Do you have a favorite I'm-alone-now-so-nobody-will-know favorite dish?

[Caroline1]

When I make any kind of food -- Asian or not -- for guests, I always make everything from scratch. It's not fair putting the blame on Marie Calendar or the Jolly Green Giant if anything fails. But when I'm alone and want something that is normally a whole lot of work with no pain, no strain, I keep a carton of Ajinomoto "Gourmet Pot Stickers" in the freezer. 12 to a tray, 6 trays to the carton. They do come with a dipping sauce, but I customize mine with a little added fish sauce, Shao Xing wine, shoyu and some regular and chile sesame oils. Simmer until their bottoms are crusty and brown, then enjoy. There are tons of variations, as the mood strikes me.

Do you have something that you save for yourself when you're alone because you don't want the rest of the world to know you can be that lazy? I figure what the rest of the world doesn't know won't hurt them. '-) So tell us about yours and we promise to keep it a secret.

[CoryKatherine]

When I don't want to cook and it's just me and the boyfriend, he gets Trader Joe's mandarin chicken. It's delicious and tastes like the real thing.

[melly]

Dill pickle sandwich.

[alkapal]

melly, me too! with mayo on white!
have you ever tried it with peanut butter? (just curious).

[CeeQueue]

I love PB and dill pickles! Also PB and onion, or with either dill or onion relish.

[alkapal]

since that post of mine, i tried the pb with dill pickle. neither benefitted from the marriage, in my opinion. but i'm happy if you like it!

love peanuts, though, and made some microwave peanut brittle while i was down in fla. visiting mom. yum!

[CeeQueue]

Too funny...I tried the pickle and mayo sandwich and didn't care for it. Then again, I later had a PB and dill pickle sandwich and wasn't as crazy about it as I used to be (it had been awhile). PB and raw onion, or onion relish, still does it for me, but it needs to have just the right consistency kaiser bun (fluffy but not too airy, if that makes sense -- still a bit dense and chewy).

[revsharkie]

I think peanut butter is better with sweet pickles. Sweet gherkins, sliced, to be more specific, and a slice of American cheese "food."

[todao]

I tear a whole in the center of a slice of multi-grain bread, drop it into a skillet of heated butter, crack an egg in the center, top it with a slice of good cheese and sprinkle it with chopped red onion. When the bottom of the egg is set and the bottom of the bread browned, I transfer it to the broiler to finish. Sprinkle with a few bacon bits to serve. OMG, it's heaven.

[kchurchill5]

Invite me please

[alwayscooking]

Since it's just between us . . . there's a box of Costco frozen vegetable samosas lurking at the back bottom of my freezer. They are so good with apple and jalapeno jam.

Keep it a secret, please!

[Cinnamon]

Apple and jalapeno jam? That sounds good. Elaborate please. :)

[alwayscooking]

It's from Stonewall Kitchen and oh so good with fried foods.

[Cinnamon]

Thanks. I'm going to look for that.

[tracylee]

An old joke amongst people who know me from when I first bought my house and lived alone - Pop Tarts and Wine. I was even given that as a gift once later on!

OK, so that was 11 years ago, and I honestly haven't had that as a meal since. My SO would drop over if I were to bring home Pop Tarts these days.

[limster]

Try those potstickers with some black vinegar from shan xi or zhen jiang.

[Caroline1]

Interesting! Thanks.

[applehome]

Remember that to do Gyoza right, you brown the bottoms but then put in a half cup (or so) of water into the hot pan and put on a loose top, When the water is gone, the gyoza are done - crisp on the bottom and steamed soft on top.

For me, it's mostly leftovers. I always make too much for dinner and munch, guiltily, late at night. But when I either don't have leftovers or have purposely put then up for another meal, I resort to "instant" soups. I keep pre-sliced dried shiitake, prepared wakame (cleaned and cut), my homemade menma (soy/sugared bamboo), whatever tofu and surimi I have (kamaboko, chikuwa, gobo age). I usually have home-made dashi in the fridge, but if not, I use hondashi powder. I have many types of miso plus I have soup bases for tom yum and others. There are always scallions in the veg drawer. Sometimes it's leftover rice and green tea. So using the hot water in the electric hot pot, or nuking the dashi, I can have a nice soup put together in a few minutes - not necessarily something I would have served my mom, but certainly edible.

[Caroline1]

I tried doing gyoza that way but the bottoms got soggy. Now I do it the opposite. I put in the liquid WITH the oil, steam with the lid on then remove the lid and let them boil dry while the oil browns and crisps the bottoms. Maybe I should try it the right way again? They really did get soggy.

[applehome]

Mushi yaki - steam searing - is typically done in two or more steps. We had gyoza about every week or so growing up and my mom did the same thing every time. Start with a little oil (usually peanut) in the pan and get it hot before placing the gyoza in, one at a time, lined up with the meat side touching the pan. After 3-4 minutes, once they are browned at the bottom, put in the water and close the loose fitting lid as it sizzles. Once the sizzling dies down, turn the heat down and place a little sesame oil into the pan along the sides (so it trickles down) and put the lid back on, until the water is all gone. Shake the pan and the pieces all come loose (that's the theory). They do stick once in a while, if I had the finishing temp too hot. But too cold, and they are greasy. I know my mom always had it right - probably after she had done it 1000 times in her youth. Me? I'm still working on it, but I get it right most of the time these days.

And I'm with you on buying the ajinomoto gyoza and shumai. I have a couple of different sizes of bamboo steamers and the little one is perfect for about 10 small shumai - just enough for a snack. And I like the Ajinomoto ones better than most. But they are expensive - a lot more than making your own.

[Caroline1]

Have you tried Sam's Club for the Ajinomoto? That's where I get mine, and for five trays in a box, a dozen in each tray, it's a bit less than ten bucks or two dollars a tray. I'd pay someone that to clean up after me when I make them from scratch!

But I would still make them from scratch for company. Which is why I invite people for beef Wellington a lot oftener than I invite them for gyoza! '-)

[applehome]

That's good to know. I'm already a member of Costco and BJ's, so we've avoided Sam's even though somebody tells us something good about it every now and then. Maybe when my next BJ's membership is up, I'll get one of those guest passes to Sam's and look around - if they have what I otherwise use BJ's for, I'll join them instead.

I mainly keep BJ's around because they have a better selection of the lesser cut sub-primals and pork cuts than Costco. So if I want a whole beef bottom round or a twin-pack of pork butts, I'll get them at BJ's. Even with brisket, Costco only sells the flat, where BJ's sells the whole thing.

My mom used to make beef wellington all the time. That and chicken gallantine. All the 1960's fine dining favorites! And no, I'm not dating you - at least, not in any negative way. I love those dishes. I've made the chicken gallantine more than the wellington - I'm not that good with puff pastry. The last time I made the wellington, I used Dufour puff pastry - I had to take a couple of pieces and roll and stitch them together. With the tenderloin, a pretty expensive dinner, as I remember it. The gallantine is a lot easier - you just have to be able to bone out a whole chicken, leaving the skin and meat intact. A filling of veal and pork, and voila - you get the effect of slicing a loaf with an outer shell - not unlike the wellington. Both were favorites at the Officer's club in Tokyo - where my mom's uncle cooked in the 50's and 60's.

[Caroline1]

I've never tried Costco. I've had friends share what they thought were great prices from them, but I didn't think they were so great. And Sam's club membership is cheaper. Just before Christmas I got a large whole USDA Prime tenderloin at Sam's for a tad under $50.00. Made about 8 steaks and a generous chateaubriand.

I haven't done a gallantine of chicken in years. I used to do them with a harlequin pattern made from egg plant skins. I think it was around the 60s when I gave up on making anything with "veal" in this country because I couldn't get real veal, only what is really baby beef. It's okay for osso bucco, but it ain't veal!

From what I read here and then in food related media, those classics from mid-20th-century may be making a come back. Okay by me! I'm sooooo tired of all that bare plate with the food stacked in the center so high that if you bump it, it leaves a trail of scraps all the way across the table cloth!

Am I a curmudgeon tonight or what? My cable company lost it's signal just as the Academy Awards was getting to best actress, actor, and picture. So much for setting the DVR!

[alwayscooking]

On the Beef Wellington - I recently served small logs of it at a cocktail party to rave reviews so it's officially back in my repertoire! Perhaps, I'll look into other mid-century dishes to revive (I'm thinking about the aspic thread . . .)

[pepperqueen]

I do mine the same way. I have tried it the classic way and find, as you have, that the dumpling were soggy. I start with a bit of oil and put in the dumplings and then add the water and put on the lid for a while and leave lid askew.

[kchurchill5]

I hate to admit, stouffers chipped beef over toast. Yes I make it myself, but I always keep one of those. I also keep a mac a cheese by stouffers, not good but for a quick 11 o clock dinner, it surfices. Better than take out. Also I order chinese maybe 1 a month or once every 2 months, usually when a friend stops by and they want it. I always order another side of house fried rice or some dish for me. I break the container into 2 dishes and freeze. Maybe 3.50 per dinner. Easier than going to get it and easy. Not the best but handy when needed. I have one fried rice in the freezer right now.

Don't laugh at stouffers, it works none the less.

[Sra. Swanky]

LOVE Stouffer's chipped beef over toast! My hubby couldn't watch me eat it, but a few boxes of it cured my salty cravings while I was pregnant!

[kchurchill5]

Another chipped beef lover, thank you. I love it.

[alkapal]

stouffers spinach souffle. nuke, then eat the whole thing!

[kchurchill5]

Thats another, love it too.

[smtucker]

When the husband is away, I eat salmon cakes and cottage cheese. But not at the same meal.

[cavandre]

Fried Spam & eggs, but keep it quiet!

[CindyJ]

Something similar for me -- salami and eggs, with a side of Heinz vegetarian beans.

[filth]

no

[cimui]

I boil the shiznit out of frozen Brussels sprouts, mash with butter, salt and pepper. It has the consistency of baby food and I love it. =)

[Sharuf]

Trader Joe is the cop-out cook's friend.

I'll fry up some of their beef taquitos to get them hot and crisp, heat up a can of their black beans and mash 'em, open a carton of their guacamole and lay some of it on lettuce, surround with some of their cherry tomatoes, and there's dinner.

Dinner trick #2: shred some cabbage (preferably nappa) and put it in the bottom of a pan. Cole slaw fixin's in a bag (which I haven't tried yet) would probably work well too. Then add a little water and a splash of rice vinegar. Lay on top some of TJ's frozen shu mai. Steam until everything is done.

[Deenso]

I open a can of skinless & boneless sardines packed in olive oil and lift them out of the oil into a shallow bowl. Then I slice some red onion so thinly that you can see through it and add that, plus salt, pepper and a squirt of fresh lemon juice. Toss altogether, letting the sardines break up a little. Taste and, if necessary, add some of the oil from the sardine can.
Grab a can of seltzer, a handful of saltines, and I'm soooooo happy! (You promised I was alone, right?)

[alwayscooking]

Do you eat it alone because you don't want to share?

[Deenso]

C'mon, those tins of sardines are really small!

No, I eat it alone because it tends to make my husband gag. I always have to remember to put the empty sardine tin and associated trash into a small zip-top bag before throwing it in the trash.

[alwayscooking]

They are so tasty and healthy too!

[Sharuf]

Avocados are surprisingly good with sardines.

[Deenso]

Thanks for that heads-up! I'll try to remember that the next time I'm shopping 'cause, while there are usually a couple of tins of sardines in the cupboard, I don't usually have a ripe avocado waiting in the wings.

[AbbyNormalOne]

My husband makes me take the sardine can to the trash RIGHT AWAY!!

I make "sardine soup" -- a can of Maine sardines in oil, one potato diced, 1 sm/med onion chopped, enough water to cover, some salt and pepper. Simmer until all potatoes and onions are soft. Dark pump is good with it. Lithuanian comfort food.

[Kam7185]

Casseroles!! I wish I still let myself eat this, Bisquick Pepperoni Pie. My Mom made it up about 25 years ago and it is so delicious. It's nowhere near the ones they list on the website!. Also, tortilla lasagna! Indulging used to be so much fun!

[kchurchill5]

You can get archives of old bisquick recipes. I have three old small books myself. I sure you could find it. Contact Bisquick. I contacted them for a old ham casserole recipe over 40 years and they found it. just email them. Might be able to find it if she used a bisquick recipe from a box or book or close to it.

[Kam7185]

Thanks, but she made it up and i can make it with my eyes closed! It's bisquick, milk, coarse chopped gourmet pepperoni, diced green pepper, onion, mushroom, 6 cheese italian blend, and parm reggiano. Everyone I describe it too thinks is sounds so good, albiet lowbrow! Oh well!

[kchurchill5]

I'm the same way too with most dishes I love... same thing.

Sounds good! Definitely enjoy!!

[alkapal]

kam, baked at 350? 45 minutes?

[toodie jane]

was it one of those "Impossible" pies? search that title and maybe you'll find the recipe.

[buttertart]

Stouffer's macaroni and cheese, Canadian old cheddar cheese on saltines, grilled cheese sandwich, quesadillas on flour tortillas with homemade salsa...is there a theme here? Also way too many salted pistachios and some kind of fruit.

[Demented]

Was a time when 1 day every other month or so, I would make refritos from 2lbs of soaked pinto beans, cook a pound or so of fresh ground pork or beef and grate about a pound of cheddar then make as many burritos as there was filling for. Baked the burritos until golden and freeze them after cooling.

These days it's heat and eat chimichangas.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Tamale pie: can of corn, can of local bean chile, cut up a red onion and some black olives, top with the normal masa for tamales and into the oven. Five to ten minutes prep time. My daughter likes it.

[cuccubear]

Store bought Ramen (the ten for a dollar kind), with the seasoning only. Boil and drain the noodles, stir in the seasoning, eat like pasta. Yummy.

[kchurchill5]

I like the chicken seasoning, add low sodium soy, scallions, cooked chicken and some fresh mushrooms. Makes a simple easy dish. I know. Horrible for you but good.

[NellyNel]

Cucubear - me too!
Except I don't use the seasoning - I just fry it up in a bit of sesame oil....there was I time I did this every day! It's so delicious and comforting -
I had to stop after it all caught up with me (I gained about 10 pounds!)

Also I used to open a cube of beef bouilion, mix it with vinegar and oil and crush pretzel stix into it...I got this from my mom who used to do it.... packets of good season salad dressing work too! What a treat!

[Cookiefiend]

Mashed potatoes and chopped Spam, mixed together, put into a pie dish and sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoned Salt, bake till crusty on the top and enjoy. Yum!

I call it "Spam and Taters".

[rabidog]

fage greek yogurt with honey!
it's really the only thing we'll occasionally let ourselves buy prepared at the market, since (1) that stuff's expensive, and i'm jobless!, (2) because of the guilt after reading the omnivore's dilemma and (3) i just like to be complicated like that and make every meal take 3 hours (if i'm ever short on time, i make crepes or oats - but being unemployed time is hardly of the essence anymore!!)

[cayjohan]

You're talking convenience, right?

I've fessed up in the past to my opinion that Pizza Rolls are the end-all-be-all of junk food. Also Mary Kitchen canned hash with a sloppy fried egg on top. Mmmm.

But ultra *lazy* convenience has to be the bag of crinkle cut fries in the freezer (sshhh... only my daughter and I know it's there). Heat toaster oven. Spread fries on pan and insert into oven. Wait for ding (glorious ding!). Blort out some catsup, some mayo, some mustard. Laze on couch and enjoy dipping while flpping through channels.

I see no reason to start scrubbing potatoes and making a production out of a few fries, when I have crinkle cut goodness 18 minutes away.

Yep, sometimes lazy. But very happy.

Cay

[EWSflash]

Oh lordy, here goes-

Kraft Mac & cheese- the powdered stuff with the straight pasta. I use a lot less butter than it calls for and eat the whole thing. But not very often.

[toomanypots]

Ditto, but full butter. Or more. If I eat two boxes I won't do it again for a while. Mmmmmm... Raise your hand if you've eaten a whole box by yourself...

[pinkprimp]

Riase your hand if you've almost eaten two boxes in one sitting!

[toomanypots]

Yes... I've... eaten...two...whole...boxes...in...one...sitting...

[toomanypots]

Doctored up KMC= add a can of Le Seur petit peas

[EWSflash]

Thank the good Lord i'm not alone! I haven't had two of them @one sitting yet but I've thought about it, you bet.

Hey- if I do two boxes, with half the butter, it counts as one, right?!

[pinkprimp]

Please tell me that's not true because I use double the butter for the two boxes -- that would make it four!

[Ravac]

Will have to try the peas. My doctored version is a chopped up hot dog and a teaspoon of beer mustard blended in. Heaven.

[CeeQueue]

Always. Sometimes made as per instructions; sometimes made with sour cream instead of milk and butter; sometimes with grated cheese, salsa, crushed tomatoes or some other such thing added. I like the Extra Sharp and Extra Creamy versions, but often just buy the original 'cause it's cheaper.

When I make it with sour cream, I mix up the powder and sour cream ahead of time to get it nice and creamy and just the right consistency. If you try to do this in the pot it doesn't work very well.

[NellyNel]

"Kraft Mac & cheese- the powdered stuff with the straight pasta."

That is exactly what I had for dinner last night!!
And yes, i ate the whole box!

[toodie jane]

creamed tuna on toast with frozen peas!

nowdays I make my own white sauce, but it's gotta be frozen peas!

[ChrisOC]

I get a tray of surimi, and saute it in lots of butter and Old Bay. Sometimes I go even simpler. I just dump the surimi in a big bowl, sprinkle with Shoyu and eat it with chopsticks. I don't try to pretend it's crab, but it is very sweet and tasty IMO

[Whosyerkitty]

Hostess Cherry Pies. Cheap, trashy and embarrassing. With a glass of milk. People in my household do not even know, so I mean I do it ALONE. I have to buy one on the way home when I'm sure I'm going to be.

[cimui]

Haha -- I love this. My parents were health nuts when I was a kid and didn't have junk food or refined sugar of any sort in the house.... but let's say that my dad was a little more flexible about things. When he wanted a junk food fix, we'd go down to the university library to do 'research' (he'd take me to legitimize the endeavor) and we'd make a meal of all the vending machine delectables in the library basement. Hostess cherry pies were the best!!!

[rabidog]

haha, cimui, your childhood sounds just like mine! i never knew what "juice drink" or wonderbread was til way late in life! but... my dad had a gym/weight room setup down in the basement, and while sneaking around down there one day i found hidden some glass bottles of diet pepsi. to date, i really enjoy a room temperature diet pepsi!

[cimui]

man. hostess cherry pie, room temperature diet pepsi... maybe throw in some funions for dessert and you've got yourself a well-balanced breakfast. as a ten year old, i'm pretty sure i'd've traded a semi-essential organ for such a meal. ;)

[dmd_kc]

Surimi is a major guilty pleasure of mine. Even worse than sauteing it at home, a local sub shop makes a sandwich with sea legs, cream cheese, bacon and the usual sub vegetables. It sounds vile, but it is a-ma-zing. Surimi is also good in a whole wheat pita with nothing but some crumbled feta. Bake till melty.

[Bryn]

I have a friend who eats it frozen.

[amyzan]

Tandoor Chef frozen indian food, in particular the potato and pea samosas with cilantro chutney and saag paneer. Delightfuly greasy and full of salt, but they really hit the spot when I'm tired and don't want to actually cook. I usually put some basmati in the rice cooker to accompany. I'm also fond of Alexia yukon gold fries cooked crispy and dipped in mayo, so gross and yet okay enough for frozen fries. I have been known to eat both in front of family, however.

Oh, I thought of something--I make these white chocolate flavored with matcha (powdered green tea) and almond butter patties, sort of like a Reese's cup, only more interesting. I keep those to myself.

[BerkshireTsarina]

Frozen fordhook lima beans, with lots of butter added. That's it. Weird, I know, but I love 'em and I don't want to share!

[zook]

Count me in the weird category, too! A bag of the frozen fordhook lima beans has been my go to dinner many a time, but plain! I eat the whole bag in one sitting!

[alkapal]

i see that -- as long as you've got enough butter and salt!

[mjhals]

Eggo waffle with a slice of cheddar melted over it. Weird version of a grilled cheese, I know, but I love it.

[Luvfriedokra]

Simply Asia Mongolian noodles, Ling Ling chicken eggrolls(or dumplings) w/dipping sauce.
Break and bake turtle cookies for dessert. Not the healthiest meal, but so damn good!!

[kubasd]

I love the simply asia noodles. The mongolian ones are good, but the spicy kung pao ones are better! mmmmm tasty comfort food in 2 minutes, and they are actually a little spicy.... i just wish they were bigger, lol

[dxs]

Hilarious topic.

Something I eat alone and would never in a million years consider inflicting on someone else is my 'fastest ever pizza'. (Avert your eyes now, it's shameful). I slather a piece of white bread or greek pita with ketchup (the heinz organic version, not that that's any excuse), season with oregano, salt, pepper, top generously with cheddar, then blast it under the grill.

Also, careful examination of my freezer will often reveal a stash of mini sausage rolls, waaaay in the back....

[sloppyjo]

once or twice a year I have a can of the hot rotel (peppers &tomatoes) mixed in with melted velveta and eat the bejeebers out of it with tortilla chips. Don't keep any premade stuff in the house, so i have to sneak this in for a night of debauchery

[CeeQueue]

Every now and then I get a craving for mini sausage rolls with HP sauce. A1 sauce will do in a pinch, but I can't eat sausage rolls without brown sauce.

[revsharkie]

Tamales in a can. Sorry.

[Caroline1]

When I lived overseas in my youth before Mexican food was an international star, my mother used to send me CARE packages of canned tamales, canned tortillas, and canned enchilada sauce. Every few years I'll be walking through the Mexican food section at the supermarket and all of the canned tamales start singing, "Eat me! Eat me" like a band of crazed mariachis! So I bring a can home with me and we have a party while I strip their fake corn husks from their tiny bodies and feast behind closed doors! '-)

[revsharkie]

We used to keep them on hand at our cabin at the lake, just in case someone got hungry in between the swimming and the grilling. My dad and I were about the only ones who ever ate them. But they remind me of summers at the lake.

[toodie jane]

I loved these as a kid. Mom never fixed Mexican food, so they were the only fix I got. I'd forgotten all about them! Not likely to go out and get some, tough.

[Furgs]

ooo-h, ooo-h, no fair! I was gonna say this! Tamales in a can, or from a jar. I lived in Russia when I was little and we "imported" a lot of American canned food. Tamales in a jar/can, with canned chili. Yeah, baby! And canned chicken a la king. (although I don't eat that anymore. I do have standards.) :)

[merrymc]

Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets. I count this as "dish" because sometimes they are "breakfast."

Spelled wrong, but they taste oh so right.

[TampaAurora]

I recently introduced my husband to the delicious world of Tasykake. Their products are the only processed food weakness that enters the house.

[Furgs]

Loved those butterscotch krimpets. That was the treat my mom would buy me at the grocery store if I was a good girl while shopping. And the jelly krimpets were good, too!

[chicaraleigh]

dill pickle wrapped with ham or smoked turkey, then a piece of swiss cheese wrapped around that

no bread, no condiments just pickle, meat and cheese

even the dog looks away.....

[LA Buckeye Fan]

I love this thread. Spagettios with sliced franks and parmesean cheese. Feel free to use the domestic stuff in this recipe.

[SweetPhyl]

White rice with Heinz 57. weird but deelish.

Fresh grapefruit sliced into sections and sprinkled with kosher salt...and sometimes a packet of Splenda. gotta love that sour/sweet/salty thing going on.

and don't get me started on Oreos.

[GSM]

Tuna Noodle Casserole for me. Would never inflict it on anyone else.

[Sra. Swanky]

Oh - please feel free to inflict it! :o) Love tuna casserole!!

[Deenso]

I can only make this when my husband's not going to be home for dinner - or for a few hours afterward. So it's my consolation meal for having to eat alone when he's working late. And I get to eat the leftovers cold, next day, right out of the casserole. He won't touch the stuff. Too bad for him!

[Divamac]

My husband rarely travels, but he's leaving next week. That night, it's tuna casserole for me! Can't wait!

[rudysmom]

my nearby family-owned grocery store makes single-serving dinners to take home. i am addicted to their Swedish meatballs with gravy and egg noodles. they taste exactly like something i would have eaten in my elementary school cafeteria, and are thus oddly comforting when DH is on the road.
usually followed by a pint of B&J, but that has nothing to do with being lazy.

[smilyfoodcritic]

Taiwanese instant noodles - there is a drawer in my pantry that is designated for holding the many varieties of instant noodles I keep in stock. I have instant noodles whenever I need something quick and comforting - however, I never add hot water (except when I am in UA flight), I like to cook my instant noodles in boiling water instead and add an egg and some vegetables to the broth - delicious!

[bkhuna]

Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Pasturized Processed Cheese Food Product with diced Spam, seasoned with Japanese nanami togarashi.

[TripChick]

Stouffer's Mac & Cheese - there's a box lurking in my freezer right now.

[spellweaver16]

Stouffer's mac and cheese, and their cheddar potato bake, are my junk food crack!

[BobB]

I vacillate between Stoufffer's and Trader Joe's 4-Cheese. The former is creamier, the latter gooier. Both get doctored up with my home-grown cayenne and a dash of Melinda's XXX Habanero sauce.

[kchurchill5]

I'm actually shocked at how some many CH's are so simple based. Even though they have great creative ideas, they love a crazy boxed food or some bizzar treats. It makes me feel pretty good and feel more at place. We may all have our wierd cravings and obsessions, but we all try hard to take cooking to another level when the time is right. I just got home and used Sooo many short cuts tonight for dinner, but d*mn it was good. And a busy day tomorrow up early again so I planned a nice breakfast for myself (I'll be on the water all day, so food is required). I used horrible honey ham (1 post) on cheap bread with cheeze whiz, my sons I was out of regular cheese. Breakfast, pre made hollandise, pillsbury biscuits and cheap pre cooked bacon (I had a coupon and tried it). But, I love to see that simple wierd dishes can be our favorites. I'm actually cooking (well my friend is cooking) stouffers stuffed green peppers. I truly like them and he is cooking so why not.. I guess I can add that as well to my list of crazy I like meals. I did make a great potato gratain to go with the dish tomorrow night. I did have some nice potatoes to use. I think combining some of what we like and some fresh isn't always a bad thing. May not be great, but it is ok when you have no choice. I think potatoes and cheese are pretty much the only thing in their right now, lol

[MattInNJ]

Turkey Reuben

[kchurchill5]

Reubens are a must, turkey or traditional are among my top favorites.

[kchurchill5]

Fun thing I love to make it get one of the round loves of bread. I just ask my store and they will do Pumpernickle for me. Cut a large piece of the top off then then remove some of the bread from the bottom half. I layer with some slices of good swiss, then some corned beef, a little thousand, then kraut, then cheese, beef, thousand, then kraut, top with some beef, cheese and thousand. Put the top on wrap in foil and bake 30 minutes at 375. It feeds 6-8, a great fun way to serve it. It is really pretty sliced and tastes amazing. Turkey would work just as well.

One thing I like. I actually like to add some thin onion slices to mine now and then. Not always, but it is really good.

[bayoucook]

Hellman's mayo on saltines. Canned tamales. Peanut butter and mashed banana sandwiches. Kettle-cooked barbeque potato chips. Canned boiled peanuts.

[MattInNJ]

Cold leftover london broil, cut up, and drizzled with a balsamic reduction (that I always have in a swueeze bottle) , too good.

[wontonfm]

canned sardines with hot sauce, onions and saltines (unsalted tops)... YUM!

WON
http://whatsonmyplate.wordpress.com

[Deenso]

Except for the hot sauce, I'm with you on the sardines, onions and saltines. Fortunately, this is something my husband and I agree on, so it doesn't qualify as an "I'm-alone-now-so-nobody-will-know" favorite in my case.

[elnora]

oh my i love this thread.

my mom was a little militant about food while growing up (ie i loved eggs so she used to count the eggs in the refrigerator before she left the house). we had korean food every night, but what i really craved was the weird casserole-y white food that my friends got to eat every day, topped with saltines or cream of mushroom soups.

one time when my parents left for the weekend, i immediately went to the grocery store (must have been about 16 at the time) and bought a pound of ground beef, a box of hamburger helper cfheeseburger macaroni mix, and a can of spam. i made fried spam sandwiches and ate the entire container of cheeseburger macaroni. if i ever need a good fix, i reach for the HH. a little shameful, but so, so good. and it reminds me of sneaking around behind my parents backs.

[Caroline1]

I hope your parents read this! LOL! Sneaking is often the most flavorful garnish for any dish!

[Sra. Swanky]

Food shopping & cooking on the sly while parents were away! :o) I had the same teenage guilty pleasure too! I too did the fried Spam (with eggs!) and worked on doctoring up cans of Chef Boyardee!! (My Italian rooted fam would NEVER let me even go near a can of that stuff! I since outgrew the canned pasta thing, but this idea always held true - you always crave the foods that you're consistently kept away from having in childhood!)

[BobB]

Unsalted Saltines - shoudn't they just be called Ines?

[rHairing]

OK..y'all are going to laugh...but...trader's bool kogi..trader's homemade tortillas...sour cream onions and cheese..my bool kogi burrito! And thanks to the replies, I am craviing what we used to call Johnny Marzetti..

[Sra. Swanky]

Korean-Tex/Mex fusion - brilliant!!! That sounds absolutely delicious! Wish there was a TJ's in Northern Westchester!

[Sal Vanilla]

Drool maybe.

[BobB]

Ah yes, Johnny Marzetti, aka American Chop Suey. But I don't feel guilty about this 'cause I load mine up with so many jalapeños it's actually healthful!

[Cinemaverite1]

Canned clam chowder with a bowl of white rice.

Canned corn hash with white rice.

Every time I'm fluffing up a new batch of white rice, I have to restrain myself from throwing a pat of butter in there with soy sauce and calling it a meal.

[TampaAurora]

Tuna Helper or Kraft Mac and Cheese. I'm working very hard to not eat processed foods, but I grew up on box/foil packet cheese products and just can't replicate that flavor. Most people wouldn't want to, but sometimes I crave the badness. I do doctor it up with veggies, but I can't leave behind my processed cheese product.

[little audrey]

Frozen gyoza and shumai, shameful?? We eat those for breakfast all the time. Millions of Japanese live over a century on ramen and dumplings!

But when no one's around, I'm on the down low with Chef Boy-ar-Dee. Mini-bites and beefaroni, mmm.

Anyone remember the song Junk Food Junkie?

[ckatcook]

Hello! don't post often, but lurk often....

I am in the pop tart for dinner camp, or I stop by the cheesecake factory and get a piece of cake to go. So good!!!

[YAYME]

Butter and hot sauce sandwich.

[alkapal]

ever add dill slices?

[YAYME]

No Maybe I should add some homemade pickles.

[alkapal]

oh yeah, baby!

[SissyGreen]

Spaghetti with butter and cracked black pepper.

[Kitchen Imp]

I'll second the hot buttered spaghetti (or, better still, No Yolks egg noodles), slathered in butter & topped with fresh black pepper. Also avocado on toast with salt sprinkled on top.

[kubasd]

yes to both! i'll also add some cultured butter to the toast/avocado/salt combo..... tangy, salty, crunchy, creamy deliciousness!

[alkapal]

kitchen imp, if you're so inclined, try sprinkling bacon salt on that avocado-on-toast.

[Kitchen Imp]

Oooooooh.... I sense an addiction in the making. :-)

[Michelly]

Ditto here. Sometimes I use garlic butter.
Thighs, here it comes!

[the_MU]

Three parts peanut butter, one part marshmallow fluff. Mix until the consistency of play-doh. Eat with fingers.

PB & J on Ritz crackers.

Banana, split lengthwise, slathered with nutella or PB or both.

Cooked white rice mixed with gojuchang and soy sauce (and scallions if I'm motivated), picked up in pinches with pieces of toasted nori.

Fresh cucumbers cut lengthwise into spears and used to scoop up gojuchang.

Collards sauteed with garlic and a spoonful of brown sugar, add frozen shelled edamame, some water, soy sauce, steam until greens are done and top with a dollop of red fermented tofu. If there's any cooked rice, mix that in.

[tracylee]

OK, so I had s'mores for dinner tonight. We went camping earlier in the week and I only had them one night - for dinner, LOL.

[Cinnamon]

What'd you have for dessert?

[tracylee]

Boxed wine, LOL

[ReggieL.]

Betty Crocker instant Garlic Mashed Potatoes with some butter and salt on top. I just love the pure starch taste.

[Sal Vanilla]

My laziness cat is out of the bag. Sometimes guests get the scratch works, sometimes they get a doctored Digiorno pizza and a nice bottle of red. If I had to always do the fancy works and put on a show, I would either resent my guests or sit alone eating my progresso soup and american cheese slices grilled sandwich.

[kchurchill5]

You can do wonders with a Digiorno, trust me. My Publix just had buy one get one free for the cheese. I usually keep 1 or 2 for my son in the freezer. Well 3 of the guys I worked with came over for dinner, so ... some peppers onions, ground sausage chorizzo I think, some extra cheese, mushrooms, anchovies, mushrooms, who knows, they were all different. Some grilled romaine on the grill pan, bottled blue cheese and dinner was served. Nothing wrong with a quick dinner to entertain with. Besides I made the guys cut everything up for me. They owed me, I usually do all the work. This time I headed to the jacuzzi and 15 min later when I came back they had everything ready for me :) Now that was a dinner party I enjoyed.

[Fydeaux]

I will take a can of hominy (or corn if there is no hominy), drain it, and heat it up. Then I will mix in about two tablespoons each of butter and mayonaise, some crumbly cheese, and sprinkle the top with some type of spicy seasoning blend or something like Penzey's Chicago steak seasoning, One the rare occasions when there is some leftover bacon, I will crumble it up and add that too.

As awful as it sounds as I write, that's how good it tastes.

[Sra. Swanky]

I love doing that with corn!! (Gotta try it with hominy one of these days!) We're not alone either - it's a popular snack in Mexico & South America! Corn heated sprinkled with lemon, spicy seasoning...called "elote en vasito!" :o)

[Furgs]

Was wondering when someone would mention hominy. I like to saute a can of it in butter or olive oil, add a couple of eggs and scramble it around, top with cheese, salt and red pepper. Yum! Mayo, huh? Thanks for the idea!

[Fydeaux]

Back at ya, Fergs. I've scrambled up leftover pasta with eggs, but never thought of scrambling hominy; Thank YOU for the idea!

[jeanmarieok]

I have a bunch of things that I will admit to that I make for just myself - like poached eggs over arugula salad, open faced grilled cheese and apples, mussels steamed with some Paul Newman Sock A Rooni sauce. But my most embarrassing admission is Gorton's Beer Batter Fish filets with a slice of cheddar on a crusty roll, with tartar sauce. Reminds me of childhood, and is really yummy.....

[mcsheridan]

This is so like the "bless me Chowhounds, for I have sinned" threads. :)

Okay, I'll 'fess up: onion, ground beef, B&M Bacon & Onion baked beans, ketchup, all cooked in the same pan.

[Divamac]

THat reminds me of one of my favorite meals as a kid: my mom made "chili" from ground beef and tomato soup and always served it with mashed potatoes and peas. I always mixed it together and ate it that way. It wasn't until much later I realized I'd basically made Shepherd's Pie. Mashed potatoes, baked beans and bacon mixed together was the traditional side dish for liver and onions - of course it was just my brother and me who mixed them together. I haven't done that in a long time...hmmm...

[olia]

I look forward to nights when i can just make some mashed potatoes (smashed more likely because i'm too lazy -___-) and throw in some sauerkraut and polish sausage slices, then mix it all together in one bowl and oooooh yummm comfort in a bowl.

[corneygirl]

Spaghetti with butter, ketchup, and parm (better from evil green can). My mom would kill me for posting this. She's still pissed that I told the baby sitter about it when I was 7. She served it with frozen mixed veg and cubes of cheddar - I don't. SO must not be in town when I eat this lest he comes home before I wash the dishes. Kraft mac and cheese with a can of rotell. Only slightly less embarassing.

[SinEater]

Too many to list really but one of my favorites is a Totino's pizza with some brussel sprouts on top. And I don't care what anyone says, Totino's will beat the pants off of any other frozen pizza out there any day.

What's stranger are the weird dishes that I will go to some length to prepare for myself but aren't suitable for polite company. A sandwich comes to mind... Two slices white toast, fried egg with the yolk broken, fried bologna, slice of american cheese, ketchup, iceberg lettuce, and a sliced Klaussen dill pickle. As for impolite company, I always make a point to shove one of these in their faces. They always balk at the ketchup and pickle but they come around.

[mcap]

I always bring back a college favorite when I'm along... call it Trailor Trash

Pan-fried kielbasa, cut up and placed into a pot of baked beans - served with spicy mustard, hot sauce, and slices of whitebread.

Not so good for the old GI tract, but soooo good.

[slewfoot]

Packaged mac and cheese mixed with a can of Ranch Style beans.

[pikawicca]

Nothing beats white bread fried in bacon grease. Haven't had this in five years or so, so it's about time. Top with sauteed mushrooms and a fried egg. Yum!

[cuccubear]

Oh how you tempt me with that one, my heart is sweating!

[CookieWeasel]

Ssshhh, don't tell! Spam hash with a poached egg on top. Trader Joe's garlic chicken enchiladas. Amy's frozen dinners. Top Ramen with stir-ins. Thai and Indian frozen dinners. Aaahhh, it feels good to get it off my chest. The only thing I'm NOT going to reveal is how much of the time I really am this lazy!

[KayceeK]

Oatmeal for dinner.

Hubby would not approve. ha ha.

[messier]

I was never a big fan of oatmeal, but on the same idea: cream of wheat with a big blob of margarine and strawberry jam in the middle. Creamy buttery goodness!

I also lived on cheese and potato chip sandwiches in university. I find if I'm super stressed out and alone, its still the best comfort food I can muster: take cheap white bread from the corner store. Slather with yellow mustard. Slap on a slice or two of process cheese. Add Lays plain or ripple chips. Top with another piece of mustard bread. Squish. Enjoy! (And, if you feel rich, add a little bologna in there for textural contrast!) This gourmet delight is best accompanied with pink cream soda mixed with milk. In the dark. By yourself. No judgement!

[Caroline1]

"I also lived on cheese and potato chip sandwiches in university."....messier

It is often preached that a balanced diet and good nutrition are critical to high level brain function. Considering what many college/university students eat to balance their overall budgets, it's amazing they can finish a term paper! Fifty or so years ago, I had a friend who survived medical school by sitting down with nutrition books and coming up with his glorious peanut butter and raisins on whole wheat bread sandwich that he ate three times a day for at least five days a week. Someone should write a "cook" book of college diets.

[buttertart]

Reminds me of my husband's friend at the U of Toronto who decided that since beer was made of grain, beer=bread=lunch.

[Michelly]

I would! Make it with whole milk, not water, and throw in raisins, nuts, and a scoop each of butter and brown sugar.
Oh, yes, and a side of bacon, extra crispy and crumbled on top of the oatmeal.

[cbritton]

I always keep a box of frozen Goya fried plantains on hand. They are so delicious, baked in the oven, dipped into Wegmans' garlic caesar dressing.

[CeeQueue]

Beefaroni, out of the can...cold.

[lovessushi]

When he's out...hmm...well, don't tell...but....

pasta with too much parmesan cheese, spaghetti sauce out of a jar and a can of tuna.
Lean Cuisine pizza
anything from the little cafe place down the street...especially their eggplant/mozerella/red pepper/arugula and goat cheese sandwich with homemade fries. Bf thinks it's a waste and I could make it myself but I think it's delicious!!

:-)

[tonina_mdc]

I know this is totally gross, but since we're in confessional mode....

Buddig Beef, slathered with cream cheese, with huge segments of onion tucked in when folded in half to make a "sandwich." Wrong, but just soooooo good.

[alkapal]

i've eaten those beef-cream cheese-onion roll-ups made with green onions as a party appetizer. pretty good.

[buttertart]

Another one that's good is dried beef slathered with cream cheese mixed with a good bit of horseradish and rolled up, cut in 1" pieces - a specialty of my husband's great-aunt (she of the deviled egg and shrimp casserole, but most of her cooking was wonderful). You need to be somewhere they sell nice big sheets of dried beef, not the little shreds you sometimes get.

[alkapal]

oh that's right, buttertart, we'd need to add some horseradish to the cream cheese.

hmmm, to riff; maybe a little sour cream, to boot? the green onion provided "vegetal" and "crunch", but i think jicama would be good inside, or chopped water chestnut.

and if people want to be anti-cream-cheese snobs, well...too bad!

[buttertart]

The sky's the limit!

[tonina_mdc]

Oh, wow, horseradish too! I never thought of that! I make my gross dried beef/cream cheese combos with large chunks of yellow or red onion (mmmm), but I'll bet horseradish would make the whole thing even better/more disgusting to the rest of the world! My husband is very tolerant of my food quirks, but I do try to consume these when no one else is there to witness my shame. Now I have to add horseradish to the shopping list...but no sour cream for me, I'm not a fan of it.

[buttertart]

The horseradish makes it, get the hot one.

[tonina_mdc]

There's no such thing as mild in my book when it comes to condiments! I love horseradish that makes me cry. Ooooh, I wonder what some wasabi would be like in this combo??!?

[Andria]

Depending on the craving...

Pablum with cold milk & sugar... sweet fix
Plain white rice with lots of butter... straight out of the pot... carb fix
Cheese cube, wrapped in bacon, deep fried... stress-buster.

[cuccubear]

I love the plain rice too...right out of the pot. When I cook rice, I always take a big spoonful for myself before finishing the dish with "whatever" ingredients.

[Andria]

I can't call it a day at only one spoon... I reserve a cup.

[EWSflash]

Yep, me too.

[HillJ]

spaghetti with cold ketchup.
memories from college that I keep alive once a year...okay twice a year..okay..

[Andria]

Are you British? I have only seen this eaten among college students there.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Are you filipino? I have only seen this eaten among people there.

[HillJ]

Too funny Andria & Sam! Oh I'm a mix breed but the spaghetti w/cold ketcup thing was just a poor grad student living on the kindness of others OR making do. Now, it's just a silly food habit that only the kind folks of CH would relate to.

[corneygirl]

American solidly from midwest, buttered spaghetti and cold ketcup. SO will never see me eat this, but its like a favorite blanket.

[dlane]

make 2 servings of rice in ricecooker with 2 slices of diced spam cooked with it. After rice/spam is ready, sprinkle with a torn up sheet of toasted nori and sesame seeds. Heaven!

[kubasd]

from hawaii?

[dlane]

No from CA. A Samoan coworker described a favorite childhood dish to me and I was intriqued....

[Furgs]

Hominy sauteed in butter or olive oil. Scramble in a couple of eggs, lots of cheese, and toss with salt and cayenne!

Same as above with any leftover carb...potatoes, pasta, rice.

Orzo cooked in chicken broth, mix in some scallions and top with parmesan.

Shin Cup korean style noodles--spicy! Throw in leftover cubed meat for variety. ;)

Tamales from a jar.

Anything related to tomato-less pasta. Love to carbo load when I'm alone.

Refried beans mixed with lots of cheese.

Ice cream topped with peanut butter and something chocolate.

Fat-free chocolate pudding topped with "light" whipped cream.

Frozen steamed chopped spinach topped with butter and parmesan.

[Jacey]

A lot of these things I'm wondering why you're embarrassed to eat in public or with others: orzo, frozen spinach, FF chocolate pudding???

[alkapal]

reliably, i turn to my friends at stouffer's, who ply me with their spinach soufflé. one *used* to have to bake it for nearly an hour! now, i can nuke it for a quick fix.

[Blush]

Air popped popcorn with butter, garlic salt and LOTS of fresh ground pepper.

Spoon with peanut butter and honey on it.

[schrutefarms]

I have a cassarole that I make for myself only-it's too embarrasing since there is a full cup of butter in it!! This is the recipe-I promise, it's delicious!!
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts put in a shallow baking dish
top each breast with a slice of swiss cheese
crumble up a whole box of garlic croutons, pour over chicken
top that with the previously mentioned cup of melted butter (I actually use a little less, since the croutons have oil in them)
top all that with a can of slightly diluted cream of mushroom soup, smooth out the top, cover with foil, bake @ 375 for seventy five minutes, taking the foil off after an hour. Heart attack city. And, if I'm going to be truly honest, I like the congealed buttery leftovers the next day :)

[LEsherick2008]

If I'm sick or not feeling well or just plain tired and do not want to cook a meal. Italian sandwich or white bread with Velveeta and make grilled cheese. With a bowl of ramen soup with seasoning and a bit of hot sauce. Or yes a whole box of Kraft Mac and Cheese. Or in the Summer two pieces of lightly toasted bread lot of hellmans mayo and only the ends of a garden grown tomato seeds discarded and lots of S&P on it.

[buttertart]

Finally another tomato end fancier, the blossom end is the very best bit.

[CeeQueue]

Toasted white bread with Hellmann's on both slices, sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Garden tomatoes are the best, when I can get them.

[LEsherick2008]

This summer with the blight we did not get as many crops at all and this the the first year I have even like tomatoes and now I crave them but the sad imitations in the store are pink and don't taste very good. Oh how I cannot wait till spring and the first strawberries and tomatoes. And yes the ends are the best all meat no seed the insides just fall apart if you take out seeds. I leave those for the rest of the family.

[alkapal]

"""the sad imitations in the store are pink and don't taste very good"""

for these, i've coined the term "faux-matoes."

[pie22]

i eat alot of ramen not cause its cheap but cause i love it and rarely tell people (i live alone). usually most of the season packet, onion, peppers, egg, garlic, sriracha.
my brother makes his is prob the most shameful that i will every now and then recreate:
cook noodles, drain, add the entire seasoning packet (this used to be done with the discontinued chili flavor), butter, sour cream, hot sauce (we were a sriracha fam), and shredded cheese (usually the taco blend) - soooo incredibly good...and so incredibly bad for you.