Cookin again

[Whisper-Kitten]

I called opened a can and heated it on the stove....does that count?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I called opened a can and heated it on the stove....does that count?

Yes. Sometimes all you can do is heat & eat- done it myself several times.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Case in point: I used to make what I called 4 Can Casserole when I was living solo in an apartment in Austin. It was:

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can potatoes
1 can of chicken broth.

Threw everything in a pot and added salt, pepper & parsley flakes. When it reached a boil, it was done.

 

[prabe]

Yes. Sometimes all you can do is heat & eat- done it myself several times.

The general idea also tends to apply if/when different people in the household have different needs/restrictions for whatever reason/s. My wife is recovering from a small bowel obstruction (mostly recovered! it was bad! note the past tense!) and we've been doing separate meals for a while; canned soup is a fine approach in that instance, IMO.

 

[Whisper-Kitten]

Case in point: I used to make what I called 4 Can Casserole when I was living solo in an apartment in Austin. It was:

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can potatoes
1 can of chicken broth.

Threw everything in a pot and added salt, pepper & parsley flakes. When it reached a boil, it was done.

You are a wizard.

 

[gnarlygninja]

Case in point: I used to make what I called 4 Can Casserole when I was living solo in an apartment in Austin. It was:

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can potatoes
1 can of chicken broth.

Threw everything in a pot and added salt, pepper & parsley flakes. When it reached a boil, it was done.

This is not too far off from one of my lazy meals. Just replace the can of mushroom soup with coconut milk and the potatoes with beans, add some curry paste, frozen dumplings, and whatever leftovers are in the fridge.

 

[Whisper-Kitten]

This is not too far off from one of my lazy meals. Just replace the can of mushroom soup with coconut milk and the potatoes with beans, add some curry paste, frozen dumplings, and whatever leftovers are in the fridge.

A whole pizza?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You are a wizard.

A whole pizza?

Learning how to repurpose leftovers or jazz up simple recipes are nearly as important skills as the basics of cooking itself.

I’ve been cooking since I was 7-8 years old- basically 50 years. I started learning because my Mom was recovering from a hospital visit, and all Dad could give me was cereal or PB & J sandwiches. School lunches were grilled cheese or grilled ham & cheese sandwiches.

So I started learning out of self-preservation!

Since then, I’ve learned a LOT of different recipes & techniques. I’ve even created some new recipes.

But again, sometimes budgets are tight; sometimes time is short; sometimes you’re just not feeling well. That’s when you lean into simple dishes that are easy to prepare.

Our household is probably in the top 10% of American families. There’s few limits on what kinds of food we CAN buy.

But I guarantee you we have a stockpile of grocery-store ramen packets in our pantry that we use to make dinner every once in a while. 1 ramen pack plus an egg, some spices, some canned or fresh veggies and a can of chicken meat and I’ve got 4-6 servings of food.

 

[payn]

Learning how to repurpose leftovers or jazz up simple recipes are nearly as important skills as the basics of cooking itself.

Oh, if only. Im so bad with leftovers and do my best to never have them. If I dont eat them the very next day, im not going to.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Oh, if only. Im so bad with leftovers and do my best to never have them. If I dont eat them the very next day, im not going to.

Experiment sometimes. Happy accidents don’t just happen in Bob Ross paintings!

Years ago, I made some Creole greens, but I had run out of rice. And we had some chicken biryani leftovers from a meal with one of my cousins.

Mom combined the two, and then forced me to try the results. You’d have to work hard to find more different approaches to seasoning than Indian and Creole cuisines…yet somehow, it worked!

Now, we haven’t repeated this combination, but we KNOW it works, so it’s something we could try again if need be.