Family Favorite Recipes and Food Discussion!

[Flyby Stardancer]

So, I live alone which makes it hard to cook (and find cleaning up afterwards to be soul-crushing, which makes it even harder to cook). I'm also an admitted very picky eater.

That said, I love collecting and browsing recipes, and reading and participating in food discussion. :)

What are some favorite family recipes? What do you make time and time again?

I'll start us off with some of mine. :)

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Pinto Beans:

-2 cups dry pintos, sorted to remove rocks and cracked beans and rinsed
-5-7 cups water (depending on the size pot)
-1 cup salsa
-1 Tbps oil
-1 tsp sugar
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-cumin and chili or chile (like cayenne) powder to taste

In a large, very heavy pot with a well-fitting lid, add the beans and water. Bring up to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 1 hour. Add in the rest of the seasonings and simmer for another 2 hours, or until the bean juice is thick. For refried beans, use a slotted spoon to move the beans into a heated skillet and mash with a potato masher, adding enough juice so that it's slightly thinner than what you want to serve (it will thicken up as it sits). Or they can be eaten whole, with a piece of bread to mop up the juice.

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Spanish Rice:

-1 cup long grain white rice
-chopped onion to taste (1/4 cup is a good starting point)
-1/2 cup tomato sauce
-1 1/2 cups water
-salt to taste

In a pot, heat up a bit of cooking oil. Add the rice and onions, and cook on medium until the rice is toasted and the onion goes translucent. Add the liquid and salt, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Fluff and serve!

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Beef "Taco" Filling:
(Honestly, good for any application calling for a meaty filling!)

-1lb ground beef
-1/2 yellow onion, chopped
-1 Tbsp chili powder
-1/2 Tbps garlic powder (or a couple cloves of garlic, minced)
-3/4-1 can of tomato sauce

In a large skillet, brown beef with onions and spices (if using garlic cloves, wait until you add the sauce). Drain off the excess grease. Add in tomato sauce and simmer on low for 15 minutes, until the sauce has reduced to almost nothing. Serve in tortillas with condiments, or use as a filling for burritos, enchiladas, or anything else that can be filled. :)

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In my family, we would make a half-recipe of the rice for the three of us, and then use up the rest of the (6-8oz, I forget the exact size) can of tomato sauce for the beef. :) I like rather strong flavors, so I tend to add a lot of onions, garlic, and chili powder.

[Rue]

Well...I'm the opposite. While I certainly enjoy certain foods...and I'm not a picky eater...I'm also not remotely a foodie - If I could get away with not eating, I would .

And we - as a family - are big eaters (even me - go figure)...so I usually double recipes and hope for left-overs.

I actually don't mind clean-up...it relaxes me and I like everything neat and tidy after a meal.

I also can cook...if I get at all motivated. Too bad that only happens 2-3 X a year. I can bake too, but haven't for years.

Given a choice...I prefer my foods plain/bland...so I can actually taste the food. I'm not a fan of sauces, spices and condiments outside of salt and pepper.

Here's a Favourite Recipe...that we're having for dinner tonight:

Wienie roast in the back yard. Bison wienies -with choice of tomatoes, onions, mushrooms or sauerkraut.

[Flyby Stardancer]

My best friend and her husband are vegetarian... When we go out to eat, it's often as hard or harder for me to find something to eat than them!

My family growing up were/are big eaters too. However, leftovers often were left to mold in the fridge so it was better to just not have them! I'm trying to break myself of a lot of the bad habits from growing up, but it's really hard.

Cleaning stresses me out big-time. Part of it is probably because it seems so overwhelming with my house (and its huge mess inherited from when my parents lived here). I'm also a bit lazy and was not regularly made to do chores growing up, which makes cleaning seem even worse. I see dirty dishes in the sink, and I just shut down.

I love spices... Sauces are hit or miss, depending on what they are and how much. About the only not-out-of-hand eating food that I actually like plain are potatoes. Baked need just a pat of butter, mashed should get only a little bit of butter and milk... As much as I love garlic, I really don't like it paired with potatoes.

[genocidex]

i love to cook, but sadly all the recipes are an as you go kinda thing. but there are some that i can share but they arent from scratch kinda things.

wine chicken:
needed:
corn beard stuffing,
1 cup white wine
2# chicken breat
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
swiss cheese ( depends on how big of a batch you make, 1 thick slice per breast is usually best)
butter

prepare the corn bread stuffing as per the bags' order, minus half-1 cup of water
lay down the chicken in the bottom of the pan. i use a very large casserole dish, but anything 2"+ deep and oven safe could work
season the chicken with pepper if you want.
put the cheese on top of the chicken
mix the soup and wine, and pour over the cheese, try to make it an even layer.
stuffing goes on top of that
and a few think slices of butter to promote browning on top.

bake at 375 for 40 mins. check for doneness (all depends on how thick the chicken was).

best surved with either green beans or broccoli imo.


i think thats one of the only recipes i have that i actually follow a recipe for.... other than that is more of a " hmmm this goes good with that..." or an old family recipe thats so engraved into my head that i just grab and go.... not sure what goes into it.... XD

[genocidex]

oh taffy recipe if you are interested....

2c sugar
1c light corn syrup
1c water
1 tbs butter
cooking spray
food coloring
flavoring.
a good pan (i think i used a 2 qt)
and a good candy thermometer
silicon baking mat (or parchment paper)

combine the sugar, water, corn syrup, and butter in a pan. heat till it all disolves. stirring gently with a metal spoon (you can add the coloring at this point but NOT the flavoring). when disolved put the candy thermometer in the solution so its not touching the bottom of the pan. once the solution starts to boil do not stir it. heat till it hits 245* and quickly remove from heat. then mix in your flavoring (it always varies so i cant tell you exactly how much just experiment) and stir it in quickly. pour candy out onto the silicon mat and allow to cool till its barely cool enough to handle. (while the candy is cooling you best put the pan in the sink with hot water in it along with the thermometer and anything else with candy on it. this will dissolve the candy fast and make clean up a breeze.) when cool enough to touch, start the pulling process. just make it into a big thick snake, fold it in half and stretch. repeat this process untill you feel like your arms are going to fall off, or the taffy looses its sheen. cut into 1" peices and either store in a air tight container (with something like a super dry sponge or a bag of minute rice. that will help remove the moisture from the air in the container.) or wrap with wax paper. when you get the flavor right, you will never buy store bought candy ever.

[Flyby Stardancer]

I never actually measure things like chopped onions, or the spices that go into the beans or meat anymore myself. I like "recipes" where I just throw things together. lol However, when ratios of water-to-whatever are important (such as with rice), I will break down and measure. lol

I'm also trying to make my own 'mixes' for things. I grew up eating hamburger helper and the like... And while I love the taste, I don't love the chemicals and HFCS in them. On the one hand, having mixes like that are handy, and are usually one-pot meals that I actually like as leftovers. On the other hand, measuring out all the ingredients for the mixes dirties up a LOT of pieces...

[talldutchie]

Got a ton of recipes but eating habits here are a bit different.

[Rue]

For the most part...I prefer European habits. Not all of them...but most of them...

[talldutchie]

Now I'm getting curious rue.

@op: What are you looking for? Things that are quick? More time consuming? Things that are easy to cook in bulk and freeze in individual portions?
Do you have a good tomato sauce in your repertoire?

[Flyby Stardancer]

I'm looking for everything. :) I find the compare/contrast between different food traditions interesting. I'm not necessarily looking for recipes for specific reasons, just to see what others label as their 'family favorites'.