Category: Food

Size Matters

I like to cook. I like new recipes. Sometimes, though, the recipes I newly discover are older recipes, and call for things I can no longer find. Particularly when it comes to sizes.

Whatever happened to four-ounce packages of cream cheese? I distinctly remember peeling back the foil on a small block of Philly. Perfectly sized for a recipe. Now I have to hope I can cut an eight-ounce block exactly in half. And what do I do with the other half? Bagels?

Remember when sour cream came in one cup (eight-ounce) containers? Maybe it still does somewhere, but not at my supermarket. A recipe calls for one cup. Yes, I can measure it out, but then what do I do with the remaining eight ounces? Tacos? Baked potatoes?

My husband would prefer I purchase milk a gallon at a time. But it goes bad. And it takes up too much space in the refrigerator. So I buy half-gallons. If the store carried quarts, as they did in my younger days, that’s what he would get.

Dairy, like produce, tends to go bad after a while. Smaller sizes would be helpful.

 

 

MJ Monday-Meals: Leftover Tacos/Quesadillas/Wraps

I have an unusual way of dealing with leftovers.

I turn them into tacos. Wraps. Quesadillas.  Actually I’m not sure what to call them, but my husband is always amazed at what a good idea these concoctions are.

I take a tortilla. I spoon the leftovers onto the tortilla, sprinkle with an appropriate cheese, then microwave for a minutes. Roll it all up and voila!

Example 1: my extended family served meatballs over the holidays, with plenty of leftovers for everyone to take home. We ate traditional meatball subs one night. Then I ran out of rolls. So I halved the meatballs and plopped them on a tortilla:

Then I smothered them with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Voila! Meatball quesadillas.

Example 2: With only two of us at home these days, I usually have leftover chili. So one night, I did the tortilla thing, but used shredded Mexican cheese (Mexican cheese is what my local supermarket changes calls a four-cheese blend of cheddar, Monterrey Jack, asadero, and quesadilla cheese–that’s what the package says.)

If I’m feeling particularly domestic, I’ll cook these in a cast iron frying pan to make them more quesadilla-like. My husband likes them just fine heated in the microwave. And there is no extra cookware to clean.

Various kinds of shredded cheese and a package of tortillas are “pantry” staples at my house. Cheese freezes beautifully.  Leftovers don’t get boring if you switch up how they’re served.

 

 

MJ Monday-Meals: Produce

No recipe this month, but rather, an observation about food.

My local supermarket has a program where they’ll shop for you and deliver to your house. My main concern with concept has always been produce. I like to pick out my own.

I like fruits and most vegetables. However, I find vegetables a pain in the butt to cook. And fancying them all up with sauces and cheese and whatever tends to render the healthy aspect of eating them pointless.

But my biggest issue with produce is it’s propensity to go bad.

I food shop once a week. Maybe if I shopped daily, spoilage wouldn’t be an issue. When the children were small, my weekly menu was pretty much set in stone, with only a little room for deviation. Rotting food wasn’t a problem. Now that there are only the two of us living here and our lives are more flexible, me cooking a weeknight meal with the two of us sitting down together is a rare occurrence. So even though I know we should eat more fresh vegetables, I hesitate because I so often have to throw them away before I get an opportunity to cook them.

Yes, I know “they” are doing amazing things with frozen veggies these days, and yes, they are convenient. But some veggies simple don’t freeze well, no matter how amazing they are treated. Winter squashes come to mind. Greens are another.

I’m lucky. My supermarket sells fresh veggies that have been prepped: precut butternut squash, shredded Brussels spouts, chopped Asian “salad” (which is wonderful stir-fried). Doing the prep makes incorporating fresh vegetables into our diet easier.

Now if there was some way they’d stay fresh in the refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

 

MJ Monday: MJ’s Meals-Chili

If you are a chili aficionado, you’re going to hate this recipe.

If you are a person who thinks everything should be created from scratch, you’re going to hate this recipe.

If you’re a busy person who sometimes needs a quick and easy meal, this recipe might suit your needs.

I got the “original” of this recipe when I was the executive producer of a cooking/monster movie TV show. It came from a local new anchor, who is a legend in the city where I live. Being me (and having a husband who has definite likes and dislikes), I’ve tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes.

  • Brown 1 lb of ground meat (the original recipe called for ground turkey; we prefer ground beef). Drain.
  • Add 1 can of Bush’s Best Chili Magic
  • Add 1 can of diced tomatoes (the original recipe said stewed tomatoes, but we prefer diced. I used to buy ones with chilies in them, but they are no longer available, so I used store brand “chili style”.)
  • Season with garlic powder to taste.
  • Season with Tabasco sauce to taste. (For years, I used roasted garlic Tabasco, but that seems to have gone the way of diced tomatoes with chilies.)
  • Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese or sour cream.

That’s it. Enjoy!

 

MJ Monday: MJ’s Movies-What’s Cooking?

I’ve seen this movie only twice, but that doesn’t stop it from being my favorite Thanksgiving movie of all time.

It is the story of four ethnically different families preparing for  then participating in Thanksgiving dinner.  As one reviewer said, “There’s stress, there’s food, and there’s stressing over food.” The ensemble cast is wonderful.

My favorite part is the variety of textures. Textures in stories matter a lot to me, and this movie sets the tone for each of the cultures by using textures.

I’m truly surprised the movie isn’t better known.