What's for Dinner? ~ Monday January 23rd!

[Lucinda]

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend.
It was a bit tough in casa Lucinda. :/
Not sure what I will be having tonight yet, but I think I'll be making peppers and Italian sausage for Bill.

What's for dinner where you are?

[supernova]

1. Thinking some sort of chili cassarole

with a cornbread topping. Some excuse to keep the oven on and the heat it brings.

[Lucinda]

3. Cornbread and chili are perfection in just about any combo!

It's finally a little warmer here today, and no rain!

[grasswire]

2. from grandma's everday repertoire -- hamburger stroganoff

Was having a cup of her favorite tea, which always takes me back to her kitchen in my mind. In my childhood, her repertoire was strictly New England Yankee, and I loved that and learned it. In her later years when she wasn't feeding a houseful, she strayed to some other styles now and then. I remember her serving this to me on the day when she fitted my wedding dress.

Ground sirloin
Worcestershire
Diced yellow onion
Diced celery
Nutmeg
Dill Weed
Mushrooms (I caramelize them in a separate pan, then add)
S&P

Brown meat well and degrease, add other ingredients and 1/2 cup coffee or water. Add a dab of Better Than Bouillon beef base if you wish. Simmer over low heat for half an hour. Add a cup of sour cream (or use half buttermilk), stir in, and simmer on low heat for another 15 minutes.

I serve with whole wheat noodles and whatever veggies are in the freezer. Grandma had fresh-made Parker House hot rolls, but well........I don't.

[Lucinda]

4. I don't think i've ever had dill and nutmeg together in a dish.

That's an interesting combo.

I've been looking for a good beef base...the only one I can find locally has salt as the first ingredient. O.o.

I checked Amazon for the Better Than Bouillon line...looks like they make several different bases! I'm glad you mentioned it.

[grasswire]

11. I guess dill/nutmeg/sour cream is sort of a scandinavian trait.

Which doesn't explain why it's in a stroganoff recipe, but it seems to work.

[Lucinda]

13. LOL...some of the oddest combos are the most interesting

and part of the fun of cooking is testing them

[noamnety]

5. roadkill tonight

roasting in the clay cooker on a bed of cut up onions, celery, and cauliflower, with some red wine and homemade turkey broth, bacon ends on top, and a pile of thyme and sage I just pulled from the garden perched on top of that. I don't know yet if the steam will bring the flavor of the herbs down or if they'll just dry bake and be utterly useless. Maybe I should poke them down into the liquid? It's an experiment.

For a side I'm doing a cookie sheet of curry seasoned okra to roast. I'm stoked - I've just discovered the joys of curry-seasoned roasted okra, which doesn't get sticky, and I found that out the same time my local market put out a bunch of okra for 99 cents for a bag that's probably 3 pounds. I've single-handedly eaten about 5 pounds of okra in the last week.

[japple]

6. Tell us more about roasting the okra with curry. Sounds verrrrry

interesting.

[noamnety]

8. It's embarrassingly simple

wash and dry the okra (I skip that step because I'm a lazy cook)
put it on a cookie sheet (I line it with foil, easier cleanup - lazy)
drizzle with oil, dump curry powder and some salt on it. rub it all in with your hands, and bake at 450 til the smoke alarm goes off (well, that's my version, the original said 10-15 minutes or until tender)

I've also done variations with some balsamic vinegar and nutritional yeast tossed in, like I'd do for kale chips.

I only just found out that if you cook okra without stirring it, it won't slime so bad, and if you cook it in something acidic that also prevents slime. (hence the vinegar experiment)

The roasted whole pods are pretty much slime free. I can see them turning into a dorito-like - but much healthier - addiction for me.

[japple]

26. Sounds divine. When my garden starts producing okra

this summer, I'll have to try it! Thanks for the tips.

[Lucinda]

14. I used to use a clay baker often. The only one I have now is the cloche I use for bread

Your post brought back some good memories! I may have to try the roasted okra. I definitely don't like the slimy versions, but a roasted one sounds interesting.

[japple]

7. I'm having a meat loaf sandwich made with yesterday's

leftovers. My favorite sandwich in the world. And I don't feel so guilty since I had a load of veggies for lunch.

Hope you start feeling better soon, Lucinda.

[Lucinda]

15. Thank you! I am ready to feel better.

It's getting old.

[cbayer]

9. How are you feeling Lucinda?

Not going to eat?

I have pulled out some pork chops. Not sure what I will do with them yet, but I also have some apples.

Made a great antipasto salad last night and might do a variation on that.

[Lucinda]

16. I nibbled on a few things, but I am mostly doing fluids lately. Thankie for asking.

I feel better if I graze when I get this way.
I ended up oven roasting some pork chops for Bill tonight, instead of making the Italian sausage. He said they were good.

[cbayer]

20. Aww... it's a deed of love

when you fix food for your dearest when you can't eat it.

[Lucinda]

23. He's gone above and beyond for me so many times that I could never catch up.

He slept in a chair for 9 days when they had me knocked out in the trauma center a few years ago. I was unconscious the whole time with one of those vac thingys on my abdomen so they could keep going back in to operate. Chucking a few pork chops in the oven is nothing in comparison. ♥

[cbayer]

24. You made me smile.

It's so wonderful to have a loving partner. And you are right, it makes doing for them very, very easy.

[Lucinda]

25. He can also be a colossal pain. Whiniest man ever when he is programming

and can't figure out the mistake. But all in all, he pretty much rocks. ♥

[Retrograde]

10. Mac and cheese, with artichokes as a side

We had a freeze last week, and the local grocery had freeze-burned artichokes on sale (they taste fine, but the outer leaves have a lot of brown spots from the frost). We have a large collection of unlabled cheeses from a recent party, so a grated mixture is going in the mac and cheese.

[Lucinda]

17. Yum. I like artichokes with cheese dishes.

I bought a frozen chicken entree with a cheese sauce and artichokes a while back, and was surprised at how much I liked it together. I usually just use garlic and butter with them. I hope the mystery mac was yummy!

[applegrove]

12. We had hors d'oevres for dinner. Little mediterranean ones and little cheese and carmelized

onion quiches. Then we had blueberries...lots and lots and lots of blueberries.

[Lucinda]

18. That sounds perfect for me. I've been ill and feel more like grazing than cooking

a full meal.

[pinto]

19. Just got in from a presentation / report I have to do q 6 months. So a quickie -

Nuked cheese quesadilla, refried beans w/ green chilies & salsa, avocado w/ lime.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

21. Beef and Barley soup, with fresh wheat bread

perfect meal for the crappy weather we're having.

I hope you're feeling better

[Luciferous]

22. We had kielbasa and scalloped potatoes