Duggar recipes

[slickcat79]

LOL @ the Sandra Lee comparisons! She'd be perfect for a "cooking show host comes in and teaches the family how to cook" crossover episode! Except, well, her recipes are pretty much on the Duggars' level. Canned/boxed/pre-packaged everything. And don't forget how she ices pre-made, store-bought cake with Cool Whip!

Like Sandra Lee (can you tell she's my least favorite Food Network personality? LOL), some of the Duggars' recipes sound decent, until you read the full ingredients. Like the apple dumplings sound good, until you look at the list of ingredients:

MOUNTAIN DEW?! You're supposed to pour it over the dumplings. What kind of flavor is that supposed to add?

Also, my mom makes tuna casserole with cream of mushroom soup and it is quite good. She just doesn't make it very often because my brother isn't a fan of it heh.

My mom has a really good recipe for the same kind of thing, and they are super-tasty. Hers doesn't use mountain dew, but I've heard of people who make it that way. In my mind it's overkill when you've already coated the things in simple syrup, but I guess some people like the taste that the carbonation adds :?

[BlondeAgent007]

to play devil's advocate, because I like it, and because I study food, I'm gonna try to stick up for them a little bit here. First of all I will state that I do NOT agree with the way they feed their children on a daily basis.

That said, how people ate growing up impacts how they eat as adults. Michelle and Jimbob aren't worldly or highly educated folk, and probably ate similar meals growing up. JimBob hasn't had a weight problem until about the last 5-6 years, and the kids don't seem to have weight problems that live at home. In their minds, if the kids look healthy (and they don't go to doctors regularly) they probably are. Honestly, I'd rather see the Duggar kids eating slop them the Lazy Organizer's kids who were so hungry they were eating bags of lettuce and pounds of potatoes (that was her, right?). Or Emily's kids eating fermented floor cheese.

Again, if that is what you perceive as healthy, and it seems to make healthy offspring, why change it(in their minds)? In the Duggar's heads, I am assuming, home-cooked=healthy. They seem to neglect the fact that cooking using all processed foods is just as unhealthy as eating fast foods. They don't seem to grasp the concept that whether it is reheated on the stove, or in a warming compartment at BK, all processed food is the same shit - precooked, frozen/canned/dehydrated, reconstructed (by the home or the FF restaurant) and served. This is apparent by their lack of disgust at posting recipes online that would be considered poor bachelor food.

For Josh and Anna, having grown up that way, their taste buds are used to that kind of food, and eating anything else is going to be very difficult for them. I guess real-world example would be the beverage industry. The only beverages we should really be drinking are water, calorie free/low calorie drinks, and milk. Not flavored (caloried) water, not "infused juices", not energy drinks, not gatorade. Not even more than a serving (4 oz) or two of fruit juice a day. They all are empty calories (juice is packed with calories with a dusting of vitamins on top). We know this and yet, we continue to buy them and feed them to our kids. Adults with weight problems cannot give them up easily. We know what we should be doing, but we are so used to sugary drinks that drinking anything else feels very unfulfilling. Hell, the beverage industry pulled soda machines from schools, and then replaced them with machines filled with those products. They are marketed as healthier, so as consumers we believe them. Imagine trying to grocery shop on a budget while food products and advertisers make highly glossed claims about the health quality of their products, with a minimal education. I think it would make for poor food choices indeed.

One thing I can blame them for is they don't watch TV, so they and their kids don't have the advertising pressure (which is HUGE) to buy certain products.

/rant.

[DarkAnts]

My easy go to dinner is chicken breast with salsa.

I put the chicken breast in a pan and cover it with salsa. I let the whole thing cook slowly (turning the meat over a few times) until the chicken reaches the proper temperature. I usually eat it with seasonal veggies.

Edit to add that my drink of choice is carbonated water. I found that I like the carbonation in soda but not the sugar. Some people tell me this is unhealthy but I ignore them. The stuff I buy is water and carbon dioxide so I dont see how its bad for me.

[BlondeAgent007]

My easy go to dinner is chicken breast with salsa.

I put the chicken breast in a pan and cover it with salsa. I let the whole thing cook slowly (turning the meat over a few times) until the chicken reaches the proper temperature. I usually eat it with seasonal veggies.

Edit to add that my drink of choice is carbonated water. I found that I like the carbonation in soda but not the sugar. Some people tell me this is unhealthy but I ignore them. The stuff I buy is water and carbon dioxide so I dont see how its bad for me.

The carbonation can be bad for your teeth, but not nearly as much as the sugar. I also read a study recently (no citing, sorry) that said that the carbonation in soda and other carbonated beverages, well, something about the bubbles releases endorphins. So I would say a good sub for soda or other sugary bev would be carbonated water. I personally drink carbonated flavored water (zero calorie) when I want something else, but don't want to resort to my earlier list.

[bionicmlle]

Ooh, would you share your recipe (including the added broccoli and peas)? Sounds like good wintertime comfort food!

HAHA! I would love to share but I think most people will think it's cringe-worthy (Don't knock it 'til you try it!) -- I'll put the original below and my additions/changes parenthetically:

Heavenly Casserole

2 C Chopped Dinner Cuts http://www.amazon.com/Loma-Linda-Dinner ... B000AYFAME (They are hard to find so I use Hostess Cuts http://store.veganessentials.com/cedar- ... -p766.aspx -- you also could use chicken Gardein or whatever protein you like)

2 C cooked Rice (I prefer brown)

1 C. Celery

1/2 C. Onion

1 4-oz can mushrooms

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (I use the Healthy Request)

1/3 C. Milk, using part of Liquid from Dinner Cuts

1/2 C. Mayonnaise (OK to use low fat or even the FF kind. MIL says that sour cream works too, but... I'm not sure about that)

1/2 t. salt

(handful or two of broccoli florets, handful or two of frozen sweet peas)

Saute onions and celery until soft (add broccoli and peas for a minute or two at end of saute). Mix together all ingredients and put in casserole dish. Top with paprika and slivered almonds. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

[DarkAnts]

HAHA! I would love to share but I think most people will think it's cringe-worthy (Don't knock it 'til you try it!) -- I'll put the original below and my additions/changes parenthetically:

Heavenly Casserole

2 C Chopped Dinner Cuts http://www.amazon.com/Loma-Linda-Dinner ... B000AYFAME (They are hard to find so I use Hostess Cuts http://store.veganessentials.com/cedar- ... -p766.aspx -- you also could use chicken Gardein or whatever protein you like)

2 C cooked Rice (I prefer brown)

1 C. Celery

1/2 C. Onion

1 4-oz can mushrooms

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (I use the Healthy Request)

1/3 C. Milk, using part of Liquid from Dinner Cuts

1/2 C. Mayonnaise (OK to use low fat or even the FF kind. MIL says that sour cream works too, but... I'm not sure about that)

1/2 t. salt

(handful or two of broccoli florets, handful or two of frozen sweet peas)

Saute onions and celery until soft (add broccoli and peas for a minute or two at end of saute). Mix together all ingredients and put in casserole dish. Top with paprika and slivered almonds. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I think tempeh would be good in that. Its become my new food obsession. Its cooked and fermented soybeans formed into cakes or patties. I buy it at sprouts or whole foods.

edited to make more coherent.

[DarkAnts]

The carbonation can be bad for your teeth, but not nearly as much as the sugar. I also read a study recently (no citing, sorry) that said that the carbonation in soda and other carbonated beverages, well, something about the bubbles releases endorphins. So I would say a good sub for soda or other sugary bev would be carbonated water. I personally drink carbonated flavored water (zero calorie) when I want something else, but don't want to resort to my earlier list.

I could be wrong but my understanding was that the acid in the was bad for teeth. Its interesting that it releases endorphins. That my explain why I like it. I will sometimes add a splash of fruit juice when i want something semi sweet.

I am not a big tap water drinker. The water in my area taste bad. Too much sulfides, nitrates, phosphates, arsenic, and, even some uranium. All natural mineral deposits. It costs too much for the city to filter them out. I drink filtered water when its available. When its not available then I mask the flavor of the water by turning it into unsweetened tea.

[BlondeAgent007]

i hate unsweetened iced tea, which is a good alternative. The acid is bad but not as bad as the sugar, especially combined with the carbonation. I admit I have had a hard time giving up beverages too, as they have become a staple in America. "Don't want to be unhealthy and drink soda? Try this! It has VITAMINS!" seems to sell. I still need to drink fluids. If I am going the better route (not the healthiest, which is water plain) this is my option. The flavored, no calorie, carbonated water, i mean.

I would also rethink your stance on bottled water. The Flourination of water in the US has been the most cost effective, and yet, cost the least, of any public health initiative put into place in this country since... well... ever. After it was instilled dental cavities went down in the population by 30%. Better than any other health initiative even at astronomical levels. They put things in the water for a reason, not to poison people.

edited for clarification

[DarkAnts]

i hate unsweetened iced tea, which is a good alternative. The acid is bad but not as bad as the sugar, especially combined with the carbonation. I admit I have had a hard time giving up beverages too, as they have become a staple in America. "Don't want to be unhealthy and drink soda? Try this! It has VITAMINS!" seems to sell. I still need to drink fluids. If I am going the better route (not the healthiest, which is water plain) this is my option. The flavored, no calorie, carbonated water, i mean.

I would also rethink your stance on bottled water. The Flourination of water in the US has been the most cost effective, and yet, cost the least, of any public health initiative put into place in this country since... well... ever. After it was instilled dental cavities went down in the population by 30%. Better than any other health initiative even at astronomical levels. They put things in the water for a reason, not to poison people.

edited for clarification

I dont have anything against fluorinated water. The county I live in is not fluorinating the water. I would be more willing to drink tap water it if it did. My biggest problem with the tap water is the taste. The minerals in the water here come from natural deposits in the aquifer. The minerals (especially the sulfer) are the reason the water taste funny. It costs too much to filter them out so we just have to make due with bad tasting tap water. Our dishwasher has to be cleand with citric acid a few times a year because of the mineral deposits. It gets so bad that we forget that that the inside of the washer is white and rust (we also have lots of iron in the water).

Many people get the 5 water jugs and refill them for $0.25/ gallon. I do that at home. We dont have a water cooler at work so I have to bring my own beverages. But, sometimes, I run out of water at work or we run out of filtered water at home. So, I make tea or drink fizzy water. I always have a nice stash of tea ready to go.

I do my best to limit sugar drinks. I allow myself to have one or two sugar drinks a week. I am afraid that total denial would cause me to binge.

[jenny_islander]

I absolutely agree that the Duggars need staff. They are attempting to live the lifestyle fantasy of the soft-spoken mother who is always sitting with one child or another dispensing wisdom and looking pretty, or going someplace to have an uplifting experience, or pretty much anything that doesn't involve getting dirty or tired. Well, that's a fantasy of upper-class Victorian life. It's the Cult of Motherhood. And those Victorian ladies had staff. At the absolute least, a cook, to whom the Angel in the House gave her orders every day. Instead, the Duggars make a pack of untrained children do the cooking. No wonder they eat crap that can be assembled from packages. (And, as somebody pointed out up the thread a ways, they may have grown up eating crap too--although I seriously doubt that they ate this badly. I mean, who can't even make a proper fake pizza? Everybody knows that a real fake pizza is made with something crusty and sturdy, to hold up the sauce and cheese. English muffin pizza. French bread pizza. That kind of thing is so ubiquitous that you can even find it ready-made in the frozen food section, for crying out loud!)

Somebody up the thread asked how to get away from using cream-of soup in cooking. Cream-of soup was marketed as a replacement for sauces that are based on white sauce. A white sauce starts with a roux. Here's a basic recipe.

To make about the same quantity of sauce as 1 can condensed cream-of soup plus 1 soup can milk, you will need 2 1/2 cups cow's milk, plus 1 to 3 tablespoons real unsalted butter and 1 to 3 tablespoons wheat flour. You will need a medium saucepan, a wooden spoon (or a metal one with a heatproof handle, but the clanking of a metal spoon can become annoying), and a whisk (or a fork with a heatproof handle). You will need one burner with a spot nearby where you can safely park a hot saucepan for a few minutes.

First melt the butter on medium-low heat, so that it doesn't sizzle as it melts. When the butter has all melted, sprinkle in the flour, a bit at a time. You need the same amount of butter and flour, but you can vary the total amount depending on how thick you need your sauce to be.

Cook and stir the flour until it has all soaked up some butter. This is a roux. Recipes for experienced cooks may start "make a roux using these amounts" and expect you to know how. Stay close to the pan and keep sniffing. When the flour doesn't smell raw anymore, take the pan off the heat and pour in a little of the milk. The milk can be part-skim, whole milk, or even cream, depending on how rich you need the resulting sauce to be. Switch from your spoon to your fork or whisk and start whisking the milk into the roux. This means that you use short, sharp movements instead of round stirring movements. You might want to til the pan a little bit and then do your whisking in the resulting "deep end." Scrape the sides of the pan now and then to get any roux that may have stuck. When the mixture is smooth, add more milk and whisk. Keep going until you have a nice smooth mixture using all of the milk. If you have a few small lumps left, oh well.

Now you have a couple of options. For classic white sauce, put the pan on medium heat, pick up your spoon again, and cook and stir until you can tell that the sauce is getting thicker. If you are going to pour it right into a casserole, however, don't bother waiting that long! Increase the heat to high and stir without stopping (or your pan will scorch!) until the mixture has boiled up. Immediately take it off the heat. This produces a coarser sauce, but in a casserole, you won't notice. (I am using the American definition of a casserole as ingredients bound together with a sauce, put into a shallow baking dish, covered with a topping, and baked.)

Season either variety with salt, white or black pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Classic white sauce will keep for a couple of days in the fridge. The quick kind curdles if you try to hold it over.

Classic white sauce is a "mother sauce" that can be turned into dozens of other sauces. Here's how to turn quick white sauce into cream-of substitutes (omit the nutmeg):

Cheese: Have grated cheese ready by the stove. Stir in the cheese as soon as you have taken the pot off the heat.

Broccoli Cheese: Add half a cup of chopped cooked broccoli after the cheese.

Mushroom: Either saute some mushrooms beforehand or dump in some drained canned mushrooms afterward. Half a cup will do it.

Asparagus: Use cooked or canned asparagus tips.

And so forth.

Now, cream of chicken soup is more complicated to duplicate. You will need strong chicken broth for this. You can buy it or make some for the freezer beforehand. It needs to be golden yellow. Here's a simple broth: Take a homemade or storebought roasted chicken. After dinner, pick off the remaining meat (some will stick, don't worry). Throw the carcass (and the giblets if you have them) into a pot with a carrot, an onion, and a stalk of celery--just wash these vegetables and cut off any inedible bits. If you have any, throw in some parsley. Add water just to cover. Bring to a boil, skim off any foamy stuff into a dirty bowl and dump it, reduce heat until the pot is simmering, and leave for, oh, half an hour to an hour. Fish out the solid parts into a dirty bowl and dump them, then cool the broth. You can either just dip out the top part and leave the bottom where the smaller solid bits are alone, or pour everything through a strainer into a clean bowl. In any case, refrigerate the broth overnight. The next day you can pull off the fat in a single layer and either cook with it or throw it away. The broth underneath may look like runny gelatin. Ladle into recycled plastic tubs, such as margarine tubs, or into freezer bags, and freeze. The next time you have a roasted chicken to make broth with, use whatever chicken broth you already have as part of the cooking liquid. The next batch will be richer, rich enough to use in your cream of chicken substitute. Use whatever you have of this double-strength broth to make the third batch, and so on, until you arrive at the stuff that you can practically cut into cubes when it's been refrigerated. Season this kind of broth with thyme, a little salt, maybe a thread of saffron, some onion or garlic, and you have medicine for a sick soul.

Anyway. So you have this strong golden unsalted broth. Use 1 1/4 cups of this, and 1 1/4 cups of milk, in the basic white sauce recipe. Use poultry seasoning to accentuate the chicken flavor. (Poultry seasoning is a mix of powdered herbs and spices. It always includes powdered sage and thyme. You could put in some marjoram, rosemary, black or white pepper, savory . . . )

Or you can use concentrated canned broth or extra strength broth from a powder instead. Just be sure to taste before you add any salt.

[lawfulevil]

If any Hiver ever craves death, I'll share my terrifying "chicken tortilla". To be fair, it's strictly comfort food... and frightening even as that goes.

[LIzzieB]

When I visited the USA last year, I was gobsmacked by the amount of sweet carbonated drinks my host family and the general community consumed. Going to an unlimited refill restaurant with a 32 oz cup and having several refills is scarily bad for your health. They were equally bemused by my preference for tap water. And the Duggars have their own soft drink taps and the kids aren't supervised well, so how much soda and sweet tea do you think they could get through in a day?

I can't imagine cooking for that many daily. When I think of the amount of veggies that we consume in a week with only two people, the Duggars would need a cool room to store the amount needed for eating healthily, so I can understand the reliance of processed stuff. In fact, when you think about it, it's crazy that they seem to fit all their perishable foods in only two fridges... They really can't eat that much fresh stuff at all.

[BlondeAgent007]

jenny islander, I love your cream of recipe. I live in an area where pizza is a food group, and both Pizza Hut and Dominos have had to change their recipes to be competitive in my area. You have a pizza place on every corner, and unless you are the best and have loyal customers, you are going under. The Duggar recipe would have all the bachelors I know calling Domino's for a $5 large pizza for sure. I'd rather eat crappy pizza then fake pizza.

They eat barely any fresh foods at all, Lizzie. If you watch episodes where they go into the fridge, most of the food there looks like processed junk that needs to be kept cold. And how come in the "snack fridge" in the "pretty kitchen" there is a jar of minced garlic on the bottom shelf that all the kids kept grabbing? i know garlic can't kill them, but do you really want a bunch of snot-nosed kids in your garlic for the whole family? Its probably the only semi-fresh food the kids eat and they crave it. Or for a taste of something that isn't salt or butter. People develop weird food fetishes when they are vitamin depleted.

[bluelady]

My easy go to dinner is chicken breast with salsa.

I put the chicken breast in a pan and cover it with salsa. I let the whole thing cook slowly (turning the meat over a few times) until the chicken reaches the proper temperature. I usually eat it with seasonal veggies.

Edit to add that my drink of choice is carbonated water. I found that I like the carbonation in soda but not the sugar. Some people tell me this is unhealthy but I ignore them. The stuff I buy is water and carbon dioxide so I dont see how its bad for me.

I do the same thing, except I add homemade taco seasoning (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, hot pepper flakes, paprika, oregano and a little salt and pepper) and I cook in in my slow cooker. About a half an hour before serving I add corn and black beans. It's good, and it's easy.

[pega127]

LOL @ the Sandra Lee comparisons! She'd be perfect for a "cooking show host comes in and teaches the family how to cook" crossover episode! Except, well, her recipes are pretty much on the Duggars' level. Canned/boxed/pre-packaged everything. And don't forget how she ices pre-made, store-bought cake with Cool Whip!

Like Sandra Lee (can you tell she's my least favorite Food Network personality? LOL), some of the Duggars' recipes sound decent, until you read the full ingredients. Like the apple dumplings sound good, until you look at the list of ingredients:

MOUNTAIN DEW?! You're supposed to pour it over the dumplings. What kind of flavor is that supposed to add?

Also, my mom makes tuna casserole with cream of mushroom soup and it is quite good. She just doesn't make it very often because my brother isn't a fan of it heh.

Sandra Lee would be ever so defrauding in the Duggar kitchen! JB would probably be right next to her tasting her treats :o

[Lillybee]

I went to my local Trader Joe's today and discovered that they have sweet potato tater tots. I wonder if the Duggars could use them in their tater tot casserole.

[lilith]

I went to my local Trader Joe's today and discovered that they have sweet potato tater tots. I wonder if the Duggars could use them in their tater tot casserole.

Oooh, gourmet!

[Irishy]

I went to my local Trader Joe's today and discovered that they have sweet potato tater tots. I wonder if the Duggars could use them in their tater tot casserole.

They would never do that. A sweet potato falls too closely into the category of "vegetable".

[pudding]

Always wondered why they all seem to have great skin and full hair whilst eating only convenience crap!

[Mela99]

Always wondered why they all seem to have great skin and full hair whilst eating only convenience crap!

TLC footing the bill for dentists and expensive supplies.

[samurai_sarah]

Always wondered why they all seem to have great skin and full hair whilst eating only convenience crap!

It's Jebus' love shining through their countenances, and hair. :D Or maybe they're just lacquered in aquanet...

[Lianachu]

I've made the Duggar family rolls half a dozen times and I really like them. The picture definitely isn't of their rolls though; they make them in a crescent shape (mine are always round; I don't enjoy working with dough).

[mpheels]

OMG barf for the recipe for Alfredo Spaghetti. At first I thought it was weird that the picture was just spaghetti noodles. Then I made the mistake of clicking the link.

AHH! That's not alfredo! Where's the garlic? The herbs? Some kind of protein, or hell, a piece of broccoli? That certainly sounds like a tasty BASE for an alfredo sauce, but not the whole damn thing, much less being the entire main meal. Even ramen noodles are healthier than this.

The Duggar's recipe for alfredo is actually pretty close to the original - lots of Parmesan cheese melted in lots of butter. No broccoli. No chicken. Of course, the original used real Parmesan, and I'm sure the Duggars are using the powdered stuff in the green can. The original also would be served in small portions as a first course, not as the main or only component of a meal.

[cjsmom]

The Duggar's recipe for alfredo is actually pretty close to the original - lots of Parmesan cheese melted in lots of butter. No broccoli. No chicken. Of course, the original used real Parmesan, and I'm sure the Duggars are using the powdered stuff in the green can. The original also would be served in small portions as a first course, not as the main or only component of a meal.

I've always made alfredo with parmesan cheese and melted butter - that's it. That's the way I was taught. However, if you're serving pasta traditionally, yep, small portion as first course!

[SpeakNow]

They would never do that. A sweet potato falls too closely into the category of "vegetable".

And (gasp!) it's not beige or white