in a tube, which is expensive, and it always goes bad before we've used the whole tube. Cans it is from now on. 

Tonight is Gratin Dauphinois from the Les Halles cookbook, but the hub throws in ham. It's basically heart attack on a plate, but we only have it once or twice a year.