New Year dinners

McDonald's was NEVER a choice available to my kids.

I was lazy and it's damp.. I made taco dip

YUM

Randy was happy too

:)

I always make yellow rice with it too.. maybe I will add some chicken tomorrow with the leftovers

Sounds like a good plan. :)

Love taco dip!

Handmade Mushroom and roasted red pepper ravioli with gorgonzola cheese sauce
Greens salad with deep fried shallots and balsamic fig dressing
Orange and basil sorbet
Bread with pesto oil dip

New italian restaurant!

That sounds way better than my leftovers...

Made pasta with ground turkey and spinach in tomato sauce. Was quite good.

I like spinach & pasta together....someone made an interesting salad with barley for the potluck...

me too.. and it doesn't matter what kind of sauce.. but I do love a good saltimbocca

We've tried several of the chicken or shrimp based dinner packages (from Wanchai Ferry, Birdseye, Contessa or P.F.Changs) available in the frozen food section of many supermarkets, and although they are not as authentic as the equivalent dishes you would get in a Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese restaurant, they are plenty good enough for a quick dinner, very easy to fix (10 min or so), and not too expensive.

They typically provide two portions for hearty eaters, but most seniors will have some left over for lunch the next day. The Birdseye dinners looked a little short on rice so I cooked an additional half a cup to round them out. Consumer Reports had a review of these last month. If not a subscriber, you can read it in your library or see a summary on their website.

Thanks for the info, Don....

DonShirer:

Thanks for that info. It was very timely for me, since my life circumstances currently require me to rely on more frozen foods, since fresh foods (produce) deteriorate so quickly.

I have avoided most frozen foods most of my adult life, since my memories of them as a kid in the 60's weren't that good, and 15-20 years ago they frequently were on "bad" lists by nutritionists.

I guess it's time to do a re-evaluation, thanks to internet info.

If anyone has any suggestions for reliable frozen products, I'd love to hear them!

I love Amy's Organic Indian meals....also Kashi Mayan Harvest bake....

Today is a good day to bake.....makes the house nice and warm and will need the nourishment for shoveling later.

What's the sodium content look like on those PF Chang frozen dinners???

I do love the restaurant they have a wonderful gluten free selection

I will go look.. just bought one on sale.. I am sure it's over the top

yep 960 mg per.. for the pepper steak

Met the guy in charge of the organics at Shoprite, he told me to make sure I tell the store I'm very pleased with their selection(which I am, they just remodelled and I was amazed at the large selection of organic stuff they carry)

YIKES

jen do you have a fresh market

their gluten free section has really expanded and the brands are fairly unknown to me. I have tried a few (chips and things) and reallllllllly good. Fresh Market isn't so cheap tho.

No, I never even heard of it
We do have Whole Foods and Trader Joe's all the way on other side of the county(where the traffic is) I hate going over there....LOL I'm sooooooo spoiled

Ate with friends at their assisted living facility....I was not impressed by the food.....we were given 5 choices for lunch, and all 3 of us ordered something different....I would be skinny if I lived there...oh, maybe not....the dessert was delicious....zucchini spice cake...very moist!

I don't think there are many frozen dinner type foods that are low in sodium, that's why they are so good. I do like Lean Cuisine they don't have a lot of junk in them and most have no preservatives. Too high in sodium for hubby though but I need it so they are OK for me. I usually just get the pasta, veggie and shrimp ones.

What about healthy choice. Also kashi mango and black bean

I see there is one in montvale nj wherever that is.

not close to Jen.. hours even

It's not a chain that seems to pop up quickly once it makes an appearance in a region.

We have quite a few folks with small home based businesses that sell gluten free. That is a scary thought for many seeing the stands at the weekend farmers market " do I dare take a chance.....? " There is a pizza place in Raleigh that offers GF .... Now with all that flour flyin......how can it be assured? ... But nevertheless folks who have celiac dz or gluten sensitivity all do fine and the businesses are expanding. But in the large chains..same old stuff. Some good but same old offerings. Fresh Market has lots of new goodies all the time and great textures and flavor. I wish this one was closer for Jen.

Maybe will send in the idea of trying to get them to the area. 2 towns over this AWESOME grocery store closed & are looking for someone to move in there, it was the only grocery store in their whole township

Garden Spaghetti (aka vegeghetti)
     whole wheat pasta with carrots, onions and peppers in a garlic/tomato sauce
Mini meatballs
Baby lettuce salad
Seedless grapes

floagen:
You can look at p.f.changs frozen dinner site where they list nutritional content. For orange chicken it was 810 mg salt or 1/3 rda.

OK, confession is good for the soul. Well-drained pork Ramen Noodle soup....to it I added a hunk of real butter and some leftover roasted chicken. Stirred it all up and topoed off the 'meal' with two small Tastycakes (the pound cake variety with a nasty crumb topping) and a large cup of tea.

After the feast, I took to my bed........ I am going to be a grandma - again. One due April and now one in September. The news was popped by the soon 'to be 3" granddaughter innocentlly wearing a cute little pink and orange polka-dotted tee shirt proclaiming......"I'M THE BIG SISTER!"

"Look Honey!" (she calls me Honey) "Look at my new shirt!" ......and so I did....... After the kids left, I broke out the Ramen...saved for emergencies don't ya know......

I didn't even realize they had pork flavor

Brian loves the Chicken Picante

Oh, great news Rosie...wish my son would have one more.....made 'healthy' lasagna today....whole wheat noodles, summer squash, baby bella mushrooms, chicken sausage with feta &spinach.....I'd prefer the original kind, but know this is better....sent most of it home with Mom......

Yum, that sounds good Marilyn.

Heafty salad for me tonight, hubby is sick so he's getting soup and crackers.

Had pasta too. Old italian staple - peas and macaroni ( in this case I used a flat pasta .). The sauce flavored by beef short ribs. Mixed greens salad and a hunk of bread. Inexpensive except for the short ribs.

Caramel apple bars in the oven now.

Not fair, Deb!! YUMMMMMMM!!!

Must be a day for baking, made Whoopie Pies here. :)