What's For Dinner? - 2020

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muffy

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Having to feed a cat meat was one of the reasons it took me so long to adopt a cat. Then finally my life-long love of cats became stronger than my feelings against killing animals for food.

So though I'm vegetarian, I have meat cat food for Ruby. And because of her sensitive digestive system, she eats a vet hypoallergenic novel protein food, which just happens to be duck. That really bothered me a lot at first, and still does, if I'm being honest. But my obligate carnivore pet is my responsibility now, so I have to feed her a food that will keep her digestive system happy.



Shredded is exactly the description I was thinking of.

Last night for dinner I had more of my pasta I made the night before. Tonight? No idea. :dunno:
i have always felt guity about feeding my cqts meat. especially when i went vegan for 12 years. once i went to a natural food pet store. they had vegan cat food there.i wanted to try some but decided against it. two of my cats had felv and i wanted to get them something healthy not something that might make them sick.
 

maggiedemi

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Breakfast: Target Good & Gather vanilla bean granola with diced apple and cow milk.

Lunch: Veggie Sammich on Great Value Texas Toast bread toasted, mayo, red jalapeno hot sauce, black beans, swiss chard, tomato, cucumber, diced apple, swiss cheese.

Dinner: Roasted tomato, onion, garlic mix. Roasted acorn squash with maple syrup & honey. Carrots & peas with butter. Red jalapeno hot sauce.
 

Winchester

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I was feeling crappy yesterday from that flu shot on Monday, so Rick made a Freschetta pizza. It worked.

I'm going to look through the freezer in the kitchen to see what I can find. It's full of containers of this, that, and everything else. The containers must go!
 

maggiedemi

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Breakfast: Target Good & Gather vanilla bean granola with diced green apple and unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Lunch: Veggie Sammich on Great Value Texas Toast bread toasted, mayo, red jalapeno hot sauce, swiss chard, tomato, green onion, black beans, raw green peppers, swiss cheese

Dinner- Taco salad- quinoa, onions, orange bell peppers, garlic, italian seasoning, garlic parsley salt, salsa, cheese sauce, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, lettuce, tomato
 

catapault

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Basically it was leftover chicken and noodles but I seem to be constitutionally incapable of doing something simple if it can be made more complex.

Saute sliced mushrooms and onion in butter with a little oil. Cube leftover chicken. Prepare 4 ounces of bouillon from Better Than Boullion, and 4 ounces of reconstituted dried milk (I need what milk is in the house for tomorrow morning's coffee.) Make a cream sauce by adding cornstarch to liquid and finish with a raw egg yolk beaten with the semi-thickened sauce and returned to the heat. Pour sauce, mushrooms, onion, chicken over broad noodles. Tiny frozen green peas heated in microwave, finished with a little butter and sprinkle of salt served separately.

Very nice, and I was too full to have dessert. Himself had one of the taste fine but look ugly chocolate chip cookies. No idea but the last two batches spread more than they should have and cracked tremendously. Any ideas?
 

Winchester

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Very nice, and I was too full to have dessert. Himself had one of the taste fine but look ugly chocolate chip cookies. No idea but the last two batches spread more than they should have and cracked tremendously. Any ideas?
I really hate to say this, but for some cookie recipes, I've started to go half butter/half margarine (Blue Bonnet). Yeah, I know, it's like kitchen blasphemy to some bakers and some bakers turn their noses up at margarine period, but my cookies, particularly chocolate chip cookies, were starting to get way too flat. The only thing I could think of was that I was using all butter, but I don't know why, after all these years, that would happen. But I started using half butter/half margarine instead of all butter and we could see the difference right away. If your butter is too soft, that can lead to spreading cookies. Butter has to be soft, but not too soft; there's a fine line there!
I don't grease my cookie sheets at all; I use parchment.
Also, check the expiration dates of baking powder, baking soda, etc. Baking powder, in particular, is futile once it reaches its expiration date. I learned that the hard way when I make a coconut cake one time that didn't rise much at all.
Too much sugar, particularly the brown sugar in chocolate chip cookies can lead to spreading. Or not enough flour.
Oh, and I've started to make my cookie doughs the night before I plan to bake them whenever I can. Even if the recipe doesn't call for chilling, I chill anyway.
I hope that helps.

I took a quart of chicken corn soup out of the freezer yesterday and we had it with the last of the coleslaw from Monday. I made my version of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay biscuits and that was dinner.

Not sure about tonight yet. Whatever I can "container scrounge" from the freezer again.
 
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artiemom

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Winchester Winchester I think you have it right about the butter. I am not a baker, but my mom was an awesome cook/baker.

I remember her complaining about her cookies, especially toll house cookies going so flat, spreading out. She felt it was the butter, also. Tried so many top quality brands. We used Land O Lakes.

I also saw on some baking sites, and I think on TV--? PBS, that the secret is to add a bit or butter and shortening. Yup, Crisco. They said the butter flavored Crisco is the best for baking> Who would have known...

My mom always adjusted her recipes, to her taste. I think she did add a bit too much sugar.. both brown and white.. I have cut back a bit, but still have the flattening issue. I have used butter.

Good luck with the hairdresser.. Yes, it is only hair.. it will grow.. and during this time... well, who cares?? Rick will still love you!! and the kitties!!

My hairdresser gave me a cut, I think razor, so that the grey hair would slowly blend with the colored, and would not look as a large line of demarcation... I was told, it grey out really well...
 

LTS3

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Placing cookie dough on a hot baking sheet also results in the dough spreading too much. Let baking sheets cool down between batches.


Butter vs shortening in cookies: Shortening vs. Butter in Cookies: What’s the Difference?

I have leftover Shake and Bake chicken tonight.
 

Kat0121

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Winchester Winchester I think you have it right about the butter. I am not a baker, but my mom was an awesome cook/baker.

I remember her complaining about her cookies, especially toll house cookies going so flat, spreading out. She felt it was the butter, also. Tried so many top quality brands. We used Land O Lakes.

I also saw on some baking sites, and I think on TV--? PBS, that the secret is to add a bit or butter and shortening. Yup, Crisco. They said the butter flavored Crisco is the best for baking> Who would have known...

My mom always adjusted her recipes, to her taste. I think she did add a bit too much sugar.. both brown and white.. I have cut back a bit, but still have the flattening issue. I have used butter.

Good luck with the hairdresser.. Yes, it is only hair.. it will grow.. and during this time... well, who cares?? Rick will still love you!! and the kitties!!

My hairdresser gave me a cut, I think razor, so that the grey hair would slowly blend with the colored, and would not look as a large line of demarcation... I was told, it grey out really well...
Chilling the dough makes a big difference. I use butter. The only times the cookies have come out flat is if I did not chill the dough before baking and between batches.
 

Winchester

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I think chilling (preferably overnight) makes a big difference. Not only is it a great time saver (especially around Christmas, when you're making a ton of cookies), but an overnight chilling gives time for all the ingredients to mingle, so to speak. I think it adds something to the cookie. If I'm going to make a bunch of cookies, I make all my doughs the night before and toss them in the fridge in lock & lock containers. While the oven is preheating, I'll get the first batch of dough out to let it warm a wee bit. And yes, after I put dough on all my sheets, I put the remainder back into the fridge, so it doesn't get too warm.

I'm a member of a food-type board and, believe me, some of those people will turn their noses up (and quite loudly, too) if you ever mention shortening! I use shortening in Rick's snickerdoodles as well as some other cookies, but I know there are also all-butter versions out there, too. And while I may mess around with some cookie recipes, I refuse to change his snickerdoodles; he'd probably divorce me on the spot! I posted the recipe for snicks one time and some of the nicer comments were like "Oh! Shortening! Ew!" and "Oh, no. All butter only, please!" Oh well. Rick loves my snicks and that's what matters. BTW, the snick recipe is from Betty Crocker and it's good, darn it.

It might depend of what chocolate chips are being used, too, to a degree. I won't use Baker's chocolate chips because my cookies spread way too much. I stick with Ghirardelli or, if Nestle has a good sale, I'll buy them. I won't go with store brand chips. And I get that many store brands are the more expensive name brands, just with a different label. But I won't.

Oh, and FWIW, some lower-priced brown sugars aren't the same as Domino. I've tried our Giant's store brand, and the texture is different. I know, I know, it sounds really crazy, but well, I guess I'm pretty set in my ways now. The Giant brand of brown sugar is OK for sticky buns, but it's almost too granulated for cookies.

I guess it's all in what you're used to using.
 

LTS3

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Lard is used in some cookies. My mom used to make almond cookies that had a whole pound of lard per batch as the only fat. And she didn't tell anyone about the lard so non-meat eaters at her job ate the cookies :doh: I know she used Crisco shortening a few times when she couldn't find lard and the cookies came out ok but without that same flavor.

Chocolate stores are a good source to get really high quality chocolate chips and melting disks and such. I've seen them at the local chocolate store. They're really pricey for a bag though

.
:hijack:
 

Mamanyt1953

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Well, I'm here very early because I have to reach my doctor's office to see if the long-acting flu vaccine is in yet, so..."tonight" for you guys is actually tomorrow night for me. Still VERY LATE Wednesday night in my book. HOWEVER...I'm thinking tomato stew. Haven't done that in a while. It's basically my pasta sauce that I make in big batches, then thaw in single-serving sizes, but I add a handful of corn, a handful of sliced carrots, and a handful of green beans, and simmer for 30 minutes to let the flavors marr....well, they don't quite marry in just 30 minutes, but they are going steady by then. The sauce already has meat, bell peppers and onions in it.
 
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