What's for dinner?

Fave niece dropped off lunch/dinner - Pork chops. The first meat was delicious - so flavorful. In consideration of my acid reflux, she did not use garlic powder. Instead, she used chili powder or was it chili sauce. The 2nd meat was very very salty. She was really surprised that I actually cooked pork chops. We compared notes on our seasoning. She never thought of using paprika and cayenne pepper on it. Uhm... I found out where I went wrong. She said that I need to RUB the seasoning onto the meat - not shake it on top of the meat. I told her that I'm not really ready to touch the soft meat with my hands. It was really stomach-turning when I was forced to do so. Every time I touched it, I quickly washed my hands. She said that is the best way to get the seasoning onto the meat - especially if it's a thick meat. I'll get there eventually....

Thanks, Jeanne. I copied and pasted it under the title: DEFROSTING. No problem with the cooking double time.

Pasta summer salad with peppers, zuchinni, olives and lots of seasoning-yummy- and artichoke hearts.

if im using ground beef ( which i wont till the price comes down ) i split the shrink wrap and let it sit on the counter all day to brown a bit . its like aging beef or venison which is in effect allowing slight decomposition to take place . the flavor is greatly enhanced and i might be guessing here but i think aged beef is what makes a wendys hamburger so superior to most . i think " most " are full of soy beans , oatmeal , shredded gym mattress , etc ..

Jeanne's Kitchen Tip 1: Using frozen meat

Buying in large quantities can save money. But don't freeze together more than you will use at one time. If you buy 12 pork chops and you usually need 4 for a meal, divide the meat into 3 packages. Freezer-quality sealable bags are good, and so is freezer wrap. Be sure to label each package with the date and contents. For example, I buy Costco ground beef in six-pound packages. I place each of the 12 half-pound chunks in a sandwich bag, and then place all the bags in a larger freezer quality bag. I can take out just what I need for my meal.

If you are buying a roast larger than you need, I suggest thawing the entire piece, cooking it, and freezing the cooked leftovers in portions sized for another meal or two.

Most frozen meals instruct you to keep frozen until ready to use. Do that. Cook as the package directs.

You can cook other frozen meats while they are still frozen, too. Add 50% to the cooking time. If this item normal cooks in 40 minutes, expect it to take 60 if you start from frozen.

I prefer to thaw meat first. My first choice is to take it out the night before and leave it in the refrigerator. Something very big -- like a turkey -- will take longer than that, but a package of chops or a pork tenderloin, etc. will thaw nicely overnight.

If I need to thaw something faster, I use the microwave. Use the "thaw" power level or 50% to minimize cooking in spots. I only use the microwave if I am going to cook the item immediately -- I mean take it from the mic and put it in frying pan. It is risky to hold meat that may have begun to heat up in spots. Thaw it, cook it. Everything's fine.

I don't use the microwave to thaw seafood or fish. I think it degrades the texture/taste.

Immersing the item in cold water is another method, faster than the fridge but slower than the microwave. I do this for things like a package of frozen strawberries or shrimp, but for most meats I use the fridge or microwave methods.

When I was learning to cook, thawing meat in hot water was considered a no-no. The thinking was that some of the meat could be at a dangerous temperature while the center was still frozen. I believe that now the thinking is that the process is fast enough that this temperature difference doesn't last long enough to matter.

In the dark old pre-microwave days people often thawed meat on the counter. It was considered dangerous then and it still is. Don't do it!

You can refreeze thawed meat when no portion has warmed up to room temperature -- which mostly means the meat was thawed in the fridge. This is safe but it doesn't do any favors to the quality of the eating experience. Portion your meat correctly before you freeze it!

Here is a one-page cheat-sheet from the USDA. (I assume moderators will allow it, because it is a .gov site, not a .com)

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/safe-food-handling/the-big-thaw-safe-defrosting-methods-for-consumers/CT_Index

im looking for a hot plate so i can do my canning out in the garage , 57 ..

just a couple of frozen pizzas for dinner. too hot/humid plus I did a lot of weeding today and wasn't motivated.
I have electric stove as the only gas available for me is propane and no thanks to that ugly tank in my yard. Would like a new stove but I really dont want a smooth top as I do a lot of canning and hot water bath and still not sure those smooth tops are durable enough.

you guys should try boycotting some of these products that are increasing in price and decreasing in size . i left the swisher sweet tipped cigars on the shelf for 3 years cause they were approaching 6 bucks for 5 cigars . theyre all over the country now for 3 . 39 ..
wal treason is no place to buy food . there is no best deal on the shelf , it all equates to the same price . meat is sold by the ounce , fluffed with water , dyed to make it more attractive and packaged under magnifying shrink wrap . if people would stop being dumbasses , the prices would come in line . these chicken quarters are as high quality as it gets - from sav a lot , 69 cents a pound .,.

Cap i didnt know you liked chicken livers!!! well ill be damned LOL

back from town , chicken is on to boil , got some chicken livers for later on , and some baking choc chips to munch on -- because im a cheap sob and hershey sold out to china ..

The first thing I've done in each house I've lived in is put in a gas stove. I really do not like cooking on an electric stove. Some of the newer ones might be OK, but in general the cooking ring stays hot long after you turn the burner off. With gas, if you turn it down, it is down right now. My ideal would be a gas range and an electric oven, but I haven't had that combination.

Cuban sandwich for the husband, Turkey BLT for me and the dog at a sidewalk cafe in the town where I grew up. Then swung by Trader Joe's for more provisions, including a quinoa and pine nut salad.

Roast chicken,carrots,roast potatoes, stuffing and gravy! mum had ice-cream in wafers!! i had some boring dark chocolate?? I feel alot better that im not eating carbs but its not easy!

im going for chicken quarters . thought insertion is such a b*tch . i suspect book of witchcraft and think we should burn her at her exploding gas range ..

" best when used by " dates are misleading and in fact might be eliminated in the uk -- too much wasted food by inside the box thinkers . all foods emit a horrid odor when spoilage begins and according to our fda ones nose should be the determining factor when there is doubt . canned goods can last indefinately if the can isnt bent and the vaccum inside compromised . cured and smoked hams have been known to retain their value for 30 years with a little rehydration . ( soaked in water )
exp dates are in the interest of food manufacturers only . theyd love you to trash it and buy more .
i oughtta go get 10 lbs of chicken quarters , book . boiled chicken sounds like just the stuff tonight . hate to drive to town for only that tho ..
cuz pushed me over the edge when she spent one day last week washing her clothes for the upcoming family night out instead of getting two measly bank statements to the waiting NH . aps also , thought that i shouldnt take edna to chicago altho edna wanted to go . bet aps learned something here too ..
the aps women know me from moms final year of hospice . bet they werent surprised at my response at all .
the g - kids are important , they just lost the other g - pa ..

Nope. We do have a warehouse company that sells wholesale - similar to Costco and Sams. But, it's still expensive. The price just keeps going up and up. Best time to shop is food stamp days (first couple of days when the foodstamps come out.) Unfortunately, you get this loooong cart-full lines. Mom and pops store - a lot of time the items are expired or soon to be expire. I once almost bought a can of soup - good thing I checked the expiration date - expired 2 years ago! I don't know if it's expensive or not but when I was shopping for the pork chops, I had the option of buying 3 pc pack for $5.00 or the 7pc pack for $10.00. I chose the 7 piece pack because I was panning to make 2 separate meals with it.

My next goal is to make our local dish which is chicken in a spicy hot sauce. But I refuse to cook chicken on my burner that keeps shutting off. Unless I boil the chicken first to make sure it's cooked? Then empty out the water and start adding the ingredients like vinegar, soy sauce, onions, etc.... I will check with BIL. He makes it delicious.

It must be hard for you knowing the edna is in the incapable hands of cuz. But like we all know from here, no one of authority will step in if someone dependable is caring for the elderly.

book , not that it matters at this point but a pig has no major blood supply vessels to his brain so cutting him from ear to ear wont result in quick death by blood loss . you have to go in and down deep near his sternum to hit the aorta . he still puts up a brief squeal and some unsettling gurgling but he has seconds to live and the meat is cleaner because of the massive blood loss .
me1000 , mashed potatoes in a choc cake makes for a moist cake too . mayo gives it zing .
book ,
i guess you dont have a sav a lot store . tuna in water is 69 cents there most of the time and thats where the frozen chicken quarters can be bought for 69 cents a pound every day too ..
im resting from the bike ride today , probly replace intake gaskets on gmc tomorrow , back to wood cutting on monday . im still staying away from ednas . ive dumped it onto incompetant cuz so the NH placement will become an emergency and aps will have the cause to revoke poa and appoint a public conservator . they were waiting for a phsyc visit for edna ( and sharon ) tue so phsyc could make a ruling but as long as i was staying with edna everyone was dragging their feet .. a selfless person can turn into a sucker so quickly they dont even take notice till its been done ..

Me100, just yesterday I was wondering what to do with the rest of the box of macaroni. Tuna macaroni. Those small cans are so expensive and salty, I rarely buy it. Sales should be coming up.

Ok captain, you both have no convinced me! I will definitely give it a try! Mayo in cake, I just wont tell my family until after they try it!

Good luck bookluvr with you wiring and stove.


Keep the dinners coming you all, it all sounds great! You all have given me some great ideas! I have no idea what Im cooking tonight, maybe Tuna Helper with vegetables?

a good appliance repairperson might be able to help you out , book . you may have the wrong jets in the range . lp and nat gas require different jets , or your gas regulator valve outside may need recalibrated .
a kitchen sink half full of warm - to hot water will thaw any meat in minutes . fish should be thawed in cold water because hot water may prematurely start cooking them . you cook fish quickly and get em out of the heat or theyll melt down ..
my grandkids werent too crazy about the chicken filled brotchen rolls but while i was resting my headache thursday my son made the same rolls filled with perreroni , cheese , and tomato sauce and the kids destroyed them ..

Book, did you check YouTube for video on how to adjust the stove? It may be simple enough for someone to try, otherwise get a repairman. Maybe it is a piece of packing material or another foreign object, like maybe a cockroach, causing the flare up? LOL!

Really???? Darn! Thanks for the heads up. We have this new gas range that fave sis bought years ago. We tried asking the gas man to check it, oldest bro of next door, etc.. no one seriously can figure out how to adjust the wide flaring of the "whoosh" when you first turn on the gas range. Then when you turn it off, that same "whoooosh" FLARES out again. Okay, I will ask sis that we first find a real gas stove expert to come over and check it out. BUT, the gas in the gas tank hasn't been used for over 2 years. Maybe best to order a new tank of gas???

Our house is old. The wiring is old. My bedroom ceiling light flickers and then shuts off when it's rainy weather. and non-rainy weather. Thanks, Glad. I will text sis because she's going to do an electric range shopping tomorrow.

Book, be careful on the electric range. It will probably require one of those large 240 outlets to plug it into. That may require an electrician to upgrade wiring in the house. I once almost did that, then realized the type of power supply needs for an electric range.

About that Red velvet cake the dye they use in it turns your poop red so beware you or more likely mom don't have colon cancer

When I was in elementary age, my dad would raise pigs. Then donated/sold it for parties/fiestas. They'd roast the pig over the barbecue pit, turning it slowly to roast. Anyway, on the day of the party, my dad, my brothers and relatives would come over to kill the pig. Today, it would be called animal cruelty because they would slit the throat and the poor pig would squeal in pain for a long time as the blood flowed out of it. No instant kill. While the boys were helping dad kill the pig, us girls were helping mom with the baking (mixing the ingredients, etc...) My brothers told us younger kids that mom's famous red velvet cake was made of the pig's blood. We believed them. Since then, I cannot eat that cake.

Because I'm now trying to cook, this past week, when I was eating out, I purposely avoided my regular food that I ordered. This time, I chose something else. I can tell you that the word "ground beef" is always substituted with a fancier name in restaurants. Today, at a Japanese restaurant, I ordered a rice bowl, with a round meat-loaf tasting ground beef, with lettuce and drowned with teriyaki sauce (found out that I hate that taste!) and topped with a very runny sunnyside up egg. I did not care for this food.

For dinner, I still had 3 frozen pork chops. I spent like an hour googling how to defrost pork chops fast, and the simplest easiest seasonings for it. In the end, I gave up. I put the meat in the micro to defrost. Chopped up onions, threw it into the nonstick pan. Looked at my limited seasonings, and grabbed Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Powder, Italian Seasoning, and salt. I took my whole black peppercorn grinder and adjusted it so that I would grind large black peppers and not the teeny tiny ones. When the onions were done, I took it out, and put the meat in the pan. The single burner kept shutting off. I was sweating and it took me a long time to cook those meat.

Sis saw me cooking. She asked if I was cooking it plain - just salt and pepper. I said yeah, but not much salt, but lots of black pepper, cayenne, etc.. Sigh... I like tonight's meal the best. Simple and plain. I can taste the meat - and not all those spicy gravy, etc... To add the "crunch" with my meal, I just chopped up some onions lengthwise, threw it into my usual soy sauce dipping mix - and it just like that with the meal.

FYI, in frustration, I told fave sis that I want to get rid of our gas range (fire hazard - you turn it on and the fire flares out wide with this loud 'whoooosh'.) Since dad is bedridden, I don't want to use the gas range. I said if she can find an electric range, she can have the gas range and sell it to someone else. I just want a simple electric range to cook on - where I can actually 'simmer' food and not having to keep turning it on because it automatically shuts off.

mayo rocks in a choc cake too.
we didnt make it to the naval museum , i rode home today instead. back home safely ..
thanks ike..

Well, so far all of your meals look interesting and yummy!

Chocolate Cherry Cake- jeannegibbs- Im hungry! Mayo? Really? Yes, please post the recipe! Well, I have to agree that red velvet doesn't have a flavor, it is the icing that makes it. But, I love the look, and still make it once in a while. Its like a "fancy or love cake" lol.

Im going to keep up with this trhead so I can respond to more of you! You all look like your having some fun on this thread too, hope I can keep up!

ba8alou, did you get the salmon from Costco too? Last week they had Copper River Sockeye. OMG -- good! I am not found of brown rice, but everything else sounds great. Nice birthday meal.

I have to say, as a MidWesterner, I've never "got" red velvet cake. I guess it is a regional thing. It looks red (from an entire bottle of food color) but it doesn't taste red -- not strawberry or cherry or cinnamon or red hots or anything red. It uses a tiny bit of cocoa to enhance the red color but not enough to flavor the cake. It is moist. It is pretty. To me it doesn't taste like anything special. It is a tease cake that doesn't deliver. :) Usually it has great frosting. I'd certainly eat it if that is what a hostess is serving, but I'd never order it if their were other choices.

My mother used to make a chocolate cherry cake that turned out almost the color of red velvet but actually tasted like it looked. I'm going to see if I can scare up that old recipe. (It had mayonnaise, I remember.)

Any of you Dixie folks want to defend red velvet cake?

ba8 thats sounds nice and very healthy apart from the red velvet cake i made aunt bessies one of these last month it was yummy! and im here on a diet! SNIFF! have 2wks to get into a bikini LOL

salmon with soy ginger sauce and garlic scapes. Brown rice with dried wild mushrooms. Kale/spinach salad; think I'll saute some fresh crimini mushrooms in with the grape tomatoes. And red velvet cake from Costco for my son in law's birthday.