Frico

You have some shredded cheese, but no cheese slices... There are some variations that also add potatoes and onions.

Frico

Ingredients:

4 ounces sharp white cheddar or your favorite cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour (optional)

Directions

Step 1

In a medium bowl, toss together cheese and flour. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese mixture into skillet to form a 4-inch round.

Step 2

Cook until cheese is starting to melt and become firm, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using a small offset spatula, turn; continue cooking until it is firm and slightly golden, 15 to 30 seconds more. If skillet gets too hot and frico begin to color too quickly, remove from heat for several minutes before proceeding.

Not soup?

Wanted something quick, but not soup.

Egg drop soup

Recipe 1

Ingredients

    6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
    2 large eggs
    2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
    2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
    2 tablepoons chopped fresh basil leaves
    1 cup lightly packed spinach leaves, cut in thin strips
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cheese, parsley, and basil to blend. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir the broth in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin strands of egg, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach, then season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.


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Recipe 2.

Ingredients

    6 cups brown chicken stock, recipe follows
    3 eggs
    3 tablespoons semolina
    3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
    1 tablespoon Italian parsley, finely chopped
    Pinch nutmeg
    Salt and pepper

Directions

Measure out 1 of the 6 cups of chicken stock and refrigerate so that it is cold.

In a large stock pot, bring the remaining 5 cups of chicken stock to a boil. In a large bowl, combine the cold broth, eggs, semolina, cheese, parsley and nutmeg and whisk until well blended. Whisk the mixture into the boiling stock and reduce heat to low. Continue to whisk for 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and divide evenly among 6 warmed soup bowls. Serve immediately, topped with more grated cheese if desired.

Brown Chicken Stock:

    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    3 1/2 pounds chicken wings, backs, and bones
    3 carrots, coarsely chopped
    2 onions, coarsely chopped
    4 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
    2 tablespoons tomato paste
    1 tablespoon black peppercorns
    1 bunch parsley stems

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over high heat until smoking. Add all the chicken parts and brown all over, stirring to avoid burning. Remove the chicken and reserve. Add the carrots, onions, and celery to the pot and cook until soft and browned. Return the chicken to the pot and add 3 quarts of water, the tomato paste, peppercorns, and parsley. Stir with a wooden spoon to dislodge the browned chicken and vegetables bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring almost to a boil, then reduce heat and cook at a low simmer until reduced by half, about 2 hours, occasionally skimming excess fat. Remove from heat, strain, and press on the solids with the bottom of a ladle to extract out all liquids. Stir the stock to facilitate cooling and set aside. Refrigerate stock in small containers for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.

Yield: 1 1/2 quarts

Breakfast

The best meal of the day.

Method 1: Milk- and oil-based scrambled eggs

Ingredients

2 eggs
Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper or garlic powder to taste
Butter or oil spray
Milk (optional)
Olive oil
Water (optional)
Cheese (optional)

1. Prepare the eggs. Break two eggs per person into a bowl or jug. Add one tablespoon of milk, water and olive oil, or sour cream per egg if you prefer a more tender moist dish; adding liquid to the eggs means the dish is less likely to turn out tough or rubbery.

2. Mix well until the color and texture are uniform throughout. Add salt and pepper to season, if desired. You may also add cheese for cheesy eggs.

3. Select the right sized pan for the number of eggs you will scramble. Two eggs will require a very small pan, while a dozen eggs requires a much larger one.

4. Heat a pat of butter (2 teaspoons), bacon drippings or oil in a frying pan. Move the pan by its handle, so that the melted fat glides around the surface and coats the entire pan.

5. Flick some tap water onto the skillet from your fingertips to test the heat. When small droplets sizzle and evaporate, the pan is just hot enough to pour in the egg mixture. Continue to whisk as you pour the egg mixture into the pan. Set the burner on low.

6. Watch that as the eggs start to cook, the mixture solidifies. As soon as this starts happening, move the mixture around the pan with a spatula to scrape the cooked eggs from the bottom to the top of the mixture and expose the still-wet portions to the heat. This keeps the eggs from developing a leathery brown skin on the bottom.

7. Look to see if your eggs are almost cooked. When they are, take them off the heat, as the hot pan will continue to cook them. If you prefer drier-textured eggs, leave them on the heat as required. Your eggs are done after there's no liquid of any kind left in the skillet. Remove your eggs from the pan before they lose their moist appearance.You can also add strips of cheese to the eggs to get a more vibrant flavor out of them. Make sure to add cheese when the eggs are still hot so it will all melt onto the eggs.


Method 2: Blended "real" scrambled eggs (no milk or water)

Ingredients

2 large or jumbo eggs
Pinch salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter or 1 tablespoon cooking oil

This method follows the belief that true scrambled eggs should not be yellow, but a blend of yellow and white. This means that milk and water should never be used.

1. To one eight inch frying pan, add 2 tablespoons butter or 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Turn heat to high for 30 seconds then reduce to medium.

2. Take 2 large or jumbo eggs or three medium eggs break them into the pan. Using a spoon at first break any yolk and then scramble the eggs using a combination of stirring and flipping. add 1 pinch of salt and 1 pinch of black pepper.

3, When the eggs are still a touch moist but solid turn off heat, and scramble for 15 to 30 seconds more

4. Serve. Add a sprig of fresh parsley and serve immediately.

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Eggs and turkey bacon are good too.

Open source meals.

You can eat pre-prepared food that might be cheap, but who knows what it is about

 

Or you can learn to make your own meals from scratch that might even be more nutritious  and more interesting! 

Hot dogs unleashed.

You can make meatballs. (http://www.instructables.com/id/Hotdog-meatballs/)

 Dog slabs.

 Meatloaf. (http://www.instructables.com/id/Hotdog-meatloaf/)

Popcorn multi use food.

Pop some popcorn and not buy the expensive chips.

Potatoes are kind of expensive right now and I wanted a change so I popped some popcorn. One nice thing about popcorn is that it can also be used as a breakfast cereal. We no longer purchase the over-priced sugar coated cereals.

Put the uncooked kernels in a large heavy pot.
Add cooking oil. (Olive oil gives a fruity taste)
Turn the stove on high.
When the kernels start popping, shake the pot to keep the kernels moving.
As the kernels stop popping, turn off the heat.
Set aside to cool for a bit.

Pop the popcorn without salt or butter and you have instant breakfast cereal.

Hens have it.

Buy a whole hen aka chicken from the market and save money.

For us short people.

Not everyone is tall in the kitchen, so here a step ladder?

Toasting bread.

Throw out your toaster! It's a waste of counter space when you already have an oven. Why spend money on an appliance that only does one thing. Use your oven and you can make up to 10 pieces at once.

 1. If you do not have a separate broiler, Move one of your oven racks to the very top position.

 2. Set the oven to Low Broil. If your oven doesn't have a HI-LO setting for broiling you will just have to pay closer attention as to not burn the toast. (broiler temperature low 400 high 575 degree)

3. Distribute pieces of bread evenly on the top rack.

4. Leave the oven door cracked open.

5.  Watch the toast carefully so it doesn't burn.

6. It should take about 2 minutes on Low, but ovens vary.

7. When the first side reaches your desired color flip each piece using tongs.

8.  When the second side reaches your desired color remove your toast using tongs.

9.  Turn your oven off and enjoy your toast!

10. Finished.

or just use a frying pan:

Heat the pan to medium high. Watch carefully.
Toast each side till desired color.

Not a real tortilla.

Take a piece of bread and slowly, but gently squish it down. You have an emergency tortilla.  Perfect for a tostada.

Bachelor tortilla (a little rolling pin action).

You could also do it with a piece of toast and get more of the texture. The toat may not compress as much.

Table?

Another kitchen chair.

Football season!

This what I think I will make again for the opening of the season. Out of flour to make tortillas (probably a good thing health wise), so I will get some whole wheat tortillas.

Polenta frito.

Homemade Frittos aka Polenta frito.

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon oil

Put the cornmeal and salt into a bowl; pour the boiling water over the cornmeal.
Stir really well and add the oil.
Stir to combine. (If the dough is a little too thin, add more cornmeal, a teaspoon at a time, until it is fairly stiff dough.)
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and put the dough on that.
Put a piece of wax paper on top of the dough so to roll it without the dough sticking to the rolling pin.
Roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick.
Remove and dispose of the wax paper.
Cut it into fritto shaped pieces.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let them cool.

Mayo variations.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Ingredients: (Yields: Makes 3 cups)

Mayonnaise:
• 4 egg yolks, pasteurized
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil


Directions: Variations: Aioli, Rouille, Tartar Sauce

Homemade mayonnaise is easy to make, delicious, and saves money. We also have three mayonnaise offshoots commonly found in French cooking: Aioli which adds a dimension of garlic and orange flavor; Rouille, mayonnaise dressed up with saffron and cayenne; and Tartar Sauce, the evergreen accompaniment to fish. Caution: it’s important to use pasteurized eggs to avoid salmonella.

To make mayonnaise:

In a food processor fitted with the mixing or chopping blade, process the yolks, mustard, salt and pepper until fully incorporated. With the machine is still running, very slowly add vegetable oil in a very thin stream into the mixture until the mayonnaise is thick and creamy. If the small pusher of your food processor has a tiny hole at the bottom, then pour the oil through the small pusher.

Aioli:

• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

To make aioli:
Stir chopped garlic and orange zest into 1 cup of mayonnaise until fully  incorporated.

Rouille:

• 1 teaspoon saffron
• 1 generous pinch cayenne pepper

To make rouille:
Stir saffron and cayenne into 1 cup of mayonnaise until fully incorporated.

Tartar Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 tablespoon cornichons
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons shallots, peeled

To make tartar sauce:
Put the capers, cornichons, parsley, and shallots into the workbowl of your food processor with the chopping blade. Pulse until finely chopped. Add 1 cup mayonnaise, and pulse until fully incorporated.


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Another method. All you need is:

• 2 eggs (pasteurized)
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 2+ cups  (preferably not a strong tasting oil)
• 1 tablespoon of mustard (optional extra but I like my mayo mustardy)
• Salt

Using a stick blender, blend from the bottom of the jar upwards.
Once everything is blended through you have your mayonnaise. You can make it fresh in under a minute.