I am grateful that we have a furnished apartment. I thank those who spent so much time searching for a home for our family. I am grateful that we have only needed to buy a heater, a knife and a can opener. I am grateful that in America I have; a baby seat to put Lincoln into during meals, sheets that fit my bed rather than bunch up whenever I move, a toaster, more than one frying pan, four working burners on the stove, a DRYER, a mixer and a whisk.
I am grateful for the American way, that we have too much 'stuff.' I love that in America we have huge grocery stores that carry ANYTHING. I can find a good frozen pizza with nice toppings. I can find all sorts of vegetables (and I'm not a veggie person), baby food is unlimited, you have all sorts of cheese (especially my favorite CHEDDAR CHEESE), yeast, cold milk and cereals galore. I do wish though that America had a few pastries like they have here; multiple shops on one street. The shelf life of milk is incredible. The juices are exquisite, my favorites are peach and pear nectar next to the 'laranja' (orange) juice.
At this time I would like to ask the readers of this blog to be of assistance. I don't have many spices (cinnamon, garlic salt, pepper, salt, and a mixture of Italian seasonings) and I am lacking in the cheese department. I wonder what you marinade your meats in and what types of meals you cook that are simple (in the way of ingredients). New recipes are always fun to try. Thank you ahead of time for any contributions to my dilemma.The first week we were here we were VERY American in our meals. We ate hamburgers in a pita because we couldn't find hamburger buns. We ate macaroni and cheese that I brought with me. We fixed up some hot dogs that we found (in the can on the shelf). We had other American type meals but they weren't too successful. I really do miss Cheddar Cheese.
6 comments:
We really are quite spoiled here, aren't we. We like to use salad dressings to marinate our meat - Italian and any vinaigrette work great. You don't even have to add any other seasonings. Another tip- check out the Kraft website (http://www.kraftfoods.com/). You can type in the ingredients you have and it gives you possible recipes. We use it all the time and love it! We miss you all so much and love you even more!!!!
Ohh Krista, I totally know what you mean!! So--for most cream-based recipes, I just used the Greek yogurt in the stores mixed with a little milk. I also used that as a substitute for sour cream. If I had to make a chicken base, I'd use the bullion cubes (they should have those, for sure). We grilled lots of meats and fish. We used potatoes and rice as sides with some veggies. We also did lots of pastas and lasagnas.
I have a recipe for flour tortillas--I'll email it to you. Those are REALLY hard to come by AND expensive.
CHEDDAR is VERY hard to come by, too and also expensive. An okay substitute is a Gouda or an Edam. I used these two a lot in recipes. Have you scouted out a Mercadona? It was the best supermarket in Spain--not sure if they're in Portugal. They also have fresh milk. Oh, any store should have magdalenas--they're like mini-muffins and are really good!
Oh my. I have no idea. Do any of the Members speak English? Maybe they could show you some simple Portuguese recipes using ingredients that are easy to find. Of course that assumes you will like it too :) Oh boy. Good thing the comments before me were more helpful. I did see they have Kid to Kid consignment stores in Portugal! Several actually, though I'm not sure how close any of them would be to you . . .
I have a couple of tips for you. When you cook meats make sure you brown them on both sides. Add some salt and pepper too. Also brown onions and other veggies and cook them with your meats. When you brown things, it brings a natural flavor to the surface that you will enjoy. Carmelized onions take on a natural sweetness that will add a lot of flavor, even if you don't like to eat the onions, they will help flavor your food. Another good website is the Campbell's Soup site. They also have a recipe program like Kraft. It will give you some variety. Then substitute yogurt if you need to, use some bouillon to add additional flavor if you need it. Any time you can add peppers and onions, celery, carrots, etc. while you are cooking, you will increase the flavor. Do you need us to send you a few essential cooking items? You are a trooper, Krista and I am so very proud of you! Maybe when you get home you can teach me how to cook! Love you!
I wish I could mail you some cheese :) We have 4 lbs. in the fridge cause Josh isn't here to eat it. We are just getting done being apart for 3 weeks and these last few days are taking forever :) Happy 5 years to you guys! You are so cute :) Thanks for sharing pictures of Porto. The narrow streets with tons of houses upon houses reminds me of Mexico. Hang in there, only 2 more months there right?
Mashed potatoes (real or box) canned green beans, tomato soup, ground hamburger and cheese=shepards pie. Brown meat dump in green beans and tomato soup. Line bottown of pot or pan with this mixture. Top with mashed potatoes and cheese. Bake at 350 for a half hour or so....
I don't know if you have all those ingredients though. Maybe you could adapt it with tomato sauce or even just potatoes and any kind of meat.
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