What's for dinner?

[JDub]

Evening all. Another busy but good day. Took the pooch and went hiking at the big city park, golf course, and sports complex on the S end of town. This thing is really amazing for a tiny town - it would do credit to a full blown city. It's also barely utilized and sucks down enormous amounts of ill affordable resources to maintain as well. However, efforts to privatize it always meet with howls of protest from the .5 percent of the population which have a proprietary interest in it (along the with the numerous old boy jobs that the white elephant supports).

It's a great place to walk though, with a 2 mile trail that winds through some very pretty areas. There are some precipitous, barely marked dropoffs as well. One of these days someone's going to get a lot of the city's money after falling off one of the unmarked sheer drops (the pic I posted below may not properly convey the 50 or 60 ft drop to the river below).

Checked in on my bed bound friend again and drove 25 miles round trip to the county seat to see if there were any issues with the new alternator - sometimes when you replace one on a computer controlled engine it will throw some codes and cause problems and I don't want that to happen on the road. All seems well though.

Tonight, It's another fast food analog meal. I don't why I've been in the junk food mood so much lately. I decided to go with grilled Nathan's hot dogs, fries, and my authentic NY City pushcart onion sauce from a recipe I got years ago from a friend whose grandfather peddled hotdogs near the zoo in the late 40's after coming back from the war. He sold his FIL's butcher shop's hot dogs and sausages and his wife came up with a cheap, easy to make, and tasty onion sauce to go with it. It's still pretty darn good and goes really well on a grilled or dirty water dog.

I had it with an overload of fries (I've had a carb craving too - weird), and an incongruous Italian style salad with Vin E Gray (That's LITHUANIAN ya know!). Overall a pretty satisfying and easy dinner. I hope all of you have some good eats out there tonite whatever it may be. Stay safe!

Cheers!

 

[Ravella and X]

JDub, it’s sure a good thing you stay physically active! Looks yummy. I had plain popcorn for dinner again. Been working on my next pair of wet felted wool slippers and just don’t want to complicate my tiny home with cooking until I'm pau hana

 

[JDub]

JDub, it’s sure a good thing you stay physically active! Looks yummy. I had plain popcorn for dinner again. Been working on my next pair of wet felted wool slippers and just don’t want to complicate my tiny home with cooking until I'm pau hana

Sad thing about it? I'm STILL hungry! Maybe I'll have a bowl of bran flakes. You need to eat more than popcorn all the time. Why not fix some egg salad or pimento cheese or an Italian / French style tuna salad (w olive oil, no mayo) and get some Wasa crackers - or a Salad Nicoise. That would make a quick and reasonably good meal. Post a pic of your slippers when your done. I'd love to see them!

Cheers!

 

[Ravella and X]

I love popcorn! It is a meal about once a week. That’s the beauty of being done raising kids— no more having to set a good example There are worse things to have for dinner — like cookies and cake and candy and donuts and ice cream with hot fudge sauce…

Can we have that onion sauce recipe, please?

 

[WanderingRose]

I am flabbergasted daily by your menus and incentive to prepare complex meals every day, JDub.

I cooked yesterday, because it was cold and rainy and I needed something hot and nourishing, arecipe I found in the Washington Post a few months back.

I use turkey Italian sausage, and yesterday added a package of sliced baby portobello mushrooms with the onion.

Two good handfuls of any sturdy pasta will suffice for broken lasagna noodles.

I use an entire package of baby spinach, and don’t bother to chop it.

A one-pot meal in a bowl, which easily feeds four hungry adults.

Spinach Lasagna Soup​

Ingredients:​

1 tablespoon olive oil​

• 8 ounces sweet Italian-style chicken sausage, casings removed (see NOTE)
• 1 medium yellow onion (about 8 ounces), diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• One (15-ounce) can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 4 ounces lasagna sheets, broken into pieces (about 5 noodles)
• 3 cups (2 ounces) lightly packed fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese (part-skim or whole)
• 1/4 cup (scant 1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

---

Directions:​

In a large, heavy soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the sausage and onion and cook, stirring frequently and breaking up the sausage with the spoon as it cooks, until the onion has softened and the sausage is browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds, then stir in the tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt and pepper.
Add the broth, crushed tomatoes and water (swirl it around the empty tomato can to get all the tomato flavor out) and bring to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are al dente and the soup has reduced slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach and remove from the heat.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top each portion with a dollop of ricotta, then sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and serve.

 

[JDub]

Boy Rose, a bowl of that would do you for a LONG time. Just add some of Ravella's bread and you'd have real feast. Just need some vino.

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

I love popcorn! It is a meal about once a week. That’s the beauty of being done raising kids— no more having to set a good example There are worse things to have for dinner — like cookies and cake and candy and donuts and ice cream with hot fudge sauce…

Can we have that onion sauce recipe, please?

Heck, I'm done raising my one unsanitary, resource sucking, grocery gobbler and I eat WAY better now then when I had to cater to what the little yard ape would actually eat!!! I like popcorn (sprinkled w Parmesan, fried sage leaves, and anchovy oil - yeah, I'm weird) but it wouldn't do for a meal for me. I usually only eat 2 regular meals a day with a snack in between.

The recipe for the onion sauce is a little subjective to one's own tastes. Basically: dice one large onion into one inch pieces. saute in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until translucent. Add a third cup of ketchup, 2 tbls apple cider vinegar, dash of Worsteshistershistershire (shister) sauce, an 8th tsp allspice, same of ground cloves (I mortar and pestle the whole spice because I'm bored and anal retentive), salt and fresh ground Piper Nigrum.

Then slowly simmer for about 10 -15 min till onions are done the way you like (I like a little al dente) and the sauce is thick (add a splash of water if too thick). This isn't really as sweet as you'd think, which works well with hot dogs and hamburgers. If you want a really sweet sauce add corn syrup or sugar. Adjust all the previous to your own taste. I never have any leftover from a grill party. A splash of beer also doesn't hurt!

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all, another gorgeous day! Hard to stay in and do housework on days like this soooooo - I didn't! Anyway, took Mutley for a walkie down below the dam and that water is RUNNING. Spent an hour on the trails without seeing a soul. Whole darn park was ours. Very relaxing.

Got back and started some yard work. Pruned my roses, apple
and fig trees, planted some Day Lilly's (I try to plant a few every year), and did some picking up of twigs and such. Spring must be just around the corner because Jonquils are starting to pop up in sun warmed corners of the yard (the house is concrete and retains a lot of heat). My hardneck garlic is doing well too.

Tonight I've got a rack of ribs going in the oven (easy way) and when they're done, I'll sear them on the outside grill, and have them dry w sauce on the side the way God intended! I suspect the furry one will get a couple too. We'll see how it turns out later!

Cheer!

 

[JDub]

OK! They turned out pretty good after 3 hours @ 300 in a covered pan sprinkled w a little rub (if you're on the road sub the oven with your RoadPro, crockpot, Hot Logic etc 12 v oven analog (heck, wrap it well in foil and put it on your manifold. That'll do the job in half the time). They're great and a lot of different types are coming on the market. Best of all, they're cooking while YOU'RE driving! Careful when you take them out though. There's going to be about an inch of hot juice in there.

Pulled them out, sprinkled w a little more rub (want a change? Try sprinkling your ribs with Liptons Onion Soup mix before you grill - fantastic dry rub - no sauce needed) heated up the grill ( I have yet to meet a Nomad without at least 1 little grill) and spent about 5 min browning them over medium heat (Magical Kitchen Puppy suddenly appears here). Put them back in the oven w a spritz of vinegar baste (apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne) in a spray bottle for 10 min. Quickly grilled some garlic toast (I don't keep soft white bread so I subbed HD rolls) brushed w leftover chimichuri for the best garlic bread you ever had. Some no cook sides and leftover beans and a chunk of cake. Heaven on Earth! Very little cooking involved as well.

Just because you're on the road doesn't mean you have to sacrifice decent eating. You just have to make the effort. A little planning and 15 min of prep in the morning before you launch goes a long way.

I hope you're all warm, safe, happy,and well fed tonight wherever you are...

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all. LOOOONG day today, had to drive to Montgomery (on the other side of the state) to finish my TSA Precheck interview (After my last experience waiting in line at Reagan National after visiting my son in D.C. I swore I was going to sign up). Stopped off at the Airbase there to check out their dry goods. I got some good stuff to take on the road with me (not the maters) on my next excursion (Rose - this is to continue flabbergasting you!) . It was a gorgeous day again and it felt really good to be on the road. I've got too many irons in the fire right now to leave (including a bed ridden friend). Soon though! I've already got my next outing planned and I'm ready for it.

I knew I'd be in a hurry when I got home so I browned some hamburger last night and got chopping as soon as I got home. Pulled out an .88 cent jar (now it's $1.48! Wow - did anybody see the CPI report this morning? Highest inflation since 82. I well remember those days and I know many of you do too) of Walmart pasta sauce, added a can of crushed maters, seasonings and sauteed veggies, and extra water to the mix (I wanted it soupy for this dry bake rigatone recipe) then simmered it a bit.

Sprayed a casserole and added the uncooked pasta and a lot of mooz. added the sauce and into the oven @ 350 covered in foil for 1 hour. Then I'm uncovering it. Adding lots more cheese on top and bake till golden. Finito. I love this recipe. So easy. Then I'm running a couple chunks over to my friend, coming back. Popping a beer and that's THAT!

By the way, used my Hot Logic today. Filled it w hotdogs and let them cook on the way. Ate em at the AFB with the buns I brought and I always have a big bag of those little condiments. Saved a ton of money now that your average lunch seems to be in the 10 -12 buck range! We'll see if this turns out.

 

[JDub]

There it is. Quick and easy! Now I'm going to make a quick delivery, have a beer, have a chunk myself and then a quick shower and LalaLand time.

Everyone stay safe and sound out there. Eat well, and take care of yourself because your health is the most important thing you got...

Cheers!

 

[WanderingRose]

Yum.

Any cheesy, baked pasta dish is comfort food at its best.

 

[JDub]

Another

Yum.

Any cheesy, baked pasta dish is comfort food at its best.

Another good thing about them is they freeze and reheat well. I always put several chunks in the deep freeze then bring them on trips with me for easy hot meals.

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Kind of a weird day. Another brilliantly sunny, Abbynormally warm day. The kind that want's you to leave the house immediately and do something outdoorsy. Alas, I had too much to do to just up and boogie... So I got some chores done, started to ops check my equipment for my upcoming trip to Islamorada and K.W. Perfect day to run through the solar stuff.

I was averaging ~ 65 watts on the panels and I just swagged the angle. Probably could have gotten a lot more if I'd worked out the angles. . I DID take Sam for a 30 min walkie down by the river (in a VAN) since he was pretty much on his own yesterday. Combined that with a trip to the Co op to fill up a propane cylinder. Just a lot of puttering. I had a big chunk of pasta for lunch so I'm definitely not in the mood for a big dinner, but I had to start what I'm grilling tomorrow today.

Takes a day of marinading. NY pushcart style chicken. shawarma. Marinated in a LOT of spices, lemon, olive oil, garlic, Greek yogurt, etc. You get the idea. I'm still figuring out dinner. Whatever it is, it's going to be simple.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Not able to purchase any 1lb propane around the area so I'm doing a lot of campfire cooking this weekend.
This campground has a ton of dry wood laying about. So plenty of fuel.
(on a side note I really must buy one of those 20lb tank to 1lb tank hoses so I can hook my stove up to a 20lb)
Just had tacos I made with a campfire baked potato, grilled squash, onions and peppers, with black beans and cheese on a campfire grilled tortilla.
Garnished with lettuce, onion, jalapeno and salsa.
People wonder how I eat on such a cheap grocery budget?
Well $1 can of beans covered lunch and dinner. And $2 worth of tortillas will last me 5 or 6 meals.
The most expensive ingredient was the $3 block of cheese.

 

[JDub]

Not able to purchase any 1lb propane around the area so I'm doing a lot of campfire cooking this weekend.
This campground has a ton of dry wood laying about. So plenty of fuel.
(on a side note I really must buy one of those 20lb tank to 1lb tank hoses so I can hook my stove up to a 20lb)
Just had tacos I made with a campfire baked potato, grilled squash, onions and peppers, with black beans and cheese on a campfire grilled tortilla.
Garnished with lettuce, onion, jalapeno and salsa.
People wonder how I eat on such a cheap grocery budget?
Well $1 can of beans covered lunch and dinner. And $2 worth of tortillas will last me 5 or 6 meals.
The most expensive ingredient was the $3 block of cheese.

EVERYTHING tastes better cooked over a campfire. Especially if you're grilling.Those tacos you made sound fantastic. Those propane refill fittings are good to have (I have one), never seem to use it though, I always cart around a full size (sometimes even larger) cylinder. Fit's just fine in a crate behind the front passenger seat. Cooking from pretty much scratch is way cheaper then prepared or convenience foods all the time. I save a lot of money that way too.

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Well here it is. I had to think long and hard for anything that even sounded appealing (I briefly considered a bought burger - shudder), then it hit me, I had everything I needed for one of my oldest and most favorite meals. Goes Waaaay back in JDub's timeline. The simplest of Japanese home cooking, rice, some canned Japanese fish simmered in shoyu, sugar, and sake, home pickled Tsukemono (Japanese pickles), miso soup, and a steaming mug of green tea.

My mom used to make this for my sister and I when we were little and I love it to this day for its simplicity, balance, and for the memories. I had cooked rice this morning for Spam and eggs so there's plenty on hand. Even got out the Japanese dishware! There you have it. An edible memory from my childhood. Of a warm sunny house, happy times, and of my Mom...

Everyone should make an effort to occasionally relive the past through their favorite foods. If only to escape for a moment the stress and craziness of life these days and to bring back good memories of when things were simpler, the world was smaller, and you didn't have to deal with the all million and one things - good and bad -that you have to now.

Cheers and stay safe out there everyone

.

 

[Random Painted Highway]

I'm still at home, trying to figure my next steps in life, but I've been using some foodstuff that i have on hand to makes some meals and save some cash-so tonight it's baked bbq tofu and leftover rice that i just reheated and some fresh veggies on the side. I had most of the ingredients for the bbq sauce, but i had to alter it a bit. For the sauce i chopped an onion and sautéed until brown, then added some garlic, diced tomatoes, vinegar, molasses, cayenne peppers, since i was out of red pepper flakes, salt, sugar, mustard and liquid smoke. Added some Tobasco for some extra kick. Pressed the tofu and sliced it into slabs and then coated the slabs in oil and soy and threw them in the oven to get crispy and brown. Here are a few pics. Also baked some bread in the bread machine...not the best looking, but mmmm it's good!

 

[Calaverasgrande]

EVERYTHING tastes better cooked over a campfire. Especially if you're grilling.Those tacos you made sound fantastic. Those propane refill fittings are good to have (I have one), never seem to use it though, I always cart around a full size (sometimes even larger) cylinder. Fit's just fine in a crate behind the front passenger seat. Cooking from pretty much scratch is way cheaper then prepared or convenience foods all the time. I save a lot of money that way too.

Cheers!

I think I want to skip the whole refilling thing.
They make adapters that get you from the output of a 20lb or 40lb tank to the input of your standard camp stove.
I know REI has them. Sure they must have them at less pricey places. Just gotta find the walk in place that does!

 

[Frood]

I think I want to skip the whole refilling thing.
They make adapters that get you from the output of a 20lb or 40lb tank to the input of your standard camp stove.
I know REI has them. Sure they must have them at less pricey places. Just gotta find the walk in place that does!

Rei, Walmart, Dicks, Big5…. I’ve seen the hoses for 20lbs propane tanks that connect to stove/heater just about everywhere that sells mr. heater/buddy heaters. Just make sure to always turn off your propane tank when not actively in use.