What Have You Cooked Recently?

Im getting a deepfryer next tho. Air fryers are a fucking meme. Good for grilled cheese/french toast/popcorn shrimp/ popcorn chicken/fries/onion rings tho.
Air fryers pretty much can't be beat for frozen shit that you'd normally just throw in the microwave because the "oven recommended" instructions take way too long, but you'd really prefer it not be soggy. Onion rings, chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, etc.

They're also great for reheating leftover pizza. And I've found that if you just barely dampen the outside of bread rolls and throw them in the air fryer for a few minutes they come out like freshly baked.

I've tried hot dogs, to see if I can get a little bit of char on the outside, but the charred stuff just tastes bland compared to what they'd get on a grill, so I'm not sure whether I'd call it an improvement over just nuking them.
 
Aldi had ground buffalo at four bucks a pound because it's nearing the sellby date
Got a few one pound packs, made burgers tonight, got one pack in the fridge for more burger tomorrow, couple of packs in the freezer, probably in the next meatloaf

Burgers was brioche bun, green onions, kewpie mayo, dijon mustard, mild cheddar
Very nice
 
IMG_20230209_113514640.jpgIt's a ham broth being born. Will take more photos as time progresses.
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Second wash on ham broth
 
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Making a chili as homemade as I can. Made a sauce out of a whole white onion, ancho chiles, Japones chiles, 6 or so cloves of garlic, home canned tomatoes, cubed beef chuck roast, corn, black beans, and kidney beans.

Started by simmering the veggies and dried chiles in a pot with a little water to cover everything. Let that go for 15 minutes, and in the meantime, I seasoned my chuck roast with salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, and a little chili powder. Then I browned the chuck roast in a Dutch oven.

While the meat was browning, I blended the boiled mixture and added some oregano, cider vinegar, cumin, and a little more chili powder. I then added the resulting sauce to the meat in the Dutch oven, and added the beans and corn afterward and let it all continue to simmer.

It's been going for a little over an hour now, and the chiles have turned the sauce a nice dark chocolate color. Think I'll let it go until I get to the perfect consistency to serve it over rice.

Edit: Fuck the rice. I made cornbread. The chili is nice and smokey and flavorful, this is definitely going in my recipe book.
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The meat cake is finished!

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The damn thing is delicious, too! It is like a cross between eating a loaded baked potato and a cheeseburger with an egg on it.

I can only eat a thin piece of this meat cake at a time...those mashed potatoes are quite filling and I am already full.

So yes...I am glad that I tried that out. It was not just a novelty, but one of the tastiest things I have ever eaten!

I will start a punschtorte in about two hours or so as this was part of a belated birthday celebration for me
 
The meat cake is finished!

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The damn thing is delicious, too! It is like a cross between eating a loaded baked potato and a cheeseburger with an egg on it.

I can only eat a thin piece of this meat cake at a time...those mashed potatoes are quite filling and I am already full.

So yes...I am glad that I tried that out. It was not just a novelty, but one of the tastiest things I have ever eaten!

I will start a punschtorte in about two hours or so as this was part of a belated birthday celebration for me
I am horrified but intrigued, mystified even. It's basically just an enormous meatloaf, right?
 
I am horrified but intrigued, mystified even. It's basically just an enormous meatloaf, right?
More like a giant hamburger with shredded white cheddar/smoked gouda cheese, sour cream, sautéed onions and mushrooms in between the layers. The "frosting" is mashed potatoes.
 
Cheesesteaks Tuesday, just some thinly shaved beef with provolone and onion+green pepper on homemade rolls. I feel like such an asshole saying this but I'm kind of sick of beef lmao, wish they'd run incredibly sales on something else for a change.

Wednesday, I made us vegetable spring rolls, like the Vietnamese version in soft rice paper. I was just wanting the vegetables (red cabbage, lettuce, matchstick carrots, mint, cilantro, avocado, plus vermicelli) but I made some with shrimp for my husband and the kids. I like shrimp fine, I just love vegetables and didn't want to detract from that flavor.

Yesterday, I made seared ahi tuna and we had some just with a quick orange and chile reduction I made, and then some on a salad. Kids weren't super into it so I made them chicken salad to have over theirs instead.

I initially forgot to write what we had today, lol. My husband wanted a stew that was less rich than my boeuf bourguignon, so I made a thinner and less hearty beef and wine stew. Seared the beef, caramelized onions in the beef fat and deglazed with red wine and balsamic vinegar, added garlic, celery, garlic, and mushrooms, topped off with some of the homemade beef stock I keep on hand, added some waxy potatoes and herbs, and let it simmer all day. Husband really liked it and said it was exactly what he was craving, so I was glad it was a hit- I rarely get to make any other stew because people always request my boeuf bourguignon so I was oddly nervous about this.

Tomorrow, either we're going to grill with friends and I'll make a third japchae in as many weeks to take with us, or I'll be making the rest of the tuna (2 steaks) but this time in a poke bowl form. Rate me horrifying if you must but I really like grechka as a base, boiled then sautéed in a bit of butter, salt, and pepper, but everyone else will have sushi rice. I always keep frozen edamame so there'll be some of that, I'll use the rest of the red cabbage in there too, avocado, as well as a marinated cucumber salad with rice wine vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, and a bit of sugar. Probably some other vegetables as well, but I'm waiting to see what's fresh and inexpensive at the asian grocer first.

I kind of want lettuce wraps Sunday, usually I get boston lettuce, make some gochujang marinated chicken thighs and chop them in longer pieces, and also cook some shiitake and oyster mushrooms with basically the same marinade except thinner, and serve with a compartment platte filled with toppings so everyone can just pick what they want- usually homemade kimchi and homemade daikon and carrot pickes, green onion, green thai chiles, cilantro, mint, and perilla leaves for a change from the lettuce wraps.

We're celebrating one of our kids' birthday on Monday (Not the actual date, but he has commitments that day) so I'll be getting fajitas at a restaurant. :)
 
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Cheesesteaks Tuesday, just some thinly shaved beef with provolone and onion+green pepper on homemade rolls. I feel like such an asshole saying this but I'm kind of sick of beef lmao, wish they'd run incredibly sales on something else for a change.

Wednesday, I made us vegetable spring rolls, like the Vietnamese version in soft rice paper. I was just wanting the vegetables (red cabbage, lettuce, matchstick carrots, mint, cilantro, avocado, plus vermicelli) but I made some with shrimp for my husband and the kids. I like shrimp fine, I just love vegetables and didn't want to detract from that flavor.

Yesterday, I made seared ahi tuna and we had some just with a quick orange and chile reduction I made, and then some on a salad. Kids weren't super into it so I made them chicken salad to have over theirs instead.

Tomorrow, either we're going to grill with friends and I'll make a third japchae in as many weeks to take with us, or I'll be making the rest of the tuna (2 steaks) but this time in a poke bowl form. Rate me horrifying if you must but I really like grechka as a base, boiled then sautéed in a bit of butter, salt, and pepper, but everyone else will have sushi rice. I always keep frozen edamame so there'll be some of that, I'll use the rest of the red cabbage in there too, avocado, as well as a marinated cucumber salad with rice wine vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, and a bit of sugar. Probably some other vegetables as well, but I'm waiting to see what's fresh and inexpensive at the asian grocer first.

I kind of want lettuce wraps Sunday, usually I get boston lettuce, make some gochujang marinated chicken thighs and chop them in longer pieces, and also cook some shiitake and oyster mushrooms with basically the same marinade except thinner, and serve with a compartment platte filled with toppings so everyone can just pick what they want- usually homemade kimchi and homemade daikon and carrot pickes, green onion, green thai chiles, cilantro, mint, and perilla leaves for a change from the lettuce wraps.

We're celebrating one of our kids' birthday on Monday (Not the actual date, but he has commitments that day) so I'll be getting fajitas at a restaurant. :)
The sad thing is that poultry has been climbing in price as well as becoming scarce in my area for the past two years. Roasting whole chickens used to be a staple for me and they were less than a dollar per pound at Aldi. Now, chicken and chicken parts have become more expensive than cheaper cuts of beef in some cases.
 
Needed something easy so I baked some chicken drumsticks with some store bought seasoning. I then rubbed olive oil on the skin and y'know what...damn things were amazing. Never done that before. Homemade mashed potatoes and some canned green beans from the garden went well with them.

Had leftover so the next night I went to my old staple and made tacos out of them. They were just okay. I should have spiced them up a little with some BBQ sauce or taco seasoning when heating up. Little tip...the creamy chipotle sauce taco bell has out goes well with chicken or rib tacos.
 
I bought some ramekins to try making some caramel flan and that ended up being a disaster. I found out that I'm not a big fan of flan, so I decided to try my hand at soufflé.
Flan Big L. Lol.
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Chocolate soufflé to make up for the flan big L.
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I've had many L's in cooking and baking. Glad this one was a W.
 
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