What’s for dinner?

I had to look up hobakjuk. Pumpkin soup?  I could eat that happily. :) Can you share a link to the recipe if you have one?

 ForeverFanatic:

Japchae

I had to look this up too. I’ve never heard of sweet potato noodles.  Please share if you make this and how it turns out. :)

Talking about hobakjuk made me hungry for cream of squash soup ( no cream).  Took some out of the freezer, heated it up and sitting  here eating it while I read your post. Hubbie had a big lunch at work and just had some fruit for dinner.  

 ForeverFanatic:

let

(the quote function isn’t working for me tonight. ) Please don’t put your mom’s health at risk. Is there something you can substitute for bell peppers or can they be omitted?

I bookmarked a hobakjuk recipe. I may try it after the holidays. I’m chasing my tail trying to get things done this week.  Way behind. 

Wishing you a delicious meal today!

jen is not one of the cool kids. better step up my game next year. at least i backstepped from my histamine intolerance ridiculously limited diet and gained some veg likes this year

bought some mixed white and yellow sweet corn steamer bags for freezer on sale. other veg i buy baby food packets to use 2 at a time (equal 8 oz/1 cup) as sauces for under a dollar each

got healthy grazables at newer to me grocery... mixed fruit and veg baby food pouches. might toss pear carrot apricot pouch and some apricot fruit leather in bag for appointment tuesday. other yummy mix is pear purple carrot blueberry

 ConstanceAmei:

hmmm, just saw this thread and was intrigued.  

Tonight I had white rice, with steamed soft tofu stuffed with minced pork and shrimp, sauteed broccoli with garlic and char siu style bbq duck liver (just a piece or 2).

Welcome!  Thank you for sharing. :)

This is a friendly place to share the yummy, fun, or weird things we eat. Cooking tips and recipes are always welcome. A lot of us struggle to figure out every day-what’s for dinner?  It’s great to get inspiration from each other. :)

not familiar with pumpkin flavor except maybe had once in a mixed puree

i usually use butternet squash with ginger and chicken. might have used pork sausage once

an attempt and fail with ginger ale, ginger, butternut squash puree, noodled butternut squash, chicken breast and some brown rice. was thinking would carmelize but just stayed soupy ... oopsie

What did you all have for Christmas dinner? 

We have had lasagna or lasagna rolls for years. This year my son requested meatballs so we used a meatball casserole he found on line.  Pretty good.  And we were able to have meatball subs the next day. Two-fer. :)

I thought I would share a favorite Christmas tradition recipe and would love to hear what yours are. :)

DATE NUT BARS (even those who don’t like dates will like these)

Apologies to the advanced places in the world that use metric. 

13inX9in pan   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 

1 Cup Sugar

2 beaten eggs

1/4 Cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cups dates, chopped (I just use the whole 8 oz bag and I always chop them myself because I don’t care for the pre-chopped ones)

1 cup pecans, chopped

Powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

These are super easy to make and super yummy :)

Slowly add sugar to eggs while whisking or in mixer, add cooled melted butter and beat well. Add vanilla. I never use a mixer, just a spoon/whisk/plastic spatula and a large bowl. Add flour, salt and baking powder (you can sift dry ingredients together prior to adding to wet ingredients but I rarely do)

Fold in dates and nuts.  Batter will be thick. Spread into greased pan. Bake for aprox 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean and bars turn a light golden color. If they stay in too long the dates become hard.

While warm cut into bars. Roll in powdered sugar or sprinkle with powdered sugar or leave plain.  They are good any way you prepare them.  Store in an air tight container.

You can also toast your pecans prior to use.  This adds more depth to the bars’ flavor but they are good regardless.

 ChessWidow:

@Schmetterling Sounds yummy! I don’t bake anymore at the request of my hubby because it’s just the two of us and he has no self control with goodies. ;) 

For Christmas dinner, I just made a spiral sliced ham with baked sweet potatoes and green beans. It was a quiet day since son & his kids are 400 miles away. After eating & freezing the ham, going to make split pea soup with the ham bone. Got up too late today to make it in the crockpot so will do that tomorrow. 

I wish there was a way to like/♡ posts in here.  That sounds really good. :) The crockpot was such a wonderful invention. I bet your soup split pea soup will be great!:) 

It does take some adjusting cooking for two. Most of the time that’s what I have to do. It’s always fun when my son shows up because he is a more adventurous eater than my husband who could eat the same bland thing every day. We can gang up on on my dh and “help” him try something different. ;)

Today we had one of the best hearty Sunday comfort foods in the entire world - in my own subjective opinion of course! 

Rabbit Stifado (a kind of spicy Greek rabbit stew). 

If you don't like rabbit meat, you can use chicken or beef, or even make it vegan with chestnuts and mushrooms!

A crude recipe (by myself):

Ingredients 

• 1 medium rabbit, cut into portions  (Or chicken if you're a rabbit meat hater :D, Or 1-2 kg in total of boiled peeled chestnuts+small mushrooms if you want to make it vegan)
• 20-25 very small onions/shallots, peeled and kept whole (or as many as you can handle to peel)
• 2 cups of virgin olive oil
• 2 cans of tomatoes (or around 4 peeled & chopped very ripe big summer tomatoes)
• 1 tbsp of tomato concentrate
• 1 tbsp of ketchup
• Around 3 cups of dry red wine (you can use any red wine)
• 1 big onion, roughly chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and kept whole
• 1/2 tbsp sugar 
• 1/2 tbsp salt, or to taste

Seasonings & Aromatics 

(A good idea is to make most of them into a spice pouch.)

• 1-2 big pieces of dried orange peel 
• 4-5 bay leaves 
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks, or 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 5 whole cloves 
• 10 various types whole peppercorns
• 5 whole allspice berries, or 1/3 tsp ground allspice
• 2 tsps ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp rosemary

(Feel free to adjust the quantities, substitute, or even omit some of them according to your taste. But I'd say the orange peel, the cinnamon & the bay leaves are the most iconic ones for a [Cretan] Greek stifado)

Preparation 

1. In a large pot, or a pressure cooker unlidded for now, sear the meat into the olive oil under medium-high heat, until it's light brown on all sides. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside. 
2. In the same oil, sear the whole small onions/shallots until brown, and set aside as well. 
3. Lower the heat to medium-low and sauté the chopped onion until tender, then add back the meat into the pot. 
4. Add the garlic and the wine and bring to boil. The liquid should be enough to cover the meat. As soon as it starts boiling again, lower to the lowest possible temperature and let it cook into the wine & its own juice for half an hour, stirring occasionally. 
5. Put all the other ingredients, the spices and the aromatics (and/or aromatics pouch) into the pot, except for the set-aside shallots. Bring to boil and stir very well. 
6. Lid your pressure cooker and cook according to its instructions until the meat is tender (max 20 minutes). If it's a regular pot, add 1-2 cups of water, cover it, and slow-cook the meat, stirring occasionally, until tender (max 1 hour). 
7. Unlid you pot/pressure cooker, add the shallots (plus 1-2 cups of water if it's very dry), bring to boil, and cook to medium-high heat for half an hour, stirring very carefully and softly so the meat and the onions don't fall apart. 
8. Serve immediately, along with rustic bread and/or French fries, and green olives. Enjoy! :)

Note: Don't take my instructions & quantities to heart, this is just a crude recipe!