January 2018, Whats for Dinner??

I wish we both didn't have this crummy cold. Tonight's dinner would be a perfect 'company-invited-over' meal.

I picked up some beautiful beef short ribs at the store yesterday. I've had them braising in the oven for a couple hours already. I just removed the beef and the slices of mushroom from the broth -- a stupid thing to do, I know.....but I didn't want to blitz all the mushrooms up to make the vegetables & broth into a 'gravy'. Anyway, I pulled out the beef & mushroom slices, removed as much fat off the top of the sauce as I could and then blitzed the onions, carrots & celery into a smooth gravy with my immersion blender. It was really thick so I added a bit more chicken stock (I originally used red wine and the chicken stock to make the braising liquid) and then put the beef & mushrooms back in to continue cooking until supper time.

I'm going to make some mashed potatoes....and probably some green peas because I like the 'pop' of color of the bright green peas with a gravy meal.

It looks amazing right now. I wish I hadn't started it as early as I did because now I'm starving and I'm thinking supper at 4 p.m. sounds like a plan ~ but I'll let it stay in the oven for another hour on a low 300° and make the potatoes in a little while. The peas just need to come to a boil so they're really bright green and 'tender-crisp', just the way I like them.

NormM wrote:Dinner tonight was called Cuban Beef Picadillo. It was a one skillet dish with rice on the side.

Norm, did you & Charlie like the meal?  My recipe was similar to yours, but had the addition of some cinnamon & allspice, I think.  We really liked the combination of the sweetness of the raisins (I chopped mine so they weren't really obvious in the meal because I wasn't sure how Dane would react to SEEING raisins) and the salty of the green olives (sliced mine) and capers (also chopped a bit).  I liked that yours had potatoes included for additional texture. I think beans would also be a good thing to amp up the protein without using more beef.

The leftovers I had got put into Goya Para Empanada Discos (found in the frozen food section) and baked ~ sealed well with a fork and brushed with an egg wash.  I took them to a neighborhood patio party and they were a hit.  I named them 'Cuban Sloppy Joes' for lack of a better name because IF I wrote Cuban Picadillo Empanadas on the label no one would have even tried them because they were not familiar with 'foreign food' ~ LOL.  

It was a fairly easy meal to make and the depth of flavor, with the combination of spicy (warm spices), sweet & salty was really good.  I'll be making it again for sure.

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:Tina made a pasta dish with cavatappi and gorgonzola cheese and tomatoes with a stick of butter. .
Good, and I had three bowls of it.

I bet she would have left out the gorgonzola IF I showed up at the door.....and she would have told you to toss it on top and mix it in! LOL

(Tina likes me, don't ya know?)

She also would have told you to stop at TWO bowls because you have company!

Hahahahahahaha!

Last night's supper (test for new file).....

Knockwurst w/sauerkraut, sweet potato fries & steamed broccoli

When I went grocery shopping yesterday I picked up a bag of Cara Cara oranges at Aldi. (Love, LOVE that store!) They were $2.49 for a bag of 7 oranges.....WAY LOWER in price than Winn Dixie or (MUCH higher priced) Publix. They also had a big bag of Naval Oranges for $0.99. I'm thinking I should go back and get a bag of those since Publix wants $1 EACH for Naval Oranges.

I remember a former member, Musicgirl, was the first person to cue me into the wonderful-ness of Cara Cara oranges. I had never heard of them before her mention of them. And they really are a tasty, sweet orange.

So far I've only eaten them as a breakfast treat but I'm thinking they would be great to use as an ingredient in a beet salad or as an accompaniment for a pork meal.....I'm thinking I should get some more at that low price. We'll see.

Egg plant meatballs baked with sauce and cheese topped.
They were fried already, and freezer packed like 6 months ago or so?

We shall see how it tastes.

The beef short ribs were 'restaurant-meal-quality'.....actually, BETTER than anything I've been served in a restaurant. I wish we didn't have colds because this would have been a fabulous meal to share with friends. The flavor was out of this world good - served over creamy mashed potatoes.

IF we had invited friends I think I would have made peas & carrots (for the color!) and I would have heated some bakery rolls to go with it all. As it is, I have two of the leftover short ribs sitting in a container of luxurious gravy and a 16 oz. container of mashed potatoes - enough for another whole meal. The beef was so rich and yummy that one was more than enough to fill us up. I also would have served on plates in the kitchen and sprinkled the plates with some freshly chopped parsley.

I have some Cream of Rice and oatmeal.

bethk wrote:The beef short ribs were 'restaurant-meal-quality'.....actually, BETTER than anything I've been served in a restaurant.  I wish we didn't have colds because this would have been a fabulous meal to share with friends.  The flavor was out of this world good - served over creamy mashed potatoes.  

IF we had invited friends I think I would have made peas & carrots (for the color!) and I would have heated some bakery rolls to go with it all.  As it is, I have two of the leftover short ribs sitting in a container of luxurious gravy and a 16 oz. container of mashed potatoes - enough for another whole meal.  The beef was so rich and yummy that one was more than enough to fill us up.  I also would have served on plates in the kitchen and sprinkled the plates with some freshly chopped parsley.

Boy those ribs surely look good!
Haven't had them in 3 or 5 years. You were lucky to get nice meaty ones.

Bugster2 wrote:I have some Cream of Rice and oatmeal.

How about mac and cheese?

I bought a package of Stouffer's for her and some saltine's.

Neighbour knocked on my door, would I like to join them for fish and chips at a local Legion. Blizzard (well almost) conditions, but of course we went. Yummy fish, chips, and something new for me, apparently British mushy peas. Loved them!

The chicken breast I was planning to do will be fine tomorrow, right????

While everyone's freezing, we are going to be in the eighties this weekend. People will be walking around in t-shirts shorts and sandals in January.

Niagara Visitor wrote:Neighbour knocked on my door, would I like to join them for fish and chips at a local Legion.  Blizzard (well almost) conditions, but of course we went.  Yummy fish, chips, and something new for me, apparently British mushy peas.  Loved them!

The chicken breast I was planning to do will be fine tomorrow, right????  

I've not had British mushy peas, either. Do they just mash up cooked frozen peas or is there more to it?

The fish & chips sounds wonderful to me! (Especially if it was Lake Erie fish.....boy, I miss that most of all)

Bugster2 wrote:While everyone's freezing, we are going to be in the eighties this weekend. People will be walking around in t-shirts shorts and sandals in January.

We had the freezing temperatures for about a week, then we went to high 70's (almost 80°) and last night it dropped back down and is overcast and looks like rain.

I have to admit, the 't-shirt & capri' weather suits me just fine.

The mushy peas were basically like pea soup that's too thick.

P.S. on edit........ not Lake Erie fish, but Haddock.

For the next few nights I think it will be 'leftover surprise' on the menu.

Tonight I had creamed ham on buttered toast ~ boy, that was just like returning to 1971!

Dane didn't want the same so he gets to figure out what he wants to eat......

"SURPRISE !!!"

I've got a couple thin pork chops to fry up for supper. Cut some corn off the cob for a veg and scraped the cobs for the 'milk' to go into some Jiffy Corn Muffins. I picked up a small spaghetti squash at the outdoor farmers' market yesterday ~ HE probably won't be really happy with it 'plain' but I happen to really like it with just butter and s&p.

Joe and Katie went out for dinner. I stayed home and cleaned the refrigerator. I hate the job. I always find hairs at the bottom and it totally grosses me out.
Joe had shrimp in a Pernod, basil cream sauce. Katie had smoked trout. They had three servings of bread because it was baked fresh out of the oven. I don't think I ate. The incident in Hawaii upset me.
Tonight we are having deep fried burritos with guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream. Good dose of vitamin G.

Katie had severe heartburn the other night. She tried that vinegar and water treatment that everyone swears works. She drank it down and it came right back up. Didn't work for her.

I don't know why I forgot to post my pic of my 'tan' supper last night.....

Made spaghetti this morning. I have to go to the doctor to get a skin cancer removed so I don't know if my arm is going to be too sore to cook, so that is why I jump-started the meal.