Category Archives: Oddballs

Threefer Breakfast

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Yet another Tik-Tok I recreated before a video caught my eye. I have all of the equipment and all of the materials, and we love all of these foods, so why not, right?

This one I’m calling The Threefer Breakfast. It’s a waffle that’s been pan fried in some pancake batter on one side, and pan fried again in an omelette mixture on the other side. It sounds complicated and a lot of work, but it’s not. It went faster than I thought it would, and I used the waffle batter for the pancakes after I thinned it out a bit with milk.

  1. Make you waffle batter as your iron heats up. Pour it into the machine to start it.
  2. Make your omelette mixture. Set aside. Heat up a frying pan on a moderate heat.
  3. Remove the cooked waffles as they finish and rest them on a wire rack while heating some oil in the pan.
  4. Add 1 tbsp of milk to the waffle batter and whisk together to thin out the batter.
  5. Ladle one large scoop into the frying pan, tilt the pan to spread batter out, and top it with a waffle.
  6. After the pancake side fries up in a few mins, rest it back on the rack and add a bit more oil to the pan to heat up.
  7. Pour half the omelette mix into the frying pan and lay the pancake waffle down on top, waffle pocket side down (pancake side up).

That’s all that is involved. I was working on this creation and didn’t get time to take pics of the process but it’s not unlike a battering station as you bread and fry foods. Pick up, dip, drip off excess, drop over the oil. Bing-bang-boom.

Serve with syrup and whipped cream. If you remember and liked the McD’s full breakfast that came in a white Styrofoam container with baby butters and an OJ, you will like this throwback feeling as you eat your Threefer. Makes two.

If you want to make my waffle batter, you can search for the recipe on this blog, and double it.

Smash Taco Burgers

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I watched a few Tik-Tok videos on these little Smash Taco hybrids since it’s all the rage this week, and they looked easy enough. Of course these videos tend to skip a lot of helpful information for the platform format that gets them the most view. Views = impressions, impressions = reach, and reach = virality. And somewhere a long that string is a spot for monetizing the content. But, fear not – I’ve got you covered.

On my journey to make some at home, I quickly discovered the content creators either use extra lean ground meat, resulting in far less grease (but also far less flavour) than my preferred medium ground beef. I don’t understand anyone eating lean and extra lean beef. Why not eat cardboard instead? It would taste about the same IMO.

Anyway, if you made these smash tacos from start to finish without stopping or resting the food, you will end up with a soggy, greasy, unpleasant final product. But, by cooking and then resting the meat on the tortilla, AND wiping out the grease of out your pan, you will notice the meat and tortilla will feel less moist/soggy as you eat it. The other side of the tortilla will them crisp up nicely in the pan better. I burned a few of these tacos in my first test run, but I nailed them in the second test run by keeping the pan clean and at a slightly lower temp in the last stage.

TIP: Season your meat well before you mix it up and divide them into the ~2 oz balls.

TIP: Use a square of parchment over top of the ball when smashing them down with whatever tamping instrument you have on hand all over one side of the tortilla. (I have the tamper that came with my slider pan.) I like to pick up the paper square and move it where I wanted to flatten the meat, and keep doing that until the meat is thin and evenly spread out.

TIP: Put the taco in the bare pan smashed out meat side down. I gave each one about three mins with me pushing them down into the pan for some lovely charred edges.

TIP: Let each taco REST on a wire rack face up for about 3-5 mins while you cook the meat side of any other smash tacos you’re making. REST that damn meat, people!

After you finish cooking the last smash taco on the meat side down, lay the first rested taco one back down into the pan, meat side up. Lay a slice or two of cheese on top at this point, drop the heat a bit, and cover it. Trust me.

It only needs about 1-2 mins to get gooey. Rest the smash tacos back on the wire rack for another 3-5 mins as you top them all with things like pickle slices, special sauce, caramelized onions, lettuce, etc. Whatever you like.

Resist the urge to fold them too early to serve them. The liquids will leak out of the corners instead of redistributing themselves in the meat, the cheese, the toppings, and tortilla. Patience will reward you when you wait to dig in.

I didn’t wait long enough, and there was grease and special sauce left on my plate, whereas the husband’s was made first and rested longer, and well, his plate was practically spotless when we finished eating.

 

Smash BigMac Quesadilla & Seasoned Fries

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We were going to smoke some ribs on the BBQ but time got away from us today and it’s about to rain, so switch of plans for dinner tonight.

I have been thinking about these small tortilla smash burger tacos, but I only have one large tortilla left, so I’m planning to make a quesadilla version for two. I bought some medium ground beef that I’ll season with S&P, garlic powder, and mince some onion into the mix.

Here is the classic Big Mac sauce I’ll be using. I’m renaming it for this meal idea.

Smash Mac Sauce:
1 C Hellman’s Mayo (I have no idea why this makes it taste better but it does)
2 Tbsp: Vlasic’s Relish / White Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1 Tea: Regular Paprika / Garlic Powder / Onion Powder

Garlic ‘Pasketti & Balls Bread

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My husband’s loves this spin on a childhood fave food. It consists of a hollowed out bread loaf that’s been brushed with garlic butter, topped with cheese and spaghetti & meatballs. I put more cheese on top and bake it for 10 mins at 350*F. I let it cook for 10 mins, pulled it to rest 10 mins, and then cut it into slices to serve.

Garlic ‘Pasketti & Balls Bread:
1″ Bundle of Spaghetti
Pasta Sauce, of choice
Frozen Meatballs, of choice
Half Bread Loaf, cut lengthwise and middle mostly hollowed out
Garlic Butter
1/2 C Marble Cheese, either slices or grated, or both
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese, grated

Serves two.

Hollow out the bread and brush the cavity with the garlic butter. Lay down half the marble cheese and top it with half of the parm cheese. Roll the cooked pasta in the pot with the hot sauce and balls. (I cut the meatballs in half to make eating them easier.)

Carefully lay the spaghetti & balls over the cheeses and top with more meatballs. Push it down as you add more to condense it and really get that hot sauce melting the cheese to trap the spaghetti in place. Top with the last of the cheeses, and bake on a sheet pan.

It’s a real challenge to eat this without losing any of the balls or strands of the spaghetti, but that only makes it more fun to eat on some random night when you need something fast to make and filling to consume.

Mason Jar Ice Creams

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This morning I made an ice cream base in my blender and dumped it into two mason jars and added some crushed up chocolate covered pretzels and some chocolate covered peanuts. I stuffed them into the big freezer and went to work.

The second I got home, I took those jars out and let them come up to room temp a bit while we ate lunch. I like this blend. I love being able to use my high-speed blender to blitz the base together, but I hated scooping it out. Ugh. That is my only complaint.

Give this very creamy ice cream a go if are in a hurry. It freezes perfectly, and softens quickly enough to have whenever you like.

I Made Natural Peanut Butter!

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Yes, I did! Just like the pioneers! (And the pilgrims, I’m sure.)

So easy, so fast, and you can fully control the taste using salt, oil type, and the peanuts you choose to use.

I used: 1 bag of Unsalted Roasted Peanuts / 3-4 tbsp Oil (I chose veg) / 1/4 tea salt. I threw it all into my high-speed blender and let it go.

My pretty blender. I nicknamed her She Hulk. For the obvious reason.

My pretty blender. I nicknamed her She Hulk. For the obvious reason.

My first attempt with a conservative two tablespoons of veg oil produced a lovely chunky mix, but it was barely spread consistency so I added another tablespoon. That got me a lovely lumpy consistency but I wanted to see what would happen if I added another half tablespoon more of oil and let ‘er rip a full minute.

This! This what I got. I’m am very happy. This is how I love my natural peanut butter. This is the spread I love to use at home. I have long ditched the sugary Kraft stuff my husband refuses to give up. He rarely eats PB & J, but when he does, he gets cranky when there isn’t any in the pantry. I married a child. 🙂

Anyhooch, give this a go if you’re into natural peanut butter like I am, and you also hate the big sticker price of it in grocery stores and bulk food stores. The wild pricing of any commercial peanut butter products is teetering on being a criminal situation. :-\

Low-Carb Pasta Alternative

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Ok, so I found this recipe link for a Low-Carb Pasta Alternative buried in my old Pinterest boards. In a board I haven’t looked at in about six or more years. Otherwise, I would have suggested this long ago.

Use that bagged slaw we use for stir-fries. It’s quite versatile. Anyway, if you’re missing pasta in sauce, this might be up your alley, E.

Easy Breakfast Egg Quesadilla

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I found this idea in a Tik-Tok video several months ago, and I have been rocking it pretty steady since. I don’t seem to get tired of it much. Somedays I make a breakfast bowl of ramen instead, but that’s on my days off when I have more time to clean out the fridge for ramen inclusions.

The idea is fairly straightforward and easy. One egg, beaten with seasonings of your choice (S&P/RHCP flakes/Onion Powder is a good combo), poured into to a hot pan with a bit of oil. Tilt the pan so it runs thin over most of the bottom of the pan. As the bottom sets to white, top the uncooked egg top with a tortilla or naan bread. Push it down a bit so the egg sticks to it.

Wait about 30-45 seconds, and then pinch the bread as you pick it up with the attached egg. Flip it over. Here’s where it get interesting.

Depending on what I have in my fridge, I will lay down some cheese grate or a broken up slice of cheese over one side. I top that with something like thin sliced deli meat or leftover chicken I chop fine.

Fold the tortilla or naan over and move the half moon into the middle of the pan. Push down so the meat melts into the cheese. After 30 seconds, kill the heat and flip the quesadilla to finish cooking for another 15 seconds.

Move it over to plate and cut it into 3 or 4 triangle portions. I typically squirt some Ranch or other dip sauce the size of two quarters on the plate for dipping. This fills me up for a few hours due to the three protein sources. I don’t need to go crazy with the portions either.

Enjoy.

DIY Butter Making

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I am really into making various dairy products from one carton of dairy. Given the rising prices (two increases this year alone!) of dairy across the board, it made sense to me to start making my own butter, cream cheese, and soft mozza cheese. All of these are staples in our fridge.

First up, buttah! Made in my KitchenAid mixer. Just like the pioneers did. Ahem. 🙂

The process of making butter is simply whisking (or churning) the cream long enough with enough force to separate the cream’s fat solids from the whey liquid.

And before you ask, yes I lightly salted the butter. Tastes so good. Can’t wait it use it. *swoon*

In a nutshell, this is what I did:
1. Ran 1 cup of 35% whipping cream in my mixer machine with the whisk attachment on a very high speed for about 8 mins. I scrapped the bowl down once before finishing up.
2. I dumped the butter mix into a mesh strainer over a bowl. I pushed the butter down into the mesh but quickly realised I should have put a cheese cloth between the butter and the strainer, so I gloved up and started squeezing it in my hands.
3. While still holding the butter lump in my hand, I moved it around in a bowl of cold filtered water to clean out that last of the whey liquids before squeezing it dry again. I had to be gentle because the butter was so soft at this stage. It kept trying to ooze out between my fingers, so I wrapped the lump of gold up in some Bounty. That helped.
4. While holding the butter in my gloved hand, I shook some salt on the blob and on my glove, and then proceeded to massage/knead the two together. I did a quick taste test, and then wrapped it in plastic film.
5. I formed it into a small brick and tucked it in the fridge so it can firm up.

In the end, this is what I was left with:

It weights 74g, and it measures out to 5″ x 3 1/4″ x 1 1/4″. All from 1 cup of cream and a bit of salt + time. This is good. I will do this more in future.

We don’t normally use a lot of butter day to day, so there is always the worry that our butter would go rancid in the fridge before we get around to using it up since I don’t do a lot of baking anymore. This will be a good money saver (hella expensive even for the low-end store butters) and a very real time saver (I typically wait for butter to go on sale, buy a few bricks, and store it in the freezer. I would then have to wait for it to thaw in the fridge over night, and then again on the counter as it comes up to room temp to use it.)

I can make a small batch in about 10 mins, and have it ready to use in a few more mins should I need it to be soft, or butter in 30 mins should it need to be firm. I hate that I didn’t try this years ago. Grr.

And now I finally have some pretty handmade butter to put in my late MIL’s cute glass butter dish with this cute cow embedded in the design.