Cheese Steak Joes

Living in a small town limits ones food experiences. There are way too many fast food drive thrus, more than a dozen Mexican food restaurants (none of which are what I grew up eating so is rarely eaten at), half dozen or so homestyle American joints that serve burgers and fried steaks, three or four BBQ pits, several coast related dives (all of which cater to tourists), one or two Asian diners, and one pizza stand. For a town less than 20K people there are plenty of places to eat at if non home cooked meals are what you desire. However, if you desire street foods you are out of luck. There are no hot dog carts, no sandwich stands, no various flavored stuffed breads (meat, cheese, veggies, Italian, Greek, Mexican). None.

And this lack of street foods is sad because this is a town full of people from all over. People from where street foods are popular, where street foods are both breakfast/lunch or lunch/dinner, where streets foods are your neighbors and friends. Sad we are a town of different cultures and yet we lack individuality and are stuck with the same fast foods found all across America. Boring.

What this town needs is a stand where a creamy cheese laden, pepper and meat filled, crunchy hoagie can be had any day of the week for lunch. Just a simple food truck, nothing fancy. No restaurant needed as this is a street food and can be eaten on the go. Without such food truck, I resorted to Cheesesteak Style Sloppy Joes instead.

Modifications Made:

Diced garlic instead of garlic powder. Yellow onion to offer a slight sweetness to the bitter garlic and bell pepper.

Scaled for Likability: Good

Most definitely not cheese steak but more like creamed burger on a bun. It was good but not like the picture good and not like a sliced meat cheesesteak sandwich good. Kinda reminded me of a burger school would call a cheesesteak sandwich as it contains beef, peppers, and cheese. Now I really want a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich with a side of chips and a pickle.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

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 almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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