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The Recipe Thread! Part II: Electric Mixaroo

Amazon Bee

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
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im wondering what to cook tonight! im thinking steaks on the grill(okay the man is actually the grillmaster) with sauteed mushrooms, a little salad and baked biscuits or rolls.. but a few more sides would probably help round out the meal.

im just learning my way around the kitchen recently and have discovered that i love to cook! especially when i get to eat with a hungry man who really appreciates whatever i make, despite my meals usually being quite simple basic dishes.

i thus far regularly cook:
~my dad's saffron rice with sweet-potato, pidgeon peas("gandules vertes"), garlic, onion, and other spices
~ravioli/tortellini with vodka tomato-cream sauce
~rice-a-roni (his childhood fave)
~awesome omelets with any combo of {bacon, ham, mushrooms, green onions, onions, cheddar, avocado, leftover steak} my specialty!
~spaghetti(angelhair) & meat sauce
~mish-mash a.k.a. breakfast for dinner : hash browns, bacon, green onions, cheese, mushrooms and grilled onions all mixed together with biscuits & gravy on the side
~hamburger helper (another fave from childhood)
probably a few others too im overlooking atm.

like i said, im really just starting out here!

:D

i remember i loved how my mom put meals together, like a tasty porkchop with white rice, peas or broccoli, apple sauce, maybe a baked sweet potato and sourcream.. just a bunch of options thrown together on a plate, but mostly simple and quick to make. i know she was actually a great cook, into lots of "world cuisine" but i was so picky she stuck to simple things i liked. now i want to do the same! she seemed to know how to cook most any common side dish and always threw down new combos.

so, im looking for new options to try! what do you know how to cook? or what did your mom/granny/family/roomates make that you always loved?

have any homemade recipes you invented i could duplicate?

(actually i used to make a mean ramen soup on the range... use half the flavor packet when boiling and add some sesame oil and a dash of oyster sauce to make up the flavor. then throw in cut brocolli, snow peas, mushrooms and tomatoes(last) and cook all together. afterwards, drain all the liquid and serve with plenty of cheese. mmmm)

also, for other budding cooks out there, have any cookbooks you rely on? im getting the hang of sauteeing(sp) things like mushies and onions using olive oil, but im sure i could make the results tastier with a few additions to my technique.
 
i dont have the recipies for these, but my fav meals that my parents make are ham&scallopped potatoes, meatless ziti (moms specialities), paprikash and saurkraut soup (dads specialities). mmm mmmmmmmmm!
 
Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and corn.
 
My mom's eggplant parmasean. I need to get the recipe for that sometime.
 
chrissie already mentioned it but oh man... my mom's paprikash was perfect. in fact, when i recently started eating meat again, that was the first meal i ate with meat in it.

i'd love coming home to big salad bars my mom would concoct... usually themed. greek, antipasto, caeser w/ salmon, chicken, steak, shrimp, of my favorite: the fruity, sweet ones.

chicken and rice was always nice, too. just throw some rice in the oven with cut up chicken, cream of mushroom and/or cream of chicken soup, salt, pepper... and at the last few minutes add crumbled corn flakes and bake so they get crunchy. i used to love when mom would break up the french fried onions mixed with the corn flakes on top.

my mom also makes killer pieroges, cajun shrimp (with lots of extra sauce to dip yummy crusty bread in---if you want this recipe, lila, let me know because it's real... snagged from a down country bahbahque outside of n'orleans), turkeyball subs, kebabs (skewars... especially good grilled in the summer), lettuce wraps to DIE FOR, bacon wrapped scallops, deviled eggs, tuna plates, pork/kraut/mashed taters, homemade mac n cheese, and oh man did i love sloppy joes (with a picle, some chips, and a slice of cheese on my sandwhich)...

i had it good when i was a kid. i had it reaaallllyyy good. now im a little chubalub because of it, but hell, it was good then!
 
For real home-cooked stuff, my favorite would have to be "dirty rice." Of course, I love rice in any form.

Other favorites are:
--Rice-a-Roni
--Pasta-Roni
--Hamburger Helper
--Tuna Helper

--Baked fish
--Crock pot stews
--Fried okra
--Refried beans
 
My favorite meal i like to cook at home is roast lamb. My local super market stocks mini portions that are perfect just for one person. Roast potatoes, pumpkin, zuccinni microwaved with quartered cherry tomatoes cracked pepper and worcestershire sauce and baby green beans or snow peas.

As for my mums cooking i would walk over hot coals to get to one of her homemade apple pies.
 
My mom/family has two particular dishes I've always LOVED.

a shepherd's pie (there is a french name for it i cannot type) containing:

bottom layer of cream corn, layer of peas on top, hamburger on top of that, and mashed potatoes on top of that. mmmmmm.


frank 'n' potato pie

caserole dish lined with quarter hot dogs surrounding the entire outside of dish. the rest is essentially chopped hot dogs, mashed potatoes, and a mustard sauce mixed all together and topped with several cheeses.


those or steak and potatoes :D (ok, anything with potatoes)
 
well my dad does the cooking and his specialty dishes include:

seafood gumbo (christmas eve tradition)
fettuchini with pesto sauce
Belgian Beef Stew
skirt steak fajitas :)
 
Wtf is "hamburger helper"? :D

My mum was a crappy cook, good bless her. Quite often we'd have burnt sausages or "vegetable surprise" (the surprise was how little taste it had). We laugh about it now. The only things she really did do well (and still does) is her pumpkin soup, and stir-fries.

So living up to my childhood standard isn't hard ;)

My favourite meals I cook now:

* Fried Rice: my specialty. I add prawns, beanshoots, spring onion, capsicum, fresh corn kernels, ham, egg... it's a feast.
* Beef Wellington: eye-fillet steak topped with sundried tomato or french onion dip and sliced mushrooms, wrapped in fillo pastry and baked in the oven. Served with mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrot.
* Tacos! Mmmmm
* Spaghetti Bolegnaise... my secret is adding a bit of red wine
* Fruity Beef casserole... big chunky irish stew like concoction with potato, carrot and onion and fruit chutney in the sauce. Served with crusty bread.
* Sweet chilli chicken stirfry with hokkein noodles
* Tuna pasta bake: lrg tin of tuna, pasta shells and a jar of cheesy pasta bake sauce whips this up in no time. Top with breadcrumbs and grated cheese and bake in oven.
* Roast chicken and vegies.... mmm... actually my man does all the roasts, he's a roast expert.
*Homemade pizza: pita bread topped with tomato paste, veggies, salami and cheese plus herbs. Easy peasy.

These are just some off the top of my head. Hey I've been cooking for myself for 12 years now :)
 
^ "Hamburger Helper" is basically a pre-fabricated dish lacking meat. Its pasta of some sort, with a dried seasoning/sauce packet. You add some milk, water, butter, and a pound of cooked ground beef.. cook for like 10-15min, and then you have cheeseburger macaroni or a variety of other made-up styles.

Its like US$1.50 a box, really common stuff.

lg_taco_helper.jpg
 
^ Hmm, I see ! So it's like a meat and pasta dish. Well we have "Pasta and sauce" packets and instant rice in various flavours, which you make up with milk and butter... but I don't think any of them recommend you add meat (or market it as such). But people do. I personally like Continental Afredo Pasta & Sauce with chopped up spring onion and a tin of tuna stirred through it.

But hey! I thought this was meant to be about homecooked meals, not convenience meals ;)
 
The only thing I tend to cook is fish because its hard to go wrong with really.

My favourite thing to make is haddock fillet seasoned with flat leaf parsley and lemon rind, baked in foil in the oven then served with a few caper berries and black olives. You can do that with any white fish and it'll taste great.

My stomach actually rumbled just after typing that :)
 
my mum used to make this cob loaf thing... she'd get the loaf and cut the top open, rip out the bread inside leaving basically just the crust all around. then fill the loaf with some sort of concoction from creamed corn, cream, bacon, herbs and the like, and put it all in the oven for however long. once it was done you use the crust top and insides of the loaf and dip into the creamy corn mixture... soooooooo good.
 
Damn food entries make this pregnant girl hungry ;) =D

My all time favorite meal that I would always ask my mom to make on my birthday was:
NY Strip on the grill...no seasonings
Sauteed mushrooms in lots of butter
buttered egg noodles &
cooked baby carrots with brown sugar and butter on them


Some recipes that I grew up on that I tend to cook often are:

Chicken cacatori: (which I make in the crockpot, and let simmer all day)
I also don't measure at all....
Boneless skinless chicken breast
stewed tomatoes
diced tomatoes
a little bit of wine
mushrooms
garlic
onions
nature's seasoning
celery


Raost and veggie's (also in the crockpot):
A roast of your choice
carrots
onions
potatoes
garlic
I add a little bit of wine
whatever seasons i feel like that day
and just cover with water

I grew up eating alot of:

Tuna noodle caserole:
Cook noodles
add a can of cream of mushroom soup
some milk
add a can of tuna
add some cheese
bake in the oven, or for quicker meal heat up the milk, com soup, cheese, and tuna, and then add the noodles and viola!


My family's version of shepard's pie:
Brown ground beef
spread in bottom of pyrex ware with a can of tomato soup
layer on top of that green beans
layer on top of that of mashed potatoes
layer of cheese on top of that.
(looks disgusting but tastes great)

I also tend to make alot of:
chicken in balsamic vinagerette
asparagus in soy sauce
stir fry
homemade mac n cheese
tacos
lemon pepper porkchops, and spanish rice

and that is all that I can think of ATM.

Happy cooking =D
 
I hate my mother's cooking. She cooks everything the way my father likes it.. and apparently he hates anything with flavor. not to mention it's the same damned 10-12 meals over and over and over again. I've never seen someone ruin steaks like my family can. I hate eating at home.. if i had economic choice between 2 day old taco bell to be washed down with 1 month old egg dreo soup versus my familiy's cooking.. i'd chose the former.
 
My mum is a GREAT chef at home. My fav meals from her include:
This beef and potato dish with a home made gravy.
Fried noodles
Sweet chilli roasted wings
Fried Chicken
Mums fried rice (eggs, peas, corn, ham, chinese sausage, chalots, onion)
Dumplings with sauce - rice vinegar, soy sauce, minced garlic and chilli

The next dish is wot my sister makes often for me
Pasta: Tomatoe flavoured sauce, heaps of cheese - both mozarella and tasty, beef mince

From my grandma i liked everymeal she cooked. Unfortunately shes lives in china and as a result i havent seen her for about 10 yrs. The only thing i can comment on her cooking is that theres no meat since shes a vegetarian.


Of course all the meals have to be eaten with a cup of coke.
 
I grew up eating everything pretty much from scratch....I didn't have hamburger helper or instant mashed potatoes until I moved off to college. I didn't realize until then how awesome that was, but yeah, pretty nice :)

Mom would make her own version of stuff though, so we had something with egg noodles, a lb of hamburger, corn, and sour cream. I always ate so much of that I felt like I'd explode. Other favorites:

Turkey & cornbread dressing (southern style; no oysters!)
Tuna noodle salad w/ macaroni noodles & various chopped veggies
Collard greens & cornbread
Potato salad (also southern style...w/ mustard & egg)
Dad's fried catfish, cheese grits, cole slaw, and hushpuppies

There would also be the super special occasions when you'd get steamed oysters over an outdoor fire, or a low country boil (shrimp or crawfish, potatoes, sausage, corn on the cob, all with some old bay seasoning and cooked slowly forever til just amazingly good. They'd dump it all out into lined cardboard boxes and everyone would just dig in :))

If you're looking for a cookbook to try, you definitely have to own the red and white checked Better Homes and Gardens one. It's like the basic that everyone should have for most recipes. Martha Stewart's cookbook that's the aqua & green one is also great for super-fancy stuff. The homemade bbq sauce for chicken is amazing and really not that difficult.
 
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