Quick meal

Steve and I rode out this afternoon to a local antique shop in Hanover , had some great ideas for autumn decorating and Halloween.   I took a couple pictures of some of the goodies for sale in the shop and will post tomorrow hopefully. (probably more than a couple)

Had to put this one in here as I thought it was so neat looking sitting in the middle of the floor in the shop.

For dinner we had Pork chops - which I sprinkled some seasoning on and wrapped in parchment paper , with that I do not have to use oil or worry about them sticking while baking in the oven.
Always come out nice and tender when cooked this way.

Looks messy but no extra fat cooking this way in parchment

Tonight - Autumn soup or bisque 

I made a bisque or some call it soup from butternut squash.
 Softened the peel in the oven - scraped out seeds.     I could have finished baking in the oven but was impatient so  decided to steam in a pan with a little water .   After cooking I processed in blender til smooth.  Added nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon , smidgen of salt and honey to mine with about two tablespoons of half and half.   Cream would have made it much richer but I didn't have that.  Have put a pat of butter in it before,  but I like it without it. 
 Next time I will mix some pumpkin maybe and a little apple cider in the mix for flavoring.    

A salad to go along with the meal,  lettuce scallions and carrots with grapes,  love grapes in my salad.
A mix of  raspberry vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar for the dressing- the vinegar gives it a little  zing,   Steve liked it much.

No potatoes,  just some ramen noodles - I sliced scallions to mix in ,  a better flavor was had this way.   Steve ate everything so it must have been good.

Quick shrimp and pasta

The other night with this head cold and not feeling like cooking to much of anything.  I decided I would make something with my frozen shrimp.
I thawed shrimp under running cold water in a colander. 
A non stick green sauce pan ( won't have another because they scratch very easy) I poured some olive oil  and maybe tablespoon butter  and sautéed some onions, didn't have garlic but definitely would have used it.  When onions were almost translucent I threw in some slice mushrooms - not to many,  about a half a cup

 I put in some chopped French tarragon that I trimmed from my plant (has to be French for me as it's much tastier) about two tablespoons ( I love the flavor).  Next came the shrimp and heated through (I used about a half bag or about 25 shrimp for us) A ripe tomato -  I cut in chunks and just heated enough so it wouldn't cook all the way down.
I purchased some homemade tomato pasta noodles,  only problem is that I didn't notice they were spicey,  as in hot - but not to hot.  I boiled regular pasta noodles also and mixed the two, Steve wanted his that way.

stirred altogether and sprinkled some Parmesan on top. 
I must say it was very tasty.

Steve enjoyed it.

We had salad with onions, lettuce ,  tomato and green olives.
I eat my salad with dinner or after dinner.  Mom always had us eat our salad after dinner.  

Miss Addy eating her spaghetti and totally loving it.  She had regular spaghetti with meat sauce,  way to young for shellfish in her diet .  She wears most of her food.

Dinner

Tonight we had a fast and simple dinner.   The meat dish was called Poor Man's Steak.    Steve loved it.
I served Mashed potatoes along with broccoli with lemon butter for side dishes..
I think it would be good served over buttered noodles too.


I halved my recipe and added chopped green peppers
Sitting in the fridge made it stay together and easy to slice into squares.
Mine did not take an hour to cook , about 40 minutes maybe. I didn't time it. I just take a peek every so often to check to see if it's done

I dredged the cuts in salt and peppered flour.  Browned in a pan with olive oil and little butter

I mixed in a bowl a can of mushroom soup with milk and a little whole milk  and added fresh sliced mushrooms

I like lots of mushrooms - mixture is poured over browned meat

good and bubbly from the oven

time to eat


DESSERT

I mixed up a simple white cake mix - swirled canned strawberry pie filling on top and added some coconut (we love coconut)