March, 2021 ~ What's workin' in the kitchen?

I thawed out the leftover casserole of scalloped potatoes & ham yesterday in the refrigerator. It was, to be quite honest, not all that good the first time around. The ham was really water soaked and turned my white sauce into a kind of curdled, sloppy mess. But my plan was to make a 'thick' white sauce and layer it in with the potatoes to see if I could get them to be creamy.

And my plan came together! Actually, the meal was better than the first time around.

I had our first picking of green beans from the patio pots. Oddly enough, when Dane planted them he used the Blue Lake Green Bean seed we always use. But one of the plants didn't grow in a bush form as we usually have ~ it sent out long runners, kind of like pole beans that you train to grow up a trellis. Turns out they're some sort of a flat Italian Green Bean ~ had to remove strings from the more mature ones. I didn't know if they would cook up the same as the usual Blue Lakes so I did them in separate pans. They cooked just as fast as the Blue Lakes so next time I pick beans I won't worry about not mixing them. And both were absolutely delicious. Fresh, 'just-picked-today' beans are definitely a favorite!

To finish things out I had some of the orange Jello cabbage/pineapple salad ~ mine slathered in Miracle Whip, just the way I've been eating it my whole life.

Salad and macaroni and cheese that Tina made.

From Lore:

"Not my food but what I posted today about my son’s garden shed turned bar in the summer."

Are they wearing green shirts & getting ready for St. Patrick's Day ????

LOL

[quote="bethk"]Are they wearing green shirts & getting ready for St. Patrick's Day ????

LOL[/quote
Thanks, Beth. No St. Patrick's day there. Danny, my youngest is leaning on the bar, his brother Michael watching. Woman is a friend of DIL's

Danny and Lisa have about 3/4 of an acre in the city. Got it at a really good price almost 20 years ago. The BARSH is Danny's invention. He has running water in it in the summer, and it's where all the fish they catch are cleaned/filleted. He cut a piece of the north wall out of the shed, hinged it so he can lift it up, installed a bar surface, and of course has a TV in it for watching whatever! so, BARSH!

We went to Orlando today to get our second vaccine ~ the pharmacist warned us that we 'might' experience a couple days of flu-like symptoms. She said she got the same vaccine as she gave us and she was down for two days.

But the alternative isn't attractive so 'it-is-what-it-is'......

After we got our shots we went shopping and then to lunch at PF Chang's for chicken lettuce wraps, mandarin salad, chicken/shrimp fried rice and egg rolls. Lyn's sister is visiting and she enjoyed the lunch we all shared.

Now I'm home and just waiting for the symptoms to start.......

LOL

(not really ~ I'm sure I'll be fine)

I had a sore arm and was queasy for two days.

I got my first shot yesterday morning. My arm is sore but otherwise I feel fine.

I was fine with my first shot but nauseated with my second. I really don't know if the shot had anything to do with my stomach. My sister ran a fever for two days and her husband had to go to bed for two days with flu-like symptoms. I had the Pfizer and so did they. Sore arm both times.

NormM wrote:I got my first shot yesterday morning. My arm is sore but otherwise I feel fine.

I had very little soreness with my first Moderna shot.....

Second one has my arm more sore ~ muscle tenderness if I try to raise my arm. But other than that I don't seem to have any reaction.

Wish I could say the same about my plantar fasciitis after walking for an hour at the mall yesterday......Geesh! Looking into some custom orthotics for my shoes that are made from molds of my feet.

Only problem is I don't wear regular shoes, just sandals, and therefore, the problem. What a vicious circle!

bethk wrote:Wish I could say the same about my plantar fasciitis after walking for an hour at the mall yesterday......Geesh!  Looking into some custom orthotics for my shoes that are made from molds of my feet.  

Only problem is I don't wear regular shoes, just sandals, and therefore, the problem.  What a vicious circle!

Some sandals are absolutely no problem for orthotics. I have been wearing orthotics sine 1987, and wear sandals all summer, and in the house in winter. As I type this, I am wearing sandals made by Finn Comfort, sole is removeable There are other shoe manufacturers with removable insoles for fitting orthotics. But, they are definitely not cheap. I also have two pairs of boots, made by Ramonte which have the soles removeable, and I put my orthotics in them. If you look at the Finn Comfort website, I have the Andros, and the Aversa, both in Navy. The Aversa has a strap at the heel for a more secure fit. If I am doing a lot of walking, I want a strap at the heel. Getting old, you know.

I was in and out of bed all afternoon......when I got tired, I went in and laid down. I'm about ready to hit the hay again......

But nothing sounded good to me except Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup. I let the stock simmer with a bunch of parts from the freezer bag ~ backs, ribs, necks, etc. that get frozen for just a time like today.

I even mixed up a small batch of noodles ~ only used 2 yolks and about a Tbsp. of the egg white, s&p and flour. I rolled it out really thin and cut the noodles fine. They were just what the doctor ordered for a stomach that didn't know if it really wanted food.

I have been in and out of bed too. I made spinach ricotta cannelloni. It was good. I made fresh pasta to toll up the filling. They don't sell fresh lasagna sheets around here. I might try soaking no-boil lasagna sheets to see how that works. I have always made crepes for the filling a la Emeril Lagasse. There is enough leftover for tomorrow nights dinner.

OH dear, I hope everyone is better soon!

I had a small batch of Lake Ontario caught salmon from fishing son Danny. Did that in the oven along with baby potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots. Had 88 year old uncle here, there really wasn't enough fish, but he didn't complain. Son said "Fishing season is just around the corner!" No picture today.

I'm re-purposing the filling I made for shepherds' pie a couple of weeks ago. Made too much, and put it in the freezer. I have added some extra tomato juice, spices and cheese and have stuffed three peppers. I didn't have a ready made sauce, so I just used juice. Should be good.

Dane worked later than usual tonight ~ glad I planned a meal that could wait to be cooked until he was home. Grouper for me / salmon for him. Spinach was the vegetable of the night.





By the time I got the pic taken of my grouper on my plate this is what was left of Dane's salmon. I guess he was hungry.......

I've got a Corned Beef flat simmering for later in the week......

I also have a giant pot of chili.  It was $2.99/lb. ground chuck day at Fresh Market.  So we'll have a bowl of chili for supper.  Oh, darn! I forgot to pick up a bag of Fritos.....still have time to run to the store.....I just may.  My mouth is ready for the two together.


Dane loved the chili ~ he didn't even add any hot sauce so I guess I got it right.

I have a corned beef in the slow cooker. it has been in 8 hours and shows no sign of getting tender.

Tonight was a pot of French onion soup with baguette croutons and gruyere.

Yesterday when I made my big pot of chili for the freezer (well, for supper, too....) I had my Corned Beef flat simmering on the back of the stove in a Dutch oven with an onion, carrot & celery. The darn thing boiled over once and I had to clean up the stove ~ what a pain! Fortunately, with the induction range everything stayed contained and it was just a 'sop-up-spray-with-409 & clean'. Of course, I also had to wipe off the bottom of the pot ~ not easy to do when it's full of boiling hot water! But, hey, I'm experienced as this isn't the first time I've done something stupid like that! LOL

Once my corned beef was fork tender I removed it and carefully scraped off the icky fat layer from one side to discard. Then I put it, whole, into a casserole dish to cool off. The cooking liquid got strained into a stainless steel bowl and cooled in an ice bath until it was close to room temperature. Then it got poured over the brisket and went into the refrigerator for the night.

This morning I took the casserole out of the refrigerator, spooned off any of the hardened fat from the top of the liquid and sliced the cold brisket with Grandma's trusty electric knife. It's so nice to have beautiful, even slices. Then, once sliced, it went into a smaller casserole dish. I poured off a quart of the flavorful braising liquid to use for my vegetables and the rest of the juices got poured over the sliced brisket to keep it moist when it gets reheated in the oven for supper.

Here's what my sliced beef looks like: