Culinary standards
 

So I was talking to my dad on the phone while cooking dinner for the kiddos tonight, and I mentioned that we were having Cheeseburger Macaroni (Hamburger Helper (TM)) for dinner.

He chastized me, saying first of course that box meals were "ugly," which is a sentiment I've always known he had--but here's the thing: he insisted that I should instead be making it "from scratch"--i.e. brown the meat, boil the macaroni, and mix in some Velveeta.

What? Don't you mean I should be cooking a healthy, tasty, seasoned and complete meal instead of the box crap? No, the meal was fine, I should just be using Velveeta instead. Apparently it's important to make my own crap from scratch instead of buying it together in one box.

So how often does your family eat the cheap fast box meals--not just Hamburger Helper, I mean any kind of quick cop-out meal?

Not as much as we used to, but here and there. We have a Stouffer's Chicken Cordon Bleu pasta deal sitting in the fridge that I'll make over the weekend.

we either eat out or order in 9 nights out of 10.

And on the 10th night it's beer and nachos

-sm

Packaged stuff works fine when you don't have timeto/don't feel like cooking stuff from scratch. On the whole it tastes fine anyway. And besides, Velveeta makes easy macaroni meals too!

I actually ask my wife for Annie Chung's, which are lo mein meals in boxes. She adds chicken and vegetables and stir frys it. I have no complaints.

These days about the only boxed meals I make are frozen lasagne and the occasional frozen pizza, and even those I prefer to make from scratch. I think for me it's more that I prefer to know exactly what's going into my food. That's not to say boxed meals are full of bad stuff, but that I don't know that they *aren't*.

The kids and I don't eat dairy, so most packaged meal things aren't an option (unless they are the way too expensive vegan whole foods mart variety). We do eat quick cop out meals a lot , more often than not I think. PB&J is big hit around here. And pasta. I do open a seperate jar of sauce though, it's not in the same box.

I rarely make box stuff. Even when I make Mac 'n Cheese for the younguns, I use wheat pasta and use organic cheese.

I have slowly gravitated away from anything prepared to the point where I hardly ever use any anymore. I read all labels and have a lot of concerns about the stuff in them.

It took a while but I can make scratch in the same time it takes for most box stuff (b/w 10 and 25 minutes) so that stopped being a reason to use it.

The only box meal that I don't mind too much is Goya beans and rice mixes. There's a bunch of them and they all seem ok (the mix is mostly spice).

It's hard for me to imagine "put Velveeta in it" EVER being sound advice.

The Annie's line of mac-and-cheese products isn't bad at all.

My wife and I eat out more than we should (phrasing that carefully), probably a couple of nights a week. When she worked night shift, I cooked almost every night, as I had several hours to play with in the kitchen before she'd get home. Nowadays, we both get home about 5:30; I'll either stop on the way home and get something that's quick to make or say "screw it, let's go out."

Tonight for dinner: Tower Isles Jamaican Beef Patties

Leftover cold pepperoni pizza that had been purchased for a training earlier today.

I reminisced about college. The only thing missing was the big pile of weed.

I miss the college days.

Tend to get takeaway/eat out most nights but it's usually fairly healthy stuff (freshly made noodle box, curry).

Left to my own devices i've been known to live on hummus, rice crackers, cereal and coffee for days or weeks.

My husband, who normally knows better, absolutely loves Hamburger Helper. We call it White Trash Dinner Night at our house. We eat quite a bit of frozen stuff (I am partial to Boca frozen pizzas myself), but usually not many of the boxed dinners, unless you count the mac & cheese with the foil pouch of cheez goo.

As for Velveeta, IMO it's not "cheese" in the strictest sense of the word, but it's good for making my mom's famous puke dip:

1 pound Velveeta, cubed
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies
1 pound very lean ground beef, preferably sirloin
1 packet taco seasoning mix

Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning mix. If you got the right kind of ground beef, there won't be anything to drain. Dump all ingredients in a big microwavable bowl and zap until cheese is melted. Stir around until it looks like barf. Serve with tortilla chips, chopped green onion, and sour cream.

And hey, it's fat free! ;)

Puke dip... thanks for the image... I'm off to have dinner now!!! :cool:

Of course you need the dip. You can't eat puke plain!

My wife and I used to eat a lot of boxed stuff, as well as spending a lot of time at restaurants, because neither of us were much of a cook. But over the months we've experimented with some recipes (for the sake of variety, health, and expense), and we make quite a bit of quality food at home now.

I was just remarking to her the other night, as we were building some mushroom parmesan pasta, that lately the two of us have become rather adept a making some tasty, semi-healthy food from scratch. We rarely go out to eat, and I haven't had to choke down hamburger helper in months. It's remarkable progress.

i never make boxed meals. never, ever. they really are CRAP. it's just not food in my book.
What the HELL is the point of making it from scratch and using velveeta? your dad is nuts. he started off with a valid argument, and he's right, the box stuff is crap. but then he completely discredited himself by suggesting the velveeta. he's on the right track, but he really needs to do some more research, because velveeta is the same kind of trash as hamburger helper.
my poor husband can't fit into his pants anymore. he went from a 30 waist to a 34. in addition to making everything from scratch, i'm now paying a lot more attention to how fattening the food is! i stopped using ground beef and sausage altogether. i've been using ground turkey in his food. i just made him stuffed cabbage with lowfat sour cream and ground turkey and he didn't even know the difference...

Good choice and a good way to introduce healthier foods into his "diet". :thumpsup:

Boy I really could have done with better eating habits years ago. Now I'm paying for it..ah well. I'm about to do a modified Atkins diet. At least I can have lean meat (and apparently, as much as I want, but I'll probably do a lot of chicken and turkey).

As far as boxed dinners: Syc and I used to do them a lot but not anymore. Way too much sodium and stuff in them, but they were good, IMO. Hamburger Helper: haven't done that in years. Almost forgot they still make it. :D

Be careful with that Atkin's diet. I'm sure it depends on the person, but all it did for me was make me sick (and I stuck with it for a long time, about 3 months). Best thing I've found, for me, is to get 50% of my calories from protein, 25% from carbs and 25% from fat (just have to be careful what kinds of fat you ingest). I went cold turkey on anything with potatoes and refined sugar in it, and have so far lost 30 pounds. It's really just a question of finding what works for you. I don't think it's healthy in the long run to just arbitrarily say "no carbs for me", just as it wouldn't be wise to say "no proteins!" or "no fats!".

i eat about 6-9 potatoes (with oil) every single day. i'm 5'9 and 1/2 and i weigh 120 pounds. go figure.

What the heck is velveeta?
Atkins is worrying. Eating a reasonable amount od decent quality food and regular exersize will always get good results.

Cheese flavored "food" product.

It comes in a squishy block about the consistency of tofu, and doesn't need to be refrigerated until after opening its foil wrapper.

It melts very smoothly, straight into a sauce, that's its whole claim to fame. That and it's cheap. It's like the SPAM of cheeses.

From an article in Chemical and Engineering News
Velveeta is pasteurized process cheese spread

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Pasteurized process cheese food is a variation of process cheese that may have dry milk, whey solids, or anhydrous milkfat added, which reduces the amount of cheese in the finished product. It must contain at least 51% of the cheese ingredient by weight, have a moisture content less than 44%, and have at least 23% milkfat.

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Pasteurized process cheese spread is a variation on cheese food that may contain a sweetener and a stabilizing agent, such as the polysaccharide xanthan gum or the Irish moss colloid carrageenan, to prevent separation of the ingredients. The cheese must be spreadable at 70 http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/deg.gifF, contain 44 to 60% moisture, and have at least 20% milkfat.

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Pasteurized process cheese product is process cheese that doesn't meet the moisture and/or milkfat standards.

http://pubs.acs.org/images/entities/bull.gif Imitation cheese is made from vegetable oil; it is less expensive, but also has less flavor and doesn't melt well.

ick.
See comment about eating good food. Spoiled for cheese here, Switzerland produces more cheeses than I can ever remember the names of and many are still made in very traditional ways, utterly mouthwatering. To top it off mum lives near Chedder in england and posts me cheese on occasion, sure spices up the morning mail.