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Traditional Christmas Eve Dinner
I grew up very painfully poor. Even Campbell’s soups were a bit beyond the reach of Mama’s single-parent, schoolteacher salary, so the following recipe was always a real treat. Usually, my mother would make it with sausage or ham, and when I was married to a strict Muslim, I’m sure I tried to make the recipe with homemade beef sausage. I know it is just as wonderful without meat, though.
Combine the following ingredients in a crockpot and cook over low or high heat until smooth.
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Celery soup (optional)
1 can Campbell’s Nacho Cheese soup
1 can Campbell’s Cheddar Cheese soup
1 large block (2 lbs?) Velveeta cheese, cut into approximately 2” pieces
1 can milk (optional)
1-2 cans Rotel
For the kids, serve over Doritos Nacho Cheese tortilla chips (‘cause the recipe isn’t cheesy enough, don’t you see!?). For the adults, serve over Fritos or other tortilla chips of choice.
For dessert, pass around Chips A’Hoy or Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies.
Even now, as adults sitting around Dr. Sister’s amazingly posh breakfast bar on Christmas Eve, this recipe we dubbed “Nachos” is the best thing going.
Flea, what's your stance on ground turkey as a substitute for ground beef? I use it for meatloaf and sloppy joes. Sure, it lacks the sheer greasiness of hamburger meat, but I can't say that's a minus.
I think we can accept turkey, as long as that works for JT. Which I'm pretty sure it does.
Ok this dish does not have name but here is the recipe, sort of.
1 box of the cheepest mac and cheese you can find, must have the powdered cheese.
1 - 2 cups of cooked meat, what ever is avalible. ground turkey cooked with liptons onion soup mix works well or chicken diced small. or any kind of hotdog diced.
1 cup what ever veggies you have. We used corn, peas or french cut green beans.
Make mac and cheese according to box directions. Add meat and veggies and warm until all is warm serve.
You can also substitute the mac and cheese for a package of ramen noodles.
I was raised Seventh-Day Adventist, and this is a traditional Adventist dish. Seventh-Day Adventists encourage vegetarianism, and they came up with some very strange food substitutions for dead critter long before fake meat became mainstream. I love this dish more than life itself.
It is alternately called Cottage Cheese Roast and Special K Loaf.
2 lbs. cottage cheese
1 med. onion, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 stick margarine, melted
3 packets George Washington Broth mix
5 eggs
5 cups Special K (yes, the cereal)
2 T soy sauce
I think that's everything. Mix it all together and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes . . . Mmmmm. I'll be making it for dinner sometime this week.
Tuna Casserole
1 bag egg noodles
1-2 cans tuna, depending on size and personal preference
1 can peas
1 cup or so Miracle Whip
1/2 or so bag shredded cheddar cheese
Make noodles according to package directions. Drain and dump into bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve hot or cold, depending on personal preference.
A thoroughly vile dish, which I find oddly crave-worthy. ::grin::
OK, the most embarrassing part about this recipe is probably that I've actually eaten it several times, and not just once instead of dinner (I got too full/sick and couldn't eat the real dinner after.) It's not technically "dinner" but I've eaten it instead so I hope it counts.
HALFWAY TO FAKE COOKIE DOUGH
ingredients:
several tablespoons of butter (softened)
several tablespoons of brown sugar
almost as many tablespoons of white sugar
few drops of vanilla extract
pinch or two of salt
pinch or two of baking powder
Mix all together. Eat.
............
Seriously.
Cookie dough used to be my favorite but there's raw egg in it and that can be bad. Plus, who needs filling flour? Go right to the bad stuff and eat that yumminess... mmm fat and sugar!
I'm about the only person I know who can stomach it, actually.
This is so lame that it doesn't stand a chance of winning.
Pancakes.
Every few months, when I'm falling too far behind and am tired and don't have the oomph to put together something substantial for dinner, I just tell the kids it's Pancake Night. It's easy, I'm being lazy, but the thing is that we act as if it's an extra special treat or a reward for good behavior, and the kids are always like "Yay!" and doing little dances of joy.
If we have them, I might even toss a handful of chocolate chips into the batter. That's enough to win me Father of the Year awards and virtual godhood for a night. When they were younger I'd exert myself so much as to make Mickey Mouse pancakes -- pour one large one and two smaller ones for ears, use those chocolate chips to put on eyes and a nose -- and that would have them practically swooning at the table. They've kind of outgrown that now, although Pancake Night is still always treated as good news.
This is from the earlier thread, verified against the actual recipe card. I don't know if it's fair to call this "embarassing" since every person who's ever had it loves it. It does straight have cream of chicken soup and hash browns (and optionally, dried onion flakes) in it, though.
Grandma's Easy Potato Soup
2# bag frozen hash browns
1 small onion, chopped, or sub. with dehydrated onion flakes
1 8oz package light "cream cheese"
1 large can / box chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
Mix cream cheese and soup in mixing bowl, gradually adding about half the broth.
In soup pot, add potatoes, onions, and add broth mixture.
Bring to boil & simmer til potatoes are tender. Salt & pepper to taste.
Recommended toppings: Shredded cheese, sliced olives, green onions, (and I know you said no pork but it is also good with) bacon.
It's dee-lish and enough that two people can eat on it for a couple days.
In my first year of college, the company namlet worked for moved across the country. But because they wanted to pay him in CA what they paid him in VA, and because I was in school and couldn't exactly just transfer to Stanford, he didn't take the job. He did, however, agree to move there for two months to help them get set up.
So for the first two months of my spring semester I was 18, with an infant, going to engineering school full time, and alone. You will not be surprised to learn that these circumstances will make you forget to eat, especially dinner. Drastic measures were called for:
12-Minute Meal
1 bag frozen chicken breast
1 lg head broccoli
1 bag white rice
1 lemon
Butter
Salt
Thaw a chicken breast in the microwave. Give the baby some cheerios. While the chicken thaws, prep a half cup of rice in a microwaveable dish and load a steamer basket with broccoli florets and butter. Cut lemon in quarters. Start feeding baby mashed apricots.
Remove chicken from microwave, replace with rice, start rice. Give baby more cheerios and a cup of milk. Turn on stove burner under broccoli steamer. Place chicken in saute pan with butter over medium heat, squeeze in juice from 1/4 lemon. Salt to taste.
Give baby mashed peas. Play "airplane" game to encourage baby to eat more peas. Open calculus book.
Rice is done when chicken and broccoli are done. Put all on plate, take plate and baby into living room. Eat with one hand, feed baby with other, and turn pages of calculus book between bites.
Repeat every night for two months.
Ooops . . . for the Cottage Cheese roast, 1 c. pecans instead of walnuts. Mmmmmm . . .
reposted from earlier thread...
Tuna Noodle Casserole
2 cans store-brand cream of mushroom soup
1 can of tuna (whatever's on sale)
1 bag of egg noodles
some random amount of milk
crushed potato chips
boil noodles
stir in soup, adding milk to make it easier to stir
stir in tuna
coat top with potato chips
bake for 20ish minutes at 350ish (basically until it looks done). be sure to salt the crap out of eat before you eat it. YUM!
PS - michelle in col... we call that 'tuna mac' and i'd never heard of it until my college boyfriend made it for dinner one night. i thought he was crazy, but it grew on me. it's a great lazy-day lunch. 
whoo triple post!
had to (over) clarify. drain the noodles and put them in a casserole dish/pyrex before adding the rest of the junk.
Microwave some frozen pyrogies and frozen vegetables
When done, add fine liver sausage (liverwurst in some regions) or a can of tuna, olives, diced tomato and put some ranch dressing on top
Frito Pie:
Ingredients:
1 can Hormel Chili
1 Big-Grab sized bag of Fritos
1/2 cup shredded chedar and jack cheese
1 Tbsp Sour cream
1/4 cup green onions
Method:
Pour the Fritos into a large microwave-safe bowl. Wide, shallow bowls work best.
Empty the can of chili into saucepan. Warm over medium heat for five to seven minutes, then pour the chili over the Fritos.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and microwave for 30-60 seconds on high.
Garnish with sour cream and green onions. Pairs well with chilled red table wine. Serves 1-2
Oooh! I'm lovin' this contest! All these dishes sound like comfort-food heaven...especially the Fake Cookie Dough. Definitely trying that one tonight! (Thanks Lili!)
As for my contribution, I'm sorry, I don't have measurements. I just watched my mom toss it together. I don't think I ever saw her measure or use a recipe.
Also, side note: I know, Flea, that you don't want recipes w/ meat or pork in them, so even though this was originally made with pork chops (as that's what the church welfare people always gave us) I'm substituting chicken for the contest. I hope that's okay.
4 - 6 chicken breasts (or as many as you need for your family.)
2 cans cream of mushroom or chicken soup
1 can water
orzo pasta
seasonings to taste
In a skillet on med-high heat, season and brown the chicken pieces in some oil. Drain if desired.
While chicken is browning, empty mushroom soup in a bowl and mix with 1 can water till blended.
Pour uncooked orzo pasta over and around the chicken. (I'm guessing there was 1 - 2 cups uncooked pasta?)
Top with mushroom soup/water mixture until completely covered.
Turn heat down to low. Cover and simmer forever...or until chicken is cooked through and pasta is tender.
Enjoy!
As with most pasta dishes, this seems to taste better the next night. Even though there were just two of us, my mom would make many servings that we'd have for dinner the next few nights.
Chicken Cheese Rollups
1 pkg. of tube-y biscuit dough
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of chicken (small)
4 slices of American cheese
Preheat the oven to 350. Open the biscuit dough and put a pinch of chicken into each biscuit. Roll up the biscuit around the chicken and place in a 10x10 pan. In a sauce pan, warm the cream of mushroom soup and melt the American cheese in it. Stir until well-mixed and pour over biscuits. Cook until biscuits are golden and its heated through.
*This is a recipe my mom always made and we all LOVED it. So easy! Made with cans! I hate to say it but we still like it, even if it feels very Duggar family casserole to us.
Quick addendum: Hormel makes both a turkey chili and a vegetarian chili.
I call this one "Tofu Supreme."
Instructions:
Remove a box of firm tofu from your refrigerator (the kind that has a little water inside).
Take a knife and carefully cut the sealed wrap off of the top.
Grabbing the block of tofu, cut it (still resting inside the plastic box) into medium-sized cubes.
Obtain a fork and a glass of (preferably 100%) cranberry/raspberry juice.
Enjoy!
I would submit the marinated carrots recipe from my MIL, but I didn't grow up with it, therefore I can't stand it.
My closest (and it's not going to win, I know) is
1 can biscuit dough
ground beef (which I have successfully substitued with Recipe Crumbles)
mozz cheese
tomato sauce
Flatten out the dough and line a muffin tin with it (one biscuit per well)
Top with sauce, meat, and cheese. Bake until biscuits are done.
I totally love that.
Cook a package of Ramen. When the water starts boiling throw two or three spears of broccoli in with the noodles. After boiling for three minutes add a can of cream of mushroom soup and stir until boiling again. Remove from heat, add 3/4 can of milk and serve. mmmmmmmmmmmmm
Okay - so being a vegetarian for over 10 years, I adapted my favorite casserole from a kid. The ingredients don't sound good, but once mixed together, it is quite delicious!
Jackpot Casserole
1/2 c. choppped onions
1 T oil
1 package smart ground (or 1 lb other veggie crumples)
1 can tomato soup
1 c. water
1/2 package egg noodles
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can creamed corn
In large saucepan, saute onions in oil for 3 mins. until soft - add veggie crumples, can of soup, water, and noodles. Cook until noodles begin to get tender. Add creamed corn and shredded sharp cheddar cheese until just mixed. Pour into casserole and bake 25 mins. at 350.
Hope you and the kids enjoy as much as I did as a kid and my kids now do!
I can't think of a recipe (besides my all-velveeta and margarine grilled cheese I got through high school on). But I want to cast a vote for John Savage's ramen. I'm a little hungover today and boy does that sound perfect.
Hah, Orange knows of this recipe 'cause I told her once but can't remember why or when.
We call it American Chop Suey.
1-2lbs ground turkey meat
1 large can of spaghettio's
mashed potatoes (This will vary on household obviously. Usually 8 potatoes cut up, boiled then punded to bits works for us since we have 6 people here.)
brown the meat, drain if any grease remains but this is optional. Pour in the spaghettio's and mix with the meat. Cover and turn heat to low while mashing potatoes.
(These should be on the stove getting to boil while you are browning the meat.) Once potatoes are mashed to perfection, put a heaping pile on your plate, then smother with meat/spaghettio's mixture.
It sounds/look gross, but tastes Oh.So.Yummy.
Wanna know 2 hotdog hits with the kids? (We mostly use turkey hotdogs or the vegan kind which the kids don't know are vegan but love nonetheless.)
Hot Dog Rollup
flour tortilla shells
shredded cheese
hot dogs
Boil/Microwave the hotdogs.
Sprinkly desired amount of shredded cheese on tortilla shell, microwave 'til cheese is melted. Put hotdog on one end and roll it up.
Fast. Easy. Kids love it.
Another one is where you cut "tentacles" into the hotdog, boil them 'til done.
In another pan, make the ramen noodles, but add green food coloring. This will essentially dye all noodles green, creating seaweed.
When all is done, the tentacles on the hotdogs will be curled, creating a very octupus effect. Scoop some green noodles onto a plate, placing an "octopus" in the middle, thus creating an edible underwater scene. Sometimes ketchup eyes and mouths will stay on, too.
I came up with this in junior high school:
Mix together
1 can Campbell's Chunky Chicken Noodle soup
1 can Campbell's Tomato soup + 1 can of milk
& heat through.
Simple but tasty.
And can I say that I had no idea tunafish casserole was actually Tuna Noodle casserole 'til I had it at a friends house in my sr. year of high school?
My mom makes an awesome tuna casserole but it's made with potatoes and cheese sauce in layers along with chopped onions, salt and pepper. When I make it, I use 2 cans of tuna but when she makes it, it's barely a whole can. If you want this recipe, too, I think I can write it down though, like Sascha, I don't know exact measurements since we've both made it so many times it's just in our heads.
And PZ, we do the same thing. In fact, laziness is where the Hot Dog Rollup idea came from.
I have two choice recipes from my starving-student days. I suspect neither of these will be a contender, but here goes.
1. Take two cans of Campbell's Double Noodle Chicken soup, and combine with whatever leftover "meat" you have: sausage, hot dogs, Hebrew national salami, chicken, etc. (I suspect tofu would work as well.)
Prepare as per package directions.
For about a $1.50, you can get three filling meals.
2. Another whatever's-in-the-kitchen recipe:
Ingredients:
One large or (two small) diced/sliced potatoes
Several cloves of garlic
Handfuls of whatever random canned vegetables you have on hand. I usually used greenbeans, carrots and mushrooms.
(Note: You could theoretically use fresh vegetables, but to save money on seasonings, the canned veggies added a nice salty kick to an otherwise bland meal.)
Fry everything up in pan with about two T of oil.
A fairly healthy comfort food.
I innovated this back in my middle-school days. Simple and practical.
PIZZA-ICE CREAM SANDWICH SANDWICH
2 slices pizza, hot. Preferably square.
1 ice cream sandwich.
Place ice cream sandwich on one slice of pizza, face up. Place other slice face down on ice cream sandwich. Eat.
It's better than you'd think.
like lisa marie we grew up poor although our father had a fairly good job he rarely shared his earning with the family. a meal which we had often is rather simple.
1) take about 4 slices of white bread and tear it up into small pieces and place in a bowl.
2) pour milk over torn up pieces of bread. ( add as much milk as you like)
3) sprinkle sugar over bread pieces. (add as much sugar as you would like)
believe me it was all we would have to eat, so it was pretty damn good at the time and i would eat several bowls. today although it was good back when i was growing up, i can't stand the thought of it today, and i hope i never have to be in a position to survive like that again
I ate this meal everyday for a year in University.
1 can mushroom soup
1 bag frozen veges
1 cup of rice
Cook the rice, add the frozen veges and a bit more water right before it's done, then stir in the can of soup. Don't add water to the soup, and it has to be the concentrated kind. It's like a sauce!
Add spices if your roomates have any.
Everytime I served this to someone, they were surprised at how much they liked it. Which technically doesn't mean it's good...
Another good one was chicken breast rolled in crushed corn flakes and spaghetti sauce, then baked in the oven.
My comfort food:
Chicken-Broccoli-Rice Casserole
Cooked chicken
Steamed broccoli
Cooked rice
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
(If you've got the time, saute some celery and onions)
Mix it all together, put it in a pan, sprinkle some cheese on top and bake at 350 until heated through and the cheese melts.
Do NOT under any circumstances experiment with a comfort food by adding fresh ginger. I still won't let my husband prepare this recipe after a failed attempt 20 years ago.
BTW, LOVE Lili's fake cookie dough. Just needs some chocolate chips!
I guess I should have read all the posts I missed before commenting on this post!
flea, I don't think I had your Nanny. I had "chicken" Nanny!
To my knowledge, my older brother invented this... one-sided pancakes. You just cook the pancakes on one side, then eat. Most people I know (like my wife and kids) refuse to even try it, but those that actually do seem to like it. My brother preferred his topped w/ Fluff (that marshmellow spread). I liked syrup. You pour it in the center of the rawside, and it would just disappear under the raw batter. I thought it was cool to watch as kid, and I still do now.
This is my mom's all-time most revolting cassarole recipe (oops! hotdish! we weren't allowed to say "cassarole" at my grandma's because it has the word "ass" in it) which of course we all loved, and was also gotten from a crotchety old midwestern church lady neighbor:
Its usually made with hamburger, but i'm quite sure it would be just fine with turkey, diced chicken, soy crumbles, or whatever.
Hamburger-or-substitute Rice Hotdish
2 Cans any sort of creamy soup or 1 can of creamy soup and one can chicken noodle. (Our variety usually has chicken noodle and one of nacho cheese but beyond the nachoiness the flavor is mostly irrelant)
2-3 cups instant rice (or you can use non-instant but add water and bake longer)
1 lb. ground whatever dead thing or subsitute, browned with an onion
A few dashes of Mrs. Dash or random seasoning
If you like, veggies can be added. We didn't like.
Top with crushed wheaties (as we orignally got the recipe) or crushed potato chips, or tater tots, or corn chips, or any old thing that will make it crunchy, and then shredded cheddar cheese.
Mix the soup, rice, meat/subsitute and opt. veggies together in a glass baking dish, top with crunchy stuff and cheese. Bake (375ish?) until the rice is fully cooked. Serve with plain bread and butter.
Ugh, it's making my stomach turn just typing this.
lol Evidently my stomach was turning so much I was having a hard time typing.. sorry about the typos. That's supposed to be irrelevant and I seem to keep missing the t's in substitute. *blushes*
2 Nasty recipes that we used to eat all the time (the tot one I still do)
1. American Cheese Pizza
1 slice toast (preferably burnt)
1 slice american cheese
A sickening amount of ketchup
layer toast 'sauce' and cheese and if you have any meants or toppings (i prefer vienna sausages) and microwave
OR
Ranch tot Casserole
1 bag tots
2 cans mushroom soup
broccoli and corn and carrots
cheese
1 lb ground turkey
crushed cornflakes mixed with butter
mix soup veggies most of cheese and meat. Layer on top of tots. Top with more cheese and bake at 375 until hot. put on corn flakes and broil until crispy and brown...MMMMM
i didn't know you were a non-red meat eater. don't know that it matters, but interesting to find out people's food lives.
okay. this is one my friends clamor for, especially if they've had the ones made BY my mom.
white trash galore, delish delish delish.
(i had to blog this at one point, because i kept forgetting the recipe and having to call my mom over and over.)
Cheesy Potatoes. (It sort of sounds like something Cartman would eat.)
These are old school Wisconsin. My friends love them, and they are easy to make. Total comfort food. Sort of white trash.
Ingredients:
1 16 oz container sour cream
1 1/2 bags of frozen, shredded hash browns (approx 2 lbs?)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 stick of butter/margarine
4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (more to taste)
Directions:
Get greased pan/foil pan. Put hash browns in. Melt butter and add sour cream and mushroom soup and melted butter to hash browns. Mix. Mix. Mix, until all hash browns have been covered in the ingredients. This is a slightly tedious process and may take awhile. Slowly add cheese once things are somewhat moist.
Put in oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. You want them to be solid and slightly browned. You can add crunchy things on top like potato chips or those shoestring onions.
YUM.
Enjoy at your own risk.
Okay, I've actually co-opted this recipe from my mother and turned it into something good, but here's her version.
Garbage Soup (literally)
Get a large jar and place it in the freezer. Put all scraps from all meals into this jar, be they meat, bones, vegetables, apple cores, cheese, you name it. When the jar is full, empty contents into a large pot and cover with water. Add salt and pepper and simmer for 3-4 hours. Serve with crackers.
Hell in a fucking bowl.
It's too bad ground beef is out because I have a killer tater tot casserole recipe that drives my chef boyfriend crazy. You'll have to live without it, I'm afraid, and I know you're crushed.
This is something my mother got me hooked on, and now that I'm living in Thailand and can't get reasonable cottage cheese or real baking potatoes, I of course crave it continually.
1. Bake a large potato
2. Cut it open and add a little butter
3. Slather on lots of cottage cheese
4. Pepper to taste (if you don't add a lot, your taste needs adjusting)
Yum.
I suspect this is one of those things invented when there wasn't much to eat in the house and Mom was in the kitchen wondering what she could do with potatoes and cottage cheese.
Um, Lauren...no offense intended, but the Garbage Soup recipe...? Ooof!
*claps hand over mouth and runs away*
This one is kinda like frito pie but not really.
You take a can of hormel bean's only chili, a block of velveeta, and a jar of Peco's salsa and dump it together in a microwave safe dish. Zap it until the evil velveeta melts. Stir it all up and eat with nacho cheese doritos. My mom used to make it for my dad and his friends when they watched the football game. It actually pretty good.
My brother invented the no-grill grilled cheese sandwich (the after school snack of those who cannot use the stove). I find it fairly disgusting.
Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
Margarine
Pre-sliced American cheese that comes wrapped in plastic
Toast the bread in the toaster to your preferred level of brownness
Liberally slather margarine on both slices of bread (one side only). Put the cheese (unwrapped) between the bread (margarine sides in). Then microwave until cheese is melted.
I find it fairly disgusting, but he still eats them and he's in college now.
Also, there is my mother's vaguely asian food thing. She made in bulk because she was cooking for seven.
Basically, you cook and drain normal spaghetti.
Cook some chicken and onions in an electric wok (a real wok or a frying pan would work just as well, I'm sure, but my mom loved her electric wok) with some soy sauce. Once the chicken is cooked, add the spaghetti. Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute...just long enough for the spaghetti to absorb the soy sauce flavor.
am i allowed to suggest three things? take 'em or leave 'em, they're some of the fastest, easiest dishes i know!
1) chicken pot pie
buy two pre-made pie crusts
fill one:
-cover the bottom with cooked chicken. you can buy this in a box and microwave it to thaw/cook it, or cook 2-3 breasts in a pan
-one can mixed veggies, drained
-one can cream-of-whatever soup. we used mushroom.
it should be heaping tall. cover it with the other crust, press down a bit where they meet so the guts don't leak out, and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.
2) side dish rice
in a big pot or pyrex on the stove:
one can beef consomme'
one can french onion soup
one cup rice
one-half stick butter, cut into chunks
bring to a boil, simmer until rice is done.
when i made this most recently i added a couple chicken breasts, a handful of raisins, and some cardamom pods, and it was really good.
3) nacho cheeeese!
about 2 cups of velveeta
one packet of taco seasoning.
nope, that's it. cook it on the stove, and maybe add a splash of milk. "serve" with tortilla chips.
A snack, not a meal. Green olives and milk. Surprisingly good together....at least when I was 10.
Umm, Frito Pie.
The recipe is as follows:
Heat can of (turkey or vegetarian, if you INSIST) chili in skillet
Grab a big bowl
Drop handful of Fritos (use the original, small ones, because they get mooshy faster) in bowl
Dump one big ladle of chili over Fritos
Drop handful of shredded cheddar "cheese" (three words: rubbery, orange, Kraft) over chili
Wait two minutes until "cheese" "melts"
Stir
Consume
Repeat as necessary
Personally, I don't see how any of us HOPES to top one-sided pancakes.
I'm just ... uh ... wow. Half-raw pancakes. Wow.
Green bean casarole:
1 can green beans (what? you want fresh?)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (3 packets of single serving cream of moomoo worked great last night)
Some milk
French fried onion (rings?) (?French's?)
Mix green beans and soup. Add some milk (perhaps 1/2 soup can) to thin it out. Stir well.
Bake (375-400 ish) till bubbly. I like to wait for a nice thick skin on top.
Remove from oven, cover with french fried onions. Heat for a few more minutes if you have the patience.
Ummm! Green bean casarole!
This was always a staple of my mid-western americana experience. Best served with baked beans, potato salad, and coleslaw.
I'm also ashamed to admit that sometimes I crave this "meal:"
Keebler club crackers, each one topped with a schmear of cream cheese and a smoked oyster (the sickeningly oily kind from the tin).
I'll shut up now.
I'm not sure you'd call this a dinner, and certainly not something you'd serve to company, but I love it.
1. Dump a layer or so of onion Tater Tots on a microwave-safe plate.
2. Peel the plastic from slices of Velveeta, and drape artistically over the Tater Tots.
3. Microwave until cheese melts.
4. Add a big pile of sour cream to the middle of the whole thing, and then an outer ring of salsa (as hot as you like it). If I'm really feeling ambitious, I'll slice up some scallions and jalapenos. Also good on a bed of canned refried beans.
CatStaff
Picture a pre-theater dinner for a girlfriend, a roommate, and his girlfriend. Everyone is dressed to the eights when you unveil the following dish:
"The Yellow Meal"
2 cup of water
2 Chicken flavored boulion cubes
4 Chicken breasts, diced
4 Potatoes, finely diced
1 cup of cauliflower, chopped
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 Clove of Garlic, chopped
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp tumeric
1 tsp salt
Add ingredients to a large crock pot for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve warm.
The winner is the one who most accurately guesses what is in the mouthful that they are eating.
The no-ice-cream-in-the-house milk shake:
1 cup milk
4 cubes of ice
Generous helping of jelly
Add ingredients to the blender. Blend. Enjoy.
This is from my grandmother, who was actually an amazing cook. She made an entire vegetarian Greek dinner (no small feat for a Greek immigrant) for me and my sister and our friends one Thanksgiving. That woman rocked.
Asparagus and Peas Cheese Casserole
1 can asparagus
1 can peas
velveeta
white bread
margarine (or butter)
Spread margarine thinly on the bread and form a single layer in a casserole dish. Top drained peas and asparagus, then top with velveeta. Bake until the "cheese" is melted.
Mmm....
1. Yes, I'm perfectly happy to eat turkey. (Sorry, veggies!)
2. "Cottage Cheese Roast." I just wanted to say it.
3. I have to give serious props to any recipe whose directions include "give the baby some Cheerios." However, while I'm perfectly willing to eat red meat (yes, Flea, I know it's killing me; it can get in line), I don't think I can get through the Calculus part.
4. What worries me most is having to eat some of each of these in one day (oh, and being able to prepare even half of them with all six of our boys in one house). I hope the rules for the judges include the reminder "liquor, beer, in the clear; beer then liquor, never sicker." We may need it.
And Cheney's on-call ambulance. We may need that, too.
My sister invented this concoction when we were kids. Put some margarine and brown sugar in a bowl. Cream them together with a spoon. Spread on graham crackers and eat until you feel a little ill.
Sugar, I'm with ya. A big childhood treat in my house was cooked egg noodles, tossed with butter and then cinnamon & sugar. Oh, the deliciousness.... until, after my first outpatient laproscopic surgery when I was 19. My mom, eager to baby me one last time, ran to make me the coveted noodles with cinnamon sugar.... and confused the salt with the sugar in her anxious panic.
I've never let her forget it. I can't imagine how throwing up would have fared me well six hours after abdominal surgery.
Those are some seriously awesome recipes going there. Here is one of my old favorites.
Potato Chip Sandwich
2 slices of white bread
1 small bag of potato chips (non-ruffly)
4 to 8 pickle chips
mustard
Place the chips, 2 to 4 layers depending on your taste, on one slice of bread. Top with pickles. Add mustard to taste. Cover with your spare slice of bread.
Note: This does not work as an open sandwich.
As a side dish you may add french fries dipped in chocolate pudding. Trust me, french fries go with anything.
I will not pass on the Salmon Lasagna recipe because 2 foods that do not go together are lasagna & fish.
okay my college roomate's favorite:
1 box cheap mac and cheese
1 Hormel chili (turkey or veggie)
1 can corn
cook mac and cheese as directed and chili and corn and heat through
we actually thought this was good
I call this one PBR.
Take a slice of bread, spread on some peanut butter, then squirt some Sriracha (AKA Rooster sauce) on it. The perfect East meets West meal.
PS: No offense, but I'm glad I never married a Seventh Day Adventist.
Okay. I just have to say that I HEART THESE RECIPES!
My favourite 4 ingredient recipe is one that made my boy-o laugh 'til he cried.
Cheese Enchiladas
Corn tortillas, slightly warmed
String cheese (individual packets)
1 can enchilada sauce
Shredded cheddar cheese to top
Wrap each piece of string cheese in a corn tortilla. Place seam-side down in a lightly oiled casserole dish. Cover with enchilada sauce, and top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 325 'til warm and bubbly.
So-my-god-good. (Even the boy-o agreed.) Leftovers are a bit less saucy, but still tasty.
I'm not sure this quite counts, but it's definitely the trashiest thing I eat on a regular basis (boyfriend cooks it for breakfast every Sunday).
6 eggs
milk
1 cup rice
1-2 tablespoons butter
ketchup, lots of ketchup
In a small bowl, beat eggs with a splash of milk. Scramble in pan. Boil rice (makes 2 cups cooked). When rice is done, add butter and stir until butter is melted. Salt/pepper eggs to taste. To serve, scoop eggs onto plate, cover with rice, then add ketchup to taste (the more the better). Stir until pink. Enjoy!
I'm not an Adventist anymore, but I *do* make my husband ead Cottage Cheese Roast/Speciak K Loaf. 
My absolute favorite part of any of these recipes is "brown [dead critter] in skillet. Drain fat...IF DESIRED."
That pretty much sums it, wouldn't you say?
Anyway, here's mine:
Pop open a tube of biscuits & press into muffin tins. Fill with your favorite version of chili or barbecue, bake 10-15 min @ 400. Top with cheese & bake 3 minutes more.
Well, some are close, but not quite what I have...this is one I used a lot in college.
Chicken and Rice
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup milk
instant rice, uncooked (2 pkgs?)
1reg. pkg. chicken breasts (or tenders, whatever)
Mix cream soups with milk in a bowl. Grease a lasagne dish. Spread rice in dish. Top with chicken. Pour in soup/milk mixture -- make sure everything is covered and the mixture gets down into the rice. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375.
That's from memory, though -- I hope I got it right. Good luck!
I had to de-lurk for this one...
My boyfriend went to college out of state, and once when I was visiting, his roommate dropped this bomb on me: hobo dinner!
hot dog buns
equal number of bananas
peanut butter
honey
Spread peanut butter liberally on insides of hot dog buns. Place a peeled banana in each hot dog bun (as if it were the hot dog). Drizzle honey on top of banana (as if it were ketchup). Enjoy!
It's actually pretty yummy, but you've never had anything stick to the roof of your mouth like this does.
most embarassing recipe: it's actually one i would never touch as a child, but my father would make it and my twin sister would go freakin nuts over how good it was:
ingredients:
one can of campbell's cream of chicken soup
wonder bread
instructions:
heat can of soup
toast wonder bread
place wonder bread on plate and ladel some cream of chicken soup on top of it.
bon appetite!
(we was poor yo)
Mine is easy and delicious, and fills me with guilt every time I make it, mostly because it's the only thing I can actually make without a recipe and intense concentration, I'm a pathetic cook.
1 package cheese filled ravioli
Premade bread crumbs (y'know the ones in the silo like cardboard containers)
Olive oil, any kind, Wesson works too, but doesn't taste as good.
Make the ravioli from the instructions on the package (I think it's like boiling it for 8 minutes are something like that.)
Heat a few tablespoons (exact measurements/instructions are never heeded here anyway) and throw in enough breadcrumbs to absorb most of the olive oil, brown the breadcrumbs thouroughly (I like mine almost burnt!) add olive oil to keep the mixture browning without being too oily or too dry.
After you've drained the pasta in a collander throw the pasta and fried bread crumbs together. Instant meal!
It really only takes about 10 minutes to make and I crave this on occassion, it's really depressing.
Along the Hobo vein... Dad's Hobo Stew (Gramps came west on the railroads during the depression, so I know it's authentic):
1 lb Ground ummm.. Turkey. Yeah.
Peeled baker potatoes
Carrots
Tinfoil.
Form Ground Turkey into patties, salt & pepper.
Place each patty in middle of individual square of tinfoil.
Cut Spuds in half, place on either side of pattie (one tater per portion).
Place 2-3 sliced carrots at bottom of each pattie.
Wrap up tinfoil.
Cook @ 350 'til done.
Garnish liberally with catsup.
There's some version that involves cooking on the engine block of a junk car in the front yard, too.
Personally, I think it's hard to top the first recipe on the page. But I'll share my shame:
Frosted Pizza
1 slice cold pizza, any type
The One True Mayonnaise (Hellman's/Best Foods)
Slather first ingredient liberally with second. Eat.
We call this "Tuna Stuff" -- I think it has its origins in my father's lean college days, but it is my ultimate comfort food and I eat it several times a year --
Big bag regular potato chips.
Can of tuna
Milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Pour out half of potato chips onto paper towel and crush the other half of the bag into crumbs. Pour crushed potato chips in bottom of pie pan. Drain tuna and flake over crushed potato chips. Top tuna with remaining (uncrushed) chips. Add milk until you can see it rising around the edge of the pan. Bake for 20 mins or until top is brown and milk is bubbling. (I will add extra milk so it is a little soupy and has to be eaten with a spoon.)
Bon Apetit!
Jake Squid or Krystl win in my book. Eggs rice and ketchup? Arrrrgggh!
French fries and chocolate pudding? Whoa. Dude. But here's mine (which we all loved as children growing up and thought was weird--then I moved to France and discovered how continental my mother really was...):
Cat Pizza
1 box Chef Boyardee pizza mix. If it even still exists. Otherwise, you'll have to punt to some other kind of pizza dough recipe--but it's gotta be THIN.
Prepare according to directions. Add a little dried oregano on top of the nasty red sauce, and some shake Parmesan cheese.
Top pizza with canned tuna, drained. Bake according to directions and eat. Add more shake cheese if you want to.
It was called cat pizza at our house because my older sisters told my sister Ellen that the topping was the family cat all ground up. How sick are we that this turned into one of our favorite treats--including Ellen!
I'm feeling pretty bad that I dissed Lauren's entry, so I figured I'd better fess up to my all-time comfort food recipe. This one is used only in cases of dire emergency (read: depression).
Spaghetti Sandwich
2 slices white bread
1/2 - 1 c cold leftover spaghetti w/ sauce (any kind)
Nuke the sketti in the micro, slap it on the bread, kinda mush it down to keep it together, and eat over the sink. (It's messy.)
Feel free to mock away.
Fried Spaghetti Sandwiches
This is what happens when a quebecois/scottish woman who got most of her entertaining ideas from Kraft ads posted during Hockey Night in Canada throughout the 70's tries her hand at 'Italian' food.
2 large cans of Campbells Tomato soup
1 large onion
2 dashes of HP Steak Sauce
2 dashes of Worchester Sauce
Salt
Pepper
So basically you could this up as your tomato sauce, mix it with a batch of spaghetti (note that ALL pasta shapes are called 'spaghetti' when creating this.). You eat some that night and the rest you bung into a tupperware container and put in the fridge.
The next evening, throw a whack of margarine (the cheapest the better) in a frying pan and fry up your left over spaghetti.
Once the spaghetti is crispy, take the whitest bread you can find, slather with more margarine and then SLAM the fried spaghetti in there.
(If this doesn't do it for you, can I offer another family favorite? Scrambled eggs covered in maple syrup.)
It was my upbringing filled with this sort of cuisine that causes me to be 60lbs overweight. Thus,I *really* need to Fuck My Way to Fitness.
(Also, I'm a horny little imp.)
This is my Mum's Depression dish that no one else has ever heard of. We ate it a lot when we were kids and money was very tight. My poor husband turns slightly green just thinking of it, but it's sooooooooo good.
Mum's Classic Bread and Tomato Pudding
* 1 can of tomatoes
* Several slices of white bread, cubed
* Salt and pepper to taste
Combine tomatoes, bread and seasoning in a pot and stir until bread is saturated with tomato juices. There should be enough bread to soak up the juices almost completely. Heat until you get mushy pink bread and hot tomato, then serve as an amorphous but incredibly tasty mound on the side of your plate.
Daughter's White Trash Boyfriend Variation
When you're way too young and stupid, accompany your 19 year old stoner boyfriend to his parent's deserted farmhouse for a winter weekend away. Admire the antique two-seater outhouse conveniently attached to the main house so you don't have to walk through the yard at 2 AM. Realize upon entering the house that there is no food except for canned vegetables, white bread, and a 2-4 of Canadian.
* 1 can of tomatoes
* Several slices of white bread, cubed
* 1 can of peas
* Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all, heat and serve. Repeat throughout the weekend. Lose taste for dish for several years. Boyfriend turns his nose up at dish and keeps drinking until he pukes in the bed. Don't touch beer until you're 17.
Daughter's Upwardly Mobile Variation
* 1 can PLUM tomatoes
* Several slices WHOLE WHEAT bread, cubed
* Salt, pepper, BASIL and OREGANO to taste
Combine, heat and serve. Decide it doesn't taste as good as Mum's Original, but eat it anyway because it's still damn good.
glacia! Soul sister! My Mum was Scottish and my Dad was Québecois! I think the only thing missing from both our recipes is the true Scottish deep frying.
Oh yeah, I'm carrying around 60 extra pounds, too. And my husband doesn't approve of my dinner, but he does approve of fucking and fitness. So pick meeeeeee!
*gently elbows glacia, steps on foot, pulls hair*
okay - that was WEIRD
I'd like swear to GOD that I had not read Sasha's entry before mine.
Anon - I can't stop laughing!!!
From the peeps who brought you haggis and poutine.
You is my soul sistah!!!
Toronto?
*waves to glacia and offers a bandaid*
Whoops -- HaloScan ate my name last time. Chalice!
Don't close the contest until I find my future step-mother-in-law's recipe for cheezit pineapple casserole. You will love it. But the title says it all.
one snowy day when my kids were real little they wanted me to cook something in the fireplace like a pioneer woman...and you cannot cook tofu hot dogs on a stick...so i invented camp stew, which you can cook right on your stove in the kitchen or in your fireplace...
1 lb ground turkey
1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1 jar tomatoe sauce
mix everything in a big pot and keep stiring it till it's all hot and cooked...that's it!
i also make a tuna casserole that uses cream of celery soup and when i make it i have to hide the empty soup cans cuz if my husband ever found out he was eating campbells soup he'd filet me...
i want that damn video!!
ciao...
aha! finally a contest for me:
one small can tomato soup
large bag o generic microwaveable popcorn
dump soup into a bowl. microwave both soup and popcorn bag. if you have a large microwave oven you can do both at THE SAME TIME!
beep.
empty popcorn into soup bowl.
enjoy.
Zucchini Casserole, Mom Style:
1 cup prepared textured soy protein or other meat substitue, precooked
4-5 c zucchini (thinly sliced)(if you have a box cheese grater with a slice function, it works great)
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/2 lb processed cheese (velveeta) (diced)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Place 1/2 zucchini in cassarole dish. Cover with 1/2 meat, 1/2 soup, & 1/2 of the cheese. Repeat layers. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 90 minutes, or until zucchini is tender. Serves 4-6.
This has been my favorite food since I started eating solid foods. (My parents were the "throw whatever they were eating in the blender" types.) It's made out of pure crap, except the zucchini, and it's simply wonderful. I hope you get a chance to try it!
My depression era mom did the whole tomatos and white bread thing too--I could never contemplate eating it.
Corn tortilla
spread with bean dip (Fritos)
Picante Sauce
I slice cheese
Microwave until the cheese bubbles all over. Repeat two or three more times.
I used to always crave Spaghettios when I was a kid for some reason. My mom would never buy them, so I made my own..
* cooked pasta (usually done with leftovers)
* ketchup - enough to coat pasta to your liking
* parmasean cheese (the canister kind)
* black pepper
Mix together, and enjoy your home made spaghettios!
I couldn't read all of this without getting slightly ill, so here's mine, which may be in here somehwere. In my house, this was called "Shells." It's what my sister, mom and I ate when Dad wouldn't be home for dinner. It was considered a real treat.
Here's the "recipe."
Cook 1 box pasta shells (the small kind, not the ones you stuff). Drain. Mix shells with ketchup and cottage cheese. Mush all together until pink and gloppy. Eat.
I have no idea why this was good, but it was. A friend of mine from college had a similar "family recipe" and it was dubbed "Jewish Italian food."
I'm amazed at how similar some of y family recipes are to the above. Tuna Noodle Casserole, the macaroni-and-cheese mixed with ground meat.... welcome to the 1970s.
This is the meal I usually end up making at the end of the month when everything else in the cupboard is gone and food stamps aren't coming for another week:
Fried flour tortillas
(they aren't really tortillas)
Ingredients:
As much flour as you want
lots of whatever seasoning you want--I use salt & pepper, adobo, sofrito, garlic powder, and sometimes cayenne or paprika.
Add water and mix til it's very runny (like pancake batter)
Spoon into hot oil (like pancakes) and fry til they look done.
Make sure you drain for a while on paper towels or newspaper or whatever before eating
Serve along with beans, home-made or canned. Make sure there's a bottle of hot sauce on the table.
That's it. Cheap and easy. Maybe not so nutritious, but very tasty, especially with the hot sauce.
Hamburger Gravy
Note: You can substitute ground fowl for the hamburger but you will have to add at least 3-4 tablespoons butter in order to make the gravy work right.
Brown 1 lb. ground meat (food product)
Add pepper liberally to cover the taste of cheap meat. If you've got a little thyme, it helps the flavor but it's not absolutely necessary and folks might think you were putting on airs.
Add 3-4 tablespoons flour and cook until flower absorbs fat and turns brownish. Actually, it will look a little gray and you will begin to wonder if you've screwed it up. Brown, gray, it's all good.
Add 1 cup milk, slowly, and a beef boullion cube so you can pretend that the meat tastes like real beef (you could use chicken boullion if you are using ground poultry - which also doesn't taste like anything real). Stir until thick gravy forms. More milk can be added if it's too thick, or you can use water like we did when we were trying to make the milk last until the next paycheck.
Serve over toasted white bread.
Pretend it's a great old family recipe that you still crave. Keep this up for a couple generations and it comes true. Allow that no one will know wtf you're talking about when you speak lovingly of hamburger gravy - including your mom who hates the stuff and only made it to stretch the food dollar a little bit.
While this doesn't include a cream soup product, I suppose you could just dump a can of cream of mushroom over the meat and serve it on toast...but that seems like cheating.
Okay, so this isn't all that unhealthy, but the kids love it, it's fast and cheap and vegetarian and I swear I made it through their toddler years by keeping this on hand.
Lasagne caserole:
1 lb. shaped pasta of choice
1 jar/can of cheap spaghetti sauce (must be thin)
1 lb. ricotta cheese
8 oz mozzerella, shredded
herbs to taste
Mix everything together and slop it into a baking dish. (It will be PINK!)
Top with grated cheese
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, depending on how reliable your oven is.
This is the meal I eat most when I go backpacking. It is best served with hunger sauce.
1 package ramen(I prefer Oriental flavor)
insant potatoes
dried veggie flakes
bag of tuna fish(lighter than the cans)
some cheddar cheese
some shaking cheese(the stuff they call parmesean)
olive oil
red pepper flakes
In a pot cook the ramen with the flavor packet, dried veggie flakes, and a little extra water. When the ramen is done add the cheese and thicken with insant spuds. Pour olive oil on for extra calories. Red pepper flakes as nesasarry.
Tuna Helper -- Prepare according to package directions.
(How have these things remained on the market for so long. They are truly inedible.)
No recipes yet that include Spam. Disappointing folks...really.
I had a guy I was dating in 1985 show me this meal. I was so impressed he actuallly cooked! I am ashamed I was impressed, but the next year I began cooking it for my husband.
Po' Man's Chicken Parmesian
Make up 2-4 cups of Minute Rice
Add 1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
Add 1/2 can of milk, water, or chicken broth as desired, whatever
Season w/salt and pepper
If you want to get fancy, add a can of chicken, using the broth either to put in the rice cooking water or to loosen up the rice and soup bricks when you're trying to mix it up. Even fancier, add some fresh cooked or frozen/thawed/warmed broccoli. Or add a can of chopped mushrooms.
Then top with parmesian.
My favorite comfort food before exams:
English Muffin Tuna Pizzas
Top split english muffin with tuna/mayo mixed. personally I add pickles, but my husband and previous roommates all agree that this is disgusting and should be avoided. I'll leave it up to you. On top of tuna, add ketchup. On top of ketchup, add parmesan cheese powder stuff. (I guess the gourmet version could have real cheese). Bake in 325 degree oven until cheese is melted-ish and muffins are a little crispy.
My mother used to make this for me and my brother when she was short on time/ingredients/patience
what a fabulous contest!
Tuna Hot Dish (which we used to call Tuna Hot Fish in our endearingly cute young'un years)
1-2 cans tuna, drained
1 can peas with pearl onions, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 bag of potato chips, crushed to unrecognizability
Mix wet ingredients in casserole dish gently so as not to smoosh peas overly. Stir in crushed potato chips. Bake at 350 degrees approx. 45 minutes.
... with your entree you may want a side dish or two ...
Cottage Mashed Potatoes
Prepare 8-serving size of Instant Mashed Potatoes, removing 1 cup of water from the recipe. Yes, they will be slightly dry. When potatoes are done, stir in 12-16 oz. large curd cottage cheese. Spread mixture into casserole dish. Sliver butter or margarine onto top of potatoes, sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees approx. 45 minutes.
... and an appetizer ...
Best Damn Spreadable Topping Ever
1 brick cream cheese, softened
Approx. 12 large green olives, diced
Stir olives into cream cheese. To soften mixture, gently pour brine from jar of olives into bowl. Spread on crackers or bagels. If you are a carnivore, spread on bagels and add Dried Beef slices for a sandwich that is uber-yummy. Or spread on dried beef slices directly, and roll them up to make a servable appetizer treat.
... and finally dessert ...
Cherry Bomb
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can diced pineapple, drained
1 small container Cool Whip
1 can condensed milk
(optional) small marshmallows
Mix all ingredients in bowl. Chill. Serve.
Yeah, I came from a midwestern household, why do you ask?
D
Oh, forgot the most important part of the Spreadable Topping recipe: let cat clean bowl. Cream cheese plus olive brine = happy cat. You will not believe the bowl actually held food when the cat is done.
Bread and Tomato pudding? I used to eat that as a kid, when my grandma made it -- but she made it sweet, with whole tomatoes, white bread and butter.
I don't really cook so much as mix stuff together, so these dishes don't need step-by-step recipes. It's all intuitive.
1. Cottage cheese, tater tots, and Tabasco.
2. Peanut butter and tomato sandwiches (I wish I could say I like these on raisin bread or something REALLY weird, but actually I prefer sourdough)
Reba! Hamburger gravy = YUM. Mama would serve it over Minute Rice (TM), another food-substance (TM) which seems to be missing from these comments.
Oh, Lisa Marie, I feel so much better knowing we weren't the ONLY twisted white trash family chowing down on grayish glop over nutritionally-void substances! Thank you!
My British mind is official boggled by these manifestations of American trash culture. Still, I'll offer this:
*Fried cheese sandwich*
Two slices bread per person
Cheddar cheese, sliced or grated
Salt & pepper to taste
Heat frying pan to medium heat with some oil/butter. Make cheese sandwich(es). Put in pan and fry each side until golden-brown and crispy outside and the cheese is all melted and gooey inside (probably about 5 minutes each side). You might need to add a bit of extra fat when you turn the sandwich over.
Variation: for extra cholesterol value, thinly slice and fry a few mushrooms in butter and add them to the sandwich. Or onions.
Healthy variation (ha): add thin sliced tomatoes.
I love this for lunch on Sundays when I'm loafing about after too much wine the night before.
for a long time, i thought chop suey was some sort of meat with la choy vegetables and sauce over rice... or egg noodles.
as far as all of you and your ketchup stuff, YUCK. it's for fries, dipped not poured.
then there was goulash, mom style...again gravy, meat, over egg noodles. i suppose she called it goulash, but it was really beef stroganoff.
and then my dad's sandwich... the peanut butter and pickle (dill). it's much better than you might think.
oh. don't have frosting? smear some butter/margarine over a chips ahoy cookie. delish.
Ok, it's been ::mumble:: years since I cooked this (I think my wife would probably skin and fry *me* if I tried it these days, if for nothing else than that the meal Would Set A Bad Example for the boys and that, on a certain level, the demise of the putative cook Would Set A Good Example (or at least a Cautionary Tale) to the same boys. (and also for the cats)
This is a "one skillet meal," and the meat ingredients have varied from pork chops to chicken breasts.
- 2 medium sized chicken breasts, skinless, split
- Can of sliced beets
- can of whole small potatoes
- can of diced carrots
- can of peas
- seasoned bread crumbs
- three of four ordinary white mushrooms, sliced, (or)
- can of cream of mushroom soup (the canned cream of mushroom soup is optional -- may be for used for sentimental reasons)
- Mrs Dash (tm) spice mix
- black pepper
-- dip the chicken breasts in milk and lightly cover with bread crumbs
-- heat a cast-iron skillet so that water drops dance when dropped on it
-- melt a couple of pats of butter in the pan
-- if using cut mushrooms, add them now and brown them.
-- liberally sprinkle the Mrs Dash mixture into the pan, so it is nicely heated and mixed into the butter
-- drop the chicken breasts onto the skillet, for about 3 minutes each side
-- "fold" the chicken breasts back together
-- Add the canned potatoes, leave the water from the potatoes in the pan
-- turn the heat down to a simmer level, and cover the pan
-- leave in the simmer for about 10 minutes
-- turn chicken over
-- roll potatoes so seared side is up
-- drain and add the beets and carrots -- add enough water to pan to about 1/2 height of veggies
-- add a light seasoning of black pepper over all
-- cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes
-- add peas
-- if using cream of mushroom soup, add now, else refresh water to 1/2 height of veggies
-- cover and let simmer for another 10 minutes or until chicken is tender and passes the "clear-juice/fork test"
You should not have to add any salt while cooking, because the liquid from the canned veggies should provide a fair amount.
remove from heat and serve.
have fun!
My brother invented the no-grill grilled cheese sandwich (the after school snack of those who cannot use the stove). I find it fairly disgusting.
Sorry to say but my sister's been doing this for years and she's 28 now. She doesn't use the butter/margarine though unless she's actually grilling them fer real. I'm with you and find it fairly disgusting.
Oh, yes.
Comfort foods
the American Chop Suey I gre up with was the crumbled hamburger, drained and mixed with a giant-sized can of Chef Boy-R-Dee spagetti, skillet heated until ready to serve.
----
I also have fond memories of mac-&-cheese, made from the box mix with whole milk & butter, but it had to be the variety with the cheese that was the radioactive orange color.
--------
The version of Tunas Casserole I remember from my batchelor days was:
-- cook up package of egg noodles and drain
-- in a skillet add egg noodles, 2 cans of tunafish (drained) -- crumbling up the tuna as it is going into the pan -- and 1 can of cream of mushroom soup.
-- heat in skilet until soup is nice and hot
-- remove from heat
serves 3
Traumatic meal of my childhood:
Tuna Treats:
1 can of tuna,drained and mixed with mayo & celery salt/onion salt
Hot Dog Buns
Place tuna salad in hot dog buns. Wrap in foil and bake until outside is slightly burned and hard as a rock and inside is warm and soggy mess.
Sharon --
we call 'em "grilled cheese" this side of the pond.
ANd the variation that turns it into "trash American" (actually, this variation is "dorm room" or "batchelor digs") is:
- make 2 slices light toast
- put a little butter on both sides of both pieces of toast
- put cheese slices between toat slices
- wrap in aluminum foil
- press hot eletric clothes iron on top in in order to melt cheese
for a long time, i thought chop suey was some sort of meat with la choy vegetables and sauce over rice... or egg noodles.
I have absolutely no idea where the name came from, I only know that's what it's been called since forever.
I'm not certain where the judges stand on spam, but here goes:
1 pkg frozen hash browns
1/2 can of spam, diced
pre-shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup onion
1 cup green pepper
Prepare hash browns as directed. While cooking, saute onion & pepper, then add spam. Throw mixture into cooked hash browns, top with large handfuls of cheese & cover until cheese melts. Equally good without the veggies, plus added bonus of having no nutritional value from anything but the cheese.
When my brother-in-law was single, he made non-grilled grilled cheese sandwiches by toasting the bread, waving the cheese over the hot toaster during that process, and then smushing them together into a semi-melted sandwich.
Speaking of sandwiches, I blogged a few months ago about my son's invention of the pasta sandwich (spoon whatever pasta with sauce is handy onto a sandwich roll)—and then my comments lounge filled up with many frightful sandwiches.
I have 2, neither of which will win, but they may gross someone out.
Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. Pretty much 2 pieces of Wonder bread toasted in bacon grease then slathered with peanut butter place the bacon that made the grease in the middle, left in a paper bag in your desk to be savored at lunch time. Dad would only make these when everyone got up on time.
And White Trash Dinner.
Home made mac and cheese with hot dogs (or Spam) cut up in it. I still make this at least 2 or 12 times a year.
Wait I have one more, only notible for the name.
Cow Pie. Yep a meal named for manure.
1lb hamburger (or ground turkey)
1 roll biscuts.
seasonings (Mrs. Dash I think)
Season meat and put in metal round cake pan. Cover with biscuts. Cook to biscut directions. Serve with katsup in front of tv.
Okay, I have two:
1)
Get a pack of Top Ramen Noodles, or whatever's selling for 10 cents/pack, and boil, but don't add as much water as the directions call for; basically, just enough water to boil the noodles, so as to not dilute the flavor package too much. Add the flavor packet and Thai Red Chili sauce, or whatever hot sauce works for you. Whisk together an egg and some soy sauce (fish sauce might work, too) and add to the soup, creating an egg-drop effect, while also adding protein. Throw in any fresh veggies that appeal. Cheap, tasty, and nominally nutritious!
2)
This one is from my Tokyo days, so it might not count for the contest. Microwave a bowl of leftover rice (preferably short grained variety), and while it's heating, put an egg under running warm/hot water to warm the egg. When the rice is hot, make a hollow in the middle of the rice, crack the egg in, add some wasabi and a generous amount of soy sauce, and mix all together. If you have it, top with Asian rice seasoning. Then, open a packet of the small, rectangular pieces of seaweed and place them one at a time on top of the mixture and, using your chopsticks, push the nori down to scoop up the rice inside, making something almost akin to a sushi roll, and eat. Mmm, I love making it whenever I have leftover rice, to this day.
Yup! That's rice mixed with a raw egg, alright. This is a standard breakfast dish in Japan (pair it with a bowl of miso soup), and all I can say is, don't knock it till you've tried it! Thousands of salmonella-free Japanese can't be wrong, right?
This can't possibly be a contest entry as it's completely out-classed by the other entries. But just for fun, here's a recipe that I learned when I had my four wisdom teeth removed -- impacted, infected wisdom teeth that left big, painful and gaping holes in my mouth.
Carb-o-Rama
Two big russet potatoes
Milk
Butter
One can creamed corn
Boil and mash the potatoes, adding the milk and butter (along with salt and pepper) to make it fatty and tasty and of the right consistency. I use a hand mixer for mashed potatoes because life's too short to mash with a masher.
Heat the creamed corn in a pan.
Scoop the mashed potatoes onto a plate. Top with corn. Add more salt and pepper and/or butter to taste.
You may substitute a large microwave-baked potato if you need faster comfort.
Red Jello makes an excellent second course.
Enjoy!
Oho, i better win with this one (please let it be me, i would love nothing more than to fuck my way to fitness, please god):
Ahem, 'White Trash Fried Rice'
Cook 1.5 cups cheap white rice (3 cups water, boiling)
Cook some storebrand mixed veg (MUST be mixed veg, absolutely nothing fancy or big pieces, has to be the little teeny mixed veg). I like frozen but you can also use canned.
Cut up some generic hot dogs ( i swear they taste better in this recipe), fry in pan.
Add cooked rice and mixed veg with about 2 Tbsp butter, oil, lard, what the hell ever grease like substance you have. Salt, pepper, and 3-4 Tbsp SOY SAUCE (VERY important, do not skip)and hot sauce to taste. Fry in pan until everything is coated and slightly crispy like fried rice should be.
LIGHTLY fry an egg, as in just barely. SLide that egg on top of a hot plateful of the fried rice mixture. Mix egg into fried rice, heaven on a plate. Esp good for when PMSing, as is super salty and greasy and wonderful.
#2 (if this doesn't push me over the edge i don't know what will)
Spam Casserole, my favorite naughty comfort food, especially when prepared by my wonderfully trailer-trashy big sister:
1 pound noodles, almost any kind - elbow, egg, ziti, whatever, just cheap and white. Boil til almost 'too' soft (this is important, casserole must be very soft and mushy to have the right effect, hee)
1-2 cans Spam or even generic spam, cut into 1 inch squares, or whatever. I like small pieces, some people don't.
8-12 ounces of whatever cheese you have. I like sharp cheddar, but monterrey, or velveeta, or any kind but mozzarella or swiss (NO swiss, tastes baaad in this combo).
1 jar spaghetti sauce, sister prefers Ragu, doesn't make a whole lot of difference.
Mix all that crap up. Bake til bubbly and golden on top. Eat and sigh with guilty joy as your ass grows bigger with each bite.
Another entry that's mediocre compared to those above:
+ cube 2 - 3 packages of carl buddig lunch meat, any flavor
+ 1/2 can of corn
+ 1 C of spaghetti sauce
+ as much shredded cheese as you can stand
Dump everything into a disposable 1 qt ziploc container and cook in the microwave for 3 - 4 minutes until the cheese has melted.
After melting, stir the lot with your eating fork and get busy chowing down(save the other half of the can of corn for tomorrow's dinner).
For a dessert of champions follow this up with 1 box of donut holes and a 4 pack of handi-snacks. Dunk the donut holes in the handi-snacks. Yum.
Just wanted to clarify, for those recipes: There are both chicken and Turkey Spam like products available for replacing the pork laden originals, as well as of course chicken or turkey hot dogs. Whew. Thought i was out for a minute (-;.
My brother invented the no-grill grilled cheese sandwich (the after school snack of those who cannot use the stove). I find it fairly disgusting.
Sorry to say but my sister's been doing this for years and she's 28 now. She doesn't use the butter/margarine though unless she's actually grilling them fer real. I'm with you and find it fairly disgusting.
Had to delurk because of the above posts.....heheheehehehe...
I am NO chef and at 31 I HATE, HATE, HATE to cook and often eat the no-grilled, grilled cheese...they are yumm-a-roo (no butter)!!
Oh Lordy!
Flea, JT, and Orange, I think I shall send you a box of alka seltzer or Pepto Bismol. Sounds like you're going to need it!
Good luck!
I read about half of the many comments here then my eyes began to blur, so I don't know if I've been scooped, but here it is, my grandma's couldn't-be-easier recipe for PEANUT BUTTER AND BACON SANDWICHES!
I make it with facon, being a vegetarian, but when you make it you have to use your imagination, because facon really isn't the same as the salty goodness of crispy lovely bacon festooned with succulent swathes of fat on either side (Feral Mom, are you out there? Can you hear me?) So, while you're eating the facon version, imagine the hot sizzle of real bacon melting into that gooey peanut butter. OK, here goes:
1. Cook up several pieces of morning star farms fake bacon. Coat your pan (cast iron is nice) with a thin-but-not-stingy layer of olive oil, and don't let it cook flat. Try to pluck up several spots along each piece to create (as much as is possible) the curling, crispy but chewy in spots effect of bacon. When the lowlands of the facon are crispy, they're done.
2. When the facon is about halfway done, put the bread in the toaster. Try to time it so the toast and facon are done at the same time. Both should be hot. I like to use a respectable but not-too-grainy wheat bread for the toast.
3. Spread Smucker's natural peanut butter, the chunky kind, generously over the hot toast so that it gets a little melty, slap on three or so pieces of hot facon (enough to cover bread), put the top on the sandwich.
4. Eat, pretending that the sandwich is made with real bacon. Crispy, fatty,hot bacon. Mmmm...
Ok, tuna meals:
open a can of tuna. Put tuna on hamburger buns. Put a piece of velveeta on top. Put in the broiler for about 2 minutes, til the cheese is starting to turn black. Seriously, seriously tasty food, folks. Oh yeah, you should butter the buns first.
Creamed tuna:
tuna
cream of mushroom soup & half-can of milk
Mix tuna & soup together, add salt & pepper, and heat in a pot on the stove. Pour over toast or biscuits.
When I was a kid a real treat was cornbread with syrup. I still like it.
I have three glorious "recipes" for you:
1. My boyfriend's family's pre-Thanksgiving-meal snack of choice: Meatballs in secret sauce. This is actually really good, although I would never have believed it until I tried it. You can substitute frozen veggie meatballs (that's the only way I've had it).
Dump one whole jar of grape jelly, and one whole jar of red salsa, in a saucepan. Simmer and stir. After a while, add the veggie meatballs to the horrifying broth. Simmer for at least 1/2 hour, longer if you can to let the flavors work their magic. Spear them and eat hot off the fork, or put on a plate with toothpicks. Seriously, it's awesome.
2. Boyfriend's mom's cake frosting. This stuff was an obsession with the boyfriend, but for years we didn't know what was in it. It turns out there are only two ingredients: Crisco and sugar. (This is where I draw the line, so we don't eat it anymore.)
3. Delicious snack: a salty tortilla chip used to scoop up a little bit of chocolate ice cream. This is how I eat ice cream when I'm alone or in sympathetic company... it's great.
Oh, and with the meatballs recipe: if you were using meat meatballs, you would probably need to cook them ahead of time, before adding them. Use whatever your standard meatball recipe is for that.
garlicky ramen glop
1 package ramen noodles
1 cup cottage cheese
powdered garlic
1. cook noodles and drain.
2. open noodle 'flavor' packet and add 1/8 of the contents. throw out the rest of the packet.
2. mix in cottage cheese.
3. shake on lots of powdered garlic and stir.
4. eat in front of a tv or computer screen
Oh my lord. There are so many, many horrifying recipes here... I can't even begin to choose the scariest one, but that Crisco and sugar "frosting" is way high up on the list...
This isn't exactly an embarrassing dinner, but it's very good, and sort of an embarrassing dessert, and you might want something sweet after all those meals:
Brownie Pie. (For when neither pie nor brownie is enough!)
Make a pie crust (1c flour, 1/2c butter, etc.) Do not pre-bake it. Melt 1/2 cup butter with 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, let cool. Beat in 1 1/2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 3T corn syrup, vanilla. Mix these well so it doesn't separate. Pour into the pie crust. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.
(My family, being insane, makes the pie crust. I suppose you could buy one, but are they actually any good, pre-bought crusts? I have no idea, I've never tried one.)
This goes well with ice cream.
Hi,
Had to run home last night and grab the family cookbook, but here is our family favorite "Western Beef Pie" or "Mexican Pie" as we called it as kids. My mom modified it for me to make it vegetarian, and it is still good.
The Crust:
-1 Cup Flour
-1/2 Cup Yellow Corn Meal
-2 TBSP Sugar
-1 TSP Baking Powder
-1 TSP Salt
-1/2 Cup Milk
-1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine Softened
-1 Egg
-1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
The Filling
-1 16 oz Can Black Beans
-1/2 TSP Salt
-1/2 Teaspon Chili Powder
-1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
-1/4 to 3/4 Cup BBQ Sauce
-1 12oz can of Mexicorn (I use frozen normal corn)
- 1 6oz can of Tomato Paste
Combine filling ingredients. (If you use ground beef, brown 1lb of it first and then add the filling ingredients after you drain the fat)
In large bowl combine crust ingredients except 1/2 cup of cheese. Spread over the bottom and sides of a 9 or 10 inch greased pie pan. Pour filling into crust. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake at 400 for 25 to 30 minutes, but watch carefully sometimes it takes only 20 minutes.
This was my favorite birthday dinner and still love to make it at home when I am feeling nostalgic.
This recipe is something I came up with when I was a very poor grad student. I don't think it can get much worse.
-1 Packet Ramen Noodles
-2 Eggs
-1 Veggie Slice or other form of cheese
-Salami Deli Slices
-Green Bell Pepper and Onion if you have them.
Boil the Ramen Noodles without the flavor packet and set aside.
Dice up the Green Pepper, Deli Slice, and Onion. Use as much or as little as you like.
Beat the eggs and add them to the noodles.
Dump the noodle/egg mixture in the pan and blend in the diced ingredients.
Tear the Veggie Slice into strips and add to the pan.
Sprinkle with Garlic Salt and enjoy!
I had to delurk in order to add my very favorite quick meals (which I would never feed to the kids, but they suit me just fine.)
First: white rice wth ketchup. Nuke the leftover rice and add as much ketchup as you want. Tasty!
Second: White rice with a fried egg. This actually could be an acceptable dinner. Just make an egg whichever way you like best (we call them dippy eggs in my house - over easy) and serve over leftover nuked white rice.
Never combine the two recipes, because I think eggs and ketchup are gross. My husband and son, though, probably would think they were ok!
In my house we make rice constantly (Puerto Ricans do) and it always has lots of butter and garlic in it. It makes the leftovers few but very good!
Choose me!
Zee, the grape jelly meatball recipe is time honored, but in my world, the other ingredient is chili sauce.
I'm just curious -- has the Embarrassing Recipe Contest outstripped the sex-related contests in terms of sheer number of responses? I'm pretty impressed, here.
The most successful contest was the "Stripper Name" contest, with over 250 entries. This one is in second place. In fact, I'm still getting entries in the stripper name contest, and that was a year ago.
As for E's "the lowlands of the facon"—I think I read The Lowlands of the Facon in English lit class back in the day. Anyone else remember that one?
I have to delurk to contribute this: decadent chicken noodles
take 1 packet of chicken ichiban noodles (or similar cheap msg laden ramen noodles)
cook according to directions, but drain nearly all the water off before adding the flavour packet, so it is good and salty.
dollop with caesar salad dressing from a bottle.
So good, and yet so wicked!
I'm telling this one for my mom, who I know gets pleny embarrased by this story every time I tell it. It's not a recipe that we love, but instead a recipe that my family vociferously hates.
My dad had just become self-employed and we had no health insurance. With three boys between the ages of 5 and 8, my parents were stretched pretty thin, and as you know, being self-employed can be stressful on the nerves, and on the pocketbook. So my mom was trying to stretch things as best she could to continue to make life comfortable.
One day during this time my brothers and I were apparently behaving like hellians all day long. When my dad got home my mom started fixing dinner, as she finally had time to ensure that she could keep her eyes on the stove.
Apparently my dad being home made us even more wild, like howler monkies on crack and IVs of Mountain Dew. Try as he might, my dad couldn't keep us contained, and my mom got distracted while making dinner, so she was forced from time to time to step away from her cooking to check and see that we hadn't started licking electrical sockets or running with scissors.
Somehow my parents settled us down enough to get us to sit at the table, and in front of us was what my mom called Tuna Surprise.
Surprise! It's inedible!
Like the loving children that we were, we informed my mom that her dinner tasted like crap, and that we weren't going to eat it. My mom left the table, and my dad told us that we couldn't leave the table until we were finished our food. He poured us each a tall glasses of milk and told us that if we drank some milk with each bite we'd be able to finish quickly.
Surprise! The milk was spoiled!
But my dad didn't believe me when I told him. My brothers, in their youth, were not even close to being as picky as I was, so they held their noses and shoveled it in. I couldn't stand it, so I was forced to sit at the table with my rotten milk and uneaten food until my dad came back and told me to go to my room.
I hadn't been in my room for very long when my dad apologized, said he had just smelled the milk (I believe he had been drinking tea) and realized it was spoiled.
It wasn't until years later that we finally got my mom to admit that it was a horrible meal, and if I remember correctly, she only had one bite before leaving the table.
So here's the recipe, from what my mom remembers, and I hope you don't try it.
Cook 5 Servings of Minute Rice on stove top
When rice is done, quickly add the following ingredients
Add 1 can of cream of celery soup
Add 3 cups of shredded cabbage
Add 1 can tuna
Mix until all ingredients are warm
Add 5 tablespoons of paprika
Serve with rotten milk
Here's one I came up with after cleaning out the pantry one weekend. We own a restaurant and it is now the most requested soup we serve. Great for those lazy winter days.
Southwestern Chicken Chili
1-2 lb. diced grilled chicken OR 2-3 cans white/dark chicken
1 tbsp coumin
1/2 tbsp black pepper
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 green bell pepper chopped fine
1 large can cream of mushroom OR cream of celery soup
1 large can cream of chicken soup
1 can original Rotel with chiles
1 cup medium salsa (I prefer ChiChi's)
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans Great Northern beans
In large stock pot, sautee onions & peppers & coumin in 2 tbsp olive oil until just tender. Add diced chicken & cook til done if using fresh; if using canned chicken, just to heat.
Add all other ingredients and simmer on medium - low at least 30-45 minutes. Top with grated cheddar or Colby-Jack cheese. Serve with tortillas or cornbread.
This recipe should serve at least 8, and can be bulked up with another can of beans and a little more chicken broth if needed.
layer baking dish with frozen hash browns
combine tub of sour cream, 1 cup or so of cheddar cheese, and 1 can cream of mushroom soup, spread mixture over hashbrowns
sprinkle with more cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for a while.
yum.
Wow. Can't top those.
Nobody did peanut butter ramen noodles. Cook the noodles and drain. Meanwhile, in an oiled skillet, heat a little fresh ginger if you have it, then add a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter, a little brown sugar, a drip of rice vinegar, a small amount of the oriental seasoning packet from the noodles and enough of the noodle water to thin. Add the noodles to the "sauce". Sprinkle with chopped green onions.
This next recipe is for the leftover roast or rotisserie chicken meat, leftover turkey meat, or possibly cooked ground turkey or veggie equivalent.
-a little olive oil for the skillet
-cooked meat or whatever
-some raisins
-a sprinkle of cinnamon
-a little brown sugar, or chopped apples or apple sauce
-salsa
warm the above ingredients in a skillet, adding the salsa after the others are mixed together. Use it to fill a flour tortilla which can then be toasted on a skillet with some butter. You can add shredded cheese, beans, or any other burrito ingredients to the tortilla after it is warm. I like cheese, avocado or a little sour cream, chopped raw cabbage and hot sauce.
V8 Soup*
2 cans of V8
2 level tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper
2 cups boiled pasta (optional)
Heat the olive oil over medium until hot and then drop in the flour, whisking quickly to avoid lumps (bastardized roux! yes!). When the mixture begans to brown, slowly pour in the V8, whisking continuously to thicken. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt and pepper to taste. Et voila! What kept me alive in college - I find it seriously tasty. It's excellent with boiled pasta. If you're feeling calcium deficient, whisk in a 1/4 cup of half & half.
*To make a V8 pasta "sauce," just use 1 can instead of 2.
I told my mom about this contest (but not the prize!) when I was over there yesterday. I'd asked for her recipe for hamburger pie and I discovered it was called Exotic Hamburger Pie.
So my mom runs to the bookshelf and hands me a cookbook called Cooking With Soup (it's by Campbell's). You can look up recipes by the type of soup used.
I will have to send you a picture.
Gramma's Trailer Park Cheese Soufflé
Oven to 325--9X13 inch pan
8 slices of white bread--crusts off
soften 1/2 lb "very sharp cheddar cheese" in a jar
soften 1/4 lb butter
Mix together
spread on both sides of the bread slices.
lay bread in two layers in the pan
Beat 3 eggs and add 2C milk
pour mixture over bread
Use knife to cut bread into pieces
sprinkle paprika on top
Bake in a pan of water for an hour or so until knife comes out clean and top is a bit browned.
Serve hot.
You can make this the night before and bake in the morning. This was a Christmas morning must have for my brother and I.
Glop
I burned out on Ramen in high school, so this turned out to be a college favourite. If I felt fancy and financially flush, I'd get name brands, but most of the time, everything was store-brand generic.
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 24 oz bag of wavy noodles
1 13 oz can of canned white meat chicken
Cook noodles according to package directions, then drain.
Add all other ingredients to a large bowl and microwave for two minutes, or however long it takes to warm everything through. Add the noodles and mix thoroughly. Mmm Mmm Good.
OK, this didn't seem to take the first time around, so I'll try again. If I end up double posting, I apologize.
Sour Cream Noodles
Boil one bag of eggless broad noodles according to instructions.
Drain.
Put noodles back in pot. Add 1/2 stick butter and a pint of sour cream.
Stir until butter melts and noodles are coated with cream/butter mixture.
Add parmesan cheese (1/4 cup maybe?). Enough, so the noodles aren't so "wet".
Stir.
Add black pepper to taste.
Serve as a side dish or hell, just eat it as a meal.
My mom used to serve this with chicken chunks dipped in pancake batter and fried until cooked. That wasn't so bad, but I recommend you try the noodles. I haven't met a person yet who doesn't like them.
This meal was a staple of my childhood, and figured heavily in our dinner rotation. It consisted of three items:
1) Boiled Potatoes - peel and cube potatoes and boil until soft.
2) Salmon Patties - combine one can of salmon with an egg, some milk, and some bread crumbs; form patties and fry in oil.
3) Sweet and Sour Kidney Beans - mix one can of dark red kidney beans with a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar and a few tablespoons of sugar, and heat.
To serve: place potatoes and salmon patties on a plate and smother both with kidney beans. Yum! (Really.)
OH MY GOD.
Would it taint the judging if I say Mandy's hashbrown casserole will rock your lips right off your face?
I made it.
There's a new 'tater in my life.
mandy's potatoes are also listed by me as "cheesy potatoes." are you from WI, mandy?? do our mothers know each other?
one more thing... i should have read all of the recipes first. as far as a delicious white trash dessert? i found this one on the internet and have been making it my own since.
ho ho freakout (that's my name)
sliced ho hos.
chocolate pudding
cool whip.
layer of sliced ho hos, then choco pudding, then cool whip. repeat.
ho hos slice better if they're frozen/chilled.
it looks ridiculous and scoops out a mess, but people LOVE this stuff.
Oh - can we do desserts?
Here's as easy as it gets.
Cookies 'n Cream
1 large container cool whip
1 bag regular chips-ahoy chocolate chip cookies (2 sleeves)
cup milk
Dip cookies in milk for just a second or two (don't soak too long or it will all end up to mushy), then place a layer in bottom of serving dish, top with layer of cool whip - keep dipping cookies in milk and layer cookies with cool whip until all used. Save one or two dry cookies to crumble on top layer of cool whip.
Chill 2-3 hours & serve.
smussyolay, that hashbrown potato casserole is wonderful!
I was thinking adding some chives and ham or crumbled bacon to it would be great too. Reminds me of a loaded baked potato.
Okay, here goes.....
This recipe usually also takes a pound of diced ham, but it's still pretty tasty without it.
Anyone with cholesterol issues need not try.....
1 pound red potatoes, peeled and sliced.
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded.
1 stick butter.
1/2 large sweet onion, finely diced.
1 tablespoon garlic salt.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In greased casserole dish, place sliced potatoes, diced onion, garlic salt, and half of the shredded cheese. Melt stick of butter in separate pan, drizzle over ingredients in casserole dish. Stir thoroughly. Once dish is thoroughly mixed, sprinkle remaining cheese over the top, bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
This is my favorite dish, I'll finish it all in one sitting, but I keep hearing my arteries hardening every time I do so.......
Flashington
I cannot believe this recipe hasn't shown up yet:
Chicken 'n' Rice
One can boned chicken (6-8 oz?)
One can Cream of Celery soup
Two cups (or whatever) cooked Minute rice
combine chicken and soup in saucepan. Heat until warm enough.
Pour over cooked rice.
Salt and pepper liberally.
JC
SOUPED-UP PIGS IN BLANKETS
2 packages Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 package hot dogs (Nathan's are the best, but since there are non-red-meat-eaters, pick the most flavorful chicken or turkey dog you can find)
1 8-oz package shredded Cheddar cheese (the ghetto supermarket brand is fine)
Mustard, the best you can find (Maille honey Dijon is very good)
Cut hot dogs in half. Take a piece of crescent roll dough and spread it with a little mustard, enough to get a thin coating. Sprinkle cheese over the mustard. Roll half a hot dog into the mustardy, cheesy dough.
Bake according to package directions -- probably about 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST EMBARRASSING FOOD ADMISSION I WILL EVER MAKE
1 box Kraft macaroni and cheese, plus the attendant items (milk and real butter -- no margarine, please)
1/4 cup chopped onion
Vegetable oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 can Campbell's pork 'n' beans
1/2 package hot dogs (chicken or turkey will do)
Make the macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, saute the onions in a little vegetable oil until translucent. Dump the pork 'n' beans and brown sugar in. Mix up. Add the hot dogs. Cook until warmed through. Then mix the macaroni and the franks 'n' beans together. Ah, a favorite recipe of childhood.
Not sure if actually being tasty immediately disqualifies an entry, but the ingredient list seems so discordant that shock and awe always ensue when people discover that the final product is actually really delicious.
1 package frozen meatballs, featuring the beast(s) of your choice.
1 jar cheap grape jelly
1 roughly equal-sized bottle of cheap yellow mustard
Ideally, you put all of the above in a crock pot for a few hours until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce is all nice and gooey. But a covered pot on the stove over low heat will achieve roughly the same effect.
Here's a Danish recipe - "Beer Bread". Yes, it's with beer and rye bread and it actually tastes pretty good.
300 grams dark plain boring rye bread
3/4 L. water
3/4 L. beer. (If possible, use a "hvidtøl", directly translated - "white beer"a danish type of household beer)
around 40 grams sugar
if you want, a little bit of grated lemon rind.
Cut up the bread into small chunks and put them in a pot. Pour the water over the bread and let it sit for about 1 hour. Add the beer and let the mixture lightly boil for about 10 minutes. Give it a good stir every now and then so the bread disolves and so it doesn't burn. Add sugar and lemon rind, let it boil a couple more minutes while stirring.
If you don't like it with clumps, strain it with a strainer.
Eat it warm with either milk or whip cream (like cereal).
Yummmmy!!
Sascha, did you end up making the Fake Cookie Dough? =) Was it good? I can't believe anyone else besides me has such depraved indifference to their health as to actually eat that...
There are not nearly enough desserts on here. So I present shoo-fly pie!
Mix for crumbs: (reserving ½ cup for topping)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Crisco
1 cup flour
Filling:
1 cup thick molasses
¾ cup boiling water
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp baking soda
Combine soda with boiling water, then add egg and molasses. Add crumb mixture (this will be lumpy). Pour into unbaked pie crust and cover with reserved crumbs. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes (until firm). When cut into, the bottom may be wet. This is OK.
You can also substitute maple syrup for the molasses, to increase the cache with the kiddies.
I blame my father for this. But then, he apparently eats peanut butter and banana sandwiches with mayonaise. Bleh....
Becky's Dish
Named after some long-forgotten Becky, and a staple in my house when growing up. I have not only cooked and eaten it - it was the very first thing I ever made for dinner, when I was eight.
1 can tuna
1 onion chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 T. curry powder
Saute onion until soft. Drain and add tuna. Add crushed tomatoes and curry powder. Stir until hot. Serve over hot rice.
Can't enter the contest for scary personal reasons, but needed to share this, um, side dish.
1 package lime jello
2 or 3 medium sized carrots
mayonaise (quantity depends on your constitution)
Follow the initial instructions on the jello package.
Peel and grate the carrots.
Add the carrots to the jello at the point where it calls for fruit (partway through the jelling process).
When the Jello's done, start mixing in mayonaise. Probably about as much as you'd put into coleslaw. You want to mix this until the jello is pretty thoroughly broken up.
It's been a while since I've had this, and I'm shaking with revulsion thinking about it, but I remember feeling that way right before the first time I tried it too. Once I did, I needed to keep making it for myself until the cravings ran their course. I have no idea why it was as tasty as it was.
I'm going to make you a whole dinner! And, I should mention that I regularly eat each of these dishes, so would be highly offended if any actually *won* the contest (but I wouldn't kick the fitness video out of bed...).
Appetizer:
Slather one block of cream cheese into the bottom of a pie tin or something of similar size. Spoon refried black beans on top (I like Kuner's w/lime). Pour salsa on top (I prefer smokey types), covering entire pan, then top with shredded cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 min or until bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips. If you're in a hurry, you can always microwave this, but it's never as good. You may have to just end with this dish and a full belly. It's that good.
If you have the stamina, continue on with this dish that my husband modified for me (vegetarian) - it can also be made with chicken.
-two packages of Stove Top dressing
-one can vegetable/chicken broth
-head of broccoli
-head of cauliflower (I suppose you could use frozen veggies)
-one can cream of broccoli (I hate mushrooms)
Steam or cook the veggies until they're a little bit done, but not the whole way. They're good when you include a little dill spice as well. Mix veggies with can of cream of broccoli, set aside. Mix Stove Top (uncooked) with broth. Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with the Stove Top concoction, leaving some extra. Pour the veggies in. Top with the remaining Stove Top. Bake at 375* for 1/2 hour covered w/tin foil, remove tin foil for last 5-10 min.
For dessert: take milk chocolate chips, put in microwaveable bowl. Melt them. Pour in some malted milk powder, stir, and eat straight from the bowl while still warm!
I am uncontrollably hungry just thinking about this! Oh, I should also mention that the drink of choice with this menu would be vodka and lemonade for the adults. Lemonade only for the kids. Guess what I'm having for dinner?! The big question, though, is how you're going to taste-test 150 recipes in a single afternoon?! We should also include Tums and Pepto Bismol on the menu. Good luck! Jessica
2 cans of Cream of_____ soup (I usually use one cream of chicken and one cream of mushroom)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-5 slices of swiss cheese
1/4 cup of white wine
cup or so of stuffing (I usually use Pepperidge Farms herb stuffing - I don't like cubes of stuffing.)
preheat the oven to 350. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish. Dump the soup over them and spread it around. Put the slices of cheese over that, and then sprinkle the stuffing over the top. Bake until the chicken is cooked (35 minutes or so.)
Yummmy.
Oh, I forgot - mix the wine and the soup together before you dump it over the chicken breasts.
My husband would like to contribute his one and only recipe - oat cookie bars. Take about 2 cups of dry oatmeal, mix with brown sugar and melted butter (neither of which he measures), and place in a pan (we usually use a square glass pan.) Dribble the juice of one lemon over the whole thing and bake for 8-12 minutes. It's actually a very adaptable recipe - I eliminate the lemon juice and add peanut butter instead.
And actually, my most embarassing receipe is just 2 lbs of chicken drumsticks, washed, salted and peppered and put in the crock-pot, and then I dump a bottle of barbecue sauce over it and let it cook all day while I'm at work.
Kreeves - is your father from the South? Alabama or Georgia, maybe? The peanut butter/mayo/banana trio is a popular lunch in the South.
One of my boyfriend's favourite stomach soothers is:
2 cups of cooked rice
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 can water, 1/2 milk
This turns into a goupy, mushroomy rice mush. For an added treat, he tops it with a fried egg.
It's like redneck/asian fusion cooking.
Oh, I nearly forgot the meal that still makes my boyfriend look at me like I'm missing a few IQ points.
Ouch Sandwiches
White Bread
Butter
Sugar
Our preferred bedtime snack when we stayed at Granny and Gramps.
H'orderves (?)
Butter a slice of the gooiest white bread ever (with the crust removed)
Flip it over and spread on cream of mushroom soup (right out of can)
Roll into a little log (butter side out)
Skewer with a toothpick
Broil until edges are toasty
Viola
When dad wasn't coming home for dinner, mom would make chipped beef on toast:
1 package Budig (and ONLY Budig) sliced beef
1 can Campbell's Mushroom soup
Toast
Heat mushroom soup (don't add water), dump in Budig and heat through. Spoon onto toast and enjoy. Yum!
My own favorite recipes when the paycheck ran out before the month usually included peanut butter as the main ingredient. DON'T, however, put peanut butter on pasta - uck. The one I still make is:
2 pieces of toast
Gobs of peanut butter
Shaker can of parmesean
Smear peanut butter on toast and sprinkle liberally with parmesean. Through under toaster-broiler until parmesean gets a bit melty, then eat. Still make this sometimes.
Oh, I had an ex-boyfriend who would make what he called "SPAM surprise" which he loved:
1 can Spam, sliced (original or cheese chunk is fine)
1 onion, sliced
1 - 2 cans beer
Some amount of ketchup
Put it all in Pyrex dish and cook until some random amount of time has gone by (I think there was some correlation between the number of beers consumed, the temperature of the oven and the level of hunger) and then eat. He'd eat that pretty much every day. Can you see why I'm not with him anymore?
This is from when I still ate meat.
Food in a bowl:
--one can of tuna, drained and dumped into a bowl
--some artichoke hearts dumped into bowl
--salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
I used to eat this all the time. I have since become vegan and reading all the above dishes that call for mayo is making me slightly sick. Funny. I used to LOVE mayo.
The most depressing thing about these recipes is that they would actually be better, most of them, than what I'e been fixing for dinner lately, to wit: nothing. However, could I just *buy* the prize? I feel that my library cries out for a copy of "Fuck Your Way to Fitness." I would be happy to contribute some (almost) equally distressing work from my own collection.
I hope this isn't too obnoxious (you may certainly disqualify my entry or just delete it if so), but I want to give you an entire Deadbeat family MEAL. For the true Deadbeat family experience, all ingredients should be as artery-clogging and processed as possible: for example, peanut butter should contain hydrogenated oils, anything that contains high fructose corn syrup should by all means be used, and it goes without saying that "flour" means bleached, processed white flour and that there is no such thing as organic.
My sister's favorite appetizer:
- cut baby carrots into bite-sized chunks; put in serving bowl
- put potato chips in second serving bowl
- place one carrot chunk and one chip in mouth and chew together
My mama's best main course dish (this is actually very good, and I now make an organic vegetarian version, and use butter instead of margarine):
Deadbeat's Mama's Chicken Pot Pie
4 c. chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 c. chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Veg-All
1 stick margarine, melted
1 c. milk
1 c. self-rising flour
1 t. baking powder
Mix first group together and pour in 9 x 13 Pyrex dish.
Mix second group together and pour on top.
Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Deadbeat's Grandma's Cheese Wafers (to be served along with the chicken pot pie, of course)
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 c. flour
2 sticks margarine
2 c. Rice Krispies
cayenne pepper
Cream cheese and margarine. Slowly blend in flour. Stir in Rice Krispies and add pepper to taste. Drop with teaspoon onto cookie sheet and flatten with fork to make wafers. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
Deadbeat's Cousin's Corn Flake Cookies
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. light karo syrup
1 c. sugar
1/2 stick margarine
7 c. Corn Flakes
Boil all but Flakes for one minute. Add flakes. Spread on greased cookie sheet and cool.
Believe it or not, they're all really good!
Oh my gosh, I am sooo sorry to do this, but I have another one!!! Y'all absolutely must make this--it's so awful, and so incredibly good; even the title is perfect for the contest.
Deadbeat's Mama's Blueberry Dump Cake
2 c. blueberries
1 1/2 sticks margarine
1 large can crushed pineapple
1 box yellow cake mix
Dump blueberries in 9 x 13 Pyrex pan. Dump pineapple, with juice, on top. Dump in cake mix. Drizzle melted butter on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Okay, that's it.
I've had that dump cake, only with cherries instead of blueberries, and I can attest to its deliciousness.
1 can Spam, sliced (original or cheese chunk is fine)
is anyone else aghast that a product such as Spam with Cheese Chunks exists?
>>>Oh, I nearly forgot the meal that still makes my boyfriend look at me like I'm missing a few IQ points.
>>>Ouch Sandwiches
>>>White Bread
>>>Butter
>>>Sugar
In my house they were called Working Man sandwiches. There were seven of us kids. Dad got paid once a month. We ate a lot of Working Man sandwiches when it got close to the end of the month.
My 11 year old daughter's favorite sandwich is a BLT no T.
I'm sure everyone can figure that one out.
A super quick meal that the kiddies seem to love is Kelbasa with secret sauce.
Remove Kelbasa from the freezer, remove the plastic wrap (an important step) and toss in the microwave for three minutes or so.
While the big weener is being nuked, mix about a third of a cup of Ketsup and a third of a cup of grape jelly together.
When the nuker starts beeping at you, remove the Kelbasa slice into pieces, throw the pieces in a bowl with the secret sauce and nuke for another two minutes.
You can nuke a bowl of frozen vegies of your choice at the same time or eat a salad. My kids prefer the salad . Ain't that crazy!?
North Cakalackey Clam Chowder
-----------------------------
1 can Cream of Potato soup
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 can Clam Chowder (I don't know why)
1 can diced clams with juice
1 pint half and half (or milk, or whatever form of cow-juice that's on sale)
1. put all ingredients into a big pot and heat until hot (but not boiling).
As kids we lived near enough to the ocean that seafood was often cheaper than beef or chicken.
Mom usually served the soup in mugs, with yummy tuna melts.
Tuna Melt
---------
leftover hamburger buns
cheese slices (some prefer american, i like jack)
can tuna fish
bit of mayo
bit of pickle relish
1. combine tuna, mayo, pickle relish to make tuna salad
2. spread tuna salad on bottom half of burger bun
3. place cheese slice on top half
4. place buns (open faced) into toaster and toast until cheese is brown and bubbly
Serve with clam chowder for maximum deliciousness.
In my house they were called Working Man sandwiches.
my mother called it fairy bread.
Sort of a dessert, side dish thing that tastes way better than it sounds.
I don't know the actual name so we just call it the pineapple and cheezit thing.
2 – 20 oz cans pineapple chunks
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheese
½ cup melted butter
1 cup Cheez Its crumbs (Sunshine brand)
Drain pineapple. Add 3 tablespoons juice. Combine sugar, flour, pineapple juice. Stir until smooth. Add cheese and pineapple chunks. Mix well. Spoon mixture into greased 1 quart bowl. Combine melted butter and Cheez It crumbs and mix well. Sprinkle over pineapple mixture. Bake at 350 for 20- 30 minutes.
enjoy
Man, do I feel sorry for you guys. Are you really going to make the 20 variations on the tater tot soup cheese combo? That was also the first one that sprang to my mind. But going over the list you guys definitely need some dessert type activity, so this is from my cousin:
Fruit Fluff
Mix together in a bowl (use juice in cans throughout)
1 can of fruit cocktail (16 oz)
1 can mandarin orange (11 oz)
1 can crushed pineapple (8 oz)
1 box vanilla pudding (small)
Let stand 1 hour
Add 2 cups cool whip and 1 cup mini marshmallows
Mix together and enjoy!
Nancy - that pineapple cheese casserole is great! I usually only make it during the holidays, either for Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, but it is so good!
I've got two of my "family" recipes, both involving Velveeta. (MMmmmmmm. Velveeta.)
Grandma Cochran's Cheesy Potatoes:
In a large pot on low heat, melt 1 lb. Velveeta, cut into small chunks. Stir in 1/2 Hellmann's mayo. Once well blended, add 2 lb. bag of Oreida frozen hash browns (these are unseasoned and cubed, rather than shredded) and mix well. Dump into a 9" x 13" casserole pan, and sprinkle with 1/2 lb. of chopped, cooked bacon (can be omitted or substituted if so desired). Cover with tin foil and cook at 350 for an hour. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes.
(Scarily enough, this dish is almost identical to one posted on Amber P.'s website, and even more frightening - I grew up in the same town she did. Delicious, despite its now questionable origins...)
Spinach Madeliene (or, as the kids call it, "Spicy Spinach"):
2 pkg. frozen chopped spinach
4 T. butter
2 T. flour
2 T. chopped onion
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1/2 c. vegetable liquid from cooking/draining spinach
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. celery salt
2/4 tsp. garlic salt
regular salt to taste (can't ever have too much salt, right?)
6 oz. Velveeta
approx. 1/4 - 1/2 minced jalapeno pepper (I buy the cans of sliced round for nachos and chop up 2-3 slices, but it is totally to taste. This is the tricky part, because you want it to have a little zing, but some people(my kids) can't handle it.)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
red pepper to taste
Cook spinach however you like - I usually throw it in the microwave frozen and just defrost it for a long time. Reserve 1/2 c. cooking liquid, drain spinach very well, pressing out excess liquid. Melt butter, add flour and cook a minute. Add onion and cook until soft. Add milk and spinach liquid to flour mixture stirring constantly. Cook till smooth, add seasoning and Velveeta (cut into small chunks). Stir until melted, add spinach and mix well. Pour into buttered casserole dish (can be made ahead up to this point). Cook at 350 until it bubbles, about 40 min. I usually quadruple this recipe to take to parties and there is never any left!
When I was in college, there were many times that nothing, not even a bowl of Captain Crunch, appealed to me. Fortunately, they always had corn on the steam table. And cottage cheese on the salad bar. I have no idea what possessed me to combine the two, but I did. I still make it when nothing else sounds good. There's something about the warm, buttery corn and the coolness of the cottage cheese, along with the contrasting textures.
Corn, canned or frozen, cooked
Butter/margarine
Cottage cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
Use whatever proportions work for you.
People! Some of you are freaking out that flea and JT and I are going to cook and eat everything here. Over there in the green blog, in the paragraph right after Embarrassing Dinner contest rules 1-3, flea clarifies that We The Judges will select three finalist recipes and cook just those three. Although I think I can talk flea into making some bonus desserts out of competition...
Ok, had to de-lurk for this one. 'Cause that video has GOT to be interesting . Plus many of the recipes already in the comments were staples of my childhood. Here are my entries:
Cracker Noodles (my family's idea of a vegetarian meal, note there are NO vegetables)
1 package cheap saltine crackers
1 package wide egg noodles
Several tablespoons of margarine
Cook egg noodles. While they're on the stove, crush the crackers (preferably in their plastic sleeve). Then melt three or so tablespoons of margarine in a skillet. Fry until golden brown. Drain noodles and add a tablespoon of margarine to keep them from sticking together. Then mix the noodles and cracker mixture. Yum!
Ex-husband's Gourmet Meal (not)
Minute Rice
1 can of white chicken meat
Cook rice, add chicken meat. Serve when it's all warm through. I think you can add salt and pepper for spice .
My Mom's Slightly Better Chicken Dish
Minute Rice
Chicken Breasts
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Cook the minute rice, then layer it in the bottom of a casserole dish. Put the chicken breasts on top, and top it all w/ the cream of mushroom. Season to taste. Bake until chicken is done (an hour or so).
My favorite "Poor College Student" Dish:
1 pkg. cheapest ramen noodles
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 green onion (ohh, a fresh vegetable)
2 eggs
Cook the ramen according to directions. Fry the sliced mushrooms and green onion in a little margarine. Add the drained ramen noodles. Then add the two eggs and stir all together. Cook until eggs are done.
Hope the judges have fun with this contest! I've been thinking a lot about half-raw pancakes myself .
Okay.
Okay.
The hashbrown casserole that appears in variations above, I think I saw it called "cheesy potatoes" at least once? My mom calls her version "Saskatchewan Hash." And I believe I've encountered a version called "Funeral Potatoes" as well. Mmmm, cheese and starch. Food of gods, that is.
The thing I crave but cannot bring myself to make would be Mom's carrot salad. Grated carrots, raisins, mayonnaise, and I don't know what else, in mysterious quantity.
But an actual entry is in order.
The thing I ate last night:
one package cheap-ass ramen
two cups water
obscene quantity of garlic, sliced or smashed (really as much as you can stand - for many people this is one clove, I use up to half a head)
one carrot, sliced thin
handful frozen peas
hot sauce to taste
Dump water and vegetables in the pot, bring to a boil. Throw in the noodles and cook for three minutes. Add seasoning packet and hot sauce, stir. Serves one person who has a wicked head cold and is happy to be able to taste anything at all, so used more garlic and hot sauce than usual. Use whatever vegetables are on hand, spinach is particularly good. And I would have happily added sliced green onions if I had any.
For dessert?
Hot chocolate and saltines. Dip, eat, drink. Num.
Hey, if dessert is involved, you don't have to ask me twice!
And remember, everybody, the contest ends on Wednesday.
flea-
My dad's from southern Jersey, so that doesn't explain the mayo on the peanut butter and banana sandwiches. When I was a kid, the sandwiches were mayo-less, so I think the mayo is a recent addition to piss off his cardiologist.
Hmmm. Maybe he was just a big Elvis fan, then.
Breakup comfort food.
First Course:Either frozen french fries or french fries from McDonalds with catsup. Super size it.
Second Course: Entire box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
Third Course: Two Pepperidge Farm Apple Turnovers with vanilla ice cream.
Yum.
Flea, I'm sure there are a few dozen variations of this recipe. Mine is not nearly disgusting enough but I just have to try for any toy you find "mildly disturbing". This is actually my daughter's invention; I promised her the video after I preview it. She and her husband are currently trying to Fuck [their} Way To Parenthood, maybe it will be useful. Chicken Slop - 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can celery chopped in big chunks (1/2"+),1 can cubed cooked chicken. Simmer untill the celery softens. Serve over rice. The favorite around our house that others find disturbing is cottage cheese and potato chips. Just treat the cottage cheese like dip.
Most embarrassing dinners:
Instant Oatmeal:
Open packet. Pour contents in bowl. Add raisins if feeling flush. Boil water. Add boiling water. Stir. A little soy milk. Eat up.
Served almost nightly for dinner to myself and my 4 year old after her baby brother was born. On the other nights we had:
Mac-n-cheese-n-peas:
Make one box of shell-shaped mac-n-cheese as per directions. Boil frozen peas. Mix cooked peas in with finished mac-n-cheese, noting how the peas cunningly fit in the shells. Eat up.
When I was a kid, there was no way in you know where I was going to eat Chicken Noodle Soup. I also refused to eat Bread. So, what do you give your kid when she's sick?
My mom got creative. We call it Tuna Noodle. And at 34 yrs old, I still make it every time I'm sick
1 envelope Lipton's Chicken Soup with Noodles
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1 can of tuna
In one pot, make the soup according to package directions.
In another, slightly larger pot, make a roux out of the flour & butter. Once roux & soup are ready, slowly add the soup to the roux... stiring to combine.
Add one can of tuna, drained.
Pour over bread.
And, even at the age of 3, this future Culinary School Student and foodie.. covered it in black pepper.
But, at least she got chicken noodle soup and bread in me.
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