What are you cooking today? Part 2

We’ll continue right away in the new thread:
What are you cooking today? Part 3. 



Dear users, dear authors,
here’s Part 2.
Enjoy!

You can read the earlier posts via the link. 
What are you cooking today?

We had a flavorful bean stew today—quick to make and a delicious fall/winter meal:

fresh beans, potatoes, carrots, onions
bacon and Mettenden (for my husband), a small sausage (for me)
garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, savory
vegetable broth

Preparation: trim, peel, and dice
Cooking time: about 30 minutes

I envy anyone who can and is allowed to eat green bean stew—when I treat myself to it, I can’t walk for three days because my gout is so bad that it feels like I have shards of glass in my shoes.
Instead, today I had chicken drumsticks, potato wedges, and a big bowl of mixed salad.

Best regards, Inge

Today I had chicken and banana curry with rice. But just for me—he doesn’t like curry, so he had Strammen Max.

Today we had pasta with vegetable sauce. 
I didn’t cook it myself, though—someone cooked it for me :) 

Today we had veal liver “Berlin-style” with mashed potatoes, apples, and fried onions.
It was very tasty.

Berlin-style liver was my final exam dish in school, and I got a good grade for it. I really enjoyed eating it.

We had pumpkin soup today.

Today we had stir-fry! 
Vegetarian Chinese noodles. Delicious! :) 

Today we just had a “Mafia cake”—that is, pizza—loaded with mushrooms and cheese. Since it was laundry day, I didn’t have much time to cook, so I kept it simple. It’s already too chilly for cold dishes now—doors and windows open—which is good for the figure but doesn’t fill you up :-))))

Best regards, Inge

Today we had a vegetable mash made from potatoes, carrots, and Brussels sprouts.
Next up are tomato soup and pumpkin soup.

I’m slowly running out of ideas for pureed soups. My husband still can’t eat anything solid because of his dental surgery. I’ve already pureed ingredients that I never would have thought could be turned into soup.

Yesterday, chicken soup; today, a pasta and ground beef casserole—both at my husband’s request 😉

Today, my husband had a mushroom stir-fry and I had spaghetti carbonara.

Today I had another leftover stew; they’re different every time and always taste incredibly delicious. We love these stews.

Best regards, Inge

Today, while grocery shopping, I bought a pointed cabbage and some ground meat for tomorrow.
Now I just need to find a recipe to go with it.

Today we had Gypsy schnitzel, fries, and mayo... YUM

Petra, for me it’d be cabbage rolls with potatoes or bread dumplings—I could actually make those again; it’s been ages since I’ve had them, but it’s a lot of work for just two people ;-) :-)
I had potato wedges and Bockwurst today since we got back from grocery shopping later than expected—we always keep it simple in the kitchen when that happens.

Best, Inge

Best, Inge

That all sounds delicious.

We just had a light meal: toast topped with cheese and pineapple. It’s warm, easy to make, and still filling.
Every now and then we have a kebab, or sometimes a stew. It depends.

I could make stuffed bell peppers again sometime.

@Inge: I was thinking of cooking it all “mixed together”: cabbage, ground meat, and then potatoes?
So it wouldn’t be cabbage rolls, but more like a stew?
I’m not quite sure yet.... ???

We had asparagus today. That was already the second serving we’ve treated ourselves to from the freezer. If we keep this up, it won’t last until the next asparagus season.

@Petra, my first mother-in-law called what you’re planning to cook “foot rags and fleas”—the cabbage was the *foot rags* :-) Then you add caraway seeds—those were the *fleas* :-)—and then brown the ground meat separately in a pan, season to taste, and add it to the cabbage. Then throw in some potato chunks, though you can also cook and serve the potatoes separately.

Best regards, Inge

So, today I made pointed cabbage with ground meat. Served with potatoes.
I cooked the ground meat separately, then sautéed the cabbage with onions and garlic, seasoned it—including with caraway seeds :)—poured vegetable broth over it, and added cream after 10 minutes.
It was super delicious, and I was even able to freeze two servings. One head of cabbage is just too much for two people.
Have a nice Sunday.
Best, Petra

@ Veronika, how do you freeze asparagus? I’ve never dared to try it, even though we love asparagus.

I freeze whole spears raw but peeled; I pre-cook small pieces for soup, so they soften faster. Or if I have leftover cooked asparagus, I cut it into small pieces for soup—otherwise, it gets too soft after thawing.

I’ve never dared to freeze asparagus either, but I rarely make it at home anyway—my husband is the only person in the world I know who doesn’t like asparagus 😥 So we only have it here when I invite his daughter and son-in-law or his brother and sister-in-law over; it’s just not worth the effort for me alone—I’m too lazy for that...🙈 He gets spinach instead

Margitta and I love asparagus, but I can’t eat it because it triggers severe gout attacks in me due to the purines it contains. That means three to four days of not being able to walk and excruciating pain in my feet—I’d rather not risk that now that we’ve figured out it’s the asparagus.:-(((

Best regards, Inge

Dear Inge, how mean—I had a friend who had stomach surgery and wasn’t allowed to eat it anymore because of the fibers. I have a stomach ulcer and gastritis, but I can still eat asparagus. I can’t eat anything spicy or very sour anymore, but I love Thai curry, grapefruit, lemon, pickles, and all that sort of thing. On the other hand, I’m not into sweets at all—I don’t need cake, cookies, or chocolate...

Today we had schnitzel with fries (for me), and my husband had a hamburger and fries.
Store-bought, not homemade.

Of course we eat healthy too, but every now and then, when I don’t feel like cooking, we just grab something quick.

Today we had pan-fried gyros, fried potatoes made from yesterday’s leftovers, and a cucumber salad on the side.

@ Veronika, I’ll do that with freezing asparagus at the end of the next asparagus season. :)

@Andrea We do that every now and then, too—get chicken and fries or gyros with all the trimmings from the Greek place here in town; sometimes you just have to😋
We’re having tagliatelle with tomato sauce in a bit 

I had potato soup with meat sausage today. I always make a big pot of soup and then freeze it in individual portions, so I always have something on hand when I don’t feel like cooking :-) What I want to make these days is a big pot of chicken soup, because I’m all out of that, too :-)

Best regards, Inge

I really love threads like this—they’re always great for new ideas :D Today we’re having a penne pasta bake that doesn’t need to be pre-cooked. It’s super easy and quick to make, and it tastes great.

We have something “pasta-y” at least once a week—a casserole, tagliatelle with some kind of sauce, spaghetti carbonara, Bolognese.....

@Inge, how do you make the chicken soup—do you use a whole soup chicken? I usually just use about 6 drumsticks; that’s enough for the two of us, and then I add 2 handfuls of soup noodles. And for my husband, it HAS to be Maggi (yuck! 😝), but I’ll admit, I can’t really cook either, and it’ll never be my hobby.

I’m also using chicken drumsticks, soup vegetables, and an onion, and I’m adding these dried salad herbs from the jar to the pot. I let the whole thing simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, then I take the drumsticks out, remove the meat, and put it back into the soup. I add salt and pepper to the soup right from the start. Cook in some soup noodles or rice, season to taste, and serve

Best regards, Inge

We used to go out a lot, and we lived in a hotel for 5 months of the year anyway, so I’m slowly running out of ideas for what to cook myself. And then we also use a delivery service—today, for example. He got an XXL burger, and I had nasi goreng; both were really delicious and just a nice change of pace.

@Inge, that’s exactly how I do it too 😂

Tomorrow we’re having leftovers. After that, I’ll buy cauliflower, cooked ham, cheese, and cream.
I saw a super delicious recipe for a casserole online.

Steam the cauliflower florets with a little water in a covered pot, then remove them.
Add cream to the cauliflower water, then stir in a mixture of flour and butter (a little at a time) into the liquid and bring to a boil.
Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Place the cauliflower in a baking dish, arrange the cooked ham in strips on top, and then pour the liquid over it. For my husband’s portion, I’ll add some cheese on top.
I’ll make potatoes to go with it, since there’s a lot of sauce. I hope it’s edible.

Today I had meat patties—or “Frikadellen”—with pasta, a herb sauce, and a cucumber salad. I always make my own fresh ground meat when I need it, thanks to my food processor, which comes with a meat grinder; I haven’t bought ground meat from the store in years. The meat is frozen; if I need it the next day, I take it out of the freezer before I go to bed and let it thaw in the fridge door. That way, it thaws just enough so there’s still enough frost in it to grind. I throw the onions in there right away, and then I either use it for a Bolognese sauce or for meat patties right away—that way, no salmonella or anything like that can sneak in.

Love, Inge

Very clever, Inge.

We had pan-fried potatoes with a fried egg. Along with the sweet-and-sour pickled peppers from the summer. It was very tasty.

Best regards, Ina

ursulapetra, I was inspired by your cauliflower gratin and made it for lunch today. I’d never made it before. It turned out great, and we both thought it was delicious.
Instead of cream, I stirred in crème fraîche and spread the rest over the cauliflower with the sauce, along with strips of ham and plenty of shredded cheese on top.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo—it was all gobbled up in a flash.
I’ll make it again sometime. Thank you!

So, how’s the goose situation looking for you guys this year?
It’s not a big deal that my husband can’t go to a restaurant, because our regular spot isn’t serving any goose dishes this year. And I took a quick peek at the prices.... *shudder*
But I’d really like to have it at least once.... *sigh*

@ Andrea: That’s great; it really is a simple, quick, and delicious dish. I’ll let you know how mine turns out. I’ll make sure to take a photo next time.

@ Veronika: Yeah, the goose dinner situation looks pretty bleak this year, even when eating out. For one thing, because my dear friend has passed away, and for another, because prices are skyrocketing. Last year, we paid €29.50 per serving for goose (breast or leg), red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, baked apple, dumplings or potatoes, and plenty of gravy. Now it’s €39.50. Not everyone can afford that.
Since my husband and I can’t really go out much anymore, I’m looking for recipes to cook at home ? We’ll see how it goes.

@Ina, I always make fried potatoes and a fried egg with spinach. That’s another childhood memory. It always tastes good. But it doesn’t keep you full for very long.

Dear Petra, some food combinations are just set in stone. No matter what others say. When it comes to things linked to childhood memories, we always want them just the way we remember them. Back in the day, we often had pasta and tomato sauce for cost reasons. Well, okay, probably all kids like that, but we probably liked it especially. The tomato sauce was made with “Carnito”—only those who grew up in the GDR know what that is. Just a taste of childhood. Today, I probably wouldn’t like it anymore, or I’d study the ingredient label first to see what’s in it, but as a kid, you have different standards.

Back then, we still had to go to school on Saturdays. It was only four hours, but when you came home and the smell of lunch was already wafting through the hallway, that just meant the weekend had begun and it was time to “be at home.”

Best regards, Ina

Today we had potato pancakes with apple compote. So simple... and sooooo delicious.
I’ve even gotten them nice and crispy now (thanks to some tips I found online).

I had chicken soup today

Best regards, Inge

And we had mussels.

Veronika, I hadn’t even thought about mussel season yet. I always associate that with cold weather :)
It’s sooo warm here. Good for the heating bill, bad for the climate.

Yeah, it doesn’t really feel like November here either—more like spring. Strange times, but the mussels were delicious anyway.
Climate-wise, it’s certainly a disaster, but for many people right now, it’s a huge relief that they don’t really have to turn on the heat yet. As always, there are two sides to every story....

We went to Sylt today for a week,
I had mussels and my husband had leg of lamb 😋

We went out to eat today (with my parents).
Pork medallions with mushrooms, vegetables, baked potatoes in their skins, and a side salad. Totally delicious and well-seasoned. Now I’m stuffed.

It’s simple today:
breaded pork neck cutlet (my husband likes that), boiled potatoes, and peas and baby carrots.

I had pasta and cheese today, and I, old scatterbrain that I am, accidentally scalded myself with the piping-hot pasta—the plate went flying onto the counter, but only a single noodle landed on the floor; the rest all ended up on the countertop. :-) I guess I just can’t shake this clumsiness ;-(((

Best, Inge

Oh my goodness! Get well soon!

Veronika, it wasn’t that bad—I just held my hand under cold water for 5 minutes, and after that I was even able to wash my dishes without any pain. But when it happened—ow, ow, ow—it hurt like hell.

Love, Inge

Oh, Inge, that’s not nice. 

I guess that happens to everyone sometimes, dear Inge. But it’s always a big scare. It’s good that when you’re draining the pasta water, you’re standing right next to the faucet and can run cold water over it right away.

I have pots where you can drain the potato or pasta water so that the lid stays firmly in place while you’re draining it, and nothing can go wrong. I used to have to hold the lid in place from the side with pot holders, too. I’ve had a few mishaps like that in the past. But those days are over for me.

What am I cooking today? Just rice, because I still have some chicken fricassee left over from yesterday.

I wish all my readers a wonderful Sunday.
Warm regards, Ina

I'm having pot roast, Brussels sprouts, and dumplings today

Best regards, Inge

Chicken fricassee is one of my favorite dishes. It comes right after spaetzle with lentils.

@Inge: That’s a “real” Sunday meal.

Spätzle with lentils—we were invited over to my son-in-law’s today. It was very tasty. 

We had chicken soup today. My husband cooked it.
It’s one of the few meals we all really like.
Our kids are only 6 and 9 years old, so it’s probably a little harder to please everyone, just like everywhere else.
It was very tasty, and there were even plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.

@Julia, I know what that’s like from back in the day. We were four siblings, and my mom always tried to cook something that would please everyone.
I still remember my brother to this day. He only liked his salad with sugar. My sister only liked fried eggs with Maggi seasoning. I didn’t like eggs where the whites were still a little runny. My little brother didn’t like rice.
So, that wasn’t easy for our mom!! But that was soooo long ago. I was born in ’55.

@ PepisWelt, I had this problem too when my three girls were still kids, but since I wasn't willing to cook something different for everyone according to their tastes, we worked out a compromise: every week there was one family member's favorite dish, and even if someone really didn't like it at all, they had to eat it, not as much as usual, but they had to. That way everyone got something they really liked at some point, and others maybe didn't like it so much. It worked pretty well, and I had less stress at mealtimes. That took away any arguments right from the start, and it was peaceful at the table, because when three girls are going through puberty at some point, I'm telling you, that's no picnic. And since I also had a 4th girl, a foster daughter, sitting at the table, who was between the oldest and the second daughter in age, there had to be clear rules that everyone had to follow. One of my daughters still says today, Mom, you actually deserve to be awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for managing so well with the four of us without ending up in the loony bin. Because we weren't always easy :-))))) I just always laugh and say you grow with your daughters and your tasks, you
know, back then nothing could knock me off my feet that quickly. I was also working during that time :-)

Best, Inge

I know that feeling too—our mom cooked several times a day, making whatever we wanted. However, I only have one brother, and our dad was rarely home on weekdays because he was out on sales calls. So it was often limited to two different dishes, and she’d eat one of them with us.
My brother and I are both pretty picky eaters, but in completely different ways.
My husband always had to eat whatever was on the table, whether he liked it or not. But that didn’t make him more open to new foods—on the contrary, he’s even pickier than I am. 🤣 So, as always, no matter what you do, it’s wrong!

Today, we both had chicken with peach sauce—a recipe we picked up at a restaurant in the south of France.

Today I made kale with potatoes and Mettwurst.
To be completely honest: I couldn’t eat something like that. But my husband loves it. So I guess I just have to deal with it :)

Tomorrow is market day here. I’m going to try to buy some goose legs. I found a great recipe for them that I’d like to try. I’ll let you know if it works out.

Yesterday I had goulash, pasta, and salad.
Today I’m having meatballs with baked pasta (leftovers from yesterday—I cooked extra because I want to fry them today, nice and crispy) and buttered vegetables

Best regards, Inge

@Inge, I love fried noodles and agree with you. I just make a bigger batch the first time, so I have something to look forward to for my next meal of fried noodles.

Today was all about quick meals: blueberry pancakes, mmmmhhhh

I got a bit of a shock at the market today. I’d like to make goose legs tomorrow.
At the market this year, they’re only selling the legs as part of a set with a breast. OK, so I ended up buying them to freeze.
2 legs and 1 breast: Ta-da! Drumroll!!! A whopping 58 €
Now I’m not surprised that so many restaurants have taken goose off the menu this year.

Honestly, at that price, I would’ve passed on it—I’m not exactly Rockefeller ;-) :-)
Today I had pork cut into strips and seared on high heat, served with vegetables and fries. I then mixed the meat and vegetables together to finish cooking them—man, that was so delicious.
I still have some potato soup frozen for tomorrow, :-)

Best regards, Inge

Yeah, the goose.... a tiresome topic. We like to eat it once in a while in the winter, but it’s really not going to be easy this year. But I also think that—despite the price—I’ll make goose legs at least once.

Good preparation is everything, my girlfriend says. And she’s right.

All done and delicious.....

Petra, that looks delicious!!
I had chicken soup again today because I had a big load of laundry—it’s something that doesn’t take much work.

Hugs, Inge

That photo really sealed the deal for me! 🤣 I’m going to buy some goose legs, too!

Knowing my husband, I’ll probably have to pitch in too 🍗
Do you guys bake anything for Christmas 🍩🍪?

Judging by the sounds coming from my kitchen, my husband is starting to bake cookies. :-) Ever since he retired, that’s been his domain, and I wouldn’t dream of getting in his way there. :-)
I get to clean up the kitchen afterward. :-)

Best regards, Inge

I don’t bake anymore. My husband has since been diagnosed with diabetes, and I’m not really that crazy about sweets myself (which is probably for the best—I’m round enough as it is).

I don’t eat anything sweet either—no cookies, no cake, no chocolate, or anything else. But we’re invited to my sister-in-law’s house on Sunday for a kale dinner with a few other family members, and I wanted to bring something. I’m even worse at baking than I am at cooking, so I just asked my friend for a “dummy-proof” recipe. I’m curious to see if I can pull this off... 😅

Oh Margitta, but that’s just what you think—I used to feel the same way, but now I actually really enjoy it. Go for it—even if it doesn’t turn out right, just treat it as a learning experience and start over :-)

Best wishes, Inge

Well, this will never be a hobby of mine. I’ve always said, “I can feed myself,” but since I spent 35 years working on the road, I always ate at restaurants or hotels anyway, so I never really had to learn how to cook.....

I’ve never really cooked much either. There were a few things I could do, but a lot I couldn’t. Now that I’m trying out a lot of different things, I’m enjoying it more and more. 

I had “Mehlspatzen” with egg today—in Austria they’re known as “Einockerl”—served with an iceberg lettuce salad. It’s so delicious, I’m telling you. You can find the recipe on YouTube under *Polsen kocht*.

Best regards, Inge

We’re having risotto with mushrooms today—we have some left over. Yesterday we had pizza with salami, ham, tuna, and mushrooms.

Today we had goose legs. It’s already the second time—it’s just a must during Advent.

We had some delicious potato soup today—I used the big pot again and froze about two-thirds of it afterward, so we can have it two more times. I have days every now and then when my body doesn’t cooperate the way I’d like it to, so it’s always good to have something ready-made in stock.

Best regards, Inge

Inge, ever since I discovered the joy of cooking for myself, our freezer has been well-stocked.
That way, we can often decide what we’d like to eat. And it happens without much effort.
That’s a great thing… for both of us. No stress… just defrost it and, if needed, cook some potatoes or rice to go with it. Awesome.

We had roulades today. They’re a lot of work, so I braised six of them right away.44

Your roulades look delicious, but they’re not really my thing. Today I had vegetable rice and chicken drumsticks—I need to serve more light meals again so those extra Christmas pounds will melt away :-)
For tomorrow, I’m planning a leftover stew; it can just simmer away on its own until it’s done.

Best wishes, Inge

I’m in luck today—my husband is cooking. I usually do the cooking, but he’s the only one who makes fried potatoes. So I can just sit back, relax, and let him serve me. We’re having fried eggs (from our chickens) and homemade pickled gherkins with the fried potatoes.

Best regards, Ina

😋Yum, Ina—I’ll take that

Ina, that sounds really good. I tried our pickled mustard cucumbers. They turned out delicious and nice and spicy.
The beets are also very tasty, but unfortunately there aren’t nearly enough of them.

Fried potatoes, a fried egg, and cucumber are a favorite meal of mine. Maybe because it reminds me a little of the old days. When money was getting tight toward the end of the month, we didn’t always have meat or other expensive foods—instead, we’d have the leftover potatoes with eggs and cucumber or salad.
But it was always delicious. And those memories stay with me...

Today I’m having turkey thigh, potato wedges, and pan-fried vegetables

Best regards, Inge

We had green pea stew (nice and thick) with cabbage sausage. For dessert, we had lemon buttermilk pudding.

Homemade potato pancakes with applesauce—they always make me happy.
Yum....

Did you have a good meal?

Yes, thanks, Josefa—I hope you are too :-)
My husband made some pizza dough yesterday afternoon, and today we had a salami and onion pizza for him—just the way he likes it—and a ham and mushroom pizza with lots of cheese for me—just the way I like it :-)

Best regards, Inge

Yes, I did, thanks.
Enjoy your meal.

So far, we’ve only had breakfast, because we’re having guests over tonight for a raclette dinner.

Pizza with lots of cheese... I really love it. And homemade, too!

Today we had a fancy leftover meal, whipped up by my husband.
Pasta (we had some left over), tomato sauce, with bell pepper cream cheese mixed in (had to use it up—best-by date),
and a can of fish in bell pepper sauce. Before meeting
my husband, I’d never even heard of using canned fish as an ingredient in pasta sauce. But I really like it! ;)

I’ve been on a light diet since today because my stomach is acting up due to the strong painkillers.

Last week, I happened to find turkey sausage at the poultry stand at the weekly market. One ring was enough for two lunches. I served it with boiled potatoes and homemade applesauce.
I was skeptical at first, but it tasted really good.

Since I’m going on vacation with my girls tomorrow, I’ve spent the last few days making sure everything I cooked was suitable for freezing :)

We had chicken with lots of bell peppers in a cream sauce
bean stew
vegetable soup
bell pepper vegetables
cabbage with ground beef

Now my husband can thaw it out and make a sausage, potatoes, or rice to go with it.
That gives him plenty to eat.

A few days ago, I made bread dumplings in jars for the first time, since I had quite a bit of stale bread. Today we tried the first jar—we pan-fried the dumplings in slices and served them with scrambled eggs and some leftover meatloaf. It was a delicious way to use up leftovers.

It continues right away in the new thread:
What are you cooking today? Part 3.