Welcome to the Game-Night Kitchen!

Rune · May 1, 2012

Welcome to the Game-Night Kitchen, where we will be preparing quick, cheap and (especially) easy meals and snacks for you and your friends' game-night gatherings!

First, a word about ingredients: As the intent for these meals and snacks is to prepare them at minimal cost and maximal convenience, I will be assuming the use of easily-acquired ingredients (canned goods, dried herbs, and the like). If you have access to fresher ingredients that you would like to substitute, by all means, do so. That's awesome, too.

However, if you're in a rush, don't have access to such ingredients, or just don't want to go to that much trouble for your fellow gamers, I'm here to help!

Now, to the kitchen!

Episode 1: This week, we'll be making cracker-crust pizzas!

Episode 2: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

Episode 3: Fried Chicken Wings with a Buffalo Dipping-Sauce.

Episode 4: Sloppy Joes!

Episode 5: Pasta Salad.

Episode 6: Pepperoni Chips.

Episode 7: Cobbler.

Episode 8: Spaghetti.

Episode 9: Tortilla Chips.

Episode 10: Toasted Veggie Sandwich with Pan-Fried Potato Chips.

Episode 11: Popcorn. Yes, Popcorn.

Episode 12: Breakfast Burritos.

Episode 13: Coleslaw.

Episode 14: Meatball Sandwiches.

Episode 15: Pickled Eggs.

Episode 16: Broccoli, Rice & Cheese.

Episode 17: Mac n' Cheese.

Episode 18: Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

Episode 19: Fettuccine Alfredo.

Episode 20: Frozen Fruit & Cream.

Episode 21: Quick & Easy French Onion Soup.

Episode 22: Corndog Poppers.

Episode 23: Hot Chocolate.

Episode 24: Black Bean Chili.

Episode 25: Fried Mushrooms.

Episode 26: Hearty Chicken & Vegetable Soup.

Episode 27: Cream of Broccoli Soup.

Episode 28: Chocolate Covered Pretzels.

Episode 29: Meatloaf.

Episode 30: Shepherd's Pie.

Episode 31: White Chicken Chili.

Episode 32: Cornbread.

Episode 33: Soup Beans.

Due to the abundance of great ideas and recipes from fellow contributors, I'm going to provide links to those posts, as well. I'll keep these updated, so keep 'em coming!

[sblock=Other Gamers' Kitchens

Dannyalcatraz's buddy's Pizza Nachos

Dannyalcatraz's Trail Mix

Dannyalcatraz's Cajun Red Beans & Rice

Dannyalcatraz's Chicken & Pasta Casserole

Dannyalcatraz's Pie Blitz

The Red King's Dump Cake

Dannyalcatraz's Mayonnaise Substitute & Fruit Dip

Umbran's Pulled BBQ Pork

The Red King's repost of allrecipes.com's Shrimp Stir Fry & Fried Oreos

Bloody Feather's Classic French Onion

MonkeyDragon's White Turkey Chili

Man in the Funny Hat's Marshall Field's Chicken Sandwich

Gilladian's Variant Red Beans and Rice

The Red King's repost of about.com's Dump Cake

Dannyalcatraz's Scampi Casserole

Umbran's Pasta Salad

Bloody Feather's Hot Beef Pocket

Dannyalcatraz's Spicy Cherry Mustard Sauce and Chinese Hot Oil with Honey

Sialia's Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Sialia's Veggie Chili

Dannyalcatraz's 4 Can Casserole

Gilladian's Red Cabbage Crockpot

Sialia's Beer & Chowder

Gilladian's Hamburger-Cabbage Soup

Sialia's Chocolate Pudding

jcayer's link to 1finecookie.com's "Sean's Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese" (adapted from foodnetwork.com)

Sialia's Enchilada Casserole

Sialia's Matzo Balls

Dannyalcatraz's Quick Veggie Dish

Dannyalcatraz's friend, Lisa Morin's, Black Bean Soup.

Gilladian's Great-Aunt's 7 Layer Cookies

Dannyalcatraz's Lox & Bagel Variants

Dannyalcatraz's Creamy Creole Potato Soup

Dannyalcatraz's Spiked Eggnog

Thunderfoot's Wassail

Dannyalcatraz's Caprese

calronmoonflower's Favorite Spaghetti Sauce[/sblock]

Rune · May 1, 2012

Cracker-Crust Pizzas

What you will need:

1 can of Tomato Paste
Water
Garlic
Sugar
Basil
Oregano
Salt
Butter or Margarine
Flour Tortilla Shells
Shredded Cheese
Whatever Toppings You Want

Preheat your oven to 450 or so (hot enough to toast!).

First, let's make the sauce:

In a sauce-pan, mix enough water into your tomato paste to make an easily-spread sauce, but not so much that you have a soup.

Add enough sugar (and a pinch of salt) to cut the acidity of the tomato. Add garlic, basil, and oregano to taste. As tastes differ, I'll leave it to you to figure out the quantities, but remember--only add a little bit, at first. You can always add more, but you can't take anything out, once you've added it!

Now add some butter (or margarine) and melt it into the sauce. Why? Your sauce will be noticeably richer for it!

Step two, some assembly required:

Grease a shallow cooking-pan or sheet (or spray with a non-stick cooking spray) and lay out a few tortilla shells. Spoon some sauce on each and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle some cheese over the top of each one (don't over do it--you're going to want it to melt, after all). Top the pizzas (if you are using meats, make sure they are fully cooked before hand--you will not have these pizzas in the oven long enough to cook meat to safe temperatures!). Sprinkle more cheese over the top of each pizza to bind the toppings (if desired).

Cook them for 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crusts are lightly toasted.

One 6 oz. can of tomato paste should produce enough sauce for 4-6 personal-sized pizzas (depending on how much sauce you like on the pizzas and also how large the tortilla shells are). If you're concerned that you might not have enough sauce, just start out with two cans. If you have any pizza sauce left, and don't want to use it for more pizzas, save it. We'll have a use for that later!

There ya go; have fun!

The Red King · May 1, 2012

Cool idea for a thread. I look forward to your other ideas!

Dannyalcatraz · May 1, 2012

A buddy of mine used to make pizza nachos.

You need Tostito rounds, a pepperoni sausage, shredded mozzarella, and some tomato sauce.

1) Slice the pepperoni sausage into thin slices.
2) Spread Tostitos onto microwave-safe plate.
3) Top each chip with a dollop of sauce.
4) Then place pepperoni slice on top of each chip.
5) Sprinkle each with about a half teaspoon of cheese.
6) Microwave until cheese just starts to melt.
7) Serve.

Now, he used a basic canned tomato sauce, and these things came together in minutes- slicing the sausage is what takes time. You can, of course, make your own sauce if you want, or add things like garlic or oregano to the canned stuff.

Umbran · May 1, 2012

My Deadlands game runs tonight - weeknight games have the issue of getting everyone fed, and ordering out can be expensive. However, weeknight games are short, so time spent cooking is an issue. Solution?

Crockpot! Get the cooking done while you're doing other things!

Tonight, my gaming group will be feasting on chicken and cannellini bean tacos. It is a "throw everything in the crock pot and cook for 8 hours" sort of recipe - which we assembled last night, so this morning the only step to take was turning on the slow cooker.

The Red King · May 1, 2012

These are all good ideas. My wife and I were looking for more healthy solutions.

We usually end up with a potluck of brownies, cupcakes, twizzlers and candybars with soda to wash it all down.

Dannyalcatraz · May 1, 2012

Healthier? Here's the trail mix I made in early April for a Civil Law class I was taking (part of a Mediations curriculum- don't know why they wouldn't let a LAWYER pass on it)

Ingredients are 1 portion each unless otherwise noted:

1) Roasted, unsalted Sunflower seeds (use salted ones if you can't find unsalted)
2) Chopped Dates
3) Dried Pineapple
4) Dried Cherries
5) Dried Cranberries
6) Raisins, Plain
7) Raisins, Golden
8) Hazelnuts
9) Cashews
10) Almonds
11) Pecans (2 portions)

Notes:
1) I don't always use both Cherries & Cranberries in the same mix.
2) On occasion, I use Dried Blueberries.
3) When I can't find sunflower seeds I like, I use Pine Nuts instead.
4) When I can find them, I use a variety of raisins, including reds and Jumbos of all colors.
5) I've also added Brazils when I can find & afford them.
6) you can easily mess around with your ratios- sometimes I double up in pineapples, or add even more pecans, based on who I'm serving the mix to.
7) I've found Sprouts gets me the best selection overall, with places like Central Market, Whole Foods & the farmers' markets supplying some good stuff too. But sometimes, you can do just fine in the regular grocery stores. For example, Jumbo raisins seem to show up more often in regular stores than the specialty places. Quality can vary, too- the farmers' markets tend to have better pecans, I've found.
8) If salt is not an issue for you- it is for me- and you want to save time, my basic selection of nuts was based on Planter's Deluxe Mixed Nuts (no Peanuts), with extra pecans added.
9) I used to add Banana Chips, but their flavor got lost in the mix. Coconut shavings taste good, but not everyone liked them. Things like Dried Apricots or Dried Apples taste OK to most, but their texture is off compared to everything else, and they tend to be available only in big chunks, which doesn't let them blend with the mix well.
10) A mix like this in the amount I made may cost around $50 or so on ingredients, but unless people utterly pig out on it, it will last a month of enthusiastic "grazing."

Dannyalcatraz · May 2, 2012

Crockpot! Get the cooking done while you're doing other things!

Crockpots, pressure cookers, Dutch ovens and any other slow-cooking method can be ideal!

Two things I find work well in terms of slow cooking are beans and casseroles.

Cajun Red Beans requires an overnight soak of the beans (1-2lbs). Other ingredients include yellow/white onions, galic, black & red pepper, parsley, celery, 3 bay leaves, and some kind of meat. For those without hypertension issues, you'll also need salt. Traditionally, that would be some kind of salted or pickled pork, perhaps some kind of sausage (usually smoked and/or hot). I gravitate towards sausage, but to be healthier, I've started using hand-sized slabs of ribs that I've smoked or oven-baked, seasoned without salt.

You'll also need rice to serve them over.

Chop your onions & sautée them in butter to soften/clarify them, along with your garlic in your big pot. Then add your meat cut for the pot (slices if sausage, or single ribs) Add your beans, chopped celery, and spices with enough water to cover them. Bring the pot to a rolling boil, for a few minutes, then stir thouroughly and turn to low. Stir pot occasionally to prevent from burning.

After a while- an hour or so in a standard pot, shorter if using a pressure cooker- crush about a spoonful of the beans against the side of the pot- this will release their starches into the pot and will make your beans creamy. When the beans are all soft, the pot is creamy (and the meat is starting to fall off the ribs, they're basically done.

Dannyalcatraz · May 2, 2012

A casserole I've been doing lately is pretty simple:

Pasta: I use some kind of penne or rotini, but bowtie, shell or elbow would work as well.

Meat: chicken- either pulled from a grocery-store baked bird or white chunks from cans

Cheese: I use shredded mozzarella and parrano

Veggies: diced tomatoes, chopped onions, garlic and artichoke hearts.

Seasonings: anything you like with tomatoes/Italian- oregano, parsley, pepper, etc.

Boil your pasta. While that's going on, coat your casserole dish with olive oil. (BTW, I prefer deep round casseroles for even cooking with no crunchy/burned corners.)

When the pasta is done, layer your casserole dish with alternating layers of pasta, meat, seasoned veg, and cheese- cheese forming the top layer.

Cook in oven @350F until cheese on top bubbles and starts to crisps, maybe a bit more.