toolprincess

I am really enjoying Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson

I like both. My dad used to make "cheese toast" using a slice of white bread and taking 2 pats of butter (at least) and cutting them into small squares. He would place these on the bread in a pattern that resembled the five side of a die. Place in oven on 350 or so on a baking sheet. Cook until bread is slightly toasted and butter circles are melted. Take out and add 2 thick slices of medium cheddar side by side (cut from the end of a block). PUt back in oven on broil. Let cheese get bubbly. Remove and eat. Additionally this method work great for cinnamon toast. The only difference in method is that he piled on the cinnamon and sugar (not a premixed but white sugar and ground cinnamon) before putting it in the oven. Then use the same melt butter at 350, then broil to your preferred toastiness. This makes a wonderful caramelization of the sugar on the bread and the pockets of butter, sugar, cinnamon are heavenly!

Prawn – your Dover sole looks so amazingly good. I pray that I can find a restaurant that will do it justice when we come to England next month! If you are in the Kensington area of London - look up Chez Patrick. A tiny little French place run by Patrick himself. I had a delicious dover sole there.

Where are you located? I found some at a TJMaxx HomeGoods last year. Also, I think Tupperware carries them. An Amazon search might give you an idea of some brands that are available.

Kayb - that looks wonderful! I need to fire up the Weber!

I'm estimating around 75 but adding more everyday (and I thought I had a lot and then I read this thread). Latest acquisitions: Prudhomme Family cookbook (thanks to PopsicleToze) James Beards American Cookery Some Bread Machine books given to me by my MIL along with her bread machine. and today I ordered Supernatural Everyday by Heidi from 101 Cookbooks blog.

Qpons (coopons) can save you money. I am not very diligent about using them but occasionally the Harris-Teeter here offers Triple coupons which is quite a nice savings if you have them for items you buy. I don't use a lot of them but the ones for household supplies, dog food, cat food, litter and cereal are useful when I remember to use them.

Shelby - those bagels looked awesome! My favorite kind - Everything. Tonight I had leftover rice-a-roni with a chicken leg baked in Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce. A small sample of ziti with meat sauce - taking baked ziti to a friend's for dinner tomorrow. A salad of avocado, english cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, and orange segments dressed with TJ's champange viniagrette, olive oil, salt and pepper. I really have to get to work on pictures but I feel guilty as generally one component of my meal is something packaged (see rice-a-roni above).

I think Mcdonald's sausage is very fatty. It has a strange texture but I prefer it to the bacon. I do like a McGriddle every now and then but I almost always omit the egg. Their folded egg is another weird texture I don't care for. I do like the egg mcMuffin. The Big Mac is a particular craving I get sometimes but it does hit the stomach rather heavily. The nuggets are good when hot and crispy as a conveyance for the sweet and sour sauce but can leave once feeling gross afterwards. Occasionally I have a hamburger with the reconstituted onions and put some fries on the hamburger - which is not bad.

I just saw someone reading this Wilder Life book on the Metro and I made a note in my iphone so I would remember to look for it!

I agree Jeff. Often when I go places where there is a wait it is with a group. One place my family loves to go is Outback steakhouse. I don't think it is worth a long wait but generally on the weekends (even getting close to 9pm) it's at least an hour. YOu can mitigate this somewhat if you use the "call ahead seating" option. Recently on a road trip we stopped at Friendly's, the family had some nostalgia for Friendly's and we thought it would be a fairly quick meal. We stood at the entrance for 10 minutes even though there were a dozen tables empty waiting for them to "clear" a table for 5. Once we sat down we waited another 10 minutes for service and then the people beside us (who had just come in) were waited on. When we questioned the waitress she said we "were not in her section". At this point (finally) the group was exasperated enough to give up and we ended up next door at Cracker barrel. Not spectacular food but we were seated immediately, waited on promptly and had a very pleasant server.

If I am going to add mayo I usually go for tuna packed in water. I go back and forth about whether I prefer solid white or mixed tuna for sandwiches. Edited to add: I do prefer solid white for my mayo and green olive tuna salad.

I like the kraft mac n cheese, peas and tuna version.

Friends and I were frequenting an Indian place for lunch (buffet) so often that they would bring us out special small dishes of veggie and chicken korma if those weren't offered on the buffet that day. Unfortunately we have gotten out of the habit of going there. The quickie chinese place recognizes me and occasionally will give me a free soda or an extra eggroll. I have a good shot at becoming recognized at the yogurt bar (YoPop) as I am slightly obsessed with their original tart flavor. My cousin and her family eat at the same Mexican place twice a week and at a local eatery once a week so they are definitely recognized as regulars. My cousin has her own special order at the Mexican restaurant that the owner calls the "number seventeen" (not on the menu). Once when I went with them to the local place and went to set down at "their" table one of the waitresses told me that the table was reserved and I had to mention them by name in order to be allowed to sit down.

The first health food store I ever visited was called Harmony Farms. It was a small cramped store that sold all kinds of exotica I had never seen before. Lots of dried fruit - I was partial to the pineapple rings and papaya. This store still exists but I haven't visited it in ages. Now I usually just go to Fresh Market or Whole Foods.

I have a recipe somewhere for apple dumplings with Mountain dew as the sauce. It cooks down and is actually quite tasty. My coworkers scoffed when I told them about it but when I actually made some and brought them in -they all got eaten right up! edited to add: i got the recipe from thepioneerwoman website but a google search turned up several versions.

I cut my pinky finger really deeply while trying to "pry" a piece of frozen meat apart with a knife that (thankfully) wasn't all that sharp (or I would have lost the end of a finger). the kitchen looked like a crime scene by the time I got the short distance to the sink. I got the bleeding to stop and didn't think much of it until I went to the doctor for my yearly physical a week later and she said "that could probably have used some stitches". I still have sensation but I also have a pretty good scar across that pinky.

Probably not very interesting but I like them roasted in the oven with a little olive oil and salt, either by themselves or as part of a roasted vegetable medley. I also like them raw with dip or hummus.

1 multigrain toast with nutella and 1 buttered toast with a not quite hard-boiled egg. This was supposed to be a soft-boiled egg but I was interrupted mid-boil and it went a bit longer than it should have. S&P topped off the egg on toast.

Fighting a respiratory infection this barely counts as cooking: Repurposed Meatloaf from Harris Teeter (in the deli section-- I love their meatloaf) broken up with peas and corn added tomatoes and served over macaroni. Quick and comforting.

I just bought some of this and was considering sprinkling it into smoothies. Is this a good use?

I usually go for the Lance Peanut butter and cheese crackers. Mostly b/c they are filling, taste good and are generally cheaper than a bag of chips. For chocolate my go to would be peanut m&m's

A- Tuna - solid white albacore or just "regular" tuna packed in oil or water (usually water) - mayo, sweet pickles or sweet relish, onions (optional), a small squirt of yellow mustard. B- Tuna- solid white albacore, mayo, chopped spanish olives with pimentos.

My mom wasn't really a cook (or a housekeeper but that's another story). My dad did most of the cooking. I would say he taught me the essentials but his dishes consisted mainly of solid southern food with no frills. He was best at cooking meats and had a mean BBQ chicken - how I wish I had a "recipe" for that sauce but his time was too short with us and I never got that down. He also made a delicious brunswick stew and was the "stewman" for family reunions and church dinners. I miss him.

Fried potatoes and over easy eggs with some hot sauce and/or ketchup. Beans and rice. Casseroles.