Jump to content
IGNORED

Maxwell 18: Creating at Least One Mini-Steve


Coconut Flan

Recommended Posts

35 minutes ago, molecule said:

One of my friends from the South has always said that for Thanksgiving, her family always had gravy over rice rather than over mashed potatoes. This sounded so weird to me, but she said that potatoes spoil too easily where she grew up and that this is common.

So I've been imagining this dish with potatoes instead of rice, and it seems slightly less icky to me. My mom used to throw together a sort of scalloped potato bake with leftover meat and gravy in it. However, my mom also served green beans, tossed salad, and squash with this to make sure we were eating more than starch, fat, and crumbs of meat.

I would have pulsed the biscuits in a food processor, stirred in melted butter, and sprinkled the crumbs over the top to make a kind of au gratin.

We're a family that loves leftovers. I make a double batch of most things so I can freeze or eat later in the week. Showing readers how to be creative in using leftovers is a great idea--but she really should have used something that looked appealing and pretty rather than brown starchy crap.

That's interesting.  I'm from the South, and I haven't heard that.  I've always been a potato person - I haven't heard of issues with them spoiling, unless they are not used for extended periods.  I think that my family would shoot me if I made gravy with rice instead of potatoes.  Oh well, to each his own.

Since many of the fundie families are large and money tends to be tight, I wonder if leftovers are really that common.  Wasn't there one person (Jill Rod?) who talked about one less turkey leg for the rest of the family if a new baby was born?  And I've seen some of Generation Cedar's / Kelly Crawford's meal plans - they were sparse, and I remember her mentioning that she has to lock her pantry to prevent her kids from snacking - once she fed her family of ten on a meal of one or two chicken breasts and wilted celery, and was proud of it.  I also remember reading through some comments on her blog once, and one person mentioned that to save money, that only the males in the family were allowed to eat meat - that men needed more protein than women.  That was so extreme that even some of the other commenters on her blog questioned the wisdom of that decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 603
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Note to self: stay the hell away from ham gravy because it is of a hue I have long called  “baby-shit brown.”  

I use a 9x9 pan to make casseroles that serve three of us for two meals, but I don’t use anywhere near the quantity of rice that they do*, and there is always a vegetable or salad on the side. 

*if they fill the pan 1/3 full of rice, then what appears to be a partial layer of meat—the photo they used looked pretty skimpy—then it’s pretty much all filler once the biscuit bits are thrown in.  

(Psst, Teri!  Ditch the garlic salt and buy/grow some real garlic. You have plenty of time on the schedule to mince it, and it will taste a lot better.  And throw in a dash of cayenne pepper; you have that on the spice rack next to the cinnamon. Remember?  you put it in the pie that time....)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That pan looks too small for six people. It looks like it’s a good size for about 3 people. They really have food issues don’t they? I imagine John is thrilled with the meals at his house now...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@molecule, rice and gravy is, indeed, a Southern thing.  Rice is almost never eaten plain.  Biscuits may top a casserole, but typically they would be unbaked dough covering the top. They bake in the oven along with everything else.  Where I come from ham gravy would usually made from the drippings of country ham combined with hot coffee.  It’s called red-eye gravy and it’s served with your breakfast ham, which is fried. Ham that is baked is usually not served with gravy.  That monstrosity looks absolutely vile!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, Mylanta! I finally went and looked at the blog for this casserole. It is all kinds of wrong.

First of all, the size. That is NOT enough food for six adults.

Secondly, the quantity of meat. NOT enough.

Then, plenty, way too much, rice. Of course, that and the biscuits on top (another questionable decision) are the filler which keeps these people from crying in the night from hunger.

And ham gravy? All I can think is salt, salt, salt.

Color? Unappetizing in the extreme..

Taste? I can't imagine. Ham, spareribs, garlic, and parmesan cheese?

It might have been rescued with some vegetables. Or potatoes. or something. I'm not that imaginative a cook, but I would never have put that together and tried to feed my family!

And inquiring minds want to know. When the Maxwells have spare ribs, how many does each person get?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's what I don't understand. 

They are doing a series on leftovers.....why?

How about doing a series on meal planning and using your regular recipes? 

Leftovers is just odd. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they had to use up *some* of those leftovers...fine.  Throw out the gravy and biscuits.  Stirfry the rice and pork with sesame oil and soy sauce, then add egg and green onion or regular onion and carrots or whatever vegetables you have lying around.  It's no more expensive and would taste a lot better than that shite.  

Or, you know, keep the biscuits and give everybody a half biscuit along with their fried rice.  Don't want to make an idol of biscuits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, LilMissMetaphor said:

If they had to use up *some* of those leftovers...fine.  Throw out the gravy and biscuits.  Stirfry the rice and pork with sesame oil and soy sauce, then add egg and green onion or regular onion and carrots or whatever vegetables you have lying around.  It's no more expensive and would taste a lot better than that shite.  

Or, you know, keep the biscuits and give everybody a half biscuit along with their fried rice.  Don't want to make an idol of biscuits.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the Maxwells probably don’t use a whole lot of sesame oil. But I make homemade fried rice fairly often and it is delicious, and a great way to use day old rice.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When our kids were home, I would have made an eight by eight casserole IF I was not planning leftovers. There were four of us at the time. I almost always made nine by thirteen casserols because 1) I wanted my family to know there was plenty and 2) I liked a few leftovers for my lunches. 

I don't think the casserole looks at all appetizing and I can think of a dozen different ways I would have used those leftovers. In fact, it is one pf my favorite things to do - create something interesting with leftovers. But, I feel bad for Anna.  It's not like she has acess to fresh cooking ideas. She can't watch The Food Network or Top Chef. Is she allowed to look at Pinterest? Buy cooking magazines?  There are some great recipe websites that I use.  Are they too sinful for Anna's sheltered eyes? 

Steve and Teri think their kids are oh so talented and smart. Imagine what they could do if they were actually allowed to pursue their interests and...I don't know...LEARN something new. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, anjulibai said:

Here's what I don't understand. 

They are doing a series on leftovers.....why?

Maybe this is intended as a "waste not, want not" lesson...though who would want that?  Probably better that the portion sizes are small.

I'm curious why they had leftovers to begin with.  Thought everything was managed to the millimeter and milligram in Chez Maxwell.  Is there a spreadsheet that hasn't been updated since John left?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eh, I'd eat that casserole but I grew up on tater tot hot dish, regular hot dish (ground beef, noodles, tomato soup), and mushroom gravy (cream of mushroom) and meatballs. Very mid-west. I would've skipped the parm and biscuits and added cheddar cheese. Sort of like the KFC famous bowls if you sub rice for potatoes. Sort of.

Thankfully I cook much healthier meals for my family. Tonight it'll be jasmine rice and shrimp with lots of veggies. We don't follow any OT dietary laws so we do eat shrimp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 4:29 PM, theologygeek said:

Wait...No one died?  I thought her friend died or something.  I also wondered why he was on the highway with a bike, why he changed lanes on the highway with a bike, and why he did not stay on the right hand side. 

Sarah doesn't know that either, apparently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eh, they had leftovers that she didn't want to waste. In terms of people suggesting other things that could have been made with the leftover items, the Maxwells are about as vanilla and white bread America as you get. Stir fry, surely you jest. They all look basically healthy, so this is not a Maxhell Hill that I'd be willing to die on-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Eh, they had leftovers that she didn't want to waste. In terms of people suggesting other things that could have been made with the leftover items, the Maxwells are about as vanilla and white bread America as you get. Stir fry, surely you jest. They all look basically healthy, so this is not a Maxhell Hill that I'd be willing to die on-

Fair enough. But the amount of time they kept the pork is really in the danger zone for meat. That’s my biggest problem here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That post should be titled "The Dummies Guide To Food Poisoning"  Take cooked pork from "a couple of days ago."  (2 days?  3 days?)  Put it in a casserole dish and keep it in the fridge for two more days.  Bonus points if the ham gravy has milk or cream in it.  Teri honey, don't let cooked pork stay in the fridge more than three days. 

There are three people left in my house (no husband here) and an 8x8 casserole dish is too small for us.  Then again, we're Italian.  My kids can eat.  I am craving bacon, so tonight we're having bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fruit salad.  Tomorrow I'm making chicken, homemade mac and cheese, and a veggie.  The mac and cheese casserole dish is bigger than 8x8 and that's just for the side dish. 

She should have done a stir fry with the pork or bbq pork sandwiches.  That slop is disgusting. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Their leftovers have never been particularly attractive. I remember they did a post about a dish that was bits of leftover meat, pasta shells and broccoli, again topped with cheese. That didn't look particularly filling either. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spoiler

Sorry, no spoiler - I can't seem to remove this and can't work out how to write what I really want to!

Like @Dandruff I'm amazed that the Maxwells ever cook enough food to have leftovers! How does that even happen with the small portions they provide?

We (my four siblings and I) grew up with parents who could both cook, and Dad often did so when Mum was due home from work late. One of his skills was making what he called 'concoction' ... using up whatever was available and any leftovers (my parents were children of the depression and WW2). NONE of Dad's concoctions was ever as bad as that mess that Teri made.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, usmcmom said:

When our kids were home, I would have made an eight by eight casserole IF I was not planning leftovers. There were four of us at the time. I almost always made nine by thirteen casserols because 1) I wanted my family to know there was plenty and 2) I liked a few leftovers for my lunches. 

I don't think the casserole looks at all appetizing and I can think of a dozen different ways I would have used those leftovers. In fact, it is one pf my favorite things to do - create something interesting with leftovers. But, I feel bad for Anna.  It's not like she has acess to fresh cooking ideas. She can't watch The Food Network or Top Chef. Is she allowed to look at Pinterest? Buy cooking magazines?  There are some great recipe websites that I use.  Are they too sinful for Anna's sheltered eyes? 

Steve and Teri think their kids are oh so talented and smart. Imagine what they could do if they were actually allowed to pursue their interests and...I don't know...LEARN something new. 

Ooh or Chopped - the best show ever for coming up with ways to use a few really random ingredients! That'd be great if they'd let Anna watch that!


One of my friends used to watch this with (especially the youngest of) her kids.  Eventually on a rainy day trying to fill time, discovered this was became the favorite thing for the kids to do as 'games' for one another and so they'll just do it spur of the moment sometimes. And both the boys are exceptional cooks now because they can create meals out of anything and incredible sauces.

And their whole family even with the now married w/ families of their own older kids (or as the goofy Maxwells would say, "extended family" d oes annual all family Chopped competition where for the mom's birthday she goes to the store and picks out the (typically very off-the-wall/unusual) ingredients for each round, and she serves as main judge, and the rest all cook (but then they also do assign points to the other participants each round - so sort of like a twist on the Chopped After Hours Judge Rounds where they all try the food the others make and comment). They LOVE it...and I love being invited for meals at their house because they are always creative just because of the influence of years of their Chopped 'games!'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, gameofunbeknowns said:

Fair enough. But the amount of time they kept the pork is really in the danger zone for meat. That’s my biggest problem here.

If my elderly parents were eating five day old pork, I would 1) start crying 2) think they had a financial hardship that they didn't tell me about 3) run to the store and go food shopping for them, and 4) give them money. 

Either the Maxwells are broke or they are just stupid.  Hopefully they are just stupid because I would feel terrible if I called a poor person's food "slop." 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would have made rice pudding with the rice.     I do this by look and feel, but beat about 4 - 6 eggs and 2 cups milk or half and half, with a teaspoon of vanilla, and 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar - either brown or white and add rice, a couple of cups so its still liquid, but 3/4 rice to milk.  Add ground cinnamon to taste.  It can be baked at 350 until firm, stirring once or twice to distribute the rice.   Maybe 30 to 45 minutes.  I cover for the first half hour or so and then leave uncovered for the rest of the baking time.  You can add raisins to the mix before baking.  It's a custard style instead of a traditional pudding.  Tastes great hot out of the oven with Cool Whip or Vanilla Ice cream.   You can also microwave it, I use the defrost setting until it's firm but I like to brown a top a little in the oven once it's cooked.  

 

 

I would feed the leftover meat to the cat or the dog, a small amount minced up with their regular food, or toss it in the garbage if it was leftover for more than a day or two.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Lady Grass Lake said:

I would have made rice pudding with the rice.     I do this by look and feel, but beat about 4 - 6 eggs and 2 cups milk or half and half, with a teaspoon of vanilla, and 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar - either brown or white and add rice, a couple of cups so its still liquid, but 3/4 rice to milk.  Add ground cinnamon to taste.  It can be baked at 350 until firm, stirring once or twice to distribute the rice.   Maybe 30 to 45 minutes.  I cover for the first half hour or so and then leave uncovered for the rest of the baking time.  You can add raisins to the mix before baking.  It's a custard style instead of a traditional pudding.  Tastes great hot out of the oven with Cool Whip or Vanilla Ice cream.   You can also microwave it, I use the defrost setting until it's firm but I like to brown a top a little in the oven once it's cooked.  

 

 

I would feed the leftover meat to the cat or the dog, a small amount minced up with their regular food, or toss it in the garbage if it was leftover for more than a day or two.  

Italian rice balls are great with leftover rice.  They are one of the best things on earth. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, gameofunbeknowns said:

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the Maxwells probably don’t use a whole lot of sesame oil. But I make homemade fried rice fairly often and it is delicious, and a great way to use day old rice.

 

Sesame oil and tv, devils both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Coconut Flan locked this topic

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.