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The Simplicity of a Subway Breakfast
When I have to get up early to teach a class, I can't resist the evil siren call of a McDonald's breakfast. Do I have nutritious, easy-to-make, portable options at home? Yes, almost always I do. However, sometimes you just need a treat at 6:30 am, and McDonald's hashbrowns and Sausage McMuffins are just that. To me.
Fattening, salty, embarassing treats...
I love _____ but I'm allergic to it!
This bums me out - cherries. I can eat them in a pie, THANK GOD, but fresh cherries make my mouth itch and my throat constrict.
Also, according to my Mom, if I eat too many apples I'll have an allergic reaction. However, since I haven't eaten more than 5 apples in one sitting since I was 10 years old, I'm not too worried about it.
What makes you feel better?
It's so sad, but for me a cheese Totino's Party Pizza does the trick every time. I have such low tastes...
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
I'm sick of the whole "vote someone off" genre of reality TV in general. I'd rather watch Gordon cook a meal (Shirtless! Wait, what? Sorry about that.) than yell and scream at a bunch of people milking their 15 minutes of fame.
The Simplicity of a Subway Breakfast
When I have to get up early to teach a class, I can't resist the evil siren call of a McDonald's breakfast. Do I have nutritious, easy-to-make, portable options at home? Yes, almost always I do. However, sometimes you just need a treat at 6:30 am, and McDonald's hashbrowns and Sausage McMuffins are just that. To me.
Fattening, salty, embarassing treats...
I love _____ but I'm allergic to it!
This bums me out - cherries. I can eat them in a pie, THANK GOD, but fresh cherries make my mouth itch and my throat constrict.
Also, according to my Mom, if I eat too many apples I'll have an allergic reaction. However, since I haven't eaten more than 5 apples in one sitting since I was 10 years old, I'm not too worried about it.
What makes you feel better?
It's so sad, but for me a cheese Totino's Party Pizza does the trick every time. I have such low tastes...
PumperDogs
I just got through eating, and yet now I desperately want a PumperDog! There goes all my good eating intentions...
Cheese in your Eggs Benedict: Yea or Nay!
@therealchiffonade - Amen to the "no sugar in tomato sauce." Bless you for mentioning that!
And nay to the cheese. Why mess with perfection?
given the chance to be cooked for by any chef in the world
I think it'd be fun to hang out and eat with the folks from America's Test Kitchen. They seem like a cool bunch, and they always are making things I REALLY want to eat - like roast chicken with the crispiest skin on Earth, or triple chocolate cookies.
And, because I want her to be my new best friend, I'd love to have dinner with Nigella Lawson.
Grocery Stores
I'd have a slightly similar set-up as Traveller's. Except mine would be discontinued products folks miss. Like the Tostidos (sp?) Black Bean Dip from 1994 or the Jalopeno (sp? again!) flavored Totino Party Pizza I loved as a kid.
Oh, and tons of the freshest produce, to offset all this prepackaged stuff!
GOM - I'm with you on the canned products. Only tomatoes for me, too.
A product that made me scratch my head. Would you use it?
For me, it's the peeled hard-boiled eggs. HB eggs start to get rubbery in a day, so stockpiling them ready peeled and boiled just sounds icky to me.
And pre-sliced celery is the biggest rip-off since the ThighMaster. Truly.
Ever try the recipes on the sides of packages?
My mom made that Hershey's cake for the first time a few years back, and we literally swooned when we ate it. So simple, yet so good.
Otherwise, just the Toll House cookies for me. Do Rice Krispie treats count as an actual recipe?
Are All Parties Potlucks Now?
Wow. I guess I didn't know people got this bothered by potlucks. Huh.
I'm with huneybumper and dhorst - I'm more interested in seeing my friends than worrying about hosting/attending a formal dinner party. And if someone brings a random item - for example, veggies without dip or sauce - who cares? Does it really ruin the overall fun of the party?
Favorite frozen entrees?
It's nice to know I'm not the only Totino Party Pizza lover in the world :)
I also love the new Lean Pockets with Whole Grains - less fat and more fiber, and they taste pretty decent.
What does a young foodie/recent grad need in his kitchen?
Ramen!
No, seriously - how about a high quality frying pan? Something with a thick bottom (like mine! sorry, stopping now) to prevent food from scorching? Throw in a few high-end silicone spatulas, and I'd call that a good gift.
Drive Thru: Way or No Way?
I have a bad Taco Bell habit, and the drive-thrus are just too darn convienent. I wish I didn't eat it, truly. But melted spicy cheese is LOVE, people!
What Did You Get From the Ice Cream Truck?
Sadly, my favorite ice cream bar can only be found in England - which is a hike from my hometown of MN! I like the chocolate/chocolate Magnum bars they sell at every major tourist spot. To quote RR, YUMMO.
And I agree with my fellow Minnesotans - malt cups at the Twins game = love.
broccoli rabe: way or no way?
Honestly, it's my favorite "dining out" vegetable... because I can't find it fresh (at a decent price) up here in MN. But if it's offered on a menu, I order it immediately if not sooner!
Is it bitter? I don't cook it myself, so maybe chefs have a secret way of making it taste so darn perfect.
Should I have sent the drink back?
I both agree and disagree with Cassaendra (politely! of course!). I also don't feel it's necessarily the bartender's job to ask you if you want the drink - dude wants to buy a random person a drink, I'd just pour it and accept the cash.
However, a gift is a gift. It's not supposed to be meant as a tit-for-tat and if it is? That's the gift giver's problem, not the recipient's. It was a swing and a miss on the giver's part - no need to take it out on conky!
You can only eat one type of cheese for the rest of your life...
This is just MEAN. Fortunately, it's also make believe. Therefore, I'd pick mozz because I need it for pizza, can stand it on grilled cheese, and can eat it plain in a salad.
the GOOD HUMOR ICE CREAM truck!
I don't remember the truck in my neighborhood in Syracuse, but I do remember the local conveniance store sold those freeze pops in a plastic tube. You'd push up from the bottom, and the last inch always melted before you'd finish. I love those things to this day.
Favorite or Odd Fair Food
There's a stand at the MN State Fair near the all-you-can-drink-milk-for-25-cents booth that sells either a turkey (I think) or chicken (maybe) sandwich that is seriously the greatest food in the history of EVER. I also like the grinder sandwiches on Machine Hill with cheese and marinara. And to top it off? A deep fried Milky Way on a stick for dessert. Perfect.
Favorite Father Food Memories!
Pavlov and others - I'm so sorry. I dread the day when I will lose my dad. Even though he is not known for his cooking, he rocks in so many other ways.
My favorite Dad/Food memory is Skyline Chili in Cincy. I never like chili as a child, until my dad brought me there when I was about 10 years old. What a revelation! I don't dislike chili at all! I love it! If it's Cincinnate-style, that is. No beans, plenty of cheese and noodles = YUM.
One good reason to buy used books...
I bought Cooking For One or Two in England (Hay-on-Wye) nine years ago, and I still love all the little notes and question marks the original owner scribbled throughout. According to her/him, one cookie recipe wasn't sweet enough, and a squash casserole recipe was much too difficult. Hidden surprises like that make my day... and prevent me from baking unsweet cookies!
weird reasons for not trying certain foods?
The only person I know with really out-there, no-reason-for-it food issues is my mom's best friend. She won't eat on Eat Street in Mpls (home of some of the best ethnic restaurants in the Midwest) because she's convinced they're dirty and unsanitary. Although she's neve actually been in one. Sigh. She also won't eat beef (mad cow disease) or cook with tinfoil or aluminum (?). Fortunately, none of her weirdness has rubbed off on my mom - who can and will eat anything, bless her heart!
Grown Up Treats
When I was a kid, I used to think, "when I grow up, I can buy any junk food I want." Then, I learned about nutrition and how hard it is to lose weight over the age of 25.
So now my big treats are those junk foods I thought I'd live on as a kid. Cheese popcorn, Hershey's Kisses, and the dreaded Cakester - evil fat grams in tasty goodness.
the best cookbook for beginners
Maybe this is just a Milwaukee thing, but my mom's first cookbook - therefore, my first cookbook - was the Settlement Cookbook. Her copy is decades old, and yet we both still use it.
weird reasons for not trying certain foods?
Growing uo on a farm in KS my brother and I wouldn't eat chicken because we knew them personally.
weird reasons for not trying certain foods?
p.s.- oops I lied...when I was little I wouldn't eat the legs in calamari and other squid/octopus dishes because I thought the suckers would stick to my tongue...
weird reasons for not trying certain foods?
I know a guy who is so put off by milk that he won't eat any dairy products or anything that looks remotely dairy...his reason "it's white"
it seems in my area fish in general is just a big "ew" but I can't get anyone to give me an actual reason why they won't eat it
my father...most confusing of all...refuses to try sushi because it's raw fish yet he swears up and down it can't possibly be raw because "americans have poor immune systems and would just get sick" he fails to acknowledge his own contradiction
as for myself...maybe it's because both of my parents are immigrants or maybe it's because my dad is a chef but I can't remember ever flat out refusing to try any food...well other than anything involving bugs...I was always the kid to try anything from cat/dog treats to leaves to the glazes in art class (which pretty much all taste the same btw)
among friends I have a bit of a reputation as "a foodie" solely because I actually know what's in/goes into foods and how they're prepared...I find it alarming that other people don't know and/or don't care to know
Uncommon food allergies that nobody believes?
I am allergic to raw mushrooms, can't eat anything that has been cross contaminated with it. I ate some fresh veggies that had a few flecks of mushroom in it that I didn’t see and within 5 minutes it had triggered my asthma, my mouth swelled up and the lips, tongue and all the rest of the symptoms that go with it. I can eat them when they are cooked though and I now love canned mushroom, since I can’t eat the raw thing anymore. I can’t even handle raw ones (my husband hates mushrooms) so I can’t eat them freshly cooked unless I go out.
I have found that since I have given birth to my twins 3 years ago that my allergies and asthma have gotten exponentially worse. I can’t even be in the same room with cats, dogs, any animal with hair. My allergies to the great outdoors have had the same consequence. I also have developed an allergy to Celery, I have the same reactions as I have to mushrooms but I stopped eating it, so I haven’t found out if it gets worse with every exposure.
My main concern right now is that I have a reaction when I eat in combination tomatoes and bread. I can eat bread alone and tomatoes but when they are eaten in the same meal I get an overwhelming reaction to throw up. It can be as mild as a slight queasiness or I can start to throw up. I have looked and looked but I can’t find anything anywhere that mentions allergies when foods are combined. Since the birth of my twins the tomato and bread reaction has gotten worse as well. I have never cared for pizza because it always left me feeling sick afterwards which I just thought that it was the grease in it.
I feel like an idiot when I say anything about the t&b thing....I know it is not in my head but nobody has heard of it and people just think I am being picky. Since I was about 13 apples have made me feel the same way. Sometimes the reaction is worse than other so I will every once and a while eat a bit of an apple but never a whole one. The T&B reaction is worse than the apple one though because my mildest reaction to T&B is the worst I have had to apples.
the best cookbook for beginners
Well I just married 2 weeks ago and I bouth the book Taste of Home cookbook I love it. It gives you picture for every recipe and give you "how to" and "why". Every recipe that I have tryed has been great.
Store-Bought Chicken Stocks, Reviewed: Which Are the Best?
everyone see that "top chef" is using swanson stocks for most of teir challanges???
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
HerbyN at 7:34AM on 08/06/09
You nailed it. I agree exactly with everything you said.
This show is my little guilty F**king pleasure.
the GOOD HUMOR ICE CREAM truck!
I wanted to marry the Good Humor man! He used to let me ride to the
next corner with him and ring the bells. My favorite was the butterscotch
sundae......coffee ice cream in a dixie cup with butterscotch on top....hmmmm. Does anyone remember what the coconut bar was
called? Wish they'd sell that one in the grocery stores.
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
First of all,
Intensity is any any kitchen even a wing joint. In HK it is amplified.
Talent, well put any person in a new kitchen and have them cook food for a chef they never worked for with people they never worked for and a menu they never learned well, if that's a sign of a hack then your standards are pretty high.
Showing off talent, that's what challenges and dealing with ambiguity during service is for.
Contestants are horrible, your watching Fox a channel that every other show is more cras then the contestants, look at Family Guy even the baby is an a@##hole.
Ramsey is one of the best chefs in the world but it's true he shows no talent on this show.
Insults are they same each year and they do get old.
Conflict is played out in all reality shows.
What makes you feel better?
ice cream. and chocolate.
preferably a whole gallon of fudge brownie fro yo. :)
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
couldn't disagree more... love Hell's Kitchen and find Ramsay to be more "passion" than bully (he grows on you). i'm not just a fan of this show, but also his F-Word show on BBC America. the more you watch him the more you realize that he has a sincere love of food and his "edge" comes more from being frustrated when others don't treat the craft with as much care and respect as he feels it deserves.
back to Hell's Kitchen, though... i find it to be diverting, fun and entertaining. characters make interesting viewing, and the rag-tag group of people they select (some admittedly with little or no culinary skill selected only for their "entertainment value" as true incompetents) make the show interesting to watch for me. admittedly this show isn't so much about cooking as, say, Top Chef, but that said, i find Hell's Kitchen way more entertaining. a guilty, guilty pleasure, i know...
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
Ramsey is just a bully. He wouldn't talk the way he does to anyone if there wasn't a camera crew around. What a hack.
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
The show was mildly entertaining the first few seasons with the obvious head cases and reality show wannabes populating the show. (Dewberry still remains a family favorite with his Scarlet O'Hara-like wilting and getting the vapors.)
Now, it's just profanity laced shouting and dumb posturing. Curious that anyone watches considering the current job situation in the country and Ramsay as the tyrannical boss. Who needs that?
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
I like it. I watch it. It's not a cooking show. Recipes... anyone!!! Without making it more than it is, it's a show about what ordinary people think passes as character on TV. We see the proud, fall, the humble, survive, the talented, excell, etc, etc.
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
it's nothing but entertainment don't you people get it. you watch rachele, paula, and alike they are not chefs they are celebrity's that sell cook books. they can't cook anything without being taught how on camera. carey jones don't watch any more hell's kitchen because you don't get it because your a total ass hole NOW PISS OFF.
What makes you feel better?
carbs, carbs, carbs, and more carbs....
mmmmmmmmmmmmm
The Simplicity of a Subway Breakfast
It's shameful but I love the tuna salad sandwiches at Subway/Quiznos... pretty much any place where it was prepared in a vat. It's the only way I like it, actually, I don't care for the fancy version with recognizable tuna in it.
My most guilty fast food pleasure is Taco Bell. It's just so... melty and mind boggling cheap. Two bean burritos, nachos (the ones where you just get a little cup of "cheese"), and a caramel apple empanada. I believe it comes in at under $3. Would have starved to death in grad school without Taco Bell.
Uncommon food allergies that nobody believes?
My aunt is allergic to corn! She can have things with High Fructose Corn Syrup and the like, but things like corn tortillas and such give her an allergic reaction.
I myself am not allergic to anything, but I am very sensitive to certain foods, like candy that is strongly grape or pineapple flavoured or oily tree nus (I love cashews, though). I can't eat doughnuts, certain cookies, or cake unless I'm craving it. All of these foods (plus some others I'm not thinking of) give me bad headaches that progress into strong migraines if I don't treat it with something strong near the beginning. It's even worse if it's hot, if something's on my forehead, or if I'm staring at a screen (I.e. TV, Gameboy, computer...)
My youngest sister is allergic to nectarines. It was way worse when she was younger, though. She would break out into hives all over her face.
My other younger sister has wierd time periods every few years where she's violently lactose intolerant. It usually leaves in a few months, though.
My grandmother (on my mom's side) is (was) lactose intolerant, and so is my father. I find it strange that I'm not.
My grandmother used to drink milk every day when she was younger (teens, I believe) but one day she just woke up and was lactose intolerant. She couldn't have ice cream, or even too much cheese. She was like that for 30-40 years. In the last year or so she hasn't been lactose intolerant at all. It just disappeared, oddly enough.
Another one of my aunts is allergic to tree nuts, but she can have small portions of walnuts.
Whew! That was a fun (long) post. I guess my entire family is weird. O_o
What makes you feel better?
a really good loaf of bread or fruit.
What makes you feel better?
B&J NYsuper fudge chunk or Coffe Heath
or
fried egg sandwich
or
coffee with a generous squirt of caramel sauce and tons of heavy whipping cream
The Simplicity of a Subway Breakfast
Fast food or not, I adore Subway's $5 footlongs. I make about 3 meals out of it and enjoy every minute. The BLT is best for me - just enough bacon to be there but not so much junky deli meat to give me heartburn. And I pile it high with veggies. Vegetables people!! What other fast food gives you that??
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
This is Fox formula reality television. It's all in the editing!!! But when the shock value wears off, it's all the same recycled nonsense. I've found that the ONLY way I would ever consider watching Hell's Kitchen is to DVR it ahead of time---give it at least a 15 minute head start--so I can fast forward through all of the "cliff-hangers" through all the commercials and back.
I'm a bit surprised at the "Prize" this year--running a restaurant in Canada for the Olympics? Then what? Strange that they're not handing out money as a prize anymore, isn't it? Maybe I'll just watch re-runs of Top Chef-Masters--it's a pleasure to watch REAL chefs compete (without all of the nastiness and venom).
Why I Hate 'Hell's Kitchen'
While I have watched his show in the past,I don't any longer for the simple reason that his vocal rants are getting more and more frequent, more intense and more personal. You can only tell some one that they are stupid, dumb or to piss off so many times before they reach the breaking point. As each season progresses, the verbal barrage gets more intense and belittling. Usually with no outward rationale for it (as far as we can see) on any given show one particuar chef is in the line for fire for that particular day, sometimes for several that follow depending on that chefs reaction to the ire of GR.The pattern seems to emerge that he takes a disliking to one chef or another and then rides and berates them until they crack and end up leaving the show. Tell me to piss off once, maybe twice, I'd blow it off; call me stupid and criticise my skill set without telling me why; I'd chalk it off because of who it came from but to do it week after week?? Sorry, but my redheaded, Scots-Irish temper just might get the better of me and I'd wind up giving GR a set too like he'd not seen before. THEN I'd hand him my jacket and run, not walk out the door and not give it a moments pause of regret beyond the fact that I allowed my self to get into that situation in the first place. No one, regardless of their skill set deserves to be belittled and treated the way he treats those contestants, no one.
The Simplicity of a Subway Breakfast
OK, I admit to liking Chick-Fil-A. I even like their ads, but only when I am in the mall with my daughter can I eat there. And these days, she likes the salad place--can't recall the name, but for a ton of $$ they make you a salad with whatever you want on it. If you're there anyway...
Finally, even though I am a southerner, I just can't do chicken for breakfast. Ham and bacon, yes. Chicken, no. Do I get penalized three "ya'lls?"
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About TheCheapChick
Website: http://www.thecheapchick.com
Location: Suburb of Saint Paul, MN
About: I'm a Realtor, a TV contributor, and a frugal living maven. I love all things thrifty, plus food, drink, TV, movies, books, blogging and world peace. But not whirled peas - ick.
Favorite foods: Totino's Party Pizza, pasta with anything on it, chocolate, cheese corn, Ramen Noodles, and Honeycrisp apples.
Last bite on earth: My mom's wild rice casserole, or McDonald QP with Cheese, large fries, and a chocolate shake. And Helmann's mayo for the fries.

I'm sick of the whole "vote someone off" genre of reality TV in general. I'd rather watch Gordon cook a meal (Shirtless! Wait, what? Sorry about that.) than yell and scream at a bunch of people milking their 15 minutes of fame.