Play With Your Food

I know, Mom always said "don't play with your food - eat it".  I like to do both!!!
I am always concocting something different.  I have a ton of cookbooks - sometimes I use them - but most often I just use them for a basic idea.  THEN I wing it!!!!!
Some of our favorite meals over the years came from experimenting.

I tend to just throw things together, and it turns out yummy.  Maybe I am just not too picky - but I like most things I come up with.  There has been a few failures over the years, but not many.
Just a side note:  I was the pickiest eater on the planet as a kid!!!!

I figure every recipe out there - was made up by someone the first time.  So why can't I do the same thing?  Well, I do.
I am huge on anything with a crust, casseroles and soups.  You can just combine so many things and add a little cheese (LOL) and it's yummy eating.
You don't have to have a lot of money or a huge pantry - just experiment a little.  You can have a full belly and yummy eating with little.

This week so far I have played with my food a couple times with good results. (sorry no pics of it)
Here is a couple recipes I made with some things I had on hand.

CREAMY LONG GRAIN/WILD RICE SOUP
(found a jar of long grain/wild rice in frig when cleaning)
1 C rice
3 C water - (with bouillon added for flavor)
Thinly sliced 5 baby carrots and added to this pan while rice was cooking
Cooked this until water absorbed
I added a chopped up pork chop (leftover) and about 5 chopped up broccoli florets
1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of water
I also added a big dollop of sour cream and mixed in.  Add seasoning as needed.

This was incredibly tasty.  I ate 2 big bowls over 2 days and put the remainder in the freezer for another day.
Just throwing together what I found and using up this and that and it turned out so yum.

PIZZA PASTA
I cooked a couple handfuls of elbow pasta until al dente
Placed in a skillet with chopped up pepperoni, rehydrated mushrooms, chopped onion, chopped bell peppers from freezer, cut up olives, a couple good dashes of dry parmesan cheese, and a half pint of pizza sauce.  Mixed all together and warmed.  Topped with shredded Italian cheese until melted.
YUM - tasted just like pizza!!!!
**************

Here is an easy recipe to try.  It is good with fish or chicken (or even alone)
GRANNY'S CORN FRITTERS
1 C corn
1/2 C milk
1 egg, beaten
1 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
salt to taste
oil to fry
Mix all ingredients except oil.  Pour 2 - 3 inches of oil in heavy fry pan, heat to 365*.  Gently drop batter by tablespoons in oil.  Fry until golden, turn once.  Makes 3 - 4 dozen small cakes.  (filter and save the oil)
So easy, minimal ingredients and so tasty.  NO CORN?  Use something else - I have used red beans before.  You could even use mixed veggies.  Whatever you use it will be tasty.

Fried corn - just add corn, onion, peppers, etc. to a small amount of butter and fry.  My other favorite is to substitute hominy for the corn!!!!!

Midwest goulash - ground beef, pasta, tomatoes (I added beans to stretch it as well).  Can add cheese if desired.

Open face gallate (one crust pie) - pie crust, cooked ground beef in bottom (use whatever you have), lots of cheese (and or sauce) and topped with sliced tomatoes and seasoning.  So tasty.  You can make this as a savory meal by adding whatever you have or make it as a dessert with fruit.  Bake until crust is done.

Stove top tacos.  Cook up taco meat with onions and/or beans (you can add corn too), top with broken tortilla chips and shredded cheese.  Cover with a lid until top cheese melts.  Serve with a side of lettuce and tomato if desired.

Individual frittata/quiche type dish.  Use leftovers - taco meat, rice, beans, corn, etc. and add eggs - start cooking in a very small pan until it sets - then placed on a griddle until it finished cooking.  There is no limit to what you can add to eggs to make a delish meal.

I hope this gives you a few ideas of how to PLAY with your food for something yummy and different.  Use what you have and nothing goes to waste and you save dollars.  No need to go out to some fancy restaurant to enjoy different foods.
GET CREATIVE!!!
SAVE MONEY!!!
EAT GOOD!!!!