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

[MickeyShow]

I wanted to jump back in here now that life seems to be settling down and I'm back on something resembling a routine.

Update on me is that last week I had the brilliance to back my car out of the garage before the door was fully up. In my defense it looked clear through the rearview mirror. I damaged the car and the garage door where it wouldn't move at all. Desperate to get out of the house before the garage repairman could get there that evening I came up with the brilliant idea of trying to turn my car around in the garage to get out the second door. Bear in mind I drive an SUV. This did not go well and I managed to further damage the car as well as the second garage door. Needless to say my car insurance premium will be going up. Even better is a few days later when Mike was driving the rental car he rear-ended someone else. Minimal damage to their car and none to ours so we paid cash on that one. We're just laughing about it at this point.

We're also getting a new puppy next week. He'll be 8 weeks old when we bring him home. We're all really excited although I'm nervous too since we all know who'll really be doing all the work.

We have no food in the house. With the craziness of the last few days I haven't been shopping. First on tomorrow's agenda is hitting Whole Foods. Tonight will be either something out of the freezer or my real hope is for chinese food. I have a cold and hot and sour soup and spicy food sounds perfect. Plus we have no vegetables and I hate a meal without them.

I hope everyone is doing well. I've truly missed sharing over here and am happy to be back with everyone plus getting to know everyone who's joined in my absence.

 

[Goofyluver]

Okay, my first officially official post on this thread. Before I jump in and post about my food, I'll do a little introduction.

I'm Jen, foodie/chef extrordinaire wannabe. I'm newly married to fellow DISer Uncle Remus. I have a 15 y.o. sophomore in high school, who is being raised by his two moms to love food and to try anything. My BIL, Big C, lives with us as well. He's developmentally disabled. We call him the human garbage disposal because he eats everything! Every day, the big news for those two is what's for dinner on that day...one of them comes out first thing in the morning to get that day's menu.

We cook in this family...because we love to eat. No vacation is planned unless the food is planned too. When we were married last month, we honeymooned in DC and Disney World...and many good times and eats were had...thanks to our planning! At home, we love to try new eats and recipes. We're pretty much game for anything once!

Soooo...wfd (my first one): Tonight was homemade corned beef hash. Sometimes, downhome cookin' is just what a family needs.

 

[scotlass]

. I hope I'm worthy!

ach dinnae sweat it too much.....Im not worthy and they let me stick around !!

 

[HERSEY]

Jen welcome. I love corned beef hash.

I think all of us really like to eat. My family has been know to drive miles out of our way to get a good burger or onion rings. In fact my dad used to drive us over an hour away just to get really good ice cream when I was younger.

I have a teenager at home about to start his junior year in high school. I still have not figured out how I got a teenager. When last I looked his feet could hardly reach the floor when he sat on the chair. I am still too young for this.

Anyway WFD is grilled burgers and salad. Yes I said grilled. it is finally cooler for the moment. I am too tired to grill anything else these predawn thunderstorms are wrecking my beauty sleep.

 

[liamandcaili]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading as much as possible, but posting has been a problem. I miss all of you! Life has just been so busy. I have been cooking though. Dinners last week were chicken and broccoli stir-fry with sesame noodles, pasta primavera, pasta fresca... um, do you see a trend here? I think we had pasta almost every night. Today we had grilled striped bass with avocado butter, corn fricasee, grean beans and zucchini fritters. It was delicious!

The boy is buzzin tonight, he has been asked to train with one of the top bboy crews in Scotland.

Congratulations to your boy! That is fantastic.

I swear I am going to purge my stuff.............but I have to stop taking things home first

I am sorry about Otto.
I never get free ice cream...jealous! Thanks for thinking of me.

Last night, I went out to dinner with my work colleagues at a restaurant called The Italian.

YUM!

I haven't cooked anything in several weeks so I thought I'd go big.

Sounds awesome! We were going to see HP this weekend, but all the shows were sold-old. Crazy. We'll see it in a few weeks.

Chipmunk -- Welcome! Those recipes sound good.

Thank you so much for the welcomes!

Welcome!

We are leaving Tuesday for 2 weeks, so we are trying to clean things out!

Have a great vacation!

We're also getting a new puppy next week.

So exciting! I'm sorry about your car. That sounds like something I would do.

The next time I post it will probably be from the Caribbean. It's a much needed vacation and I'm looking forward to "my only care being that the tide reaches my chair."

 

[scotlass]

The next time I post it will probably be from the Caribbean. It's a much needed vacation and I'm looking forward to "my only care being that the tide reaches my chair."

have a wonderful, well earned vacation....

 

[TigerKat]

Nan – How is Otto doing? I think of him every day.

Glynis – Enjoy the rodeo!

Michelle – welcome back! Sorry to hear about the car and the run of bad luck but I’m excited about the puppy! What kind of puppy are y’all getting?

Jen – I’m so glad you are joining our group! We are a fun, sometimes chatty, and close knit group. Sounds like y’all love food as much as we do. I enjoyed your honeymoon dining review! Please post that tilapia recipe I saw on facebook!!!!!

Janice – Glad to hear it’s cool enough for you to grill!

Laura – I’m so happy for y’all, a much needed vacation!!!! Have a great time girl!

 

[TigerKat]

ach dinnae sweat it too much.....Im not worthy and they let me stick around !!

We love you Vick!

 

[Goofyluver]

Jen – I’m so glad you are joining our group! We are a fun, sometimes chatty, and close knit group. Sounds like y’all love food as much as we do. I enjoyed your honeymoon dining review! Please post that tilapia recipe I saw on facebook!!!!!

I will!

One of our favorite dishes is a tilapia recipe we got from Marcella Vallodolid on Food Network. We call it tilapia piccata, as it is very similar to a chicken piccata recipe that we use, with tomatoes and capers.

Veracruz-Style Tilapia

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets or other white fish fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes with juice
1 Anaheim chile, stemmed, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup pitted and halved green olives
1/4 cup capers, drained


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the fish fillets on both sides with salt and black pepper, to taste. Saute the fillets until they are opaque and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to a glass baking dish where they fit snugly.

In the same saute pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, Anaheim chile, bay leaf and oregano and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and let the sauce simmer until the chiles soften, about 6 minutes. Uncover the pan, add the olives and capers, and cook until the flavors combine, about 4 minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the sauce over the fish in the baking dish. Bake until the fish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, discard the bay leaf and serve​

We substitute 2 poblanos in place of the anaheim chile the recipe calls for. The poblanos give this a deeper, richer flavor.

This is my picture of the dish from facebook (sorry for the quality, it's a cell phone pic)

We serve it over rice. Enjoy!

 

[TigerKat]

Thanks Jen!

 

[Nancyg56]

I wanted to jump back in here now that life seems to be settling down and I'm back on something resembling a routine.

I missed you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your killing me with your little nudge on the car

Alan took me to a rodeo last night, and we had such a fun time!!! I love watching the little kids do the mutton bustin'! Hilarious!!! We actually have tickets to take the kids to the rodeo tomorrow night. I can't wait. Front row seats!!

!

I love the rodeo! My favorite is the barrel racers. I tried to get Welby to consider buying a horse for Nola but she hates them! No barrel racing for my girl

Okay, my first officially official post on this thread. Before I jump in and post about my food, I'll do a little introduction.


Soooo...wfd (my first one): Tonight was homemade corned beef hash. Sometimes, downhome cookin' is just what a family needs.

I am Nancy, married to Buddy.....my sandwich man. I love to cook but it is homey stuff. My DH does not like me to "mess with his food" and considers my inability to stick to a recipe Nanatizing

I love Corned Beef Hash. The best I ever had was a few weeks ago in VT. THe little restaurant we had breakfast at had all homemade dishes and the hash was better than my Mom's used to be.

ach dinnae sweat it too much.....Im not worthy and they let me stick around !!

Love you Vickie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a teenager at home about to start his junior year in high school. I still have not figured out how I got a teenager. When last I looked his feet could hardly reach the floor when he sat on the chair. I am still too young for this.

I have seen this guy and he is definitely not having problems reaching the floor now

The next time I post it will probably be from the Caribbean. It's a much needed vacation and I'm looking forward to "my only care being that the tide reaches my chair."

You deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As to the free ice cream.it was not a compliment, they felt sorry for me..............and not in a good way

Nan – How is Otto doing? I think of him every day.

I don't know. Gail is staying at my brother's until she moves into the condo she is buying. She went back to work on Friday and because she works nights I don't call. I do know he is beinbg pampered at my brothers house, Otto stays there often if Gail is working too long and no one is around to let him and Molly out so he is right at home. Kat- he looks like your little Sammy did, a little faded with age but still the most expressive little face I have ever seen on a dog. Deb is not going to take this well.

 

[Goofyluver]

Jen welcome. I love corned beef hash.

I think all of us really like to eat. My family has been know to drive miles out of our way to get a good burger or onion rings. In fact my dad used to drive us over an hour away just to get really good ice cream when I was younger.

I have a teenager at home about to start his junior year in high school. I still have not figured out how I got a teenager. When last I looked his feet could hardly reach the floor when he sat on the chair. I am still too young for this.

Anyway WFD is grilled burgers and salad. Yes I said grilled. it is finally cooler for the moment. I am too tired to grill anything else these predawn thunderstorms are wrecking my beauty sleep.

I think it's perfectly normal to drive an hour for good food. We live out in the boonies (translation: 45 minutes from a decent grocery store and any restaurants) and we take advantage of being in the 'big city' by going out to eat every time we're there.

And I'm jealous of your thunderstorms.

I am Nancy, married to Buddy.....my sandwich man. I love to cook but it is homey stuff. My DH does not like me to "mess with his food" and considers my inability to stick to a recipe Nanatizing

I love Corned Beef Hash. The best I ever had was a few weeks ago in VT. THe little restaurant we had breakfast at had all homemade dishes and the hash was better than my Mom's used to be.

We plan our menus out in advance by a week or two. I've had this corned beef on tap for a few weeks. When I started getting daily hints about the meat, I decided to throw it into the mix.

I find that an inability to stick to a recipe is a sign of genius.

Nice to meet you Nancy!

 

[TigerKat]

I don't know. Gail is staying at my brother's until she moves into the condo she is buying. She went back to work on Friday and because she works nights I don't call. I do know he is beinbg pampered at my brothers house, Otto stays there often if Gail is working too long and no one is around to let him and Molly out so he is right at home. Kat- he looks like your little Sammy did, a little faded with age but still the most expressive little face I have ever seen on a dog. Deb is not going to take this well.

Please tell Deb that I am praying for her and sweet Otto.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Okay, my first officially official post on this thread. Before I jump in and post about my food, I'll do a little introduction.

I'm Jen, foodie/chef extrordinaire wannabe. I'm newly married to fellow DISer Uncle Remus. I have a 15 y.o. sophomore in high school, who is being raised by his two moms to love food and to try anything. My BIL, Big C, lives with us as well. He's developmentally disabled. We call him the human garbage disposal because he eats everything! Every day, the big news for those two is what's for dinner on that day...one of them comes out first thing in the morning to get that day's menu.

We cook in this family...because we love to eat. No vacation is planned unless the food is planned too. When we were married last month, we honeymooned in DC and Disney World...and many good times and eats were had...thanks to our planning! At home, we love to try new eats and recipes. We're pretty much game for anything once!

Soooo...wfd (my first one): Tonight was homemade corned beef hash. Sometimes, downhome cookin' is just what a family needs.

Welcome to the thread.....Glad you're around. (making me no longer the newby!)

ach dinnae sweat it too much.....Im not worthy and they let me stick around !!

Some of us stick around whether the others let us or not.

 

[Glynis]

Okay, my first officially official post on this thread. Before I jump in and post about my food, I'll do a little introduction.

I'm Jen, foodie/chef extrordinaire wannabe. I'm newly married to fellow DISer Uncle Remus. I have a 15 y.o. sophomore in high school, who is being raised by his two moms to love food and to try anything. My BIL, Big C, lives with us as well. He's developmentally disabled. We call him the human garbage disposal because he eats everything! Every day, the big news for those two is what's for dinner on that day...one of them comes out first thing in the morning to get that day's menu.

We cook in this family...because we love to eat. No vacation is planned unless the food is planned too. When we were married last month, we honeymooned in DC and Disney World...and many good times and eats were had...thanks to our planning! At home, we love to try new eats and recipes. We're pretty much game for anything once!

Soooo...wfd (my first one): Tonight was homemade corned beef hash. Sometimes, downhome cookin' is just what a family needs.

Hi, Jen! It's so nice to finally "meet" you! I was a lurker on your honeymoon dining report! Loved every sentence of it!!! You and your wife sound like a really fun couple! Congrats on the wedding and the honeymoon!!!

I'm Glynis. I've been married to Alan for 21 years, and we have 5 children. Katie is 14, Jacob is 11, Leslie and Mary are 9, and Timothy is 2.

Biggest news for us is that we are leaving this week for a 2 week vacation. One week with Alan's family at a nearby lake, and one week with my father, siblings, and nieces and nephews for a Disneyland vacation! It's going to be amazing! I can't wait to experience it and then come back and share it with my DIS family!

I can't wait to start sharing recipes with you!!!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Ok, a subject I am well-versed in.

What I bought:
Eyeshadow in "Sketch"

Creamsheen Glass (lipgloss) in "Geo Pink"
*I already have the one in "Looks Like Sin" and fell in love. These are awesome lipglosses if all you are wanting is a stain.

An eyeshadow brush, #242
*I've had my eye on this brush forever so I finally broke down and got it.

I am a very loyal MAC user and have to rush off for now, but later I will fill you in on more of the things I like.

On foundation:

Yes, I use one of theirs. I use the Studio Sculpt. When I am wanting some good coverage and I don't want to use a lot of powder. I apply it with a damp sponge. That said, 2 things you should know:

1. I have oily skin. This works great for me.
2. On days I want a more sheet coverage, I use Neutrogena Healthy Skin liquid makeup. I then dust some MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in my t-zone.

Go to the MAC counter and talk to someone about foundation. Be sure to tell them all about your skin type, the coverage you are wanting, and what kind of finish you want the end look to be (matte, sheer, glowy, etc.) And get 2 opinions. Just ask, "So and so over there working, would she agree?" or something like that. Someone may have a better idea for you

I hope that was of some help!

Thanks! I need lots of coverage (imo) so that foundation may be the right type for me. I'll have to stop by the counter sometime soon and check it out. I love that eye shadow color! I've been wearing a LOT of purple lately - the smoky eye thing.

I wanted to jump back in here now that life seems to be settling down and I'm back on something resembling a routine.

Update on me is that last week I had the brilliance to back my car out of the garage before the door was fully up. In my defense it looked clear through the rearview mirror. I damaged the car and the garage door where it wouldn't move at all. Desperate to get out of the house before the garage repairman could get there that evening I came up with the brilliant idea of trying to turn my car around in the garage to get out the second door. Bear in mind I drive an SUV. This did not go well and I managed to further damage the car as well as the second garage door. Needless to say my car insurance premium will be going up. Even better is a few days later when Mike was driving the rental car he rear-ended someone else. Minimal damage to their car and none to ours so we paid cash on that one. We're just laughing about it at this point.

We're also getting a new puppy next week. He'll be 8 weeks old when we bring him home. We're all really excited although I'm nervous too since we all know who'll really be doing all the work.

We have no food in the house. With the craziness of the last few days I haven't been shopping. First on tomorrow's agenda is hitting Whole Foods. Tonight will be either something out of the freezer or my real hope is for chinese food. I have a cold and hot and sour soup and spicy food sounds perfect. Plus we have no vegetables and I hate a meal without them.

I hope everyone is doing well. I've truly missed sharing over here and am happy to be back with everyone plus getting to know everyone who's joined in my absence.

Welcome back, michelle!! Sounds like an eventful week in your life I'm cracking up at your garage tango!

Good luck with the puppy - I loved mine when they were itsy bitsy and cute but loved them more when they were out of that stage Share pics!!!

Okay, my first officially official post on this thread. Before I jump in and post about my food, I'll do a little introduction.

Welcome, Jen! And congrats on your recent marriage! I'm Aimee, also a Texan, and I live with my DH and three pups - no kids yet. I just like trying new recipes and have picked up some serious keepers from this talented women. I'm in Fort Worth - what part of this great state are you in?

The next time I post it will probably be from the Caribbean. It's a much needed vacation and I'm looking forward to "my only care being that the tide reaches my chair."

Woohoo!!! You deserve a vacation, enjoy!!!


Another busy day - and will be a CRAZY week. I did make dinner again tonight, though, and feel like I should get a gold star Once I get it blogged, I'll post the recipe - it was delicious!! Honey Lime Enchiladas. YUM!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Honey Sesame Chicken (adapted from Nine Dragons at Epcot)
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into cubes

Marinade:
Glug of sesame oil
Glug of rice wine vinegar
Dash of salt
Dash of sugar

Garnish:
Toasted white sesame seeds

Batter:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 heaping tsp baking powder
½ of a beaten egg
2 tbsp oil
2/3 cup water
Pinch of salt

Honey Sauce:
1/8 cup, plus 1 tbsp honey
¼ cup sugar
1/8 cup ketchup
1 tbsp white vinegar

Soak the cubed chicken in the marinade for about 30 minutes.
Combine batter ingredients in a shallow pan and set aside.

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat cooking oil for frying, about 320º F. Using tongs, dip marinated chicken into batter and deep fry.

Heat honey sauce in a large wok. Turn off heat. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Sprinkle chicken with toasted sesame seeds and serve with hot rice.

 

[bigmerle1966]

Chocolate Chip Cookies


I know that making Choc Chip Cookies and posting it on this thread is a little like taking coal to Newcastle….given how much of an American staple CCC is; but this is something that I make every couple of months for a lunchbox treat for my DS. It just seemed a shame not to capture it when I made it this week.

Looks good to me and is differant from our regular recipe, ours has eggs and white sugar in it. What exactly is golden syrup?

Okay, my first officially official post on this thread. Before I jump in and post about my food, I'll do a little introduction.

Welcome! I am Marilyn, you can call me Merle. I live with my DM. While I do not have kids of my own I do have quite a few other peoples children I claim as mine. Two neices and three godsons who live close as well as three nephews who live in other parts of the US.

Dinner tonight was cheese and crackers, coffee and ice cream. We had crabs for lunch and then I took a nap.

Went to the festival Saturday night, we just hung out and watched the bands since we really didn't have anything else to do. It was hotter than Hades out there but we had a great turnout.

Got up early Sunday morning and went to the farm to pick tomatoes. Picked 20lbs of regular tomatoes and almost 5 lbs of grape and cherry tomatoes. Also picked up 3 onions off of the onion bed. People will pick things then when they don't like the size of it will just throw it on the ground.

Then I stopped at the barn and bought a whole bunch of squash. Going to make a huge pan of roasted squash, onions and cherry tomatoes for dinner tomorrow night and have them with chicken.

After so much time in the sun I passed out and took a nice 3 hour nap after eating crabs today, finally beginning to feel sleepy enough to go to sleep.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Looks good to me and is differant from our regular recipe, ours has eggs and white sugar in it. What exactly is golden syrup?

Wow! I had to google! I didn't realise that golden syrup was something of a rarity in the US!

Golden syrup is like a mix between corn syrup and maple syrup except it is much more viscous than either. It tastes like a caramel/butterscotch version of a less sweet honey. I used to love dipping a teaspoon into an open can of Lyle's Golden Syrup as a child...my mother only let us do that as a special treat very rarely.

I found out that golden syrup is used in Cajun cooking and is rather expensive in the US because of the sugar taxes on imports. Apparently you can get it a specialty cooking stores in most states....just expensive.

 

[Nancyg56]

Please tell Deb that I am praying for her and sweet Otto.

Thanks Friend I admit I am afraid to call, she had her first week with her own cruiser and has been worried about Gail. I know that she is so sensitive and has felt badly that Otto needed to stay with Gail while she was in training since January. Now Otto has had a cushy life with "Grammy" but Deb has missed him and her Jaxon (Pit Bull Something Rescue) terribly. Her former roomate refused to care for him so Jax has been at her Aunt's house and while Timmy was home a constant companion for him.

I think Deb has today off so I am going to send a text for her to call when she can.

Welcome to the thread.....Glad you're around. (making me no longer the newby!)

There is no such thing as a Newbie here, and even if there was your food porn is worth over!

Dinner tonight was cheese and crackers, coffee and ice cream.

My idea of the best Sunday Summer Supper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glynis- if I miss you somehow have a great vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner changed last night. Welby is wicked sick and I have not been able to help much this week. She called to see if it would be okay to send Brian to the races and I was glad to finally be able to give her a hand so the girls came over after their naps. I did not know if little ones can eat scallops so we had ham steaks, corn on the cob, broccoli and green salad. I have to tell you that watching them eat that corn made me Nola refused the broccoli in favor of my garden cukes and Rylee ate more brocolli than I would have ever thought possible for a little Peanut to devour

I packed the container of scallops in a zip bag filled with ice and I am hoping that the sale date on the container is right. I never buy seafood from the grocery store so I hope that this purchase was not a mistake.

I am going to make Becky's cole slaw to go with dinner along with a steamed spaghetti squash if I can find one and a salad.

I weigh in today an dam hoping for three more pounds. If I get that I will be more than half way to my goal