TOPIC: What do you like to cook?

An added bonus for ppl going to Illinois for the first time when going to skull con in June

This may be the most interesting thread I've ever seen on this forum in it's existence! Y'all are talking MY language NOW! Character-shmaracter. Let's talk cooking and I'm IN!

I like to cook daily. Ha ha. So I'll be like Smak and tell you what I cooked yesterday.

Last night I made Stuffed Pepper Soup in the Instant Pot. I am a big fan of the IP. You can make a traditional crock pot dish (like beef stew or a roast with veggies) in MUCH less time and will all the (and maybe even MORE) flavor. Oops...squirrel moment there.

So, yeah, Stuffed Pepper Soup. I really love this recipe. Think stuffed peppers but in a soup form. It is easy to make, healthy, and freezes well, so it's great for a grab-and-go leftover for lunch. I normally serve it with some brown or white rice. You can't mix them together before, as the rice gets too broth-logged. I keep small containers of the rice and then add it to the soup just before eating. Delish!

Pinterest is my "go to" place to store recipes. I'm @loripatchmartin on Pinterest and here's the recipe that I use for the soup. I DO NOT follow the recipe, but use it as a guide.

This time I used ground turkey vs. ground beef because that's what I had, one entire of each green and red pepper, and a whole onion. I didn't have marjoram so I put Italian Seasoning Mix (basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme) work perfectly. Salt and pepper and it's winner, winner, soup's for dinner!

Lori Martin wrote: Apple butter is totally a THING in southern Illinois! I have made it in the summer when the apple trees are going crazy, and many restaurants have it as a "side" just like butter for things like biscuits and such.

Not sure if you've already been to it or if it's worth a 2 hour drive from carbondale, but

Small town apple butter festival

My cooking tends to consist of things I can make in just a couple of different pans and with minimal steps, but my stews normally turn out pretty well - one recipe is below.

Add the below ingredients per person into a pan:
350ml water
1 beef stock cube
Small sprinkle of thyme
Enough black pepper to sprinkle about 2/3 of the pan
Henderson's Relish (this is a local condiment made from vinegar, cloves, cayenne and other ingredients)

Per person, wash and roughly chop 2-3 new potatoes and half a carrot. Add these to the pan along with a handful of chopped cabbage (fresh or frozen is fine)

You can use either chicken or meat for this recipe, but chop it into bite-sized pieces and coat generously in flour. Chop half a clove of garlic and one red onion per person, then add with the meat and excess flour into a wok.

Bring the pan to the boil and fry the meat, onion and garlic in a wok until cooked through.

Add the wok contents to the pan, stir well and then cover and leave to simmer for 45 mins.

Lastly, take some dumpling mix, add plenty of parsley and a small amount of thyme and gradually mix in water until a ball of mixture can be made per person. Stir the pan, drop in the dumplings and leave to simmer for another 15 mins.

Serve with a couple of slices of bread to dip in the stew.

I almost always have too much food around, have to use up perishable things constantly. I've been particularly bad before trips, but I'm trying to get better about not buying perishable food into them.

So, time to use up stuff before Gen Con.

Add some walnut oil to wok. Brown package of ground pork, remove, salt and pepper pork as it sits. Add some more walnut oil to wok. Add chopped onion and garlic. Too much onion. Add baby corn and broccoli, salt and pepper. Realize could have just done vegan stir fry with how full wok is - I hate using the large wok. Pour pork back in. Add touch of red wine, bunch of harissa, ajika seasoning, splash of lemon juice, brown sugar. Eat with some cashews.

Needs more vegetables and isn't particularly spicy. Thinking of adding more ajika. Could be worse. As there's tons of this stuff, don't particularly want to eat with rice, but maybe just to give texture variation.

i'm going for the lazy man's vegetable beef.

big bag of frozen corn, carrots, lima beans, grean beans, can of petite diced tomatoes, dice some taters, and anything you like. now add tomato juice to get desired consistency. now stir whatever seasoning packets you like.

low heat for a few hours (simmer)

I’m super into rice based dishes at the moment since I got a nice rice cooker lately. So it’s fried rice, coconut rice and stir fried dishes with any vegetable I can get. Lots of pineapple.

Otherwise I’m the type of person that likes easy to grab and pre made things. I commute and travel a lot, so things like apples and small cheeses that are portable are great to throw in a backpack. Oatmeal and berries and whole foods I can grab and go are great too since I’m a student and don’t have access to a full kitchen. Almond butter and apple is a favourite snack. I love cutting up a fuckton of berries and making a berry salad. Or some spinach with goat cheese and strawberry. I don’t eat a lot of meats but now my dr is concerned about my red blood count, so I gotta start eating more.

Om nom nom

biscuits and gravy.

brown/cook 2 pounds of mild/medium sausage. add some flour to make your rue. i use whole milk on a low heat until it thickens/is done. salt and pepper to taste.

2 cans of pillsbury flakey layers biscuits.

Did a buffalo chicken pizza tonight, was amazing. 2 cups flower, half cup oil, yeast, salt, 3/4 cup of water, and 1tsp of vinegar in the dough. Frank's hot sauce in place of tomato. Frolano cheese, shredded chicken breast, spanish onion, jalapeno, and kalamata olives. I say again, amazing. Totally doing it again.

very lazy tonight. just boiled some pork hot dogs. my sister suggested i might try to cook them with some baked beans. seem like a doable thing for the next time.

for breakfast i'll do 2 pounds of platter bacon, scrambled eggs with a little brown sugar, fried taters, biscuits with butter and homemade strawberry jam.

yeah, i'm half a bite from a coronary.

Wieners and beans are awsome with pork dogs. Pro tip make some buttery toast with those, so bad for you but so good.

tried a hot dog with a couple strips of bacon. i added just a hint of ketchup.

pretty tasty.