Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #6

[ilovewings]

I learned to do this the hard way. I still have nightmares picturing the state of my outdoor trash bin one time decades ago. I’ll spare the details except to say apparently flies had made their way into the smelly bin… I’ll let you figure out the rest. *shudder*

My mother-in-law then told me about freezing her scraps, and I followed this excellent tip ever since.

I hear ya!! In the summer there are Some flies around the garbage-- if we didnt freeze the scraps it would be
Ungodly horrible!

 

[Kudzuu]

An interesting thing I read about Brussels sprouts are that since the 1990s they have been crossbred to be less bitter than the kind that was around when I was growing up. So, they really do taste better than the old days. They are now lower in something called glucosinolates, which causes the bitter taste.

That would explain why no one mentioned picking them after a frost.

 

[anneg]

We do the same thing- we call it freezer food: lots of nasty stuff like chicken scraps, meat scraps, and other left overs that would really stink up the garbage, so we put that in the freezer until garbage day-and take it out of the freezer and put it in the trash- this is especially important in the summer----- I didn't think anybody else did that!

I do it too! Learned from my parents, who would put an empty milk carton in the freezer for meat scraps, bones, and such.

 

[anneg]

I made a skillet supper last night. Onion, carrots, green beans, and potato slices cooked in olive oil. Added a sliced Bavarian white sausage and covered the skillet part of the time. Mixed up a sauce of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and a little water and added it to the skillet and covered the skillet. It was tasty and plenty for the two of us.

 

[Inthedetails]

I made a skillet supper last night. Onion, carrots, green beans, and potato slices cooked in olive oil. Added a sliced Bavarian white sausage and covered the skillet part of the time. Mixed up a sauce of balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and a little water and added it to the skillet and covered the skillet. It was tasty and plenty for the two of us.

That sounds fabulous. My husband made a similar dish the other night with ground sausage made into patties, potatoes, onions, celery, garlic, rosemary. Simmered in a skillet in its gravy. We call it grandma food since it's something we each remember for our childhoods.

 

[Irishknit]

I do it too! Learned from my parents, who would put an empty milk carton in the freezer for meat scraps, bones, and such.

The milk carton! Now I remember, thank you.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

We do the same thing- we call it freezer food: lots of nasty stuff like chicken scraps, meat scraps, and other left overs that would really stink up the garbage, so we put that in the freezer until garbage day-and take it out of the freezer and put it in the trash- this is especially important in the summer----- I didn't think anybody else did that!

All my non-meat food waste goes into a compost pile, and I even have a separate, special compost pile for (biodegradable) kitty litter and, uh, accompanying items, so thankfully my trash doesn't stink! (thanks to the freezer approach to meat scraps, combined with not wating much meat in the first place).

 

[IceIce9]

Regarding the dressing cooked outside the bird, I learned a little tip somewhere along the way that I use every Thanksgiving: For the dressing that won’t fit inside the bird, lay chicken wings (or thighs or what-have-you) on top of the dressing that goes in the oven in a casserole dish. As it cooks, the drippings from the chicken wings flavors the dressing. You can then either eat the wings separately at a later date, use them for stock, etc.

I have tried placing some turkey pieces on top of extra stuffing that won’t fit in the bird, and I have tried basting it with turkey broth and drippings. Sadly nothing compares to the taste of stuffing that soaks up roasting turkey juice as it cooks inside the bird.

Sometimes I roast two large turkeys just to have enough room for the stuffing. Then I slice and freeze the extra turkey.

We always have leftover turkey but seldom have leftover stuffing.

 

[IceIce9]

Every year people call in to Ryan Ruocco’s show and ask for his mother’s famous pineapple dressing recipe. I’ve made it, and I think it goes better with pork chops or ham than turkey.

Mama Ruocco’s Pineapple Dressing

1/2 cup of butter
Four eggs
1/2 cup sugar
5 slices of white bread cubed
One can crushed pineapple drained (20 oz can)

Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and
beat. Add pineapple and bread and stir. Bake in a greased 11/2 quart casserole dish for
about one hour at 350° uncovered.

 

[Irishknit]

Every year people call in to Ryan Ruocco’s show and ask for his mother’s famous pineapple dressing recipe. I’ve made it, and I think it goes better with pork chops or ham than turkey.

Mama Ruocco’s Pineapple Dressing

1/2 cup of butter
Four eggs
1/2 cup sugar
5 slices of white bread cubed
One can crushed pineapple drained (20 oz can)

Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and
beat. Add pineapple and bread and stir. Bake in a greased 11/2 quart casserole dish for
about one hour at 350° uncovered.

Agree put this with ham or pork chops. Yum.

 

[IceIce9]

Agree put this with ham or pork chops. Yum.

I always liked pineapple dishes with pork chops. When I was a teenager pork chops were one of my favorite things to cook. I’d serve them with scalloped potatoes and a pineapple dish.

When I first started making pork chops I would use Shake and Bake. It actually made pretty decent pork chops.

 

[Irishknit]

I always liked pineapple dishes with pork chops. When I was a teenager pork chops were one of my favorite things to cook. I’d serve them with scalloped potatoes and a pineapple dish.

When I first started making pork chops I would use Shake and Bake. It actually made pretty decent pork chops.

Grew up thinking Shake and Bake was the only way to cook pork chops.

 

[IceIce9]

Grew up thinking Shake and Bake was the only way to cook pork chops.

I never cared for the Shake and Bake for chicken, but that is probably because my mom made excellent fried chicken. But the pork chop Shake and Bake was good!

I wondered if Shake and Bake was still around, so I checked the Kroger website. Still available in original chicken and original pork!

 

[ilovewings]

I never cared for the Shake and Bake for chicken, but that is probably because my mom made excellent fried chicken. But the pork chop Shake and Bake was good!

I wondered if Shake and Bake was still around, so I checked the Kroger website. Still available in original chicken and original pork!

Actually we eat Shake and Bake with chicken occasionally- I think it is pretty decent once in a blue moon

 

[Inthedetails]

Wish me luck. I'm heading to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving like some kind of amateur who doesn't know better.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Wish me luck. I'm heading to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving like some kind of amateur who doesn't know better.

I had to go to Publix too. When I got there about 8:00am all the handicap parking was full but I found a close spot thankfully. Everyone else had the same idea - go early. The self checkout line was long, all the registers had at least 3 people waiting. By the time I was done, an asst manager type person opened a register. No waiting - perfect blessing to start my day!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Here is my contribution to the comments about garbage. DH is currently reading Redemption by David Baldacci. The word "Dumpster" is frequently mentioned and is always capitalized. DH wondered why, so we looked it up. Dumpster is actually an American trademarked name for plastic or metal trash receptacles. Definition of DUMPSTER

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Last Saturday I received the December issue of Food Network Magazine. After 20+ years, I did not renew my subscription for the coming year. The publication is not what it was when I first started getting it, and I no longer find the magazine worthwhile. Early on, Food Network Magazine was 125-130 pages. Now it is barely 100 pages, with far too much advertising and little useful content. Originally, there were 12 issues per year that eventually decreased to 10 issues, and now there are only eight issues per year. I rarely watch Food Network these days as the formatting has changed significantly since the channel debuted 30 years ago. I used to love watching various cooking shows that are now a rarity on FN. Most of the current programming is game, competition, and reality shows that don't interest me. Food Network has lost its appeal, and I have decided not to renew my long-time subscription to its namesake magazine.

 

[killarney rose]

I haven’t watched FN in years due to the reasons you stated.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Wish me luck. I'm heading to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving like some kind of amateur who doesn't know better.

I hope your grocery store experience isn't too stressful. I made the mistake many years ago of going to the market the day before Thanksgiving and learned the hard way that this is not conducive to my mental health I remember arriving at Nino's just before 8:00AM one year and thought I'd be at the door when they opened. After finding a parking space in the lot that was already nearly full, I realized that everyone thought getting there when the store opened was the best way to avoid crowds. Wrong! Evidently, customers had started arriving much earlier and lined up outdoors in the cold until store managers let them in at 7:30. It was a zoo, and I remember feeling like I was going to cry or lose my mind trying to navigate the crowded store. I vowed never to wait until the day before Thanksgiving to purchase groceries for Turkey Day. Tuesdays were not much better, and Monday (or even Sunday) before Thanksgiving turned out to be the best days to shop. Nino's management tells their customers that Wednesday before Thanksgiving and December 23 (no matter the day) are their two busiest days of the year. The suggestion is an effort to encourage shoppers to choose another day to shop for their holiday needs, but those two days are always hectic regardless.