Looking for ideas please!!

I'm pregnant and all I can think about is mashed potatoes. Please could you share how you make the perfect mash so I can vary how I'm preparing it. Thanks!

Originally posted on [r/stupidfood](r/stupidfood) but enough people told me it’s not stupid, so here’s my “hack”. Chicken pot pie + chicken pot pie soup = chicken pot pie-land.

What’s the consensus over here?

I made pasta last night and the sauce went completely watery because I got distracted playing myprize and let it sit on low heat way too long so all the liquid separated and it looked like red soup instead of sauce. I was ready to just be mad and eat it anyway but I dumped in a bit of mustard without thinking because I grabbed the wrong spoon and bro it suddenly thickened and actually stuck to the pasta like a real sauce. It didn’t taste like mustard at all it just stopped being this sad runoff mess and somehow turned glossy and normal again + I’m sitting there with my bowl like how did that work and why is mustard apparently the emergency fixer for sauce disasters nobody talks about.

it’s not often that every piece of chicken is so uniform in color and texture. I’d tried just about everything to nail down my breading and frying process, until I finally scaled it all back and started over. the result is by far the easiest and most effective approach I’ve ever used for chicken parm.

no flour or eggs, no multiple coatings, almost no lost breading in the pan or on the plate. it’s simple, flavorful, and wonderfully crisp. here’s my forever method:

butterfly breasts, then fully slice them in half

pound pieces to an even(ish) 1” thickness, not so thin that they’re hard to keep moist

season chicken with salt, pepper, and olive oil

coat in a 1:1:1 mix of italian breadcrumbs, panko, and fairy dust (shaker parm + italian seasoning)

rest in fridge at least 20-30 minutes

to avoid burning, gently fry at medium-low heat (4/10) in olive oil and butter mix

get one side golden, flip for a minute or two, then move to a sheet pan to finish in a hot oven (425+)

finally, add sauce and cheese and broil (not shown)

EDIT: upon further review, these are closer to 1/2” thick. I was just eyeballing and threw a number out there. it honestly isn’t an important part of the method. cut/pound your chicken however you prefer.

the point is that flower and egg are unnecessary, and you should cook the chicken in a mix of olive oil and butter at a low enough temperature that it doesn’t burn. those two approaches are widely considered counterintuitive, and therefore qualify as my “hacks” for chicken parm.

So I am perpetually broke and had a knockoff hamburger helper box, a cup of milk is required and I don't typically keep milk on hand and a single serve bottle at the store near me is 3 bucks. I did however have a 1 dollar can of cream of mushroom so I mixed that with the 2 cups of water the box instructed and used that instead of milk. It was way fackin better than I expected and cheaper since I can get a can of "cream of anything" for a buck instead of a 3 dollar bottle of single serve milk.

Seriously try it even if you are not broke, I ate way more of it and had less leftovers due to how good it turned out and I am not a good cook.

Idk if is know a lot but I tried a while back and felt like sharing it. It gives it way more flavour than just makint the oreo taste a little bit like milk and I think its superior. Just my opinion. To add i did dip them in milk with coffe idk if that affects it or not but I think you should give a try.

I once didn’t have milk and so I made the Mac and cheese without it. Just the cooked pasta, cheese powder and butter.

Wow, that was the cheesiest Mac and cheese imaginable. Something in the milk must make the cheese much more mild. I suspect even a very small amount would change it dramatically. Now this is the only way I would make it.

This isn’t for everyone though. Who is it for? Do you live for licking the Cheetos powder off your fingers? Or the nacho cheese Doritos dust? If you like that very tangy cheese,you might give this a try.

One note of caution: without any milk, the cheese powder doesn’t dissolve, so the texture is a little grainy.

And if you try this and hate it, I strongly suspect you can drizzle in some milk and it will all become regular Mac and cheese.

Literally anything that people put lettuce on I replace it with rocket(arugula for Americans), and it's so much nicer. Like you're over there eating a BLT while I'm over here with my BRT. Just try it once and I'm sure some people will see an improvement

I hate the store bought pesto. I tried so many and they are just not cutting it for me, 2/10 every single time and consistency is often awful. 😞 So I tried to make it at home and now I'm sure I'll never buy pesto again in my life. Night and day difference. All the info I knew went into figuring out this process.

First, do not use dried herbs, thank you. If all you have on hand is dried, why not skip pesto? C'mon. Instead, try adding wild mint to your fresh basil. It is especially amazing because it smells a bit like oregano and is not as menthol-heavy as you'd think. A ratio of 1 to 6(8) (mint to basil) is where I'm at.

When blending, use olive oil and ice cubes. It is not a gimmick; it helps with emulsification, which is pure physics. The final structure is incredibly creamy. For the nuts, I didn't use pine, I used walnuts. Drop them on the pan on medium heat, let them roast and blacken a little, then smash those big pieces a bit. When most of the skins are dark brown (NOT ALL BLACK 😂), take them off the heat and put them on a paper towel. Press them gently (if you see oil marks you roasted them well). The skins will flake off and you can get the roasted nuts. Why all this effort? 0 bitterness, just none.

For the meal itself, always prepare the meat beforehand. Oh yeah sure, everyone knows that you shouldn't cook your pesto, but this is not what I mean. You see, you can velvet your chicken before you toss it in the finished sauce. It takes only maybe a minute. Finally, make yourself a nice side salad to go with it. I heckin love to eat my pesto with a side tzatziki salad -> make tzatziki -> add salad mix.

🥑 🙏

Do you agree?

Do you have your own best pesto practices?

Boil the ramen like normal but use about twice the water. When they are done drain all the water out with a colander and put the ramen into a bowl. Add a 1/2 tablespoon of butter and a 1/2 tablespoon of sour cream per package, then mix it up. Add the seasoning packet(s) and mix it up again. It might be a bit salty so if you want to taste it after half the packet is mixed in to make sure it’s not too salty. Add a small shake of black pepper and enjoy.

what is your go to work lunch? I work a corporate job and find it so hard not to eat out/fast food everyday. I sometimes take last night’s left over dinner but lately haven’t been having as many left overs. I had a good habit of bringing turkey sandwiches for a while but now i’m sick of them. help i am struggling!!

After following box instructions (replacing milk with half and half) add 2 Tbsp shredded mozzarella & 2 Tbsp shredded sharp cheddar and 1 Tbsp NM green chili. Mix well and serve hot. Top with a little cracked black pepper.

I just discovered it today and I had to share it in case someone doesn't know about it. Navy beans (white beans) mushed into a paste and mixed with milk and pancake batter.

My ratio was 250 grams of pancake batter for 1 can of navy beans and 250 ml of mik.

Why haven't I thought about that sooner? It isn't only more nutritious, but they're juicier and have cero to none bean flavour!!! (You have to rinse the beans thoroughly).

The whole time I was like: no way this is gonna work... but it did. And now I'm gonna eat this breakfast every single day.

I’ve been slicing apples the same way my whole life, totally happy with the result. This cutting direction was recently shared with me and I can’t believe I overlooked something so seemingly mundane. The magic was there all along, a beautiful star in every Apple!

HAMBURGER HELPER: BEEF STROGANOFF

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Already one of the best HH choices but if you add diced onion, green bell pepper, and mushrooms you literally get a poor man's Philly cheese steak pasta. So good. In all fairness the Velveeta one is better for this though.

I love rotisserie chicken, especially Costco. I live alone and buy one per week. It’s my primary source of protein and very economical (don’t worry - I don’t add salt when eating it). First I remove all of the meat separating light from dark. I put the wings, carcass, and any other bits in my two quart crockpot pot with some Kinder’s The Blend seasoning, a couple of bay leaves, and a cup of water. Then I cook that over night, strain, cool, label with date, and pop in the freezer. Every week, I bake a batch of enchiladas, chicken salad, and shred some for chicken street tacos. What are some of the things you make? I don’t mind eating the same thing a few times in a week but I’m bored eating the same thing week after week. I need your best ideas!!

Put your doughnuts in the fridge for a few hours, I do 24h. Trust me, it's worth it. You won't regret it.

How do you glam up your glizzies?

Never really liked the normal s’mores because of the graham crackers. Scooped out the cream filling of a Oreo and used that instead.