Cooking Thread

[Dtrain323i]

I've been making my own pasta sauces lately and I can't tell you how much better it tastes than store-bought with only a minimal amount of effort. A can of crushed tomatoes, some olive oil, a bit of onion and garlic sauteed in said olive oil and deglazed with the tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, a bit of marjoram, let simmer and bam you have a tasty tomato sauce. Add some zucchini, carrots, and/or mushrooms if you want a bit more depth. Then have fun exploring the world of cream sauces and pesto.

Watch the movie Goodfellas for a foolproof method of slicing garlic to make sauce.

[CaffeinePowered]

I've been making my own pasta sauces lately and I can't tell you how much better it tastes than store-bought with only a minimal amount of effort. A can of crushed tomatoes, some olive oil, a bit of onion and garlic sauteed in said olive oil and deglazed with the tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, a bit of marjoram, let simmer and bam you have a tasty tomato sauce. Add some zucchini, carrots, and/or mushrooms if you want a bit more depth. Then have fun exploring the world of cream sauces and pesto.

Ive been lazy and I really should make a huge pot of sauce and then can/bottle it for future use...

[CaffeinePowered]

http://caffeinatedcrafting.tumblr.com/po...his-recipe

[CaffeinePowered]

http://caffeinatedcrafting.tumblr.com/po...-food-time

[MissBiz]

Going for one of my quick'n'ez recipes tonight.  Salsa chicken.

2 frozen chicken breasts
1 glass jar of prepared salsa (enough to cover the chicken)
2 cups of white rice in the rice cooker

Preheat oven to 375 or so.
Place chicken in baking dish.
Cover chicken in salsa.
Bake chicken for 40 min or until at safe internal temp.
Place scoop of rice in bowl.
Place chicken on top of rice.
CONSUME.

Throw some cheese on top of that shit if your feelin' cheezy.  Or anything else that sounds appetizing.

[at0m]

That reminds me of my super easy way to do Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Get chicken tenderloins from the grocery store, along with a box of Shake n Bake (Original works best, but take your pick), a block of swiss or cheddar cheese, and your preferred cut of ham. Make sure you have toothpicks.

Prep the chicken according to the package on the Shake n Bake, but instead of laying them flat, put a folded up piece of ham and a chunk of cheese on one half of it, fold it in half, and stab it through with a toothpick. Cook acccording to package directions. Consume.

The burnt cheese that oozes out is the best part, too, don't leave that shit on the pan.

[rumbot]

Has that king salmon really been in your freezer since June 6?

[CaffeinePowered]

Has that king salmon really been in your freezer since June 6?

Yup, not the freshest, but it came out pretty good...I have one more bag of salmon and one of lake trout. I really don't want to keep them in there much longer, so I'll have to figure out another dish to make with them

[Eightball]

Anyone have any input on growing your own herbs & spices? I am more frequently encountering recipes that require these ingredients fresh, and the local options aren't quite to my liking (buy a $3 pack of thyme, use a quarter of it and have the rest spoil before I need it again), so I've been mulling over the prospect of setting up an indoor station to grow them. Probably thyme, basil, and chives at the very least.

[Greatbacon]

My experience with in-door plants is a lot like normal plants, which is that if you stick 'em in a window and forget about them, they will die.

If you can keep a house-plant alive though, then the fresh herbage will be totally worth the minimal effort involved.

[rumbot]

had an aero-grow for many years - it does decent runs of basil. Don't remember if they had a thyme. The chive goes out pretty quickly.

[Evil Cheese]

I have a planter on my balcony that I grow basil, thyme, mint, and sage in. The cool thing is all but the basil is perennial in this area which means it should come back in the spring. As long as you water it enough (once or twice a day depending on how dry it's been), it gets enough sunlight, and you have decent drainage you should be OK. My sage didn't get very big this year, but from what I've read those sorts of perennial herbs don't usually start to pick up until their 2nd or 3rd year. The basil, mint (this stuff I actually had to prune regularly because it grows like a weed), and thyme did pretty well though.

[Luinbariel]

Basil loves being pruned.  It grows like crazy when you pinch back the leaves regularly.  Also,  don't let it bud or bloom,  the flavour of the leaves goes off when the plant is allowed to put its energy to flowers.  Just pinch the buds off. 

Herbs can be easy to grow.  Just do your best to follow what their tags say,  and don't over water. 

[Dtrain323i]

Here's a little ethnic flair for you uncultured heathens:


česnečka (aka Czech Garlic Soup)


6 cups of chicken stock
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 yellow onion
5-6 potatoes
bacon fat or cooking oil
1 Kielbasa or other sausage (optional)


Step 1: dice onion and garlic and place into a 3 quart pot or dutch oven with oil or fat

Step 2: cook down onion and garlic until they're translucent

Step 3: Add chicken stock to pot or dutch oven

Step 4: Peel and slice potatoes and add to pot

Step 5: Bring soup to a boil

Step 6: Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by 1/3rd

Step 7: Add sliced sausage to pot



This soup was introduced to me by my cousin from the Czech Republic. They make it as a hangover cure after a night of partying. It works. It makes for a really good, hearty soup for fall.

[KarthXLR]

Here's a little ethnic flair for you uncultured heathens:


česnečka (aka Czech Garlic Soup)


6 cups of chicken stock
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 yellow onion
5-6 potatoes
bacon fat or cooking oil
1 Kielbasa or other sausage (optional)


Step 1: dice onion and garlic and place into a 3 quart pot or dutch oven with oil or fat

Step 2: cook down onion and garlic until they're translucent

Step 3: Add chicken stock to pot or dutch oven

Step 4: Peel and slice potatoes and add to pot

Step 5: Bring soup to a boil

Step 6: Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by 1/3rd

Step 7: Add sliced sausage to pot



This soup was introduced to me by my cousin from the Czech Republic. They make it as a hangover cure after a night of partying. It works. It makes for a really good, hearty soup for fall.

I had this while I was in Prague. I can confirm its deliciousness.

[CaffeinePowered]

I think I just might do that....I think I would put the bacon into the soup though with the fat/grease

[matter11]

Swordfish was on sale and I grilled it for some people who have never tasted the fish. Came out deliciously

[Dtrain323i]

I think I just might do that....I think I would put the bacon into the soup though with the fat/grease

I did that when I used the bacon fat but I thought it added a little to much greasiness to the soup. Olive oil worked better for me. As always, YMMV

[CaffeinePowered]

I did the thing

[rumbot]

I also did the thing