BeeZee

The lesser clean up this year was a pleasure. Once I carved half of the turkey breast and plated it, we decided to leave the dressing and twice baked potatoes on the counter and do “buffet style”. Also left the gravy in the small saucepan it was made in. I realized how much of the clean up was due to both the baking pans and the serving dishes! To cap off our minimal dish meal, pint of ice cream was shared on the couch, one spoon, passed back and forth.😋 Don’t tell my mother.

I am going to use this hack, I have a box of cornbread stuffing mix in the pantry (DH request) and will add some plain cornbread to it, since the sodium level made me not want to use it.

“Melts in your mouth”. Blech. The only thing that should describe is ice cream.

All I prepared today are the toasted bread cubes for the dressing. Worked a half day, ran to the market for a few items, wound up making risotto for dinner and lost interest in further cooking. The 2 of us are having bone in turkey breast, dressing with caramelized onions and kale (new recipe), roasted or pan browned brussels, twice baked potatoes, gravy, cranberry from the can. Ice cream for dessert. I am cooking enough for 8 people, I think...leftovers are welcome.

Grill pan tuna, butternut squash risotto, snow peas. The risotto recipe called for a little bit of miso in the roasted squash puree, which added a nice savory flavor.

Absolutely remember Baked Alaska...when I was experimenting with cooking as a kid, my Mother let me make one for dessert when she had some friends over. So much fun!

Brunch? Mid/late morning wheat bagel with provolone melted on top.

I have a blender that sits in a cabinet, for once a year smoothies. I've had it a long time but I don't feel like I can get rid of it. I didn't purchase, but was re-homed, a nice little espresso machine (Sicilian BIL rejected it) which I've NEVER used.

@JoNorvelleWalker, I agree about the food processor. I hand chopped the garlic and shallot, used the machine for the herbs. Had to fish out some larger leaves of parsley that didn’t get minced.

Baked chicken tenders with panko/ET bagel seasoning, barley (just cooked in chicken broth), and sauteed escarole with some LGD dressing drizzled over.

I have one of those small Cuisinart ice cream makers that requires you to freeze the insert prior to use. I haven’t used it in years (don’t really have freezer space to leave that insert in there all the time), and have found that making treats in pop form works better for my husband (portion control).

Made a half batch of LGD, since I had just the right amt of parsley in the house that needed to be used up. Substituted anchovy paste for the fillets, because I had it. Marinating.

Had a leftover baked yam in the freezer, defrosted in micro, cut in half, and put in the toaster oven to give it some texture. A little dab of apricot preserves mashed into the flesh. I think I may experiment with this, plus some white miso, to add some savory notes.

@btbyrd, gorgeous plate (and the food’s nice, too). Simple breakfast for me, Greek yogurt and grapes.

Question for those who have made LGD...do you think I could use fish sauce in lieu of the anchovies?

I met a friend for lunch on Tuesday at an outdoor mall that I knew had plenty of outdoor seating. At 45 degrees, there was plenty of seating...we usually sit and talk for a long time, but after 45 minutes (even wearing a winter coat) it was not comfortable. We vowed to wait until another 60 degree day rolls around.

Regular supermarket, ShopRite, which generally has fairly mainstream produce.

New variety of apple that I picked up at the supermarket, Lucy Glo (Washington State). They weren’t kidding when they described it as being red on the inside. It is fairly tart, not as much as Granny Smith, firm texture. I am enjoying with some cheese, it would probably be good for pie making if the texture holds up.

thanks @Tropicalseniorand @gfweb, next time I’ll incorporate your tips. I think my sauce was too thick for this application, and last time I made lasagne I think I had used more vegetables in the layers, which likely added needed moisture, also. On the plus side, easy to cut neat squares that held together.

Cheese lasagne with spinach. Barilla no boil pasta...I was a little short on sauce, forgot how much more you need for these, some of the edges weren’t covered and didn’t soften.

Tip from my HVAC guy, for those living in suburbia...turn the breaker for the AC off for the winter. The trickle of power creates just a tiny bit of warmth and can attract mice to the opening.

My library has this book on order, I put it on hold - first dibs! Having used the Amazon "Look Inside" feature, I'm interested...being able to look the whole book over will be helpful since I'm considering it as a potential gift.

really tasty mango, it is the common Tommy Atkin variety which is often stringy, this one was perfectly ripe and tasty.

Zucchini muffins, combo of AP and WW flour, some oats also.

BC...when I went to Whole Foods to get lunch...they often had mac and cheese at the hot bar. Allows one to scoop the crusty corner as desired. It was very good, not saucy, and they did use some sharp cheese in the mix. I hate custardy M+C. Kraft was a fixture of my childhood and re-appeared in College as it was possible to cook it in the dorm using hot water pots and pilfered dairy from the dining hall.