The Recipe Thread
POSTED BY: JEWELSTAITEFAN
UPDATED: Wednesday, July 15, 2026 13:56
VIEWED: 27093
PAGE 11 of 36
Quote:I cook recipes, but they're recipes I've reconfigured for nutrition. Mostly they're either one-pot meals or things I can put together in a single container. And they're kind of all over the map ... pulled pork w/ southern greens and grits ... New Mexico style green chili, beef and potato stew ... chicken pot pie without the crust ... and another comfort-food favorite is mashed cauliflower, braised chicken thighs and white chicken gravy with fresh thyme ... chili con carne ... I have your recipe for Flemish beef stew ... noodle-free lasagna ... pork and beans and a similar dish Turkish beef and beans ... Italian sausage, pepper, and potato stew ... rich tomato soup with fish and shellfish ... palak paneer ... stir fry cauliflower rice with veges and ground pork ... jok ... my latest craze is crustless Greek-style pie made with ground meat, kale, onion, potato, feta, lemon juice, and ricotta-egg binder ... summer minestrone and winter minestrone ... I hope you get the idea!
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, what about you? What's in YOUR cupboard, pantry, or frig that reflects your style?
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Oh, that's right, Brenda! I hadn't thought of it, but looking back, your previous place didn't sound meal-prep friendly ... maybe not even meal-prep capable.
If this is yet another wonderful thing about moving ... YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!
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Quote:As I understand, slow cookers are quite forgiving.
Originally posted by Brenda:
I was given last week a slow cooker. Have to learn how to use it properly.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/comfort-food/photos/20-must-try-slow-cooker
-recipes/#!slow-cooker-asian-style-drumsticks
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/253/everyday-cooking/slow-cooker/
http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/dinner/slow-cooker
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Quote:I don't cook as much as the rest of you. I have in the past been able to survive and flourish merely making large batches of my favorites, like goulash and spagetti, and eating that each day at work for a couple weeks.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, what about you? What's in YOUR cupboard, pantry, or frig that reflects your style?
My most used spices: ground thyme, onion powder, chopped onion (hamburgers), garlic powder, ground oregano, basil leaves.
Not really spices, but similar in the way I use them: potato starch, powder boullion - chicken & beef, 10X sugar, vanilla extract (baked beans, spaghetti sauce, eggnog, soda), rum extract, peppermint extract.
I don't like spicy food, and I probably never make any. My chili is mild (heavy on tomato & beef), my nacho meat is as spicy as it gets, from picante sauce.
for condiments, I get real ketchup - like with tomatoes, not HFCS. Same with mustard. BBQ sauces, the best are JD's (Jack Daniel's), or Smokey John's #1 BBQ - tastes the same as in his restaurant. I try to always keep lemon juice, tarter sauce (fries, anything deep fried, fish), Marzetti's Thousand Island (salad, burgers), and I am forgetting the brand of Texas Croutons (soups, salads, snacks) I get - why do all the others use HFCS in croutons? I just recognize it when I get to that aisle.
I must assume that is all quite bland for you folk.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, what about you? What's in YOUR cupboard, pantry, or frig that reflects your style?
Quote:Speaking for myself, I find it interesting.
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I don't cook as much as the rest of you. I have in the past been able to survive and flourish merely making large batches of my favorites, like goulash and spagetti, and eating that each day at work for a couple weeks.
My most used spices: ground thyme, onion powder, chopped onion (hamburgers), garlic powder, ground oregano, basil leaves.
Not really spices, but similar in the way I use them: potato starch, powder boullion - chicken & beef, 10X sugar, vanilla extract (baked beans, spaghetti sauce, eggnog, soda), run extract, peppermint extract.
I don't like spicy food, and I probably never make any. My chili is mild (heavy on tomato & beef), my nacho meat is as spicy as it gets, from picante sauce.
for condiments, I get real ketchup - like with tomatoes, not HFCS. Same with mustard. BBQ sauces, the best are JD's, or Smokey John's #1 BBQ - tastes the same as in his restaurant. I try to always keep lemon juice, tarter sauce (fries, anything deep fried, fish), Marzetti's Thousand Island (salad, burgers), and I am forgetting the brand of Texas Croutons (soups, salads, snacks) I get - why do all the others use HFCS in croutons? I just recognize it when I get to that isle.
I must assume that is all quite bland for you folk.
I think, if you're an adult and making these decisions for yourself, unless you want to eat 100% at restaurants and fast food places; food planning (recipes), shopping, cooking (or eating out of the can or microwave), and eating are literally life and death activities that you have to deal with in one way or another. So I find it very interesting to see how people do that in their own lives. You seem to have winnowed down a set of reliable recipes you like that don't required a lot of fuss, and by cooking in large batches and eating through them a routine that takes little time, that sustains you.
I myself cook in batches of 12 portions, portion it out, and freeze them individually. I just happen to REALLY enjoy finding/ creating new recipes that meet my pre-set requirements. I DON'T enjoy the actual cooking and dishwashing! I find those tedious in the extreme!
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Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Oh, that's right, Brenda! I hadn't thought of it, but looking back, your previous place didn't sound meal-prep friendly ... maybe not even meal-prep capable.
If this is yet another wonderful thing about moving ... YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!
The other place I was very limited in space and electrical outlets. The slow cooker, I plugged into the stove to use. But like I said I have to learn how to use it properly. Added the rice at the beginning and by the time it was finished cooking the rice was mush. That was okay. Still ate it anyways.
The interior of the cooker fits into the fridge nicely so that is good too.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, what about you? What's in YOUR cupboard, pantry, or frig that reflects your style?
Quote:Speaking for myself, I find it interesting.
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I don't cook as much as the rest of you. I have in the past been able to survive and flourish merely making large batches of my favorites, like goulash and spagetti, and eating that each day at work for a couple weeks.
My most used spices: ground thyme, onion powder, chopped onion (hamburgers), garlic powder, ground oregano, basil leaves.
Not really spices, but similar in the way I use them: potato starch, powder boullion - chicken & beef, 10X sugar, vanilla extract (baked beans, spaghetti sauce, eggnog, soda), run extract, peppermint extract.
I don't like spicy food, and I probably never make any. My chili is mild (heavy on tomato & beef), my nacho meat is as spicy as it gets, from picante sauce.
for condiments, I get real ketchup - like with tomatoes, not HFCS. Same with mustard. BBQ sauces, the best are JD's, or Smokey John's #1 BBQ - tastes the same as in his restaurant. I try to always keep lemon juice, tarter sauce (fries, anything deep fried, fish), Marzetti's Thousand Island (salad, burgers), and I am forgetting the brand of Texas Croutons (soups, salads, snacks) I get - why do all the others use HFCS in croutons? I just recognize it when I get to that isle.
I must assume that is all quite bland for you folk.
I think, if you're an adult and making these decisions for yourself, unless you want to eat 100% at restaurants and fast food places; food planning (recipes), shopping, cooking (or eating out of the can or microwave), and eating are literally life and death activities that you have to deal with in one way or another. So I find it very interesting to see how people do that in their own lives. You seem to have winnowed down a set of reliable recipes you like that don't required a lot of fuss, and by cooking in large batches and eating through them a routine that takes little time, that sustains you.
I myself cook in batches of 12 portions, portion it out, and freeze them individually. I just happen to REALLY enjoy finding/ creating new recipes that meet my pre-set requirements. I DON'T enjoy the actual cooking and dishwashing! I find those tedious in the extreme!
I should have mentioned that I do not have any salt in my house, and obviously do not use for cooking - other than garlic salt, which I sometimes use for boiling the water for noodles, and a mistake purchase of Lemon Pepper, which I assumed was a combination of pepper and lemon, instead of just extra salty salt. Ruined a batch of something with that.
I also try to keep among condiments sweet & sour sauce, store bottle, because I always want more than is provided by restaurants, and I like dipping all kinds of stuff in s&s, just like tartar sauce. French fries in tartar or s&s are yummy, only dipping sauce better for fries is baked beans sauce, obviously no beans needed.
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I don't cook with salt, but I do add a touch of lite-salt before I eat. I like spicy foods - curries, chilis, and so on - and for some reason spicy foods really don't taste good without at least some salt.
I'm curious about your no HFCS ketchup though ... what brand is it? I get no HFCS ketchup but the only way I can manage that is to get organic.
One thing I have done is make a sort-of ketchup by pureeing cherry tomatoes (skins, seeds, jelly and all) and then slowly cooking the puree down till it's somewhere between a sauce and a paste. The flavor is omg good! It has a super-prominent rich tomato flavor, and its own natural sweetness and tartness. I explain it to people by saying it's what ketchup wants to be when it grows up.
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Quote:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:Quote:As I understand, slow cookers are quite forgiving.
Originally posted by Brenda:
I was given last week a slow cooker. Have to learn how to use it properly.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/comfort-food/photos/20-must-try-slow-cooker
-recipes/#!slow-cooker-asian-style-drumsticks
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/253/everyday-cooking/slow-cooker/
http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/dinner/slow-cooker
Oh yeah. I just have to learn when to add rice or pasta to a dish and for what setting for whatever I am cooking.
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I hear you on that! When I cook something for the first (few) time(s) I have to iron out the problems but then sometimes have some happy surprises ... oops, I needed a bigger pot, now I have to clean the oven ... eh, the potatoes are overcooked and too soft, I need to add them later ... hey, it's good to let kidney beans soak for 2 days even if it was kind of an accident! (the kidney beans came out unbroken and buttery soft and smooth) ...
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