2024 What's for Dinner Tonight?

[Iggy aka IG]

Still recovering from the latest crud going around, so the sleepover didn't happen.  Speaking of being ill, next weekend I plan on making a casserole and spaghetti and meatballs to keep in the freezer for the next time.  In November the lasagna, and last week's enchiladas really helped when I didn't feel like cooking.  Since being ill I've been CRAVING vegetables.

Last night:  Homemade biscuits and gravy
Tonight:  The ham hock and beans (currently in the Crock Pot) I didn't make yesterday with sauteed yellow squash and zucchini
Tues:  The spaghetti squash Alfredo and skinny tots I didn't get to last week
Wed:  Leftovers, from the freezer if necessary
Thurs:  ?  ATV club meeting night
Fri:  Ree Drummond cotija chicken street corn skillet
Sat:  Spaghetti and meatballs, homemade bread, side salad
Sun:  My first pozole

Still focusing on odds and ends.  Yesterday's brunch smoothies used a bag of blueberries and strawberries from the freezer, and overnight oats for DH finished a baggie of frozen mixed berries.  Yesterday's smoothies and warm bacon salads finished the bag of baby spinach.  I threw away the remnants of stale tortilla chips from last month, and yesterday's baking session (biscuits, cornbread and flax seed muffins) finished a bag of flour.  I gave our neighbors the rest of the cocoa powder and leftover holiday sprinkles for the brownies she was making.  

[chiver78]

I hope you feel better soon, Iggy! 

this week is going to get creative as I work through what's in the fridge before I leave for a week. right now, I'm cooking off a family pack of ground beef and wilted kale for the pups. that will last a few days, then I have 2lbs of ground turkey and another bunch of kale to do the same. I'll be offloading a few containers from the freezer when I drop them off for boarding on Monday morning. 

for me? I had a couple errands over the bridge today. between that, and tomorrow being trash pickup, I stopped at the fish market and picked up a beautiful thick piece of cod, ~3/4lb. I'm going to season half of it for myself to pair with roasted broccoli. the pups will get their piece in the am after it cools. 

[wvugurl26]

I made a beef and cabbage stir fry for dinner Monday night. I have leftovers for Tuesday's lunch. I'm in the office and have too many meetings scheduled around lunch time.

No idea for the rest of the week.

I hope you feel better soon iggy.

[daisylu]

Last night was a spiralized zucchini quick fried in a little bacon grease and topped with parm. Easy peasy.

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, chiver78 and wvugurl26.  Nebulizing sessions are down to twice daily.   

daisylu using bacon grease sounds tasty.

In other waste not want not wins, I've been giving produce remnants (vegetable peels, inedible celery bits, etc.) to our chicken and goat owning neighbors.  My friend said they love them.

It's time again to find and utilize contents of food storage containers, as I refuse to buy more.   For tomorrow night, I rummaged around the freezer, and we'll have November's marmalade horseradish pork served inside regular and almond flour tortillas along with mystery leftovers in an unlabeled Pyrex dish.  Romaine side salads will complete the meal.

I'm going to cook spaghetti squash in the air fryer for the first time tonight.  I'll report back tomorrow.

[chiver78]

more fridge goblin clearing tonight! I have a bag of snack sized mozzarella pearls (3 per portion!) that's set to expire while I'm away next week. I sliced a vine tomato and roasted four slices with a couple pearls per slice, and put that on top of broiled baguette slices. then I fully dressed as a Caprese salad. it's delish, and I'm probably going to heat up a can of soup later bc it's a perfect appetizer size. 🤷‍♀️

[chiver78]

love that you're sharing with your furry friends. I've gotta be honest, I switched to fresh feeding my dogs bc one was bored/didn't like the kibble and was leaving it 2 days, and the other needed to take weight off and I was advised to replace some of her kibble with canned green beans. but since I have fully embraced this, I am finding that it's ultimately cheaper in the long run, and healthier for them. I'm wasting less food that I'm not getting to before it spoils, and I know exactly what they are eating. the kibble I'd used was never on a recall list that I was aware of, but it's still dry processed stuff. I wouldn't want to eat that every day of my life, why should they?

[Iggy aka IG]

chiver78 I love those snack size pearl size cheese.  

Regarding the spaghetti squash and air fryer, I didn't like it as much as when I cook it in the microwave because it was too al dente for my taste.

[Iggy aka IG]

The mystery Pyrex leftovers are hearts of palm pasta and spaghetti sauce.  I put them back in the freezer, LOL.

Two containers were being used for puzzle pieces and are now empty, so I put them in the sink to wash.  DH said there is a container at his work in the fridge containing cheesecake.  If it is indeed ours, it's been in there for a while.     I've been thinking about investing in a few reusable resealable bags....

[chiver78]

I'm in full-on perishable clearing mode now. my neighbor across the street is going to inherit a few things on Sunday as I finish packing up and clearing out. she knows she's getting basil, she might also get a cantaloupe if we can't work through the honeydew melon I chopped this morning. lol... in case anyone missed this, I hate wasting food. 

alright, so today I mixed a bowl of bruschetta and it's been sitting in the fridge a few hours now. I'm going to toss it with some tortellini and thawed out shredded rotisserie chicken. I hate that I don't have an open package of prosciutto, but I'll live. I'm not opening one for a slice and then leaving for a week. anyway, the package of tortellini should be 3 meals? whatever it is, I'll dispatch before we leave on Monday. 

[countrygirl2]

DD and I did ok today but hubs ate horrible, I offered to fix him dinner tonight and he said he would fix his own. I can't believe what he ate.

He does eat cornflakes with banana and pecans for breakfast and a yogurt so that is good. But the rest of the day he ate chips and than chocolate chips I bought to make cookies, that is horrible. He said that's what he wanted to eat. I did get him to eat some apple slices at least. He just eats like that sometimes, my oh my.

DD had yogurt this morning with milk, lunch she ate a bologna and her favorite sharp cheese sandwich with mustard and apple juice. For dinner she didn't want much so I made her grilled ham on whole wheat with a variety of shaved cheeses melted on it and she loved it. Had apple slices and a soda, so she is happy, but not the greatest. 

Me I had shredded wheat for breakfast with a cup of coffee. Lunch was ham on whole wheat with lettuce, and mayo.  I was going to have some fish sticks for dinner after no one else wanted dinner but I made some home made fries instead with lemon juice and tangy catsup. To full to eat anything else, I did have a diet soda.

So just stuff from the fridge, we will live.

Tomorrow thinking of making DD and I some broccoli cheese soup, she likes it but I need to at least buy half and half, not sure if you can make it with just milk, need to look that up.  I don't like all the calories in it, so rarely have it. But we sure like it, of course, hubs does not. So I may just make him a pot of chili.  DD and I eat a lot of the same foods, but hubs is another issue. So I just can't eat his limited choices, so I end up cooking 2 different things a lot of times. Need to get back to better meal plans. 

[soupandstew]

Tonight was DH's night to cook and we had a 6:30 meeting so he did hot dogs and canned black-eyed peas.  Tomorrow night I'm doing crab cakes with mashed potatoes and corn.  Saturday will be tortelloni with pesto, and Sunday DH is grilling a small ribeye steak and cooking a frozen okra tomato blend which is really tasty.

I usually prep our weekly menu on Sunday.  DH said he wants to make shrimp creole on one of his 2 days, and I would like to make a pot of 15-bean soup with ham.

[Iggy aka IG]

The food container at DH's work was NOT ours, LOL.  Yay!  No gross cleaning of said container....

Eating leftovers, both for suppers and snacks, has helped the container issue.

Happy weekend, everyone!

[chiver78]

I've been snacking all day. but there's a chicken pie in the oven now for a "fini" and I'm done. lol... I'm doing well with clearing out the fridge, between myself and the pups. tomorrow night will probably be a bowl of roasted tiny potatoes with broccoli and shredded cheese, just based on what I see tonight, still kicking around. the other big lingerer is a few cremini mushrooms......I can stuff some of that into an omelet, maybe with some of the broccoli. it's been a minute since I've completely cleared out ahead of vacation, and I'm out of practice! lol.... 

[countrygirl2]

Chili tomorrow for hubs and DD and I will have the broccoli cheese soup also. Hubs bought half and half for it for tomorrow. I'm not sure we could handle cream in it.

[snapdragon]

I am doing chicken street tacos from Costco and probably having some fruit afterwords. 

[chiver78]

I have done a bang-up job of cleaning out the fridge and fresh bread. I'm waiting on a black bean burger to finish cooking now for a late lunch using up the last burger roll and tomato/onion slices. dinner later will likely be a box of Kraft dinner to use up more milk so I'm dumping less tomorrow. 

[soupandstew]

This week's menu is

Monday - baked salmon filets and wilted garlic spinach
Tuesday - sauteed chicken tenders, roasted beets, green beans
Wednesday - beef tostados
Thursday - DH's night, probably shrimp Creole
Friday - roasted pork tenderloin, collard greens
Saturday - ?
Sunday - DH's night, 15-bean soup with ham

    

[Iggy aka IG]

Continuing to clear out the fridge and pantry and reduce freezer items:

-Made an oatmeal bake for DH's breakfasts containing a pint of rather undesirable strawberries.  The honey and oatmeal are getting low, so onto the grocery list they went.
-The spaghetti and meat sauce used a package of angel hair pasta.
-I'll serve the rest of the romaine mix under tonight's slow cooker ribs.  The latter contains the rest of a can of green chilis, the remaining boxed chicken broth from when I was ill, and the remaining 1/5 bottle of BBQ sauce.
-Tomorrow:  Honey garlic glazed salmon with bacon wrapped asparagus.
-Wednesday:  I'll make the chicken street corn skillet I didn't make Friday.  (We had leftovers instead.)
-Taco Thursday:  Blackened or Baja cod with cheddar cheese shells, riced cauliflower and green beans.
-Friday:  Perhaps food truck fish and chips?
-Saturday:  Chili and fixin's at my co-birthday party at a neighbor's.
-Sunday:  Marinaded steak with veggies.

[wvugurl26]

Back from our trip for DH's birthday. He's working at home today so he picked steaks for dinner. I'll probably do sweet potatoes. Those never seem to keep long for me.

I've started to make muffins for my breakfast no fewer than 5 times so hopefully I can accomplish that this week.

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 30, 2024 14:08:46 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Continuing to clear out the fridge and pantry and reduce freezer items:

-Made an oatmeal bake for DH's breakfasts containing a pint of rather undesirable strawberries.  The honey and oatmeal are getting low, so onto the grocery list they went.
-The spaghetti and meat sauce used a package of angel hair pasta.
-I'll serve the rest of the romaine mix under tonight's slow cooker ribs.  The latter contains the rest of a can of green chilis, the remaining boxed chicken broth from when I was ill, and the remaining 1/5 bottle of BBQ sauce.
-Tomorrow:  Honey garlic glazed salmon with bacon wrapped asparagus.
-Wednesday:  I'll make the chicken street corn skillet I didn't make Friday.  (We had leftovers instead.)
-Taco Thursday:  Blackened or Baja cod with cheddar cheese shells, riced cauliflower and green beans.
-Friday:  Perhaps food truck fish and chips?
-Saturday:  Chili and fixin's at my co-birthday party at a neighbor's.
-Sunday:  Marinaded steak with veggies.

I just realized my days are mixed up above because I took Monday off.    Since today is Wednesday, it will be the salmon night.  Thursday I'll make the street corn skillet and moved the cod to next Thursday.  Friday is supper at a friend's house for her birthday.  

[chiver78]

I just walked in from the airport, and I'm working on a can of spicy chicken noodle soup. there is nothing in my fridge but whatever's in the carton of eggs. I'll do a big grocery run in the morning before picking up the pups, and there will be a big pot of minestrone simmering all afternoon. my ankles are twice the size they usually are after 5 days eating ship food (the club soda in my cocktails didn't help things, either). I'm not sure what the rest of the week will involve just yet, but it will be as salt-free as possible. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Welcome home, Chiver.

Yesterday I made a pan of spaghetti to put in the freezer for the next virus go-around.  It used a box of angel hair pasta and a baggie of spaghetti sauce frozen last fall.  Something about the pan being there is comforting.  I'll make lasagna after this month's grocery shop.

Last night:  The remaining not really ripe tomato and half of a cucumber went into last night's side salads
Tonight:  Leftover street corn skillet with side veggies
Tues:  Out w/ friends at our favorite pub
Wed:  Air fryer ribs, veggies
Thus:  Baja cod, cheddar cheese "shells," shrimp, riced cauliflower, another veggie
Fri:  Appetizers from the freezer
Sat:  Chinese restaurant to celebrate the Chinese New Year
Sun:  Wood plank salmon cooked in the Traeger, veggies

[chiver78]

thanks, Iggy! 

today brought me Cape side again, as the pups had grooming appointments. I picked up a cod filet from the fish market, and there's more extra than usual for the pups' breakfast tomorrow. theirs will be baked unseasoned. 

tonight - baked seasoned* cod with roasted broccolini and tiny red potatoes

*my current favorite Penzey's blend is Northwoods Seasoning - "Hand-mixed from: coarse flake salt, paprika, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, granulated garlic and ground chipotle pepper." I'll crust the fish with this and toss the broccolini with a little of it. potatoes will be garlic rosemary. 

I'm planning to go grocery shopping on Thursday over my lunch hour, so I can plan a little better then. tomorrow night I'll probably just heat up a big bowl of minestrone. the "big shop" on Monday morning was minestrone ingredients and pup stuff. 

[wvugurl26]

I finally got those muffins made on Sunday.

Sunday night I made Budget Bytes black bean and chicken enchiladas. Leftovers were lunch for Monday.

Monday night I made chicken teriyaki served with rice and steamed broccoli. The one leftover portion was my lunch on Tuesday.

Tuesday night will be spaghetti and garlic bread.

I still need dinners for Wednesday/Thursday. I couldn't get any further in my planning. Tuesday is my in office day so that one is always hard. The other days I'm home so I can pull something later in the morning to defrost after inspiration hits.

[wvugurl26]

I finally decided on bbq chicken for Wednesday night. I roasted zucchini and made Budget Bytes skillet Mac and cheese for sides. The Mac was extra cheesy as I managed to do 3 cups instead of the 1.5 it called for. Leftovers for Thursday's dinner.

I'm done cooking until we get back from Florida.

[snapdragon]

I have thawed Chicken Chili Quinoa for dinner the last few days. 

Need to make banana muffins tonight or tomorrow depending on how the hands are doing.

[chiver78]

tonight was a Bertolli freezer meal, bulked up to make a solid two meals. I was done with my kitchen after doing cg-level food prep for the pups this afternoon. ~12lbs of BSCB, cooked and shredded for the freezer, white rice, and a big bowl of mixed chopped fruit - a cantaloupe, 1lb of strawberries, and a pint of blueberries. I'll share the fruit with the pups this week.

I'd have cooked more BSCB, but I need to deep clean my Instant Pot lid. I let the pressure out a little early, and it sprayed (cooked) chicken juices all over my counter. 🤦‍♀️ I have another ~10lbs of BSCB to process from today's grocery run. I'll keep one or two BSCB for me, but you can't pass up $1.99/lb these days, esp with no limits. my limit was how many containers I had available to freeze.

[countrygirl2]

I see so many things in the lists above I would eat and DD would eat a lot of it. Than I have to cook for hubs and so much he doesn't like. I sure didn't raise my kids that way. Son is like me and will eat anything and everything. He is also a very good cook, he does a lot of their cooking. DD does a good job too, but still less than I do. But hubs, oh my. And he goes on you don't need to worry about me I will fix me something. And generally its something unhealthy.

Tonight I'm making fajitas, they both really like those. I had 2 small filets in a package and have those sliced thin and marinating. The onions are sliced as are the peppers. I still have to do the extras, like lettuce, some onion chopped, have shredded cheese,tomatoes, and sour creme. So that will be good. I might make a cheesecake, but not sure, we don't need it.

Hubs doesn't like
brussel sprouts, frozen boughten corn, but likes that we prepare and freeze. No frozen vegetables otherwise. Wants all fruits covered with heavy syrup. I prep them and put no sugar or very light syrup over them when canning or freezing.

Doesn't like fish, will eat a chicken breast but not often and doesn't like chicken. He got burned out on it in the army and when working overseas add rice to that. He said some meals that was about all he could eat.

Not crazy about steaks but will eat them, does like fillets. Hamburger is his favorite meat. Doesn't like eggs, said they make him bleach. Will eat spinach and any kind of bean. He will eat salads, like those. No broccoli and just lots of other stuff.Hard to cook for.

[soupandstew]

I'll blame the Super Bowl for being late with my weekly meal planning 

Monday - Ham and cheese sandwich (I have a night meeting)
Tuesday - Baked turkey tenderloin, bread dressing, sliced beets
Wednesday - Tuna steaks on arugula, sliced tomatoes, Kalamata olives, green beans
Thursday - DH's night - 15-bean soup from the freezer and sourdough bread
Friday - Bay scallops cooked with garlic and lemon, with angel hair pasta
Saturday - Sauteed chicken tenders plus whatever veggie looks good at the farmers market
Sunday - DH's night - unknown at this time