I really enjoy cooking! It's something I never put much stock into when I was younger, so I only really started learning recently. I like to look up recipes but I figured I could share a few things here in case anyone else wanted to try them!

I don't claim to be a master chef, or even that anything I put on this page is groundbreaking, but it's fun to share ^^

One of my go to meals when I'm tired, but not too tired to cook, is rice with sausage and tomato sauce! Obviously not rocket science, but I have a particular way I like to make it :)

• Put your rice on while you do the other steps, that way hopefully everything will be done roughly around the same time.
• Dice up around half an onion, as finely as you can
• Let it cook on low heat in olive oil while you cut your sausage into pieces.I imagine this would work with ground sausage, but links are what we usually have at home! My favorite is Eckrich.
• Once you've got your sausage cut up, dump it in with the onions. If it's frozen, let it get some of the chill off. After that, go ahead and start adding in your tomato sauce of choice!
• Typically at this point I just hang around and stir, let the tomato sauce heat up. Once it's hot, add the seasonings of your choice. Preferably I typically go with garlic and onion powder, a bit of curry powder, and the most important seasonings (besides salt and pepper lol), chicken bouillon powder and cinnamon! Just a few shakes of powdered cinnamon to taste is what really makes this meal for me!
• Usually I let the sauce cook down for a while, and add water/broth as needed. Finish off with a splash of red wine and some butter, and then serve over rice! This is a really filling meal, and heats up on the stove really well :)

Another really simple thing I like to eat is potato/carrot/meat soup. Again, not groundbreaking (I eat very lazily most of the time), but it's yummy!

• Mince or finely slice an onion (I usually do a little of both for this) and mince up some garlic. Let it cook in the pot on low heat in some butter while you peel and chop your potatoes and carrots
• Usually to save on time, I use pre-cooked meats for this. Most often SPAM. Since spam's pretty soft, I usually add it last. If you're going to use something else, though, just make sure you prep it accordingly.
• Once your carrots and potatoes are chopped up, add them to the pot and give it a stir. Try to get what you can coated in butter, but it's not a big deal if you miss some things. Once this is done, go ahead and cover everything with water or broth, whatever you have or prefer
• I add seasonings at this point to try and make sure they soak in. Since there's already garlic and onion, you don't have to add those powders. But I'm not a cop if you want more, go ahead! Aside from that I add chicken bouillon powder, salt, pepper, turmeric, cayenne, and a splash of white wine. Cover and let cook until potatoes and carrots are tender
• Since I mostly use spam for this, I just chop it into small bits and add it once the veggies are about done with their stint. Long enough to heat through. Sometimes I add a bit more butter to the pot near the end, or eat this over rice. It's really good and most of the cooking time you don't have to supervise!

I also happen to be a big mac and cheese fan! When I'm in the mood for something a bit fancier, this is what I do

• Obviously set to boiling your pasta of choice. Typically I go shells, and add some chicken bouillon to the water for taste :)
• Once your pasta is boiling it's time to focus on the cheese. If you like meat with your mac, you might want to set to cooking it now just so you don't forget
• For the cheese, I like to do more of a sauce. For one kraft size box of mac, I'll use half a tablespoon of flour, and the same amount of butter. Let the butter melt, then add the flour and stir them together. I always thought this was easiest in a smaller pot.
• After a minute or so of stirring, to make sure the flour isn't completely raw, I add in some cream. Usually half n half since that's what we have to go with coffee. It'll thicken up fast, so make sure to stir constantly, and add small splashes of cream at a time. Usually I add seasonings after the second or third Cream Splash. Salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, chicken bouillon, a tiny bit of MSG, cayenne, and nutmeg. Keep adding cream and stirring!
• Around the 4th or 5th cream splash I try to add white wine instead, to change the pace up a bit. This usually helps break it from how thick it is as well. One or two splashes of white wine, and then I start adding cheese.
• For the cheese, that's up to you, so long as it's something meltable. Mainly I use cheddar and mozarella, since it's mac and cheese. Taste for flavor and adjust as needed. Once it's come together, you can pour your mixture over your strained pasta and mix. Add in any meat you wanted as well, and let it sit for a minute or two so the flavors mingle. It's more energy (and dish :/) intensive than regular mac, but the flavor is worth it!
• This cheese mixture is also REALLY good with rice! Make it the same, mix in with the rice, and put it in a skillet until it gets a lightly crispy bottom. Super good with meat and an egg over top.

This one is brand new, hot off the presses! I just tried it today (01/18/23) and I'm really pleased with the results!

• This recipe uses spam and skillet gnocchi, which are already a delicious meal on their own! Cut your spam into chunks, and toss it in the skillet with the gnocchi and some oil (or butter, but I usually shoot for oil with the high temp I cook this at)
• Go ahead and cook the gnocchi as per the package instructions- I usually go by how it looks on the outside, if I like how crisp it looks :)
• Once you're just about satisfied with how it looks, go ahead and shuffle everything to the sides of the skillet so you have a hole in the middle. In the hole add gochujang, and your seasonings of choice. Stir that, and add in a bit of water- MAYBE 1/4 cup at MOST. Juuuuust enough to cover the bottom of the skillet
• Stir to get everything incorporated, and let it thicken into almost a glaze, like what you might see on chicken wings. Don't let it burn, but a little crust on the bottom of your chunks won't hurt
• Once everything i just about done, scoot everything over and add in some shredded cheese. I used the mexican blend, let it melt on the skillet, and then mixed everything back together. After that, you're ready to put it in a bowl and serve! I went ahead and blasted it on high heat for a bit while I went to find an appropriate bowl, to get some more crust, but that's just because I like that.
• All in all, I'm really pleased with how this came out, because I was just winging it! It was almost like a lifehack version of tteokboki. The texture wasn't quite right, but it was still close enough for me to be content with! If you try this, let me know how you like it!

I tried something new today!
This is a less official entry, but I got the idea from a tiktok- just a sauce with spam over rice, but it was really good!

• Started with some chicken stock- I didn't measure it but if I had to guess maybe 1/3 of a cup?
• One clove of garlic, finely grated (I used a lemon zester)
• One tablespoon soy sauce
• One tablespoon sugar
• Shake in some MSG, onion powder, chicken bouillon, lemon pepper seasoning, and cayenne. I didn't measure any of these, so follow your heart :P
• And the thing that made me hesitate to try this, a splash of Dr Pepper! Again, I didn't measure it, but it was a very small amount, a tablespoon and a half, maybe.
• Cook the sauce down for a bit before adding in the spam, and then let it cook with it in there. It doesn't need to be too thick, but it should thicken some. I ate this over minute rice, since I was kind of throwing things together, and added a little butter. It was really good! I'll definitely be making it again.

Also this one's too simple to need a full recipe but you should try a peanut butter, ham and cheese sandwich. Thin layer of peanut butter doesn't add much flavor but makes the sandwich more filling. o7

That's all the recipes I have for now! In lieu of more, here's some fun food/drink expermients that I like, and you might too!

• Try steeping a little tea in your soda, if you think you know a combo you may like. Some are surprising- I really enjoy chamomile dr pepper!
• Bouncing off the above point, you can do the same with alcohol, too (if you're of age of course!)
• Another tea one! I don't even drink this stuff that much! But using black tea instead of water when making bread adds a pleasant flavor, I think :)
• Try adding a tiny bit of cinnamon and cayenne to your coffee, if you like a kick! Perhaps a drop or two of vanilla extract, as well?
• It's easy to incorporate fast food into cooked meals, if you're worried you might not have enough. I like to cook mcdonald's fries with eggs and eat it over rice
• Add seasonings to the water while boiling potatoes. I personally like to add leftover ramen packets (like shin ramyun) and use them to make spicy mashed potatoes :P

That's all for now! See y'all when I've got more ideas!