bachelor chow

[zhead240]

although i'm married i consider myself a bachelor when it comes to cooking as the wife has zero culinary skills.

my all time favourite is kraft dinner to which i'll add cooked hamburg and onions. sometimes i'll add fried mushrooms if available.

ok gang, any recipes from college days when times were tough.

here are some guidelines

has to be cheap around $5

prep time under an hour

nothing exotic like fresh cilantro or white wine kinda ingredience, stuff you'll find in the average bachelor kitchen.

[Oiluj]

this'll be fun! Let's start simple:

Upgraded Mac n' Cheese

Kraft Mc n' Cheese

1 cup Lil' Smokies sausages

1/2 cup Sharp chedder cheese (shreaded)

1-1/2 cups chopped brocolli

- pan sear 3/8" thick slices of sausage.

- make cheese sauce per instructions, (with extra cheese added), then add sausage.

- add brocolli last 2 minutes befor noodles are done and drain.

- add sauce and sausage

Serve with fruit for dessert. Not low-fat, but contains some green stuff. Easy and fast to prepare.

[jackboxxx]

Well, I stole a recipe from grade school when I was a kid, and every now and then I get the urge for what my school called "toastie dogs"

so you look in the fridge, theres 2 hot dogs left...but no buns because theres 10 dogs in a pack, and only 8 buns in a pack so what do you do?

you heat up the oven,

grab 2 slices bread lightly butter 1 side,

lay them butter side down on a sheet pan

grab some cheese I like kraft american cheese slices

lay them on the bread

lay the leftover hot dogs on top of the cheese

you pull up 2 opposite corners of the bread and kinda attach

them together with a toothpick,

bake for a few minutes till the bread starts to get "toastie"

remove from oven and eat...plain or with dipping sauces/condiments

crude and simple, yep but thats what passed for a nutritional lunch in grade school where I grew up.

[gogriz91]

Mac and cheese with either hotdogs cut up in it or a can of Ranch Style beans with the onions in them. George Foreman was a great friend of mine too when I was single.

[240260280z]

Some EZ stuff to make:

#1 One step up from KD

Can of beans (in molasses or maple syrup)

Onions

Can of mushrooms

Cook all in pot on stove like KD.

#2 They will think it is from Paris

Pork or chicken

Brown meat in butter (not fake stuff) in pan with salt and pepper on the meat

Sprinkle Thyme or Rosemary spice along with garlic that you busted with your hands and a bay leaf and fry that in butter too

Remove the meat and throw in a beer or wine then boil this with the "stuff/spice/gunk left in the pan" until 1/2 the beer or wine disappears. Add some more spices and water then boil for 1min and voila meat and sauce.

Boil some water,throw in fine pasta (angle hair). When done drain the water, add butter and black pepper then mix it up.

Put meat and past on plate then throw the sauce on everything.

Goes well with white wine.

#3 Mexican Breakfast

Fry bacon & scramble eggs

In separate pan fry chopped red and/or green and or yellow peppers (what ever you got) along with onions. Add some cayanne spice and black pepper and this great Indian/Dutch spicy paste called sambal oelek (just 1 tea spoon is fairly spicy)

Mix in the scrambled eggs along with the broken up fried bacon.

Wrap in pita bread or similar flat bread.... add some salsa and or sour cream.

#3 Almost Thai

Fry chicken or pork

Add generic "Thai Red Curry Sauce" that you can buy at Loblaws or similar in the foreign food section.

Throw in some chopped peppers and/or onions and/or bamboo shoots

Make "Jasmine" or "Basmati" rice

Throw in some hot Jasmine Tea to drink with it.

#4 Indian (EZ PZ)

Buy "PC Butter Chicken" package from frozen section of Loblaws where Ethnic food is

Buy Naan bread from bakery section of Loblaws where the flat breads are

Cook chicken in microwave

Heat Naan bread in foil in oven or eat it cold.

Tear up the Naan and dip in the sauce.

#5 Bacon and Eggs and Tomato's

Fry bacon and eggs

Fry Sliced Tomatoes in separate pan. Throw lots of black pepper and Cayenne spice on the Tomatoes

#6 Turkey Burgers

Cook like a burger but use ground turkey

#7 Turkey Dogs

Cook like a hot dog but use turkey dog

#8 Tourtiere

Look for Schneider's or A La Table brand Tourtierre in the frozen sections of Sobeys or Loblaws

Cook for 30 min. in oven

Edited January 8, 2012 by Blue

[geezer]

This one seems to appeal to kids and men, not so much with the women, so I think it would qualify as "bachelor chow". I call them "west coast choppers" fried baloney sandwiches.

Before separating the baloney slices, make cuts about an inch in at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock & 9 o'clock, through the whole stack (to save time). Then when frying the individual slices in the pan they won't distort and bubble up in the middle. When cooked the slices resemble Maltese crosses. I like my sandwiches toasted, buttered, lots of ketchup. A big hit on Poker night too. Serve with chips, wash down with beer.

[zhead240]

toasted fried baloney .........drooooool

one of my favourites. i like mine with dejon mustard and cheese whiz.

[5thhorsemann]

Mayo, sweet relish, one can of tuna, fishermans delight.

[Oiluj]

I'n my house, add 1/2 mustartd & 1/2 mayo. Tangy tuna!

[Bonzi Lon]

As a confirmed bachelor for over 38 years, you guys need help. Blue is the exception, I'm trying some of them.

Hotplate, microwave & a George Forman is all I need, and all the years of experimenting.

One of my 'no heat' favorites is a peanut butter & mayonnaise sandwich.

Bonzi Lon

[tlorber]

Carrots, Celery, Corn, Onions (any other vegetables you like, whether canned, frozen or fresh) and top ramin. Boil the veggies until 'al dente' add the noodles and seasoning, and dump in an egg. Remove from heat before the noodles get soggy.

Lived off of that for years in college and afterward. As long as you have a lot of other stuff to build up the meal, it won't seem like just simple noodles.

[mlc240z]

Very quick (about 30-45 mins total) to make and in quantity can last for a lot of single meals.

Boil up a pound of spaghetti, linguini or angel hair.

Saute an onion in butter, when carmelized add a little olive oil and just lightly saute a couple of cloves of chopped garlic (don't burn it gets bitter). Open up the cabinet and douse with every spice you can find or think would blend with what you have. I use paprika, a lot of oregano, fresh ground pepper, red pepper flakes, thyme, parsley, dill etc. After heating up, I add a bag of frozen chopped spinach I've boiled up (although works with just about any frozen vegetable you prefer).

I add cooked shrimp or gas/charcoal grilled chicken tenders, cut them up into bite sized pieces and add to heat thru.

Add extra olive oil to the mix, amount to add depends on how "wet" you want it, I prefer a little on the dry side.

Drain the pasta and then mix a layer of pasta back into the original pot (cuts down on the pot cleanup), a coupla large spoons of the mix and a coupla shakes of parmesan, then another layer, repeat until all pasta/mix is gone.

Add a loaf of good French or Italian bread and butter, you're in heaven and if anyone is sharing, they'll think you're a gourmet cook. Increase the quantities for a larger group.

Gotten a lot of compliments for such a simple dish.

Edited January 10, 2012 by mlc240z