The What's For Dinner Thread - March '11 (recipe index in OP)

[EJ4Disney]

Hi friends,

I have a bit of time so I thought I would try to "catch up".

Julie ~ WELCOME!!! We can be a chatty bunch so jump right in.
My name is Ellen, I am from Nebraska, married to my best friend - Doug. We have 3 children and 1 adorable grandson. Our 2 oldest daughters - Elizabeth (Jay and GS Ethan) and Stepahnie (Marty) are married and our son Matthew is a Jr. at the UN of Nebraska. I am the secretary of our Church. So glad to have you join us!!

Vickie ~ Congrats to the Boy. You have to over the moon proud.

Laura ~ Tell Liam that shortstop is a very important position. Matthew was shortstop all through League play. He will do just fine. Good for him!

Robin & Janice ~

Becky ~ how is John feeling? Better I hope.

Nancy ~ I am so glad that Donny likes his MIL. That makes such a big difference down the road.

Kat ~ A happy Kyle = A happy Momma!! Just saying!!

Sheryl ~ I hope you are feeling better - not long now Nana.

Glynis ~ Sure hope you get your date night.

Lauren ~ Hugs sweetie - Change is SO hard.

Vic ~ Wow, that didn't take long at all. I am sure you are loving the "new" kitchen.

Bethany ~ are you going to Japan?

Marilyn ~ Soooooooooooo how did you like Kansas?

Aimee ~ I am doing our Living Room in a blueish gray. 3 walls are a light grey and the accent wall is a darker shade. My new furniture is a deep blueish gray. Writing it out sounds kind of pukey but I really think it will be pretty when we are finished. I will take some before and after pictures. Okay??

Marisa ~ You just make me laugh. You already have over 1200 books on your nook?!!! Wow, girl you really read fast. I have had my kindle for over a year and only have 186. You are good!!!!

OH and the sun is gone - I knew it would be but it sure was nice while it was out. Tomorrow is supposed to be real nice.

Make it a great day my dear dear friends.

 

[shovan]

Gosh y'all have been very very chatty!!! Sorry I didn't check in yesterday. I had an early hair appt & then physical therapy & A after school. I was sooo happy to get my hair done, my hair stylist has been out on maternity leave. I really needed that cut & color. Even better was I got to see her 9 week old sweet baby girl in person! So precious I can't wait for our little boy!

Hi everyone!
It is nice to meet you all.
Julie

Hi Julie, Welcome! Atlas is really pretty! I'm Sheryl, I live in the New Orleans 'burbs, very near Kathy. I've been married 34 yrs to Bob, I have one daughter who is about to birth our grandson anytime now. I also care for my niece Alexis 8, who is just an awesome kid. I am semi-retired, do Mary Kay part-time & look forward to also providing child care for our new baby boy.

I tried telling them I was 29, but Liam is way too good at math. I know I missed wishing you a good trip, but if by chance you check in, I hope you are having a great time! It's nice to see you here again.

Liam and Caili have been testing this week as well. I think they like the no homework bit, but Liam is kind of like the Tasmanian Devil. He has been sitting and quiet for way too long, and he needs to burn some energy. Caili, meanwhile, says she likes how nice and quiet and peaceful school has been this week.

I've missed posting the past couple of days somehow. Things have been busy. Liam had baseball tryouts on Saturday, and he had his first team meeting last night and then a practice tonight. The coach is trying Liam out at shortstop. I think Liam is a little nervous about that, but from what I saw today, Liam was doing a good job.

Last night we had PWs sesame noodles with a vegetable stir fry. Tonight we had quesadillas, much to Liam's delight. Liam's was black beans and cheese, mine was roasted poblano pepper, black beans and cheese, and Caili had eggs. She hates quesadillas.

Oh you do still look only 29!!

Alexis is more like Caili, she has described everyday this week as GREAT!!! She seem quite calm about the testing, which isn't like her. When I asked about that, she explained that the principal has been on the intercom everyday saying that they won't know all the answers & may not finish the work. She was quite relieved about that!

Good luck to Liam this season!

Hey, The Oscars were so much fun.
The bairns ( and teachers) put in so much hard work and it showed.
The Boy had a blast,his film won the best action scene award.
It was done so well,there was 11 short films and 11 awards....and yip,each film won 1.
The boy had written his groups exceptance speech and it was nothin less than you would expect....he had the place in fits,he is such a performer.
I have put some pic's on FB.

Its been a long day with one thing and another so I have not read back.
Have a a good night lassies x

The boy's pics look great! He is getting so handsome & sure looked very "Hollywood"! He was certainly not nervous about being in the limelight!

MrsHerbie - Atlas is beautiful!

Laura - I didn't really get to spend too much time with Kyle. He's been busy taking care of classwork and is in Hammond, LA for a game tonight. He leaves for San Diego in the morning! He fell in love with San Francisco and wants to live there.

Congrats to Liam on making the team and I'm sure the coach knows he can rock that shortstop position!

Gosh back home & then back to San Diego, busy, busy, young man! Don't worry he'll be enamored with lots of places he visits, but he'll likely stay here for the NOLA food & your cooking!

Dinner was good. Anna's Mom arrived last night and Donny said she is wonderful1 I cannto wait to meet her.

I'm glad Donny likes his future MIL!! Hope you get to meet her soon!

Good Morning! Gonna try and catch up...again! We had nice visits the past couple weekends with my sisters and Tom's sister. I am ready for a quiet weekend though! We did Primantis, taking in the view of the city (which is gorgeous) from the incline, shopping (went to Penzy's!) and the Aviary while they were visiting.

We sold my Mom's house and the closing is tomorrow. I am a bit sad but glad a new family will enjoy it. My Mom built the house 50 years ago.

Have a great day all! I will be back to try and catch up more. I hear the baby waking on the monitor!

I'm so glad you've had some fun with your sisters! You sure did deserve that! I'm sure it must be bittersweet selling the house.

!

Sheryl - I hope that Angelina is not helping with the cleanup. We don't want Jude making his entrance early!

Glynis, Don't worry, that is the first thing I said to her!! She doesn't own the building that the gym is in, the landlord had people out there the next morning. The carpet is now discolored though, she is hoping the landlord's ins. co. will agree to replace.

She is behaving herself pretty well right now! The doctor told her on Wed. that she could come anytime now!



Vic, Sorry the kitchen won't be able to get finished right away!

Kathy, If you're going to La Thai, get there early!! (or call to see if they take ressies) They are always busy, Lenten Friday I'm sure they'll be packed!

Wish we could come! But my stomach is really off today. I rushed to eat lunch yesterday & stupidly ate a whole New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood - burger. Haven't felt good since.


Dinner might be salad or a veggie dish. There are 2 curries in the Jan/feb Cooking Light that sound good to me. A Curried Chickpea Stew or a Green Curry with Bok Choy.

I missed so much I stopped reading. I'll go read the last page now.

 

[shovan]

Ellen, Happy 30th Anniversary!!! I'm glad the sun is shining for you too!

We are back to pretty but warm weather this weekend!

Marisa, Kady's school always seems to "get it right"!!

Glynis, Have fun bowling & hope you get date night!

 

[bigmerle1966]

Marilyn ~ Soooooooooooo how did you like Kansas?

It was nice, what we saw of it in the snow. The town the college is in is a good size and has lots to do so I know he will not be bored there.

I'm sure there will be plenty of visits to that area of the US in the next four years.

 

[Glynis]

Glynis, I forgot to ask you about your Nook. I have just over 1200 books in EPUB format. If you let me know what you are looking to read, I might have it. Also if you have read some good books, please let me know because I am always trying out what to read next and could use some suggestions!!

I love my Nook! I just wish I had more time in the day! I keep downloading freebies, and have almost 100 books. I just spent 99 cents to buy Pride and Prejudice since I have to read it for book club next week, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it to find that the book contains 25 classic novels!

I'll put together a list of the "lend me" books that I have over the weekend and get those to you!

 

[Glynis]

Guess what??? I GET MY DATE NIGHT!!!!! I got home from bowling (my team won 3 out of 4 games!!!), and found that Alan had already bought tickets for us to see a movie, and then go to dinner at Smashburger. I've never been there, but he promises me they are good. Anyway, he got a fantastic Groupon for 2 free entrees. All we have to buy are the drinks! Woohoo!!!! So, I finally get to see Narnia: Dawn Treader, and then have a good dinner! Who says April Fool's is bad?

Have a good evening, all!!!

 

[Nancyg56]

Ellen- how did I miss that this is your 30th anniverasry??????????????? happy anniversary to both of you!

Laura- I was on jury duty one time, I loved it! I tried to get out of it but could hear the prosecuting attorney arguing against me and was so insulted I have to admit that it took time but honestly, it was one of the most enlightening experiences i have ever had,

I had "orientation" today for my new job at the public library. I had to go to the big downtown library but will actually be working at my neighborhood branch. I met two other gals who were hired for different locations. Each of us agreed we had one thing that was less than desirable about our job but took it just to get in the door (for them it was location, for me it was working weekends which hopefully will only be for the first month or two). Tomorrow is my last day on the old job!

I am so excited for you!

Hi everyone!
It is nice to meet you all.

WFD: one of us had leftover spaghetti, one of us had macaroni and cheese, and I had leftover potato chips! I may eat something after the Parent/Teacher conference....


Julie

Julie- I am still chuckling over the potato chip dinner. It sounds like Heaven to me............I have been trying to follow teh old WW CORE plan and am craving chips!


I am Nancy.wife to Buddy G......tuna sandwich King. Marisa is my DD and Kady is my beautiful DGD. I clean part time and care for Kady when she is either home from school or sick. I also have my two Sweeties, Nola and Rylee, neighbor babies up the stree, who I adore.

My son Donny is planning to marry so I am in a dither....interfering and sweating teh small stuff

I just got a new kitchen (and the trim work isn't even done yet), but I love to cook when I have time. So I am very excited to swap recipes with you all!!!!

Julie

We are so glad to have you here! Join in the chat...we sometimes forget to include the food but

Unfortunately, not too good. They're struggling but getting better! They are now a Div II school playing a Div I schedule which is very hard but the coach made the decision for the boys who decided to stay with the program and not transfer. It's given Kyle a chance to travel and play against the big schools. He was in San Francisco last weekend and is in San Diego this weekend!

Kat- playing the big schools is tough but I heard a coach (yup..he was talking aboout going against our Huskies) say that was the only way to get better.you got to play the big dogs. Kyle's team will do fine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is my 10 year anniversary at work. Hard to believe I started here 10 years ago!!! I wish as my anniversary present they would let me leave early!

Marisa----------------------you start late and end early every day!

Marisa, Kady's school always seems to "get it right"!!

!

You know, when I moved here our town was about to lose accreditation. I was so impressed with teh changed that were made, that was 18 years ago. Now I am thrilled that Kady is part of our town, we have commited to teh entire school system. In the time of cuts we have not. There is a place for music, arts and sports. As a community we have all decided to invest int eh kids adn give them as much support as possible and as a result our schools rate between a 9 and 10 nationally. Our town is 9 oit of 10 I love it here! Now we only need to get the folks on board to build our new state of the art library! Buddy will be denied food unless it is bulgar wheat if he does not vote "YES"

Guess what??? I GET MY DATE NIGHT!!!!! !

Dinner is batter fried fish adn chips. No veg................no salad..................just fried food and wine!

 

[Nancyg56]

I have to tell you, I really like Anna's Mom. I called and asked them for cake and coffee, kicked Buddy out and enjoyed our 5 hour visit!

Cake was awesome


1 butter recipe yellow mix
1 pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 can crushed pineapple drained
2 T lemon juice

cream cheese and add eggs and oil......cream til smooth
add cake mix and beat two minutes
add pineapple and lemon juice

bake in a greased and floured bundt pan for 45 to 55 minutes 325 degrees


Yum! I glazed this with a chocolate glaze

I actually melted canned chocolate frosting to a soft consistancy and topped the cake

It was delicious!

 

[HERSEY]

Ellen Happy anniversary

Glynis Enjoy your date night. I love Groupon. I have to watch myself cause they have a lot of good deals.

Julie I am Janice mom to a teen age boy (16) I have 2 dogs and 2 cats who are my other babies. We do not live in a quiet house and I would not trade it for anything.

I have the night to myself Mr A is at a sleepover with friends.

WFD is this and that. I bought some Brie and a loaf of bread, Madeleines from Costco . I have some trashy books and bad tv to keep me company.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Unfortunately you are right and his car still won't start. We finally have some sun here today so hopefully it can dry out. We had someone come out and look at it and he said everything looks OK, just needs time to dry.

I hope it dries out okay! It seems like Kyle has more than his fair share of car trouble.

THE SUN IS SHINING!!!

The sun is shining!!

OMGoodness the sun IS shining.

I can't believe it. I don't think it will last all day as we have storms predicted for later but for right now it is shining. We went 6 days with not seeing it. My mood is better already.

We bought our paint for the living room last night, so this weekend will be spent painting. I have Bunco at my house on April 12, and I really want it to be all pretty for my girls. New furniture is to be delivered on Friday or Saturday of next week. I can't wait!!

Our anniversary is on Monday (30 years) so the kids are taking us out for dinner tonight. I don't think Matthew is going to be able to make it, but 2 out of 3 is pretty good. I have no idea where they are taking us. We were told to be at Marty and Stephanie's at 7 and to dress smart casual.

Yay for sun!

LOL that is an expensive Bunco night at your house!

Congratulations on 30 years! I hope your evening is fantastic!

Bethany, are you learning Japanese?

No, I got lost on the first character. My eyes glazed over. She tried.

Bethany- Poor kids, my husband had alot of trouble in school no matter how hard he tried. It must be so frustrating for them.

Laura- At my daughter's school they aren't allowed to do anything but check their work if they finish early. I don't understand, it's not like she is the only kid finishing. Glad jury duty went well for you.

It's very frustrating. It's very frustrating for me to know how much progress they have made so far yet it still falls short of where they are supposed to be at this point.

Our kids can read a book when they are done testing. Once the entire class is done, they will do "fun packets" or watch a movie. They do not take anyone outside for recess. They don't want them rushing so they can go outside and have fun. They also don't do much in the way of academics after the test is complete for the day; they want them to rest their brains.

Today is my 10 year anniversary at work. Hard to believe I started here 10 years ago!!! I wish as my anniversary present they would let me leave early!

The testing at Kady's school does 1 test every day for two weeks. they last just about an hour so they dont have to be overwhelmed for two or three full days. She missed two days because she had the flu but only had to make up two tests. I think this works out better for Kady because she has test anxiety and full day of testing would throw her off the deep end

10 years at one place of work! Congratulations!

Two weeks is a long time to spread out the testing for. I'm glad it works well for Kady.

Bethany ~ are you going to Japan?

No. I have a few students that speak Japanese, so a friend who had lived at Okinawa was trying to teach me a few important phrases.

You know, when I moved here our town was about to lose accreditation. I was so impressed with teh changed that were made, that was 18 years ago. Now I am thrilled that Kady is part of our town, we have commited to teh entire school system. In the time of cuts we have not. There is a place for music, arts and sports. As a community we have all decided to invest int eh kids adn give them as much support as possible and as a result our schools rate between a 9 and 10 nationally. Our town is 9 oit of 10 I love it here! Now we only need to get the folks on board to build our new state of the art library! Buddy will be denied food unless it is bulgar wheat if he does not vote "YES"

That's great!

 

[liamandcaili]

last night our cable went out for the last five minutes of Top Chef. I was po’d!!! Had to watch the “aftershow” to see the results.

Argghh! I would have been upset. I haven't been to San Francisco -- I am pretty sure I would love it -- but I have been to San Diego, and I loved it. I know it is a challenge for Kyle this year, but I always think it is better to be challenged than to be safe.

They always say that just by having citizens show up to do their duty puts pressure on the defendents to settle.

That is exactly what they told us. I served on a jury before, when I was much younger, and it was a great experience. Now, I feel like other people should have the experience instead of me.

Hi Julie! I am Laura. I have two children, Liam, 12, and Caili, 9. They are both involved in multiple activities, but Liam's primary sport is baseball and Caili competes in figure skating. I love to cook, but time constraints and children's tastes limit my culinary adventures most days. Most Sundays, though, I get to cook with my sister, liamsaunt, who posts a lot of food porn here.

I'm hoping that Alan feels better by this evening, and is ready for some Thai or Indian food. I'm feeling the need for some curry or something similar!

Yum! I have been craving Indian food lately. I hope you had a great date night!

Ellen -- Congratulations to you and Doug on 30 years! Happy anniversary!!

At my daughter's school they aren't allowed to do anything but check their work if they finish early.

That's awful! I hope you enjoyed the soup!

Marisa -- Happy 10th anniversary at work. They should have given you the day off!

Since we have dinner plans the rest of the weekend, it'll probably be whatever has the potential to go bad first

Even better was I got to see her 9 week old sweet baby girl in person!

Cute! I am sure you are so excited!!

Dinner is batter fried fish adn chips. No veg................no salad..................just fried food and wine!

Sounds good to me! I am really glad you got to spend some time with Anna's mom and you like her.

I got a call from the school nurse in the middle of the day saying Caili threw up in school and I should come get her. There has been a nasty stomach bug going around, but I don't think she has it. Her stomach has been fine all afternoon, but she has a fever. She is supposed to compete tomorrow, but if she wakes up with a fever, we are going to see the doctor instead.

Dinner was black bean and cheese quesadillas for Liam, a pesto, fresh mozzarella and tomato sandwich for me, and saltines and ginger ale for Caili.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Glynis, so glad you got your date night! We have Smashburger here; I think they are tasty but pricey. I'd eat there anytime with a coupon, though! I wish they had offered Groupons here for them

Laura, sorry about Caili. I hope it's a 24 hour bug and nothing more! That's a surefire way to ruin a weekend


I got my grocery list together, all my coupons, my shopping bags, etc and walked out to the garage to head to the store and found that DH took my car today We always talk before switching off cars and he didn't this time. And, of course, I had a bajillion errands for work I was going to run this afternoon that involved buying lots of stuff. He has a (standard) single cab truck and there really isn't much room for anything more than a couple shopping bags. I was pretty pissed, to be honest. So, the shopping didn't happen and we went out instead.

I'm not sure I'm going to bother shopping this weekend since we're eating out the whole time anyways.

 

[TigerKat]

Glynis – I hope you enjoyed your date night!

Ellen – New furniture and new paint…we need pics!!! I hope your surprise evening was a great one, Happy Anniversary!

Marisa – Congrats on 10 years!!!!

Sheryl – La Thai was great last night, wish y’all could have joined us though. How are you feeling today?

Nan – I know exactly what the coach means. Our team has the longest losing streak in the country right now and their record is 1 – 23, so sad, BUT they are playing so much better now than they were at the beginning of the season.

Fried food & wine should be mandatory at least once a week! I’m so glad you and Anna’s mom got to spend the evening together! What is the name of the cake that you posted?

Janice – Trashy books and tv – doesn’t get any better than that!

Laura – How is Caili feeling today?

We had to get our insurance company to tow Kyle’s car to a repair shop so they can take a look at it. It started up but it sounded really bad and it killed again.

The good news is that Kyle pitched again last night, 5 innings!! The coach told him after the game it was one of the best pitching performances of the year and once again he got stronger with every inning. I am so happy for him! Johnny & I were actually late for our dinner reservation because we were glued to the computer watching the live game stats.

WFD - Nan's scallop scampi, angel hair pasta and sauteed asparagus in a dijon vinaigrette.

 

[HERSEY]

Wfd is Birthday party food We are going to friends for the party I am bringing lettuce wraps.

I hope everyone is enjoying their day. It is partly sunny. I like the part that the sun is in.

I am trying to out wit a headache that I woke up with but so far the headache is winning. I am going to bring out the big guns in a minute.

 

[TigerKat]

I hope everyone is enjoying their day. It is partly sunny. I like the part that the sun is in.

I am trying to out wit a headache that I woke up with but so far the headache is winning. I am going to bring out the big guns in a minute.

I love that you're cracking yourself up! Hoping the headache goes away so you can enjoy the party.

 

[HERSEY]

I love that you're cracking yourself up! Hoping the headache goes away so you can enjoy the party.

Sad isn't it? It must be all the drugs I am taking for this blasted headache.

 

[TigerKat]

Sad isn't it? It must be all the drugs I am taking for this blasted headache.

Not sad at all. I was hoping your headache would be gone by now.

 

[Glynis]

Hi, all! This day flew by and I don't feel like I accomplished anything!

Dinner tonight is at my SIL's house. We are making individual naan pizzas. I made a cake for dessert and we are going to play Bunco and pig out on chocolate. Boy, do I need it!!!!

Have a great weekend!

By the way, my date night was great! The movie was excellent, and the burgers were incredible. Alan even splurged and bought me a side order of fried pickles because he knows how much I love them! What a guy!!!

Talk to y'all later!

 

[Nancyg56]

I got a call from the school nurse in the middle of the day saying Caili threw up in school and I should come get her. There has been a nasty stomach bug going around, but I don't think she has it. Her stomach has been fine all afternoon, but she has a fever. She is supposed to compete tomorrow, but if she wakes up with a fever, we are going to see the doctor instead.

.

That happened to kady. The next day she had a rash on her face so Marisa brought her to teh Dr. Turns out it was strep. This is how she is lately...throws up and has strep. No sore throat but does have the low grade fever.

We had to get our insurance company to tow Kyle’s car to a repair shop so they can take a look at it. It started up but it sounded really bad and it killed again.

The good news is that Kyle pitched again last night, 5 innings!! The coach told him after the game it was one of the best pitching performances of the year and once again he got stronger with every inning. I am so happy for him! Johnny & I were actually late for our dinner reservation because we were glued to the computer watching the live game stats.

.

Good news for Kyle's record pitch! Not so good for the car

I am trying to out wit a headache that I woke up with but so far the headache is winning. I am going to bring out the big guns in a minute.

Feel better!

Dinner was pizza at Welby's. Today our neighbor night group celebrated Rylee's 1st birthday.

 

[MrsHerbie53]

Hi all!
Last night's dinner was really good. I had chicken fajitas, DH had mako shark, FIL and MIL had lobster, DS had a cheeseburger.

Tonight we went to a "hole in the wall" homemade Italian restaurant for the first time. It was pretty good. I had bracciolo, DH had crab cakes, and DS had a cheeseburger. (do you get the pattern for DS???)

I only got 1 paper graded today, but several loads of laundry and watched a DVD for class this week. I must finish all grading tomorrow!!


Julie