So what's for dinner?

Quick thawing shrimp. Thinking about fettucino alfredo with shrimp.

Fruitbat said:

The angel on one shoulder is thinking about getting some chicken or fish out of the freezer and the devil on the other shoulder is calling the angel a goody-two-shoes and thinking about nearby restaurants. Hmmm.

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My angel won out, but for a super long time the devil was whispering "spaghetti."

Black bean quesadillas

Spaghetti with spinach pesto.

Leftovers that weren't very good the first time around. Mmm, can't wait...

Leftover sliced pork, leftover veggies, leftover brown rice. Dump peanut sauce over the pork and veggies in a skillet to warm them up, then serve over the microwave-warmed rice.

My easy version of peanut sauce is peanut butter mixed with soy sauce, warmed in the microwave.

Looked at a slow-cooker cookbook (one of those little check-out-counter ones at grocery store) and noticed a recipe for turkey breast. I rarely follow recipes (other than when it is essential to do so), and so just took the inspiration.

So, 20 oz. turkey breast steaks (too big to be tenders; 3 pieces), some cream sherry, can of cream of chicken soup and half-can of water, salt and pepper; turned the turkey pieces to coat all around; sprinklings of dried onion flakes and dried parsley flakes; a couple of stalks of celery, diced; half a small bag of "baby carrots"; more sprinklings of salt, pepper, onion and parsley flakes; about a teaspoon of turmeric sprinkled on top.

In slow-cooker pot on low-medium for a while. Probably in an hour will turn lower, and eventually to lowest setting to just keep warm until dinner.

Five or six minutes of prep time. Easy cleanup. Should be good. Good enough, anyway.

Green salads, a side of green peas, maybe split a toasted bagel between the two of us. And wine.

Best purchase we ever made, set that included this and a lot more: http://www.360cookware.com/products/4-quart-stainless-steel-stock-pot-with-cover-slow-cooker .

--Ken

Edited to add: After some cooking time, I added some chopped leftover steamed broccoli, and then a cup of frozen green peas, thawed, and left on very low for another hour or more. Served over fresh-baked biscuit. Not bad. A bit bland. Could have used more salt, and more of something else . . . not sure what the something else might have been, though. But it was original and a change of pace. Enough left over for another full meal, or to be adapted into a casserole.

Sounds great, Research Guy! We downsized our slow cooker when the kids moved out (the old one died), so I'm making some beef stew braised in the oven for 3 hours or so, with carrots, potatoes, celery, onions, and a dollop of some bacon jam I made a while back. Lots of chicken broth, augmented with a mushroom bouillon cube and herbes de Provence.

Paella, for four people:

1 box Goya saffron rice mix, plus about half a package of same I had in the pantry
three tomatillos
one roma tomato
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 large white onion
1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 pound bay scallops
1 pound fresh cod fillet
1 small can of oysters

Chop veggies and fish into bite-sized pieces.

Bring ~2 1/2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a boil in a large Dutch oven pan. Add everything, along with 3 to 4 tablespoons of Goya recaito sauce (a jarred green condiment based on cilantro) and a packet of Goya con azáfran powdered seasoning. Stir, bring back to boil, then turn heat to low, cover, and let cook for ~25 minutes.

Eat. Makes fabulous leftovers, too.

caw

Addendum: Sorry if this sounds like an advertisement for the Goya food company. I really possess no stock in this outfit, but they do make some really good stuff, useful in many forms of cooking. They are widely available, even in standard big chain groceries.

God only knows--s6

The rest of the beef stew from the other night is lunch right now. And the way-too-bland slow-cooker turkey dish from last night I've fixed up (diced the turkey and the little carrots, added salt, garlic pepper, curry powder, celery seeds . . . and some water) for soup tonight. Should taste WAY more interesting than the first time around.

--Ken

I find I often to pep up recipes to make them suitable for our tastes.

Not sure for tonight. I have pork steaks in the fridge and some italian sausages. One or the other probably.

Sausage and hominy. Pound and a half of hot Italian sausage, 2 cans goya hominy, sliced onion, skilled-cooked until it's all saucy and soupy and the hominy is tender. Not the healthiest dish but a reliable one for midweek, sometimes pair it with a salad.

I've told my teenage daughter that it's "Beef Bourguignon" but really, it's beef stew with the addition of red wine and mushrooms.

Yesterday, I just tossed a tin of octopus in garlic sauce from Goya in some spaghetti.

Tonight will probably be a Chipotle run.

Homemade lasagne

Grilled Johnsonville Brats, Fried Potatoes (with onions, red peppers and garlic) and steamed Broccoli.

Mmm, sounds good Lavern. We're having tacos tonight. The produce department had a good sale and I think my dad had a hankering for them.

Tomorrow we'll probably take the left-overs and make taco pizza.

Sunday is a roasting chicken!

Fish (haddock) & chips from the local fish market. The place has had good reviews for its fried fish from people in the area, but I found it lacking a bit...

Haddock is usually one of the best fish you can use for fish and chips. Bummer it didn't work for you.

Yeah, it's just encouraging me to try to figure out how to do a proper fish & chips on my own. It's a bit of a personal grail quest for me....

RedRajah said:

Yeah, it's just encouraging me to try to figure out how to do a proper fish & chips on my own. It's a bit of a personal grail quest for me....

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Maybe their batter wasn't that good. Maybe they overcooked it. Hard to say without tasting it. I'll bet you'll find a way to make it work, though.

The batter seemed weak and flat, taste-wise. It was the right proportion coating the fish and cooked thoroughly but it just didn't have that oomph to its crunch.

Bummer.

I tried my own fish fry, but I probably didn't have the oil hot enough. The beef stew from earlier this week was great, though! I threw in some bacon jam I had made a couple months ago.