I tried out the George Foreman grill that I got for my birthday. What did I make? Um ... well ... Blackened Chicken! (Next time I think I'll pound those chicken breasts out a bit to flatten them.) But then I grilled some polenta on it, right after the chicken, and THAT's good. And peas.

I should have gone to Dorthea's for coffee and bread.

LOL! Tonight I actually had a frozen fast food something. It tasted horrible, but I'm not hungry anymore. One of these days I'll cook properly, I will, I will....

Dorthea! I checked in to see if you just had BREAD for dinner. I'm worried about you.

I don't think, I'll have time to cook until X-mas is over. I envy you Americans that you can just order something. The only thing you can order here is dead pizzas! :-(

Recovering from flu this weekend, so just a cup of hot cocoa, and maybe some tea.

Feel better, Mags!

Chicken breast in a sundried tomato and olive marinade with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Last night I made Tennessee Corn Pone from Laurel's Kitchen cookbook.
YUMMMMMMMMMMM.
I grind my own cornmeal and it is coarser than store-bought. LOVE the little crisp bite to the cornmeal.

Spaghetti carbonara and dolcetto.

Peanut butter on a spoon, and a cuppa tea.

PB & J and coffee.

I'm truly sorry. I had bread and coffee. :-/

Fulltiltredhead, we have the George Foreman grill too - the best meal we get out of it is topside mince beef patties - they cook to perfection. (the very best mince you can buy, non greasy).

There's a George Foreman baker too (eg for cooking chicken - perhaps that piece of machinery would have helped more).

Four cheese tortellini with a rich herby tomato sauce.

Tonight I had fish and bread and coffee. Yesterday I had cakes and coffee.

I think I gotta do something soon...

Jumbo chilled prawns dipped in amped-up cocktail sauce, celery stalks, and chocolate-covered almonds, and my homemade margueritas, with Mr. Wind Song. Delightful.

I'm trying to remember - ah yes. Herbed sausages, roasted blue potatoes, broccoli cooked with garlic. Yum. And cos that was all a bit classy, a squirt of Heinz ketchup on the side.

Last night, I made this recipe. I've made this before and use whatever veggies I have on hand....last night it was zucchini instead of snow peas, and I added sliced onions. I also use only 2 chicken breasts.

Pasta with Maple Mustard CHicken

2 tbs. olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbs. chopped fresh chives
1 tbs. apple cider vinegar
2-1/2 tbs. maple syrup
2 tbs. spicy brown mustard (I used Dijon)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 2)
1 14.5 (or whatever size they are now) diced, canned tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 pound snow peas, stemmed and lightly steamed
1/2 pound penne, cooked.

Directions:
Combine 1 tbs. of olive oil and ingredients up to chicken and let marinate 1 hour to overnight.

Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Remove (and do not discard) chicken from marinade. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes each side. Then reduce heat and cook till chicken is browned and done (about 6 minutes). Transfer chicken to a cutting board. Cut up into bite sized pieces.

Take 1/2 of broth and deglaze pan and simmer till it reduces by half.
Add the remaining stock and the reserved marinade and bring mixture to a boil. Continue cooking at a simmer until the liquid has thickened (about 5 or so minutes). I added the tomatoes in as soon as the mixture came to a boil. When sauce is thickened (mine never got reeeeally thick), add the snow peas, pasta, and chicken and heat through.
Season to taste with salt/pepper.
Serves 4.

I ordered dinner from a local Italian restaurant called Lascari's. I had cheese ravioli and meat ###### and salad, then a little spumoni ice cream for desert. Yum! At least I didn't eat much earlier today.

What's for dinner, folks?

A few cocktail shrimp and sauce, perhaps a glass of wine later. I was invited to a New Year's Eve gathering, but I have a sore throat and I've almost completely lost my voice. Staying in.

I've got the same thing, Rosebud. I sound like a whispering frog!

My brother's family is having a big get-together this evening, but it only goes til 10, since we are on the West Coast and watching the folks cheer in Times Square counts as celebrating the New Year by California rules. They will have excellent food. I'll report on it later. Before going, I'll have some feta and olives so I don't chow down like a field hand at the party.

Sipping a strong toddy lovingly mixed by DH at the moment.

I finally got it into gear and made myself some catfish (dipped in egg and milk, then corn meal, pan fried till crisp, sprinkled with salt, then drenched in fresh lemon juice), and some roast potato wedges and baby carrots. Can't face the New Year with an empty stomach! That's bad luck.

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig. Shrimp cocktail. Salmon grilled in wild fennel. Sliced roast turkey breast. Polish sausage with sauerkraut. Caesar salad. Black eye peas. Cornbread. Champagne. Chocolates. A great party. Crowns, Hats. Poppers. Bells. Horns. Kids underfoot. Funny stories. Just wonderful. Happy New Year, dear ones!

Ham, boiled curly cale in white sauce (with sugar and cinnamon) and sweet potatoes.

Dorthea, that sounds yummy! I'd love to see your kale recipe.