I was preparing a dinner of Annie's Shells & White Cheddar, and when I opened the box, I discovered not one, but two packets of powder for the cheese sauce mix.

Obviously I could just cook some regular boxed pasta, mix up the extra packet of powder, and add it to that, but it feels like I should do something more interesting/unconventional with this unexpected surprise. Any suggestions?

(Keep in mind that I'm the kind of person who prepares and consumes an unadorned pot of Annie's Shells & White Cheddar for dinner, so my culinary tastes are not particularly refined. There's a high possibility I'll have to purchase any necessary extra ingredients specifically for this, so I don't want to go too crazy.)

Just as the title says; looking for the best desserts you've had for fall to give myself some more inspiration to make something.

I personally crave soup SO badly whenever I’m sick, specifically a really brothy soup. I’d love to hear what you love to eat for dinner when you don’t feel well, and maybe even hear some different soup ideas / recipes.

I typically make chicken noodle, but last time I switched it up and made a minestrone soup instead and it was amazing. I’m feeling under the weather again today 🤒 and would love something good and healing for tonight.

Thanks!

Teller a friend, asking for a friends.

I have never made a chicken pot pie before, but I am being asked to do so this week for a birthday celebration in my family as I am the best chef and happy to do so. I understand the basic concepts. You got your sautéed veg, your aromatics, your shredded chicken, your flour and dairy thickening mixture, etc.

But this sub taught me lots of things, like the importance of chocolate and dried peppers in chili, things I had no idea about despite making it for years, so I figure there must some secret wisdom out there about this dish too.

I am throwing a birthday party for a 31 year old kid who likes dinosaurs lol (its me)

looking for some ideas for food, snacks and drinks.

Cooking skills I would consider upper intermediate and willing to take on a challenge

main criteria is since I will be partying as well as hosting it should not require complicated serving or hands on time needed in the final stage and ideally can be prepped 80-90% of the way before start.

about 35 people to feed with snacks that go well with drinks and a main self serve dinner.

So far I have "Dino" Ribs (pork and beef back), Devilled "Dino" Eggs

we buy this hamburger meat EVERY WEEK and just recently i’ve noticed it smells like vinegar or like pickled beats or pickles in general etc etc. my boyfriend smells it too and we threw away a few packs in a row but after the third pack that smelled the same, we cooked and ate it and we’re perfectly fine. it still freaks me out as i have ground beef in the fridge thawing for a few days and im genuinely trying to smell test to see if it’s gone bad or not but all i smell is the sharp smell of vinegar or pickled vegetables or something. again we have eaten the meat when it’s smelled like that and it was fine but i cant ever decipher if my meat has gone bad because of this reason. I asked my mom and she said that is not normal and that it’s probably bad but once I explained that we have eaten it after we threw multiple packs away and it tasted fine and didn’t make us sick, She said maybe we were something called super smellers?? any input y’all?? sorry if this is wonky at all, I’m using Siri to type while I’m over the pan cooking my beef LOL

EDIT: since it won’t let me add a photo, here’s the link to the meet. It is from Walmart and it is extra lean 96%. https://www.walmart.com/ip/18889363492?sid=160541BF-00A2-4550-8F17-83ABA37653CC

When I got my own place, I over-indulged. I bought a shitload of 250/500/750ml spice jars and stocked them to the top with powdered and whole spices of every kind. The cupboards above my counter are like a medieval bazaar, with spices from every corner of the planet. I cook a variety of cuisines so they all have their uses.

One thing I didn't account for is that you don't use a whole lot of spice cooking only for yourself. My spices are slowly going down, but some of the bigger jars could take years before they are used up.

Will my spices become completely useless after sitting in a jar for 1-2 years, or will they always have some flavour and be useable? I'm willing to accept a loss of flavour as long as they don't become some near-inert powder.

Any advice from more experienced cooks in appreciated.

I'm looking to make my family Christmas dinner for the first time (I know it's not even Halloween yet I just like to plan ahead for all holidays year round) and I'm super excited!

The thing is all of the holiday side dishes & appetizers that I see online all seem super dense & heavy, which I'm sure tastes great but I'm worried if all of my dishes are like that everyone will feel way too full to eat very much or have an upset stomach 😅

What holiday side dishes or appetizers would you recommend that are light & easy on the stomach between the heavier dishes & main course?

Thank you so much!!

I’ve been on a search for the perfect dip recipe (for chips, pretzels, bread, pizza crusts) and I really want to know your suggestions. I love cheese and pickles but don’t be afraid to go beyond that. I need dip, it needs me.

Hi all! So I am 29 weeks pregnant and had such severe acid reflux today that I had to go to the ER. Consequently, I'm looking at altering my diet for the last few months of my pregnancy to hopefully avoid similar incidents in the future. But so many of the fun things (fat, salty food, fried things, tomato based sauces, cheese, spicy food, garlic, citrus, coffee, tea, CHOCOLATE, carbonated beverages) are on the no-no list. I still want to be able to enjoy my meals while taking care of myself. What are your favorite GERD-friendly recipes and snacks?

Thank you in advance!

Seems like most people are bringing cookies. For a school club Halloween gathering.

More details: inside, walking distance, college aged, generally very good cook/baker

Hi friends. I love to prep a bunch of things on Sunday for the week that are easy to grab and eat, but I find I’m falling into a pattern. I tend to do a baked good (cookies or a quick bread), a quiche, a soup, and either a pasta salad or a dense bean salad. I’m bored of this pattern. Anything else that holds up well in the fridge and is easy to reheat or eat as is? I feel like I’m missing some obvious things. Mostly looking for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, as cooking dinner is a pleasure of mine.

I pretty much exclusively use chicken thighs or full chickens these days because I’ve had too many bad experiences with that unfortunate chicken breast texture. Usually they’re done chopped in sauces but sometimes just seasoned and baked/ air fryer baked.

I use bone in no skin, boneless with skin and boneless no skin depending on the day.

The thing is I like them quite well done. I’m not sure if this is blasphemy or normal enough but I don’t really like the gelatinous texture of just cooked chicken thighs and they’re great for staying flavourful even when well cooked.

Are chicken thighs usually treated like other cuts of meat or chicken breast and you’re supposed to just get them to temp or are there others who like them as I do?

Backstory: every year, my wife and I throw a backyard Oktoberfest gathering, which is 1) an excuse for me to wear my lederhosen and 2) an excuse to cook a ton of German/Bavarian food and serve it for friends. Proper brats and wieners, käsespätzle, krautsalat, kerbiscremesuppe, flammkuchen, obatzda, miscellaneous regional meats and cheeses, hand keg of märzen, the works.

Which brings us to the pretzels. We've been making Alton Brown's soft pretzel recipe which seems to be a well-regarded recipe, which we follow to the letter (though each year we wonder if we should finally try a lye boil rather than the baking-soda boil that AB prescribes), but it just isn't quite what we're aiming for.

The problem is basically: these pretzels are SO good hot and fresh from the oven, but, put them in a cloth-covered basket for an hour and it all falls apart. We always bake day-of, but by the time the first guest shows up, the pretzels have become weirdly dense and borderline stale. They still work in a pinch, but for all the labor hours they require, the final product once cooled just falls flat.

So the question for you all is... is there anything that can be done about this, or something particular about AB's recipe that causes the fall-off to be so stark? Looking for tips or tricks that might result in good soft pretzels that stay soft and inviting without becoming dense, overly chewy, or hardening in the span of a few hours worth of simply existing at room temperature on a counter. The answer may very well be an alternate recipe, but since we do this infrequently and since pretzels are fairly labor intensive, would love to get some real pointers or thoughts. Also, acknowledging that AB's soft pretzel recipe isn't inherently German, if any solution also involves moving more authentically in that direction, even better.

Thanks and/or danke schön for any guidance or pointers you may be able to provide :)

i have a lot of apples and I am not really sure what to do with them. I know people might suggest making things like apple butter or apple jelly, but I don't have a lot of time on my hands and I don't have things like a blender or a baking pan.

I have a small pot and an air fryer, and I was hoping to make apple pie filling as a sweet treat (not the pie itself). Is that something that can be made in a small metal pot?

also, does anyone have any other snack ideas for apples that are easy to make?

I moved into an apartment, and I don't have much in the way of food. My friend helped me out in the best way he could as a broke college student and gave me some canned beans and ramen. I know what to do with the can of chickpeas, but the can of black beans and the bag of lentils idk.

Any very simple recipe ideas?

I have a small slow cooker (not sure what exact size) and I am looking for recipes to serve one person maybe with another portion for leftovers.

I make salsa chicken, but that's about it.

I am aware that I can make meals in my large crock pot and either freeze or otherwise enjoy leftovers from larger batches, but I am specifically looking for small portion recipes.

Thanks!

Hi everybody. My birthday is coming up, and last year I made beef wellington for my friends. I wanna do something else that I can easily pre-prepare, but not something to step down my game. How do I make a really good lasagna? I dont mind any effort. As long I can just stick it in the oven at the end it can be as complicated as need be.

Thanks in advance!

So I woke up thinking today is a great day for a pot roast. I went to the store and picked up a chuck roast. But it was $30. And I accepted it and started carting away, chuck roast in the cart. But at the end of the meat isle, there's a Managers special bin. I decided to look. And the only thing that seemed interesting was a tri tip roast. Now this thing was reduced in price to under $10. So I put back the chuck and decided to make it with the tri tip. I mean $20 is $20. But as I made my way through the store I thought about the difference. Tri tip is much leaner and doesn't have the connective tissue that a chuck has. So I picked up a pack of bacon. So here i sit, waiting while it cooks and wondering if it'll work out. I browned the tri tip roast and then wrapped it in bacon in hopes of making up for the lack of marbling in the meat. Before putting it in the oven, I added a half of a stick of butter on top of the roast. What do you think? Do you think it'll work?

Update:: holy cow! I was really worried about the outcome. It is amazing! The bacon was soaked up by the potatoes along with the rosemary. Yes, the meat shreds longer, but it didn't become chalky or at all bad. Immense flavor.

Hey y'all! I'm looking for a good white chicken chili to make next week for my meal prep, if y'all have any recommendations I'd really appreciate it.