Hey Grandpa, What's For Supper?

[Redfeathers]

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Gee. Actually, I have no idea. The three trees that I have access to aren't fully fruited yet, so I have no idea which they are. The ones I made with the chicken the other night were dark. The kids said they tasted like big, sweeter raisins. I'll have to try the green ones, now.

That pie sounds yummy!

For tonight's dinner, I took the leftovers from the taco salad (shredded chicken, kidney beans, onion, corn) and created a layered enchilada type dish in my crockpot. I did more of a pink sauce by mixing some creamy ingredients in with the canned enchilada sauce I had in the cupboard. I layered corn tortillas, the above ingredients, sauce and cheese in 3 layers, finally topping it with tortillas, sauce, cheese, and olives. Easy and it'll be quick to get dinner on the table.

That is a wonderful dinner. I think I'll try that after I hit the store for some kidney beans and corn tortillas. What time is dinner?

 

[Backyard Buddies]

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Should be right around 6pm. Do I need to set another place at the table?

I do this meal every once in a while, but what goes into it depends a lot on what I have in the fridge. It's a pretty nice way to use up the leftovers and since you simply layer the corn tortillas, there is no rolling of the enchiladas involved. The kids don't really like the spiciness of canned enchilada sauce, so that's why I tried toning it down a bit this time. We shall see what they think this time.

Post back and let us know what you did for yours.

 

[Tutter]

Backyard Buddies, I've seen smaller green ones. They are different yet, but also good.

What a great idea for your leftover taco salad ingredients! I'm all for slowcookers and pressure cookers for ease of cooking. I should use both more often!

GabbyYabbyChick, that sounds really good. I have a weakness for stuffing, but because I can only have it if I make it from scratch these days (First you bake the bread....) I rarely have it. Which, reflecting, might be a good thing; to save me from myself!

Enjoy some for me!

Lizardz, Your grandfather must have been pretty convincing!

That sounds great! I've been debating between lasaga, and a bar-b-que, for Mother's Day. It's a hard choice. I've been leaning towards the bar-b-que a little, but only because I'm the one who makes the lasagna, and if we have a bar-b-que, someone else does part of the cooking!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

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I agree. I received a nice pressure cooker as a gift a year ago and really love cooking with it. I love that it makes really tender food in much less time. It's better on my time and a better use of resources. I now use it for many things, but one of my favorites is to use it to make beans for other recipes. I can buy them from the bulk bin and cook them up without the added sodium and packaging that canned beans contain. Plus, all that much less energy was used to produce them than the canned beans.

Should you ever wish to share some pressure cooker recipes, feel free!

 

[Redfeathers]

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Should be right around 6pm. Do I need to set another place at the table?

I do this meal every once in a while, but what goes into it depends a lot on what I have in the fridge. It's a pretty nice way to use up the leftovers and since you simply layer the corn tortillas, there is no rolling of the enchiladas involved. The kids don't really like the spiciness of canned enchilada sauce, so that's why I tried toning it down a bit this time. We shall see what they think this time.

Post back and let us know what you did for yours.

I will let you know how it goes. I am going grocery shopping this weekend, so it will be next week that we have it. Cant wait!!!

 

[Tutter]

Tonight we are having "4th of July pasta." When my kids were teenagers, they wanted to go to town in the evening, on the 4th, to go to the fair, attend the street dance, etc., so we wanted something for dinner which could be served before the evening events began.

The pasta is al dente cooked rotelli/rotini/fusilli; they are spirals. (Or the medium tubes with the ribs...I'm drawing a blank as to what they are called.)

In a pan I saute onions, lean ground meat, peppers are optional, and lots of portobello mushrooms. (How to fix them, below.)

I add canned tomatoes, with juice, and pick herbs from the summer garden. Pretty much the same ones in Schillings Italian spice, so if you don't have fresh herbs, you could add a little of that. Also salt, pepper, garlic etc.

When the meat mix is cooked so that the tomatoes aren't "raw" in flavor, and it's not watery, we serve it tossed with the still-hot pasta. You can serve with cheese, I like some grated Reggiano, a salad, and garlic toast.

Fixing the portobellos:

Choose portobellos with thick caps. If they are thin capped, or are open completely flat, they are hardly worth the effort.

Pop off the stem. You can use it for another use, or discard it, depending on what you prefer, or if it's pithy.

Turning the caps gills up, and using a very sharp knife (I like a special steak sized knife I have which is super sharp, with a thin blade. A dull knife with tear the mushrooms.) cut the caps into quarters. You want about 5 large mushrooms.

Leaving them on their backs, cut off a thin strip where the little edge that hangs over is. This prevents the mushroom from peeling. If you peel a portobello, unlike a button mushroom, you lose all the distinctive flavor.

Now stand each 1/4 on end and slice off the gill area. You want to remove all the black, but not lose the rest of the cap, another reason for a good sharp knife. The gill area should be cut off in a sheet, then go back and get anything left. The gills discolor the food, and some people who can't eat mushrooms can, if they are de-gilled. Using a spoon is the usual method, but it can make a mess for this. The quarters are easy to de-gill with the knife.

Now carefully wipe the top side of each quarter. You want the "skin" on it, but you can wipe any dirt etc. off. Also any gill bits that stuck anywhere.

Now you should have 20 mushroom quarters, if you began with 5 mushrooms. Slice them into medium thick slices about an inch long.

To cook them, put olive oil in a pan and brown them quickly, starting with the pan pretty hot. As they get brown, salt them to bring out their water and finish cooking. You may need more oil at some point. Once cooked, use them in whatever you like. Soup; pastas; rice; stuffing etc.

I always say they would make wonderful snacks served right from the pan, salted and browned!

Once they are ready, for this pasta, add onions and keep going for the recipe.

 

[Tutter]

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Anything that includes mashed potatoes and gravy, and homemade biscuits, has my attention! Mmmm is right!

What is, Porketta; a brand?

I hope you guys weren't close to any of the tornadoes.

 

[Redfeathers]

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No tornados in Oregon..lol though it has happened before, but it's super rare.

A porketta roast has the wonderful Italian seasonings already on it. You have probably seen them in the grocery store, they have a red coating of herbs and spices rubbed all over. It makes a fantastic gravy too.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Tutter - Your 4th of July pasta sounds yummy. I love portabella mushrooms, especially when they're grilled and eaten like a burger. Yum!

Are you anywhere near Humboldt County? I have a friend who runs some kind of a cattle ranch up in the Ferndale area.

I'm not having dinner tonight. We spent the day working up at the community garden run at our church, then went out to a local micro-brewery afterwards. I'm sore from lots of shoveling so I'm not cooking today and I may not cook tomorrow, either!

 

[amystours]

We experimented with the rotisserie and found that seasoned pork chops are GREAT cooked on that thing, so tonight it'll be rotisseried pork chops for a main dish, and I'm not sure yet what the sides will be. Need to get up and get moving as I just got in from work.

For dessert, we're having a fruit salad with all the trimmings!