What's For Dinner? - 2020

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catapault

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I use my Instant Pot to make yogurt. It should also replace your medium size pressure cooker. I make rice - basmati, jasmine, arborio=risotto - in a regular saucepan. The slow cooker is useful especially in the summer - I put it outdoors on the deck so it doesn't heat up the kitchen. I have a small basic toaster oven that I would love to replace - it is aged - but cannot find anything of similar dimensions (to store in cupboard) because all I find are "fancy" ones, too big / too many options. Ditto 2-slice toaster.

Single use appliances I use infrequently but still would never discard include waffle iron and panini grill. And my meat grinder.

Something I should sort through and whittle the numbers down - I have too many kitchen knives. I prefer carbon steel so whenever I would find one at a thrift shop it would be rescued.

Sis-in-law in Manhattan with a studio apartment has definite counter space/storage space issues worse than anything I ever had to deal with. She got a new refrigerator and now there is no space to put a microwave on top of it. I have learned that there is a microwave+toaster oven combo but no idea if it is any good. And she has no where to put it anyhow.

Can you put a shelving unit in the garage for all the infrequently used appliances, like the 12 cup coffee maker in the blue plastic bag? My party coffee maker is in the basement, stored in its original box (I tend to keep the boxes for things like this.) Cannot remember the last time we had that kind of party, and with covid-19 . . .
 

Willowy

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is there something out there that would take the place of several of them?
You can make rice in the pressure cooker. Other than that I don't think there's a lot of consolidation possible!
I use my Instant Pot to make yogurt. It should also replace your medium size pressure cooker.
You can do almost anything an Instant Pot can do in any brand of electric pressure cooker (usually not yogurt, but anything else). The IP just has all the convenient shortcut buttons. I did just fine with my Cuisinart brand pressure cooker until it died recently.
 

catapault

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I only mentioned making yogurt in my Instant Pot because that is how I currently make it. I used to make yogurt in a jar sitting in a pan of tepid water. Or wrap the jar in a towel. The best toast I ever had was made directly on the lid of a Queen Atlantic wood burning kitchen stove. I water bath can tomatoes, jams and jellies, pickles. The only thing(s) that cannot be done on the stove would be anything low acid foods that must be pressure canned - meat, vegetables.

So I don't need these appliances. They just simplify my life and make it easier.
 

susanm9006

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My first takeout meal since February - chicken chow mein from Shangri La #3 in downtown North St Paul. It is a little hole in the wall take out only restaurant that has been in business since at least the 40’s and I don’t think the menu has changed. A full order of chow mein, rice and noodles sets you back a little under $5, you call in and order and they deliver it to your car. It was a real treat to have something I didn’t cook.
 

lizzie

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White vinegar,water,sugar,salt and pepper is all...I mix the sugar and vinegar first,add just a bit of water to tone it down and salt and pepper to taste.When I get a craving for the sour cream dressing,I just add sour cream...maybe a half cup or so....sugar,salt and pepper and the vinegar.
 

susanm9006

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White vinegar,water,sugar,salt and pepper is all...I mix the sugar and vinegar first,add just a bit of water to tone it down and salt and pepper to taste.When I get a craving for the sour cream dressing,I just add sour cream...maybe a half cup or so....sugar,salt and pepper and the vinegar.
Most of the time I do my dressing pretty much like yours except with red wine vinegar and garlic salt in place of regular salt but I really need to make the sour cream dressing.
 

segelkatt

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Thanks to everyone about explanations etc about getting rid of stuff in my kitchen. I now have a big box with a crock pot, a pressure cooker, a yoghurt maker, several baking dishes, some pots and frying pans, and 2 fondue pots in it to give to a thrift shop. Also some clothes that my DIL did not want although she did take some (she had recently packed on some pounds, blamed it on the stress of the virus although nothing in HER life has changed at all) that are too big for me as I have lost more weight since living in Reno and I had grown to dislike them anyway. I will now ruthlessly see what else I can do without including blankets, pillows, decorative pillows, why am I dragging all this stuff around with me? We do get attached to our stuff, don't we? But as my mother quoted to me a long time ago (it was not original from her) : "anything you cannot give away owns you". And I certainly do not ever want to be "owned" by anyone or anything, I think that is why it was relatively easy for me to quit smoking, I did not want the cigarettes to "own" me.
Dinner: some time back I had made Coq Au Vin but of course there was too much of it so I put it in individual dishes and in the freezer and one of them is going to be tonight's dinner. Since I had cut off my first head of red leaf lettuce in the garden earlier today I will have some of that to go with it, a light vinaigrette to finish it off with some tiny tomatoes from the farmers market, it will be a feast. Maybe a glass of Pinot Grigio to accompany all and perhaps some ice cream? Haven't had any of that in a while. Or maybe I'll just finish off the Rainier cherries I still have in the fridge later on. Oh my, that sounds like an awful lot of food for me, hope I can finish it all without getting sick or my stomach to hurt.
 

Mamanyt1953

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I have a few cookbooks on my Kindle and I don't personally don't like them in that format. I wanted to but they are a bit of a pain IMO.
Thanks for the headsup! I won't waste my money on those, then.

I love this Youtube channel for IP recipes. Jeffrey is great. Pressure Luck Cooking
SUBSCRIBED!

I don't have one (yet), but doesn't an Instant Pot do the same as a slow cooker, and pressure cooker, and rice cooker. Plus they have other settings like for yogurt, which I'd like to try.
My model has nine different functions, including "sear" and "steam." And yogurt. There was another model that had 15 functions, but was a little pricey for my buget, even with the stimulus check.

I had PLANNED on ordering Chinese tonight, but BOY did time get away from me! Taquitos, then. I'm not looking to struggle with dinner tonight!
 

rubysmama

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: "anything you cannot give away owns you".
Love that quote! And congrats on purging things you don't need. It always feels great to get rid of "junk", and as a bonus you get to help others with your donations.

Last night's dinner was french fries and Gardein chick’n tenders, and an apple for dessert. (plus a couple blocks of Jersey Milk chocolate bar)

Today looks like it's going to be dreary and wet, so I might try a bit harder to make that vegetarian pasta "meat" sauce. 🍝
 

Winchester

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Believe it or not, one of the best appliances I've found is a Foodi Grill. I know, sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? But honestly, that thing is amazing. It grills, it air fries, it bakes, it roasts, and it dehydrates. That thing makes the best baked potatoes I've ever had, and in about 40 minutes, much better than "steaming" them in the microwave. I do wings, thighs, legs, etc in the grill. It makes really good burgers when it's too wet, too windy, or too snowy to use the outdoor grill. I baked a small one-layer cake in the thing and it came out beautifully. Turkey breasts came out great; I had to slice them in half and do each half separately. Shrimp is wonderful. I've roasted pork and beef in that thing and they came out beautiful. The fries are so good. I want to try ears of corn. We really do prefer outside grilling, but there are times when we can't do it. The Foodi Grill is pretty awesome.

I've been looking for an electric griddle. I make sourdough English muffins and have been using a nonstick electric skillet to "bake" them. It doesn't bake evenly at all (which I understand is a problem with many griddles, too); the ones at the edges can get burnt, if I don't keep a really close eye on them.

I have several Kindle cookbooks and I don't like them either. Give me a printed cookbook anyday.

Tonight's dinner? I haven't a clue! I'm tired of cooking, I'm tired of trying to come up with ideas, and I'm tired of looking through cookbooks. Blah to food in general! Maybe some brats on the grill.
 

neely

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Last night I had Trader Joe's falafels with steamed veggies. DH said he has a craving for Asian so we might get our first take-out order tonight. However, we entered into Phase 3 of the reopening stage yesterday so restaurants with outdoor seating are allowed and it's a beautiful sunny day. I wonder if we could even get a reservation though. :think:
 

LTS3

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I was planning on Thai Basil Beef but I need garlic and a Fresno pepper and there's a long line of people waiting to get into the independent market at the moment :ohwell: So I'm going to make a quick "bolognese" from a recipe, subbing the ground beef for the turkey. I have a jar of marinara sauce and a bag of frozen ravioli on hand.
 

segelkatt

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Went to the farmers market this morning (due to the season there are only two vendors and they come across the pass from California but oh their fruits and veggies are so welcome) and there was a long line at 8:30. What they did is this: The two vendors combined their stands, one would take the order (customers were not allowed to touch the produce, only point at which one they want, they actually had a yellow police tape running in front of the counter, good for them, I thoroughly approve), put it in a box as the customer went down the line of the counter. At the other end was one person weighing and deciding how much to charge and held the box open for the customer to put the produce into their own bags who would then pay for their purchase to a third person. The line went pretty fast. When I arrived there were at least 30 people in line but I was out of there within an hour. As the first customer went down the line with one of the vendors on the other side of the counter a second customer was being helped by a second vendor. There was only enough room for two customers at a time anyway. Everyone was wearing masks and the people in the long line were keeping their distance but chatting to each other. The other vendors who are local and usually are at the farmers market will start showing up weekend after next, it will be interesting to see how they are going to work that out with more customers and more vendors and keeping distance and insisting on masks. I suppose that people who care about their health and thus are willing to pay a little more for organic veggies are also the ones who protect themselves with masks, all the vendors themselves also wore masks.
I got 3 big tomatoes, 3 avocados (2 hard, 1 soft ready to eat), 2 heads of bokchoy, 3 cucumbers and 2 baskets of Bing cherries, all organic. Available also were potatoes, green onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes, leeks, celery, kale, lettuce of 4 different kinds, cherry and grape tomatoes, bags of oranges, some plums, strawberries, rhubarb, but I did not need any of those and the vendors will be back on Wednesday anyway. So it is bokchoy tonight with some roasted Yukon potatoes with chopped green onions I grew myself on top and sliced Hillshire Farm Sausage, followed by some cherries. I like bokchoy much better than kale, it is more tender and does not taste as strong.
I cut off the the bottoms of the bokchoy, roots and all, then plant those into a tub with soil and it will grow new leaves, you can do the same with green onions and leeks and celery in just a flower pot, or plant them in your garden, they will all grow new leaves/stalks. Once you pull them you can do the same over and over again, just replant the bottoms, never-ending veggies and always fresh without pesticides. I had to start from scratch here in Reno because had arrived here too late in the year to plant anything but now it is full stop ahead. Just cut my first head of red leaf lettuce, had half of that last night with dinner, the second will be a mid-afternoon snack today, YES!
 

Mamanyt1953

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I have no clue. Nothing is thawed, because. Just because. I'm not in the mood for anything. When it's time to eat (about 3 hours from now), I'll grab something and throw it either in the oven or the microwave. It'll be one of my "prepackaged no fuss no muss no bother" go-to's. And a piece of pecan caramel cake.
 

rubysmama

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Made my pasta sauce yesterday, using the Gardein Beefless Ground. The "meat" was frozen in a big clump, so instead of shaking some of it into the pot, I ended up having to use the entire package, which may have been just a tad too much "meat", but I think it turned out ok. Since it made a lot, I'll be having an encore meal tonight, then freezing the rest for future meals.

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