The recipe thread (revisited)

[Spacerox]

The peanut butter on your burgers thing came from a bar that served spicy burgers, I was told this story while I ate mine for lunch one day...there was a drunk guy in there one night who wanted the spicy burger but it was missing something to his mind. He didn't want mayo or ketchup or mustard, they were too salty or tart, there was plenty of salt, so he started rummaging behind the counter, he must have been friends with the bartender or something. One of the bartenders kept a jar of peanut butter back there to make herself sandwiches and he had this "AHA!" moment and grabbed it. A bunch of people were skeptical and pulled faces, but the bartender ordered up a spicy burger and slathered it with creamy peanut butter too because his buddy has weird taste, but he's done stuff like this before and it usually turned out to be pretty good. He liked it so much, they added it to the toppings combos that night: Pepper Bacon, Pepper Jack, and Peanut Butter--The Sticky Burger.

The Ranch Doritos on the mushroom steak sandwich was just one of those we had a bag of Ranch Doritos and we had mushroom steak sandwiches...and as we were eating them the flavors were blending...so into the sandwich they went, it was excellent and that was that.

But think of some of the awesome flavor combos we'd miss out on if people didn't try new things?

Pork and Sauerkraut
Smoked Salmon and cream cheese
Fruit glazes for meats

There are lots out there. I'm just not thinking completely straight so I'm not coming up with many at the moment lol.

[Sookielee]

Don't take my comment that I don't have adventurous taste. In fact I am normally the one among our friends that will try something new first. Peanut butter is just one of those things I only eat on a sandwich with jam. I actually have tried Kung Pao and without the peanuts I like it, but put them on no way. So it is just my weirdness that makes the combo's with the peanut butter sound awful.

I love Smoked Sausage with Sauerkraut, yummm. Now I might have to pick that up when we go shopping this weekend. Hubby thought I was nuts first time I suggested that combination for a meal one week when we where shopping (man was that a long time ago). The one thing that I love to eat is mayo and banana sandwiches. When I get the taste for this I have to eat it while the other half is at work because it gags him to even see me eat it. When I was a kid my Nannie would slice up peaches and put them in a sandwich for me. I loved peach preserves and as she was on a tight budget, often the peaches she could get cheaper, not to mention they had less sugar to hype me up than the preserves.

Ok, how many people here have heard of Fuff-a-nutter sandwiches?

[Regina]

Never have heard of Fuff-a-nutter sandwiches.

Banana and mayo at first thought does sound off-putting but I'll bet it's really good.

My dad loved braunschweiger and ate it every chance he got. Try as I might, I could never get past the liver taste.

The other day when I picked up the cats I needed to go to Fred Meyer for a few things and I remembered to check there and sure enough, they carry Saco dried buttermilk so I bought a box. I've been wanting to experiment with some oatmeal crepe-type things (if I use enough egg they should hold together) so I want to try some of the buttermilk in that. I may have to restock my oatmeal supply first, though, since my son has been eating quite a bit of it. He's currently in one of his "eat everything in sight" phases again. I wonder how much taller he'll grow this time.

[Sookielee]

A fluff-a-nutter sandwich (just saw I misspelled it the first time )

Marshmallow Fluff and Peanut Butter, crunchy is best but creamy good too. It is also really good if you toast the marshmallow fluff a bit under the broiler.

[suzetter]

Congrats Spacerox, on your upcoming family addition.

Remember the Fluff-a-nutter song? "First you spread, spread, spread/Your Bread/ with Peanut butter/Add marshmallow fluff/But make sure you have enough/For another fluff-a nutter" I ate those when I was in kindergarten. I love the "But make..." line as its there to keep kids from dumping the whole jar in one sandwich while prompting moms to keep it stocked on the pantry shelf

I'm an adventurous eater (my Dad was a Chef) but there are three things I don't eat:
Feta Cheese -- for some reason it makes me sick everytime I eat it -- even a miniscule amount in an h'or deurve sends me running for the porcelin throne. Weird thing is no other goat cheese bothers me.
Canned Cranberry Sauce - I know people love this but I never touch the stuff. The globby texture and that it's sweet to the point of grainy combined with the fact that it often looks like a giant blood-clot on the plate --makes me say "No thanks:
Octopus -- I like seafood even Oysters and Squid but I've never had an octopus dish that I thought was yummy. I've tried it a dozen different ways,

[Regina]

I like octopus and squid, I just need to learn how to cook it properly so it's not rubbery. Of course if I did that I may not like it as well. I've learned a lot from watching all those goofy Gordon Ramsay reality shows, and one of those things is that I rarely cook anything correctly. :bag: I like eggs cooked through, meat cooked through, chewy octopus, and green beans thoroughly cooked (I'm not keen on the flavor of raw green beans). One thing is for certain, I do not like overcooked fish. One of my brothers-in-law usually takes an annual fishing trip to Alaska (he used to spend most of his summers there for his job) and when he does he usually shares a bit of the wealth. So I was cooking halibut the other night and trying so hard to get it right, but by the time I got the center done it was tough. Chewy octopus, on the other hand, is quite delightful to my palate. :bounce:

The mention of oysters reminded me of something too. Oysters aren't my favorite thing but every winter I crave them and cook them at least a couple of times, normally breaded and fried. A while back I had read James Michener's Chesapeake and in there was a recipe for Oysterman's Stew. Well, it wasn't really a recipe but the method and a list of the ingredients. I wrote it down and last winter when we were in the really cold cold I made that stew two or three times. I declare, that is bar none the best use for oysters I've ever encountered. My mom used to make oyster stew but hers couldn't come close to this stuff. Once I decided to mix it up a bit and added shrimp and clams to it and it was even better! My hubby can't eat shrimp so at home I didn't fix it that way. I'll find the paper I wrote it down on later and post it here.

[suzetter]

Love fried Oysters (and fried clams too) and Oyster stew is delicious as well. I like all those creamy seafood soups -- Oyster stew, New Englad Clam Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Shrimp Bisque, etc. Also like oysters and clams raw and steamed mussels and clams. I Like my squid tender but I've eaten plenty of rubbery squid as wellbecause even restaurants rarely get it right -- it over cooks so very quickly. The window of time between cooked and overcooked for most shellfish is very small. I have rarely cooked squid at home as it is so hard to clean. But I'd like to try your Oyster stew recipe.

[Regina]

Yeah, I love just about all shellfish, shrimp being usually the most affordable and accessible but since hubby can't eat it (he can eat any shellfish but) I don't buy it very often. Sometimes for New Year's Eve we do a seafood feast and of course the rare times we get to the coast I buy fresh crab from one of the fish shops. I declare, I can eat more crab than anyone in this house can. :bag:

Another thing I love is bean soup. I like cooking it, experimenting with it, and eating it. Hubby eats beans often along with his lunch and he wanted me to put on yet another kettle of kidney beans over the weekend. I decided instead to cook some old white beans I have in the cupboard. I forgot just how old they are and because it took so long for them to cook I ended up with something different from most of my bean soups. It took something like six hours for this pot of beans to cook. :bounce:

Normally dried beans that are reasonably fresh, as in less than five years old, are usually going to cook done in a couple of hours. Cooking time can be reduced roughly in half by soaking overnight but I don't usually plan that far ahead so I use the two-hour cook time.

Over the years I've read a lot of tips on degassifying beans and I tried most of them. Someone said to put a can of Coke into the first hour of cooking. Someone else said to put in a whole potato. There are more that I've forgotten. One thing that has never failed me in all my years of cooking beans is to boil the beans in a lot of water for one hour then drain and rinse the beans. Add fresh water and boil for another hour or until they're done. I like adding part of the salt I'll need for the whole dish to the second water, otherwise the beans taste watery and flat, ruining the end result.

So, for this bean soup I used the following:

3 Cups small white beans
2 Carrots
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
Ham, diced in large chunks (optional, and the amount you use will depend on how much meat, if any, you want in the beans--bear in mind the ham will do most, if not all, the rest of the salting for the soup)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt

Either soak the beans overnight or put them in a pan with plenty of water and boil for one hour. Drain and rinse.

Put back in the pan and add fresh water, and add just enough salt to flavor the beans slightly then boil for about forty-five minutes.

There is this thing about the carrots in this recipe that will need done, one way or another. The way I ended up with it was the fact I put the carrots in shortly after the one-hour water change not realizing the beans would have to cook for about five more hours. By then the carrots had pureed themselves, so for the shorter cook time the carrots are going to need to be pureed before they're added. The carrots add some nice flavor and a touch of sweetness but also make for a nicely thickened broth. Canned pumpkin or winter squash could be substituted for roughly the same effect, although the flavor would be slightly different.

After forty-five minutes add all the other ingredients and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for fifteen to twenty minutes.

As I've said before, I like experimenting and see what kind of things that I can come up with that are really tasty and at the same time pack a good nutritional punch.

[Regina]

I'm going to try to copy some of the recipes off the old thread into this one.

Regina Wrote:First off, I got this recipe over at the Laden Swallow years back and it's one of my favorites!

They called it goulash but it's like no goulash I ever ate. On the other hand, it's definitely far better for a person than the kind my mom used to make with macaroni AND corn! ;D

I have no idea of proportions because on the rare occasions I cook (the girls do most of it) I just open and pour.

Brown a meal's worth of hamburger (before the meat starts cooking add salt and granulated garlic) then add chopped onions to taste and brown those too.
Open a can of beans, either black beans or kidney beans, drain and pour into the meat and onions.
Add enough tomato sauce to cover everything nicely.
Stir it all up and heat it well, then taste it. Make sure it doesn't need any more garlic or salt. If it does, add it now.
Next, add a pinch or two of cinnamon and stir that in really well.

**Here's a little note about the cinnamon in this recipe. This was the first time I'd ever heard of someone besides my mom putting cinnamon in a dish with tomato sauce. My grandmother learned how to make spaghetti way back in the day from an Italian neighbor, and that Italian neighbor taught Grandma to put cinnamon in it just before it was served. Cinnamon does a few things to a dish with tomato sauce, all of them I think are terrific. It adds a slightly sweet flavor. It also takes the edge off of tomato sauce that is too acidic. The flavor is out of this world!

Regina Wrote:Egg Foo Yung scrambled eggs
(If you enjoy Chinese food then you'll probably like this)

This is something we have when no one wants to go to the trouble of making Egg Foo Yung.

Brown some pork sausage or fresh-ground pork.
Add chopped celery and onion and cook that.
If you have them, open and drain a can of bean sprouts and pour those in.
Once it's all fairly cooked, taste it and see if it needs salt. If so, add it and stir it in.
While that's all cooking break the eggs into a bowl and mix them up well.

Once the eggs are well-mixed start stirring the eggs into the meat mixture and add some five spice. Once it's all stirred in, keep stirring the mess until the eggs are well-cooked.

Serve it up and add a bit of soy sauce and you're good to go!

Sookielee Wrote:Hunk Junk

I know funny name, but it is related to Hungarian Goulash. Spices are to taste.

1 lb ground beef
1 med-lg chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
(may substitute granulated garlic of garlic powder)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes - drained
1 small can tomato sauce
8 (or so) oz Pasta
(any pasta works, elbow, penne, rigatoni you name it)
Chili Powder
Salt & Pepper.

The measurements are estimates I just dump and pour as I have been making this for 30 years. (started young) This is one of my Nannies go to meals to fees alot of people for not much money.

Bring water to a boil for the pasta. Cook pasta to a very firm Al-dente. (sp?) In a separate pan brown ground beef. After the meat is mostly cooked, add Onions, Garlic and other spices. Allow ground beef to finish cooking.

Add Tomato Sauce and diced Tomatoes. Mix well and add the pasta. Allow some time for all the stuff in the pot to get happy and serve.

If you like you can add veggies to the pot. They should go in when the tomatoes do. I recommend thawing frozen vegetables first. We love eating salad with this.

Sookielee Wrote:Meatloaf Steaks

ground beef
bread crumbs
an egg
finely chopped onion (this I only sometimes use)
salt and pepper
Your own spices

My hubby loves meatloaf, I hate it and this idea was born from that. Make you regular meatloaf and instead shaping it into a mound or putting in a loaf pan - Shape into Hamburger Steaks. Fry them up and enjoy. What ever you use to top you meatloaf normally can be used as a gravy/sauce. If you like once you flip you steaks, you can add a bit of your sauce/gravy to the top of each steak.

To change things up try one of the following:

1. Use Italian Bread in place of plain. Adding Italian seasoning and garlic for extra flavor. A bit of grated Parmesan is a good addition also. If you need a sauce/gravy for the top, flavor up a small can of tomato sauce with the same spices you used in you meatloaf mix.
2. For the spices add Cumin, chili powder and cilantro for mexi-meatloaf steaks. I sometimes add a can of diced green chilies for added flavor. For a gravy/sauce use salsa or salsa verde (the green one my favorite)

I would love to hear you ideas for other meatloaf steaks. How do you make meatloaf? What are some of the sauces/gravies you place on yours?

[Regina]

Regina Wrote:CURRY SALAD

(Optional) Six chicken breast fillets cut into bite-sized pieces

1 can garbonzo beans (aka chick peas), 2 cans if you're going meatless

1/2 to 1 cup marinated artichoke hearts (I buy large jars of these at Costco so they're not overly expensive)

1 can black olives (optional)

1 1-lb. bag of frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix

Tomatoes, chopped for salad

Onion, diced (or green onions sliced--using whole onions is much more economical than using green onions)

Mayo and artichoke marinade

Curry Powder

Sautee the chicken breast chunks until thoroughly cooked. (If you use a stock pot instead of frying pan, you can use the pot to mix the salad rather than using a bowl.) While that's cooking put the frozen veggies into a sieve and run under cool water, then let drain in the sink. Sometimes we have to cut them into smaller pieces. Also prepare the olives, tomatoes, onions, and artichoke hearts (I cut them into smaller pieces).

Once the chicken is cooked toss it into a large bowl, throw in the semi-frozen veggies and mix well. This chills the chicken and thaws the veggies at the same time.

Next throw in the tomatoes, onions, olives, and artichoke hearts. Add enough mayo to coat, throw on a tablespoon or so of curry powder, and mix well. Add at least a half-cup of well-mixed artichoke marinade and mix all ingredients and dressing thoroughly.

**This salad is very versatile. Sometimes we add grated or diced cheese, other times peas in place of garbonzo beans. A lot of it just depends on what we have on hand when we want to make it.

The nutritional value of this salad is such that it's a one-dish meal: good and nutritious carbohydrates without going overboard, plenty of protein, and lots of veggies.

Regina Wrote:Crispy Chicken Thoughts Or Hindquarters

(My taste buds normally run away at the sight dark chicken meat but I have a few recipes that I prefer dark meat over white and this is one of them.)

Rinse thawed chicken thoroughly and if it's the hind quarters remove the kidneys and rinse again.

Place on an oven broiler pan.

Sprinkle seasoned salt according to your taste.

Place in the center of the oven, turn it on to 350 degrees and let bake for anywhere from one to two hours until the skin is nice and crisp.

Regina Wrote:Greek Salad

(I discovered this wonder in Fred Meyer's deli years ago and have been making it ever since. I'll post the cheap recipe because the other one requires feta cheese which we don't normally have.)

Proportions aren't too important here, I usually end up with a pretty even mix.

Cucumbers
Red onion
Salad tomatoes
Black olives
Feta cheese salad dressing
(Fresh feta cheese should be crumbled into this salad just before serving)

Peel and slice cucumbers and onions
Chop tomatoes
Chop black olives

Put all the cut veggies into a bowl and add enough dressing that the mixture is well-coated. It's best if it has time to marinate in the fridge for a while before serving.

[Regina]

Regina Wrote:Sauces

Sauces are great for a lot of things. There's BBQ sauce, tartar sauce, mustard sauces, fry sauce, etc. Just about all of these can be bought pre-made in your grocery store for ridiculously high prices. What the labels don't tell you is that each of these sauces can be made in minutes with a small handful of ingredients making about $3 worth of sauce cost less than $1 (plus there's the added benefit of knowing exactly what's gone into your sauce). If you think of saving money as money being earned, this equates into a wage of something like $24.00 an hour.

I can't recommend particular amounts when it comes to the sweetener for these sauces because we don't eat a lot of sweet foods so generally speaking our end result doesn't taste anywhere nearly as sweet to palettes that are used to sugar.

Tartar Sauce

Mayo
Onion
Dill Pickles and juice

Put a cup of mayo into a bowl. Chop into small bits about a quarter cup of onion (more or less depending on your tastes). Chop about the same amount of dill pickles. Put that all in the mayo and stir it in well. Add a couple of teaspoons of pickle juice and stir again. Voila! In five minutes you've just saved yourself a couple of dollars.

BBQ Sauce

(We love using this on cheap pork sirloin. Cut the sirloin into small pieces, brown it well in a bit of oil, pour on the BBQ sauce, cover the pan and let it cook on slow heat for about thirty minutes.)

1 Cup tomato sauce
Enough Apple Cider vinegar (the real deal, NOT apple cider flavored vinegar) to give it a little zing
1/4 tsp. molasses
Honey to make it a little bit sweet
Granulated garlic

Santa Fe Sauce

I don't think you'll even find this one on store shelves but Carl's Jr. puts this on some of their burgers. When I eat there if I order a burger that normally comes with bottled BBQ sauce I substitute Santa Fe sauce.

Mayonnaise
Chili powder
Granulated garlic (optional)

That's it. Just mix chili powder into mayo and use it for salad dressing, burger topping or what have you.

"Fry Sauce"

(So much better than what you'll find served at fast food places! We don't use a lot of it because honestly there aren't many foods I like with it but once in a great while....)

Mayo
Ketchup
Granulated garlic (most fast food fry sauce doesn't include garlic but garlic turns something good into something sensational)

Put about a cup of mayo into a bowl then stir in enough ketchup to make it pink. Now sprinkle and stir in some granulated garlic. After stirring in the garlic it's best to let this sit for a few minutes for the flavors to blend.

Cocktail Sauce

(One of my all-time favorites! There are two ways of making this, the first I consider junk food, the second I consider food. LOL)

Junk food variety:

Ketchup
Horseradish

Just mix a small amount of horseradish into the ketchup. The amount of horseradish will depend on your taste.

Real food variety:

1 Cup tomato sauce
Honey
Horseradish
Granulated garlic

Put the tomato sauce in a bowl, add just enough honey to give it a little sweetness, then stir in horseradish and granulated garlic to taste.

Wasabi

Wasabi powder
Water

Put a tablespoon or so of wasabi powder into a small bowl and add enough water to make it pasty. Wasabi is best eaten in very tiny amounts on beef. If you get too much you'll feel like the back of your head is going to blow off. What a rush! ;D

Don't make more than you need for a single meal because it loses potency and flavor very quickly once it's mixed.

Mustard Horseradish Sauce

1 Tbsp. mustard
2 Tbsp. mayo
1-2 tsp. horseradish (depending on strength)

Again, just mix together all the ingredients. It is best on pork and beef.

[Regina]

loserinc Wrote:1-2 pounds of ground pork - super cheap if you live in city with asian markets, I get it here for about 2 bucks for almost 2 pound packs
bread crumbs (enough to stick meat together)
ground ginger (spice bottle variety is just fine) (small palm about size of quarter)
finely chopped onion or dried onion flakes (around a quarter cup, for the flakes, rehydrate first)
curry powder (just a pinch)

mix in bowl until thoroughly mixed. make into 1" balls. Put onto lightly oiled baking pan and bake on 400 for about 15 min, roll them around, and bake another 15 min.

while those are baking, mix together

small can tomato sauce
about quarter cup soy sauce
about quarter cup rice vinegar
juice from 1 can of pineapple (snack on pineapple for dessert)
small palm powdered ginger, or fresh grated ginger
about tablespoon of brown sugar
dash of red pepper flakes (or more if you are like me and like them spicey)

whisk together and let sit until meatballs are cooked for half hour

pour over meatballs and shake around, turn oven down to 350 and let cook for 10 min. shake pan to coat meatballs again, then cook for another 10 min.

serve over rice (we prefer jasmin), also works well with egg noodles or yakisoba noodles

also good with a garnish of hot Chinese mustard. easy to make if you don't have it, use mustard powder and a little water to make paste. Do not add vinegar, it just mellows out the heat.

loserinc Wrote:I use this trick all the time when I am making tacos.

while cooking meat, put all of your regular spices you use in a small bowl. Now add good size handful of quick cook oats. When meat is cooked, add a small amout of water, and the bowl with oats and seasonings. mix thoroughly and cook down.

So, you get added fiber, they are more filling, and your taco meat actually stays put together in your taco instead of falling out.

I actually came up with this years ago because i was sick of meat falling out of my taco, lol



I will sometimes use oats in place of bread crumbs as well.

Regina Wrote:Cooked turkey cut into bite-sized pieces
Frozen cauliflower, thawed and cut into bite-sized pieces (frozen broccoli is good too I prefer the texture of the cauliflower)
Frozen chopped spinach
(The cauliflower to spinach ratio we use is one pound cauliflower to one 10-ounce box of frozen spinach)
Fresh onion, diced
Fresh celery, diced
Grated cheese
Mayonnaise
Granulated garlic

Put the turkey into a casserole-type baking dish and mix in all the vegetables, then mix in the grated cheese, add some mayo, granulated garlic, and bake for thirty minutes to an hour. You want it to bake just long enough that it starts to brown around the edges.

Regina Wrote:Another thought. Do any of you ever cook things like finger steaks? A couple of times a year we want finger steaks so my youngest daughter sets about making them. (Pork makes excellent finger steaks by the way.)

Anyway, my daughter discovered that rye flour makes a superior breading. Season the flour with a bit of salt, granulated garlic, onion powder, black pepper, etc. Cut the meat into fingers, dip in rye flour, dip in beaten egg, dip in rye flour again then fry. It's messier than making batter but uses way less flour and tastes so much better. A huge advantage of this type of breading is that it doesn't soak up a ton of oil.

Also, if you occasionally want to batter dip something, batter made from whole wheat flour makes a much crisper end result than if made from white flour. This batter also ends up way less greasy than its white-flour counterpart.

loserinc Wrote:I've never thought of using rye flour, I will have to give that a try! I usually use corn flour (masa) for breading. It gives a nice crisp texture. I also use panko quite a bit. Hmm, reminds me....more quick tips.

For frying or baking! Use panko. soak fish or chicken chunks/strips in small amount of milk for about half hour, then roll in panko. These can now be fried/deep fried/baked. You end up with something super crispy but not greasy. I never use batter because it just holds way too much grease.

Another thing that freezes well is milk believe it or not. When it is on sale, we grab an extra gallon or two and put in freezer. As long as it is used within a couple of months, it is fine. This works well for everyone in our house except for me, I have to have "special" milk lol. I actually have to get the lactose free milk which is never cheap. Since I don't use a lot, I just get it in small amounts anyway.

[Regina]

loserinc Wrote:Here is a recipe for...kitchen sink cookies. This is my own weird creation. I came up with this while cleaning cupboards and having serious sweet tooth attack.

Use standard oatmeal cookie recipe, whichever one is your favorite. Make that according to directions and get oven set to that temp.

then add total of 3 cups of a mixture of various leftover stuff in cabinet
1. chopped nuts
2. dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, papaya, go for it!)
3. coconut
4. cereal (flakes, rice crispies, granola, chex, all bran etc, no sugar kids cereals)
5. chocolate/peanut butter chips
Will be hard to mix, I do this with hands because it's easier than using a spoon (not rich enough to get nice Kitchenaid which I covet)

Make approx 1 tbsp size drops on cookie sheet (use a bit of cooking spray)
Cook according to original directions, but keep eye on time. These do take usually a few min longer.

So, there you have a way to use those bits and pieces from cupboards. Also, makes more of a granola bar type cookie. It's almost healthy!

Regina Wrote:I'm sitting here eating some lunch, taco salad!

Ground beef, seasoned with salt, chili powder, granulated garlic, and cumin to taste
Romaine Lettuce (Romaine lettuce sometimes costs a little more than iceberg but it has a much higher nutrient content which to my mind means money better spent.)
Grated cheese
Some type of tomato stuff: either fresh tomatoes chopped, canned diced tomatoes, salsa or the like

Optional toppings:
Lime juice
Cilantro
Canned black or kidney beans
Sour cream
Guacamole
Black olives
Corn chip crumbs (when we have corn chips there are always crumbs in the bottom of the bag)

Put raw ground beef into a frying pan, add oil if using lean. Add a cup or so of water and start smashing down the ground beef. The water helps the meat separate so it's not chunky. Let this cook until the water is all but evaporated, then drain off excess fat. Add about a quarter cup of water then stir in the seasonings and mix well. Let this simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Line bowls with chopped lettuce, add meat, cheese, and whatever other toppings you are using.

Regina Wrote:I also have a killer guacamole recipe that people tell me is the best they've ever eaten. I know avocados aren't cheap food but they're real and good food so definitely worth a splurge once in a while in my opinion.

Three small avocados, ripened until soft, then peeled and sliced
One medium onion, chopped
Two medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 Cup sour cream
1/4 Cup mayo
Cumin and salt to taste

If you have a mixer use it to mix everything as smoothly as possible. It took me years to get it, but I have a Kitchen-Aid that makes quick work of it. Before that I always used a Braun multi-practic hand blender which works extremely well too (I don't recommend putting this into a regular blender because it doesn't mix properly and is nearly impossible to get out but a food processor might do the trick). Barring those, smash up the avocados with a potato masher then add the onions and tomatoes and smash those well into the avocados. Once that's blended stir in the sour cream and mayo then add just enough salt to get past the flat taste and a teaspoon or so of cumin.

[Regina]

Spacerox Wrote: Spacerox's Chili Beans

You take:
2 15oz cans of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste (the dinky one)
1 lg can kidney beans
2 15 oz cans of black beans
garlic, onion, chili powder, salt.

Combine tomato sauce and paste in large saucepan. Stir/whisk well to make sure paste is well combined.
Drain and rinse the beans. Add to sauce.
Heat and season with chili powder, garlic, onion, and a little salt (not too much because canned tomato sauce uses sodium to keep flavor consistent can to can and as a preservative).
Should only take a few minutes to get nice and hot all the way through, though you can simmer for another 5 to make sure the seasoning is well incorporated if you notice that it needs it. Top with a little sprinkle of cheddar, a small dollop of sour cream and you can eat it by itself or with taco chips. It's pretty good wrapped in a tortilla too or I sometimes make it as a quick side dish if we're doing burgers instead of sugary baked beans.

You CAN buy bagged beans for cheaper for both kidney and black beans but I usually have some cans on hand of each because it's often speed that is our biggest concern with our quickie dishes like this.
You can add meat, but I usually don't because I'm tossing this together for something cheap, hot, and hearty before I head to work.

Hummus is really cheap to make too. Those little tubs that cost $2-3 each at the store are fine, but you can make 2-3 times as much at home with a food processor. You need 2-3 cans of beans, tahini which is about $5 a jar but each jar will make about 15-20 batches (Kronos tahini can be bought at most Kroger/Giant Eagle stores), garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and cumin.

2 cans of chick peas
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt (if you add any. keep in mind, though, canned chick peas absorb a good bit of sodium while in the can.)
1/4 c. olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
Optional- cayenne pepper, olives, more garlic, lemon zest, pine nuts.

Drain and rinse chick peas. Throw everything in the food processor. (Advise against blender, the mixture gets thick and can potentially kill your motor.) When the consistency becomes smooth, you can start to drizzle a little water or lemon juice (I usually do another tbsp of lemon juice and then 2 or so of water) to fluff it up and thin it out a little. You're looking for a sort of soft and creamy dip or spread consistency. A LOT of recipes call for using the chick peas liquid to thin/fluff the mixture, but I advise against it since it's so full of salt.

I often eat it simply as a dip with pita, pita chips or veggies, but my FAVORITE way to eat it is to spread it across a warm pita and top with fresh cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, a little feta and some olive slices. You can add tomatoes or onions too. Then you bundle it up and eat it as a wrap.

Baba Ganoush is practically the same ingredients and seasoning, but instead of chick peas you take an eggplant, wash it and prick it multiple times and roast it for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees F (until it feels soft), turning occasionally. From the oven you pop it into a bowl of cold water and peel the skin off and that goes with the other stuff into the food processor and voila. Once you've got it nice and smooth, you need to pop it in the fridge for a few hours (2-3) though, make sure it's nice and cool.

Both hummus and baba ganoush should be served at room temp or cold, you can drizzle the tops of the dishes with olive oil, a little cayenne, garnish hummus with a few whole chick peas....very tasty.

I just noticed that my recipes were all vegetarian and vegan lol. With hummus and baba ganoush, they can remain that way VERY easily and you don't need anything else. If you LIKE feta or a dollop of plain greek yogurt or such, they're VERY tasty that way too. I usually do hummus because it's the instant reward for my efforts, but I love baba ganoush and if I know I've got people over and want something a little different it's very easy, just a bit more prep and needs to sit for a while after.

The chili beans can have meat, I eat that when I'm CRAVING chili but no way do I have time to do the whole several hour simmer. Usually I'm doing kind of what I'm doing right now, hanging out, just about to get ready for work and having something to eat so I don't go all topsy-turvy while I'm there lol.

Okay, break time! Phew!

[Spacerox]

Whoa lol. No wonder you needed a break after that. That's a LOT of data to bring over, but thank you for doing so, there were a few recipes I'd wanted to try there that I'd never jotted down.

Oh, and I know, it's Tartar sauce, so it's not terribly complex, but I use a slightly different recipe than Regina:

1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2-1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp onion powder
diced pickles or relish, dill or sweet at your preference

Mix well. Let sit a few minutes to combine flavors.
This stuff is a bit zesty, so use sparingly with more delicate fish flavors, but a good fish fry...mmm.