What's for Dinner ~ Wednesday ~ January 8th

[Lucinda]

?

[rdharma]

1. Chicken breast something or other...... with avocado "tatziki"

Two chicken breast halves thawed. So .....something using them. May only be shake & bake.

I made a great chili yesterday evening. Used up my tomatoes that were coming up "on use or lose" and made chili using a pack of McCormick chili seasoning (which was also past its "best by" date. The best chili I've ever made!

[cbayer]

3. Can you tell me about your avodaco tatziki?

The avocados here are perfect and I'm always looking for new things to do with them.

[rdharma]

4. This is the recipe I'm trying.....

....... because I have all the necessary ingredients. There are many variants. Some don't have the cucumber, some use sour cream instead of yogurt, some call for mint.

I have been looking for mint everywhere in the area to make a genuine Greek/Turkish style tatziki. I found it in one local store and it was half brown and yucky already. I passed on it.

Ingredients

1 t. lemon juice
1/2 c olive oil
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. kosher salt
2 c plain greek yogurt
1 avocado, diced small
1 c cucumber,peeled,seeded and finely chopped English cucumber

http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/sauce-spread/dip/avocado-tzatziki.html

I've been experimenting with various tzatziki recipes and they all turn out "pretty good". But I've yet to reproduce the superb tatzitki that is found in good Greek restaurants.

[cbayer]

5. That looks great.

I would need to sub Mexican crema, but that would be fine.

Thanks!

[rdharma]

9. Crema Mexicana or crème fraîche would surely work too!

I also added some fresh chopped dill to the above. It's sitting covered in the fridge now.

I may have used too much garlic...... because I can already taste it very strongly before it's had a time to "sit and flavor blend". We'll see! Adjustments can be made.

[cbayer]

22. Too much garlic? I've never heard of such a concept.

[rdharma]

23. Yup! That and "left over wine"!

[cbayer]

2. I'm going to repeat that radish and apple salad

and the rest of the fava bean soup.

Unless…..

we decide to go to the excellent pizza place.

[livetohike]

6. Split pea dahl, basmati rice, mango chutney and banana raita

[rdharma]

11. Do you make your own mango chutney? nt

[livetohike]

19. No. This was from a jar. I'll bet it tastes much different and better

made from scratch. Have you made it before?

[rdharma]

20. I plan to buy some when I make the pilgrimage to Trader Joe's

[livetohike]

21. My nearest Trader Joe's is 100 miles away

, but I have that on my list for when I get down there

[rdharma]

27. I'm in the same situation. Trader Joe's an hour and a half away! nt

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. Sirloin tip roast.

Cooking it with onions and potatoes. Green beans.

It's up to 15 degrees here! (That's above zero.) Rain and snowmelt over the weekend might cause flooding.

[maddezmom]

13. It is 16 here now

But will be 54 when I land.

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. That's nice that it'll be warmer once you get there.

Bet you're sick of the cold and airports.

[maddezmom]

15. You know it

Can't wait to put flip flops on.

[greatauntoftriplets]

16. And see your young'uns!

[maddezmom]

17. Yes

I hate to mention it because I start getting weepy. Maddie was really upset yesterday.

[greatauntoftriplets]

18. I am sure that she was.

She'll be very happy once you get home.

[B2G]

8. Quiche Lorraine & french onion soup

C'est bon.

[bif]

10. Making some kind of pasta with leftover salmon

[maddezmom]

12. Chex mix from the Delta Lounge

And a glass of red wine!

[cbayer]

24. Ok, we just went out for one of the best meals I have ever had ever.

http://www.eltupe.com.mx/english/#!menu/c24tf

There aren't enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe this place.

We went for lunch, but I'm definitely going back for dinner and his tasting menu.

The restaurant seats only about 20 people, so timing will be important.

[grasswire]

34. that restaurant has some SPICY music on its site!

I clicked on it, and the cat who was sleeping with her head on my laptop went into orbit. Ha!

[Galileo126]

25. breaded pork chops

with string beans and mashed potatoes (with sour cream and green onions).

Oh, and apple sauce, of course.

[NJCher]

26. zucchini crust pizza

One of my fave recipes.

Beet salad with goat cheese and toasted walnuts.

It's hard to cook tonight as I am running back and forth from the kitchen to my office to watch the Christie scandal on the political shows tonight. Watching Chris Hayes now, watched Chris Matthews earlier, and am saving my only wine in the house, a meager 2 inches, for Rachel Maddow!


Cher

[Galileo126]

28. num-num-num!

Cher - do you have the recipe for the zuke-crust pizza? I'd love to make that. Do you sautee the zuke first, then fold it into the crust, or go commando and use it raw?

-(sorry, still laughing at myself for the use of 'commando' in C&B)

Also, beet salad w/ goat cheese rocks. I'm allergic to nuts, so I think I'll skip that part.

cheers, gali

[NJCher]

29. yup, here ya' go...

Zucchini-Crusted Pizza

Crust

oil and flour for the pan
2 cups (packed) grated zucchini (about two 7-inch zucchini)
2 eggs, beaten (or equivalent egg whites)
1/4 cup flour (I prefer whole wheat)
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1/2 cup grated parmesan
pinches of basil, marjoram, and/or rosemary
1 Tb. olive oil

Topping Suggestions
extra mozzarella
1 large ripe tomato, sliced
2-3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
sauteed mushrooms
thin slices of bell pepper
lightly steamed broccoli or spinach
sliced olives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a 10-inch pie pan and coat it lightly with flour.

Combine rest of crust ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Spread the mix into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven, add your chosen toppings, and return to oven until everything is heated through.


Cher

[Galileo126]

36. Woo-hoo!

Thanks for posting this, Cher!

Think I'll have this tomorrow.

[fizzgig]

30. high life and chicken fingers

hit the dive on the way home.

[Lugnut]

31. Cheeseburgers

It was a good cheeseburger day.

[laundry_queen]

32. New to this board, late to the thread.

I've been recently making an effort to cook more - I'm a bit of a foodie, but without the money for the cool stuff

Tonight we had a Jamie Oliver inspired meal....from his 15 minute meals cookbook which is great for me. I've become a fan because he has these little tricks that really cut cooking time, which is important for me as a full-time student/single mom of 4. This meal didn't take 15 minutes...but that was my fault, I forgot to plan a few things. I think total time was 25 min.

So anyway, we had:

Rosemary chicken, potatoes au gratin, cooked leeks & spinach and I added plain sautéed mushrooms for the kids because I knew they would balk at the greens.

It was yum.

[grasswire]

33. welcome to C&B

Every time I see a Jamie Oliver meal, I want it bad. I love his cooking point of view.

[laundry_queen]

35. Thanks for the welcome. Want to know something funny?

I've been a fan of JO's shows for years and years, and I'm not a big 'food network' type of viewer. But I used to love the Naked Chef way back when. I've seen most of his shows over the years, the school lunch one, the recipe pass-it-on one (I forget all the names) etc. I always DVR the Christmas shows.

And yet I had never owned one of his cook books, or even tried one of his meals or recipes.

Then, my daughter who works at a grocery chain told me their chain was teaming up with JO to provide really great food and ingredients (this is in Canada - Sobey's for you Canadians). She even underwent a bit of extra training because of this, and she was excited about it...it centers on bringing healthier and fresher food to this grocery store. Well, they got a bunch of product in and I thought I'd try a couple of things.

In addition, the store had a few of his cookbooks for 50% off, so I splurged and bought them.

All of the food products I bought were amazingly good. I thought maybe it was just me, but I've had 2 people, who have no idea I'm a fan, tell me how much they love the products too, just out of the blue.

Then I saw his 15 minute meals program and was hooked. Got the book and tried a few recipes and that was it. I tried a few of his Christmas recipes to rave reviews from relatives too.

It works well for me because he puts so much vegetables and fresh herbs in everything. I'm trying so hard to get my kids to eat more of that stuff. I get them involved with the cooking and watching the show and they are MUCH more likely to try new stuff since I've started this. My kids love anyone with a British accent, so they pay attention and it gets them excited about healthy food. My plan is to try 1-2 new recipes a week. The 15 min meal book is good because it's decently lower fat than his other stuff, and more 'balanced'.

Anyway, so far so good!

ETA: I forgot to mention that JO's Christmas special brussel sprouts recipe had my kids fighting over who got to eat the rest of the brussel sprouts. I mean, they were yelling at each other, crying and whining and declaring it 'wasn't fair' one got the last spoonful. omg, I wish I would've had the presence of mind to pull out my phone to video THAT, lol!

[grasswire]

37. are his recipes on a web site somewhere?

I'd like to see the sprouts one.

[laundry_queen]

38. jamieoliver.com

and the direct link to the brussel sprout recipe:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/brussels-with-hustle

[grasswire]

39. thanks! nt