Product Review: Lipton Onion Mushroom Soup and Dip mix

It all started a few weeks ago. My girlfriend got sick, so I went to the store for orange juice, medicine, and soup. The problem comes that my girlfriend is pescetarian, and chicken noodle soup isn't going to do anything but make her more ill.  So, I went down the soup aisle, looking for a replacement that is savory and warm, but doesn't contain meat.  I found the Lipton soup mixes, and while I'd never used them aside for their intended purpose (making onion dip, obviously), I figured it'd be worth a go.

And it was.  It was warm and tasty, and it was good.  Not life changing good, but good none-the-less.  When I was reading over the box when one of the other recipes on the box caught my eye.  It wasn't for the dip, and it wasn't the one for slow-cooker pulled pork (although my mouth is watering just thinking about it.)

It was for gravy.  So, the next week we whipped up some of Blackmoonshine's cheese balls, made some boxed mashed potatoes, and covered the whole thing with mushroom gravy.

It was glorious.

The next step will be make poutine, American style.  I'm assuming that, too, will be glorious.

So, I guess what I'm really trying to say is this: Get some, stick it in your cupboard, and you won't regret it.  Should you make a mad dash to the store, right this instant?  No.  It's not going to change your life, it's not essential, but it is good, and worth having around.  So, next time you are in the store and thinking of this post, do it.  You won't regret it.

Arbitrary product score: 7 out of 10 cooks agree, keep it in the kitchen!*

*This isn't actually a statistic, I haven't actually asked 10 cooks, please don't sue me.

Blackmoonshine's Cheese Balls

Like this, without the meat. Or the cake.

Meatballs are fantastic.  Especially the Swedish variety they serve at Ikea. It's really the best reason to go to Ikea.  Other than all the other stuff they have at Ikea, that is...

Anyway, one of the things that stinks about meatballs, at least when one needs to worry about serving pescetarian/vegetarian friends, is that they involve meat.  Blackmoonshine, a redditor, shared this wonderful recipe with me.  It tastes great, especially when served with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes.  The best part is that they freeze very well, so you can make big batches and store them for use later!

Ingredients:
1 Cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, finely chopped (Pecan meal is suggested by Blackmoonshine)
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 glove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
A pinch of red pepper flakes.

Equipment:
Blender or food processor
cheese shredder
2 large bowls
1 spatula
1 fork
measuring implements
Cookie sheets/baking pans
Wax paper

Directons:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine all ingredients in large bowl, as specified
3. Using a 1 T measure, measure out balls and place onto baking sheets covered in wax paper
4. Place into oven until browned, roughly 20~30 minutes

Serve with gravy and mashed potatoes (making both from a box is totally fine.) Makes about 4~5 servings if served as a meal, or more if served as hors d'oeuvre.

Possible Alterations:
Adding spinach or parsley would be okay, as would adding any number of other things.  Feel free to experiment, and leave feedback in the comments.  Many thanks for Blackmoonshine for sharing this recipe with me.  It's been very nice to have these in the freezer for days when I'm looking for something delicious and don't have the time to whip something up from scratch.

As always, may your meals be delicious and your games epic!

Dump (or Wowie) Cake

We got hungry...

Dump cake, according to the internet, is a dessert that involves putting cake mix on top of fruit filling of some kind.  That is not the dump cake we're talking about.  Mainly because that dessert is poorly named.  You're not really dumping anything into the dish haphazardly.  You're layering fruit filling and cake mix.  So the "dump" part makes no sense.  On top of that, it's an odd form of cobbler, which while tasty, is not cake.  It's simply not a "dump cake".  If I ever write about it, I'll call it "Quick Cobbler", or something like that.  Right now, I'm taking back the meaning of Dump Cake to it's rightful owner.

What we are going to talk about is the first cake I ever learned how to make, and it's become my go for all sorts of cake-ingesting occasions.  The reason is because it is so damnably simple, and because it doesn't require eggs or milk.  In fact, if you bake anything at all, you probably have most of the ingredients hanging around your kitchen.  So, lets go on to what we're going to be dumping into a cake dish today!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa

1 1/2  Cup Flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 T vinegar (white or apple cider is good)
1 tsp. Vanilla (Imitation is fine)
1/3 cup Salad Oil (usually Vegetable, others are fine)
1 Cup cold water

Topping:
Powdered Sugar

Equipment:
1 large bowl
1 cake round
1 spatula
measuring implements

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Dump Sugar, Cocoa, Flour, salt, and baking soda into bowl. Combine.
3. Dump vinegar, vanilla, oil, and water into bowl.  Mix until smooth.
4. Put batter into greased, floured baking round.
5. Bake roughly 35 minutes
6. Cut around edges, and invert cake onto a dish.
7. Top with a coat of powdered sugar

Serve and enjoy!  Should make about 8 slices, more depending on how it is sliced.

Possible Alterations:
The best part about this cake is that it almost always turns out moist.  The second best part is that it's very versatile.  Want to make a two layer cake?  Go for it!  Want to put icing on it instead of powdered sugar?  Why not!  It's a pretty standard chocolate cake.  Dress it up however you want.  I'm sure it'll be great at all the parties.

As always, bon apetit and happy gaming!

Tater Tot Casserole

The recipe for this came to my attention a couple weeks ago on Reddit.  I'm a follower of f7u12d (r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuud), and this recipe looked so simple that I just had to try it.  Turns out it's both delicious and cheap, so I just had to share.

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen tater tots
1~1 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (or some other cream soup)
1/2 cup milk
1 can tuna
1/3 bag frozen vegetables

Equipment:
1 big bowl
1 spatula
cheese grater
9x13 casserole dish
can opener
measuring implements

Directions:
1. Preheat the over to 350 degrees F
2. Place the tots in a layer that covers the bottom of the pan.
3. Mix half the cheese, the condensed soup, milk, tuna, and vegetables in the bowl.
4. Pour the mixture on top of the tots, smoothing it out with your spatula.
5. Spread the remaining cheese on top of the casserole and place in the oven

Once the cheese has melted and browned, serve and enjoy!  Should feed 6~8 people (less if they're all considerable hungry)

Possible Alterations:
There are many things that can be done with this recipe.  It can use any type of cheese, any type of condensed cream soup, and the types of filler like tuna and frozen vegetables can vary.  The only thing I would really recommend would be to make sure to have some Sriracha on hand!

As always, happy gaming!

Carrot Salad

 There are a couple of reasons why carrot salad is cool.  Firstly, it is pretty damn tasty.  Secondly, it's dead simple, and doesn't require more than a handful of ingredients.  Thirdly, it's cheap.  Lastly, it stores well.

So, lets make some!

Ingredients:
4~5 medium carrots
2~3 handfuls raisins
1/2~3/4 cups mayo
Dill

Equipment:
1 large bowl
Spatula
Food processor
measuring implements

Directions:
1. After peeling the carrots and cutting the ends, shred the carrots in the food processor.
2. Move the shredded carrots into the bowl.
3. Add the mayo and the dill.  Mix it all up.

Makes 5~6 sides.

Possible Alterations:
This recipe is something I've never really messed with, just because it turns out great every time I make it.  If you have any suggestions though, I'd love to hear them in the comments!

Farmer's Markets: Why you should eat local

The environmental reasons for eating local are pretty good ones, but I'm not really here to talk about that. Instead I'm going to make my arguments based on the two things: taste, and price.

Taste
A lot of eggs claim to be farm fresh, and they might be. It's just that they're coming from farms that mass produce eggs using chickens in cages, and are probably a couple of states away from you. While mass produced eggs are cheap, they lack flavour. I'm all for omelets and spiced eggs, but adding things to eggs shouldn't be necessary to make them taste really good. When you get eggs from a farmers market, you get eggs that taste delicious all on their own. It almost seems a shame to even consider adding something to them.

Fresh vegetables are also great. If you walk down the produce aisle at Wal-Mart, the vegetables look alright. They look edible most of the time, but they don't look like something to be excited about. They usually look old and over handled, and that isn't mentioning the fact that they may have traveled a long way before they make it to your plate. While the produce found at a farmer's markets doesn't necessarily look as uniform as that found in the grocery store, the fruits and vegetables are usually in better condition. This, along with the fact that they have only traveled a relatively short distance, makes for much tastier meals.

Cost

All this was 4 dollars

The prices at your local farmer's market is usually comparable to the prices found at the grocer's, if not cheaper. The only exception that I have found are eggs, which usually run about 2 dollars for a dozen, as opposed to a dollar and change. Going near the end of the market can end up with a steep decrease in price too, or with vendors who will add things to your order at no extra charge. Sometimes the vendors will also be lazy with their math. I had one guy charge seven dollars for 3 lbs of beef tips that he was selling at 3 dollars a pound.

Finding A Market Local to You
Finding a farmer's market can sometimes be the hardest part of buying things from them. This is made especially difficult because of their transient nature. They're usually only open one day a week, for a few hours of the day. There are a few tell-tale signs of their existence, however. Firstly, there are usually signs that stay up all week, with the day and time of the farmer's market. These could be little signs by the roadside, or they could be large signs with the replaceable letters like old movie marquees. You can also ask people who live in your area about if there is a market in your area.

You can also Google it, and end up on this site, called Local Harvest. I've not had much experience on the site, but it seems to work pretty well. Just type in your zip code, and it'll list the markets in your area.

I hope this has been informative, and as always, happy gaming!

Quick and Dirty Fried Rice

Fried rice is a delicious, and makes for a pretty good meal. Sometimes you don't want to go out for Chinese food, or you are looking for a cheaper alternative. The good news is that you can make some at home pretty easily!

Ingredients:
1 cup Rice (White)
2 cups water
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 Green Pepper, diced
3 handfuls frozen peas
1-2 eggs, scrambled
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Oil (for frying)

Equipment:
Stir Fry Pan/Wok
Chef Knife
Cutting Board
Spatula

Directions:
1. Cook the cup of rice with the two cups of water, and chill in the fridge.
2. Heat the oil up in the pan. Once hot, add onion, carrot, celery, green pepper, and peas. Keep the vegetables moving.
3. Once the veggies are mostly cooked and the onions are translucent, add the rice.
4. When the rice has started frying, push it to one side of the pan. In the free space, scramble the egg.
5. Once the egg is scrambled, mix it into the rice.
6. When the rice is almost mostly fried, add soy sauce.

Should serve 3~4 plates as a main dish, and 6 plates as a side dish.


Possible alterations:
There are lots of things you can add to fried rice to make it really tasty. Of course, you can add meat, such as chicken or shrimp. Baby corn would also probably be a good addition, and I've heard rumours that adding some fish sauce is a definite must.

If you were unaware, fish sauce is a flavour enhancer, like soy sauce, that is made from fermented fish juice. It may smell terrible, but when mixed with other flavours, apparently makes for a savoury delicious taste that is hard to replicate. As always, comments are always appreciated!

Good Eats and Happy Gaming!