@compmom , salad bars opened up again 2 days ago at my local grocery store, with no restrictions. I felt like I had stepped into an alternate universe! So weird to have to get used to things we previously took for granted.
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Now there’s a risk I would love to take! (Our brains need to adjust to any new realities. I read a great article on how to be kind to our poor fearful brains as we emerge, gently, from the last year.)
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I made a BIG salad, lol.
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Dinner On The Table tonight is pizza. Every Friday night we grill pizzas.
At the risk of sounding like lushes, after 5PM is cocktail hour at our house; it’s part of dinner. As we age, cocktails are becoming more of a weekend thing, but we used to have a cocktail (or wine) almost every night when we were younger, though we were almost always out or entertaining during those years. DH’s parents introduced us to the civility of cocktail hour which they have observed religiously since I’ve known them. Besides providing me with DH, it’s the one positive thing I credit them for. Cocktails/wine signal the end of the work day (whatever that looks like for you) and start the evening off with pleasant conversation (background music a must) which flows easily to the dinner table. For us, it’s a pleasant, relaxing transition that enhances our enjoyment of the meal. Usually, we’ve prepared an hors d’oeuvres, like the crab stacks I posted on the Building A Salad thread, or we just enjoy a glass of wine or two while we cook.
From this and other food threads, it’s evident that, for many, planning and cooking meals is more work than play but, for us, it’s the highlight of most of our days. DH and I have enjoyed planning meals, shopping for ingredients, testing (tasting!) recipes, and cooking together for over 40 years. We’d rather be in the kitchen together and feeding our family and friends than anywhere else, and cocktail hour is part of that celebration.
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I made a new to us dinner last night - turkey, zucchini, feta meat balls with Tzatziki, served over couscous. It got the thumbs up from all family members. We’re going to try it in pita with lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, and onion the next time.
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Questions on grilling the pizzas?
Do you oil the grates? How do you keep the dough from sticking? Do you have to turn the dough?
And the biggest question, what are your favorite toppings?
Grilled pizza sounds so good! I may not be the best cook, but I do love to grill.
Anymore alcohol gives me such terrible reflux, I’ve had to quit 
I grill pizza on a pizza stone, and just throw flour on the stone to keep the dough from sticking. No need to oil the grates.
I love fresh Gulf shrimp, feta cheese and mushrooms on pizza. The kids like fresh mozzarella and spicy salami. We also like caprese pizza.
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DH grills on a pizza steel at extremely high heat, no oil. We make the pizzas (sauce and top) on floured, wooden peels that DH uses to slide onto the steel. It takes less than a minute to grill them, but we like very thin crusts that brown and crisp very quickly.
My favorite toppings are mozzarella, olives, pesto, thinly sliced campari tomatoes, and fresh basil. DH likes a traditional pepperoni, mozzarella, green pepper, mushroom, and olives. No perversions, like pineapple or ham, here. 
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I grill pizzas on a pizza sheet (round one with holes) using indirect heat.
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I think I’ve simply grown tired of planning & cooking meals after 40+ years of being in charge of them. Spouse is not interested at all. Now that there’s only 2 of us, most of our meals are routine.
But I love grocery shopping. I used to do the family shopping as a teen, and I still enjoy that part of the process.
I enjoyed our salad bar, and would often use them only for the special toppings (not the lettuce) to add to home salads. Encouraged @vistajay to hear some may return!
My preferred way to entertain is pot-luck style. I’ll gladly shop, provide the drinks, a main course, share the space, and clean up afterwards in exchange for not planning & cooking a meal!
Our meals are getting smaller, both in portion sizes and variety on the plate, as we age. The box of prepared rice that used to serve the family of 5 for one meal now provides 3-4 side servings. A “normal” portion of chicken is now at least two meals, sometimes three. While DH can eat anything without repercussions, I’m limiting carbs, so the “starch” portion of many meals has gone by the wayside, and he is easy going enough to accept it without complaint. (But he’ll often have a dessert that I appreciate visually…)
Interestingly, he notes that I’ve become a more creative cook in recent years, trying new combinations and recipes that I never had time/inclination to explore in the busier/pickier kids years.
H and I and some friends had dinner at a restaurant (inside) for the first time since February 2020. We have eaten outside since COVID. I was a bit nervous about being inside, but we were seated in a corner and no one was near us. Plus, the restaurant rule was that people had to wear masks walking to/from their tables or to the restrooms. All four of us were vaccinated. After 5-10 minutes, I felt comfortable and had a great time. This was a restaurant we frequented fairly often and most of the regular servers were gone. We know the chef (my husband had him cater/cook for a party at our home a few years ago). He was still there and had the server bring us a free appetizer.
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Dinner last night was very simple, marinated grilled salmon and a steamed artichoke:
Tonight is fish tacos.
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I make this recipe often. So easy and delicious.
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Tonight we’re having stuffed burgers (pepper jack, garlic, red onions and jalapeno inside) on brioche buns with roasted corn, tomato and avocado salad. I mixed up some chocolate chip cookie dough and we will bake fresh cookies for dessert.
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Our typical dinners are protein, starch, veggie. DW typically goes the to grocery store early on Friday mornings or on Saturday while I’m coaching. We typically cook 5 nights a week (Sunday=Mexican joint, Friday currently is gastropub). Some weeks it is only 4-- it depends on our evening meetings.
We meal plan only in so much as it drives what gets bought at the store.
I’ll add that I’ve been known to also on occasion have sweet potato fries - and call that dinner!!
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During pandemic, I have tried to break us from the need to have a starch for dinner. I am actually surprised at how many posters are still following the “protein-veggie-starch” template. Dinners now are protein-veggie-veggie, protein+salad, or protein + veggie + fruit (spinach & mushroom omelette with fruit on the side.) The one exception is sweet potatoes, which I consider to be more of a veggie than a starch like rice. We like bowls and mostly use cauliflower rice as the base, which gives us one veggie to start - we like like scampi style shrimp, shredded chicken with beans, stir fry veggies, or sheet pan protein & veggies. Salmon is a staple in our dinner rotation because it is so quick and easy and can take a variety of toppings so it’s not always a repeat. We are eating less meat (no beef) and adding in more seafood - frozen mahi mahi fillets, lump crab, scallops. I also make turkey burgers fairly often, adding in veggies or black beans to the ground meat. No buns, served over or with a salad.
I have definitely gotten a bit more creative during pandemic and now that we aren’t rushing around to kid’s activities. But still a far cry from the gourmet cooks here! I’m terrible at meal planning but good at being able to throw together a nice meal from what’s on hand. My young adult D has lived with us for the past 14 months, and she is not a cook. The 3 of us have sat down to dinner every single night, with just a few exceptions. She often says “wow!” when I put dinner on the table, so I feel like I have done a good job caring for my pod - even though I am now tired of cooking and looking forward to eating out more! It will be interesting to see what she makes for herself when she moves out of the house and back into an apartment this summer.
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