June, 2016 * * Dinners We Fixed

Beth, your strawberry chicken salad was absolutely gorgeous. Perfect for a hot day but really perfect for any occasion in my book.

Poor Dane -- thank goodness he drank so much fluid as it's been dangerously hot lately. I don't envy him that job at all but at least he's handy and knew how to do it!! Your sister-in-law lucked out, too, as she got to enjoy that salad.

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:Supper.... Tina bought a little rotisserie chicken at the store.
She ate some of that. I pulled a little crispy piece off, but I want a roast beef sandwich.

I don't know if it's true where you are, Jimmy, but the rotisserie chickens here seem to get smaller and smaller and smaller. Brian picked up one today and laughed when I said, "God, we're going to be eating some chicken's baby!" I'll use it to make some chicken salad tomorrow, always something good to have in the fridge for a sandwich or a snack on lettuce.

NormM wrote:Charlie had an egg and potato chip sandwich for dinner tonight and I had a fried Spam sandwich with potato chips on the side.  I can't figure out why we forgot to take pictures.

You cracked me up, Norm!

We went to Tommy Bahama's for dinner. Joe and Katie went nuts with the food. They had crab bisque, ahi tuna tacos, scallop sliders, an ahi tuna napoleon, a grilled artichoke, coconut shrimp, a burger, a martini with bleu cheese stuffed olives and  muddled grapefruit/ basil martini.
I forgot: key lime pie.

Bugster2 wrote:We went to Tommy Bahama's for dinner. Joe and Katie went nuts with the food. They had crab bisque, ahi tuna tacos, scallop sliders, an ahi tuna napoleon, a grilled artichoke, coconut shrimp, a burger, a martini with bleu cheese stuffed olives and  muddled grapefruit/ basil martini.
I forgot: key lime pie.

And.... what did Debbie have???

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:

Bugster2 wrote:We went to Tommy Bahama's for dinner. Joe and Katie went nuts with the food. They had crab bisque, ahi tuna tacos, scallop sliders, an ahi tuna napoleon, a grilled artichoke, coconut shrimp, a burger, a martini with bleu cheese stuffed olives and  muddled grapefruit/ basil martini.
I forgot: key lime pie.

And.... what did Debbie have???

I had a taste of the bisque, a couple of leaves from the artichoke, a bite of the shrimp and a bite of the burger.

Bugster2 wrote:

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:

Bugster2 wrote:We went to Tommy Bahama's for dinner. Joe and Katie went nuts with the food. They had crab bisque, ahi tuna tacos, scallop sliders, an ahi tuna napoleon, a grilled artichoke, coconut shrimp, a burger, a martini with bleu cheese stuffed olives and  muddled grapefruit/ basil martini.
I forgot: key lime pie.

And.... what did Debbie have???

I had a taste of the bisque, a couple of leaves from the artichoke, a bite of the shrimp and a bite of the burger.

Sounds exactly about just what Tina would eat at a restaurant meal.
Usually, as an example....she would, if at a diner, would order a hot meatloaf sandwich with gravy; alongside mashed potatoes with gravy, and let's say carrots.
She will eat two forkfuls of the meatloaf, and a Tbs. of the mashed potatoes.
Have the rest in a doggy bag to take home. Then, when at home, she will every once in a while, take some of that, and mash it all together....micro zap it, and eat another two Tbs. Cover it with saran wrap, then have it within reach as she sleeps and eat if she wakes up, she will finish it. Maybe! If not, she will be taking Zantac, and or Tums chewables.

Bugster wrote:I had a taste of the bisque, a couple of leaves from the artichoke, a bite of the shrimp and a bite of the burger.

I'm glad to know, finally, that your name is Debbie! I've always wondered...

Now was that enough dinner to fill you up? I know you have stomach issues but wondered if that's enough for you for dinner. I remember your saying you're a very small person. Hope you don't mind my asking.

I like everything Joe and Katie ordered. Though I'm not really crazy about coconut shrimp, I'd have eaten those, too!

I've been thinking about you the last couple of days as we're dealing with a heat wave in New Orleans but I see where the west is really sweltering. Though lately it's been raining too much for a lot of plants, flowers and trees, our afternoon heat often produces a thunderstorm or two, whereas I know you're in a drought situation. Yesterday and today, however, no such storms are expected which is why it's painfully hot with the humidity (105-110 heat index, a bit lower where Brian and I are). How hot is it over there? I must say at least once a day, "Thank God for air conditioning and thank God we can afford it!"

Because of my gut issues I can only eat a couple of tablespoons at a time. It makes me sick but I can keep it down. If I eat more, I will lose it. I have never had a definitive diagnosis but my gut does not work right. I caught the flu when I was 18 and it damaged either the nerves or the muscles of my digestive tract. I have done a lot of research myself and I think I have a form of pseudo-obstruction. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a doctor who really is savvy on these types of diseases. Most of them look at me like I have three eyes. As a result I have a deep loathing for doctors. I believe they are a necessary evil. They make their living off of the misery of others. And I come from a family of 5 doctors. This is my thought: just because they were smart enough to get through medical school doesn't mean they are any good at what they do. End of rant.

We have had wonderful weather - in the 70's but all that is changing. Today it is supposed to get in the 80's and it will be in the 100's by Sunday. All I can say is I hope our ancient air conditioner still works.

We are having a heat wave. I like to wear sweat shirts, even in the summer but I just went out and got some short sleeved shirts for the first time in years.

One of my neighbor ladies called earlier in the week and asked if I wanted to go to a movie today. We usually plan a movie each Friday (thus we call it: "Ladies' Friday Morning Movie") and then out to lunch afterward. But in the summer we don't have very many ladies here as about 50% return to their 'up-north' homes. But, hey, no reason why I couldn't send out a group email in the summer! It just reminded the 'up-north' ladies what they were missing.

We went to see "me before you" ~ ~ ~ Spoiler Alert! It's a tear-jerker!

I don't usually attend movies that are violent or filthy language OR tear-jerkers. If I'm going to spend my money on seeing a movie, I want to be entertained....I want to laugh until my sides hurt.

But lunch was great. We went to 'Red Sauce', an Italian place with great prices and a nice patio to sit on and be away from the noise of a roomful of diners. And since I don't have an opportunity to have pasta very often, my choice was the Fettuccini Carbonara. OMG ~ it was SO good. I couldn't finish, but that might have been the selection of breads the waitress brought before our meal. LOL

So, needless to say, I'm not all that hungry for any super. Dane, however, is ready for a meal. He had some tuna and cheese and crackers for his lunch. Lucky for me, I thought 'QUICK' and remembered I had a cooked chicken breast leftover.

So, a Greek Chicken Salad was offered ~ and accepted. It's probably one of his favorite meals of all time when it's warm out. It's all ready and sitting in the refrigerator for whenever he decides he wants to eat.



I even put the dreaded FETA CHEESE on it for him.....what a wonderful wife I am! I keep telling him he's lucky to have me. Hahahahahaha!

It is about 90 now so I think we will have a cobb salad for dinner. We have a few leftover bites from last night that I will try and offer to Joe and Katie too. Neither one of them are the leftover type. Me? I love leftovers. I think they taste better the next day.

I forgot to tell you that I have been running an experiment to see if I can keep green onions from getting slimy, slimey? How do you spell it? Anyway, I am trying Cook's Illustrated way by just keeping it out on the counter in a jar off water and the other is putting the onions in a sealed pasta container. I thought of the pasta container because I use a plastic container for my celery which keeps my celery beautifully. No limp stalks. It has been over a week and the onions in the jar have turned yellow. No slime, just yellow. Not good. The onions in my spaghetti container are as fresh as the day I brought them home. Now I am curious as to how long they will stay fresh. I will let you know.

Bugster2 wrote:I forgot to tell you that I have been running an experiment to see if I can keep green onions from getting slimy, slimey? How do you spell it? Anyway, I am trying Cook's Illustrated way by just keeping it out on the counter in a jar off water and the other is putting the onions in a sealed pasta container. I thought of the pasta container because I use a plastic container for my celery which keeps my celery beautifully. No limp stalks. It has been over a week and the onions in the jar have turned yellow. No slime, just yellow. Not good. The onions in my spaghetti container are as fresh as the day I brought them home. Now I am curious as to how long they will stay fresh. I will let you know.

I / we put them in a tupperware tumbler, the tall one with the lid. We cut them in half,; leave the roots on, and add water half way up.
, and in the fridge. They keep great ; green ; and not slimy the first 4 or 5 days. After that such as a week or more, I just pull the first layer off, and the underneath are like fresh!
The longest kept would be like 9 day's.

Keep us posted on your experiment Deb.

Heat is getting worse here too. Today's temp. close to 90, humidity is high.  AC in the building is not working, the cooling unit was scheduled to be replaced in early May, but was delayed.  It was lifted up on the roof yesterday, and hopefully everything will be back working Monday or Tuesday.. I have a lot of windows on a south-west exposure, so the afternoon sun gets pretty intense.  There's no sense in opening windows in the daytime, it will just get hotter!

It's a tough life, right?  Maybe I'll just go for a swim to cool off.

I think if you wrap the green onions in some paper towel and then in a plastic bag/container they will stay fresh and not get slimy.

I have tried a plastic bag but no paper towel. Next bunch I buy I will give that a try.

A cousin of mine has worked in many high end restaurants.  He says that that's how they keep things fresh.

I used to wrap my celery in foil also but it was a pain because the foil would tear and I would have to re-wrap it. Love my plastic container that I have now.

The paper towel / plastic sounds right to me. The paper towel absorbs the excess moisture from the vegetable and the plastic prevents it from drying out.

When I prep a large amount of salad ~ cut romaine, celery, carrots & cucumber ~ I line a zip top bag with a double layer of paper towel and then put the salad between the towels & close the bag. The salad doesn't go bad for quite a few days but stays crisp and fresh.

The newer Tupperware containers that have the small openings actually also work quite well.   I got one at a house party, and several more at Value village for next to nothing.

Beth, the Greek salad you made Dane looked delicious. Perfect anytime but even better in hot weather.

Bug, I'm with you about leftovers. Luckily, Brian feels the same way. Lots of things taste even better the next day.

I usually wrap our green onions loosely in paper towels and put them in the veggie drawer. Occasionally, they get slimy but most of the time when they age, they just tend to get dry. I pull off the dry part and use the rest. For about six months, I've been using those Green Bags by Debbie for lots of things, especially fresh cilantro and parsley. They really extend the life of those for us, as they often get slimy. Sometimes I put a paper towel in the green bag and sometimes I don't. They're not perfect but we both think they give us an extra week with the cilantro and parsley. I wash the bags out with dish soap afterwards, dry them out and use them again.

I have parsley growing in the yard and some cilantro but summer is not their good season and I use a lot more than I grow. The grocery had no cilantro yesterday when Brian stopped to pick up a few things. Boo. He'll get them at the base PX on Tuesday when he goes there to shop as they just started carrying parsley and cilantro regularly. Yeah -- it's always cheaper there, too.

We've got no problem keeping celery up to par as we use a lot of it. I usually have at least two, often three, big bunches in the veggie drawer (not the hearts, but the bigger bags they sell). We just keep it in the open bags they sell it in. Only rarely do a couple of pieces get yellow but we just pull those off and use the rest.

The things I lose the most of are limes. I like having them on hand but usually don't use them fast enough. I can still juice them but often the skins are brown or getting there...

Blind women should NOT cook.

That's just a 'heads-up' for the rest of you.

Tonight's supper was Chicken Marsala ~ normally a favorite of mine. UNFORTUNATELY, I did NOT look at the bottle of Marsala I pulled out of the liquor cabinet.

SWEET Marsala.

Need I say more? It wasn't inedible...but it wasn't good, either. Dane salt/peppered his serving heavily and had no problem. I strained out the mushrooms & onions and tried not to get too much sauce. Thank goodness I knew not to spoon that sauce on my noodles!

You win some, you lose some......((sigh))