I've been feeling optimistic lately, so I'm going straight NY strip steak with a side of fries. And a glass of champagne.

Gruyere strata with sausage and spinach. A side salad of butter lettuce with vinaigrette and pine nuts. Time to eat.

DH was doing yard work by hand, I was cleaning the basement. so it was a good night for pizza. Screaming Sicilian. Yum.

Garlic butter salmon, broccoli and corn. DH had the leftover Mac and cheese he so craved the other night. I tasted it, it was to die for. I am glad I only made two servings. Only enough for him to enjoy

Pork tenderloin, cabbage, hashbrown casserole and cornbread.

@LynnNM....

fiance ! This is news, is it not!? exciting! Do we like him? 🙂

Fresh Market has wild sashimi tuna steaks on sale so we had poke bowls with edamame, carrots, avocado, nori, peanuts, spring onions, rice and drizzled with sauce Dh made with mayo, fish and soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil and lemon juice.

A bag of frozen vegetable mix with broccoli, carrot, Italian green beans, red pepper, kidney beans, white beans, and garbanzos - topped with a handful of grated cheddar and a sprinkle of Zanzibar curry powder. Trying to get more beans into my diet and this is a mix that I enjoy, plus quick and easy after an afternoon of long overdue deep cleaning

Mtn: we love him and couldn’t be happier 😁!!! They just moved into their temporary home today, whille their ”forever” home is being built on their property nearby them.

seagrass _gw Cape Cod

We had green chili chicken enchildas but I was asleep most of the afternon and he didn't know what to do with the filling and he baked them like tacos and they were delicious with some crusty bits on the corn tortillas we buy from Maria and Ricardo's south of Boston. https://mariaandricardos.com/

made stir fry pork for supper ... hit the spot. Leftovers for tomorrow

@LynnNM that's so exciting. Happy for you and yours.

Pot roast with leeks and red wine, etc. including carrots and parsnips, baked potatoes and salad with bocconcini cheese.

Rigatoni with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken pieces, and capers in a lemon butter sauce.

Allison Roman’s creamy faro (but I used barley) with crispy leeks and mushrooms. It is delightful. The lemon zest and herbs really bring the flavors into focus.

We went out to a neighborhood Italian restaurant. I had Block Island?! swordfish with polenta and sauteed kale. Really good. Also a Prosecco/grapefruit cocktail. Ok, maybe it was two!!

I put a pork tenderloin in the slow cooker with sauce and spices last night, and had it on potatoes tonight for dinner.

Mtn, your strata sounds (and looks) wonderful! Will you post or send me the recipe whenever you get a free couple minutes?

Leftovers...made a beef stew in the crock pot a couple of days ago, and it's always better after it sits a day. It was a good batch, and of course I have to soak up the gravy with buttered rye bread! For some reason, I've been craving beef lately...

@Toronto Veterinarian was your roast a tenderloin or a loin? I've alway hesitated to do tenderloin in the slow cooker because they are so lean and small that I fear they will turn to shoe leather. The loins are larger with more fat, which is why I am wondering,

A crabcake andsome broccoli.🤷🏼‍♀️

I had a pita pizza with cheese, onions, bell pepper, and smoked sausage.

Saturdays are usually fish nights, if there's any good stuff available. So we had sauteed scallops, crushed potatoes, fennel salad and a bottle of white wine.

Quiche Mexican style: sausage + green chilies + cheese....with a lattice top crust.

Halloween starts chili season in our homes. (My grown adult offspring continue the tradition in their homes). Last night was white turkey chili.

Grilled flank steak with sauteed onions and mushrooms, green beans, and leftover linguine that I will probably goose up with garlic butter.

@LynnNM, I have made strata a few times. Yesterday I chose an Epicurious recipe because I liked that it is sort of a formula (see link here: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes-menus/how-to-make-strata-recipe-article). I used a sourdough boule and gruyere, and added sausage and wilted spinach. However, unlike any strata I have ever made, this one had two options. The more traditional option AFAIK is to use stale bread (or bread dried out in the oven); this recipe said that was not necessary as long as you did not "soak" the uncooked strata too long (usually I soak a strata over night). I tried the method with fresh bread and its like eating a sponge. IMHO strata must always be made with stale bread, no matter what Epicurious says.

However, if you want a strata recipe I highly recommend this one from Anglophilia, who used to post here and I believe is no longer with us. The flavorings in this one are divine IMHO. When I make a recipe, I save it in Googledocs and each time I make it I edit it and add notes. My version, below is slightly different. I have also included Anglophilia's original recipe at the bottom of this post.

Anglophilia’s Cheese Strata, edited

8 slices white bread*, stale

¾ lb sharp yellow cheddar, shredded - used a 8 oz block of Cabot Seriously Sharp

¾ lb sharp white cheddar, shredded - (ditto)

2T butter, melted

6 extra large eggs, lightly beaten

2 c half and half

1 heaping tsp brown sugar

1/2 t dry mustard

1/2 t salt

1/2 t Worcestershire

¼ tsp paprika

1/8 t pepper

1/8 t cayenne

1-2 scallion, finely minced

1. *Buy a 16 oz Chabaso Ciabatta and use ~¾ of it. Cut into ½” slices, then cut it into 6ths. Put it in a 350 oven for 5-7 minutes, watching that it does not burn, then let it cool completely. Toss in melted butter
2. Butter a 2 quart shallow baking dish. Place half of the diced bread on bottom, then cover with half of each cheese, then repeat.
3. Add all remaining ingredients to the eggs, and pour over the bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or up to a day. Remove and let stand 1/2 hour before placing in the oven.
4. Preheat the oven to 300F. Place the dish in ½” water bath and bake for one hour. Turn the oven off and leave in oven for 30 minutes more.

From Anglophilia, a recipe often posted on this site and beloved by many, I made it once exactly as written and could not figure out the point of the paper bag so I no longer do that.

I've alway hesitated to do tenderloin in the slow cooker because they are so lean and small that I fear they will turn to shoe leather.

It was a tenderloin, and I did have to compensate for the lean-ness with a longer cooking time, more fluid (via more sauce), and a bit of added olive oil. A tenderloin is what I happened to have in the freezer when I got the hankering, so it's what I used. Low level on the slow cooker for about 18 hours.

Funny but i cooked pork tenderloin in the crock pot earlier this week. Its the only way i cook it. Alwsys tender. i sprinkle with brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. i sear before putting it in the crockpot. 😊

I made bran muffins in theorning. Sinner was air-fried drumsticks marinated in spices, balsamic and Worcestershire and a squash. I forgot how sweet the squash was. Too sweet for me, really.

I’m on the pre-colonoscopy diet this week so eating basically the opposite of normal — no fruit, salads, etc. It does feel like a naughty novelty to have a bagel for breakfast.

Dinner last night was at a friend’s home. Pork, roasted potatoes, broccoli, salad (I skipped), bread, and passionfruit mousse. This afternoon we are going to a ”beer hall” type place to hear music with DS and DDIL so not sure if we’ll end up eating there; if not, I’ve got chicken, pasta, and pesto waiting in the fridge.

Oh I love passiontfruit!

Last night we had pork Schnitzel and Austrian potato salad. Friends are coming over for dinner next week and I wanted to try out the recipes. They both were pretty good, so I’ll serve it with some minor adjustments

I had guests last week, and I had my Thanksgiving with them. Yesterday, leftover turkey was made into turkey stew. Perfect for our drizzly chilly weather. Welcome autumn!

We had vegetable lasagna. It will be today's meal also. Then the rest into the freezer in individual meals.

Yesterday I made I made beef shank barley vegetable soup. Enough for DH and I and the neighbors across the street, and dinner tonight. I love soup weather.

“I love soup weather.”

Ditto, Donna! We have to wait a while for it here in So Cal. Days are still warm now but chilly mornings and nights.

Saturday for us is always steak, so last night was grilled tri-tip, salad and baked potatoes. I made Black Bean and Kielbasa Chili yesterday for tonight.

I’m doing the other half of this today. Frank is very excited.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6470479/kenji-move-over#n=9

I worked all day-- and I need to clean out the fridge before I order more groceries, so tonight's dinner will be quick, comforting and using ingredients I have on hand: scrambled eggs w/shallots and herbs, steamed broccoli and chicken breakfast sausage.

I rarely eat breakfast so breakfast for dinner is a treat-- and one of my favorite comfort meals.

The other night, DH ws going to make his mango and corn and etc relish for the salmon, but the mango was bad. So he whipped up something with jarred sun-dried tomatoes and corn, and boy was it good. He’ll never make it the same way again, of course, since it was on the fly, and that’s too bad.

Tonight we had pot roasted wild duck, roast bns and steamed broccoli.

DH cooked last night, it felt like I'd spent a lot of hours in the kitchen during the week. Birria style taco filling took up almost a day, time consuming but very good. (He made roasted potatoes and a steak on the grill, no surprise there)

Tonight I'm doing a Milk Street recipe my cousin shared with me that we really like. Provencal Braised Chicken, it uses thighs. Described as bouillabaisse without seafood, has a little wine, couple of strips orange rind in the braising liquid that are removed before serving (or, not - DH has learned not to eat one if I've missed it), little pinch of saffron. It calls for a cup of fresh basil which I don't have and rather go to the store I'll sub spinach as I've done before. It's still good.

Thanks for the clarification on the pork. I usually marinate tenderloins for a few hours, then grill for 3-4 minutes per 4 sides depending on how much they weigh. Not usually over 20 min. The thought of one in a crock pot for 18 hours blows my mind, since they usually only weigh about a lb

I made SO a couple BLTs and homemade fries before work today. I am currently boiling some eggs on my stove at work. Ill make a quick egg salad. Eggs, bacon, mayo, cayenne. I have some keto bread but I might just eat it straight from the bowl.

Got a quart of eggnog on the way. Will definitely be sipping some of that as well.

@morz8 - Washington Coast that Provencal Braised Chicken sounds good!

Tonight for dinner, DH made chicken stroganoff with egg noodles and a Greek salad. It was delicious and it's always a real treat when someone else cooks!

@Stacey_mb, I haven’t made chicken stroganoff in a while but was just talking to someone about it today. How did your DH make it? I found this version in Fine Cooking (2006) that we like. It’s also the only version I’ve ever made. I like this with breasts vs thighs and no tomato.

Chicken Stroganoff with Mushrooms, Sherry and Sage

4 tsp. olive oil
1 8-oz. pkg. sliced cremini mushrooms
Kosher salt
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 T. finely chopped fresh sage
Freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (5 or 6), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces
1 T. finely chopped garlic (about 2 large cloves)
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 whole jarred roasted red pepper, drained and cut into thin strips (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 plum tomato, cored, seeded and cut into medium dice

In 10-inch straight-sided saute pan, heat 2 tsp. of the oil over medium-high heat.

Add mushrooms, season generously with salt, and cook undisturbed until well browned on one side, 1 to 3 minutes. Add half of the shallot and 1/2 T. of sage to the pan and continue to cook, stirring, until mushrooms are well browned all over, another 3-5 minutes. Season generously with black pepper and transfer to a bowl. Leave pan off heat.

Generously season chicken with salt and pepper. Return pan to medium-high heat, add remaining 2 tsp. oil, and swirl to coat pan. Add the chicken and cook undisturbed for 1 minute. Add 1/2 T. of the garlic, 1/2 T. of the sage, and remaining shallot and continue to cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink on the outside, 2 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms, sherry, and red pepper and cook to reduce sherry slightly, about 2 minutes.

Lower heat to medium and stir in the sour cream, tomato and remaining garlic. Partially cover pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. If sauce seems overly thick, thin it with a little water. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with remaining sage.

Serving suggestion: Serve over egg noodles tossed with butter.

Chloebud - DH's version of chicken stroganoff is made in a crock pot. It was rich, but really delicious. He followed the recipe instructions to combine egg noodles with the chicken stroganoff at the end of cooking, but I would have served it separately. We also found that it was quite salty and would cut back on salt the next time. DH used chicken thighs although I'm sure chicken breasts would be delicious too.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 1-oz package dry onion soup mix

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

8 oz button mushrooms, quartered

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 lbs)

12 oz egg noodles

4 tbsp butter, cut into pieces

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Whisk together the broth flour, tomato paste, onion soup mix, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a medium bowl until combined. Add to a 6-quart slow cooker and top with the mushrooms and chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

When ready to serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt the water generously. Add the noodles and cook until al dente according to the package instructions. Drain and toss with the butter until the butter is melted and the noodles are completely coated.

Transfer the chicken to a small bowl and shred with 2 forks. Whisk the cream cheese into the sauce until completely incorporated; stir in the chicken and noodles. Top with parsley before serving.