So. What's for Dinner?

[stui magpie]

^

No dramas, let us know how it worked out.

Tonight Sharknado is coming for dinner, so doing a sausage casserole in the big enamelled cast iron dutch oven.

Brown the snags on the grill plate, while start the oven off with a little olive oil on low heat and start cutting and chucking in veges while it heats up. They just sizzle a bit without burning.

Quartered onions, garlic, celery, carrots, more brussel sprouts, quartered baby pontiac potatoes, zucchini. I'll chuck in some frozen peas and corn later.

Once the snags are browned, quarter them and chuck them in with a small tin of diced tomatoes, some beef stock and a packet herb/spice mix. Because the snags are still basically raw inside, they suck up the moisture and expand, so I kept some stock in reserve in case so it doesn't go too dry.

No side dishes required, just ladle into a bowl, grab a spork and chow down.

[ronrat]

When I was about 11 we lived in the foothills of the dandenongs and there were about 13 houses in our neighborhood. School holidays and myself and 3 other kids about my age were wandering through the paddocks and came across a a brussell sprout patch. We found some hoes and played cricket with them and chopped the lot down and they were due to be picked. Someone saw us and the Italian bloke who owned the block came to our houses. As a result 4 families had to cough up the money fro the crop and the bloke dropped bags and bags of sprouts onto the 4 porches. The Mums distributed as much as they could to neighbours and friends. After a week the other kids were complaining about having to eat so many of them. So the 4 of us little buggers got to finish them whether we liked it or not. For 3 weeks all we got was meat and sprouts.Roast lamb and sprouts. No spuds etc.Snags and sprouts. Chops and sprouts. To this day I can not eat them. Over here when ever you order a roast you get sprouts and yorkshire puddings which I also hate. The pommies go crazy. E lad, can I have your yorkshire and sprouts. Go for it. They pretty well don't bother putting them on my plate anymore but the Thai cooks are creatures of habit. One place gives me an extra slice of meat and more peas so happy with that.

[stui magpie]

^



Being a kid in the 70's was a blast.

[ronrat]

^



Being a kid in the 70's was a blast.

It was really.We had crackers.Many a letter box met its demise. We lived just off Canterbury Road and the city folk used to come and have picnics outside our homes and knock on the door and ask us for water to boil the billy etc.. Or use the toilet. They would leave the coke bottles and beer bottles behind and we would collect big time. We also had air rifles. Picking blackberries and mushrooms was another income earner.

There was a golf club a few kms away and we jump on the bikes and go and try to find golf balls to flog. One bloke who was about 70 was having a shocker of a day and his 3 playing partners were reminding him. There is/was a blind par 3 with out of bounds on the right.The old guy teed off last and promptly went OOB but my little brother grabbed his ball and slithered up to the hole and put it in. His playing partners were discussing where he could play his shot from and we said "Why?". The old guy said what do you mean. We said it hit a fence post and went on to the green near the hole, maybe even in it. With that they looked in the hole and there was his ball. He bought all our golf balls and he is certainly dead now but didn't he milk it. We took his money and bought potato cakes and milkshakes.

[Morrigu]

hey Stui how is your boy coping having his boy - I googled Sharknado - still got no clues Tornado like??

And how is the ruggit more settled away from the mother?

[stui magpie]

The son is coping well so far, he has good support and a new girlfriend who has 2 kids of her own similar age. What freaks me a little is that they haven't moved in together, they each like their own space (brand new move for him) and they've already discussed that neither wants more kids. I'm not sure if he took a blow to the head sometime 12 months ago or what, but he seems to have grown up. finally.

Child support agency is on board, as is centrelink. The mum will be going onto job search payments and paying him maintenance.

The kid is a different kid. Doesn't act like the poster child for ADHD anymore, actually sits down and eats, doesn't run through the house like a mad bastard and has a concentration span that doesn't need microseconds to measure it. Remarkable what a routine combined with minimising sugar, preservatives and caffeine in his diet can do. He actually sat on mums knees for 5 minutes last night and did some colouring in without trying to stab her with a crayon. He still has the cheek and spirit which is great because that's him. Not only his behaviour but his speaking has improved out of sight, even my daughter commented on it.

Touch wood, things are looking good

Edit, Sharknado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-pXDoe5a0E

Combine sharks with a tornado, you get a constantly moving source of destruction. I may have to give him a new nickname.

[Morrigu]

^ That sounds great and really positive - must be a wonderful relief for grandad

[stui magpie]

It is but I'm not dumb enough to think everything is sorted, I know there'll be some twists and turns to come, you just deal with them when they come up.

[stui magpie]

Knackered. Got home from Toc at midday after doing the weekly grocery and booze shopping on the way.

Did a brisket in the slow cooker, with some steamed greens, a reduction sauce and a white bean mash. Gave the old girl some flowers and chocolates for mothers day. 8:30 meeting in the city tomorrow, happy monday, might have an early night.

[stui magpie]

Bit of sunshine today, did a little outside but not much as there wasn't much to do. So being a tad bored, I decided to do some cooking.

Made some lemon tarts with some pre fab tart shells. I wanted to use up some of the lemons I bought back from Toc, so juice and zest 3 lemons, mix with a can of condensed milk and 2 eggs, pour it in the tart shells and cook in the air fryer at 180 for 10 minutes

Then some Pho. Coles had some pho stock so I heated that up, added some rice noodles, diced cooked chicked from the fridge, a birdseye chili and some coriander and Bob's your aunty

Then for dinner, a childhood classic, mincemeat stew. 1/2 kilo mince, browned, tin of mixed beans, tin of diced tomatoes, large handful of frozen stirfry veges, and chuck in herbs spices and sauces from the pantry til it tastes like you want. less than $7 for the ingredients not counting herbs sauces etc, serve with toast, dinner for 4.

[Morrigu]

Yummy dinner tonight even if I say so myself!

Rockling, prawns, scallops, calamari and crab in a white wine, cream and Dijon mustard sauce combined with sautéed garlic and home grown spring onions and topped with sliced avocado and then wrapped in home made crepes - baked with a sprinkling of cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan cheese NUM NUM!!

[Dark Beanie]

Made Sticky date pudding in the slow cooker last night not bad.

Plenty left over so I am going bake some pears this afternoon to add for tonight's dessert.

[stui magpie]

^

I'll have to look that up.

Tonight I cheated. Had a rolled chicken roast in the fridge I cooked a couple of days ago, so I got the old girl to do some veges and fed the son, grandson and stepson who called over for a bit left over chicken, with some gravy and fresh veges.

They cleaned it up along with the small lemon tarts.

Me and the old girl will have some of the leftover mincemeat stew with the mash and some veges.

[think positive]

talked to the guy building the kitchen about layout etc last week, hes giving me all this triangle, distances, convenience stuff. Im like, convenience - fridge is easy to get too, just make it look good, its a holiday house, i hate cooking at home, im not turning into martha stuart down there!!

Port Arlington golf club last night, curried scallops with salad & rice and a few of hubbies chips, entree size, im making room to eat my favourite cake, actually the only cake i really like, Black Forest gateau, sitting next to Germany's tallest waterfall located in the Black Forest! Cant wait!!

that seafood dish sound amazing Morrigu, whats it called in case i see it on a menu!!

cheers, home after a couple of solid days, waterproofing is finished, and we hired a painter to finish the painting, thank the lord for that!! Footy tomorrow, cant wait for that, only i guess ill have to not swear at the green maggots in case i get chucked out!!

[think positive]

Bit of sunshine today, did a little outside but not much as there wasn't much to do. So being a tad bored, I decided to do some cooking.

Made some lemon tarts with some pre fab tart shells. I wanted to use up some of the lemons I bought back from Toc, so juice and zest 3 lemons, mix with a can of condensed milk and 2 eggs, pour it in the tart shells and cook in the air fryer at 180 for 10 minutes

Then some Pho. Coles had some pho stock so I heated that up, added some rice noodles, diced cooked chicked from the fridge, a birdseye chili and some coriander and Bob's your aunty

Then for dinner, a childhood classic, mincemeat stew. 1/2 kilo mince, browned, tin of mixed beans, tin of diced tomatoes, large handful of frozen stirfry veges, and chuck in herbs spices and sauces from the pantry til it tastes like you want. less than $7 for the ingredients not counting herbs sauces etc, serve with toast, dinner for 4.

is that the pho in the long life carton? i nearly bought some. those packets have some nice easy recipes!