July, 2018 ~ Dinnertime in the heat.....

Just my opinion.....I'm not a fan of adding more than onion & mushrooms to stroganoff. I think broccoli and bell peppers are too strongly flavored and would take over the dish. I would, however, make a mix of broccoli & red peppers to cook in the microwave (1 Tbsp. water, sealed tightly with plastic wrap and only cooked on high for 3 minutes....) for a beautiful side dish. I always serve my stroganoff on buttered noodles with some parsley or chopped chives if I'm trying to make them pretty like you always do!

Dane grew one plant of hot banana peppers (he likes to slice them on his Greek Salads for his lunch) and we'll be gone back to Ohio by next week. I have a couple jars in the refrigerator with the peppers just in vinegar/water to hopefully keep them OK until the fall ~ I mean, the man can only eat so many hot peppers....

So, today I thought, what the heck ~ why not try making stuffed peppers with them! And it worked out pretty well. They were spicy, but not nearly as hot as they are when they are raw. I wasn't expecting to enjoy eating them as I did, sissy that I am. The 'stuffing' was just some hamburger (a thawed 6 oz. patty), sauteed with some onion, a squeeze of tomato paste, about 4 oz. of tomato sauce and half a can of Rotel Tomatoes (or, actually, the WalMart brand chopped tomatoes w/chiles) ~ oh, and some minced celery (because I like it) all mixed with about 1/2 c. of cooked rice.

I washed the peppers and removed the seed pods and veining (as much as I could) and put some of the filling on the bottom of the casserole dish to hold up the peppers once they were 'stuffed'. I touched my lip with my hands and got a quick reminder to wash them with soap instead of just a quick rinse! LOL

I didn't think two little peppers would be enough for a meal so I fried a couple burger patties on top of the stove and made some mixed vegetables to fill out the empty spot on my plate. (and, NO, Michelle ~ nothing was touching!)

If you add peppers and broccoli it's not stroganoff any more, but a stew.  The flavour will change.

I made a great salad of brown basmati rice, a can of pineapple tidbits, some red and yellow pepper, a lot of chopped parsley, some dill, made a dressing of about a half cup of grapeseed oil, with black pepper, some cayenne, about a tablespoon of sugar, some cardamom, oregano, curry powder.  I sort of kept adding stuff until it tasted good when I dipped my finger in it.  

A large piece of ocean perch went really nicely with the salad.

We have been living on sandwiches with an occasional burger thrown in. How I crave a decent meal!
Still unpacking. Hauling stuff upstairs is really hard. I have been sore as hell. I just noticed tonight that my ankle is swollen but no pain. Edema. Now, what is causing it? I guess I need a trip to the doctor but I don't have one in this town.
The house came with a BBQ. OCS. Outdoor Cooking Solutions. It is a stainless built into a bar/island. It is by far the filthiest BBQ I have ever seen. It has 4 inches of carbon/food crumbs on the bottom. I don't believe it has ever been cleaned. I went through a can of Easy Off grill cleaner already and have barely put a dent in the grease and crust. I have to go out and buy 4 more cans.
Does anyone know of a better grill cleaner?

I would say, trash it and get a nice, new, shiny clean one!

I would try paint remover / stripper ( the jell type ) and brush it on. Wear gloves, and good ventilation.  Potassium Hydroxide or Sodium Hydroxide is oven cleaner. If your paint dept. has that, it works the best. Full strength 70% to 30% water mix works best. Try not getting it on the polished surfaces, or plastic knobs full strength.....
Don't breathe the fumes. Trust Me, I've been burned from it many times.

That looks good, Imelda. I'm sure they will appreciate your efforts.

Despite the heat, I baked some bread and cooked some scalloped potatoes in the toaster oven.  The steaks were grilled outside. Also made some mango salsa and had a store bought chocolate cake with coconut icing. The small gas oven does not seem to heat up the kitchen much at all.

That looks like a big and tasty "HAPPY BIRTHDAY !" dinner......

Hope you had fun on your special day.

Polish Meal tonight.
Polish Kielbasa .... Noodles with fried cabbage and onions cooked down till caramelized.

I have pics, but for the life of me, I cannot find them!

I found them....

Niagara Visitor wrote:I would say, trash it and get a nice, new, shiny clean one!

I went to Walmart and bought some Easy Off BBQ cleaner. It worked but very slowly. I pulled out a razor blade scraper and scraped away the carbon. It is what really helped. The BBQ is clean and ready to go.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

Thanks Imelda. If you click on the blogspot at the bottom of this post, you will see the bread recipe.

Imelda, here is the recipe from King Arthur flour upon which I base mine. small print are changes I make

CLASSIC SOURDOUGH BREAD

STIR SOURDOUGH STARTER TO MIX IT WITH THE LIQUID WHICH HAS FORMED OVER IT. Pour off the liquid REMOVE 1 CUP OF THE STARTER AND REPLACE IT WITH 1 CUP OF FLOUR DISSOLVED IN 1 CUP OF WATER. I use less than 1 cup of water but usually more than half a cup LEAVE IT SETTING OUT, COVERED, 18- 24 HOURS. COVER STARTER AND REFRIGERATE i do not refrigerate it unless I plan to not use it for a while. Otherwise i feed  it about once every 9 to 10 days.

1 C. SOURDOUGH STARTER
1 1/3 C. WARM WATER
5-6 CUPS UNBLEACHED ALLPURPOSE FLOUR It never takes 6 cups to form the dough as I make it and almost never needs as much as 5 cups.
1 T. SALT i usually use a scant Tablespoon salt
1 T. SUGAR (OPTIONAL) i always use sugar
1 t. BAKING SODA It does not hurt to leave this out
CORNMEAL TO SPRINKLE ON PANS. I use a french bread pan and spray it with oil.

THE SPONGE:  POUR 1 CUP STARTER INTO A LARGE CERAMIC BOWL.  ADD THE WARM WATER AND ABOUT 3 CUPS FLOUR. BEAT VIGOROUSLY WITH A SPOON OR WIRE WHISK. COVER SPONGE WITH PLASTIC WRAP AND SET ASIDE FOR AT LEAST 2 HOURS AND AS MANY AS 24 HOURS. I omit this step. Instant yeast will start to raise the dough almost immediately
THE DOUGH:  AFTER THE SPONGE HAS BUBBLED AND EXPANDED, REMOVE THE PLASTIC WRAP.   TO ABOUT 2 CUPS OF FLOUR,  ADD THE SALT, SUGAR, AND BAKING SODA. STIR THIS INTO THE SPONGE UNTIL IT LEAVES THE SIDE OF THE BOWL. TURN OUT ONTO A FLOURED SURFACE AND KNEAD 4 TO 5 MINUTES. ADD FLOUR AS NEEDED TO MAKE A FAIRLY STIFF DOUGH.  I add all the ingredients to the sponge, adding the yeast to the first cup of flour and the salt to the second cup. It almost always takes less than the full amount of flour when using a stand mixer before the flour leaves the bottom of the bowl clean and the dough comes together to form a ball. I leave the mixer running for a few minutes to continue to knead the dough.
GIVE THE DOUGH A REST WHILE YOU CLEAN OUT AND GREASE YOUR BOWL. CONTINUE KNEADING FOR ANOTHER 3-4 MINUTES. PLACE THE DOUGH IN THE BOWL AND TURN IT OVER TO GREASE THE TOP. COVER IT WITH PLASTIC AGAIN AND LET IT RISE FOR ANOTHER 2-4 HOURS. THIS SECOND RISING CAN BE SKIPPED BUT THE SECOND RISING WILL GIVE THE BREAD MORE FLAVOR. Since the flavor comes from the sourdough yeast, I find it unnecessary for the second rise since the dough will not really gain any more flavor from the instant yeast in the second rise. It takes 2 hours tops for the first rise. Usually less time.  
SHAPING AND BAKING:  KNOCK DOWN THE DOUGH AND SHAPE IT INTO TWO LONG FRENCH BREAD ROLLS. PLACE ON A CORNMEAL SPRINKLED COOKIE SHEET, COVER AND LET RISE FOR ANOTHER 2 HOURS  OR SO.
TOWARD THE END OF THE RISING PERIOD, PREHEAT OVEN TO 450 DEGREES I bake at 430 degreese. AND BEGIN HEATING A KETTLE OF WATER ON YOUR STOVE. I usually forget to add steaming water to the oven. JUST BEFORE YOU PUT THEM IN THE OVEN SLASH THE TOPS OF THE BREAD DIAGONALLY WITH A KNIFE ABOUT 2 INCHES APART AND ABOUT 1/4 INCH DEEP AND BRUSH WITH COLD WATER OR, FOR A SHINY CRUST, BRUSH THEM WITH A WASH OF EGG MIXED WITH WATER. ALSO FOR A FESTIVE LOOK SPRINKLE THEM WITH SESAME OR POPPY SEEDS.
PLACE A PAN IN THE OVEN BOTTOM AND POUR IN 3 OR 4 CUPS OF BOILING WATER. PUT THE LOAVES ON THE RACK OVER THE STEAMING WATER, CLOSE THE OVEN AND BAKE FOR ABOUT 25 MINUTES. THE CRUST WILL BE VERY HARD WHEN YOU REMOVE THE BREAD FROM THE OVEN BUT IN ABOUT 5 MINUTES THE CRUST WILL CHEWY AND CRACKLING. TO KEEP THE CRUST CRUNCHY, LEAVE THE BREAD IN THE OVEN WITH THE OVEN OFF FOR ANOTHER 5 MINUTES.  I put a probe thermometer in the crust after the bread has baked about 10 minutes and take it out when it reads 190 degrees which is usually only a few more minutes... less than 5 more minutes. The bread crust will soften after cooling, unless you leave it in the oven as the directions say.

Rock Cornish Hen for my dinner tonight.  I had taken it out of the freezer for yesterday and then fishing son had fresh fish................. Think I'll just have a salad with it.

You guys are killing me with your wonderful meals! Last night's dinner was chips and dip. I desperately need to go shopping but I am so tired I can't. You should see my nails from cleaning the grill. No finger nails lef and what is there is black. I could grow potatoes under my nails. I even took my Sonicare toothbrush and soap to my fingers but no luck. The dirt will just have to wear off over time.

I've got a small pork tenderloin that I just seasoned with s&p and some aleppo pepper ~ browned in a little cast iron skillet on top of the stove before adding some sliced onion & red grapes.  It'll get finished cooking in a 375° oven for about 20 minutes or so.  I have a micro-started sweet potato that will finish baking off in the oven as well.

When the pork is at 140° I'll take it out to rest.  The onions & grapes will get a splash of basalmic vinegar and cooked down to a sauce (hopefully) and then the pork will get rolled in the pan before being sliced for supper.  The excess sauce will get spooned over.

Some buttered green beans will finish off my meal.