Recession Food – Chili Mac

I was looking for a fast and filling meal as I have a number of things to accomplish tonight. A quick check at the larder showed I had some rigatoni, and a sneak peak in the freezer produced a quart of frozen Texas Red Chili… Add a little cheese, some Frito corn chips, maybe some onion and some jalapeno, and you have a right tasty and very hearty meal.

The really funny part happened when I did a wikipedia search for “Chili + Macaroni”, expecting to find some historical reference. What I did find was …

The Meal, Ready-to-Eat — commonly known as the MRE — is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its servicemembers for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available. The MRE replaced the canned MCI or Meal, Combat, Individual rations in 1981 and is the intended successor to the lighter LRP ration developed by the United States Army for Special Forces and Ranger patrol units in Vietnam.

I KNEW there was a reason I liked this stuff…

Seriously, I have several hours of online courses to review and various chances to demonstrate my proficiency at the drivel contained within said online courses. So will get on with the post and thence back to my online, at will, self-lead, torture…

The key to good chili mac is the chili, and I make some of the best, see my article on Texas Red – Chili, the pasta while a part of the name just adds filling to make sure there is enough meal to fill all the plates.

About that chili …

Texas red if it walks the thin line just this side of indigestibility: damning the mouth that eats it and defying the stomach to digest it, the ingredients are hardly willing to lie in the same pot together.

If one looks at all the legends of how chili was discovered, there is one thing in common…. ABJECT POVERTY, so the meat involved is not going to be the best, but since it will be close to the horn or the hoof, I am sure it will have flavor beyond compare

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Spaghetti, Butter and Herbs

It is cooler but still rather hot to cook, so where ever I can, I’m doing quick, simple, and cool. Pasta is a Mediterranean dish, and is suited for warm humid climes, (similar to NYC in late August.)

This is a very simple, very light sauce, that has massive flavor. Simply small garlic cloves sauteed in butter until they turn golden brown and infuse the butter with their sweetness, then drained fresh pasta is added to the pan and tossed to coat, as a finishing touch, a handful of mixed / minced herbs are added and the whole is tossed to mix. Add a dusting of fresh grated Parmesan, a side salad and some garlic bread, a complete meal, quick, simple, and spectacular.

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Bacon, Peppers, Spaghetti

A quiet night with no denizens / crowd / roaring crowd, time for a simple meal, with maybe a bit of healthy tossed in

Instead of my usual butter I’ll use olive oil, and my standard bacon but one can use prosciutto, (one can replace the meat entirely with mushrooms, say chopped / sliced portabello for a vegetarian meal.)

Just because this is “healthy food”, does not mean using “low fat / low taste” products. High quality ingredients are essential to a good and satisfying taste, and a good and satisfying taste is essential… I.E. Go Cheap and weep …

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Thai Noodles

Ok, talk about a flavor punch! The flavors of the “pesto”, the fresh chili sauce , plus the slivers of peppers and ginger dressed with a bit of lime and sesame oil. Absolutely brilliant!

A very quick dish, with mega flavors and mina calories…

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Sausage, Peppers and Onion Pasta Rustica

It’s summer, it’s hot, and I do not want to cook anything on top of the stove.. But I have such a wonderful slow cooker, maybe I can try that to make a hearty, tasty, pasta sauce.

Background
A sausage sandwich is a sandwich containing cooked sausage. Outside the United Kingdom, it generally consists of an oblong bread roll such as a bagette or ciabatta roll, and sliced or whole links of sausage, such as hot or sweet Italian sausage, Popular toppings include mustard, peppers, onions, and tomato sauce.

If I take that concept, chop everything roughly (“a rustica”), then simmer every so slowly in in my slow cooker, with a tomatoes and lots of fresh basil from the market, I would have a pasta sauce fit for a king.

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Noodles and Sauce

Looking for something to help warm me up and knock off the chill from the rain. It is so annoying when we go from 90F to 60F in less than 24 hours…

Maybe something Asian, something that has a bit of a bite, with the ability to warm and fill, and not fill the kitchen with mega-BTU’s of heat. Fast and filling, savory and simple, Noodles seem to fit the bill. But with a bit of a twist, say butter, ginger, garlic, and maybe a bit of scallion, with a hint of chili.

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Japanese Sauce for Noodles

It’s just damned hot and I’ll not be cooking anything major today. But we still have to eat, and I have a taste for Asian. So one could order take out, but I think I’ll do something a bit more tasty, a good bit more healthy, and a lot cooler.

I’ll boil up some soda noodles, and slice / dice / mince some crisp veggies, maybe mince / crush some garlic, pick some fresh herbs from the counter top garden, and toss it all in an Asian style / flavored sauce.

This would also make a great Asian taste twist for grilled fish or a shell fish salad….

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fettuccine carbonara with spring peas

This is why I will die of chronic cholesterol. It is also why I will die happy…. For those of you who have read my post about hedonism, this is quite indulgent, and ooohhh so simple. There are many rewards to using only the freshest cream and butter, the finest of cheese, and the best of pasta. Truly, a RogueChef classic.

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