Yes, I want to know "what's for dinner" too. I am not up and cooking yet (not allowed to bend over or twist) so I am limited to drooling over other people's post about food, real food. So, what is for dinner?

well i'm having something fixed over here, so i can't cook at the moment either. so it's pizza for me! fortunately i like pizza!

I'll take pizza :-) here, in this house someone else is fixing traditional mac and cheese and hot dogs - my grandson is Spendun Ober da Nieeeeeeta hehehehe ... so hot dogs and mac it is!

mac and cheese is a perfect food!!! :-) does anyone have a good homemade recipe for mac and cheese so we can eat it without the preservative chemical toxic stuff?

We're having leftovers of a particular comfort food that we love. It's a casserole of rice pre-cooked in chicken broth, a chopped tomato, alfredo sauce, and basil and Italian herbs. Mix up; arrange boneless skinless chicken breasts on top and bake under foil for 35 min. at 400 degrees. Add fresh Parmesan on top, and put back in uncovered for 10 mire minutes.

now THAT DOES sound comforting, cindi! i want to try this...thanks :-)

I'm spoiled. Although we can't always afford it my family has really good pizza around here.  In fact we have "the best pizza in NYC" and "one of the 3 best pizzerias on the East Coast"!  Slices are $5 and pies are $20, cash and carry, but considering Domenico's been behind the counter over 45 years making them himself from imported ingredients including 3 cheeses and fresh basil, you go for it sometimes.  It's DiFara's at 15th St. and Avenue J in Brooklyn.

And I'm jealous! Wisconsin isn't known for its pizza, and the rural area where we live is really sparse for the good stuff. Too often frozen pizza is a step up from the locals!

oh i can't abide a bad pizza! no no no! no excuse for a bad pizza!!! 

If frozen pizza is a step up from the locals, Cindi, they should close down. That's a disgrace and a waste of ingredients.  We MUST start a New York Pizza School so chefs can be trained and exported to deprived areas like yours. ;)

To answer your mac and cheese recipe request:

4 - 6 servings of firmly al dente macaroni elbows (I use some of the gourmet varieties to add flavour)

grease a 9 by 12 pan with butter, oil or non-stick spray, smaller if you want a deeper dish of mac and cheese. I usually don't choose until I have everything mixed.

over a medium low heat in a saucepan melt 2 tbsps butter or use veg/olive oil and add 2 tbsps of flour and cook while stirring for 1 or 2 minutes to toast the flour.

Turn the heat up to medium and add 2 cups of milk.

Once your bechamel begins to thicken add 1 and 1/2 cups grated old or sharp cheddar cheese, season with cracked black pepper, a 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp paprika and/or some chili peppers to taste. I sometimes add a shake of hot sauce to the cheese mix for a bit more zip.

I stir this into the macaroni and set it aside while I prepare the bread crumb topping and any other addition (sometimes I use crumbled italian sausage or cubed leftover ham) you can also add flat leaf parsley and a bit of grated parmesan to the bread crumb and butter mixture for your topping.

Add an additional 1/2 cup cheddar to the mac mixture and turn it into your pan, place dots of the topping all over the top then bake in a 350 degree oven until bubbly and the top is golden. Let stand and then serve and enjoy.

It's really quite easy to adjust the ingredients for a drier or a creamier texture. You can add nearly any diced veg or cooked meat to the pan as well giving many options and adding variety to a weekday dish.

Bon Apetit!

oh yummmmm and thank you!!!!

did anyone make anything irish for dinner tonight? 

what are you cooking up this weekend?

Pardon me.  Didn't see your 3/17 post, Wiffle.  We made corned beef and cabbage.  And had it all week, along with Rubens.  There were a lot of leftovers. (My husband gets so much corned beef when it's on sale, you're glad not to see it until NEXT 3/17!) ;)

My husband made cream cheese (savory) and Nutella (sweet) pinwheels with crescent dough this morning for my daughter's high school play closing party.  (She's in the Tech Crew, a Stage Manager who does set building and sound and lights.)  Every time there's a play there's a party, and they always want my husband's pinwheels. They just disappear. (The non-Seniors will miss her when she goes to college in August.)

Dinner is, hopefully, a fish fry with onion rings.  Today we have to clean out the deep fryer to do it, though, and I have to run errands first.  A busy day.

welcome to tara, new member!

I bought some fresh green beans a few days back, so last night I googled "chicken green beans recipe" and happened on something phenomenal. I substituted Saigon Stir Fry and a sweet chile dipping sauce for the hoisin and chile garlic sauce, because we live  in the country and I had to work with what I had on hand. Still, the complexity of the flavors really delighted us! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-chicken-s...

sounds yummy, cimdi! i think some of the best creative ideas come from having to alter the "rule"!

These days I'm grateful for the ability to make good salads and have fun with proteins, since I've been on low carbs. (Lost 15 lbs. since 5/15.) My favorite is 7 Ingredients Salad: mushroom and radish slices, carrot shreds, tomato bits, minced red onion and red cabbage, and lettuce. I like bacon ranch dressing, and often I cut protein into it: hot dog, salami or cheese pieces.

now i'm hungry for a salad with red onion, cabbage, and bacon ranch dressing!

Then definitely make one, Lisa! :)

i think that's happening if not tonight, then this week!

folks, put your comments here, not above in the discussion area. i can't delete that area, because it has some good things in it. i know it can be confusing. 

We had grilled salmon fillet the other day for dinner and it was delicious. First, I purchased a full fillet of atlantic salmon with the skin on. I whisked the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon combined with 1 tablespoon of orange marmalade, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper and salt to taste. Then I thinly sliced 1/2 a medium sized yellow onion and tossed this in the mixture then layered it along the length of the flesh side of the fillet and then poured the marinade over the whole piece. marinade for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare the grill. Place skin side down on a preheated low grill for about 15 minutes until large flakes separated when checked for doneness. Don't worry if the skin sticks to the grill, just slide the meat onto a plate and enjoy. It really was the tastiest salmon I've had in a long time.

a perfect summer meal, pam! thanks for sharing!

Did you know you can use tofu straight out of the store? I can have 8 oz. of raw tofu on my food program, and I like abundance, so I'd rather use that than 4 oz. of cooked tofu. For me, great-tasting tofu only takes 3 seasonings: garlic, tamari, and House of Tsang Hot Chili Sesame Sauce. The tamari and chilies add salt and pepper flavors and the sesame adds a wonderful piquancy. I have a salad alongside with a creamy dressing like Ranch or Caesar and it takes off a bit of the heat from the chilies. A yummy vegan summer meal.

didn't know that, pamela...but i'm not a vegan cook...thanks for offering good info for those who are!

I brought Vegan Basmati Rice Dinner to a party last night: in a 3 qt. saucepan put 1 box of frozen peas in 6 c. water with 1 can of Chick Peas, 1 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base, 1 finely minced carrot and 1/2 finely minced onion; then rinse in a colander 3 c. Basmati Rice and add to the water with 1 tsp. each Curry Powder, Cumin, Coriander, Cayenne, Turmeric and Seasoned Salt.  Simmer all together for 25 minutes. Cool and containerize and make a sensation at a potluck. (Everybody liked mine.)

I'm curious, Pamela-- did you warm it up when you got there, or serve it cold? Sounds worth a try!

I'm not even a huge fan of coconut cake, but this looked so fabulous, I thought I'd share this ...http://www.completelydelicious.com/2013/03/southern-coconut-cake.html

welcome to creative cooking, cranford...glad you're here. i love the words "cooking" in the same sentence with "homeless"!

thanks!

Re-use McCormick Pepper Grinders

QBGT

(Quinoa, Beans, Green Tomatoes)

Ingredients:

• About a peck of Green Tomatoes, washed, chopped to ~1/2″
• 1 bag Navy beans
• 1 bag split peas
• 1 head of Garlic, pressed
• 3 large Spanish onions, finely chopped
• 6 Frying Peppers, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Paprika
• 2 Tablespoons Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Turmeric
• a handful of Greek Oregano
• 30 twists medium grind fresh ground Black Pepper
• 2-1/2 cups Quinoa
• Olive Oil
• 1-40 oz. can Great Northern Beans rinsed
• 2-40.5 oz. cans Dark Red Kidney Beans rinsed
• 1-15.5 oz. can Black Beans rinsed

Directions:

We had some dried beans to use up and some canned. That’s why beans are listed twice in the recipe. It is better with dried beans, so that they can be boiled with the Turmeric in the water to soak up some of the flavor. Soak the the beans. Saute’ the Tomatoes in Olive Oil. With each skilletful, blend in some Onions, Frying Peppers and some Garlic. Saute’ until tender. Then place them in the large roasting pan, and do the next batch, until all of them are done. Boil the beans with the Turmeric in the water. Use extra water to be able to add the Quinoa. Toast the Quinoa in the skillet in some Olive Oil to bring out the nutty flavor. They should just bounce a little and smell toasty. Don’t burn them. Add them to the beans and boil for at least 15 minutes and until the beans are tender. Add this mixture to the roasting pan along with the other beans and the remaining spices: Paprika, Cumin, Oregano & Black Pepper. Stir it all thoroughly together. Cover it with the lid or with aluminum foil. Place it in the oven at 200° for a few hours.

It is sweet!

A note to cindi a. morgan: Sorry I didn't see your question here in August, Cindi - I can barely keep track of my e-mail! About my potluck Vegan Basmati Rice Dinner - I bring it warm in plastic containers in an insulated bag and it usually is warm enough for everyone when I get there. (Since potlucks tend to only get hot food when someone brings a pizza, this is a nice addition.)

Pumpkin Sauce

This week, on Halloween, my granddaughters gave me their small pumpkins to cook for the homeless people. A local farmer gave us a big box of broccoli and cauliflower. I looked around to see what I had around the kitchen and I made our vegetable side dish for Thursday night. I washed and scrubbed the two small (~ 10″ pumpkins), cut them in half and removed the seeds. I cut them up and put the chunks into the large turkey roasting pan, and threw a generous amount of nutmeg on them. I put a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan and covered it and put it in the oven to roast a t 350°. Then I peeled a yucca root and cut it up into pieces and peeled a 3″ piece of ginger root and added that in to roast.

While that was roasting, I cut up three large heads of broccoli and about half that much cauliflower. Once the yucca root was fork tender, I took it all out of the oven and put the first portion of the mix into the food processor to puree along with some of the pieces of the half of the large celery root I had cut up. I transferred the rest into the lid of the roaster, dumped the broccoli and cauliflower into the bottom of the roaster and poured the pumpkin sauce over it. The next batches of purees included more pieces of the celariac as well as a couple of sprigs of fresh sage and a handful of fresh parsley, Each time I poured the sauce over the vegetables in the roasting pan.

I then added about a cup and a half of water, covered it, and put it in the oven at 200° for a couple of hours, until it was time to load up to go to the city.

They did not know what to make of it. No one tried it, until someone told them that I made it. I have a rep on the parkway. After a few people tried it and passed the word, it went like hotcakes. No complaints!

It smelled wonderful!

“Guys Night In” Avocado Surprise

Once a month, usually a Tuesday, a bunch of ladies, mostly from St. Philip, go out to dinner somewhere together. This practice started on the occasion of Bethann’s birthday two years ago. I had had a terrible staph infection on my neck and reactions to medications to treat it. Another lady had lost her husband in October. It had been a pretty grim time. A friend decided it would be a good time to have a good time. So a bunch of them took Bethann out to dinner. They had such a good time, they decided to do it again the next month, etc. It is now a regular event: Ladies’ Night Out.

So I got the idea to have a couple of the guys over to our house to make manly meals and watch manly movies while the ladies went out. We have watched “Monty Python’s: The Holy Grail”, “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Hannah”, “The Man Who Would Be King”, The Grammy Awards, a Leonard Cohen concert, a Bob Dylan documentary, etc. We have eaten “turtle burgers” (recipe by Southern Culture on the Skids), hobo hotdogs, veal steaks, stir fry and corn dogs. One night we ignited a tiny bit of bootleg, Greek Raki to prove that it was well over 50% alcohol. I concocted this recipe for one of those nights. It was a hit. I made it for Bethann and Hilary later. They loved it, too. This is especially amazing, because Hilary says she doesn’t like avocados or feta and it contains both. I told her they cancel each other out. She said they must, because she claimed the leftovers for her lunch.

Ingredients:

• about 1-1/4 pound 80% lean ground beef
• a  small onion, chopped
• a handful of chopped green & red peppers
• a handful of baby bella mushrooms
• a large handful of frozen corn
• 2 avocados peeled and cubed
• salt
• granulated garlic
• mixed peppercorn grind
• Greek oregano
• cilantro
• a generous handful of feta cheese

In a large skillet, fry up the hamburger and the chopped onion. If there is a lot of fat; drain some of it. Add the peppers, mushrooms and corn. Add the spices. Be liberal with the cilantro. It’s good for you. Stir and cook them until the peppers start to get a bit juicy, but not mushy. Add the avocados. Cover and let them get warm. Top with the feta and serve.

Enjoy!

I made this last night.

Actually, it was almost 4 years ago, now.

sounds like a yummy sloppy joe thing, cranford!!!

No buns. It's a low carb meal.

Pumpkin Soup

I made some pumpkin soup to add to the mix for coffee hour after church today. It was very well received. Here goes!

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups Quinoa
• 6 cups cooked, pureed Pumpkin
• 1 Spanish Onion, chopped
• 5 mini Sweet Peppers (red, yellow, orange), chopped
• ~ 5 sticks of celery with the leaves, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground Ginger
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground Cloves
• Olive Oil
• Water
• 20 twists Black Pepper

Directions:

Saute’ the Quinoa in your soup pot in Olive Oil to toast it. Add 1-1/3 cups water and the Turmeric. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, covered. Turn off heat and leave it be for 10 minutes. In a skillet saute’ the Onion, Sweet Peppers and Celery in Olive Oil. Add the Pumpkin and the sauteed veggies to the soup pot. Turn on the burner again. Add about 5 cups of water and the rest of the spices. Cook until all of the veggies are tender. I do not add salt. I put it on the table along with the hot sauce. People can add it to their own. This is gluten free, sodium free, and vegan.

how very autumnal and cozy! thanks, cranford!

who has a favorite christmas cookie?? 

I LOVE BOURBON BALLS! THANK YOU!!!!!!