This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Exotic Foods Found on the Road" Edition......

Twice on this current journey we have seen convenienc stores with large vats of hot boiled peanuts for sale.  I know someone who dearly loves this delicacy.  Me?, I don't think I've ever tried one.

Moving on......

Onward to the meal planning!

Here's what was planned last week--

1. Sunday--Hubs bought Chinese
2. Monday--No Clue
3. Tuesday--BBQ or Seafood
4. Wednesday--No Clue
5. Thursday--No Clue
6. Friday--No Clue
7. Saturday--No Clue

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Hubs bought Chinese-4 Seasons dish w/Rice
2. Monday--Restaurants Buffet, Sides, Soup and Salad only
3. Tuesday--BBQ for me, Hubs had Catfish
4. Wednesday--Chicken Fingers, Cole Slaw
5. Thursday--Fried Green Tomato Nuggets, Salad
6. Friday--Griff's Cheese Burgers
7. Saturday--Muffaletta Sandwich

0 Meals cooked at home because we weren't home. lol

As for my grocery spending..... I spent a total of $0 last week.
I have spent $103.98 in all for May so far and have $196.02 left of my food budget with 15 days to go.

Leftovers going into this week......I hope nothing and that College Boy and his friends have eaten all the leftovers.

Here is this week's "food plan"--

1. Sunday--Steak and Catfish in Texas
2. Monday--Chinese Buffet
3. Tuesday--No Clue
4. Wednesday--No Clue
5. Thursday--No Clue
6. Friday--No Clue
7. Saturday--No Clue

This week will see 0 new meals cooked and 0 meals of leftovers or "Whatever You Can Find" and 7 meals of Eating Out.

What I need to buy for this menu.....nothing.  No grocery shopping this week....ok, maybe on Saturday if we get home soon enough that day.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week?

Sluggy

Last Chance for the Giveaway!

There are only a few hours left to enter the Giveaway!
Go HERE and Good Luck.

Sluggy

Just Say No

I am away from the keyboard today.
Here's a funny but true reminder on how to keep your kids on the straight and narrow..........

I've got a big day today.
What's up with y'all?

Sluggy

Sightings on the Road

Number 50th in the country(out of 50)in so many categories, but even so, some folks love Mississippi......

I guess if you can afford to own a BMW it makes living there so much more attractive! lolz

Sluggy

The Best Onion Soup Recipe

Ok, here is the Onion Soup Recipe post I shared 3+ years ago.....gee was it really that long ago? 8-0

As for the recipe......

* If you have homemade stock instead of boxed stock, use that.
* If you have French Bread, toast/dry that one in slices and use that instead of the croutons from the recipe post.  It will be less sodium and other processed things they put into croutons OR make your own croutons.  I prefer the slice of dried bread to float the cheese on myself but don't always have that so croutons will do in a pinch.

Here it is again.
It's really rather easy to make and hard to screw up so even if you aren't much of a cook, give it a go!
Id like to hear if anyone tries it and how you like it.

Sluggy

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What Do Vincent Price & Onion Soup Have In Common?

If you are like me you try to avoid eating Onion Soup at most restaurants out there.
Most restaurant pantries are stocked by food service mega-corporations like Sysco, US Foods and PFG in the US.  These corporations are the processed food suppliers to the majority of eating establishments.
Restaurants begin their French Onion Soup dishes with Onion Soup Base......a dark brown liquid or granular powder like the one pictured here.

Onion Soup based on this gives you an artificially onion flavored SALT LICK.
Yes, these soup bases have a very high sodium content.
They are nasty!

One of the more surprising cookbooks I have was given to me by my mother.
She passed it down to me from HER mother.
I find this quite hilarious since my grandmother was a country cook and cared not at all for grand living and fancy restaurants.  Why and where she would have picked up this cookbook is a mystery to me!

This cookbook is a collection of recipes from famous restaurants that Vincent and Mary Price visited in their travels around the world during their marriage, which spanned from 1949-1973.  (She was his second wife.)

Yes, this Vincent Price.....

In addition to being a famous Hollywood leading man and later, a B Movie Villain and all around "ham".....

He was a Gourmand Extraordinaire!

Or as they like to call them nowadays, he was a Foodiebefore there were Foodies!

This huge compendium of classic cooking recipes from the top dining spots around the world was my 1st Cookbook as a newly married woman.

While other 1980's newly marrieds were working on their meatloaves, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casseroles and pancakes, I was trying my hand at Coq au Vin, Steak au Poivre, Yorkshire Pudding, Haricot Verts a la Lyonnaise, Crepe Suzette and Gateaux Grand Marnier. ;-)

This book holds the best recipe for French Onion Soup bar none!
But over the years, I have made this recipe my own with changes and substitutions to make this heartier and more of a main course.
*My ingredient substitutions/changes are marked by asterisks.

From "A Treasury of Great Recipes", page 46, here is MY VARIATION....

SOUP À L'OIGNON (Onion Soup) À LA SLUGGY
serves 6 as a starter/4 as a meal 

3 tablespoons bacon drippings   *can use olive oil if no drippings are available
4 large onions, chopped fine    *Sliced thinly, not chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt     *"good" salt, like Himalayan or Sea Salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 clove garlic, smashed   *or minced or powdered
1 sprig parsley
1 pinch thyme
1 quart chicken stock  * you can sub chicken bouillon cubes or granules(cut the amount of salt you add by half), but not onion soup ones
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon cognac   * I omit because I don't have any
6 slices toasted French bread   * I use croutons

1 cup grated parmesan cheese  * I use shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1  You will need oven safe bowls for presentation/serving.

2 Over medium temperature in a large skillet, heat a deep skillet with the olive oil.

3  Add thinly sliced onions and cook until translucent.

4 Add the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic and cook until it is golden brown (careful not to burn).

 

5  Add the parsley sprig, thyme, chicken stock, wine, and simmer for 45 minutes, then remove from heat.

 6 While soup simmers, try to look busy.

 Presentation--

7  To make it Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée: preheat your oven's broiler setting;  laden soup into each bowl being careful not to overfill.  Float croutons on top of soup.

 Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over croutons.

Place bowls on baking sheet under broiler in oven until the cheese bubbles and browns.  Keep a close watch so you don't burn your cheese!

Remove the soup from the oven and eat.

Nom Nom Nom.

Sluggy