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Post by Phalon on Apr 25, 2018 21:55:06 GMT -6
Baked potatoes for dinner, "fully loaded": butter, cheddar cheese, sauteed onions, red peppers, and zucchini, and of course, sour cream. It's been a long time since I've had a baked potato - I bet it's been years!
Easy dinner - we should do it more often.
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Post by Phalon on May 6, 2018 6:41:57 GMT -6
Hamburgers on the grill last night! The much anticipated first grilling since last fall, they seemed especially good!
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 8, 2018 17:28:03 GMT -6
Homemade Lasagna. I haven't made a lasagna in about 30 years. I've only ever made one, IIRC. I used my rectangular crockpot. The middle section was perfect, but the ends were dry and crunchy. -- I put the pasta in dry. -- So next time I'll double the water content and see if the ends soften up more. Or I'll just soak the pasta in warm water to soften as I'm making up the meat sauce. It hit the spot.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 9, 2018 7:09:47 GMT -6
Water? I've never put water in my crock pot lasagna, and never had a problem with it being dry. Then again, I've never followed a recipe for crock pot lasagna other than to check the cooking time, and even then, last time I made it, I cooked it in half the time the recipe called for...because I drilled the cooking time after I started, and hadn't allowed for the amount of time it's supposed to cook; I just adjusted for the lost time by switching back and forth between the low and high setting on the crock pot. I wish mine had a "medium" setting, but it doesn't; it runs a lot hotter than my old crock pot did.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 9, 2018 20:03:12 GMT -6
I liked the flavors of this lasagna the best of all the kinds I've eaten, but I didn't like it enough to eat it more than once or twice ... until one day when my niece doubled the meat. So I use 2 lbs. of ground chuck. And after I tossed in the salt, it occurred to me that it might be too much, so I will try 1t next time. And I was too lazy to shred cheese, so I bought a small bag of shredded Mozzarella, a small bag of shredded mild Cheddar, and a small bag of shredded Parmesan, and I mixed them in a large plastic bag and shook the cheeses all together.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 11, 2018 20:37:32 GMT -6
That recipe didn't fill up the casserole dish, so I'm thinking I'll double it next time and see how well it fills up the dish.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 12, 2018 4:56:29 GMT -6
You know with all this talk of lasagna, I had to make it the other night - not to mention, the Boyfriend has been asking for it; it's a favorite of his. We polished off the leftovers last night.
The water...ah, it's for the sauce (I couldn't figure out why you'd put water in lasagna). I kind of cheat on the sauce by using a jar of spaghetti sauce for the base (I've always preferred Prego Traditional to anything else), and then adding usually tomatoes I've run through the food processor before freezing, herbs and spices. If I don't have any homegrown frozen tomatoes, I use a can of diced tomatoes. This time though I had plenty of San Marzano tomatoes from the garden; they are great for making sauce. Lots of fresh basil, parsley, and garlic chives too. The scent of all those fresh tomatoes and basil....ah, heaven!
The cheeses I use for lasagna are the traditional ones; mozzarella, ricotta, and parmesan. I don't think I've ever had cheddar in lasagna, but with all of that cheesy goodness all melted together, maybe I have; I've never used it myself though.
I was wondering about that when I read the recipe you use. Lasagna usually has three layers of pasta.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 12, 2018 17:36:21 GMT -6
That's probably why it's called, "Speedy." I don't think I'll double the tomato paste, or the salt. And I'm thinking I'll try half a jar of spaghetti sauce, instead of the water. And maybe I'll try something else in place of the cheddar. I didn't use cottage cheese. I couldn't find a small enough container, and I didn't want to waste the leftover ... if I double the recipe, I should be able to use the whole container, or have very little left over to toss out.
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Post by stepper on Oct 1, 2018 16:25:31 GMT -6
Pumpkin Delights. They, like so many other things, are on the list of things I'm not supposed to have any more, but you just gotta break the rules once in a while. Basically, if it's tastes good or otherwise falls into the category of food, it's a no-no. Except for protein, thank goodness. Without that I think I'd give up.
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 1, 2018 18:28:07 GMT -6
I had a diabetic Aunt and Great-Aunt, and in our Church cookbooks they added some recipes for diabetic desserts. Do you have a diabetic cookbook? If not, get one. You can still eat sweets, you just have to use different ingredients, is all.
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Post by stepper on Oct 1, 2018 20:11:01 GMT -6
Being diabetic is certainly part of the problem, and the peripheral neuropathy that goes with it. Not feeling my feet or fingers gets complicated. The lack of sensation isn't always complete in my fingers but certain foods have a fairly immediate affect. I was fortunate that I had access to hours of classes teaching us how to cope, what we can eat, etc., and as long as I'm even moderately careful I make out fairly well. Sugar in any form, and carbs, are at the top of my no-no list, but they're not absolutely forbidden. (Like I said, I get the occasional Pumpkin Delight. :> ) It's a long story and takes way too much explaining to be of interest. My last check said my a1c was down from 10.3 to 5.6 which is the high end of what they consider being the normal range - that's remarkable all by itself. I think I told you as soon as it seemed that I was recovering, Steppet had her own great misadventure. She's been home from the nursing home a bit more than a month now and gets in-home treatments but all I did for quite a while was work and visit - with a nap or two thrown in there just for the fun of it. Anyway, we are both making progress.
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 1, 2018 23:16:51 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Oct 9, 2018 4:43:52 GMT -6
I made lasagna again yesterday - on special request (I also have to make meatloaf sometime this week). The kids are moving out this coming weekend, and the Boyfriend asked if we could have lasagna before they leave. LX's request is meatloaf.
I wonder if using cottage cheese in lasagna is a Southern thing? When Hubs and I were first married, my very Southern mother-in-law gave me a recipe for lasagna that called for cottage cheese - I don't think I ever made it; I've always used ricotta instead. I don't use a whole container either, and with the left-over ricotta, I usually make stuffed pasta shells the following week.
Sorry to hear Stepper is having so many problems. Hope things get easier for him soon.
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 9, 2018 13:22:40 GMT -6
Maybe it was a regional thing? Maybe Cottage Cheese was easier to find? I don't recall seeing any Ricotta at the local store when I was searching for the Cottage Cheese. The other local store is rumored to be closing ... and their meat department is nasty ... so I don't shop there too much, even though it's closer. It's a bigger building, so they might carry it. I'll have to remember to check the next time I go there.
I need a good meatloaf recipe. I love it when it's good, but haven't found a recipe I like yet. I made a topping for meatloaf once that I loved. It was on a can of 'something.' Tomato soup? Tomato paste/sauce? I forgot to save it, and can't find it anywhere online. I know tomato soup and paste/sauce was used in the topping, but I can't remember if brown sugar was ... I'm thinking it wasn't. Anyways, that topping was way better than ketchup/catsup. I was hoping it would make a tomato gravy, but it didn't. I've had TV dinners where the meatloaf has had either a tomato or brown gravy, and I'd love to be able to make a meatloaf where I can switch up the two gravies.
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 24, 2018 21:39:31 GMT -6
I was at my local store today, so I took a look ... and cottage cheese was all they had, so that is what I'll have to use unless I go to Wal-Mart.
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Post by moonglum on Oct 25, 2018 1:04:15 GMT -6
Vox made liver and bacon with mash potatoes the other night. Havn't had that in years. She also made her signature bacon and onion roll one night. I've been in food heaven this past week.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 28, 2018 5:28:56 GMT -6
LX has in the past, and continues to ask for me to write down my meatloaf recipe. HA! There is no recipe, and no exact measurements, which frustrates her, even though I've walked her through what I do while I'm making it - which is basically to make it up as I go along, using the same basic ingredients with extra embellishments.
Though my meatloaf "recipe" varies, the topping is always the same - I use barbeque sauce. It doesn't make a gravy, but does give it a nice crusty top.
My Dad loved liver and onions. It was something Mom would make on occasion, but not very often....much to the relief of us kids; we hated it. Liver is something, even after all these years, I've never warmed up to - I've only, in fact, maybe had it once as an adult, just to see if I still didn't like it. I don't.
Now, Vox's bacon and onion roll - that sounds heavenly!
My boss has been very sweet this past week. Since the end of the season is so close with the nursery closing next week, she hasn't been spending a whole lot of time at the office. Instead, she's been spending it in her kitchen cooking...and bringing us the results of her culinary efforts! One particular cold and rainy day, she brought us homemade potato soup and brownies for lunch. Another day it was Paw Paw bread (similar to banana bread). Yesterday it was Paw Paw cake (similar to Paw Paw bread), with the best cream cheese icing I've ever had. Apparently the cake was a pain-in-the-behind to make; the bread was much easier...and appparently her paw paw trees had an abundant crop this year, and there's more cake/bread to be made. Skip making the cake next time since it's such a pain, I told her, and make the bread instead - but don't forget the cream cheese icing!
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 28, 2018 20:39:55 GMT -6
My Dad loved Liver too. Mom only made it every so often because she couldn't stand it, not even the smell. Dad finally started making it himself whenever he wanted it. Dad also loved Pickled Pigs Feet. He'd get a craving and have to make a trip to the store to get a jar. Once all the feet were gone, he'd boil eggs and peel them and put them in the jar of juice. No one else bothered to eat any of that mess.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 29, 2018 5:38:49 GMT -6
Ok, that is definitely a Southern thing. I remember the first time seeing pickled pig's feet and pickled eggs was early in our dating period, and I drove down with Hubs to South Carolina to meet his family. Stopping at a gas station along the way, there they were - big jars of pickled pigs feet and pink-colored pickled eggs on the counter right next to the cashier. They looked like something embalmed you'd see in some mad scientist's laboratory in a horror movie. Ick!
Chilly weather - perfect for chili! Hubs grilled chicken while I was at work yesterday, and when I got home, I made a big pot of chicken/veggie chili. I pretty much used every kind of vegetable we had in the house - black beans, white beans, tomatoes frozen from the garden, parsley still fresh, zucchini, onion, shredded cabbage and kale. Hit the spot for yesterday's rainy, blustery day, and even better is I don't have to cook today!
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Post by Mini Mia on Oct 29, 2018 16:57:21 GMT -6
They don't smell any better than they look.
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Post by stepper on Nov 3, 2018 17:00:03 GMT -6
Steppet is of German descent, Pennsylvania actually. She makes pickled hard boiled eggs a couple times a year, but she also uses beat juice which leaves them with that dark reddish color too. I have no idea what they taste like - as if that's a surprise to anyone.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 9, 2018 7:29:11 GMT -6
I got mixed reviews on dinner last night: Cheeseburgers and fries. BP loved it, I'd have it again although not often, and Hubs - no way!
BP has had for a while veggie burgers in the freezer, and there were three left - the perfect number, and an easy meal to fix. I've had veggie burgers before - even ordered them at restaurants - and I've loved them, but they've always been black-bean veggie burgers. The ones we had last night were made from zucchini, green beans, spinach, carrots, corn, and red peppers. I topped the burgers with sliced Colby-jack cheese, sauteed mushrooms, onions, and baby spinach, and served them on Ciabatta rolls. They looked delicious!
But they were green, which Hubs said was off-putting, and though the outside was crispy, the inside was the consistency of guacamole so that when you bit into it, green-stuff oozed out, which apparently was even more off-putting.
The fries were good, said he. (eye-roll)
I thought the burgers were good - very flavorful. I definitely like the kind made from black beans much better though.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 10, 2018 10:07:07 GMT -6
Just had a full house for breakfast...brunch, maybe; I just noticed the time. Two of BP's friends came over, one with a little girl that's barely two who BP's friend babysits on the weekends; very adorable. Pancakes, scrambled eggs with spinach, and fried potatoes - the best part is that BP did all the cooking.
No wait...the better part is that I didn't have to clean up either.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 10, 2018 19:08:58 GMT -6
And it isn't even Christmas yet. Cool beans.
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Post by stepper on Nov 12, 2018 14:50:50 GMT -6
I like fried potatoes enough that I've had meals where all I ate was the fried potatoes. But, I've never been able to get liver to go down - even when I was young I'd go hungry and do without rather than eat liver.
We are fast approaching my favorite meal - which is Thanksgiving Day turkey, with stuffing, and all the fixings. Now that I think about it, it's time to go get the turkey!
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Post by Phalon on Nov 16, 2018 8:33:55 GMT -6
BP's favorite meal is Thanksgiving too (except the stuffing) - she's been talking about it for weeks. I have to get the grocery shopping done this weekend!
Kind of a funny kitchen story this week...I walked into the kitchen last weekend, and smelled a really, really strong garlic odor. I blamed Hubs, who was in the kitchen at the time, and his latest culinary obsession - lightly salted dill pickles; he has been going through an entire jar each week for a couple of months now. It had to be the pickles - it was the only food present at the time, although there'd been no especially garlicky smell from an opened jar prior to this, so we checked the label - garlic is not even a listed ingredient.
The smell still persisted, and got worse throughout the week, but no amount of searching led to the offending odor. I found the cause yesterday evening.
I was taking stock of the baskets I had to use for the table arrangements for next week's Holiday Market. A friend had given me a bunch of them earlier in the summer, and LX had pulled one she thought was particularly attractive, and used it in the kitchen as a bread basket. When not in use, she stored it on top of the refrigerator. She also did the vast majority of the cooking while they were here - she also happens to use a lot of garlic in her cooking.
I pulled down the basket from the top of the fridge, and found it contained a plastic bag with three entire bulbs of garlic. Who knows how long they'd be up there - the kids lived here for four months, and have been gone a month. The garlic has been up there long enough that the bulbs were deflated - there was nothing left of them except the husks, and of course, garlic juice. The plastic zip-lock bag though was still sealed, and still it reeked of garlic!
I carefully carried it outside to the trash container as if it were hazardous waste material. If the garlic scent was that strong outside a sealed bag, I can't even imagine how bad it would have smelled if the seal on the bag had broken!!!
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 16, 2018 18:40:28 GMT -6
I wonder how long before LX remembers?
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Post by Phalon on Nov 30, 2018 7:37:01 GMT -6
It was just Hubs and I for dinner last night, so I made Sloppy Joes on pretzel buns with Colby Jack cheese. A kid's meal - but my kids never liked Sloppy Joes. It's been years, because of that reason, that we've had them, but I had what Hubs would call "a hankering" for them when I went grocery shopping the other day.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 1, 2018 1:22:10 GMT -6
Ooh. Now I'm hankerin' for them too. It's been a very long time since I've made any.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 2, 2018 9:42:38 GMT -6
It's funny how just the mention of something can make you want it.
Sometimes though, it doesn't have even be mentioned, but a craving for it comes from out of the blue. Every once in a while, a craving hits me for something I haven't had since I was a kid - and Oscar Mayer bologna and American cheese sandwich on Wonder Bread, with Miracle Whip. It has to be these brands - nothing else would taste the same!
I've never given into the the craving though - one sandwich would be enough; it'd probably more than enough! It's weird, because I really don't like bologna!
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