March 2018,... What's for dinner ???

Niagara Visitor wrote:Out for lunch with my son today, I had a crab "burger" on a pretzel bun and a great salad.  And a wine spritzer. YUMM!  Fisherman son occasionally calls about a lunch out.  One day he said that I'm sometimes more fun to go out with than his wife, because I'll go to any restaurant he likes, and I'm willing to try anything.  He's very adventuresome, Lisa is not.  Burger was great, big, salad came home for supper.

NormM wrote:Thanks Beth. It is a ribeye and that's my favorite steak too.

cookingirl wrote:I had spinach tortellini soup for the past couple nights.. really easy to make--so good.

I found the original recipe, but thought it was too bland. It was just not hearty enough; so, I tweaked it. I added some onion powder, simmered it longer than required to soften the diced tomatoes, adding also adding some tomato paste to make it heartier..

Came out really good. Fresh spinach and basil were added with the tortellini, at the end of cooking.

NormM wrote:I have found that Costco has whole briskets for a lot less than grocery stores.  You have to get a whole one but you can always cut it up and freeze part of it.

Crybaby wrote:Major off-topic post here but then I'm sure you're all used to me doing that!

It was a super day yesterday, as Al installed our all electric Stairlift!  There was a safety switch on the bottom of the seat that was broken but Al called the company and though I have to arrange to have it replaced (the whole seat) on Monday, he was told the only thing the safety switch prevented was to stop the lift from moving if the chair was facing the end of the stairway and not the opposite rail side of the stairway. So he put it on anyway and it goes so far up and so far down the stairway that neither of us need to twist the chair to get in or out of it. I also remembered last night that I'd paid an extra $210 to get a chair with an arms that raise and a 19-inch wide seat instead of the 16-inch one that comes with it.  It's funny what one thinks of about 3 a.m. when you're an insomniac!  

When he finished installing the thing, which took him about 4 hours, not bad for someone who'd never done it before, it wouldn't run. Talk about teed off!  Man, I could hear him mumbling to himself out there and, of course, there was no technical people working on Saturday. I heard a humming a couple of minutes later and went out there and it was working like a charm. He said he read the user's manual (a couple of pages of instructions for operating) and saw how occasionally the steel cable will lose its tension -- you just grab the cable and pull it up until you hear a click, and that was all it took.

Brian was on the balcony so Al told me to call him and tell him he wanted to see if the chair was in a good position for him. Brian came in and sat on it and was saying it was fine and that's when Al (he's a big kid just like Brian) pushed the "call switch" on the wall and started sending Brian down.  Of course, it had the desired effect and Brian thought for a second he was going to tumble down the stairs. The two of them (and me, too, I admit, mainly cause he didn't play his trick on ME!) laughed like little kids.

It is not only wonderful but is a freaking life saver for Miss 9 cracked vertebrae and Mister stenosis of the spine with prostate cancer on his spine -- our stairs are so steep and have deep risers, too. Brian came downstairs for dinner with a smile on his face last night, I got coffee and breakfast this morning and brought it up the stairs with a smile on my face (and got us a second cup later, too), he sent laundry up this afternoon and he's making dinner (a potpie for me and a leftover half a poor boy for him) and drinks and is going to bring it up to me, as I'm having a no energy day (disease-related). He made instant pudding while he was downstairs and just sent up two stemless wineglasses of pudding up on the seat for me to put in the little fridge we have in the guest room.  We're just in seventh heaven over this thing -- it's truly a lifesaver and means the two of us can stay in this house until we croak, which is just what we wanted, especially considering all the things we've done to it lately and are still doing to it and the money we've spent doing it, too!

We love our house so much and our view of the Mississippi River from our balcony is too die for and so very relaxing too. Now that we're retired and can indulge ourselves whenever we want to by going out there, Brian said there was NO WAY he was selling this house. It's just mind boggling to sit here and see a ship as cruise ships and working ships pass about 300 yards from your balcony. Everyone who steps out there always says, "Oh, wow, this is amazing!" And after almost 20 years here, we still think that when WE go our there, as we've never tired of it.

Plus the levee is right in front of us (we call it our huge green front yard that the Parish mows for us) so there's always dog walkers, people on bicycles, rollerblades, skateboards, joggers, and the occasional people heading down to the batture to fish. Right now the levee is so high that downriver from our house about a half-mile I see people sitting on the TOP of the levee in folding chairs fishing!  It's truly a lovely place to live and we were blessed to find this house 20 years ago and we're blessed now to have our stairlift and know we can each die here!  

One day I'll take that camera out of the box that I bought almost two years ago and take some photos for you guys!  

Thanks for listening to my off topic meanderings...        

NormM wrote:I have never tried this recipe but it comes from someone I have known for around 25 or 30 years and know she is a good cook. You can compare it to ones you have tried and see if it looks good to you.

New England Clam Chowder from Sienna 2011

From the Cliff House in Ogunquit, ME. This chowder has been on their menu since 1872.

Ingredients:
1 slice hickory-smoked bacon, minced
1/2 tsp butter
1 cup onion, minced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tsp The Cliff House Spice Blend (see below)
1 Tb all purpose flour
1 can chopped clams (6 1/2 oz each) ...*I used 2; the juice from two cans makes enough so you don't really need to use the bottle of clam juice unless you want to.
1 1/2 cups Half and Half
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced

The Cliff House Spice Blend
Blend 4 tsp dried parsley, 2 tsp marjoram, 2 tsp. dill, 4 tsp thyme, 4 tsp basil, 4 tsp rosemary, 2 tsp tarragon, 1 Tb all purpose flour, crushing in a mortar if possible. Store in resealable bag to refrigerate.

Directions:
In a heavy-bottomed, 4-pint soup kettle, sauté bacon, butter, onion, garlic and The Cliff House Spice Blend over low heat. Do not allow to brown. Drain clams and set aside, reserving the juice. Slowly stir the flour and clam juices in the sauté mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Add Half and Half and simmer 20 minutes. Add white pepper, potatoes and clams. Heat to serving temperature. Do not allow to boil, as this toughens the clams.

bethk wrote:The cookies look yummy......the sausages look REALLY tasty.........and how is it Ms. Tina looks younger and more beautiful every time you post a pic of her?????

Amazing!


((and, yes, you are one lucky man, Jimmy.....))

bethk wrote:Jimmy ~ those Krispy Kreme's are going to be the death of you!  LOL

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No cooking here tonight.  I drove 3 of the ladies to lunch at The Cotillion Southern Kitchen for lunch and I'm stuffed.  I ordered Fried Green Tomatoes as an appetizer for the table, we each had an entree and Ana ordered the Banana Puddin' for the table for dessert.  Everything was super tasty.

The ladies really appreciate getting invited to ride along on a luncheon trip out of The Villages, and even though it's only about 7 miles away, it's 'too far' for them to drive themselves.....or they think they'll get lost ~ any number of excuses.  So, I'm the driver and tour guide and everyone is happy.

bethk wrote:OK, I need everyone to hold hands and say a prayer that the latest house Robin and Ben have an offer on is 'THE ONE' that works out for them.  They've been through the mill trying to purchase a home that is 'their's'......IF this one goes through they should close around May 1st ~ they'll take some time to freshen it up with paint, etc. so Dane & I should be up in Ohio in June & July (thank heavens the snow should be over by then.....) to clean-up and do whatever repairs need to be done to get it on the market.  

I sure hope Robin and Ben are planning to take the chickens with them when they move......LOL

Niagara Visitor wrote:Off topic is interesting.  I live in a building with 130 units (condos)  It was built in 1987, and some of the original purchasers still live here.  They are now having mobility issues.  We have a beautiful large room above the Penthouse (13th floor) which has views to the north, south and west.  Lovely furniture, and both men's and women's toilets.  The problem is, the room is seldom used for functions because the elevator doesn't go all the way up there, it stops at the penthouse level.  A chairlift is a possibility, but because it is a commercial installation it will not be cheap.