The Cooking Thread

[envirotex]

@mudpuppyWe sometimes make a Shiner Bock "beer blanc" to go with our smoked turkey...

 

[BlueBlueprintPE PMP]

That's a great idea!  We usually make cioppino as our version of Seven Fishes during the holidays, but I love the idea of a seafood lasagna!  On Christmas Eve, we usually have tamales.

I love tamales!  at one of the places i used to work, the wife of one of the guys used to make a huge batch and sell them out of their trunk in the parking lot. they were the best tamales i've ever had. 

 

[envirotex]

Those are usually MUCH better than the store bought ones!

 

[BlueBlueprintPE PMP]

Those are usually MUCH better than the store bought ones!

goes for most things i'd say!  

 

[akwooly]

I bought some tamales off FB marketplace. Dang tamales were the best. I had second thoughts after creepin on their FB profile but wow they were good. Met them in a parking lot at Safeway, felt like a drug deal. I got the vibe she sells more than tamales...

 

[Supe]

For Christmas, I made Junior a steak and baked potato (per her request), and made broccoli bread, baked stuffed shrimp, and baked stuffed lobster tails for me and Mrs. Supe.  And somehow, I mixed up/forgot one of my medications and felt super nauseous/pukey about 2 hours before we were supposed to eat and ate none of it fresh

 

[JayKay PE]

Okay.  New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).

I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff.  Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...).  Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?  I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.

 

[envirotex]

Okay.  New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).

I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff.  Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...).  Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?  I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.

I have made a couple of pretty good soups from canned tomatoes...Look for recipes that roast the tomatoes in the oven first...Can't find the recipe I used to use or I would link it.

 

[Supe]

Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes? 

There's almost zero reason NOT to use canned tomatoes unless you're wanting to eat them sliced/diced, especially off season.  Canned whole tomatoes are picked in season at peak ripeness and canned immediately, so they usually taste better and are more consistent.  

 

[leggo PE]

There's almost zero reason NOT to use canned tomatoes unless you're wanting to eat them sliced/diced, especially off season.  Canned whole tomatoes are picked in season at peak ripeness and canned immediately, so they usually taste better and are more consistent.  

Agreed! The only tomatoes I've had in the last year that were better than canned tomatoes are the tomatoes we grew on our front porch (which still produced through December -- champion cherry tomato plant!!).

I use canned tomatoes in soups all the time. Mr. Leggo uses canned tomatoes for his homemade pizza sauce, which could just as easily be a pasta sauce, as well.

Growing up, my mom would make a huge batch of spaghetti sauce using ground beef, onions, canned tomatoes, and a few other things (I don't have the recipe on me) and then freeze it in single meal portions, which for a single person would be much smaller for a single adult than a family of four. It's something I should actually replicate, me thinks... Thanks for the inspiration!

Also, @JayKay PE, to make pasta for a single person, I used to cook half a box at a time, and then would have enough for at least two servings for me. I'd try to eat the leftovers the next day, heating up in the microwave (back when I had one) or on the stove (like now) with a little water to reconstitute the sauce and make sure the pasta isn't too dry.

 

[JayKay PE]

There's almost zero reason NOT to use canned tomatoes unless you're wanting to eat them sliced/diced, especially off season.  Canned whole tomatoes are picked in season at peak ripeness and canned immediately, so they usually taste better and are more consistent.  

I am unwise in the ways of tomato sauce and soups.  My mom usually made a huge 12 qt+ thing of tomato soup, but she'd use all the garden tomatoes, and the sauces she'd just doctor jarred cause.  I never knew!  Please do not smite!

@leggo PE, I think I'll start from the place you mentioned.  I'll start just making half a box of pasta, versus a whole box, and only use pasta once a week instead of ignoring it (like I am now).  I think this'll also force me into making shrimp scampi pasta, one of my favorite things (which I know isn't super hard to make, but I just get so overwhelmed for some reason).

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

Okay.  New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).

I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff.  Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...).  Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?  I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.

I only ever use canned tomatoes for soups & sauce (except ratatouille obvs)

As much as I hate the name of the site, I really like the crockpot creamy tomato soup from Skinny Taste (it's a WW blogger). I use a bunch of her recipes as starting off points because I won't use low-/no-fat for everything like she does or de-skin chicken drumsticks *rolls eyes* 

The tomato soup freezes really well & I add tortellini sometimes 

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

Recently I'd made:

- chicken alfredo with spiralized parsnips (we're drowning in parsnips from the CSA, Boyfriend likes it better with parsnips than regular pasta)

-beef ragu with homemade gnocchi & homemade garlic bread (didnt make the bread but made it garlic bread lol)

-spicy tahini noodles (Boyfriend agrees it can be in the rotation on occassion but requests different noodles - I used 2 different kinds of rice noodles that had different cooking times/methods so it was a bit gummy - I did cook them separately tho) 

[I want to try 6 new recipes this month. these represent 2 new recipes!]

 

[Supe]

That gnocchi looks on point.  

 

[mudpuppy]

Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?  

Just to pile on. . . yes!  We canned about 50 quarts of tomatoes from our garden this year.  Just made spaghetti sauce with some this weekend.  I add some tomato paste to thicken it a little.  So, two quarts of canned tomatoes, 15 oz-ish of tomato paste, two pounds of meat, plus seasoning.  We used the venison I harvested a couple weeks ago, so the majority of the meal came from our yard.  (minus the pasta and seasonings)

 

[akwooly]

Halibut corn chowder. One of my favorites. Tastes better when you catch the fish you’re! 

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

I made hummus!

 

[JayKay PE]

I made an eye round!!! This is the first time I’ve made one in the oven, and it came out so tender and delicious. The little bit of “overdone” is where the fatback is. It fell over in my Dutch oven and was pushed against the cast iron wall. There weren’t a lot of drippings, so I did my best making a kinda thick gravy from the garlic and stuff that fell off. I still have not done dishes. 
 

 

[leggo PE]

It's not exactly cooking, but I'm considering making my own riccotta, to then turn around and either make a lasagna with or some other creamy, cheesy pasta. It doesn't seem hard! I'm excited just thinking about it!

 

[BlueBlueprintPE PMP]

Recently I'd made:

- chicken alfredo with spiralized parsnips (we're drowning in parsnips from the CSA, Boyfriend likes it better with parsnips than regular pasta)

-beef ragu with homemade gnocchi & homemade garlic bread (didnt make the bread but made it garlic bread lol)

-spicy tahini noodles (Boyfriend agrees it can be in the rotation on occassion but requests different noodles - I used 2 different kinds of rice noodles that had different cooking times/methods so it was a bit gummy - I did cook them separately tho)

[I want to try 6 new recipes this month. these represent 2 new recipes!]

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I love making gnocchi! it's a special occasion staple in our house and my son's bday dinner request - every year. Also the traditional Thanksgiving dish, with both a marina and a carbonara sauce, in addition to the Turkey.

Okay. New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).

I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff. Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...). Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes? I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.

I generally make my marina sauce with San Marzano canned tomatoes. They make an amazing sauce. My husband's grandma's recipe.

Apparently I didn't get pictures before people started digging in to the food on Turkey Day.... but it was amazing.