What's cookin' ?

[oldmunchkin]

I don't know how healthy it is, but it's certainly yummy!

Serves 2 to 3

1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup water
1/2 package dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water
2 to 4 chicken thighs or legs
salt and pepper to taste

In 9 inch glass baking dish, mix rice and water
sprinkle onion soup mix on top
place chicken pieces on top
mix soup and 1 can water, pour over top
salt and pepper as desired
cover with foil and back at 350 for about 3 hours or until chicken is done

Any cut of chicken, or leftover turkey can be substituted for thighs/legs

Recipe can be expanded as needed...just remember to use equal parts of rice and water. If using leftover turkey or chicken that is pre-cooked, baking time is reduced to 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

[GGT]

How did this thread get buried so far back?

Recipe for an easy 5 minute meal:

1) Heat one can of Progresso vegetable lentil soup
2) Add one or two cups of pre-cooked (leftover) rice
3) Stir in something spicy like Mongolian Fire Oil
4) Add a dollop of cream cheese or sour cream
5) Salt and pepper to taste

Yum!

[RandBlade]

BUMP - this thread disappeared into the ether didn't it?

Since moving into our new house trying to cook fresh much more often. On a tight budget and also on a diet so better than drive thru McDonalds. A few things that have really helped lately:

Getting a good set of pans - Our old and very cheap set of pans were horrendous. Would take forever to clean after using them. Got a good set of Tefal pans for Christmas last year from Amanda's parents, recently topped it up by adding a Tefal wok to the set. Sooo much nicer cooking when the pans can just be wiped clean rather than scrubbed for hours.

Started buying meat in sets and then portioning it up and freezing it. I believe you're only supposed to freeze meat for about a month but kind of ignoring that right now. Problem previously with cooking for just the 2 of us was that the meat you get from the Supermarket comes in packs far too big for just 2 so would overeat. Buying 3 packs for £10 currently and weighing and dividing it into 200 gram portions. 100g each seems fine.

Still taking major shortcuts (eg buying packs of mixed, chopped veg) as time is the one big thing I lack. But having the meat frozen really helps as can just defrost it and use.

Tonight's dinner - a seafood sweet and sour stir fry
A pack of mixed seafood (2 for £5) ~90 calories each
A pack of mushroom stir fry mix (3 for £2.50) ~ 60 calories each
A pack of sweet and sour sauce (£1) ~ 90 calories.

Total about £4.34 for 2 people's meal and just about 240 calories for an evening meal. Add on a Krispy Kreme donut at the end.

[littlelolligagged]

Good for you, RB!

You've learned the secret - fresh food is both better and cheaper. Don't tell anyone, though.

I tried making grilled corn on the cob tonight to go with our pork chops. Not really sure why people rave about it - maybe if I had a nice charcoal grill or was doing it over hardwood it would have been amazing or something.

[Timbuk2]

BUMP - this thread disappeared into the ether didn't it?

Since moving into our new house trying to cook fresh much more often. On a tight budget and also on a diet so better than drive thru McDonalds. A few things that have really helped lately:

Getting a good set of pans - Our old and very cheap set of pans were horrendous. Would take forever to clean after using them. Got a good set of Tefal pans for Christmas last year from Amanda's parents, recently topped it up by adding a Tefal wok to the set. Sooo much nicer cooking when the pans can just be wiped clean rather than scrubbed for hours.

Started buying meat in sets and then portioning it up and freezing it. I believe you're only supposed to freeze meat for about a month but kind of ignoring that right now. Problem previously with cooking for just the 2 of us was that the meat you get from the Supermarket comes in packs far too big for just 2 so would overeat. Buying 3 packs for £10 currently and weighing and dividing it into 200 gram portions. 100g each seems fine.

Still taking major shortcuts (eg buying packs of mixed, chopped veg) as time is the one big thing I lack. But having the meat frozen really helps as can just defrost it and use.

Tonight's dinner - a seafood sweet and sour stir fry
A pack of mixed seafood (2 for £5) ~90 calories each
A pack of mushroom stir fry mix (3 for £2.50) ~ 60 calories each
A pack of sweet and sour sauce (£1) ~ 90 calories.

Total about £4.34 for 2 people's meal and just about 240 calories for an evening meal. Add on a Krispy Kreme donut at the end.

Good stuff.

Next - do the sauces yourself from fresh ingredients instead of the packet stuff. Healthier and tastier - and then as you cook the dish more you can tweak it.

Tip: Use fresh red chillis, finely chopped and seeded, and chopped fresh garlic, as the base to any stir fry sauce.

Best thing about this though is like you say - portion sizes. Something I've been concentrating on lots recently.

Good for you, RB!

You've learned the secret - fresh food is both better and cheaper. Don't tell anyone, though.

I tried making grilled corn on the cob tonight to go with our pork chops. Not really sure why people rave about it - maybe if I had a nice charcoal grill or was doing it over hardwood it would have been amazing or something.

I rave about corn on the cob. Would normally have it as a starter or just on its own rather than on the side. Melted butter, salt and pepper and it's mmmmmmlicious.

[littlelolligagged]

Hey, now, I love corn on the cob.

I'm just not sure that grilling it added a damned thing to its taste on my gas grill.

[oldmunchkin]

Lolli, shuck corn, lay on piece of foil large enough to completely wrap it in, apply liberal pats of butter and salt well, place on grill for about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on grill heat, unwrap and enjoy! It really does have a better flavor than boiled corn on the cob!
I miss my grill!

[Catgrrl]

Now I want some corn! The sweet white local grown stuff won't be ready until the end of this month...that's my favorite. Guess I can go buy some sweet yellow at the store though.

[Ominous Gamer]

Sauce injected nuggets....

[Aimless]

I conducted a covert raid on my girlfriend's garden/jungle and came back with a buttload of herbs and tomatoes and roman spinach.

Lunch: chicken fillet filled with home-made pesto, served with quinoa (tastes hella better if you fry it up lightly after cooking) and stewed roman spinach+seaweed+mushrooms.

Dinner: roasted beef tenderloin, just on the medium side of rare, served with lightly fried spring veggies and itsy bitsy potatoes and our first attempt at compound butter (basil, thyme, chives, rosemary, horseradish, garlic, lemon juice, balsamico).

I have never made beef tenderloin before turns out this thermometer thing that I'd scorned in the past is a very useful tool after all. I cried a little :') warmly recommended. The butter was very good too, and I'm glad I decided to add the balsamico, think it made the whole thing so much better.

[GGT]

Now I want some corn! The sweet white local grown stuff won't be ready until the end of this month...that's my favorite. Guess I can go buy some sweet yellow at the store though.

Silver Queen! Hands down, best sweet corn in the world.

[Catgrrl]

YES! Whenever I see a sign for it, I pull over. Many summers we've been coming back from the beach, pulling into a farmer's stand and picking up a dozen to take home and cook.

[Catgrrl]

After all this corn talk, I finally got some last night! My uncle got some sweet white/yellow hybrid corn this weekend while he was on the Easter Shore of Virginia, and gave me 8 ears. Shucked 'em, boiled 'em (hubby is the grill guru, I don't get near the thing), and ate 2 ears just by myself. It was nice and sweet! Even the little one tasted a few kernels I shaved off for her.

[GGT]

We've been known to have corn suppers, at the height of Silver Queen harvest. Bought at the roadside stand, fresh from the stalk. Some boiled and some grilled (pulling the husk back to clean the kernels of silk, putting the husk back in place like a protective skin, soaking them in water, adding pats of butter and salt under the husk, rolling them around on the grill until the husk starts to get crispy on the edges.....), some shaved off the cob for those with braces.

My gramps used to eat corn-on-the-cob by putting a pat of butter in his mouth or at the beginning of a row, then gnawing on a few rows of salted kernels. Enough for a mouthful, while the butter melted in his mouth and mixed perfectly with the corn. He said that buttering the cob was a waste of good butter, since it would melt and drip off.

He was really quirky though, and would save corn water from the boiling pot....to make coffee. The Depression did that to a lot of people who struggled through it.

[Flixy]

Corn is cattle food!

[GGT]

Corn is cattle food!

Nooo, cattle are grazers and naturally prefer grasses! Dairy cow milk tastes different if they're fed with corn feed or grasses. Makes cheeses taste different, too.

Chickens like to peck at corn cobs, though.


Corn tortillas, corn tamales, corn salsa, corn meal, corn bread, corn muffins, creamed corn, chicken corn soup, grits, polenta, popcorn, corn flakes, corn chex, cheese corn, candy corn....

okay that last one isn't really corn, but you get the point. Yummy corn.

[littlelolligagged]

Once upon a time I had a recipe that called for a small quantity of powdered milk, and the supermarket only sells large boxes of quart-sized packets. I bought it, but since I'm apparently a cheapskate I never threw out the other 9 (or was it 11?) packets. So I'm doing an experiment with a bread recipe that is made with milk and egg - and I used warm water and a portion of a packet of powdered milk instead. Started it when we got home from gymnastics, it's in the bread machine now.

If it's edible I'll keep the powdered milk. If it's not, I'm sure the squirrels and chipmunks will be happy, and I think I'll just get rid of all the powdered milk. I might, anyway, it occurs to me that the stuff probably has a sell-by date that it is long past.

edit: It doesn't. That's kind of gross.

[GGT]

Dehydrated vacuum sealed things last almost forever. Don't throw it out, give it to a food pantry.

[earthJoker]

Bought a new stew (needed a new one because of the induction we have now) so I made a stew in the stew with beef, bacon, beans, cucumber, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes.

[GGT]

Cucumber in a stew? Never heard of such a thing. Maybe you mean another gourde plant like squash or zucchini?

[Flixy]

Nah, cucumber works!

I should find out how to make the turkish pastry filled with spinach and feta they sold all over berlin, but I forgot the name something with a g!

[Catgrrl]

Boregi?
http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/20...epsi-brei.html

It sounds kind of close to spanokopita, a Greek dish with feta and spinach, layered in phyllo dough. I'm not a spinach fan, but my mom makes some yummy cheese ones for me, tiropita.

Man, now I want some...I wonder if I can pester my mom to make it before she goes on vacation next month....

[Veldan Rath]

McNuggets.

[Catgrrl]

Making banana-blueberry bread. It is so much better than banana nut bread!

[GGT]

Boregi?
http://almostturkish.blogspot.com/20...epsi-brei.html

It sounds kind of close to spanokopita, a Greek dish with feta and spinach, layered in phyllo dough. I'm not a spinach fan, but my mom makes some yummy cheese ones for me, tiropita.

Man, now I want some...I wonder if I can pester my mom to make it before she goes on vacation next month....

Yummy! My sister's mother-in-law makes a tasty kreatopita with meat. We just call all of them "pita". She shapes them in long tubes of phyllo dough that snakes around the baking sheet, they freeze really well.

Meat pies are great. My son made Spanish empanadas once, but it was fairly labor intensive and called for an ingredient we had trouble finding (that turned out to be a type of damn gourmet raisin ).

[earthJoker]

Cucumber in a stew? Never heard of such a thing. Maybe you mean another gourde plant like squash or zucchini?

I thought the same, but it was in the receipt I found. I tried it and it was really good.

[GGT]

I'll have to try the cucumber in stew sometime. Assuming it's not peeled first?

Lately I've been on a bacon kick, so anything and everything I prepare has bacon in it. I have yet to find a recipe that can't be made better with bacon added. Including a Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, feta cheese and olive oil dressing. Much tastier with crumbled bacon. I have an inkling that Greek tzatziki sauce might be even better with some bits of fried bacon.

[Ominous Gamer]

Made Noodle Hot Dogs last night. Ocean helped, thought it was fun, Brent was confused but ate it anyway, and Scarlett ended up pissed off.

Stole this from somewhere else, but this is what it looked like (plus cheese sauce).


We have always had a problem with Scarlett picking one thing on her plate and only eating that item and demanding more until she is full. No rhyme or reason, one day its meat and another day its peas. While yesterday it was hotdog, and she wanted nothing to do with the noodles. Ended up very frustrated ripping it apart until she learned that she could bite the hot dog slice and pull the noodle out. But by that time she was beyond pissed, and we were all holding back laughs, so she ended up throwing the noodles away from the table once they were free of the hot dog

[Khendraja'aro]

Well, you simply can't force little kids to eat something they don't want to. I've read somewhere that this is probably an evolutionary left-over. Two tactics seem to work:
a) Simply accept that not everyone likes everything and move on. For instance, I did not like Norther German Herring Salad until pretty recently. Thus whenever my mom prepared that food, I'd get potatoes and sour cream
b) Try reverse psychology - "Oh, no, can't have the kids eat those vegetables! Much to expensive to waste it on them!"

And content yourself with the knowledge that they'll grow out of that.

[RandBlade]

Or:

C: Tell them to eat what's on their plate or they'll go to bed hungry. No dessert (or TV or computer) unless they've finished what's on their plate either.

Then they quickly grow up out of it.