Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 36

Thread: Cooking during COVID-19

  1. #1
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385

    Cooking during COVID-19

    So yes we all see how this is shaping up. Very possible whatever state you live in will likely be putting some parameters around what we can do in the coming weeks.

    But that's not what this thread is about.

    ---

    What are y'all cooking?

    Obviously, if you're doing it right you already have rice, beans, pasta, etc. Those are simple and easy to mix with things.

    What about meals that involve just a little more but are still easy and don't require a ton?

    What are some go-to meals involving some of these dry goods and basic ingredients?

    I've vac sealed portions of meat to use for different things but trying to spread them out for now just so I don't have to go to any stores for now.

    I've got stuff for Fajita's, Beef & Chicken Tacos, Chicken Casseroles, plenty of canned goods like green beans, limas, black eyed peas, etc.

    What are some meals that are easy, require mostly dry non-perishable goods, and go a long ways that yall are cooking while staying in?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Coldsleeve Jr.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    931
    vCash
    3100
    Cajun red beans and rice

  3. #3
    Senior Member hacker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    chunky
    Posts
    2,504
    vCash
    2830
    I made 5.5 lbs of porkloin taco meat / carnitas Friday, still got about half of it left

    I use an instant pot, it's awesome for making a ton of food at once.

  4. #4
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385
    Quote Originally Posted by Coldsleeve Jr. View Post
    Cajun red beans and rice
    Ahhh very nice... I hadn't even thought about this one.

    Grab some sausage (if I can find any) next time I have to go to the store and this is definitely happening.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    Madison, MS
    Posts
    958
    vCash
    3187
    Shawarma Deer Tenderloin. It was delicious. There are various variations of the shawarma spice recipe so find your favorite and use it. I paired it with some Risotto and a nice salad.

    This was the first time I had the shawarma spice on meat other than Chicken. I thought it was delicious.

  6. #6
    Senior Member MetEdDawg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Birmingham, AL
    Posts
    8,373
    vCash
    2610
    If you can find Ramen, stir fry is a good way to go. Had a couple days of different types of stir fry. You can always mix with rice to to make it go further and give it a different texture. And obviously meat or tofu (better chance of finding tofu right now) is your protein if you want to add that.

    I've also noticed that the forgotten meat during this time have been frozen meatballs. You can do a lot with those and they haven't been hard to get. Tater tot bake with meatballs, pasta bake, Swedish meatballs, bunch of different things you can pair with any pasta you've got in the house.

    We've actually had an ok time finding meat here in Central Alabama. Bought a whole chicken yesterday. Other things people forget about during this time are canned tuna and chicken. Normally I don't do canned chicken, but when you run out of fresh chicken and really want chicken, you just modify. I went to Publix in my city two days ago and the canned meats section was completely full. I was shocked.

  7. #7
    Senior Member BulldogDX55's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    2,032
    vCash
    2615
    The meal kit delivery services are still operating, at least for now, and might keep running if they get classified as groceries when the lockdown goes official nationwide.

    I've tried basically all of them and can say that HelloFresh is probably the best one. I've learned that one of the discount ones, EveryPlate, is made by the same company, and has basically the same menu for about $22 less per box per week ($38 for 6 meals).

    Your best bet is to use the discount codes for all of them and then cancel when the discount period is over. There are so many that you can have enough discounted boxes to last through the whole lockdown. The discount codes make the premium ones about $30/box and the cheap ones about $20/box, with each box having 3 meals with two servings each that you choose on their website or app the week before.

    The main benefit is that this will help you break out of the slog of eating the same damn thing every night that you will be entering into the next few weeks. Here's how I'd rank them:

    1. HelloFresh (Everyplate)
    2. Blue Apron
    3. Home Chef
    4. Marley Spoon (Dinnerly is discounted version and the worst of all)

    If you want any discount codes or have questions let me know, but my wife and I swear by them. I'll also praise their customer service. I'd say each box has about a 25% chance of having a small error in it - like maybe missing an onion or a spice. Let them know immediately and without trying to argue they'll give you anything from $10 in credit to a free box entirely.
    WHY IS EVERYONE YELLING?!?

  8. #8
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385
    Quote Originally Posted by MetEdDawg View Post
    If you can find Ramen, stir fry is a good way to go. Had a couple days of different types of stir fry. You can always mix with rice to to make it go further and give it a different texture. And obviously meat or tofu (better chance of finding tofu right now) is your protein if you want to add that.

    I've also noticed that the forgotten meat during this time have been frozen meatballs. You can do a lot with those and they haven't been hard to get. Tater tot bake with meatballs, pasta bake, Swedish meatballs, bunch of different things you can pair with any pasta you've got in the house.

    We've actually had an ok time finding meat here in Central Alabama. Bought a whole chicken yesterday. Other things people forget about during this time are canned tuna and chicken. Normally I don't do canned chicken, but when you run out of fresh chicken and really want chicken, you just modify. I went to Publix in my city two days ago and the canned meats section was completely full. I was shocked.

    Shew I have purposely not eaten Ramen since college. I swore it off but you know desperate times and all... I should probably keep an eye out for some but that will truly be me raising the alarms if I dip into a Ramen supply lulz. I'm sure mixing in actual stuff besides the powder they provide makes things much better though.

    I'll keep an eye out for meatballs, because like you said, they are pretty versatile.

    Got a recipe for that tater tot bake? That sounds good and like it can feed for a while.

    Certain stores in Chattanooga have meat, (at least last Thursday they did) others don't. I have avoided stores since then so I'm not sure what the state of most of the are currently. I'm pretty sure it's luck of the draw and timing with items like meat.

    The Publix near my house is a madhouse and has been busier than it was the day before Thanksgiving this past year when I popped in for 2 weeks now. I just skip that one altogether because I struck out so many times on stuff and never seemed to change.

  9. #9
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385
    Quote Originally Posted by BulldogDX55 View Post
    The meal kit delivery services are still operating, at least for now, and might keep running if they get classified as groceries when the lockdown goes official nationwide.

    I've tried basically all of them and can say that HelloFresh is probably the best one. I've learned that one of the discount ones, EveryPlate, is made by the same company, and has basically the same menu for about $22 less per box per week ($38 for 6 meals).

    Your best bet is to use the discount codes for all of them and then cancel when the discount period is over. There are so many that you can have enough discounted boxes to last through the whole lockdown. The discount codes make the premium ones about $30/box and the cheap ones about $20/box, with each box having 3 meals with two servings each that you choose on their website or app the week before.

    The main benefit is that this will help you break out of the slog of eating the same damn thing every night that you will be entering into the next few weeks. Here's how I'd rank them:

    1. HelloFresh (Everyplate)
    2. Blue Apron
    3. Home Chef
    4. Marley Spoon (Dinnerly is discounted version and the worst of all)

    If you want any discount codes or have questions let me know, but my wife and I swear by them. I'll also praise their customer service. I'd say each box has about a 25% chance of having a small error in it - like maybe missing an onion or a spice. Let them know immediately and without trying to argue they'll give you anything from $10 in credit to a free box entirely.
    Yeah, those are definitely convenient. But with more and more layoffs happening, I'm looking for stuff that's a little more sustainable and economical.

    If you have any free first order coupons and it would help you out for referring people I will gladly take one and then just cancel, otherwise I'm trying to spend as little as possible right now and save while I still have income.

    My bosses are currently in a meeting this very second deciding who will be laid off in the coming day or two. Luckily I've received reassurance from all 3 decision-makers that I am not on the block at the moment. I'm very thankful for that but have no clue how long that will actually last. I've purposely been avoiding internal work like working on our website & brochure designs, email campaigns, and other simple marketing stuff so that I can pitch working on these from home if it comes to that.

    I also just paid off my CC and no longer making purchases with anything other than a debit card so I don't have to deal with banks and CC companies being the snakes they are until that time comes. But I'm not going into this with any debt other than on my house. I'd hate to see what the public reaction is if banks start trying to foreclose on homes during all of this.

  10. #10
    Senior Member BulldogDX55's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    2,032
    vCash
    2615
    Quote Originally Posted by StateDawg44 View Post
    Yeah, those are definitely convenient. But with more and more layoffs happening, I'm looking for stuff that's a little more sustainable and economical.

    If you have any free first order coupons and it would help you out for referring people I will gladly take one and then just cancel, otherwise I'm trying to spend as little as possible right now and save while I still have income.

    My bosses are currently in a meeting this very second deciding who will be laid off in the coming day or two. Luckily I've received reassurance from all 3 decision-makers that I am not on the block at the moment. I'm very thankful for that but have no clue how long that will actually last. I've purposely been avoiding internal work like working on our website & brochure designs, email campaigns, and other simple marketing stuff so that I can pitch working on these from home if it comes to that.

    I also just paid off my CC and no longer making purchases with anything other than a debit card so I don't have to deal with banks and CC companies being the snakes they are until that time comes. But I'm not going into this with any debt other than on my house. I'd hate to see what the public reaction is if banks start trying to foreclose on homes during all of this.
    I hear that. It appears I am fresh out of free boxes though - my wife sent them to her brother who didn't take things seriously quickly enough and didn't have a lot of groceries. You can google codes that will bring down Dinnerly and Everyplate to $20/box for your first three boxes though. This is more about the variety without paying a ton than being the cheapest possible option, so it isn't for everyone.
    WHY IS EVERYONE YELLING?!?

  11. #11
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385
    Quote Originally Posted by BulldogDX55 View Post
    I hear that. It appears I am fresh out of free boxes though - my wife sent them to her brother who didn't take things seriously quickly enough and didn't have a lot of groceries. You can google codes that will bring down Dinnerly and Everyplate to $20/box for your first three boxes though. This is more about the variety without paying a ton than being the cheapest possible option, so it isn't for everyone.

    Thanks I may look into that. I can spare $60 for 3 weeks of food for sure. It would at least save me or my family from having to enter a store.

  12. #12
    Senior Member MetEdDawg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Birmingham, AL
    Posts
    8,373
    vCash
    2610
    Quote Originally Posted by StateDawg44 View Post
    Shew I have purposely not eaten Ramen since college. I swore it off but you know desperate times and all... I should probably keep an eye out for some but that will truly be me raising the alarms if I dip into a Ramen supply lulz. I'm sure mixing in actual stuff besides the powder they provide makes things much better though.

    I'll keep an eye out for meatballs, because like you said, they are pretty versatile.

    Got a recipe for that tater tot bake? That sounds good and like it can feed for a while.

    Certain stores in Chattanooga have meat, (at least last Thursday they did) others don't. I have avoided stores since then so I'm not sure what the state of most of the are currently. I'm pretty sure it's luck of the draw and timing with items like meat.

    The Publix near my house is a madhouse and has been busier than it was the day before Thanksgiving this past year when I popped in for 2 weeks now. I just skip that one altogether because I struck out so many times on stuff and never seemed to change.
    Hell I throw the packet that comes with the ramen out. I use garlic powder, onion powder, ginger, lemon juice, soy sauce, ponzu, a little vinegar, peanut oil, and sesame oil. So definitely not your normal ramen. Makes for a good stir fry.

    For the tater tot casserole it's just meatballs, tater tots, cheese, and whatever else you want in. Dice up onions, garlic powder, anything else. Bake it and done.

    We use InstaCart and get groceries delivered to avoid the craziness for most of it. Occasionally I'll go into Publix and get a gauge on how things are by actually viewing how things are going. Ham is another one I've seen a lot of folks ignoring. You can do a lot with ham.

  13. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    11,830
    vCash
    3400
    Quote Originally Posted by StateDawg44 View Post
    So yes we all see how this is shaping up. Very possible whatever state you live in will likely be putting some parameters around what we can do in the coming weeks.

    But that's not what this thread is about.

    ---

    What are y'all cooking?

    Obviously, if you're doing it right you already have rice, beans, pasta, etc. Those are simple and easy to mix with things.

    What about meals that involve just a little more but are still easy and don't require a ton?

    What are some go-to meals involving some of these dry goods and basic ingredients?

    I've vac sealed portions of meat to use for different things but trying to spread them out for now just so I don't have to go to any stores for now.

    I've got stuff for Fajita's, Beef & Chicken Tacos, Chicken Casseroles, plenty of canned goods like green beans, limas, black eyed peas, etc.

    What are some meals that are easy, require mostly dry non-perishable goods, and go a long ways that yall are cooking while staying in?
    We're not into the survival cooking mode yet. Been eating steak, hamburgers, fish, etc. about every other night, then the other nights doing easy stuff that provides good leftovers (basically casseroles or dishes like spaghetti or enchiladas). Just now gotten to the point where we are out of fresh vegetables, but still have some good frozen vegetables that are almost as good. Depending on how it looks where we are after that, we will either go to the store and restock or we will do jambalaya and boston butt in some order and eat that until we are sick of it.

  14. #14
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385
    Quote Originally Posted by Johnson85 View Post
    We're not into the survival cooking mode yet. Been eating steak, hamburgers, fish, etc. about every other night, then the other nights doing easy stuff that provides good leftovers (basically casseroles or dishes like spaghetti or enchiladas). Just now gotten to the point where we are out of fresh vegetables, but still have some good frozen vegetables that are almost as good. Depending on how it looks where we are after that, we will either go to the store and restock or we will do jambalaya and boston butt in some order and eat that until we are sick of it.
    Yeah, that's exactly what this thread is about. I've also smoked a Boston butt over the weekend and frozen half of it for later. Been eating good and eating leftovers.


    This isn't a question on how to ration your beans and rice.

  15. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    8,588
    vCash
    3100
    We are still eating almost as normal except not eating out as much and eating more sandwhiches at work. Folks need to still eat out (drive thru) as much as feasible and here is why. First support our local businesses that have good food to eat.

    Second, the more you eat at home, the more you eat your food stock at home and in case of more severe lockdown you will be lower. Now the argument that well food places may have virus, well the grocery store workers may also have virus. You either have someone at store or restaurant handling your food or boxes. I've see good protection, better protection at restaurants than grocery. The more folks keep eating out some the less impact on economy and food stress at grocery stores.

  16. #16
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385
    Quote Originally Posted by R2Dawg View Post
    We are still eating almost as normal except not eating out as much and eating more sandwhiches at work. Folks need to still eat out (drive thru) as much as feasible and here is why. First support our local businesses that have good food to eat.

    Second, the more you eat at home, the more you eat your food stock at home and in case of more severe lockdown you will be lower. Now the argument that well food places may have virus, well the grocery store workers may also have virus. You either have someone at store or restaurant handling your food or boxes. I've see good protection, better protection at restaurants than grocery. The more folks keep eating out some the less impact on economy and food stress at grocery stores.
    Order groceries online. No clue how much longer this service will be offered though. Still a risk but much less risky and nearly no contact with any workers or shoppers.


    I guess you could argue that's no different than ordering a meal from a restaurant. And I'm all about supporting service industries right now. But your getting more than one meal from a grocery store and typically you can't stretch a meal from a restaurant over 2 sittings. If you can you'll do great if it comes down to real rationing ha.

  17. #17
    Senior Member gtowndawg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Memphis area
    Posts
    2,192
    vCash
    3100
    Not exactly on topic but I smoked a turkey breast yesterday. It made the house smell like thanksgiving which everyone seemed to like.

  18. #18
    Senior Member StateDawg44's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    1,144
    vCash
    4098385
    Quote Originally Posted by gtowndawg View Post
    Not exactly on topic but I smoked a turkey breast yesterday. It made the house smell like thanksgiving which everyone seemed to like.
    The one thing that sucks about being the person who is in charge of the smoker is by the end of the day when you finally get to eat it, you lose your ability to taste the smokey flavor of your finished product.


    But the next day after you've showered and gotten all the smoke smell and residue off of you (except your hair) you get to taste it in all it's glory. I always look forward to the following day of eating after smoking.

  19. #19
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Covington, Louisiana
    Posts
    2,273
    vCash
    700722589
    This cooking at home thing is a totally new experience for my wife, before all she made for dinner was reservations.

  20. #20
    Senior Member gtowndawg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Memphis area
    Posts
    2,192
    vCash
    3100
    Quote Originally Posted by StateDawg44 View Post
    The one thing that sucks about being the person who is in charge of the smoker is by the end of the day when you finally get to eat it, you lose your ability to taste the smokey flavor of your finished product.


    But the next day after you've showered and gotten all the smoke smell and residue off of you (except your hair) you get to taste it in all it's glory. I always look forward to the following day of eating after smoking.
    Totally. I ate it for lunch today and it was glorious.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Disclaimer: Elitedawgs is a privately owned and operated forum that is managed by alumni of Mississippi State University. This website is in no way affiliated with the Mississippi State University, The Southeastern Conference (SEC) or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The views and opinions expressed herein are strictly those of the post author and may not reflect the views of other members of this forum or elitedawgs.com. The interactive nature of the elitedawgs.com forums makes it impossible for elitedawgs.com to assume responsibility for any of the content posted at this site. Ideas, thoughts, suggestion, comments, opinions, advice and observations made by participants at elitedawgs.com are not endorsed by elitedawgs.com
Elitedawgs: A Mississippi State Fan Forum, Mississippi State Football, Mississippi State Basketball, Mississippi State Baseball, Mississippi State Athletics. Mississippi State message board.