Eating Waffles

  Oh my word how does a space as small a pantry becomes so disorganized? And in such a short time, nonetheless? While reorganizing the four 2x4 pantry shelves yesterday a golden back of the box recipe was discovered. Milk Brownies. Replacing yogurt for milk or applesauce for oil, these are commonplace alternatives. Milk for water in a box brownie, this had to be tried.  Stat. Modifications Made: Per the box, 1/3 cup milk replaced 1/3 water.  Half cup of chopped walnuts were added along with two tablespoons of Hershey chocolate syrup.  Because why not. Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You The milk was fine, the extra chocolate was fine.  Walnuts could have been doubled. The problem was the brownies themselves.  I accidently made cake brownies with two eggs instead of fudge brownies with just one brownie.  So sad.  These were given to the neighbor who prefers cake brownies.  If the neighbor liked fudge brownies (they are the best kind) these would have gone to the chickens. They have no

  Staring into the pantry looking for inspiration usually has little to rewards. But sometimes, ,just sometimes, something amazing pops out at you like these Magic Muffins. Modification Made: Sugar reduced by half, powdered milk replaced fresh, and vanilla was omitted. Scaled for Likability: Good No, they were not cornbread muffins but they were so much easier.  So much so and just as tasty.  I would make these again to serve alongside scrambled eggs, swap honey for sugar, and butter for oil. Edit Note March 22, 2021: Unlike cornbread, these muffins do not reheat well in the microwave.  Maybe would have been great in the oven with a pan of water to stay moist, but the microwave resulted in a chewy texture.

  So many noodles, so many choices.  Hot, cold.  Spicy and savory, creamy and robust.  Thick, thin.  Italian, American, Asian.  Udon noodles are thick, square, and long.  Very similar to spaghetti noodles spaghetti noodles were twice as thick.  When reading the back of this warm and serve Udon noodle package I knew it had to be cooked simply due to the ease of instructions. Modifications Made: Carrots were added, thinly sliced. Scaled for Likability: Good The sauce was good, the meat tender, the veggies just cooked, the noodles a little too thick for our taste.  And it was not enough for three people unless served with egg rolls and soup on the side.  If you are looking for a great starting place to try Asian meals, this is a good place.  Veggies could be anything you like, beef could be switched for chicken or pork or left out all together.  Soy could replace Tamari, hoisin for oyster sauce, sesame blend for just 1 tsp of sesame oil.  Would have been great with fresh ginger, white pep

  This was recipe that started the idea for the whole month.  Of course, upon reading it I knew there would be easy modifications made but it made for a great starting platform. Modifications Made: Two links sweet Italian sausage, two links regular Italian sausage removed from their casings, cooked until very crispy, and set aside to drain.  To sausage grease, one finely diced yellow onion cooked until translucent and tender.  One tablespoon of minced garlic added and briefly allowed to brown.  One can of petite diced tomatoes were added along with one tablespoon of Italian seasoning and contents were blitzed with the hand blended to make a chucky sauce.  Sausage returned and ingredients were simmered on low while pasta cooked. With pasta cooked, green beans were added to sauce along with drained pasta.  When served, feta crumbles were added instead of parmesan. Scaled for Likability: Good The picture on the can does not match the recipe.  Do not let this deter you cooking this as it i

  Last night was epic failure.  Luckily the chicken fajita was saved and could be served to redeem itself on these crispy tacos.  I know what you are thinking.  Chicken fajita and flour tortillas, not fajitas and crispy tacos.  Crispy tacos are only for soft beef taco meat.  Hey, new things remember. Modifications Made: Spanish rice was added to the bottom of the tacos before adding onion/pepper mixture, chicken, cheese, lettuce, salsa. Scaled for Likability: Great Who knew crispy tacos would be just as yummy as beef taco filling?  Not anyone at this table.  Our only complaint was the lack of extra crispy shells for lunch tomorrow.

For over a week I have been trying to serve this meal for dinner.  First it was the lack of chicken.  Then it was the last of salsa.  Lastly it was the lack of time.   Modifications Made: Yes, time.  The recipe called for rotisserie chicken but I wanted to use grilled chicken fajita to take this meal to the next level.  Then leftover chicken could be served for breakfast tacos the next day.  Fresh salsa replaced diced tomato. Scaled for Likability: Fail There is just one word to describe what went wrong.  SALT.  1200mg of salt per bag and the bag was only serving.  Luckily, the chicken was saved, the noodles were feed to the chickens (they are going to die of hypertension) and more lettuce needed.  Chicken fajita salad it was.

  Lo Mein is one of this tables' T&T recipes. The original recipe is long gone but the idea is all the same: thin spaghetti noodles, stir fry veggies (less is more), and a sauce. So far back of the box had had mixed reviews and I thought for sure this recipe would be a guaranteed win. Modifications Made: Instructions were written at the most basic level which left lots of room for interpretation.  Noodles were cooked as instructed, rinsed with cold water, and set aside.  Sauce was equal parts soy to oyster, a splash of sriracha and a splash of sesame oil.   Scaled for Likability:  Good Sauce was good, veggies were good, noodles were sticky.  As in so sticky they stuck to the fork/chop sticks.  Don't really know what went wrong other than they were so sticky.

Pictures are deceptive. What this picture of this recipe does not show is how old and faded the print out paper is, how many stains are smudged across various spots, and the numerous notes written in the top right corner with the first one dating back to college days in 2001.  Yikes, twenty years ago makes this paper print out old, no wait, that makes me old.  Eek.   Sadly, my current living quarters do not allow for cooking of this cheesecake.  In fact the last time this recipe has been made have been close to six or seven years.  That is just too long.  Too long.  Luckily, we are spending Spring Break at family with a real oven.  A family who will help eat this oh so rich, very decadent, supremely yummy cheesecake. Modifications Made: There are four keys to a successful cheesecake. ONE: all ingredients must be room temperature.  If your house is ice chest cold, then warm the ingredients on the stovetop. TWO: do not over mix.  Excessive mixing creates air pockets resulting in split mi

  Stove Top stuffing is a take it or leave it food with me.  The table counterparts on the other hand love it, especially when served with turkey. Tonight we compromised, yummy fresh BBQ Turkey seasoned with Tony Chachere's Butter and Jalapeno injection flavoring, canned green beans, and Savory Corn Spoon Bread. Modifications Made: Sugar omitted.  Cooked in a 10" cast iron skillet. Scaled for Likability: Good My aunt makes a well loved version of cornbread casserole.  It is yummy.  This was by no comparison to her homemade cornbread casserole but it was yummy all the same.  Sweet, salty, soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Next time, finely diced yellow onion would replace the green onion, the corn and the butter would be increased, and the dish would be served in a 9x12 pan allowing for a better spread of corn to stuffing ratio. Edit March 7, 2021: Leftovers were warmed in the microwave and then fried on a well buttered skillet.  This allowed the bottom and top to

  Don't you love heat and serve rice bags? They are varied in flavors, grains, and ready to eat in less than five minutes.  Sadly, with the ease of cooking comes the high intake of salt and the high outtake in the pocketbook. Luckily enough, most ready to serve bags are easily replicated with fresh cooked ingredients such as this Seven Grain Spinach Salad found on the back of our local grocer brand seven grain ready to serve rice pouch. Texmati whole grain rice mixture with fresh baby arugula and dinner served. Modifications Made: One cup of Texmati Royal Blend cooked with three quarters cup water and three quarters cup reduced sodium chicken broth.  When almost done, 12 ounces baby arugula was tossed on top of rice and allowed to soften.  Juice of half fresh lemon added before mixing together. Scaled for Likability: Great Fresh, filling, and fabulously easy.  Whole grains provided the texture and the heartiness, greens provided the colors and the nutrients.  If you needed meat, t

  For the recipes during this the first week of Back of the Box/Can recipes, tonight's Citrus Corn Shrimp Wraps from the back of a Libby's can of Sweet Corn is the one I am most excited about. Being I am not a shrimp taco fan, this says a lot. A lot.   Modification Made: Over a bed of lovely arugula,  Corn Chimichurri and Lime Creme from Ground Pork Tacos with Corn Chimichurri  was piled high with shrimp on top of homemade flour tortillas. Scaled for Likability: Great The table loved this meal simply because it had shrimp.  Bitter arugula, sweet corn, zesty lime sauce, and spicy shrimp.  So many flavors that paired perfectly.  Skillet fried shrimp or fried shrimp would have been just as good.  Shrimp blackened on the BBQ would have been superb. I on the other hand could have just had a tortilla with all the toppings minus the shrimp. Wait, I did and it was great.  But then again, that is just me and this thing with shrimp I have going on.  

Day two of back of the box/can recipes and I am already finding myself a little overwhelmed.  There are so many back of the can recipes but how many are really gonna be decent enough to eat.  Take Sloppy Joes.  So simple and easy, brown the meat and add the sauce and dinner is served.  But.... Modifications Made: Meat was well browned, allowed to drain, returned to the pot and allowed to cook to almost a crispy stage before the sauce was added.  Meat was then simmered on low for 30 minutes to develop the flavor fully. Scaled for Likability: Good There is nothing wrong with sloppy joes on the basic level: saucy meat and bread.  Kinda really can't go wrong except that it could be so much better.  Less sweet, more depth, less unknown ingredients that can't pronounced, more freshness.  Even with cheese and pickles this is still just a elementary school staple.  

Can't believe The Month of Soup is over.  With arrival of the last day, I discovered there were so many soup recipes uncooked.  Some were previously tried recipes like 16 Bean Soup  and PoFolks Stew . Some were new like Black Bean & Butternut Squash Chili (Vegan)  and Mexican Meatball Soup .  Being the last day of the month, I thought it was only fitting to serve a new recipe Summer Corn and Zucchini Chowder to keep in with Eating Waffles new recipes routine.  And because it had bacon. Cause why not? Modifications Made: Parsley and thyme were omitted, milk was reduced by half, and bacon was doubled.  Zucchini was added to the corn for additional browning and cooking. Scaled for Likability: Great Man oh man, what a way to end a month of soup.  This was freaking fabulous, even with zucchini.  More pepper was needed along with more of a thickener to create a chowder consistency. Next time, the zucchini will be cooked directly alongside the onion and celery and all three along wit

Another day another soup. With soups of lately taking two days to finish, lots of dinner rolls have been made to meet soup requirements. First it was Potato Rolls  with the best results yet to date, then  Should Have Been Bread Rolls  with too many rolls per capita, then there were two batches of Parker Potato Folds with moderate success albeit slightly dense, and today it was Brown & Serve Dinner Rolls . Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half, powdered milk replaced whole milk, and sugar was reduced to quarter cup.  Understanding yeast needs sugar to activate, but doesn't a third of a cup seem excessive?  These are dinner rolls, not french toast. Scaled for Likability: Good Fluffier than the Parker House Rolls with a better taste than the soft dinner rolls.  The bottoms yet again cooked too quickly leaving the tops well underdone and these were not square.  I am wondering how critical the pan is when cooking rolls.  None of the rolls rise as high and fluffy as they sh

Broth based soups are some of my favorite soups. Heavy cream based souls are rich and filling but often times over power the soup itself. Tomato based soups are always too tomatoey. Chicken Soup with Lime and Hominy is a perfect example of a broth based soup that fits this table best. Modifications Made: Four chicken thighs were boiled in a pot with one small white finely, diced onion, one tablespoon minced garlic, one halved large jalapeno with seeds removed, broth from hominy, one small handful chopped cilantro, one heaping teaspoon comino, and one chicken bouillon cube. While thighs cooked and deboned, hominy and lime juice was added to pot along and heat was decreased to a simmer. Thighs returned and soup allowed to rest for 30 minutes before serving. Cheese was omitted. Scaled for Likability: Great There is something so down to earth, soul filing, heart warming about hominy. Even with a soup as simple as just chicken and hominy, flavors are well paired and taste buds are made hap

Spices are defining ingredients to a regional location.. Comino is to Mexican as curry is to Indian as soy is to Asian. Therefore, when Easy Garlic Ginger Glazed Sticky Pork was discovered without soy sauce and five gloves of garlic, I knew we immediately had to try it.  Modifications Made: Sauce ingredients were reduced to quarter cup honey, one tablespoon sriracha, one heaping teaspoon rice wine vinegar.  One teaspoon ginger powder for fresh grated was added to sauce mixture. Scaled for Likeability: Great So spicy.  So sticky.  So sensational.  Even the teen tablecounter part liked it because it did not have soy however, it would have been preferred with less sriracha or ginger or black pepper.  Combining all three did add up to quite a bit of heat but when mixed with rice the heat was negotiable.  My only complaint, not enough for leftovers.  Bummer.

Some soups are just plain simple to cook.  And no, I am not talking about soup from the can.  Genuine, homemade soup like Egg Drop Soup.  Don't be fooled by the internet on this one.  This soup is super simple. Ingredients (one serving): Two cups chicken stock One teaspoon soy sauce One  well  scrambled egg One teaspoon cornstarch  One tablespoon water Sliced green onions Instructions: Mix cornstarch and water to slurry, set aside.  Bring chicken stock to boil, add soy sauce.  Bring stock to a swirl by vigorously moving fork in a clockwise location.  You want this to be moving, as in about to over swirl the side of the pot.  With stock swirling, gently pour WELL scrambled egg slowly thru tines of fork.  Stir egg strings around to keep from sticking to pot, turn off heat, add cornstarch slurry add green onions to taste. That's it.  Super simple Scaled for Likability: There is nothing better than egg drop soup for a late night dinner/snack/stir fry not filling enough so add a sou

Last weeks Should Have Bread Rolls  sent me on a mission. A mission for smooth in texture, puffy with some weight, slight chewy dinner rolls. What I found when searching for dinner rolls was a recipe for lemon bread pudding staring Parker House rolls as the base. Never have I eaten, seen, heard about Parker House rolls. Apparently, Parker House rolls have a cult following.  After reading several sites noting slight differences in ingredients, King Arthur Baking recipe was used because it contained potato flakes and came with a great step by step photo blog. Dinner rolls for dinner and dinner rolls for dessert tomorrow. Perfect, perfect. Modifications Made: None.  Bread making skills are still lacking. Scaled for Likability: Good One day bread will be produced at this table that is county blue fair award winning.  Until then, lots of dense, under or over risen, too chewy, lacking fluffy bread and bread rolls will be consumed.  These Parker House rolls were very tasty just not made corr

Good grief us heat loving Texans have made it. What a week it has been. Winter is over and Texas winter is back. Last night to celebrate the end of The Great Freeze 2021 with heating pads, electric blankets, and space heaters we indulgently ate ice cream. Yes, it was 32 degrees outside but directly in front of the space heater it was bliss.. Tonight it was back to everything lemon with The Best Lemon Curd Loaf Cake  using this Lemon Curd recipe. Modifications Made: For the bread, sugar was reduced by a quarter cup, greek yogurt was used instead of sour cream, lemon extract instead of lemon zest, and glaze was omitted. Scaled for Likability: Good Love this lemon curd.  Have made several versions and this is by far the easiest.   Bread was not excessively sweet, had a moist, crumby inside, and a crunchy top layer.  Layers of bread to curd was good but the addition of a sweetened cream cheese would have been better.  Bread was served cold and would have been great with a drizzle of lemon

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup.  Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too.  Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup  are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water.  Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender.  Green be

Never thought the day would come so soon when grocery stores were barren of product.  Again. Produce, zip. Meat, nada. Cheese, only generic American slices. Milk/Eggs/Dairy, closed. Bread, just broken chalula shells. Soups/Pasta/Sauces, zilch. Chips/Crackers/Cookies, few hit and miss brands nobody really likes anyways. Dry dog/cat food, zero. Toilet paper and paper towels, that's laughable as those shelves have never been fully restocked in the first place.  Good grief. Covid-19 caused unplanned cooking. Winter Storm Uri, or The Great Freeze of 2021 as the locals are calling it, caused creative cooking. Meals,  healthy meals, well healty-ish meals require vegetables. The only veggies left in the pantry are broccoli, carrots, baby spinach, and kale and they are all frozen from the freeze. Have to say, Gluten Free Lion's Head Meatball Soup was looking more and more like my only choice.  I am sure there were other choices but the sight of the store depressed me so I went home to

Read the instructions. This issue plagues my cooking quite often.  In this case my apparent inability to read plagued the salsa jar. What should have been Chicken & Hatch Chili Stew  turned into something with a little more heat than intended when a jar of jalapeno salsa was bought instead on salsa verde.  Didn't even know straight jalapeno salsa was made.  And to think I call myself Texan.  Huh. Modifications Made: As always, one small chicken was boiled in the minimalist of water alongside finely diced small yellow onion, one tablespoon garlic, one teaspoon comino, half bunch cilantro, two cubes chicken bouillon cubes, and a quarter cup of diced jalapeno salsa. With the chicken removed for cooling, the stock was tested for spice level and found it just fine.  A half cup of rice was cooked in the stock until almost done.  Not too done as it would become soggy sitting in the remaining heat.  Once the rice was done, one small bag of sweet corn was added along with shredded chick

Another frozen day another meal planned based upon what's available.  Dinner was modified Beans and Fideo Soup and dessert was  Soft Dinner Rolls instead of lemon bread.  Yes, dinner rolls.  They were actually served with lunch but leftovers were warmed on the skillet and served with homemade Cranberry Jallyserves.  Modifications Made: Not having power meant the entire recipe was made by hand.  A large bowl, a counter, and a sturdy wooden spoon. Scaled for Likability: Good These were soft and fluffy on the inside but the sides and bottoms got too hot in the RV oven in a cast iron skillet.  This always happens with my breads and biscuits, too.  If the bread is cooked to perfect bottom temp, the insides are not done.  The issue lies with the ovens' inability to maintain correct temperature and not being able to raise the cooking rack far enough from the heat source.  Another issue was the pan was too small for the amount of rolls.  A 10" cast iron skillet is not the same d

Day three of the Great Freeze.  There is no end in sight.... Ever since Covid, there have been a few select staples bought in mass bulk every time: flour 25 lbs at a time and frozen in gallon bags, sugar 20lbs at a time and frozen in quart bags, 4 packs of salted butter and frozen, powdered milk, evaporated milk, beans, rice, noodles, bouillon cubes, canned veggies.  It is a good thing there was still a stock pile of staples otherwise this table might have had a tough time surviving on condiment soup.  Meals might have been simple but there were sweets everyday to cheer up the cold soul and warm dinners at night to warm the heart.  We are doing just fine.  Today was a staple Beans and Fideo, slightly modified to soup format. Ingredients: 1 box fideo 1 tablespoon oil 1 cube tomate de pollo bouillon cube 1 28 oz can pinto beans 28 oz water Instructions: To large pot, fry fideo noodles in oil until nice and golden brown.  Add beans and tomate cube.  To bean can, add small amount of water

Cooking with limited heat, limited water, and limited supplies is interesting.  No we are not camping off the grid, we are just off the grid thanks to Texas Grid Failure 2021 .  Day three to be exact of no power, no water.  Times are interesting. Having the contents of the fridge freeze, The Great Freeze of 2021 Vegetable Broth  was made with okay results.  Not having much flavor to the eight cups of stock, two low sodium chicken bouillon, one full salt chicken bouillon, and one pollo de tomate bouillon cubes were added and allowed to simmer for 15 minutes before one bag of wheel noodles were cooked.  Diner served! Scaled for Likability: Great Once the flavor cubes were added, the veggie broth was tasty.  Guess one could really say this was chicken bouillon cubes noodle soup.  Whatever it was, it made a wagon full, was boiling hot, and once consumed there was not a wheel left.  It was the warmest we had been all day.  Delish. Edit Feb 27, 2021: When scouring the web for a new recipe fo

Good grief, this cold snap.  Every year I wish and wish for cold weather so this table can eat soups without melting.  Well this year winter came and came with a vengeance.  Two days below freezing with no water, no power, no internet/cell service.  It's the dark ages.  If you need more info just search for Texas Grid Failure 2021 .  Yes, this tragic affair has its own wiki page.  Good grief. Did you know that if temperatures drop below freezing for too long, refrigerators will not keep your cold stuff from freezing?  Well, they don't.  And with 17℉ temps, this tables fridge contents froze.  What to do with a fridge full of frozen fresh veggies? Veggie stock. No recipe was used, it was just all the veggies in the fridge (white and yellow onions, garlic, jalapeno, green onions, three roma tomatoes, celery, two russet potatoes, seven carrots, and a red and green bell pepper) salt and pepper, and enough water to just touch the top layer of veggies.  I did not want the veggies floa

Having scored a clearance package of fresh spinach and cheese tortellini at the store, an easy pot of Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup was made with a frozen package of spinach feta chicken sausage scored at half price a few weeks ago.  Double score. Modifications Made: Since the chicken sausage had feta and spinach, the links were boiled, casings removed, and sausage roughly chopped to attempt a recreation of crumbles.  If sausage had been cooked in crumbles first, the feta would have burned.  Water from the boiled sausage was kept for later usage in the soup as the water base for the chicken bouillon cubes. Shallots, extra salt, and italian seasoning were omitted.  Half and half was replaced with two tablespoons of flour added once the onions, carrots, and garlic were softened. Scaled for Likability: Good Too many flavors.  The soup would have been just fine without the sausage as the tortellini was filling enough.  Again, as with Vegetable Pot Pie Soup , the soup would have been just

Using Instant Pot Potato Spinach Soup as a starting platform, a flour based vegetable soup was made with the simplest staple ingredients in less than 30 minutes.  Modifications Made: Parsley and spinach were omitted and low-sodium vegetable broth was switched for full sodium chicken broth.  Cashew cream sounds disgusting on any platform but especially soup.  Once veggies were soft, two tablespoons of flour was added and cooked for one minute or so before broth was slowly added. Scaled for Likability: Good Would have been better without the flour based and just left as a simple veggie broth soup.  If a filler was needed, adding a simple half cup of rice or noodles would have been better than the flour.  Tasted like chicken pot pie without the chicken or the pie.  Bummer. Would I eat this again, yes.  Was it worthy of a romantic, freezing my ass off Valentines day dinner, no.  

What better way to celebrate winter than with lemons! Yes, lemons. A couple years ago pull apart breads were all the rave on social media food feeds. While I can make lovely homemade bread (well, sometimes), I like every other working woman lacks the time. With a true winter raging outside I found myself with nothing but time to cook and bake. Dinner was a simple chili (what a debacle!) but dessert was Lemon Pull-Apart Bread . Modifications Made: No icing needed.  Vanilla extract was reduced by half and the half was replaced with lemon extract.  Zest for filling was doubled. Scaled for Likability: Great It was really beyond great!  It was great, great.  It was an entire loaf consumed in one sitting.   Edit Feb 14, 2021: Today the bread was made again and served with icing.  Icing was nice but the bread did not need the extra sweet layer.  However, the extra lemon taste was great. Edit Feb 16, 2021: Oh my word, winter is STILL here with no end in sight.  Three days in freezing weather,