What have you had for dinner

[Harry Bloomfield]

Something simple today - Ham, egg, chips, and peas, accompanied by a couple of slices of fresh sour dough bread.

 

[Mottie]

All inclusive at the moment so after our 'amuse- bouche' I had calamari to start - but not like calamari rings. A dirty great lump of it!

Then sea bass and gnocchi followed by crème brûlée. I'm stuffed!

 

[securespark]

Small jacket plus beans, grated cheese and lots of black pepper.

Did my middle lad a steak and skin on home made chips with a fried egg. I use the red spuds from Aldi, I find them tastier.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I use the red spuds from Aldi, I find them tastier.

Same here, the Albert ones. Finding the white ones, cook very quickly, and if boiled quickly turn to mush. No good for cottage pie topping.

 

[Mottie]

Last night we had this lot:

For me, lobster never fails to disappoint. I just don't get it. It's just one giant overpriced crunchy prawn. Only once out of about a dozen times have I enjoyed lobster. That’s it, I’m going to give up trying!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Hork

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Fish and chips, peas, tea, bread and butter. 2x haddock, 1x chips shared, £13.50, and the fish was the best I have ever had anywhere, and as usual - massive. There was enough left over for the dog.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

There was left over chicken from Sunday dinner, so the question was freeze it, or use it, for today's dinner. Avril suggested homemade chicken, with egg fried rice, mushrooms and soy sauce. I agreed to it, providing she cooked it, because I had no idea how to. Went down a treat with some toasted garlic bread.

 

[Mottie]

Spicy butternut squash soup starter. Grilled lamb chops and roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Cheese and biscuits. Mini pastry tarts but because we were out all day, we decided to try out the turn up when you feel like it buffet evening meal instead of a booked table in one of the restaurants. The actual food wasn’t bad but it was like eating in a school canteen! Fetching your own food. Queuing up and shuffling along for your plate to be loaded. Only tables free had people higher up looking over us - it felt like when somebody reads your newspaper over your shoulder. Never again. Our last night tomorrow and restaurant table already booked.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

One of the pre-made, cottage pies, chips, peas, and onion gravy. The recent cottage pies have not been so good - the potatoes, have quickly boiled to a mush, making the pie potato topping, just a sloppy mesh. That, followed by one of Lidl's special ice-creams.

 

[Odds]

There was left over chicken from Sunday dinner, so the question was freeze it, or use it, for today's dinner. Avril suggested homemade chicken, with egg fried rice, mushrooms and soy sauce. I agreed to it, providing she cooked it, because I had no idea how to. Went down a treat with some toasted garlic bread.

Egg Fried Rice isn't too much fuss, Harry - boil it well, cool, then wrap in cling film to chill in the fridge for at least an hour...preferably overnight. Unwrap it when you're ready to rock and wang it in the wok with a nob of butter and scramble your eggs in the middle, mixing as you go til all is done. If you like it spicy, chuck a few dried chili's in there, although i prefer diced spring onion.

 

[Mottie]

Just a one-course dinner tonight - egg sandwich! No amuse-bouche either. The holiday is over.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

We had a Lidl, pulled pork, in BBQ sauce. Often as not, when parting it with forks, I find lots of horrible gobs of fat in it, so I end up taking those out. Today, there were none at all - all meat. That, with potato wedges, from Iceland, plus a garden salad, we nipped to Lidl for, this morning. It went down well

 

[securespark]

Egg Fried Rice isn't too much fuss, Harry - boil it well, cool, then wrap in cling film to chill in the fridge for at least an hour...preferably overnight. Unwrap it when you're ready to rock and wang it in the wok with a nob of butter and scramble your eggs in the middle, mixing as you go til all is done. If you like it spicy, chuck a few dried chili's in there, although i prefer diced spring onion.

I used to struggle to cook the egg but did it slightly differently last night.

Egg fried rice is a great meal to do quickly. You can use many ingredients from the freezer.

Start by slicing spring onions on the angle. Chuck them in a hot wok with some sesame oil for a bit of extra flavour.

Next, crack three eggs into the wok and stir them about a bit until cooked. When cooked, break up any large lumps of egg, then chuck in some cooked cold rice. I use brown rice or wholegrain basmati. It does not stick together half as much as white rice and is more nutritious and tastier. Stir that around, then add some thinly sliced carrot (again on the angle) and some frozen peas and a splash of soy sauce. If you like, you can add some bamboo shoots and water chestnuts at this point. Cook for a few more minutes, then add some cooked meat or prawns if wanted.

The reason for chopping veg on the angle is to increase the surface area of the food so it cooks much quicker in the wok.

I like to add some veggie crispy "beef" from Aldi, but they seem to have stopped selling it in my local store.

If I don't have that, I use Quorn chunks. Again, you can cook from frozen, they soon defrost.

A tasty meal that comes together very quickly.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Potato gratin, and hunters chicken, from Lidl. Not at all impressed with the gratin, we will not be getting that again. The packet showed the potato, nicely browned, after an hour in the over, but it came out very pale.