What's for dinner tonight?

[Ducky]

I will probably be smacked with a bacon strip.. but .. RangerDog- can the bacon be left out of the soup easily enough to make?

(no I don't care for bacon lol- I'm a odd duck that way)

[Sue]

Speaking of bacon we're having a roast pork dinner with all the fixings tonight. Fixings for us means mashed potatoes, mashed carrot & turnip, apple sauce and mini yorkshire puddings - oh and gravy, of course. I am so sick of barbecue and cold suppers that I've gone to the other extreme .

[tagurit]

Originally Posted by Ducky

I will probably be smacked with a bacon strip.. but .. RangerDog- can the bacon be left out of the soup easily enough to make?

I can answer that. If you don't want bacon in it, leave it out. See? Easily enough.

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

My mother used to make potato soup out of whatever she had on hand. Sometimes it was cheesy, and sometimes not. She'd use bacon, or ham, or even salami for the meat, if any. It's a very simple comfort food that can be made without a recipe, and tweaked with different flavors to taste.

[Twankydillo]

I've made a red pepper risotto and a self-saucing lemon pudding, of which I've had a taste of now and it's pretty good. You're supposed to serve it warm, so I've had a taste of it warm, but everybody has different teas at different times so it's hard to time a pudding in this house. I could keep it in the bottom of the oven, maybe.

And last night I made a mixed bean shepherd's pie (gardeners pie, is it, when it's vegetarian?) with a carrot and potato top, and on Saturday I made a fennel, potato and basil soup.

Tomorrow I'll probably make borscht with mushroom and onion filled dumplings. Mmmm. I'm trying to keep my meals vaguely seasonal at the moment (the lemon pudding isn't, but I'll be making a courgette and lemon cake as well). It's a good way to give myself ideas for what to eat and to eat British produce, and it makes me feel more aware of the changing months.

[tagurit]

Originally Posted by Spam & Cookies-mmm

My mother used to make potato soup out of whatever she had on hand. Sometimes it was cheesy, and sometimes not. She'd use bacon, or ham, or even salami for the meat, if any. It's a very simple comfort food that can be made without a recipe, and tweaked with different flavors to taste.

Same here. My mother usually made potato soup if she had potatoes that had to be used. If there was anything else that needed to be used up, they went in, too. My maternal grandmother always kept a pot of soup on the back burner (of a wood burning stove) and it was added to daily. What kind of soup? Soup.

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Mmmmm! Soup!

When I was a kid, one of the neighbor ladies made soup that way, but kept it in the fridge of course. Leftover meats & veggies from meals during the week got tossed into the soup pot, which then became Saturday's dinner.

[cehrriins]

Tonight was DH's birthday dinner (even though his official bday was last Friday). Pork chops, gravy, stuffing and roasted mixed vegetables. Thank gawd he likes to cook, too, or this meal would have driven me outta my gourd...so we tag-teamed it.

And then, after supper, I received what I'm fairly certain is the best compliment on my cooking I've ever heard. DD2 walked up to me and asked, "Mom, you wanna know how good I think your gravy is?" So, of course, I said, "Sure." She then said, "Put it into a cup for me and I'll drink that with my dinner."

[Brad from Georgia]

We had grilled salmon, green beans, and cole slaw. Daughter's wedding's coming up--I have to lose about ten pounds.

[Ducky]

Originally Posted by tagurit

I can answer that. If you don't want bacon in it, leave it out. See? Easily enough.

Meh I was asking because the onions and garlics are cooked in a bit of bacon grease as well, but guess they can be sauteed.

:P

[tagurit]

Yes, in a little butter or oil.

[Dasla]

Originally Posted by Sue

Speaking of bacon we're having a roast pork dinner with all the fixings tonight. Fixings for us means mashed potatoes, mashed carrot & turnip, apple sauce and mini yorkshire puddings - oh and gravy, of course. I am so sick of barbecue and cold suppers that I've gone to the other extreme .

Speaking of bacon, I made chicken burgers last nighty and completely forgot to add the bacon.

Oooh and now I want a roast with all the trimmings, either beef or pork.
Even though it's only me, I still do roast with all the trimmings for myself, left overs are yummy. Just can't afford it at the moment.

[tagurit]

Originally Posted by Sue

I am so sick of barbecue and cold suppers that I've gone to the other extreme .

Me too, I guess. I spotted a beautiful English cut roast at the butcher's yesterday and brought it home. It's in the freezer for Saturday.

[Sue Bee]

Originally Posted by Ducky

Meh I was asking because the onions and garlics are cooked in a bit of bacon grease as well, but guess they can be sauteed.

:P

I make a very similar chowder to what RD detailed, and the chowder part can be modified very easily to make all sorts of soups. If you don't want to use bacon, don't use it. But because bacon is a large part of the flavor profile, you might try adding additional seasoning, like a dry mustard to bring out the flavor of the cheddar. You can skip the cheddar and garlic and add clams and/or mild fish to make a clam or fish chowder. If you like ham, use it instead of bacon.

[Ducky]

Adding dry mustard is an interesting take. I make my Grandfather's Corn Chowder recipe now and then (has ham in it- or can put chicken in there). It's made a bit differently than RD's but your ideas do make me wonder how the taste would change adding other items

[tagurit]

Tonight was english cut pot roast with carrots and onions, mashed yukon gold potatoes with the skins left on and gravy. Man, was that good! The high today was 71º so perfect for a meal like that.

[Lainie]

I made a variation on Greek salad: cukes, red bell pepper, red onion, green olives, feta cheese. Mmmmm.

[Avril]

Ramen noodles with leftover honey-hoisin tofu mixed in. It was actually really good! Chocolate zucchini muffins for dessert. (I got the recipe from a new cookbook. They were just okay; I didn't really enjoy them as much as I thought I might.)

[Sue]

We went to a friend's birthday party tonight. It was...different. All they served were sliders*. Lots and lots of sliders. Mountains of sliders. Oh and potato chips. That was it.

* mini hamburgers

[Errata]

A shepherd salad in a balsamic reduction, with goat cheese and seared peaches. Grilled flatbread with sardine sashimi and arugula in harissa. Pan fried trout with french beans and romesco sauce. A glass of Remy Martin 1738 Accord Royal.