Din Din

This past week I managed to do the minimal amount of cooking without going out to eat multi times. I am giving myself an A+ on cooking avoidance. This was one of those "If I can't make it in 15 minutes or less (minus time the crockpot cooking time for the crack chicken) I am not making it at all"weeks. I seem to be pretty good at doing what I say I am going to do and managed to keep my kitchen time as brief as possible. The upside? There were few pots and pans to wash!

What was planned:

1. Salad dinner TBD √ 

2. Grilled tuna steaks, steamed artichokes, salad, some side dish for TheHub

3. Sandwiches TBD, coleslaw √

4. Crack chicken (crock pot item) caulirice, tomato cucumber onion salad √

5. P.F. Chang'sish lettuce wraps, sliced cukes √

6. Veggie meal TBD based on what is available

7. Out to eat or leftovers √

What we ate:

Monday: I forgot to take anything out of the freezer for dinner, but had been to The Pig earlier in the day and thankfully bought some ground chuck. (I needed to spend 10 bucks to get the 2 free items of the week. It was not stock up price, but it was at least a decent price.) I used about 1/3 pound of it then froze the rest for future meals

Cheeseburger salad, iced tea

Tuesday: I did not feel like cooking, so I went back in time to one of our early marriage, poor student meals.

Toasted cheese, tomato and onion sandwiches, (essentially cheese toast ), coleslaw

Wednesday: Gotta love a crockpot meal to contain the mess and keep the kitchen cool.

Crack chicken,  * over mashed potatoes or caulirice, tomato cucumber onion salad

Thursday: I had planned on grilling tuna steaks, but when the morning weather looked treacherous I found something else to thaw. Then the afternoon was sunny and I thought about taking the tuna steaks out of the freezer. I am glad I didn't for right as I would have been using the grill the bottom fell out.

Smoked pork, coleslaw, collard greens, bun or no bun

Friday: We had another television softball game to watch and wanted to have an early, quick, easy to eat meal

Keto lettuce wraps (PF Chang's knockoff)

Saturday: We go out to eat just about every week, but this week we just did the take out thing from Blue Pacific.

Shrimp pad Thai or green curry chicken

Sunday: We watched a softball game while dinner basically cooked itself

Roasted chicken, tossed salad

Suggestions for this week:

1. Grilled tuna, hot spinach salad, artichokes, rice or potatoes for TheHub

2. Veggie dinner TBD later

3. Leftovers

4. Chicken enchilada casserole, coleslaw or salad

5. Sandwiches and salad

6. Beef stew, coleslaw

7. Out to eat

I did absolutely none of the keto baking for the freezer last week and there is a really good chance I will not get it done this week either. I am going to list it on the off chance I actually get around to some of it.

1. keto dinner rolls

2. keto sponge cake in the shortcake pan

3. keto cornbread

4. keto peanut butter cookies

5. keto chocolate chip** cookies

6. keto French coconut pie

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.

* I make a scaled down versions of this recipe. Instead of a Hidden Valley envelope I use my ranch dressing spice mix. The flavors are just about the same as using the packaged mix, and because I keep it on hand all the time, it just makes sense to use what I have. I could probably add some buttermilk powder to the crockpot to make it even more like HV, but honestly we don't need it. The flavor profile is there and that is enough for us.

We also eliminate the cheddar cheese and bacon, but the sliced scallions are essential.

Joyous Moments

This week began with Mother’s Day and ended with softball games.  There were fun things followed by some ordinary delightful happenings. But mostly the biggest joy for the week was having all 3 sons who call to talk not only on events, but also call during the week just to talk. And that is the best gift ever! I just wish I could still call mine.

Sunday: The irony of Mother's Day was waking from a dream about Mom. She had called me and asked me to come to her house. I was on my way when I woke, and even though I did not get to see her in my dream, at least I was able to talk with her.

So I woke with happy thoughts of Mom and a screaming sinus headache. I sat on the porch with TheHub Saturday morning and I guess the relentless pollen had it's way with me. 

Shortly after noon we left the house to go see " On Your Feet" a musical about Emilio and Gloria Estefan. We drove home and ate an early dinner so nothing would interfere with watching Succession. Only 2 episodes of it are left before it leaves the air forever. I still think it is so appealing because no matter how vile I could be, I could never be as horrible as the characters in the show are.

Monday: ThePig had free items actually worth going to get this week, one dozen eggs and 8 ounces shredded cheddar. Chicken quarters were cheap, ground chuck was reasonable, and the baby back ribs were decently priced which made it easy to buy the 10 buck minimum to get the free items.

I also had a phone conversation with Sluggy and laughed as usual.

Right before dinner we had a massive downpour with high winds and lightning. The rain was appreciated but the winds, not so much.

Tuesday: Right after a torrential thunderstorm passed I had a surprise visit from my beloved sister. Once she left I did minimal straightening of the house, then had a phone call with Sluggy. 

The Hub and I had plans to run by Costco after he got home from the office, but another thunderstorm persuaded us to stay home and watch The Diplomat 

Wednesday: As I was looking through my Libby app, I noticed I had several books that would need to be returned in 10 days or less. If that is not a message from the universe to have a self indulgent reading day I don't know what is. I obliged!

Thursday: I think my biggest joy for the day was securing our tickets for a flight to Portland. We managed to hit the grandparent trifecta. As we live in Alabama and Pip lives in Oregon, other than her birthday we do not usually get to attend her events. Luckily the first weekend of June we can see a softball game, dance recital, and her role as the tin man in her first play. I have to really love someone  to cross the country, beginning with a night flight, for a 3 day visit, culminating with a redeye flight home.

Friday: I had another surprise visit from My Beloved Sister, always a pleasure. Then I went shopping for a few things I needed from Publix. While I was there I ran into a former teammate of Son1, and we had an aisle visit to catch up. It was very nice seeing him again.

A small joy also happened while I was there. Last summer when we were at the beach I bought a new to me flavor of La Croix, Beach Plum. I loved it but had not been able to find it in town until today. They had 2-8 packs and I bought both of them. I will use them sparingly, but I was thrilled to get them home to have one with my dinner.

Following an early supper, we watched Alabama Softball

Saturday: I woke a little earlier than usual for a Saturday morning and finished a book while drinking coffee. I am not sure there is a better way to begin the weekend.  

We did our Saturday running around before settling down to watch Alabama softball. (Yes I know we watch a lot of sports. I was the sole female with TheHub and 3 sons who all like sports. For me it was baptism by fire and I could either join in or be left out. Now I actually like them.)

And that is just about all the joys for the week. Look for yours. They are always around!

May all your weeds be wildflowers 

Anne

What For Dinner

When TheHub and I did our Saturday morning run arounds last week, the vegetable stand we use had big baskets of freshly picked strawberries.  In addition to just eating them plain, this week was made for strawberry shortcake! Yum!

An Aside

When I was a teen, during the summer a locally owned department store 

 teamed with a local theater and had

fashion shows and a movie once a month.

The store and theater were very close to each other and the smart marketing was

the free tickets had to be picked up in the women's or junior's section of the store

 so browsing/shopping was inevitable.

Every summer after the fashion show they ran the film 

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation.

 I remembered this song from that movie.

This is what I thought might happen:

1. Taco Salad

2. Ground chuck patties, sautéed Brussels sprouts shreds

3. Vietnamese chicken wraps

4. Veggie dinner (TBD)

5. Leftover pork chops, tossed salad, dinner rolls

6. Sandwiches (TBD), chips

7. Stuffed baked potatoes

This is what actually did:

Monday: I had some lettuce that needed to be used, plus I had all the other fixings on hand. Taco salad, strawberry shortcake*

Tuesday: This meal turned into a gathering of fragments that were languishing in the refrigerator

Leftover pork chops, leftover mashed potatoes, coleslaw, strawberry shortcake 

Wednesday: TheHub had forgotten to tell me about a business dinner when I originally made the meal plan. No way I was going to cook for just me.

Leftover coleslaw, shortcake with lemon curd and strawberry slices

Thursday: Fresh produce and more leftovers were in the fridge.

Sautéed shredded brussels sprouts, leftover ground chuck patties, rolls or keto cornbread.

Friday: We planned on watching Bama softball so what was better than a ball game meal right before it began.

Hot dogs, coleslaw, chips or keto puffs

Saturday: The day was gorgeous and TheHub suggested we cook something on the grill. This is when I am most thankful that I keep the freezer overstocked.

Steak, tossed salad, dinner rolls or keto toast

Sunday: We had a couple of things planned for the day and wanted a quick and easy dinner. I keep cooked bacon in the freezer all the time so this was our choice for the evening.

BLT sandwich or BLT salad

What lies ahead?

Summer has arrived and is gearing up to be like it always is here__hot and humid, which means fare that requires less prep heat (stove top meals, crock pot meals or air fryer meals ) but outdoor cooking is the optimum.  It also means anytime the oven is on, cooking multiple things to save heating up the kitchen more than needed  is a necessity.This week's plan will begin our summer way of life.

1. Salad dinner TBD

2. Grilled tuna steaks, steamed artichokes, salad, some side dish for TheHub

3. Sandwiches TBD, coleslaw

4. Crack chicken (crock pot item) caulirice, tomato cucumber onion salad

5. P.F. Chang'sish lettuce wraps, sliced cakes 

6. Veggie meal TBD based on what is available

7. Out to eat or leftovers

Oven stuff I need to make one day this week

(This looks like a lot, but it will be frozen so I can access it easily for meals during the coming weeks)

keto dinner rolls

keto sponge cake in the shortcake pan

keto cornbread

keto peanut butter cookies

keto chocolate chip** cookies

Keto French coconut pie

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.

* I found this shortcake pan online. This is not an affiliate plug, just something I found that works very well. 

** Another non affiliate suggestion. These choczero chips are hands down the best sugar free baking chips out there. TheHub is non-keto and he likes them but he loves the milk chocolate ones. I like dark chocolate better and since I am the one who does the cooking . . .

Things That Made Me Happy Last Week

The past week was filled with softball, series shows and family.

Sunday: The week began with church followed by  a surprise text from my cousin, S, who was on her way from San Antonio to Huntsville, Alabama  to visit  our mutual uncle, UB,  I always try to see her when she is in the state. 

That night we watched the countdown to the final episodes of Succession. I have no idea how it will end, but I hope in their greed and grab for power somehow they will lose it all.

Monday: My Beloved Sister and I made the drive to Cullman to meet our cousin S, her husband, D, and UB. at a restaurant for a lingering lunch and a lot of conversation and laughs. Another cousin, D, also made the drive from her neck of the woods. I guess we had a little mini reunion of sorts,

Tuesday: Because of certain circumstances, our temporary grandson moved back to Little Rock with his family. He was in town for the week to celebrate his birthday at Independence Place. I was able to go there for his official birthday party and it was wonderful to see him, as well as seeing all the other participants.

. 

Wednesday: What is better than phone calls with Sluggy, and Sissie (Kim's twin)?  

Bama softball is not as good, but it is still fun to watch so I did.

Thursday:  Another day of a softball tournament means another day to watch it. Bama's lead pitcher suffered an injury that I hope is not career ending.

Friday: I woke to a video  of Pip flatironing her hair. This new watch she has is affording us all kinds of new video sharing opportunities. She followed the video with a meme of sad puppy dog eyes and "I miss you". Melted my heart. 

Friday night saw the end of the road for Bama's SEC tournament.

Saturday: Even though Alabama was not in the final game, I watched South Carolina and Tennessee play the final . Since I had no dog in the hunt I could watch it strictly for the enjoyment  of it. 

After the game I had a phone call from Sluggy which makes me happy. It would have been nicer if I was not almost out of power to my phone. A note to myself is to buy a longer charging cord so I can plug the phone in while I am still using it.

TheHub and I ended the night watching an episode of The Diplomat (Netflix). It is a pretty decent show, I think, but I have no clue where it is headed.

Look for your joys, however small. They are always out there.

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne

p.s. I can't find my glasses so please forgive any and all typos!

 

Combining Joys and Food

This week kind of snuck up on me and I just did not get around to posting the weeks joys. My solution rather than having two posts in one day is to just combine those suckers into one possibly wordier post and be done with it. So this is how this begins.

This is what I thought last week's dinner possibilities were:

1. Carmine's salad

2. Asian inspired salmon meal

3. Reuben sandwiches (TheHub's request)

4. Grilled pork chops, collards, potatoes (no idea yet about how to make them)

5. Veggie meal (TBD)

6. Cheeseburger salad

7. Out to eat

And now these are the weeks joys followed by what we ate for dinner:

Sunday: We went to church, picked up lunch on the way home and hurried to the house to watch Alabama Softball. Then what could be better than a night watching the horrid Roy family as they battle among themselves for power and money. Downside? Missed a call from Sluggy (I am a threat to turn my phone to silent mode and forget about it, sometimes for days)

Leftovers

Monday: The day was beautiful but slightly on the coolish side. I talked with Sluggy and she always makes me laugh then I scored a couple of free items from The Pig, which only seems appropriate after talking with the queen of frugality.

Reuben sandwiches, tea

Tuesday: I had a delightful call from Sissie (Kim's twin). One of the best things about blogging has been getting to know some fellow bloggers ( plus an occasional non-blogging twin)

Asian inspired mongo spring rolls (Salmon and salads fixings in a neat huge roll)

Wednesday: When I planned meals for the week I forgot My Beloved Sister and I were meeting a childhood friend for dinner. She was the daughter of one of my mom's best friends who I honestly do not remember not knowing. I have not seen her in years and it was wonderful catching up with her.

Dinner at The Electric, PBLT (Pimento cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato)

Thursday: I am so glad that I cooked our dinner earlier than I normally do. TheHub came in from the office and said he had run into our neighbors on his way into the house. They invited us over for a little wine and a lot of conversation. They have a gorgeous back yard with a flagstone patio and brick fireplace, the perfect cozy spot to enjoy our truly wonderful neighbors. However, after a glass or two and a lot of laughs, it was nearly 9 and we had not yet eaten. I was very happy dinner only had to be warmed.

Pineapple jalapeno glazed pork chops, coleslaw

Friday: Pip got a kid's Apple Watch. She has been wanting a little more freedom to walk to and from her friends house (all in the neighborhood) by herself, so they have tracking enabled and she has to stay on the phone (watch?) with them until she arrives at her destination.

Since she can enable audio FaceTime, I had calls from her off and on all day Friday. I am not sure if this is going to be the new normal or not. I guess I will find out in the upcoming weeks.

And a totally different joy was having dinner out with a couple of friends of ours. We had been talking about getting together for ages, so I finally made the call and made a plan. We enjoyed both the food and the fellowship.

Dinner at Mikeys. Blackened snapper, okra (TheHub) caesar salad (me)

Saturday: TheHub and I go out every Saturday morning. One of us wakes at 5 ready to take on the day. The other one, who does not usually go to sleep until about 2, is not so chipper and does not like to have to finish her coffee by 8 so they can get their errands started. Still, she is generally accommodating (internally grumbling but accommodating). 

Because there was this coronation going on we did actually watch a little of it before leaving the house and we  were a bit past our general departure time, but it was still not when I would have liked to go out.

This was very much like every other Saturday where we had to hurry up and get things done so we could be home before noon. I have no idea why, but it seems to be important. I do think there will have to be some adjustments made once he retires. 

TheHub had decided another stop needs to be on our Saturday morning circuit. There is a Mexican bakery fairly near here and they have some of the best sesame cookies I have ever eaten. Those and a cup of hot coffee make getting out of the house early almost worth it.

While we were at the veggie stand (another Saturday required stop) we managed to snag some of their home baked yeast rolls. They usually sell out as soon as they open so we felt very lucky, and of course had to eat some of them for dinner.

And the other joys of the day were TV related. We watched Alabama softball, then watched the Kentucky Derby. For the first time ever I picked the winning horse. If I had been somewhere to place a bet I would have won 15 to 1, but instead I was just happy I finally picked the right horse.

Burger sliders on the fantastic rolls, coleslaw

Sunday: I am saving my Sunday joys for next week when I hope to be back on a regular posting schedule. Instead I am just letting you know what our dinner meals was..

Veggie dinner; squash, tomato cucumber &onion marinated salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, leftover okra

What's possible for this week?

1. Taco salad

2. Ground chuck patties, sautéed Brussels sprouts shreds

3. Vietnamese chicken wraps

4. Veggie dinner (TBD)

5. Leftover pork chops, tossed salad, dinner rolls

6. Sandwiches (TBD), chips

7. Stuffed baked potatoes

We are going to try and eat at home each night this week. I would lay the same odds  the Derby winner had we won't make it every night.

Have a good week staying on plan, going off plan or with no plan at all!

and

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

 

Asian Inspired Dinner

 Almost everyone I know has a fondness for Asian cuisine in some form or fashion. When I was a kid nearly every familyI knew went to Joy Young's Chinese restaurant on at least one special occasion, and it was one of, if not the only Asian restaurant in town then. Much has changed, and as the restaurant scene locally has grown our palettes have also matured. 

,

Thankful I have been able to try some of these "weird" foods

Now don't get me wrong, I still enjoy Chinese food (especially the dishes with a lot of heat in them) but I also have also become enamored with Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, and Vietnamese foods*. Rather than going out to eat to have it  I decided to start cooking some of the latter meals at home.

Dinner Tuesday night was kind of a Thai/Vietnamese fusion dish I had kind of planned.Then as I generally do, I sorta disregarded any real recipe and free lanced our meal.

Imagine eating a gigantic spring roll, filled with salmon, veggies, herbs, with dipping sauce and you can understand what we ate for dinner.

About mid afternoon I made a little marinade, put it in a zip lock bag and added 2 small salmon filets. They stayed in the refrigerator until I was ready to cook them.

Measurements are approximate because I do not usually measure things but I have a reasonably good "eye" for amounts.

Marinade

2 tablespoons miso paste (I used yellow miso)

1 tablespoon soy sauce**

1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 

Mix it all together (Squish it around in the zip lock bag and save messing up a bowl. put the salmon in the bag, squeeze the air out of the bag and let it hang out for about 3 hours in the fridge.

Peanut sauce

I used this as a guideline, but did add a little fresh lime juice, and a tiny bit of red pepper paste

The next step was to prepare the fixings  

Use whatever you like, this is just what I did.

1 small cucumber, sliced in strips

1 shaved carrot

radishes thinly sliced

scallion slices

shredded lettuce

cooked rice noodles

chopped basil

chopped mint

chopped cilantro

Right before dinner I pan seared the salmon filets. They were very thin so it did not take but a few minutes on each side to be cooked through***. Before I plated them while they were still sizzling I lightly sprinkled them with sesame seed.

Now comes the assembly part which we did at the table.

You need a pie plate with about 3/4 inch of water

Large rice paper rounds (Ours were about the size of a dinner plate)

Take the rice paper and put it in the pie plate and submerge it. Leave it in until it is totally wet but not totally softened. Immediately put it on a dinner  plate and begin filling it in the middle of the paper, starting with the salmon, then add everything else in any order  you chose.

 

You can tell how pliable the rice paper has already gotten

Fold one side to the middle, fold in the top and bottom  like a burrito (the rice paper will be sticky and very pliable by now) then bring the remaining side over the center compressing the filling as tight as possible. Basically what you have is your protein and side veggies as a self contained meal ready for dipping. So make good use of that sauce.

It will be messy and delicious****

I should have taken a photo from the side so you could see how thick the roll was

We used a lot of vegetables in our rolls and each ate one, then we shared one more. It was more than enough for us. What is my only regret, you ask? I did not have enough salmon to have any leftover for lunch tomorrow. Bummer!

Next time, and there will be a next time because I have a lot of rice papers left. We might try it with tuna. I always have tuna steaks in the freezer.

* I am not neglecting foods from the sub-continent. I just have them in an entirely different food category.

**Next time I will use tamari as I am not a huge salt fan, and it has much less salt than traditional soy sauce

*** If I had thicker salmon filets I would have baked them until almost done then finished them under the broiler for a minute or two

****Honesty is the best policy and halfway through we both opted to use a knife and fork and just drizzle the dipping sauce over the top of the second half.

The Plan?

I am wondering if I was a lazy cook this week or if it was just apathy after a week long period of the blues. It might have even been a little of both. Regardless of the cause, I need to pull myself up by the proverbial bootstraps and get along with a better outlook about cooking and life.

 

What I thought might happen:

1. Hamburger patty w/grilled onions and peppers, mashed potatoes, coleslaw

2. Baked ziti, tossed salad

3. Out to eat

4. Carmine's salad

5. Asian inspired salmon meal

6. Stuffed peppers, coleslaw, potatoes of some sort

7. Pasta salad, diced fruit

Actual dinners that were eaten:

Monday: TheHub was still feeling a little under the weather and wanted soup from a local Asian restaurant. I will never argue when it means I don 't have to cook

Hot and sour soup, steamed dumplings

Tuesday: I had to cook some meat that was defrosted so dinner planned itself

Hamburger patty, baked potato, tossed salad

Wednesday: I had about 1/2 jar of Rao's marinara in the fridge, assorted cheeses and a small bag of frozen browned ground chuck.

Baked ziti, salad

Thursday: We had an event we had to go to that I had forgotten about

Heavy hors d'oeuvres, wine, cake bites 

Friday: The compromise when one of you wants to go out to eat and the other does not want to put on make up__takeout!

Fried chicken, coleslaw, green beans

Saturday: TheHub was wiped out and took a late nap. While he was asleep I read until about 7 then realized I needed to make something quick and wake the sleeping one.

Mexicanish stew (Lots of peppers, onions, squash, corn, black beans and tomatoes with traditional Mexican seasonings)

Sunday: This is what happens when you go freezer diving and you really aren't interested in making anything. Thank you precooked frozen chicken breast.

Sloppy Josephine's (My name for diced chicken in sloppy Joe type sauce on toast), coleslaw

 

What may or may not happen this week:

1. Carmine's salad

2. Asian inspired salmon meal

3. Reuben sandwiches (TheHub's request)

4. Grilled pork chops, collards, potatoes (no idea yet about how to make them)

5. Veggie meal (TBD)

6. Cheeseburger salad

7. Out to eat

I need a change and some different meal possibilities, so what do I need to make this happen? A lot actually! I am taking a break from the freezer  and going grocery shopping for real. I am pretty thin where produce is concerned and I am going to need corned beef, pork chops,  fresh herbs, and a few odd ingredients for the Carmine salad. 

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan, or with no plan at all.