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Cooking Friends » General Discussion » What's Cooking This Month? » AUGUST 2016 ... WHAT'S COOKING FOR DINNER ?

AUGUST 2016 ... WHAT'S COOKING FOR DINNER ?

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NormM
Crybaby
bethk
Bugster2
UNCLE JIMMY
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Niagara Visitor



I use my large salt/pepper shakers all the time.. never had any of those things you have pictured Jimmy.  I've used the large one that is for marinating meat in it lots of times when we had firepit parties.  I also use the new style that have the opening for various vegetables all the time.   I clean and chop a lot of the stems off the parsley and it keeps a long time in there.  I know they say to put veggies in there "dirty".............. well, I prep my coloured peppers, carrots, cukes so that they are ready for munching right away.

UNCLE JIMMY

UNCLE JIMMY

bethk wrote:Funny thing was when I worked at the Tupperware distributorship.....I couldn't stand to drink out of the coffee cups or glasses.  Most of the time I just said I preferred to drink my Pepsi out of the can ~ but once in a while someone would say something and I'd admit that I didn't use anything but the food storage containers.  

But my favorite was the Kid's Baking Set.....all those little miniature tools.  My girls loved it!

I remember the different color mugs we drank coffee in. They quickly became the picnic set for up at the lake. When they got stained, forget it.
Especially when we kids drank kool aid and grape juice in them. Ruined!

The funny thing, was my brother was a chewer. He would sit and chew the edges of those tupperware mugs and tumblers.

bethk

bethk
Admin

OK, Jimmy...a tip for you: if your Tupperware gets stained or even just dirty and you cannot seem to get it clean (like the seal for the lettuce keeper that always seems to have dirty fingerprints on) ~ add a little bleach to the dishwater and it cleans the plastic right up.

At least that is what we always did. One of our dealers gave me the hint.

bethk

bethk
Admin

I didn't have a clue what to fix for supper. Then I thought, Gee, Norm's shrimp tacos looked good. So, off to the store I went to get some cabbage for topping the shrimp and some nice shrimp. It was like, "Sorry, Charlie!" NO fresh shrimp today. All they had in the 'fresh' fish case was cooked shrimp. How is it I live in FLORIDA and the store does not have fresh shrimp available ??????

So, I decided to just wander around and see if something else caught my eye. They had snow crab but wanted $8.99/lb. for it. Too expensive. They had some medium sized lobster tails ~ $6.49/one or $11.49/two. Too expensive. Just as I was about to walk away I saw a package of two lobster tails that someone put the wrong label on....TWO for $6.49! SCORE! It was like finding a $10 dollar bill in the parking lot with no one around who could have dropped it. LOL

AUGUST 2016 ... WHAT'S COOKING FOR DINNER ? - Page 3 IMG_20160804_170113953

UNCLE JIMMY

UNCLE JIMMY

bethk wrote:I didn't have a clue what to fix for supper.  Then I thought, Gee, Norm's shrimp tacos looked good.  So, off to the store I went to get some cabbage for topping the shrimp and some nice shrimp.  It was like, "Sorry, Charlie!"  NO fresh shrimp today.  All they had in the 'fresh' fish case was cooked shrimp.  How is it I live in FLORIDA and the store does not have fresh shrimp available ??????  

So, I decided to just wander around and see if something else caught my eye.  They had snow crab but wanted $8.99/lb. for it.  Too expensive.  They had some medium sized lobster tails ~ $6.49/one or $11.49/two.  Too expensive.  Just as I was about to walk away I saw a package of two lobster tails that someone put the wrong label on....TWO for $6.49!  SCORE!  It was like finding a $10 dollar bill in the parking lot with no one around who could have dropped it.  LOL

AUGUST 2016 ... WHAT'S COOKING FOR DINNER ? - Page 3 IMG_20160804_170113953

queen queen A meal fit for a Queen. And look how nice those lobster tails respect you by showing the bowing position to her majesty.

Niagara Visitor



Some more of fisherman son's Lake Erie bass tonight, and a quinoa salad.  Yummmy!

Crybaby

Crybaby

bethk wrote:My pantry has those metal wire shelves ~ multi-use (sold at Lowe's or Home Depot) but a PITA when stuff falls through the wire or gets stuck.  I covered them with a heavy clear plastic shelf paper and now the shelves keep everything upright.

Wow, I didn't know they made shelf paper that heavy, Beth.

I'd KILL for a pantry, though. I have a decent amount of cabinet space but with a pantry, not only could I stock more things, but the items would be easier to get to and more organized. Another thing on my list when I win Powerball...

Crybaby

Crybaby

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:The hallway coat closet ( never was / never will be ) we use for that stuff called f o o d ....storage. I put up the white wire shelves, and on the door, one of those shelves for small items....like sewing thread / bags of tina's bingo markers / I should just take a pic and post it.  The wire squares hold stuff like the lint brush, with the handle just poked through the most convenient opening.

Any port in a storm.  When my water heater died several years ago, I wanted to get a tankless water heater so I could turn that little closet into a pantry.  But the guy talked me out of it, saying he'd pulled out almost every single one he'd installed, as the homeowner didn't like the lower water pressure that comes along with the tankless.  Do you think that's true, Jimmy?  I hate low water pressure so I opted against it and in fact put in a larger water heater as long as I had to replace it.

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:We made masks and decorations with newspaper strips and library paste made from soap, water, and flour. called "Paper Mache". It kept us occupied for hours!  

We did that, too, Jimmy! Great fun.  We had a big thick kid's book called "The Make-It Book."  My mom would break it out when it was raining or we were bored.  It had tons of little projects (including paper mache) kids could make that were usually composed of stuff my mom had on hand.  I wonder what ever happened to that book...  Today, kids would probably laugh at it as they're so into technology but I'll bet I'd STILL find most of the stuff interesting and fun...

Crybaby

Crybaby

bethk wrote:The sherry I usually find is Taylor's.  I really don't have much of a preference.  But be sure it's DRY sherry for cooking and not SWEET.  Boy, I made that mistake only once ~ HUGE difference in recipes.  LOL  (Not that I've ever been know to just pick up an item and not actually READ the label......)

I usually end up with Taylor's as well, as that's all the grocery usually has. I enjoy a dry sherry on the rocks with a lemon twist occasionally (Brian HATES it as a drink but enjoys it in food, say turtle soup or beef stroganoff). But I usually have a bottle of Dry Sack on hand which is better "drinking" sherry, too. But Taylor's isn't bad for a cocktail either, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than the Dry Sack (and more available if I'm at the grocery)...

Crybaby

Crybaby

Bugster2 wrote:I have been reading about the Olympics. The new housing is not clean or even comfortable. The gov't has said "Don't put you head underwater on the beaches or elsewhere. The water is a sewer teaming with virus', bacteria, feces and who knows what else. An absolute horror. Why Brazil was allowed to have it there I will never know. The residents are having fits because of all the money spent when they are starving to death. I read this and thought If I was an athlete there is no way in hell I would go down there. Well, let me tell you. The USA is smart. They have a cruise ship in port for the athletes. That is so cool! They have luxurious rooms, a theater, a pool, a casino and more. They eat only on the ship. I don't know how restricted their movement is and whether they are allowed to do what they want but I hope they are not allowed to do what they want. It is just too risky.

I saw that on the Today Show today, Bug, but I don't think the cruise ship is being used for ALL of the athletes -- it's just for the Basketball teams. I think the U.S. women’s team, families, USA Basketball officials and support staff are also staying on the vessel. The rest of the U.S. athletes are in the regular "dorms," I'm pretty sure.

I heard the other day that the only two countries that don't "decorate" their areas in the dorms outside (hanging flags, signs, etc.) are the U.S and Israel. I understand it's for security, obviously, but it's sad that things are such...

Crybaby

Crybaby

bethk wrote:I'm looking forward to when our temps drop to 73° at night......

Yeah, me, too, Beth. This past July was the hottest on record for New Orleans and August is looking pretty bad, too. We're getting a decent amount of rain, though, as the heat often brings thunderstorms in the afternoon. Today, the storm was really something and New Orleans proper was spared the worst of it for sure. Thank goodness we didn't lose power, like a lot of people did, as the winds got up to 50-60 mph for a couple of minutes locally (funnel cloud was sighted but I don't think it fully formed and touched down, though two old houses collapsed in the city, both of which were in pretty bad shape to begin with. We decided on an installer for the generator we're getting but we hope we have it before the next power outage. We're signing the contract on Saturday and then the generator will be ordered. So I think we'll be in business in 3 to 4 weeks, hopefully, before any scare from a hurricane...

I made meatballs this afternoon for meatballs and sauce but got pooped out and didn't make the sauce. Brian and I had physical therapy today (we go twice a week to the same place so they make our appointments together) and I'm always tired when we get home, especially when it's so freaking hot outside! The heat index was 105-110 today and just getting in and out of a hot car was a PITA! It's tiring, too, when you're out and about in that heat.

When I started running out of steam, Brian helped me brown the meatballs (he loves browning and/or sautéing stuff) and I just put them in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner, with half headed tto the freezer for "next time." We had sandwiches and fruit salad for dinner, which was perfect on a hot day. The sandwiches were delicious, though -- ham, Genoa salami, provolone, homegrown tomato slices, mayo, two kinds of mustard and HOMEGROWN sprouts!

I bought a Sprouting Jar Lid recently that fits on wide mouth Mason jars, and I got three different types of sprout seeds. The first batch of sprouts I made that we used tonight was a Spicy Salad Mix, composed of lentils, alfalfa, red clover, radish and mustard seeds. They sure tasted good on the sandwich -- added a nice fresh taste and some good crunch to the sandwich.

I also got some mung bean sprout seeds and another type with clover, fenugreek and radish seeds. Easy to do, takes 3 to 5 days and they're nice and fresh when I'm ready to use 'em. I like them in salads, too, but boy, they're really super on a sandwich.

Crybaby

Crybaby

NormM wrote:We had two kinds of tacos tonight: normal beef and grilled shrimp.

AUGUST 2016 ... WHAT'S COOKING FOR DINNER ? - Page 3 DSCN3683_zpsw2xzuxjh

AUGUST 2016 ... WHAT'S COOKING FOR DINNER ? - Page 3 DSCN3686_zps2dwf1tpp


I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE tacos, Norm, and your "spread" is to die for. Looks sooooo good!

Crybaby

Crybaby

NormM wrote:I have a Tupperware lettuce keeper that keeps a head of lettuce fresh a lot longer than any other way I know of.  It had an insert that went in the center of the head when you removed the core and kept it elevated above the bottom that I've lost.  Cassie bought another one at a garage sale so she would have one after they moved out... when they thought they would move out some day.  Now I put a wad of paper towel in the bottom of it when I have lettuce in it.

I still have one of those, Norm. I just don' use iceberg lettuce very often so I hardly ever use it anymore. I see that insert, though, when I open my cabinet that houses containers for leftovers or giving food to friends. I loved banging that head on the counter, too, to remove the core. I still like to have iceberg lettuce occasionally but just rarely buy the whole head anymore like I used to.

Crybaby

Crybaby

Beth wrote:Just as I was about to walk away I saw a package of two lobster tails that someone put the wrong label on....TWO for $6.49!  SCORE!  It was like finding a $10 dollar bill in the parking lot with no one around who could have dropped it.  LOL

I know that feeling, Beth, and there's nothing like it!  Normally with meat we're not going to use right away, we rinse it off, dry it, wrap it up and then seal it in a freezer bag.  Often, we just use scissors to cut off the grocery store's label and use it on the inside of the clear freezer bag instead of writing on the outside of the package.  It's great 'cause it has the date, the weight and the price.  Many years ago, I decided to defrost a standing rib roast Brian had frozen, as we were going to use the Weber grill like an oven and cook that puppy while we were outside at the pool.  When I took it out of the freezer and went to check the weight, the total price (not the per pound rate) was $1.25!!!

You'd have thought we won the lottery -- the two of us danced around the kitchen laughing our butts off.  So much fun!  

The other day Brian opened the front door to let out a generator salesman and when he went to close it, I shouted, "Wait!"  There on the sidewalk was a folded up $20 bill -- it was the right color for money and I could clearly see 20 on it!  And like you said, there was not a soul around who I could check with to see if it belonged to them!  That had never happened to me before and I laughed and laughed and laughed over it.  Heck, I'm excited when I put on a jacket in the winter and find a $10 bill in the pocket -- knowing it's MY OWN money!  Brian laughed at me laughing and then had to cough up that $20 when he tried to put it in HIS pocket!!!!

Your lobster tails looked delicious, Beth. I just told Brian I might pick up a lobster at the grocery and have them steam it for me. I've been in the mood for lobster lately and most of the bigger groceries have Maine lobsters live in tanks now -- he doesn't eat seafood so the whole thing would be MINE!!!! Congrats on your $6.49 score -- that was indeed a score. They usually run $9.99 a pound down here for the whole lobster -- you can get frozen tails, too, but they never look good enough to me to justify the price.

bethk

bethk
Admin

Yes, Michelle, sometimes when you're in the mood for lobster you just have to bite the bullet. It's not like it's an everyday event. When we vacationed in Maine for a week and rented a little house with a 'real' kitchen I bought a bunch of lobsters to break down and freeze in Food Saver bags. It was great! We found a local lobster pound that sold the whole lobsters for under $5/lb.....and the ones with only one claw went for $3.50/lb. I'm not a huge fan of the claw meat so it wasn't a big deal to me and I ended up with about 10 or 15 of the one-clawed lobsters ~ took off the tails and then steamed the legs, etc. to be bagged up for lobster stew. I loved it!

NormM

NormM

i looked online at Tupperware and they must not make the lettuce keeper anymore. It wasn't on any of the sites I visited. I did order an insert from someone on ebay.

http://r2j1cp@gmail.com

Niagara Visitor



Costco here has a can of lobster meat for $14.95, 1 kg, 2.2 pounds.  It's a great buy if you want it for bisque, chowder or any other dish where you don't need "the look" of lobster.

bethk

bethk
Admin

NormM wrote:i looked online at Tupperware and they must not make the lettuce keeper anymore. It wasn't on any of the sites I visited.  I did order an insert from someone on ebay.

No, I think it's one of their discontinued items....but it's good you could find a replacement for yours.

Now all you have to do is figure out a way to NOT toss it in the trash when that last bit of lettuce is past prime and you just dump it in the trashcan without thinking.

(not that I would ever do anything like that ~ LOL)

Bugster2

Bugster2

Niagara Visitor wrote:Costco here has a can of lobster meat for $14.95, 1 kg, 2.2 pounds.  It's a great buy if you want it for bisque, chowder or any other dish where you don't need "the look" of lobster.

Thanks for the tip although I have only seen crab. Haven't looked for lobster. Now that would be a treat.

This morning is my semi-annual clean out the pantry. Funny, it seems the cake mixes are always the things that have expired.

UNCLE JIMMY

UNCLE JIMMY

 When my water heater died several years ago, I wanted to get a tankless water heater so I could turn that little closet into a pantry.  But the guy talked me out of it, saying he'd pulled out almost every single one he'd installed, as the homeowner didn't like the lower water pressure that comes along with the tankless.  Do you think that's true, Jimmy?  I hate low water pressure so I opted against it and in fact put in a larger water heater as long as I had to replace it.[/quote]

When those tankless heaters came out ( AKA Insta-Hots ) they were first made for small restrooms like in Dr's offices, or fast food places. They worked with an electric resistance heat element, but only provided warm water at a reduced flow, and on demand. They worked until they started to get coated with mineral deposits, and the heat transfer reduced in temperature.

Then, they made the heaters larger and for using Natural Gas or LP gas.
Again, they work, but the flow through the heat exchanger is reduced so that it can have time to absorb the heat into the water. Think of it, as a commercial bread oven, bread traveling through the oven conveyor tunnel too fast, will not bake properly. It has to go through the oven slow enough to bake, but not so slow so as to burn the bread..... Sad

They work on a principal using a plate to plate heat transfer, meaning, gas flame is compressed though a series of plates that the water flows on the opposite side.When and if deposits form on the plates, they have to be cleaned. Oh! not like with a rag or a brush and soap; but with acid, pumped through the water side to dissolve the deposits. Not a cheap process! Plus, a lot of expensive electronic controls to malfunction.

Let me put it this way, if I were given one free, and had it installed in my house, I would refuse it, for the fact that, sooner or later, there will be surmountable problems and aggravation that go with it.
We like hot hot water; we have no little kids to burn their hands, and we like faucets and shower heads, that flow like Niagara Falls.LOL

Bugster2

Bugster2

The problem we have in our house is that the water heater is on one side of the house and the kitchen on the other so it takes forever for the hot water to reach the kitchen.

bethk

bethk
Admin

I just got invited to a Special Olympics Fundraiser for supper tonight. Going to 'World of Beer' Restaurant where the profits from sales go to SO. They have good food and drinks other than beer (which I'm not a fan of....) so it sounds like a good time to me.

It also keeps me from having the problem of deciding on what to cook for supper!

UNCLE JIMMY

UNCLE JIMMY

It was fast food day here. Tina made a trip to the bank before going down to her uncles, and she called me to meet her in the front to get my egg McMuffin she got for me on way back from the bank. Then I had bunch of JFC pop corn chicken well done and crispy.

Then she picked up some chocolate cordials for dessert, and now two White Castle Burgers that were left over from the other night.

Boy! I better take a physic AUGUST 2016 ... WHAT'S COOKING FOR DINNER ? - Page 3 2363720550

NormM

NormM

We had 8 piece KFC for dinner tonight.  There is enough left over for lunch for the next two or three days.

http://r2j1cp@gmail.com

bethk

bethk
Admin

Ever since Dane has been gone I've been slowly going through the pantry and freezers to cull out items that are in need of being cooked or in need of being tossed. It's one of those tasks that is best done without the assistance of anyone asking, " what's wrong with that?" or "what IS that?" Maybe others can work nicely with a spouse, but I find it a daunting task with just myself without the 'help' of Mr. Full-of-Questions.

I knew I had a ham shank in the kitchen refrigerator freezer. I bought it at Easter time when it was at a huge reduced price. I had cut a couple thick ham steaks off the top of the bone and used them for meals but it really didn't have the smoked flavor I care for. It wasn't terrible, just not the smoked formula I prefer. But I thought it would make some decent ham stock to be used for bean soup or just as stock to be frozen in containers for whatever.

So, on Monday I let it simmer away. This time I got smart and used my pasta pot WITH the pasta insert. After the ham and vegetables had simmered away it was super easy to lift everything out without trying to pour it into another pot with a strainer to catch all the parts I would discard. I wonder why I never thought of that before? SO easy!

When I make stock or soup I do my best to cool it down as quickly as possible. The hot stock pot got put into a sink full of water to cool down, changing the water about 5 times as it cooled. Finally I added all the ice from the garage freezer icemaker and that did the trick to bring the temp down to where I could dry the outside of the pot and put it into the refrigerator to finish cooling down.

So this morning I got started on a pot of bean soup to put into the freezer as a surprise for Mr. Amazing....it's one of his favorites. Oh, heck, ANY soup is his favorite. He loves nothing more than going to the freezer and getting a container of bean soup, vegetable soup, chili or chicken soup that he'll add noodles or leftover rice to.

Last night I tried to look over / clean a package of the Hurst's HamBeens 15-Bean dry beans ~ you know, to see if there were any bits of stone or dirt. But, geeze louise, with those different sized beans it was impossible. About half way through I just gave up and I'm praying there were no stones. LOL

So, my soup is done. Since I used ham stock instead of water there is no need to add the little packet of 'seasoning' that comes with the beans. I'm not crazy for that stuff. It always tastes just a bit 'off' to me. I did add an 8 oz. package of diced ham the last 30 minutes of cooking. I had considered pulling out some of the ham when I was making the stock but since I didn't like the flavor or texture it seems like a moot point.

In a few minutes I'll start my cooling process. All the soup will get put into containers and cooled completely in the refrigerator. Then into the freezer tonight or tomorrow.

Mr. Amazing is going to be thrilled!

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