MaryIsobel

I too was going to suggest dehydrated potatoes - either flakes or slices. I do believe that they are the best of commercially dehydrated veg. The flakes, as mentioned are great for thickening soups but I also use them, often when camping, when I know that what I have planned for dinner (eg. sausages and grilled veg) is something that my husband would liked to have with mashed potatoes. I'm not a huge fan of mashed potatoes but I doctor the flakes up a bit with sour cream, sometimes a bit of cheese and I cam make just one portion for him and he's a "happy camper." Again while camping, I rehydrate the slices for passable breakfast potatoes or grill them quickly as a side.

Looks like you are back in the game - good to see! Your gallo pinto looks much more interesting than that which we ate at least once or twice a day in Costa Rica. I love beans and rice in many forms but that which we had in CR was usually just beans and rice with little if any seasoning and never any added veg. Granted we mainly stayed at B&B type places and ate at "sodas." I'm sure that @Tropicalsenior has had better versions and probably makes a fine version herself. Our (abriviated due to Covid taking over the world) trip to Costa Rica was fabulous in every regard, don't get me wrong but for a long time after we got home I wasn't interested in any type of beans and rice!

If it sounds to good to be true... The Co-Op has them on for the same price this week, and I thought that was a pretty good price.

Great looking meals. Your plates are always so colourful! B/S chicken breast for .99 per pound? Wow - haven't seen them for that price for years!

Good to know. I used to get pizza from small indendent place where the shrimp was perfect. The I moved and made the mistake of ordering the same sort of pizza from Boston Pizza. Uggh - tiny, cocktail shrimp cooked beyond overdone. Turned me off shrimp on pizza but I will try your method.

I love the idea of this pizza. Did you put the shrimp on raw or add them (cooked) after the pizza was done.

I bought myself a Geedel rotary grater, it suctions onto the counter top and has been a life saver for my poor wrists. I also have a Vidalia chop wizard. Between those two items, I have been able to stop avoiding recipes that involve a lot of chopping or grating. I don't know how to do a "friendly Amazon link" but I recently got a couple of little silicone grid contraptions that fit onto the grid of my Vidalia chopper. They make clean-up even easier.

You are all correct but for the fact that our house is "bastardized construction." The original home was built by my grandfather and great uncle in 1959. When my parents bought the property there was a roughed in house on it, so they followed the existing footprint. When we bought and renovated it down to the floorboards in 1998, we stuck to the existing foorprint to save money. Walls were/are 8'4" because back in the day, 2x4's were acutally 2x4s and 2 x 8s were actually 2x8 so with the headers and footers, came to 8'4". Drywall nightmare and that is the tip of the iceberg. God bless their souls for building the house for my parents but the strange plumbing and electrical gave us and continues to give us no end of issues. Given the fact that I have lived on this property all my life except for a few years in my late teens and early twenties, it will be very hard for me to leave but what keeps me motivated is the fact that a smaller, newer house and a smaller property will feel like a step up.

When I want to get all fancy for company, I make this the day before: https://reluctantentertainer.com/potato-fennel-gratin-recipe/, then refrigerate it and cut it into circles or squares and gently reheat the next day. It is not fennel forward as the fennel sweetens as it bakes. People seem to love it and can't figure out what it is that makes it taste different from most scalloped potatoes.

We are in the same boat, but with a shorter timeline. We plan to move in the next 3 years. Our vinyl flooring in the kitchen is shot, our maple cabinets have lost their finish so are very hard to keep clean. We have replaced all appliances at least once except for the fridge which keeps on ticking. We have laminate countertops which I would love to replace with some sort of stone or composite. Given our timeline, doesn't seem worth it. Do I get a great new kitchen to enjoy for a couple of years or look for a place with a dream kitchen and leave the issues to the purchaser. We live on acreage in a rural area and our house is almost 30 years old so there is a real, if sad, possibility that it could be a tear-down. What to do, what to do?

My cutting board looks filthy in this picture - I can assure you that it is white when washed - I guess it was the outside of the beef that gave it that disgusting look!

Here 's the after picture. Both roasts were AAA prime rib; one was 5.3 lbs, the other 5.7. Salted and left uncovered in the fridge for about 36 hours. Out of the fridge to come to room temp for about 2.5 hours. Cooked them at 500F for 28 minutes, turned the oven off (and threatened expulsion from my home to anyone who opened the oven before 2 hours was up.) It was just perfect for our taste - I mentioned that we like it between rare and medium rare which is really hard to express in a restaurant! Served with au jus, garlic smashed potatoes, roasted sprouts and caesar salad. Beef dip and caesar salad for dinner tonight. Will make beef and barley soup with the remaining meat and bones.

The roasts turned out well - somewhere between medium rare and rare which is how we like it. They read 127 when I took them out. With the method that I used, there is no resting time. I didn't have a chance to take a photo, but before I heat up the remaining in au jus for beef dip tonight, I'll try to remember to take a picure.

I'll try - can get a bit crazy at serving time.

Our local Co-Op. Best meat anywhere around and honest-to-goodness butchers that will do anything for you.

I am cooking two prime rib roasts for my daughters' and soon-to-be SIL's birthdays tonight. Two because they were on sale for the mind blowing price of 5.99 Cdn/lb but the largest they had were about 6 pounds. I am feeding 4 young men, my 2 daughters and my husband and myself. I'm sure the boys could polish off a 6 lb roast between the 4 of them. Sooo, my question is this: I have had great success with the method of cooking 5 minutes per pound at 500 degrees, then turning the oven off and leaving it with the door closed for 2 hours. One roast is 5.7 pounds, the other is 5.3 pounds. Would you average it out and cook them for 27.5 minutes at 500? Or would you add some time due to the fact that there are two? They will be room temp going in and I have a large enough roasting pan that they can keep their distance from one another.

My dream kitchen has those lined pullout drawers for flour, rice, etc.!

I will never again pick up my Rubbermaid flour cannister by the lid. I t was almost full and holds 5 lbs of flour. As I was picking it up, I thought to myself "I shouldn't hold it like this." Before that thought was even processed, it had hit the floor and dusted most of my kitchen. I had no idea how slippery a skiff of flour on the floor can be!🙄

I loved this a a child. My Mom's recipe was called Dream Squares, but is nearly identical. Mom usually made it as a "dainty" to take to a gathering or for bridge parties. I hadn't thought of it in years, so thank you.

I have the coffee/mocha cake layers baked and in the freezer, will do the banana cake layers tomorrow. The mocha buttercream is easy but I'm still struggling with the fake banana frosting and/or filling. I guess I just need to do a buttercream base and start adding fake banana flavour. I have freeze dried bananas, so thinking of pulverizing those and adding to the filling. Hopefully it won't taste too real...🤣

Do you work in a palace?

Nothing better! It's almost bed time here but now I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow!

Twin daughters' birthdays are coming up. I have always made them each their own cake. This year I'm making 6", 3 layer cakes for each as their are only 7 of us to eat the cakes. I asked each what flavour they would like. One said "coffee/mocha", they other said "marshamllow and banana, artifical banana flavour." She (and oddly enough her fiancee) love fake banana flavour. The coffee mocha cake is easy, I have that covered. For the abomination cake, I'm thinking real banana cake layers with some type of fake banana/marshmallow filling. I have Lorann Banana Emulsion and Banana extract. I have made marshmallows many times but given that I will only need a cup or two, it doesn't seem worth it. Could I melt commercial marshmallows with a bit of butter, maybe a bit of powdered sugar and add the fake banana flavour if I had the cakes ready to fill? The things we do for our (adult) children!

Happy New Year to you. Your dinner looks like something that would go down well after all the richness that our Christmas seems to be.

I would kill for one of those cookies with a cold glass of milk at the moment. They seem the perfect antidote to all the overly sweet, overly rich abundance of food that we have consumed in the last several days!