Freshening up what you already have

Last week was macaroni week. I ate a lot of Kraft Mac and Cheese because that is what a friend gave me. Fortunately, I had butter and milk too. But not enough cheese to coat the macaroni without the aid of the fake cheese kraft powder. So, to make it better (aka more cheesy, I prepared the mac and cheese with twice the amount of milk and butter needed and topped each served bowl off with grated cheddar to conserve the amount I had. Quite good.

Now this week was Ramen week because a dear friend bought me some. While I seldom buy it myself, it does give me a base for something hot. What I like to do if I have them is throw some eggs into the pot of ramen and make it like egg drop soup. I did not have eggs this week so instead I added frozen peas and freash green beans and some very potent hot peppers. The result is flavorful and more nutritious than plain ramen.

while none of these are great feats of culinary art, they are examples of what to do with cheap pre-prepared foods to make them taste more unique, more tasty, more nutritious and more creative. Which is in my opinion the whole secret to cooking, anyway.

Food Pantry Feasts: Cream of Mushroom Soup... Let me count the ways!

Food Pantry Feasts: Cream of Mushroom Soup... Let me count the ways!: "Cream of mushroom soup is incredible. It is hard to overstate the glorious awesomeness of cream of mushroom soup. It has literally been our..."

Food Pantry Feasts: The Zizi-ology of Cooking

Food Pantry Feasts: The Zizi-ology of Cooking: "I’ve worked in many restaurants in my, albeit short, time in the public work force, but in that time I have had some wonderful opportunities..."

Quinoa with Chives and Mayonaise

Two words: Tres Bien!

Can't afford to buy soda?

It is probably a good thing that I can't afford to buy soda because it is too high in sugar. Everybody craves something sweet every now and again though. So when I am not blending one of my famous smoothies or mixing up some of my famous strawberry lemonade, I settle for herbal iced that I brew myself. Hot beverages are marvellous for Fall and Winter, and sometimes, when I have not much time, I love to drink water with a few drops of lemon juice, with a tiny bit of sugar. So refreshing!

Everybody loves Fruit!

Everybody loves fruits! They are nature's candy! They are the perfect snack, party dish, side dish or dessert. There are so many to choose from!

I love making fruit mounds for parties! They are so easy, because fruit has so many lovely colors. Fruit salads are so perfect because it tastes like dessert when you have added no sugar and are getting your vitamins in too.

Food Pantry Feasts: Fish Cakes

Food Pantry Feasts: Fish Cakes: "I was sitting outside with my neighbor, Sandra, one evening and she asked me if I liked salmon. It was completely out of the blue and I wasn..."

Spuds with Greek yogurt?

I do not know a single person who does not love potatoes. They are such a marvellos little root. We fry them, roast them, bake them, boil them, mash them. We eat them for snacks we eat them as side dishes, we make soups with them, we even make pies out of them.

Probably the most loved way in the United States to eat this divinly starchy food, is in the form of french fries. Our second favorite way, is probably the baked potato. Then we pile on the chili, or the cheese and butter and sour cream and green onions and bacon bits and...wait...is this getting a little fattening?...More than likely...

A nice buttery, cheesy, sour creamy, oniony, bacon-bedecked spud is still awesome for once in a while, though. If you are just too daunted by all the fat, you could always skip the bacon and skimp on the butter.

Today I found a wonderful alternative to sour cream for my baked potato. I love fat-free fage (Greek yogurt). It is thicker, denser, and more sour than other yogurts and has just enough creaminess in texture. So it had the flavorful texture akin to sour cream, minus the fat!

Soups!

Soups are splendid! They seldom aquire much thought and need not cost much time or money! If you are like me, a single twenty-something trying away from home for most of the daylit hours, it can be challenging to make yourself cook and eat from home in the evening. If you are poor, however, there is no other option.

The other night, I could not decide what to cook. It was around six o clock already and I wanted something quick and easy. When I want something quick, easy, filling and cheap, I usually make rice. So I put some water in a pot, put it to a boil and threw in a couple cups of rice. While it cooked, I looked at a handful of herbs a friend had given me from her garden. So I threw in plenty of fresh sage and parsley.

As it cooked, I suddenly decided that soup was what I wanted, so I dug in the pantry and dug out a can of Campbell's Cream of Celery and threw that in too. Then I decided I needed more vegetables in the soup and tossed in some green frozen veggies. Finally, remembering that I had some frozen pre-cooked meatballs in the freezer too, I added them too. The result was done in very short time and was quite satisfactory.

So you see what I mean? I seldom have to think to make a stew or soup, and you can just throw practically anything that you already have so long as the flavors complement each other.

For the love of food

Hello!

Being an American, I love food. Being more than a little impoverished, I do not always have the joy of preparing, cooking and eating rare or expensive dishes. So I resort to my imagination in order to prepare tasty dishes that work with what I happen to have in my refridgerator, freezer and pantry. I also need a bit of thrift in order to keep my dishes healthy and nutritious. So I will post my occasional ideas on this blog for those of you who are like me. Enjoy!