What Did We Eat Today?

[Bastet]

Something with andouille sausage (I'm still mulling that over; maybe just sausage and peppers as I think I have half an orange pepper and half a red), a steamed artichoke (dipping sauce will be mayo/sour cream mixture with garlic, lemon zest, and a pinch of cayenne pepper), and a spinach based salad, with other ingredients to be determined by what I have left in the crisper.

Now I'm tempted to use the sausage to make stuffed artichokes, but I already made the dipping sauce.  Oh, well - next time.  I always have artichokes when they're in season and I'm never without at least one type of sausage.

[biakbiak]

Wild coho salmon, roasted asparagus, parsleyed potatoes and hollandaise and strawberry shortcake.

[annzeepark914]

Tonight I made chicken soup and a big salad which was perfect for a rainy evening (and used up some veggies in the crisper and leftover chicken breasts).

[Lura]

We're both under the weather after too many sick guests overstaying their welcome so that we could feed and care for them!  LOL  We'll have something easy like our family version of a breakfast sandwich -- fried egg, bacon, tomato and lettuce sandwiches with mayo on toasted sourdough and maybe a cup of leftover baked potato soup -- and then hit the hay early.  That should cure whatever ails us!

Such wonderful ideas you good cooks have!  I love reading them.  Mindthinkr, your easy Italian sausage dinner has me salivating! 

[Nysha]

I had homemade chicken pot pie. Yesterday I cooked a 2.5 lb bag of frozen chicken thighs in the crockpot with mushrooms, carrots, and red potatoes. Half the leftovers went into the pie and the other half will be frozen in individual containers for future lunches. 

[Lura]

This is funny, Nysha!  I wonder whether it was the power of suggestion!  I made a chicken pot pie for dinner, along with a crispy green salad, and apple bread pudding with caramel sauce.  

Edited April 28, 2018 by Lura

[MargeGunderson]

Chinese BBQ pork, baby Bok Choy with oyster sauce and garlic, and white rice. I will have lots of leftover pork so I’m going to make pork buns (baked, not steamed) and sesame noodles with pork for lunch this week.

[Mindthinkr]

Chicken Cobb salad. Stripes will be of hard boiled eggs, peppers, scallions, blue cheese, tomatoes, chicken, carrots, bacon, homemade croutons and Kalamata olives. I’m serving it with a homemade vinaigrette. 

Reading everyone’s posts has made me hungry! 

[Lura]

Garlicky roasted spatchcock chicken with rosemary potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, carrots and onions.  Easy and filling, and just what we like on Saturday nights!  Had a light lunch at a house warming, so we're hungry already.  Getting this into the oven in a couple of minutes so we can have an early supper.

[Quof]

Lamb stew.

[chessiegal]

A favorite we have about once a week as long as there is no snow on the grill. Gilled salmon filet (marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, and dill). steamed asparagus, and baked potato. Healthy and easy.

ETA: Tonight it was served with a glass of Decoy Sonoma County Chardonnay.

Edited April 30, 2018 by chessiegal

[Lura]

^^^Gilled salmon filet or grilled???  LOL

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Sauce, twice-baked potatoes, green beans almondine, Mom's cherry Jello salad (Jello isn't a dirty word in our house!), homemade cloverleaf rolls, and chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. 

In my childhood, a friend of my mother's made popcorn every Sunday night for supper.  That was it.  Anything else, the family fixed for themselves.  She said that she cooked three meals a day every day of the week, and she took Sunday nights off!  I'd never heard of that before.  For us, it will be sandwiches of some kind on my homemade Butter Bread.

Edited April 30, 2018 by Lura
typo

[biakbiak]

A spicy version of my great grandmother's sweet and sour chicken wings, potato salad, baked beans and choices of chocolate and peanut butter cookies or homemade vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce (though I imagine some people will choose both).

[chessiegal]

Chicken Tikki Masala over saffron rice.

[Lura]

We're invited to a birthday dinner tonight at the home of friends.  The hostess begged me to take the cake.  So, since the birthday "boy" is a chocolaholic, I've made a chocolate fudge layer cake (four layers) iced with vanilla whipped cream mixture and strawberries.

chessiegal, your dinner sounds delicious!

Edited May 1, 2018 by Lura
add-on

[chessiegal]

A favorite we keep in rotation - grilled chicken breast that is marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, minced garlic, and rosemary. Served with steamed broccoli and baked potato. Bonus was it was warm enough to eat al fresco on the back porch.

[Nysha]

I'm really enjoying my Instant Pot. Last night I sauteed 2 thick cut pork loin chops in olive oil, took them out & tossed in some chopped garlic, added the chops, a cup of 1/2 beef broth & 1/2 beefy mushroom soup, and 2 russet potatoes cut in half. It took 10 minutes to pressurize, 30 minutes to cook, and I used the quick release, then the saute feature to thicken the broth with cornstarch to make gravy. Combined with a mixed green salad, it made a great meal for 2.

[Lura]

It's an easy night for the cook.  Meat loaf, scalloped potatoes, mélange of roasted veggies (corn, green beans, carrots, scallions, broccoli and a touch of garlic) tossed in butter, ice cream and fresh strawberry sundaes and glazed sables for dessert.

[EllieH]

We finished off the hot dogs we'd grilled on Sunday, with some roasted cauliflower and zucchini fries for sides

[annzeepark914]

I made a new recipe: Korean Ground Beef & Rice, but I used vermicelli and made some extra sauce.  Think it's a keeper.

[Mindthinkr]

Last night was lamb lollipops, salad and this zucchini recipe. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. It’s absolutely delicious. 

Sautee half an onion in a quarter up of olive oil. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, a pepper chopped up (I used an orange one but green tastes better) then some freshly grated garlic. Then I added 3 zucchini’s sliced thin and 6 small tomatoes chopped up. You can substitute a 12 oz can of diced. When the zucchini is tender and cooked, I add 3-4 ounces of grated cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Make sure at this point to take it off the heat so the cheese doesn’t burn or stick. Everyone enjoyed it. My friend brought chocolate covered strawberries for desert. 

The basil is about a foot tall so tonight will be steamed clams for the prima and then pesto on pasta. 

[annzeepark914]

44 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

The basil is about a foot tall so tonight will be steamed clams for the prima and then pesto on pasta. 

Mindthinkr: So, what time's dinner?  I love clams: steamed, fried, even raw with a dollop of cocktail sauce and a squirt of lemon juice.

[Mindthinkr]

3 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Mindthinkr: So, what time's dinner?  I love clams: steamed, fried, even raw with a dollop of cocktail sauce and a squirt of lemon juice.

 Cocktail hour begins at 5. Usually red wine.  Dinner is on the table at 6:30. Then it’s espresso and Cognac for desert with a piece of Italian chocolate. Then we watch Jeopardy. 

Edited to add: the clams are streamed in white wine with some parsley sprigs and garlic cloves. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Mindthinkr

[MargeGunderson]

It was 90 yesterday so I pulled out a bunch of stuff from the fridge and ended up with chicken, bacon and ranch pasta salad. Which I'm eating for lunch and dinner tonight, because it's still hot. 

[Lura]

Another easy-on-the-broken-arm/shoulder dinner:  grilled shrimp on the barbecue marinated in and later drizzled with salmoriglio sauce, lemon and garlic potatoes, fresh asparagus, and applesauce.  Leftover strawberry shortcake for a finish.  If anyone is still hungry, maybe Mindthinkr will allow them to mooch an Italian chocolate! 

[mansonlamps]

For no particular reason whatsoever, I decided to make a Ukrainian dish called plov (pretty sure this is what we Americans renamed pilaf).  The version I am making uses buckwheat instead of rice.  It's not quite done yet, but my house smells delicious.

[Mindthinkr]

Dinner was every bit as good as I had hoped it would be. There’s a really good fish monger nearby. He doesn’t always have a lot of selection but what he has is fresh caught and good. The clams were small, tender and there was no sand grit. The pesto tasted so fresh. The basil came out of our garden and copious amounts of garlic was used. The Parmesan was some he brought back from Italy. It just tasted like spring. 

Yes, there’s enough espresso and chocolate for whomever needs to come over for dessert. Life is good today. Wishing everyone else the same. 

[scriggle]

@mansonlamps, what recipe did you use? I have some buckwheat and would love to do something different with it.

[mansonlamps]

@scriggle, I used THIS recipe.  Be forewarned, it makes a TON.

[scriggle]

Thanks!

[annzeepark914]

Eastern European Chicken Paprikash (from a recipe I found back in the early days of online recipes...c.1996!!) over thin spaghetti rather than egg noodles (had to use up all those half filled boxes of pasta).

[mansonlamps]

I have a family recipe for this, and it is one of my favorites!  If you happen to have an Aldi store near you, they sell the absolute best spaetzle for this dish.  You need a noodle with a little "bite" in my opinion.  Enjoy.

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Eastern European Chicken Paprikash (from a recipe I found back in the early days of online recipes...c.1996!!) over thin spaghetti rather than egg noodles (had to use up all those half filled boxes of pasta).

[chessiegal]

A treat for me - my husband made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast while I sat on the back porch sipping a gin and tonic. :-}

[Giselle]

I barbecued pork sticks and shrimp then made a vegetable stir fry and sticky rice. Mangos and coconut sticky rice for dessert. 

[DeLurker]

9 hours ago, Giselle said:

Mangos and coconut sticky rice for dessert.

Would you share your recipe please?  And your preferred method for cooking the rice?

I bought the rice and coconut milk a few weeks ago and I just bought some lovely mangos on Thursday.  I've never made sticky rice before so have been hesitant to give it a go.

[annzeepark914]

On 5/4/2018 at 8:56 PM, mansonlamps said:

I have a family recipe for this, and it is one of my favorites!  If you happen to have an Aldi store near you, they sell the absolute best spaetzle for this dish.  You need a noodle with a little "bite" in my opinion.  Enjoy.

Thanks for the tip re: spaetzle--love spaetzle!  If it's not a secret, please post your family recipe.  I'm always looking for additions and/or improvements :>)

[chessiegal]

A tried and true favorite - Trader Joe's lemon marinated spatchcocked chicken. So moist and flavorful. Served with steamed asparagus and baked potato. Washed down with a glass of Chateaux Montaud rose from Cotes de Provence.

[Mindthinkr]

My brother and his wife are joining us, so I’m cooking him his favorite. Lobster Newburg in puff pastry shells. There will be grilled filets of beef (his wife and I are allergic to shellfish), Potato salad, peas, a watermelon cucumber mint salad with feta and a honey vinaigrette and a lemon meringue pie for desert. Served with a light Pinot Noir. I did make homemade sour mix for my bros pre-dinner whiskey sour. I’m a good sister. 

[BooksRule]

It'll be a late supper tonight, because I just decided a few minutes ago to oven-BBQ the country-style ribs I bought instead of putting the package in the freezer.  I usually cook them at low heat for several hours to get them tender, but I'll just have to cook at a slightly higher heat for a couple of hours.  If worse comes to worse, I'll fix my mac 'n cheese to eat if I get too hungry and have a rib or two later tonight (and put the rest in the fridge for tomorrow). 

[chessiegal]

We did a fundraising walk for Cystic Fibrosis on the Eastern Shore this morning, ending with a lovely lunch at a waterfront restaurant. We both had a crab cake sandwich. It was good. It's always a point of discussion in the Annapolis area of who has the best crab cakes. We stopped at Panera Bread on the way home and both got their strawberry poppy seed with chicken salad for dinner.

[Giselle]

On 5/5/2018 at 6:01 AM, DeLurker said:

Would you share your recipe please?  And your preferred method for cooking the rice?

I bought the rice and coconut milk a few weeks ago and I just bought some lovely mangos on Thursday.  I've never made sticky rice before so have been hesitant to give it a go.

The recipe is my sister in law's she's from the Isan region of Thailand. God she's a wonderful cook. She doesn't use measuring cups and spoons. She has a "cooking spoon" she uses to measure almost everything. She gave me her second spoon. 

The sweet rice made using the traditional Thai bamboo basket over a pot and soaking the rice the night before then steaming it the next day.

Please give me a day or two to figure out the measurements.

[mansonlamps]

23 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Thanks for the tip re: spaetzle--love spaetzle!  If it's not a secret, please post your family recipe.  I'm always looking for additions and/or improvements :>)

No secret, but be warned this is a very simple and old fashioned recipe.  Followed ( in my cookbook) with a recipe for homemade dumplings, but I go for the Aldi spaetzle.

1 chicken cut into pieces

1/2 stick butter

1 medium onion chopped

1 T paprika

Garlic powder

4 oz. half and half sour cream

1 t white vinegar

1 T  flour dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water

Melt butter in frying pan.  Add chopped onion, paprika and chicken pieces.  Brown on all sides.  Sprinkle with pepper and garlic.  Add about 3 cups hot water and cook one about one hour.  When chicken is done, add sour cream, vinegar and flour mixture.  Serve over dumplings (spaetzle).  

Comfort food at its best for me!

[EllieH]

Pizza, for a lazy Sunday dinner

[annzeepark914]

Thanks, mansonlamps.  Your old family recipe is about the same as the one I found online back in '96 (it's called Central European Chicken Paprikash) except mine calls for a can of tomatoes (probably from a different part of Central Europe, right?)  I gave the recipe to a friend who made it for dinner tonight and they loved it.  I'm going to try spaetzle next time and will look for it at Aldi's.

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

We did a fundraising walk for Cystic Fibrosis on the Eastern Shore this morning, ending with a lovely lunch at a waterfront restaurant. We both had a crab cake sandwich. It was good. It's always a point of discussion in the Annapolis area of who has the best crab cakes. We stopped at Panera Bread on the way home and both got their strawberry poppy seed with chicken salad for dinner.

I guess that was CFF's Great Strides you walked in (I used to work for CF years ago--it's a very good cause, raising funds to fight a terrible disease).  That chicken salad at Panera's sounds good.

[chessiegal]

8 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Thanks, mansonlamps.  Your old family recipe is about the same as the one I found online back in '96 (it's called Central European Chicken Paprikash) except mine calls for a can of tomatoes (probably from a different part of Central Europe, right?)  I gave the recipe to a friend who made it for dinner tonight and they loved it.  I'm going to try spaetzle next time and will look for it at Aldi's.

I guess that was CFF's Great Strides you walked in (I used to work for CF years ago--it's a very good cause, raising funds to fight a terrible disease).  That chicken salad at Panera's sounds good.

Yes, the 7th Great Strides walk sponsored by the aunt of 2 nieces with CF. One is a freshman in college and the other a junior in high school. They are doing so well, thanks in part to access to treatment at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. They are the granddaughters of a very dear friend. Such a good cause.

[chessiegal]

Tonight I made a potato frittata with sautéed onions and green bell pepper, bacon, some half & half, sharp cheddar and parmesan cheeses. My husband declared it worthy of guests.

ETA: Enough left over for lunch tomorrow.

Edited May 8, 2018 by chessiegal

[Mindthinkr]

When everyone here makes sticky rice (with mango) do you put food coloring in it to make it purple? 

I cant wait to try @Giselle‘s recipe. 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Mindthinkr

[Giselle]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

When everyone here makes sticky rice (with mango) do you put food coloring in it to make it purple? 

I cant wait to try @Giselle‘s recipe. 

If anyone would like the recipe I can pm them.

The recipe, which is really easy, ended up being quite long do to detailed instructions. I only know how to do it with a Thai cone basket steamer and pot. You can get these on line or at a Thai grocery store, my sister in law gave me mine. I'm fortunate enough to have Thai town and LAX-C here in the LA basin. I refer to LAX-C as the Thai Costco. It's a huge warehouse that seems to have everything.

The rice is a special glutinous rice also called sweet rice.

Mindthinkr and DeLurker, I've sent the recipe  to you.

 

Mindthinkr, I've never put food coloring in it. I guess one could. I wonder if that is a different type of coconut sticky rice that also uses purple yam, maybe from the Philippines?

[BooksRule]

I mowed the yard when I got home from work and came inside all sweaty, tired, thirsty and hungry.  I was craving carbs, so I'm just having a big bowl of mac 'n cheese (with an huge ice water chaser).  

[biakbiak]

Babysitting a picky child so individual pizzas were we can all choose are own toppings: pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and onions and a big salad that she will pretend to take a few bites of so she can help make brownies for dessert.