#i want a microwave steamer

[confinesofmy]

i'm for real about to spend $50 on microwave cookware... i'm becoming my grandmother

[recapitulation]

meal ideas!

low energy ("do not ask me to do any prep work at all, so help me god")

mozzerella cheese wrapped in pepperoni ("pizza tacos"!)

hummus and pretzels or naan (putting the naan in the microwave for like 10 seconds...heavenly)

canned chili (with shredded cheese and sour cream if you have it! boom done!)

instant miso soup (warm and lovely! put tofu in it for protein!)

cheese and cured meat, olives, canned fish, crackers, dried fruit, or whatever easy "charcuterie" type items you like

alternate bites of apple and spoonfulls of peanut butter (mixing honey or chocolate chips to the peanut butter is my favorite)

a "deconstructed sandwich": bites of lunch meat, pickles, cheese, cherry tomato, etc (I love roast beef and white cheddar for this)

yogurt and granola or fruit

put frozen potstickers + frozen edamame in the steamer/rice cooker, chill elsewhere with a timer set, then boom

tortilla chips + canned refried beans + cherry tomatoes + cilantro + jarred salsa con queso (or warm shredded cheese on top of the chips in the microwave for 30 seconds)

bagel + cream cheese + lox

microwave scrambled eggs (add things like green onion, soy sauce, or anything else you like!)

cottage cheese and fruit (mixed together or just on the side)

bowl of shredded rotisserie chicken + buffalo sauce + a bit of mayo + green onion (use a kitchen scissors to cut them right in!)

medium energy ("I'll boil water but don't ask me to chop shit")

boiled eggs and fresh veggies (put a little salt on top of the eggs!)

buttered noodles (my go-to nausea meal, it has never failed me. ideas of things to add: frozen peas, imitation crab, roasted garlic)

baked potato with toppings (I like cheese, bacon, broccoli, green onion, and sour cream)

quesadilla (add some canned beans, cilantro, or avocado!)

pot roast (requires a lot of time but not a lot of actual work. I love it with peas!)

cuban sandwich (bread, swiss, pickle, mustard, ham... my favorite thing to panini-ify by far)

pan-fried tofu with scallion sauce (this sauce goes well with everything and tofu is no exception)

pancakes or waffles! (I love mine with jam)

ham, pickle, and cream cheese roll-ups

fried eggs (with toast and lots of butter...so comforting)

fruit smoothie (bananas, frozen strawberries, yogurt...or whatever!)

I hate salad but could write essays on this copycat olive garden salad (throw it in a bowl! chopping required if you use onion)

spaghetti (controversial maybe but angel hair > spaghetti noodles)

pasta salad (olives broccoli fresh mozerella... those little mini pepperonis... yeah)

stir-fried thai garlic shrimp (I like using the mini frozen salad shrimps, it's easy! use jarred minced garlic to avoid chopping!)

tuna mayo onigiri

slow cooker ribs

buffalo chicken wrap (or any number of other wrap options! shred pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to make it easier)

if your local grocery store sells pre-cooked gyro strips, that can turn into an easy wrap with store-bought pita & tzatziki with tomatoes and onions!

couscous and chickpeas

tortellini + pasta sauce + spinach

high energy ("I don't mind chopping some things up!")

stuffed shells with spinach

chicken and roasted garlic (oh my god.....one of my all time favorites)

beef tacos (I like mine with cilantro and onion, and when I'm feeling especially high energy I love a tomatillo salsa)

chicken alfredo

tom kha gai (a thai soup and my absolute favorite! you just need access to galangal)

lasagna! (freezes well and then boom! low energy meal for later)

pad thai! (not as hard as you'd think, as long as you have access to tamarind paste!)

potstickers! (this is a lovely group activity if you want to cook with housemates!)

rice and beans

bang bang shrimp (ogughfhgfuh I love it. you can also do bang bang tofu!)

minestrone soup (so many nice veggies!)

fried rice (put whatever you have on hand in there! broccoli, peas, carrot, and beef is my favorite combo)

broccoli cheddar soup

spring rolls and peanut sauce

skewers (such as beef, onion, zucchini, bell pepper... you don't need a grill, oven works!)

roasted turkey with garlic parmesean asparagus

pork chop with mashed potatoes

panang curry

chicken gnocchi soup (use store bought gnocchi or make your own if you have a high energy day!)

bibimbap (super customizable depending on what veggies you like best)

butter chicken

plus! things that have helped me meal plan:

whenever you think of a meal you'd like to make, take 3 seconds to google search it, take a screenshot of the image results, and put it in a "food ideas" folder. instant visual menu!

the concept of "meal prepping" makes me recoil but I've learned that it can simply mean preparing shredded chicken, boiled eggs, or some other simple protein that you can customize throughout the week. shredded chicken can turn into wraps, salads, pasta dishes, etc... you don't have to meal prep yourself into the same meal all week!

when I have difficulty working up an appetite, I'll scroll through my favorite restaurant menus! there might be some foods I can't make at home, but many times they're very simple to recreate because the ingredients are literally listed!

[toournextadventure]

movie night hcs next please ( nsfw or sfw whatever your genius brain offers if you want )

Absolutely I can! These are headcanons after the events of "hate crime" just so y'all can get the vibe of where they are in their relationship

(Minors stay BACK 🤺)

The gf mask stays ON during sex 🤨

Okay not all the time, but for real, sometimes it's just the perfect time to get a little freaky. Like after a murder :)

You and Tara both need therapy. You need therapy hard. Like, bare minimum 25yrs of therapy. But since only nerds go to therapy (your words), freaky post-murder sex is gonna have to do

Tara 👏 is 👏 a 👏 mean 👏 power 👏 bottom 👏

But if you wine and dine her properly first (not fancy, she likes the casual dates), she's a lot softer. So soft you could almost consider it lovemaking. Until she realizes she's being soft, then it's back to her being mean (endearing)

The two of you are complete opposites when it comes to a good lay. You're cracking jokes, trying to make her laugh or smile, anything to break that outward demeanor of hers and give her the space to lower her walls for even just a few minutes

On the other hand, Tara is all serious. She had absolutely 0 control over the attacks, and this is one of the few times that she can be in full control of every aspect. She can create a genuine safe space

The only exception to her total control is if you're post-murder and just happen to start flirting. And getting handsy. And whispering things that you very much shouldn't be whispering when you're both covered in blood

Aftercare is a MUST

You've got snacks, drinks, treats, movies, the whole shebang. There might not be an immediate bath or shower, but that always happens eventually, complete with bath salts, a candle, and maybe a shower steamer if you're in a bit of a rush

Walks through the city are also part of aftercare. It's always nice to get some fresh air, see the sunset, listen to the birds in the park. It helps to bring you both down from the high that always follows

(Sometimes you both go on a walk after a murder too. You know, to ease the adrenaline)

If you're lucky. If you're really lucky and catch Tara on a good day, and all the planets are aligned and Mercury is in microwave and you witnessed the second coming of christ, you can have a genuine soft night with her. As a treat

Gentle touches, slow kisses, no rush at all. You can kiss every freckle and scar and kiss love into her skin everywhere you go. It's not as intense as usual, and not near as dirty, but it's one of the best nights of the month

Just make sure you properly enjoy it, because she's gonna be back to being mean the next morning. But it's her most endearing quality :)

[navvyu]

Making food for the reader

An: felt silly! I'm also trying out writing scenarios! sorry if the dishes don't comply w/ u reader! I also think i went a little overboard with the food descriptions... not very reader-sentric, unfortunately

*not beta read

Includes: ruggie, ace, cowley, silver

Ruggie

Ruggie is pretty experienced in the kitchen, so he's able to make a few really good dishes

Ruggie's dish: steamed veggies and potatoes

Ruggie opened the lid of the steamer, letting the warm steam billow upwards. Ruggie carefully took the tongs and pulled out the limp vegetables and set them on a plate. Ruggie mumbled under his breath, "Where's the butter..." Ruggie shuffled around, "Oh there it is!" He grabbed a butter knife and scooped a chunk of butter up, spreading it on the steaming vegetables. "Now the potatoes..." Ruggie grabbed a separate plate and set the warm potatoes down, using a knife to cut them through the middle. "Alright! Grab what you want. Be careful though, it hot!" Ruggie toothily smiled, his tail slightly wagging.

Ace

Ace is okay. He can make a few dishes with a recipe or two.

Ace's dish: Spaghetti with marinara sauce

Ace poured the noodles into the boiling water, shaking out the rest out of the box. "I probably wasn't supposed to pour all of that in... oh well." Ace shrugged, spinning the pasta spoon in his hand. Ace picks up the marinara jar, "Here's the jar opener..." the top suddenly popped when Ace opened it. "Ack!" Ace jumped, almost hitting the jar off the table. Ace then sighed, then he went over to the noodles to stir them. After stirring for a few seconds Ace went back and poured the marinara into a bowl, grabbing a soup spoon to match. He thought aloud "I should grab the strainer.", Ace fumbled around, grabbing onto the large plastic strainer. Ace groaned as he checked on the noodles "Finally done! That took forever..." He brought the pot over to the sink where he poured its contents into the strainer. Ace wiped non-existent sweat off his brow "Whoooooo~" he proudly puffed out his chest "Hey look at me go! I actually did it right this time! Hahaha!" He smirked at you "Don't faint with how good my cooking is!" he giggled "I kid, I kid!" Ace smiled as he handed you a plate, "Enjoy~!"

Cowley

Crowley... it Heavily depends on the meal he's cooking. Mediocre at best.

Crowley's dish: Microwaved Mac and Cheese and fruit

The microwave beeped loudly, and Crowley popped open the door, waving away the steam. Crowley pulled out the warm noodles and set them on the counter, adding the cheese packet and stiring it. Once it was thoroughly stirred, Crowley set it aside to cool off. He then set out a cutting board, and he stated copping up a collection of fruits. Cowley set the copped fruits into a bowl next to the Mac and Cheese. Crowley smiles as he set them in front of you. "Enjoy!"

Silver

Silver is definitely not the best cook but better than Lilia

Silver's dish: Sandwichs and fruit

Silver copped up the fruit evenly, wiping them off the cutting board into a bowl. He then stuck a toothpick into one of the top fruits. Silver set the bowl in front of you. "Here, you can have this while I finish." He smiled warmly at you before walking back to the kitchen. He pulls out bread and a few things to put in it. He set each ingredient on top of each other, making a simple sandwich. Silver set it on a plate before giving it to you and smiling.

[thulhu]

—————————————————————————

♡ Affection ♡

Sun Wukong ♡

Affection is something Wukong thought he would only feel will this little monkey friends and MK at least in the platonic friendly way.

But seeing you for the first time. So gentle and warm. Changed his opinion on it.

Becoming friends with you was easy enough. A few witty jokes and smart remarks as well as a plenty of amazing story’s to last a lifetime had you fond of him from the start.

Days. Weeks. Months. Time seem to pass by the more you spent time with the magic monkey.

You two had become so inseparable that you’d take turns staying at the each other’s homes.

This week happens to be the week Wukong comes over to your home for your regular “sleepover’s”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

*knock* *knock*

The sound of tapping on a glass window in the living room could be head throughout your decently sized apartment.

‘He’s a little early today’

Glancing at the digital clock on your microwave it badly read 6:30 PM.

You were making your furry friend some sweet steamed peach buns knowing his love for anything peach flavored.

Quickly placing each bun on a piece of parchment paper you then gently place the buns on the already prepared tray before placing the tray in a steamer on the stove.

After washing your hands and drying them you quickly made your way to the window opening the curtains.

There he was. Sun Wukong.

Smiling down at you fondly, palm resting on the glass as he stared at you. Opening the window to finally let him in-

“Miss me peaches~”

“Of course Wukong who else will tell me how amazing you are everyday.”

“Hehehe!”

Stepping down from the fire escape and into your apartment he takes a deep breath in throw his nose. Shoulders visibility relaxed. He was no doubtable enjoying the smell of your cooking.

“Smells so good in here, like fresh peaches! Did you cook something?”

Looking at you with curious and amused eye with maybe a little wonder in them.

“Yeah. I figured you might be hungry when you stopped by so I made something with your favorite!”

He was almost at a loss for words. You thought to make something for him? And based on the smell it was definitely with his favorite!

Leading his hands up he cupped your cheeks looking at you with what could only be described as admiration in his eyes.

“Aww peaches you didn’t have to!”

“I know but I wanted to. You mean a lot to me so don’t think anything of it!”

The rest of the day was the two of you sitting on the couch eating peach buns and watching movies cuddling.

Simply enjoying each other.

—————————————————————————

I hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading! ♡

[random-thought-depository]

Amazon, why does your product information for the microwave pot/steamer I just bought include "Is Electric - Yes"? Yeah, it's meant to go into an electric appliance, but I'm pretty sure that this plastic pot is, in fact, not itself an electric appliance. I'm pretty sure this plastic pot has no electronic components. I'm pretty sure it's just a bunch of simple pieces of plastic and has no machinery of its own, unless you count the purely mechanical hinges on the clamps as machinery. Actually, I think if it did have electronic components this would be a problem, because I think microwaving an electronic device would not be good for it and might be a pretty unsafe thing to do.

It's a Sistema 3.2 liter microwave steamer, if anyone wants to check this out for themselves.

[clairelutra]

meal prep, the "i can stand upright for about an hour, and then i'll sit down and won't get up again" edition

so!! i've needed quick meals for basically ever, and it was high time i sis meal prep again, but i'm crazy drained and can't manage a whole lot. so!! i thought i'd write up what i'm doing for this meal prep in case it helps anyone else. everything is packed in 16oz deli containers i got for like $7 at the restaurant supply store

strawberry trifle: -strawberries cut into bite size chunks, coated in a few tablespoons of sugar and left to sit for a few hours -vanilla pudding mixed from a packet -pound cake, sliced and stuffed on top of the strawberries

keep in fridge until ready to eat. invert into a bowl if you feel fancy, idk. you could probably keep whipped cream or something on hand to top it and make it extra great but i was too lazy for that.

sweet potatoes and ham: -diced ham from one of those pre-cooked dinner hams you get at the supermarket near the sliced meats -cooked sweet potatoes from a microwave steamer bag (idk how many stores offer this but the internet has instructions for cooking sweet potatoes in the microwave and presumably those could be substituted for the steamer bag) sliced in half + a pat of butter and spoon of brown sugar on top

after it's packed, it's pretty easy to just. dump it all in a bowl, heat it up for a couple of minutes, then consume.

ham and stuffing: -thick slices of a dinner ham (could also be rotisserie chicken or turkey or whatever) -thanksgiving stuffing from a box -canned cranberry sauce

make sure the cranberry sauce is at the bottom; it'll soak up into everything it's touching, and moreso if it's got gravity helping it, so how Joined you want your cranberry sauce and stuffing is up to you. dump in bowl, heat, and enjoy.

so that's what i'm eating for the next few days, after getting sick to death of corn dogs, shared in hopes that it is useful inspiration to some poor soul out there in need of packed meals.

[shadowedstardust]

cyanide candy hearts, wyler

pairing - wednesday addams x tyler galpin

summary - tyler gives wednesday candy hearts the only way she would eat them (heavily inspired by coffee and change by itsallbachsfault on ao3, chapter sixteen: february).

warnings - use of blood, bone, cyanide, and other gruesome items in baking

word count - 1,333

“The day I eat one of those chalky, colorful candy hearts with mass-produced sentiments printed on them is the day they start filling them with cyanide.”

So, Tyler did, along with a few other things.

When he started he made two lists: items he needed and the recipe to make the candy hearts. Over weeks, the piece of paper he wrote the original recipe on became wrinkled, creased, and stained with a few drops of his blood as well as a coffee ring or two, and ingredients were crossed out and replaced with more gruesome ones after failed attempts.

(The list of items was thrown out on the twelfth attempt.)

The emergency ritual kit he had gotten from Grandmama was able to supply him with the ingredients needed for his test runs but to make the amount of candy hearts he wanted for every day had known Wednesday he would need more and that’s where Mrs. Addams (“call me Morticia, sweet boy”) came in.

When the words “I’m planning a surprise for Wednesday and I need help left Tyler’s mouth” Morticia instantly agreed and the next day the ingredients he required were on his bed in a steamer trunk with a card on top from Mrs. Addams that she “hopes the surprise goes dreadfully well.”

She was the best.

His dad was out of the house that day and Wednesday was continuing to craft Viper’s gruesome death for a side project so it was the perfect day for him to create her spine-chilling treats. The rain clouds and gloomy atmosphere outside made it even better.

“Okay.” Tyler clapped his hands and rubbed them together in preparation suddenly feeling intimidated by the ingredients in front of him.

The original recipe called for: 2 teaspoons of light corn syrup, ¼ ounce or two teaspoons of unflavored gelatin, ½ cup of water, 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, plus additional for dusting, a few drops of food coloring, assorted, and a few drops of flavoring extracts, assorted, as well.

Tyler’s recipe called for: 2 teaspoons of his own blood, ¼ or two teaspoons of powdered collagen from a wild boar (“it’s Wednesday’s favorite,” Morticia explained), ½ cup of water, 1 pound of human bone, all ribs, again Wednesday’s favorite, plus additional for dusting, food coloring, midnight blue, Venetian red, plum, and black, and, of course, cyanide.

The difference was very obvious and perfectly tailored for Wednesday’s macabre tastes.

Tyler grabbed the microwave-safe bowl in front of him, poured in his blood, water, and powdered collagen, and mixed the ingredients together before putting it into the microwave for thirty seconds. When he was playing with the recipe he accidentally warmed it for too long and the blood became a jelly-like substance.

He pulled it out when the microwave beeped and poured it into the bowl attached to the large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. He poured in one cup of human bone and began mixing. He added another cup and mixed until it became a brown sugar/syrup-like substance, continuing with this until the full pound of human bone was added occasionally stopping to scrape down the bottom and the sides of the bowl.

Finished with that step, he turned and dusted the only empty counter with flour and scraped the mixture onto it. He dusted the top of the mixture with more flour before beginning to knead the treat mixture. Folding the dough on top of itself and then using the heel of his hand to press it down before turning it a quarter and repeating. (His hyde strength came in handy here.) Dusting it with flour when it began to stick to his fingers.

After the mixture was finally kneaded to a proper form. He pulled on some gloves and grabbed his food coloring and the cyanide, which was a faint blue.

He began dividing the dough into four portions, one portion for each color. He colored each portion of the dough, a collagen and bone-filled dough with the food colorings that he had chosen to match the colors of the bruises he had seen on his neck a few mornings ago.

He hoped Wednesday would enjoy it.

Tyler grabbed the black portion to start with and flatten it against the counter until it was ¼ of an inch thick like the store-bought candies before taking his special cookie cutters that he had found on some morbid baking website. The cookie cutters were miniature anatomically correct hearts… that were very disturbing. There were no veins of anything just the general shape of the heart with valves.

Periodically, he colored all of the portions, flattened them, and cut them into heart shapes.

Soon enough, he had four different pans, that were lined with parchment paper, of anatomically correct heart treats. He couldn’t call it candy anymore even if Wednesday would find his blood tasty. Each pan had different color treats: midnight blue, plum, Venetian red, and black.

Sadly, he now had to let them dry for twenty-four hours.

He had no idea how he was going to hide them from his dad.

(Wednesday excitedly sedated his dad with a strong sedative to make sure he stayed at the station all night without even asking why.)

Wednesday sat in front of Tyler, across the table in his dining room. Her hands rested in her lap and her stare was on him like she was peeling his skin off, cutting through his muscles and bones to stare directly at his heart.

He didn’t care. She could have it. He would claw and tear it out of his chest in the most gruesome way possible and present it to her but right now all he had was treats.

“These are for you,” Tyler said, presenting a tin to her and sliding it across the wooden table. The metal created a grating sound in the air as the metal moved against the table. “I think you’ll enjoy them.”

Wednesday narrowed her eyes at him. While Tyler did have a habit of giving her gifts they were usually in the form of bruises around her neck from attempted strangulation, at her assistance, and claw marks that never went as deep as she wanted.

And she knew this was neither.

Wednesday pulled the tin closer to her, feeling the metal beneath her fingers, and steeled her gaze toward it. She leaned towards it and took a quick sniff before leaning back and narrowing her eyes at Tyler.

The smug look in his eyes made her want to bite his carotid.

(“The tin is scent-proof, dear. She won’t be able to smell anything until it is close to her nose.”)

“You’ve been in touch with mother.”

Tyler knew it wasn’t a question, she was stating a fact.

Wednesday took her time opening the tin and sat the top down beside it, the metal making a soft thud when she placed it on the table. She looked down at the treat that lay inside before looking back up at him, “hearts?”

Now, that was a question.

“And not the immature, incorrect, mainstream kind,” Tyler added, a tentative smile on his lips. “You still have to taste,” he continued. He was glad she couldn’t see the way his leg bounced from nervousness under the table.

Wednesday reached into the tin and pulled out one of the treats turning it around in the air before bringing it up to her mouth and taking a bite.

The crunch made him want to flinch.

Wednesday chewed slowly before her eyes widened.

“Cyanide.”

“And human bone, ribs,” Tyler suddenly spouted out unable to keep the words in anymore. “Wild boar collagen, and-”

“Your blood,” Wednesday interrupted and put the rest of the treat in her mouth and swallowed before continuing, “acceptable.”

Tyler smiled, brightly. She liked them.

“Acceptable” from Wednesday was an off-the-charts rating from anyone else.

“...And creative,” Wednesday continued.

His work had paid off.

“Do you have a glass of your blood to wash them down with?”

shadow spiels!

cannibalism is the new sex (coming tommorow) was suppposed to be the first thing i posted but i read coffee and change was struck by sudden inspiration and this is what was crafted. the official candy recipe is here. find someone who makes you anatomically correct candy hearts.

2/5/2023

masterlist

[chainofclovers]

I'm going to share with you to little life hacks based off of that dinner from last night. First you can make pretty good like at home, potato wedges, but just chopping potatoes into eight and tossing them with a teeny bit of oil and a bunch of spices, but the trick is you want to spice them. You don't actually need to get out a steamer basket or boiling water to cook baby carrots you can just microwave them for like two minutes as long as they're a little damp from the fridge and they'll cook.

Extremely late reply considering it's been weeks since we talked about the vinho verde (sorry) but thank you for sharing! Sounds delicious! I love making oven fries.

[mamapyjnommer]

Kiki’s Herring & Pumpkin Pie

I have wanted to eat this pie since the first time I saw the film when I was younger, and when I rewatched with my poorly kid recently I immediately went on a research spiral and ordered the ingredients I thought I’d need. In the end, everyone was poorly for ages and basically no cooking happened for like 3 weeks, but this was the day. Just with slightly modified ingredients since the fresh stuff I’d ordered was long gone.

In the end, I went for a Scandinavian-flavour inspired creamy pie with smoked herring (aka kippers), kind of like a twist on a classic Fisherman’s Pie. The Swedes (and I) are big fans of tinned fish, so that’s what I used here, which also meant they were wonderfully boneless.

I’m not going to go on for ages about what I did, but I do have lots of lovely pictures of the process of making white sauce and then adding stuff to it.

I use dairy-free spread and soya milk and it always works out fine. I added bay leaves, thyme, pepper, nutmeg, frozen dill then frozen peas and microwaved carrot, onion and celery mix. I wanted leeks but they were one of the fresh things that had to be sacrificed.

I also got my husband to prep the pumpkin for me, and since he’s stubborn he peeled it before chopping in small. If I were to do it again, I would be more adamant that he did not have to do that, since big wedges of microwave-steamed pumpkin come away from the skin a hell of a lot easier than the tiny little hard bits I had to scrape off each piece 😮‍💨. Anyway, it took 4 mins in the steamer.

Once I had pumpkin and sauce ready, I just had to add the herring! I used 1.5 tins but it could have taken two, they almost disappeared in the sauce and just made it really flavoursome.

Pumpkin, fish, sauce, poked it a bit to get it even. ⬆️

Then I covered it in pre-rolled puff pastry, using the scraps to try to recreate the cute design from the movie. It was extremely haphazard but that’s just how I roll.

That was it! Next time I’d add capers to the sauce to cut through the creaminess, but other than that it was a really nice warming dinner.

[rarebritney]

hi Winnie how in the WORLD do you make frozen veg taste good, especially greens? I too am a vegetarian rice and veggies girl but I cannot make frozen veggies taste yummy so I buy fresh veg but then it rots so fast because American produce is low key foul... I would appreciate your guidance. happy for you for getting back to school too I remember reading your blog when I was in college myself xoxo💖

Ok!! So it depends a lot on the veggies themselves. Some veggies just aren't good frozen in my opinion, like I'm not crazy about frozen cauliflower or carrots. Broccoli, snow peas, green beans, edamame, that's what I like! The easiest preparation is if they come in a steamer bag. I'll just follow the directions, pop them in the microwave (I might cook them for a shorter time bc I like my veggies crisp, just carefully feel the bag to see if they're still cold) pour them in a bowl and add a little salt to them. If they don't come in a steamer bag, I will put them in a bowl with a teaspoon of two of water, cover, and microwave in short increments. I think the secret is not overcooking them, I hate soggy vegetables. If I want stir fried veggies, usually I'll take the frozen veg out of the freezer, put it in a bowl and let them come closer to room temp while I prepare the other ingredients. This does a couple things: it means I won't be adding something so cold to my stir fry, so I can maintain the cooking momentum of the hot pan. It also makes the frozen veg behave a bit more like a fresh veggie, and cook in a shorter time. I can't say for certain, but I feel like when I started doing this my frozen broccoli released less water into my stir fries, which was a problem I was having. I usually do this with broccoli. Again, important not to overcook it! Broccoli is best imo when it's still really crisp inside imo. I also often sprinkle a little msg on my vegetables, it really makes them taste like takeout. Hope this helps!!

[exculis]

i got these frozen bao just to try them bc i have wanted to try bao sooo bad but i cant get them fucking anywhere around here and theyre pretty good. i think i need to figure out how to steam them on the stove next time tho bc all i had was the microwave this time and they had a little bit of dryness/texture oddities. which i wont know if thats a side effect of microwaving them or just the intrinsic nature of the frozen bao until ive made them both ways. but i dont have a steamer basket ever since mine melted.

[neontaxidermy]

Official snack reveiw

- Salt n vinegar kettle chips remain a top winner. they're a perfect side for most vegetable-centric subs: such as the thundercloud subs hummus sub (see in Official meal reveiw). With or without puckles. Though it also works perfectly with most cold savory meals, provided they are not also very vinegary.

- This Lemon Dill hummus we got. the lid was broken (the plastic was still sealed dw) but I don't even really give a shit it's so good. Not cheap and comes in a small container though, which lends itself towards a snacking hummus rather than a meal hummus. Make sure to have a large amount of less acidic hummus available for use as a good contrasting meal hummus.

- Yeah I'm gonna be honest like a solid 60% of my diet has become hummus at this point

- we got a little microwave steamer so you can steam whatever buns or vegetables you want for an also very good snack

[isopodshenanigans]

Okay! So, I promise I have a very good excuse for missing last week and this being late: I'm officially in college and needed a bit of time to settle in.

But here I am, so as always, pictures under a read-more!

Packed up most of my clothes into a tote, or, well, all of the stuff I don't need for the current weather(aka the winter stuff) but no one seems particularly enthused. Don't worry little ones, you're all coming too, I wouldn't leave you behind.

Investigating my new dishware, including one very fancy butter knife. By fancy I mean it's from Walmart and its very shiny. Excuse my feet in the background.

Miggy, Squishy, and one barely visible Ladybug investigating all the other kitchen stuff I'm bringing, since a well stocked kitchen is important for when you don't want to just be eating microwave ramen all semester! Plus Otodus and Kitsune investigating one of my microwave steamers. (One of because my very nice grandparents couldn't decide which one to send so they sent both. One is significantly larger then the other. Pictured is the larger one, ideal for stuff like steamed porkbuns! Which we did cook in it before I left.

Now we have a brand new oddity, a muffin tin! So exotic. This one's made of silicone. It means you don't need muffin liners. We've had these silicon muffin pans so long it kinda weirds me out when muffins have liners because we never use liners for muffins or cupcakes. Miggy and Squishy also demonstrating both their own size and the size of the spoons, as they fit perfectly on them.

Packing up my craft tote, I must have repacked this thing like three separate times, just out of nerves and worry that I wouldn't be able to pack everything I wanted to. For the record, I managed to forget an entire color. So no medium purple for me. Sigh. At least the isopods had some fun climbing around in the yarn.

And a bonus from at the new apartment, that's Cinnamon, my roommate's cat. Squishy and Kitsune have never met an actual cat before, and they were very grateful that Cinnamon did not seem too interested in them.

Hopefully I'll remember to update on Sundays from now on, wish me luck.

[lorgepuppy]

Happy Easter!! 🐣 🐰 Made a broccoli cheddar casserole to bring to the first Easter dinner with my boyfriend's family. I was nervous about how it turned out but everyone ate it all up. Success!! 🧑‍🍳

Here's the recipe for you:

-3 cans Campbell's cream of chicken soup (if your store has it, I used cream of chicken with herbs for added flavor)

- 2 HEAPING dollops of sour cream (any brand, you can also use low or reduced fat sour cream)

- OPTIONAL: 4 tablespoons of butter (any kind, but I used country crock)

- 1/3 to 1/2 a head of fresh broccoli (depends on the size of the head)

- 1/2 of a yellow onion, diced (if your onions run small, use a whole onion)

- 1 whole block of mild cheddar cheese, shredded (you can also use a bag of pre-shredded but the pre-shredded won't melt as well as freshly shredded)

- 1 sleeve Ritz crackers (if your store has it, I used the garlic herb flavored ones, takes the flavor to another level)

- 1/2 tbsp salt

- 1/2 tbsp pepper

- 1 tsp thyme

- 1/2 tsp ground sage

- 1 tsp chicken seasoning

Instructions:

- Preheat oven to 375°F

- Steam your broccoli, but not all the way. You want it to be just soft enough that you can smush the stem a little with your fingers but still a little crunchy in the middle. (You can use a steamer, but if you're lazy like me you can also just put the broccoli in a bowl. Fill it 1/3 of the way with water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 3-5 min.)

- While your broccoli is steaming shred your cheese and dice your onion so it's ready.

- Dump the entire sleeve of Ritz crackers into a large baggie and beat until it's fine like a powder. Beat it with anything, a rolling pin, your fists, etc. (If you want some extra crunch on top, beat it until the crackers are in pieces but not all the way to a powder)

-When broccoli is done steaming, chop that up into bite size pieces. Save like 4-6 florets for decoration on the top.

- Combine all ingredients EXCEPT Ritz crackers, a handful of shredded cheese, and your 4-6 florets of broccoli you saved in the last step; all these will go on the top before baking.

- Mix until ingredients are well combined.

- Evenly sprinkle your last handful of shredded cheese on top.

- Evenly sprinkle your Ritz cracker crumbs on top; use as much as you like. Less crumbs = less crunchy, more crumbs - more crunchy

- Evenly space your leftover broccoli florets on top and push about half way into the casserole.

- Bake at 375°F for 30-40 minutes. You want to see the casserole gently bubbling, and the cheese on top to be ever so slightly browned. That's how you know it's done! (Don't forget to turn off your oven like I did ssshhh)

- Cool in fridge for about 10-15 minutes to allow casserole to set so it's not too liquidy when you serve it.

- Enjoy!

EXTRA:

If you want to take this side dish and turn it into a meal there's a couple things you can do!

- Mix in about 2 - 3 cups of left over rice when combining your ingredients. (And I can't stress this enough! Left over rice from a day or two ago will work better than fresh cooked rice cuz it doesn't absorb as much liquid as fresh cooked. If you're using fresh cooked rice, I would add like, another half can of cream of chicken soup and another dollop of sour cream to balance it out)

- Mix in about 3-4 large handfuls of cooked egg noodles. (Fresh or leftover, pasta doesn't keep absorbing liquid as bad as rice does when it's cooked)

- You can use riced cauliflower or any riced vegetable as well. Riced vegetables don't absorb liquid like regular rice does, so no need to add anything extra if this is the route you take.

Have fun guys!!!

[thechaosoflonging]

ways dat my besfwen has a soft spot for me as observed da past 2 days (xmas eve & day):

• used 4 diff containers n 3 diff kitchen appliances (steamer, microwave & kettle) & 2 diff hot chocos to try to make me da perfect hot choco (it wasn’t dat great but i gave him a hug n a kiss on da cheek bc eFFORT)

• fed me a malteaser when i said “ahh” da second time he said naur bc he said he wanted 2 treat me da same as he treats his homies lmao

• but at da same time after he hugged me goodbye he frowned n gave me a kiss goodbye as well🥺

• cuddled w me in bed while he was having a nap

• freqeuently asking me if i was okay in a Soft Way

• a sleeby “hi🥺” n was playing w my hair pin while we were lying in bed

• cuddling on da couch after falling asleeb to japan sinks lol

• letting me pick whatever anime i wanted to watch

• showing me one of his fav childhood movies which was acc sew funny

• letting me pick da movie on xmas eve to watch

• cooking me cheesy eggs for dinner bc i missed his cooking sm

• telling me i can do whatever i want in his house bc i’m not a guest🥺

• cooking me breakfast & opening a lil a alcoholic free drink for us bc he knows i dun drink

• told me before i left da house dat he has no spare clothes for me bc he didn’t bring clothes back from amsterdam n jus had 1/2 fits

• letting me wear his hoodie to bed n e ways

• implying dat we’re gonna have a sleepover before i even left da house by mentioning clothes

• slept on da couch w me even doe he was sick n we had thin ass blankets

• whenever i wanna play w his puppies he picks them up for me & hands me the puppy

overall i lov my besfwen n he def tries to not give me special treatment bc he wants to treat all his fwens da same (even doe i’m his only gorl besfwen) but he has a soft spot for mochi n it sHOWS