What's for dinner tonight?

[Sister Ray]

Cheeseburgers with thick slices of super sharp cheddar on a big kaiser roll and topped with lots of barbeque sauce, Cape Cod potato chips, fruit salad, and probably ice cream. Yeah, it's terrible for me, but I haven't eaten a burger in months.

Sister "looking forward to it" Ray

[Avril]

Baked salmon, green salad with raspberries, feta, and almonds and a splash of balsamic vinegar, couscous, and chocolate chip cookies with milk.

If you're going to go all health, you sometimes need to finish it off with a cookie.

[tagurit]

Tonight cheeseburgers on the grill. That's it. We don't do anything more when we have sandwiches. But, Klondike bar for dessert.

As always, burger is ground chuck from our favorite butcher, ground on site daily.

[Sue]

I'm home today so I'm actually cooking something more complicated than my standy chile or spaghetti, tonight it's stuffed green peppers with an apple pie for dessert.

[Algae]

We've been doing really well at menu planning lately, so although our meals have been simple (last night was spaghetti, tonight is frozen pizza), at least we've been eating at home. Our schedule is really crazy for the next 3 - 4 weeks, so I'm trying to once a week to do something nicer and then either easy meals or favorite crock pot meals the other nights.

[Syllavus]

I made stuffed zucchinis last night and we still have a full zucchini left so tonight will probably be leftovers. It was my first time doing stuffed zucchini and they turned out rather well although I will make a few tweaks to the recipe the next time to give the filling a bit more flavor.

[Errata]

A giant shrimp cocktail with oxymoronic shrimp the size of small lobster tails.
Filet mignon, medium rare, with red wine sauce and horseradish.
Hashed brown potatoes and onions with melted gruyere.
Levrier cocktail with Absolut Ruby Red vodka, Aperol, fresh grapefruit juice, and sparkling wine.

[Phantom]

Semi-OT:
I'm planning to have a luau for a small group of friends so we can enjoy my new gazebo. I want to have some nice luau-themed food, but I'm not much for cooking. I'll probably end up getting takeout from a nearby restaurant, but would still appreciate some suggestions.

Any super-easy items I can make or buy? When I say "super-easy", I mean not much more complicated than Hamburger Helper or browning meat for tacos. I can heat up frozen items and throw a few things together in a bowl, but don't want anything harder than that. We have a grill but I don't know how to use it. I'd probably leave the food raw, burnt or on fire.

Back to the thread: I'm cooking tacos tonight, to help my visiting SIL because she occasionally cooks for all of us.

[Enchanting_eyes]

Shepard's Pie with cut up biscuits on top. It should be good, I hope, I've never made one before.

[tagurit]

Originally Posted by Phantom

Semi-OT:
I'm planning to have a luau for a small group of friends so we can enjoy my new gazebo. I want to have some nice luau-themed food, but I'm not much for cooking. I'll probably end up getting takeout from a nearby restaurant, but would still appreciate some suggestions.

I'm wondering what makes this a luau since, IME, luaus generally focus on food and entertainment, albeit with a Hawaiian theme. Can you get luau takeout in Boston?

ETA: I think the tone of this post sounds demeaning. I apologize. I'm basically just curious. Things have changed since I had enough time and energy for parties.

[Pinecone]

I'm planning to make shepherd's pie tonight, with sweet potato mash on top.

[tagurit]

Tonight we had Algae's slow cooked pork chops, slow cooked in my dutch oven in the oven, that is. Thanks so much for that recipe, Algae!

[Errata]

Originally Posted by tagurit

Can you get luau takeout in Boston?

I did a quick search out of curiosity and couldn't find any evidence of it in the Boston area. A few restaurants that sounded Hawaiian turned out to be basically Chinese food.

There are a few places here that do individual Hawaiian dishes, like poke, but none that offer a full range of traditional luau fare. Here on the West coast there is the L&L Hawaiian BBQ chain, where you can get trays of BBQ that are suitable for parties, but that's a very limited subset of what you'd expect to be able to find at a real luau and it's more of a fast food version rather than traditionally prepared.

You can probably get a luau catered if you really want, but that's a much bigger commitment than just picking up some takeout for a casual gathering.

[chillas]

Mixed vegetable risotto.

[Enchanting_eyes]

I did spicy ranch pork chops and rice.

[tagurit]

Thanks, Errata.

Tonight we're having spaghetti and I'm making enough for dinner tomorrow night when my sister will be over and the last of the double lemon bars I forgot to mention, I made that we had with the pork chops.

[Morgaine]

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches. I added some shredded carrots to stretch the meat & add a bit of healthy. Recipe:

-1 bag of chicken breasts or thighs
-1 bottle hot sauce
-1 pkg dry Ranch Dressing mix

Put it all in a crockpot on low or high, depending on how much time you have. I put it in this AM & did a shred around noon. I'll keep it cooking on high to get the carrot really soft & mushy so they blend in.

[missy_pooh_1997]

low carb chili with melty cheese on top and grape Crystal Light.

[musicgeek]

Grilled salmon filet brushed with a mixture of olive oil, lime juice, and chili powder, a salad made with grilled corn, grilled red pepper, red onion, fresh cilantro, chopped pickled jalapeño, and a dressing very similar to what I used on the fish (but with more juice and less oil), and fingerling yukon gold potatoes parboiled and then cooked whole in bacon drippings with sliced onions, smoked sea salt and fresh chopped rosemary. Even the kids ate everything tonight!

[Phantom]

Originally Posted by tagurit

I'm wondering what makes this a luau since, IME, luaus generally focus on food and entertainment, albeit with a Hawaiian theme. Can you get luau takeout in Boston?

ETA: I think the tone of this post sounds demeaning. I apologize. I'm basically just curious. Things have changed since I had enough time and energy for parties.

No, that's my fault. A few stores have luau decorations and they seduced me into wanting to have one. I just wanted a reason to have my friends to come and hang out, which is hard due to our conflicting schedules. I've got a lot of decorations, but the food has been a sticking point. My friends won't care if it's not authentic Hawaiian cuisine, but I do want to at least have food that's sorta on theme. The party has grown too because we added in DH's friends and some family members.

I found some frozen chicken teriyaki and calypso coconut shrimp. I may also throw in some Hawaiian pizza. I was hoping to find a frozen pork dish to heat up but so far no luck. I may end up ordering a small plate of food from Tiki Island (polynesian and Chinese food).