"OCTOBER 2016" WHATS FOR DINNER

For whatever reason Photobucket didn't want to cooperate with me last night....

So, now that I was able to enter the site and grab my photo, here's a pic of last night's supper: Grilled Burger Patties, Sauteed Zucchini w/Onions & (leftover) Succotash.

I saw a Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein recipe on Foodgawker or Pinterest that sounds really good for a change-of-pace supper. Next time I find a cheap spaghetti squash it's definately going on my menu rotation.

Looking at that meat patty makes me wonder if you could take individual chunks of meatloaf and do them on the grill. Has anyone ever done meatloaf on a grill?

I go through so much parmesan I think I may go out and spend $20 on a big chunk from the Italian deli. It is so good. I forget what Costco's parmesan tastes like. Is it any good? Some are better than others.

Bugs - I've done meatloaf patties on the grill. I did, however, use non-stick foil under them just in case they fell apart as they cooked. They turned out just fine.

Sometimes things don't work out and there is no hiding it. I tried a Marcus Samuelsson recipe for fried chicken and the inside was moist and delicious but I got the outside too brown. The first batch was actually black so I made up for it with tacos.

That meatloaf patty is pretty well what I have always done and called it my home made burgers!

I've been away for a few days again, visiting hubby's uncle Ernie. He's about 300 miles north-east of here, turned 84 and is still in his own place on the Trent Waterway in Ontario. My sons and their friends have been going there fishing and camping for well over 20 years, but it's time for him to move on. Trying to sell his place. It's gorgeous, but people don't want to buy anything that requires a lot of work.

NormM wrote:Sometimes things don't work out and there is no hiding it.  I tried a Marcus Samuelsson recipe for fried chicken and the inside was moist and delicious but I got the outside too brown.  The first batch was actually black so I made up for it with tacos.

You made JIMMY CHICKEN !!!

That's the only kind he'll eat.....especially if you can dry out the inside. LOL

Seriously, we've all had recipes that just didn't seem to work for us. But the 'good cooks' come up with a meal "on-the-fly", like your tacos, that the rest of the family THINKS was the plan to begin with. Everyone ends up happy.

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:Had chli cheese burgers from a diner..... Krispy kreme doughnuts, coleslaw.
Pizza, coconut custard pie. Black pepper raisin cookies. Chocolate covered nuts candy.
All in that order. Tina had a hot meatloaf sandwich with brown gravy, and mashed potatoes.
She went Christmas shopping with my cousin today in Pennsylvania, and brought all that food home.

I was super hungry today. I blew the leaves, broke down a pallet of wood pellets, and started packing them under cover in the back.
That really set up an appetite for me!

Jimmy - I would EXPLODE if I ate that meal! Makes no difference if I had whittled the pallet of pellets with my hands to expend a bunch of energy.....

You must have great metabolism. If I so much as look at a box of Krispy Kreme donuts at WalMart (and I do SO want to grab them and eat them in the car.....) I add 5 pounds to my waist! This getting old crap is just driving me nuts. It use to be no big deal to drop a few pounds.....but now days it seems just about impossible. I drop 3 and a couple days later they're back.

Oh, well, sorry to be such a 'downer'.....ignore me.

Busy day for me today.. no cooking.. ha ha!

Today is the Church's festival. I am on the social committees. We have to be in the Hall at 9am to begin decorating and setting up. Too early for me! I went to the 4pm mass last night just so I could stay in a bit this morning. The Party is starting right after the noontime mass, so around 1pm.

It is a lot of work to set up and break it down. The guys from the Holy Name Society will help us pick up.

We are having an Italian Buffet from a restaurant in the North End of Boston--delicious food.. all heavy: eggplant parm, chicken parm, chicken marsala, stuffed ziti with a meat sauce, something else...but no salad.. it was voted down by the committee ~~ not me! I want a salad with all this heavy stuff. I will bring it up next year, if I am still a member of the social committee...

We are having door prizes, a raffle, a DJ, coffee, soda, wine, and cake.

We are planning on 280 people.. the mayor and his family may show up also.

I may be serving in the buffet line, so I have my pick of what to take home for leftovers. I have to remember to take in some tin foil to cover my plate.

Yes, for the Catholics, it is a celebration of the feast of St Anthony and an anniversary of our church, 115 years.

St Anthony's statue will be decorated and prayer cards given out. We have a banner in front of the church, and flags... just like a celebration in the North End of Boston.

The Mass is a special one. There will be a procession, and stuff.. I want to attend it to see what it happening, hopefully I can. The hall is just downstairs..

problem is: my knee started to really bother me yesterday. I dusted, vacuumed, washed and changed bed sheets, put some laundry away. By the time I went to mass at 4pm, my joints were really sore...shoulders, hip, back and knee. The knee being the worst. It woke me up several times during the night.. I think I may wear sneaker clogs instead of my low heeled black clogs..

Artie is going to have to fend for himself today. I will leave out a lot of food, but I know he will only lick at it--if that. When I come home, he will greet me at the door, and start yelling at me for leaving him alone for so long. Then he will go over to eat some food.. He does not eat anything when I am not home...He is a brat!! but my brat!

Thanks for allowing me to tell you guys my life story!!!

gotta get off my butt now.. and start my busy day...

Cyn - I hope you didn't 'over-do' on the committee today and enjoyed yourself.  Sounds like a lot of preplanning finally coming together.  Good for you!

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I saw a recipe on Pinterest for Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein....spaghetti squash with cole slaw mix, onions & celery with a teryaki type sauce.  So, I decided I might as well give it a try.  I baked off a spaghetti squash and when I went to shred it into 'spaghetti' it didn't seem to be much in the way of strings, more squash-type mush.....it tastes OK, just not the right texture.

So, on to PLAN 'B'.....I had some mung bean thread noodles in the pantry - soak them in hot water for 20 minutes and they look like celophane noodles, not any taste to speak of but slippery as all get out!  They absorb any flavor you add to them (and I don't think they have any carbs since they're made from mung beans and not a flour pasta).

So, I marinated some cubed up chicken breast in the sauce (soy, brown sugar, grated ginger, sesame oil and a couple tablespoons of Sambal Oleck Chili Paste (hot stuff).  I cooked the marinated (drained) chicken in my wok and when cooked, removed it from the pan.  Then I put in about a cup each of sliced celery & leeks, let them soften a bit.  Tossed in a couple cups of 'angel hair' cole slaw mix (cabbage & carrot) and when it got warm added back the chicken and the sauce, thickened with a bit of chicken broth & cornstarch slurrey.  

Dane and I really liked the meal....the noodles are SUPER SLIPPERY so you really end up 'slurping' them - the heat of the chili paste then sets fire to your lips and it's oh, so, good!  I don't think there were many calories in the whole dish, save for about 2 Tbsp. of brown sugar in the sauce to counteract the hot of the chili.  It'll be interesting to see if the leftovers stay as spicy or if it dissapates somewhat by my lunch tomorrow.

Lucky you! Now I'm going to want those.......so much work.

NormM wrote:Sometimes things don't work out and there is no hiding it.  I tried a Marcus Samuelsson recipe for fried chicken and the inside was moist and delicious but I got the outside too brown.  The first batch was actually black so I made up for it with tacos.

Norm, I was reading your MS Fried Chicken recipe again on your blog and noticed it called for "¼ cup berbere". I have a small container of that spice (Penzey) and I've found it to be super hot/spicy so I only use a tiny sprinkle in a dish. Did you actually use 1/4 c. in the Chicken Sprinkle?

I have to admit, the recipe sounds really interesting to me....but a lot of pre-planning, what with the brine and then overnight marinate. But a good fried chicken is always a challenge.

If I do decide to make it I'll be sure to watch the color as it fries and will remove to finish in the oven to be sure it's 'done to the bone'....Did you do the second fry to crisp up the crust?

I iust looked at the recipe I posted and found out that I didn't post all of it. I have posted the rest of it now. I cut the chicken sprinkle recipe in half. The recipe says to only add 1 tablespoon of the sprinkle to the buttermilk brine and sprinkle a little of the sprinkle on the chicken after it is fried. In all it was not all that hot.

NormM wrote:I iust looked at the recipe I posted and found out that I didn't post all of it. I have posted the rest of it now.

Yeah, I was going to mention that.....but I just did a search of the recipe to read the rest of it.

Those spices sound interesting to me, something I want to try sometime. Thanks!

Meatloaf made with turkey, loaded smashed potatoes and broccoli last night. Tonight is either roasted asparagus lasagna or a small sirloin tip roast.

I almost got bopped upside the head by a small electrical appliance I keep in my cupboard. The cords seem to get tangled up with each other. I try and wrap the cord around the appliance but they come undone or they don't wrap at all because of the appliance shape. How do you keep those pesky cords in order? Tie wraps? I dunno. This one has me flummoxed. Any suggestions would be very helpful.

Another thing that is driving me to distraction is storing large pan lids. Some of them are just too tall to fit on their sides in a cupboard. What do you do?

I use rubber bands to control my counter cords....easy to pull out what I need to plug it in without the 'twisty-tie' (which always seems to fall on the floor or get swept into the trash).

My large pan lids go into my range drawer (electric range has a storage drawer under the oven).

My other suggestion would be to empty out a lower cabinet and get one of those 'pot lid' racks. I use one for my skillets just inside the cabinet door to keep my collection of medium to small skillets upright and contained, yet easy to grab.

I had pulled an 8 oz. container of Italian Beef (shredded) out of the freezer a couple days ago, thinking I was going to use it for a lunch. But we must have skipped eating that day (not likely ~ LOL) so tonight it was our supper. Toasted sub rolls, melted mozzarella cheese on both sides of the toasted bun.....loaded up with juicy shredded beef. I made some oven fried sweet potatoes to go with the sandwiches.