Mmmm, Cheesy Goodness and Other Experimental Cooking Ideas

So, you are snowed in and have very little in the way of groceries due to your general loathing of food shopping. Hunger sets in. What do you do? 

With the recent snow storm that hit Virginia, DJ and the Boys found themselves in just this predicament. Dried cereal is okay for breakfast and soup is always a good idea on cold snowy days, but man (or woman in this case) can't live on granola and soup alone? Well my friends with a little bit of imagination and a sense of adventure, a tasty satisfying meal is on the way.  

First, look to your refrigerator. Gather any meats, eggs, veggies, cheeses, bread, biscuit or other prepared doughs, and fruits. Then head to your pantry. Do you have pasta? Rice? Veggies? Finally, look at your spices, oils and other seasonings. Once you have these items gathered, take them all in, letting the ideas simmer in your mind. 

Perhaps a pasta dish with some broccoli, garlic and olive oil with a bit of Parmesan cheese. Or some beef vegetable soup made from beef bouillon and canned, frozen or fresh vegetables with a little rice or pasta added. Maybe even something as easy as grilled cheese. A baked potato with a bit of cheese and bacon or deli ham chopped into it. The combinations could potentially last you a week. 

DJ was experimenting as the snow fell. Even in a pretty bare pantry, opportunity existed. A delicious meal of white garlic pizza was forged from a few simple ingredients!  The recipe is below.

1 Pillsbury dough pizza crust

3-5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2-3 Mozzarella string cheese sticks

1-2 cups Feta cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

Italian seasoning herbs

Roll out the pizza crust onto a cookie sheet, in a saute or omelet pan cook garlic and olive oil until garlic is soft. Remove garlic and oil from heat and pour over pizza crust, spreading with a small spatula or pastry brush to evenly distribute and cover entire crust.  Pull string cheese apart in strips and place them on the crust to cover as much as possible. Sprinkle feta cheese over pizza crust to taste. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes watching that crust does not burn.  

You can change the cheeses used and add any toppings you like. Pasta sauce can be used as pizza sauce, fresh veggies can be sliced and added. 

If you have more fruits on hand, you can always use those to make a version of fruit "pizza". For example, take sliced apples and add them to a mixing bowl with a little bit of water, cinnamon and sugar. Cover the bowl and shake well. Spread the mixture on the pizza crust and bake for a delicious, close-to-apple-pie fruit pizza.  

Happy Experimenting and Good Eating!

March in Virginia - In like a snow bunny?

                              

As the newscasters talked about the possibility of snow this weekend, it was hard to believe that they were not exaggerating a bit. "Severe winter storm warning" was their favorite catch phrase. Mind you, these are the same newscasters that make a light rain shower something akin to a torrential downpour, so DJ and the Boys were a bit skeptical. We also had our location in central Virginia on our side. Snow in Virginia in March is rare, and accumulations of any significance even more rare. Imagine our disappointment when the snow began to accumulate, not only on the grassy areas, but also on the roads. Hmm, looks like we will get an inch or two after all we said about 8 p.m. on Sunday. Then the power started to flicker as we looked at the 3-4 inches around 10 p.m.  Now, we are staring out the window to see about 8 inches of the heavy white stuff on the deck. Wow! Are we in Virginia? It suddenly feels like Pennsylvania. We are not going to get above freezing today, or tomorrow. What is this?? Virginia snow only stays a few hours when it does land and accumulate. 

No snow plows have made their way to our little cul de sac. And a tree has fallen across the street at the neighbor's house. I suppose we will be here for the day and possibly tomorrow. I should have run out for some eggs, bread and milk. Luckily the boys have plenty of food and snacks for the next week.  I have always been curious about how those biscuits taste, if I run out of food, this may be the time to find out. 

The newscasters are predicting temperatures in the 60s by Thursday and all through the weekend. Now that's more like the south. Til then, maybe we can build a couple dozen snowmen.