Four Foods on Friday #136

I am seriously behind the Four Foods on Friday meme! And reading the questions for #136 make me very hungry for a grilled cheese sandwich, something I haven’t had in EONS. I used to make them relatively often as a single person (with that imitation sliced stuff, ICK!). I haven’t made them in many moons. I’m not much for fried food, anymore– I’m more in need of ripfire these days. :-p

Well, maybe I’ll make a grilled sandwich, anyway. I can practically smell it now… mmmm…. *floating toward kitchen*

This week there are four questions about grilled cheese.

1. How do you make grilled cheese?
2. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever put on your grilled cheese sandwich and did you like it?
3. What’s your favorite bread for grilled cheese?
4. Have you ever tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich using a shortcut way? (Think iron, car engine, you get the picture.)

1. If I am going to make one, I’d slather two slices of bread with softened butter or margarine. I prefer butter, but am forced to use margarine if the butter is not room temperature. I’m sure you have tried to hack bits of cold butter on bread, only to mangle the slice beyond comprehension…. Well, then I slap on a slice of REAL American cheese. I like the texture of the cheese more than the taste. I wonder what makes it American? Anyway, I just throw the thing in the frying pan and fry it up until it’s golden brown. I do the other side, and tada.

2. I’m sure I have put strange things in it. I do it with everything else! But I haven’t made these in so long that I don’t remember. *think think think* Oh, I once tried a tomato slice, that didn’t turn out very well. The tomato, when warmed, got all slimy and disgusting. I have also tried tuna and salmon bits on top of the cheese. I don’t think those worked out, either. ….

3. Whole wheat.

4. Uhhhh noooo….. mostly because cleaning the car engine or grill of hardened butter and cheese would be NO FUN. It would defeat the purpose of a quick and easy meal. I always cook with an eye to clean up.

Four Foods on Friday #135

This week there are four questions about pasta.

1. What type of pasta is your favorite?
2. Is there a type of pasta that you don’t like at all?
3. What’s your favorite ravioli filling?
4. Do you use regular or no-bake lasagna noodles?

We are big pasta eaters. I recently found out it’s not such a great diet. :-p I grew up in an Italian home, and we always ate a lot of pasta. That, or my mom’s ikky pasta fazool (*wretch*). I loved pasta because it made me feel full, and as a kid, I always felt hungry.

So I usually have huge stockpiles of pasta around. I even got a few medical computer carts type thingies to store boxes of pasta in them, lol!! Weird, I know. I have boxes everywhere. I am sloooowly starting to move away from pasta and move toward healthier stuff, like long-grain rice and more veggies. But pasta dishes are nice because you can either make them long in advance or make them immediately. Because I work full-time, my meal preparation skills are totally gone! I can slap a hearty meal on the table in 20 minutes with pasta, or prepare it the previous day and make it the next. It’s so versatile.

Anyway, on to the meme.

1. I like rotini. I don’t always get it, because it seems that it is not as filling for a household of teenagers who eat mounds of food all the time.

2. Not really. I guess I like them all, or am ambivalent. Of all the pastas, I probably like the plain spaghetti least. It is so slippery and sloppy. I don’t like to wear my food. :-p

3. Meat. I greatly dislike ricotta cheese. YUK!

4. I have used both, and even though the “regular” lasagna is more laborious to prepare, I prefer it enough to use it. The no-bake is too pasty and bland.

All this talk of pasta reminds me that I need to start tonight’s dinner! See ya later!

Four Foods on Friday #134

I hope I got the number correct this time!

It’s Friday! Most people like Friday, but it’s not a big day for me. I work at home, so weekends are the same as any other day. I actually like Mondays! I like the fresh start to the work week, etc. By Friday, I’m dragging a little and wondering how to get rid of dark circles after working so hard all weeks long. And my levels of creativity are usually lower. Which is why I like memes, they help give me a little boost.

This week there are four questions about bread.

1. When making a sandwich do you put condiments on one or both pieces of bread?
2. If you could create a type bread you could buy at the supermarket what
would it be?
3. Do you eat the heels/ends from loaves of bread?
4. What’s one type of bread you don’t like?

1. I usually place the condiment on one side, because when I eat sandwiches, I’m usually in a big hurry and am too lazy to do both sides. However, if the sandwich contents are dry (like turkey or tuna), I may do both sides. Yeah, I’ve got it all down to a science. :-p

2. Uh. I think that’s already been done. It seems like there are a billion types of bread out there already!

3. Nope. Too dry.

4. Just about all. I dislike bread. It’s dry. It makes my stomach feel like I ate a brick. I do like flat bread, though, especially with a Greek salad. That’s pretty much the only kind of bread I eat, unless I am eating a quick sandwich.

These questions were great! I hope we get more like these in the future. Until next week!

Four Foods on Friday #133 (Again)

Somewhere along the line, I got messed up with FFFF numbers. Eesh. Well, they do change every week! How can I possibly keep track of them?! lol

So last one was supposed to be #132, and THIS week is #133. OK, Let’s hope I can remember this….

The question is simple: What are your four favorite kitchen utensils?

I am too lazy to go downstairs and snap photos (and transfer them and edit them and watermark them and upload them and finally link them here, whew). Can you blame me?! It’s easier to get an online nursing degree than to wrangle with all the digital equipment for a few photos. But I do have some favorite utensils.

1. A small plastic spatula. I have had this spatula FOREVER. It’s smaller than the average spatula. With it, I can scrap the sides of the rounded frying pan; I can lift the slices of pie or cake without feeling I’m holding a shovel. It must be, what, 15, 20 years old. I can’t believe it’s lasted so long! I haven’t found a suitable replacement, so I keep it. Maybe when it finally dies on me, I’ll tuck it into my heirloom box for posterity….

2. A large silver spoon with a thick handle. I forgot what name brand the spoon is. Maybe Pfaltzgraf? I don’t think it’s Oneida. It’s another “oldie.” The handle is so strong and thick that I can scoop ice cream with it! All the other weak spoons bend over like spaghetti. :-p

3. I just bought a new utensil, a Mainstays slotted metal spoon. I love it. It’s got a long, sturdy handle, but the spoon is not too large and unwieldy. It’s great for everything…. except serving soup.

4. Wooden spoon. What shall I say? It’s very versatile. I can cook hot foods, mix cookie dough, whap my hand or an errant pet or child (haha!)…

WHat are your favorite utensils?

Four Foods on Friday #133

Oh I can’t believe I missed this one over the weekend! I read everyone else’s and really like the questions for this week. Better late than never, right?

This week’s questions are about common food thoughts or myths that I’ve heard from other people.

1. Bananas. Do you think the smaller ones are sweeter?
I never thought about that, never heard of that. I always thought color belied sweetness. Now I am curious! I’ll have to try this out.

2. Watermelon. Do you think that if the outside is darker green that it means the watermelon is sweeter?
Another myth that is news to me. I find it difficult to accurately judge ripeness in melons. WHY must melons be so shrouded in mystery? Why can’t modern man– with all his amazing gadgets and technology and fancy spaceships and brake pads and everything– why can’t scientists have invented a melon-o-meter or something?! Why, after thousands and thousands of years, is humankind still rapping on the rinds of melons to determine ripeness??

3. Grapes. Do you think the round globe shaped ones are sweeter than the more ovalish shaped ones?
Probably. My husband, a wine connoseur conniseur connisuer expert says that smaller grapes are sweeter and therefore used for wines. Larger grapes have more water content and are milder, so they are table grapes. Who-da thunk.

4. Pears. Do canned pears taste completely different than fresh pears?
Yes. I dislike processed foods. They have to much sugar in them, and I can’t stand sweetened stuff anymore. When I consume prepared salad dressing, the sugar in it almost makes me gag. So fresh pears are definitely nicer.

What do you think about melons? Are you able to detect a ripe one of not? Inquiring minds want to know!

« Previous Page — Next Page »