What Did You Have For Dinner?

[fc*uk]

I generally use this when I make lasagna, but it ought to work just as well for spaghetti.

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground chuck or round
1 large can (28 ounces) tomatoes
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 bay leaf
2 cups water

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft; add ground beef and brown. Pour off excess fat. Add remaining ingredients; stir well. Simmer slowly, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Remember to fish out the two bay leaves when you are done. People don't like to eat those

[kingo'mountain]

thanks guys, i'm a spaghetti\pasta-holic... well, anything italian really, as long as it doesn't include fish of any kind, i have this silly fish phobia

[rockouthippie]

That recipe would probably be ok, but I think spaghetti sauce really needs some oregano. Fresh is best. I don't think I'd use cayenne. I don't really like the canned whole tomatoes much either, so I'd probably use paste and sauce in a 50/50 ratio.

When I have made spaghetti sauce...

Equal parts tomato sauce and paste. Basil, Oregano, sugar, garlic (pressed), a couple bay leaves... a little onion... no recipe really.

Some good Parmesan cheese on top. Parsley for garnish.

[Widdykats]

Originally posted by kingo'mountain
what's ragu? (i'm not american if you forgot)

Hey, KOM check out This site for some great recipes and Ina Garten under shows. That woman knows her stuff.
Mario Batali has some decent 'scetts recipes.

Oh, I start most all my Red Sauces for Pasta with paste.
*shrug* I add either a large can of Plum Tomatoes or cut up Beefstakes Tomatoes sans seeds. I hate seeds.

[swingdjted]

I love to mix just about any brand of barbecue sauce 60-40 or even half and half with Frank's RedHot.

Tonight I had some home-battered barbecued chicken with that sauce mix. It was damn good with foiled baked potatoes over the coals and barbecued sweet corn. (Soak the corn with the ears on in salt water over night, followed by barbecuing with the ears still on. Husk after serving.) Add that to some Bush's Grillin' Beans and some cheap powder/water lemonade mixed in the blender with ice, and you have quite a picnic.

[Wildrose-Wally]

Originally posted by Widdykats
Oh, I start most all my Red Sauces for Pasta with paste.
*shrug* I add either a large can of Plum Tomatoes or cut up Beefstakes Tomatoes sans seeds. I hate seeds.

Hmmm, that does not sound like cat food. Are you sure you're a cat?

[rockouthippie]

I went out for dinner tonight for some Sushi. It's not very often that I do that because it's too spendy.

Tako, Spicy Tuna Roll, a Texas Roll and some Yellow Tail.

Yummy. If you ever get to Hillsboro, Oregon go to Sushi n' Maki. It's awesome.

[Widdykats]

Originally posted by Wildrose-Wally
Hmmm, that does not sound like cat food. Are you sure you're a cat?

*Ahem*

[swingdjted]

I had some time on my hands for a change today, so I cooked up a roast. Pretty simple/straightforward.

2 lb. beef round roast (thawed from freezer)
peeled carrots, broken in thirds (6)
peeled potatoes, quartered (5 big)
Extra virgin olive oil (a couple teaspoons)
"Big Hunt Rub" from Cabellas
Lawry's seasoned salt
12-year-old Jameson Irish Whiskey (about 2 shots)
beef broth (about a half-cup)


1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) Sear the edges of the meat in a frying pan (locks in taste). Leave the net on - it won't hurt anything and will handle the heat. It will be necessary to keep the meat from falling apart during oven time.
3.) Toss all food ingredients (including spices and booze) into a covered oven roaster (I just use this thing).
4.) Toss in the oven for about 3 hours, checking every 45 minutes or so to make sure everything is hydrated (baster necessary if things get dry; add a couple tablespoons of broth if no reserve)
5.) Set the table - use the good stuff.
6.) Drink a double on-the-rocks of the extra 12-yr-old Jameson when there is about 15 minutes of cook time left.
7.) When ready, take out of oven, cut the net off, place all contents on a platter and slice to serve.
8.) Serve with a dry red wine if you're willing to. I didn't want to open anything today, so I skipped this step.
9.) Eat.
10.) Burp.

[rockouthippie]

The grocery store had lobster tails for $5, so I bought a couple. Steamed with lemon and butter for dipping. A sirloin steak, baked potato and green beans.

I made an apple salad. Chopped apples, chopped walnuts, a can of mandarin oranges, chopped celery, mini marshmallows, raisins, a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise. You can toss some halved grapes in there but I didn't have any.

Mrs. Smiths cherry pie ala mode for desert.

I did a roast on the gas grill the other night. I just covered it in yellow mustard and browned the mustard on it really good and then turned it down to low and waited for medium rare. I have a salt sensitive person in the house and it's tasty with no salt. It couldn't hurt me once in a while either. I used an round tip roast, but it's very good with pot roast too.

[fc*uk]

This one is quickly becoming a favorite due to me being on a diet.

Take a 16 ounce can of black beans, darin them and rinse them. Mash them up with a fork into a paste.

Take 1/4 red onion and 1/4 green pepper and cut them into a small dice. Add to bean paste and mix.

Grab one egg, crack, and place in a small bowl. Add three cloves of garlic, one tablespoon of chili powder, one tablespoon of cumin to egg bowl. Mix. Add to bean paste and mix.

Find those darn bread crumbs and get a half cup on them. Toss it into the bean paste and mix.

Go grab that worchestershire sauce everyone in the world has and start adding it to the bean paste while mixing. Keep adding the worchestershire sauce until the bean paste just begins to fall back apart. If you notice brown liquid in the bowl that looks an awfully lot like worchestershire, you added too much; haul out the bread crumbs again. Try again.

Grill on a panini press for about eight minutes on a medium to high setting.

Eat. Makes four veggie burgers, each with about 100 calories. Eat with a low calorie bun and it's 200 calories a burger.

Yum! I've lived off these and various salads for longer than I care to admit.

[swingdjted]

I never actually knew how to make a veggie burger before reading that. Thanks.

[rockouthippie]

Scallops. Sometimes God gets things right without tampering. I just fried them in olive oil and flashed the pan. Carrots with brown sugar. Baked potato with sour cream and butter. Strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

[RockyRacoon]

Spaghetti. But Sunday night was Jambalaya.

[swingdjted]

Pizza, popcorn, and Gatorade at the volleyball game, because it's the healthy thing to do.

[rockouthippie]

Nachos. Refried beans, cheese, jalapenos nuked, covered with hamburger seasoned with salsa. Chips & sour cream.

[swingdjted]

Baked pork chops in Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce, rice, and some garlic bread. Strange combination, but really good.

[mike-db]

Corn on the cob covered in garlic butter and wrap in bacon, then season with seasoning salt and pepper, then wrap it in tin foil. Bake at 350 degree's for around 30-45 mins. Then make perogies, that will be the exact same lunch I just had and holy hell was it the best! You might have some bacon greese/garlic butter left over in the tin foil pour this on top of your perogies its worth it.

[Paul_Bags]

I seasoned some bacon pieces and cubed potato with cajun spice and baked it, when it was nearly done I added some cheese to melt.



I work as a cleaner at a motel, and sometimes people leave food behind and I get some of it. In this case it was a free meal, besides the power to cook it. I also had free ice cream for desert...

[swingdjted]

^looks incredibly delicious - but where is the cheese?

Today I ate chicken swimming in a mix of barbecue and Frank's RedHot sauce with leftover rice from a past meal and a can of peas and a glass of milk. It was another "too tired to make a meal that is meant to work together" day, but it hit the spot all the same.

[Paul_Bags]

The cheese is in there, it melted a bit more than I'd planned while I was attending to something else (bringing in washing? I don't remember...)

I have no idea what I'm going to have for dinner tonight. Eggs? baked beans? sausages? a combination? something fancier, like pancakes? get too drunk to cook and order pizza? Yeah, thats about the limit of what I have in the kitchen...

[rockouthippie]

I just had some nuked burritos and doctored them up with some fresh salsa on top and some sour cream on the side.

Eggs? sausages?

Breakfast is good for dinner. Tomorrow. Can you get too drunk to make that?

[swingdjted]

What do you do for fresh salsa? (I usually do the canning thing and have yet to try making fresh.)

[rockouthippie]

I usually make a quart jar at a whack:

A clove of garlic minced (whacked with a meat cleaver and chopped fine).

1/4 of a small onion chopped.

A bundle of chopped fresh cilantro.

A tablespoon of vinegar.

A level 1/2 teaspoon of salt unless you are using Tabasco.... it's already salty.

1/2 teas. sugar.

5 fresh Jalapenos sliced. I like thin sliced rings. Get rid of the seeds..... If you don't it will be hotter, but I like the flavor of the peppers (which aren't very hot without the seeds).

Fill with chopped (1/2" pieces) tomatoes (I like the cheap $1 lb. Roma ones because they aren't as wet). If the tomatoes are really wet, just pick the meat up off the board.

Cholula (recommended), Tapatio (also recommended) or Tabasco (works if it's what you have) hot sauce to taste.

Habanero sauce if you wanted to burn your face off

Put the lid on the jar and shake well.

Shelf life. A week. I think. Never lasted more than 2 days

To eat it all right now (won't keep) add shrimp. Yum! Doesn't need anything else except chips.

You can freeze the Jalapenos to keep them. Put them on a plate and freeze them. After frozen stick in a plastic bag. Keeps them from sticking together.

You can also freeze the cilantro. Just chop it frozen to use.

[swingdjted]

^Thanks, will try.

[Widdykats]

I made these for brunch These here
Widdy's substitutes:
One I used buttermilk, and I separated the eggs and beat the egg whites semi-stiff. Use maple syrup and butter.
Yummy!

[rockouthippie]

Originally posted by Widdykats
I made these for brunch These here
Widdy's substitutes:
One I used buttermilk, and I separated the eggs and beat the egg whites semi-stiff. Use maple syrup and butter.
Yummy!

One of my favorite things is blueberry pancakes. That recipe sounds fantastic.

It's only 1, but I figured out tonights dinner. I got some nice Ahi tuna steaks which I'll brush with olive oil and coat with fresh ground pepper.... BBQ slow... If you never grilled a tuna steak, it's best if you leave them a little red in the middle. Caesar salad. Garlic bread.

I usually make extra tuna... stick it in the fridge to get really cold, slice it thin. Go... ood on a salad the next day...

[Widdykats]

The Pancakes come out so light and fluffy because of separating the eggs and of course the ricotta..The flavor..
like a great "Italian" blintz.
Good Tuna! Prrrrrrrr. I'm watchin Top Chef....

[swingdjted]

Pork chops, rice, applesauce again. simple and good.

The pork chops were delicious because I soaked them in Mae Ploy again while baking.

http://www.bakersandlarners.co.uk/im...weet-chili.jpg

[rockouthippie]

I like sauerkraut with pork. I usually buy whole loins for <$2 a pound when they are on sale and cut roasts and chops.

One thing that is really super good for pork and pot roast is a french/dutch oven but especially a Lehman's roaster. The pork or poultry comes out with a wonderful golden brown crispy outside that is just perfecto. I have a couple of these and a now rare smaller version. They are both at least 30 years old. Don't ask me why this works so slick.

http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen...ustomField1=W9

Just like Gramma used

Use a 300-325 degree oven. Season salt the meat. Toss spuds and carrots in too. When you're about a 45 from done, toss drained sauerkraut on pork or cabbage on pot roast/corned beef in. Ribs and BBQ sauce is good low and slow too. Meat falls off. 1 1/2 - 5 hours cook time depending on how much.

I like to make BBQ pork with sauces like you mentioned, but I'm cheap so I don't like to buy the sauce. Panko for me is rice krispies in the blender

What I like for BBQ pork is about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of a small sauce pan and 2 large red plums chopped skin on (for color). I simmer em' until they are slush and then squeeze the juice out with a sieve. Reduce that down to about the original 1/2", add some sugar. 2-3 tablespoons? Should be Sweet. Add half katsup. Brush that on a pork roast while roasting or BBQ. It's also a decent marinade if it's cold first. Yummy on chicken too.

Pork gets all nice and red and good like the Chinese place.

[swingdjted]

Your link - heh - I can't find those for the life of me when I go to kitchen-stuff stores, but if you go to the hardware store, you'll find it right away for about $7.

It's funny you mention Chinese food -today I'm eating Chinese takeout. I got a single order of General Tso's chicken/rice/vegetables, which is big enough to last me about 3 meals (for about $6.49).

[rockouthippie]

And probably enough MSG for a year

I have sort of given up on the Chinese places here in town. The one up the street here is really variable depending on what chef they've obtained from white slavery traders. The other one is a consistent but very ordinary Cantonese.

We do have decent Thai food, 2 good Indian restaurants, a world class sushi place... Chinese food is lacking.

Ah! To visit a mom and pop hardware store. Home Depot and Lowes did them in a long time ago.

[img]http://retrovision*****wp-content/uploads/100_2859.JPG[/img]

As this place has become citified. I took this picture 15 minutes ago from my front yard. Nice youngster playing huh?

"Whar ya goin with them bolt cutters son?"

[swingdjted]

Luckily my last two places of living have been in small towns that haven't been annihilated by stores like that. We do have an Ace Hardware store, but it's basically a mom-and-pop store that bought in to the name without losing the store's small town hardware store feel.

Judging on the pirate skull and crossbones on the kid's t-shirt, he's off to plunder something...

I don't eat Chinese often, mainly because I just don't seem to go out for food often, so the high MSG amount shouldn't hurt too much.

[swingdjted]

Originally posted by swingdjted
I had some time on my hands for a change today, so I cooked up a roast. Pretty simple/straightforward.

2 lb. beef round roast (thawed from freezer)
peeled carrots, broken in thirds (6)
peeled potatoes, quartered (5 big)
Extra virgin olive oil (a couple teaspoons)
"Big Hunt Rub" from Cabellas
Lawry's seasoned salt
12-year-old Jameson Irish Whiskey (about 2 shots)
beef broth (about a half-cup)


1.) Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) Sear the edges of the meat in a frying pan (locks in taste). Don't use non-stick. Leave the net on - it won't hurt anything and will handle the heat. It will be necessary to keep the meat from falling apart during oven time.
3.) Toss all food ingredients (including spices and booze) into a covered oven roaster (I just use this thing).
4.) Toss in the oven for about 3 hours, checking every 45 minutes or so to make sure everything is hydrated (baster necessary if things get dry; add a couple tablespoons of broth if no reserve)
5.) Set the table - use the good stuff.
6.) Drink a double on-the-rocks of the extra 12-yr-old Jameson when there is about 15 minutes of cook time left.
7.) When ready, take out of oven, cut the net off, place all contents on a platter and slice to serve.
8.) Serve with a dry red wine if you're willing to. I didn't want to open anything today, so I skipped this step.
9.) Eat.
10.) Burp.

I forgot to post a picture of that, so here's a picture of something somewhat similar that I'm eating today.



Key differences - I used 2 lbs of "boneless eye of round steak" medallions (7 total cuts) instead of "beef round roast"
-some of the carrots I sliced lengthwise to allow more surface area to absorb more taste
-I used Makers Mark bourbon instead of the Irish Whiskey
-350 oven instead of 325 (thinner meat cuts allow higher temps)
-There was no net to leave on.
-Total cooking time seemed more than sufficient at 2 hours, 15 minutes this time.
-No net to remove, no slicing necessary to serve.

It's good to be one that enjoys "meat & taters". This is just for 2 people; and some lunch leftovers. I didn't bother with salad or bread. I just took this on without. No regrets.

[Widdykats]

^*Drool*
I just made Shrimp(boiled with Old Bay and Vinegar)
with a basil, mustard hot mayo with avocado on crusty heroes.

[rockouthippie]

I had some really beautiful usda choice ribeye steaks. I just fried them with a little olive oil with salt and fresh cracked pepper. I blanched some red, organge and yellow peppers in there a little before the steaks got done. Baked spuds and sour cream. Spinach.

I never really appreciated spirits in cooking except for rum or whisky in candy or baked stuff. I make bananas foster once in a while:

http://www.nolacuisine.com/2006/01/0...foster-recipe/

[Razzinno]

Last evening, we had some sort of casserole with mashed potatoes at the bottom, vegetable and turkey stew in the middle, and stuffing with cranberries and almond slivers at the top. Talk about a rib-sticking meal. Yums!

[swingdjted]

Apparantly Calphalon changed their web site a bit, rendering my last link useless. This is what I used.

[rockouthippie]

Daisy and I just sat down and ate a whole tray of muffins:

In a food processor until smooth:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (or Crisco)
1 egg
1 3/4 c. flour
4 teas. baking powder
1/2 teas. salt
1 cup milk

Put that in a 1 dozen count muffin tray that's been sprayed with cooking spray.

375 degrees for 20 or a little more minutes.

Serves 1 - 200lb guy and 1 100lb rottweiler

[swingdjted]

^sounds like a good deal.

Tonight I had Corn Pops cereal (yes, for dinner). I'm feeling a little sick and don't feel much like cooking. Renee has been too busy with stuff for work to take over, so cereal is what we ate. I didn't bother posting a pic this time - not quite something that is all that unique.