Personal Specialties

[Night Ω Wolfe]

So anyway like I said in a different post, I am no cook. My husband makes fun of me saying I can't even boil water without setting the kitchen on fire. But actually the real story is this: So we were temporarily living in an apartment that had a gas stove, well I have never used a gas stove in my life! So I didn't know how high to put it and one day I decided to makes eggs. I put the pan on the stove an turned it on, then put some butter in the pan. Before I could even get the eggs out of the fridge the pan had caught on fire. It was totally destroyed :giggle2:

But anyway, my husband is a really good cook, so good I keep telling him he should become a chef. But I know that he gets tired of having to do ALL the cooking. So I thought I would surprise him by learning a few things... and I don't even have to worry because he very rarely reads any of the entertainment stuff on this forum. Hehe. :wink2:

So my question is do any of you know of really good, real meals that a beginner could figure out? I need an actual recipe to follow and preferably something that you have done yourself and are really good at making. The point is to wow and amaze him hehe. :cool2:

[griffman]

www.kraftfoods.com

They have really easy, really tasty recipes. The problem is, the aren't 100% homemade. It could be a good place to start off though!!

[beckyh]

kraftfoods.com is really helpful because they have comments from what everyone makes already, so you know how you can improve upon it.

We like the Cheesy Mexican Chicken and the Moist Caramel Apple cake. Although I don't think you should eat them at the same time... that sounds kinda nasty.

[Alucard]

ha ha I'm on to you now conspiring to burn the house down while I'm at work........i'm just kidding ill put my homemade spaghetti sauce on here in a couple days just need to figure out the measurements for everything.

[beckyh]

I know what you mean. I make a lot of stuff and I have no idea how much of what I use, just that I use it.

Good luck with that whole house burning down thing though, if you get desperate just flip the breaker to the kitchen while you're gone.

[Deonhower Colmyne]

Well I only know several Filipino dishes (my descent) that goes well with rice (any variant) or bread (wheat or regular):

ChickkenTerriyaki with Bean Sprout Side Dish

Marinate THIN beef slices in Mamasita BBQ or Terikayki marinade.

Stir fry in little butter and oil. If it dries up, add water to soften the meat. Add a little sugar depending on how sweet or how tangy you want it.

Side Dish
Stir fry veggies ( bean sprout, geen beans, green pepper, onions) Add BBQ marinade (Mamasita Brand or Kraft or anything else) and little sugar.

I cook based on taste instead of measuring it... so I don't really know the measurements. Plus it depends on how many people I'm cooking for. So I really lose the proportion from there.

BEEF Stew with 7-up

You'll need garlic, onion, tomato, soy sauce, 7 up, and beef sliced according to your eating preference (strip or stir fry)

Marinade beef in soy sauce and 7 up. Season the onion, garlic, and tomato to your liking (one good sign is that the tomatoes are curled). When well sauteed, add marinated beef. If the sauce seems to sip into the beef or dries up, add some more 7-up to soften the meat. Once you consume the 7-up or Sprite add more water till you have softened the beef strips. Season to taste by adding either more soy sauce, more 7-up, or water.

If done right this is Asian Sweet Stew. You can add carrots but not while you're cooking the beef. Add them after you have the finished product. One or two fresly cubed or sliced carrots will do.

Again I am lost as to how much of what ingredient I put in there . I'll try to post a recipe of the infamous "Adobo" though I don't know which you would like: chicken or pork coz I cook those two differently.

[AREA666]

I will have to try your stew recipe someday there Deon. I love stew and want to find one I like to make and I like putting soda in things, so it seems like a perfect match.

[Night Ω Wolfe]

Very interesting using 7up never thought to use soda in anything hehe... keep em coming Deon!

[Ari’laftia]

I do have one specialty for killer meatballs There are no real measurements for it.
1 pkg of hot sausage (Sold in links of 6)
about 1 1/2 lb hamburg but this is not definite

In a big bowl toss in your hamburger, squeeze the sausage out of the casings and mix in. (Toss the casings!)
Add about a tablespoon of Montreal seasoning and two finely crumbled pieces of bread, (Can be anything you have)
Than mix until everything is blended together .

I usually will gently cook them in a crock pot for most of the day with my spaghetti sauce but they can be done on the stove quicker with a store bought sauce, Just be sure not to rush them
less than an hour or they dry out.

We tend to *test* the meatballs to the point of eating them all before dinner! Yum!!!

Now I'm really bad at trying to put things into words so if I have confused anything Please let me know!

[Deonhower Colmyne]

That stew was kind of an accident... I think I was either tipsy or stressed out from hospital duty that I added 7up in the marinade but it ended up well and thus the birth of that recipe

You guys would have to watch your stew though when you're cooking it with 7up, alternating it with either soy sauce or water. I prefer water because too much soy sauce will make it salty. There's enough sugar in a 7up bottle for the heat of the pan to caramelize. So stir it constantly or it will stick to the rim and you'll have a hard time doing the dishes after. Not only that, the stew will taste somewhat too sweet. The right color would be mild brown. I'll cook one tonight and try to take a picture of it. I usually buy a 500mL bottle of 7up to sweeten the stew, perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 a kilo of beef strips or stir fry cut for 2-4 people. Rice would vary on the person's consumption rate. Half a bud of garlic, 2 red tomatoes, and half of a garlic would usually do, though I tend to add more. If you want to balance the sweetness with the saltiness use water. I know it sounds strange but it's better to chase the flavor in a bland taste than a "too much" taste... too salty or too sweet. I dunno if other cooks do that but I do

Chicken Adobo
6 chicken thighs (with skin and bone)
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/4 cup water
2 tsp. garlic puree
3 bay leaves
1 small onion, sliced in large slices
fresh ground black pepper to taste

I got these off the internet from several sites. I tried to compare my own recipe until I came to agree with what the above has listed. The more popular version is Pork Adobo and it can be cooked the same way. Though it may have less ingredients:

Pork Adobo
1 lb Pork Loin - cut into chunks
1 Head Garlic
1/4 c Soy Sauce
1 ts Black Pepper (freshly ground)
1/2 cup White Vinegar
1 tb Vegetable Oil or Mineral Oil

In both cases you would have to cook the garlic in a separate pan until it's brown. You can either have the Adobo in a "dry" variation, meaning no sauce. Or the "wet" variation, where it almost swims in the sauce. I leave that up to you.

You need to marinade the pork or chicken with the soy sauce, pepper and vinegar. It takes about 2-3 hours depending on how much you have. This food cooks slow so you may want to take your time tasting it. Add the garlic once it's crisped a bit.

enjoy!