diy mac n cheese

what you need: - regular cheese (the type you put on bread) and, if you’re interested in making it vary a little, maybe some goat/blue cheese etc - any type of pasta - butter (not necessary)

what you can use to spice it up a little: - stock cubes - some veggies like broccoli or tomatoes - a dollop of seasoned cooking cream - some meat; tuna or chicken can make it much tastier for you !

instructions: boil the pasta. for added flavor, add a stock cube of chosen flavor in the water. when the pasta’s soft enough, pour away all the water.

leave the stove on on the mildest heat level, and add the other ingredients; butter, veggies, cooking cream and cheese. (if you add any raw ingredients that need to be thoroughly cooked (unlike ie. tomatoes), please cook them before adding them !) stir it until the cheese is evenly melted.

and there you go ! youve got a plateful of delicious gooey pasta that’s easy to cook and fills you up well.

Rice Porridge/Asian Congee (2-3 spoons)

AKA oatmeal from the other side of the globe. Rice porridge is a traditional breakfast, and is often made with leftover rice. Rice porridge is mostly eaten as a savory meal.

Ingredients (takes 5-10 minutes)

1 cup cooked rice. It looks like very little, but trust me. It’ll expand.

Thirteen cups water for thin consistency. Eight cups water for thick consistency. And anything in the middle.

Add to pot, and boil until desired consistency is achieved! There are many ways to dress up your bowl of Asian congee. You can sprinkle prepackaged rice seasonings, or a pinch of salty dried meats/seafoods ... 

Or add some meats, tofu, and vegetables ... 

Or my personal favorite; the addition of a flavorful century egg.

Delicious porridge!

A pretty easy snack, portion of a meal, or complete meal is a cucumber and cream cheese. Cucumber with a soft (similar to the texture of cream cheese) goat cheese is also really good. Just wash a cucumber and cut it into decently thick slices so they can scoop the cheese without breaking. You can put the cheese in a bowl for your meal, or in a sealable container. If you want, you can scoop the cheese right out of the container and out the rest back in the fridge when you’re done. If you have the energy to take some cream cheese and some goat cheese and mix them together with a fork, that’s my favorite. I find the cucumber has a pretty light flavor, and I light how crisp and hydrating it is. The cheese provides protein and fat, which are good for energy and feeling full.

Easy Borscht (Beet soup) 3-4 Spoons

A dish common in East Europe and North Asia, this cheap dish can be served hot, cold, with greek yogurt/sour scream, and can be vegetarian and vegan! This recipe doesn’t have a strong ‘raddishy’ taste, and is a subtle, starchy dish.

Ingredients (takes 20-30 minutes)

A food processor

Four cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 (15 oz) cans of ‘original cut’ beets

2 teaspoons white vinegar

Fish, beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, green peas, fresh dill (optional)

Boil the broth, add peas, carrots, and a sprinkling of dill for 10 minutes.

Gently brown the beef, skillet the fish, and stirfry the carrots, onions, and potatoes with the white vinegar. Set aside.

Drain the beets and discard the liquid. Process the beets in a food processor into either small chunks, or into a thick goop. Or anything in between.

Add all into pot on high heat, salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste. 

What Can You Put On A Bagel?

Cream cheese and sliced cucumbers?

Peanut butter and sliced bananas?

Tomato paste, melted cheese, and pizza toppings?

Cottage cheese and fruits?

Canned tuna?

Avocados?

Eggs?

On my good days, I sometimes pre-make several bagels of different varieties, and then toss them into a tupperware container to be kept in the fridge. Some I re-heat in the microwave/toaster oven, and others I eat cold. They make a happy meal for those really lowbrow, -1 spoon days!

Cold Soy Tofu (3-4 Spoons)

A popular summer tofu dish!

Ingredients (takes 10-15 minutes)

1 package/200g silken (soft) tofu

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon of sugar

A few drops of sesame oil

Chopped ginger, green onion, cilantro, chili paste, and garlic to taste

Bonito (fish) flakes, century duck egg, (optional)

Vacuum-packed tofu, the kind that comes in those squishy wet packages, are ready to eat right out the package. Cut the tofu into slice or serve as is.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, chili paste, and garlic together into a sauce. Pour over the tofu.

Top with the ginger, green onion, cilantro, and Bonito flakes. Serve the century egg on the side, or sliced amongst the tofu.

Clam and Ginger Soup (3-4 spoons)

A popular seafood broth, this dish is great all year round, and is bursting with watercress flavor.

Ingredients (18-25 minutes)

A package of frozen clams

3 tablespoons of julienned ginger

4 tablespoons of Chicken broth base

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons white pepper powder

12-20 cups water

1 tablespoon rice wine, cilantro sprigs, diced green onion (optional)

Combine all ingredients except for clams, and bring to a boil.

Add the clams. They’re fully cooked when the shells open and the meat inside is opaque and firm.

Ready-To-Cook Foods at the Asian Grocery

Next time you visit Chinatown, keep an eye out for:

Zongzi 粽子 (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves)

This Chinese dish is sticky rice wrapped tightly in bamboo leaves and then steamed. There are sweet and savory varieties; some are sweet mango rice desserts, some are salty brown rice with slices of fatty pork. Usually sold frozen, they’re often very cheap at the grocery. They’re not mass-produced, so look in the marketmade sections of the store. Simply steam them for 15 minutes at home, and eat them with sweet hot sauces!

Lo Baak Gao 蘿蔔糕 (radish/turnip cakes)

Sold sometimes in circular cakes, sometimes in sliced squares, this dish is another marketmade dish. It’s more likely to be found in bakeries. They have a distinct radishy taste to them, are crispy on the outsides and soft inside. Commonly eaten with a soy sauce mix of sugar and vinegar. To cook, panfry the cake(s) over high heat for 10-25 minutes. 

Frozen baozi, wontons, dumplings

These are the foods that’ll sit in your freezer. Found in literally every Asian grocery at the frozen foods section, they’re mass produced and come in varying prices and quality. ‘Baozi’ are the larger, round buns that come in plain, sweet, and savory varieties, and must be steamed. Wontons and dumplings are commonly boiled, or they’re gently steamed or pan fried.

Four-Minute Guacamole—A Filling Vegetarian or Vegan, Gluten-free Meal

You need

Cut avocado in half with knife.

Poke or stab avocado seed with knife and remove.

Scoop avocado flesh into bowl with spoon. Rinse spoon.

Mash up avocado with fork.

Scoop two or three spoonfuls of salsa into bowl. If you want more spiciness, shake in a few dashes of hot sauce.

If you eat dairy and have any sour cream or plain yogurt in the fridge, rinse the spoon and scoop two or three spoonfuls of sour cream/yogurt into the bowl.

Mix with mashed avocado.

Cut open lime/lemon or open lime/lemon juice or vinegar bottle. Squeeze or sprinkle enough acid to lightly coat the top of the guacamole.

Lightly sprinkle with salt and paprika or chili powder if desired.

Get out a bag of tortilla chips and dig in! This is healthy stuff. Another option is to put the guacamole between tortillas and cook it like a quesadilla on a comal, cast-iron skillet, or non-stick skillet. Or, you could just eat the guacamole out of the bowl with the spoon.

[NOTE TO MODS: My personal blog is my secondary blog, adhdandcats. I didn’t understand how Tumblr worked when I first started a blog with my brother. If you can find a way to credit this to adhdandcats instead of to my brother’s and my blog, that would be great!]

Mod edit: We cant change the post attribution but im leaving your not so people know who to credit. And as per your newest post its a 3 and a half spoon meal

Warm Spinach Salad

(3-4 spoons)

What you’ll need: 

The steps

You can also use commercial bacon bits if you’re lower on spoons, substitute any other dressing or add any other toppings you like! I use Newman’s Own honey mustard, and creamy balsamic.