What's your favorite "I'm lazy but want a tasty meal" food?

[Stinky The Clown]

What's your favorite "I'm lazy but want a tasty meal" food?

And it can be (and often is) something that no one will even approach as you consume it.

For me, here's the recipe .... in pictures.

Slice one of these into nice thick slices:


Open one of these:


Lay out four slices of this:

(note ...... s'gotta be seeded.)

Make two sangwigiz.

Maybe one of these as a washer-downer:
http://www.mylifeisbeer.com.nyud.net:8090/beer/bottles/autopics/308.jpg

If you've never had Old Rasputin, you're missing something. It is as dark as espresso and as thick as paint. It has a high alcohol content, too. This stuff will put hair on parts of your body where you never thought hair could grow.

(edited cuz I had a bout of premature e-post-ulation)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. I had to think about it,

but, then I remembered the horrified look on Old Yeller's lovely countenance when I do this:

Saute very slowly a couple of pounds of thinly sliced onions in a combination of butter and olive oil;
Let it all turn golden, thanks to a hit of sugar;
Throw in a few heads of garlic cloves, nicely crushed - to a splatter;
Cook until the garlic's barely golden.
While all this is happening - the onions cook very, very slowly, so it could take up to an hour - cook up a bunch of spaghetti, drain, and have ready;
When the onion-garlic mixture is done, throw the macaroni in and toss until every strand is coated.
Grate a mile-high pile of Locatelli on top;
Toss again;
Vino, vino, vino;
Burp;
Clear the room.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. That's an old fave of mine ... Macaroni ala Aglio e Olio

Pasta with garlic and olive oil.

Wanna zest that up a notch? Open a can of 'chovies and take em out of that nasty packing oil. Mash them to a pulp. Add them to that recipe of yours, but with the butter left out. The 'chovies just melt away. Think of them as the Italian version of fish sauce. No fishy taste ... just nice and hearty.

Burp, indeed.

Also, it seems the convenience food movement has reached Italy. I found this:


Come on people ...... a packaged version of a dish with four basic ingredients?????? What the hell is **that**?

From this place: http://ryoodo.ala.it/qualitalia/ns.asp?wci=prodlist&lng=1040&cur=3057&did=2&sr=6

Sheesh .... what's next? Della Robia made in China?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

18. Close, but no anchovies

My snack is an amplified version of that old classic - i.e. spaghetti con le cipolle e l'aglio in olio e burro di oliva.

Yeah, the anchovies are an essential in the simple aglio e olio, but I prefer it with a smattering of hot pepper flakes and some parsley, instead. The first time I was ever taken to the opera at La Scala by my nonno, when I was fourteen years old, we had that dish in a place not far from the opera house after the performance.

I can't get enough onions.

[The empressof all]

2. Funny, I even crave my quick and easy stand by

But I love a good scrambled egg sandwich. Just Eggs, Bread and Butter. Plain, simple, quick, easy and yummy.

[wryter2000]

3. I did it last night

Slice some yukon gold or fingerling potatoes into thinish slices. Cook in my cast iron frying pan in butter. Cover for a bit to steam the potatoes tender. Remove the lid and let the steam evaporate.

For a side, my other easy dish. If I have them, slice a few mushrooms. Sautee in butter. Add sliced up cabbage. Stir and cook, covered for a while so cabbage will steam tender. Leave some crunch in the cabbage, and add lots of pepper.

[Warpy]

4. I grew up with a mother who hated to cook and it showed.

However, there are two quickie comfort foods I still eat from time to time when I'm out of time and ambition and want something fast:

Grilled cheese and pickle sandwich pressed between two hot cast iron frypans

Pasta tossed with grated rat trap cheese and a little chili powder.

Both of them are fast, relatively tasty, and don't require a lot of chopping, sauteeing, stirring, whipping, or fancy serving.

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Prithee ........

..... what's 'rat trap cheese'?

[Warpy]

15. It's that characterless yellow stuff in the supermarket

sold in a block, sometimes with pimentos in it, suitable for baiting rat traps but not terribly suitable as food. See also: welfare cheese.

It's a food of my childhood, also great melted on sour dark rye under the broiler, forgot that quick comfort food.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

19. It also makes a great chile con queso

It's disgustingly simple, and not only utterly void of any nutritional value, it's really great...

A hunk of rat cheese
A hunk of cream cheese
A hunk of salsa, as hot as you like it
A handful of chopped jalapenos.

Microwave.

True junk food. Where I come from, it was called "surplus cheese".

[eleny]

5. OMG, I love 'nyins, sardines, rye and beer combo!

Also - Braunschweiger on rye with thin slices of onion on top with tomato slices on the side.

Is Rasputin really very, very thick? I like German dark beers but not when they're terribly thick or sweet. Now I have to buy at least one bottle to try it out. It sounds like an education. My folks used to get bock beer when it was in season and that was fine. I don't have a favorite beer. I like to try different kinds and always seem to like them!

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Its thick, but I've had waaaaay thicker.

It is, in my estimation, a perfect dark beer. Heavy and with a great head, not at all sweet, but not overly bitter, either. Strong. Sparkly won't drink it.

Its kinda on the pricey side, too. Only sold in a four pack around here ..... maybe 8 bucks.

If you like good German darks, I'd say try this.

[eleny]

9. Thanks

We're blessed to have a store named Applejack's minutes from here. One of the largest spirits superstores in the country. They have everything and I'm going to go get some Ras tomorrow. The fact that ti's not too sweet makes it a go. I made some homemade Lithuanian fresh sausage for the holidays. I plan on baking it next week so the casing gets slightly crispy. Sausage, sauerkraut, homemade potato salad, rye and Rasputin. I'll let you know how it goes!

[babylonsister]

6. Chinese takeout.

Oh, cooked, ya say? I like eggs in a frame. Drill out a hole in two slices of bread with a shot glass. Butter a frying pan, sizzle sizzle, put the bread in to toast and absorb the butter, crack an egg in the hole. Lather, rinse, flip, cover with ketchup. Bon appetit! :9

[eleny]

8. I haven't had eggs like that in years!

And I don't know why. I'm terrible at flipping an egg and gettng it to stay together. Even the best quality eggs break on me. But when they're in the frame, it's easy. Thanks for the memory jog.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. Your confession made me laugh

Eggs in a frame .... training wheels for erstwhile egg flippers? :)

[babylonsister]

13. Thanks to Mom! nt

[Tab]

14. Depends how lazy I am

But when I'm really lazy, I like to take either Arnold Jewish Rye (must have seeds) OR a Thomas English Muffin. Put them in the toaster (toasting changes everything).

Paper-thin slices of red onion, some roast beef, maybe a slice of cheese.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. Poor people's morning 'pastry'

This is a Depression-era recipe I got from Mom. I still make it to this day.

Toast some bread. While very hot, slather it with butter (as a kid, it was margarine). While the butter's still liquidy, sprinkle with a 50/50 mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

Don't breathe or exhale deeply while eating this. You've been warned.

[babylonsister]

17. Now that brought back memories, but

we called it 'cinnamon toast' and all 5 kids loved it!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

20. This was my older sister's favorite treat

You're the first other person who does it.

My former husband (the WASP - where did HE come from?), as a child in the UK, was given white bread with margarine and white sugar sprinkled on top. No toasting.

<shudder>

[Tab]

21. I remember my mother doing this

I wouldn't say it was "slathered" with butter, but toast with cinnamon sugar, yup.

[likesmountains 52]

30. Yes! We used to have that...butter and sugar sandwiches...and it

had to be on white bread...the soft kind that stuck to the roof of your mouth. I had forgotten all about that..wow!

[Tab]

22. It's been a while, but...

particularly when we were in Maine and picked fresh blueberries...

Get a bowl of freshly picked blueberries, washed (and still a little wet) and then tossed with sugar (water helps it stick).

Yum!

[Lorax]

23. Tortellini and Broccoli

Boil some frozen cheese tortellini, throw some broccoli florets into the same water. When all is cooked, drain then toss with olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Very yum.

[eleny]

24. Rasputin Stout

Okay - I sat here as long as I could but before you know it I was driving to Applejack's. They had the Rasputin! It's chilling. I'll have it next week with the roasted kielbasa dinner.

I thought the trip was going to be a bust. I walked the entire length of the store looking for it and finally found it in the very last group of shelves. (Applejack's is huge.) They have a number of stouts and other exotic stuff sold by the bottle down there. But this came in the four pack.

Here is one very funny review someone gave Rasputin Stout on the web-
"Steve: This is probably one of the more heralded stouts brewed in the US, and I think with good reason. What makes it more unusual is that it's an imperial stout, which isn't that common. Very malty, giving it a powerful sweetness, and it has a deep roasted coffee flavor. It's got 8.9% ABV, but don't worry, you'll sober up when you see the picture of Rasputin on the label. Man, he is one creepy bastard. Look at Rasputin, and then turn the bottle one way or the other, and I swear, the eyes follow you...Not even John Ashcroft gives me the paranoid willies like this label (begin Tommy Chong-like rant against the government in 3, 2, 1.....)."
http://www.tobp.com/review/beer.asp?t=815

[Stinky The Clown]

25. I'm not sure I agree with the 'sweet' part

But then, that's a relative term, I suppose. Malty ... to be sure. But I'm not so sure about the sweet.

Anyway, I'll be innerested in your comments since you're a fellow dark beer/stout lover.

[eleny]

28. I'm sure curious about it

I guess since it's stout, they sell it at room temp. Do you like it chilled?

[Stinky The Clown]

29. I take it out of the fridge an hour or so before I drink it.

So I'd guess I drink it at about 60 degrees.

Funnily enough, I drink soda that way, too. In late morning, while I'm still doing shots of espresso, I take a sody out of the fridge and just let it sit.

Cold dulls your taste buds. I just prefer my beverages from slightly below room temp to hot. I don't like ice cold anything.

[Warpy]

31. That's why mass produced commercial bear must be drunk

ice cold. Try drinking it warm, and you discover it's really just carbonated cat pee.

My homebrew was best at room temperature, and it had a kick like a mule.

[Stinky The Clown]

32. Cat pee .... or Bud Lite ........ no contest.

I'll take the cat pee. :)

American mass produced beer is not worth the glass it takes to make the bottle.

[Sparkly]

26. I still say it's a by-product of something else.

In the process of making something (motor oil?), this stuff drips out and they bottle it.

:puke:

[eleny]

27. Hee!

[fortyfeetunder]

33. thanks for the idea

invited the mother in law over for Christmas dinner, that is just the snack I need before dealing with her....especially the Old Rasputin!

However, when I am too lazy, I take a cup of frozen stir fry veggies, nuke 'em, then boil some water, cook some ramen noodles, nuke any leftover meat or eggs, mix together.

But if there are "more" of us...it's ramen noodles, bag of cole slaw, six ounces of meat, chopped onion, and some soy sauce and ginger to season. That's dinner, but they scarf it up like wild dogs....

[Warpy]

34. Thanks for reminding me

Out west we have a brand of ramen called Enchiloso. Their lime and chile variety is wonderful with clean out the fridge veggies.

I guess that's my main comfort food, these days. They were selling the stuff 8 for a buck last week. I stocked up.