What's the best 'from scratch' meal concoction you've ever made?

I used to make a concoction called panflakes.
I'd take whole wheat flour, mix in some water, toss it on tinfoil, and pop it in the toaster for 15 minutes. To give them some flavor I'd squirt lemon juice on them. Downed with milk, they weren't half bad.

Last night I made a white sauce, added roasted peppers, oregano, ground red pepper and black pepper, mixed in boneless baked chicken (cut up) and served it over mini-penne.

Not bad.

anis said:

I used to make a concoction called panflakes.
I'd take whole wheat flour, mix in some water, toss it on tinfoil, and pop it in the toaster for 15 minutes. To give them some flavor I'd squirt lemon juice on them. Downed with milk, they weren't half bad.

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Add a little oil and salt, and this sounds like bannock, a Scottish flatbread picked up by the Aboriginals in Canada.

My favorite, and the kids' favorite, is sort of like a hash of sorts. I take a bunch of potatoes. Cut them up into cubes, or like American fries, or whatever design I want. Then I fry them until they're soft on the inside and crispy brown outside. I then throw in some sort of meat, hamburger, cut up bratwurst, or whatever is handy (pre-cooked, of course). I season it using different spices by Penzey, I especially like their Northwoods spice. Then, to soak up any extra oil that's in the pan, I'll cut up some bread or hot dog or hamburger buns and let the whole mixture fry until the bread is golden brown also.

Then I smother the whole thing in Velveeta.

Shadow_Ferret said:

My favorite, and the kids' favorite, is sort of like a hash of sorts. I take a bunch of potatoes. Cut them up into cubes, or like American fries, or whatever design I want. Then I fry them until they're soft on the inside and crispy brown outside. I then throw in some sort of meat, hamburger, cut up bratwurst, or whatever is handy (pre-cooked, of course). I season it using different spices by Penzey, I especially like their Northwoods spice. Then, to soak up any extra oil that's in the pan, I'll cut up some bread or hot dog or hamburger buns and let the whole mixture fry until the bread is golden brown also.

Then I smother the whole thing in Velveeta.

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damn! that sounds great!

Kellogg's Corn Flakes with non-fat milk. Let me tell you, they were AWESOME!

soleary said:

Kellogg's Corn Flakes with non-fat milk. Let me tell you, they were AWESOME!

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No.

Cap'n Crunch was the best. Except for how it shredded the inside of your mouth as if you'd been eating razor blades.

Ouch! I still can feel 'em, taking off the upper palate!

capt'n Crunch was cool.
So was King Vitamin cereal,
with the cutout cardboard castle on the back of the box.
(The key to eliminating the razor blade effect was to let the cereal sit for awhile till it got soppy. Of course, if you had siblings like I did this tactic could backfire, as you'd return to the table and find your bowl empty.)

Will have to try adding some oil and salt to my panflakes, Chumplet.
I've got a smattering of Scotch blood in me so maybe I'll dig the embellishment.

1 hour from scratch stew, and chicken and rice, it's chock full of veggies and all kinds of healthy things, best part is, my kids can't get enough of it, veggies and all.

Most of my meals are from scratch, and most are pretty quick - I have three kids and can't spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I also like to buy in bulk and cook several meals from the same basic ingredients, like chicken and rice.

I like tossing boneless chicken, a can of pineapple rings, and a jar of marischino cherries into the slow cooker. Later, when the chicken is falling apart, I serve it over a mix of brown and wild rice.

I also really like to make Feta Chicken. I cut skinless, boneless chicken breasts into thin slices and then fold them over a layer of feta cheese. Then I dip each piece into slightly beaten egg whites and then into a mix of whole wheat flour and spices. I cook them at about 350 until done. These also go great with rice.

Another chicken and rice recipe:
Cut up the chicken, add in canned or fresh chinese vegetables, cover in soy sauce and cook until done. Mix in a cup or two of leftover rice. Stir.

Then, with your spatula, make a hole in the middle of the rice, chicken, and veggie mix. Pour in two slightly beaten eggs. Let them set, then mix them into the rice mix. Repeat.

It makes yummy fried rice.


Or...and this is the last one, I swear:

Dice chicken and throw it into a pot full of picante sauce. While it cooks, grate cheese and heat corn tortillas. Then layer the corn tortillas with chicken and cheese, top with the cooked sauce, roll into enchiladas, and cover with another layer of cheese and sauce. When your tray is full of enchiladas, bake at about 350 for about 10 minutes.

Serve with black beans and rice.

THEN, when everyone is full, dice up the remaining enchiladas and put them, any remaining chicken and/or cheese, any remaining rice, and any remaining black beans back into the pot of picante and stir well. It's suprisingly tasty when reheated.

Monkey said:

I also really like to make Feta Chicken. I cut skinless, boneless chicken breasts into thin slices and then fold them over a layer of feta cheese. Then I dip each piece into slightly beaten egg whites and then into a mix of whole wheat flour and spices. I cook them at about 350 until done. These also go great with rice.

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That sounds awesome!! Have you ever tried skewering them for the bbq?? I imagine you'd have to skip the breading step, but I think it might work!





Lentil Soup

1 cup of lentils
1 of every vegetable in the fridge
1 litre of water or stock

Boil.

Eat.

Yum.

***
Leftover Fajita soup

Leftover fajita fillings (meat and peppers and onions etc)
Small tin of diced tomatoes
Whirl the above in a food processor
Combine in a pot with black beans, rice and water or stock.

Boil.

Eat.

Yum.

my sister's recipe:

Put some oil in a large saucepan, fry an onion until tender, add loads of garlic, and plenty of chicken broth. Let it come to a boil, toss in chopped carrots and whatever non-starchy veggies you have around and spaghetti. Let the skettis cook almost al dente, toss in a bunch of hot dogs. Let the dogs cook.

It makes a very tasty and filling soup

Personally, I cook most things from scratch but I won't put in too many recipes. Besides, for the most part, I modify stuff from The Joy of Cooking
But I LOVE making bread!

My best "throw it together" dinner has to be a Mexican style casserole that everyone LOVES.

Cook hamburger up with taco seasoning, then start layering in a casserole dish:

Corn tortillas
Uncle Ben's 90 second heat & eat rice (cheesy variety)
shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses
cooked hamburger
either pinto beans or refried beans

Layer it however you want. I prefer to layer one thing at a time over the tortillas like hamburger then tortillas then rice then another layer of tortillas and so on and it does seem to turn out better if the meat is closer to the top. I guess all that unhealthy fat seeps through. I dunno. If you have any enchilada sauce laying about, try pouring a little over the top. That makes it casserolier.

Cover it with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, then pull off the foil, add cheese on top and bake some more until the cheese is nicely melted.

There ya go - heart attack on a plate!

Another one that isn't quite as unhealthy is a chicken casserole. All you need is a package of Rice a Roni chicken flavor and a few chicken breasts.

Cook the rice-a-roni until it's about halfway done and still watery. Pour it into a baking dish and arrange uncooked chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle chicken with seasonings. I like to use sage and "Nature's Seasons", which my kids call Pixie Dust. We use it on everything. Anyway, cover the dish and bake until the chicken is done. Sometimes you have to add a little water halfway through and sometimes you don't. I've yet to figure out why since I always prepare it the same way. Really simple, really easy and it's never turned out bad.

DWSTXS said:

No.

Cap'n Crunch was the best. Except for how it shredded the inside of your mouth as if you'd been eating razor blades.

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I thought I was the only one who suffered from that! The hubs acts like I'm weird because crunchy cereal cuts my mouth up. Anyways...best concoction. Everything I cook is pretty much thrown together out of whatever I can find in the cupboards/fridge and he swears it's all good (his favorite dish can't be considered a concoction anymore-homemade mac and cheese). So the best one of late was the Curried Beef I made the other night. Take lean ground beef, brown it with some green onions, green peppers and minced garlic, add curry powder, a pinch of salt and some crushed tomatoes. Serve over egg noodles. The noodles were why I ultimately made it...I wanted egg noodles. Go figure.

I like my favorite vegetable dish, which is just brown rice and fresh peas with onions. The first time I made it, it was because that's what I had as leftovers.