The What's for Dinner Thread - August 2014 (recipe index in OP)

[PrincessInOz]

Ellen - I'm thinking of you all this weekend.

Brandi - You are my food hero right now.



Hope everyone else is well.

I've been getting into a routine of salad for lunch and a warm meal for dinner. Tonight, we did japanese hand rolls. I'm finding it hard to stick completely to the diet plan.

 

[EJ4Disney]

TGIF...........I mean this literally. It has really been a week!!

PIO ~ You are doing great. You will get there sooner or later but you need to just now you are trying. You my friend are my food hero.

Brandi ~ I love salads!! I fixed one for lunch today. I can't wait.

Alison and Fran ~ I hope all is well with the both of you and you are feeling better.

I am so ready for this week to be over. The payroll for the Nuevo Pacto (Hispanic Pastor) is all messed up. Not my fault or the Conference but the District and they can't figure it out. I know EXACTLY what is wrong but they won't admit that they are wrong and how to fix it, so I have not been able to pay Cesar and he is getting very frustrated. I don't blame him but it isn't my fault. What a flippin mess. Then the W2 for him isn't right and that is a whole nother mess. Then to top it all of he proceeded to tell me that I won't have to worry about this for much longer as he has accepted a position in Colorado. REALLY!!! I have spent hundreds (no exaggeration) of hours getting this all set up and now after 6 months he is leaving. I am not a happy camper at all.

Jay and Elizabeth are going to see American Sniper tonight, Ethan is at a birthday party, so we get Liam all night. I can't wait!! You just can't be in a bad mood around this bundle of energy. He is so much fun and a real cuddler so I am really looking forward to 4:00 when I can go pick him up.

WFDT ~ Liam's choice and I just know it will be McDonalds.

Make it a great day and an awesome weekend.

 

[dgbg100106]

Ellen - I'm thinking of you all this weekend.

Brandi - You are my food hero right now.



Hope everyone else is well.

I've been getting into a routine of salad for lunch and a warm meal for dinner. Tonight, we did japanese hand rolls. I'm finding it hard to stick completely to the diet plan.

Food Hero? That is a first for me. LOL

Hope you are doing well, are you trying to do the Eat to Live?

Last night was veggie pizza, and tonight is mexican. I am having Taco salad with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, "Cheese" and beans.

I now have this dairy free version of Ranch dressing that I am loving and so I will have it also.

 

[franandaj]

I thought I posted here sometime this week, but obviously not!

Ellen - I hope you have a fun time with Liam

PIO - You're doing much better than me on dieting, I'm just trying not to eat so much.

Brandi - I'm glad you have all these "substitutes". I couldn't do it. I love meat too much, but I'm trying to cut down on the red meat.

Tonight I'm making my version of Moroccan Cous Cous. We bought these Merguez sausages while we were up in Seattle. There are not many places you find Merguez, so I jumped on the chance when I saw them. I put them in my freezer and have been dying to make this dish since I got home, but being sick made me not want to do that much work.

Finally I'm feeling better enough. Fran still doesn't feel so great. I got a massage and I think that got all the last toxins out of my body.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Morning everyone!

Saturday morning and it's cleaning day here. Real life is pretty good here; although a bit too work busy for my liking. I took DS to go see Big Hero 6 this week. We really enjoyed it. He isn't so sure about Into the Woods; so I might have to go see it by myself. DH is busy, busy, busy with work.

WFDT?

We're heading to a free concert in the park with friends and it's going to be picnic fare. I've pulled some chicken tenderloins out. I'm going to put them in the oven and we can have them hot or cold.
We'll probably get some lettuce from the garden and see if there are any of those little tomatoes ready. Throw in some dips, rice crackers and fruit and I think that might be about right for us.
I'm sure I'll be adding to the menu over the day.

Have a great day all.

 

[franandaj]

Well my chicken thighs are braising, the harissa is just waiting for some of the broth of the braising liquid. All that's left is to make the cous cous and grill the merguez sausages. Oh yeah I have to toss in the celery and green pepper. The timer just went off so I'm on my way!

 

[franandaj]

So here was my dinner last night.

It seems that I don't have the recipe as I make it saved on my computer so I'll summarize it. This is a dish that I had with a French Woman who took me into her home outside Paris 20 years ago. It was at one of her favorite restaurants back home. Because Morocco was a colony of France we learned in HS that the colonizing nations eventually had their colonies come back to "haunt" them. Meaning that their colony residents came to their mother country to set up shop and take residence.

This is my best approximation of the dish that I had in Paris from a Morroccan Cous Cous restaurant.





First you brown the seasoned chicken on all sides in hot oil and remove it from the pan. Add the sliced onion, carrot and zucchini (however, I will now add the zucchini later), return the chicken to the pan along with 14 oz broth, bay leaves, parsley, and 2 cloves. Simmer until Chicken is cooked (about 30 minutes.)

Add celery, (this is where I will add the zucchini in the future), green pepper and simmer a little more. Make Harissa. I can't find the one that I use online to paste here, but it involves ketchup, olive oil, cumin, cayenne, clove powder and nutmeg plus some of the broth that the chicken cooked in.

Then you make the cous cous and grill the sausage. This is sort of a Moroccan Mixed Grill, but I have just chicken and sausage, at a real restaurant, you would have lamb and other choices. This is what I have for Moroccan cous cous and I like it very much.

 

[dgbg100106]

I thought I posted here sometime this week, but obviously not!

Ellen - I hope you have a fun time with Liam

PIO - You're doing much better than me on dieting, I'm just trying not to eat so much.

Brandi - I'm glad you have all these "substitutes". I couldn't do it. I love meat too much, but I'm trying to cut down on the red meat.

Tonight I'm making my version of Moroccan Cous Cous. We bought these Merguez sausages while we were up in Seattle. There are not many places you find Merguez, so I jumped on the chance when I saw them. I put them in my freezer and have been dying to make this dish since I got home, but being sick made me not want to do that much work.

Finally I'm feeling better enough. Fran still doesn't feel so great. I got a massage and I think that got all the last toxins out of my body.

I saw the picture of your Cous Cous and it was beautiful. I am not familiar with that type of sausage. What is it? What makes it special?

 

[dgbg100106]

Morning everyone!

Saturday morning and it's cleaning day here. Real life is pretty good here; although a bit too work busy for my liking. I took DS to go see Big Hero 6 this week. We really enjoyed it. He isn't so sure about Into the Woods; so I might have to go see it by myself. DH is busy, busy, busy with work.

WFDT?

We're heading to a free concert in the park with friends and it's going to be picnic fare. I've pulled some chicken tenderloins out. I'm going to put them in the oven and we can have them hot or cold.
We'll probably get some lettuce from the garden and see if there are any of those little tomatoes ready. Throw in some dips, rice crackers and fruit and I think that might be about right for us.
I'm sure I'll be adding to the menu over the day.

Have a great day all.

A concert in the park and a picnic sounds like fun. How was it?

 

[franandaj]

I saw the picture of your Cous Cous and it was beautiful. I am not familiar with that type of sausage. What is it? What makes it special?

This is from Wikipedia

Merguez /mɛərˈɡɛz/ is a red, spicy mutton- or beef-based fresh sausage in North African cuisine. It is also popular in the Middle East, and Europe, having become particularly popular in France by the closing decades of the twentieth century.

Merguez is a fresh sausage made with lamb, beef, or a mixture stuffed into a lamb-intestine casing. It is heavily spiced with cumin and chili pepper or Harissa, which gives it its characteristic piquancy and red color, as well as other spices such as sumac, fennel, and garlic.

It is a very unique flavor. It is very rare to find it. I bought half a dozen and froze them in 2 sausage increments. One sausage and one chicken thigh with the vegetables and cous cous is a very filling meal for me.

We found these sausages at the Pike Place Market. We stopped there on our way to the Airport in Seattle. We had tried to go on the Sunday, but couldn't find a place to park anywhere. Besides craft vendors and restaurants, there are lots of specialty markets selling fish, pastries, vegetables, and we found this sausage vendor. You know me and throwing meat into my suitcase! So we got some different flavors of Brats along with the Merguez. So far all the sausages that we've eaten from this vendor are great!

I also found out that they will ship Nationwide!

 

[dgbg100106]

This is from Wikipedia

Merguez /mɛərˈɡɛz/ is a red, spicy mutton- or beef-based fresh sausage in North African cuisine. It is also popular in the Middle East, and Europe, having become particularly popular in France by the closing decades of the twentieth century.

Merguez is a fresh sausage made with lamb, beef, or a mixture stuffed into a lamb-intestine casing. It is heavily spiced with cumin and chili pepper or Harissa, which gives it its characteristic piquancy and red color, as well as other spices such as sumac, fennel, and garlic.

It is a very unique flavor. It is very rare to find it. I bought half a dozen and froze them in 2 sausage increments. One sausage and one chicken thigh with the vegetables and cous cous is a very filling meal for me.

We found these sausages at the Pike Place Market. We stopped there on our way to the Airport in Seattle. We had tried to go on the Sunday, but couldn't find a place to park anywhere. Besides craft vendors and restaurants, there are lots of specialty markets selling fish, pastries, vegetables, and we found this sausage vendor. You know me and throwing meat into my suitcase! So we got some different flavors of Brats along with the Merguez. So far all the sausages that we've eaten from this vendor are great!

I also found out that they will ship Nationwide!

very nice find, sounds like a great place, and shipping is very good.

 

[PrincessInOz]

What a fantastic dinner, Alison! I'm going to have to try and find that sausage and see if I can make your dinner.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Brandi - The concert in the park was great!


There were a LOT of people there. Much more than last year's event.






I made a salmon loaf, some breaded chicken (no pictures) and a raspberry slice to take with me.












We had salad, courtesy of the garden.






And the Abba-cover band was FANTASTIC! They stayed on stage for 90 minutes and covered all the hits. Everyone was up and rocking with them.

 

[EJ4Disney]

Good morning my dear friends,

We have a brand new baby in the family:

Harper Kay
born at 11:19 a.m.
January 19th
7 pounds and 11 ounces
20" long​

Girls, she is just beautiful with a full head of dark curly hair. I got a text from Marty yesterday morning at 6:47am - GET TO KEARNEY!!! I was there by 7:30am Stephanie did perfect and there were no problems at all. Thank the Lord!! Lilly went to daycare and Elizabeth and I picked her up after her nap. Elizabeth had bought her a darling "Big Sis" outfit. She was SO excited to meet "her" baby sister. This poor baby will not have any hair left as Lilly loves to rub it. But we all agreed that that was better than poking her eyes as most do. She is only 2, so I think she does pretty good. We will see how it goes once they are at home. But to be truthful I think she will be so much help.
I was so excited, as the rest of us were, that Doug was able to be there. He leaves today for a 2 day sales meeting in Scottsbluff. So we were thrilled at how it all worked out. Lilly went home with Elizabeth last night and will stay until tomorrow when I will get her and take her home in the afternoon. They should be home sometime tomorrow. Harper is a keeper for sure.

As soon as I get off of work I am heading to Kearney for a short visit. I can't wait. Plus Doug will be gone and I am not looking forward to a quiet house.

WFDT ~ Culver's Cheeseburger and fries. YUM!!

Make it a great day!!

 

[dgbg100106]

Brandi - The concert in the park was great!


There were a LOT of people there. Much more than last year's event.






I made a salmon loaf, some breaded chicken (no pictures) and a raspberry slice to take with me.












We had salad, courtesy of the garden.






And the Abba-cover band was FANTASTIC! They stayed on stage for 90 minutes and covered all the hits. Everyone was up and rocking with them.

PIO - The concert looks like fun and they even wore "ABBA" outfits! Very nice.

The food looks great and I am sure you all had a blast.

 

[dgbg100106]

Good morning my dear friends,

We have a brand new baby in the family:

Harper Kay
born at 11:19 a.m.
January 19th
7 pounds and 11 ounces
20" long​

Girls, she is just beautiful with a full head of dark curly hair. I got a text from Marty yesterday morning at 6:47am - GET TO KEARNEY!!! I was there by 7:30am Stephanie did perfect and there were no problems at all. Thank the Lord!! Lilly went to daycare and Elizabeth and I picked her up after her nap. Elizabeth had bought her a darling "Big Sis" outfit. She was SO excited to meet "her" baby sister. This poor baby will not have any hair left as Lilly loves to rub it. But we all agreed that that was better than poking her eyes as most do. She is only 2, so I think she does pretty good. We will see how it goes once they are at home. But to be truthful I think she will be so much help.
I was so excited, as the rest of us were, that Doug was able to be there. He leaves today for a 2 day sales meeting in Scottsbluff. So we were thrilled at how it all worked out. Lilly went home with Elizabeth last night and will stay until tomorrow when I will get her and take her home in the afternoon. They should be home sometime tomorrow. Harper is a keeper for sure.

As soon as I get off of work I am heading to Kearney for a short visit. I can't wait. Plus Doug will be gone and I am not looking forward to a quiet house.

WFDT ~ Culver's Cheeseburger and fries. YUM!!

Make it a great day!!

Ellen,

That is wonderful news and how exciting that Doug got to be there. So happy to hear that everyone is doing great and that Lilly is doing so well with HER Little sister!

 

[franandaj]

Good morning my dear friends,

We have a brand new baby in the family:

Harper Kay
born at 11:19 a.m.
January 19th
7 pounds and 11 ounces
20" long​

Girls, she is just beautiful with a full head of dark curly hair. I got a text from Marty yesterday morning at 6:47am - GET TO KEARNEY!!! I was there by 7:30am Stephanie did perfect and there were no problems at all. Thank the Lord!! Lilly went to daycare and Elizabeth and I picked her up after her nap. Elizabeth had bought her a darling "Big Sis" outfit. She was SO excited to meet "her" baby sister. This poor baby will not have any hair left as Lilly loves to rub it. But we all agreed that that was better than poking her eyes as most do. She is only 2, so I think she does pretty good. We will see how it goes once they are at home. But to be truthful I think she will be so much help.
I was so excited, as the rest of us were, that Doug was able to be there. He leaves today for a 2 day sales meeting in Scottsbluff. So we were thrilled at how it all worked out. Lilly went home with Elizabeth last night and will stay until tomorrow when I will get her and take her home in the afternoon. They should be home sometime tomorrow. Harper is a keeper for sure.

As soon as I get off of work I am heading to Kearney for a short visit. I can't wait. Plus Doug will be gone and I am not looking forward to a quiet house.

WFDT ~ Culver's Cheeseburger and fries. YUM!!

Make it a great day!!

Congratulations!

I saw the posts on Facebook!

 

[franandaj]

Last night for dinner I made Sweet and Sour Pork. I didn't make the sauce, it was a packaged thing that Fran found at the grocery store.

I cut up some green pepper and red onion and flash fried them. Then I browned the pork chunks and added the store bought sauce. Once it simmered for about five minutes, I put the peppers and onions back in the sauce. Then I added some pineapple chunks, let the whole thing heat through and served it over rice.

It was really easy after a long day, so we may do it again.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Good morning my dear friends,

We have a brand new baby in the family:

Harper Kay
born at 11:19 a.m.
January 19th
7 pounds and 11 ounces
20" long​

Girls, she is just beautiful with a full head of dark curly hair. I got a text from Marty yesterday morning at 6:47am - GET TO KEARNEY!!! I was there by 7:30am Stephanie did perfect and there were no problems at all. Thank the Lord!! Lilly went to daycare and Elizabeth and I picked her up after her nap. Elizabeth had bought her a darling "Big Sis" outfit. She was SO excited to meet "her" baby sister. This poor baby will not have any hair left as Lilly loves to rub it. But we all agreed that that was better than poking her eyes as most do. She is only 2, so I think she does pretty good. We will see how it goes once they are at home. But to be truthful I think she will be so much help.
I was so excited, as the rest of us were, that Doug was able to be there. He leaves today for a 2 day sales meeting in Scottsbluff. So we were thrilled at how it all worked out. Lilly went home with Elizabeth last night and will stay until tomorrow when I will get her and take her home in the afternoon. They should be home sometime tomorrow. Harper is a keeper for sure.

As soon as I get off of work I am heading to Kearney for a short visit. I can't wait. Plus Doug will be gone and I am not looking forward to a quiet house.

WFDT ~ Culver's Cheeseburger and fries. YUM!!

Make it a great day!!

YAY! Congratulations Ellen. She looks beautiful and how awesome that Doug was there! So glad that it worked out for him.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Wednesday night and dinner at mum's.

It's been a bit of a bad week for me this last week. I hope that it gets better for the rest of the week.