The What's for Dinner Thread- June 2012 (recipe index in OP)

[PrincessInOz]

Bean and Pumpkin Stew




We did a meatless dinner tonight. This dish was really tasty!


My starting ingredients:

• 400g butternut pumpkin, deseeded, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon Middle Eastern spice blend consisting of paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cloves
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 400g can diced tomatoes
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 2cm pieces
• 150g button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup basil leaves, shredded
• ½ cup Parsley, chopped

The spice mix. I used the spices that were in my cupboard to make this one up.






Place pumpkin with a little water in a pot. Cook on low heat until tender. When cooked, transfer to a dish and reserve for later.






Heat oil in a pot and add onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes or until soft.






Add red bell pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes.






Add the spice blend and fry for another minute or until aromatic.







Add tomato paste, tin tomatoes and cook for 3 - 4 minutes.






Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 10 - 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender but not quite cooked.






Add beans and pumpkin and cook for a further 5 minutes. Check the vegetables during this period to make sure that they don’t over-cook.







Stir in basil and parsley, and season with salt and pepper.







Isn't it colourful?








My dinner! I served it with some crusty French bread.

 

[PrincessInOz]

It's the start of another week! And I just realised that it's Ziti weekend this weekend. Hope we have a few people here thinking of making it this weekend.

WFDT? We had pumpkin soup for dinner tonight. Monday's are turning out to be busy days so we've been having pretty sketchy and light meals lately.

Hope everyone is busy......"good" busy.

 

[kimmar067]

...dinner.....is....SERVED.

 

[EJ4Disney]

It's Monday Again!!

PIO ~ WOW that looks so good.

pigletgirl ~ not long now......when it the actual party?

Brandi ~ Welcome home!! I can't wait to hear all about it.

Wow, what a boring weekend we had. Friday night we went into Kearney for hair cuts then out to dinner. Saturday Doug worked on the bedroom and I cleaned. We had a Graduation reception to go to in the evening and was home by 8:30. Sunday we had church, out to breakfast, home to work on the bedroom - I read. Then at 6:00 we went into town as we had 2 graduation receptions and were home in our jammies by 9:00. Nice and boring but well needed.

WFDT ~ Doug has golf league tonight so I am on my own for dinner. It just might be a PB& J sandwich with some chips and big glass of chocolate milk.

Make it a great day!

 

[Sparkly]

Mince and beans in pasta shells for us. Mince is cooked in tomato sauce and smells great.

A simple but yummy dinner!

 

[franandaj]

What is mince?

We have to drive to Glendale and pick up some art pieces. We're not sure if we'll be home in time to fix something or just pull out something instant from the freezer. I may even get dinner out!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I passed on dinner tonight. Been eating far too much lately.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Mince and beans in pasta shells for us. Mince is cooked in tomato sauce and smells great.

A simple but yummy dinner!

Welcome to the thread! Sounds delicious.

 

[PrincessInOz]

So Kimmar....what did you serve for dinner?


Ellen - Sounds like a perfect weekend to me.


Alison - Sounds like you're getting a few art pieces for the new house.

 

[EJ4Disney]

Morning everyone!

Sparkly ~ Welcome!! I would love to know what mince is. I hope you stick around as I would love to hear about your meals. They sound so interesting. I just love different cuisines.

PIO ~ You ate nothing for dinner I don't think I could do that. I would be awake all night with the rumbles. There are times I'm not hungry but a small bowl of cereal does the trick.

Alison ~ Art for the new house? So did you get a meal out?

everyone else

I got home around 5:30 (I went and played with the boys for awhile after work) changed my clothes and worked outside till after 8. It was wonderful - no bugs yet, no wind and warm. I got all of my flowers planted. I also made a cute area with bricks for my 4 pots of herbs. They are in bright colored pots and I tiered them. It turned out just the way I wanted. By the time I was finished Doug was home from golfing and we grilled hamburgers out on the grill and then ended up eating outside. It turned out to be a wonderful unplanned night.

WFDT ~ American chop suey (I have tomatoes in the freezer that need to be used) corn, and 7 up biscuits.

Make it a great day!!

 

[pigletgirl]

It's Monday Again!!

PIO ~ WOW that looks so good.

pigletgirl ~ not long now......when it the actual party?

Brandi ~ Welcome home!! I can't wait to hear all about it.

Wow, what a boring weekend we had. Friday night we went into Kearney for hair cuts then out to dinner. Saturday Doug worked on the bedroom and I cleaned. We had a Graduation reception to go to in the evening and was home by 8:30. Sunday we had church, out to breakfast, home to work on the bedroom - I read. Then at 6:00 we went into town as we had 2 graduation receptions and were home in our jammies by 9:00. Nice and boring but well needed.

WFDT ~ Doug has golf league tonight so I am on my own for dinner. It just might be a PB& J sandwich with some chips and big glass of chocolate milk.

Make it a great day!

DD's party is Saturday. We're going to the park and we're having a picnic type meal. It's just going to be a relaxed, easy going party. I cannot believe tomorrow she'll be ONE! We're having another celebration on Monday for my brother in law's college graduation. Should be a fun filled, crazy weekend!

WFDT: Homemade pizza and salad.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ellen - That does sound like a great evening. Glad the weather is getting better for you.

Pigletgirl - Enjoy the preparation. That first birthday is a treasured memory. Enjoy making it.



Dinner was at my mum's tonight. Rice, curry, vegetables and soup. It was nice not having to cook.



Don't forget ziti weekend everyone.

 

[EJ4Disney]

Happy Hump Day!!

pigletgirl ~ Your weekend sounds perfect. You will all have a great time. And 2 big celebrations - WOW!! Enjoy the baby turning one. Such a big time and you sound like you have things so planned that you will enjoy it.
Congratulations to your BIL on his graduation. Enjoy!!
Do your make your pizza dough? If so I would love the recipe.

PIO ~ I already have my Ziti recipe ready. I am trying a sort of new one. I have made it a couple of times for potlucks and never brought any home. This time we will actually get to eat it.


Smudge (the kitten) is starting to eat some. I told Doug we need to offer the food before the bottle. We are going to be gone all day on Saturday and we can't take her with us so we are hoping that she can go to her forever home on Friday. June is so excited for her and we are getting to the point that we are ready for her to go. Fingers crossed!!

WFDT ~ Elizabeth is having a garage sale this weekend so Doug and I are going to take tables over to her tonight. So she is cooking us dinner - I have no idea what we will have but I am excited - 1. I don't have to cook and 2. she is a great cook so I know it will be wonderful.

Make it a great day!

 

[pigletgirl]

First and foremost, Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!! She's having a bit of a rough day with teething and allergies but we're making the best of it!

PIO - Thanks! It feels strange to say I have a 1 year old. Everything is happening so fast.

Ellen - It will be a whirlwind of a weekend. Since almost the entire family is coming, we decided to cover both celebrations. I am excited! The pizza dough was from Trader Joe's. It was a Thyme and Rosemary crust which was divine. I did an olive oil base with diced tomatoes, ricotta cheese and fresh basil. YUM. Thank goodness we have more for leftovers!

WFDT - Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup!

 

[EJ4Disney]

Happy Friday my friends,

I'm sorry I wasn't around yesterday. I was getting squished, prodded and poked - yep that time of year. I didn't get back to the office till 12:30 and then I played catch up all day.

pigletgirl ~ Happy Birthday to your sweet baby girl. Have a wonderful time this weekend.

~ to everyone else.

We are forecasted to have rain and it is cloudy out but so far no rain. They are saying that the weekend is to be a total wash out. We shall see. We need the rain so bad, so no one is really complaining. All of the corn and beans are in the ground and we have already cut the first cutting of hay. As long as it is just rain and nothing severe we can really use it.

We are headed to decorate graves all day tomorrow. It is an all day event, one that really isn't fun and actually can be a long hard day. But we are taking Cooper with us so that will be fun. He is a great rider. My Momma is almost 150 miles away (24 miles from the CO border) and we just make a large loop. We should be home tomorrow night around 8.

The rest of the weekend we really wanted to go golfing but it doesn't look like that will happen. So I really don't know what Sunday and Monday will hold. I hope you all have a great weekend.

WFDT ~ Sirloins, twice baked potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad.

Make it a great day and a thoughtful weekend.

 

[kimmar067]

So Kimmar....what did you serve for dinner?

........I forgot...

 

[PrincessInOz]

........I forgot...

A sentence worthy of the Old Fogie thread.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ziti



It's Ziti weekend this weekend for the WFDT crowd. Here's my version of it!

My starting ingredients:

• Pork mince, 150 g
• Beef mince, 500 g
• Onion, ½ - 1 finely chopped
• Tomato sauce
• Ziti Penne, 500 g

I did empty out the freezer for this meal. I always have some homemade tomato sauce in the freezer for those quick mid-week meals. I don't have any sauce left after this weekend!







My cheeses included:

• Provolone, 6 - 8 slices
• Ricotta, 250g
• Parmesan, grated
• Egg, 1

Mix the ricotta, parmesan and egg together with some cinnamon, salt and pepper.








Cook the pasta as per instructions, but undercook by a couple of minutes. Mix with some tomato sauce and the cheese mix.







I could have easily just eaten this for dinner!






Fry the onion in a pot with oil for a couple of minutes and then add the pork and beef mince.






I added oregano, basil, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper to the mix.






Add the passata or a can of tomato and cook/simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.





For something extra, I got some Italian meatballs.







I pan fried the meatballs for a couple of minutes just so they would brown up.








Transfer the pasta and cheese to a lasagne dish. Add the meatballs to the top.







Spread the meat sauce over the top.....





....until completely covered.







Cover with the provolone and sprinkle parmesan on top.






Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 30 - 40 minutes; or until the cheese is brown on top.







I served the ziti with a garden salad. My dinner!







Nice having dinner with y'all this month. We need to work out next month's dish.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Tira Misu




My starting ingredients:

• Savoiardi biscuits
• Thickened cream, 500 ml
• Mascapone cheese, 500 g
• Egg yolks, 4
• Sugar - to taste
• Coffee, extra strong espresso style
• Liqueur - I love Frangelico in this recipe

Make your coffee first and allow the cool.


Using your mixer, beat the cream.







You want pretty firm peaks for this recipe.








Place the 4 egg yolks in a bowl.








And beat the heck out of it. When it is light and frothy, add a generous splash of liqueur to the egg. I find that the liqueur will 'cook' the raw egg a little.....or at least, that's what I like to think.







Add some sugar, to taste. I added about 2 - 3 tablespoon of icing sugar. I normally use castor sugar; but I ran out.







Beat until it is light and consistent.







Add the mascarpone cheese to the egg mix.







Beat until it holds soft peaks.








Add the whipped cream.







Beat until the mixture holds pretty stiff peaks. It looks like a lot of cream/cheese mix, doesn't it?







Transfer your strong coffee to a bowl that you can dip biscuits into. Add a generous.....very generous....splash of Frangelico. I almost end up with a 50:50 mix.







Dip the savoiardi biscuit into the coffee bath. The savoiardi will absorb the liquid and end up like a sponge.







Turn over and dip on the other side. It's a fine line between leaving the biscuits in for too long and getting it completely soggy or leaving it for too little a time and ending up with a dry biscuit.








Place in a deep dish and repeat for biscuit dipping process until you have enough for a first layer.







Cover with the cream and spread over all the biscuits.







Repeat the dipping process and build up a second layer of biscuits.







You can stop at 2 layers but I like to build a 3rd layer. If you do build 3 layers, you don't need so much cream/cheese mix.







When finished, cover all the layers and sides with the cream/cheese mix.







In case you're wondering, with the 3 layers, I did end up using all that cream/cheese mix.








Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.


When ready to serve, dust some cocoa powder over the top.






Cut into generous portions and serve. I put some strawberries on the side. It's the wrong season here....this dessert is awesome with raspberries!








Enjoy!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Happy weekend everyone! Hope you are all being nice and busy; and having a great time - whatever you're doing.


Ellen - Decorating graves???????


Pigletgirl - Hope the 1st birthday celebrations went well.


Alison - Pack! Just pack!


Kimmar - Hope you didn't forget ziti weekend.


I know Brandi is back; but I'm not sure if she has caught up on all the threads yet. If she's here,




My weekend has been busy, busy, busy. We had friends over for dinner on Saturday night and I served the Ziti and Tira Misu for dinner. I also made a vegetarian lasagne; which is why I completely tapped out my freezer supply of tomato sauce. I do have pictures; but I haven't loaded them yet.

We also saw a school production on Saturday night with our friends. It was a better than normal production this year and a very enjoyable night.

Today, we headed into the city with my cousin just for a wander around the shops.

I've eaten so much between Saturday and today that I'm not having any dinner tonight!!!


Hope you're all having a great one.