What's for dinner?

[Texican]

The outdoor thermometer.

But I am a cheapskate.  I told Mrs. WRC that we're not turning on the heat until November.  We'll see how long we can hold out...
http://www.accuweather.com/us/ks/shawnee/66216/forecast-15day.asp

You mean, how long you can hold out, because if you don't turn on the heat soon, you'll be outside, I'm sure.   

[libby]

The outdoor thermometer.

But I am a cheapskate.  I told Mrs. WRC that we're not turning on the heat until November.  We'll see how long we can hold out...
http://www.accuweather.com/us/ks/shawnee/66216/forecast-15day.asp

You mean, how long you can hold out, because if you don't turn on the heat soon, you'll be outside, I'm sure.   

 

Roy, you have such a nice way of looking at things.....!

[Cro-Doc]

Tonight (well, technically, last night...) we had pork loin surprise.  A couple of the guys scored a nice pork loin, and they planned to throw it in the oven, and roast it with some vegetables, until some sorry know-it-all pointed out that the oven did not work.  So, since I opened my big mouth, I had to cook.
Stuck with a pork loin, with no oven, and no grill, I sliced it into one inch thick slices, and then browned them in a bit of olive oil.  Afterwards, I added some more oil to the pan, then sauteed a small onion, along with some crushed garlic.  Since there was no wine to be found in the place, I used a bit of ale to deglaze the pan, then I returned the pork to the pan, and added some finely diced tomatoes, as well as salt, paprika, turmeric, white peppercorns, thyme, and a bit of oregano.  I let that simmer over low heat while I prepared some rice with garbanzos, like my grandma used to make.
To the prepare the rice, I added some olive oil to the pan, and then added the rice.  I stirred that around until it started to change color, then added the soaked garbanzos, and then I added some salt, thinly sliced garlic, saffron threads - soaked in water, a bit of paprika, as well as a dash of turmeric, just because it was there, then I drowned it all with some more water, covered it, and let it simmer.

When it was done, I loaded the plates with rice, then placed a couple of pieces of pork over that, then poured the sauce over all of it.  Everybody ate it all up, and didn't complain, but that should be translated as "if you complain, you get to cook next," and not as if my culinary skills are something special.  We have our team rules for a reason, and I didn't have to was our dishes, either. 

It was good!  *cough, cough*

No, really - it was.  Wine would have probably been better than beer, though.  But that's just my opinion.

Roy, you have such a nice way of looking at things.....!

So pragmatic, isn't he?

[Texican]

Chicken and sausage gumbo, with some French bread.  I should'a made some Pa amb tomàquet...  Oh well, it was good, and I still have lots of leftovers.  Maybe, tomorrow, on my way home, I'll pick up some tomatoes. 

Wednesday, it'll either be Parmesan-crusted chicken breasts, with saffron rice with broccoli, or cordon-bleu, with farfalle pasta with marinated artichoke hearts and Parmesan.   

Unless, of course, I'm working.

[Texican]

Well, I didn't make the chicken yesterday, due to time issues, so tonight, the chicken became cordon bleu.  Along with that, some sweet potatoes, cut into 1-1/2" thick slices, then sprinkled with a smidgen of salt, some ground cinnamon, and a pat of butter, then into the oven until nice and soft, and the tops were nicely caramelized. 

Unfortunately, I'm still stuffed from our luncheon, so the boys got to eat it all.  I'll make them look like roly-polys yet... 

They also learned a valuable lesson: sweet potatoes stay hot for quite a while 

[CanadianCatholic]

I ordered Chinese....im a lazy housewife

[Texican]

I ordered Chinese....im a lazy housewife

My boys were strongly hinting at how easy ordering pizza would be,  up until they started to smell the stuff in the oven, then it turned into, " is it done, yet?" 

[serviam]

Slasburry steak. mashed potatoes, and green beans.

[Texican]

Green beans!  I need to make some green beans...

[CanadianCatholic]

I ordered Chinese....im a lazy housewife

My boys were strongly hinting at how easy ordering pizza would be,  up until they started to smell the stuff in the oven, then it turned into, " is it done, yet?" 

HAHA! too funny! My kids were like "Why didnt the guy bring Pizza mom?!?! I wanted pizza, not rice!!!" HAHa oh i love kids...

[Texican]

been there...   

[Texican]

Here's a dinner staple, though we don't have it much anymore. It's hearty, filling and can be played around with when variations are called for. We'd eat it as a single course, or following some sort of broth (which I hate). Dessert was normally fruit or something made out of pastry if my mother had the time. I always loved jelly (jello...?) and ice cream best. When we do eat together now, it's normally pasta or fish. Nobody's home at the same time much and when we do have dinner or lunch together, it's out somewhere on a Sunday. Maybe you should try cooking food from different parts of the world every few weeks, just to include some variety. It might even encourage other people in your family to help out more.

Braggiol (called Braciolone in Southern Italy and Invertino in Northern Italy)

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes
Ingredients:
A broad, thin slice of lean boned veal weighing 1 1/8 pounds (500 g)
3 hardboiled eggs, peeled
1/2 pound (225 g) breadcrumbs
3 slices mortadella
3 slices cooked ham
2 ounces (50 g) finely sliced salami
4 ounces (100 g) fresh caciocavallo cheese (use a fresh provolone if need be), diced
2 ounces (50 g, or a cup) freshly grated aged caciovavallo or Parmigiano
A small bunch parsley, minced
2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
2 tablespoon pine nuts (optional)
A clove of garlic, minced
An onion, sliced
2 cups (500 ml) tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
Extra virgin olive oil
Sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Butcher's twine/string

Preparation:
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pot and add the onion and the tomato; season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar and cook for 15 minutes. In the meantime combine the breadcrumbs with the garlic, the parsley, the fresh and grated cheeses, the raisins, and the pine nuts. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and add enough olive oil to it to soften it to the consistency of a fairly thick paste.

Spread out the slice of meat on your work surface, pounding it gently with the flat of a knife. Season it with salt and pepper and brush it with olive oil. Lay the slices of cold cuts over the meat, and shape the breadcrumb mixture into a sausage shape in the center of the meat; press the hardboiled eggs into the breadcrumbs.

Next, roll the slice of meat up around the filling, and tie it tight with butcher's twine. Heat 5 tablespoons of oil in a pot and brown the roll on all sides. Sprinkle the wine over it and continue cooking until the wine has evaporated, then add the tomato and onion sauce and simmer for an hour. When the time is up remove the braggiol from the pot and let it cool some on a serving dish. Slice it, heat the sauce through and spoon it over the slices, and serve at once.

Yields 4 servings

I'm thinking of trying this with a flank steak.  Sounds delicious.

[Texican]

Mqarrun!

Baked pasta. Delicious.

Got a recipe to share? 

[Arun]

tonight was homemade hashbrowns, rice with cheese sauce and fish cakes. bummer too, my brother in law brought some venison over, looks great but today is friday lol... midnight feast, methinks

[Texican]

Tenderized steak, in a tomato and onion sauce, with some yellow rice. 

It was either that, or chicken fried steak, and while I love CFS, I've been on a red vegetable kick, lately.

So, I cut the steak into manageable pieces (about 4-5oz. each), then dredged them in seasoned flour ( sea salt, fresh ground black and white pepper mix, garlic powder, a little ground cumin, and some paprika ), then tossed them into a hot cast iron skillet, that had about 3/8 in. of oil in it ( olive, peanut, and corn - hey, I was just experimenting).  Once the meat was browned, I removed it from the oil, then tossed some finely diced sweet onions in a hot pan with a bit of olive oil, and when that was translucent, I added some finely diced tomatoes.  After letting that cook for about 5 minutes, I added two fire-roasted Piquillo peppers, also diced, and about 8 oz. of tomato sauce, and let that simmer for about 5 minutes more.  I then added the meat, and let that simmer for about 20 -30 minutes, while i cleaned up the grease splatter,  washed a few dishes, and prepared the rice.
I was fresh-out of garlic, so I relied on garlic powder, salt, and a bit of turmeric and paprika, for seasonings. 

The rice was a simple dish, just a bit of olive oil in a hot pan, then I added a cup (or so) of long grain rice, tossed that around for a bit, until it just started to change color, then added about 2 cups of water, salt, pepper, paprika, and a bit of dried cilantro.  When it came to a boil, I covered it, lowered the heat to very low, until it was just simmering, then left it alone for about 12 minutes, or so.  After the 12 minutes were up, I turned off the heat, and let it sit for about 5 minutes, before serving the meat and sauce, over a bed of rice.   Simple, and relatively quick, though I wish I would have had some crusty bread, on hand.