STORM2K

Someone recently mentioned we should post our own secret recipe ingredients....such as adding a chicken bouillon cube to green beans. Not complete recipes necessarily (we have a thread for that), just post an ingredient or technique no one else would think of for a dish or drink.

I'll start.....

1. Sun/iced tea - add 5 or 6 cloves while brewing for spiced tea.

2. To thicken homemade soups - puree one or two cups in blender, returning to pot of soup. This works great for vegetable, bean and potato soups (puree before adding pasta, if that's an ingredient).

3. Add a can of V-8 juice to homemade vegetable soup for extra flavor.

Mary

OK, y'all are probably gonna flame me for this, but I have become a firm believer in frying meats with lard. I gave up trying to make chicken fried anything because by the time I got the oil hot enough it was burning and smoking. I finally gave good old lard a try and now I understand why Gramma swore by it. Lard has a much higher burn tolerance than most vegetable oils, so no more trouble. As to the other thread about bacon grease, I will admit I use it quite often. Don't need but a spoonful in most recipes and you can't beat it for flavoring. Not something I do regularly, but if I'm going to go to the time and trouble to make something, it's darn well going to be GOOD!

Down here in Texas we're also partial to a product called Rotel. It's just diced tomatoes & green chiles. Don't know if it's sold outside of the southern states or not. My neighbor uses it in everything - swears that Rotel & tuna makes the best sandwich he ever wrapped his lips around. Have to say I can't quite bring myself to try that one! Anyway, Rotel goes great with pot roast, soups, stews... anything that needs a little kick to wake it up. Want more kick? Get the extra hot and hang on to your chair!

Aha! Mystery solved! So that's what Rotel is. Have not seen it in New England. However, they sell the green chiles and they sell the tomatoes--what sort of proportions are they mixed in? Or is that a sort of "to taste" preference?

Miss Mary--and everyone else:

Somewhere on one of these threads someone proposed a Storm2K Cookbook. There are publishers who do the "fundraiser cookbooks" so I'm guessing Storm2K could publish one. Is Storm2K actually an "organization" in that it can do fundraising?

It seems as though there could be two separate cookbooks--one with regular recipes and tips like adding the V8 to the soup or the bullion cube to the veggies and the other cookbook "storm-specific" (which you could use for camping in years where you did not have to cope with hurricane aftermath.)

And, if you did a separate one for cooking in hurricane aftermath, you could actually combine it with all the wonderful pointers that came up on the boards this summer on how to cope with hurricane preparations and aftermath. I'm thinking not of the kinds of lists that go in Red Cross type handbooks of what to do, but the tips like going to the library and stocking up on things to read, what to pack up for your pets if you have to evacuate, how to use plylock clips and so forth.

In yet another message, someone mentioned not quite knowing what to do with the kinds of foods recommended for "stocking up." And that brings up an interesting point--how do you interpret those lists that official sources put out? They list stuff like canned sardines and tuna fish. But the bottom line is that if you don't like/eat sardines when there is no hurricane, they probably don't belong in your emergency kit. And tuna fish is not all that good a choice unless you are feeding a mob and have small jars of mayonnaise that you will open, and eat all of because if you don't have refrigeration, you can't keep the mayonnaise safely (or any leftover mixed tuna). I'd like to see what other people really think belongs on those lists after having lived several weeks without electricity... (Been there, done that, and know how I edit the list--but would like to hear other people's opinions.)

So questions:

Should we write a cookbook? Should there be one or two different cookbooks? Can we do it as a fundraiser for Storm2K? Who knows the answers?

Persepone wrote:Aha! Mystery solved! So that's what Rotel is. Have not seen it in New England. However, they sell the green chiles and they sell the tomatoes--what sort of proportions are they mixed in? Or is that a sort of "to taste" preference?

The regular Rotel is about 3/4 diced tomatoes to 1/4 chiles, so it's not really all that hot. Well, I take that back - 20 years ago it would have killed me!

Gosh I don't know Daria! So far just posting recipes on the boards has worked well. A cookbook sounds like a great idea but a ton of work. Our church sold one and it took months and a committee to plan. Well, if nothing else, you've planted the seed. We'll see what happens...

Mary

Miss Mary,

Did your church make money from the cookbook?

I've 20+ years experience as writer/editor... mostly technical stuff--but I love cooking. Planning, writing and editing technical documentation for high tech products has a lot in common with writing recipes....

It's not THAT difficult. You are right, it takes a lot of time. But it could be done...

I add tons of garlic to pretty much everything I make (well not EVERYthing). A good and easy way to doctor up store-bought spaghetti sauce is to saute some onions, garlic (and mushrooms) in olive oil, then add a bit of old leftover red wine. It can really improve the taste of some rather inexpensive sauces.

Another recipe "secret" my grandmother taught my family was to put a pinch of salt in the coffee grounds before you make it. I'm not sure why, but it does seem to improve the taste (maybe it's all in our head).

Another that I just thought of - I LOVE goat cheese either on crackers, salad, or pizza. If using on salad, I like to dip it in milk or egg and in italian bread crumbs, then bake or pan fry it for a bit. It softens up the taste just a hair and makes for a fancier looking salad.

[quote="PurdueWx80"]I add tons of garlic to pretty much everything I make (well not EVERYthing). A good and easy way to doctor up store-bought spaghetti sauce is to saute some onions, garlic (and mushrooms) in olive oil, then add a bit of old leftover red wine. It can really improve the taste of some rather inexpensive sauces.

Good tip! What other "add ins" do people suggest to "doctor up store-bought" stuff?

I'll bet that there are a lot of tips for personalizing "store bought" stuff just waiting to get posted on this board...

Europeans often put a little nutmeg in green vegetables. Gives them an interesting (and different) taste.

Does anyone "doctor up" instant macaroni and cheese? Worcestershire sauce? Any other tips on how to make it more interesting or taste better?

Persepone wrote:[Does anyone "doctor up" instant macaroni and cheese? Worcestershire sauce? Any other tips on how to make it more interesting or taste better?

Yup - ROTEL!

The name rotel to me sounds like something you would use to kill mice!!! Sounds like something I would find on the shelf at the hardware store with the ant spray, roach killer and garden chemicals!

Your description of it on the other hand sounds yummy!

Rotel + American cheese, heated.....wonderful and quick dip to use with Tostitos and Fritos.

Terry wrote:Rotel + American cheese, heated.....wonderful and quick dip to use with Tostitos and Fritos.

Oh yes! Some swear by Velveeta & Rotel also. I usually grab a jar of Tostitos medium cueso and mix with 1 well-drained can of Rotel. Gone before you know it!

I love Rotel! I have a receipe that you have rice, ground meat, rotel, a can of Mexican corn and a can of mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup and cheese......what a casserole!!

Miss Mary, what is the name of the thread for the receipes? My mom told me to put chicken bouillon cube in turnip greens and collard greens, yummy!

Mary

Duh, I just saw both threads.......it was a rough Monday...forgive me.

Mary

MSRobi911 wrote:Duh, I just saw both threads.......it was a rough Monday...forgive me.

Mary

MsRob - and another Mary I see! There are several of us now....we could call ourselves the Merry-Mary club? Guess I'm into the xmas spirit a bit too much today...welcome to S2K, if I haven't said before!

Mary

another good football afternoon dip is velveeta and a can of chili! cut in chunks - put in a crock pot on high then later in the day it's ready! turn to low to kkep it melted OR just cut up a few chnks and add some rotel or chili and microwave for about 2-3 minutes for a small bowl of dip. quick and easy!

meatballs for a party - a bag of frozen meatballs like you get a sams' club, a bottle fo your favorite bbq sauce and a jar of welch's grape jelly! throw all into a crock pot and voile - you have a great appetizer!

oh - i use lawries seasoning salt on just about anything that needs salt or seasoning - just takes a little, adds a wonderful flavor and cuts down on your salt intake!

Found a can of "Master Choice" "Salsa Style Diced Tomatoes and Green chilies. Around the top of the band it is marked "Hot Hot"

Looks like what you describe as Rotel...

Contents: tomatoes, tomatojuice, chopped green chili peppers, salt, vinegar, spices, cilantro, calcium chloride, citric acid.

This can came from New Hampshire!!!

Isn't masters choice A&P brand? I'll have to look for it!

rotel comes in different strengths of heat though! you can get mild to hot.
rotel says tomotoes with juice - so sounds almost the same.
i forgot to mention if you do it in the microwave you might stop after 45 sec. and stir then add 15- 20 second cycles after that to make sure you don't cook it too long.