ok , what is your signature dish? and how do you make it ? from opening a can of tuna and adding mayo to rack of lamb -- let's see it.

mine is breaded Pork Chops. ( My Gran loves them)

various chops ( center is best but it doesn't matter - works with pork steak too)

a couple eggs whisked in a bowl big enough for a chop

a plastic bag of seasoned as you like flour ( I use alot of garlic powder , salt , pepper)

fry pan with heated oil.

-----------

first put a chop in the flour bag and coat , remove and put chop in the egg coating both sides and put chop back into flour bag re coating. ( if you want you can repeat this for a thicker crust)

set aside and do a few more.

take it to the pan with the oil hot ( not smoking) and fit in as many as you can -BE CAREFUL

brown on both sides then remove. ( chop is not done)

--------------

version 1 - for Gran because she has no teeth and it has to be super tender -

I use a 9x13x3 pan on the bottom of which I have a wire rack with feet that holds what I'm cooking above the bottom.

place in pan , place about 1 cup of water in bottom of pan , cover with foil and set in preheated oven 350 for about 40 minutes.

mmmmmmmmm

for a crunchy crust for the rest of us. in the pan , no water , no cover for about 30 to 40 minutes.

if you don't have a wire rack you can put the chops directly on the oven racks and place a cookie sheet with foil on the bottom to catch drippings.

tada.

maybe later I'll put in her favorite - stuffed cabbage or perogies. but a pain to make.

Very good, simple pasta:

1 box tri coloured pasta (it's prettier) I usually use fissili
1 package of Italian sausages
fresh mushrooms, zucchini, red and green peppers ( what veggies you choose is of course up to you, I like this combo)
1 tbsp olive oil
Cavender's Greek Seasoning.

Cook the sausages and then cut into pieces. Boil the pasta while sautéing the veggies in the olive oil. Add the sausages to the veggies and add the seasoning (a couple good sprinkles). Add pasta and stir well. I always make this with a little seasoning for the munchkins and then add more to mine, I like lost of flavor.

Another recipe that popped into my mind. It is a dish, not a meal that my Ukrainina Grandma used to make. I have no idea what it is called, someone out there may.

Make one batch of bread dough.
Have at least 20 beet leaves washed and dried.
small container unwhipped Whipping cream
Butter.

You wrap the beet leaves around the dough, let rise for 1/2 hour. Bake until bread is done, aroudn 20 minutes. While in overn, melt 1/4 pound of butter in pan. Add the whipping cream and the beat wrapped bread. Sautee, turning the rolls over and over until most of the cream is absorbed into the rolls. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Very rich, but incredibly yummy.

Braciole

1/2 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1/3 cup grated provolone
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak
1 cup dry white wine
3 1/4 cups home made marina sauce, or store-bought marinara sauce
Stir the first 5 ingredients together. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season mixture with salt and pepper and set aside.
Lay the flank steak flat on the work surface. Pound the steak with a meat mallet until its about 1/4 inch thick. Lightly season the meat with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the steak to cover the top evenly. Starting at 1 short end, roll up the steak as for a jelly roll to enclose the filling completely. Using butcher's twine, tie the steak roll to secure.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the braciole and cook until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in the marinara sauce. Cover partially with foil and bake until the meat is almost tender, turning the braciole and basting with the sauce every 30 minutes. After 1 hour, uncover and continue baking until the meat is tender, about 30 minutes longer. The total cooking time should be about 1 1/2 hours.
Remove the braciole from the sauce. Cut the braciole into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Transfer the slices to plates. Spoon the sauce over and serve
MMMMM Yummy

My absolute favourite.

Chilli Con Carne

425g can of Baked Beans
1 kg of Beef Mince
1 lge Onion
1 375g can of diced Tomatos
1 sachet of Chili seasoning

Oil a large pot then add onion, brown then brown mince. Add the baked beans and diced tomatos and then the seasoning.

Serve with buttered bread.
So simple yet very satisfying. Good for just before a night of heavy drinking

I've got one from down south, sausage gravy and biscuits.
To make the biscuits you need:
2 cups of self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
a lump of solid shortening, this can be lard or Crisco shortening or butter or margarine, *not spread*
mix that together.
On a floured surface roll out the dough till it is 1/2 inch thick, use a glass or something else round ,to cut out your biscuits.
Put oil in the pan you plan to cook your biscuits in and put the biscuit in and then turn over so that the top of the biscuit has some oil on it. Fill the pan with the biscuits.
Put in an oven preheated to 400 degrees.

Next, put sausage, chub sausage, or market sausage in a pan and cook it. (not link sausage)
When it is done cooking, take it out of the pan and drain off the fat.
Put 2 tablespoons of the fat back in the pan, add 2 tbls. of flour, stir until well blended.This should be done with little or no heat.
Add 2 cups of milk and 3/4 cups of water
and 1 tbsp of pepper.
Add heat.
Keep stirring until thickened and then add the sausage back.

When the biscuits are done, they'll be brown on top.
Take them out, split them open and spoon the sausage gravy on top.
MMMMMMMM! delicious!

I keep reading the title of this thread REALLY WRONG.

Good thing I'm already cooking, now I'm drooling!!

LMAO!!! Like that wouldn't get shut down-quick!

Duh... I don't get it.

Oh wow I love to cook. I'm bad about quantities, I never write anything down and I just eyeball amounts.

Two of my favorite quick, super-simple, and easy grilling recipes:

Marinate red snapper in olive oil to cover, smashed garlic as much as you like; a couple cloves for a mild garlic taste or much more if you're me , couple good shakes of seasoned salt, the juice of a couple dozen lemons and limes, an entire buch of trimmed, minced cilantro. You can smash the cilantro a little, too, to release more flavor and aroma. The idea is to have almost equal amounts of citrus juice and oil. The citrus starts "cooking" the fish before you grill it and the flavors are incorporated very nicely. Throw those bad boys on the grill after an all-day marinade, until just done (it won't take long).

Rum-soaked pineapple thrown on the grill is also awesome. I like Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay. Or coconut-flavored. Melt some chocolate with a little rum in it (hiccup) and dip.



I like to marinate chicken in white wine worcestershire sauce, a little sugar, green onions, citrus juice, smashed peppercorns, basil, and cilantro. For a variation, add some juice from a jar of pepperoncinis.

A good marinade/braising liquid for beef is the juice of red bell pepper, juice of onion (how many of these last two depends on how much meat you are marinating), worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, cooking burgundy, smashed garlic of course lol, crushed red pepper flakes, spicy brown mustard, and tarragon all whisked together.

I like to get ground turkey or chicken, mix it with some dry Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning, white wine worcestershire sauce, and onion juice, and make it into burgers. I top it with a freshly roasted bell pepper half, spicy mustard and horseradish. My dad doesn't eat anything "weird," but he eats this and loves it.

A great pan sauce for chicken is bacon grease and apple cider. Another great one is balsamic vinegar and honey. One more is cream, mushrooms, butter, and sherry.

Also if you throw a red bell pepper in your crock pot with your pot roast it adds quite a complementary flavor and you don't have to eat the pepper if you don't want to.

I make green beans that everyone in my family loves and requests for holiday meals. You need about three or four big tablespoons of bacon grease, a small can of chicken broth, a stick of unsalted butter (please don't use margarine), some olive oil, salt and (preferably freshly ground) pepper, diced raw center-cut bacon about a half pound. About ten garlic cloves, smashed. You know what, I don't even weigh the amout of fresh green beans I buy for this, but I fill your average clear produce baggie full to the top. Heat stove to med-high. When it's hot, put the garlic, bacon, grease, and trimmed green beans in, and cover. You have to stay right there and take the lid off every couple minutes or so and stir to coat. The idea is to "pressure-cook" the flavor of the bacon into the beans, so replace lid tightly after each stir. After twenty or so minutes, the green beans start wilting and then you add everything else and replace the lid and let it simmer for about forty-five minutes. Watch it very closely toward the end so the liquids don't all cook off, you might have to add more broth or water.

My childrens' and my favorite salad is very simple. Microwave four ears of corn in the husk, in between layers of damp paper towels, for about ten minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, and be careful because a lot of heat stays trapped in the ear and when you start scraping it, it will release a lot of steam; scrape into a big bowl. Add four chopped mangoes, several chopped radishes, half of a diced red onion, two or three chopped avacadoes, a big handful of chopped jicama, an entire bunch of trimmed and minced cilantro. Toss it all together with Fritos and honey French dressing. My kids tear this salad up.

The key to a great cheese sauce is a dash of nutmeg.

Oh and the secret to really great peanut butter cookies is a dash of cardamom in the dough.

I know most people don't like squash but if you cook it only briefly so it's not over done, and sprinkle with mint, oregano, and dill, I think it's really good.

Real Southerners will have me tarred and feathered for this one, but I fix cornbread with a little bit of vanilla soymilk. My family has no idea, they eat it like there's no tomorrow and they'd never guess. The cornbread, I definitely have to give a specific recipe for. I'll try to figure out amounts and edit this post. I use an extra egg, too, so it's almost more of a cake consistency. It doesn't crumble and fall apart when you eat it. The sweetness is not noticeable at first, it is kind of in the end. When we have our corn and mango salad, we eat this bread with it, soaked through with honey so we have to eat it with a spoon.

OK lol you opened a can of worms now! Cooking is my favorite subject. I am positive I will be back when I think of more.

Mine is Lasagna........nothing really special 'bout it, I just follow the recipe on the box.

just take out one of the O's and add in a "c".

I stuff mine with pork hamburger and seasoned salt. My daughter gobbles it up like no tomorrow. Especailly the Spaghetti squash. just cut it in half, add the hamburger, spices, an egg if you want and bak. You will want it good an covered so that the meat and veggie are cooked thoroughly.


That's OK with me, I am going to be watching this thread for more great ideas from everyone. Thanks Ripley, it was a great idea to start this!

LOL, well whatever works!!

I love to cook so here are a few more.

Cinnamon Apples - Side Dish - Great with pork or chicken..

1 tsp. butter (I sometimes use 2, depends on the juice from the apples)
4 cups (1/2-inch) sliced and peeled, Granny Smith apples (about 4 med.)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash of salt

Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add apples and remaining ingredients, and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
Serve with pork or chicken....

I'm Italian and cook with alot of garlic. (Healthy and Tasty), so I always increase the garlic in this recipe..Depends on your taste.

Roasted Garlic and Tomato Mostacciolli

2 1/2 tbsps. olive or veg. oil
4-5 plum tomatoes, cut in half..If you have tomatos in your garden, it's even better.
1/2 tsp. sugar
l/8 tsp. salt
l/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper.
1 whole garlic unpeeled
Mostacciolli, or any other pasta. Amt. depends on how many your cookiing for.
2 tbsps. chopped fresh basil leaves, or l l/2 tsps.dried basil leaves
2 ounces cubed mozzarella cheese.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place aluminum foil on cookie sheet; generously brush with 1 tbsp. oil. Arrange tomato halves, cut side up in single layer on foil. brush with 2 tps. of the oil. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper.
Cut l/2 inch off top of garlic bulb..drizzle l tsp. of the oil over garlic bulb. Wrap in aluminum foil; place on cookie sheet with tomatos.
Bake 55-60 minutes or until garlic is soft when pierced with a knife and tomatos have begun to shrivel..cool slightly.
Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
Squeeze garlic into remaining 1 1/2 tsps oil and mash until smooth..toss with pasta. Add tomatoe halves and basil..toss. top with cheese...serve immediately..Enjoy...Thanks Lt. All the recipes I've read look so great....

good god it's only 8:30 in the morning and you have all got my mouth watering. and I'm not hungry ! it amazes me how talented some are in the kitchen. truly an art.

I started this to widen my ideas of what to make for my Gran and I hate just going by recipes but rather go by how people react to the food.

also me and my sister were talking the night before ( she had some of my oven fried chicken thighs - yum) and we both realized what a horrible cook my mother was . although as kids we though she was a good one. ( although my mom did make decent lasagna and home made pizza - but that was it. even now her cooking stinks but so does my Gran's cooking ( except for the Ukrainian dishes). My grandfather was a great cook however and he did the bulk of the cooking in the house.)

today I'm making gran 2 dishes ( one for tomorrow for her dinner)

Meatloaf for tonight. I know sounds boring but it's very tasty !

I never measure really.

3lbs ( what we have today) ground chuck or leaner if you wish but fat content helps here.

a couple of eggs

a cup or more of milk ( added a bit at a time) milk helps break down the burger and gives it a unique texture/flavor.

a couple or 3 or 4 cups of very crushed saltines - depends on how much liquid you use - put it in a cup or so at a time. left over crushed you can store.

season as you like - I use 1 pk of Ms Grass Onion soup mix - lots of garlic ( minced , fresh or powdered doesn't matter) extra onion ( minced dried , we love onion)
salt n pepper

mix all togeather well. I mean well. I mash it with my hands until the burger isn't in a strand form. it's broken down. ( you may want to let the burger warm to a bit of room temp or face freezing hands)

now you can bake all of it in a roaster until juices run clear then top as you like ( we use tomato paste , worcestershire, catsup ) and let bake a bit more till tacky.

Today instead of using it all for meat loaf I' m going to use a third to make her some meat balls for spagetti for her lunch tomorrow.

using a modest but not skimpy amount of the meat loaf/meatball mixure you roll with palms into balls. then brown them all around sealing them well. then I put them in a slow cooker and top with any spagetti sauce I have . usually I have Classico tomato and basil. I let it slow cook until the sauce is thick and meatballs tender. This tends to make for a strong sauce. great with garlic bread .

I'm not as accomplished in the kitchen as I could be , but like gardening , it just seems to work.

Macarona Bechemel

Make your own rich meaty sauce. Mix it into a pan of ziti or penne, use a layer of the ground beef for the top layer. Do this in a very deep dish. Leave about an inch to the top for the bechemel sauce.


Then on the stove melt a stick of butter, and sprinkle in a big spoon of flour. Then stir quickly slowly add 1/2 a quart of milk and keep stirring and stirring (like you are making a pudding) keep stirring and add more milk little by little but no more than the whole quart.

Be sure to add salt to this while you are doing it. When its thick like pudding, take it off the burner.

In another bowl whisk together two eggs and set aside. You need to let the sauce cool for a minute or you will cook the egg when you try to mix it in.

After a while whisk the egg into the sauce. It will loosen it a little, don't worry.

Pour this over the pasta mix and put it in the oven at 350 degrees. Cook until the top is browned.

This is also called "Pastichio" in Greek.


Sorry I just throw stuff around the kitchen when I cook. I don't have recipies

Alot of men did the cooking in my family...My dad made the best sauce ever, and my brother was a fireman and did the cooking for the guys....Unfortunately, my husband just eats...doesn't cook...

mmmmmmm spaghetti squash. I make it just cut in half , cleaned, face down in a pan of water in the oven till tender. a bit of salt n pepper ! yum. plain but I like it.

Speaking of squash, here's another one..

Green or yellow squash, depending on how many your cooking for, unpeeled cut in l/2inch or 1 inch slices.
lots of garlic chopped...(again depending on if you like garlic)
olive oil
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste.

Put a small amount of olive oil in a saucepan.
Add garlic, do not brown
Add salt and pepper
Add squash and cover...put on low heat...The squash will make its own water so it won't stick..Just turn every so often
When squash is done, add egg and mix well..

Well, I'm not your average meat & potatoes kind of girl. I like to cook dishes from other countries. My favorites that I cook are

1. Greek Dolmades w/avgolemono sauce (stuffed grape leaves)

2. Chicken curry w/rice or Indian bread

3. Chicken nachos with homemade tortilla chips, lots of cheese, guacamole, sour cream, olive, and homemade pico de gallo salsa

4. African jollof rice

you can come cook for me any day. Do you know how to make chicken Biryani ? Last I had it was in England . I could also really go for some steak and kidney pudding. mmmmmmmmmmmmm my favorite.

I don't suppose my fish-stick recipe would be of any use in this thread?

I made it about 10 years ago, but not since then. I know you can agree when I say "Variety is the spice of life". What would life be like if we had to eat sandwiches and meatloaf every day.

LOL, only if they are from scratch!!

of course. however I have to cook for a 91 year old. really limits alot of meals.

I love middle eastern food. we used to have this homemade resturant near me , but after 911 the business stopped , where it was packed with costomers now was barely any. sad too because it was all home made. all of it. Not like La Sheik where it tastes like processed . ( like hummus)

I have a family member now who is American /Jordanian and have learned to make my own hummus ( easy) now all I need is to find a place that makes good swarma to go with it.

My sister works in Greek Town at her sons fathers families resturant ( for the last 15 years) I love lemon chicken soup.

I make stuffed cabbage and perogies for the holidays. I also make some veggies dishes I love from a ex that was a vegan. ( lentel burgers , brussel sprout casserole )

and my sister in law is Blackfoot and southern. her table is always a mix of oddities from fried flat bread to grits. lol

suffice to say family get togeaters have something for everyone

Hi The Mule:

I'd love to read your fish-stick recipe. I like fish sticks especially if they're served with tartar sauce. Gee, I'll have to pick some o' that up at the store next time I go shopping.

Crispy eggs...

You also cook?

Yes, it does sound like you've got quite a variety there.

Greek town? You don't live in Baltimore Ripley? Do YA?

lol no but I love John Waters and can't wait to see the new version of Hairspray. ( although it could never be as good as with Devine , Ricky Lake and Jerry Stiller)

we have a Greek town here in Detroit - been around for ages and very busy.



ooh you can just make out the resturant my sister works in -

on the right hand side far down next to a big neon blue sign , it's reddish pink.



yes her sons uncle is Greek but serve American fare ( great in a area all Greek)

Oh cute. You know I was an extra in the original Hair Spray. I was standing right next to Debbie Harry when her hair blew up. And I can do the roach!!!

man some of these sound good.

Get a peice of bread. Toast it lightly.
smear some spaghetti sauce on it.
shred some cheese on it.
bake or microwave it till cheese melts.
Home-made Pizza a 4 yr old can make!

Fried bologna/hot dogs go good in ramen noodles, mac n cheese and omlettes

bake breaded chicken breast covered in spaghetti sauce, add cheese & bake a lil more = pretty quick "parmesan" chicken

bread some steak chunks, fry them in a big pan till the breading is just starting to brown, add veggies like squash/zuchini, carrots, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, etc... and brown those a little. Then add water and let it simmer, add more water and let it simmer. May need to switch to a pot, add more water and let boil up... season to taste here and there...
after a while you get a pretty delicious stew, meat's all tender... and can keep adding ingredients/water to make more over the next few days

whip out some instant rice
cook come chicken in a pan, add some veggies like brocoli, corn, pineapple... cook that a little with the chicken and throw in some soy sauce... fry that up for a bit and there's some "chinese mush"

in one of those rectangular glass deals put a layer of corn tortillas, layer of tomato sauce, layer of cheese (maybe some corn and/or fried up ground beef/chicken) another layer of corn tortillas, another layer of tomato sauce w/cheese... do another layer... top w/cheese and bake = "mexican lasagna"

didn't mention seasonings for most of it... we just make it up as we go. Most used seasoning is garlic salt.

Edit: cut up some potatoes into fries, fry them in oil or deep fryer thing, As Soon As you take them out, cover with garlic salt, cheese, and bacon bits. Get a side of ranch dressing and mmmmm

Here's a sure fire rice recipe It always comes out sooo goood.


One box orzo pasta, one stick butter, a large can of chicken broth and Carolina's rice.

You dump some of the pasta into a pot with melted butter in it and toast the orzo until it browns and then just as it looks like its getting a wee bit too brown, dump in the chicken broth (this works better when the broth is heated) then stir and then pour in rice until you make a little mound in the middle that just peeks over the top of the broth.

Stir, salt and pepper to taste and then simmer until done.

Yum! Celumnaz, these dishes sound delicious! Some people think to make a delicious dish you have to spend a lot of tme in the kitchen preparing for the final meal. Not so, as you have proven, some delicious meals take minutes to make.

So when are you coming out with your new book "Celumnaz's Meals in a Minute"?

Hey, I'm gonna defintely try your cheesy fries w/bacon bits recipe.........right after I try fish sticks with tartar sauce. Lol

really !!!!! damn now I'm gonna have to rent it. !

ah ramen noodles. I lived on them while in collage.

and made them so even my 2 year old niece loved them ( she still does as an adult)

a couple of pks. ramen ( usually I use chicken) cook until al dente ( which for ramen noodles is like when they start to get hot .lol)

drain and add a can of tuna, a pat or 2 of butter , 1 or both seasoning pks ( I only use one) some parma cheese to taste and lastly some cooked brussel sprouts. not everyone's fare but we love em.

and my Yogurt Stuff ( another collage food)

lg. tub yogurt ( I use plain or vanilla and any kind will do )

granola ( with or with raisins and stuff) as much as you like ( I put in quite a lot)

2 heaping tlbs of peanut butter

1 orange cut up into pieces

mix all together ( it will be mixed enough when peanut butter blends)

you can eat now or ( like some who have become addicted to it ) wait a few hours.

it is great. of course you can mess around with ingredients.

OMG DROOLING SO BADLY!!!!

My dad was an untrained Italian phenominal cook!! My cousin owns a couple restaurants and the food is to die for!!!! My son, I think, has inherited the cooking gene, which is GREAT. He can cook up a storm at 12-years-old. Go baby go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My staple of life is a Caprese Salad, but it has to be the way I MAKE IT.

Ripe vined tomato (very important)
Buffalo Mozzarella (big round one)
Fresh Basil (I grow it)
Colavita EVOO (Extra-Virgin Olive Oil)
Colavita Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Rosemary and olive oil bread finely cut from the bakery (or not cut and rip apart like a true Italian depending on my mood)

Cut up the tomato and cheese and put on a plate. Douse with EVOO and vinegar. Tear basil apart and sprinkle on top. Salt and pepper. Eat. Sop up remaining oils and juices with the bread. Done...I'm hungry now!!!

My favorite!!! I eat it as a meal but also do it for a stater salad for a sit down dinner.

What. Someone else is knowing about fried bologna omelettes?! I thought I was the only one So much for that ancient Chinese secret.

Our favorite three-minute meal lol: Fry an egg hard in olive oil with the yolk broken, until the edges start to get crispy and brown, set aside two pieces of bread with two slices of American cheese. Lay one piece of cheese on the first piece of bread. Salt the egg pretty good but don't try to pat it dry or get the grease off in any way because you want the salty oil to soak the bread just a little, put it on the cheese so it gets melty, put the other piece of cheese on top, put ketchup and mustard on the whole thing. Leave alone for a minute so the cheese melts and the bread soaks up a little oil. Oh yeah it's better if you don't toast the bread. For some reason fried okra goes really well with this. Slice okra, get it damp with water, toss in cornmeal/dry ranch seasoning, deep fry quickly in a little saucepan with about four inches of very hot oil, in small batches. You don't have to use ranch most people just use salt and pepper and so do I depending on my mood.

Lt. Ripley, your granola stuff sounds very good. I bet that is probably good frozen, too. I like the idea of oranges and peanut butter together. Peanut butter is one of my favorite things and I often make p.b. smoothies.

I also add p.b. to my banana bread sometimes, along with chocolate chips. My kids love it but they're lucky if they get any sometimes. People will scrap over the last piece of it.

1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce
3/4 cup sugar
4 mashed overripe bananas
2 eggs
3/4 cup p.b.
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch cardamom
as much chocolate chips as you like

350 degrees, start checking at about 60 minutes but will probably take closer to 75.

Another think I like to make is a really good snack for a hot day. It's very light. Make your favorite tea. I do something different every time. Sometimes I use the passion fruit/jasmine green tea, sometimes chai with my vanilla soymilk added in... you can just use sweet tea, it doesn't matter. Or raspberry, peach, fruity herbal tea with lots of honey, etc you get the idea... Set it to freeze in the freezer. As it starts freezing, rake over it with a fork every so often so that it doesn't set it one big ice cube, but rather it sets like a snowcone. Icee, granita, whatever you want to call it, it's just good on a hot day when you want something sweet. One time I had a starfruit and I cut it in slices and sprinkled with powdered sugar and dipped the tips in those colored edible glittery cake decorating things (I was bored that day lol) and garnished it like that and my daughter thought it was cute!

edit to add: Daaang.. I want to eat at Celumnaz's house Right on, the bacony cheesey ranchy fries! You go. You know what would be good with your fries? Cut a good sirloin steak into 1/2" wide, by about 3" long strips, toss in seasoned flour, and deep fry in olive oil. MMMM... steak fingers. SOOOOO good. Especially if you use lots of pepper in the flour. Dip steak fingers in a half-ranch, half-bbq sauce mixture. Hmm but a word of warning.. I think if you eat fried steak and cheesey bacon fries at the same meal, you might want to have some nitroglycerine and a defibrillator handy. Just a thought.

A good breakfast dish is this: Place good sourdough or potato bread in the bottom of a casserole dish that you have greased or sprayed first. Cover with ham, cheddar, and bell peppers, then cover with whipped eggs with salt and pepper. Soak overnight and put in about a 425 degree oven. Top with more cheese right before it's done.

Just thought of another favorite. Super-easy appetizer, my mom likes these. Mix some lump crabmeat and little tiny salad shrimp with some Old Bay, some diced celery and celery leaves, diced onion, a little sour cream or plain yogurt and some cream cheese. Wrap small spoonfuls in pre-made crescent dough, very carefully pinching shut edges so filling doesn't leak. I don't remember what temp to cook these at I usually just throw them in with everything else and just watch them. You can also fill them with ham/asparagus tips/swiss cheese/mustard/green onion/horseradish/cream cheese. Just a quick little something you can throw together and everyone likes them. Really you could mix anything together and bake inside. Spinach/sundried tomatoes/basil/sliced almonds/cream cheese/yogurt would work well too although I haven't tried that combo yet. I was going to last time but made the ham ones instead. It's hard to wrap the croissant just so, and sometimes in a hurry I just pinch them together in little blobs.

edit, hmm I forgot to add that the croissant things use a good amount of shredded parmesan, too. You can monkey around with cheeses. Gruyere is good, as is a smoked swiss, smoked cheddar, or smoked mozzerella.

My mom wraps half-cooked bacon around little balls of stuffing and bakes until bacon's done, and stuffing is a little crunchy on the outside. Got that from a visit to West Virginia when I was three with my father's family.

Thanks. It's my fav.

Do you have any recipes?

These recipes are making me hungry. Good idea Lt Ripley.

Pork Green Chili
3 pounds boneless pork loin, cubed
3 tablespoons oil
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
7 green chile peppers, chopped
4 cloves crushed garlic
4 cups chicken broth
1 (10 ounce) jar prepared green chile salsa ( I like Mrs Renfros)
salt to taste
Brown the pork in oil, in 2 to 3 batches.
Place the meat in a covered pan and add celery, tomatoes, chilies, and garlic.
Add about 1 cup chicken broth to the skillet the pork was cooked in, stirring over high heat to scrape up browned bits on bottom and bring to boil. Add to pot with enough additional broth to barely cover the ingredients. Cover and simmer until stew is thick and meat very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add salt to taste before serving. If you like add a bit of jalapeno salsa. Serve with warm flour tortillas. I like to lightly butter tortilla then spoon on green chili and roll up.

I love Lasagna. A couple things I do is I use Italian sausage instead of hamburger, Ricotta cheese (never cottage cheese) and some chopped fresh spinach. Of course gotta have Garlic bread with Lasagna.

Roasted garlic spread.

4 large heads of garlic
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off heads of garlic to expose cloves. Place garlic in small baking dish. Add oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Turn garlic cut side up. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until garlic skins are golden brown and cloves are tender, about 55 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic cloves from skins. Put in food processor with some italian seasoning and mush. Spread on Italian bread sprinkle on some cheese (parmesan, romano,etc) and broil till golden. MMM


I like squash this way to. Also good with Acorn squash. Sometimes I sprinkle on a little brown sugar.

That sourdough breakfast bake sounds delish Texasgirl...My family is coming in from Georgia and this sounds just like something they would enjoy.....

mmmmmm real garlic bread. I like the way you think

Goalienan, I hope your family does enjoy it!

Oh and about the squash: I love to put cinnamon and sugar on top. It's how my mom always made it for me. I like to whip it sometimes, almost like mashed potatoes, with the cinnamon and sugar, and a little cream. As far as mashed potatoes go, there a few interesting substitutes, like pureed cauliflower. Sounds hideous, but honestly when you eat it you will be surprised how good it is. Just steam and puree with butter and chicken broth, salt and pepper. You can add herbs that you like. It's so surprisingly good. But it has to be pureed, the consistency has to be smooth, you don't want chunks in it. If I have the time, I put my mashed potatoes through a ricer, it makes the consistency very silky.

Another substitute for mashed potatoes that my kids love is this: I skin sweet potatoes, microwave until completely mashable, and whip with eggnog, a little salt, a dab of marshmallow cream, a little nutmeg, cinnamon, and dash cardamom, and add toasted walnuts or pecans. Just make sure you use the salt, it is needed to balance the sweetness. A little drizzle of honey and butter on top. (Mashed potatoes get boring after a while lol)

Ummmmmm.... i'm totally going to try this! It sounds even better than my flank steak recipe!

I think I'm going to try Ripley's chops too... I even have some in the freezer, but I always hesitate to make them cuz they always turn out like cardboard. haha. I'll report back on how they turned out!

I'll put some of my faves here later this afternoon! Including a tasty Peppar Vodka Chinook Salmon recipe.

I'll vouch for this one! Pureed cauliflower mashers are GREAT! My mother used to make them all the time.

I make them too, except, because I'm not restricted by her vegan diet, I add a dumptruck full of gorgonzola cheese! Very tasty!

Twice dipped rings

Slice up onions, dip in cold water and drop in plastic bag of flour.
Shake well and spread out to dry.
Mix flour, salt, pepper, and garlic salt together with milk to get a batter.
Dip each piece and spread to dry.
Chill batter as wait to dry.
Dip and spread to dry again.
When fully dry fry up quickly in hot oil.
Shake a little parmesan cheese over them as you set them out to drain, while very hot.

Dip in favorite sauce or can use this one up for one person or two

one half cup mayonnaise
one tablespoon honey
one tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Here are some of mine.

Back Beans and Rice con Chicken

6 oz of chicken diced
1 can black bean drained and rinsed
1 tb of Goya Recaito or a ½ cup of chopped cilantro
½ med sweet onion
1 cup of celery chopped
½ cup of corn optional
1 ts of minced garlic or more to taste
¼ ts of cayenne pepper to taste
½ ts of black pepper
1 tb of lime or lemon juice
½ cup of white wine
½ cup of instant brown rice
½ cup of water
1 tb of olive oil
In a hot pan large enough to hold ingredients add oil and chicken. Fry until about half cooked then start adding other ingredients, except rice and water, sautéing as you add, add wine last. Stir to mix then cover. Cook the Rice, then let set until rice is tender. . Pour over rice. Makes two servings.

Gater Nuggets
1lb of gater tail cut into bite size chunks
1tb spoon of garlic power
one egg
1/2 cup of milk
flour in a bag enough to cover nuggets.
salt to taste
pepper to taste
oil for frying

Sprinkle the gator nuggets with garlic power. Mix the milk and egg and dip the gater, then then drop the nuggets in to the flour, salt, and pepper and shake the bag. Drop the nuggets in to the hot oil and fry until the float to the top.

I make homemade bananna bread ( more like a muffin in texture) I bet p.b and choco chips are excellent with it. ! come winter I'll have to try it !

Ok! this is one of my favorite recipes and it's a good way to impress a date too--and you don't have to kill yourself doing it. This is an EASY recipe. haha.

Choose a nice cut of salmon. I recommend using an Alaska King salmon or other hardy NW salmon... Atlantic salmon is really too delicate for this recipe and the chutney overwhelms it. A good NW Salmon is meaty and has a similar density as tuna, it's typically a very dark pink.

Bake or grill the salmon filets for about 15 minutes at 350, with just a small pat of butter on top to hold the moisture in. Check it frequently if you're unfamilier on how long it takes to cook. It's done when it's still slightly raw in the middle.

Peach and Peppar Chutney:

Peach and Black Pepper Chutney


1 yellow onion, diced small
1 tablespoon of Vegetable oil (olive oil works too). Use to saute onions... personally, I like to saute in butter, but it's your choice.
2 peaches, pitted and sliced 1/4-inch thick
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 tablespoon molasses
Fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons Absolut Peppar Vodka (sometimes I like a little bit more... )

In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the onion until translucent. Add the peaches, and cook 2 minutes.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the vodka. Simmer uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally until onions are tender. Be careful not to overcook the peaches. Remove from heat, and stir in vodka.

Pour over the salmon and voila! bona petite!

This is such a great hearty dish, that you can actually get away drinking a good Sangiovese wine or Cab with it!

This chutney is also great with pork... as are most fruit based chutney's. And if you're not wild about peaches, substitute mango's or other similar density fruit that cooks well.

I've also added Craisins to this recipe and stuffed cresent rolls with this chutney and added a slice of havarti cheese and baked for 15 minutes... it makes a tasty surprising appetizer.

Here's another one my daughter and I like -- it's TOTALLY a guilty pleasure and it sounds completely disgusting but it's not!

PBJ French toast!

Make several PBJ sammiches (I think white bread is best)
In a shallow bowl combine 4 eggs, milk to the count of 4, add cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract as you like.

Dip the sammiches in the egg mixture and in a teflon or regular pan, fry as you would regular french toast (if you use a regular pan you might need a little pat of butter to prevent sticking).

I like just a touch of blackberry syrup on them, but any old syrup or fruit or jam will do!

It's YUMMY.

Here's CRAP FOOD


But its yummy


Take a box of Orzo (you can use the left overs from the rice) and boil it


Take a tub of cool whip


Take a can of Fruit Cocktail


Mix

Eat.