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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Post Anyone here cook?

    Do you cook? If so, what do you make and what have you concocted recently?

    I live on my own and can't eat out regularly so I do a lot of my own cooking.

    I like making gumbo, jambalaya and red beans & rice. I've also made soups, stews, casseroles and goodies in my crockpot.

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    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I make salmon a lot, sometimes in the oven but grilled is better. A little salt, medium amount of garlic/onion powder, a lot of pepper, grated cheese, olive oil and lemon juice topped with a few tomato chunks is the recipe I use.

    I also like making big meat sauces, having meatball subs and spaghetti and meatballs for a few days and freezing the rest to have in a few weeks on a day I don’t feel like cooking.

    For grilled chicken Italian dressing works as a marinade in a pinch.

    Most steaks are good with just salt and pepper, but for steaktips I get a little fancy with a teriyaki based marinade with some Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and brown sugar.

    Also, you have an air fryer it works wonders for roasting veggies up nice and crisp.

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    Halfling in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I've heard a lot about air fryers but never really got one. Are they that good or just hype?

    When I make steaks, I cook them on my stovetop and throw on some seasonings like black pepper, basil, oregano, onion power and a little garlic.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    They are pretty convenient. Sort of like a mini convection oven on steroids that doesn’t take as long to heat up.

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    Halfling in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Lightbulb Re: Anyone here cook?

    Baked ravioli is one of my favorite recipes. It is easy to make and I get a few meals out of that.

    https://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/easy-baked-ravioli/


    The ingredients are easy to get as any supermarket, Walmart, etc. will have them.

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    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I'm not an especially good cook, but I do a bit of baking, does that count?

    My daughter is allergic to all animal milks, so a lot of shop-bought baked goods are off limits to her - so if I want her to be able to try stuff I have to make it somehow. Most recently, I've almost perfected my dairy-free Black Forest Gateau recipe.
    I'm pretty much the opposite of concise. If I fail to get to the point, please ask me and I'm happy to (attempt to) clarify.

  7. - Top - End - #7
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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Eating out and premade food is expensive, so I try to cook. I make a lot of curries and pasta dishes, currently trying out variants on mac and cheese.

    Also I'm able to get liver easily for the next few months, so I'm using it as my main meat. Cheap, tasty, and has lots of lovely nutrients. I find it goes well in a spicy tomato pasta sauce (which is, of course, so easy to make that I wonder why people buy them).
    Snazzy avatar (now back! ) by Honest Tiefling.

    RIP Laser-Snail, may you live on in our hearts forever.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zelphas View Post
    So here I am, trapped in my laboratory, trying to create a Mechabeast that's powerful enough to take down the howling horde outside my door, but also won't join them once it realizes what I've done...twentieth time's the charm, right?
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Raziere View Post
    How about a Jovian Uplift stuck in a Case morph? it makes so little sense.

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Rater202's Avatar

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I love food. I love eating and I love cooking.

    In the last couple of years I've done a number of experiments with differant forms of grilled cheese and assorted melts—I've found that extra sharp cheddar on Vienna bread with dijon mustard gets the best results, though I want to experiment with pumpernickle—and I've been tinkering with a recipe for barbecue sauce that my grandmother tought me on and off for years.

    The most recent permutation, created after I was diagnosed with diabetes, is three tablespoons of brown sugar substitute, a teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and cayenne pepper stirred together and then mixed with a mixture of a tablespoon each of soy sauce, wostershershire sauce, and red wine vinegar.

    Then stir in about 2/3rds a can of hunts tomato sauce, and bring to a boil for a few minutes. Let cool and then place in a container to settle overnight n the refrigerator.

    I'm hoping to try and make a low-sugar cranberry sauce next month for "Celebrate the Colonization of the continent by practicing gluttony with people you don't like" Day.
    I also answer to Bookmark and Shadow Claw.

    Read my fanfiction here. Homebrew Material Here Rater Reads the Hobbit and Dracula
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    Spoiler: Ode To Meteors, By zimmerwald
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    Quote Originally Posted by zimmerwald1915 View Post
    Meteor
    You are a meteor
    Falling star
    You soar your
    Way down the air
    To the floor
    Where my other
    Rocks
    Are.

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    Metastachydium's Avatar

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by Anonymouswizard View Post
    Also I'm able to get liver easily for the next few months, so I'm using it as my main meat. Cheap, tasty, and has lots of lovely nutrients.
    It's not technically meat, but damn, liver's the best indeed!

  10. - Top - End - #10
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    Anonymouswizard's Avatar

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by Metastachydium View Post
    It's not technically meat, but damn, liver's the best indeed!
    I thought offal counted as a subset of meat?
    Snazzy avatar (now back! ) by Honest Tiefling.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zelphas View Post
    So here I am, trapped in my laboratory, trying to create a Mechabeast that's powerful enough to take down the howling horde outside my door, but also won't join them once it realizes what I've done...twentieth time's the charm, right?
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Raziere View Post
    How about a Jovian Uplift stuck in a Case morph? it makes so little sense.

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I'm generally in charge of the seafood, beef, and pork dishes at home, save roasts. Several times a year I'll blow a Saturday cooking bacon just to have on hand as a snack for a week or so. I used to experiment more, but have been phoning it in for the last little while. I'll do veggie stuff that includes meat, kabobs, stir-fry, etc. I would cook chicken more, but fryer oil became too costly and my wife has the oven recipes dialed in. I would have married her for her meatloaf, alone.

    We've been in a CSA the last few years to get a steady supply of fresh, local produce. Some the kids love, some I've never heard of but we're worth trying...once. We've tried pattipan(?) about a dozen different ways now - I'm not a fan. Yet I'll gladly fatten up on fried squash chips.

    I'd like to get back to hunting and foraging like when I was a kid. Mrs. wants to get our own garden started. I've had a lot of outstanding dishes from all over, but trout, venison and mushrooms and fresh garden greens and good potatoes is where it's at.
    “Rule is what lies between what is said and what is understood.”
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  12. - Top - End - #12
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    theangelJean's Avatar

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by Anonymouswizard View Post
    Also I'm able to get liver easily for the next few months, so I'm using it as my main meat. Cheap, tasty, and has lots of lovely nutrients.
    Almost too nutritious - I assume you are aware of how much liver you can safely eat per week without overloading on Vitamin A (and Vitamin K, if you're on particular medications)? Having looked it up, the limit is higher than I expected. But the weekly serving of liver wouldn't be enough to meet average protein requirements by itself. At least there are plenty of other types of protein other than meat, and some of them are even relatively affordable.
    I'm pretty much the opposite of concise. If I fail to get to the point, please ask me and I'm happy to (attempt to) clarify.

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Pixie in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I love food. It is absolutely my biggest vice. I love eating it, and because I love eating it, I have to make it.

    Recently, I made some loco moco, and it was absolutely fantastic (if I do say so myself). It's a modern Hawaiian dish that, in its fundamentals, is a bed of white rice, with a burger patty on it, with a fried egg on top of that, and not-quite-drowned in brown gravy. I learned it from a friend from Santa Cruz, a place that likes to pretend is Hawaii despite the fact that they're Santa Cruz, which is already pretty good.

    As a vegetarian, I have to modify the recipe with a meatless burger and vegetable gravy (my favorite is onion based, because onions are rad as heck).

    Highly recommended as a comfort food, or for when you want something hearty as all get out.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I’ve made some progress recreating a Freebirds quesadilla from the days of yore. Still haven’t found the perfect tortilla, but I’ve managed to bring together something decent using Trader Joe’s pico de gallo, mixed cheddar cheese and spicy guac, layered over TJ’s carne assada taken from a burrito.

    Not nearly the original, and I’m not sure if I’d inflict it on anyone else, but I enjoy it for myself.

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Exclamation Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by Palanan View Post
    I’ve made some progress recreating a Freebirds quesadilla from the days of yore. Still haven’t found the perfect tortilla, but I’ve managed to bring together something decent using Trader Joe’s pico de gallo, mixed cheddar cheese and spicy guac, layered over TJ’s carne assada taken from a burrito.

    Not nearly the original, and I’m not sure if I’d inflict it on anyone else, but I enjoy it for myself.
    I cook quesadillas too; I even made some for lunch! I don't do anything fancy. I just cook them in my frying pan with whatever cheese I have and I throw spices on for good measure like garlic powder, black pepper and chili powder.

    Tonight, I'll be brewing up a point of a favorite comfort food of mine, matzoh ball soup!

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Rater202's Avatar

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Earlier today I experimented with a melt made from pepperoni and sharp cheddar on whole wheat with some sugar-free honey mustard sauce.

    By my standards, 8/10.
    I also answer to Bookmark and Shadow Claw.

    Read my fanfiction here. Homebrew Material Here Rater Reads the Hobbit and Dracula
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    Spoiler: Ode To Meteors, By zimmerwald
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    Quote Originally Posted by zimmerwald1915 View Post
    Meteor
    You are a meteor
    Falling star
    You soar your
    Way down the air
    To the floor
    Where my other
    Rocks
    Are.

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?



    My creation tonight - matzo balls in chicken soup with rice, carrots and various spices. I used black pepper, oregano and rosemary.

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Originally Posted by Rater202
    Earlier today I experimented with a melt made from pepperoni and sharp cheddar on whole wheat
    I’m with you this far.

    Baked, grilled? And what kind of pepperoni?

    Originally Posted by northernbard80
    My creation tonight - matzo balls in chicken soup with rice, carrots and various spices. I used black pepper, oregano and rosemary.
    Tried matzoh bread once, we didn’t hit it off.

    But the soup sounds interesting. How do you cook the matzoh balls?

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Rater202's Avatar

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by Palanan View Post
    I’m with you this far.

    Baked, grilled? And what kind of pepperoni?
    Deli pepperoni. Four slices between two of cheddar.

    Grilled.

    Bread was treated with cooking spray, wanna say canola based, in a pain treated with the same. I find that oils give a more even toasting than butter.
    I also answer to Bookmark and Shadow Claw.

    Read my fanfiction here. Homebrew Material Here Rater Reads the Hobbit and Dracula
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    Spoiler: Ode To Meteors, By zimmerwald
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    Quote Originally Posted by zimmerwald1915 View Post
    Meteor
    You are a meteor
    Falling star
    You soar your
    Way down the air
    To the floor
    Where my other
    Rocks
    Are.

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by Palanan View Post
    I’m with you this far.

    Baked, grilled? And what kind of pepperoni?



    Tried matzoh bread once, we didn’t hit it off.

    But the soup sounds interesting. How do you cook the matzoh balls?

    I use readymade matzo ball mix. If you live in the Northeastern USA, many stores should sell the mix. If not, you may have to look in specialty stores or resort to online ordering like Amazon. The recipes on the box usually call for you to mix the matzo ball mix with eggs and some sort of vegetable oil; I use olive oil.

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Chimera

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by northernbard80 View Post
    Do you cook? If so, what do you make and what have you concocted recently?

    I live on my own and can't eat out regularly so I do a lot of my own cooking.
    A default dish I do is make a roux, add milk or stock as desired (do not feel beholden to the classic 5 of french cooking), and then whatever flavoring fits the situation -- curry, chili, oriental 5-spice, whatever. It goes well with pasta, rice, or potatoes; most meats; most vegetables. Throw it into a soup and it become more stew-like.

    I'm married (no kids), so I have to work with my wife's tastes. However, when I was single (and trying to lose weight) I positively lived off of wild rice and mixed dried beans/legumes (16 bean mixes, or make your own with beans, lentils, split peas, etc.) and some kind of spice. That, and veggie stir fries with chicken breast or egg as protein.

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    Troll in the Playground
     
    DwarfClericGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I do the usual seasoned, baked chicken and salmon thing.

    But what I make the most of is effectively a mix between a tomato soup and a marinara.

    I start with mixed veggies of all types. A 1 pound package of mixed roots (beet, carrot, sweet potato, parsnips) and a 1 pound package of mixed veggies (broccoli, snap peas, water chestnuts, etc).

    Heat some olive or other light vegetable oil in a 5 quart (or deeper) pot, toss in the veggies, stir, cover and let them soften.

    Transfer in batches to a blender, use unsalted chicken broth as liquid, puree, return to pot.

    Add in whatever seasonings; default I use are, of course, basil, oregano and garlic.

    Add in a few diced tomatoes, and a small can of unsalted tomato paste.

    Blend it in together at low heat, let simmer for at least 30 minutes.
    May you get EXACTLY what you wish for.

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Currently experimenting with a lot of oils and pesto variations and things like that. Made a chili/garlic oil recently, currently I have a sichuan pepper + bayleaf oil infusing, and might end up making a rosemary oil later on. As far as pesto, I made a lot of basil pesto from a mix of spiky globe basil and lemon basil (both much smaller leaves than the usual kind you get in supermarkets, and much more intense flavor), and most recently tried a fresh lemon thyme+oregano pesto that was a bit trickier to get the right consistency from (the oil separated out rather than emulsifying, though the herb paste left at the bottom was still nice). I'm going to try to scale up my plants by a factor of 10 or something for next year so I can make like a gallon of the stuff, since a single jar goes very fast when you use it for things like pizza sauce.

    As far as cooking I've been playing with a grill of late now that I can actually have one - all vegetarian stuff, but getting really charred bell peppers for sauces or eggplant for baba ghanoush is nice. And in-husk corn cooked until the husk is just char, leaving sort of caramelized but still soft kernels on the cob is really nice. I've also been trying to smoke things like feta cheese and tofu with very mixed results. It's not really good for low temperature smoking, so I was having a lot of difficulty with the cheese sinking down into the grill and basically losing all of the flavored surface when I tried to scrape it free. Now I'm using a piece of fine iron mesh, so smoke can rise from below but the cheese even if it gets extremely soft can't really get through. The result was this really caramelized block of feta that had lost a lot of water and picked up only a little smoke flavor. Not exactly what I was aiming for, but it was pretty good. The tofu became almost like a deepfried tofu in that smoke environment, but picked up much more of the smoke flavor (not I think because tofu is more receptive than cheese, but because I turned the heat down for the cheese and also ended up getting less smoke as a result).

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Dude if you can cook cajun why are you here looking for other recipes?

    I love my instant pot! You can cook so much in it. But I typically just go look in the pantry and fridge and make something up using what I have. And, honestly, it's usually pretty good. Here's one of my grandkids favorites.

    Cook some egg noodles
    Brown a mixture of italian sausage and ground beef seasoned to taste
    Steam some veggies (I like to use red colored bell peppers, chopped yellow squash, green beans of snow peas, carrots, etc. The more color the better)
    I try to have everything finish about the same time. Then I drain the noodles and the meat and toss everything into the pot I cooked the noodles in. I add about 6 oz of grated parmesan and 12 oz of italian dressing. If you add these while the mixture is hot and stir it makes a creamy sauce.

    Hope you like it.

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    MonkGuy

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Cook a ton.

    Biggest few pieces of advice I have for people:

    1. Meat Thermometer - Perfect cooked meat should never be a guessing game.
    2. Salting - Namely pre-salting meat the night before you cook. It's the only way to get flavor deeper into your meat. Other seasoning can usually wait.
    3. MSG - makes everything better.
    4. Rice Cooker/Oven/Air Fryer - Use different tools so you aren't swamped on the stove or having to bounce between oven temps.
    5. Mise En Place - French for things in place. Cut, everything, before, you start, cooking. Measure out ingredients. Only exception is probably rice. Way easier to just grab a little bowl and throw it in when needed then timing the cutting of 6 things.

    As for what i've cooked that great lately. A simple and cheating duck confit.
    Get enough duck legs/thighs to fit the bottom of your dutch oven. Slice the skin and salt the night before to dry out. Oven on 250. Put the legs skin down in the pot, throw in a bunch of garlic, and a bay leaf. Flip after 1.5 hours and cook for another 1.5 hours. Once "done" throw on a baking sheet and oven on 450 to get skin crackly.

    I personally make these shreddy salty duck legs into tacos.

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    I mostly cook snacks for parties I'm hosting or going to. You can make a really easy "cake" by mixing together 3 cups of milk, 2 small packs of vanilla pudding max, and a small tub of Cool Whip, lining a casserole dish with chocolate graham crackers, pouring half the mix over it, adding a second layer of graham crackers, pouring innthe rest of the mix and then a third layer of graham crackers and icing. And instead of baking it it goes in the fridge
    "If you want to understand biology don't think about vibrant throbbing gels and oozes, think about information technology" -Richard Dawkins

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    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Chimera

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by sihnfahl View Post
    Transfer in batches to a blender, use unsalted chicken broth as liquid, puree, return to pot.
    Do you find it hard (or seasonally hard) to get no-salt-added stock (beef and veggie in particular, but also chicken)? It's utterly frustrating. I get that the brine-like stock was really useful in keeping meat drippings viable longer in a pre-refrigeration era. These days, though, stock is an ingredient, so I'm never using it when I couldn't go to the next cabinet over and grab a huge cheap container of pure salt. I like a really flavorful stock (like taking the stock liquid and then adding a bunch of powder or paste stock into it), and it's hard to get that concentration without salting it out of the taste (or health consciousness) zones of my diners.

    Sorry, micro-rant.

  28. - Top - End - #28
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    Griffon

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    Quote Originally Posted by northernbard80 View Post
    Do you cook? If so, what do you make and what have you concocted recently?

    I live on my own and can't eat out regularly so I do a lot of my own cooking.

    I like making gumbo, jambalaya and red beans & rice. I've also made soups, stews, casseroles and goodies in my crockpot.
    Do yourself a favor and Youtube DAVE CANTERBURY of the PATHFINDER WILDERNESS SURVIVAL SCHOOL. He does a lot of "bushcraft cooking" and you will be amazed at the number of dishes you can create with simple ingredients like flour, salt, sugar, corn meal, and basic meats, rice, and oatmeal. His flatbreads are particularly good watches. I use his recipes a lot in everyday cooking as well as backpacking.

    Cooking with Emmie is another good channel to watch for easy and cheap 3 or 4-ingredient meals.

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    SamuraiGirl

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    Default Re: Anyone here cook?

    The plan is to roast a chicken with piri-piri and potatoes tomorrow night

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    BardGuy

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    Exclamation Re: Anyone here cook?

    A few months ago, I made Johnny Longbow Stew. This is a homebrew recipe someone came up with based on what the character Johnny Longbow made from the B-movie "Track of the Moon Beast".

    If that movie title rings a bell, it's because it got a boost in popularity thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000.

    https://theherbeevore.com/johnny-lon...e-gluten-free/

    That's the recipe; I didn't use squash or zucchini in my version. I did use chicken, corn, green peppers...*sigh*...

    This is really good and worth trying!

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