# Ever cobbled a meal out of random ingredients? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116 "2006-08-10T03:56:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/1 "2006-08-10T03:56:38Z")
I went to the county fair today and did the food sampling thing around 3:00. I got home about 6:00 and didn’t think to pick up something for dinner. Around 8:00 I started getting hungry. We’re running low on foodstuffs and I didn’t want to go back out so I tried the cook by numbers site, but it kept coming up with things like apples and omlettes. So I decided to slop together a casserole based on stuff I found in the kitchen. 1 small potato sliced 1lb ground beef several handfuls of shredded cheese lime juice hot sauce 1 can of kidney beans 3 slices real American cheese half a tomato corn tortilla chips Line the bottom of the casserole dish with potato slices. Mix the ground beef with shredded cheese, add lime juice and hot sauce as needed. Put in on top of potatos. Add can of kidney beans over meat. Place American cheese over beans. Slice tomato and place slices over cheese. Cover with crushed chips Cover chips with more shredded cheese. Bake covered in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. It turned out better than I thought it would be, but needed alot of sour cream. It’s not something I would make again. ---
**Author:** ![as\_u\_wish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@as\_u\_wish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/as_u_wish)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/2 "2006-08-10T04:27:31Z")
Forty-five years ago my mother-in-law cobbled together a hot dish based on what was in the pantry. The recipe (alas) has survived as the infamous “Nutty Noodles” beloved of the as\_u\_wish clan, except for me. 2 lbs hamburger 1 diced onion **5 oz. of green olives** 1/2 lb. shredded cheese diced 1 can mushroom soup diluted with 1.5 cans milk 1 small can mushroom pieces drained 8 oz. noodles cooked **1/4 lb mixed nuts** –more is better 1/2 can chow mein noodles Cook like you would assume–brown the meat, mix everything but the chow mein noodles and 1/2 the nuts, cook 1/2 hour at 350. Put the chow mein noodles and the rest of the nuts on top and bake another 1/2 hour. Serve to family while eating something you like in another room. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/3 "2006-08-10T05:24:37Z")
Well. yeah. BUt I guess you knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/4 "2006-08-10T09:27:17Z")
2 poached eggs on a bowlful of hot peas. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/5 "2006-08-10T12:24:34Z")
I once lightly fried some onions and served them up on a bed of spaghetti, as that was the only food I had in the house. Fortunately I was the only one who had to eat it. About twelve hours later, I stopped farting. I’m not planning on repeating the experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/6 "2006-08-10T12:53:24Z")
[Yes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=278670) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/7 "2006-08-10T13:10:47Z")
I do it all the time. Ground beef, some Tapatio, chili powder, garlic salt, pepper, some onions, and a bit of cheese make a decent filling for tortillas (or a sandwich if I have no tortillas). You might say, ‘Well that’s just how you make taco meat.’ But it’s not as if I’m going from a recipe. I just throw whatever I have that seems it will go together. I had some rice, but that seemed boring. So I looked around and found some shrimp and some Veg-All. I mixed it up with soy sauce, having cooked the rice with a tin of vegetable stock I found in the cupboard, and it was pretty good. Another time I had some fresh broccoli and mushrooms, but no shrimp or Veg-All. That was good too. I can’t remember all the times I’ve cobbled something together, nor _what_ I cobbled together. Basically I’ll just look to see what I have that might go together. ---
**Author:** ![Heckxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@Heckxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckxx)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/8 "2006-08-10T13:24:50Z")
I make up recipies all the time, if thats what you mean. Mainly its will pastas and stir fry’s. For pasta’s, I just have a basic order of operations: 1- boil water, start to cook pasta 2- heat some oil in a large pan, add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and/or peppers 3- add tomatoes, vegtables, cooked protiens, pepper flakes, and/or curry powder 4- add cooked pasta to pan 5- add some sort of fresh herb and/or cheese And thats basically how I do all my cooking. Stuff like that. Most of the time it’s pretty good, including that one time I made a pasta with curry powder and garam masala. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-cobbled-a-meal-out-of-random-ingredients/368116/9 "2006-08-10T14:12:02Z")
As a poor starving college student, I once roamed the halls of my dorm mooching whatever foodstuffs my fellow pupils were willing to part with. I collected a sleeve of Saltines crackers, a bottle of ketchup, and a canister of grated parmesan cheese. In my roommate’s toaster oven I made the most vile pizzas known to man. They were disgusting- the warm parmesan took on the unmistakable odor of vomit- but they got me through the night until the dining hall opened.