BeeZee

Gawd, the angst starting already. Sis, who can't put a menu together and has limited cooking bandwidth, is stuck on the idea of making a stuffed mushroom casserole. Which I really can't see considering I have already made stuffing with...mushrooms. So more mushrooms and bread. I just emailed her to suggest just roasting some cubed root veg. Nobody really cares about the veg and at least those are good as leftovers, even for soup.

Mom and Dad are hosting. I am making dressing with mushrooms (my stand by recipe, has lots of shallots and fresh herbs), gravy (I do the "make ahead" version), and infamous Knorr spinach dip. Stepson was tasked with buying something for dessert (Mom is making apple crisp + ice cream). She sometimes buys the veg side (Wegmans butternut squash w/cranberries), and will be making twice-baked potatoes (no cheese). Sis usually is responsible for salad or soup since she's not the most confident cook.

I like roasting the seeds from delicata squash. Have to grab some, they only appear in my area stores before Thanksgiving.

Well that sad "salad" would deeply distress me (egg) and @liuzhou (c*rn)!

no pics...met a friend (former work client) for brunch and a long catch up on home and work gripes (2 hours later...) since we were both working "in the field" today...lousy misty cold day. We ate at PJ's Pancake House (Princeton area institution, they have expanded in the area to several locations). I had a "half portion" 3 pancakes, did the sampler so I picked Old West buckwheat, Nutty Multigrain, and Apricot Pecan. OOF...carb heavy, I just want to take a nap, I won't need any food the rest of the day. I can't imagine who could eat a whole portion (5 pancakes), like a brick.

On sale at Amazon today for $12.94 hardcover. I am a Prime member, so your price may vary.

Traffic in that area at that time of day is horrible, how long is your layover?

We have a Chick-fil-A devotee in the office, she got a seasonal milkshake this week, peppermint. Said it was good, not overly minty (pink color). She also loves the mac+cheese side, I haven't tried it yet. I've gotten the Chicken Tortilla soup a couple of times, it is hearty, made with beans, thick broth. They give you a little cello pack of tortilla strips to add as you eat. Since it is a half mile from the office, she orders on the mobile app as she walks out the door and timing is perfect. Don't sleep on the chocolate chunk cookies, either. For a commercial cookie they are pretty darn good. I can only eat half of one.

Typo, 200 degrees celsius...US should be 400 degrees F. Beautiful plate.

Last weekend DH and I ate at a very small (26 seats) seafood restaurant which was excellent (Two Fish in Haddonfield, NJ) but with the wood floor, wood tables, and wood chairs, the sound quality was awful. More so because we were only a couple of feet away from a party of 6 in the center of the small room. And a couple of people at that table were getting loud, slapping a hand on the table to make a point, clank as the tableware rattled from the blow. The restaurant certainly isn’t striving for a “party” atmosphere, it would have been less uncomfortable if some sound absorbing materials had been incorporated in to the design. I don’t expect to eat in a room that feels like a hushed, sacred space...but I would like to not feel like I have to raise my voice to have a conversation. I really enjoyed my meal, but I would hesitate to return due to the lack of comfort for my ears (and butt...man, those wood seats are brutal).

Did a Trader Joe's run today (restock wine, etc.) and I picked up Thai-style carrot and sweet potato soup and a small container of gooseberries (among other things). Feeling lazy, and as dinner was to use some thin sliced chicken breasts, I cut the chicken into thin strips, sauteed, threw in a bag of shredded "antioxidant mix" veg (doesn't matter what they were at this point, shredded to oblivion), a couple of splashes of fish sauce. The soup went in to the pan, simmered a couple of minutes, added the halved gooseberries. Served with brown rice. The gooseberries were really good in the (inauthentic) mix, a tart offset.

I'm with @kayb, I alternate between cottage cheese and Greek yogurt as protein sources. I do eat the no salt added cottage cheese, I've found that every brand tastes slightly different which is very noticeable when salt is not masking the milky flavor. Since I usually have mine with fruit, I prefer no salt. If I want to make it savory, I can add salt as I wish. Or eat it on top of salty crackers.

I bought two large (80 piece) bags of candy - Hershey brand miniatures so technically DH should have given out 2 per kid, these aren't the "Fun Size" (ex: Twix is one small stick). I had to work late so he was in charge and probably ate around 10 pieces but we only used one bag, so that means roughly 70 kids.

Considering the number of Amazon (non food) orders I have received late, I don’t know how promising same day delivery for food is going to work. Orders are exceeding capacity to fulfill.

The recipe site allrecipes.com creates shopping lists from the recipes. You can also toggle the feature on/off that shows what items are on sale at a local supermarket.

Silk purse from a sow’s ear? I love the utility.

I made chili last weekend, and serious soup making will probably start after Thanksgiving. Really need to make a batch of whole wheat banana muffins for breakfasts. Still in golf season so I only have one weekend day for cooking projects.

Coworker who is a hunter said those turkeys are not good to eat, they are filthy and flea infested most of the time.

Seapoint Farms sells bags of roasted black soybeans as a snack - what about if you cook them and roast until crunchy?

leftovers from Saturday, gnocchi with arugula pesto and grilled chicken

Cool and rainy day...made some chicken chili with leftovers from the freezer. Chicken that had been used for soup making; grilled zucchini/red pepper (de-skinned)/red onion all chopped up. Can of kidney beans and tomato sauce. The usual spices. Served with some avocado. Now I have leftover chili for the freezer. So much for clearing out the freezer clutter.

Whole Foods prepared cold foods bar...salmon salad (capers, red onion, dill); tofu "Waldorf Salad"; grilled veg; quinoa salad.

A brownie straight from the freezer. They were a little soft on the initial bake, so quite nice while still frozen.

Pumpkin Spice Life cereal...had a coupon and it was on sale. I'm not a fan of Pumpkin Spice in general, but I like Cinnamon Life so I gave it a try. It does have a different warm spice flavor and the "pumpkin" notes are not really noticeable, so I'll give it 3 stars. Won't rush to buy it again (still prefer Cinnamon flavor), but it's eminently snackable and not overly sweet.

As far as Prime Membership goes for me...I split it with my parents. So I definitely make up the cost. I buy more at Whole Foods now simply because of the sale deals. They became competitive on the items that I often buy. I never considered it my primary grocer, I continue to use it for selected items. And since I eat lunch there at times, the $2 off the salad and hot bar from 11-2 during the week is a nice bonus deal.