Adventure #2: Real Taco Pie

            Garrett and I were kind of pressed for time with adventure #2 this week, and we were unsure of what to make. Luckily, we had a few extra Pinterest recipes saved, so we made real taco pie! Although we didn’t go grocery shopping until 8 PM, this last minute dinner idea went pretty smoothly.

            Step 1, grocery shopping, was interesting to say the least. The ingredients for real taco pie are as follows

¼ cup butter
⅔ cup milk
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix (1¼ oz.)
2½ cups mashed potato flakes
1 lb. ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded (4oz.)
sour cream, optional

We already had half of the ingredients, so our grocery list consisted of the ground beef, onion, tomato, lettuce, and mashed potato flakes. We found the majority of the items without any problems. However, in my opinion, Garrett took far too long trying to determine which tomato was the best. I wish I could say that finding the perfect tomato was our biggest problem, but that definitely was not the case.

Mashed potato flakes…I don’t even know where to start. First of all, we didn’t know what they were, and it was by chance alone that we stumbled into the right aisle with one lonely box of mashed potato flakes before us. We were supposed to use the flakes to make the pie crust. However, upon seeing what appeared to be a box of instant potatoes, we were reluctant to buy it, so we decided to consult an employee who of course was of little assistance.

Needless to say, Garrett and I left with the box of flakes and went home to begin step 2, cooking. This step was not too much of a challenge for us. We set the oven to 350, put the meat in a skillet to brown, and continued on with the other directions. I started making the crust while Garrett began chopping the onion. This, I will admit, was quite a sight.

He had never chopped an onion before, and he didn’t want to cry. I suggested he put a match between his teeth, but he insisted that a mouthful of water was what prevented tears. Essentially, the water worked, but I think a case of laughter caused him to swallow it. The remainder of the onion was chopped without water, causing Garrett to shed some very manly tears. (Ha!) 

Meanwhile, I worked on the pie crust. The process of turning the mashed potato flakes into a crust was actually easier than I thought it would be. The only problem was that they didn’t seem to have enough liquid in them, so Garrett and I debated on whether or not to add more melted butter for a solid five minutes. We decided against it and continued with the rest of the steps.

Garrett finished preparing the meat while I shaped the crust. We then combined the two and baked the pie for 35 minutes. Around 10 o’clock, the pie was finished and we topped it with the lettuce and tomato.  

All in all, the taco pie turned out picture perfect. It tasted pretty good too. Well, except for the crust. We were not a fan of the mashed potato flake pie crust, and we don’t recommend ever using it!

Adventure #3 starts next week. What should we make?!

The full recipe for real taco pie can be found here http://www.dealwisemommy.net/2012/04/dinner-idea-real-taco-pie-2/

Adventure #1: Braided Spaghetti

            Last night, Garrett and I embarked on our first cooking adventure together. Our mission was to successfully create braided spaghetti, a recipe that we happened to find through Pinterest. While the end result was not a complete catastrophe, we did have some mishaps along the way.  I wish I could say the wine played a role in this, however, that wasn’t the case.

            Let’s start with step 1, grocery shopping. The ingredients for braided spaghetti are as follows

1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature

½ pound Italian sausage, cooked
6 oz spaghetti, cooked
1 cup thick spaghetti sauce
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 egg white
Parmesan cheese
Parsley Flakes

Shopping for the ingredients did not pose any major problems for us. We did have to ask a Wal Mart employee where to find the Italian sausage, but who hasn’t been there before? Overall, the hardest part of step 1 was choosing which wines we wanted. We stood in the aisle for a solid ten minutes mulling over all of the possible choices. This was mainly due to my indecisiveness, which always gets the best of Garrett. (Sorry!)

            On to step 2, cooking. This is where it got interesting. It was about 5 o’clock when Garrett and I arrived home with the groceries. Our plan was to start cooking immediately. However, something that we didn’t take into account was that you have to thaw the rolls. (Whoops!)

            After reading the package, we discovered that it could take up to FIVE HOURS to thaw them! Thankfully, there was a “speed method” which took an hour and a half. It probably took us 45 minutes to actually get the rolls and the boiling water into the oven and start thawing. I’m not sure we would have ever figured out the whole pan of boiling water under the pan of rolls thing, so I will shamefully admit that we had to consult my mother regarding this whole thawing process. (Thanks Mom!)

            Nevertheless, around 7:30 we were ready to start cooking! For the most part it was smooth sailing from here on out. I mean, who can’t boil spaghetti and brown Italian sausage? Oh wait, I should probably mention that after browning the sausage, we forgot to drain it prior to adding the sauce. Another whoops on our part, but it turned out okay.

            The most challenging part of this whole process all had to do with those darned rolls! After rolling them out into a 12x16 inch rectangle, making ½-inch cuts along the sides, and filling the middle with the spaghetti and Italian sausage, we had to braid it. Needless to say, we are not professional dough braiders. It wasn’t a complete failure, but not surprisingly, ours did not look as pretty as the picture.

            With the oven set at 350, we pressed on, baking the braided spaghetti for 35 minutes. Garrett enjoyed some of the extra spaghetti and Italian sausage while I continuously peered over at the oven, waiting and wishing that ours would turn out that perfect golden brown color. Yeah, that didn’t happen.

              It may not have turned out picture perfect, but it was pretty tasty! Overall, we agreed that our first culinary adventure was a success.

It's on to adventure #2 for us! What should we make next?


Find the full recipe for braided spaghetti here http://rhodesbread.com/blog/blog/braided-spaghetti-bread

 

 

Big Kids, Little Kitchen

My name is Lindsey and along with my best friend, Garrett, we want to take you with us on our hopefully not too painful journey to culinary enlightenment. We are two students in our junior year of college. We have low budgets for grocery shopping and almost zero experience in the kitchen. We have, however, mastered the art of cooking Ramen noodles. Over the next 13 weeks we hope to move on to bigger and tastier things. Maybe we’ll even create the perfect soufflé! Well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We’ve all been helpless victims of our own bad cooking, so join us, two big kids in a little kitchen, in our attempt to get two culinary criminals off the streets.