MAY 2017...Whats cooking for dinner ?

Bugster2 wrote:I looked up Joe's date and it wasn't number 2 and I know it was number 2. It was listed in the newspaper and he got his letter before he even graduated high school. There were 6 kids in his family and his father died when he was 9 so his mom didn't want to lose any more. She was ready to ship him off to Canada. He went for his physical, made grinding noises with his knee and was out. When he handed in his papers to the soldier on the way out, he told the man "F-you, I'm out". Vietnam was such a senseless war.

Maybe the chart was different for 1971 or 1972.

I don't blame his Mom at all. It was indeed a senseless war. Lots of WWII vets didn't want their sons to go so she wasn't alone. Brian always jokes that he had to be dragged kicking and screaming from under his house with an icepick to his ear! Of course, he said he was from a small town and initially thought it would be a pretty exciting adventure, which excitement ended when the plane landed and the door opened he said.

Brian should have never been accepted but back then they were taking everyone, well, not everyone as we've seen over the years, even those who can't today remember which of his feet was the problem! Brian grew 6 entire inches in 3 months one summer and spent many months in almost a full body cast, as they decided back then he had Marfan Syndrome, the same connective tissue disorder that Abe Lincoln had. I don't think it was a good diagnosis but he definitely had problems that occur when you literally grow too quickly. Often Marfan leads to scoliosis which he doesn't have but he does have stenosis of the spine, which initially began the back problems he has today. I think it also stems from everyone asking the "big guy" to move heavy things for them-- and he always did it. He's paying for it now, that's for sure.

I'm just glad he lived through it and came home, moved to New Orleans and found me!

Gee, burgers sound like a good idea, Jimmy!

(actually, I planned to cook them this morning but I'm more than happy to give you the credit)

After a lot of 'heavy' meals it was good to get home and make burgers.

Oh, dear.....you gotta read every label on every item when you have someone who's really sensitive to the ingredients. That's upsetting when you were trying to make a nice meal to share.

Fortunately, we don't have any 'real' allergic reactions here ~ it's just that we don't like:

Garlic ~ Cilantro ~ Cheese (he gets it but I avoid it)

Most other things we both can / will eat. Well, except he avoids white potatoes & rice and most breads, canned vegetables, processed meats (like lunchmeat), sugars, sweets, desserts.....

Gee, I guess we do have a pretty long list of 'not-in-this-house' forbidden foods!

LOL

Tonight I'm making some Huli Huli Chicken with the Trader Joe's California Sprouted Rice we like so much. I think I'll make a stir fry of carrots, celery & onions to be the vegetable side......

We just returned from his Army reunion in Charleston and now I'm preparing for another road trip. On Thursday Lyn has asked me if I'll drive to Atlanta with her for a family funeral. We'll return on Saturday.

Then next Tuesday Dane is heading up to Ohio for a week. He wants to drive so we have a car available and we'll have a chance to see a few friends. I'll fly up on Friday and then back on Monday.....no 16-hour 'straight-through' drive for me! The flight was cheaper than if I rode with him and we stopped for the night once on the way to and once on the way home from Ohio ~ so a 2 hour flight works for me much better.

We want to go so we can go to the 'Celebration of Life' and Mass for his first step-mother (the mother of two of his sisters). She passed away recently at the age of 94 after some health issues and living in a nursing facility for about a year and a half. It's interesting that she made arrangements to donate her body to the local college so there won't be a burial until the school is done with her. But we want to be there to give some support to Dane's sister who was the one to visit her daily while she was in the nursing home.

Huli Huli Chicken with California Sprouted Rice and Stir Fry vegetables......

At the store today, I was just picking up stuff we were out of and on a whim I got some beef stew bones to make some broth. I didn't know what I was going to do with it but thought I should add some meat. They had three little pieces of meat in one package for under 6 dollars and it said they were Spencer steaks. When I got home, I looked up Spencer steaks and found they were rib eye steaks. I cooked them in a hot skillet and finished them in the oven and they were good (and cheap) It was enough for the two of us with a baked potato each and some left over green beans. I didn't take a picture today.

Don't you just love a deal? What a happy surprise!

Yes. It was a happy surprise.

I have to freeze portions of ground chuck but I am out of bags and it means a trip to the store.

I always weight my portions and freeze them flat.

Well, I did the last meal for a few days.....

Pork chops sauteed in the cast iron skillet, green beans, baked sweet potato and a Sam's Club Asian salad kit....amazingly, Dane really liked the salad and only commented it could have used a bit more vinegar in the dressing. I told him next time we're at WalMart he should look for a comment card and fill it out............

Hahahahahahaha!

The only thing I cooked was a loaf of bread. It is my usual sourdough recipe but I baked it in one loaf pan instead of two.

It took a lot longer to bake because of it's size. I had to tent it with foil to keep it from getting too brown on top.

After the crust is set, I put a thermometer probe in the bread and cook it to 190 and not by time because it is never exactly the same amount of time.

I made a copycat Jack In The Box fried taco recipe. Joe and Katie loved it. I tasted it and spat it out because it would give me a stomach ache. Unfortunately the residue left in my mouth gave me pain. I thought they were good too.