NO SOS! Easy Mess for Breakfast!

Chow! 

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN!

Mess it up the easy way! I have used this recipe for years. It can be (partially) made-ahead; Or it can be baked a whole day ahead (flavors blend overnight--just warm it slowly in an oven); it can be made in an iron skillet, electric skillet, crock-pot or the oven. 


Yes it does take a while to bake, but the aroma pulls everyone out of bed and into the kitchen without a word.

In a pan (or your iron skillet) simmer the following mess (except the shredded cheese) until heated through and bubbling:

2 cups of any kind of cooked meat (in this picture I used left-over cooked hamburger --so the prep-time was 10 min)

1 cup chopped or sliced sweet yellow onion

1- 14 oz can of ANY tomato-based salsa, fire roasted salsa, or the El Patio's...(I used, "Salsa Fresco--Salsa de Chile Fresco")

1- 4 oz can chopped jalapenos or chilies

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese--(keep this ASIDE for step three)

Remove from heat and/or keep in frig for the next day or: Place mixture into whatever you are going to bake it in.

Mix the following:

1 pkj "Jiffy" corn muffin mix (or 2 cups of made-from scratch cornbread OR 2 cups of Bisquick)
2 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese, (OR: cottage cheese, or any other kind of creamy cheese that you like)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)

*****************

1/2-1 cup whole milk, butter milk, or 1/2 & 1/2 (add milk last--you want a pancake-like batter)

***Depending upon your altitude, you my need to adjust the milk accordingly. Higher altitudes may need more liquid.

Before Baking: Sprinkle meat mixture with sharp cheddar cheese (and/or sliced scallions)

Pour the above over the meat mixture. Cover and bake for up to 1 hour depending on altitude (knife inserted comes out clean).

Remove from oven, heat, or turn crock to low....sprinkle with any cheese-- longhorn is great.Cut, flip, and serve with salsa, picante, sour cream, jalapenos, sliced scallions, leeks, black beans, etc...

I poured the meat mixture into a baking dish and topped it with the cheddar, and then the batter

There are so many variations to this!

Meatless? No problem (use a veggie in place of meat just stir-fry it first, then simmer in salsa or fresco). 

You can use water instead of dairy, You can also substitute all the ingredients for low-fat. 

Other ingredients to add to the meat mixture: veggies, various onions and peppers, multiple kinds of meats, etc..
Other ingredients to add to the corn-bread mix: 1 can creamed corn, 1 can whole kernel corn, canned pimento, green or black olives, etc..Experiment and have fun!

Just make sure that the batter is the consistency of pancake batter before you pour it over the meat.

** This recipe can be multiplied like mad...just make sure that the batter is the right consistency.

Copyright 2012 by Soni Cido. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed.

The Holidays are Coming! "How to Cook for a Big Group"--With Stay at Stove Dad

Stay at Stove Dad: How to Cook for a Big Group

So I Am Also a "KP" in My Own Home!

Full Story at:  http://www.schistory.net/campcroft/messhall.html 

According to Joe Lipsius, the "Kitchen Police" were nothing more than the kitchen janitors. He writes:
"I remember with much pleasure my first encounters with the Mess Hall of Co C, 32nd Inf Trng Bn, IRTC, Camp Croft, SC, just outside of Spartanburg, SC... 

The Mess Hall had its bad side, though. That was when you had to work kitchen police, better known as "KP."  By some magic formula which was never explained, we all had our turn working in the kitchen in various jobs such as "firing the boiler", working the "pots and pans" sink, etc.  After three or four turns at "KP," I finally earned Sgt. Stout's respect to the point he offered to make me a cook if I wanted to work in the kitchen.  I said, "No thanks, Sarge, Sir.  I like the food and I don't mind the kitchen work, but I like close-order drilling and marching better so I'll stick to doing it." -JL

In my house, the "magic formula" showed up on my kid's a chore chart when I wasn't assigning myself to it.

Great Depression Cooking - The Poorman's Meal

Feeding the Masses

Do you or do you not feel that cooking for anyone but yourself is like, 'feeding an army'?  I do. But now after reading this blog, I think that, I might not be feeling that way so much anymore! Pancakes for a thousand? At West Point? where everything is perfect and disciplined?

Check this out:



http://www.esquire.com/features/food-drink/huge-food/army-food-0311

How many of us have never complained about a meal that we were served? Ditto.

Yet most soldiers have always had a reason to complain. Since the beginning of organized military, feeding the soldiers has sometimes been such a huge task, that keeping them healthy, satisfied, and full, ranked last priority (if at all) on the mess hall to-do list.

Back in the day, and even now, military meals have either been ignored, completely dismissed, or the brunt of hundreds of jokes.

A former Veteran told me that when he was in service 47 years ago, most cooks and meals were referred to as, "Gut Cheater". Another man at a VFW dinner told me, "The word was, and still is, 'anything will go down with Tabasco'." A round of laughter broke out as those at my table joked about military meals of the past.... if they could be called "meals". Nutrition was never a concern, but filling the gut was the goal even if it was not always possible. Overweight soldiers were unheard of because overeating and lack of exercise just didn't happen. And many had suffered starvation.

These days, however, body fat is a concern for the military. According to Jim Gourley via blog: http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com, "...one in every three service men or women are obese". 

Even if overeating is not the culprit, lack of exercise, cheap, low-quality food, and available junk food is. 

In Fort Rucker, Alabama, I've

In Fort Rucker, Alabama, I've seen cooks throw lard on the short-order grill line. Is it too much to ask to get something without trans fats, please?

STARBUCK

4:59 AM ET

June 3, 2011

Growing up in the 60's and 70's it was very common for a parent to say to a child, "Do NOT take more than your stomach will hold!" OR "There are starving kids in China!" (some parents said, "Africa"-- my parents preferred China for some reason.

Photograph with caption "Cafeteria Lines in Mess Hall

 at Naval Barracks Area," U.S. Naval Ammunition 

Depot, Hastings, Nebraska., 1944?

Taking a closer look we can see that the sign on the wall 

says

that 'any wasting of food will be followed with disciplinary 

action'. (can that advice even be comprehended by kids 

these days?)