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Favorite chili recipes?
Mine is awesome. First i toss some stew beef in a bit of flour and brown. Then I toss in the crock pot. I then saute an onion in the same pan as the beef deglazing with some diced tomatoes from the can. Add to crock pot. then put in the spices you like. I do cumin, chili powder, garlic, onion, mustard, liquid smoke, tomato paste, a couple cans of crushed tomatoes, etc...then i puree a can of pinto beans and add that as a thickener along with a can of kidney beans (not blended). cook on high for a bit then turn to low. So good.
What desserts do you crave?
raspberry rhubarb pie, maple whoopie pies, maple cotton candy, candy apples, smores, my boyfriend's mom's cheesecake, grapenut ice cream, orange pineapple ice cream, apple crisp...oh so many things
What strange food combos do you partake in or have you seen?
My German roommate in college would boil rotini pasta in milk and then add sugar and eat as a soup, blech. I like to have mexican food, like tacos, burritos, etc with tater tots or french fries hehe.
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Eating quirks
It seems I have a lot of candy eating quirks. Here are a few, I eat Kit-kats layer by layer. I chew the chocolate off of any nut, like peanut M &Ms or chocolate covered almonds, then eat the nut. When I eat Twix I eat the caramel first and the cookie last. Aside from candy, when I have mashed potatoes and gravy I make a well in the potatoes and pour in the gravy so that it doesn't touch the other stuff on the plate like it would if it was poured over.
Favorite chili recipes?
Mine is awesome. First i toss some stew beef in a bit of flour and brown. Then I toss in the crock pot. I then saute an onion in the same pan as the beef deglazing with some diced tomatoes from the can. Add to crock pot. then put in the spices you like. I do cumin, chili powder, garlic, onion, mustard, liquid smoke, tomato paste, a couple cans of crushed tomatoes, etc...then i puree a can of pinto beans and add that as a thickener along with a can of kidney beans (not blended). cook on high for a bit then turn to low. So good.
What desserts do you crave?
raspberry rhubarb pie, maple whoopie pies, maple cotton candy, candy apples, smores, my boyfriend's mom's cheesecake, grapenut ice cream, orange pineapple ice cream, apple crisp...oh so many things
What strange food combos do you partake in or have you seen?
My German roommate in college would boil rotini pasta in milk and then add sugar and eat as a soup, blech. I like to have mexican food, like tacos, burritos, etc with tater tots or french fries hehe.
Sugar Rush: Caramel Crunch at Screme
When I first saw this picture I thought it was a weird bread concoction
What's your favorite crock-pot dish?
Any soup or stew that loves long cooking times is great in the crock pot. I love baked beans and hot dogs (as my family says, Franks and Beans). Applesauce is good, or a fruit compote. I also make homemade cranberry sauce in it. Have fun and enjoy! It's nice to come home to a ready made meal :)
A Twist on Something Old and Boring
I like to cut up my bird before I roast it. (in the standard 8 pieces) I feel like it has more flavor. Just experiment with different seasoning, glazes, rubs, etc. The whole cut chicken is great!
When did you know you were...
One time when I won the bake-off in high school making an Oreo cake that looked like a giant oreo cookie. Another, when I had dinner parties in Jr. High School, also, when my mom asked me to cook Thanksgiving dinner. That was a biggie.
What's The Better Name: Muffy or Bogel?
They call donut holes--donut holes...why not just call them bagel holes? Bogel is awful. I'm disappointed in the marketing department at Panera. Muffy is a nickname people use for cats or...um, other things maybe?? Either way, I don't want to eat a "muffy", why not just call it a "top"?
I'll have a dozen bagel holes and 2 tops... I like that sound of that much better.
What Did You Eat Today?
Breakie--grapenuts, soy milk and blueberries
lunch--brown rice stir fry with bay scallops
dinner--pumpkin turkey chili
The Perfect Fried Egg Sandwich
I like hearty multi-grain shmeared with a veggie cream cheese or garlic and herb, or chive, a folded egg (like omelet style) and pan-fried sliced ham. It's yummy-- it works great on bagels too!
Holy Apples!
I make stuffed apples. In my family we make a meat stuffing with Italian sausage, bread, hamburg, celery, potato and onion, an egg of course, plus some seasoning, but you can use any kind of stuffing you like. I partially cook the components of the stuffing first, esp to get some browning on the meat. Then I cut the apples in half, lengthwise, take out the core, hollow them out a bit and then put in a scoop of the stuffing packing it in. Then I bake them at 350 until the meat is done and the apples are soft. They are unbelievable.
What's hot in the pot? Dinner Tuesday Oct. 6th?
I'm preparing Round 1 of chili tasting for a cook-off I'm entering...I haven't written the recipe down so that's going to take some time ;)
New to greens
Thanks for the advice; I'll give some greens a whirl this weekend!
To tell or not to tell...
Well I've told. Once I was at this supposedly (insert air quotes) nice restaurant in Cape Cod and I got the shrimp and scallop scampi over linguine. Not only was it completely under-seasoned, with over cooked pasta, but the scallops were raw. Raw scallops have their place, but not in this dish. So, when the server returned checking in on the scampi I told her that it wasn't the best I'd had and that the scallops were basically raw. She just looked uncomfortable and said she'd take it back. I was kind of over the dish at that point but figured oh well. Well it came back, no joke, 2 minutes later (there's the problem) and it was cooked exactly the same. When she came back to ask me how it was, I told her it was exactly the same. I gave up at that point.
Meh!
Happens to me all the time, especially with restaurant recommendations. What kills me is when someone will tell me to try, for example, a Thai food restaurant, because "it's the best!" but all they ever eat is Pad Thai...probably, not the truest recommendation.
eating out -- when was the last time?
My boyfriend and I love to go out. Usually though we go out for things that we can't cook at home. Other than that I feel like I can do just as good if not better than at the restaurant, so it's better to save the money and stay home. That being said, for special occasions we like to go to fine dining restaurants and get not only the great food, but the experience of dining that goes with it.
sexy food suggestions
I think fondue is sexy...esp the cheese fondue. Dripping wet cheese on bread that you feed to your partner, then chocolate fondue for dessert. Nuff Said.
Also, I think melons are pretty sexy. Soft juicy melons are sexy and delicious.
Bananamonkey is right though...nothing holds a candle to a really great grilled cheese sandwich. ;)
monster zukes?
this happened to us all the time growing up. We always had stuffed zucchini. cut it lengthwise, pull out all the seeds and stuff with whatever you want. We always used to make mealoaf and use that as the stuffing. The fat from the beef kept everything moist and flavorful. I don't remember the zucchini being woody.
Good luck!
Dinner Tonight: Club Sandwich
Yeah the components of a good club are thin slices of white (perhaps wheat) bread lightly toasted so they don't scrape your mouth up. If you have enough mayo (put on the bread when it is still warm) then it softens it a bit and you don't hurt yourself biting it. You need the third slice to make it a club, that's what it is. I've made a ton of clubs and when the proportions are right it's damn good.
Grape Nuts
@Pavlov, hehe. What I meant is that they get chewy instead of rock hard ;)
Grape Nuts
if you have an ice cream machine, make ice cream. The grape nuts soften a bit and if you add some vanilla extract and real vanilla bean it's soooo good.
Spam: Better than we give it credit for?
It wasn't until I went to college in Hawaii that my love for spam emerged. As the first post indicates, the Spam Musubi is one of the greatest spam vehicles ever--it just works. Growing up in Maine, we had it as breakfast meat for egg sandwiches. English muffin, fried egg, American cheese and a griddled piece of spam. It was good, really good. Who doesn't like fatty salty pork products..? Well, except for vegetarians. :)
New to greens
Simple simple tuscan tuscan authentic full of flavor and healthy! Kale. in this recipe kale is used as the main ingredient. during this time of the year end of oct beginning of nov when new olive oil is pressed it's the perfect time. Both the kale and olive oil are ready. http://bit.ly/2ihIVq #tuscanfoodies
Eating quirks
I use to dissect my pizza pops. With toothpicks. I'd carefully make incisions all on one side, then peel that layer/top off and eat it. Eat the insides. Then devour the rest.
I also eat my PB&B sandwiches a certain way. It's almost ritualistic how I prepare them too...Top-crust, side to side, then around the bottom eating the rest of the crust and eating the by then gooey-middle.
When ever I eat cashews, peanuts, etc...I pick through and eat all the seperated/broken bits. Then take the bag, shake it up, and pick through again. I'll eat the 'whole' ones last.
Eating quirks
kitkats and coffee crisps are chocolate first and then the layers. reeses i like to play differently - eating inside or outside first. cadbury eggs are bite a hole, lick insides, savoring and slowing the sugar-shock.
also, when i was a kid i used to love pulling out the white center of rolls at restaurants and smooshing them into bread wafers and eating those.
Eating quirks
TurkeyandPickles - I do the Swiss Cake Roll thing too! I think the frosting just comes off easily and tastes better by itself :)
Eating quirks
@BananaMonkey--I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a comment---bugt only because I don't think I ever realized I probably also look like a demented squirrel while going at the chocolate on my kitkats...
wow.
I am a save-the-best person--Middle of my pizza, wafers in the kitkat, and actually the OUTSIDE of the reeses--I like to take out the middle and save the outside for last. Stopping this save-the-best nonsense has, however, largely helped me drop 40lbs, lol...if you eat the best part FIRST you can skip the rest!
Eating quirks
@TurkeyandPickles and wasliche, glad to hear I am not the only one who completely denudes Reeses of chocolate before savoring the peanut buttery goodness!
I also need to save the best for last, especially when it comes to salads. I eat all the greens first and am then left with a wonderful pool of cheese, nuts, fruit, and dressing.
When I was a kid, I would only eat the dough part (la mie) of baguettes. A family friend who is no longer alive indulged me in this quirk by eating only the crusts. We'd trade them indiscreetly at otherwise very proper dinners. It's one of my favorite memories of her/food memories in general.
Eating quirks
I do the pizza thing to! Although I don't bite into the crust, but rip it off in pieces as I eat it.
Eating quirks
yup, glad to find I'm not so weird after all...
reeses: around the rim, then peel the chocolate off the top and bottom, then the PB
kit kats - nibble chocolate from all sides, then layer by layer
what messy freak doesn't eat their m&m's in color order? I eat the yucky colors first (brown, yellow).
popcorn, chips, etc all must be eaten one piece at a time... people who shove multiple pieces of popcorn in their mouths at one time should be shot.
remember the hostess butterscotch krumpets? I peel the butterscotch frosting off and eat the cake first, then butterscotch. Actually, I do this with anything that can be peeled and eaten in layers.
but the weirdest one, that people have actually commented on... I refuse to put anything in my mouth without looking at it first. Apparently this makes me weird... watch me eating a sandwich and I supposedly go cross eyed right before each bite. It's not enough that I saw the sandwich before the last bite, I must inspect each one.
No, i did not grow up with older brothers who put nasty stuff in my sandwiches.
Eating quirks
I used to peel the cheese off my slice of pizza and eat that first, but now I eat it from the point to the crust. I don't eat meatballs with the pasta, I wait until I am done with the noodles. Then, I have meatballs, other meat, bread to dip in sauce, and salad.
Eating quirks
@nagella and @gweels - ditto on the pizza.
@prettynicola, @kmgagne, @wellred, @nagela - ditto on the kit-kat by layer, though i haven't eaten those things in ages.
With meals in general - I try each item on the plate individually first and then I always go for the combo bite with an equal portion of each item.
The oddest thing though is in coffee preparation - I grind my beans for 20 seconds to get the right grind for the coffee percolator. And rather than count to 20 in my head, I go over the Lavern and Shirley theme song, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated", then let it go for an additional 4 seconds.
Eating quirks
@lemonfair--I so miss the tans! *le sigh!*
As a wee tot a loooong time ago, I would separate my Oreos, eat the "plain" side, then put the two frosted sides together to make one lovely, ooooey cookie. Then "they" "invented" Double Stuff. So now, I separate my Oreos, eat the "plain" side, then put the two frosted sides together for an insanely thick nibble. You KNOW than when Nabisco releases the "Quad", I'ma hafta ratchet that sucker up, too! C'mon, you know it will happen...SNL mocked the trend in extra blades on razors, and now we have, what, is it 5 or are we up to 6 now? bladed razors...
Eating quirks
Can't think of any at the moment. I often take oreos apart, but just as often dip/break them up in milk.
When I was a child I always ate m&m's in a particular order. They ruined if for me when they did away with the tans.
Eating quirks
when eating a frosted cupcake, I split it horizontally, flip the top and make a "frosting sandwich" out of it.
Eating quirks
Have to have A-1 Steak Sauce on super x-x-xtra crispy fries!
Or realll Mexican Hot Picante Sauce on Onion Rings!
Eating quirks
Kit Kats by layers.
Swiss roll frosting, then unrolling and licking the frosting out, then eat the cake bit last.
Peanut Butter Cup rims, then the chocolate off both sides of the middle, then the perfect peanut buttery insides last.
Nutter Butters insides first, then crispy bits.
:) Good topic.
Eating quirks
I refrigerate my candy bars first. Oh, the delectableness of that cool first bite...
Eating quirks
Skittles and jelly beans are in color order from favorite to least favorite so if I get sick of eating them I don't miss out on the ones I like.
I prefer mini Reese's cups to the normal size because you can break them open and eat them filling first.
I also break frosted cupcakes in half horizontally and flip the top so that the frosting is sandwiched in between the two halves of cake. It's a lot less messy this way.
Eating quirks
Whenever I eat anything (pretzels, cookies) I always eat the broken pieces first.
Eating quirks
Um, hungrychristel... I share ALL those quirks-- Reese's rim before middle, one Oreo cookie side before the side with the icing, and the crust of the pizza first always (although I eat the middle of the pizza last, not the end).
In general, I always save the best for last-- I eat a little bit of everything on the plate, rotating different tastes, then save a final, perfect last bite of the best flavors!
Eating quirks
Are any of you folks in therapy because it sounds as if you have some serious control issues! For years I had to eat my last bite off my husband's plate. We moved and got a bigger table and now I can't reach his plate. Hmm, maybe i need that therapist's name.
Eating quirks
@gweels -OMG, I eat pizza the EXACT same way - tip, crust, then the rest. i seriously thought i had to be the only person in the world to do that...
@prettynicola, @kmgagne, @wellred etc - kit kats always get eaten layer by layer, but only after biting the chocolate off each end and around as much of the edge as possible. twix is also caramel first.
Eating quirks
So I take it from the examples/responses these are "candy" eating quirks :)
- I'm one of those folks who eats the rim of the PBcup before the middle;
- Oreos: eat one of the side cookies; then the other side with the icing
- @wellred: I eat the crust first too! (save the best for last )
...actually I share A LOT of the quirks on here....weez quirky!
Eating quirks
I don't like my foods to touch (not even the juice from one running into the other). I think I get this from a couple of cousins who would mix everything on their plates into one big pile and use a spoon as a shovel. It was disgusting.
I remove the caramel layer from a twix in one piece, eat that, then eat the cookie in sections divided by the little indentations.
I separate the layers of sugar wafers and eat them one at a time. They can only be the really good ones that actually taste like something besides sweet cardboard.
Eating quirks
@wellred-you lucky Canadian, I love Coffee Crisp when in Canada. Wish they were available in the states. I also am a lover of Nielson milk chocolate bars...I think they"re called Jersey Milk...delicious!
Eating quirks
@PrettyNicola - lol I also eat Swiss Rolls and/or cupcakes by peeling off the frosting first!
I always have to make sure my first bite and my last bite is whatever happens to be my favorite item on my plate. I try to eat all the not-so-favorite stuff first and save the best for last.
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About kmgagne
Location: Portland, ME
About:
Favorite foods: Maine lobster,Spicy tuna poke,good pizza,breakfast sandwiches,corned,beef hash from "Hot Suppa",most things "au gratin",eggs benedict,pho,sushi, tacos and burritos,a backyard cheese burger,my grandmother's ambrosia and...creton.
Last bite on earth:
It seems I have a lot of candy eating quirks. Here are a few, I eat Kit-kats layer by layer. I chew the chocolate off of any nut, like peanut M &Ms or chocolate covered almonds, then eat the nut. When I eat Twix I eat the caramel first and the cookie last. Aside from candy, when I have mashed potatoes and gravy I make a well in the potatoes and pour in the gravy so that it doesn't touch the other stuff on the plate like it would if it was poured over.