Author Topic: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?  (Read 950108 times)

turketron

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1650 on: March 02, 2020, 07:01:32 AM »
I offer this recipe: mushroom bourguignon by Smitten Kitchen. It is so, so good.

Ok, made this over the weekend and it was really damn good, will definitely be in our regular rotation going forward. My wife doesn't like big chunks of onion but is fine with them diced, especially if they're cooked down, and frankly the pearl onions just didn't do much for me (nor do we usually keep them on hand), so next time we'll probably leave those out, and probably add even more mushrooms.

Didn't get around to doing the veg shepherd's pie so that's probably next on our list!

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1651 on: March 02, 2020, 02:58:45 PM »
Rio Zape beans from Rancho Gordo, cooked in the instant pot and refried with onion, bell pepper, garlic, and herbs/spices. Probably topped with avocado and eaten with leftover quinoa or corn tortillas.

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1652 on: March 03, 2020, 06:29:55 PM »
Baked salmon seasoned with Old Bay, leftover quinoa pilaf, and salad.

Serendip

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1653 on: March 03, 2020, 09:00:43 PM »
Soba noodle salad with shiitake mushrooms &  sesame/ginger/garlic dressing :)

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1654 on: March 04, 2020, 06:58:51 AM »
We’re celebrating a family birthday tonight, so I’m making homemade macaroni and cheese and roasted broccoli and cauliflower (a favorite meal of the person of honor).

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1655 on: March 04, 2020, 08:53:10 AM »
I'm getting home late after evening Asia calls, so it will be something convenient. Currently thinking of Trader Joes teriyaki chicken over cauliflower rice + salad. One kiddo won't eat that, so he'll have leftover beef kebab & pasta.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1656 on: March 04, 2020, 01:45:48 PM »
Brats with sauteed onions, Brussels sprouts and homemade sauerkraut.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1657 on: March 04, 2020, 09:20:39 PM »
Soba noodle salad with shiitake mushrooms &  sesame/ginger/garlic dressing :)
I made almost-this tonight! Ours had cucumber instead of shiitake, with the cucumber marinating a while in the dressing while the noodles cooked.  Topped with sesame seeds, chili oil and scoops of silken tofu. 

DH doesn't like mushrooms, otherwise I'd be happy to try your variation - maybe I'll do it when he's on his next business trip.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1658 on: March 07, 2020, 01:36:45 PM »
Beef barbacoa, cooking away in the crock pot. It’s perfuming the whole house.  Very yummy!

horsepoor

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1659 on: March 07, 2020, 08:44:01 PM »
Bacon cheeseburgers on keto buns, air-fried pork-rind crusted pickles and coleslaw.  Tomorrow I'm roasting a chicken and we'll have carrots and collards on the side.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1660 on: March 07, 2020, 09:04:30 PM »
This delicious garlic shrimp recipe with homemade bread to soak up the sauce and home-grown sauteed kale on the side.  https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/8085-mark-bittmans-shrimp-in-green-sauce

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1661 on: March 08, 2020, 08:06:14 PM »
Turkey chili with black and pinto beans. Small handful of Ghirardelli chocolate chips for dessert.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1662 on: March 08, 2020, 08:27:58 PM »
We had homemade pizza. Pepperoni on a regular crust for kiddo, and the adults on a cauliflower crust with spiced salami & roasted veggies.

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1663 on: March 09, 2020, 07:48:34 PM »
Warm lentil salad with smoked sausage (turkey).

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1664 on: March 09, 2020, 08:36:59 PM »
OMG! Tacos...so good. Meat was previously batch cooked and frozen. Used up the last of a Costco pack of Romaine lettuce, which always feels like a victory. Everything else was on hand. Yummy delicious easy button for sure.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1665 on: March 10, 2020, 04:26:35 AM »
I have some leftover rice that absolutely has to be used tonight (I don't feel comfortable eating rice after it's been in the fridge more than three days).  So, I guess I'll do some kind of curry with it.  I've got sweet potatoes and chickpeas, but I'm pretty sure I used the last of the fresh ginger earlier this week.  Boo. 

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1666 on: March 10, 2020, 03:57:58 PM »
I'm trying Singapore noodles with crispy tofu from Budget Bytes.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1667 on: March 11, 2020, 06:58:00 AM »
I think I'm going to do a chickpea/red pepper/black olive pasta salad. 

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1668 on: March 12, 2020, 10:47:04 AM »
We had clean-out-the-fridge cottage pie last night. It was a very tasty way to use up a half-lb of ground turkey, a couple cups of beans cooked a few days ago, and some shredded cabbage and carrots in the filling, and the last of a container of Greek yogurt in the mashed potatoes.

I wasn't planning to cook tonight but since my choir director canceled rehearsal, I might do omelets with spinach and feta.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1669 on: March 12, 2020, 12:15:40 PM »
The grocery store was a bloodbath today. Empty shelves and tons of people even at my secret 8:30am weekday time when I usually have the run of the store. I'd planned to get stuff for stir fry, which we usually make with tofu and a ton of veggies, but they were completely out of tofu.  So I got some chicken thighs although it's been forever since I've personally cooked chicken and I....don't love chicken. 

Any tips on making it taste better?  Like, should I marinate it in my stir fry sauce this afternoon?  Marinate in something else, like just some sliced garlic and oil?  Cook it some other way in advance and not in the wok? 

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1670 on: March 12, 2020, 12:49:04 PM »
The grocery store was a bloodbath today. Empty shelves and tons of people even at my secret 8:30am weekday time when I usually have the run of the store. I'd planned to get stuff for stir fry, which we usually make with tofu and a ton of veggies, but they were completely out of tofu.  So I got some chicken thighs although it's been forever since I've personally cooked chicken and I....don't love chicken. 

Any tips on making it taste better?  Like, should I marinate it in my stir fry sauce this afternoon?  Marinate in something else, like just some sliced garlic and oil?  Cook it some other way in advance and not in the wok?

I'd marinate it in the stir-fry sauce. Chicken isn't super-flavorful but like tofu, it nicely takes up other flavors.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1671 on: March 12, 2020, 12:53:58 PM »
I pretty much only eat chicken thighs.

Using a marinade will help if you don't like the flavor of chicken. Marinating beyond 20 minutes doesn't do any additional good. Pineapple and ginger (and any of the other fruits that say they can't go into Jello on the side of the box, like papaya and guava) contain enzymes that help with the texture of the meat. So one good marinade might be pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, a flavorful oil like sesame oil, and a bit of mustard and chili.

They're pretty forgiving of overcooking, especially compared to white meat, but more heat and less time is still always a good thing.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1672 on: March 12, 2020, 01:32:13 PM »
It's eat things out of the freezer night, as my husband & I have both been unexpectedly working from home, and have eaten up all of the regular leftovers that round out dinners. (We get free meals at work.) Tonight will be roasted butternut squash & a chicken pesto dish I can't particularly remember before freezing. Fingers crossed.

Sugaree

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1673 on: March 12, 2020, 02:22:10 PM »
I just got the email about my grocery order.  The TP was filled, but the cat food (and dried apricots?) wasn't.  The cat food is the one thing that we are out of.  I don't want to have to stop anywhere, but I'm afraid that the cat will murder me in my sleep and eat me if he doesn't get fed.

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1674 on: March 12, 2020, 02:32:19 PM »
I just got the email about my grocery order.  The TP was filled, but the cat food (and dried apricots?) wasn't.  The cat food is the one thing that we are out of.  I don't want to have to stop anywhere, but I'm afraid that the cat will murder me in my sleep and eat me if he doesn't get fed.

Yes, yes he will. A quick run into a pet supply store to stock up should be less horrifying than a standard grocery store.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1675 on: March 13, 2020, 08:26:53 PM »
Tonight was lazy chana and aloo in the instantpot. So good.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1676 on: March 13, 2020, 09:01:33 PM »
We had another dinner from the freezer. Thanks to Trader Joes for keeping us stocked with a few easy options for desperate nights. You know, the nights when you are both working from home, and school & all activities are cancelled, and you panic & need to sort your life for a month.

We had orange chicken, cauliflower rice stir fry, and paratha

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1677 on: March 14, 2020, 06:19:35 AM »
We had oven chicken shawarma, rice, spinach, and garlic-yogurt sauce. Tonight might be big omelets and hash browns.

lexde

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1678 on: March 14, 2020, 08:19:46 AM »
Dill pickle chicken. One of my sons concoctions. Pretty good. With a side of pan roasted broccoli.
Recipe? :-)

lexde

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1679 on: March 14, 2020, 08:22:40 AM »
I made a really good penne chicken alfredo bake. Super easy to make, probably could have made it cheaper if I made the alfredo sauce and doubled the pasta or halved the chicken.

I used about 1.5lbs of chicken (because it was all frozen together) - chop up and sauteed with salt, pepper, garlic, and my mushroom powder blend (extra umami!). Combined it in a bowl with a half-box of cooked penne (2 ish cups dry), 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli, a jar of alfredo sauce. Topped with shredded mozzarella, baked at 350 for 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

lexde

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1680 on: March 14, 2020, 08:33:15 AM »
And while this might be slightly off topic, I'm meal prepping components today.

While I know fresh is almost always better than frozen, I'm also prepping a bit for the possibility that I will be staying out of grocery stores for a while.

So I have lots of ingredients and will be making frozen bags of: trinity (onion, bell peper, celery), mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery), frozen garlic and frozen ginger sticks and coins.
These will mostly be used for soups, beans and rice, and congee. The texture is obviously better fresh, but I figure if I'm pressure-cooking most of these things, it will come out in the wash, and it's certainly better than using dried if push comes to shove.

Also baking a no-knead loaf today, mostly as a tester. I'm thinking I may make a lentil or cannellini soup with some of the mirepoix for the bread.

https://pinchofyum.com/no-knead-bread
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/french-lentil-soup-236772
https://www.budgetbytes.com/easy-rosemary-garlic-white-bean-soup/

Trifle

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1681 on: March 15, 2020, 02:57:43 AM »
I have a bunch of leeks I just harvested from the garden, so I'm making leek and mustard pie.  The cream, gruyere, leeks and brown mustard combine into a great comfort food. 

horsepoor

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1682 on: March 15, 2020, 10:41:11 AM »
Last night I made a big pot of broccoli cheddar soup with bacon since I had some broccoli that needed to be used.  Leftovers will be work lunches for the week.

Trying to decide what to make tonight.  Yesterday I dutifully stocked up for a couple weeks of minimizing social contact, so now it's a matter of using the veg in order of perishability.


OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1683 on: March 15, 2020, 10:53:47 AM »
Bean and ham soup. I'll probably toss in some spinach before it spoils.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1684 on: March 15, 2020, 09:58:29 PM »
Tried a new sourdough/levain bread recipe -- the dough was a bit too wet, I think. It was tasty, but the crumb was very even, and I was actually trying for big uneven holes. It was pretty tasty, though.

Had it with Smitten Kitchen's lent, sausage, and kale soup. Except the market was completely out of greens, but had great-looking broccolini, so I used that instead.

Sugaree

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1685 on: March 17, 2020, 08:35:56 AM »
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm doing a twist on Shepard's Pie.  Chickpea and spinach curry topped with baked and mashed sweet potatoes.

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1686 on: March 17, 2020, 08:53:03 AM »
Corned beef and cabbage, with mashed potatoes. We both have Irish ancestors so we'll have our own little celebration.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1687 on: March 17, 2020, 12:54:14 PM »
Roast potatoes and cauliflower (Indian spiced), chicken fingers, and I dunno what else

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1688 on: March 17, 2020, 03:24:25 PM »
For lunch I made homemade pizzas, which I hadn't done in a long time for some reason.  Half of this recipe (https://gwens-nest.com/easy-bread-recipe/) makes 4 individual pizza crusts, so now I have 3 ready-to-go pizzas in the freezer.  I made 2 with mushroom and onion, 1 asparagus, and 1 avocado and tomato.

For dinner I have a pork shoulder roast in the crock pot (https://nomnompaleo.com/post/10031990774/slow-cooker-kalua-pig).  Will serve with sauteed okra, roasted broccoli, and cornbread.  This will be my first time using frozen/thawed buttermilk for the cornbread, so I hope it works out.

horsepoor

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1689 on: March 17, 2020, 08:19:24 PM »
Last night I whipped up this peanut curry dip:  https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/curried-peanut-dip but didn't bother with the heat, just tossed everything in the blender.  Used half sambal olek and half Panang curry paste since I didn't have red curry paste handy.  That made it really easy to cook up some chicken breast tonight and add the sauce.  We had that with stirfried bok choy, daikon radishes, jalapenos and kelp noodles.  There is lots of the sauce left over to use as a veggie dip or for another dinner.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1690 on: March 17, 2020, 09:58:14 PM »
Slow cooked beef rendang.  The beef was reasonably cheap, and we made the sauce from scratch, and it will put a few extra frozen meals in our freezer.  It has been cooking for 24 hours, and as I am working from home, I am sooooooo hungry now.

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1691 on: March 18, 2020, 08:08:37 PM »
Spinach-arugula salad mix with radishes, mushrooms, pine nuts, shredded mozzarella, and diced pepperoni, topped with red wine vinaigrette. I think husband had noodles topped with kimchi. It was definitely an "odds and ends from fridge/pantry" night.

Trifle

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1692 on: March 19, 2020, 05:36:55 AM »
Chana masala.  I think I'm going to oven-roast some potatoes as a go-with instead of rice.

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1693 on: March 19, 2020, 06:11:50 AM »
I think I might make a big batch of red pasta sauce with ground turkey and freeze some. I have mushrooms and bell peppers that need to be used. We'll probably eat it with spaghetti squash.

jeninco

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1694 on: March 19, 2020, 01:16:00 PM »
It was raining this morning, but it's snowing now (and predicted to continue through tomorrow), so Caldo tlalpeno for dinner this evening, with corn tortillas (and maybe salad? We're pretty deep on lettuce, of all things.) Made with leftovers (and stock)from the roast chicken we had on Tuesday.

Have both kids back home, so I'm once again cooking for a family of 4, including a 15-yr old and a 19-yr old, both boys. I can't seem to make enough of anything to have more then a couple of lunches worth left over (I keep thinking I'm going to put leftovers in the freezer, but ... nope!)

horsepoor

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1695 on: March 19, 2020, 01:21:11 PM »

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1696 on: March 19, 2020, 04:51:31 PM »
Leftover chicken curry + rice

OtherJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1697 on: March 20, 2020, 11:50:14 AM »
I’m roasting a pork shoulder, so we’ll shred some for tacos and freeze the rest. I have corn tortillas, radishes, cabbage, cilantro, and salsas for the tacos.

NotJen

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1698 on: March 20, 2020, 01:41:33 PM »
Thai Coconut Curry.  It's from a kid's vegetarian cookbook, but I'm going to add chicken.

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Re: Watcha making for dinner tonight!?
« Reply #1699 on: March 20, 2020, 02:05:08 PM »
Thai Coconut Curry.  It's from a kid's vegetarian cookbook, but I'm going to add chicken.

That's tomorrow!

Tonight is lamb and either asparagus or brussel sprouts.

 

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