Topic: What are you eating / What did you eat.

[8ullfrog]

OK, still had those enchies sitting. So I shocked the poo out of them. Much like a slimy pool, I went nuclear.

First I slit them along the bottom, opening them up wide. I dumped in rice as a neutralizer, Peri Peri sauce to kick the spice level into the stratosphere, reheated the mess in the oven, then topped with sour cream to try and offset the peri peri.

It was pretty good. I mean, next time I'll be more involved and omit onions, but these not good enchiladas were... better than a hot pocket. Honestly, that's the best I can say for them.

I miss you guys riffing off my culinary misadventures, and hope you are all doing well.

[6pairsofshoes]

We had basmati rice, fresh spinach sautéed with sliced garlic and some chicken coconut curry (Sukhi's) from Safeway.  The latter ain't cheap but it was a nice way to have some convenient decent Indian food. 

I appreciate your efforts to doctor what could have been an abysmal meal and elevate it to a palatable level.  You seem particularly creative in that regard.

[8ullfrog]

OK, first one for the new year.

I've been down more than I've been up, but I learned that lining the toaster oven tray with tin foil actually reduces the cooking power.

So I'm just using the wire rack thingy, kind of like the grate on a bbq, and my burritos are crispy and delicious.

I don't think I need to tell anyone how to make a burrito, but here was mine.

1 tortilla. These ones sucked. I like a flaky biscuit, but a flaky tortilla is lousy. I think this one was mission brand. You get what you get. Still, not happy.

2 tablespoons rice-a-roni, dealers choice, I honestly don't know which one I made but it's a white grain one. maybe chicken?

2 tablespoons refried beans - one time I was at chipotle and they asked what beans I wanted. They didn't have "refried" so I stood there like a moron. I think refried are pinto? anyway, these came from a can and are in no way healthy.

Shredded white cheddar. I used a side of the cheese grater I don't usually use, so this was flaky sheets of cheddar, sliced thin. I don't particularly like this brand, it's like someone mixed a sharp with a dull. I just shingled it over the other ingredients.

I usually microwave my burritos open face, then roll them, but that wouldn't fit in the toasty O.

So, lay down the ingredients in a straight line race track, pinch and fold the ends, and roll. (Mom folds them like envelopes, it's funny)

Two cycles on Dark, and I had myself a crispy burrito. I left out sour cream, salsa, and hot sauce because of heartburn.

The result was tasty.

I've pretty much just been eating canned soup lately, nothing great. Toast maybe, I make the main meal dinner, and I'm not much for breakfasts, so Dinner is the most likely shake for this thread.

I'd like to do more with sandwiches, but with budget and effort, I can't do a lot. Vons has gone utterly insane, so I just go to grocery outlet now.

[6pairsofshoes]

Vons ain't cheap, but sometimes with sales and coupons, it can be manageable.

Sometimes I am tired and don't feel like cooking.  We had one of those nights tonight:
Gorton's Fish sticks, with homemade cocktail sauce, and cooked frozen corn.  The fish stix were BOGO last week at Safeway (Vons).  It didn't take much of an effort.  Hardly gourmet fare, but sort of reminds me of the odd Sunday at my grandmother's when she was beat and didn't have a great idea of what to make for a change.

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday and I will probably bake him some cookies.  It's hard to justify buying presents just for the sake of it.  He doesn't really want anything, and I'm hard pressed to come up with anything inexpensive for my own wish list, either.  He got me pie weights at my request for Xmas.  And an inexpensive used book (same deal). 

It's been raining like hell all day here and it's cold.  Not much fun, but good for sorting through stuff you want to throw out.  I've been filling up the recycling and donation bags.  So that was useful.

I can't speak to the zillions of guests suddenly on here.  Maybe they heard about the anniversary celebrations and were trying to get in on the fun, or maybe Meghan and Harry figured they'd pop in for some tips on how to achieve independence.

[8ullfrog]

Simple cheeseburgers here, don't really think a recipe is required, they turned out pretty good, I think I'll avoid tomatoes for a bit.

I passed up a complete BSG collection at goodwill because I felt too lousy to do disc checks on that many DVD's, would have been $35, I remember a time when I would have been jumping to get those DVD's.

[6pairsofshoes]

I see complete sets on ebay for less.  Probably easier to just order from there.

The rain has sapped my energy.  I missed my long walk today and that's too bad as it usually gives me more energy.  But it was pouring this morning, like torrents.  Normally a light rain won't put me off.  What a slow day.  But the purge continues, and that's a good thing.

[6pairsofshoes]

I made snickerdoodles.  They're fussy little sugar cookies that are supposed to be a little crunchy on the outside and tender/soft inside.  This is not so easy as the temptation is to bake them longer than you should lest you end up with raw dough.  They need to be yanked out of the oven as soon as they're cooked through but not browned.

This batch was better than the last one.  You roll little balls in sugar & cinnamon and they spread out with a lovely crackly surface in the oven.  Not my favorite, but baked by request.

[8ullfrog]

Mom got her car stolen, this is a real rough kick in the gut, we probably won't have $1700 to spare soon, if ever, in fact the only reason we had this surplus is that social security decided that mom finally deserves social security benefits on dad.

(We've avoided homelessness with his teamster pension in the past).

I mean, that will golly your day right up.

Dinner tonight was chili fries. French fries, canned chili, shaved white cheddar. I'll say I like the shaved cheddar, I decided to use that side of the grater on a whim the other day, and I really like the result. It's very different from your standard string grate.

We switched chili providers, I don't remember the last one, but it was good, Camp something?

This time it was campbells chunky chili. It was actually one of those heat and eat specials, and there was a typo on the label, these things say "Heat for 11 1/2 minutes" And I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be 2 1/2 minutes. Trivial nonsense, but this chili was less stomach churning than stag.

But the dinner is pretty much pre ruined by circumstance.

Once again, I'll recommend NEVER buying Stag Laredo Chili. I imagine there are some people who enjoy Stag Laredo Chili. They are damned. It's like salt and pork. And green pepper.

[8ullfrog]

Burritos tonight. Nothing fancy, but screw it, I'll share. It's pretty basic.

Leftover refried beans because mom buys the giant cans.

Shredded cheddar. I like to shred my own, pre-shredded has the caked on preservatives. I also like a slightly sweating cheddar, but that's probably because of the elks taco night, and also probably a sign food safety was not the elks #1 concern. Still, sweaty cheddar makes me happy. I feel like more flavor is released that way, and I have absolutely no proof to back that up.

I should have chopped an onion, but these burritos had no onion. hindsight is 20/20.

Hambriger meat, diced up as finely as you feel like. I like a really reduced meat, almost to the point it isn't chewy. Mom doesn't much have the patience, if it's smaller than a meatball, she's good.

Sour cream

Los something green sauce. I don't think the brand here matters all that much, it's a green taco sauce, it raises the spicy a bit, no need to get complicated.

Mission tortillas. Mom made envelopes again. I feel like I'm going to have to do hands on rolling with her to get past this, usually she gets me to roll them, but I pulled a muscle in my neck. Means I'm fine for putting everything away, but I'm poo on detail work right now.

I previously made a disparaging remark about Mission Tortillas breaking up like a crumbly biscuit, I regret that remark, those were Guererro. These mission tortillas were light and fluffy, as always. (They should be, they charge the most).

I gotta say, those chili fries were amazing under the circumstances. I've been watching movies with mom to try and cheer her up, but this has really upset her.

[6pairsofshoes]

You are a good son in your efforts at distraction.  I'm still sad to know there's nothing to be done about the car.  How sucky is that that the cops are doing nothing?

I'm going to make some spaghetti with salad tonight.  I have little motivation to cook these days.  Made cream scones on Sunday that were very good, but then just had some fish sticks out of the freezer for dinner.

[6pairsofshoes]

Tonight we're having quesadillas.

Wheat tortillas, toasted with melted cheese (pepper jack, grated), hot sauce, spiced black beans, fresh cilantro, scallions, tomatoes, avocado heated in a pan and then devoured.  One big one is enough for my dinner.  We use a wide pan to cook them in, folding them halfway through.  They're fun but messy.  Easy to customize as everyone makes their own the way they like them.  Cheap but good.

[6pairsofshoes]

New batch of cream scones with homemade jam.  We were hungry and it's nice to have them hot out of the oven.

[8ullfrog]

Been a while, sorry about that.

Mom picked up a few packs of these: https://www.tetonwatersranch.com/products/dinner-sausages/italian-style-oregano-mozzarella/

First night we had them with regular hot dog buns, and we felt like the hot dog buns were insulting the quality of the sausage.

My first thought was pretzel rolls, because I've had those on some fancy dogs, but realized I have no bless'ed clue how to make those.

Mom came up with wrapping them in Grands biscuits.

Holy crap that was a good call. The cheese and the flaky crust combined into something truly special. Leftovers are easy too, just wrap in tin foil and toss it in the toaster oven when you're ready to eat.

Crap, if they'd had more, I wouldn't mind freezing up a bunch of these for special dinners. Those sausages seriously impressed me. No sauce needed.

Tonight we had crappy pulled chicken on hamburger buns with Muenster on top. The chicken was both underwhelming and undersized. I'm not going to toss the name out, because they deserve to die nameless.

Like, I HATE making pulled chicken. I boil chicken breasts, then use the two fork method to rip it up. Takes forever, you have to be careful not to make a mess, but I honestly think I would have got higher yield out of ONE chicken breast than this stupid pre-shredded pack. Their only positive note is that I really liked their smokey spicy sauce. It wasn't like bbq sauce, it wasn't like salsa, it was it's own thing. Still, golly that noise. Unprepared chicken is cheap compared to these kits.

[6pairsofshoes]

Tea and an "English" muffin.  Getting ready for work.

8ully, Teton Ranch is a place on the 5 north of Los Angeles, just before Grapevine.  I had the impression that it's a working farm.  I wonder if the meat came from there.

[8ullfrog]

Hah, I always wondered what the golly they produced, that place is HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE.

Mom got me some snack olives, the green ones with pimentos, and they were miserable. I read the label, and sure enough, my old nemesis sea salt was to blame.

Sea salt bless'ed sucks, whenever they substitute decent salt for that garbage, food tastes less good. Also, it doesn't even have iodide in it! So you're just hurting yourself it you eat it!

Like if I wanted my food drowned in ocean water, I could do it my damn self. Not that I would, the water in Imperial Beach has... problems.

I like to imagine our response to our neighbors dumping their garbage and waste into our territorial waters is like, a big ramp. So they dump the waste, it piles up, and then rolls right back into their tourist destinations.

It's cartoon logic, but it amuses me.

EYEBALL REMAINDER SANDWICH

Nothing out of the ordinary here despite the name. I made mom some devilled eggs. I eyeball the yolk mix, so I ended up with quite a bit left over.
So I used it like a spread, on a turkey and swiss sandwich. It's pretty much just a devilled egg filling sandwich, but dang if it wasn't filling.

Been quite a few years since I actually read a devilled egg recipe, so I'll share my less than impressive take:

You will need hard boiled eggs, a spreader knife a bowl, an old fashioned ice cream scoop, a frying pan, Mayonnaise, and yellow mustard.

Place your hard boiled eggs in the frying pan. We're using this to maintain a clean workspace. Slam the egg fat end down on the frying pan, then peel the shell. Discard shell.

With spreader knife, divide the hard boiled eggs into halfs. I pull the yolks by hand, but you could use a spoon I guess. The boiled yolks go in a bowl. Smash them with the fat end of the ice cream scoop, kind of a mortar and pestle thing. Once it's nice and powdery, with as few lumps as possible, add two tablespoons of mayo, and squirt yellow mustard in as desired. Blend with spreader knife. Pour product into egg halves as desire, season to taste.

Use the leftovers of the mixture as a spread on a sandwich. The end.