What's for dinner? ~ Friday the 16th edition!

[Lucinda]

Sorry I didn't get this posted earlier.
I'm one of the people who couldn't see DU3 earlier, but it did give me a chance to rummage through the archives!

I'm on my own tonight, and not sure what I'll do for dinner yet, so put me in the undecided column.


What's for dinner where you are?

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Going to a movie, so something quick -

Brussels Sprouts sauteed with toasted almonds in brown butter over quinoa.

Going to see the Clooney movie The Descendents.

[Lucinda]

6. Sounds gooooood! Enjoy the movie!

I haven't heard about that one, but I like Clooney.

[GoCubsGo]

2. Tortilla soup.

A vegetarian version. I made some vegetable stock recently, and needed the room in my freezer. I also pulled out some Roman beans and chickpeas I had frozen. I also have a zucchini and some "Mexican blend" cheese to go in it, as well as a couple of cans of tomatoes with Hatch Green chilis. Not sure what else I'll add to it. Other than tortillas, that is.

[Lucinda]

7. It's cold and rainy here tonight and your soup sounds perfect.

I'm too tired to cook, so I am juicing tonight. It's pretty and tasty and all I have to clean up after, is the juicer and a glass.

[GoCubsGo]

11. If you juice the right veggies...

...you can just heat it up and call it "soup".

My tortilla soup is going to mostly be opening bags, cans and containers, and, heating it in a pot. And, I won't wash the pot tonight, because there WILL be leftovers. I just stick the whole pot in the refrigerator once it cools down some.

[Lucinda]

12. I have done the same, many a time.

It's too late to heat the juice, unless I take a really long shower and raise my body temp.

I use a mix of fresh, canned, and more and more often, frozen. It really depends on what the dish is.

[daleanime]

3. Angel hair with marinara ....

a garlic bread and roasted veg's.

[Lucinda]

8. Great dinner! Can you email me some garlic bread?

[daleanime]

16. Wish I could have...

fresh warm bread with roasted garlic.



Had an extra piece for dessert.

[Lucinda]

19. I want.....

[Denninmi]

4. Nothing.

And I mean it this time.

[Lucinda]

9. I opted for Juice.

Carrot, apple, tart cherries, fresh ginger.
Grind, grind, drink. Yum.

[WhollyHeretic]

5. Creamy tomato and veggie soup. Maybe pick up some bread on the way home to go with it.

I made a big batch last weekend. It was a bit of an experiment. It turned out well. I had some fat free half and half that I had used in another recipe and decided to try and make a fat free creamy tomato soup. I started with a big can of crushed tomatoes (6 lb) and vegetable stock. I added onions, peppers, baby bellas, corn, and spices. I then thickened it by adding a couple small cans of tomato paste, fat free half and half, and some corn starch. I also added a little honey to balance out the tomato flavor. I think this recipe may replace my normal tomato and veggie soup.

[Lucinda]

10. It's good to hear that the fat free half & half works well in soups.

I have a friend who is very careful with fats and loves creamy soups. Maybe he'll cook more when I tell him about this!

[kdmorris]

13. Smells like beef stew... looks like beef stew.

My husband (tkmorris) makes the most divine beef stew. Today is our youngest daughter's birthday and she "special requested" it... even though it really to hot for beef stew right now (South Florida - it's 80 degrees).

[Lucinda]

20. My fella is a Florida boy and loves the Smokys but

he has been missing the warm weather lately. It's been cold and rainy here for the past couple of days.

I hope your daughter enjoyed her birthday dinner! Those are my favorite meals. The holidays can be fun, but when it's a special meal for a birthday or a small celebration and someone gets their favorite dish, it's just magic to me.

Any secret tips for great beef stew?

[kdmorris]

25. LOL it's like alchemy to me!

It takes him hours to do it. As far as I can tell from watching him, he flours the meat and sears it in a cast iron skillet. As soon as it's sears, he drops it into a broth (I have no idea what is in this broth, but if I'm sure it would make any sick person well again!!) to simmer for a few hours, while he does some sort of magic over it, involving stirring and muttering. About 1/2 hour before we are to eat, he cuts the vegetables and drops them into the meat broth to get tender. Then he makes corn muffins and voila! Dinner. We turned the AC on and turned it down to 75 so that it would feel like a cold night

I wish I had better tips for you, but I'm the baker in the family and he does most of the cooking. My baking is currently limited in scope, though, as I'm still trying to figure out recipes for Diabetic desserts. It's really tough because using Splenda just doesn't work the same as good, old fashioned sugar. I found out I had Diabetes in 2002 and just kind of swore off baking for a few years.

[Lucinda]

26. It's an event! I love that. Hopefully he is tidier than Bill.

That man can destroy a kitchen just making a one pot stirfry. But it is sooo good!

I am sorry to hear about the diabetes and the difficulties it causes with your baking. I don't do well with Splenda. I did play around with DiabetiSweet when I was trying to develop a sugar free low carb macaroon, because it bakes so well. But I never worked with it on any other recipe. I think Truvia is supposed to be bake-able too, but I haven't tried it.

[kdmorris]

27. I'll try Truvia... I use that to sweeten Iced Teas, so let's see how it works in baking

(and no, he's not much tidier during the event, but he cleans it up afterward, so it's not too bad.)

[Lucinda]

28. I hope it works! If you get good results let me know?

It wouldn't hurt us to be more mindful of the sugar we consume. There are diabetics in both of our families, and I have been on meds a few times. My sugar gets wonky when my system is weak.

How do you like the Truvia in tea? I stopped making sweet tea because the sugar seemed to make my joint pain worse.

[Luciferous]

14. Embarrassed to admit it, but we had Burger King.

[Lucinda]

21. Nothing wrong with fast food on a busy day!

My only nearby option is McDonalds. I had a thing for this Strawberry Lemonade drink that they served this past summer. I did't get it often, but I loved it. Tart lemon icee with a strawberry syrup sort of swirled though.... Was yummy.

[Jazzgirl]

15. I don't want a lot.

We had the department Christmas dinner at lunch today. I'm thinking a nice simple fluffy omelet. Yum!

[Lucinda]

22. Sounds perfect! I see your Etta icon and saw the news yesterday that

she is doing poorly.
Her caretaker was asking for prayers for her. What a voice that woman has.

[Melissa G]

17. Had to work late

Stopped at a vegetarian food trailer. Had a quinoa rice pilaf base instead of a wrap. The portabella mushroom saute that usually goes in the wrap can be served over the pilaf mix for a buck extra.

Brought back red velvet cake balls for desert.( Like a cake popsicle dipped in white chocolate.)

Then we had organic red grapefruit juice splashed into a bit of champagne.

Fun evening!

[Lucinda]

23. Sounds like a lot of fun!

I looove grapefruit!

I have a question about quinoa. I was doing a gluten elimination thing for a while and became interested in quinoa, and was researching and looking for recipes, when I ran across a lot of people saying they had bad reactions to it. Have you ever had digestive problems with it?

[Melissa G]

29. No, quinoa and millet are usually the only grains allowed on the cleanse I do.

I have had no reaction to date, nor has anyone I know. Quinoa is a bit dry, which is why it was nice to have it mixed with rice. This pilaf tosses some corn in, which I wish it did not, because corn is inflammatory to blood type O.

[HeiressofBickworth]

18. I'm not much of a cook anymore

but today I cleaned out the frig, tossed all the veggies in a pot with water with a couple little envelopes of chicken/herb flavoring and a cup of pasta and PRESTO!! I had soup. It was actually pretty yummy. I've got enough left over for dinner tomorrow. I didn't try to add spices, figuring that the flavors of the veggies and the chicken broth would be quite enough. Keeping it simple.

[Lucinda]

24. Soup really is magic isn't it?

You put all these good things in a pot and they mix and mingle and become this awesome thing.
I could go for a cup about now.... Cold and rainy here!