What's for dinner?

[Winchester]

Our ham was yummy last night. 

I'm thinking of just simple tuna melts tonight. It's Friday night and I have a ton of stuff to do.

Peaches, I hope you like that crock pot roast. It's a favorite around here; Rick really likes it.

 

[catlover19]

We are having chicken fajitas tonight. 

 

[AbbysMom]

Littlenecks in a kale/chourico broth.

what are "littlenecks" and   "chourico" and why is everybody into kale these days? I find it too strong and fibrous. Give me Swiss chard or even collard greens any day. As far as that goes just about any greens, including the tops of beets and radishes (these in small doses mixed with other greens) are edible and quite tasty. If you tend towards gout avoid beet greens. 

Littlenecks are a type of clam and chourico is a spicy Portuguese sausage. Kale isn't a new fad in my area. There is a VERY large Portuguese population around here. I have some Portuguese heritage. Caldo verde or kale soup is the national soup of Portugal.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/caldo-verde-portuguese-kale-soup/7722/

I'm liking the way people are into it because it is giving me a chance to try different types and I am getting more ideas on how to use it. I like kale chips. . Right now growing in my garden I have Portuguese kale, red Russian kale, black kale and scotch kale. I'm pretty sure I have one more type, but I can't think of it right now.


I think we are going out to eat tonight.

 

[stewball]

stewball thanks. He went to dr this morning with a huge lump on back of his head. Not an injury don't know why. Today fevers and lethargy we go back to dr in the morning unless fever doesn't stay down then it's an ER trip.

Did you see the doctor again or go to the ER?

 

[stewball]

Had grilled chicken with jacket. Potatoes and coleslaw and a muffin when I should have been on a dry toast diet. My tummy is messed up.

 

[peaches08]

The "sauce" was great, but I didn't like the London Broil cut.  It's just too stringy and dry.  I'd much prefer it with chuck roast.  The only thing I can think of to do with the other London Broil is to make cat food.

 

[segelkatt]

No wonder I did not know what littlenecks are as I am allergic to shellfish so seafood besides regular fish is not something I peruse in the fish market. Thanks for the information. Learn something every day.

 

[Winchester]

We are visiting friends tonight for dinner and will be outside for the evening. We're grilling burgers and then later on, we're making mountain pies (apple and blueberry).

For anybody who doesn't know, mountain pies are two slices of bread, buttered on the outside, then put together with any kind of canned pie filling you want to use. There are little sandwich makers you can buy (anybody who camps regularly has one, I'm sure). You get a big roaring fire going, then you let the fire burn down. Once you have nice red coals from the fire, you put the sandwich iron into the coals. In just a few minutes, you have a toasty mountain pie. And they are delicious. One night we had pizza mountain pies with ham and cheese mountain pies. And apple mountain pies for dessert. You can make bacon and egg mountain pies for breakfast. The sandwich makers are made from heavy aluminum or even cast iron. Ours are as old as the hills now and they're cast iron. We have a single pie maker and a double one. In our family, that's part of summer....big fire, mountain pies. 

And the when we've eaten our fill of mountain pies, we build the fire back up to a roar and watch it burn back down. I love watching a fire at night. It's so peaceful.

I baked some chocolate chip cookies and some macadamia nut vanilla cookies last night to take with us. I'm also taking some Smirnoff Ice and, if I can find some, Mike's Hard Margaritas. And some cheddar-stuffed mushrooms.

 

[Winchester]

 
The "sauce" was great, but I didn't like the London Broil cut.  It's just too stringy and dry.  I'd much prefer it with chuck roast.  The only thing I can think of to do with the other London Broil is to make cat food.

I wondered about that.....chuck roast is better for the crock pot, I think. 

You might want to try marinating your other London Broil, then grilling it, and slicing it finely across the grain. Serve with baked potatoes and a good salad. 

Here are some great marinades for London Broil or flank steak (I've used them and we really like them). I also posted them here:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/238294/marinades-rubs-gravies#post_3574028 

FIREHOUSE STEAK MARINADE

1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 dried pasilla or ancho chiles, seeded and cut into strips
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1-1/2 tsp chopped fresh garlic
1/2 cup beef broth
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons cumin seed
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 limes

In medium skillet, heat oil over med-low heat. Add chilies, onion, and garlic - sauté until onion is tender
DO NOT DRAIN - pour mixture into blender.
 

Add remaining ingredients (except limes) and blend until smooth. If marinade is too thick, add additional beef broth.

Tenderize steaks with a mallet.
 

Pour half the marinade over steaks and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Grill steaks with 3/4 of remaining marinade until desired doneness.
 

Before serving, brush with remaining marinade and generously squeeze fresh lime juice over steaks.

This is enough for 2 pounds of steaks.

TOMATO-HERB MARINADE

1 medium tomato, chopped
1 shallot, peeled and quartered (I've used onion in a pinch....I just chop what I want)
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed

Puree tomato, shallot, vinegar, marjoram, rosemary, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. Set aside 1/2 cup, covered, in the refrigerator. Scrape the remaining puree into a large, sealable plastic bag. Add steak and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours. 

Preheat grill to medium-high. Remove the steak from the marinade (discard the marinade). Oil the grill rack (see Tip). Grill the steak 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare or 6 to 7 minutes per side for medium, turning once and brushing the cooked side with some of the reserved sauce. When the steak is cooked, turn it over again and brush with more sauce. 

Transfer to a clean cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak crosswise and serve with any remaining sauce spooned on top. 

BEER-MARINADE - one of my favorites

¼  cup soy sauce                                     
1    Tablespoon sesame oil                        
1    Tablespoon light brown sugar            

3    large garlic cloves, chopped

2    teaspoons Dijon mustard                          
2    teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1    teaspoon ground black pepper

½   cup beer (a lager or full-body)

Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and beer in medium bowl. Submerge steaks in mixture and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for a full day, turning steaks occasionally. Grill as desired; slice on the diagonal.

Makes enough for 2 pounds of steak.

 

[bbdoll22]

Update on my son. 3 dr visits and a ultrasound of his head and they think its a reaction to an insect bite.causing his gland to swell. It started oozing we wint havr culture results until Monday.
He's on oral antibiotics and an antibactierial cream.
This morning it's gone down in size thankfully.

 

[Winchester]

I didn't see this before,  BBDOLL22. I'm glad the gland has gone down and he's doing better. 

 

[bbdoll22]

Thanks everyone for the concern over my son.
Dinner will be grilled burgers and pasta salad with some sort of veg. My sons favorite.

 

[peaches08]

Thanks Winchester!  I copied and saved those for when I one day get a grill or grill at one of the parks  I wonder if these can also be done in the oven on a rack-pan?

Yikes BBDOLL22, I'm assuming a gland in the skin?  I'm glad he's OK and I'm sure that was alarming!

 

[Winchester]

I would think you could, peaches. Not roast the meat, but you could broil it under the broiler in your oven.

 

[peaches08]

 
I would think you could, peaches. Not roast the meat, but you could broil it under the broiler in your oven.

Now I have a really stupid question.  What is the difference?  I've had the occasional recipe that called for "broil at ___ degrees on ___ rack in the oven" and I've followed it, but I truly don't know the difference.  I guess I see a box (the oven) and regardless where the heat source is, the whole box heats up.  Thoughts?

 

[catlover19]

 
We are visiting friends tonight for dinner and will be outside for the evening. We're grilling burgers and then later on, we're making mountain pies (apple and blueberry).

For anybody who doesn't know, mountain pies are two slices of bread, buttered on the outside, then put together with any kind of canned pie filling you want to use. There are little sandwich makers you can buy (anybody who camps regularly has one, I'm sure). You get a big roaring fire going, then you let the fire burn down. Once you have nice red coals from the fire, you put the sandwich iron into the coals. In just a few minutes, you have a toasty mountain pie. And they are delicious. One night we had pizza mountain pies with ham and cheese mountain pies. And apple mountain pies for dessert. You can make bacon and egg mountain pies for breakfast. The sandwich makers are made from heavy aluminum or even cast iron. Ours are as old as the hills now and they're cast iron. We have a single pie maker and a double one. In our family, that's part of summer....big fire, mountain pies. 

And the when we've eaten our fill of mountain pies, we build the fire back up to a roar and watch it burn back down. I love watching a fire at night. It's so peaceful.

I baked some chocolate chip cookies and some macadamia nut vanilla cookies last night to take with us. I'm also taking some Smirnoff Ice and, if I can find some, Mike's Hard Margaritas. And some cheddar-stuffed mushrooms.

Oh I love making those. We have made them with cherry pie filling at my in laws house.

I think we are having pork tenderloin tonight. We are both so exhausted from our yard sale today and I doubt either of us wants to cook so we might not end up having that.

 

[catlover19]

We had to get groceries so we ended up getting the chicken tender meal from the hot food counter. Chicken tenders, potato wedges and macaroni salad.

 

[tammat]

Chicken and bacon pasta. My husband is going to cook.

 

[Winchester]

 
Now I have a really stupid question.  What is the difference?  I've had the occasional recipe that called for "broil at ___ degrees on ___ rack in the oven" and I've followed it, but I truly don't know the difference.  I guess I see a box (the oven) and regardless where the heat source is, the whole box heats up.  Thoughts?

Ok, here's the thing. Look inside your oven. (Go ahead.....I'll wait. Got your head in there? OK.

) If you have an electric oven, most of the time, the heating element is on the bottom of your oven (I have a convection oven, so I have a fan at the back of mine, but that's another story). It's that long kind-of circular coil on the bottom? That's what heats your oven when you tell it to heat up for baking. You bake a cake, you bake cookies, you roast a chicken or a piece of pork or beef. When you bake or roast, you use the heating element on the bottom of your oven. The recipe for cake or cookies or the like will probably say something like, "Place a rack in the center of the oven" or something like that. The heat comes from the bottom of the oven.

Now, look up at the top of your oven. There should be another kind-of circular coil on the top.....see it? That's for broiling. And most of the time, your oven thermometer will have a BROIL setting. Or there will be a BROIL knob....something. If you use that setting, the broiler will come on and you will have your heat from the top of the oven. The recipe for broiling may say something like, "Place a rack four inches from the heat." What that means is to place your broiler rack (that's the deeper pan with a lid with holes that comes with your oven) on an oven rack in a position so that the meat on the rack will be about four inches from the broiler element. And then you broil the meat, which cooks it faster than the oven itself would do. 

Sometimes (sometimes) you may need to put something small (a small piece of wood or something similar) in your oven door so it doesn't shut all the way. Why? Because (sometimes) your broiler may cycle (shut off and come back on again, as temp is reached). If the door doesn't shut all the way, the broiler won't cycle on and off, and it will remain at a constant heat. It helps cook your meat better. You'd have to try it and see how it works for you. It's different with different ovens.

Baking/roasting is for roast chickens, roast pork, roast beef, and the like. Broiling is for thinner cuts of meat, like boneless, skinless chicken breasts that you might pound flatter. Or for steaks, chops, ribs, shrimp, scallops, etc. If you're making scalloped potatoes and after they've been baked you might want to put a bit of a cheese crust or something over them in the casserole, you want to broil the cheese, just a tad to form a crust. Broiling is faster....you do not want to put a steak on the broiler pan and then get on the computer. You'll burn the steak. It's kind of like upside-down grilling as the heat comes from the top when you broil.

If you have a gas oven, you're on your own.

 Sorry. It's been so long since I've had a gas oven, I have no idea how they work anymore. Maybe somebody can chime in on this, too.

I hope it makes sense.

My ideal range? Is dual-fuel. A gas stove with an electric oven. I don't know that I'll ever have one, but it's like my dream range. 

 Some women dream of a large house or jewels or a fancy car. Me? I want a dual-fuel stove. Well, actually, this is what I really want:  http://www.bluestarcooking.com/products/freestanding-ranges/rnb-french-top   In red. They have 190 colors. It's gorgeous in red. 

 

 

[Winchester]

 
Oh I love making those. We have made them with cherry pie filling at my in laws house.

I think we are having pork tenderloin tonight. We are both so exhausted from our yard sale today and I doubt either of us wants to cook so we might not end up having that.

It was wonderful last night. We did pizza ones, then finished them off with apple ones. Yum. 

Weather permitting, we're going to do it again this coming Saturday. My sister and BIL stopped in Friday night to pick up some cookies and she wants to have a picnic this Saturday. Her kids are coming home, my brother and SIL are going, and Rick and I are going over, too. I need to call my kids and see if they can come up. 

My sister bought a new fire ring and they want to try it out.

Today's dinner is pork chops on the grill. 

ETA: Scratch the chops. I found a dough ball in the freezer and Rick suggested grilled ham and pineapple pizza. I mentioned that we had just had pizza last night. He looked at me and said, "And your point?" So...grilled ham and pineapple pizza is on our menu tonight.