Topic: a quick,easy recipes to spice up your meal
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shovelheaddave's photo

shovelheaddave

Thu 08/02/18 09:19 AM

if you like cheese,and Mexican dishes,here is a quick,easy recipe to spice up your meal...

just make some macaroni&cheese...

then,just add picante sauce to it!!!

it will change your plain mac&cheese into a zesty Mexican cheesy pasta salad that you can serve by itself,as a side dish or as a yummy dip to scoop up with tortilla chips!


does anybody else have any quick&easy recipes they would like to share?
soufiehere's photo

soufiehere

Thu 08/02/18 09:38 AM

In a covered baking dish:

Chop up 3 potatoes (I use gold potatoes)
Add 1/2 pkg frozen, white corn (I use baby white)
Add 1-2 lbs baby shrimp (I use frozen)

Drizzle some olive oil on it along with a couple tbls. butter.
Sprinkle with Creole (*seasoning, in shaker.)

Bake covered in oven at 400* for 45 minutes.

It is SO simple, the Creole flavoring makes it ;-)
*Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
(If it is salty you have used too much!)
petenh's photo

petenh

Thu 08/02/18 10:55 AM

Dave try this one.

Ramen "pad thai"

2 packs ramen noodles
sriacha sauce
peanut butter
1 handful frozen peas (optional)

Boil the two blocks of noodles.
meanwhile, in a bowl, mix one of the seasoning packets, a squirt of sriacha, a good tablespoon of peanut butter.

Drain the noodles, add to bowl, and toss to coat. add the peas while noodles still hot
petenh's photo

petenh

Thu 08/02/18 11:07 AM

Oh, and here is one elegant enough to make for a friend! My ex loved when I made this.

"Thanksgiving rice"

2 cups rice (brown is good in this recipe, but white works)
1 qt chicken broth
2-3 pats butter
Bell's seasoning (left over from the stuffing at Thanksgiving!)
a pinch of oregano (optional)
a pinch of garlic (optional)
the scraps of meat from a rotissiere chicken (a cup or so, if you have it)
a good handful of frozen peas

in a saucepan with lid, add the broth, butter, 1-2 teaspoons of the Bells, the oregano and garlic and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, wait until it boils again, then cut down to a simmer, put on lid. Cook for 30-45 min, until liquid is all gone.

Shred the chicken into a large bowl, throw in the peas, then when the rice is done, toss everything together. Serve hot.
Tom4Uhere's photo

Tom4Uhere

Thu 08/02/18 11:39 AM

There's a difference between Spicy, Hot and Hot & Spicy.

Spices serve several purposes in cooking and can be used to:

Add Flavor and Aroma. Spices can transform a meal by adding a range of flavors, from a hint of sweetness to a kick of heat. They also give beautiful aromas that are often our first determining factor for whether we want to eat a meal or not.

Enhance taste of food. We always think of salt as our go-to when a meal tastes too bland, but there are other spices, like cumin, that bring out the natural flavors of food.

Change or enhance color. If you’ve ever eaten at an Indian restaurant you may have noticed that many of the dishes have a deep yellow, orange or red color. That’s because the spices used in typical Indian cooking, such as turmeric and paprika, give color to the foods making them more bright and appealing.
SOURCE: http://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/ultimate-infographic-guide-spices/



I have a wide range of spices, rubs, seasoning blends, hot sauces flavoring sauces and cooking sauces. I also have a bunch of different oils, vinegars and cooking wines. I have 8 different salts, all with their own unique flavor or purpose.

Black pepper is probably the most common spice people use without realizing it is a spice. Salt is a rock. Pepper comes from plants.

Try cooking up some pork in a spicy horseradish-mustard sauce, its wonderful. Sausage and taters is good that way too.

Add some A-1 Bold to your next pot roast.

Sprinkle some cyan pepper on your popcorn

Bake some chicken in a spice blend with just a bit of rice vinegar (I add my seasons to a bag, add some rice vinegar and a touch of zesty Italian salad dressing and add the chicken and mix it up real good. Then let it sit for a bit so it all soaks in.), fantastic!

Cut up some potatoes, put them in a ziplock bag, add some olive oil, some seasoning blend and a touch of your favorite BBQ sauce, mix well and remove from bag and bake till soft or crunchy. Yum!
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Queenie

Thu 08/02/18 11:42 AM

I use cumin and cilantro alot I like them
Tom4Uhere's photo

Tom4Uhere

Thu 08/02/18 11:52 AM

Everyone has heard of brown sugar ham or maple ham but I do a spiced apple ham using spiced apple cider (instead of pineapple rings I clove apple rings to it) and its awesome.

Try cooking pork ribs in a crock with sauerkraut and a maple syrup/brown sugar sauce (I also add some Agave syrup and white tequila).

Malt vinegar splashed on french fries, corned beef & cabbage and spinnach is good too.

I also have an assortment of syrups and flat sweet sodas on hand for zesting up desserts.

The grandkids love my waffle dessert.
Basically, take a couple toasted waffles and make a peanut butter and jam sandwich out of them, cut it in quarters in a bowl, add ice cream and a cherry or sliced banana, some whipped cream and pour a little flat cream soda over it. Drizzle it with chocolate syrup and top with sprinkles.
no photo

Queenie

Thu 08/02/18 11:57 AM

Sounds great Tom
Tom4Uhere's photo

Tom4Uhere

Thu 08/02/18 12:04 PM

Sometimes I cook my bacon with a sprinkle of chili powder.
I've cooked scrambled eggs in hot chili oil.

My most common everyday spices are
Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Red Pepper Flakes
Cavender's Greek Seasoning
Zatarain's Blackened Seasoning
McCormick's Roasted Garlic & Bell Pepper Blend
McCormick's Sweet Onion & Herb Blend
Tyling Five Spice
My own homemade cajun firehouse blend.

I use a lot of A-1, 57 Sauce, Tiger Sauce, Hot pepper oil, different salad dressings and I have 6 different mustards.
Tom4Uhere's photo

Tom4Uhere

Thu 08/02/18 12:13 PM

Pick up some of those ham steaks (Low Sodium) - the ones without the bone that come in a 2 pack and are about 1/2 inch thick. Take them out of the package and freeze individually.

1 Ham Steak - Thawed
2 potatoes - cubed not peeled
1/3 sweet onion - sliced not diced

Dribble some olive oil in a fry pan and add a little worstershire and some malt (or basalmic) vinegar
Put the potatoes in and cook on medium with a lid till they just start to soften (the color changes)
Add the onions and a little real butter (stick butter)
Add horseradish sauce & mustard (Spicy Brown) and toss to coat everything
Turn the fire down a little - recover and cook till the onions and taters are done.

I put a little A-1 into the pan and add the ham - cook that till its hot enough and coated with A-1/Mustard sauce goodness


Cucumber Salad

We used to make Cucumber Salad by putting
cut up cucumbers, onions & tomatoes in a bowl of vinegar.
It was okay but I make better.

Here's What Ya Need:

Cucumbers
Sweet Onions
Roma Tomatoes
A pack of Mozzarella Balls
Mushrooms
Pepperoni or Ham
Balsamic or Malt Vinegar
Olive Oil
Coarse Sea Salt
Seasonings

Here's What Ya Do:

Peel the Cucumbers
Drain & Separate the Mozzarella
Wash the Mushrooms

Slice the Roma Tomatoes thick then quarter those slices
Peel and Slice the Sweet Onion into 1/2 to 1 inch bites
Quarter the Mushrooms from the stems down
Slice the Pepperoni or Ham to 1 inch or less chunks
Cut the Cucumbers into bite size chunks

Combine it into a bowl and use a wooden spoon to mix it up.
Add a little olive oil and mix it up
Add some seasonings (I use Italian Blend)
Add some Sea Salt (I use coarse)

Place in fridge covered for a bit till it gets cold.
Spoon some out into your bowl and
SPRINKLE
the Balsamic or Malt Vinegar on top
mixing gently.


Easy Stuffed Peppers

I like my stuffed peppers and I have a easy way to make them.
I'll share it but ya gotta promise me you will NOT use
Poisonous GREEN Peppers!

Here's What You Need

Four Peppers
(Red, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Any color but Green!)
About a Pound of Hamburger
Sweet Onion
Beef Rice-A-Roni
(Any flavor but Chicken)
(Unless you want to make Chicken Stuffed Peppers)
Four Slices of Bacon or Real Bacon Bits
(Crispy & Crushed)
A Jar of Your Favorite Spaghetti Sauce
Seasonings
(Watch the salt content)
Your Favorite Shredded Cheese
Romano/Parmesan Shaker Cheese


Here's What You Do

Brown the hamburger in a skillet for one inch chunks.
Add the seasonings you want for the meat.
Add the sliced onions and saute those in the burger grease.
Drain all that and set it aside.

In the same skillet prepare the Rice-A-Roni to box instructions with
the cooked hamburger and onions added.
(You gotta do this after you brown the vermicelli)
Once the Rice-A-Roni/Beef/Onions are cooked set that aside.

Wash, top and clean out the peppers.
Sprinkle the seasonings you want for the peppers inside
(Sparingly)
Place the peppers in a square baking dish
Spoon some rice/meat mixture into the peppers
add a light layer of the shredded cheese
add some bacon bits
Spoon some more rice/meat mixture in and repeat till the peppers are all full.
Pour the spaghetti sauce over the peppers
Spray some aluminum foil with cooking spray
Cover the stuffed peppers with the foil, spray side against the peppers

Bake at 350 till the peppers are done and the cheese is melted.
(Appx. 10-15 minutes)
Uncover and sprinkle more shredded cheese and seasonings on top of peppers
Bake another 10 minutes or so.

Serve with a crusty Italian bread
Sprinkle the Romano/Parmesan cheese on top.

Try this variation Its good too:

Substitute the beef for chicken breast
Use a chicken Rice-A-Roni flavor
Substitute the spaghetti sauce for Alfredo
Use shredded cheddar or taco blend cheese.