It's April 2021;What's Cooking / Eating Etc.

Today was pork cutlets; breaded. Steamed veggies, and two cookies for dessert.
Tina was on hospital duty with her uncle. We all know how that is.
He stopped the bleeding, and is on whole food. He may be sent home tomorrow.
???.....We shall see.

Good luck with Uncle.   Jimmy, you were probably right about the poppy seeds!     Too bad.  

Tina, really needs to take care of herself.   What I discovered, from being in the hospital, is that muscle cramps are highly related to electrolyte levels.   I was getting uncontrollable severe spasms in my left fingers and left toes.  

Once I began the sodium therapy, it corrected itself.   Also had lower abdominal muscle spasm when sitting up in bed for exams.   At a couple of points my potassium was low also.  

I do not know if this information helps.. but it is worth a try.  Maybe that is why pickle juice helps????

Today, is a very rainy raw day.  Gross.  I keep cracking the windows open and closed.  I need fresh air.  It gets stagnant in here.  

I chose chicken ziti broccoli for supper.  With the buildings version, I know it will be gross.   Not planning on eating it.  

I took a piece of cooked chicken breast out of freezer. Will have a baked potato and some corn with it.   Easy, but satisfying for me.

Cindy, thanks for the info .....
I bought her magnesium capsules. That helps cramping too.
She needs a complete blood test and she is going to set one up.

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Supper looks like the leftover chicken soup.
Tina is on way to hospital to take uncle home. He was taking too many aspirin
to ease his aches and pains.

Just got a call from neighbor, Jim, and he asked if we wanted to go to Bamboo Bistro for supper. It took me about 3 seconds to consider if I wanted the chicken thighs I have thawed for tonight or to go out......

I think I'll check the online menu to see what I want to order.......


Hahahahaha

You are sooooo lucky!  My last (and wonderful) restaurant meal was Oct. 3 last year when I took my children out for son Michael's birthday  Some of our restaurants have been open for patio dining occasionally, but the weather really is not good.  My area's Covid numbers are climbing again, and.   there's no restaurant dining.  I feel so sorry for the owners  of so many restaurants.  I know my children have done the ordering of takeout, but I haven't.

My dinner tonight was a great salad of Iceberg lettuce, snap peas, radish, tomato, onion all topped with some delicious smoked makerel.  I think I have not bought iceberg lettuce in several years, I always like to use the greens that are darker.  Looked up the nutrition in the iceberg, and there's not much.  But, it's nice and crunchy!

I needed to cook the chicken thighs I thawed out for last night but went out to eat instead.....

So, crispy skin chicken thighs, steamed yellow summer squash and steamed broccoli.

Chicken thighs on my menu also.  I am trying something different.  I started a few weeks ago teaching myself to cook Indian.  Tonight I am doing baked chicken thighs and I am adding some of the new Indian spices I have learned to like.  Am also doing a cauliflower "steak" in the oven, topped with mushrooms.  Fingers crossed.  It smells great in here!

Chicken soup. Had eggs and pancakes with bacon, and the kids came to eat after Liam's soccer game.

It's 8:30 in the morning and I've already got tonight's supper going......I think I might have a problem with food being the reason for my entire life ~ LOL

Well, to be truthful, all I did was put my thawed chuck roast into the crockpot (with a Reynold's liner, of course), mixed up the dry mixes of Hidden Valley Ranch, McCormick's Brown Gravy and Seven Seas Italian Dressing, spooned the mixture over the top of the meat after pouring about 1/2 c. water on the sides so the meat wasn't drenched.

I think I'll chop up some onion and a couple of Dane's HOT banana peppers to simmer away all day with the meat.

I'm thinking we'll have the roast as a meal tonight with some potatoes & carrots (maybe I'll roast them on a sheet pan) and then the leftovers will get shredded and stored with the de-fatted juices to make our very favorite Italian Beef Sandwiches on toasted sub buns with melted mozzarella cheese.

bethk wrote:It's 8:30 in the morning and I've already got tonight's supper going......I think I might have a problem with food being the reason for my entire life ~ LOL

Well, to be truthful, all I did was put my thawed chuck roast into the crockpot (with a Reynold's liner, of course), mixed up the dry mixes of Hidden Valley Ranch, McCormick's Brown Gravy and Seven Seas Italian Dressing, spooned the mixture over the top of the meat after pouring about 1/2 c. water on the sides so the meat wasn't drenched.

I think I'll chop up some onion and a couple of Dane's HOT banana peppers to simmer away all day with the meat.  

I'm thinking we'll have the roast as a meal tonight with some potatoes & carrots (maybe I'll roast them on a sheet pan) and then the leftovers will get shredded and stored with the de-fatted juices to make our very favorite Italian Beef Sandwiches on toasted sub buns with melted mozzarella cheese.

I've never done a roast in the crockpot. I have a small roast in my freezer, think I'll try that tomorrow. Why a liner?

Cookin Lore wrote:

I've never done a roast in the crockpot.  I have a small roast in my freezer, think I'll try that tomorrow.  Why a liner?  

The crock pot liner is made from the same material as the turkey roasting bags, I think.  It holds up to the heat of the crock pot and allows you to remove everything so you don't have to soak / scrub your pot. When I remove my roast I can pull out the liner, filled with all the cooking juices, to go into a fat separator with just a 'snip' of a corner once the bag is over the container (and sitting in the sink ~ hard lesson learned one time when the bag slipped and everything poured all over the counter top!).

So what that means is I'm lazy and will try anything to keep from having to do more work.....LOL



Here's a picture of my chuck roast, topped with the dry mixture and surrounded by the onions & peppers.  It's important when you're making this recipe to try not to lift the lid to check on the progress.  The condensation that drips down on the roast from the lid helps turn the dry mixes into a sort of soft crust on the meat and it actually, in my opinion, tastes like you seared it.  I'll cook it on high for about 2 hours and then turn it down to low for another 6 or 7 hours or more.....

Thanks.  I thought the liner would be only because of ease of cleaning, but being able to take the roast out in the bag makes sense.  I don't have the ranch dressing mix, so I will have to either improvise or go to the grocery store.  I'll think about it.

PS..................... My sister used a mustard paste rom her favourite cookbook by a French Canadian, Madame Benoit, called her Beauty paste. I made it once and it was really good also on a roast done low and slow. I will try that.

Lore ~ I take the roast out with tongs first, before I remove the bag with all the juices.  Otherwise it's too heavy and unwield-y to pour off the juices (it should have a lot of liquid....).


The original recipe came from the cooking.com forum we all 'met' on ~ a member named, Bev. The subject was "What is your favorite Crockpot recipe?" and she submitted the '3-dry-mix pot roast' as her favorite & easiest. It sounded odd to me but I gave it a try and was blown away with the taste. Then Norm tried it and it was good to him, too. I really do miss that forum. It was sad to see it disappear from view. I surely wish I had copied a lot more recipes because there were so many good sounding ones.

Thanks. My sister cooked very differently from me. She left home to go to nursing school at 18, ate in hospital cafeterias, then married a French Canadian and moved to Montreal. So her food repertoire became very different from mine. Married a German and stayed with my German roots.
I also only a couple of years ago learned (from her) of the low and slow method of making roasts. Low and slow first, then cranking up to sear the outside.

Since then, I checked that out a bit more and found out that if you sear it first, you get what is called the grey zone because the outer section gets done before the inside..

OK, so I just did what I said NOT TO DO......but I couldn't take a picture through the condensation covered glass lid.

Here's what the roast looks like after 2 hours on high ~ the condensation has started to 'melt' the dry mixes together to form that 'soft crust' on the top of the meat. It will be all soft and salty and yummy when it's time to eat tonight.

Time to turn the heat back to low for the next 6 hours.

Yesterday was leftovers.  Chicken breast mixed with corn and rice.  Added a sprinkling of tarragon on top.  It was ok.

Today, I am splurging on a ribeye, done on Table top Foreman Grill.   Not sure what else to go with it.   I will decide at the last minute.   Maybe green beans with Herbs de Provence— from Penzy’s.

Geoffrey is being a pest. He did not want to play much this morning. I added too much water to his wet food, so he was pestering me. I had to add more food to get it to his satisfaction. He ate most of it and is now hiding on my bed. What a demanding cat!

He is getting so chunky! I noticed when he was lying on his side, that his belly is a bulge! Omg. Vet will not be happy. Fat cat!

Madeline fed him a ton while I was away. Only once a day visit, so he ate a ton of dry food.

Thanks. Please don't blame me if the roast isn't perfect. LOL. Gorgeous sunshine today, I think I'm going for a drive to Niagara Falls to see their spring flowers. We have a government "stay at home order" in Ontario, but my car is lots of people's home, right? It will be mine today. For a little while.

cookingirl wrote:Yesterday was leftovers.  Chicken breast mixed with corn and rice.  Added a sprinkling of tarragon on top.  It was ok.

Today, I am splurging on a ribeye, done on Table top Foreman Grill.   Not sure what else to go with it.   I will decide at the last minute.   Maybe green beans with Herbs de Provence— from Penzy’s.

Geoffrey is being a pest.  He did not want to play much this morning. I added too much water to his wet food, so he was pestering me.  I had to add more food to get it to his satisfaction.   He ate most of it and is now hiding on my bed.  What a demanding cat!  

He is getting so chunky!   I noticed when he was lying on his side, that his belly is a bulge!   Omg.  Vet will not be happy.   Fat cat!    

Madeline fed him a ton while I was away.  Only once a day visit, so he ate a ton of dry food.  

You know what they say? Dogs have masters, cats have servants. LOL

cookingirl wrote:Yesterday was leftovers.  Chicken breast mixed with corn and rice.  Added a sprinkling of tarragon on top.  It was ok.

Today, I am splurging on a ribeye, done on Table top Foreman Grill.   Not sure what else to go with it.   I will decide at the last minute.   Maybe green beans with Herbs de Provence— from Penzy’s.

Geoffrey is being a pest.  He did not want to play much this morning. I added too much water to his wet food, so he was pestering me.  I had to add more food to get it to his satisfaction.   He ate most of it and is now hiding on my bed.  What a demanding cat!  

He is getting so chunky!   I noticed when he was lying on his side, that his belly is a bulge!   Omg.  Vet will not be happy.   Fat cat!    

Madeline fed him a ton while I was away.  Only once a day visit, so he ate a ton of dry food.  

Cyn, Here's a pic of my favorite Penzeys herb blend for green beans, chicken & eggs ~ really, something I add to any number of different dishes. When I make green beans it's especially delicious. After I drain off the water I add a couple pats of butter and sprinkle some of the herb mix on the butter, then put the lid back on and let the steam kind of reconstitute the dry herbs. So very good! It's a combination of chives, dill weed, basil, French tarragon, chervil & white pepper.

Thanks. I will put that on my list! I love the blends. Baltic, Krakow, Forward, Tuscan Sunset, Northwoods, ..., Such a good company. The one fairly near me is only open for pick up.

I love going into the store, smelling all the spices! Heaven.
I only get the tiny bottles. The large ones are reserved for: oregano, herbs de Provence, and basil.

cookingirl wrote:Thanks.  I will put that on my list!   I love the blends.  Baltic, Krakow, Forward,  Tuscan Sunset, Northwoods, ...,  Such a good company.   The one fairly near me is only open for pick up.    

I love going into the store, smelling all the spices!   Heaven.  
I only get the tiny bottles.  The large ones are reserved for: oregano, herbs de Provence, and basil.  

I just checked and found I only have 3 of the large bottles of Penzeys.....Parisian Blend, Mexican Oregano & Aleppo Pepper (which is wonderfully flavorful). The other jar of Greek Oregano I picked up at the Greek Market in Tarpon Springs. It was SO inexpensive. I think I paid under $3.50 for the jar. They also had dried bundles of the stuff on the stems, really fragrant but not exactly practical for my seasoning purposes. I had never know there was a huge difference in the fragrance and taste of the Mexican vs: Greek oregano.





And just because I apparently want to embarrass myself, here's a pic of my painfully over stuffed and messy pantry showing way too many spices & herbs......

Oh, man, I should have taken the Crockpot outside to cook......the smell of the roast cooking is driving me crazy ~ ~ with hunger!

I'm going to roast a sheet pan of carrots and parsnips and I'm also going to try a roasted potato recipe I saw on Ina. She had a guest, English actress Emily Blunt, and Emily prepared her mom's roasted potatoes. Fairly large potato chunks get simmered in salted water until tender, then drained and tossed around in the pot to gently break down the edges of the potato. Then they get rolled in oil, seasoned and roasted in a hot oven until browned and crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. It reminds me of the Jonathan Waxman French fried baked potatoes (which I cannot make any longer because I can't stop eating them ~ probably the best potatoes I've ever eaten).