Kyuuei's Cook book!

[Eruca]

- Two baking sheets lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray

Cooking spray? Thats olive oil spray? We dont have that here in the UK. Ill just apply olive oil with a brush.

You americans and your fancy spray oil/cheese/godknowswhatelse!

 

[Lexicon]

Cooking spray? Thats olive oil spray? We dont have that here in the UK. Ill just apply olive oil with a brush.

You americans and your fancy spray oil/cheese/godknowswhatelse!

They had it at a Tesco when I was there!
Go to a bigger store, lazybum. *kick*

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=274089279

 

[kyuuei]

Yeah, its really universal now-a-days I think, I couldn't find it in Uganda but I wasn't really cooking there much so it wasn't a big deal. Olive oil applied thin with a brush would be much more cost effective than a spray.

 

[Eruca]

They had it at a Tesco when I was there!
Go to a bigger store, lazybum. *kick*

Moments before I read your msg I found it on the online tesco store. Found in some other larger chains too.

*Edit* Im such a cooking noob.

 

[kyuuei]

Instant Oatmeal homemade

At the store they're usually around 50 cents a piece for total garbage.. sugar, powdered shit, and some flecks that are suppose to be fruit. Here's oatmeal that has custom flavors and more nutrition for less than the price of a McDonald's bowl.

- One large can of quick oats
- 1 package of hibiscus tea bags
- 1 package of orange tea bags (I use chocolate orange green tea)
- 2 dove candy bars or the individually wrapped squares, whichever is cheaper at the time (you can replace this for cocoa nibs, but they aren't as sweet and don't melt really. They have a nuttier flavor. You can just add the nibs in anyways though.)
- 2 packages of tropical mix dried fruit pieces
- 2 packages of dried strawberries and blueberries
- Some brown sugar

A large tin of quick oats serves 30, so make 30 bags of 1/2 cup of quick oats.
Drop a tea bag into each baggie. (If you wanted to stretch the tea, one bag will easily make 2 strong cups worth.. you could keep the tea out separate, drop a baggie into a little more than 2 cups and refrigerate the other half for tomorrow.. but this recipe is for a grab-it-and-go sort of breakfast.) Put hibiscus tea in the tropical oat baggies, and orange tea in the chocolate berry baggies.
Pour the servings of dried fruit into each baggie until they all have fruit. I used the tropical mix (banana chips, papaya, pineapple, coconut flakes at walmart for $1.80 a package with 9 servings per pack) and just dried strawberries and blueberries for the other one.
Drop a chocolate piece into each strawberry baggie. Put a teaspoon of brown sugar into the tropical mix baggies.
Seal them all up.

Directions for use:
- Pull the tea bag out of a baggie and drop it in the water (a bit more than a cup) you set to boil.
- Dump the ziplock bag into a bowl.
- Put 1 cup of boiling tea water into the bowl and stir. Let sit for a minute to give the oats time to absorb the tea and melt the chocolate if using chocolate, and then stir again.
*Bonus: If you want hot tea with breakfast, you can just put in a bit more water to boil.

Better flavors and more fruit for just as little money.
- Big tin of oats: $2.50
- Tropical fruit mix: $3.60 for two packages
- Dove candy bars: I find them on sale 2/$1 all the time.. so. $1
- Dried strawberries and blueberries: $6 a piece, so around $12 for all the servings.
- Brown sugar: $2 for a huge container that you won't even use a fraction of.. so if you cannot borrow it, I included the price anyways.
- Teas: $3 each, so $6. You can get cheaper with this for sure.

Total: $.90 a serving but this is including all the ingredients at full price. Considering tea is easily found cheaper than that, brown sugar is going to last for a ton more of these, and you can always find dried fruit in other varieties for cheaper if you wish, this price will easily knock down to around what you would pay for store-bought instant oatmeal. But this is still way cheaper than McDonald's fruit and oats, can be made at work with just a mug and some hot water, or be left in your car for those inevitable days you forgot to grab something to eat since nearly any coffee place or fast food restaurant will give you hot water in a cup for nothing.

A super cheap, tasty alternative:
- Oats
- Peanut butter (added in the bowl each time, not put in the baggie.. it keeps better this way.)
- Cocoa powder
- Brown sugar
- Raisins or dried cranberries
- Any cheap flavored tea

Cocoa powder is cheap and lasts forever, same with brown sugar, and peanut butter! Raisins are the cheapest dried fruit out there too. 30 servings of this would easily run you about 50 cents a serving for the first batch and $.20 for a batch after that for better ingredients and flavor than store bought.

I have a ton of flavor combinations for this as well since I eat oats nearly daily.
- Mint tea, mini chocolate chips, and cocoa nibs
- Chamomile tea and edible flowers
- Cranberry lemon
- Classic syrup and brown sugar (Probably the cheapest option out there)
- Cocoa nibs and goji berries with hot chocolate mix (Don't knock it until you try it!)
etc. etc. Tropical fruit and strawberry chocolate just happen to be my favorite ones right now so they're the highlights. They're also the most expensive, though, so it's all down hill from there.

 

[kyuuei]

A couple awesome recipes to share:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-strawberry-chia-pudding-recipes-from-the-kitchn-189016

Going to try this one out tomorrow! I'll let ya'll know how it turns out.

Already tried these two and they are tried and true favorites lately as far as pasta dishes go:

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-velvety-broccoli-and-fe-46428 -- Broccoli is the star of the show here, this is one of the healthiest pasta dishes I've ever cooked and it tasted absolutely amazing. I put hot sauce and condiments on everything, and this recipe needed NOTHING else. The ONLY change I made is that I added more water and a bit more olive oil to the broccoli because I lack an immersion blender and I put it all in the regular blender and thus needed liquid to chop it all up.

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-pesto-pasta-with-lemon-145783 -- Lemony pesto pasta. I changed this one up significantly, but edamame is probably a great addition to it for some subtle crunch.

Changes:
I didn't even add edamame or almonds as I didn't have any on hand..
I sauteed some frozen onion
I made the pesto myself (random online recipe) in a blender, adding just a bit too much water (for blender purposes) and throwing it in the saute pan after I turned the heat off just to evaporate some of the water from the pesto.
I put way way more lemon than the recipe originally demanded as I love lemon.

It still came out amazing! Both of those pasta dishes the kids ate (and they are picky 2 year old monsters) but the definitely preferred the broccoli dish. I'm going to try the broccoli dish out with cauliflower and see how it turns out tomorrow. I predict they'll be similar.

 

[kyuuei]

So I need to re-vamp my diet for the next month to work around all the work I'm doing.

My plan for next week:
- Cereal or oats, tea, and some baby carrots or celery with orange juice for breakfast
- Ploughman's lunch with a salad. Bread, cheese, meat, and a spread with a salad underneath.
- Smoothie for a snack after school to get some more sugar in my system
- Pasta or pre-made dinners frozen

Made a quiche for later on in the week, and some turkey enchiladas are now frozen.. so with the bbq turkey burgers and turkey salad we've made that's four dinners done for the week. I'll cook up some more of that broccoli dish one night, we always go eat at a friend's house one night, so the week is set. Just have to pick up some pasta fixings, Pretty easy!

 

[kyuuei]

So. I'm experimenting with these salad-in-a-jar things I saw online. So far I am loving the concept way too much.

For the jars themselves you just need large mason jars (and the wide-mouth ones are probably best. I don't have those, but meh) and some reusable mason jar lids.

The key to these is to layer things so that nothing gets squishy. My first round:

- Dressing (I put Caesar, Balsamic vinaigrette, and olive-oil-and-vinegar in the bottoms since I needed to use those up.)
- Veggies that chop well and marinade well (I put carrots, tomato, onion, and a layer of cucumber) until they pile over the dressing
- Greens (Spring herb mix and raw coleslaw/shredded cabbage for me)
- Toppings and additives (I put a square of queso fresco, some cooked and chopped turkey meat, a slice of lime, and chopped cilantro on top)

Seal it up and it should stay long enough to eat them up if you are trying to eat a salad a day. I'm still experimenting to see how long they hold up for, but so far it's been a really awesome way to buy groceries, assemble salads all at once, and then Bam! Instant-ish salad. If they hold up for 5 days I'll be a very happy camper.

An alternative thing I made this morning and ate this evening:
- Shredded cabbage, radishes, and carrots in the whole thing
- Chopped cilantro
- A dressing poured over it to marinade (Juice of a lime or lemon, equal it with olive oil, and add some sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder)
Throw the stuff on top, shake up the jar, let it sit in the fridge all day, and top sandwiches/burgers with it instead of traditional lettuce/tomato.

 

[kyuuei]

Not-fried cheeseburger wontons

- Premade wonton wrappers
- 1 1/2 pounds of very lean ground beef
- 1 packet of hamburger seasoning
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 yellow onion diced fine
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 container garlic and herb light laughing cow cheese
- 1/8 cup yellow mustard
- 1/4 dill relish
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- Ketchup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cupcake/muffin pan with nonstick spray. Press a wonton wrapper into each cup to make it the shape of the muffin. Add the meat mixture, shredded cheese, and then top with another wonton wrapper, pinching the sides closed a little. Bake for 15 minutes ish.

Brown the meat, drain it, and then add ACV, seasonings, water, onion, garlic, worcestershire sauce and simmer until flavors are well incorporated. Then drain any excess and either toss the cheese in until it melts completely or put the beef mixture with the cheese into a microwave bowl and microwave for a few minutes until it melts into the meat. Add the mustard and dill relish and mix everything really well and fill the 'cups' with the mixture.

Dip wontons in ketchup.

 

[kyuuei]

A couple things to try in the near future:

Ice cream bread:

"2 Cups Ice Cream, any flavor, softened
1 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour

Preheat your oven to 350 fahrenheit. Spray and flour a 8 x 4 loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl mix the ice cream and flour together until just combined.

Scoop into the loaf and smooth out.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the loaf comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it.

Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

For best results..use full fat ice-cream!

The picture is an example of butter-pecan ice cream - I like the nuts being distributed in the bread mixture, however you can use any ice cream flavor you prefer. Always a fun experiment, and you can’t get simpler than this.

For those that are scratching their heads wondering how this could work - let’s consider that most ice cream is made of eggs and fat/dairy. Toss in some self-rising flour and you have some basic ingredients for a bake-capable product. Just choose the flavoring of ice cream that seems promising and have a fun weekend of experimentation.

Heck - even my wife could successfully make bread using this recipe. (Look behind shoulder warily - did I just say that publicly?)

Oh, one more thing - others asked about the self-rising flour (or if they didn’t have it, could they simply use regular flour).

You must - MUST have a rising agent in the flour. Self-rising flour is an easy solution (and commonly available). However, if you don’t have self-rising flour accessible, you can make it very simply:
For every cup of flour add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt (sift together).

There you go, now you have self-rising flour."

Pasta.. thing.

"12 ounces pasta (I used Linguine)
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid ( I used zesty red pepper flavor)
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (regular broth and NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .

Season to taste with salt and pepper , stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese. "

 

[kyuuei]

So far:

Dried figs -- SUCKED at it. I may stick to just preserving them. I burnt them all to hell.

Brandied figs -- Don't know yet. I'll try them out sometime in the future. I definitely messed them up though. I put twice the brandy that was intended for them. They'll be super alcoholic and way less sweet than the recipe called for.. we'll see.

On the roster:
- Balsamic pickled figs
- Saffron fig tarts
- Vanilla-bean-bourbon fig jam

 

[kyuuei]

Healthier tuna salad:

- Zest of a lemon
- Tuna or chicken in water, drained
- Finely chopped marinated artichoke hearts and the oil/juice they were marinating in
- Capers
- Horseradish mustard
- Some reduced-fat sour cream to give a creamier texture

That's it! Really yummy and flavorful, not at all date food, and if you let it sit in french bread for a while the bread on the inside soaks up all that awesome juice and it tastes great.

 

[kyuuei]

In light of my unexpected weight gain (I'm currently blaming BC, but that's another story) I've been cooking up a storm of things this week to consume to help satisfy my appetite while hopefully promoting weight loss.

- Calorie-counted Kashi Vanilla Island cereal, lactaid milk, and a small cup of orange juice = roughly 200 calories
- A banana after my work out and a can of coconut water to rehydrate - 120 calories
- A big glass of lemon water, a mason jar salad, a small portion of shrimp ceviche, and a small portion of whatever is leftover from dinner (or a small bag of steamed veggies with a butter sauce if nothing is) = Roughly 300-350 calories
- A 100-200 calorie snack like a yogurt and juice
- A skinny taste inspired dinner item with a large glass of lemon water. This week so far I'm making: Lobster wraps, eggplant paninis, mushroom chicken tenderloins, uncured chicken hot dogs, and tonight I had broccoli macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs on top. Last night we had a homemade chicken soup with whole wheat gnocchi. Roughly 400-500 calories.

Also, a small glass of water before I go to bed and before I wake up.

That's 1,370 calories on the high end of things.. and with P90X, I think that ought to be more than enough to get me back to where I was without struggling too hard.

I would make more veggie soups as they make me feel fuller longer, but I'm just too lazy to cook soup. Salads are so much quicker, although I'd argue the soups are better for me since they require little calorie-dense dressing up.

 

[kyuuei]

In light of my unexpected weight gain (I'm currently blaming BC, but that's another story) I've been cooking up a storm of things this week to consume to help satisfy my appetite while hopefully promoting weight loss.

- Calorie-counted Kashi Vanilla Island cereal, lactaid milk, and a small cup of orange juice = roughly 200 calories
- A banana after my work out and a can of coconut water to rehydrate - 120 calories
- A big glass of lemon water, a mason jar salad, a small portion of shrimp ceviche, and a small portion of whatever is leftover from dinner (or a small bag of steamed veggies with a butter sauce if nothing is) = Roughly 300-350 calories
- A 100-200 calorie snack like a yogurt and juice
- A skinny taste inspired dinner item with a large glass of lemon water. This week so far I'm making: Lobster wraps, eggplant paninis, mushroom chicken tenderloins, uncured chicken hot dogs, and tonight I had broccoli macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs on top. Last night we had a homemade chicken soup with whole wheat gnocchi. Roughly 400-500 calories.

Also, a small glass of water before I go to bed and before I wake up.

That's 1,370 calories on the high end of things.. and with P90X, I think that ought to be more than enough to get me back to where I was without struggling too hard.

I would make more veggie soups as they make me feel fuller longer, but I'm just too lazy to cook soup. Salads are so much quicker, although I'd argue the soups are better for me since they require little calorie-dense dressing up.

 

[kyuuei]

Adult Lunchables: Because the kids ones are like a bazillion calories + you need like 10 of them to fill you up.

- Wheat sandwich rounds
- Cold marinara or pizza sauce
- Shredded cheese
- Slices of pepperoni

You're welcome.

 

[kyuuei]

Something to try in the future for the guys:

Mozzarella stuffed meatballs.

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork or mild Italian sausage
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
3 eggs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 lb mozzarella, cut into cubes
Olive Oil
Marinara sauce

In a large bowl mix beef through pepper. Form into 2" balls.
Press a cheese cube in the middle and seal the meat around it.
Heat 1/2" olive oil in a large skillet. Brown meatballs and then set aside on plate.

Pour marinara sauce into pan; bring to a simmer. Add meatballs and simmer until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

 

[kyuuei]

Broken Glass Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 Can white frosting
1 Box Red Velvet Cake Mix

Sugar Glass:
2 cups water
1 cup light corn syrup
3 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Edible Blood:
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water, or more as needed
15 drops red food coloring
3 drops blue food coloring


Directions
Prepare Red Velvet Cake Mix According to box, line cupcake tins with paper cupcake liners.

Divide cake batter between lined cupcake tins.

Bake according to box instructions. Let cool and frost cupcakes with white frosting.

Make the sugar glass. Mix 2 cups water, 1 cup corn syrup, white sugar, and cream of tartar in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Use a candy thermometer and boil sugar syrup until temperature reaches 300 degrees (hard ball), stirring constantly. The mixture will thicken as water evaporates. When sugar reaches 300 degrees, quickly pour onto a metal baking pan. Cool until completely hardened. Break into "shards" using a meat mallet.

Make the edible blood. Mix together 1/2 cup corn syrup and cornstarch in a large bowl. Slowly stir in the 1/4 cup of water, adding more if necessary, until the corn syrup mixture has thickened to the consistency of blood. Stir in the red and blue food coloring.

Stab each frosted cupcake with a few shards of broken sugar glass. Drizzle on drops of "blood" to complete the effect.



Stolen from Facebook, I just thought the picture was sooooo cool that I had to record this somewhere.

 

[kyuuei]

BBQ Burger patties: for 4 burgers
- 1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 tablespoon burger spices
- Smear a bun with bacon jam (It exists! Look it up!)

Mix everything together. Form patties in such a way as they hold shape, but are not squished into their shape (keep air pockets in the patties. That's important.) Grill 5-6 minutes on each side over medium heat.


Simple and spicy potato salad:
- 2 lbs potatoes
- 1 tbsp spices of your choice (I like BBQ spices, or a mixture of oregano, marjoram, tarragon, and rosemary)
- 1 lemon or lime
- 1/2 cup bacon jam (or, alternatively, use a package of pancetta)
- 1/2 cup light mayo
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 1/4th cup italian shredded cheeses
- 1/4th cup green onions
- 2 tbsp chopped jalapenos

Put potatoes in salty boiling water for about 15 minutes. Pull them out, let them cool, and chop them into chunky bite-sized pieces. Stir everything else together, and add the potatoes and serve. Or, alternatively, refrigerate overnight and serve.

 

[kyuuei]

2:25. I want to try this shake and see if it really does taste like chocolate milk.
Basically:
- 20 dates
- A blender full of water
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 3-4 tbsp carob powder
- 1 drop of peppermint drops

I suppose you could use coconut milk instead of water too for some of it.. but I want to see if the water works.

Why do raw vegans always sound a bit douchey to me when they talk? I wonder if maybe the constant praise of the diet is a positive reinforcement mechanism for them so that they continue to stick to their lifestyle which isn't the easiest thing to dedicate one's self to..

Other things I want to try:
- http://veggienook.com/2012/03/16/homemade-raw-vegan-chocolate-in-only-3-or-4-ingredients/

This chocolate recipe. It could be a viable solution for my father's sweet tooth..

- Date sugar. I want to see if it'd be a viable thing to add to oatmeal instead of regular sugar. I'm thinking yes.

 

[kyuuei]

^ For the record, it does. It was awesome.

New recipe I really love!!: Tea Beer. Looks like beer, tastes like tea, way healthy, and you won't look like a douche with a cosmo hanging out with people.

Inspired by this place: http://www.dobrateanc.com/chilledTea.php I tried to recreate it myself and it worked!

- A dark tea like oolong or black tea
- A sweetener (I used a mixture of coconut sugar, maple syrup, and honey)
- Boiling water
- A shaker with ice
- A beer mug

Make some damn tea in that boiled water, let it steep to the desired taste (I'm going to try this cold brewed too), and sweeten it to taste.

The key to this: The ice and shaker. Pour the warm tea into the ice shaker, and shake the hell out of it, and when you pour it in keep the foam on top. The result is a frothy head with a beer-looking color from the tea. I hate beer, and I'm not the biggest fan of drinking.. I like this concept a lot.

http://curryandcomfort.yummly.com/2012/11/pumpkin-pie-spiced-chai-latte.html

Next time I'll try this--having some milk froth at the top that will float and give it a sweet milky flavor.