Specialties of your house - food oddities

[Barking_Dog]

Iny my broke ass college days there was a time when I had no food in the house except an old box of pancake mix, a little bit of milk, and some peanut butter. That was it. And I was flat broke. Couldn’t even buy bread. So I made all the pancakes that I could from the box and slathered them with peanut butter. And even though I ate that morning, noon, and night for about a week, I found it really tasty and still eat it today.

Another time there was a similar situation with rice and an egg. Now I regularly have a lovely soft boiled egg over rice for breakfast. Great way to start the day!

[Barking_Dog]

[quote=“Spoons, post:69, topic:631491”]

And there were brown-sugar sandwiches: two slices of bread, butter, and brown sugar.
QUOTE]

Had that too. As a very special yummy treat. Open faced?

[california_jobcase]

Back in my married with family days, I’d make chicken surprise. Take a pound or two of diced or shredded cooked chicken and put it in a pot. Add a can of green beans (reserve liquid) and a can of mushrooms (reserve liquid). Dice in an onion. Add water to the reserved liquid to make a cup and a half. Pour in pot, bring to a boil and stir. Add a cup and a half of Minute Rice, stir, put on lid and let sit for ten minutes off heat.

Really good with a little pepper and soy sauce.

[Lynn_Bodoni]

But my grandma used to make me a toasted bagel, with a scrambled egg, a slice of American cheese, and a thick coating of Smoked Salmon flavor Philly whipped cream cheese. It sounds kind of gross (philly smoked salmon flavor is basically Salty Nitrates flavor) but to me, it was nommy. Of course, being the exact sort of thing my parents would forbid in their own home, it was deliciously contraband as well.

Forbidden fruit is always sweetest.

[jali]

@Sister_Vigilante

Scrambled eggs mixed with tuna. My dad altered the recipe from the original which he ate growing up: scrambled eggs mixed with pig’s brains. It’s really good. (The one with tuna; I don’t know about the brains.)

My husband likes to mix his scrambled eggs with sliced up pieces of hot dogs. He calls it “eggs and wienies” and it was a staple for him growing up too.

I also grew up eating devilled ham and Vienna sausage, with mayonnaise, on saltines. Mr. V bought some to try once and ended up giving it to the dog.

My mom made scrambled eggs with onions and tuna in white rice to make Tuna Fried Rice, her breakfast specialty.

My grandma added corn niblets and a little corn meal to her pancake batter to make delicious fritters that we corn called pancakes.

[applebetty]

@Barking_Dog

Iny my broke ass college days there was a time when I had no food in the house except an old box of pancake mix, a little bit of milk, and some peanut butter. That was it. And I was flat broke. Couldn’t even buy bread. So I made all the pancakes that I could from the box and slathered them with peanut butter. And even though I ate that morning, noon, and night for about a week, I found it really tasty and still eat it today.

Hahahahahaha! In college I lived on five dollars a week by making flour tortillas spread with peanut butter. That five dollars would buy the rock-bottom cheap-ass bag of flour, can of shortening, and jar of peanut butter. I generally cooked for myself so I had salt and baking powder on hand.

Recipe: Throw some flour in a bowl, add some salt and BP, cut in a wad of shortening, add water to make dough, separate into half-handful balls, flatten and fry in a dry skillet until gently browned. Spread with PB. Too poor to buy jelly!

Another bad time I had cooked white rice and added peas, I just got a bowlful out of the fridge when I was hungry.

For a special treat, cook white rice, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, mix in a little vegetable oil.

Certainly not the most healthy diet, but I paid my own way through college and survived to graduation.

[WhyNot]

@california_jobcase

Back in my married with family days, I’d make chicken surprise. Take a pound or two of diced or shredded cooked chicken and put it in a pot. Add a can of green beans (reserve liquid) and a can of mushrooms (reserve liquid). Dice in an onion. Add water to the reserved liquid to make a cup and a half. Pour in pot, bring to a boil and stir. Add a cup and a half of Minute Rice, stir, put on lid and let sit for ten minutes off heat.

Really good with a little pepper and soy sauce.

Og help me, this actually sounds good. Well, except that I can’t stand canned green beans and I’ve never used Minute Rice. But I bet I could make it with frozen green beans and real rice and add some extra salt to taste…

[Drain_Bead]

The meatloaf cupcakes need mashed potato icing.

[Lynn_Bodoni]

I make meatloaf cupcakes sometimes, because my husband likes ketchup or tomato sauce on his meatloaf and I don’t. The only downside is that the leftover cupcakes won’t slice as neatly as a loaf shape for meatloaf sandwiches.

[_Olive]

About once a year I cook what my mother called slop.

browned ground beef and onion, can of tomatoes, can of string beans, can of kidney beans over mash.

I eat this when I use up my hurricane supply.

[maggenpye]

Tattie scones:

Take your leftover mashed potatoes (about a cup) and add to a cup of self raising flour, add one teaspoon of salt and one egg. Mix to a stiff dough. Cut in half and, on a floured board, roll each half out very thin, cut into 8 (Like pizza wedges) and fry in butter.

Eat hot with more butter (toppings are ok too, we prefer savoury).

No soup is complete in this house without a tin of four bean mix or cooked spiral pasta to make it go twice as far.

Leftover stirfry is today’s fritata.

[butler1850]

Meatloaf cupcakes would provide extra edge, so I’m 100% on board.

@Drain_Bead

The meatloaf cupcakes need mashed potato icing.

This idea wins the thread.

My family favorite was “smush.” Browned ground beef in some broth with some onions, add a can of peas, and serve over rice. I introduced it to my wife, who grew up with a cook for a father, and surprisingly, she actually requests it once in awhile.

[Jimbabweosu]

My Great-Grandmother (my mother’s mother’s mother) had three children and lived literally in a one-room shack during the Great Depression (Great Grandpa added rooms as he could afford them- and then dug out a basement, one bucket at a time. He was a tough ol’ irish son-of-a-bitch, a moniker he wore with pride, mind you). House poor, they were lucky enough to live on a HUGE city lot- so they had lots of land for a garden. And Great-Grandma made a dish that every one of her descendents (some 200 now) grew up on. I’ve never known any other family to make it. But for us, it is a deeply adored, craved even, summer treat.

Green Beans and Hamburger.
Clean FRESH beans (us kids used to have to de-string them- hated the chore, but mom wouldn’t make the dish otherwise), clip the ends. Leave long. Cook in water until just tender (about 20 mins) not squeaky.
Clean, halve and slice onions- about as thick as the green beans
Brown Crumbled Hamburger (ground chuck is best). (you can drain the grease if there’s too much- I buy 90/10 now and don’t drain.
When the burger is brown add the onions and cook just long enough that they still have just a little crunch, but are translucent on the edges. Add the cooked, drained green beans. Toss to combine. Add salt and LOTS of black pepper.
How much of each? Easy. equal amounts, by weight. 1# Green beans= 1#Onions + 1# Hamburger. 1.5# green beans…

Serve with lots of fresh Corn-on-the-cob.

When we were kids this was a deeply desired, begged for even, treat. Just delicious. My wife likes it, but she keeps trying to get me to add mushrooms, peppers, green-onions, tomatoes and other such blasphemous addends. She just doesn’t get it. Sigh

I used to think mom made it all the time because it was good (and got us kids to clean the beans and the corn- so she didn’t have to do all of dinner). Once i started making it on my own, I realized she made it because it was cheap. (same with her bean soup- another delicacy in my home (beans, ham-hocks, water, onion, bay leaf and black pepper) so good… so cheap!)

Hmmmm, I guess I know what I’m making for dinner!

[hogarth]

Most of these sound really good to me!

My dad was the experimenter in our household. He’d do the leftover fry-ups, like chopped up leftover pork and/or beef and/or potatoes fried with onions and ketchup. He’d also mix two different cans of Campbell’s soup together: minestrone and FCP was pretty common.

My go-to bachelor recipes were (a) ramen noodles with frozen vegetables and (b) a microwaved hot dog on a slice of bread with mustard and relish. Nothing fancy.

[Irishman]

@Little_Nemo

Something my family did was eat leftover popcorn as breakfast cereal. As in, pouring yourself a bowl of popcorn and eating it with milk and sugar on top, like you would a bowl of cheerios.

Wait, you had leftover popcorn?

@ThelmaLou

<show of hands> Who called weenies “tube steak” … ?

I’ve heard that, but not for [del]the kind you eat[/del] [/del]the kind that go in buns[/del] hot dogs.

@Silver_Tyger

I never ate it, but my mom’s favorite way of eating cornbread is crumbled up in milk and eaten like cereal.

I had that a few times, but it had to have sugar. At the time, I didn’t realize I was making cornbread cereal, but yeah, that’s what it was.

[terentii]

When I was hosteling in England, I experimented a lot with dirt-cheap foods. My favorites, which I still eat today (thirty-five years later), are

Marmite on buttered toast, browned under a broiler with sharp cheddar cheese (preferably white) on top.

“Pizza” toast, with herbed tomato sauce, anchovy paste, and some mild white cheese on top, also browned under a broiler.

Brown rice sauteed in butter with onions, mushrooms, and peppers, then boiled in chicken and beef broth until the rice is tender. This is lovely when served with sour cream on top.

My daughter loves it when I make hot buttered toast and then sprinkle it with brown sugar and cinnamon, or with Nestle’s Quik.

Post-Thanksgiving one-skillet dinners with THE WORKS are also mandatory in my home.

[terentii]

Shrimp sauteed in olive oil, then smothered in salsa and served over rice is delicious too.

[Ksnook]

Refried mashed potatoes are a winter breakfast staple. So much so that I often make a double batch of mashed potatoes Thursday or Friday night.
Mix the potatoes with 1-2 lightly beaten eggs. Add something onion like: green or red or leeks or garlic or anything. Stir in something smoked: cubes of ham, smokies, kielbasa or crumbled bacon or pancetta. Grate in copious quantities of real cheese, whatever you have that isn’t processed. Old cheddar or smoked Gouda really rocket this up. Season with fresh ground pepper and something salty (salt, seasoned salt, soy sauce, anchovies, worcestershire sauce)
Fry in butter or (best) bacon fat, because you’ve already blown your cholesterol level.
Be prepared to nap afterwards.

[Missy2U]

@maggenpye

Tattie scones:

Take your leftover mashed potatoes (about a cup) and add to a cup of self raising flour, add one teaspoon of salt and one egg. Mix to a stiff dough. Cut in half and, on a floured board, roll each half out very thin, cut into 8 (Like pizza wedges) and fry in butter.

Eat hot with more butter (toppings are ok too, we prefer savoury).

This is SO going to happen this weekend! Thanks!

[Missy2U]

@Ksnook

Refried mashed potatoes are a winter breakfast staple. So much so that I often make a double batch of mashed potatoes Thursday or Friday night.
Mix the potatoes with 1-2 lightly beaten eggs. Add something onion like: green or red or leeks or garlic or anything. Stir in something smoked: cubes of ham, smokies, kielbasa or crumbled bacon or pancetta. Grate in copious quantities of real cheese, whatever you have that isn’t processed. Old cheddar or smoked Gouda really rocket this up. Season with fresh ground pepper and something salty (salt, seasoned salt, soy sauce, anchovies, worcestershire sauce)
Fry in butter or (best) bacon fat, because you’ve already blown your cholesterol level.
Be prepared to nap afterwards.

You guys are KILLING ME! Now I am going to go to the store and get potatoes so I can make BOTH of these this weekend! My husband is drooling in anticipation (which is good because it means he will peel the potatoes for me!)