Baked potatoes with chicken for dinner tonight. Very plain dinner.

I think we will have roesti………(hash browns with swiss cheese)

Good evening all,

Well I had a good day and a pleasant evening. The husband is so sweet. Appreciate having him home. He helped me clean house all day. Scrubbed, dusted, washed, dried, etc. and no complaints. So it knocked about 2 hours off the time it would normally take me to clean the entire house, it got done well and tomorrow we can just enjoy. Also extra happy as our guy who is a handyman on the side owns a landscaping business. He DID show up today to give us an estimate as promised because we were next on his list. That is why I like this guy. He is honest, good at what he does and is a professional. He does not chase bigger jobs over smaller ones. He takes each in turn treating every customer as equally important no matter how big or small the job they may offer him.

Dinners sound good. Nice comfort food and just using up what we have on hand. That often makes the best meals. I wouldn't call them plain so much as simple, easy and filling. Not everything has to be 'gourmet' and complex with lots of ingredients everyday. Sometimes easy and simple food is the best. It is often what I think of as 'home cooked' meals.

Dinner for us was on the simple side too. Since we were a bit busy today we went ahead and had leftovers. Pasta but with a slight twist. I sautéed some mixed wild mushrooms in butter, garlic and parsley. When well caramelized I deglazed with a splash of chicken stock and white wine. I let than boil down a bit and added the sauce I had already made. Perfection! Just tossed in yesterday's linguine(with a little more I had boiled for today to stretch dinner ) in the pan with the sauce to warm through. Delicious! Salad and of course another glass of the Chianti completed dinner.

Sean...your ravs looked wonderful. It has been a while since I have made lasagna, ravioli, stuffed shells or any other 'complicated' pasta dish from scratch. I will have to get around to it again one day. It is soooooooo good when home made. Not sure if yours are or not but they look divine either way. Yes, good Parm is a winner always on pasta. Glad you like my wine choice. I enjoy a good Chianti.

Found my potato masher. It was my MIL's. It is mine now. I have no idea how old this thing is. My MIL passed 4 years ago. She was 94. I am guessing, since it has a plastic handle, that it is sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. It is made by Flint and all steel. Also made in the USA so that 'fits' the time frame also. YES...I have used it quite a few times. Heavy! The thing weighs a ton. So that would make it 60-80 years old. I'm pretty sure it will last another 60-80.





Happy night all
AG

That's a lot of potato talk.. the grandkids like the potatoes whipped not mashed ..and so I whip them in heated heavy cream, butter, onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper ..on the stove with a small fire under them..they like them smooth.

For me and the Hubby.. I use a ricer .. add butter. And a little heated heavy cream. Not much ..I don't mess with them much .. then I fold in some caramelized sweet onions ..and use a Rocky salt to finish .. he would like garlic.. but then he would need a new wife to fix those for him -- garlic and potatoes not a match for me. Tonight, we had pasta fagioli .. I fixed it in the outdoor kitchen .. we painted furniture all day ...and so I cooked it nearby so I could stir. .. tomorrow it will be better left over...fried crispy with butter.

We had a side salad.. mixed greens, sunflower seeds and a cut up apple.

We used a thick enamel paint.. the deck we finished just last year needs another coat of stain and varnish .. the sun is murder on surfaces .. hopefully the exterior enamel paint will fare better on the furniture. I like the blue I chose.. it took me all of 30 seconds to find it ..I surprised the hubby- he figured I would be there a half hour and come home with 50 samples. ..I sort of knew what I was shooting for colorwise. The deck is brown and natural ..I figure I will find a nice true red for the placemats

I'll have to take a pic of my masher. It's not a round one.

Rosie, you're off to a fine start. It'll be especially nice for the 4th of July.

Happy 12th Night!

Just up from dinner for one, and the kitchen cleanup. I had been nibbling today, so opted for a nice dinner salad. It hit the spot. Iceburg, baby spinach, and arugula for the greens. Blueberries, walnuts, and crumbled Danish blue cheese for toppings, along with sliced chicken, radish, and shaved carrot. Blue cheese dressing, and a nice Chardonnay.

My regular Wednesday guests are coming Friday. It's the DO's birthday, so we'll have a small celebration.

Hi Yall!

Don't have much to say about potatoes.
I don't cook them often.
May have to try them in slow cooker!
Oh, that is baked, or steamed, potatoes.
For holidays, mom beat hers with mixer.

Now about salad dressings!
Since I should start eating more salads.
Yet, the dressings have fat and calories.

Sean, I'm curious how you dressed your pretty artistic salad?
Rosie, did you use a vinagrette on your greens with apple?

Other ideas for dressing salad?

I am not a huge salad dressing fan. Sean, your salad looks great. Some vinaigrette or ranch, is mostly it. Well, poppyseed is Nice, like on Panera salad with strawberries. I guess when I buy salad I have others..Chic fil-a avocado ranch. Potbelly subs house vinaigrette NOT the low calorie stuff.
Lately I am loving my own vinaigrette. Ratio of 3 oil to 1 of white wine vinegar, dab of dijon, some seasoning like an herb mix. Part of the oil would be olive. Healthy! Use that on grape tomatoes and black kalamata olives and red onion etc.

I'll be .making blueberry muffins today, and then baked eggs in bell peppers for brunch before work.

As threatened, a very veggie-rich stir fried noodle dinner. Not particularly photogenic, but satisfying. You can't tell from the photo, but twice the weight of veg to noodle...4 ounces noodle, 8 ounces veg.

looks delicious, do you offer curbside pickup

Rosie, I like the blue, going to look lovely on your deck.

Great looking salad, Sean, I like the way you arranged each ingredient on the plate..

TT, I just like grapeseed oil and balsamic on my salads, with a dinner salad I add a drizzle of my spicy maoli.

JB, your noodle stir fry looks good, what sauces did you use?

Dinner last night was pea soup from the freezer, warm baguette with butter and a mixed salad. I had red wine, he had white. That was the last container of pea soup, guess I will have to make another pot soon.

mcash70 said:

JB, your noodle stir fry looks good, what sauces did you use?

Thanks.
I make a sauce with grated ginger, a couple of tablespoons of soy, about a teaspoon or two of rice wine vinegar, a good tablespoon of Shaoxing wine and generally either a tablespoon of oyster sauce or Hoisin, thinned with couple of tablespoons water - balanced with a bit of sugar or honey.

The eggs baked in pepper halves were more fun to create and anticipate than to eat. They took much longer to bake. I think sauteeing peppers in a pan would taste better. Any 'peppers and eggs' eggsperts here? Rosie?

I am not an expert,
But I like tomatoes and eggs.
Strong tomatoe flavor, with some egg texture.

Wow, my internet was down for a day, and it was a busy place here while I was gone. I broiled a rib eye last night, smothered it with sautéed mushrooms and had a baked potato and a salad with it.

I have that same exact potato masher AG. I bought it probably 60 years ago as part of an kitchen utensil package. I think that and the soup ladle are all that's left of it. I also have a small collection of wooden potato mashers (3 or 4), and at least one of the Red handled bent wire ones from the depression era.

JB I also like riced potatoes with a bit of butter folded into them. I like the fact that they will absorb a lot of gravy. I also have a depression era potato ricer, and one new one I got more recently. I like the old one best. I use it mostly when I make potato dumplings.

I had left over chili tonight, too tired to cook after dealing with all the horse chores in this very cold weather.

Hi Y'all!

Tom sorry you had horse chores in cold temps.
Glad you had chili of a hot temp!

I did errands today when I should have stayed home and did chores.

Said Hi to pie ladies who meet at church Thursday am. They started baking and charity work with pies.
Now expand to soup and casseroles

I bought taco soup and corn and squash casseroles in small pans.

I defrosted taco soup added more black beans and corn. So after a walk, neighbor and I ate taco soup.

After I walked her home, I sat on porch chair thinking it's pleasant and no bugs. Though I feel colder air now

I'm still backwards buying plants on sale. . So I better get them in garage and enjoy 2nd helping taco soup!

Tonight I made crunchy cookies. literally , they were crunchy. And crispy

Do you like your cookies:
- soft
- soft with crispy edge
-firm
- hard / stale
- chewy
- crunchy
- gooey
-gooey with crispy edge

Or some texture inbetween?

sedum, I'm voting for all of the above. Actually, minus "stale." For me, it pretty much depends on the cookie. I've had those I like in all categories. Do hope yours were not only crunchy, crispy, but GOOD.

TT, salad was dressed with chunky blue cheese dressing.

Sally, for peppers and eggs, consider this:


Pic is not mine, but one I saved because I liked it!

Tom, I feel for you. Here we're still in the mild, but it ends tomorrow with a predawn snowstorm that might last until noon. Although, one can never know... apparently and especially the forecasters.

DO came out a day early. Tomorrow is a round birthday for him. Nothing big planned other than a nice dinner for four of us. The "pernil" is marinating overnight. It'll be a nice Cuban feast. I'll also make him a nice lunch. He's not likely to be up for anything like breakfast.

Tonight, "blue snapper" steaks. Creamy but not overly mixed mashed potatoes. Spinach with tomato and a really fine balsamic. White for me. Red for the peculiar other.

Mashed potatoes seems to be a new hot topic on this thread....

Your mashed potatos look so fluffy. The vegetables look so delectable (am I using the right word? I really hope this word means "yummy-looking", not some kind of word concerning dialect or somethin'), so vibrant, juicy, and not soggy...

Eeks! I got them "Night nummies".... mmm.... hungry.... I'm hungry for cooked veggies.... Oohhhmmm... Buttery asparagus........... Tomato and salad with balsamic dressing...... Ooohhf

This thread is so great and sometimes hard to read.... It is a perfect place for me to express my food thoughts but at the same time I get hungry with nearly every photo...