October, 2017.....What's for dinner?

I agree, Norm....when the gochuchang paste is mixed with the sauce ingredients, the brown sugar or sweet stuff, it counteracts the heat and adds a nice flavor. Of course, most of the people I hang around with think black pepper is "too HOT" so I only use that for Dane and me. The Sambal Oeleck is another garlic chili paste that I really like the flavor of....much more than the 'one note' sriracha, although the sriracha is still in my refrigerator and used on occasion.

I think some people try to over do the heat, thinking you need to really taste the chili paste but I much prefer it to be tempered with other ingredients and just be a 'background' taste.

To each their own!

That's a much better explanation than mine, Beth.

That's what's good about having to 'down size' and get rid of a bunch of stuff. I no longer have all the nooks & crannies to store 'junk' that I buy and then forget about. Everything is in a kitchen cabinet, where I see it all the time, or is an electric appliance that gets used once in a while and is stored in the cabinets in the garage.

I got rid of so much 'STUFF'.....and that's just what it was. I kept it because of sentimental reasons (it belonged to my Grandma or Mom) but was stuff I didn't use. I no longer purchase things that I might use ~ since I have no room to store it I would have to get rid of something I DO use all the time.

And I'm much happier. Once in a while I miss something like my hand mixer, but for the most part the things I used that appliance for I now can just use a hand whisk and 'get by'. I don't miss it as much as I thought I would.

I had some Johnsonville Smoked Brats in the refrigerator....why I bought them, I do not know. The original idea escapes me.....

So, I also had a head of cabbage. Smoked sausage, cabbage ~ sounds like a perfect set up for Haluski to me.

I sliced & browned the sausage on both sides and removed it from the cast iron skillet. Then the cabbage, sliced onion & carrot shreds got started on a saute and to remove all the brown sausage fond from the skillet. While that was going on I boiled up some packaged egg noodles.

Finally the sausage and cooled noodles got tossed in with the now softened vegetables and all mixed and sauted together until the noodles started to crisp up on the edges.

It was easy and 'just what the doctor ordered'!

I told Dane we needed to clean out the garage freezer because the kitchen freezer was getting too full of 'chicken parts' ~ that's to say, the bits and bones that I freeze to use when making chicken stock. The freezer still has containers of chili, a couple quart containers of chicken & stock and half a dozen or so of ham stock that I made last year. So, I pulled out 3 pint containers of ham stock and picked up a bag of 'Hurst's HamBeens' 15-bean mix. It's Dane's favorite for bean soup and, quite honestly, bean soup sounds really good to me. The bag of beans will make enough to fill a Dutch Oven pot and not too much. We'll have one meal and then I'll freeze the rest in 16 oz. containers for his lunches.

I decided to soak the beans last night....don't know why, exactly, because I really cannot tell a difference in the finished product whether they are soaked or just cooked. But, this time I soaked them. Then this morning I drained the beans & rinsed them well and started my soup. I use to saute my veg (onions, carrots & celery) but since the bean soup cooks such a long time I no longer go to that trouble. The 3 pints of ham stock went into the pot along with 2 pints of water (rinsing out the containers). The veg got put in along with the soaked beans, a can of tomato sauce, a can of Rotel diced tomatoes w/chiles and about 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar....don't know how that little amount of brown sugar can make a difference but it really does. I didn't add any salt at the beginning because I find I have a tendency to over-salt if I add it too early. I waited until later to add a bit of Kosher salt, Aleppo Pepper (Penzey) and a few shakes of the super spicy (hot) Berbere Seasoning blend (Penzey). I know not everyone likes a spicy kick to their soups but we do so that's my choice to add it. The Penzey Berbere Seasoning is a blend of cayenne pepper, garlic, fenugreek, cardamom, cumin, black pepper, allspice, tumerick, cloves, cinnamon & coriander (I copied from the back of the jar, don't you know ~ NO WAY would I ever remember all that! It's very spicy, like I mentioned, but it also adds a really interesting flavor note that I like a lot. I just never over-do it and just sprinkle some in and let it cook into the dish.

So my bean soup has been cooking for a couple hours and I added some chopped ham bits (another thing I like to have in my freezer to add to dishes is the portioned slices of ham when I can find one of the boneless ones on sale). Within the next 30 - 45 minutes I'll turn my soup off and let it settle a bit. Then I'll cool it in a sinkful of ice water and into the refrigerator.

Tonight for supper I'll reheat a couple bowls or so and then portion the rest for the freezer. I prefer my bean soup to cool completely and then reheat for the best texture. It's all a matter of personal preference and that's what I like.

Dinner tonight was breaded pork loin chops with a fruit and lemon juice sauce and greens. Recipe said it was Milanese but I changed the sauce so it may not be Italian after all.

It was one thick pork chop that I cut in half and spread out.

NormM wrote:It was one thick pork chop that I cut in half and spread out.

I remember one time, years ago, when Tina worked for the A&P supermarkets....she took a rack of chops, and sawed them on the meat saw, into like 1/4" thick slices. Haaaa... she breaded them and fried them, and they all cupped up like fried bologna when it's not slit on the sides.
I would have slit the chop with the scissors if it were me.
It was funny, and naturally, it all became my fault because I once asked if she could bring home thinner chops. We used to call them "Quick Fry's "

Norm, your pork looks really tasty....I like the idea of pork with just about any fruit.

Delmonico steaks on the grill sound good, Jimmy.

Tonight we're having burgers without buns.....I've got leftover green beans and corn that I stuffed into the freezer before we went to Ohio to thaw and fry up with a chopped slice of bacon. I may or may not make a potato....I'm thinking a small skillet of fresh hash browns sounds good.

Yesterday Dane's sister came for the day....a day of respite from taking care of her husband 24/7 ~ a visit with us gives her a break from the routine with no help around the house.

We ended up having the bean soup for supper, along with the sweet kale Sam's Club salad that we like so much. I never imagined ME being one to buy 'convenience foods', but it's so much easier to buy the package of salad ingredients, including the dressing and toppings than to put it together myself.

Sunday we went over to Lyn & Bill's so Dane could install their new 'Nest' thermostat on their HVAC. He knows how to switch out thermostats and got it done and we went out to supper with them. He had a 'feeling' and, after we ate, suggested we drive back over to their house with them just to be sure it was working properly. We walked in and it was 91° in their house.....ahhhh, nope. NOT working right.

We called the 'help line' and the service rep who was on the line with us was able to access the system over the internet....ain't technology great?.....but, unfortunately, could not find any problems with the way the installation was done.

So, Dane took it off and re-installed their old thermostat and after a couple hours it cooled down so they could sleep that night.

Now they have to call a technician to come and figure out if there actually was a problem with the way it was installed or if the thing is defective and then get a replacement. My guess it'll cost a pretty penny to call a tech, but if that's what it takes, so be it.

Ok, so I decided to try something with yukon gold potatoes for supper tonight.

I'm going to try making 'Tater Tots', in the oven, by pressing some par-cooked (microwaved) grated potato & onion into my mini muffin tins. I'm thinking if I spray the muffin tins with PAM that will be enough oil to crisp the slightly cooked grated potato patties if I bake them at 475° or 500°.

I'll let you know how they turn out.....

Unless they're a big FAIL ~ then there will be no mention of them.

Hahahahahaahaha!

Beth.... I'm sure the tater smash tart/ tots will be a success.....hahahahaha

I just made tuna salad for sandwiches. Tina has 1/2 cup of egg salad if she wants.
She took uncle 95/yo to surgery at hosp. today for bladder polyp removal.
She is at the drug store waiting for his antibiotics. Geeze, you would think they would have them ready and filled at the hospital in house pharmacy??? NOoooooo!!! Just make it more difficult for the patients. Health Care Bull Crap!

Well, Jimmy ~ You're WRONG!

Tater tots were a huge FAIL! And it was my own fault. I pre-cooked the grated onion and potatoes in the microwave, which was fine. Then I mixed 2 Tbsp. Wondra Flour, 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch, 1 tsp. Garlic Powder, 1 tsp. onion powder and 1 tsp. salt to sprinkle and mix with the cooled cooked potato/onion. Oh, and I added 2 Tbsp. of melted butter (how could that be bad?).

I used my tablespoon cookie/ice cream scoop to portion into the PAM sprayed mini muffin tin and baked them at 475° for about 20 minutes until they got crispy looking.

The garlic powder & onion powder was my downfall. YUCK! They had a really artificial taste. I ate two ~ one to test the flavor and the other thinking it couldn't possibly taste as bad as I originally thought......Super FAIL!

I guess if you want tater tots you're better off just buying a package of frozen and either baking them in a hot oven or frying in oil on the stove top.

I should have gone with the fresh hash browns cooked in the little cast iron skillet like I originally got a hankerin' for. It would have been way better!

So, you win some ~ you lose some! LOL

Yeah....I guess I should give up on trying to 'create' new dishes....playing with my food stuff.

But every once in a while it works out and I hit one over the fence ~ and that's what keeps me trying!

I went to the doc today to get my annual flu shot.....why do they say, "We've not heard of anyone having an adverse reaction or pain to THIS year's shot" ?

It's been 4 1/2 hours and I'm already getting that achy knot in my arm below where I got the shot.  

I'm about to go and get an ice pack in hopes of not waking up tonight when I roll on my side in my sleep.

I always get a 2 day 'reaction' to the flu shot.  But I've not had more than an occasional mild cold for the last 7 or 8 years so I will probably continue to get them.

Tonight was a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast on the grill seasoned with the Hungarian Steak Rub stuff that we like so much.

After going to get flu shots, Lyn & I stopped at a Farm Market and I picked up some really fresh looking sweet corn (small ears but tasty) and yellow & green zucchini that I fried with some onion.

I fried the zucchini in my 12" Griswold cast iron skillet (Grandma's) and I had to have Dane lift it to put the cooked squash in a serving dish because I couldn't lift the pan with my left arm ~ Damn! It's getting REALLY sore!

But I'll be fine in a couple days.

I'm really hoping the worst is over soon because Friday we're suppose to drive down to Disney Springs and meet my nephew and his new wife...never met her yet.....to have lunch at The Boathouse. They're staying on Disney property for a vacation and by meeting at Disney Springs, they can use Disney transportation to get there & back and we can go and not have to pay Disney admission prices for a 1-day park pass. It's not that I don't think my sweet nephew is worth the cost of admission ~ but if I don't have to pay to walk further than I want to walk on concrete and blacktop....so be it!

They got married last June in South Carolina ~ had a really small wedding like our Robin ~ so we weren't invited and haven't met Kaitlin yet. I introduced myself to her on Facebook and explained I was Tim's FAVORITE AUNT. I failed to mention I was his ONLY aunt at this point, but 'nough said! LOL

But, it should be fun to see them and get caught up.

I bought a rotisserie chicken, and steamed some brussels' sprouts from my garden. Yumm!