What Did We Eat Today?

[chessiegal]

Last night, Whole Foods chicken tikka masala from the fresh foods section. Surprisingly good. We're headed to Florida today, and I didn't want dirty pots and pans to clean up or fresh food that will go bad, so the fridge is looking empty.

[Qoass]

I'm trying really hard to clear out the fridge so I may be reduced to the last of the cheese on leftover crackers tonight.

[theredhead77]

Blackened shrimp over farro with fried rosemary and a Cesar salad.

And I'm kinda working on a blog.

[biakbiak]

Stupid annoying day so we ordered all the Chinese food in the world to local delivery and eating it front of the TV while watching Planet Earth and drinking Guwertizminer.

[JTMacc99]

13 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Stupid annoying day so we ordered all the Chinese food in the world to local delivery and eating it front of the TV while watching Planet Earth and drinking Guwertizminer.

I think this is a most excellent inspiration for my dinner tonight. First of all, I can't freaking wait until the temperatures finally get up to the 50s or better starting next week and I can take the cover off of the gas grill. Makes week nights so much easier.  Second, with freezing cold again, I have no inspiration to make anything tonight, so Chinese sound perfect.  Third, I stepped on the scale for the first time in a little while, and apparently I can afford to eat some fried rice.  Dropping a few pounds out of the blue is like finding $20 in my pocket. I'm gonna go spend it.  Fourth, Mmm... Gewurztraminer.

[biakbiak]

The best part of over ordering Chinese is cold leftovers for breakfast which might be my favorite breakfast.

[Lovecat]

I'm making one of those recipes that made the rounds on Facebook earlier in the week:  Baked Pesto Chicken.  Chicken tenders covered with pesto, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese, s&p, parmesan, Italian seasonings, bake at 400*F for 40 min...sounds like deliciousness in a flash to me!  It's been a busy week, and I've subsisted on leftovers (yummy leftovers--the end of a great soup I made when it snowed, and some miscellaneous chicken and pork--but leftovers still), so I'm really looking forward to something freshly made.

[Qoass]

I'm really not sure... it came out of the freezer and it's sort of reddish brown and lumpy.  I'm thinking soup?

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, Qoass said:

I'm really not sure... it came out of the freezer and it's sort of reddish brown and lumpy.  I'm thinking soup?

Watch out, QOASS!  Let it thaw a bit more.  You never know what that could be :>)

3 hours ago, Lovecat said:

I'm making one of those recipes that made the rounds on Facebook earlier in the week:  Baked Pesto Chicken.  

This sounds delicious!  I might make it one of these days as I always have those ingredients on hand.  Thanks.

[Qoass]

It was ham and bean soup which I ate with the last of the brie cheese and crackers.  I'm trying really hard to get through all the odds and ends in my pantry before filling it up again but damn, eating is no fun this week.

[Lovecat]

Aw, rats!  I thought we were going to have time for quick game of "What's this mystery freezer food?" while it thawed out.  FTR, I was going to guess chili :)

[Qoass]

There IS some chili still in the freezer!  I will probably defrost some of that this weekend.

[JTMacc99]

Leftover Chinese food for some, leftover whatever the heck else is in the fridge for others.  There will be no new meals created this evening.

[biakbiak]

Slow baked salmon, roasted asparagus, avocado "hollandaise" and lemon couscous. 

[JTMacc99]

After softball practice here, I'm making burritos for lunch and firing up the smoker for pulled pork for dinner. 

[biakbiak]

Making a salmon  "niçoise" pasta salad, I apparently like to make faux versions of French dishes. Tomorrow it's salmon chowder, it was a big piece of salmon!

[theredhead77]

Last night was Poke from the local Poke place. Tonight is 3 bean chili.

[DeLurker]

19 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

Tonight is 3 bean chili.

I read this on my phone and so I thought it was 3 beer chili - I was wondering if that was how many you drank while making it or what?  This should be a new unit of time - an easy-peasy dinner is a 1 beer rating and so on.

 

2 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

firing up the smoker for pulled pork

What would the beer rating be for pulled pork?

[JTMacc99]

Just now, DeLurker said:

I read this on my phone and so I thought it was 3 beer chili - I was wondering if that was how many you drank while making it or what?  This should be a new unit of time - an easy-peasy dinner is a 1 beer rating and so on.

 

What would the beer rating be for pulled pork?

Well, it takes a few seconds to start a chimney of charcoal, a minute to cover the pork in a dry rub, and a few minutes in total setting everything up and making sure the temperature settles in correctly. 

Then like 2-3 hours to get it smoked for the size I chose. Wrap it in foil and another couple hours to get it up to temp. Another few minutes to shred and sauce. 

So one beer on difficulty, six to a twelve pack on time. 

[Mountainair]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

Well, it takes a few seconds to start a chimney of charcoal, a minute to cover the pork in a dry rub, and a few minutes in total setting everything up and making sure the temperature settles in correctly. 

Then like 2-3 hours to get it smoked for the size I chose. Wrap it in foil and another couple hours to get it up to temp. Another few minutes to shred and sauce. 

So one beer on difficulty, six to a twelve pack on time. 

That's funny. I was just talking to my husband about how we need to pick a weekend soon to smoke some Boston Butts for an upcoming party we will be hosting in May. We usually smoke, shred and freeze them because our process takes about 12 hours total and no one wants to be up doing that the night before a big party. 

Tonight we are going to grill some burgers for dinner and I'll fry up some onion rings for a side. I also marinated cucumber, tomato and onion so I can say we ate some vegetables! 

[JTMacc99]

I've never needed to cook nice big stuff that takes 12 hours. The 3.5 pound piece I am cooking is sitting at about 170 now. Smells so good. 

[DeLurker]

Going to dinner at my brother's - high probability that it will be something on the grill.  I've made a salad and a fruit & vegetable plate as my contribution. 

The store had gorgeous strawberries (organic!) on sale so I had to buy them because they were beautiful and on sale, just $0.20 more than non-organic. 

[theredhead77]

I made a steak on my George Foreman grill with a side of charred brussel sprouts and fried rosemary.

[MargeGunderson]

Cheater's lasagna (made with frozen ravioli) and sautéed shredded Brussels sprouts with Parmesan. 

[Mountainair]

Brussel sprouts were trendy this weekend! I made some tonight along with mashed potatoes (powdered ones- we were outside all day getting yard work done, enjoying the first warm day of Spring and I didn't feel like making real potatoes) and a chuck roast in the crock pot. 

[theredhead77]

I made this in my instant pot using the saute feature and slow cooker feature

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size sweet onion
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 1 can cannellini beans (or your favorite beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes, flavor of your choice (I used Sprouts "salsa" spiced diced tomatoes)
• 2 bags frozen mixed vegetables (I used "Italian style"). Use whichever mixture appeals to you.
• 1 bag frozen chopped kale
• 1 c. farro
• 1 packet Knorr Homestock starter (I used chicken) prepared according to directions
• 1 bullion cube (I used chicken) and prepared it to half the direction - 1 cup of water instead of two - set aside to prepare and add later

Directions:

• Chop an onion and slice a few large cloves of garlic. Add a bit of olive oil and saute until it smells onion and garlicy.
• Remove onion and garlic from pot and dissolve the homestock starter in 3.5 cups of boiling water, per directions.
• Add onion and garlic
• Dump everything else in
• stir
• add bay leaves to the top
• Use the Instant Pot slow-cooker setting on low for 4 hours
• About 2 hours in, stir, taste and add the dissolved bullion cube*
• About 3 hours in, stir, taste and add salt
• Cover and leave alone for the last hour

* you can probably add the bullion from the start but I didn't.

Edited March 27, 2017 by theredhead77
clarify some steps

[JTMacc99]

I'm going to figure out how to tinker with this @theredhead77 so that my daughter will eat it, because it sounds really good.

As for me, tonight I think will be grilled chicken, or possibly grilled chicken patties which aren't so bad once I doctor them up with a whole bunch of southwest type seasonings.  Tomorrow, as it is run around and take people places after work day, I'm heating up the pulled pork I talked about earlier and serving it on onion rolls. Probably throw some fruit on the plate to make me feel better about it.  Got a most excellent smoke ring as seen here before I shredded it. 

Also, I think I'm going to put this photo in my Tinder profile.

Edited March 27, 2017 by JTMacc99

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

Also, I think I'm going to put this photo in my Tinder profile.

Marry me.

[JTMacc99]

Hee! When I made that joke on Facebook, my friend Becky said "Do it! Girls like guys who can cook."  I was more thinking that it appeals to my sense of humor, hoping to stand out as different, and to get funny reactions like that. 

By the way, overheard in my kitchen when I was shredding that sucker, "That smells so fucking good."  Indeed it did.

[ariel]

I have a bad cold. Tonight my meal will be a very lazy one.  Stouffers Mac & Cheese.  I might get a little chefy & add some smoked paprika to it.

[MargeGunderson]

2 hours ago, ariel said:

I have a bad cold. Tonight my meal will be a very lazy one.  Stouffers Mac & Cheese.  I might get a little chefy & add some smoked paprika to it.

Me too (actually, I think it might be the flu). I had rice pudding and orange juice. 

[BooksRule]

I stayed late at work and just got home, so dinner tonight is my 'mock stir fry' (brown rice, sliced grilled chicken filet--zapped in microwave, sauteed onion, steamed fresh asparagus all tossed with some stir fry sauce.

[DeLurker]

Tonight was taco salad for me, tacos w/a side of rice pilaf for my son and just rice pilaf for my daughter.  Plus watermelon for all.

[biakbiak]

Broccoli and ham rice cassarole.

[theredhead77]

4 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Hee! When I made that joke on Facebook, my friend Becky said "Do it! Girls like guys who can cook."  I was more thinking that it appeals to my sense of humor, hoping to stand out as different, and to get funny reactions like that.

I reply to guys who show off their grilling skills. They never write back, but I reply.

[Qoass]

I'm continuing to try to clean out my pantry so I made some bacon, lentil and vegetable soup this weekend.  Even though I used turkey bacon (yeah, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel, or freezer in this case) and neglected to remove one of the bay leaves before hitting the puree button, it's not so bad.  Also, the last of the pretzels with garlic hummus.

That said, it's taking all my discipline not to chuck everything in the bin and get take out.

[DeLurker]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

That said, it's taking all my discipline not to chuck everything in the bin and get take out.

I would have started with chucking everything and rewarding myself with take out for being so efficient.  Double points if I did it on garbage day.

[Qoass]

I hear ya, but my budget won't allow for that right now.

[annzeepark914]

Tilapia, baked a la the Barefoot Contessa (Herb Roasted Fish, complete with the ceregnola olives and sprigs of Thyme).  I don't do the packets anymore (like Ina does)...I just bake on parchment paper covered with foil.  AND, I tried spiral zucchini since my neighbor was raving about it.  Well, you have to be creative with this stuff so I sauted some garlic in olive oil, then tossed in the spiral zucchini, added some garlic powder, S&P, and moved it around a bit.  Then I added some grated parmesan and put the lid on.  It was OK.  But the stuff is expensive and I don't want to buy the attachment for my KA and do it myself.  I really like tilapia baked this way.  Mr. P914 is not a fan of tilapia so he had a good time reheating leftovers from a Sunday dinner party.

[Quof]

It's been a long day, I'm too tired to even explain.    So I drove thru McDonalds, which I never do. Seriously, never.   The drive thru menu wasn't lit up, and I have no idea what they actually sell any more.  So I just ordered the largest size fries they sell.  

It made me happy.

[ariel]

I still have a cold.  Tonight will be French Onion Soup.  I'm using a Jacques Pepin recipe that uses chicken stock instead of beef.  I will be substituting Jarlsberg cheese for Gruyere because that's what I have in my fridge.

Edited March 29, 2017 by ariel

[theredhead77]

A salad that I dumped leftover canned chicken on.

[DeLurker]

Baked Greek chicken & baked Greek fries.  First time for both so keeping my fingers crossed.

[MargeGunderson]

3 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

Baked Greek chicken & baked Greek fries.  First time for both so keeping my fingers crossed.

Please share if they turn out well, they sound really good!

[Qoass]

A quesadilla with another mystery container from the freezer.  I'm pretty sure it was black bean and kale.  I only have enough tortillas for one more serving so I'm considering whether the rest would work in a frittata tomorrow.

[DeLurker]

18 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

Please share if they turn out well, they sound really good!

It turned out pretty good - just did a search for baked Greek chicken to get ideas for the marinade (I tend to peruse multiple ones and end up with a Frankenrecipe) and used chicken thighs.  The thighs tasted good, but were a touch of done so I'll have to tinker with the temperature, time or dish I cook them in.  The potatoes turned out really well - I'll need to make quite a bit more next time just because I could have eaten all of them without a problem.  I used skin on baby Yukons.

The marinade I settled on was olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, lots of oregano & garlic, a spoon of dijon mustard, some salt & pepper, and a couple of shakes of Goya Sazonador Total.  For the potatoes I used a slightly modified version of the chicken marinade (no garlic and no mustard) and tossed it the potatoes in it just prior to baking.  I did bake the fries on parchment paper (cited in several recipes I looked up) and made sure to place them all skin side down.

I ended up keeping the chicken marinade and throwing some skinless, boneless pieces of chicken in it to make for tonight's dinner - chicken gyros.

Add a fresh fruit and vegetable plate and that was dinner at Casa DeLurker last night.

[annzeepark914]

Crispy Pork Medallions, Spanish Roasted Potato Salad, and Fattoush (Ina's recipe).

[biakbiak]

Spicy tuna poke bowl. So so good.

[JTMacc99]

It's so dreary here today. I'm tempted to let the pizza guy cover for me, but the kids and I are eating lunch at Virgil's in NYC tomorrow, so probably should go lighter fare for dinner tonight. 

[DeLurker]

On 3/30/2017 at 10:36 AM, DeLurker said:

I ended up keeping the chicken marinade and throwing some skinless, boneless pieces of chicken in it to make for tonight's dinner - chicken gyros.

These turned out decent.  Grilling them would have been the better choice.