323 replies to this topic

[Bill Z]

Your lunches always sound so good. I'm envious.

I'm having salad.... again.

Well, I do like to eat good food, and many times, my lunch is technically "left overs" like today. We had turkey tacos for dinner earlier in the week, so it's left over filling I microwaved, then microwaved the corn tortillas wrapped in paper towels, add fresh lettuce and grated cheese and it's done.

As for salad.... again. Well a nice mix of greens, add some candied walnuts & dried cranberries, and a good salad dressing and salads can be quite tasty as well. Last nights salad I added some Thai spicy cucumber salad (my homemade recipe, see below) with some chinese salad dressing over it all was very scrumpdilyicious.

OK, BillZ's Thai Cucumber Salad recipe (can be eaten alone or added as a garnish to a regular oriental salad)

one cucumber (sliced)
1/4 onion (sliced & diced)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbls lime juice
Cilantro (I don't know how much, maybe it's down to 2 tbls after it's all chopped up)

Drum Roll Please .....................

and the secret ingredient: 4 little Thai hot chilis (sliced up into little sliver rings)


I start by mixing the liquids and salt & sugar.
Then add the peppers and onions so the salt & liquids can start pulling the flavor from the peppers and onions
Then I chop up the cilantro and add it, then finally the cucumbers.

let sit overnight so the salt can work it's magic pulling the juices from the onions and cucumbers so there is more liquid than what you started with.

[ducky]

Well, I do like to eat good food, and many times, my lunch is technically "left overs" like today. We had turkey tacos for dinner earlier in the week, so it's left over filling I microwaved, then microwaved the corn tortillas wrapped in paper towels, add fresh lettuce and grated cheese and it's done.

As for salad.... again. Well a nice mix of greens, add some candied walnuts & dried cranberries, and a good salad dressing and salads can be quite tasty as well. Last nights salad I added some Thai spicy cucumber salad (my homemade recipe, see below) with some chinese salad dressing over it all was very scrumpdilyicious.

OK, BillZ's Thai Cucumber Salad recipe (can be eaten alone or added as a garnish to a regular oriental salad)

one cucumber (sliced)
1/4 onion (sliced & diced)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbls lime juice
Cilantro (I don't know how much, maybe it's down to 2 tbls after it's all chopped up)

Drum Roll Please .....................

and the secret ingredient: 4 little Thai hot chilis (sliced up into little sliver rings)


I start by mixing the liquids and salt & sugar.
Then add the peppers and onions so the salt & liquids can start pulling the flavor from the peppers and onions
Then I chop up the cilantro and add it, then finally the cucumbers.

let sit overnight so the salt can work it's magic pulling the juices from the onions and cucumbers so there is more liquid than what you started with.

Thanks for the receipe, Bill Z! Sounds great.

Geesh, the only exciting thing about my salad today was I used tomatoes from my own yard.

[eVader]

Hey ducky, home grown tomatoes are nothing to take lightly....very tasty compared to grocer. We have the cherry and other small salad tomatoes (purple, red, orange) but the medium best boy and better boy and brandywine ones are just now getting red.

[ducky]

Hey ducky, home grown tomatoes are nothing to take lightly....very tasty compared to grocer. We have the cherry and other small salad tomatoes (purple, red, orange) but the medium best boy and better boy and brandywine ones are just now getting red.

I agree homegrown do taste so good. I'm just trying to drop some weight and am tired of salads. Bill Z's turkey tacos just sounded so much better today.

I am happy with my tomato crops this year. My red and yellow cherry tomatoes went crazy, then my roma tomatoes came in, and then, like you said, the best boys are just now red, which is what I sliced up and had today.

[Bill Z]

Leftover Homemade Ranch Style beans with a Lousiana Hot Link sausage cut-up and mixed in and microwaved it.

[Deb aka Resume Lady]

Try this recipe for your home grown tomatoes....


Adriatic Summer Salad

4 large tomatoes, thickly sliced
1 sm. red onion, coarsely chopped
1 lb. Mozzarella cheese, thickly sliced
1 small can black olives, sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped

DRESSING:
1/3 cup good quality olive oil
1 tbl. fresh lemon juice
1 tbl. fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
2 tbl. red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1. In a large marinating container or large casserole dish, layer 1/2 of the tomatoes, 1/2 of the cheese, 1/2 of the onions, 1/2 of the olives and 1/2 of the basil. Repeat to make a second layer.

2. Combine dressing ingredients and mix well. Pour over salad, coating everything well.

3. Refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours, flipping marinating dish over periodically or, if using a casserole dish, gently toss periodically to evenly marinate the salad.

Note: Serve as a main course with crusty bread or as a side dish. You could marinate this all day, but leftovers will be too soggy the next day; it’s best to marinate it for 4 - 8 hours.


EDIT: I actually ad lib the amount of tomatoes, cheese and olives -- adding more if I have it, but not too much for the amount of marinade required.

[MSgt]

Tuna Sandwich with sweet chili rice chips I love these things. My link

[Bill Z]

Today I had a Free marinated chicken breast.

I didn't make it to chili's for lunch, but yesterday I walked to a new meat market, deli & butcher shop. I ordered a sandwich and one of the butchers saw me checking out their meat selection. He asked me if I liked marinated chicken, I said I usually marinate 'em myself, and so he gave me a bloody mary marinated chicken breast, raw & vacuum sealed. So yesterday I enjoyed the sandwich and tossed the chicken into the fridge. Today, I grilled it up on a Hamilton Beach griller (like the george foreman grillers). It was pretty tasty.

It's nice having a griller & a toaster oven at work, so many more options for making a good lunch than just a microwave.

[EAH]

Bill,
Considering the price of chicken breasts these days, that was really nice of the guy to throw in a free breast for you to try. It might be nice to throw him some free advertising by mentioning the name of the place.

[Bill Z]

Bill,
Considering the price of chicken breasts these days, that was really nice of the guy to throw in a free breast for you to try. It might be nice to throw him some free advertising by mentioning the name of the place.

Archer's Butcher Block
5425 Motherlode Drive
Placerville, CA 95667

It's 3 miles out in the sticks past Shingle Springs (technically not in the city limits of Placerville but serviced by their post office).

They also sell Elk, Buffalo, Rabbit, etc.

They also will carve up whatever you hunt and drop off for butchering and packaging.

With it so far out of Folsom, I hadn't figured on mentioning it as I expect most won't bother with driving that far just for a deli.

[Deanna H]

Archer's Butcher Block
5425 Motherlode Drive
Placerville, CA 95667

It's 3 miles out in the sticks past Shingle Springs (technically not in the city limits of Placerville but serviced by their post office).

They also sell Elk, Buffalo, Rabbit, etc.

They also will carve up whatever you hunt and drop off for butchering and packaging.

With it so far out of Folsom, I hadn't figured on mentioning it as I expect most won't bother with driving that far just for a deli.

We actually live in Shingle Springs, so thanks for the tip!

[eVader]

Bill,
Considering the price of chicken breasts these days, that was really nice of the guy to throw in a free breast for you to try. It might be nice to throw him some free advertising by mentioning the name of the place.

+100. Thinking same thing and will check it out soon.

[Bill Z]

We actually live in Shingle Springs, so thanks for the tip!

They list their address as Motherlode, but technically, the building faces Plant Drive.
It used to be the RWN hardware supply store, it's now painted a light bright yellow with a dark green trim.

[Bill Z]

Used the griller again today for a hamburger.

Home ground beef patty with spices mixed in.
That way I control the fat content and the salt and other seasonings.

I am also probably grinding up higher quality cuts of beef than store ground ground beef.

[Bill Z]

Today was Left over beef stroganoff.

I make my beef stroganoff different than every recipe I've ever read. It's because my mom used to always make it from left-overs. Anytime we had roast beef for dinner, she would use the left over roast beef a day or two later to make stroganoff. When I first started cooking it for myself, I followed the directions to cut up Round steak or other cut of meat into thin strips and saute, then ...

I did that actually for years, but a couple of years ago, I decided to make it more like I grew up with, so now I buy a roast, sear it, then roast it in an electric skillet with mushrooms and shallots for a couple of hours. Then I remove the liquid and reduce it, slice up the roast into thin strips, then ...