Saturday, January 23, 2010

Chicken or Beef? The Post in Which I Pretend This is a Food Blog

Remember the rubber chicken banquet I attended Thursday night? Millions of you asked for a follow up on this year's chicken, so I thought I'd oblige. In two words? "Not bad." Well, not good--not really; but not nearly as horrible as it normally is--or I was hungrier. Here's a photo:


What they did this year was to stuff it with cheese. Really, you could probably put cheese on waxed paper and I'd like it. Oh, and the BIG thing? Bacon. Or panchetta. Or something like that--smoky tasting pork product. Yum! So, yeah, add cheese and bacon-ish ingredients to dried shoe leather (or chicken breast) and it's pretty tasty.

Tonight I had chicken again. I remembered about half way through dinner to take a photo--and then it came out so dark, it looked like I was dining in a cave rather than at a nice little restaurant called Ettore's. I ran it through Photoshop and lightened it up quite a bit but it's not the best photo.


Grilled chicken breast on a foccacia-type roll with some other good stuff crammed into it and pasta salad on the side. Gran met me after work and we had dinner together before hitting the highway south to meet up with Orcsmom Pam and No-Blog Colleen (and Colleen's daughter) at Starbucks for a bunch of quilting girl chat. Spending the evening with friends was a great way to start the weekend!

So, there's the chicken. Now I bet you're asking yourself, "Where's the Beef?," aren't you?

Last weekend I was cooking stuff--like that chicken soup I gave you the recipe for. I remember thinking that if only I had a pound of hamburger, I could make something or other. I checked the freezer--no hamburger. A few days later, when I was at the grocery store, I remembered I'd wanted hamburger--I didn't remember WHY I WANTED HAMBURGER, but I knew I wanted it, so I stuck it in my basket. I figured I'd remember what I was going to do with it at some point. Now, I really need to cook it tomorrow, but I'm still mystified. Gran and I even discussed it on the drive back to Sacramento. I know I wasn't going to make hamburgers because I don't have any buns. And I know I wasn't going to make chili because I just made chili a couple weeks ago and we still have some in the freezer. What would YOU do with a pound of ground beef when it's chilly outside and comfort food is on your mind? (Or what little is still LEFT of your mind?) Any assistance you may provide is greatly appreciated!

27 comments:

Jody said...

Well I am a southern gal through and through and my go to comfort food is bumps and gravy over toast. Just browned ground beef in white gravy with lots of pepper over toast. Yum!

Tammy said...

cheese burger soup, yum and total comfort food

Nancy Near Philadelphia said...

Oh, honey, there's hardly anything as comforting as spaghetti and meatballs or meat sauce. Unless it is Sloppy Joe. No brainer.

Anonymous said...

meatloaf

strawberrycream39 said...

I use ground beef a lot! Hamburger stroganoff, tacos, meatballs, meat sauce...any of those sound good?

Quilterbee said...

Spanish rice with the hamburger in it. Stuffed Cabbage. Vegetable soup with hamburger.

Robin said...

Well, I'm a vegetarian but I would use Crumbles to make veggie soup or spaghetti sauce. How about stromboli or calzone with lots of CHEESE?

Anonymous said...

Hamburger Soup or what about simply grilled patties with mash tators and gravey. Yum

Nancy said...

oh, comfort food....sloppy joes...

Or Pasta Fagoli soup like Olive Gardens....YUMMY

interesting...,my word verification is FORKISM... HA HA HA

Kim said...

I'd add some sausage and make meatloaf, or taco rice. I think I have some ideas for supper tonight now!!

Desi said...

Meatballs! Moosh it with leftover bread or breadcrumbs, onion, peppers, cheese, herbs, and spices. Roll into balls and brown the outsides. Add a thin sauce or broth and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. Good also with ground chicken or turkey.

Judy D in WA said...

Paula Deen's Taco soup!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/taco-soup-recipe/index.html

Anonymous said...

OK, I was going to say Hamburger Soup, but since that was already suggested, how about Salisbury Steak? Add Lipton's Dry Onion soup mix, pat out into patties, 1 cup of brown gravy, put it in a baking dish, into a 350 oven,serve with hot butter noodles or rice, yummy! What time is dinner?
Hugs!
Pam

Jocelyn said...

Was it the meatball soup that Pioneer Woman recently posted??

Sandy said...

Goulash with some tasty bread is always good comfort food on chilly evenings. With all these suggestions you will have to go buy more hamburger ;)

Rita said...

Meatloaf! My husband's favorite comfort food.

Unknown said...

It would hit the freezer in a freezer bag until I remembered. DH is a carnivore so I always have some in the freezer, but if I HAD to use it up probably pasta with meat sauce or meatballs? Or tacos. Any meat works for tacos.

dianne said...

i'm not gonna read the other comments till after i've commented cuz i actually KNOW COME ANSWERS TO THIS ONE!

sloppy joes ... spanish rice (i know - but i DO put hamburger in spanish rice and it's GOOD) ... cabbage pockets ... shepherd's pie ... meatballs

dianne said...

and now that i've read the other comments - tacos and goulash and meatloaf - okay, that's cheating ... but still

dianne said...

and you'd think that after i've shouted out I KNOW that i would check to see if i spelled SOME correctly - which i didn't ... i think i need another nap ... and some sloppy joes

Heidi said...

Ok.. I like the meatloaf suggestion. BUT.. I have the easiest sloppy joe recipe that is a must try.

Hamburger - cook with salt/pepper and onion
Then add 1 cup of ketchup and
1 cup of coke (diet works too)

That's it.. let it cook down for about 15 min or so and they are the best sloppy joes ever.

Just remember it's equal parts of coke and ketchup.. not a cup and a can like my brother did and then couldn't figure out why they didn't turn out.

p.s. I'm jealous of your girly get together.. I need some friends by me that can talk quilting!

Carol said...

my first thought was meatloaf, then bbq'd meatballs----to a pound of beef, add an egg, a few crumbled crackers, half cup grated cheese and 1/3 cup milk. Mix and make into meatballs and put in a sprayed baking dish--I make about 16 meatballs. Dribble your favorite bbq sauce over the meatballs and bake at 375 about 25 minutes. Turn over and bake about 1 minutes more. yum

kimland said...

cheeseburger soup...yum

Shirley--Knot-y Embroidery Lady said...

Well, the morning after the night before - good visiting with good people!
Got my cup of tea and reading all the comments and wondering what you have come up with??? For me- I am going to try Heidi's Sloppy Joe's recipe. It is less complicated then mine and I am intrigued by it.
Happy Weekend to yha!

Anonymous said...

Have not read all the comments, but if it has not been mentioned - Pioneer Woman's Comfort Meatball. Just made a batch for our dinner. Yum!!!!!!!!!!!

AnnieO said...

I would make hamburger soup, a family favorite: 1 lb gr beef, browned and drained. 1/2 cup (or more if you like) purple onion, 3 stalks chopped celery, 3 chopped carrots, one large potato, peeled and cut into 1" pieces. If I have zucchini I throw that in too. Add one large can diced tomatoes, 3 cups of water, 1-2 small cans of tomato sauce. Seasonings: garlic salt, ground pepper, some red pepper flakes, a tablespoon or two of A-1 sauce, a bay leaf or two. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20-30 mins until veggies are tender. I like to add a handful or two of Trader Joe's roasted frozen corn in the last 10 minutes of cooking, if I have it on hand. Ladle into soup bowls that have a tablespoon or two of parmesan cheese sprinkled in the bottom. Some crusty bread and its dinner!

Nancy said...

Goulash! Hamburg, diced tomatoes and some pasta...there ya go!