What's For DINNER Tonight?

[Jill]

I thought the chili was really good, and will be eating it again today. I didn't realize H had picked up a nice loaf of French bread AND sour dough rolls... So I did not make the jiffy bread thing, just sliced up some of the French bread. I made an apple dump cake, too, and it was yum. It was all easy, too, of course, or I wouldn't be able to make it LOL!

 

[chandab]

Speaking of apples, I think I need to make an apple crisp; when I do, I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yum!

 

[Jill]

Last night / yesterday, I made this "beer chicken" thing that is good + super easy.

I put it in the crock pot. Just rinse and season the chicken as you like (I actually use some steak seasoning and a tiny bit of garlic powder -- but I think whatever is to your taste would be perfect). I added some fresh, sliced mushrooms that needed to be used. Then mix up some beer (I actually hate to drink beer, so am not judge as to what would be best -- been making it with this "apple ale" beer stuff), some dried minced onion (if you like) and cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom soup or even cheese soup would probably be good, too). Pour that mixture over the chicken (breasts, thighs, whatever but I have only tried it w/ boneless / skinless chicken). How much of the soup and beer depends on how much chicken, but when I make it, it's 1 can of soup to one bottle of beer.

We also had some packaged stuffing mix, mashed potatoes, peas, and (can you tell I'm hooked) baby carrots. The sauce from the chicken makes sort of a gravy so you will probably want some kind of a stuffing, potato, rice, noodles or toast to put it over. It was good and tonight = leftovers!

Maybe some cheeseburgers tomorrow, though

PS I also "made" some chocolate chip cookies, but they were just the pull apart and bake kind -- they are better than what I can make by scratch or even packaged mix!

 

[chandab]

Thinking BLTs for supper tonight, have all the ingredients today, so good day to do it before its no good or I eat a salad instead.

 

[Jill]

Tonight, I sliced up a pre-cooked smoked turkey breast w/ sundried tomatoes (will just heat it a bit), and it tasted really good when I sampled it! Making a Jiffy Cornbread spoon bread thing to go with it (corn bread mix, sour cream, butter, canned corn, cheddar cheese -- all kindsa healthy stuff LOL! ... and meets my "easy" requirement), and some mixed veggies. Will turn the left over turkey into sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch, I think

I've had a couple of these smoked turkey breast with sundried tomatoes for awhile, but they came in shrink wrap and don't need to be used actually until February (or later, if frozen). I didn't think I liked sundried tomatoes so had been putting off trying this (H picked it out). We've already loved the smoked turkey breast (w/o sundried tomatoes) and the smoked turkey legs. Excited to eat this tonight and share it with H and our friend.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Mmm, that corn bread sounds yummy. I made a big batch of chili yesterday for my husband to take to work with him today. Enough for the entire crew plus a batch of cheese buns (from scratch but not real happy with the cheesey-ness of them)and sent a couple of dozen of those. It is snowing like mad here, already a good foot of fresh snowfall on the ground and more coming so now I'm wishing I had saved myself a bowl of that chili for my lunch lol. Supper tonight is going to be ground beef in mushroom gravy over pasta shells and pan fried brussels sprouts with bacon I think.

 

[Performancemini]

Chicken with (instant) mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls. I think I will do pasta shells with spaghetti sauce and either ground beef or meatballs for tomorrow night.

 

[chandab]

Left-over hamburgers tonight. Something from left-over browned ground tomorrow; probably spaghetti.

 

[Jill]

All of that sounds good, and I cannot make homemade mashed potatoes that taste as good as those Idahoan instant kind. They are really good, especially with milk vs. water!

Tonight, I think it will be cheeseburgers here. Hopefully, I can find some French fries or tater tots in the freezer! I won't be home until a little later than normal, and I'm kinda never not in the mood for a cheeseburger

 

[Performancemini]

Yes, I like the Idahoan brand instant potatoes the best. I have tried others and the flavor just doesn't seem as good. The Idahoan's still do taste instant, but not icky instant. I use butter and milk (that little bit of milk doesn't seem to bother my IBS).

Well, girls; I got my 2 week cast off yesterday. Back in the "moonboot" and crutches yet. Dr. wants me to walk only with as much weight on it as is comfortable with no pain. 10 days and back to her. I am trying to be positive, but not too successful. I think she will end up sending me to the pain management Dr. anyway. I found a video on Youtube that explained the Chronic Pain Syndrome and how it works in the Brain's stem and how to try to change it; but it sounds like a tough process. Basically, it sounds like the brainstem is stuck in the 'flight, fight, freeze' process. The trick is not to cover up or such the symptoms, but to 'reboot' (the used a computor as an example) the brainstem by by somehow putting the pain area on 'hold' and hoping the brain reverses back to normal on the pain issue-or something to that effect. That's why I said it makes sense, but it's confusing too. I guess that's why she put me in the cast for 2 weeks. It pretty much immobilized the ankle and the prednizone to get the inflammation down. But I have a couple real painful spots yet. And this morning the foot was back to that weird shade of pinky-blue that she told me that it gets with this syndrome. I don't know. Wish it wasn't winter so I could get myself our and distract myself more. Crutches and snow and ice just don't mix. Thanks for letting me rattle on on this thread about it. I should have started it under the Back Porch, but somehow I got started here with it.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I'm happy to hear you are out of the cast but sure wanted to hear the pain was gone or mostly and things looked more hopeful for you. Hang in there, maybe its happening in winter because you will be off you feet more (not out doing things to distract yourself from the pain) I wish for your Christmas miracle that it doesn't take nearly as long as you fear to get things back to normal.

on subject of food, I am not a fan of instant potatoes, in fact I don't love instant anything. I will eat it to be polite but other than instant soup (Cup a Soup) I don't buy many things that are like that. I do use boxed stuffing mix but as the bread component in meatloaf not as stuffing. My mother used instant mashed potatoes as a thickener for soups/stews/chowders but I find it all tastes artificial.

 

[chandab]

Made up my mind, we're having spaghetti.

 

[Jill]

I think it's hamburgers / cheeseburgers again tonight, but maybe sort of make them like steak. That saves the carbs from the bun and opens my mind up to more potential side dishes. We have some more that needs to be eaten so I'm pretty sure that's what's happening tonight.

With instant potatoes, I never did used to like them, but these Idahoan kind taste so much better than instant used to, and better than the other brands I've tried. I probably boil the real potatoes too long or something, but they always turn out grainy when I make them from scratch, but really good with this particular brand.

 

[Jill]

Tonight, it's probably going to be beef stroganoff made with ground beef. I haven't made it in a lot of years, but we used to like I and I had started to thaw it out ground beef before buying the store pressed seasoned hamburger patties we ate the last two days. Will serve it over egg noodles with a mixture of green and wax beans, and not sure what else... Maybe no sugar added cinnamon apple sauce

 

[Performancemini]

I will have to do a stroganoff again soon. My husband would enjoy that. I have just started to use the instant potatoes kind of a lot because of the ankle thing. So hard to cook and move around on the crutches. Last night husband brought home pizza. I was really hungry for it! Not sure of tonight's meal; but I have a rack of spareribs out for Sunday night. I am going to "BBQ" them in the crockpot per "Emeril's" recipe I have.

 

[chandab]

I have a sirloin roast in the crock pot for supper, will add potatoes to the pot soon and then throw some green beans on the stove just before supper. Will probably make beef barley soup with the left-overs and if I'm really ambitious, make a loaf of bread in the bread machine.

 

[Jill]

For tonight here, I'm making some spaghetti sauce with some Italian sausage, green peppers, onions and mushrooms, seasoning, and then some jarred sauce. "Whole grain" pasta to go with it, a tossed salad, and some French bread. I'm not going to the office today and am currently working on the sauce

HOWEVER, since we've all eaten the beef stroganoff at least a couple times in a row, I think the remainder of that including the egg noodles will be going to our big dogs tonight. Hopefully they will like it as much as we did and it won't be too bad for them! They could hit like the double lotto jackpot as there is some left over pizza up for grabs as well

 

[Jill]

PS -- the full confession possibly involves some pull apart and bake chocolate chip cookies... Better than anything I've tried to make from scratch, however, no one I'm feeding "needs" those, but we all like them a lot!

 

[chandab]

made the soup last night, and will probably have it again tonight.

 

[Performancemini]

Didn't do the Emeril ribs Sunday; but put them on today. They smell great (too bad my IBS acted up big time today, I'll only get a taste). I think I will do mashed potatoes and a veggie with them. Hubby took me to the library yesterday and then we went grocery shopping. Had a late lunch at the grocery store's little cafe. Ended up just making sandwiches for supper- grilled a crazy little combo of cheese, ham and eggs (jumbo breakfast "muffins" LOL!). I think tomorrow night I am going to make potato soup with ham.