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

[Where'sPiglet?]

Good Morning Everyone! I am filling in for Nan today. We went to the DMV last night and while we were waiting, a huge storm came in. I had just finished registering my truck... literally just handed the woman my check, when the power went out and fried their computers. So Nan didnt get her farm equipment registered.

It was the worst winds I have seen in a long time, and Nans neighbor had a huge tree that was uprooted and fell on the power lines. No dising for nan today She wanted me to let everyone know she is fine, just a little withdrawl.

Have a great day!

Wow! I am glad y'all are okay! I saw something on the weather channel that there could be some storms in the northeast, but I didn't actually hear of any. (Of course, I just woke up at 9:30 )

When we first went to the DMV when we moved here, their computers surged while we were at the counter. We had to wait for them to reboot everything. The place was already crowded, that just made it worse! At least we were able to finish our transactions and get what we came for. It would be so irritating to go out there, wait, be at the counter, then BOOM! Come stand in line again another day!

 

[EJ4Disney]

Good morning everyone!!

BCB ~ WOW, I hope you find a cool place to be. We are about 25 degrees below normal. Downright cold here this morning.

Janice ~ I hear you on the rain. Parts of Nebraska are in major flood warning. Part of our highway is closed due to water over it and will be for a long time. We haven't gotten the snow melt yet. We had a dist. call yesterday asking if we could use a few extra cases of paper products otherwise they would lose it to the water in the warehouse. Scary stuff!!

Aimee ~ WOW that is some major hail damage. I hope you can get it fixed almost as good as new.
Those Bars look amazing.

Julie ~ I hope to be able to share some pictures when we return. I have a terrible time with pictures but I will try. I would love for you to see our piece of heaven.

Princess ~ feel better for your meeting with the Dalai Lama. Now that is something I will probably never be able to say I have done,

Marisa ~ Thanks for playing Nan this morning. Wow, that was a heck of a storm. I am just glad you both are ok.
It is good to see you around here - you are always missed.

Becky ~ WOW what a wonderful assortment of produce. The colors are beautiful. I would have a ball with that.


Well since there was no golfing last night we headed to Kearney. We are buying a new "Big Boy" bicycle for Ethan for his birthday on the 24th. We found a neat one so it was worth the trip.

We also bought some containers of flowers for Elizabeth. I was over the other day and she was upset that she didn't have any flowers planted. She is so sick with morning sickeness, (24/7) that she does good to get up in the morning, let alone plant flowers. We took them to the house and put them where I wanted them and left real fast. She just called and was crying - Good Lord I really thought something was wrong - she was so happy. She said it finally looks like someone lives here.

We are headed to Lincoln as soon as we get off of work. The boys have a weekend of golfing planned (please oh please don't let it rain) and I am going to grab my Kindle and head for Barnes & Nobles and read my little heart out. I can't wait. I may do some much needed retail therapy also.

I am taking my laptop so I will catch up with you all over the weekend.

WFDT ~ I have no idea - I just know I WON'T be cooking!!

Make it a great day my friends.

 

[bigmerle1966]

It was the worst winds I have seen in a long time, and Nans neighbor had a huge tree that was uprooted and fell on the power lines. No dising for nan today She wanted me to let everyone know she is fine, just a little withdrawl.

Have a great day!

It came through here last night and didn't do to bad where I live but a few miles down the road where I work the ground was littered with leaves and a few limbs were down. Apparently there were 70mph winds and hail!

Long day today again. After work I went to my godsons very first play. It was great. Afterward I took him out for soft serve with the cast, his mom and dad had to go to a meeting. He was so worried we were going to miss his friends because I went a way he was not used to, no need to worry there was a huge line of family member and the kids were in the parking lot singing and dancing.

They sang a great variety of songs, some from the play, others from other decades and even sang Lee Greenwoods "Proud to be an American" and the "Star Spangled Banner".

 

[Nancyg56]

Good Morning! All is well here today! Buddy was home when the storm went through and he said it was the worst weather he has ever been in. The wind was so loud that he never heard the huge limb break and fall over the lines and it was right across the street. Welby was at a friends home on the lake and she said there were waterspouts out there! WE lost power but the crews finally got it back on late afternoon yesterday but the cable went down so no DISin' for me.

I still have no water because our pump lost the prime. I did not know what was wrong, the pump kept running but there was no water. My neighbor is an electrician so he was able to turn it off. Buddy never got home until 9:30 and needed to be back at teh farm at 5:30 this morning so he showered at Welby's. She was pinchhitting on the setter so that must have been a fun night for the crew! The guys are shy and she is not!

Princess- how are you feeling today?

Oh well, I have to get going but will be back later

 

[TigerKat]

MIL was moved back to the nursing home yesterday, feeling a bit better physically.

I don't have it in me to go back and catch up today so hopefully all of you are doing well and I'm sorry if I missed anything.

WFD - Bacon wrapped chipotle shrimp, charred corn relish and rice pilaf.

 

[MrsHerbie53]

Ellen -- hope you have a relaxing trip!

Nancy -- that storm sounds scary! Being without water is awful!

Marilyn - how old is your godson? That sounds priceless!!!!

Kathy -- glad your MIL was moved back, that's good. Hang in there!


Well, I got 2 new pairs of running shoes last night (including a very PINK pair!). I am NOT a runner, yet...but am going to try the Couch to 5K program just to try to feel healthier and lose some weight. I actually can't imagine myself running, but people swear it works gradually and by 9 weeks they are running or jogging 25-30 minutes straight!

WFD last night was Pizza Hut...eh, it was ok. I had salad, bread sticks and 1 slice...

WFD tonight??? We got thick pork chops for the grill and chicken cutlets...not sure yet which I'll do...

Have a great day friends!!!!

 

[liamandcaili]

Hi All,

We are in the homestretch, but life has still been so crazy. I haven't had a chance to catch up yet. Today, alone, Liam had a baseball practice, Caili had a 3 hour ballet rehearsal and then she had a birthday party. I had a half hour to eat at my parents' house. It was delicious though. Beck will post photos, I'm sure.

I miss "seeing" all of you each day!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Well, I got 2 new pairs of running shoes last night (including a very PINK pair!). I am NOT a runner, yet...but am going to try the Couch to 5K program just to try to feel healthier and lose some weight. I actually can't imagine myself running, but people swear it works gradually and by 9 weeks they are running or jogging 25-30 minutes straight!

I've gone as far as looking at the Couch to 5K program but that's as far as I got... I have a lot of friends that run and want to want to do it but just don't. I might need to bribe myself Please update us on how it's going! Good luck!!!

Nancy, what's the word on your water situation?

Kat, so glad she got moved and is improving.

Laura, don't know who you do it - your weekends are certainly not restful after a long week of work!

Last night, we went to Pei Wei to use a B1G1 coupon for their new dish. It was good, but not my favorite dish there.

Today, I changed my oil and ran errands plus we hung pictures in the stairway and cleaned house. Exciting, heh? I grilled tonight - steak, potato foil packs with garlic and onions, zucchini, and corn on the cob. No dishes to clean, no oven in use, and it was all SO good.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Finally decided that I have some time to spare to acknowledge being sick. Been in bed all day today...and since we came back from the "chat" with the Dalai Lama.

Will try and catch up sometime...but dinner is likely to be the comfort food of spaghetti carbonara.

 

[PrincessInOz]

So my "chat" with the Dalai Lama was actually "A Conversation with the Dalai Lama" at the Melbourne Convention Center. The Plenary Room in here holds 5,500 people; so I had a few more new best friends for the 2 hour session.

His Holiness is in town for 3 days and there is a 3 day conference running on meditation and being zen. We thought about the 3 day thing...but turns out that I'm sick; so it was just as well we only went to the 2 hour 'chat'.
after a brief introduction, His Holiness came out...with a young acolyte. On first impressions, he seemed so ordinary and humble.

He sat down and started to talk about inner happiness.
- He talked about material wealth not bringing inner happiness.
- Inner happiness comes from inner strenght.
- Inner happiness comes from knowing yourself and acceptance.
- He talked about equality and that all men, women and children are the same.

He also talked about world peace.
- He said that moral ethics and the children are the hope for the future.
- Children need to be taught moral ethics (but did not elaborate on what moral ethics was).
- Children need to be nutured and loved lots.
- National boundaries do not have any meaning because there is only one world.

He peppered his talk with lots of examples of meeting world leaders and business leaders thoughout his travels but never name dropped. Lots of jokes and that laugh!

It was somewhere after the first 2 minutes that I realised why this man was so revered. He thinks in-depth and there is so much complexity behind his topics yet he has that knack of being able to simplify the concepts down to a human and personal level. He was incredibly personable and there was no ego in sight anywhere.

He spoke for about an hour and a quarter before opening up for questions. I was amazed at the questions....they were all incredibly esoteric and centered around the meaning of life and reincarnation.

What was more amazing was his answers, which indicated that this man believes in scientific theory....he answered the question of where did the universe come from....based on the big bang. He quoted from a number of scientific journals when asked about the latest round of diseases hitting the world.
And after the scientific answer, came the "The Buddhist viewpoint is....." perspective.

I could have easily spent another 5 years listening to him...


Another item off my bucket list...."meeting" a famous world leader....check!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Pasta Carbonara


I know y'all have your own favourite recipe for this and that it is a simple 'nursery' type food...but I was feeling a little low today (still) and just felt like comfort food. And I checked our recipe list on the 1st post...no sign of a carbonara. I didn't go back through the older threads....


My starting ingredients:

• Pasta, penne, about 100 g per person
• Bacon, 5 middle bacon rashers, diced
• Eggs, 3 (one per person)
• Parmesan cheese, as much as you like
• Cream, 150 ml
• Milk, a little to dilute cream, if you want
• Oil, 2 tablespoon
• Salt and Pepper

Cook the pasta as per the instructions and drain.

Place the eggs, cheese, cream, milk and salt/pepper in a bowl…

…and whisk well together.

In a pan, fry the bacon in some oil for about 4 – 5 minutes or until it starts to colour/crisp up.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan and mix. Turn the heat down to a low/medium flame.

Pour the egg/cream mix into the pan…..

….and stir until all the pasta is coated with the sauce. Do not overcook the sauce, or you’ll end up with an omelette.

My dinner!

 

[HERSEY]

Princess I would never have thought of going to see the Dalai Lama. He sounds like a interesting man. I hope you keep adding things to your bucket list I wouldn't want you to run out.

It is sunny out. Yes that is HUGE news lately. I have weeds that could choke a horse if I had one.

Hopefully I will get my tank refilled so we can grill tonight.

 

[Nancyg56]

Princess- I am so glad that you were able to hear the Dalai Lama speak, what an opportunity!

Kat- I hope that your MIL's health continues to improve. How is Johnny dealing with this? I remember how difficult it was caring for my Mom all the while worrying about how she was doing. Caring for her was the easy part, it was knowing how her health was that was so hard.

I am grilling today if the sun comes out. I overindulged last night after eating not much more than donuts for two days. I am in a world of

 

[TigerKat]

Laura – Liam & Caili sure do keep you busy, you’re such a great Mom. Try and take some “me time” if you can.

Aimee – Your dinner last night sounded so good!!!

Princess – I hope you’re feeling better today.

Janice – Glad to hear the sun is shining!

Nan – Johnny is doing fairly well. I’ve been trying to warn him about “the orphan feeling” after the second parent passes for quite a while now and I think the past few days have made him more aware of what I was talking about.

WFD – Johnny’s birthday is Tuesday and he requested Osso Bucco. There’s no way I can achieve that on a workday so that’s what I’m cooking for him today along with pesto pasta and asparagus with lemon and parsley.

Thanks to all for the good thoughts & prayers for MIL.

 

[Aimeedyan]

So my "chat" with the Dalai Lama was actually "A Conversation with the Dalai Lama" at the Melbourne Convention Center. The Plenary Room in here holds 5,500 people; so I had a few more new best friends for the 2 hour session.

How awesome is that?! I'm so glad you got the opportunity to go - and went! I'd love to hear him speak sometime but doubt that'll happen at this point.




I took a herd of kids after church to see Judy Moody - it was cute! They all loved it, which really is the important part.

Today is my dad's birthday and since I had an afternoon activity, I had hoped to just pick up wings or something for the game tonight (GO MAVS!) or going out to eat before the game starts (GO MAVS!). Turns out, the guy has his heart set on brats on the grill and since he doesn't have a grill, he was hoping we could do that instead. So, DH is going to the store and picking up hot dogs to go with them (I don't eat brats) plus fixings for strawberry mojitos and asian cabbage salad.

Oh yeah - GO MAVS!!

 

[TigerKat]

/

Today is my dad's birthday and since I had an afternoon activity, I had hoped to just pick up wings or something for the game tonight (GO MAVS!) or going out to eat before the game starts (GO MAVS!). Turns out, the guy has his heart set on brats on the grill and since he doesn't have a grill, he was hoping we could do that instead. So, DH is going to the store and picking up hot dogs to go with them (I don't eat brats) plus fixings for strawberry mojitos and asian cabbage salad.

Oh yeah - GO MAVS!!

Happy Birthday to Dad!!! I've been a huge Mavs fan since I fell in love with the owner years ago. We'll all be cheering for them!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

WFD- Brownies. For real.

 

[TigerKat]

WFD- Brownies. For real.

What's even funnier is that I'm not surprised!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Good Morning! All is well here today! Buddy was home when the storm went through and he said it was the worst weather he has ever been in. The wind was so loud that he never heard the huge limb break and fall over the lines and it was right across the street. Welby was at a friends home on the lake and she said there were waterspouts out there! WE lost power but the crews finally got it back on late afternoon yesterday but the cable went down so no DISin' for me.

I still have no water because our pump lost the prime. I did not know what was wrong, the pump kept running but there was no water. My neighbor is an electrician so he was able to turn it off. Buddy never got home until 9:30 and needed to be back at teh farm at 5:30 this morning so he showered at Welby's. She was pinchhitting on the setter so that must have been a fun night for the crew! The guys are shy and she is not!

Glad y'all are okay!

Well, I got 2 new pairs of running shoes last night (including a very PINK pair!). I am NOT a runner, yet...but am going to try the Couch to 5K program just to try to feel healthier and lose some weight. I actually can't imagine myself running, but people swear it works gradually and by 9 weeks they are running or jogging 25-30 minutes straight!

I have tried the C25K program. My biggest issue with it is that you actually have to follow through and, oh, get off the couch!

I'm not a runner either, but I've done two half marathons. I did a combination of walking and jogging for both of them. I did a trip report for the Princess one; the link is in my signature if you want to read it.

I am going to try the C25K though. I have an app for it on my iPhone. It tells you "walk" ... "run"...."walk"..."run"....

Hi All,

We are in the homestretch, but life has still been so crazy. I haven't had a chance to catch up yet. Today, alone, Liam had a baseball practice, Caili had a 3 hour ballet rehearsal and then she had a birthday party. I had a half hour to eat at my parents' house. It was delicious though. Beck will post photos, I'm sure.

I miss "seeing" all of you each day!

Ahhh, the homestretch!

So my "chat" with the Dalai Lama was actually "A Conversation with the Dalai Lama" at the Melbourne Convention Center. The Plenary Room in here holds 5,500 people; so I had a few more new best friends for the 2 hour session.

His Holiness is in town for 3 days and there is a 3 day conference running on meditation and being zen. We thought about the 3 day thing...but turns out that I'm sick; so it was just as well we only went to the 2 hour 'chat'.
after a brief introduction, His Holiness came out...with a young acolyte. On first impressions, he seemed so ordinary and humble.

He sat down and started to talk about inner happiness.
- He talked about material wealth not bringing inner happiness.
- Inner happiness comes from inner strenght.
- Inner happiness comes from knowing yourself and acceptance.
- He talked about equality and that all men, women and children are the same.

He also talked about world peace.
- He said that moral ethics and the children are the hope for the future.
- Children need to be taught moral ethics (but did not elaborate on what moral ethics was).
- Children need to be nutured and loved lots.
- National boundaries do not have any meaning because there is only one world.

He peppered his talk with lots of examples of meeting world leaders and business leaders thoughout his travels but never name dropped. Lots of jokes and that laugh!

It was somewhere after the first 2 minutes that I realised why this man was so revered. He thinks in-depth and there is so much complexity behind his topics yet he has that knack of being able to simplify the concepts down to a human and personal level. He was incredibly personable and there was no ego in sight anywhere.

He spoke for about an hour and a quarter before opening up for questions. I was amazed at the questions....they were all incredibly esoteric and centered around the meaning of life and reincarnation.

What was more amazing was his answers, which indicated that this man believes in scientific theory....he answered the question of where did the universe come from....based on the big bang. He quoted from a number of scientific journals when asked about the latest round of diseases hitting the world.
And after the scientific answer, came the "The Buddhist viewpoint is....." perspective.

I could have easily spent another 5 years listening to him...


Another item off my bucket list...."meeting" a famous world leader....check!

This sounds nice! I'm glad you had the chance to do this. I should make a bucket list...

Are you feeling any better now?

It is sunny out. Yes that is HUGE news lately. I have weeds that could choke a horse if I had one.

Hopefully I will get my tank refilled so we can grill tonight.

Yay for sun!! Did you grill?

WFD – Johnny’s birthday is Tuesday and he requested Osso Bucco. There’s no way I can achieve that on a workday so that’s what I’m cooking for him today along with pesto pasta and asparagus with lemon and parsley.

Thanks to all for the good thoughts & prayers for MIL.

I don't even know what that is. But I hope he has a happy birthday!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

What's even funnier is that I'm not surprised!

I'll think we'll just call this "eating dessert first". Because really, this little 1"x2" square of brownie did NOT leaving me feeling full.

I'll probably have a sandwich. But I think if I have another sandwich I am going to turn into a sandwich.