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Know what I like about baking? It’s a little bit like Forest Gump’s “box of chocolates”. You’re never sure what you’re going to get. It’s a little bit messy. You’ve got to be organized and a bit more systematic. It’s … Continue reading →
We love to kick back on the sofa on Friday nights, paper plates of pizza on our laps, feet up on the edge of the coffee table to watch some TV and relax—enjoying one another’s company and feasting on some … Continue reading →
It’s Saint Patrick’s Day “season” where once a year everybody channels their inner Irish, wears green and partakes of Corned Beef and Cabbage. We put on this year’s broadcast of “A Quiet Man”—seemingly the definitive movie about Ireland starring that … Continue reading →
Everybody’s got a recipe for lasagna I would imagine. For years I just did the recipe on the back of the box. Now I pretty much do it out of my head. I don’t try to get fancy. And this … Continue reading →
I’ve given up on buying those refrigerated tubes of biscuits at the grocery store. Even the store brand costs more than this Cheap Bastid is willing to pay for gooey dough that transforms into blonde hockey pucks. If I’m going to … Continue reading →
“Comfort food always has something gloppy in it” was Mrs. CB’s definition this morning when we got to talking about the dinner I made last night. Saucy Meatballs and Grits is definitely comfort food and I think Mrs. CB hit … Continue reading →
Living for 30+ years in the Upper Midwest gave me an appreciation for “stick to your ribs”, “old fashioned” slow cooked comfort food. It’s a “fix and forget” meal which you can’t resist the temptation to fuss around with all … Continue reading →
OK, folks, Cheap Bastid hasn’t been around in a couple of weeks. That’s because I am now employed again as a bastion of the automotive industry selling cars. Anyhow, before I have to hit the shower and get my game … Continue reading →
The best enchiladas I’ve ever had came from a place called Sadies in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This iconic restaurant is big and every night it’s a hopping place. New Mexico style enchiladas are “stacked” rather than rolled with an enchilada … Continue reading →
I love enchiladas, especially New Mexico style. But I haven’t really tried making them very often because I just don’t like the taste of the “enchilada sauce” that you buy in a can. It always has a faintly metallic taste … Continue reading →
Remember school lunches way back when? Were you a member of the “Clean Plate Club”? OK, so here’s how it worked at Manhattan Elementary in Tampa 50 years ago. Everyday after lunch the teacher would call each kid’s name from … Continue reading →
We did it! We came up with the bright idea at Thanksgiving for a different take on dessert. Cranberry Cheesecake. We both love cheesecake and we both love cranberries—especially at the traditional holiday dinners. And we thought—what if? What if … Continue reading →
Seems like there’s a lot of places which have their own signature sandwich. They range from Philly Cheesesteak to Louisiana PoBoys to San Diego Fish Tacos to Cuban Sandwiches in Tampa or Milwaukee Bratwurst. A trip to one of these … Continue reading →
(a Mrs. CB guest post) I have such great memories of holiday dinners growing up: The sound of my mom cursing under her breath (‘Holiday? HOLIDAY?? Whose holiday? Not the cook’s, that’s for %&!#@ sure!’); the rustling of my dad’s … Continue reading →
We love our weekly homemade pizza that is totally from scratch. I make 2 “balls” of crust dough and freeze one so I don’t have to make dough every week. It comes out of the freezer the day before I … Continue reading →
Today’s the day. I’ve got the day off and then I’m working all weekend. So today I have to do up my grocery list for Thanksgiving and check out where I can get “The Bird”. But then again, we don’t … Continue reading →
Eating good is often about getting creative with stuff you just happen to have on hand. Last week I did up a meatloaf. Two pounds worth. That means leftovers. I love meatloaf sandwiches. One of my favorite ways is to … Continue reading →
One of my “secrets” is that I’ve come to really love sweet potatoes. So many people make them once or twice a year at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’ve gotten to the point where I make them a dozen or more … Continue reading →
OK, time for one of my favorites that I just have to have every few months. Homemade old-fashioned meatloaf. Beaver Cleaver used to complain about it. So did Richie Cunningham. But they both ate it—begrudgingly. Their perfect Moms made imperfect … Continue reading →
Garrison Keillor has often included references to Cream of Mushroom soup in his monologues about Lake Wobegon on “A Prairie Home Companion”. According to him, Cream of Mushroom soup is one of the things that Scandinavian Lutherans and Germanic Catholics … Continue reading →
Thanksgiving is just around the corner so, I thought that I’d share a couple of recipes with you now just in case anyone wants to give it a try. But first, a little story about Thanksgiving: The first Thanksgiving dinner … Continue reading →
I’m salivating just thinking about the food in this post. Last year I managed to photograph most of the dishes I made for Thanksgiving. And quite frankly, I’m doing the same menu this year. Over the next week or so … Continue reading →
I don’t know if I’ve written about this before—and in case I have, this will just be another version or a “re-run”—but sometimes I like making up a really quick pasta supper that leaves out the “red sauce” but still … Continue reading →
When I was a kid we didn’t have pork that often unless it was bacon with breakfast or thin little pork chops with a ring of fat around them that Mom would fry half to death. The big treat of … Continue reading →
Have you ever had a time when you’re home alone for a week or two and you finally get tired of make do dinners of things you pop in the microwave just to fill your belly? Yeah, me too. Cooking … Continue reading →
Sometimes regular old hamburgers seem so humdrum that you’d just like something a little different. There’s cheeseburgers and sliders, double burgers and imitation “Big Macs” but what else is there? Have you ever been in a café scanning the menu, … Continue reading →
Like many people, I have spent some time being unemployed in the last few years. That means you have to cut back every where you can and both literally and figuratively “tighten your belt”. Frugality has been a necessity. My … Continue reading →
Yeah I know, it’s been done to death in the “blogosphere” and in cookbooks and by your Mom and your Grandma. But, when you’re hungry or have hungry kids and you want a quick “sit-down” dinner that’s filling and good, … Continue reading →
As a teenager in the 1960’s I was never exposed to Mexican food—at least until we moved my junior year of high school and a lot of my friends from high school liked to go to “Casa Mora” in Grand … Continue reading →
A couple of days ago I posted a recipe for Reuben Sandwiches made with leftover grilled Corned Beef. Oh man, those were tasty with just the right balance between the meat and sauerkraut and homemade Thousand Island. Here’s a link … Continue reading →
The other day I wrote about grilled Corned beef and how easy and tasty it is. So, what do you do with the leftovers? That’s really easy—make a homemade Reuben sandwich that is as tasty as anything you’ll get at … Continue reading →
A couple of months ago my grocery store had a special on vacuum packed corned beef briskets at a buck-forty-nine a pound. So we bought 2 and put them in the freezer. And the other day I got the bright idea … Continue reading →
You know, it’s totally possible to have a family meal together every night. There’s no need to call Chili’s for carry-out or troop over to Quiznos. With just a bit of planning you can have a meal ready to go … Continue reading →
I stuck my head in the freezer the other day looking for something to grill. Now, this freezer is chock full of hard frozen food. For those of us over 50, it’s more like Fibber McGee’s closet than a freezer. You … Continue reading →
About a month ago I cooked a big 6 lb. bone-in pork shoulder. I did it with a “Cuban Mojo” marinade and sauce. (Here’s a link: http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/cuban-mojo-pork-roast/). We had a fantastic dinner that included sweet potato “discs” along with extra … Continue reading →
I checked it out and yes indeed, Cheap Bastid has written both about meatballs and grinders. But…not about “meatball grinders”. So that’s what I’m going to write about today– Meatballs and Meatball Grinders. Besides, I took some really good pictures … Continue reading →
There’s all kinds of good things to try when it’s hot and you want something that will cool you off and fill you up. And it doesn’t hurt if it’s good for you too. One of those is Jicama and … Continue reading →
We’ve still got lots of heat left this summer. A couple of weeks ago it got hot and muggy here, just a few miles inland, in north San Diego County. Hot enough that we really didn’t want to cook in … Continue reading →
I’m always looking for new flavors and ways to make my usually penchant for “meat and potatoes” just a little healthier. We all know that more fruit and vegetables are good for us but the biggest thing is to make … Continue reading →
My Mom has teased me many times over the years—well not recently because I’m over 60 and she’s over 80—about one of my favorite things when I was real little. Seems like when I was 3 or 4 years old … Continue reading →
It’s hot and muggy here in SoCal. Hot enough and sticky enough to remind me of all those summers in Iowa. But it won’t get as hot and it won’t last as long. That’s good news because our apartment isn’t … Continue reading →
Last week my grocery store (Stater Brothers) had bone-in pork shoulder roast on special for $.99 a pound. That’s a good deal even with the bone-in. So I got one figuring I could freeze it and slow cook it when … Continue reading →
What could possibly be more “All American” than hot dogs? Well, maybe a good John Philips Sousa march but there’s not a whole lot else. As I little kid I loved eating “Coney” dogs for free at my grandparents’ A&W … Continue reading →
Comedian Ron White has this really funny monologue where he says that he once gave an alias to a cop by telling him that “They call me “Tater Salad”. Well today’s recipe is ‘Tater Salad” but they still don’t call … Continue reading →
After my last two posts you may be getting the impression that I enjoy the proverbial “squeeze the nickel so hard that the buffalo craps”. Well, you would be right. Let’s face it, times are hard—at least they are for … Continue reading →
Here we go! We’re going to take the shredded leftovers from the Roast Beast you cooked up the other day and turn it into quick, original, tasty and cheap dinners or lunches. Obviously, the first thing you do with your … Continue reading →
My wife, Mrs. CB, dearly loves what she calls Roast Beast. Of course that’s a term borrowed from the Whos of Whoville but it’s a terrific term for one of the most versatile meals that you can make. Versatile? Oh … Continue reading →
Right now I’m channeling Sly and the Family Stone. The lyrics to “Hot Fun in the Summertime” are rolling through my brain. This is the time of the year when gardens are loaded with all kinds of good stuff. And … Continue reading →
That little phrase just flat out describes how much of this summer has been across the country. “Butt-stinkin’ hot!” Record temperatures. Humidity. Miserable for man and beast alike. First time I heard that description, we were out and about with … Continue reading →
