What's for dinner?

Those dumplings sound awesome! Much like the ones my mom makes. My great grandmother made chicken and pastry. (Little slits of pastry, handmade of course. I haven't had that in ages. I don't think anyone makes that dish anymore.)

Last night I made roast beef, brown rice, green beans, steamed then, sauteed broccoli, and sliced tomato. I have worked hard at developing my cooking skills. Sometimes, I surprise myself when it's soooo good! lol

My mom recently made a Hummingbird Cake. OMG. That's what I'm making for Thanksgiving. It's to die for.

MsMadge,
I'm a lazy eater. I don't want to have to cut chicken off the bone in this soupy/stew if I don't have to, so I do the work during the cooking. Then I'm free to just spoon it in at the table. (Gosh that sounds piggy 🐖)

I make a broth from the chicken parts with a piece of skin, bouillon or other seasoned broth additive, a couple of tablespoons of NO salt herbs/spices seasoning (from Costco) or Mixed Italian seasonings, chopped onion or onion powder, chopped carrots and celery. When the chicken is just cooked, take it out to cool then debone it and return the pieces to the broth. Bring to a LOW simmer, any higher cooking and you'll ruin the whole thing and have little gum balls.

Now for the dumplings, ta-da, Bisquick!!! So easy.
Mix 2 cups Bisquick and ⅔ cup milk (at least 2%) until soft dough forms. DON'T over mix the dough and let it rest for a few minutes so the dumplings will rise better and be puffy.
Drop dough by spoonfuls (I like  big dumplings so my spoonful is big) into the lightly simmering stew. Cook uncovered over low heat 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer. (This covered and uncovered step is important). The soup will get thickened a little by the dough, which is fine with me.
Your dumplings are a success if they are puffy, round, spongy balls of fluffy biscuit consistency.

I wish I could have y'all over for a feast.

Oh Lord, I can't stop licking my chops now! 😋

Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.

My prayers for you and the Viking. 🙏🏼

I was hoping to get some hot soup to go from Von's but the station was already closed so I picked up a ready made ham sandwich to take to the SNF - it was blah

I really wanted albondigas and corn tortillas from my fav Mexican restaurant

Are you hungry MsMadge?
Von's has fresh chicken noodle soup in plastic tubs, soup/deli. Maybe no dumplings, but french bread? Grubhub delivers, but not sure how late. Do they go to markets?
Have you ever heard of task rabbit?

Sue
Sounds fabulous- how do you make your chicken and dumplings?

Knott's chicken restaurant is about the only place I can think of to get them out

Yesterday made spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, will add meatballs later. I also made homemade potato salad. We'll have that with ham tonight.

I got a sale on pork so today I made pork cubes in a bbq/orange sauce, and, since I had more pork, I made chili verde (pork stewed in green tomatillo sauce). Will freeze most for later use. 

It's getting colder and time for lentil soup with ham, chicken vegetable soup, beef stew and, my favorite, chicken and dumplings. 😋 OMG, I'm salavating! 

I love cooking (and eating) but the clean up makes me blah. ☹️

LOL CM, that sounds familiar. I think the pudding is really at it's best with leftovers later in the day or the next day.
And for breakfast. Don't scowl, it's full of fruit and nuts everything good for you!

Mmmm, steamed British style cranberry pudding made with molasses and served with hot hard sauce. Used to make every year, ex's family tradition. Maybe I should do this again.

But no brandy in it.so, no fun?

CW you do realise you're not actually supposed to *eat* traditional Christmas puds? - you just set fire to them, claim you're too full and eat the brandy butter instead.

Mmmm, brandy butter...

Last year I asked my friends to recommend a good store bought christmas cake and that's what I'll get this year too. I think the reason so many people hate them so much is that most of the grocery store ones are dry horrible things.
I'm toying with the idea of having a pudding this year, not the british kind but our family recipe made with grated carrot, potato & apple plus dried fruit and nuts, I think it would be something mom would be able to eat. (& the caramel rum sauce is yummy)

I have given up the Christmas cake boo hoo. Some don't like it, some are to fat to need it and one other really only likes the marzipan. However the christmas Pud is still in demand and I finally have all the ingredients ready - was waiting on the brandy.
Now I have some pineapple jam to make. They were only 99 cents in the store last week so i took the plunge. I save store brought jam jars and then fill them to the top with hot jam put the lids on and find they do their own sealing Hubby goes through 1-2pounds of jam a week. Toast and jam seem to be his latest craving .Well at least he can "cook" that himself

Christmas cake under way!

Which always makes me think of the Parsee man who...

"... lived by the Red Sea with nothing but his hat and his knife and a cooking-stove of the kind that you must particularly never touch. And one day he took flour and water and currants and plums and sugar and things, and made himself one cake which was two feet across and three feet thick. It was indeed a Superior Comestible (*that's* Magic), and he put it on the stove because *he* was allowed to cook on that stove, and he baked it and he baked it till it was all done brown and smelt most sentimental."

From 'How the Rhinoceros got his Skin', one of the 'Just So Stories' by Rudyard Kipling.

Chicken noodle soup last night. Chicken stock from the freezer, wife chopped some veggies, leftover chicken, a little garlic, ginger, thyme and egg noodles... dinner! with a little french bread just what I needed with a cold! My wife knew I was sick when she saw me drinking a small glass of white wine..... not because it was small, because it was white wine. I only use white wine for cooking.....

Hi cwillie,

The roast chicken and veggies sound delicious! I am trying my best to eat better. Last night it was taco salad with spicy pork. Tonight I might go with pasta with broccoli but we'll see how it goes.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Yum, I am copying you, but my recipe has pieces of boneless chicken breast.
It was what was on sale.

I'm actually cooking tonight, and for the second day in a row! Chicken was on sale for $1.88/lb so I picked up a wee little $5 one and am roasting it in the counter top oven, surrounded by a big pan of veggies - onions, carrots, rutabaga and sweet potatoes. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

I love soup too, and making it! Haven't tried that one, but I did see it. The tomato basil is awesome too!

pamzimmrrt - That sounds really good! And since you go to Costco, have you tried Costo's chicken tortilla soup? So good!! I love that it's cold now, so I can start eating soup again. Butternut squash, roasted tomato, tortilla, asparagus soup...ah, so many soups, such a short winter! ;) Clearly, I'm hungry and should go eat now.

Hi all, I haven't read all the posts, but just popped in to tell everyone about my new favorite pasta sauce! One of my clients introduced me to it, and oh wow, it's awesome! I don't know if it's readily available everywhere, but it's made by Mezzetta, and they have several flavors available. The straight Marinara is delicous! I used to prefer making my own sauce and freezing or canning it, but not anymore! This stuff is like having your Italian grandmother cook for you all day. Yum!

So for dinner, it's tortellini with Mezzetta Marinara!

Home alone today for most of the day! So I was able to cook without "help", Turned leftover Costco chicken into chicken corn soup and enchiladas! Plus made a big salad.. so I am set for working the next 3 days, and hubs has food too! Mom comes home Mon, and he will cook something then

Diced chicken pasta salad with boiled egg to stretch it longer. Poached chicken breasts in the crockpot and used later...

Here you go Ali - and I'd better immediately acknowledge that I pinched this shamelessly from a website called, for some reason, thekitchn. Note: all salt is kosher, no matter what your local beth din would have you believe (and pay extra for). I think what they mean is koshering salt, which is the coarse type used for preparing meat, so I can't see why you couldn't just use sea salt or pickling salt, whatever's easiest to get your paws on.

How To Make Homemade Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar
Makes 1 to 1 1/2 quarts

What You Need
Ingredients
1 medium head green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional, for flavor)
Equipment
Cutting board
Chef's knife
Mixing bowl
2-quart wide-mouth canning jar (or two-quart mason jars)
Canning funnel (optional)
Smaller jelly jar that fits inside the larger mason jar
Clean stones, marbles, or other weights for weighing the jelly jar
Cloth for covering the jar
Rubber band or twine for securing the cloth
Instructions
Clean everything: When fermenting anything, it's best to give the good, beneficial bacteria every chance of succeeding by starting off with as clean an environment as possible. Make sure your mason jar and jelly jar are washed and rinsed of all soap residue. You'll be using your hands to massage the salt into the cabbage, so give those a good wash, too.

Slice the cabbage: Discard the wilted, limp outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and trim out the core. Slice each quarter down its length, making 8 wedges. Slice each wedge crosswise into very thin ribbons.

Combine the cabbage and salt: Transfer the cabbage to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt over top. Begin working the salt into the cabbage by massaging and squeezing the cabbage with your hands. At first it might not seem like enough salt, but gradually the cabbage will become watery and limp — more like coleslaw than raw cabbage. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. If you'd like to flavor your sauerkraut with caraway seeds, mix them in now.

Pack the cabbage into the jar: Grab handfuls of the cabbage and pack them into the canning jar. If you have a canning funnel, this will make the job easier. Every so often, tamp down the cabbage in the jar with your fist. Pour any liquid released by the cabbage while you were massaging it into the jar. Optional: Place one of the larger outer leaves of the cabbage over the surface of the sliced cabbage. This will help keep the cabbage submerged in its liquid.

Weigh the cabbage down: Once all the cabbage is packed into the mason jar, slip the smaller jelly jar into the mouth of the jar and weigh it down with clean stones or marbles. This will help keep the cabbage weighed down, and eventually, submerged beneath its liquid.

Cover the jar: Cover the mouth of the mason jar with a cloth and secure it with a rubber band or twine. This allows air to flow in and out of the jar, but prevents dust or insects from getting into the jar.

Press the cabbage every few hours: Over the next 24 hours, press down on the cabbage every so often with the jelly jar. As the cabbage releases its liquid, it will become more limp and compact and the liquid will rise over the top of the cabbage.

Add extra liquid, if needed: If after 24 hours, the liquid has not risen above the cabbage, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water and add enough to submerge the cabbage.

Ferment the cabbage for 3 to 10 days: As it's fermenting, keep the sauerkraut away from direct sunlight and at a cool room temperature — ideally 65°F to 75°F. Check it daily and press it down if the cabbage is floating above the liquid.

Because this is a small batch of sauerkraut, it will ferment more quickly than larger batches. Start tasting it after 3 days — when the sauerkraut tastes good to you, remove the weight, screw on the cap, and refrigerate. You can also allow the sauerkraut to continue fermenting for 10 days or even longer. There's no hard-and-fast rule for when the sauerkraut is "done" — go by how it tastes.

While it's fermenting, you may see bubbles coming through the cabbage, foam on the top, or white scum. These are all signs of a healthy, happy fermentation process. The scum can be skimmed off the top either during fermentation or before refrigerating. If you see any mold, skim it off immediately and make sure your cabbage is fully submerged; don't eat moldy parts close to the surface, but the rest of the sauerkraut is fine.

Store sauerkraut for several months: This sauerkraut is a fermented product so it will keep for at least two months and often longer if kept refrigerated. As long as it still tastes and smells good to eat, it will be. If you like, you can transfer the sauerkraut to a smaller container for longer storage.

I worked til 11 pm and had Raisin Bran -

I recommend poaching salmon the Norwegian way with white vinegar and making a side sauce of sour cream, mayonnaise and dill pickles

Ali,
please stop eating at gas stations - lol

Does your grocery store carry bubbies pickles and sauerkraut ? Chilled near the hot dogs usually - Might be a better choice than the gas station variety - just say'n 😝

Sauerkraut only counts if it is not cooked pasteurized or canned, which is not the way 90% of it is eaten. And it is also incredibly high in sodium. (I love it anyway)

I'm thinking about ways to put more fermented food and drink in my diet, to see if the effect of the probiotics are as good as some people seem to claim, so I stopped by gas station and got a plain hotdog loaded down with sauerkraut. I don't think I'm doing this "fermented foods for health reasons" thing right. It's tasty enough but I also wouldn't be surprised if I ended up with food poisoning... which isn't very healthy.

TG, is your recipe available? We're having salmon tonight as well.

I just bought a crock pot; haven't had one since the early 80's, so need to get back in the groove!

Sounds great Tgenine! We are having salmon patties and mac and cheese... I texted daughter and she is making Salmon also... great minds think alike!

Made a lasagna and a Shepards pie last week. Cut them into individual sizes and froze them. Grab and go for the wife's lunch bag and easy quick dinners when I am not home. Used leftover garlic mashed potatoes for the pie, yum.

Crock Pot! Mexican chicken with green chili rice. So easy and smells great in the kitchen this AM. I am working late today so dinner will be ready for whom ever is around and hopefully will be some when I get home. Will be doing more crock pot diners this year. Need one for tomorrow as it will be another late night for work.