Jalopy Soup

I'm at my mother-in-law's house.  I smell soup...chicken, ginger and asian-ish things. I see a pot on the stove.  I peek inside.  Yes, soup it is! Looks like shredded bits of roasted chicken, cabbage, carrots, onions, a big chunk of beat up ginger and soggy macaroni that is way past the al dente stage.  I taste.  As usual, despite the unappetizing appearance, the soup is delicious!

My mother-in-law is famous for her mish-mash soups.  She keeps all her leftover food in the freezer until it'soup ready.  Sometimes the food combinations are strange but with her secret whatever it is, she transforms last week's dinner into another delicious meal.

Me:  How did you make this?
MIL: I don't know.  Just leftovers.
Me:  What's in the soup base?
MIL:  No salt.
Me:  What did you add?
MIL:  I don't know. 

I may never duplicate my mother-in-law's soup and will never get her recipe, if there ever is one, but I've managed to create my own strange but true hodgepodge soup from spare parts.  I dare you to taste...My Jalopy Soup!





Jalopy Soup

  

 - 1 can tomato soup + 1 can water (more if you want it soupier)

- Leftover chili with beans (I love Zippy's but I've used canned also)
- Portuguese sausage from breakfast
- Frozen french fries (cut smaller to look like real potatoes)
- Your choice of vegetables (like corn kernels, tomatoes...)
- Cooked macaroni for the kids' sake
- Sometimes I sneak in a dallop of salsa but the kids don't like it

I toss everything into a pot and bring it to a boil then I simmer my concoction until the frozen fries/vegetables are tender.  We eat this over rice or with crackers.  My husband likes his medley more soupy while I like mines thicker.

I do not claim to be a cook in any shape or form but tee-hee-hee, I've fed this to real people and they still live.

Oh...and no salt.

The Canned Food Cook

So I'm not a great cook.  But with a little imagination,  I can sure fancy up something canned, frozen and pre-made that my kids love.  I'm that "semi-homemade" type.

Last night, we had "Sushi Bar Night" where we all made our own temaki or hand roll sushi.  The spread included the all important nori (Japanese seaweed) and rice (nice and sticky).  I filled the condiment tray full of crab sticks (imitation), cucumber strips, sweet corn kernels, strips of scrambled eggs and tuna salad.  We had miso soup and apple slices on the side.



While DD1 stuffed her rolls with all the ingredients at once, DD2 selectively combined hers.

So while I am not a very good cook, I am happy to say that I am a great "pretender".

Here is a blog link I stumbled across that has instructions on how to make your own sushi roll. How to Make Japanese Temaki Zushi.

Enjoy and have fun with your family!

Baked S'Mores

Dear S..
This one is for you!
Love,
 Aunty J

*****

Baked S'Mores



Make this in a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Ingredients:

2 c Crushed Graham Crackers (about 12 whole pieces)
½ c Melted Butter or Margarine (about 1 block)
Mini Marshmallows
Milk Chocolate Pieces or Squares

Makes 24

First make the crust…mix the crushed graham crackers and melted butter together. Press into bottom of cupcake liner muffin pan. Bake in 350 over for 5 min.

On the baked crust, layer with the chocolate chips followed by marshmallows and place back into the warm oven until marshmallows melt (1-2 minutes).

Then pop into the broiler to brown marshmallow tops. Watch the marshmallows carefully because it browns very quickly.

You can add crushed graham crackers and chocolate pieces to the top of the melted marshmallows to make it prettier.

Let cool so the marshmallow sets a bit.  Eat!

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Crock Pot Meatloaf

I love my crock pot but I've never tried making meatloaf in it. Here is recipe I found for Crock Pot Meatloaf and I'm gonna give it a try.

Crock pot Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs hamburger meat

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 cup ketchup

2 eggs



Additional optional ingredient

grated cheese

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients mixing well, easiest to mix with hands. When done form loaf in bottom of crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add grated cheese 5 minutes before serving.

I'm trying out Linky Tools.  Recipe by: Sheila Stroh | Blog: runninlateagain.blogspot.com

Get hundreds of recipes and free blog tools at Linky Tools - Submit your recipe here and include your blog address so people can visit you!

Microwave Mochi Recipe

Our mochi - not cut very nicely but still tasty!

Microwave Mochi Recipe

Ingredients:

-1 package mochiko sweet rice flour (10 oz)

-1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)

-3/4 cup sugar

-1/4 tsp. vanilla

-2 drops food coloring

-potato starch

Directions:

-Combine mochiko, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and food coloring in a medium bowl.

-Mix until smooth.

-Pour into a greased 5 cup microwaveable tube pan.

-Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on 80% for 10 minutes, rotating several times during cooking.

-Let stand for 10 minutes.

-Pull mochi from sides and turn onto board dusted with potato starch.

-Cut into bite size pieces and dust with potato starch.

Enjoy!

We topped one batch of our mochi with a kinako + sugar mixture.  Here is a much more appealing photo from sadacori on Flickr.

Note:  I linked some ingredients and supplies to Amazon.com but you can find most of what you need in a grocery store that sells Asian products.

How to Eat Sugarcane

According to me, this is the proper way to enjoy sugar cane straight from the stalk.  You don't really "eat" it.

This is the sugarcane stalk - a short one.  With a sharp knife, cut it at the joints then trim off the outer husk so all that you have is the softer but fibrous insides.  Then you cut the softer inside into strips.

Chew the strips and suck out the sweet juice.  Spit!  I don't like swallowing those stringy fibers. 

So that's my way of snacking on sugarcane  The savages in my home think the best way to eat a sugarcane is to peel of the husk and chew the whole thing up like a beaver chomping on wood.  You think so...?