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.

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 for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

So Sad Cake Brownies

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

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 potatoes. Cover and reduc

Eating Waffles

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