Yum! I like seeing all the variety. And building tacos is fun. My pickled onions would be good in that line up. 😁

Thanks - it’s definitely a fun evening. Pickled onion is a great idea; I sauteed some onions and scallions because i used to order grilled scallions at restaurants. Also had chopped raw onion and scallions.

Taco night was always fun night at our house. Homemade guacamole is pretty simple. Baked potato was another fun night. Anytime everyone gets to custom design their own dinner is a success. That layout looks delicious.

thank you! I have made guacamole before and should do it again. Sometimes it feels that store-bought is cheaper than buying only 2 avocados and 1-2 tomatoes although I think 2 avocados and 1 lime would be enough.

In my opinion, the minimum requirements for guacamole are avocado, onion, lime. After that, add whatever you want. Occasionally, I'll see avocados 10 for $10 in the grocery store -- although admittedly haven't looked in a month or two. But that's the best time for guac :).

Personally, I won't make it without adding diced jalapenos. Anything after that just depends on my mood.

I like adding sundried tomato to my guacamole. Cumin, chili powder. When I don’t have jalapeños, I add a little chipotle seasoning.

I haven’t seen Avocados for 10 cents each in, well, a lonnnnnng time. 10 for $10, sure. Maybe small ones for 50 cents each.

https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article...r-15311918.php

Good thing this guy hasn't provided his recipes to the thread.

TEN avocados for $1???? I have never seen that. I am thrilled to find 2 for $1 when they are sometimes on sale.

i paid $2.49 for one yesterday. Safeway’s current offer is $1.67.

i’m looking in the wrong places.

Where can you get them that low? Carnicerias? Wow.

LOL...my typo made a big splash here. I meant to type 10 for $10. That's what they advertise in the local Jewel store sometimes. Correcting my original post.

lol I can imagine that somewhere in USA has them that cheap but...

There are 2 different avocados for sale here in South Florida. Hass which are smaller and the Bigger Green Avocados which to me have more meat in them. You can find the Hass at the lower price like 10 for $10.00, but the bigger ones are usually around $2.50 to $3.00/ each unless you are like me and have my own tree which then cost nothing during season which is usually late June to early August.

Walking the neighborhood with my dog in the last 2 weeks have seen many tress that have dropped a lot prematurely due to the heavy rainstorms that eventually become Tropical Storms Arthur and Bertha. Also, I found a neighbor who planted a Hass tree a few years ago and is producing its first crop this year. I have been talking to these owners like I did with the Mango tree owners about purchasing some of their crop when they start to drop. I get angry with many people who think it's ok to come onto my property and pick the mangos and other fruits off my trees without asking first. I had a huge crop of Mangos on my large tree going this year and came home to find most of my crop gone from the lower branches one day (close to 50 mangos). The only ones left are so high up that the squirrels, iguanas and birds get to them before they fall or when they fall they break open due to the height.

To me it's ok if they fall on public land like the sidewalks, swales, and alleys to claim them, but not to walk into private yards and pick them up or pick them off the tree.

Yeah, mango stealing is not ok. I have a papaya tree at my house in Indonesia. I’d love a mango and avocado tree!

That’s great about these trees and I’m sorry that there’s theft! Ugh. Higher fences perhaps? Ughh.

Here's a challenge for all the great cooks in this thread.

We made some frozen potato-cheese pierogies for lunch a couple days ago. They were pretty bland, not unexpected, but we had them in the freezer forever after my mother in law gave them to us. So now I have about a dozen or so left over that we really aren't excited about eating. I pride myself on being a creative cook, especially when turning leftovers into a different meal. But I'm struggling.

Best I can come up with is try to smash them flat and fry them, with salt and pepper, kind of like a hash brown. Thinking that allows me to add other toppings after they're fried and either use them for breakfast or an appetizer or side dish.

Any creative ideas on how to use these? And "throw them in the garbage" isn't acceptable, I already thought about that one too. :)

I'll probably use them up in some way by Saturday, so there's a deadline!

Saute some finely chopped onions in butter...slowly so that they carmelize. When almost done throw in some crushed garlic. Remove onions and garlic from the pan and over a higher heat pan fry the pierogies in the drippings until crispy (no need to smash them). Serve the crispy little buggers topped with the onions and garlic. Sea salt.
Or.
Do the same as above but with chopped bacon.
Or
Do bacon and onions and garlic.
I am guessing they were bland because potatoes and the dough both need a lot of salt and they were maybe undersalted. I suggest a finishing salt such as sea salt, fleur de sel or (my obsession) Maldon sea salt.

Do not smash the pierogies! I boil them, and saute onions with lots of butter while those are boiling. I then add some spinach, maybe some bacon, and then once the pierogies are cooked, I toss those in with the onions, spinach, bacon, and butter. Add some salt and pepper, and there you go.

If you want to make pizza, you can also use the pierogies as a topping on a white pizza.

I made gnocchi on Monday night. Pretty much a fail, not from the actual results, but it was a critical fail from those who ate it since Mom and Pops didn't really like them. After cooking them, I used the air fryer version from The Takeout.
I need to email the author or add to the comments because there is an octogenarian, Black couple who not necessarily "agree" on her recipe alongside an inch thick, boneless pork chop and garlic broccoli.
They are good with quinoa and farro if a steak is the primary protein, but apparently not gnocchi.

The smoked turkey from last weekend was OK, but I am doing another one this weekend since I can still get frozen whole turkey breasts for 50 cents/lb. I think I am going to do jerk chicken thighs too, along with some St. Louis cut ribs I found in the deep freezer as I was trying to make room for newer meats.

There's still too much food in this house.

EDIT: I may have to post their meals since I generally have a salad with grilled chicken or turkey, Monday-Friday. I also don't plate stylishly, I typically my folks like to have the items separated, like a lunch tray and then eat it how they want.

actually there’s a lot of positive to say for separate dishes - I’m a big fan. People can choose the items from the different dishes. It’s a great blend and we all have time to wash the extra dishes. Or just use larger platters and place like-items adjacent. Here are last night’s supper and today’s luncheon.

herb platter (mint / cilantro / basil)
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f2a0f1ba2.jpeg

vegetable tray (4 raw veggies)
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...51e410bf3.jpeg

rice/beans and adjacent guacamole
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7bb1c4658.jpeg

beef kebab (separate plate from chicken kebab)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4b4e70b49.jpeg

my spouse’s luncheon today - 4 distinct categories but still separate. The herbs were returned uneaten.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b357a0ab5.jpeg

Again, they are 80+ and Black. They do not care about the presentation. They care about whatever taste they still have. As a kid in the 80's, we did dress up and ate at Berns's in Tampa every three months or Malio's or that restaurant on Maderia Beach which I'm not sure is still in business because August Busch III loved to go there. I always got Beef Wellington on the menu if Auggie 3 was paying.

I originally baked them, and then sauteed them in butter to get a little brown on both sides.
Two votes for bacon, that may be the way to go. Maybe even re-heating by sauteing in the bacon fat.

I like the pizza idea, with some of the same toppings you guys mentioned. That may be a good option for Saturday dinner. I'll have to see how doughy they are though. But love getting ideas on transforming the pierogi into something different.

There was a birthday in our house today. Look at these gluten free cupcakes two of my kids made. So sweet. And quite good!


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...249816b03.jpeg

Lovely! And happy birthday to someone. That is really sweet.

Happy birthday! Today was my birthday too!

Happy birthday!!!! ❤️

Happy birthday!
Did the Body Shop send you $10? :D

Tonight we grilled some fat chicken breasts with Jamaican jerk paste. Man am I missing our little hideaway hotel on 7 Mile Beach. Served with a cold pasta salad (orzo, olive oil, salt, fresh cut corn, fresh basil, Parmesan). Yum yum yum. And easy.

How dare you fat shame that poor chicken! :D

Hopefully pictures are forthcoming!

Thank you!
I should check my email. I'm sure it is in there somewhere! :D

With Costco’s recent surplus of racks of lamb, we did that again. I must say 24 hours on marinade made a difference. Divine.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...cc27e8dba.jpeg

perfect dinner IMO....beautiful lamb, great sides. :tu: Nice job.

Oh thank you! Funny how important strangers’ validation becomes. But there it is.

corky, what have you got going in the kitchen this week? What will I want to make here? 😁

lol
It is always nice to have validation ...stranger or not. I posted last nights dinner of grilled salmon under the What's for dinner thread...had leftovers tonight and will again tomorrow even though i will be sick of it by then. The surprise of last night's dinner was the corn on the cob rolled in toasted panko..fun but needs some work. Maybe try rolling in crushed Cheetos next time. Lol
Either shrimp or lamb chops on deck...both in the freezer now. I am a girl who grills so that's my go to. I like to eat seasonal so will see.what's at the farmers market tomorrow . I usually go with the lamb chops because i kind of feel like the rack should be done in the oven but your photo is pretty inspiring .

That lamb looks perfectly cooked. It's 8 am here and now I want a lamb chop.

Reminded me of the tuna steaks I grilled last night. Even though she likes sushi, my wife likes her tuna steak cooked to medium, while I prefer just a seared outside. I got distracted by the dog (throwing his toy for him to fetch) and cooked them both to just a light pink inside. Stupid dog. I'm going to make him cook dinner tonight to make up for it.

LOL. It was so so good. Marinated overnight in mix of olive oil, squirt of balsamic glaze, garlic, rosemary. The outside was so nice and seared and crusty. Used a Meater to get internal temp to 120 then tented for about 5 minutes.

Since then, I've been really craving that Panera Asian Sesame salad / dressing. We grilled some chicken a few nights ago and had leftovers, plus some romaine, and some sliced honey almonds from TJs. So I found this copycat recipe for the dressing. It is SPOT ON. I have an irrational love of this dressing. (I know you can buy it in grocery stores but nowhere near me carries it.)
https://iowagirleats.com/panera-copycat-salad-recipe/

I did modify a little because when I "toasted" the sesame oil, it lost its nice sesame flavor. So I subbed more sesame oil for the canola oil at the end. I've made this salad 3x in the last 3 days. I need ideas of what else I can put this dressing on! Maybe marinade for some shrimp or something.

There really is no substitute for toasted sesame oil. Trader Joe carries it. It is usually in smaller bottles and is a deep golden color.--you don't need much. You can't really toast the oil as the toasted sesame oil is made from toasted sesame seeds.

Oooooo. Good tip! I will get some next time I'm at TJs. The sesame oil I have is very dark golden and purchased at an Asian food market. It's very flavorful. I sometimes put on big Cerignola olives with a dash of crushed red peppers.

Tonight we grilled shrimp (massive ones from Costco) with this marinade: https://www.food.com/recipe/grilled-lime-shrimp-43737

Was excellent. Served with a pasta salad with corn and parmesan and fresh basil.

Shrimp recipe looks great. And basil goes good with corn--that sounds like a yummy summer dinner.

Agree on the toasted sesame but you don't need to go to TJ's for it. I've found it at all the Jewel's (Albertson's) and Mariano's (Kroger) around here, and it's all good quality. I bring that up because you can get it on your regular staples shopping trip rather than specialties.