Wanted: holiday meal ideas that don't need knives to eat

[Muse]

Sound delicious hearty beef stew would probably fit the bill.

I've been making a beef stew for many months. Thing is, I grow vegetables in my back yard. My specialties are kabocha squash and tomatoes. I grew over 250 lb. of kabochas this year (yes, I weigh every one and enter it in my data).

I make about 3 quarts at one time of this stew and store it in quart containers in the fridge. I eat it over a 3-4 day period (heating in microwave) and then make more. The kabocha squash keep for months, literally. I was eating the 2016 crop until at least this June.

Here's the basic recipe I make:

In a pressure cooker, I put
~15 ounces of cut up lean beef (bite size pieces)
a little less than a cup of combined split peas, barley and lentils
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1 1/2 tablespoon dried chicken broth powder
1 ounce of my homemade chorizo, shaved (this is hot and flavorful).
20 ounces water

I start that cooking and remove the heat after an hour.

Meantime, in a large pot I place these:

20 ounces or so of cut up raw kabocha squash (about 25 chunks in all)
Large pieces of cut up...
... celery
... broccoli
... cauliflower
... carrots
... peppers (green, red, yellow, ... whatever)
... If I have other vegetables around, I sometimes add them but the above are the basic and often only ones I add to this 2nd pot.
1/2 cup water

I cover that pot and apply heat and simmer it until the vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes with proper heat) and then turn off the heat. I let both pots cool some and then combine them.

This is a very delicious and hearty stew.

 

[Iron Woode]

no knives, eh?

sandwiches, tacos, burgers, hot dogs (beef), meatloaf (beef or turkey), meat pies, stews and soups and various casseroles.

 

[Exterous]

Crack chicken is pretty great. Serve it up a bun so it's hand-held. It's almost like an Alfredo version of pulled pork, but with shredded chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing powder, bacon crumbles, and cheese on top. Very easy to make in the crockpot: (or Instant Pot)

https://cookiesandcups.com/slow-cooker-crack-chicken/

My wife just made this for a coworker potluck event with pretzel buns from costco and it was very popular.

 

[Kaido]

My wife just made this for a coworker potluck event with pretzel buns from costco and it was very popular.

Mmm, pretzel buns.

Yeah, I've actually switched to making crack chicken instead of pulled pork for stuff like work potlucks (benefit of being a roaming IT guy...you get invited to everyone's holiday potlucks hahaha) because it's so popular.

 

[Muse]

Mmm, pretzel buns.

Yeah, I've actually switched to making crack chicken instead of pulled pork for stuff like work potlucks (benefit of being a roaming IT guy...you get invited to everyone's holiday potlucks hahaha) because it's so popular.

You're a lucky guy, Kaido, I've always thought so.

Well, I painstakingly laid out a fave recipe of mine, the one I make all the time these days (a lot of kabochas, AKA Japanese Pumpkins, sitting around). But I got another idea last night, slept on it, and it still strikes me as a great idea for the OP's Christmas party:

Spaghetti and Meatballs (with Italian sauce)!

Yeah, I can smell it now! Xmas Eve, right? It's got the Xmas colors going. Red (the Italian meat sauce with lots of tomatoes), White (heaps of hot spaghetti). Toss on spherical meat balls, well flavored, sprinkle on some white, grated Parmesan cheese. Hot, fragrant, beautiful, yummy. Side with tossed salad with Italian dressing...

 

[Exterous]

benefit of being a roaming IT guy...you get invited to everyone's holiday potlucks hahaha

Right? I had to stop going to so many. I lack the self control necessary to not try everything

 

[Denly]

Corn turkey chowder
swedish meatballs with Gnocchi or beef stroganoff
Apple Charlotte

With a little pre work I can likely make all them myself to a small group of people in two hours

 

[BurnItDwn]

Well, I painstakingly laid out a fave recipe of mine, the one I make all the time these days (a lot of kabochas, AKA Japanese Pumpkins, sitting around).

That recipe sounds good. We sometimes add zuchini and yellow squash to our stews, never tried one with kabochas. (I have only tried kabocha in tempura at Japanese steakhouse, the woman I don't think has ever tried one.) We are gonna have to try that some time!

 

[Kaido]

You're a lucky guy, Kaido, I've always thought so.

Now I just have to figure out how to make crack chicken for 65 people

 

[Kaido]

Well, I painstakingly laid out a fave recipe of mine, the one I make all the time these days (a lot of kabochas, AKA Japanese Pumpkins, sitting around). But I got another idea last night, slept on it, and it still strikes me as a great idea for the OP's Christmas party:

Spaghetti and Meatballs (with Italian sauce)!

Yeah, I can smell it now! Xmas Eve, right? It's got the Xmas colors going. Red (the Italian meat sauce with lots of tomatoes), White (heaps of hot spaghetti). Toss on spherical meat balls, well flavored, sprinkle on some white, grated Parmesan cheese. Hot, fragrant, beautiful, yummy. Side with tossed salad with Italian dressing...

That's actually a really good idea...you can bake a ton of meatballs at a time & cook a ton of noodles in giant stockpots pretty easily. Chop up some basil or parsley to finish out the Christmas green color & you're all set!

 

[Kaido]

Right? I had to stop going to so many. I lack the self control necessary to not try everything

Haha yeah...and the problem with potlucks is that all of the food is homemade, so it's usually great because it's stuff that people like to eat themselves, and when good homemade food is right in front of you....yeaaaaah. lol.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Mmm, potluck.

Anyways, I was going to suggest just making a lot of meatloaf, but I like the Spaghetti and Meatballs idea too, meatballs are basically kind of like meatloaf.

 

[shortylickens]

Hormel and Bob Evans both make some nice ready to eat meals.

 

[Muse]

That's actually a really good idea...you can bake a ton of meatballs at a time & cook a ton of noodles in giant stockpots pretty easily. Chop up some basil or parsley to finish out the Christmas green color & you're all set!

Didn't think of the green. Thing is, I guess, I have Deuteranopia = total green blindness. I totally lack the green detection cones in my eyes. I have never in my life been able to identify anything as green. What does it look like, I'm usually asked when I tell people this. My now very tired response is something like brown or beige, something that I could call green (but I could be wrong!), but my guess is green?

I'll take your word for it that parsley or basil would add the requisite green. "Grass is green," until it turns brown of course. You know this better than I.

 

[destrekor]

My wife just made this for a coworker potluck event with pretzel buns from costco and it was very popular.

Oh my. I've never even heard of crack chicken. Just found a new crockpot recipe!

 

[Kaido]

Didn't think of the green. Thing is, I guess, I have Deuteranopia = total green blindness. I totally lack the green detection cones in my eyes. I have never in my life been able to identify anything as green. What does it look like, I'm usually asked when I tell people this. My now very tired response is something like brown or beige, something that I could call green (but I could be wrong!), but my guess is green?

I'll take your word for it that parsley or basil would add the requisite green. "Grass is green," until it turns brown of course. You know this better than I.

Wow dang, so Christmas decorations must look awful! Red & beige sounds atrocious

 

[Kaido]

Oh my. I've never even heard of crack chicken. Just found a new crockpot recipe!

It's rich, so I don't make it more than like, once a month, but it's dang delicious! And easy. Basically just cook the chicken with the Ranch powder & cream cheese, then shred with forks, throw it back in, crumble in some crispy cooked bacon, and voila! I highly recommend getting a good bun, spooning some out onto the bun, putting grated cheddar on top, and then doing a quick broil in the oven or toaster oven to melt the cheese. Crazy good!

 

[sdifox]

Teriyaki marinaded thinly sliced beef? Stir fry with veggie. You can marinade before hand. Just takes up fridge space.

Example

https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/hawaiian-beef-teriyaki/

 

[Muse]

Wow dang, so Christmas decorations must look awful! Red & beige sounds atrocious

Yeah, I'm not into Christmas decorations. It sucks having deuteranopia. I went online today to try again to figure out exactly what kind I have (there are a ton of variations of color blindness, just a ton). 5% of males are green deficient, only 1% are totally green blind, which I think is what I am. It was passed onto me genetically. Probably has something to do with my being a radio DJ. If I can't see colors normally it doesn't have a lot to do with my appreciation of music! But it is a handicap in a great many pursuits in life. I like writing. It wouldn't seem to affect my enjoyment of writing!

I think around 10% of males have some kind of color blindness. The figure for females is around 1%, basically the square of the chance for males. 1/10 versus 1/100. It's basic genetics, won't get into it here. Wikipedia has a considerable treatment, and other sites, which include online tests.

 

[Kaido]

Now I just have to figure out how to make crack chicken for 65 people

Following up on this, I found a guy online who did catering using sous vide to reheat the food. Reheating takes a long time (3 hours) from frozen because you have to get it past the bacteria danger zone.

Yeah, I'm not into Christmas decorations. It sucks having deuteranopia. I went online today to try again to figure out exactly what kind I have (there are a ton of variations of color blindness, just a ton). 5% of males are green deficient, only 1% are totally green blind, which I think is what I am. It was passed onto me genetically. Probably has something to do with my being a radio DJ. If I can't see colors normally it doesn't have a lot to do with my appreciation of music! But it is a handicap in a great many pursuits in life. I like writing. It wouldn't seem to affect my enjoyment of writing!

I think around 10% of males have some kind of color blindness. The figure for females is around 1%, basically the square of the chance for males. 1/10 versus 1/100. It's basic genetics, won't get into it here. Wikipedia has a considerable treatment, and other sites, which include online tests.

I think the Enchroma glasses handle that, have you taken the test?

http://enchroma.com/test/instructions/

 

[Muse]

I think the Enchroma glasses handle that, have you taken the test?

http://enchroma.com/test/instructions/

I was thinking today I should check them out. Last I checked (maybe a couple years ago), they were located in my town, Berkeley, CA. I didn't go because I figured they wouldn't work for me. They don't work for everyone, just for a limited set of color blind people. I figure now I should check further, though. Maybe it would help. Even limited help would maybe be really worth it. I have dark glasses that seem to really help me but I pretty much only wear them when driving, which I don't often do. On my bike or skating, I never wear them. I think it's the polarization that they provide that makes them iffy unless I'm in a car. Especially skating I need ultimate resolution or I'm apt to hit a rock and lose my teeth or whatever.

 

[Muse]

I just took Enchroma's online test, don't know if I responded appropriately to every question, should probably have said nothing or unsure many times when I otherwise indicated an integer. Their diagnosis was Protan, which is different from what I figured I am. Protan is a red-green form of CB. They then indicated that I stand a 30% chance of benefiting from their glasses. That doesn't inspire confidence. They have a 60 day return policy, so I could try them and they are in my town. You see why I have my doubts here. I remember their prices looking steep to me, it was hundreds IIRC.

I figured I could at least bicycle down to their offices and try on their glasses, maybe determine then and there if there's a benefit without even pulling out my credit card. It's a trip down there, I don't expect not to be disappointed, however.

 

[destrekor]

I just took Enchroma's online test, don't know if I responded appropriately to every question, should probably have said nothing or unsure many times when I otherwise indicated an integer. Their diagnosis was Protan, which is different from what I figured I am. Protan is a red-green form of CB. They then indicated that I stand a 30% chance of benefiting from their glasses. That doesn't inspire confidence. They have a 60 day return policy, so I could try them and they are in my town. You see why I have my doubts here. I remember their prices looking steep to me, it was hundreds IIRC.

I figured I could at least bicycle down to their offices and try on their glasses, maybe determine then and there if there's a benefit without even pulling out my credit card. It's a trip down there, I don't expect not to be disappointed, however.

Hmm.

Protan doesn't sound right if you struggle more with green, that would be Deutan which involves the M-cone (medium wavelength, aka Green-sensitive cone).

Do you struggle more with the color of Red traffic signals, or green? Most "green" lights for me look nearly white. Based on my own research and some tests, I generally identify in the Deutan side. The M-cones are by far the most common to get screwed up, or end up missing entirely.

Deuteranopia would be the total lack of the green cone, whereas Deuteranomaly means the green cones are present but defective to some degree.

Note, it can definitely get weird because with the vast majority of types, there isn't a total lack of that color from your vision entirely, because the other cones may still pick up those wavelengths but with far less sensitivity. And then there's the brain processing it all, combining the raw data into visual color (which cells picked up what, and how strong).

Of course other colors get screwed up too, because nearly every color/shade we see contains some mix of multiple wavelengths. I frequently screw up dark reds and brown, brown and green, green and yellow, and blue/purple. I can see blue just fine, but the red in purples screw me up... and then there's the fact that my brain gets trained to identify some dark blues as purple (and other colors), expecting it to have missing red. Half of our struggles with color identification is entirely due to our brain training itself.

I feel like I have a generally mild case, perhaps a bit more mild than my mom's (thanks mom, I had no chance at avoiding CVD). And with it generally being mild, I can't imagine I have any missing cones, just defective.
But it's always weird when light pinks appear light gray, some light greens are light-gray or white, and some cyans are both one of my favorite colors and also rather despised (is it blue? gray? is that green in there? hmmm)


edit:

Also, take online tests with a grain of salt, unless you have the opportunity to use a properly calibrated and quality monitor. Most generic monitors are not exactly color accurate - this is why eye doctors use a printed book, as the prints are fully calibrated.

You could probably take the same test on a few different monitors and get a different result.

edit2:
Just took enchroma's test (again), said I'm a mild protan.

I dunno, I'm just used to acknowledging my color vision is screwed up. And blue is beautiful!
(this test was done on my MBP, can't remember if I ever calibrated it but generally these have fairly accurate displays out of the box)

 

[MrSquished]

This braised short rib stew is always a hit. The addition of a good amount of wine makes it kinda festive.

I use the boneless short ribs from Costco. They aren't cheap at $8.99 a pound but have a nice amount of fat and end up very tender. I add some potatoes in there to make it a full meal. Super simple meal, little prep besides a mir a poix and peeling some taters. I use a dutch oven to cook them.


BRAISED SHORT RIBS

3lbs Boneless Short Ribs (bone in works, but not as good)

Cook in batches, dont crowd the pan, the key is to sear the outside until goldeen brown. Put about 1/8-1/4" of olive oil and heat high first. It should smoke the whole room up, my stove fan never worked good enough. Each batch takes 6-10 minutes turning every 2-3 minutes. After its browned keep it in a bowl to keep it warm and catch the juices


While thats cooking cut your miripoix (or have it ready). I say keep it big and rustic, dont cut too fine.

1-2 Big Onions (spanish or vidalia)
2-4 carrots
2-3 cerery stalks
4-8 garlic cloves (just cut in half)
Season with salt and pepper

Put into the pan after the meat comes out and cook until clear and starting to brown

Next add...

1 28oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes (I prefer Cento Brand)
1/2 bottle of Red Wine (I prefer something dry, an inexpensive italian red)
Meat and juices

Bring to a simmer and cover for a few hours. Stir once every hour.

Check for Seasoning

***Buy some good crusty french/italian bread for dipping

 

[Muse]

Hmm.

Protan doesn't sound right if you struggle more with green, that would be Deutan which involves the M-cone (medium wavelength, aka Green-sensitive cone).

Do you struggle more with the color of Red traffic signals, or green? Most "green" lights for me look nearly white.-snip-

Your color vision sounds a lot like mine. Green lights on traffic signals look fairly like an off shade of white. I also have trouble with purples vs. blue much of the time.

I have a battery charger that drives me nuts because the LED changes from red to green when the battery is fully charged. It gives me fits. I usually can't tell the difference. I just wish they could have made it red and blue!

I can say one thing, however, and I wonder if you can say the same. This:

I can NEVER EVER make a positive identification for green!!! Red, well, I am convinced that it looks different to me but I can usually make a very positive identification for it. Less so for blue, perhaps, but I see blue fine. Yellow is my "favorite color." I will miss if it has a green component, because I never pick up on green. Well, maybe I pick up on it but can never say that what I'm looking at has a green component, much less "is green."

Is it this way for you? If not, I'm more confident in believing that I have deuteranopia, that I'm not merely deuteranomalous. IOW, that I totally lack the green cones in both my eyes.

I figure I'm probably wasting my time going over to Enchroma. One day I probably will, though, but will go in there pretty skeptical.