Duggar recipes

[AnnieC 305]

I believe the Duggars were never educated on healthy cooking or buying fresh. It's probably hard to make meals from scratch anyway given their large number. The cost of fresh produce also makes processed stuff enticing. Then there's the lack of nutrition education, which, given their ignorance of so much other things, is not surprising. I particularly hate how the Duggars (and the general American public) treats eating vegetables like eating medicine. I love my veggies. I feel unwell if I don't get a daily, large dose of it. But even my hubby, who comes from an educated household and is a DOCTOR treats his veggies like castor oil. I guess it stems from eating not enough fresh produce as a child, you just can't acquire a taste for it as an adult. How sad that the Duggars are raising their hoard of children to think food is from a can and it has to have a weeks' worth of sodium and fat in order to be filling. These kids will hope Obamacare is still around in about 40 years because they'll all end up with diabetes and hypertension the way they're eating!

I call bullshit on that one. Not on you, but on that you can't make meals from scratch with that many kids. Given the husband's wonky schedule we eat at different times most of the week which for us means making things we can re-heat when we want supper. But we won't do processed foods and we love our veggies, so I routinely cook healthy, veggie laden soups and casseroles that will make up to ten servings. It wouldn't be an issue to double them, and get it all in and out in an hour.

And while we're at it, back in the day my Grandmother was a cook at a local high school. And I don't mean an heat-and-eat lunch lady like they have now, she cooked, with fresh ingredients, for 300 kids a day. Her pasta sauce is still famous in town. Her sister did the same at the middle school.

So what makes the Duggar's different? I'll tell you. Staff.

Every time someone tells DimBulb that he has too many kids he returns the thought-stopping cliche "which ones do you want me to get rid of?" Or "Which ones do you want me to kill off?" And while you try to re-boot because of course you didn't mean you want him to kill his kids he moves on like he won the argument.

No, they have exactly the number of children they want to have, what they don't have are enough adults in that house.

http://daycare.com/arkansas/

According to Arkansas state standards there should be one adult for every six kids, since there's nearly always an infant around. (And don't say family vs. center, when you have that many kids you're a center, even if they are all related.) Josie really ought to have her own full-time care giver at this point. And you can't count the sister slaves, they don't have a HS diploma or a GED. So that makes four adults that should be in that house looking after that many kids. Figure Michelle has Josie, all right, but JB is working all day, and the sister slaves aren't qualified, that leaves Grandma? Is she even there full time?

He needs to stick a crowbar in his wallet and hire a full time nanny, a cook and a tutor for the older ones. And a housekeeper wouldn't be amiss so the older kids could study more and clean up less. Someone dedicated to just cooking, with the training and the background in nutrition, could feel those kids a healthy diet on a tighter budget than what they're on currently.

Then maybe the sister slaves could move on with their lives and go where the Lord leads them, even if only to their own homes and their own families

But Jim Bob is too tight to hire help for his brood and so his children must suffer for it.

[Coconut Flan]

This thread makes me realize what a food snob I am.

In general I'm not a food snob or at least don't think of myself that way, but there is no way I'll eat most of the Duggar recipes. They put things on there that I've never seen. I do have to say that when we visit relatives in Arkansas, it's a cultural shift as far as food goes. One of my daughters is vegan. We have to go shop and prepare 90% of her food at home. I don't think I've ever bought canned green beans and I know I've never bought canned peas.

The Duggar roll recipe is quite tasty, but it's a once a year or every two years thing for us. Way too much butter in there to have very often. I think that's the only recipe they list that I've made and they got that one from someone else.

[Arete]

.....................................................................................................................................

So what makes the Duggar's different? I'll tell you. Staff..................................................................................................

According to Arkansas state standards there should be one adult for every six kids, since there's nearly always an infant around. (And don't say family vs. center, when you have that many kids you're a center, even if they are all related.)

But Jim Bob is too tight to hire help for his brood and so his children must suffer for it.

QFT

[pomology]

Food snob in regards to the Duggars? Or food snob in regards to FJ food choices?!

I'm a total food snob, but I don't take it to mean that food has to be complicated or fancy (although when I have a kitchen again I plan on cooking some fancy things again!)

I mean it as in terms of food can be good and simple but to have a snobbish approach in terms of not eating pure junk.

Personally the whole "put cream soup or mayo" in everything makes me ill. I will admit that I find a few of the Duggar's recipes to seem okay. I'm a fan of quick pickles for instance. And I checked out the Pioneer woman after her being mentioned here. While most of her recipes seemed to be outside of my taste I was intrigued by her making iced coffee concentrate with just cold water, coffee grounds and time. WIth house renovations and home work piling up I've taken on the unfortunate habit of drinking iced coffee... often times at 4 dollars a serving!

Food snob in regards to the Duggars, mostly. I don't need everything to be fancy or whatever. But, I'm very picky and the foods I tend to eat err on the side of fresh vegetables and tofu. The idea of pouring soups on things or fake cheese or drowning vegetables in bacon or sugar (yeah, there's a recipe on the Duggars website that put bacon AND brown sugar in a green bean dish) just kind of makes me want to throw up.

Like, for me, getting older and expanding the foods I ate meant that I learned to eat the kinds of food most picky children do eat like peanut butter sandwiches. I've always eaten a variety of vegetables, whole grains, ethnic foods etc. I still find fast food and Duggar-style food to be absolutely revolting.

I'm perfectly happy to just eat something simple like rice with melted cheese, as long as it's real cheese.

[Jessica]

I call bullshit on that one. Not on you, but on that you can't make meals from scratch with that many kids.

The amount of kids they have should make food prep easier. Make it assembly-line style. It takes minutes to make beans in a crock pot (not including cook time, obviously). When the beans are finished, set the crock pot out. Set out a bag of shredded cheese, some warm tortillas, a few diced avocados, bell peppers, tomatoes, and torn up lettuce. Healthy dinner with very little effort. The little ones can help with getting the veggies ready and setting out plates and serving utensils.

Even casseroles can be made healthy. I make a good one with sliced up zucchini and onions. Instead of a creamy base, it's held together with eggs and a little cheese so there's a good amount of protein in it. Takes less than 10 minutes (including chopping and mixing spices into the egg/cheese/milk mixture) to make a big 9x13" tray. They could make two 9x13 trays and toast some bread. and call it good. No canned crap needed.

[NerdyHil]

I really think the "Dump, mix, bake" method of cooking is now seen as real home cooking. Growing up, I think that was most of our sauces and soups were from a can. It also seems like using all the processed canned crap in all of the Duggar recipes is just a way to stretch what little recognizable food there is in a meal. I think every casserole I ate at church or family functions growing up was based in some sort of cream of hork soup, and that's how I learned to cook. It took health issues with myself and the husband to really change how we eat. Now, we've been told we eat weird stuff. So, I really think that the Duggar idea of wholesome, family friendly food shown in their collection of recipes is based in the idea of the wonders of convenience foods from the '50's, and this is what has been taught to the J'slaves and so forth. We've seen Michelle's wonder at that food conference about how fresh vegetables can taste good.

[Kitty]

I really think the "Dump, mix, bake" method of cooking is now seen as real home cooking. Growing up, I think that was most of our sauces and soups were from a can. It also seems like using all the processed canned crap in all of the Duggar recipes is just a way to stretch what little recognizable food there is in a meal. I think every casserole I ate at church or family functions growing up was based in some sort of cream of hork soup, and that's how I learned to cook. It took health issues with myself and the husband to really change how we eat. Now, we've been told we eat weird stuff. So, I really think that the Duggar idea of wholesome, family friendly food shown in their collection of recipes is based in the idea of the wonders of convenience foods from the '50's, and this is what has been taught to the J'slaves and so forth. We've seen Michelle's wonder at that food conference about how fresh vegetables can taste good.

This, and it's especially true if you're in the south, like the Duggars. Though green bean casserole made with cream of something soup is a staple of every Ohioan holiday dinner...

I quit eating Campbell's soup early in college, it was too salty for it to possibly be edible-- and this was the soup-in-a-can. The soup offered at the uni's dining hall was quite a bit better. I can't eat processed crap anymore, ironically because I started eating properly cooked stuff at uni. Yes, I ate better in college than at home, wtf? but the dining hall at least had a salad bar available. I live with my boyfriend who eats much how the Duggars do, and it's difficult because that kind of diet makes me very ill for DAYS. Living off Taco Bell and McD's would probably be better for my health.

[hapamama]

It's a lot cheaper to make a "cream sauce" from scratch when you need to make a large batch than it is to open cans of cream of wtf soup. It's not rocket science.

[Katydid]

Qualifier: I am not a food snob, but even I think Chickenetti sounds disgusting, as does barbecue tuna (wtf?), and any kind of fake pizza that involves spreading tomato sauce on bread or tortillas.

I grew up eating tomato sauce & cheese on bagels. It's actually pretty darn good, and something that a latchkey kid could make in the microwave pretty easily.

Some of our other latchkey kid meals were not quite so appealing... Rice with ketchup *shudder*

[shrewlu]

Even casseroles can be made healthy. I make a good one with sliced up zucchini and onions. Instead of a creamy base, it's held together with eggs and a little cheese so there's a good amount of protein in it. Takes less than 10 minutes (including chopping and mixing spices into the egg/cheese/milk mixture) to make a big 9x13" tray. They could make two 9x13 trays and toast some bread. and call it good. No canned crap needed.

Mind sharing the recipe? That sounds delicious! :drool:

[19 dogs and counting]

We made tatertot casserole this weekend. It wasn't very good and we were really baked. It was way too salty and tasted overly processed even for a caker recipe. My husband renamed it "Noam Chomsky's Corporate Carbohydrate Suprise."

[synchroswimr]

We made tatertot casserole this weekend. It wasn't very good and we were really baked. It was way too salty and tasted overly processed even for a caker recipe. My husband renamed it "Noam Chomsky's Corporate Carbohydrate Suprise."

Did you use the Duggar recipe? Because that looks nasty. My MIL's recipe is much better. Still heart attack on a spoon, but great comfort food

[Guest Anonymous]

What is a tater tot? Is it like a potato croquette? I need details (and possibly photographs). TIA.

[Naga Viper]

What is a tater tot? Is it like a potato croquette? I need details (and possibly photographs). TIA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tater_Tots

Okay as an occasional indulgence, not something you'd want as a regular part of any diet, let alone thrown in with a crap-ton of iffy casserole ingredients.

[jaynie]

I don't think I'm a food snob and I'm not opposed to eating badly once in a while, but some of these recipes make me feel faintly ill. If I eat stuff like this I feel awful afterwards, physically and mentally, usually for ages. I guess the Duggars are used to it, but I can't imagine their bodies (including minds) are in prime condition.

I have made my own chicken stock before, and now hate having to use the canned stuff, but it can be inconvenient to make your own if you don't have enough storage space or the right pots and pans. What gets me, though, is how *salty* the store-bought stuff is. If I cook anything with it I have to be careful not to add anything else that contains salt.

I am going to blame putting Ireland under the UK umbrella in the post on my lack of caffeine before typing this morning. :oops: If some of my childhood friends saw that, I would have my "Irish For the Day" revoked for the next 5 St. Patrick's Day celebrations. :shock:

I once sat behind someone in a lecture theatre on St. Patrick's Day who was going on and on about how proud he was to be Irish and how he loved the history and culture of his ancestory and how Ireland was "the best part of England." No joke. I tell this story to fellow Canadians and they're mildly amused -- I tell it to people in Britain and they recoil in horror.

[B5SnowDog]

I once sat behind someone in a lecture theatre on St. Patrick's Day who was going on and on about how proud he was to be Irish and how he loved the history and culture of his ancestory and how Ireland was "the best part of England." No joke. I tell this story to fellow Canadians and they're mildly amused -- I tell it to people in Britain and they recoil in horror.

Someone once explained it to me, tell me if I've got it - England is the country, Great Britain is the island containing the countries of England, Scotland, and Wales, and the UK is Great Britain plus Northern Ireland?

[Guest Anonymous]

The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and Northern Ireland. In terms of UN recognition, and what we have on our passports, UK is the country. The constituent nations of the UK have varying levels of devolved power (Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, etc.). The British Isles are the islands including Great Britain and Ireland (and others).

ETA: This is just to the best of my memory. Feel free to correct.

[B5SnowDog]

Thanks for the info. :-)

[Daisy4]

The UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and Northern Ireland. In terms of UN recognition, and what we have on our passports, UK is the country. The constituent nations of the UK have varying levels of devolved power (Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, etc.). The British Isles are the islands including Great Britain and Ireland (and others).

ETA: This is just to the best of my memory. Feel free to correct.

I think that's legally correct, although most Irish people, in my experience, aren't big fans of the term "British Isles". (This is someone who calls a friend's dog a "western European bulldog" :)

Since I was born in the Republic of Ireland, that's what my passport says, there is no reference whatsoever to the UK. I think people in Northern Ireland can choose to have a Republic of Ireland passport if they want.

Additionally, the term Ireland referring to the island of Ireland does include both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

[BlondeAgent007]

tater tots are fucking delicious.. i will not argue that. As a public school child who ate school lunch, i liked them. they got repititious and not as interesting as time went by. i think when i was going to school, the focus on "what is cheap" got shmushed into "what kids will eat" and eventually got blacklisted into "what all kids will eat", which isn't true. kids with good parental examples will eat food they see their parents eat. What I worry about is kids that don't see that. And in our current culture, being nice to a homeless person is buying them a mcd's meal. its hard to teach people to have a cultured palate when many of them have never had a fresh fruit or veg in their life

[Arete]

Additionally, the term Ireland referring to the island of Ireland does include both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

To people I grew up with Northern Ireland is part of the Republic of Ireland, they just don't realize it yet. :whistle:

[Guest Anonymous]

I was thinking of doing the Duggar cooking challenge (would be fun to see how my children react, because in general they love crap food, the forbidden fruit) but I hesitated because it would be soooo expensive. The way they eat costs more than eating healthy even though I am sure they think that they are saving money. And then someone else beat me to it--good thing, because my kids would be asking for TTC for months after tasting it.

Is there a cooking challenge? I don't know you could pay me to eat all their food. There's the Duggarnots blog where someone's doing it but I'd be queasy.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think that's legally correct, although most Irish people, in my experience, aren't big fans of the term "British Isles". (This is someone who calls a friend's dog a "western European bulldog" :)

Since I was born in the Republic of Ireland, that's what my passport says, there is no reference whatsoever to the UK. I think people in Northern Ireland can choose to have a Republic of Ireland passport if they want.

Additionally, the term Ireland referring to the island of Ireland does include both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

You are right, Daisy4. I've just noticed that my definition does not include Ireland! This is only because the Republic of Ireland is a separate country and so I did not include it in my explanation of the UK vs. Great Britain vs. England, etc. Thanks for the clarification.*

*I wish there was a smiley face to show that I'm not being sarcastic.

[Daisy4]

To people I grew up with Northern Ireland is part of the Republic of Ireland, they just don't realize it yet. :whistle:

I think I would get along great with those people. :)

I was a little disappointed when people in the north stopped fighting for freedom, but I'm not the one living in a war zone, so I don't feel that I have as much of a right to an opinion on when fighting should be stopped.

[Daisy4]

You are right, Daisy4. I've just noticed that my definition does not include Ireland! This is only because the Republic of Ireland is a separate country and so I did not include it in my explanation of the UK vs. Great Britain vs. England, etc. Thanks for the clarification.*

*I wish there was a smiley face to show that I'm not being sarcastic.

Lack of sarcasm noted :) Your definition was perfect, I was just adding the clarification especially about the passports.