Nice but "easy" is a relative term sometimes, depending on current events in one's life. I feel like I'm juggling a lot of stuff right now (I know...welcome to the club) so I don't mind a few shortcuts when it makes sense. I'd love to get your recipe though at some point. I love to cook when I have the time and mental budget. I will be using this jar for when I make meatball subs. With melted provolone cheese, of course!
Today is Mom's birthday. She would have been 102! I went down and spent some time with her at the cemetery. Picked up a pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars on the way home...yum!
And this from Big Joe's today: "Joe is always giving back to our community we here at Joe's are so proud of the NSB wrestling club!"
Tonight we’re having a pot of chicken’n’rice and grilled cheese sandwiches. The high today was 27*—don’t think that needs further explanation. Tumbler of Knob Creek for me and chilled wine for Ms. Jan this evening. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Fish and chips take-out from Big Joe's today.....yum! I brought up the wrestling team pic that Joe posted and asked him if he ever heard of the movie "Vision Quest". He replied no that he wasn't a big "movie person". I told him it's probably the best wrestling themed movie ever made and EVERY wrestler knows and IDOLIZES that movie. They know the characters....the scenes.....everything about it. I told him to mention it next time he talks to them and watch their eyes light up...lol....
With my wife out of town and my 92 year old MIL not wanting to brave the chill we are watching the game from the comfort of my house and eating burgers (ground chuck) that I will grill on the KJ.
Got Thai take-out last night after watching the baseball game in person and most of the second half of the basketball game (the good part) on TV. Tonight is the day before my wife has rotator cuff surgery to repair a pretty big tear. Since it will be at least six weeks before she can cut steak on her own I bought some inch thick NY strip steaks that I will grill. I make it with a cream cheese, shallot and serrano pepper topping put on toward the end. I set up my KJ with half with a low direct grill for the initial sear and the other half high and indirect. Some day I will get either a second grill or one with two separate grills built into one. What I have works OK for four people but if I have more it would be way too crowded. Also making garlic mashed potatoes. My secret is no milk but a lot of butter. Green beans as a side.
It depends on what I have on hand. We have a friend that is involved in growing heirloom tomatoes in Gainesville but that means starting the seedling very early indoors so that they mature before the overnight temps get too high. She often has a lot of tomatoes for me and they make a decent marinara. If you get very ripe roma tomatoes from your grocer you can also make a decent marinara. If they are very ripe they have some sweetness so sugar added is not required. Romas that are still hard are suboptimal. These kinds of marinaras can be made fairly quickly. Tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper and reduced. Sugar if required. Ready in less than one hour. Good, but not great. I like using good quality canned San Marzano tomatoes when making something special. Some garlic and fresh basil with a dash of salt and pepper is all I use but cook it SLOW. Reduce the sauce slowly for best results. No need for oregano. It doesn't need to be and should not be there.
Tonight it was a repeat of Carnitas Quesadillas with caramelized onions....yum!!! Forgot to tell you guys.....for tortillas I'm using the Mission brand carb-balance soft whole wheat versions......and they're pretty good! I have enough pork for one more meal and that will be it.
I love those tortillas. Not like the traditional ones but they're still pretty good and contain a massive amount of fiber. Get you going in the morning for sure
I am a stickler for caramelized onions. Must be cooked in butter and not oil. Not even EVOO. And as opposed to most recipes you will see it is impossible to do this in 10 to 15 minutes. It takes at least 40 minutes to do it right. It is worth the time and effort to do it right.
Tonight we’re having breakfast for supper. Center cut ham, eggs, grits, and biscuits. Ms. Jan’s strawberry jam on the side. We had a little warmer weather today with a high of 58*—actually quite pleasant. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Lasagna in the oven. We put it together before the surgery. It will make MANY meals as we always make a huge one. This is one dish where I will use marinara from a jar because the marinara is not the star. Paul Newman's is OK. Rao's is better but three jars of that is pricey. The ricotta is what makes the dish.
I ran down to Edgewater late afternoon to grab a nice motorcycle chock advertised on CL. There's a Chick-fil-A right on the corner of US1 and 442 so on my way home swung in for a couple of their standard chicken sammichs. Yum!
Bertolli is what we use making our spaghetti and lasagna meat sauce. I actually use a combination of Vineyard Marinara, Five Cheese, Tomato Basil, and Olive Oil & Garlic making our meat sauce.
