Recipe for a rich sauce for homemade Diet TV Dinners?
Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
9 years ago
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Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
TV dinners & such
Comments (48)I am absolutely not making this up. There is a restaurant chain called TadÂs Steak in NYC. They serve steak dinners for a very reasonable price. I have not been there for a long long time. I am not sure what are they doing now. I ate there many times when I was a student. Only place I could afford to eat steak. A good piece of steak, large baked potato with sour cream, and a good size piece of garlic bread, all for $1.99 (may be $8.00 todayÂs money). The chain was successful. Then TadÂs Steak came up with this insane scheme. They started a few restaurants with this unusual idea. The dinning area had many large glass fronted freezers like in a supermarket. The customers would pick out a variety of frozen meals and return to their tables. Each table sat four customers, and there were two microwave ovens on each table. The customers would operate the microwave ovens to heat up their own meals. I donÂt think the restaurants lasted more than a few months. I wonder why this TadÂs expensive venture failed so miserably. dcarch...See MoreElimination diet recipe challenge
Comments (17)I shouldn't be such a whiner when I think of all you have to do Tricia! You're definately in my thoughts and prayers, I know this has been a rough time, I wish you didn't have to go thru this! I can't have chili powder, even mild, right now. Later, as I add things, probably if it doesn't cause a problem. I can eat red bell peppers, (you know, the most expensive ones!), so I may try my hand at roasting some, since the canned ones I usually buy have preservatives which are off limits now. Tonight for dinner I had some soup that was a POOF that was a riff on risi e bisi and Italian wedding--ham, peas, spinach, carrots and celery and caramelized onions (yes, I know but I made it before all this started) with Israeli style cous cous pilaf thrown in for the starch. Mostly OK ingredients. I was still hungry so I had an almond butter and honey sandwich on whitebread toast. I have to get rid of this great sourdough sprouted wheat bread BF brought me, because no sourdough either! I'm finding out all kinds of interesting things. Like a mail order source for tamari without gluten, it's made from rice and adzuki beans. I think I am going to order some of that since I actually might eat it on its own merits. I also discovered that I can use "amchoor" to add tartness, which is a bitter mango powder and I actually had some leftover from when I was on an Indian food kick. BF is kidding me incessantly, "Now you have to eat like me." It's actually the Standard American Diet--meat, mild dairy, starches, plain vegetables, fat, and sugar! The only thing missing is caffinated beverages and soda pop! Yes Beverly, it could be worse because I too think salt would be very hard for me to do without. I have decreased my salt over the years, but I find it difficult to go real low with it. Of course maybe that's coming down the road, lol!...See MoreSummer Pasta - Your favorite light sauce recipes
Comments (25)The nice thing about all theses recipes is that they can be combined by using what you have on hand...and what you like. I'm making one this morning for the weekend. I always have olives, pulled some pecans out of the freezer from the holidays that i will toast and lightly chop. Roast a red pepper on the gas burner. My basil bed is doing well but not enough for a pesto so i'll pinch off a dozen tops but the cilantro is bolting so i'll add that at the end with a squeeze of lime. Tomatoes are a month away but i have a dozen early sungolds (the size of marbles)...I'll cut in half and toss on top fresh. i have a bit of fetta left i need to use. A dozen sugar snap peas sliced in half. Not enough for a side dish. I made succotash wed and have an ear of corn left and half a zucchini and squash i'll use up. (my local Stop-n-Shop grocery has a local farm stand set up inside) A wooden cart with an umbrella, haha. I usually prefer simplicity and just a few ingredients but this time of year i have a little bit of everything...reminds me of my MIL's saturday soup my husband grew up on...all the bits of the weeks meals tossed in a soup pot with homemade stock from the freezer, maybe some rice or pasta. Not really left-overs using fresh, but certainly a 'garden party' pasta. Still a light sauce. I'm going to make a full lb so it will be a side dish tonight with cod cakes, a cold salad for tomorrows lunch, (DH will have some for breakfast, lol). Sunday night's return from the mountains i'll put the leftovers in a casarole, top with extra cheese, 'yogurt milk', panko and any grill leftovers, (lamb sausage!) and make an adult mac-n-cheese. (i have some rich stinky fancy munster i need to use up). A completely different meal when baked and toasted. sallyparis-love your blog. My husband caught me grating a few tomatoes last season, "now what are you doing!?", haha. Works great in a hurry but needs a big bowl. Love warm pasta tossed in all that yummy juice when tomatoes are so sweet and abundant. tricia-haha, the harried greek housewife. Now i know what to call it! Gwlolo- No need to 'cook' the sauce, but a few ingredients do 'brighten' flavors with a few minutes in a large wide saucepan, just a few minutes as the pasta is finishing. Add the warm pasta to the saucepan and toss. A caprese is nice just on top fresh when serving along with toasted nuts if using. If you have an abundance of fresh basil, some is nice tossed in the warm pasta but save most for the top garnish. Arugula is delightful as well....See MoreRECIPE: Progressive Dinner for March 8
Comments (13)For the soup, after looking at the other courses so far, I was tempted to go with something French Oniony. Or maybe a dark mushroom broth. But then I decided that would be too much beef at one meal LOL. Many steakhouses around here serve awesome broccoli cheese soup. But truthfully, after a bite or two of the very thick stuff, I kind of wish it was thinner and less rich. I have come up with a "chowder" that has the thinner consistency I like, and can include any vegetables you want. Frozen or fresh broccoli, frozen veggie mixes, leftovers from another meal. This is a chunky chowder, and it is not pureed. Both for the texture, and also for the colour. I want a milky white base with veggies, not a green slurry. I have used anything from handfuls of baby spinach leaves, to the ubiquitous "frozen cubed veggie mix". This time I used 1 1/2 cups of a fancier frozen mix that had snap peas, leaf spinach, garlic scapes, broccoli, red and yellow peppers, and asparagus - and a 1/2 cup of frozen corn. The results were spectacular! Vegeable Chowder 1 tsp butter 1 tsp olive oil 1/2 small onion, chopped fine 1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped 1-2 tbsp flour (if you like it thicker, go for the higher amount) 2 cups good chicken stock 2 cups frozen, fresh, or leftover veggies 1/2 cup evaporated milk Salt and pepper to taste Melt the butter with the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, and saute until transparent. Add the garlic and stir, just until fragrant. The garlic can brown a bit but not too dark or it will be too sweet or worse - bitter. Add the flour, and stir to combine. Heat for about a minute to make a roux, but don't brown it. Whisk in 2 cups chicken stock. Add the frozen veggies and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the veggies are cooked/heated through and tender. This will be longer for fresh veggies, and the least for the cooked leftovers. My veggie mix simmered for five minutes and was perfect. Add evaporated milk, and simmer lightly until the chowder is hot. Stir gently to keep from breaking up any spinach(if you used it) to keep the broth as light as possible. Unless you don't mind it green ;). Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes about four 1 cup servings Like all chowders I think this tastes best after it as cooled slightly but is still on the hot side of warm. For a cheesy chowder, add a handful of finely grated cheese to each bowl. You can also garnish with sliced green onions, crumbled cooked bacon, or oyster crackers. Note that in the link, the bowl is really too large and you would only get about two servings if you did it that way. This looks better in a dark bowl or crock, if you are serving it to company. And since I already had that huge bowl ladelled out, I ate it. You know, so it wasn't wasted - tee hee! Here is a link that might be useful:...See MoreSuzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
9 years agoIslay Corbel
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSuzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b thanked Islay Corbelplllog
9 years agodcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
9 years agoSuzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b thanked dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o mSuzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
9 years agosleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoSuzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b thanked sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
9 years ago
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