I've been in the yard, does someone want to come make the chili for me?

sallyg said: I've been in the yard, does someone want to come make the chili for me?

Sometimes I make chili in the crockpot.This way you just put everything in there then set it and forget it. Cooks for hours with no fuss.

Tuesday I received my delivery of 6 premade fresh meals that I have ordered from Modify Health. So I have been eating one each night.

First off these meals are small. A smaller amount of food than any TV Dinner. After eating I have to go get something else to eat as I am too hungry to leave dinner at one of these meals.

The food is fresh and in a micro wave tray. Then shrink wrapped tightly so that the food does not move during transit. You peel a corner to let steam escape and then micro wave. The darn shrink wrap is so difficult to remove. I need plyers and still really struggle. Not good packing for seniors like me.

I have no reason to think think the food is not quite healthy. I am sure it is. Unfortunatly it does not taste very good. It has an unusual off putting taste or the meal is really bland and tasteless. Not a winner either way.

Really I am sorry I ordered. I will be soon canselling my account.

Good evening all,

Thank you all so much for the warm, wonderful and fun b-day greetings. Very thoughtful of all and much appreciated.

Pant-pant and gasp-gasp! Life is funny. Either I am so bored, have nothing much to do and don't hear from people or all of a sudden I am 'Miss Popularity' and my days and nights are full and I'm having a hard time keeping up with everyone and everything going on. Not complaining. I am glad to have been remembered by so many long time friends and family; including those here at Chow Time. Nice feeling.

Today was very busy despite Dave and I getting up and out early. Hit both Safeway and T.J.'s for food, produce and wine restock. Still celebrating the birth day so of course have to keep a good supply of wine. Somehow, despite the list and trips to the markets, I still managed to forget that I needed onions and beans. Oh well, we will be out and about this weekend so no worries about grabbing the last few items.

The weather has been glorious here. Mid to upper 90s with single digit humidity. Some slight breezes but nothing super windy like the other day. So it will be a great weekend to get out. Dave and I loaded up the bikes on a bike rack today. Want to get out really early and go for a bike ride at Rialto River Park tomorrow. Very close and convenient to our house. Will be good and fun to get some exercise in.

Lunch was good, fun and heavy. Lots of calories and carbs---but hey, you have to 'enjoy' and celebrate every now and then and splurge. Dave and I hit a Tucson institution/local favorite called Eegee's. I opted for a meatball sub with lots of sauce and cheese. 'Lunch' size small bag of Lay's potato chips and a diet Coke (like that helps.). https://eegees.com/ Great place and just fun food that's tasty and fuss free. Perfect unpretentious lunch in my opinion.

Stuffed from lunch and having plenty of leftover options Dave had spaghetti and I finished off the last of the chili (about half a bowl). Both of us had generous portions of salad. Happy to say leftovers are gone and fridge cleaned out. So that means time to start menu planning and cooking again.

Sally---- You should have been at my house. I always have chili made and ready to heat-n-eat. It is the perfect meal for busy days, surprise guests and when you have no idea what to eat. IU always put on a crockpot and then package it up, when done, into 'meal size' portions for Dave and I. Works out really well for busy days, last minute company and lunches.

Rita...Sorry you are so disappointed in the food service that you had subscribed to. Sounds more like 'diet food' than an actual 'meal plan'. I have a friend that tried Blue Apron previously. She really liked it and is still using it. Don't know much about it except that you use YOUR own ingredients/quantities but they ship the ingredients to you along with a recipe card that utilizes them. They have several options/menus to pick from. For what it is worth, take a look at them.
https://www.blueapron.com/pric...

Alice---Thank you on the compliments for the pineapple. Wish we could take credit for the recipe but I believe it is a Malcolm Reed one. Use the link Dave gave to access it. Very, very tasty and would even make a nice dessert over vanilla. pistachio or butter pecan ice cream (i.m.o.)

Sean---awesome looking salmon. Can see why it is easily Terrie's favorite meal that you make. Looks so delicious. We got a really good deal on some fresh (NOT frozen), wild caught salmon today at T.J.'s. Just have to find the right recipe for it to make it sing. And I loved your sophisticated turn on the classic pairing of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Just because it is a standard doesn't mean one can't elevate it. Nice job and I'm sure more than satisfying. Just needed a Kosher, garlic dill pickle to go with and I would have been in Heaven.

Donald...Good to hear from you and glad to know all is well. I've been watching the news and seeing that TX is getting hard hit with storms, floods, etc. Glad to know you are safe and well and have all the necessities. Hope things improve weather wise soon for you. In the meantime keep the pantry, fridge and freezer well stocked for emergencies.

Tom... Hi Tom. It's Dave, Ag's husband. so much for the high praise and for crowning me BBQ King. I do aim to please. Appreciate the good review. The sweet and sour pork you made sounds super good. Hope you get some nice weather soon. Take care.

Anna....Those baked goods look absolutely divine and so, so yummy. Nice job and I can see you pour your heart and soul into each batch made. That is commendable. Super great job on them and I can see why you're so popular.

As for myself, I am not big on things that are super sweet, dense or heavy. Just always been this way, even as a kid. When most kids wanted cake, cookies,or candy I always wanted olives, cheese and nuts and ice cream as my 'indulgences'.

Will say when it comes to desserts I much rather have something sweet-tart like REAL key lime, REAL lemon meringue, or REAL coconut cream pie made from scratch. Even the cherry and apple pie will take its place over cake, cookies or other super, uber sweet pastries for me.
I love, love and just love a good cheese cake.
Be it savory or sweet it is one of my all-time favorites. The Cheesecake Factory, despite being a franchise/chain restaurant, is exceptional when it comes to their cheesecake menu. You can google it, but basically, if a 'type' of cheese cake exists it will be found on their menu. What do you think of them?

In regards to a small chest freezer I had thought about that idea. AZ is a very 'different' state compared to anywhere else we lived. Lots of geographical, terrain, landscape and building style rules to get into as well as exorbitant costs that just don't support our running it despite owning solar. Let's just sum it up briefly by saying while it IS a very worthwhile idea and something we would have done while living in N.E. Ohio, it it just is not a practical or economical option for us in AZ.

We are continuing, however, to explore butchers, meat sources trying to see if we can not get something set up locally on a periodic bas with a private farm/butcher to ascertain is lamb. Would be great to get lamb at a reasonable price.

Bob...So cool your sister and I have the same/basically same birthday. Hope hers was awesome and you guys had a good time celebrating.

All......Busy day today and an equally full/busy weekend. Still enjoying our reasonable, wind-free, humidity-free and warm days. Haven't broken triple digits yet. Hoping that will hold out another week or two before summer hits and we have to hide indoors when the heat hits in earnest.
Oh well, on the plus side our 'winter visitors' will be going back to their homes. That means our roads, stores, salons and doctor's offices will 'open up' again and be a lot easier to get into. Another bonus is that the traffic will decrease, along with accidents . The roads and parking lots will be a lot easier to navigate. While we are always grateful for friends from out of town and what they contribute we can't help but enjoy for them to go home.

Hope all have a good and happy night.
AG

Spaghetti dinner I made the other night. Mushroom marinara was made earlier; just took out of freezer to heat-n-eat.

👋 hi yall!

All the savory suppers and tempting treats may make it hard for me to resist midnight snack!

Lunch experiment!

At work heated leftover pork that was cooked in Crock pot with potatoes, carrots 🥕 and green beams!

I was so hungry, while pork heated in MW, I snacked on tortilla chips and found Mexican grated cheese 🧀 in fridge. Then I warmed chips with cheese like nachos. Then I put chips and cheese on pork and reheated.
That was tasty like Mexican pork dish.

Next time I cook.pork in slow cooker, I may add green chilis and black beans.

Then I thought of pork Verde that Tom and Margaret make. Is it similar?

Boys planned party at park.
We may have rain.

AG when is your 🥳 party?
With Anna's cakes, pies, and sweet treats!
And Sally's fresh from the garden spinach and beet 🥗 salad!
Sean's salmon, potato, veggie entree,
I vote with Terry!
And Rita's fresh eggplant parm!
And Bob and Donald can bring their specialities.
Sally can bring sourdough bread with spinach and beet salad!
And Tom's beautiful buns!

And more of Anna's sweet treats!

And Ann's melodic music!

Since our park party may need rain check, just let me know AGs party plans

Enjoy weekend one and all!

Well it was a busy day here yesterday. Katrina had her foal early in the morning, a steady stream of friends had to stop by to see it. She is a beauty.

Dinner was a catfish filet with a baked potato and some green beans.

I was in the grocery store trying to figure out what meat to buy for supper yesterday and darn if I didn't find lamb shanks. We never see anything like that here. I scooped up a couple and we had the best dinner we have had in a while. Best because it wasn't the same old, same old. I braised them in red wine, stock and veggies and served them over orzo.

AG, we are having the opposite problem, our summer residents are returning from their winter digs in FL and AZ and clogging up the roads.

Tom, did you pass out cigars that said "it's a girl"??

Congratulations 🎊 Tom,

I


Our party is canceled due to weather!
I will bring apple fritters and carrot 🥕 cake to AGs and Katrina's baby's Birth Day parties!

AG, good on you to take the time for such a nice detailed note here. Glad all is well for you(s).

Tom, congrats! She's a beauty.

Last night I tried something new: store-bought smoked turkey legs. The DO liked them enough; I wasn't a fan. The meat looks like corned beef and resembles ham in taste more than turkey. We both agreed it would be better used in a pot of beans or split peas. Mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts were good. But lesson learned. I won't be buying the smoked legs again.

I agree, smoked turkey isn't my thing either.

I have a birthday party to attend tonight, so I won't have to cook.

Alice, sounds like a tasty dinner with the braised lamb shanks. Sean, too bad the turkey tasted like ham.

Dinner here was the clean the fridge/freezer soup I made the other day, I was sure DH wouldn't like it because it had 1/2 a small head of chopped cabbage in it along with several other bits and pieces of vegetables, tomatoes, etc.. I served it with Ancient grains bread and butter. When he finished eating, he said that was the best soup I had ever made!

The day before dinner was air fried chicken thighs with BBQ sauce, DH didn't like it, boiled potatoes with butter, and fresh corn on the cob, butter on mine.

Yes, there are many meal kit plans. I don't want any meal kits as I sure don't want to be trying to read tiny directions and follow the instructions. I just want too eat!!!

Tried kohlrabi for the first time tonight. I chopped it into roughly half inch slices, then cut those into quarters. Then tossed them all in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic mash seasoning. Then I roasted them, sprinkling parmesan on them partway through. Turned out tasty.

I'm with you, Rita!

Me too, Rita!

When my grand daughter was in graduate school she did not have a car and there were no grocery stores nearby so she used Hello Fresh. I once asked her if she liked all the recipes and she replied she rarely even looked at the recipes but she did have the ingredients for a balanced meal right there and she could do whatever she wanted with them. She also used Uber eats - a lot.

Good morning all,

Yesterday was fun. The store had whole chicken on sale for .99 cents a lb. So Dave and I decided to do our own at home Rotisserie chicken. Dave's been having fun playing with his new grill attachments and I'm not complain. Keeps him out of my kitchen and the mess outside. He was very proud of how well he trussed the chicken before popping it on the rotisserie.


Not sure what all he used to rub the chicken with but it was seasoned up nicely. He did a great job spice wise. Let it cook low and slow. Bird came out amazing, tender and moist with crispy skin. It was a hit. I seasoned up some red new potatoes and we added them to the pan. Had just a bit of salsa to use up also. That really made the chicken and potatoes sing along with some fresh cilantro. Big salad and glass of wine rounded out dinner.



It was good eats. Saved the breast to shred and mix with black beans and cheese for some 'cheater enchiladas'. I'll make those today and we can have them the next day or two for work lunches and easy heat-n-eat dinners Monday and Tuesday.

Not sure what's for dinner today. Since T.J.'s had pineapples on sale Dave got another one. Know he definitely wants to make another Fireball flavored pineapple on the grill. The last one was good but Dave wasn't as pleased with it a I was. Since the grill will be out and we have some nice salmon maybe we'll make that. It would be nice to have salmon as it's been awhile and would make a nice change of pace. Also got some bell peppers that need to be used up so maybe kebabs. As always, I'll figure it out.

Tom...Congrats on the beautiful new baby girl. Gorgeous markings on her. Are you keeping her for yourself? Hope you enjoyed the birthday party at your friends. Was also wondering if you had a chance to sneak a peek at the Preakness? It was on yesterday afternoon. Dave and I caught it. Quite a good race.

Sean...Sorry dinner didn't work as you anticipated. That's a bit of a bummer but at least you can repurpose it into a more tasty soup so not a complete loss. Will say regardless of how it tasted the dinner looked very nicely plated.

TT...Stinks the party was canceled but you're always welcome here. We'll find an excuse to celebrate and throw a party.

Rita...Your post reminded me of a cookbook I sent my brother when he got his first house and was learning to cook. Forgot who wrote it but the name is, "A man, a can, a plan". It has tons of minimal effort, low cost healthy meals even guys can make. While the obviously humorous title is geared to single guys who have no clue about cooking I think you may like it. Seems to hit the key notes for you in that the meals are healthy, inexpensive and not time consuming/fussy. May want to check it out.

TK....Glad the Kohlrabi turned out tasty. Have to say I am not familiar with it. Looked it up and discovered it is a type of wild cabbage. Same family as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and brussel sprouts and collard greens. Sounds interesting as I love broccoli and brussel sprouts. I'll have to see if my local stores are carrying it. The way you made it sounds good and it would be nice to have a new veggie to add. Wondering if you ever make any Indian food? I know they do a lot of very tasty vegetarian dishes.

Alice...Good score on the lamb shanks. I am sooooo jealous. They are my favorite cut of lamb. Dinner sounded delicious. Not jealous of your having to deal with the snowbirds returning home. My tip is book all your appointments for the next 6 months now to ensure you get in.

All........Not sure if we broke 100 yesterday or not. Will have to check the weather. Been enjoying the steady stream of mid-upper 90F days, uber low humidity and super sunny days. Trying to make the most of them before summer hits in earnest and we're stuck inside. As for today going to get a morning walk in with Dave as he is off today. We'll run a few errands, pick up some wine and come home to cook.
Will catch up later.
Hope all have a happy day,
AG

Thr chicken looks fantastic, AG. We had 'store roasted' chicken last night and again I slightly regretted that I can not make similar at home. But the store one is still an economical meal, I think.

Today may be shrimp. We have a half bag frozen and should probably use it.

sallyg said: ... We had 'store roasted' chicken last night and again I slightly regretted that I can not make similar at home. ...

Roasting a chicken at home is extremely simple, in fact simpler is better overall. Even my method which involves a little bit of extra work can be accomplished by a ten year old. I remember one of us posted not long ago about not wanting to touch the chicken being prepared for dinner, if that was you you'd not like my method. Anyway, I've never met a store-bought roast or broiled or rotisserie chicken that I have thought to be edible. The Costco rotisserie chicken is the best of a bad lot in my book and I'd sooner skip dinner than eat any of the others that I have tried.
It's funny, I am undecided about dinner tonight having narrowed it down to chicken stirfry or roasting a whole chicken, it must be a theme.