Your Tasiest Recipes.

[XERTYX]

Double points for simplicity. Triple points for being able to make it basically anywhere.

I'll start. One of my favorite desserts that "I" can make.

I'm not big on sweets. Like at all. Never have been. Unless something were to just so happen to give me the munchies.

3 ingredients. 2 or 3 tools. Requires refrigeration 

No Bake Chocolate Cheese Cake

1 can of chocolate sweetened condensed milk (I used burden but it's hard to come by at times)

2 packages cream cheese

1 Graham cracker pie crust

Dump your cream cheese into a mixing bowl along with the chocolate condensed milk.

Whip on a low setting with an electric mixer. It is important to mix thoroughly but avoid over mixing as it will not set up. (This makes it messier but doesnt affect the flavor)

Turn out of the bowl into the prepared pie crust. Chill in the refrigerator until you cant stand it any longer. Eat and enjoy.

 

[Cammalu]

Jeez! Can’t get any easier than that!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[XERTYX]

Thanks. Actually the hardest part of the equation for me was to find the chocolate condensed milk. Once I found a source I made it a few times and then they discontinued the flavor at the local Wally world. The only good think was that they clearanced them to 25 cents a can. I bought every one they had.

 

[B and C]

I wonder how Hershey's chocolate ice cream syrup would be to turn the plain condensed milk to chocolate?

 

[maki2]

there is enough sugar in the milk product that all you need to do is add some cocoa powder

 

[XERTYX]

there is enough sugar in the milk product that all you need to do is add some cocoa powder

Very possibly.  Very probably maybe. I have yet to try this method.

 

[Dingfelder]

All mine begin with caramelized onions. It's easy for anyone but the impatient or hurried. Which may make it useless for some. I hope not.

Just start with caramelized onions and almost any recipe will be notably elevated. For cheap, too. You just have to start early, or have patience.

If you want to go all out, add diced carrots and celery to make the classic European flavor base, or trade out the celery for peppers, the classic Cajun flavor base, if I recall correctly. Add it to anything as is when wilted, caramelize for more flavor first if you like, or add flour and a fat (butter, olive oil) and cook till the flour colors a little so it doesn't taste so raw then whisk together and add water or preferably stock and blend into a gravy/sauce ...

.. these few simple veggie ingredients are the basis of French/Italian sauces and cooking. Sometimes the veggies are just wilted, not caramelized. But what I'm getting at is that once you have a good flavor base, it almost doesn't matter what you do with it, the results will be good. Put it in a soup or stew, use it as a base for gravy, cook more veggies in it and either keep or discard, up to you. This flavor base is really flexible and uses the cheapest veggies around, too. Everyone should experiment with those magical three.

Wilt or caramelize it and throw any meat or veggie in there ... think about a soup or stew or gravy or mix into stir-fried rice or some quinoa ... you may not be a culinary god, but you might be a good bit closer than you think ...

 

[XERTYX]

Yes the holy trinity of veggies is a good base for most anything and as you're caramelizing them anyway you can use markdown produce.

My favorite way to use this technique is to begin sauteeing onions and garlic sometimes fresh ginger paste then add in fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce or paste but never canned diced tomatoes (they take eons to break down because they have so many preservatives in them) cook all of that down and add water or stock to keep it hydrated.

Meanwhile in a small bowl of water have your dry spices rehydrating. I use this method to make curries but it would work for chili or marinara sauce or what have you.

Then I add the moistened spices and water into the sauce and simmer for a long long long time. This is why I'm interested in thermos cooking. So I dont need to waste fuel simmering my sauces.

 

[Dingfelder]

It does take a while to cook down. That's something that recommends tomato paste, like you mention using. It's already very concentrated in flavor, and caramelizes quickly and readily with your starter ingredients like .an onion/garlic or veggie base. Put some liquid in -- I often start with soy sauce to add salt and some extra flavor -- and use it to release all that yummy brown stuff from the bottom of the pan and stir it in, and you are well on your way to heaven ... and on some of the cheapest ingredients you can find.

I think people are often intimidated by cooking even though a lot of it is just about paying attention and spending a little time, not about being talented or some kind of kitchen wizard or hunting down rare ingredients or blowing through wads of cash. It's a shame, because some pretty ordinary or even miserable food can be made so much better with a few extra minutes of time. Often not even attentive time, just time while something cooks a bit, or marinates in a sauce that costs almost nothing, or that you were going to use anyway.

 

[Dingfelder]

I'll submit a recipe I'm using lately because of its flexibility ... even though i can't define it perfectly. It's just quinoa. But the great thing is it can be eaten hot or cold, as a side or, if buffed up with something interesting, a main course. Because it is a seed and not a grain, it is not high in carbs and is high in protein, and a well-rounded protein to boot. And it makes for a great texture, like caviar, that is simply fun to have in your mouth. It doesn't get mushy like rice or other grains, or stick to itself if refrigerated. It's a fun thing to eat even for texture alone.

Basically, rinse it thoroughly because it can have a slightly bitter taste if you don't. At least that's what I've read and seen on videos, though I didn't know that first and didn't find it bitter. Then you can cook it on a stovetop like you would cook rice, or in a rice cooker, insta-pot, etc. I've seen different ratios recommended, but for myself found a 1 to 1.5 quinoa to water ratio perfect. Note that it is common to soak quinoa for 15 minutes or so before cooking. Just right in its cooking water, like brown rice, because it doesn't cook as fast as white rice. Otherwise treat it just like rice.

Anyway, besides adding stuff to it later, consider adding stuff to it and stirring it in before the cooking. A couple of pats of butter is nice. Thyme or other herbs or spices. Raw or caramelized onion. Garlic. Replace the water with chicken broth. You name it. The cooked quinoa will absorb and distribute it, and it will become a very mild tasting but nicely aromatic note.

As to stuff to add after, now you're talking about things to actually chew.

For a cold salad, I have experimented with garbanzo beans, black beans, and kidney beans, alone or in combination. all worked great to provide a variety of textures and nutrients ... and make the thing look prettier. Raw regular onion or chopped green onion. Thyme or other herbs, whatever type of vinegar you like, olive oil. Shredded or cubed cheese. Broccoli. Very thinly sliced chopped salami. Diced chicken. Pepperocini. Sweet peppers. Olives of any kind, chopped is better so they don't overwhelm in a single bite. Almost any pickled vegetable. Marinated artichoke hearts and/or their leftover oil.

For a hot dish, any leftover spiced meat like ham, bacon or corned beef, chopped or sliced fairly fine. Diced chicken or pork work well. Most sauces should work well with it, if you need any. Diced peas and/or carrots. Onions of any type, garlic. Tomato or broccoli. Mix and match; experiment. Quinoa is very flexible in what it goes with, like rice, and can be used much the same way except that it's also good cold and you don't have to worry about it getting gloppy unless you really abuse it. Use it heated through as a bed to poach an egg in a covered frying pan with.

It's a very nutritious instant-meal, once you take the time to cook up a batch and throw a few odds and ends in there. I always have some on hand lately. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Good enough for yourself or for company, IMO.

The only thing I must warn against is buying it in supermarkets anywhere but in a bulk section. It sells for crazy prices when prepackaged, like ten bucks a pound. In bulk, I see it going in multiple places for between 2 and 3 dollars a pound. And a pound makes a LOT of quinoa. A very high protein, low carb food.

 

[eDJ_]

Pasta  Primavera my way.

1 bottle McCormick's  Salad Supreme  (use 1/2 the bottle or 1/3 to taste)

1 16 oz box of Tri-Color Spiral Noodles (boiled until soft drained)

1 12 oz bottle of Zesty Italian Salad Dressing shaken well

in a small bowl mix the Seasoning and bottle of Salad Dressing

in a larger bowl have the drained noodles and cooled

Stir this together well.

To finish you can add sliced green & black olives,  sliced scallions, minced celery, minced onion, and anything else you have on hand......diced tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.  It helps to chill this on ice or in the fridge for awhile or overnight.

Here is a recipe hack for making Salad Supreme:

3 Tb sesame seeds

2 TB Paprika

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp celery seeds

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper

2 dashes cayenne pepper

2 TB Parmesan or Romano cheese (you may find this mixed 50/50 at the store)

Mix two or three TB of this in 12 oz Zesty Italian Salad Dressing for your Primavera Dressing

When I put this salad out at a picnic it goes fast.

 

[Dingfelder]

Cold pasta salad is great in the summer!