Weekly Cooking(and things related)Thread

[piroque]

Setting here eating biscuit's N tomato gravy. With a thick slice of pork loin.

[V K Lee]

Chili calls for cornbread! And, for hot dogs as well.

Last week made Corn Dog Casserole
http://www.theviewfromfiveten.com/2013/05/corndog-casserole-recipe.html

However, didn’t use the Jiffy Mix packages but the Corn Bread recipe posted posted here a few days ago...added chopped jalapenos. The leftovers were served with a cheating can of Wolf Brand Chili. The first night casserole was eaten with a bit of honey. DH prefers BBQ sauce.

[txhurl]

Not much use today for recipes, stomach’s a little off, but I did discover the perfectl bland food - could be used for sick or elderly - by staring at a carton of Mexican rice pudding in indecision at the grocery store yesterday.

I added pecan topping and filling, but not the crust, from a pecan pie, heated it up, delicious, nutritious, filling. I used the crust that I pulled the filling off for ‘chips’ with it. Added a little 1/2 1/2 and butter for creaminess.

A happy ‘under-the-weather’ dish.

[Empireoftheatom48]

What temp?

[V K Lee]

Tonight was stir fry chicken. Cheated a bit and used Birds Eye frozen Stir fry vegetables, chicken breasts. As the sauce in those frozen packages have not been the best tasting (learned from experience) Made the Sweet and Sour sauce from scratch.
http://www.chow.com/recipes/28054-sweet-and-sour-sauce

Did the one here a bit differently in that all was mixed well in a small bowl and then added to the stir fry to cook in the final few minutes of steaming the vegetables to tender. It wasn’t intimidating and used common ingredients that would normally be found in the pantry. Very tasty, and completely gone she said as I pat myself on the back. :)

[JRandomFreeper]

Ain't nothing wrong with that. The commercial guys often screw up the sauces. Sauces should be easy (not always fast) and work well.

I make all my own stocks because the crap in the stores sucks.

Yeah, that's harsh and judgemental, but it's true. I'm not here for their feelings, I'm here for my belly. ;)

/johnny

[txhurl]

and I’ve got 20 lbs to gain quickly.

---

I’ve found that cornbread, and particularly Jiffy Corn Muffins, are quite fattening. I like to stuff little cooked sausage balls or bacon and cheese cubes in before baking, topped with pickled jalapeno and too much butter :)

A good fattening drink is double-strength hot chocolate with a little Blue Bell on top.

A quick, fattening dessert is mix up chocolate fudge instant cake mix with water just until you can stir it freely, add a bunch of peanut butter, chocolate chips, microwave for 90 seconds, more Blue Bell on top.

[JRandomFreeper]

I think I'll stick with my handcrafted chicken enchiladas, and great big hunks of meatloaf with mashed 'taters and real gravy. And real butter.

I helped put 40 lbs on ex-#3 while I was in school. And now, all I have to do is cook for myself.

/johnny

[azishot]

I just assumed the cayenne went in the flour. Typically, I only use a recipe to be sure I have all the ingredients I’ll need. Then I’ll add a bit more of this or not as much of that.

I got this recipe from a Taste of Home magazine years ago and love it. Making it for dinner tomorrow.

Country Fried Steak

Ingredients
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 beef cubed steaks (4 ounces each)
1 egg white
1 teaspoon water
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

GRAVY:
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups 2% milk
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
1. Combine 3 tablespoons flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper; set aside. Coat steaks with remaining flour. Beat egg white and water; dip steaks, then dredge in cornmeal mixture.
2. In a large skillet, cook two steaks in 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until crisp, lightly browned and cooked to desired doneness. Remove steaks and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining oil and steaks.
3. Meanwhile, for gravy, melt butter in a small saucepan; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the bouillon, marjoram, thyme and pepper; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with steaks. Yield: 4 servings.

***I use the whole egg not just the white.***

[txhurl]

Oh... thought you meant you needed to gain 20lb like in a week :)

[doorgunner69]

I love making cornbread and buttermilk biscuits, but the wife asked me to cut back. Was afraid she was consuming too much of a good thing, lucky she has the metabolism of a hummingbird.

[JRandomFreeper]

I might gain that much, depending on how next week goes. ;)

I don't buy anything in a box, and darn little in a bag (salt, sugar, flour, green coffee). Everything around here gets handcrafted (including bread... mmmmm.)

/johnny

[KosmicKitty]

I think my next kitchen equipment, after a real blender - not those cheap ones form Walmart, is going to be a pressure cooker.

I like my slow cooker, but sometimes you just want things fast!

[txhurl]

Until a few weeks ago, I was an army cook for years like you until a stomach issue has me on leave.

I prefer from scratch, too, but I always had to quick-cook huge calorie amounts when off work just to re-nourish to get up and cook for hundreds more the next day! When I get my appetite back I’ll post some great recipes instead of whining about what I’m *not* cooking.

[JRandomFreeper]

GO YOU! I like military cooks (I'm biased) even though I went to a real culinary school. Prayers up for your health.

Nothing like cooking for 600 of your closest friends. ;)

/johnny

[Patriot Babe]

ooo I’m going to try that even though I have to lose weight LOL. O heck a little weight gain won’t hurt.

[Jamestown1630]

My husband and I used to watch ‘The Grill Sergeants’. Now that we’ve ‘cut the cable cord’ will have to find it again.

Loved the personalities of the chefs; it was a lot of fun. (And, the Husband Unit’s grandfather was a cook in the Army in WWII, so it meant even more to us.)

-JT

[azishot]

You won’t regret it. I was S-C-A-R-E-D because of all the horror stories I’d heard but the new ones like mine are electric and seem to have the safety issue addressed.

Also looks like crock pot recipes will work well and in a fraction of the time. Even after the cooking is done it’ll keep the food warm for quite a while.

[Jamestown1630]

They’re pretty rich; but if you do them right, it’s mostly olive and cheese. I don’t think they’ll be fattening.

I need to lose weight, too; but you can’t stick with any diet, if it deprives you of all pleasure.

Husband Unit has lost 65 pounds over two-three years, eating wonderfully on, first, the South Beach diet, and then the Paleo diet. He’s kept it all off for a long time, and is as thin as he was as a young man in his ‘twenties; but he doesn’t deprive himself.

Sometimes he wants a big plate of pasta, with his home-made sauce; so he has it. But generally, he sticks with salads, meat, poultry, fish, and steamed veggies.

Everyone is different, but I’ve found that low-carb is the easiest, least painful way to lose weight; and once you get there, you don’t have to be too strict about it, just a little vigilant.

-JT

[ThunderSleeps]

I just made an Alfredo sauce that is probably going to kill me. 1/8 stick of olive oil and sea salt butter. 1 cup heavy cream. 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Melt butter in sauce pan. Add cream, heat gently. Add cheeses, whisk like crazy until cheese melts. I'll be at the gym all day Saturday doing cardio to work this off, but ... yeah, new favorite sauce.