Cheesy Monday! Our Daily Dinner

Cheesy Monday!

chuckieb 9 years ago
Good Afternoon Everybody! Morning for all of you though! :) It's a bit of a cool, blustery day here in Cambridge. I got Jim all set to head off to work and then I went over to a Computer store first thing and got another adapter plug so I could get my computer going. Then to "Tesco" for some groceries. There sure do get a lot of selection here, I'm quite impressed. They sell a lot of International food items, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, plus maybe Swiss and dutch. It's very cool and kind of fun to poke about and see what you can buy.
I couldn't however, find shake n' bake although I may have just overlooked it. So I bought some other sort of similar coating and if Jim prefers dinner at home this evening I'll make Faux Shake n' Bake Chicken and potatoes, and asparagus. England prides itself on their cheeses. I tried some last Christmas but wasn't at all impressed so thought I should keep trying. On the flight over Jim had a small cheese plate with some port and they had a very red Cheddar which was very nice so today I picked up a chunk of Red Leistershire Cheddar and indeed I've found a winner. :) Wikipedia says that since the 18th century the red colouring in Leistershire cheese comes from annatto extract. I'd never heard of annatto before so googled it. It is derived from the seeds of the Achiote trees of tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Prior to using the Annatto extract they used carrot or beet juice.
Glad you had a safe trip and are now settled in Florida Laurie. I love a nice Chicken Piccata. Used to make it regularly years ago until Jim said he'd had enough of it. :) Hope your weather improves.
I like your idea of pulling over for a fudge malt when the storm got too bad Karen. That's making the best of a bad situation isn't it! :)
Had a nice dinner out at the "Wrestler's Pub" last night. They serve Thai food. It was very, very good. Infact, the Prawn Pad Thai was the best Pad Thai I've ever had. Fresh and colourful with lots of crunch still in the veggies. Jim and I shared that and a Chicken Panang. Very good.
Wishing everyone a super great day.
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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Just put two loaves of zucchini blueberry bread in the oven. I am about ready to mix up another recipe for z.bread/muffins. Slight panic attack when I thought I was out of veggie oil but then found another jar, so I guess I will be able to do at least one more batch or maybe two. We were gifted with two LARGE zucchini, hardly any seeds, and I hope to get 3 loaves and some muffins done today. Also a bunch of cherry tomatoes, which I may just can or at least make spaghetti sauce and have pasta of some kind tonight.

Canning is on the agenda for later this week. Still need to do the pepper jelly....watermelon jelly. New recipes for each one so ??? how they will turn out.

Cantaloupe is on the agenda for lunch. Daughter didn't want the one in the CSA box. It is HUGE so I best find several ways to serve it.

Janet - England sounds interesting. Drooling over the cheese! Somewhere I saw a recipe for homemade Shake N Bake. It is probably buried in the boxes we have not gotten around to sorting yet. Any time I try breading something it falls apart, so the general consensus is that breading, along with gravy, is NOT my forte. The storm was short lived but we were near a Sonic (not my favorite) so pulled under the canopy and ordered. I was happy to let the carhop wait until it let up - no sense in her getting soaked just to bring out a malt. Glad to just get the rain here and no hail.

The aroma of baking bread is getting pretty strong so I better move along. Hope to get a lot made today and frozen for next winter.

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Hi Karen! I LOVE cantaloupe! When it is fresh and ripe, there's nothing like it. I like mine best just seeded and chunked up but my Dad used to like it for dessert in a big wedge with a scoop of ice cream over it. I've tried home made Shake n' Bake mixes before but I do really enjoy the old original box. It just tastes like comfort food. What I bought is a package of "Season and Shake Southern Style Chicken Nuggets seasoning mix". I'm a little worried about the 'Southern' part but not sure what to expect. There's not a lot in it so I may mix some regular bread crumbs in with it and a few more dried herbs and spices. This apartment does have a spice rack which is awesome and I'm most appreciative but it is pretty skimpy. :)

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Blueberry zucchini bread is out of the oven. Grandma's zucchini bread is in. One of the loaves will be for lunch with ?? sandwiches. No leftovers so it has to be something fast. Wayne's buddy said he'd be back in 30 min. for lunch - ha ha ha! Not likely. As soon as my back lets up, I will go empty the DW and put baking dishes in it. That in itself will take a while, not to mention getting the loaves out of the oven. I did try sugar instead of flour when greasing and flouring the loaf, so we will see if that really does look nicer etc.

I have tried avoiding as much processed stuff as I can. Having said this, I have, taking up lots of cupboard space, a zillion cans of creamed soups that I got on sale. So there is some inconsistency involved here. Ha ha. At my age, processed is not always bad.

Stupid question: How is the "Recipes catching on" status determined in the little green bar under the cook's name? Some have 4 recipes and 0 followers and their recipes are listed as popular. Some have lots more with more followers and are "not catching on yet." Is this one of the mysteries of GR? I was just curious.

Have a good day.

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

Hello!!! I overslept and have to get ready for the attorney. Liv is back in town, but not home. She is running errands. It is yucky here. Rain, storms....Laurie is right, our weather forecast is awful for the week.

We over-indulged in seafood and butter. It was good.

Oh, I love a good cheese myself. My favorite cheddar is white sharp cheddar. I actually have annatto in my cupboard. It is a cheat way to make yellow rice when you can't afford real saffron. We had a snack of some very smoky Gouda yesterday...not my favorite.

Janet, look on the ingredient list, southern could indicate a bit of cornmeal in the mix. Don't let southern scare you. Your Thai dinner sounded perfect. Love when the veggies are still crispy and plentiful.

Karen, I have always wanted to try a blueberry zucchini bread, just to get more veggies in our life. I have to sneak them into Fred's diet just like a kid. Separate on the plate as a serving will hardly get eaten. Good for you on the industrious baking. I understand doing the chores in spurts. I have the same plan in place. Rest the knees/feet/back, do a chore. I hear you on the condensed soups in the pantry. I have our hurricane pantry stocked with processed stuff, canned soups, Chef Boyardee, Tuna salad in foil packs, beanie weenies, etc. I donate yearly to the food bank around Thanksgiving and replace each June when the season begins.

Later my friends....I've got to run.

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mommyluvs2cook 9 years ago said:

Hi all!! That's cool info about the cheese Janet! Glad you found one you liked :) I'm guessing you have a full kitchen in the hotel your staying in? Oh yum, your dinner out sounds great, Thai is one of my favorite cuisines, mainly because it's really spicy :P
Wow on all your zucchini bread baking Karen! Those must have been humongous zucchini you got. Cantaloupe is on my agenda today as well :)
Hi Tina! I love a good white cheddar too. Lol at getting Fred to eat his veggies :P My dad is like that and my mom has been trying to get him to eat veggies as long as I can remember... he just hates them and won't budge. I call him stubborn :)
We had a crazy busy kid free weekend! We could have just relaxed but instead went around and just met different friends up at different places lol. Picked the kids up yesterday and did our usual monthly themed family dinner. Theme was BBQ...I made Apple Crisp which I will review later, and there was Brisket, BBQ beans, vegan mac & cheese, and coleslaw. The only thing I could eat out of all that was the brisket lol! I did bring a zucchini I sauteed up so I wouldn't starve! There was quacamole with veggies to dip for an appy, so I was okay :) Have my PreOp appt. today for my lasik and they only do the procedure on Friday's so I am crossing my fingers they have an opening this Friday. I am about to go crazy having to wear these glasses all the time. Dinner tonight is grilled chicken, sweet potato fries, and this fruit salad Cilantro Lime Cantaloupe Salad Hope everyone had a great weekend, enjoy your day!!!

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chuckieb 9 years ago said:

Interesting to put some sugar in the loaf pans first Karen. Let me know how it works out. I guess my only worry would be that the sugar might scorch? Jim and I too try to avoid processed stuff but Campbell's cream of mushroom soup is still a must for me to have on hand for certain recipes. :)
Tina....attorney? Did I miss something? Yum on the seafood. Love old white cheddar myself. And you have annatto in your cupboard? That's hilarious. I never heard of the stuff before. :) I'm not a fan of smoky Gouda either, however....Michelle has a hamburger recipe that's stuffed with it and it's great in that.
Hi Michelle! We stay in apartments when we're in Cambridge and they are stocked with dishes, pots and pans, etc.It's way nicer than staying two weeks in a hotel. Your family BBQ dinner sounds awesome. Your dinner tonight sounds excellent. I'd eat every last bite. :)

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Zucchini-Bread/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=blueberry%20zucchini%20bread&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe%20Hub&soid=sr_results_p1i1 This is great and it was gone - gone - gone when I served it for lunch.

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Substituting the sugar for flour when greasing/flouring the pan worked well at 325 degrees in a glass pan. It did not scorch or burn. Also have 2 loaves of Grandmas Zucchini Bread cooling on the counter. There is still 1/4 of the zucchini left so we will have zucchini for supper - maybe with cherry tomatoes in a sauce. There are several recipes for it on this site that look interesting.

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

Attorney's appointment went well. I have retained her services to help me file for disability. She has advised that I definitely have a case against the insurance company and their denial of my coverage. This relieves a great deal of my anxiety.

My spice cabinet is totally disorganized. Schwarma seasoning, annatto, turmeric, Zatar, Grains of Paradise, Schzuan peppercorns, five spice, ground chipotle, ground ancho powder, Hawaiian black lava salt, pink peppercorns, crystallized ginger, ground lemongrass and a bottle of dried kaffir leaves fell off the shelf yesterday when I was looking for the lemongrass. I don't know why I bought Grains of Paradise, maybe, because I saw it on Iron Chef America. Haven't used it, no clue how it tastes. Did you know they make vinegar powder? How cool would it be to use in deviled eggs when you don't want your yolks to get soupy?

Okay, Karen, I have a zucchini and more blueberries. Definitely will make a loaf with the sugar coat. I only have glass loaf pans, and I'll cook at a lower temp in the convection oven.
He will never know. I made a batch of the six week bran muffin mix that you keep in your frig and only bake as many as you need. It is a yummy muffin in the morning.

Michelle, nice to hear you had a good weekend. Bummer on not being able to eat the food except the brisket. I love brisket. Haven't made on in ages. I do hope they can get your appointment for lasik sooner than later.

I'm tired. Have yet to figure out supper. Might just have baked eggs and bran muffins with orange marmalade. Ina Garten bakes eggs in an herb cream and they are so yummy. I think I have some sausage in the freezer too. Better get busy.

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

Karen, in regards to recipes catching on...I'm not sure what the magic formula is, but one thing is if you post a picture of the recipe, it will be in the new feed and most of the viewers will click on recipes with pics. My recipes with no picture fall off the radar. Also, put your recipes in the ODD feed.

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Tina - Figured pictures help. Now I just need to get around to making some of the recipes again and adding pictures. LOL. I was just curious if there was a magic formula for computing the infamous green line. I'm happy to be able to put the recipes out and share, and have found a lot of recipes that I plan on making from GR.

Good luck on the disability claim. Hoping all goes well.

Wow on your spices. Never heard of Grains of Paradise, although I used to watch Iron Chef, esp. the Japanese show, as often as possible. (Love Morimoto! On my bucket list to go his restaurant.) I will have to google that one. Vinegar powder? New one for me.

My cupboard has a spice door and I put a small rack inside so now mine don't hide forever so I end up with 2 of everything. Of course, cinnamon I always seem to be using so the more the merrier.

I guess I better be figuring out dinner also. Pulled some ground venison and have zucchini, cherry tomatoes, should be able to find something. Let us know how the DR. appt goes and please remember to ask him / her about medicine interactions.

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notyourmomma 9 years ago said:

I have a list of questions re: medications.

Venison...I haven't had any since my Uncle Roger made us chicken fried venison steaks with his cream gravy. In his giant cast iron pan!

I wish I had a way to organize these spices. I have three deep shelves so something always get buried behind something else. At one point I had five bottles of cumin and 3 crushed red pepper flakes.

I think Morimoto's restaurant on your bucket list is phenomenal. He is the best Iron Chef in my opinion. I don't care for the new chefs, except Michael Symon. I like him.

Fred had sausage and eggs with white toast. No more of those brown muffins for him. LOL I made a grilled cheese from sliced brie, orange marmalade on 5 grain bread. I put a little bit of harissa paste in the marmalade for a bit of a kick. It is HOT! I had a little bowl of collard greens as a side dish. Fred had some sliced cantaloupe and watermelon.

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MissouriFarmWife 9 years ago said:

Yes I really enjoyed watching Iron Chef America. Wayne doesn't care for it. Haven't seen it in a while so am not familiar with the newer ones.

There are spice "stair steps" that fit into the cupboards and you stack the spices on them in different heights. Also spice racks that fit inside the doors. We had the racks built in and bought a plastic 'stairs" - I will likely buy a second one to put on the middle shelf and leave the top on for tall items. It was amazing what I found that I didn't know I still had.

Your grilled cheese sounds super good. Love orange marmalade and it sounds great on sliced brie.

We had zucchini fried in olive oil, with leftover grilled sirloin, cherry tomatoes, potato, onion, and cheese. I posted the recipe but of course FORGOT to add a photo. Sigh.

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