What are you cooking #001
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The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
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Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

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The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
–
Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

Cheddar cheese biscuits (a la red lobster) come to mind - butter, baking powder & soda, salt, garlic powder, sugar, milk would be basically all you need.
Have that with eggs served however you want. Bonus points for eggs benedict if you can get a lemon too and some more eggs to make a hollandaise.
$4 for flour and cheese, probably $1.50 of butter, $1 of various pantry things, ~$0.50 for a lemon, ~$0.50 of milk, $3 for a dozen eggs. ~$10.50 total. 4 servings. ~$2.13 each
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The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
–
Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

I don’t know shit about cooking. Could you melt the cheese in a pot and then add some flour to thicken it up like a fondue texture? Then cut up some Vienna sausages into 1/4 chunks and put a toothpick in each one. Then you can dip the sausage bites into the fondue.
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The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
–
Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

Mac and cheese!
Make a Bechamel sauce, stir in grated cheddar until it’s properly cheesy, add a pinch of nutmeg and white pepper. Pour over macaroni, add more grated cheddar on top, and bake.
If I had aged Gruyere I’d mix that with the cheddar.
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The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
–
Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

First jump is some southern cheese biscuits.
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I have thought about cheddar pizza a couple of times and my brain always shuts off.
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Mac and cheese!
Make a Bechamel sauce, stir in grated cheddar until it’s properly cheesy, add a pinch of nutmeg and white pepper. Pour over macaroni, add more grated cheddar on top, and bake.
If I had aged Gruyere I’d mix that with the cheddar.
Is macaroni really the right word for that in this context? I’m pretty sure you don’t have a elbow noodle extractor. Pappardelle, Tagliatelle, Fettuccine?
I think this needs a seasoned breadcrumb topping when you boil it.
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I don’t know shit about cooking. Could you melt the cheese in a pot and then add some flour to thicken it up like a fondue texture? Then cut up some Vienna sausages into 1/4 chunks and put a toothpick in each one. Then you can dip the sausage bites into the fondue.
I think you need a little bit of wine to make that work but yeah. I can see it. I’d probably also make some crusty bread. You already have the flour. All you need is some salt yeast and water.
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I have thought about cheddar pizza a couple of times and my brain always shuts off.
I like to do a cheddar sauce instead of tomato and then top with mozz, cumbled beef, and bacon bits.
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The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
–
Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

Cheesy bread
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Cheddar cheese biscuits (a la red lobster) come to mind - butter, baking powder & soda, salt, garlic powder, sugar, milk would be basically all you need.
Have that with eggs served however you want. Bonus points for eggs benedict if you can get a lemon too and some more eggs to make a hollandaise.
$4 for flour and cheese, probably $1.50 of butter, $1 of various pantry things, ~$0.50 for a lemon, ~$0.50 of milk, $3 for a dozen eggs. ~$10.50 total. 4 servings. ~$2.13 each
I found this recipe like two decades ago. I made it and my girlfriend swore that it was a perfect clone of Red lobster biscuits. You can tell how long it’s been in my notepad because it talks about things like biscuit mix which I would now make from scratch and it would talk about shredded taco cheese instead of the specific cheeses. This is long before I really started cooking from scratch.
Mexican Drop Biscuits
2 cups biscuit/baking mix
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded taco cheese
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, undrained
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp cayenne pepperIn a small bowl, combine the biscuit mix, cheese and chilies.
Stir in water just until moistened.
Drop into 12 mounds 2 in. apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
In a small bowl, combine the butter, parsley, garlic powder, oregano, thyme and cayenne pepper; brush over biscuits. -
Like make a crepe and put cheddar in it? Like a French quesadilla?
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I like to do a cheddar sauce instead of tomato and then top with mozz, cumbled beef, and bacon bits.
Instead of tomato sauce? So like a cheesy bread with meat toppings people might do if they got heartburn from a tomato sauce? Are we talking like pizza crust then or like focaccia?
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The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
–
Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

If this is what you’re restricted to, (ie. no eggs, milk, spices/herbs, etc.) then I’d say you were looking at a chance at a fondant-texture cheese dough, if you’re patient? Essentially, a roux to a Beschamel without milk, but it’ll take a steady heat and a non-stop, gentle stir/folding.
I’d start by rendering the oils from ~⅓ of the cheese, and begin the roux from there. Then, slowly and completely, melt only enough grated from the ⅔ to emulsify without clumping.
Continue until the roux won’t take any more grated without breaking (you’ll see oils sweating/escaping on the surface, just dust w/ sifted flour and fold until absorbed evenly)
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First jump is some southern cheese biscuits.
Check my reply to other comments for a cheesy biscuit recipe.
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Like make a crepe and put cheddar in it? Like a French quesadilla?
Yes, basically.
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If this is what you’re restricted to, (ie. no eggs, milk, spices/herbs, etc.) then I’d say you were looking at a chance at a fondant-texture cheese dough, if you’re patient? Essentially, a roux to a Beschamel without milk, but it’ll take a steady heat and a non-stop, gentle stir/folding.
I’d start by rendering the oils from ~⅓ of the cheese, and begin the roux from there. Then, slowly and completely, melt only enough grated from the ⅔ to emulsify without clumping.
Continue until the roux won’t take any more grated without breaking (you’ll see oils sweating/escaping on the surface, just dust w/ sifted flour and fold until absorbed evenly)
Assume a basic pantry. So yes, eggs, milk, herbs, spices, baking powder, yeast, butter, etc.
-
The picture is your starter. Assume a basic pantry for your other ingredients. What are you cooking?
These two ingredients were less than $4 total when I bought them.
For me, an obvious choice here is quesadillas. A little bit of salt, baking powder, oil and water and you have tortillas. You could add a little sour cream or hot sauce or peppers and onions or any number of other things to make this into a meal.
What are you going to make? How much is it going to cost per a person? Bonus points if you know how long it’s going to take? You kind of have to rest tortilla dough for 30 minutes. So for two people this meal is going to take me about an hour.
–
Not included in the price is the cutting board. I made it years ago as an experiment to see if I could frame an edge face cutting board without it cracking breaking itself apart. It’s made of poplar and it refuses to die. Materials caused on it was probably about $10. Labor time was probably about 2 hours.
Poplar makes a horrible cutting board. It’s too soft even though it’s a hardwood. However, for end grain butcher blocks it’s a champion. I usually only use this for cutting and serving pizza because every knife mark shows on it.

Pot pie; flour goes into a shortening crust, cheese melts into a creamy veggies/choice-of-meat-if-desired stew for the inside.
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Assume a basic pantry. So yes, eggs, milk, herbs, spices, baking powder, yeast, butter, etc.
If you’ve got yogurt, I highly recommend cheddar naan.
🫠

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Like make a crepe and put cheddar in it? Like a French quesadilla?
A crêpesadilla
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