Wosnes's Dinner Diary

[wosnes]

I'm using this more as a way to record what I ate than a check-in with successes and failures. I'm trying to make my noon meal my main meal. I know it won't happen all the time, but it's a goal.

I planned on having this last night, but ended up not making it. So, today I'm having Salsa Verde Chicken Bake and Mexican Street Corn.

[tobiasmom]

I'm excited about this check-in because you always link the most delicious food

[wosnes]

For dinner last night I made a variation of Mama Canales-Garcias Avocado Shrimp Salsa. It was nasty. At first I thought maybe it was because I used leftover chicken from lunch instead of shrimp, but that wasn't it. It was the tomatoes. They were beautiful bright red, smelled good and tasted bitter. I scooped all the tomatoes out and ate the rest of it.

[wosnes]

I'm excited about this check-in because you always link the most delicious food

Thanks! I'm kind of surprised at how many of the recipes I use regularly I either found online or can be found online.

Today it's going to be Shrimp Quesadillas loosely based on this recipe. (link fixed)

The other meal will be Seafood Gazpacho made with shrimp only since I don't have any crab. Also just using tomato juice.

[wosnes]

I think today will be Funky Buddha Chicken and Sesame Noodles with cucumbers on the side. I'm going to make the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. It sounds incredibly easy.

After I go shopping today I may make Corn Chowder. I make the bacon and cream variation and omit the tomatoes. I forgot them the first time I made it and have continued to make it without them. I brown the bacon first, remove it and add the potatoes and onion. The corn stock really adds flavor to this.

[tobiasmom]

I am a HUGE Pioneer Woman fan. Have you ever tried her stuffed shells? Oh.my.goodness! Heaven!!

I think I might just be able to get my 5-year-old to try that chicken and noodles!

[wosnes]

I am a HUGE Pioneer Woman fan. Have you ever tried her stuffed shells? Oh.my.goodness! Heaven!!

I think I might just be able to get my 5-year-old to try that chicken and noodles!

I had to go look for Pioneer Woman's stuffed shells recipe. It's very similar to a recipe I already have and like. I used to be a big fan of hers, but not so much anymore, though there are a few recipes I really like. It seems to me that the more popular she's become, the less appealing I find her recipes. I don't have cable so don't watch her TV show.

She is the source of two of the worst recipes I've ever made. Chicken Spaghetti (no one in my family would eat it -- it's the only dish I've ever thrown out and ordered take out instead) and Sherried Tomato Soup. I ate one bowl of that before throwing the rest out.

I get a lot of my recipes from Mark Bittman, Smitten Kitchen, Simply Recipes, Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Budget Bytes, The Wednesday Chef and The Mom 100.

I'm also a huge Ina Garten fan and, increasingly, Martha Stewart.

tobiasmom, you might like The Mom 100 -- both her blog and her cookbook. The majority of her recipes are kid-friendly and many have what she calls "a fork-in-the-road" steps -- where you can adjust a recipe by reducing or eliminating ingredients that the less adventurous eater might not like.

My weekend recipe plans got derailed because my DSL went down. Turns out it was vandalism; someone cut the wires outside! I also didn't go shopping. I had sent myself the links to the recipes, but not the actual recipes. I almost remembered the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and was unsure about the Funky Buddha Chicken.

Saturday I ended up having Fettucine Alfredo and Sunday was leftovers and pizza.

I've hit the time of the year when my diet consists of a lot of corn, tomatoes and other veggies from the produce stand, melon, berries and stone fruit.

So, tonight I'm making the corn chowder and I think tomorrow will be Herb Grilled Chicken and Italian-Style Grilled Corn. I have melon to have for "dessert" both nights.

EDIT: Change of plans. I waited too long to start the soup, so I'm having some of my summer favorites: Oeufs Dur Mayonnaise (minus the cornichons and olives), crackers, the Italian-style grilled corn and tomatoes. Melon for dessert.

[Eileen7316]

I can tell that this is going to be my new favorite check-in thread in which to lurk.

[tobiasmom]

Ok...so when I said I love PW, I definitely mean the pre-Food Network PW. I'm not much into her new recipes. So I get what you're saying. Lately I've been using The Fresh 20 so I'm kind of trying to go more in that direction.....

I will definitely check out The Mom 100. Thanks!

[wosnes]

Ok...so when I said I love PW, I definitely mean the pre-Food Network PW. I'm not much into her new recipes. So I get what you're saying. Lately I've been using The Fresh 20 so I'm kind of trying to go more in that direction

Pioneer Woman's cookbooks taught me to check out blogger's cookbooks before buying, I think 75% of the recipes in the first one were already on her blog (and most of the rest have appeared since). The percentage was even higher in the second cookbook, but she got "smart" and renamed them so readers thought they were getting new recipes. I've only found one other blogger's cookbook where most of the recipes were on her blog. I also can't stand the 45 pictures (or more!) for a very simple recipe.

I started using The Fresh 20 in April and did very well for the first 2 weeks, then kind of tapered off. For a single on a rather limited income, I'm still finding her menus quite expensive (and I cut them down). However, I was already using more and more fresh, whole ingredients and now I'm using even more. She will get me to make mayonnaise!

What I was hoping for with both the online plan and the book was to figure out how she plans the meals and I understand that now. I've read that she is coming out with a plan for singles and I'm looking forward to that. I'm hoping it's less expensive!

Last night I had my plate of food which was very good. Today I'm doing what I planned to do last night. I might do the soup for lunch and the chicken and corn for dinner.

By the way, the herbed grilled chicken is a Mom 100 recipe. She has a new recipe for a marinade on her blog which sounds very tasty. I've also been using salmoriglio. It's a traditional Italian sauce/marinade. I've seen recipes for it where you just dump everything into a blender or food processor and that's what I do.

[tobiasmom]

I can see how the Fresh 20 could be expensive for just one person so hopefully that new single serving menu will fix that. For us, a family of 4, it is saving me tons of money, actually! And we use all the produce!! This week's menu had two lobster tails....so that WOuLD be expensive here in Texas! I am quite a few weeks behind on menus, though! And I like to try new recipes too....so I only use The Feesh 20 a couple weeks out of the month. My grocery bill is ALWAYS higher when I do my own thing, though!

Enjoying delicious recipes is just so much more fun than counting carbs or points or fat grams! This is ThE life

[wosnes]

I can see how the Fresh 20 could be expensive for just one person so hopefully that new single serving menu will fix that.

I've been cutting the recipes by at least half, but still find it pricey. At about the time I signed up for the online program, she posted on twitter that the singles plan would be out in early summer. I figured the end of June or early July. So far, no further mention of it.

I've been "off my feed" for the last week. I'm not terribly interested in cooking OR eating. This happens to me periodically and I just wait it out. It's at times like this I'm grateful for my pots of soup and things like Le Grand Aïoli. There are lots of options of what can be included with Le Grand Aïoli and it almost reminds me of a plate of snacks. Open the fridge, pull out as much or as little of what I want and eat.

[wosnes]

Another blog where I find inspiration: Recipe Girl. I particularly like her weekly column 'stuff I've gotta share and you've gotta see."

Today I had a BLT for lunch. It was so good!

There's a restaurant near here that I've yet to go to but I've checked their menu online. They're only open for breakfast and lunch. One of the menu items is a bacado omelet (bacon and avocado) with Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream and salsa on the side.

I can't make an omelet to save my life (though they're getting better as time goes by). I do great scrambled eggs! Tonight I'm having scrambled eggs with bacon and avocado, cheddar cheese and a drizzle of salsa. I'll have some chopped tomato on the side and maybe bread or tortillas or potatoes instead.

[wosnes]

Aha! The Fresh 20s singles plan is coming out later this month. Yippee!

[Tessytwinkle]

Thank you.thanks to your post I have just discovered Smitten Kitchen! yum! What a great recipe site and I love how she talks about food. So many new things to make. while I am off from work I am really enjoying choosing my food carefully and cooking nice food for everyone. It is such a treat not to think about calories only plates.
Thanks for sharing and your kind encouragement to me when I started. Will check out the other recipe web sites you mentioned.
Tessy

[wosnes]

Thank you.thanks to your post I have just discovered Smitten Kitchen! yum! What a great recipe site and I love how she talks about food. So many new things to make. while I am off from work I am really enjoying choosing my food carefully and cooking nice food for everyone. It is such a treat not to think about calories only plates.
Thanks for sharing and your kind encouragement to me when I started. Will check out the other recipe web sites you mentioned.
Tessy

You're welcome! Isn't Smitten Kitchen great? My daughter has her cookbook and likes it a lot. It's one of the cookbooks where most, if not all, of the recipes don't appear on the web site. I'm going to be making her bacon corn hash soon.

Dinner last night was the scrambled eggs with bacon and avocado, diced tomatoes and mexican street corn. Since I used cotija on the corn, I sprinkled some of it over the eggs, too, instead of the cheddar. Very good.

[wosnes]

Dinner tonight is going to be an Americanized version of Le Grand Aïoli. I forgot to take fish out of the freezer, so I'm including hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes. corn on the cob and some crusty bread. I'll probably put some of the aïoli on the corn. I think I'll also include some wine.

It's funny, but I often have a difficult time finishing such a large plate of food -- unless it's Le Grand Aïoli. Then I can eat a full plate and not feel overly stuffed.

UPDATE: Sweet corn with aïoli is very good.

[lpearlmom]

Ooooh that sounds good! Btw love smitten kitchen. Have her cookbook & just made sweet & tangy brisket the other night. Yum! This thread is making me hungry!

[wosnes]

Ooooh that sounds good! Btw love smitten kitchen. Have her cookbook & just made sweet & tangy brisket the other night. Yum! This thread is making me hungry!

I LOVE brisket. It's kind of funny that as a single I make brisket fairly often, but I can do so much with the leftovers. I haven't made that particular version, but I've made one similar. Very good.

I like her sweet and smoky oven spareribs. I use a slightly different dry rub (less sweet and no cinnamon or cloves), but the same method.

[wosnes]

Dinner tonight: Dragon Noodles. I'm not overly fond of spicy, so I changed the sauce a little. I used 1 tablespoon each brown sugar, soy sauce and ketchup and about a teaspoon of sriracha. I added some chopped peanuts and a squirt of lime juice over the top. Made it close to Pad Thai.

Along with this I had something similar to Thai Iced Coffee.

[lpearlmom]

Ill have to try the spare ribs. I love Pad Thai noodles. (My daughter calls them cat-tie noodles) also love Thai iced tea.

Your posts so make hungry!!

Linda

[wosnes]

Speaking of spare ribs....my daughter makes them from this recipe. They're very good. She uses Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce. I try to avoid bottled sauces and found a recipe for a homemade version of Sweet Baby Ray's. It was too sweet. Unless you like a very sweet barbecue sauce, I'd recommend cutting the brown sugar by 1/3 to 1/2.

Since today is supposed to be the warmest day of the next week and since I have an avocado I need to use, today I'm going to make Mama Canales-Garcias Avocado Shrimp Salsa I intended to make two weeks ago.

I was just rereading the recipe and I don't cook the shrimp like she suggests. I roast them. A few years ago I was watching the Barefoot Contessa and she said that she wondered if roasting shrimp would intensify the flavor like it does with chicken. She tried it and it does. It's now my preferred way to cook shrimp. I usually use 16/20 or 21/25 shrimp and roast for 6 to 8 minutes. Oh, I toss them with the olive oil and seasonings -- I don't drizzle. She uses shrimp cooked this way in at least half a dozen recipes. Today I might add a little lime juice when I'm tossing the shrimp with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Oh...I just realized that this will be the perfect thing to eat while watching the Colt's preseason game today! The other meal will either be soup or pizza -- probably soup.

Since I've mentioned that I'm on a limited budget you might wonder about my (frequent) use of shrimp. A local retailer has wild caught American shrimp on sale for less than $10/lb about every 6-8 weeks. When they do, I buy a pound or two, divide them into single portions and freeze.

[wosnes]

The avocado shrimp salsa was delicious! If I'd made more, I probably would have eaten more. That recipe is definitely a keeper.

Change in dinner plans. When I took the shrimp out of the freezer, I found I'd packed them in larger portions than I usually do. I didn't want to use all of them in the salsa. I thought about making Martha Stewart's Shrimp Boil (saw her make it yesterday on Martha Stewart's Cooking School), but didn't have most of the spices for the seasoning. So I decided to roast shrimp, corn and potatoes. Same main ingredients, different preparation.

I have some teeny tiny potatoes. None are as large as my thumb and most are about an inch long. I roast them for about 35 minutes and they are delicious. So, those, corn and I'll add the shrimp the last few minutes. Maybe some bread, too.

[lpearlmom]

Oh man I'm so jealous about your inexpensive access to good shrimp.

Love Barefoot contessa too! Have all her books & tape her shows. She's basically my idol. I love that she's fat & gorgeous and eats normal food. I remember her talking about the roasted shrimp tip and will have to try it.

Do you have Martha Stewarts American Food cookbook? It's a current favorite of mine.

Anyway cant wait to hear what you cook next !

[wosnes]

Oh man I'm so jealous about your inexpensive access to good shrimp.

Love Barefoot contessa too! Have all her books & tape her shows. She's basically my idol. I love that she's fat & gorgeous and eats normal food. I remember her talking about the roasted shrimp tip and will have to try it.

Do you have Martha Stewarts American Food cookbook? It's a current favorite of mine.

Anyway cant wait to hear what you cook next !

I don't own a Martha Stewart cookbook! I remember looking at American Food and thinking I probably wouldn't use it much. Maybe I need to look again. I do want the Cooking School cookbook.

I have a huge crush on Ina. I think part of it is her basic philosophy: keep it simple. Another part, actually an extension of the first part, is a recognition of someone with similar ideas, a kindred spirit.

If you go to www.housebeautiful.com and search either "Ina Garten" or "Barefoot Contessa" you'll get a number of recipes and videos (this is from when her friend Stephen Drucker was the editor-in-chief). I've really enjoyed the videos. I especially like the ones about kitchen tools, kitchen design ideas and kitchen organization.

In one of the videos she talks about limiting color in her kitchen.

I think it looks orderly particularly because it's only stainless steel and white. That's it. There aren't like hot pink spatulas in my kitchen.
And there never will be. As (someone) used to say, "They do come in hot pink. They come in orange. They come in green, but here they only come in white."

I recently passed up on buying what looked like a very useful spatula because it didn't come in white. It came in a rainbow of colors, but not white.

She's responsible for my desire to have All-Clad and Le Creuset cookware. I do have a couple of pieces of each -- but not a Dutch oven or a whole set of All-Clad. She's also responsible for me limiting what's in my kitchen. I have a lot less than I used to have -- and I don't feel like I need more.

[Eileen7316]

Thanks for the link to the Dragon Noodle recipe. I had never seen nor heard of that recipe site! I just spent the last 1/2 hour perusing the recipe list, and I'll definitely be making some of her recipes.

I'm loving this diary, Wosnes!

[wosnes]

Thanks for the link to the Dragon Noodle recipe. I had never seen nor heard of that recipe site! I just spent the last 1/2 hour perusing the recipe list, and I'll definitely be making some of her recipes.

I'm loving this diary, Wosnes!

You're welcome and I'm happy you're enjoying my diary.

I'm having soup for lunch today and making either pizza or Gnocchi alla sorrentina for dinner. I'd make the same tomato sauce for both the pizza and the gnocchi (also for spicy shrimp marinara) and many other things.

[wosnes]

This could be interesting for those of you with younger kids: ChopChop: The Kids' Guide to Cooking Real Food with Your Family

Mark Bittman recommended the magazine in his column in The New York Times. I've looked at it online, but haven't seen it, though it's supposedly at newsstands. I don't get to the bookstores like I did previously and that's probably where it would be.

[lpearlmom]

Well I'm a little bit (ok a lot) of a cookbook addict and I'm pretty sure I have three or four of her cookbooks. I like the American one because its food my kids will eat & the recipes never let me down.

Love All-clad too. My MIL bought me a set when I graduated culinary school. I know what you mean about keeping things simple though. I think it was Alton Brown who said never to buy a kitchen gadget that only has one use. Of course I'm pretty bad. We have a crepe maker, yogurt maker etc. still it's a nice theory!

Thank you for the video links. Can't get enough of Ina!

[wosnes]

I used to be a cookbook addict. Yesterday I was looking at cookbooks that will be released soon at amazon. There were at least a dozen (and probably more) I would have purchased in a time gone by. Now, maybe one.

Part of what cured me of my addiction was moving several times in a few years. Also, realizing that not only did I not use many of them, I didn't even look at them.

Trying to live by this helped, too: " Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." William Morris

[lpearlmom]

Make sense, but I do love my cookbooks. I read them like novels and use most of them. I do have a new in and out rule. If I buy a new one an old one must be given away. Definitely helps keep things from getting out of control!

[wosnes]

Last night I made the Gnocchi all sorrentina for dinner. It was good, but very rich with all that cheese. Since I have leftover gnocchi (I used packaged), tonight I'm going to make gnocchi with peas and prosciutto -- kind of. I don't have any asparagus and I don't have prosciutto. I might have a few green beans in the fridge and will use them and I'll use regular bacon.

My daughter made this a couple of years ago and it was so delicious! We almost fought over the leftovers.

[wosnes]

Last night's dinner was wonderful! I could have licked the plate.

It's very cool here today. At 4:30 PM the temp is only 69 (normal high for this time of year is 84). As hot and dry as last summer was, this has been much cooler with just about normal rainfall.

I made pizza for lunch today. I use half of my bread recipe for the crust. Tonight I'm going to have leftover potato soup.

[wosnes]

Mark Bittman has a column with a dozen ways to prepare wild salmon. He's done a number of columns like this. Some deal with a specific ingredient, others with a dozen ways to prepare a dish. They're all written like the "100 summer dishes" -- no step-by-step recipes.

If you look through his web site (www.markbittman.com) or search at the New York Times you'll find more.

[wosnes]

It's still cool here. I've been craving meatloaf, so that's dinner tonight. Along with it I'll have scalloped potatoes.

I'm trying something new with the meatloaf. Last year I made these meatballs and they were absolutely delicious. I think they'd make a good meatloaf, so I'm giving it a try. These are the best scalloped potatoes I've ever made. I cut the recipe down to make about 2 servings.

[wosnes]

For the Ina Garten fans: Ina on Pinterest

[tobiasmom]

How did the meatloaf turn out? Those scalloped potatoes look amazing!!!! I must try this when I get home from vacation! I'm missing cooking...

[wosnes]

How did the meatloaf turn out? Those scalloped potatoes look amazing!!!! I must try this when I get home from vacation! I'm missing cooking...

The meatloaf was very good! Now I'll be having meatloaf sandwiches (one of my very favorites).

One of the things that fascinates me (and that I love!) about traditional Italian cooking and recipes is the limited number of ingredients in a recipe. Frank at Memorie di Angelina, says "If a recipe contains more than, say six or seven ingredients (including salt and pepper) then start to doubt its authenticity; if it has more than ten, then turn the page."

The meatball recipe comes from Ada Boni's Il Talismano della Felicità first published in 1929 and believed to be the first cookbook for housewives in Italy.

The scalloped potatoes were, once again, excellent. The extra step of simmering them on the stove before baking makes all the difference.

[wosnes]

Three weeks ago I was going to make Funky Buddha Chicken. I lost my DSL connection and almost remembered the recipe for the Sweet Thai Chile Sauce, but couldn't remember the chicken recipe at all. Due to one thing or another, I never made it.

Today I doctored up the Chile Sauce to be correct and I have the recipe for the chicken -- so that will be dinner tonight. I'm going to "garnish" it with diced red bell peppers, cucumber, grated carrots, green onions and maybe some peanuts.

[wosnes]

The Funky Buddha Chicken was good, but not good enough and too similar to other very good dishes to become a keeper.

Some of you might remember that I'm on disability. Usually it's four weeks between paydays, but several times throughout the year it's five weeks. This month has been one of the five week months.

I have plenty of food, but I'm missing an ingredient or two or more for just about everything I want to eat. I'm not sure what lunch is going to be -- and I should be eating that soon -- let alone dinner. I do have some fish in the freezer, so maybe it will be fish.

[wosnes]

I'm still waiting for The Fresh 20s single plan. In the meantime, I found this: 5 Ways to Get Fresh

[wosnes]

Dinner tonight was Baked Cod with Ritz Cracker Topping and slaw with cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper. Simple and good.

[wosnes]

Went to dinner and a movie with my daughter last night. For several years I've heard about how good the breaded pork tenderloin is at this local place. I haven't had a really good breaded pork tenderloin in years. So, that's where we went.

It was HUGE and very good. I could only eat half of it. I had the sandwich and onion rings and they all fit on one (smaller than usual) plate.

[wosnes]

Dinner last night was chicken and dumplings. The "chicken" was based on Ina Garten's Chicken Stew. I already had cooked chicken and broth in the fridge. All I had to do was cook the vegetables and add the chicken and simmer with the dumplings on top. I actually made little enough to have one good sized serving and a spoonful or two of the stew leftover.

[wosnes]

Tonight will be Le Grand Aioli -- I really do like this in the summer.

[lpearlmom]

Chicken stew sound great! I made her lemon roasted chicken w croutons the other night. It was SO good. Not really a summer dish but my daughter requested it.

What is Le grand aioli?

[wosnes]

What is Le grand aioli?

This explains it better than I can: Le Grand Aioli

It's a pretty light meal and it reminds me of snacking -- only better. I've never used all the possible components of it. I use what I have on hand I've occasionally done something totally not French and added corn on the cob (which is really good with the aioli instead of butter). I might do that tonight.

I've yet to make the aioli from scratch, I just doctor up mayonnaise with lemon juice and garlic.

[lpearlmom]

Yum--that sounds like right up my alley! I usually make aioli in the blender which is much easier than by hand. Kind of like Ina's blender hollandaise sauce.

Thanks for sharing another great idea!

[wosnes]

I was tired last night so I ordered delivery. What a disappointment!

Tonight: Salsa Verde Chicken with rice, tomatoes.

[Tessytwinkle]

It would have had to be a very good delivery to beat your cooking
Tessy

[wosnes]

It would have had to be a very good delivery to beat your cooking
Tessy

Thanks! The heck of it is it was only a sandwich! The last time I ordered it I thought it was sub par, but decided it was probably an off day. Guess not.

This week I'm (kind of) back to The Fresh 20. Tonight's dinner will be Swedish Meatballs with noodles. Except I'm not using her recipe.

Here's my one complaint about The Fresh 20: Melissa (the founder) tries so hard to provide healthy recipes that sometimes they bear only a vague resemblance to a classic. If I have a recipe I know works, I use it.

When I was in high school my best friend's family heritage was Swedish. Her mom made Swedish Meatballs occasionally and they were excellent. I tried for years and years to duplicate them, without success. What I did below was as close as I've come to them.

The last time I Swedish meatballs I used this recipe for the meatballs and cooked them according to this recipe. (I think I also looked at this one. I added nutmeg, but no cardamom. They were very good.

[wosnes]

The Swedish Meatballs were very good. I made the full recipe so I had plenty of meatballs. I had them with the noodles and gravy two nights, made a meatball sandwich once and then spooned out the last of the meatballs and warmed then in tomato sauce for something similar to Spanish Albondigas.

Another of the Fresh 20 recipes this week was zucchini soup. I made zucchini soup, but didn't use her recipe. I combined Ina Garten's recipe for Zucchini Vichyssoise and Mark Bittman's 3-2-1 Cream of Any Vegetable Soup. With vegetables that aren't very starchy, like zucchini, I add a couple of potatoes and cook all the vegetables until very tender. More on this later.

For the holiday weekend I'm making Cincinnati Chili (based on a recipe from Cook's Country) and probably some ribs, potato salad and corn. Some of the Cincinnati Chili will be used to make a chili dog. I've been craving one for quite some time.

I don't know if this is going to be a weekly feature, but Dinner: A Love Story has a back-to-school meal plan that sounds pretty good.

This week I stumbled upon the Working Class Foodies Cookbook. I think it's still too pricey, but she has some good ideas and recipes look interesting. There's also a blog and a
You Tube station.

[tobiasmom]

That's so fun that you are using the meal plans and changing it up to your preferences!! I was having a hard time getting the kid to eat a lot of The Fresh 20 meals. Ive been using No More To Go this week and have enjoyed the meals so far! All I know is that cooking at home usually tastes better and my body likes it waaaaay more:)

[wosnes]

Lpearlmom: I don't know if you have a Trader Joe's near you, but the one I shop at has frozen 21/25 uncooked, peeled and deveined, tail-on shrimp for $10.99/lb. I used them today to make shrimp avocado salsa and they were good.

[wosnes]

I wanted a hamburger for lunch today, so I made one similar to the Thin Lizzy from Michael Symon's B-Spot Burgers. I've never been there, but a blogger I read loves the place and the sandwich so I make the home version. Had chips and corn on the cob with it.

Tonight is broccoli soup, bread and grapes.

Tomorrow I'm going to have more of the shrimp and avocado salsa with tortilla chips for one meal and since I have some ground beef leftover, a bacon cheeseburger for the other. Hopefully my peaches and nectarines will be ripe enough to have one with my meals. I'd love a milkshake with the burger, but no ice cream!

[wosnes]

Over the next week or so I'm going to be having a variety of pasta dishes made with cherry tomatoes, plus possibly another cherry tomato dish. I get some of my produce from a stand which has had the best cherry tomatoes recently. Not cheaper than what I can get from the grocery (neither is the farmer's market), but much tastier!

The dishes I'm going to make are:
One-Pan Pasta This became an internet hit after it was published in the June, 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living. I made it once and liked it. Some people are kind of "meh" about it.

Pasta with Baked Tomato Sauce I've been wanting to try this for over a year!

Summer Garden Pasta Another one from Ina

And still another one from Ina: Garlic and Herb Tomatoes This will be served with some kind of meat or fish or maybe an omelet (in my case, scrambled eggs).

[tobiasmom]

Simple, clean ingredients! Yum....

[wosnes]

Oh! When I make the Garlic and Herb Tomatoes, I think I'll make the omelet (scrambled eggs) with bacon and avocado. That sounds tasty!

[wosnes]

Pam Anderson's How to Cook Without a Book is one of my favorites for getting food on the table fast. Nearly all fresh ingredients and not difficult. I make nearly all my soups using that basic recipe as a guide I have it memorized now:

THE QUICK SOUP FORMULA

Serves 4
Oil: 2 Tbs. vegetable or olive oil
Onion: 1 medium, chopped
Vegetables: 1 pound, cut in bite-size pieces. I usually select 2 vegetables to equal the pound, but more variety is fine. Good choices are celery, carrots, cabbage, corn, cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, green beans, mushrooms, leeks, kale, spinach, peas and lima beans.
Protein: 1 pound. Your choice of boneless, skinless chicken thighs; Italian sausage in the casing; kielbasa; ham; pork tenderloin; firm-fleshed fish; medium shrimp, peeled; or scallops.
Starch:* Your choice of 1 pound potatoes, cubed; 2 cans (16 ounces each) black beans, white beans, chickpeas or hominy; 4 ounces wide or extra-wide egg noodles, uncooked; or 1/3 cup long-grain rice or orzo, uncooked
Tomatoes:** 1 cup, canned or fresh
Chicken broth:*** 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth, canned or in a carton
Herb or spice: Your choice
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or soup kettle. Add onions; sauté to soften slightly, about 2 minutes.
Add remaining vegetables, protein, starch, tomatoes, broth and herb or spice. (If using pork tenderloin, shrimp or scallops, add in the last 5 minutes of cooking.)
Partially cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors have blended, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with a salad and good bread.

*I sometimes use beans as the protein and another starch
**Can be omitted
***I substitute vegetable broth sometimes

Here are links to similar recipes she's written for Fine Cooking and USAWeekend. I think the article in Fine Cooking was better than the online version, but it's still good.

[oolala53]

In reply to your cogent post on my thread:

In one study, when Americans were asked what word came to mind when they saw a piece of chocolate cake, they said, "Guilt." When French subjects were asked, they said, "Pleasure."

[wosnes]

In reply to your cogent post on my thread:

In one study, when Americans were asked what word came to mind when they saw a piece of chocolate cake, they said, "Guilt." When French subjects were asked, they said, "Pleasure."

Michael Pollan reported that. He also wrote, "Maybe what we should be talking about is an American paradox: that is, a notably unhealthy people obsessed by the idea of eating healthily."

I don't think the French, Italians or others , except, of course, us, label food as "good," "bad," or "forbidden." There are foods you eat more often and foods you eat less often, but rarely are foods labeled like that.

When I was reading A Year in the Village of Eternity by Tracey Lawson, I read that the residents of that village usually made lasagna three times a year: Carnavale, Easter and Christmas. It may be made at other times of thanksgiving or celebration, but it didn't show up on a random weeknight or Sunday. Why? Not because it's heavier or less healthy than other dishes, but because it's more expensive to make. They still eat pretty much according to the principles of la cucina povera and the pasta for lasagna requires eggs.

While I was searching for the quote from Michael Pollan above, I found this:

Big Food (with some help from the microwave oven) has figured out how to break Mom's choke hold on the American menu by marketing directly to every demographic, children included. The result is a nation of antinomian eaters, each of us trying to work out our dietary salvation on our own.

Pollan has also written that the way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. Italians (and I'm sure the French, Greeks, Japanese and others) still eat much the same way they always have, though some preparations or techniques may have changed. But the dishes remain much the same as their ancestors fixed. Mother and grandmother are still the food authorities, not a corporation, or the doctor or program of the week.

[wosnes]

In honor of Marcella Hazan, I just bought a pork loin to make milk-braised pork loin. I'm probably also going to make her tomato sauce. It is fantastic!

Last weekend I made pulled chicken sandwiches and served them with pickled vegetable sandwich slaw

I also made Cinnamon and Chili Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Apple Salsa. It was good, but the salsa needed something.

[wosnes]

I think these cookies sound like a great weekend treat. I'm going to get the butter out to soften now.

Mark Bittman has some shrimp recipes in the New York Times this weekend. They sound good, but I think his cooking times and temperatures are off. He suggests roasting shrimp at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes. I roast them at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes (21-25 shrimp/pound) and they're perfectly done. His Simplest and Best Shrimp Dish is very good, but I don't raise the heat to medium high. I cook them on medium. I've also made these with the garlic, salt, pepper and some crushed red pepper flakes instead of the cumin and paprika. Also very good.

[wosnes]

Yesterday Pioneer Woman posted a recipe for this Carb Buster Breakfast. I'm not interested in low-carb at all, in fact, I thought it would be good with hash browns or whole wheat toast, but it sounded good. Of the ingredients listed I had an onion, eggs, and two little breakfast sausage links. I also wasn't interested in using three pans to cook one dish.

I browned the sausage links and removed them from the skillet. I added some onion and red bell pepper to the skilled. While they cooked, I sliced the sausage into bite-sized pieces and beat two eggs. When the vegetables were soft I returned the sausage to the pan and added the eggs. When the eggs were cooked I topped the whole thing with some diced avocado and drizzled salsa over the top. It was great. While I was eating my daughter stopped by and she decided to make the same thing when she got home to make dinner.

This is one of the rare mornings when I'm hungry and I'm thinking about doing a version with bacon, onion and spinach and grated Parmesan on top. EDIT: the hunger passed and I may have this for lunch.

Some time ago someone, I think it was Reinhard, posted a link to this article.. I was struck by the simplicity of the 104-year-old lady's diet.

I'm thinking about doing something similar, not for any potential health or weight loss benefits, but because it's a relatively low-cost way to eat. Also, not a lot of prep or prep time. Soups/stew, sandwiches, salads -- and I think I'll add smoothies.

I'm frustrated with the cost of The Fresh 20. I eventually did subscribe to the singles plan, but their estimated cost has varied from $41-$52 weekly for just 5 meals. That's about as much as I should be spending on ALL meals.

[Hippy Dippy]

Miss Wosnes!

Never have heard of the Fresh 20. Sounds pricey. Trying to find something that provides good nutrition, good taste, and keeps one from getting bored is a hard thing to do. Too bad we all don't have the personal finances to afford a nutritionist/chef to take care of that chore for us.

Read, or rather, skimmed the article from Forbes. Little disappointed that they had to list "obesity"--the latest fall guy for America's expanding girth and decreasing health. I looked at the article with my Grampa in mind. He was just shy of his 88th birthday when he died this April. He was born in 1925. I remember him telling me as he and his siblings grew up, there were tough times when they had to stand in the "can" lines--kind of like a soup line, except they gave out canned food. and the neighborhood got together and grew vegetables in an empty lot. His mom made home-made soap and that was what was used to wash bodies and hair (no shampoo, I guess). It was a black color. Odd. Anyway, Grampa's generation had lean times, with not getting enough to eat, let alone getting all the nutrients we are told we are supposed to have. There was smoking cigarettes without filters, or hand-rolled cigs, and there were beer, wine, whiskey. But what was eaten, was basically un-touched in nature: fresh milk, eggs, butter. Fresh vegetables or home-canned. Lard. Eh. I think what I'm thinking about the article, is that Grampa's generation didn't have all the processed foods we do, nor did they do the "diet" thing or exercise thing. And they lived pretty long.

Anyhoos, I say, simplify. Now, the question is, how do we do that??

Hang in there. You'll find something that works and you'll let the rest of us know. : )

Hippy Dippy

[wosnes]

Miss Wosnes!

Never have heard of the Fresh 20. Sounds pricey. Trying to find something that provides good nutrition, good taste, and keeps one from getting bored is a hard thing to do. Too bad we all don't have the personal finances to afford a nutritionist/chef to take care of that chore for us.

Read, or rather, skimmed the article from Forbes. Little disappointed that they had to list "obesity"--the latest fall guy for America's expanding girth and decreasing health. I looked at the article with my Grampa in mind. He was just shy of his 88th birthday when he died this April. He was born in 1925. I remember him telling me as he and his siblings grew up, there were tough times when they had to stand in the "can" lines--kind of like a soup line, except they gave out canned food. and the neighborhood got together and grew vegetables in an empty lot. His mom made home-made soap and that was what was used to wash bodies and hair (no shampoo, I guess). It was a black color. Odd. Anyway, Grampa's generation had lean times, with not getting enough to eat, let alone getting all the nutrients we are told we are supposed to have. There was smoking cigarettes without filters, or hand-rolled cigs, and there were beer, wine, whiskey. But what was eaten, was basically un-touched in nature: fresh milk, eggs, butter. Fresh vegetables or home-canned. Lard. Eh. I think what I'm thinking about the article, is that Grampa's generation didn't have all the processed foods we do, nor did they do the "diet" thing or exercise thing. And they lived pretty long.

Anyhoos, I say, simplify. Now, the question is, how do we do that??

Hang in there. You'll find something that works and you'll let the rest of us know. : )

Hippy Dippy

Thanks, Hippy Dippy (love the name!). The black soap was probably made from coal tar. My parents were born in 1912 and 1915. I think you'd be surprised at how many processed foods there were, though there certainly far, far fewer than now. I have a favorite recipe of my mom's from 1951. When I started paying attention to these things, I was surprised to realize that with the exception of one ingredient, it was all manufactured foods.

I joined The Fresh 20 because it was advertised as a budget friendly meal planning service using whole foods. Initially there were only menus/recipes for 4, so I was cutting recipes down. Just recently they introduced the "for one" program, but as noted above I'm finding it to be too expensive. The for one program is more than half as expensive as the meal plan for four. While I didn't expect it to be one-quarter the cost, I did expect it to be less than half as expensive as the original plan.

It will just take more careful planning for me to meet my budget.

[wosnes]

Dinner tonight:

Marcella Hazan's Pork Loin Braised in Milk (it smells heavenly!) and Forked Oven-Roasted Potatoes.. Jennie at Dinner: A Love Story mentioned these potatoes in a post about Rosh Hashana. She wrote:

*Update on these potatoes: What a pain to make! I pissed and moaned the whole time — smoking hot oil, fussy fork-tined ridging, etc — but they were a hit. The recipe is not for the faint-of-heart, though, be warned!

I'd also add the peeling and boiling. I think I'd be "pissing and moaning" if I had to do 6 pounds of potatoes, too. But for one wasn't bad. If I were making these for a crowd, I'd get everyone who could peel and "fork" to help!

NOTE: I just finished dinner. It was excellent! The pork loin exemplified the best of Italian cooking: A few of the best quality ingredients simply prepared yields fantastic results.

[wosnes]

Thinking about what treat to make for this weekend. I think it will be pumpkin related. So far I've thought about Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf. Or maybe Pumpkin Walnut Bread with Dates.

I've also been thinking about these Snickers Rice Krispie Treats. However, they sound a little over the top for me and I don't have most of the ingredients. I think a PayDay version might be good (just caramel and peanuts).

[wosnes]

I may have to go back to Depression Era Cooking!

[wosnes]

This crispy chicken and apple salad is probably going to be dinner tonight.

For lunch I've made rosemary white bean soup. After I pureed the soup, I added some chopped kale.

[wosnes]

Dinner tonight is from Mark Bittman via Dinner: A Love Story: Chicken and Rice for Beginners. It was linked to in a post today titled 15 Recipes Every Parent Should Know. You don't need to be a parent to benefit from knowing these!

I do it a little differently. I season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown it a little first. In addition to the onion, I add garlic, some diced carrot and red pepper and something green (usually broccoli or peas, sometimes asparagus) to the rice.

[wosnes]

The chicken and rice was delicious. Tonight I'm using the leftovers to make Quick and Easy (Chicken) Fried Rice. Essentially this will be reheating leftovers. Since I don't have a lot of chicken left over, I think I'll add some shrimp.

Today will be a busy day, so this is perfect for my dinner.

I bought two new cookbooks for my kindle this morning, both by Lidia Bastianich: Lidia's Commonsense Italian Cooking and Lidia's Favorite Recipes. I'm considering Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, but I might get a hard copy. I saw it at Half Price Books over the weekend for $13. And I still need to get The Smitten Kitchen cookbook.

[wosnes]

I just got an email that Earth Fare has shrimp on sale for the next few days for $7/lb. I'm going to have to try and get there.

Today's meals will be what I planned to eat yesterday. I went with my daughter to run some errands after she got off work yesterday. I planned to get my flu shot and just as the pharmacist was swamped with calls from doctors. In addition, for some reason they were having trouble putting my information in the computer system. That ate up a bunch of time. I was a little hungry when we started the errands and by the time we were done I was REALLY hungry. So we went to Firehouse Subs. Pretty good, not great, but it filled the empty spots.

I'm blessed to live in an area where I have several specialty grocery stores: Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Earth Fare and The Fresh Market. I think I shop at Whole Foods the least, Trader Joe's the most and the others fall somewhere in between. I usually go for specific items that are hard to find elsewhere (dried cannellini beans) or advertised specials. For the next few days Earth Fare has 21/25 shrimp on sale for $7/pound. That's a couple of dollars per pound cheaper than I can get them at The Fresh Market on sale.

I'm looking forward to the fried rice tonight!

[wosnes]

The fried rice was very good and I actually ended up with too much meat in it.

For this weekend's treats I'm probably going to make the pumpkin walnut bread with dates linked to above. Other possibilities are almond biscotti or snickerdoodles.

Years ago I made biscotti and promptly lost the recipe. If the above recipe isn't the one I used, it's extremely close.

Dinner tonight is probably going to be macaroni and cheese. My daughter made this recipe last week and took it to a potluck at work. She said everyone commented on how good it was and she was lucky to get some. I'm not sure if I'm going to do it in the slow cooker or bake it (25-30 minutes at 375 F). I will cut the recipe down or I'll be eating it for a month!

[Eileen7316]

You should definitely bake the macaroni and cheese.

I sure am enjoying your thread!

[wosnes]

Brunch today is going to be a bacon avocado omelet (read: scrambled eggs). I think I'm going to make a breakfast taco out of it.

Dinner will be shrimp avocado salsa and tortilla chips. Not only do I LOVE the stuff, I started eating it while watching Colts football. It's become a tradition. Beyond that, a superstition. The only two times I've not had it, they've lost. I really, really, really, REALLY want them to win today.

[wosnes]

Last night I was going to make a shrimp dish from a recipe Grammy G sent me. I ended up having a tuna salad sandwich. So, tonight is the shrimp dish.

I get an email on weekdays from "Everyday Food with Sarah Carey." The recipe today is Hearty Beef Stew. I think I'll try this tomorrow with some variations. I'm going to omit the potatoes and add green beans. I don't have frozen peas and carrots, so I'll cook carrots with the stew and add frozen peas. I'll serve it with mashed potatoes or dumplings. Right now I'm leaning towards dumplings.

[wosnes]

My treat over the weekend was snickerdoodles. I have a two-tablespoon scoop and the cookies weren't as big as those shown, but I still only got just over 2 dozen.

I'm making brisket today. This is the recipe I generally use, though I've collected many more and often vary it. If the roast is bigger than 4 pounds, I increase the cooking time so the brisket cooks a total of an hour per pound.

Tomorrow I'll make beef barley soup with some of the leftovers from the brisket.

Beef Barley Soup
Make this with brisket leftovers. If you have any doubt that you'll have enough leftovers to make this soup, be prudent and remove some of the meat and liquid before serving the brisket. It stretches what is essentially a couple of portions of brisket into another meal.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup peeled and chopped carrots
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 cups low-sodium beef or chicken stock
2 cups liquid from cooking the brisket, or 1 cup of the liquid and an additional 1 cup beef broth
2 cups chopped leftover brisket, plus cooked carrots from the brisket
Chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the barley and cook, stirring, until the barley is nicely coated with the oil, about 2 minutes. Add the 2 cups of bee broth, the brisket liquid with the beef broth, if using, and 2 cups of water. Partially cover the pan and let the liquid come to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer until the barley is pretty tender, 30 to 35 minutes.

Increase the heat to high, add the chopped brisket and any stray cooked carrots, and let come to a simmer, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer, about 10 minutes. Now you have soup.

[wosnes]

This weekend's treat will be almond biscotti.

I still have beef barley soup, but the next soup will be creamy tomato soup. A local restaurant makes a delicious tomato artichoke soup. The first time I made this soup, I realized that if I added artichokes, it would be virtually identical to the restaurant's soup. The soup is garnished with grated parmesan and croutons. If I don't put croutons on the soup, I'll have garlic bread with the soup.

I do cut the recipe in half and I use dried oregano instead of fresh.

[wosnes]

Well, I haven't been being consistent about this, but my meals just haven't been all that interesting! Neither have my treats.

Made it through Thanksgiving without over-indulging. My daughter hosted and afterwards I realized that we all had just one plate of food. After the dinner my daughters and I watched a movie while my son-in-law did most of the clean-up (she's training him well!). After the movie one daughter and I each had a slice of pie and that was it.

On Saturday I made a second dinner for the youngest daughter and I. There are several dishes the eldest doesn't like (sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, DRESSING), so I made those and a pork tenderloin. I made a pumpkin pie since the youngest loves it -- and sent it all home with her!

Sunday I made Apple Dapple Cake with Warm Vanilla Cream Sauce. I cut the recipe in half and got 8 servings from it. It reminded me of Morning Glory Muffins minus some of the fruit and nuts. This should probably be made on Friday for weekend consumption. It's really better the second (and third) day.

Since it's gotten colder, I'm craving heartier food. Today I'm making tuna-noodle casserole. I'll probably have some broccoli with it. My treat is going to be German Chocolate Cake Cookies.

Tomorrow I'm making chicken and dressing casserole -- just basic herbed bread dressing with chunks or shreds of chicken in it. Add a vegetable and dinner is done. And I'll have leftovers!

[wosnes]

I've finally met a cookie I can pass up. The funny thing is, I don't dislike them. There is just too much chocolate for me. I thought about omitting the chocolate chips, but added them anyway. I would have liked the cookies much better without the chips. I think I'm going to freeze them and take them to the Christmas dinner here.

The midday meal today is going to be the chicken and dressing casserole, potatoes and broccoli. For the evening meal I'm going to make Lidia Bastianich's Rice and Potato Soup.

[oolala53]

Which cookies are you talking about having too much chocolate in? the German chocolate ones?

[wosnes]

Which cookies are you talking about having too much chocolate in? the German chocolate ones?

Yes, the German Chocolate cookies.

[wosnes]

What are your favorite comfort foods?

[automatedeating]

Any kind of pasta, or soup and bread, Mexican food

[jw]

So good to see you back, wosnes! When I saw you in the lineup I said "Yay" and startled the dogs! Did you get a new computer?

Best comfort foods: mashed potatoes from scratch! French toast and bacon! soup and homemade bread!

[wosnes]

No new computer -- yet.

[oolala53]

I don't think I've ever made mashed potatoes unless you count what I do to them on my plate.

[wosnes]

Who here counts bites? Saw something about it today on Dr. Oz.which sounded really extreme.

[BrightAngel]

Who here counts bites?
Saw something about it today on Dr. Oz.which sounded really extreme.

Herbsgirl has been very successful with counting bites in combination with No S.
Her plan is less radical than the 5-bite diet recently shown on Dr. Oz,
but is similar in principle.

I put Herbgirl's Counting Bites blog as a resource link on my DietHobby blog
because it contains a lot of interesting information.
Also, I've done experimentation with that 5-bite diet myself,
and a few years ago I wrote a review about that at DietHobby.
You can easily find it under Diet Reviews if you're interested.

[Dandelion]

Hi there. Another name I remember from my early days here.

I"m trying to think of a favorite comfort food - maybe hot chocolate? Not packet stuff, not low-fat and not microwaved. Just milk, sugar and cocoa heated on the stove.

A couple of people here did bite counting. I think it can be extreme, but it doesn't need to be. I heard about the 80 bite thing and just for the heck of it, counted my own bites for a couple of days. I discovered I reached 'enough' after about 18 - but I didn't necessarily stop eating for another 4 or 5 bites. That was kindof an eye opener. I can't be bothered to do it 'for reals' but it was interesting. In a couple of days I got a clearer picture of where 'full' is than years of 'intuitive eating' efforts.

I do think the 5 bites version is extreme and not something I would ever consider.

[wosnes]

Two interesting cooking column at Food52:
'Cooking for Clara

Genius Recipes (updated every Wednesday).

[Devo]

That`s awesome i will try to share some of these inspiration ideas in my blog "Decoration Ideas"

[Whosonfirst]

Hi Wosnes, I just started reading back through some of your posts and my stomach started growling from reading your recipes.

[oolala53]

It's your 10-year anniversary! Hope you're doing well.

[wosnes]

It's your 10-year anniversary! Hope you're doing well.

It's hard to believe it's been 10 years! I am doing well, both in terms of No-S and in general.

A recipe for Brussels sprouts I've been enjoying: Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts One thing I did differently -- instead of leaving the bacon on the baking sheet when I added the Brussels sprouts, I removed it. If I'd left it another 10-15 minutes it would have been burned.

I also drizzled a balsamic reduction over the top just before serving. Delicious! I want to try them with this Pomegranate Balsamic Glaze.

[oolala53]

I wish my body reacted better to Brussels sprouts. I do find them a bit bitter, but would be welcome for variety of taste and texture. But they do a number on my digestion that I decided not to tolerate, even with experimentation. But it's fun to see the recipes.

I don't do a lot of cooking from scratch. Given how much it's claimed that people eat out more, I'm amazed by how many cooks are out there, and rather accomplished ones! Plus they write and photograph and share. So enterprising! And other people do the work of finding them and then providing links!

[wosnes]

I wish my body reacted better to Brussels sprouts. I do find them a bit bitter, but would be welcome for variety of taste and texture. But they do a number on my digestion that I decided not to tolerate, even with experimentation. But it's fun to see the recipes.

I don't do a lot of cooking from scratch. Given how much it's claimed that people eat out more, I'm amazed by how many cooks are out there, and rather accomplished ones! Plus they write and photograph and share. So enterprising! And other people do the work of finding them and then providing links!

In my younger years, I was never a huge fan of Brussels sprouts, but I ate them when served and cooked them occasionally. Until I was pregnant with my first child. I remember making them for dinner and the more I chewed them, the bigger they got in my mouth until I finally spit them out. Over the years I tried lots of preparations, all with pretty much the same results. A year or so ago I tried roasting them and that was a winning way of preparing them. Usually I just use olive oil, salt and pepper, but the bacon and balsamic reduction was a great preparation.

I still cook nearly everything from scratch and try to keep things simple. I eat out 1-2 times monthly, usually brunch with my daughter. I get frustrated when I realize I could have made something equally as good if not better for far less money OR pay way too much for a "decent" meal.

[kccc]

Came by to wave and say thanks for posting on my check-in... And got lost in the recipes! You're an inspiring cook. (And one of my favorite things about No-S is that I feel it gave me permission to cook - because it's normal to enjoy good food.)

I still use your Microwave Chocolate Pudding recipe, and have shared it multiple times.

[wosnes]

(And one of my favorite things about No-S is that I feel it gave me permission to cook - because it's normal to enjoy good food.)
.

Amen to that! And glad you enjoy the chocolate pudding.