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@Smithy, do you ever say how you make the onion soup one? Are they potatoes or onions in the pot? Then gravy, stock, or?

I am not a biscuit maker, either, but this is just milk and the biscuit mix, whisked together and poured over the seasoned vegetable mixture. (I forgot to say that I seasoned that layer.) The box directions are not followed. The next layer is whisked together condensed soup and stock, which is also poured over (not mixed in). The bake time is supposed to be 45 minutes, but that’s for a single recipe.

How is the biscuit mix added? It isn't sprinkled dry on top of casseole, is it? Or mixed with only milk? (I've never made biscuits).

My husband gets credit for printing and applying labels, taping up the completed plates, bagging and then packing the car, unloading the car at the delivery place, and cleaning the kitchen! And occasionally helping to fill the plates, and/or last minute grocery store runs.

Although the recipe I used for today’s CFM (community fridge meal) called for rotisserie chicken, the manager of the community fridge had given me some rescued frozen chicken breasts, so I poached and then shredded the chicken yesterday. I used 10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which came out to right under 5 pounds of meat. Melted two sticks of butter per hotel pan, layered the chicken, frozen peas and carrots (2 12 oz bags per pan), two packs of biscuit mix and 4 cups of milk per pan, and then 22 oz of cream of chicken soup (so sue me) and 2 cups of chicken stock (used the poaching liquid) per pan, and then baked at 375 much longer than the recipe said to. I also added a bit of grated cheese to the top. Not done enough! Back in the oven. Car packed for delivery. Delivery made!

They freeze fine... but when thawed they will be a little more soft and runny. I think the water crystalizes and when thawed needs to be stirred in. I just heat and mix them for a little longer and they are fine. It does tend to break up any lumps though so that's a bonus (I am a bit lazy mashing them)

I didn't like it, but I don't like bourbon.

Id try them might be something , nicely toasted having nothing to do w the labeling.

I did a double take when walking through the bread section of our local grocery. I did not purchase any.

O often make mashed potatoes ahead of time and freeze. I use sour cream and or cream cheese instead of mik and they freeze aqnd reheat just fine.

Im deeply impressed : this is a table wine , red , w the flavors os Zin , and some aging that you can taste. Im going back and buy several cases , and this , over time , is going to be a very very nice table wine $ 5.99 and better than wines < 15 -- 20 dollars as its a bit aged

@rotuts, what do you think of it? I have been unimpressed with the bourbon barrel aged wines. I like many wines; I generally like bourbon; however, the combination has left me cold.

I've said repeatedly "I don't want a counter-depth fridge, I want fridge-depth cabinets!" (ideally with pull-out drawers, sliders, etc rather than just empty boxes). Our big French-door Kenmore has given up the ghost within the past few days, sadly, so I was just in town getting a stopgap fridge. A stepdaughter's boyfriend's parents (!!) had one they were willing to give me for free; they'd gotten it from their daughter's workplace (they'd downsized) and were keeping it as a spare for one of their rental properties.

Can mashed potatoes be frozen? Can @Chufi's stamppot be frozen? I read somewhere on eGullet folks mentioning that they avoided potatoes for food destined for freezer. What happens to potato? Sweet potato too?

Okay, y’all are being just too nice to me. Haha! Thank you.

Thank you! It seems so simple, just four times everything, but it doesn’t actually seem to work out that way. I get flustered and do some major cussing at some point during the prep or cook or when filling the plates. Or all three.

over on the Tj's thread . https://forums.egullet.org/topic/155097-trader-joes-products-2017–/page/69/#comment-2462102

Having lived with a counter-depth fridge for a few years now, I can say there's some truth to this, @weinoo. For the most part, the fridge is large enough but the produce drawers and freezer compartments are annoyingly 'short' compared to a deeper fridge. It would be better if those compartments could be magically deeper or even if one were wider and the other narrower. Even though it's 36" wide, the lack of depth can be occasionally frustrating. We decided to hold on to the original fridge, which is in our garage along with an upright freezer. Seems like a lot of refrigeration for just two people, but we make pretty good use of it. 🙂

This is a new arrival @ MyTj's ; https://www.joshcellars.com/products/josh-cellars-reserve-bourbon-barrel-aged-zinfandel?srsltid=AfmBOorYGfWNBT2wNtUxQSAOUkiWsTC1kHCOjhD54G3pSUr6w3vfPG7W and it seems to be selling for around $ 26 - 27 US Bucks its $ 5.99 at my Local TJ's. they are getting 50 cases . its prominently features . It a higher octane Zin , 15 % I tried it . its a '21 vintage , and you can tell its older , as it has a bit of an aged ' rim ' to the wine when you look at it. it has a very pleasant Zin flavor , good body , no benzine , dry but not bone dry . its a very nice slightly aged Zin , w a table wine price ( @ TJ's ) wondering about the massive price differences : Im betting there is too much of this wine @ the winery , and it might be aging too fast for the amount there and the chosen price point @ the winery , and elsewhere . I very much like Zin's , and this is a cut above table wine Zin's , around 5 -- 15 USD , Im going to get a few cases . look for it if you go to Tj's from time to time.

Improvised chile verde with leftover carnitas, leftover salsa verde, and roasted chile Poblano. Jazzed up with bird chiles, garlic, cilantro, Mexican oregano, fish sauce, and grated Parmesan cheese. Sliced radish for crunch. Tasted good and made room in the refrigerator - double win.

Hi Patti, glad to see you! The other day I was looking up something or the other and there you were. Then I thought about how much I had enjoyed your posts. Today, I am reminded how much I enjoy your posts!

What a wonderful thing you’re doing! I’m impressed how appealing everything looks and sounds. As someone who mostly cooks for one and has banished much of my larger cookware to the garage, scaling up to 24 servings would be quite a challenge!

I haven't met Kerry, but Luis is amazing - I'm not surprised. Attended a class with him in May. I'm sure you're amazing too, Kerry.

Picked up frozen mini vegetable soup dumplings today. I don't recommend them, they were tasteless and gummy. I did microwave per pkg directions. They were sampling the stuffing flavored potato chips, which were tasty!

My first food related job was at age 15, waiting tables and the counter at a "family restaurant" that specialized in burgers had homemade ice cream. We had to wear old fashioned blue waitress dresses like the ones the girls wore on Twin Peaks (but without the hats). We also had to wear white aprons that tied in the back with big fluffy bows. The gross old guys that hung out at the coffee counter during the day would always lean over and untie my apron strings and make comments. I was 15 for Pete's sake. I quit as soon as I turned 16 and was old enough to work at the movie theater in town. Next food jobs were all in college. Freshman year I worked in the largest dining hall on campus, running the same industrial dishwasher that @rotuts has described. It was hot and messy, but I did not mind it. That summer, I stayed at college and waited tables at a diner in town. It was fine. I don't remember much about it to be honest. Sophomore year, I worked in a dining hall again, but this time in the vegetarian dining hall, doing all the prep work for the salad station. I liked that job. The work area was chilly and I was by myself. Junior year, I moved into a dorm on campus that had its own dining hall for residents of the dorm only. I was the vegetarian lunch cook. I was not allowed to pick the recipes, just execute the dishes that had been decided upon by the chef. I worked alone on the food though. I remember that a lot of the recipes were from the Moosewood Cookbook, but scaled up. That was a crazy dorm and a wacky time. The dorm (and the dining room) always smelled like pot. People used to chant my name while coming through the lunch line to get food. 🤣 The chef in charge was always hung over and screamed a lot. Luckily for me, he would come in and start the meat entree after my vegetarian food was in the oven and I had cleaned up, so we did not interact much. After that experience I moved on to office work for the rest of my working career.