Foods! Delicious Foods. Please share them (recipes?pics?) with me (everyone)

[Xiaoli Vorgan]

hi my name is kage and i am a fat lady who likes cats and food.

 

that stuff looks tasty.

 

I have a question for people who may or may not make spaghetti meat sauce using stuff like the Prego sauce or whatever.

 

If I do not add ketchup or sugar I find that the sauce is really... well quite acidic. Are there other ways you may or may not have gotten around this?

 

(Also, leave spaghetti and sauce together or keep it separate? ? )

 

Ketchuppppppppp!? Ahhh you just brought back memories of my grammas makeshift spaghetti lol.I'm not sure about how to cut down the acid, I don't make mine with a whole lot of sauce, I usually put in alot of mild cheddar, mozarella, provolone.

 

Maybe you are using too much sauce.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I like our burgundy marble counter tops, but I always freak out when I need to put something hot on them, so I end up lining it with pot holders.

 

Stove is not new, but the rest of the kitchen, including the cabinets and fridge, and floor and wall tiles are new.

 

You and I, we have good taste

 

...prolly not. I'm in a meh apartment. I miss having gas appliances because of baking. Electric is nice for a lot of things, but the kitchen here hasn't been renovated in the complex for a while, so the unit I have isn't the best. :

[Mae]

(YES I used boil in a bag rice! Sue me!)

I see nothing wrong with boil-in-bag rice >_> Perfectly cooked rice is something that escapes my grasp, even when I very carefully follow the directions on my rice cooker, unless I use boil-in-a-bag. 

 

My inability to cook rice is why I eventually turned to quinoa and couscous.

 

SPEAKING OF COUSCOUS (cause now I want some...)

 

 

Sweet and savory couscous:

 

Pour one part vegetable stock into saucepan

 

Chop dried apricots and dates (you want to chop your own dates -- the already-chopped ones are rolled in a powdered sugar/cornstarch mix and are unsuitable for this) up to a half-part, add to saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil.

 

Remove from heat, and very carefully remove lid -- you want to retain as much steam and condensation as possible -- and quickly add in couscous. Cover, swirl pot slightly to help distribute liquid, then let sit, covered, for five to ten minutes. Remove lid, drizzle small amount of olive oil, a sprinkling of black pepper and some chopped parsley leaves, and then fluff with a fork.

 

A good base/side for chicken, fish, and roasted veggies. I also like to just top it with toasted nuts and goat cheese and eat it that way, or with a dandelion (or other bitter greens) salad and my black or roasted garlic vinaigrette dressing.

[Hyakki]

hi my name is kage and i am a fat lady who likes cats and food.

 

that stuff looks tasty.

 

I have a question for people who may or may not make spaghetti meat sauce using stuff like the Prego sauce or whatever.

 

If I do not add ketchup or sugar I find that the sauce is really... well quite acidic. Are there other ways you may or may not have gotten around this?

 

(Also, leave spaghetti and sauce together or keep it separate? ? )

 

Ketchup and sugar... in spaghetti sauce? (I don't understand.)

 

I would suggest adding caramelized onions to sweeten it. But if you're going to go through the trouble of chopping/cooking additional vegetables, you may as well make the entire sauce.

 

A simple recipe that I'm guessing measurements for. Its about enough for a pound of pasta.

 

3T olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 large onion, diced

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

8-12 roma tomatoes, diced (dunk them in boiling water for a minute then peel them if you don't like skin)

salt, pepper, fresh basil to taste

 

Heat oil, add peppers

sautee onion, add garlic

add tomatoes, simmer for about an hour

season as desired

 

You could go further with this and add in things like more vegetables, tomato paste, wine, seafood, sausage or whatever.

spaghetti and sauce together master race.

[Mae]

Oven roasting or grilling your tomatoes can also help cut down the acidity if you're gonna make your own sauce. A splash of heavy cream can also help.

I've also heard that honey instead of sugar (cause I'm familiar with the sugar thing) works and is a bit more subtle/complimentary.

[Kage]

Well the biggest thing is that I sorta want a meat sauce like

And the fastest way I've gotten there is using like Prego Traditional Italian sauce..

[Briggs]

 

Royal Banana Bourbon "Ice-Cream" (dairy optional)

 

Ingredients

2-3 Frozen, Sliced Bananas

2 Tablespoons of Half 'n Half (Optional)

2 Tablespoons of Honey (or more, if you prefer it sweeter)

1 Shot of Bourbon (Crown Royal used here)

Dash of Cinnamon for Garnish 

 

Toss the frozen bananas in either a blender or food processor with the bourbon and half and half and blend until smooth, adding in the honey intermittently throughout the process until its used up. Pour into either a bowl or a few cups and garnish with cinnamon. Serve immediately and enjoy!

[Kage]

What happens if I skip the bourbon

[Gray]

Here's some stuff of mine.  Sorry if my camera work is bad.

 

 

 

 

Chicken cordon bleu with white wine cream sauce

 

 

Homemade french breads

 

 

Crepes and jam with turkey bacon

 

 

Blueberry cream cake...thing

 

 

Chocolate cake with White chocolate vanilla buttercream frosting, and ganache

 

 

King cake

 

 

Baked potato soup

 

 

Raspberry swirl cheesecake

 

 

Pumpkin streusel bread pudding with vanilla butterscotch sauce

https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/10863842_780247045345517_3794529408828730641_o.jpg[/img]

 

 

Banana cream crunch wrap

 

 

Strawberry banana pudding cheesecake

 

 

 

And that's most of my food pics.  I have a few more, but they won't post right, so for now, I'll close with some cats.

[Briggs]

What happens if I skip the bourbon

 

You'll end up with a substantially healthier icecream!

 

It'll be thicker too. You can balance that out by adding milk or even some sort of creamer. Water could probably do the trick too, if you'd prefer to cutout the dairy and alcohol altogether. It's a very healthy snack overall and it's easy / fun to mess with!

[Mae]

Well the biggest thing is that I sorta want a meat sauce like

And the fastest way I've gotten there is using like Prego Traditional Italian sauce..

 

Start by browning whatever amount of hamburger you want to use in a skillet with tall sides. Add some onion and garlic if you wish (and celery, since I saw it in the picture) while you're cooking the hamburger. Once the meat is no longer pink and the veggies are fairly cooked through, drain meat, wipe skillet clean, and return meat to the pan.

 

Add some tomato paste (couple tablespoons, depending on taste) and a teaspoon of honey (to start), mix, and turn heat to medium. Start adding in either canned plain tomato sauce, canned plain crushed tomatoes in sauce or juice (not in puree), diced tomatoes in juice, or your own roasted tomatoes that have been puree'd. You want to add as much to make the meat to sauce ratio to your preference. Allow to simmer for between a half-hour to an hour, depending on how hungry you're feeling and add the rest of the seasonings you wish (oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, 'Italian seasonings", a bay leaf, parsley, black pepper, etc). Save adding fresh basil and/or parsley until towards the end. Taste occasionally, add more honey in small amounts until the balance is where you want it to be.

[MikoBehnen]

Tonight's Dinner (which was amaze-balls if I do say so myself)

 

http://damndelicious.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/IMG_3019edit.jpg[/img]

(not my picture... mine wouldn't load)

 

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup julienned sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained1/4 teaspoon dried basil

 

 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste.
   
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
   
4. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in the skillet. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan, thyme, oregano and basil.
   
5. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet.
   
6. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
   
7. Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.
    
   

Made some sticky rice to go with it and just wow... so good!

[Kage]

Gonna head out to Slater's 50/50 for Restaurant Week!

 

The menu sounds delicious WHAT DO I ORDER D:

Menu http://www.destinationirvine.com/includes/content/docs/media/Slaters-lunch-dinner.pdf

 

OMG I GET TO TRY POUTINE

[Steel Wolf]

OMG I GET TO TRY POUTINE

 

....prepare to have your French fries-eating world absolutely ROCKED TO ITS CORE by the magnificence that is poutine.

 

Legit poutine, now...cheese curds. Not shredded cheese or cheese sauce. THEY MUST BE CHEESE CURDS, KAGE!! *grabs by the shirt collar and shakes*

[Telluride]

I saw a friend of mine suggest this, for people who want a low-cal sweet treat:

 

The "Skinny Shake" (tastes like a Wendy's Frosty)

 

3/4 cup Almond Milk

about 15 ice cubes

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1-2 Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa powder

1/3 of a Banana

Blend.

[DreamedReality]

*kidnaps Gray to be personal chef*

[Mae]

Hey guys.

 

Sooo... as much as I like to cook I have to admit that after three years living the way I have,  I'm starting to run out of ideas on what to make on a daily basis. Before I go and ask for suggestions, though, I feel as if I should share some pictures of the place I both live and work in, and spend on average twenty-two hours a day -- that way, y'all can decide if anything you might suggest would even work.

 

This is my stove... sorta. Really, all I have to work with is a pull-out desk where I can put a rice cooker. Tried using an electric burner, but they get too hot and pull too much power. The cupboard above is actually twice the height you can see in the picture, and it houses all my dry goods and the paper plates/bowls/cups/utensils. Turn 45 degrees, and... this is all I have for a prep area. Yeah, that's my bed. There's actually a second bunk, but we use that for clothes and big-items storage. Turn another 45 degrees, and here is my fridge. Pretty much one of those 'dorm' fridges that you can't stand a 16oz bottle of soda in without removing the shelf and therefore losing more space, and the freezer only fits one bag of frozen veggies. And that microwave isn't there anymore -- first time we used it, it proved to be too much of a power drain. Spin another 45 degrees, and we have this space, which beyond being a place to stick the husband and dog, I cannot utilize.

 

Yes, that was just the entirety of my home. It's an 8x8 space.

 

So, as you can imagine, I've been fairly challenged when it comes to cooking for a few years now. Things were actually going good up until a little over a year ago; my husband went on a high-protein, low carb/sugar diet, and I'm developing sensitivities to various preservatives. Even that was fine for a while, but we're both getting sorely sick of rice/couscous/quinoa with whatever soups we can both eat and omlettes/egg scrambles. We'd do pasta (the rice cooker gets up to boiling temps), but with my husband's diet that's pretty much a no-no. Fresher food would be nice, but between loads and various restrictions we can only really get into a Super Wal-Mart once every two to three weeks to stock up on food, and my fridge and freezer aren't big enough for me to keep things like fresh meat in for more than a couple days before they HAVE to be cooked or tossed.

 

Soooo... any one-pot wonder recipes out there that can be adapted to a rice cooker like this, is mindful of the limited space I have to work with and with the dietary restrictions, can be cooked in an hour or under (we ruined one rice cooker by trying to cook while rolling, but just the movement of the truck caused some of the contents to slosh out of the pot and onto the burner and shorted the whole thing out), and takes into consideration that we can't shop every couple days?

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Kitchen woes

 

Hmm... This does make things a bit complicated.

 

You could probably adapt a few stove recipes to use the rice cooker like a crock pot.

 

So things like stews, curries, and chili could help make things a little more interesting. Luckily, most of these use dry ingredients that can be stored for a longer about of time, but meat availability is what adds a decent portion of the meal. (Although you can get away with frozen meat that is defrosted before use since the spices should take care of the flavor).

 

If you've got a couple spare mixing bowls, you could maybe get away with mashed potatoes as a starch when you need it, since your average russet potato can last a pretty long time. Given the fridge size, dairy is probably not much of an option, although things like butter and heavy cream should last a while and can be bought in varying sizes when needed.

 

 

I would prolly stock up on stuff like condensed broths for stews, canned vegetables where applicable, and on things like onions, garlic and squash for vegetables, since those keep in storage well. Maybe a few bags of dried beans that can be softened up before use. (Some can take a good 24 hours though, but sealed tupperware works well).

[Gegenji]

I almost forgot there was a food thread!

 

Anyway! I just got myself one of those starter cooking sets with pans with clear lids and various utensils and stuff, and I want to try breaking them in on this long weekend. I plan to stop at the grocery store this afternoon and pick up my usual stuff (in case I fail dramatically, so I have options beyond "unrecognizable charred mess") along with what might be my first home-cooked meal I've done myself!

 

I just... don't know what to make. I want something simple to cut my teeth on (both figuratively and literally, I suppose). I did a quick Google search and found a brisket that sounds interesting... but I figured I'd tap you cookin' folkses for more ideas!

 

So um... suggestions? :blush:

[Telluride]

I almost forgot there was a food thread!

 

Anyway! I just got myself one of those starter cooking sets with pans with clear lids and various utensils and stuff, and I want to try breaking them in on this long weekend. I plan to stop at the grocery store this afternoon and pick up my usual stuff (in case I fail dramatically, so I have options beyond "unrecognizable charred mess") along with what might be my first home-cooked meal I've done myself!

 

I just... don't know what to make. I want something simple to cut my teeth on (both figuratively and literally, I suppose). I did a quick Google search and found a brisket that sounds interesting... but I figured I'd tap you cookin' folkses for more ideas!

 

So um... suggestions? :blush:

 

If you're just testing out your new cookware, it doesn't get simpler than my favorite homemade Chili, and all you need is your biggest pan and a stirring spoon once everything is opened.

 

Brown and drain 1-2 pounds of ground beef (ground turkey works, too, if you are health-conscious), add in one packet of chili powder for every pound of meat ( I use McCormick or store brands ), add in one 12oz can of tomatoes (Chili-ready diced make it easy, but I sometimes will add whole canned tomatoes and break them up in the stirring process) and one 12oz can of beans (Red Chili/kidney beans, usually, but I also really like black beans in my chili) for each pound of meat, and just stir it all up until it's blended and thoroughly heated.

 

This will give you a much thicker chili than most recipes, since it relies upon the water in the tomatoes to give it viscosity. However, a little bit of water can be added if you prefer thinner chili - no more than a half-cup per pound of meat, though, or it will get too runny. I will add a few dashes of Tobasco if I want hotter, or even a few spoonfuls of BBQ sauce for a little extra richness. When I make a batch for myself, I use 2lbs of beef, two cans of the Chili-ready diced tomatoes, and 2 cans of black beans. I have a bowl for dinner, and put the rest in a container for a couple of days' worth of lunches at work. The thickness of it is also really ideal for making Chili Nachos, since you can simply spoon it over the chips and cheese, and it will stay politely in place.

 

 

Ok, yes, this isn't Alton Brown... but he did say simple, and this is really hard to mess up. Even if you start to overcook it, adding a little water and stirring will fix that.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I almost forgot there was a food thread!

 

Anyway! I just got myself one of those starter cooking sets with pans with clear lids and various utensils and stuff, and I want to try breaking them in on this long weekend. I plan to stop at the grocery store this afternoon and pick up my usual stuff (in case I fail dramatically, so I have options beyond "unrecognizable charred mess") along with what might be my first home-cooked meal I've done myself!

 

I just... don't know what to make. I want something simple to cut my teeth on (both figuratively and literally, I suppose). I did a quick Google search and found a brisket that sounds interesting... but I figured I'd tap you cookin' folkses for more ideas!

 

So um... suggestions? :blush:

 

What food do you like and can you take a picture of the set? We'll find something that suits your tastes.

[Gegenji]

What food do you like and can you take a picture of the set? We'll find something that suits your tastes.

 

I'm at work, so I don't have ready access to it, but it was something I found at the local Target. Looks something like this?

 

 

Bunch of pots and pans with clear glass lids. Plus spatulas and the like. Cost a mere $60-70 since I wasn't going to try going whole hog right out the gate. Wanted to avoid running into a "OH GOD TOO MANY POTS WHAT DO?" sort of situation.

 

As for preferences, I'm not horribly picky. Time in the military beat that out of me. I do like my pastas and my meats, though, and I do need to ask my folks about how my mother makes her tuna casserole, as that seems like it'd be a nice simple mainstay to pick up.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

What food do you like and can you take a picture of the set? We'll find something that suits your tastes.

 

I'm at work, so I don't have ready access to it, but it was something I found at the local Target. Looks something like this?

 

 

Bunch of pots and pans with clear glass lids. Plus spatulas and the like. Cost a mere $60-70 since I wasn't going to try going whole hog right out the gate. Wanted to avoid running into a "OH GOD TOO MANY POTS WHAT DO?" sort of situation.

 

As for preferences, I'm not horribly picky. Time in the military beat that out of me. I do like my pastas and my meats, though, and I do need to ask my folks about how my mother makes her tuna casserole, as that seems like it'd be a nice simple mainstay to pick up.

 

OK. ...I think I know exactly which set you have. (Because I got it too).

 

The chili recipe above would be a good starter. 

 

If you're looking for another good one to test out, this one looks daunting, but is actually pretty easy. (And has lots of pictures)

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/01/sunday-night-stew/

[DreamedReality]

I almost forgot there was a food thread!

 

Anyway! I just got myself one of those starter cooking sets with pans with clear lids and various utensils and stuff, and I want to try breaking them in on this long weekend. I plan to stop at the grocery store this afternoon and pick up my usual stuff (in case I fail dramatically, so I have options beyond "unrecognizable charred mess") along with what might be my first home-cooked meal I've done myself!

 

I just... don't know what to make. I want something simple to cut my teeth on (both figuratively and literally, I suppose). I did a quick Google search and found a brisket that sounds interesting... but I figured I'd tap you cookin' folkses for more ideas!

 

So um... suggestions? :blush:

 

Soups, chilis and stews are always good to try out first. But if you wanna give those frying pans a go then try following the directions you find on the flavor packets you find at the grocery store. That's how I started out. The Asian sections will usually have things like general tso's chicken and/or mongolian beef flavor packets. The Mexican section has fahita/taco flavor mixes, etc.

 

They're usually quite simple. Olive oil, a meat and one or two varieties of vegetable. But they are also very flexible so you can easily experiment with type and variety of veggie you add/use.

[Kage]

Simple things you can do with the sautee pans.

 

Cook steaks.

 

Cook green beans.

 

For steaks you can have a variety of things to season. Salt and pepper. Montreal steak seasoning. Worcertshire sauce. Etc.

 

Green beans is easier. Pinch of the ends of the green beans. Rinse/wash etc. Pat them dry ish. Melt butter. Add chopped garlic. cook them a bit. Add grean beans!