"OCTOBER 2016" WHATS FOR DINNER

I guess I'm just a product of my upbringing. Animals were 'service animals' when I was growing up. We had a dog (rat terrier) who was allowed to be in the house as she was a 'watch dog' in case anyone came to the door. When you lived on a farm you never knew who might be stopping by for any number of reasons. Penny (the dog) wouldn't let anyone in the door unless instructed to. She was also an excellent 'critter intruder' sentinel. She could take out an opossum or raccoon faster than any dog I've ever seen.

We also had about 15 cats.....all outside. They took care of the rodent problems around the barn. They got fed once a day (there was always water available in any number of places back then). They ate dog food mixed with table scraps and seemed to not mind one bit. In the winter time the number of cats would drop due to some wandering off for warmer places or they would be unsuccessful in their attempts to cross the road. But, come spring, the numbers would sky rocket again, either from births or people dropping their animals off in the country because they were tired of them.

So, when our girls wanted to get a pet cat (after I had to put down my beloved boxer/retriever, BC) I said, "fine, as long as it/they live in the garage". Well, within a month one of the two cats we got made the unsuccessful stroll across the street so the other cat instantly became a house cat....and we had him for 17 years. When I had to make the decision to have him put down our youngest daughter was 23 and living out of the house. Because I took Skeeter to the vet without her (I couldn't deal with the deed as well as HER drama crying.....), I've been known as the Cat Murderer ever since. ((sigh))

NormM wrote:

Or you can get a carpet and furniture that matches the cat.

Beth wrote:When I had to make the decision to have him put down our youngest daughter was 23 and living out of the house. Because I took Skeeter to the vet without her (I couldn't deal with the deed as well as HER drama crying.....), I've been known as the Cat Murderer ever since. ((sigh))

There's nothing harder than putting a pet to sleep. But, as difficult as it is, it is indeed what a responsible pet owner does. I've cried buckets when I've had to do this, but I held the dog and cat in my arms until they went to sleep. It killed me but I felt I owed it to a treasured pet. And I always pay for the procedure prior to beginning it. That way after I held my pet for a while sobbing the whole time, I could just pick up and hurry back to my car. Very unfair of your daughter but then you know that. You were the Cat Hero that day!

I've got a pound of mushrooms I want to use so tonight we're having Salisbury Steaks, something I never used to like but Brian always did.  Beth posted a recipe from Cuisine at Home magazine a while back and I tried it out as I had some freshly ground ground beef.  Very, very good.  The only change I made was adding mushrooms and using fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. It's very good.

Brian said he would peel some potatoes (the yellow ones!) for me so I could make mashed potatoes.  He's not a potato fan but will eat mashed if they have TONS of gravy on them, which they will.  

I'm not sure of a side yet but think I will have broccoli, which he doesn't like either.

Michelle ~ do you cook your broccoli in the microwave? That has got to be the easiest way ever. I always put water in a pan, got out the steamer basket, put the cut broccoli into the steamer....yada, yada, yada......usually let it get overdone.

DD#1 (the cooking daughter) said to put the cut broccoli into your serving bowl, add 1 Tbsp. of water, cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, allow to sit for 3 minutes ~ then pull up a tiny edge of the wrap and drain. Remove the wrap, season with whatever you prefer. Done perfectly every time.

Works for cauliflower, also....or a mix of broccoli and cauliflower.....if you want it 'pretty', microwave some sliced carrots for 2 minutes and then add your cut broccoli & cauliflower ~ it's all done at the same time then and the colors are magnificent!

I kind of cooked today. I had a an oven baked chicken breast which was marinated with Penzey's Northwoods Seasoning; and 1/2 of the honey nut squash, which I picked up at Trader Joes..

I really do like that squash. It is a perfect size for one person, without having tons of leftover squash.

For those who do not know what a HoneyNut Squash is: It is a mini or baby butternut squash. It is so small and petite, but the flavor is not. It is full of sweetness... just butter, salt and pepper.. yum..

leftovers for tomorrow.

I thawed out a big meatloaf I had in the freezer.....took two days in the refrigerator and all day today sitting in the sink to completely thaw. I needed it completely thawed so I could mix in the eggs that I forgot when I mixed it up originally. So I ended up making little individual meatloafs, baked on a rack in a 425° oven. Mine got a seasoned ketchup glaze, HIS got baked plain (too many calories in the ketchup and brown sugar ~ too bad, so sad! LOL) I baked the second delicata squash I picked up at Trader Joe's (absolutely wonderful) and threw a bag of mixed veg into the microwave. Supper was good.

I took two of the mini meatloafs over to the neighbors. She told me this morning she had to drive to Orlando tomorrow for a check on her knee replacement. I figured she'd like not having to cook much tomorrow night, just reheat the already cooked meatloaf. Boy, was she happy! She's a good cook but she's tired of it....heck, she's 82 and she's cooked all she ever wanted to. She'd rather go with something frozen or go out to eat now days ~ and I don't blame her one bit.

Beth wrote:DD#1 (the cooking daughter) said to put the cut broccoli into your serving bowl, add 1 Tbsp. of water, cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, allow to sit for 3 minutes ~ then pull up a tiny edge of the wrap and drain. Remove the wrap, season with whatever you prefer. Done perfectly every time.

This is pretty much what I do, Beth, but I usually use a flat container (like an 8x8-inch Pyrex dish) so the broccoli is on one level instead of being stacked up. I use only a dribble of water from the faucet and then cover with cling wrap in which I poke a couple of holes with a knife. I nuke it for a minute, then 30 seconds at a time until it's almost done. She's right about letting it sit for a bit, too. Believe it or not, I think this is what the directions said to do when I got my first microwave...

The microwave is really good for cooking a lot of vegetables in a convenient fashion.

Mr. Amazing went grocery shopping with me this morning....Surprise!!! He must have wanted to be sure we got what HE wanted (as if I would ever conveniently 'forget' his notations on the grocery list!). We went to Aldi and got a bunch of stuff from the list that is cheaper there than anywhere else - example: 45 tall kitchen waste bags w/drawstring were $4.99 at Aldi. 40 of the same type were $6.99 at Walmart (the second cheapest place). If you know your prices you can really have a savings by shopping at those places. We went to Walmart for the things Aldi doesn't carry and finally ended up at Winn Dixie for meats that were BOGO.

I picked up a couple London Broil, enough for 4 meals w/leftovers for salad, for $20 and I made a double batch of my Provencal marinade to put on the steaks to put in the freezer, got a package of chicken wings ~ Oh, my, but we were both hungry for those ~ for around $13, which will be enough for 2-1/2 meals. And I was disgusted with the price of cut chicken so I ended up with 2 whole chickens that I broke down in my own kitchen at $1/lb....enough for about 6 meals.

And now I'm pooped....got him to empty (and re-load) the dishwasher. We're having wings on the grill (TWO happy people anticipating supper) so he didn't argue when I asked him to take over the dishwasher task because I was tired from standing and breaking down all the meat.

He's pretty good when I have a full day and ask for help. It doesn't happen often so he no longer questions 'why' I'm tired. He knew I processed a lot of meat for meals and I think my offer of wings on the grill was enough to get him to do anything I asked! LOL

How could I have his wings without his favorite vegetable.....LIMA BEANS ???

It assures me he'll clean up the kitchen, load the dishwasher and when the grill is cool, he'll cover it and push it back to it's place next to the house. By the time I'm done fixing supper my day is done ~ and, yes, I am spoiled! LOL



My wings ~ the flappers ~ get mixed around in a big bowl with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. HIS drumettes get a stir in a bit of hot and spicy 'Fricker's Little Kicker' sauce we brought back from Ohio when we were there last year. My favorite bite is the blackened very tip of the wing tip, the part that is nothing but the essence of chicken flavor.

I wish wings weren't so expensive. I think when I was a child you couldn't give them away.

My friend was raving about some M&M candy corn flavored candy so naturally I had to buy some. I think they taste like $hit. hope Joe and Katie will eat them.

No dinner tonight. Joe and Katie are at the beach. Tomorrow I am going to test drive my new roaster oven with a chicken. Stove Top stuffing and potatoes and gravy.

I have said many times that my mother was making chicken wings before Buffalo knew that chickens had wings. She made them because in the 50's when we came from Germany they were considered the garbage part of a chicken. I still make them the way that she always did them Dredge in flour with salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne and then bake in the oven.. Friday night dinner when my children went to Oma and Opa's for an overnight was wings and rice! Wings were done on a cookie sheet, rice, once cooked was put on the sheet after the wings were off, so that the rice sopped up all the crispins from the wings.

I don't know just when did the people in the Anchor bar in Buffalo first copy my mother's idea????

I tried some golden beets and a copy cat recipe for P.F. Chang for Mongolian Beef.

NormM wrote:I tried some golden beets and a copy cat recipe for P.F. Chang for Mongolian Beef.

Wow.... makes me think of Parking my horse, and eating that beef with my sword whilst having my plate of armor polished.

Wings were always on sale for $.89/lb when my girls were young....and they loved eating them! It kills me to pay so much for 'bones' but when I catch them on sale, even still overpriced by MY standards, I'll pay the price. As long as my protein isn't much past the $5/meal I'm pretty OK with it.

Norm, golden beets are one of my favorites....well, ANY beet is my favorite! I like that the goldens don't turn my hands a 'bloody' mess, although I'll usually wear gloves when prepping them. I love playing around with 'copycat' recipes, trying to see how close I can get to the original (supposing I've had it before.....). How did it go with your PFC Mongolian Beef?

Glad your surgery went well, Jimmy. Now you're back to your old 'Eagle Eye'd' self!

Jimmy, glad the surgery went well....((hugs))

No cooking tonight. We got a call this afternoon asking if we wanted to go out for supper. Sounded like a better idea than the leftover jambalaya.

Tried a copycat recipe for Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana.

How did it taste? The copycat recipe for OG's minestrone is good.

It was spicy because it called for hot Italian sausage, so if you don't like spicy, you should use another kind of sausage.  I have not had that soup at OG so I don't know how it compares. Also the recipe called for kale and I didn't want to get some so I used a leaf lettuce. I think it was bibb or butter lettuce.