Quick meal my eight old year likes

I don't usually call opening an warming up something cooking. But my eight year old said you got to put this on the blog. So here it is. Cook up some pasta (shells or something that will hold liquids). Drain doesn't have to be to well drained it will get more liquid add to it. Open a can of beef stew. place stew in pan that you cooked the pasta in add pasta back into pan. Add shred cheese. The stronger flavors taste better Sharp cheddar. Mix and serve. This is a good starter for kids to start using the stove. Not sure if I am ready for the kids to start cooking yet

Funeral potatoes

Tastes great, easy to make, easy to store for later. But a lot of shortcut can be disastrous. Easy the amounts don't have to be the same every time to get great results. Wash potatoes. boil potatoes until fork goes in easy but doesn't break apart. peal, grate. Note potatoes will be hot. Short cute that works frozen has-browns. Brake apart and cover bottom of casserole dish more can be added before baking. Don't use instant, mash potatoes, slice, or dice. This type of shortcut may seem like it saves time but they don't give the texture that makes this taste great. So you have started the potatoes boiling. now is the time to start the sauce. Cream of chicken is best but celery or mushroom will work or combinations of the three can be used. start with one can of soup. Add about a cup of cheese grated melts the fastest but sliced, cubed or what ever you have will work. sharp Cheddar, provolone, fresh Parmesan, Colby are great. Any or all work heat low. mix often to avoid scouring. add a splash of milk mixture should be quit thick but stir-able. minced ham can be added or chopped chicken. and a spoonful or two of sour cream. pepper, garlic, onion, or celery are nice to flavor to taste. once cheese is melted and mixture completely heated pour on top of potatoes. About half mix then add more until evenly mixed. you can leave like this or sprinkle with bread crumb, Crushed crackers (Rites crackers, Chicken in a basket), corn flakes, or frenchies fried onion. At this point you can store for later. Freeze for a few weeks. refrigerate for a couple of days. Or put into oven. bake until heated and top is browned. 375'F for 20 minute if put right into oven. longer if coming out of refrigerator. leftovers can be reheated with sour cream or milk to get a fresh taste.

grilled cheese

Grilled cheese is fast, fun, and tastes great. Simple Bread, butter one side slice of cheese bread, butter one side place butter to outside of sandwich and heat in fry pan until golden brown turn, brown eat. Now to make it fancy sprinkle garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, and or parsley on the butter before browning Can also add ham, chicken or tuna. goes great with tomato soup...

Potato Salad

Potato Salad is a long time Favorited. It can be made all fresh or parts can be leftover or pre-planed to save time later. Potatoes can be washed and or peeled and cooked in advance I cube them before cooking. Eggs can also be boiled in advance I would leave shells on until they are used. The amounts don't matter that much in making this dish. Also it give the leeway to make the recipe your own. Start with cooked potatoes. Add Salad dressing or miracle whip until coated. add mustard dry or prepared to give color. Or to taste celery may be add I prefer minced this gives good flavor with out the chance of getting a mouth full of celery string for those that have problems de-ribbing celery. paprika Black pepper onion powder or fresh minced add a couple of boiled eggs to the mix and save some to slice for the top. parsley also looks nice on top. Other seasoning may be may be add to taste. Chill and serve leftovers need to be kept refrigerated when creating this or trying new things sample often. Also removing small amounts and adding to that may help prevent ruining the whole dish if flavor is not to your liking.

Meat loaf burger

I came up with this one with my older brother. Make your meat loaf. don't have a recipe for it here is mine ground beef 1/2 to 1 pound 2 or 3 eggs onion minced bread crumbs or soda cracker crumbed shredded or cubed cheese other spices or herb to your taste. mix meat and eggs. I do this with one hand and keep the other clean for adding more stuff. add onion and cheese continue mixing. add crumbs until mixture can be made into patties. Patties can be as small as a silver dollar or big pie pan. Cook in frying pan or grill until all pink is gone. serve on hamburger buns. Or like meatloaf

Hot dogs

There is a lot more to heating up a hot dog than just dropping it into boiling water. Though this is the correct culinary method of cooking them.. Microwaving them frying or throwing them on a grill also work.. I prefer mine roasted over an open fire. This doesn't mean to place them in the flames where they are blackened; but rather over the red coals that are the best sources of consistence heat. rotating them continually. Most brands will plump and brown doing this. Care should be taken not to drop the dog into the fire, or burn oneself while heating. One must also remember that the smoke can get into your eyes and make your clothes smell. but well worth the time and effort to get that prefect hot dog. When choosing the grilling method slow heating is the best they will still plump and are almost as good this way. The biggest problem with this method is they are often forgotten or kids can't wait for them to be served. Always supervise younger or less experienced persons when grilling or cooking over a fire. Frying or microwave well that is just as easy as dropping it into that pot of boiling water.

gravey

Packaged, can. best is home made with dripping from a roast, chicken, or turkey. Ok canned meat turned in to gravy isn't that bad either. start with the easiest. Canned gravy open can and heat. packaged gravy. measure water heat add contents of package stir until thick. not to hard but can turn out lumpy. mixing the contents into cold water prevents the lumps but there is a lot more stirring. these two choices are not bad if you don't cook much or you need it quick. They also store quit well until need. The best tasting is made form the dripping found in the bottom of the pan after cooking a roast. or in the bag when cooking a chicken or turkey. The first thing you do is carefully pour the drippings into a sauce pan. There may be stem if it is still hot. add a small amount of water and simmer. while dripping are heating add seasons and spice may favorites to use are Bay leaf, onion, celery, pepper (black, white, red or cayenne), basil, rosemary, thyme, or marjoram. Not not all of these taste good mixed all together. so when cooking the meat make sure you know what was used to season it before add anything to the gravy. also the order and time added makes a difference for instance bay leaf and rosemary need to be added earlier than pepper or thyme. Especially if using dried herb this is important. Bay leaf should be removed before serving. once drippings are at a nice simmering stage it is time to add thickening agent. this can be; Flour, Corn starch, Tapioca, or Arrow root. These are the main one used but there are others each has its own advantages. I use Corn Starch most often. premix Flour or corn starch in cold water making a milky substance. While stirring drippings add thickener heat to boil or thick. More thickener may be add to get the consistency you are trying to get. It is better to have to little than to much added. As with all cooking this is a try again until you find a way to get it the way you like it.

Bread pizza

simple quick and any one can do it. bread ketchup or tomato sauces cheese. every thing else just makes it better. get a slice or more of bread. place on an oven safe dish spread sauce sprinkle with your choice of seasoning add pizza topping and cheese place in oven use broil. done when cheese is melted. not all topping need to be precooked. I use left overs so its heat and eat..this is how I learned to use the right amount of garlic and oregano. which can be a very strong flavor that is over powering. also watching cheese melt in the broiler doesn't take that long so its hard to be distracted and forget what you have done. of course this takes several tries in the begin to make one that you would feel comfortable sharing with others.

Peas

one of my favorite vegetables is peas. Fresh is the best shelling them and eating a few as I do then cooking up the rest. Stemming is the best but boiling will do. Also can be added to casa-roles or other dishes even salads. If fresh are not available next best is frozen if being mixed with other items. If being used as a side canned is my next choice any way you look at it peas add a nice color to the dish. Balanced meals are great. Well presented food is even better. If it looks good to begin with it will more likely be eaten and enjoyed.

breakfast, eggs

Eggs, what a wonder full protein. My first use of the egg was scrambled eggs. This did not always work very well for me. I started by just cracking he egg straight into the pan and moving it about in the pan with a spatula. I later learned that if you add a little milk and blend before put in the pan that they had a much better consistency. followed by learning that if you separate the yolk and white blend the yolk with milk and beat the white to a fluffy peak then mix back together that a light fluffy effect can happen. over mixing the egg in the pan causes flat dense eggs. Adding cheese, bacon or sausage just before done makes a nice flavor and is not yet an omelet. Note egg shells sink so if you can not retrieve one or more just pour the mixture slowly into the pan. leaving a small amount in the bottom that may be discarded.

So opening a box or a can and following the instructions. This may be harder that it sounds. Then again we must start somewhere. Learning how long it takes to heat something up on the stove top or microwave is part of the process of learning to cook and prepare meals. Hamburger helper was a great learning tool for me. Once I was able to get the basic of brown the meat add water and/or milk mix the seasoning and the pasta or potatoes. Then I started using the variations that were listed on the box. Trying each out then combining one or more of the suggestions. I found that cheese was very much to my liking and different kinds make a big difference in flavor. Also adding fried onions or bread crumbs, crushed crackers ect. often are enjoyable. This type of meal can be quick to make and filling. Of course it is also a less expensive meal than eating out. Not all of my a temps worked out but in time I was able to figure what flavors mixtures taste good together. One thing I did like when reheating left over of this type is adding a little sour cream. A little bit goes a long way.

For my first post I will start with the first meal I prepared for myself; Other than cold cereal. Pasta OK it was Kraft macaroni and cheese. I was 7 and I had just said some very hurtful words to my mother. Something like I don’t like your cooking. I read the instructions and asked a few questions. Then started, with the exact amount of water and salt let the water boil almost. Add the pasta, cleaned up a boil over. Stirred, stirred some more, drained added butter very carefully measured and the milk mixed all together and of course shared with two of my hungry brother’s one older the other younger…I got to the point that I could skip reading the instructions which I know by heart put water in the pan premix sauce while noodles cook. Drain mix and get it all in to one bowl before any hungry brothers appear. I still have to share until I have made this so many times that I fact one older brother still does not like mac & cheese. So that was how I started cooking. My favorite dish is still Pasta with stewed tomatoes and cheese simple and filling.