What's for dinner?

Not sure what to say, but regular conversation sounds good. Sometimes run out of ideas for appetizing, different, convenient things to cook. Kinda makes ya feel down when the loved one you care for does not seem to care or even make an effort to eat. Not very motivating, but have tried or done everything could think of to help. It would be nice if when you are in half way decent mood and cook to sit down and have a good dinner. You guys have some great ideas for mealtime solutions though.

Ladee luckily I do make a very mean poach egg in a cheat sort of way too. I have a teeny frying pan that is perfect for poached eggs so i rub oil on it then and gents place my metal shape cutter (also oiled) and then add boiling water from the kettle. I plop in the broken egg and 2.5 mins later on simmer a beautiful heart shaped poached egg - mum likes the heart shaped one but won't eat the square one or the triangular one (no idea before you all ask why). I like the triangle ones because I can fit them on toast easily but she won't touch em unless they are heart shaped.

Falcon, only another caregiver would even get this..... sorry I laughed,,, it's just that I relate so well.... enough is never enough.....God bless caregivers and send us some help..... hugs to you and I bet you make a great poached egg, after all, you DO love to cook....

Mum decided at 2am that she was going to have beans on toast with cheese on top so like an idiot I made it and brought it in and what did she say? Where's the poached egg!!!!!!!!!!

I did say she was lucky I even heard her at stupid o'clock let alone making her a meal in the middle of the night ....her reply...yes but you like cooking don't you and this is nice. SCREEEEEEAM

Since I failed the rice pudding test, I bought a tub of rice pudding instead of cooking it. We are having roast beef on a miniature bun, that helps with portion control. And a spring salad, adding romaine.

Jeanne, we were at traderjoes yesterday, there were tons of big healthy artichokes. Some toddlers were in a cart with the artichokes, looking over there my husband pointed, oh, look at the artichokes, I looked and laughed, oh, there's kids too! The mother smiled, thought we were calling her kids artichokes. You would have had to have been there. So cute!

Tonight we had a pasta dish that couldn't fail to taste good. It has mushrooms, artichokes, chicken, and bacon all browned in the bacon fat, and then a lemon butter sauce poured over all, with capers and finally pasta noodles all mixed together. OMG good -- not a weekly or even monthly healthy dinner, but a super indulgence once in a while. Caprese salad to go with it.

Daughter/border went to Farmers' Market this morning (while I slept) and I'll roast all kinds of good veggies for tomorrow -- with just a hint of olive oil.

I've got a pound cake in the oven now. Should be out about my bedtime.

Appreciated other's suggestions to have the main meal earlier in the day. Sundays were always like that, but now with another heat wave, a very light dinner and the main meal in the afternoon is really working for us. Good to have caregiving friends making suggestions. Thinking steamed vegetables before they expire for today. Fresh is the key to vegetables and salads.

OK, Mincemeat, today for breakfast we had your recipe for pasilla peppers, poured the scrambled egg mixture over them, added cheese, and baked to finish. Sucb a nice Saturday breakfast. Thanks for sharing that idea, earlier.

Mincemeat pie, is that what Jude was talking about? My mom may have made this when we were growing up, but I've never seen it since. She also made pecan pies, now that I am older these are good. Her best pie was lemon merangue, but I did see her fuss and even throw ouf the merangue if it wasn't perfectly light golden brown.

Thursday we had fish tacos, mostly prepared in the wee hours. They were great! It is kind of a fussy recipe but it went together quickly with everything ready.

I am now fishing the prep work on Friday's dinner, which will be a hotdish I've made since the 60s and fried cabbage with bacon as the side dish. (Cabbage planned ahead from last night. Gotta have raw cabbage on fish tacos, ya know.)

Sometimes its easy to just be lazy. Today was the day. I may still have dessert.

Gershen, where's the tomato soup to go with that? You should be ashamed! You failed to mention the dessert. No, never be ashamed that you ate what was convenient for you and maybe just what you wanted, or needed for comfort food.
I would have had two, call it grilled cheese and paint it with mayonnaise to grill it in the frying pan because it browns lightly golden that way. Yum.

Hubby isn't home so I made myself a toasted cheese sandwich for dinner with a pickle on the side. I know I should be ashamed of myself since you all cook such spectacular meals. But when its just me I don't go to a lot of trouble.

Dessert first: Blueberry frozen yogurt on a stick. Creamy, mild, very tasty.

Hi Jessebelle, Jeanne, Susan, and Cwillie- that's everyone on this page!
Love the sleep advice!

When I was up tending to mom last night at 3 a.m. I thought "JG's probably busy making something for dinner right now" lol

JessieBelle, I feel for ya, kid. That is soooo annoying to be in bed and not asleep! But I also envy you. I'd love to have a 1 am to 9 am or 2 am to 10 am internal sleep clock! I think mine is too far off that for therapy to do much good. But I'm seeing the sleep specialist next week and I'm keeping an open mind.

The "experts" suggest careers where you can take a night shift or work from home. I've been very lucky in that regard for the last decade or more, I have been able to work from home. What I really wonder about is how I ever managed to raise babies! I've known this problem since I was about 8 years old. It has gotten much worse in the last few years.

For what it is worth, most "experts" advise against going to bed before you are "sleepy" i.e. ready to sleep. (Being tired is not enough.) They say only sleep is sleep and lying in bed fretting about not sleeping does not contribute to health. But, hey, as a child I taught myself the squares table (2, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36 ...) lying awake in the dark, so it can't be all bad, right?

My Chicken Pad Thai was good tonight!

I think I'll make a summer squash casserole tonight. I'm still in the midst of sorting and cleaning out items from my storage unit, so the house is in a shambles, so quick and easy is the order of the day.

Jeanne, from one night owl to another...

I would be up most of the night if I could. My best work hours are in the evening. The only problem with the "embrace it" thing is that the world would never adjust itself to my clock. I've always had to battle to go to bed so I could get up to go to work early the next morning. Even now I make myself get up at 7 or 8 so I don't drift in time. I do accept that I'm different than most, but it's hard to embrace it when lying in bed thinking "I'm not sleepy" each night. I usually drift off about 1 or 2 AM. A lot of times I make up for the lack of sleep with an afternoon nap. I guess this is what the doctor means about adapting life to it. (When I was working outside the home, it was very hard to stay awake some afternoons.)

I have a genetic disorder that screws up my internal clock. I'm working with a specialist, but the prognosis for a "fix" is not good. I often get to sleep between 5 and 7 am.

I definitely need to maximize my use of the few afternoon hours I have available. The one time constant in my life is I need to make dinner to serve by 6:15 pm. That almost always includes a trip to the store. I shop regularly at Costco so I typically have staples on hand but I often need something fresh for dinner or something Costco doesn't sell. My new plan is to do that shopping after dinner, for tomorrow's dinner. Shift the afternoon work to later in the evening. (I was at my grocer's at 11:45 tonight. They are open until midnight -- worked fine.)

Also I read the recipe and pick out the tasks that could be done ahead. I just made the sauce for tomorrow's Chicken Pad Thai, sliced the scallions, and chopped the peanuts. Dinner will be much quicker with those things done. (I hope.)

I'm aiming to be able to put a decent and fresh dinner together even if I sleep late into the afternoon.

The usual expert advice for my sleep disorder is "Accept it. Embrace it. Adapt your life to it." I'm trying!

Sounds like a good save, Babalou!

Very old frozen salmon, defrosted and mixed with fresh chopped onions, potato pancake mix and eggs. Also fresh corn. Fresh corn makes up for many sins.

Fresh ginger and fresh garlic it is! I am loving this, because if I have neglected to plan ahead by spending too much time devoted to answering a question on here, then checking this thread before going to the market is helping me too! It is like a reward at the end of 'volunteering', something I never got back when volunteering at the senior center (not that I expected any reward). And Gershen's advice about colored bowls should help with losing weight, unless I find bigger bowls! Back to serious, thank you everyone for helping others, for sharing yourselves and what is in your kitchens, and all your thoughts are appreciated, always. Sending me, myself, and I to the store now. Sauteing or steaming vegetable tonight, add garlic and ginger!

juddabuddhaboo, dinner sounds great. My was ground beef and a ton of veggies stir-fried in my wok. Caprese salad (with darling little mozzarella balls from Costco). Strawberry Shortcake.

I'm about to start making gazpacho for tomorrow. Yes, it is 2:30 am, but this suits my sleep disorder! I'll probably make some kind of wraps to serve with the soup tomorrow.

I am enjoying New England summer by buying at local farm stands: fresh peaches, corn, cucumbers, big fat tomatoes, fresh berries, etc. Love it. Worth the extra money. The food is so beautiful and flavorful, if you don't have a garden this is the next best thing. And the drive to the stand is also a treat: to enjoy the countryside and get such a boost of peace of mind. Sometimes I take my mother but when she starts to complain or not enjoy it I just go by myself and am perfectly happy! I thank God for my health, and for the people who took the trouble to have the difficult life of a farmer to grow this food, and also for the hard working immigrants who work a the farm. Supporting honest, local food growers who refrain as much as possible from pesticudes and GMOS, are worth the extra trip to me.

Dinner tonight: sauteed veggies: japanese eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, fennel, onion, fresh ginger and garlic: with a few tablespoons of Pad Thai sauce stirred in and everything simmering. Cooked fresh ear of corn, and fried up some crispy tofu squares. Just a few fresh figs for dessert.
Happy girl! Going for a walk around the senior housing to enjoy the flowers and maybe say hi to whover is out there.
Then, I'll call my mother and see if she had a nice day or whatever it was. If it wasn't wonderful, I don't mind. Mine was.

That sounds good mincemeat!

Jeannegibbs, I love Fiesta dishes too. I bought some big green chiles at Kroger today....going to roast on BBQ grill, stuff with cheese and make a chile relleno casserole by just whipping eggs, milk pouring over them, top with cheese and bake!

Sendme I just read an article that said eating your meals out of colored bowls helps you lose weight cause people tend to not fill their plate as much so you might be on to something.

Throwing away or donating favorite kitchen stuff is over-rated! Kitchen is the only thing the heirs can keep or sell in a garage sale. It's nonpersonal, and can teach those younger whipersnappers a thing or two about how to really cook in something other than a microwave. What is this 30 year old pan from faberware, and why does it still look so new? they will be saying when I am gone.

Jeanne, Have considered organizing and getting rid of my favorite red bowls and replacing them with corelle. Now that you have shared your nice meal, I will enjoy those bowls and anything else that makes mealtimes special, and think of you and your "boarders"' . What else could we put those enchilladas topped with chili con carne into but red bowls!