# Whatcha eatin'?



## Sunny (Oct 24, 2011)

I made a yummy soup tonight for dinner! Creamy tomato soup, I was trying to make mine like Panera's and it's pretty close. 

I used a can of tomato sauce, a can of petite diced tomatoes, some chopped garlic (3 cloves), heavy cream, dried basil, and quite a heap of cheese: asiago, romano and parmesan. I let it simmer for a bit and it's delicious! Would have been better with fresh basil but I'm out! Great served super hot with some crusty toasted bread.

What about you guys?


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## Soapy Gurl (Oct 24, 2011)

Ohh my, that sounds amazing!  I would love that!  Right now I have a huge diet coke from Burger King (I don't eat the food, but the coke is good) and a cake slice from the grocery store, lol.  Yours sounds so much better.  I can't cook worth a ****.  I am really lucky though, my BF is beyond an amazing cook, so he cooks on date night and send me home with leftovers.


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## Sibi (Oct 24, 2011)

I made some really good lentils the other day which are great over rice and super for a crisp, autumn day.  Here's how I make lentils:

Sibi's Lentils

1/2 bag of Lentils
1 whole onion (finely chopped)
1/2 green pepper (finely chopped)
approx. 2 Tbsp minced garlic or a few cloves crushed
little bit of Red cooking wine
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 small can of tomato sauce
4 slices swiss cheese

Cook the Lentils in medium high heat in a pot with plenty of water until fully cooked (approximately 45 min. or so).  Keep an eye on the water because it will keep evaporating and you'll need to add more, you don't want to burn the lentils.  After 30 minutes I usually have a taste to see if they are done.  In the meantime you are going to make a sofrito to go into the lentils.  In a frying pan place enough oil to start frying the onions, green peppers and garlic.  Add paprika, oregano and 2 bay leaves to the onion mixture.  Sautee until onions and green peppers are nice and soft and add the wine.  When the lentils are done there should be a little water in the pot but it should not exceed the amount of lentils.  Add sofrito and cheese to the lentils and cook on medium/low heat.  Add tomato sauce, swiss cheese, salt and pepper (to taste).  Let simmer on low for approximately 15 minutes then serve.  They taste great over rice.

Optional:  If you love bacon I also make them using bacon.  I'll cook the bacon together with the onion sofrito (no need for olive oil, there's plenty of grease in the bacon) and when done, throw all of it in the lentils when lentils are done.


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## Sibi (Oct 24, 2011)

tasha said:
			
		

> I made a yummy soup tonight for dinner! Creamy tomato soup, I was trying to make mine like Panera's and it's pretty close.
> 
> I used a can of tomato sauce, a can of petite diced tomatoes, some chopped garlic (3 cloves), heavy cream, dried basil, and quite a heap of cheese: asiago, romano and parmesan. I let it simmer for a bit and it's delicious! Would have been better with fresh basil but I'm out! Great served super hot with some crusty toasted bread.
> 
> What about you guys?


I'll have to try that soup, it sounds yummy!


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## Fyrja (Oct 25, 2011)

I LOVE making homemade soup.  I often hover around the pot and pretend to be one of the witches from Macbeth.  I made a nice chicken soup with onions, carrots, and Knodel on Sunday.  Knodel are potato dumplings for those who aren't fans of German food.  I served it with cheese toast.

Tonight I'm thinking of making homemade spinach and goat cheese pizza.


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## carebear (Oct 25, 2011)

I'm eating leftover london broil mixed into some rice.  With Monster Salt (Montreal Steak Seasoning).


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## soapbuddy (Oct 25, 2011)

Chicken rice.


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## Bubbles Galore (Oct 25, 2011)

Yum, I love lentils. Tonight I'm having Scotch Fillet steak with organic mixed leaf salad, bean & chickpea salad and perhaps I'll boil some new potatoes to have as well.  :wink:


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## whiskandbowl (Oct 25, 2011)

Mmm steak. That sounds good Bubbles.
Tonight was lentil veggie soup, french bread with butter, and tropical fruit salad. Sounds exciting until I tell you the bread was from Wallly World and the fruit was canned. But I made the soup myself!  Wish I had more time to cook.


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## Sunny (Oct 25, 2011)

Soapy Gurl said:
			
		

> Ohh my, that sounds amazing!  I would love that!  Right now I have a huge diet coke from Burger King (I don't eat the food, but the coke is good) and a cake slice from the grocery store, lol.  Yours sounds so much better.  I can't cook worth a ****.  I am really lucky though, my BF is beyond an amazing cook, so he cooks on date night and send me home with leftovers.



This reminds me of Gabriel Iglesias, the comedian. "I drink the DIET coke so I can eat the cake!"


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## Fyrja (Oct 26, 2011)

LOL  Love Gabriel Iglesias.  Especially the bit he does about owning a Volkswagon.

The spinach pizza turned into Spinach, Mushroom and Ham calzones with marscarpone, mozzarella, parmesan, romano, provolone and feta cheese.  I also made a fire roasted tomato sauce to go with it.  Yep I'm feeling fluffy right now.


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## Sunny (Oct 26, 2011)

Fyrja said:
			
		

> LOL  Love Gabriel Iglesias.  Especially the bit he does about owning a Volkswagon.
> 
> The spinach pizza turned into Spinach, Mushroom and Ham calzones with marscarpone, mozzarella, parmesan, romano, provolone and feta cheese.  I also made a fire roasted tomato sauce to go with it.  Yep I'm feeling fluffy right now.



LOL... fluffy...

you sound like me with all of your cheeses... except I don't buy them on purpose? I pick up one here and there and then one day open the cheese drawer and go "where did all of these come from?!" and try to think of a way to use a bunch of cheese at one time.

nom I love cheese.

your calzones sound tasty. I have to figure something out for dinner.


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## Fyrja (Oct 26, 2011)

I'm the same way Tasha.  LOVE cheese.  When I lived on a military base in Germany we'd have people come on post with tons of gourmet cheeses.  They'd cut big hunks off as samples to give to you.  I always had a full pantry with wines, vinegars, and cheese back then.


*sigh*  Those were the days.

My favorite was this yellow colored cheese that came from South Africa.  Not sure what it was called but it had flecks of red pepper in it, and granules of crunchy salt.  It was sooo good, especially paired with a red wine and a peppery arugula salad.

The marscarpone sat in my fridge for a week or so.  I was going to make my homemade Tiramisu with it last week, but just never got around to it.  So last night I made it into Calzones instead.

I may wrap the rest of the cheese filling in lasagna noodles, bake it with sauce, call it manicotti and serve it with a spinach, bacon and mushroom salad tonight.


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## Sunny (Oct 26, 2011)

Fyrja said:
			
		

> My favorite was this yellow colored cheese that came from South Africa.  Not sure what it was called but it had flecks of red pepper in it, and granules of crunchy salt.  It was sooo good, especially paired with a red wine and a peppery arugula salad.



I've been thinking of trying cheese making for a long time. The main problem is, I'm running out of space to store my hobbies...


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## Soapy Gurl (Oct 27, 2011)

Fyrja, you are killing me with the cheese talk!  I want!  I had my DIET coke, lol, but no cake.


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## Fyrja (Oct 28, 2011)

Sorry Soapy!  I tend to kill people with food talk.  Tomorrow morning I'm putting together a ton of little finger sandwiches for a Halloween party I'm attending.

Cucumber with dilled cream cheese on white bread
Chicken with curried cheese and apple on wheat
Goat cheese and olive on pumpernickel

and a fourth.  I haven't decided on yet.

I know finger sandwiches sound boring, but everyone brings sweets to these events, and though I excel as a baker I thought I'd bring something substantial to soak up both the sugar and alcohol that people will be consuming.


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## Sunny (Oct 28, 2011)

Fyrja said:
			
		

> Sorry Soapy!  I tend to kill people with food talk.  Tomorrow morning I'm putting together a ton of little finger sandwiches for a Halloween party I'm attending.
> 
> Cucumber with dilled cream cheese on white bread
> Chicken with curried cheese and apple on wheat
> ...



Sounds like a smart idea! I think my pick would be the chicken/apple one. (though I dearly love cheese, I could never really get into goat milk/cheese. though it's great in soaps I can't stand the taste )


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## Fyrja (Oct 28, 2011)

I love love love goats milk cheese!

Ok the other sandwich will be black forest ham, swiss cheese, and a touch of peach preserves on potato bread.

If I feel up to it I'll probably also do a ginger carrot sandwich.

Nom nom!


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## Sunny (Nov 1, 2011)

today I am having homemade guac + salsa with chips and homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. not the healthiest but the most delish (and at least I'm fitting in veggies/fruit).


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## Fyrja (Nov 1, 2011)

I made fried pork chops, homemade buttermilk mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts tonight.  YUM!


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## Woodi (Nov 5, 2011)

I lucked onto a piece of trout on sale today, so tonight it will be trout; but can't decide on what else....rice? mashed potatoes? oven-baked fries ( I usually serve those with fish).....leaning towards frozen peas with mashed; love those together. 

Yesterday, I made a HUGE pot of clean-out-the-fridge vegetable soup; will be eating it for a loooong time, as I froze 8, 2-person containers of it (5 ladles per container).  It began with a can of diced tomatoes, then the usual carrots+celery+onion+garlic, then some broccoli, asparagus, bok choi, corn niblets, ....see what I mean? So today I can't look at vegetables. Maybe some peas, that's all.


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## Sunny (Nov 5, 2011)

That sounds YUMMY. I love those soups.

The trout sounds awesome too... I guess I would have something seasonal with it, for me that would be squash. I have 2 sitting around right now.

I made a big beef stew which has been in the crock pot all day. Still needs a couple of hours but I'm having that with a round loaf of Whole Foods 12 grain bread (didn't have enough time to make my own bread  ).


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## trishwosere (Nov 5, 2011)

I had an Indian take-out tonight, it was basically a spicy veg curry with pilau rice and an extra garlic naan bread...guess I'll be stinky breath tomorrow lol :wink:


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## Fyrja (Nov 5, 2011)

I had bbq take out tonight.  Pork Ribs with bbq sauce, bread, fried onion tanglers, and mac n cheese.  SOooooo bad for me, but soooooo good!


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## LauraHoosier (Nov 6, 2011)

We had tamales last night and hubby spoiled us by making eggs and sausage this morning.


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## Fyrja (Nov 6, 2011)

OMG Love love tamales!

I made cheese grits and bacon for breakfast this morning.


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## Sunny (Nov 10, 2011)

This is in my oven right now:

http://www.marthastewart.com/281007/macaroni-and-cheese

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Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.

Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce

Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.
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I made substitutions to use what I have here and to make it a little healthier but no major changes. Just whole grain noodles and bread, plus lactose-free milk. Plus I used gouda cheese in place of the gruyere since I had it already and love it very much.

I tasted the sauce and it was YUMMY, creamy, rich. I bet this would be great as a side for Thanksgiving dinner. I think I might bring it!


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## Soapy Gurl (Nov 11, 2011)

Okay tasha, that looks fantastic!  This last weekend it was my birthday.  I am a vegetarian and somewhere along the way I told my boyfriend I hadn't had corn dogs since I was a little kid and how I loved Hot Dog on a Stick cheese on a stick.  For a surprise he bought a fryer and made veggie dogs on a stick.  He used an Alton Brown recipe with jalapeno and a little chili pepper.  It was soooo good.  We also went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch, but really, the corn dogs were so much better!  I love to help him cook, I got to stir the dry ingredients!


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## Cuckoo Bananas (Nov 11, 2011)

Whatcha eatin......NOT THICK RICE CAKES ANYMORE!!! Crikey, bit one with a hard bit of rice in it this morning and gave myself a tooth ache, ouchy!


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## nurse_75 (Nov 11, 2011)

I had some of my kids left over ravioli... then i washed it down with a beer. And now i am snacking on some of the 70% dark chocolate I bought to soap with... fingers crossed some of it makes it until 8pm when my kids are asleep. Things are not looking hopeful for chocolate soap tonight


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## Soapy Gurl (Nov 13, 2011)

I made out like a bandit today, my BF made two meals!  I got the left overs too!  He made french toast using jhollah bread and a custard.  Drying the bread out so it soaked the custard up just right.  Cooked in a pan and then finished in the oven so it cooks through.  I never knew these things!  It had powdered sugar and real maple syrup.  I thought I had died eating it.

He had made a traditional pumpkin pie with a sugar pie pumpkin last month, which was thick, savory soup.  Froze the left overs and took some out and turned it into a pasta sauce.  Oh my was it fantastic.  We had garlic bread and he made parmesan crackers.  I was in food heaven today.  I really can't cook anything.  I have to ask someone how to cook a potato and I am not making a joke.  To have fabulous food made for me?  Ooohhhh, it was a good Saturday!


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