What foods you don't ever want to see on your plate?

[Kathleen]

I have posted my ingredients before for my much requested Mac-N-Cheese. Yes I do use some Velveeta, but I also use Sharp Cheddar, Mozzarella, smaller portion of Parmesan. And any other cheese I might have stuffed in the fridge. The Velveeta combined with the 1/2 & 1/2 and a little butter make it creamy. I also cut hearty bread in cubes and dip in melted Butter for the top to keep the top layer of noodles from drying out. Diffidently not diet food. My son once commented that you would never put Mac-N-Cheese on toast but this is great. View attachment 12741

It sounds great! There were other cheeses in Auntie's recipe too, but we were all like when we saw the Velveeta as a key ingredient. The experience rates up there with my wine snob friend finding (at a wine tasting) that she enjoyed Trader Joe's "Two Buck Chuck" as much as some of the other (expensive) wines.

Your son's comment is awesome and sums it up well. I may use it.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

"Two Buck Chuck" is my house wine.

For those who are confused, "Two Buck Chuck" is Charles Shaw wines sold at Trader Joe's Market (several states) for $1.99/bottle." (It's "Three Buck Chuck" in New Mexico, for obvious reasons.)

 

[PrincessFiona60]

My favorite lunch lady was Izola Kopf, c'mon, no one could make up that name. She was fantastic and was really surprised and happy to share when I asked for her recipes. I used to go to her house to help make bucket loads of cookies and then we would do a recipe that she cooked at school but scaled way back, me writing as we went along. At the end, I had enough to take home for our dinner that night. I continued to visit her for many years after she retired, she passed away a few years ago.

 

[PattY1]

The sun dried tomatoes sound like a good addition to the mac & cheese, and the cream and garlic too. How about adding a couple pounds of cooked shrimp?

IMHO if you start ADDING other ingredients it is no longer Mac-N-Cheese. It is a Macaroni Casserole. Example- add Shrimp, it is Macaroni and Shrimp Casserole with Cheese. A totally different Food Group. (Sea Food)

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

IMHO if you start ADDING other ingredients it is no longer Mac-N-Cheese. It is a Macaroni Casserole. Example- add Shrimp, it is Macaroni and Shrimp Casserole with Cheese. A totally different Food Group. (Sea Food)

Sorry! I didn't mean to impugn your traditional recipe. Maybe that's what I wanted, a different food group! Yeah... That's the ticket!

 

[PattY1]

Sorry! I didn't mean to impugn your traditional recipe. Maybe that's what I wanted, a different food group! Yeah... That's the ticket!

You didn't impung on my traditional recipe. I use the basic traditional ingredients. View attachment 12742

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Well I'd leave out the Velveeta and the macaroni if I made it.

Then add some butter and garlic and shallots (to my shrimp, raw this time, and saute it), a bit of wine and a squeeze of lemon and that's something I'd want to see on my plate!

 

[Dawgluver]

Well, I plan to post my awesome peasant tuna casserole recipe, which includes Velveeta and mediocre Costco blue cheese. Dang, it was good! Manana, as I must go to work.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

DL could you add some pheasant to that? Maybe leave out the tuna...

Actually the blue cheese sounds quite good.

 

[Dawgluver]

DL could you add some pheasant to that? Maybe leave out the tuna...

Then it wouldn't be tuna casserole!

Trust me, it's good!

Manana.

 

[CWS4322]

Canned tuna is another one of those foods I don't want to eat...but I'd try the recipe with chicken, oops, no, maybe turkey?

 

[PattY1]

Well I'd leave out the Velveeta and the macaroni if I made it.

Then add some butter and garlic and shallots (to my shrimp, raw this time, and saute it), a bit of wine and a squeeze of lemon and that's something I'd want to see on my plate!

And still call it Macaroni and Cheese??

 

[Vanilla Bean]

I love tuna casserole.

There are more, but what first came to mind are liver and okra.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

It's a good thing some folks don't like what we like...more for us!

I don't want to see Rocky Mountain Oysters on my plate.

 

[vitauta]

It's a good thing some folks don't like what we like...more for us!

I don't want to see Rocky Mountain Oysters on my plate.

and what are they?

 

[CWS4322]

and what are they?

I'll let PF answer that question...those were quite popular at beer keggers when I lived in North Dakota--deep fried.

 

[Addie]

I agree, the Campbell's/French's green bean casserole not being a real American tradition, except of course in the minds of Campbell marketing executives. I've made it 2-3 times for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and thought it quite good, but I suspect I'd get tired of it if I cooked it often. I think it would be a good casserole to cook when you're cooking a large complicated holiday dinner by yourself and want to simplify your job so that you don't have to spend the entire day on your feet cooking. Most of us would rather have time to visit with our company and family while we're cooking our holiday dinner.

I've often thought that recipes that require a specific name brand or a manufacturer's unique product aren't real recipes, although I've got a few recipes exactly like that. I don't feel good about a recipe until I've formulated it using nothing but basic generic ingredients.

I know that one year I made potato salad for a party. In order to decorate the bowl of potato salad, I took some not to thick/not to thin sliced onions, dredged them in seasoned flour with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, sauteed them in a small amount of oil and spread them around the bottom edge of the pile of salad. They were a big hit. The next time I did the same thing only I made even more of them. I thought the flour mixture would fall off in the cooking. But enough natural liquid was released from the onion to cause the flour to cling to the onion ring. The secret was to do the onions on a low medium heat giving the liquid time to release and don't disturb them while they are cooking at first. Then you can turn them over. They should be golden brown. And in the time it takes for the flour mixture to brown, it has had time to cook the rawness out of it. Works for me.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

and what are they?

Calf testicles, Vit.

I was one of the kids that had to wrestle them down so they could be castrated when I worked on my Uncle's Dairy farm. Not my most favorite job. But Shrek knows about it and it keeps him in line...

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I know that one year I made potato salad for a party. In order to decorate the bowl of potato salad, I took some not to thick/not to thin sliced onions, dredged them in seasoned flour with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, sauteed them in a small amount of oil and spread them around the bottom edge of the pile of salad. They were a big hit. The next time I did the same thing only I made even more of them. I thought the flour mixture would fall off in the cooking. But enough natural liquid was released from the onion to cause the flour to cling to the onion ring. The secret was to do the onions on a low medium heat giving the liquid time to release and don't disturb them while they are cooking at first. Then you can turn them over. They should be golden brown. And in the time it takes for the flour mixture to brown, it has had time to cook the rawness out of it. Works for me.

Cool Addie, thanks for the description...I'm going to try this.

 

[JGDean]

Generic/Off Brand

So how can we make this recipe without buying brand name products? How do you make French's onions without getting it out of a can? Let's turn this into a real traditional food by losing the dependence on brand name products. I'm not willing to call anything a tradition as long as I have to buy products from one manufacturer. Instead I'd call that a marketing department success story.

I've seen off brands of both the soup and onions not Campbells/French's. If I make GBC I use C/F because I am familiar with the quality.
What I hate to see on anyones plate is the gloopy jello, marshmellow & fruit salad.