Favorite Meals?...

[Sam172]

This may sound like an odd topic...but I don't think it's been done yet.

What is you favorite dish or meal that you can cook yourself?
Lets just say i'm curious about what other people on here like :)


I can't say I have a favorite meal myself. In fact I don't really like any of the food I eat because i've just lost the will to consume food.
I'll get back to you if I do find something I like.

[int]

Weird. Last night I was thinking of asking for favorite recipes.

I don't have a favorite, but last night I grilled burgers with the band.

1 lb beef.
1 egg.
1 cup of oats, puffed rice (crushed), or bread crumbs
1 glug worceshire(sp?)
2-3 Tablespoons seasoning (blend of black pepper, salt, garlic, paprika)

Mix together, shape into patties, and grill, broil, or fry appropriately.


For the vegetarians, beer battered, deep fried tofu is a good substitute for fishless fish and chips:

Dry tofu and cut into strips of your choice. Marinade strips in whiskey, vinegar, or worceshire.

Mix together 1 cup beer and enough flour to make a batter. Batter up the marinaded tofu and deep fry until golden brown. Serve with fries and vinegar.

Breakfast: 1 cup stawberries, 1/2 a banana, vanilla or chocolate soy milk, a tablespoon lecithin granules. Blend together.

[booyalab]

I like chicken and pasta alfredo with lots of vegetables, and it's really easy to make.

[int]

I can't say I have a favorite meal myself. In fact I don't really like any of the food I eat because i've just lost the will to consume food.


Didn't you recently turn vegan? Your body might be trying to tell you something.

Weird things happened to me when I was a vegetarian for almost a year. My normally fast metabolism slowed down, I got sick more times than I usually do, etc. I looked into it and realized different people have different body types, so one should eat the foods that work best with them. Vegetarianism is great for some people, but not everyone.

Anyways, I just thought I'd mention it in case it's related.

[Utopmk]

int: I tried to make those meatballs you mentioned months ago. They were damn good. :)

"tried" = I had to substitute a couple of ingredients.

edit: I should mention that this is after fucking up my first batch.

[Dunearhp]

A friend of mine turned vegetarian. He said that it made him unwell until he got diet advice from a swami (I think that is what he said, it was a long time ago). It was based on body type. Some of the foods he was assigned surprised me.

Those who follow these diets for religious reasons have developed them over hundreds/thousands of years. I've seen a few people just drop meat from their diet, only to suffer a weakened system. It seems to require more thought than that.

As for my favourite meal. Generally I dump a bit of everything I have into a pan. A good selection of spices can make almost anything palatable.
I did manage a good san choy bow once, without using a recipe. Wish I could remember what I put in it.

[Sam172]

I can't say I have a favorite meal myself. In fact I don't really like any of the food I eat because i've just lost the will to consume food.


Didn't you recently turn vegan? Your body might be trying to tell you something.



I turned vegetarian about 6 months ago. I tried vegan recently, but found it too difficult to do, let alone keep myself healthy on a vegan diet.

I was getting bored with food and was already loosing the will to eat long before going veggie. In fact the change of foods may very well have stopped me just eating chocolate all the time.
I think either my metabolism sped up or my sudden weight loss was due to cutting out the fat in meat...(including that lovely crackling :o).


Speaking of nice foods, I did have a nice onion at lunch...

[CeSoirNoir]

I'm glad to see some other vegetarians on this board! :)

I love making angel hair pasta..I add olive oil and sauce and cheese.
I also like anything that the Quorn company (http://www.quorn.us/). It tastes just like chicken, and has the same texture.
I enjoy making homemade pizza with veggie pepperoni and pineapples.
My favorite snack is hummus with pita bread.
I guess my favorite meals sound pretty boring, but thats all I could think of at the moment.

And when I'm not cooking for myself...
I love Indian food....and naan bread is amazing. :angry:

[Sam172]

Ahhh, Quorn. I don't really like the chicken stuff they make :(. The Quorn peppered steaks aren't too bad, but the chicken is nasty.

Then again it can be disguised by smothering it in some exceedingly spicy sauce.
Not bad in currys either too...

[HairlessBluetick]

Quorn is great in chili.

I also love Indian food -- it never feels like it is "missing something" like American vegetarian food often does.

[Claverhouse]

Hummus, gallons and gallons of it. Mashed potato, though I never have it often. Vegan cheese. Oats.

Actually, also something I invented: you melt margarine in a frying-pan, add oats ( ordinary, not the heavy stuff ), heat gently, until either hot and soft or slightly crisp if you want then add other things. Like fried tomatoes or anything you want; or have plain. Add salt.

As a vegan could I point out how awe-inspiringly healthy and fit most people you see about are, who eat meat etc.. No wonder doctors' surgeries are empty.




Claverhouse :ph34r:

[Sam172]

As a vegan could I point out how awe-inspiringly healthy and fit most people you see about are, who eat meat etc.. No wonder doctors' surgeries are empty.




Claverhouse :ph34r:

Do I detect a vague hint of sarcasm there?

[Six]

I'd walk miles for decent pasta... oh... and fruit salad :)

also I've been vegetarian for pretty much twenty years... so far no visible defects... ;)

[jimkopelli]

Food. I'm not really picky, as long as there's lots of it.

[Birdsnest]

My personal favorites are Prime rib, bbq'd mushrooms and onions, lobster with lemon butter, lobster bisque, crab and artichoke, a sort of oriental chicken soup, bbq'd beef ribs, apple or lemon merengue pie, well, I love it all.

A very quick and easy meal is a quesadilla. Just take a flour tortilla, and put it in a hot pan with olive oil or butter. Fry it for half a minute on one side, turn it over and spread a tablespoon or so of pace picante or your own homemade salsa, sprinkle some grated cheese, (cheddar or monterey jack) on top of the salsa, then you can add diced chicken or steak or hamburger or just have plain cheese. After a few minutes fold the tortilla in half and lightly brown it on either side, and when the cheese is melted, its done.

Home made salsa: Either use fresh tomatoes or canned diced tomatos. Just estimate, don't worry about measuring:
2-3 diced tomatos, or 1 large canned diced,
1 chopped onion,
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 finely finely chopped jalapeno, seeds removed
few drops of olive oil, salt and pepper
*(also add finely chopped garlic)

You can also add mashed avocado and make a sort of avocado salsa.

[Arioch]

Hmm.. tough one.

I can't think of something special that I can make except for a few cakes. If we're not doing desserts there are different kind of bread-like things that I can make that are quite delicious.

Such a hard choice....

[int]

I'm making salsa tonight. :) I add a clove of diced garlic and a few jalepeno seeds for some kick. I also put in a orange bell pepper for color.

Frozen Ahi Tuna was on sale so that's what I'm making tonight. It gets a marinade in OJ and crushed coriander seeds. Then it's seared in an iron skillet for a minute on each side. I usually make a sauce of ground ginger, soy sauce, a splash of oj ,and crushed coriander seeds.

On the side is veggie fried rice - cook rice early and put it in the fridge. Stir fry some carrots and onion, then add whatever other veggies you want (broccoli, squash, zucchini, peas, etc...). Scramble some eggs and cook then in a second pan. Add the eggs to the veggies. Add rice. Stir-fry until heated throughout. Sprinkle on enough soy sauce to get the right color and stir again. Add some sprouts and stir, yet again. Salt and pepper if needed.

Have you had the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden?

Put some broth in a pot (veggie broth for me) and sliced russet potatoes. While that's cooking, fry some sausage (turkey breakfast sausage is what I use) with some red pepper flakes. When the potatoes are about done throw in some chopped kale and the sausage. Cook for a minute or two and add some cream or half-and-half to lighten up the soup. Season to taste.

[BritainOphira]

I don't like to actualy eat food too much, but when I decide to actually make anything it's either macaroni and cheese or snickerdoodles. I'm also pretty good at making zucchini cake and carrot cake.

[Boozer]

take out, always take out :(

The last thing I cooked was steak when I briefly flirted with atkins.

Steak + seasoning + george foreman grill = easy + cheap :)

It even tasted good unless I went overboard on the spices.

[purple13]

Steak + seasoning + george foreman grill = easy + cheap

I use my "george" a lot. It's fast. Steak is hardly cheep though.

[Vagabond]

Pasta. And take out. Healthy, huh? :P

[purple13]

It's not cheap either.

[Boozer]

Steak + seasoning + george foreman grill = easy + cheap

I use my "george" a lot. It's fast. Steak is hardly cheep though.

I guess it depends on the cuts of steak. But compared to all the take out it's not bad.

Compared to all the ramen and mac & cheese I ate in college, yeah I'm eating like a king. :sick:

[jimkopelli]

I make my own beef jerky, when I feel like it... not too often, though. I don't really have a marinade recipe... I just throw (or slosh, or sprinkle) a bunch of stuff in and it's always humongously better than store bought.

[Ponderous]

I'm making salsa tonight. :) I add a clove of diced garlic and a few jalepeno seeds for some kick. I also put in a orange bell pepper for color.

I would do all kinds of things for good salsa.

Favorite dish that I can make myself - Chicken fajitas, fresh guacamole, salsa, & all the other fixins. <<Fixins is a common Tex-Mex word.>>

Favorite food that my husband makes for us: Anything Indian.
Curry & Cardamom, Yum!

Other people's favorite? I did win a prize for my pralines once. Still make them on holidays.

[HairlessBluetick]

I've been making this great pumpkin soup. I made it again tonight, it's very yummy.

[HairlessBluetick]

Actually, also something I invented: you melt margarine in a frying-pan, add oats ( ordinary, not the heavy stuff ), heat gently, until either hot and soft or slightly crisp if you want then add other things. Like fried tomatoes or anything you want; or have plain. Add salt.

Claverhouse :ph34r:

Sounds interesting... I'll have to try that.

[Ckyzxr]

Pizza
Pasta
Steak
Vanilla Ice Cream

Simple tastes really :)

[EternalCynic]

I am so far from being vegetarian it's almost sick.

Well that's not necessarily true, I feel guilty when I eat meat or see cows or chickens or fish...


but they are FAR too tasty to give up.

My favorite meals:

Rare Filet Mignon (oh the horror of spelling, feel free to correct me as I'm too lazy to look it up)
Shrimp Scampi
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Hamburger Helper (What? It's good! >_>)

[spirilis]

Eh. Food.

At work I often get take out, whether it's subway or cheap chinese... and some days of the week (usually only friday) we go to a restaurant. (Expensive? Yes, but I work down in the city, and the $$ ain't bad.)

Breakfast, if I even have it, is usually a muffin and milk, or some type of grain with milk.

Dinner... usually depends. I've had anything from gnocchi to salad. It all depends on what I feel like.

I don't really thing I eat a balanced diet though, not enough thought put in. It's too random (and P-like :p )

My favorite thing to cook, though, is BBQ chicken breast on the foreman grill. That, and gnocchi with pasta sauce. Mmmmmmmm

[jimkopelli]

Actually, also something I invented: you melt margarine in a frying-pan, add oats ( ordinary, not the heavy stuff ), heat gently, until either hot and soft or slightly crisp if you want then add other things. Like fried tomatoes or anything you want; or have plain. Add salt.

Claverhouse :ph34r:

Hmm... I'm gonna start the whole grits war again. I add brown sugar, and call it fried oatmeal. Almost never anything else. Hmm... seems like it might be worth trying, though...

[int]

Added to fried rice:

Shrimp. Fry it, but drizzle some lemon juice over it while cooking. Salt and pepper, yes it's needed.

Shrimp Scampi? Fry some garlic and butter in a really small fry pan. Cover the bottom with shrimp so it really cramps the pan. Fry some finely diced onion with the garlic for some added flavor. Drizzle with lemon before serving over angel hair pasta (rice pasta for me). Put the leftover juices in the pasta.

Coconut Shrimp:

1 cup cheap beer to enough flour for a batter - mix in a tablespoon or two of sugar and coconut.. Refridgerate the mixture for about an hour. Wash and pat dry shrimp. Sprinkle with paprika. Dip shrimp in batter then roll in another bowl of shredded coconut. Deep fry for a few minutes until brown. Drain well and serve with sauce listed:

Sauce:

A cup of orange marmalade. A tablespoon of horseradish. A tablespoon of dijon or stone ground mustard. Adjust ingredients for taste. Refridgerate until cool.

Quick Portabello Recipe:

Slice up some portabellos. Put them in a pan and start frying, adding a few tablespoons of olive oil (or butter, if you don't care about fat). Aas the shrroms fry they'll release the oil and cook normally, just keep flipping them or stir-frying. Add a little red wine-vinegar once they're cooked, to taste. They can be grilled similiarly, just watch the heat and the oil, although fire is cool. Serve on bread with grilled red bell peppers (and other veggies of choice).

Roasted Rosemary Red Potatoes:

Chop Red Potatoes to your preference. Boil potatoes for 15 minutes or so - until they're soft on the outside but have a sturdy center. Drain. In the meantime, mix a few cloves of garlic and a few tablespoons of rosemary with enough olive oil to cover all the taters. Mix them all together until the potatoes are covered in the mixture. Salt and pepper as desired. Put in a 450 degree oven and toss every 10 minutes until golden. Enjoy.

For thicker tomato or cream of X soups add some milk. Same goes for scrambled eggs or omelets. Add half-and-half or whipping cream (and cheese!) to make 'em even better (yay fat). For french toast add some cinnamon (and/or vanilla) to the egg mixture (same goes for waffles). And don't fsck up the french toast or waffles - get real maple syrup and serve it warm.

Another quick breakfast: Dice potatoes. Fry in an iron skillet with oil. Drain most of the oil. Fry some veggies with the potatoes. Drain the rest of the oil. Make a circle in the taters. Fry an egg, breaking the yolk. Cover until egg is cooked. Rremove cover, sprinkle with cheese. Unload mixture to a plate. Season and enjoy.

For meats: Sear them for a minute or less on each side before you broil them. The seasoning will stick better then. Add a 1/2 tablespoon of butter to each side while you're broiling them as well. Yay fat.

Quicjk Chicken: Hack up chicken breast. Mix with cream of asparagus, mushroom, broccoli, etc soup and a cup of water (or half water half milk). Put in a baking dish and add a layer of bread crumps/oats. Bake at 375 or so for 20-25 minute (or so) until brown and bubbly. Add some parmesean cheese to the top and broil for a minute for some added booya. Season and enjoy.

PS After my vegetarian stint I'm adamant about organic and 'natural' foods (money permitting) for the health factor alone. Plus I can't eat wheat so I substitute rice pastas and spelt or ezekial for bread. I'd probably eat take out pizza more if I didn't have to pay for the pain it causes - hence my need to find better meals.

[INTrPosr]

I am finally glad this topic came up, because I love to cook (it's my therapy). Last night, we were rushing to practice after work, so I pulled out a small grill and grilled, pork steaks marinated in liquid smoke and seasoned.

I make a mean fried chicken salad using chicken breast.

Fry some chicken strips, cut them up with normal salad, mash some boild eggs, or however you prefer them, cut up tomatoe and green onion. It's quick, it's hardy and my kids destroy it. I also enjoy making taco salad (see a theme here; my son is on the verge of becoming vegetarian I think).

I don't think that I have a favorite, but during the holidays I come alive. I don't do gourmet cooking, just hearty practical meals.

[cloakable]

I love beef steak, either rare, or blue. Anything else is garnish.

[Sam172]

Actually, also something I invented: you melt margarine in a frying-pan, add oats ( ordinary, not the heavy stuff ), heat gently, until either hot and soft or slightly crisp if you want then add other things. Like fried tomatoes or anything you want; or have plain. Add salt.

Claverhouse :ph34r:

That I will have to try some time.

I'm still on the lookout for a good soybean meal ¬_¬. Have a whole bag of them in the cupboard and so far the best I have found is 'Soak them for 8 hours, then cook them with chill powder'

[crule81]

1. Filet Mignon with cajun rub - medium rare

2. This Thai dish called Pad Prik or something like that - basically sliced beef on a bed of lettuce with scallions in a pepper and garlic sauce (with a healthy dose of MSG I'm sure).

3. Italian wedding soup made by my aunt - ok, not a meal but I could make it one

4. French onion soup - also not a meal

5. Flan

[Slider]

seafood gumbo, jambalaya and rum cake.

[Groty]

I can't say I have a favorite meal myself. In fact I don't really like any of the food I eat because i've just lost the will to consume food.


Didn't you recently turn vegan? Your body might be trying to tell you something.

Weird things happened to me when I was a vegetarian for almost a year. My normally fast metabolism slowed down, I got sick more times than I usually do, etc. I looked into it and realized different people have different body types, so one should eat the foods that work best with them. Vegetarianism is great for some people, but not everyone.

Anyways, I just thought I'd mention it in case it's related.

Do you have any medical documentation on that? I have a vegan acquaintance. He's always sick, has stomach and intestinal ailments all of the time. Overweight too. Eats pretty much nothing but pasta and bread. When traveling on business, I will seek out the restaurants the local veg's say have great vegetarian menus. I think I know more about eating vegetarian than he does, comparing what we order. He's been vegan since birth, from what he says.

He also has this habit of IM'ing me links to Peta videos and colon clogs. Always trying to impress his ideals on others.

[Ponderous]

I am so far from being vegetarian it's almost sick.

This reminds me. The last time I visited my sister, she said, "We're having tacos tonight." So when I was at the store, I asked, "Do you need any lettuce or anything?" She said, "We don't use lettuce."

The tacos turned out to be shells, meat and cheese.

It reminds me how much the part of mexican food I like has to do with tomatoes (salsa). :D

[EternalCynic]

The tacos turned out to be shells, meat and cheese.


Just like dad used to make! :D. Hehe, I used to eat like that.. til I realized it was a heart-attack waiting to happen.. which I'd rather not worry about until I'm well over fifty years old. Besides, tomatoes are the best -part- of a taco.

[int]

Do you have any medical documentation on that? I have a vegan acquaintance. He's always sick, has stomach and intestinal ailments all of the time. Overweight too. Eats pretty much nothing but pasta and bread.

I took a nutrition class and talked to a couple of doctors about it, but don't have anything on-hand. Google gave a buncha results though.

The consensus I received is a well-balanced diet consisting of foods that optimize your metabolism and body's requirements was the smartest diet.

[SensEye]

I know there are a number of essential amino acids that most people get from animal sources of protien (meat and dairy). Vegans who don't consume any eggs or dairy have to be careful to consume enough of the plant sources of protiens with these essential amino acids (certain nuts and beans I believe).

So if your friend is really only consuming bread and pasta he may be depriving himself of sufficient quantities of these essential amino acids which would lead to poor health and possibly death.

[Tatsuboshi]

Chicken soup, pepper steak, Japanese curry

I have an Italian cookbook I'm working through too.

I'm rather fond of soups and stews. Along with salad, it's generally pretty healthy.

And hey, if my teeth ever fall out I won't have to change my diet much. =P

[Groty]

Okay, here's one I enjoy making when I have some time...

1 Chicken Breast - De-Boned
1/4 lb of Prosciutto - Some for the dish, more for munching on while making
Artichoke Hearts
Fresh Grated Romano Cheese
Red Onion
Little Mayo

Pound out that chicken breast. (Goal here is to get it to an even thickness) Trim it. Lay out Prosciutto slices on cling wrap, slightly overlapping each other. Roll the chicken up in the Prosciutto, making sure the chicken is totally covered, tuck the ends. Wrap it in foil, bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Munch on leftover Prosciutto.

Take the Artichoke hearts out of the jar. Pat them with a napkin to get them as dry as possible. Chop them up, cuisinart helps, but don't make mush. Chop up the Onions. Mix the onions, artichokes, romano cheese, and a little mayo together. Mayo binds it, and will give it a good golden brown color, after the next step.

Ding!

Take the chicken out of the oven. Remove the foil. Spread the artichoke mixture on top. Broil on high for a few minutes, until the cheese is golden brown.

Shiraz, asparagus spears, and angel hair pasta...

I'm hungry now.

I've been thinking about trying that with a Shark filet too.

[Partisan]

To drink: Semi-Young Port, or Japanse Plum Wine

Appetizer: Brie and crackers with globe grapes and dark chocolate.

Main: Linguine Pesto

Misc: I like to throw in Calimari when I have the resources, or when I cook for a date.

Simple yet effective. Typing this has made my mouth water, I think I'll go eat a veggie-burger.

[Groty]

To drink: Semi-Young Port, or Japanse Plum Wine

Appetizer: Brie and crackers with globe grapes and dark chocolate.

Main: Linguine Pesto

Misc: I like to throw in Calimari when I have the resources, or when I cook for a date.

Simple yet effective. Typing this has made my mouth water, I think I'll go eat a veggie-burger.


Atticus... Do you have a home-made pesto recipe? That sounds wonderful!

[Partisan]

Groty:

http://www.vegcooking.com/recipeshow.asp?RequestID=538

Less garlic on dates, more garlic by myself.

[Birdsnest]

I was an aquaintance of a woman that was on that macrobiotic diet while pregnant and her baby turned out mentally retarded, and her doctors told her the diet contributed to it. I think you have to be very careful about what diet you are on during pregnancy, and particularaly macrobiotic can be dangerous.

[greenintp]

Pork Chops (all meals if left to my own devices).
Salmon

Raw fruit and vegtables

[int]

I was an aquaintance of a woman that was on that macrobiotic diet while pregnant and her baby turned out mentally retarded, and her doctors told her the diet contributed to it. I think you have to be very careful about what diet you are on during pregnancy, and particularaly macrobiotic can be dangerous.

This, I will never understand. Why, oh why, would anybody come to the conclusion that such a limiting diet, while pregnant, is a good idea? :mellow:

Another good vegetarian site is www.vegweb.com.