The Lazy Gourmet

[Buster's Uncle]

...And now I've skimmed the whole thread in the 4.5 hours since that post - and congratulations Elok.  This here thread's one of AC2 Rec Commons' institutions - good conversation and spreadin' the heck out of th' useful knowledge...

[Buster's Uncle]

...Mom hasn't had me cook much in recent years.  I do it when she asks and she hasn't been asking...

[Metaliturtle]

I've got chicken in a citrus marinade right now, gonna do some orange chicken stir fry for dinner.

[Buster's Uncle]

Skimming through this thread did remind me to remind Mom that we ain't had country styled-hamburger for a while -that's country-style steak, Gamera, only for cheap SOBs or in a hurry/lazy, an invention of mine- she's always worrying about what to do for supper, so likes when I ask for something, and this time she made it not with paddies, but crumbled and we ate it over bread slices, sloppy joe-style, which made for two days supper and was a successful experiment/variation...

[Elok]

Sure, why not.

https://www.allrecipes.com/ultimate-cowboy-caviar-recipe-8653312

This isn't really lazy as such, but it's not really hard and it's one of the few vegan recipes I really like, in spite of the horrible consequences of eating two different kinds of canned beans in bulk.  The recipe is extremely amenable to customization and substitution; it doesn't suffer in the slightest from olive oil in place of avocado.  I have never yet made it with fire-roasted red peppers or whatever--I sometimes swap in chopped poblanos if I have them, or those little midget sweet peppers they sell by the bag at many groceries.  Canned chipotles from the Mexican section at Wal-Mart also work fine.  As long as you keep the basic skeleton intact any number of variations wind up delicious.  The hitch is that the cilantro is really essential for it to shine and I always buy the smallest bunch available, use maybe half in a recipe, and the rest gets slimy in the fridge.  Alas.

[Buster's Uncle]

I own a forum where white dudes discuss cooking, and I love it!

[Elok]

Oh, you mentioned hamburgers.  I kept trying to fry hamburgers, but always got frustrated by the hassle of forming patties (greasy hands!), the spattering grease, the long cooktimes, and the frequent frustration of finding one slightly pink in the middle.  Plus one kid has blood sugar issues and shouldn't be eating buns.  So I tried to adapt the basic flavors of cheeseburgers to something with less bother.  I experimented, added and changed what sounded good, and wound up with ... a thing that doesn't have a name, really, but the kids like it.  I brown ground beef loose, no patties, then scoop it out of the pan and use the fat to fry diced onions and sweet peppers.  Then I flavor the whole thing with garlic, salt, pepper, and aji paste, one of my favorite condiments.  You can order it on the internet by the jar, it's cheap and the secret to most Peruvian cuisine.  The aji pepper is mildly spicy but mostly has an intense savory flavor you can't replicate easily with other peppers.  The paste is wonderful for just making stuff taste good.  Anyway, garlic, a couple of spoons of aji glop.  I serve it hot over pasta or rice (for non-diabetic family) and then add a generous handful of the shredded "fiesta blend" cheese you get in bags at the supermarket.  Stir it up and everything is gooey, meaty, savory, spicy, and sweet.

[Buster's Uncle]

Hmm. It hits me that I've never talked about this, and somebody might find it useful.

On the road doing renfairs, living hyper-cheap in a tent, I had a cooler, but used it for the sturdy food box with a fairly secure lid that it was.  (Years later, I did a fair above Houston where birds would tear into my bread bags if I left them outside that box.)  Cold would have taken regular drives into town several days a week and $1.19 for ice each time, and I WAS living that cheap on mostly peanut butter sandwiches six weeks at a stretch.

So lemon juice for my tea was out of the question.  -And it turned out that a little straight -not even apple- vinegar wasn't bad for that -no, really- and if vinegar would keep for me in the Sonoran desert, it's pretty indestructible.  Maybe this is a handy camping tip.

[Rusty Edge]

Here's my recipe for Well-caramelized French Onion Soup

Ingredients-
4 or 5 sweet yellow onions.
1 shallot
1 stick of butter (I use Kerrigold, so half a brick)
  salt
1 box of beef broth
1/4 cup of Better Than Boullion beef flavor
1/2 cup of Sherry (I use Landau East India Solera Sherry available at Otto's)
1 French baguette
4 kinds of soft cheese such as Gruyere, smoked provolone (or substitute pasteurized mozzarella), Jarlsberg, Emmental, (or substitute Swiss). If you can't find 4 soft cheeses, use more Gruyere because it's the essential one. (This time I used 2 parts Gruyere, one part Swiss, one part Jarlsberg). About a cup of each after shredding.

Equipment- Instant Pot, oven, ramekins, kitchen knife, bread knife, silicone scraper, cheese grater.

Instructions- 
Put the InstaPot on the counter next to the stovetop set to warm and put the butter in.
Put a cutting board on the stove top and turn on the fan hood. I also suggest rubber gloves. Process the onions one at a time by cutting off the ends, removing the papery and green portions of the outer layers and discarding them. Cut the onion in half, top to bottom. Remove any green shoots from the core and discard them. This should minimize any bitterness. Lay the onion half on it's flat side and starting at one end slice it like bread, 1/4 inch thick or less. Put the sliced onion in the Instapot and cover it with the glass lid. Process the rest of the onions and the shallot the same way.

At this point I turn off the fan and move the pot to the garage, plug it in and set it for slow cooker on the plus or high setting. It should say 9 hours. I stir it well to get the melted butter to coat all of the onion. Sprinkling some salt to help break down the onions is optional. Cover. I do this to keep the fumes out of the house, but if it's easier for you to keep it in the kitchen, go right ahead.

Cut half of the baguette into one inch slices and place it on the counter or cutting board to dry out. 

Dry bread floats better atop the soup. You want the bread to float well enough to support the weight of the cheese when the time comes to broil it. The cheese doesn't melt so well submerged in soup.  I should also point out that I don't stomach onions well unless they are dried, or cooked low and slow to release the vapors, so this recipe evolved. No standing over the pot for an hour or more. No vapors or bitterness. No sugar.  I have experimented with red and white wine and cognac but prefer all sherry for this. Using two kinds of sherry might improve the depth of flavor.

Stir the onions a few times in the course of the 9 hours. When the cycle ends, reset it for another 9 hours. Stirring is less critical in the second cycle. Get your sleep. Some time on warm won't hurt the soup if you run late,

And the beef broth, Better than Boullion and sherry. Stir, put on the pressure lid ad hit the soup button.

Grate and mix the cheese. When the soup is done and still hot, ladle it into ramekins. (optional - add a spoonful of sherry to each ramekin) Float bread on top. break up some of the slices to complete coverage. Cover the bread with shredded cheese. Broil for 2 minutes (the cheese should be melted and partially golden) and serve.

You can freeze the soup portion for later.

[Metaliturtle]

Here's my recipe for Well-caramelized French Onion Soup

Ingredients-
4 or 5 sweet yellow onions.
1 shallot
1 stick of butter (I use Kerrigold, so half a brick)
  salt
1 box of beef broth
1/4 cup of Better Than Boullion beef flavor
1/2 cup of Sherry (I use Landau East India Solera Sherry available at Otto's)
1 French baguette
4 kinds of soft cheese such as Gruyere, smoked provolone (or substitute pasteurized mozzarella), Jarlsberg, Emmental, (or substitute Swiss). If you can't find 4 soft cheeses, use more Gruyere because it's the essential one. (This time I used 2 parts Gruyere, one part Swiss, one part Jarlsberg). About a cup of each after shredding.

Equipment- Instant Pot, oven, ramekins, kitchen knife, bread knife, silicone scraper, cheese grater.

Instructions- 
Put the InstaPot on the counter next to the stovetop set to warm and put the butter in.
Put a cutting board on the stove top and turn on the fan hood. I also suggest rubber gloves. Process the onions one at a time by cutting off the ends, removing the papery and green portions of the outer layers and discarding them. Cut the onion in half, top to bottom. Remove any green shoots from the core and discard them. This should minimize any bitterness. Lay the onion half on it's flat side and starting at one end slice it like bread, 1/4 inch thick or less. Put the sliced onion in the Instapot and cover it with the glass lid. Process the rest of the onions and the shallot the same way.

At this point I turn off the fan and move the pot to the garage, plug it in and set it for slow cooker on the plus or high setting. It should say 9 hours. I stir it well to get the melted butter to coat all of the onion. Sprinkling some salt to help break down the onions is optional. Cover. I do this to keep the fumes out of the house, but if it's easier for you to keep it in the kitchen, go right ahead.

Cut half of the baguette into one inch slices and place it on the counter or cutting board to dry out. 

Dry bread floats better atop the soup. You want the bread to float well enough to support the weight of the cheese when the time comes to broil it. The cheese doesn't melt so well submerged in soup.  I should also point out that I don't stomach onions well unless they are dried, or cooked low and slow to release the vapors, so this recipe evolved. No standing over the pot for an hour or more. No vapors or bitterness. No sugar.  I have experimented with red and white wine and cognac but prefer all sherry for this. Using two kinds of sherry might improve the depth of flavor.

Stir the onions a few times in the course of the 9 hours. When the cycle ends, reset it for another 9 hours. Stirring is less critical in the second cycle. Get your sleep. Some time on warm won't hurt the soup if you run late,

And the beef broth, Better than Boullion and sherry. Stir, put on the pressure lid ad hit the soup button.

Grate and mix the cheese. When the soup is done and still hot, ladle it into ramekins. (optional - add a spoonful of sherry to each ramekin) Float bread on top. break up some of the slices to complete coverage. Cover the bread with shredded cheese. Broil for 2 minutes (the cheese should be melted and partially golden) and serve.

You can freeze the soup portion for later.

We make this all the time at my house, but we all like the smell of cooking onions so we do it in the kitchen.  I tend to use red cooking wine and white grape juice because we're not drinkers.  I use the beef cubes or homemade stock, and I think I use more butter than you too, but I don't spring for the Kerrygold.

I just learned what Emmental cheese was, not common around here, even in Dairyland, I will try this...