January 2018, Whats for Dinner??

I cooked a couple of pork chops that were in the freezer and some baby bok choy.

I'm going to try to do something like a shepherds' pie with leftover turkey from Christmas.

Also, left over from Christmas, I just picked up a poinsettia tree that was in my dentist's office. I am going to try to save it and get it to bloom again next Christmas. My mom used to do that all the time. Successfully.

Niagara Visitor wrote:I'm going to try to do something like a shepherds' pie with leftover turkey from Christmas.  

Also, left over from Christmas, I just picked up a poinsettia tree that was in my dentist's office.  I am going to try to save it and get it to bloom again next Christmas.  My mom used to do that all the time.  Successfully.

I, too, have some leftover THANKSGIVING turkey. I don't know why I save it. I don't even like turkey.....LOL But it always seems so awful to just toss it. I have it marked in the freezer ~ "turkey for soup" because I made stock from the turkey carcass. But I usually just end up using fresh chicken for the soup.

But turkey with vegetables, in a creamy sauce, topped with mashed potatoes sounds divine!

Good luck with the poinsettia. Down here in Florida we just plant the silly things outside and they end up blooming again around Christmas, give or take a few weeks one way or the other. When I lived in Ohio I worked at a wholesale greenhouse and holiday poinsettias were a huge crop. I'm not sure what the timing is anymore but I do know you need to keep the plant in total darkness for a few weeks and then it sets the buds and will turn the bracts red.

Whenever anyone called asking how to get their previous year's poinsettia to bloom again (usually the calls started around mid-November), my boss would always tell them their plant wouldn't bloom again and they should just buy a new one at Christmas. I think that's what he referred to as 'marketing'......Hahahahahaha (he was awful!)

Today Dane went and bought a new garbage disposal since the one we had died last fall. I didn't really miss it but there were times when the drain on that side of the sink wouldn't drain as fast as I would have liked so that's why I asked him to replace it. And, as usual with home repairs, I find we do best as a couple if I 'get-outta-Dodge' while he's working. I'm no help what-so-ever and mostly get in the way. So, once he got started, I took off on the golf cart to go grocery shopping with one of the neighbors. Hey, I had a great time and when I got home two hours later he was finished and cleaning up.

He wasn't happy when he started looking at the way the last guy installed the disposal. Apparently, the connection between the disposal and the drain line was some sort of twisted up rubber hose and it looked like it was ready to spring a leak. So, he had to buy some copper couplings and a new torch.....he didn't want to spend the $15 on the torch to sweat the copper but I thought it was great! Now I can plan to make Creame Brulee! (My all time FAVORITE dessert!) And you all thought I'd be upset with him on buying more tools......Hahahahaha

I had a couple avocados that were at the exact ripeness for guacamole so it was taco night. But when I cut into the avocados....Haas ones from Mexico.....I found the insides somewhat off-color and a lot of stringy fiber in the normally creamy flesh. I really wanted some guacamole so I picked around the stuff and got enough for a small dish.

I did some internet research about the avocados and, apparently, the stringy fiber is caused by avocados picked from young trees. Who'd a thunk? I really wanted to be sure there wasn't anything really wrong with eating them so I'm glad I looked it up. Next time, just to be safe, I'll buy 3 avocados instead of just 2.

Dinner tonight was game hens with baby bok choy that I did't cook yesterday.

Slow cooker French onion soup.

I'm going to bake some spaghetti squash for supper......shred it out of the shell and top with some light meat marinara sauce. I should have something along side but I just don't know what to fix.....he had a huge Greek Salad for his lunch so I hate to push another salad at him.

Maybe I'll just push the spaghetti squash to the edges of the plate.......

LOL

I was perusing around some of the blogs I enjoy and there's one on FB for Janet's Appalachian Kitchen that's fun to read. She posts about what she made or is making for her meals today. Nothing fancy but fun to read. One of her recent posts was a recipe for fried chicken thighs she made in the oven and she used crushed pork rinds for the crust.....Pork covered chicken sounds really good to me! One of these days I'm going to give it a try.

We had sausages, polenta with cheese and colored bell peppers

Thanks Jimmy. It was good.

Norm, your sausage & peppers look so good!

I'm thinking tonight is the night I make shrimp & grits for the first time for Dane.....don't know if he'll be a fan so I'll find out.

I know you don't like cheese but the made the grits I had taste better.

I'm going to look for some rough cut, stone ground grits at the Farmers' Market today.....I may add some grated parmesan because I can tolerate a bit of that.....just no cheddar or fontina or other yellow cheese.

I did the stupidest thing. I was cleaning out the leftovers out of the fridge and found this container of what looked like turkey gravy. I thought it was from 3 weeks ago when we had a turkey and it had been lost in the back, so I tossed it. A few hours later I realized it was my demi glace that I spent all day making. I hate that when it happens. My memory is shot. Fortunately it rarely happens. I guess I will have to make another batch.

I want to make some beef stock. I need 6 pounds of meaty beef shanks. Any suggestions where I could find them where they didn't cost a months wages? I am half tempted to check out the Mexican grocery store where they sell chicken feet. Maybe they have shanks.

I've found the Oriental Market in Orlando has really nice beef shanks, ox tail, etc. and it's WAY less than what I would have to pay at any of my local grocery stores.

All the markets are subject to the same inspection by the Health Dept., Dept. of Agriculture, etc. so it wouldn't bother me to purchase from any of them.

Now you've learned why it's such a good idea to label your containers before you store them in the refrigerator or freezer......(not that I'VE ever done anything similar.....let's just say, I NOW label my stuff immediately. I use sheets of file folder labels that are self-adhesive)

I have learned the hard way that I have to label everything.

bethk wrote:Thanks for all the Anniversary wishes!  I appreciate your kind thoughts.

We went out to one of the local country clubs for Lobster Night ~ twin tails or surf & turf for $24.95.  It was just OK.  Nothing really special.  I guess if I want really good surf & turf I need to make my own ~ or do without....LOL

Today I'm making a pot of sausage, bean & kale soup ~ any takers out there?  Lots & lots of kale.....hahahahahaha

Actually, it's based on the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden but I'm switching it up this time.  Instead of hot Italian sausage, I'm using some 'hot' Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage.  And I added leeks instead of onions, added a can of cannelinni beans, a can of black eyed peas and a can of diced tomatoes.  I did dice up a couple potatoes in hopes they will break down over the cooking and help thicken the broth up a bit.  I also threw in a healthy pinch or two of red pepper flakes.  

Come hell or high water, I'm gonna beat this darn cold one way or another!

Better late than never, Happy Anniversary to you and Dane, we wish you many more years of happiness together

I cooked some "fake" Zuppa Toscana soup too, with lots of kale and Italian sausage or any kind of sausage I had.. Dirk likes soup, he could eat the whole pot of any soup I cooked.. yesterday he went out for a long hike, and got back home at after 10 pm, he walked in the dark and cold for few hours, he started at 9 am, it took 1 hours to get to the hiking trail, he wanted to get up to the Flatiron peak, it was a high and steep hike, I was so worried, but he came to his sense when he got almost to the top, it was too steep and vertical, so he turned back and headed down hill, he still had to walk in the dark for more than 3 hours to get back to his car.. anyway, I was at home, worried for the whole day, I busied myself, cleaned up, and cooked a pot of good soup for him, I heated some pork broth, added 1 cup of cooked brown rice, bunch of kale, some onions, chopped jalapeno and 1 cup of cooked Italian sausage, oh my I was so happy to see him finishing the whole pot of it.. because I was upset when I found out that he did not touch the lunch I prepared for him..

Today I'm thawing some boneless and skinless chicken thigh, still have no idea what I want to do with them

I know some one who took all day making some beef broth then strained it to get out the solids then realized she had poured the stock down the drain

Sounds like something I would do.

Tonight's Shrimp & Grits was (surprisingly) a HIT! I'm amazed at the positive critique he gave as he ate. He knew I had never made it before so he actually had helpful comments, as if he's hoping I'll make it again.

The grits I made were 'regular'....I actually used some stone ground corn meal instead of something called 'grits'. I had checked online and there really wasn't any true difference stated between corn meal and grits except for maybe the kind of corn used (as in polenta being made from Italian corn and grits made from southern corn) and also the grind. I really wanted a more rough grind. I used 2 c. chicken stock, 2 c. milk and 3/4 c. stone ground corn meal and let it cook for a good 30 minutes, stirring almost constantly. I thought the chicken stock made it a bit salty tasting so next time I'll probably opt for part water.

The Shrimp & Grits I had in Savannah that I really liked was made with a Tasso Ham Gravy with the shrimp. Of course, there's no tasso ham to be found in this area.....so I went with some 'Country Ham', which is a thin sliced, stronger tasting ham, usually used for Ham & Bisquit Breakfast Sandwiches in the South. I used two slices and that was way too much.....just needed a little to get that pork-y taste the gravy needed. I added some whites from the green onions, some leek, celery and 1/4 jalapeno pepper and allowed that to sweat down. Then I deglazed with worchestershire, dry sherry and about 1/4 c. of strong coffee (to add that 'red-eye' gravy taste). The shrimp got seasoned with some cajun seasoning and just lightly cooked in a bit of butter before letting them finish up in the 'gravy'.

I garnished with some sliced Piquillo Peppers (pickled sweet red cherry peppers) and sliced green onions.

NEXT time I'll figure out how to add a bit of heat. That's what we both missed the most. But there wasn't a complaint. A certain Mr. Amazing ate all of his and then sat down to watch TV and groaned. LOL He'll survive.

Sounds good Beth. The chicken stock I used was homemade and I don't add salt to it until I use it, just in case I need to boil it down for some reason. I don't usually make stock but just happened to have some in the freezer.