I’m a pretty unadventurous baker/cook/diner. I like normal dishes with normal-sounding ingredients. (Which doesn’t exclude Chinese, Thai, Mexican and Italian cooking. It’s just that even in those recipes, I like ingredients that I can pronounce and find and identify.) Like today’s recipe – plain and simple ingredients for a nicely baked casserole. I still remember making a salad with Jicama in it (about 15 years ago, before Jicama was considered a normal ingredient). I asked the produce manager where the Jicama might be. (pronounced J, as in jeepers and jingle and Julia.) He politely pointed and said that the Jicama (pronounced H, as in hello, and hanky, and Harold) was over in the corner. Like I said, I like ingredients that I can find and pronounce.
Today’s recipe is a new one that I tried when we were on Spring Break. It received a thumbs up from my family, so I hope you and your family like it, too!
Chicken and Ham Bake
1 pck. cornbread stuffing mix (6 oz)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups milk
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 lb. deli ham, sliced into thin strips
1 cup Swiss cheese
2 cups Cheddar Cheese
Layer chicken in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan. Mix one can of soup with 1 cup of milk and pour over the top. Layer on the ham , swiss cheese, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Mix the other can of soup with 1 cup of milk and pour over the ham and swiss.
Prepare the stuffing mix according to package directions. Layer this on top and sprinkle 1 cup of Cheddar Cheese on top.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer (or until cheese melts).
This month’s blog contest question is easy – what’s the most unusual ingredient you have ever eaten or cooked/baked with? (And if it’s not all that unusual, that’s just fine. I can relate.) Leave your answer in the comments below and I’ll draw the winners next week. The prize? A special edition color of Wollmeise.
Note regarding in-person shopping hours next week (4/19-23): While the website is always open, 24/7/365, we will be closed to IN-person shoppers here all next week. We have Spring Flingers coming in and they’re all we can handle at one time! (And our Fire Marshall agrees….)
Sheri headingtoaweddinginIndianathisweekend.Hopetheweathercooperates!
I have eaten a wide variety of ‘different ‘ foods but the one thing that I always marvel at is vinegar in Red Velvet Cake. Awesome cake..my favorite!
diana
Many years ago a friend took me to a nice restaurant for lunch. I LOVE seafood and pasta. The special of the day was BLACK SEAFOOD RAVIOLI……guess what made the pasta black? Squid ink !!!!!! My gf and I had a good giggle at the thought of someone swimming around milking squid for their ink LOL.
I have nothing…………. I am like you I eat things I can ID & pronounce & rarely go outside my comfort zone!!
I have cooked sweetbreads, tongue, kidneys. Not recently, of course, because they are so unhealthy but I did love them back in the day. I’ve eaten alligator (and YES, it does taste like chicken, a fishy chicken) but didn’t cook it, pheasant, and squab. My daughter on a trip to China had to eat a cicada and a scorpion. If she hadn’t eaten them, she would have insulted her hosts. I would have had a really hard time with that!!
I will eat anything, but rarely cook anything that uses strange ingredients. I have used egg substitute before…and I eat goat cheese?
Dessert made from pureed avocados…
The weirdest thing I ever ate was Garlic Ice Cream. They were giving it away when I went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival… I don’t really recommend it.
For me, using in a meal, was fish sauce (I don’t eat fish).
I’ve had green tea icecream (which, if I recall correctly, was pretty good).
The first time the bf cooked for me, he needed to find the tarragon in his parent’s house. After much searching I asked if I could help. When he told me it looked like pot and was in a little baggie (excellent planning there!), I found it immediately (and I don’t smoke pot, for the record).
I am a vegetarian now, so many of the things that I eat on a daily basis are considered strange to many people. The strangest things that I have eaten were all before I became a vegetarian. My dad and uncles are all hunters, so, growing up I ate venison, squirrel, rabbit, pheasant, duck, bear, and frog legs. My mom loved chicken livers and would fry them up for lunch when my dad was at work. While in college, I tried alligator (kind of sweet), buffalo (really dry), anchovies (never again), squid, octopus, and escargot (really, really tasty)
I cook with lots of interesting things, but the one that’s coming to mind is Habanero peppers. They are called ‘the hottest peppers on Earth’ and it’s true. Just handling them burned the tips of my fingers!!!
Well, it’s not unusual, but it sure got our attention when we saw it as a special in a local restaurant. Basil Marguarita. Surprisingly good. We even went back the next week and watched them make it at the bar so we would know how. Really!…Basil.
I tend to cook with lots of ethnic ingredients since I live in Chicago and it’s so easy to find them. I don’t think they’re weird but my family sure does! Nothing crazy–stuff like pancetta, proscuitto and preserved lemons (not in the same dish!).
The most unusual thing I’ve ever eaten though had to be a very fresh eel in China. They brought it out to show us what we’d be eating before they took it to the back to kill it. That was enough to make my friend say NOPE. But I ate it. 😉
Back when we were much younger and poorer, I routinely cooked with cow heart and liver, donated by my sister-in-law who grew the beef and butchered. Her family didn’t like organ meats. Go figure!
I don’t think its so unusual but I’ve used hot pepper juice in some of my recipes.
Antelope and ostrich. Antelope was not for me. Ostrich tasted like chicken. 🙂
I also cooked cornish hens that my dad had hunted. I did it for a dinner party and was in tears b/c I’d never cleaned a bird before. My guests were gracious and helped me. I don’t know what I was thinking.
Thanks for the chance.
In the late 1970s, we made Avocado Ice Cream all the time. It was delicious … in addition to the regular ingredients for vanilla ice cream and the avocados, the recipe called for the juice of 12 lemons; the avocados mainly gave it a wonderfully creamy texture. I should go look up that recipe again!
Hmmm, I’ve eaten horse meat, reindeer (love, love, love smoked reindeer), blood sausage (excellent fried dark with lingonberries), I’ve eaten whale meat but don’t really remember what it tasted like. I’ve had bear and moose, but not a fan of either…the bear is too strong tasting and moose too lean.
It’s all what you are used to, for example I can’t even look at mac & cheese, jello or marshmallows….yuck! Tuna casserole, not in this life time.
About 30 yrs. ago my husband & I traveled to the jungles of southern Mexico & Guatemala to see various Mayan ruins. In Guatemala there were animals that I had never seen even in a book or a zoo. One was a dog-sized animal whose Spanish name I can’t remember but I Do remember that it wasn’t even in my giant Spanish dictionary. We were told that this animal had practically been hunted to extinction because it tasted so good. They also ate monkey in this area. I never asked what kind of meat we were eating at dinner! I live north of Los Angeles and have eaten a lot of sushi (uni, sea urchin is my favorite), had diced “nopales” (de-spined cactus “paddles”) in Mexican salads, and “birria” (goat) tacos. The latter is delicious! So. California is a foodie paradise if you like to sample different ethnic cuisines. My absolute favorite is Persian ice cream made with rose water, or pistachio with saffron.
Okay, strangest ingredient for me was Ostrich Meat. Don’t ask. lol
I guess my pick would be frog’s legs, and I actually liked them
Cow’s tongue or Alligator sausage would be it for me.
Not particularly unusual, but in context… When I was living in New Mexico as everyone from that area of the country can attest to, when you eat out, no matter what you order, the question asked is, “do you want that red or green?” (meaning what kind of chilie do you prefer). And it is at every joint you go to, whether you’re having burgers or authentic mexican. My favorite ice cream place in town made these amazing sundaes with sweet vanilla soft serve, green chilies and super salty pecans – yummm!
Not terribly exotic, but vital wheat gluten. We made our own seitan with it.
I had a roommate who was allergic to gluten so we used to cook with all sorts of wierd flours, almond, rice etc.
Here in WV we have Ramp Festivals to signal Spring. We grow the garlic/ leek plant in our woods. We add it to eggs, potatoes, and my personal favorite- Ramon Noodles! Back in the 60’s Jim Comstock, editor of the West Virginia Hillbilly, added the pungent juice of the ramp
to the ink and sent the reeking newspaper to subscribers all over the globe. The Post Office was not amused. Hmmm….now if I added it when I dyed yarn…..
Bought a sandwich off a lunch truck with a combination I’d never had … it was made with ham and cheese and egg salad. I thought they were going to be two separate sandwiches so I was quite surprised to see it was just one. I have to say tho’, it was yummy!
I once and only once – made helped my parents make what they called Rocky Mountain Oysters. It doesn’t sound too bad until you know that it’s really deep fried bull testicles. YUCK! Debbie in Alaska
Fish sauce, which smells sort of vile. I’m not even sure what it is, but I have several oriental recipes that call for it, and my family loves them, and so do I! Thanks for the opportunity to win some coveted Wollmeise : )
Recently I used miso and white wine in a curry dish, which is pretty adventurous for me.
In all reality, the weirdest thing I do is add chocolate and molasses to chili. It gives it a wonderful flavor.
I guess the most unusual would be an unusual thing put on an everyday thing. Spirulina (blue-green algae on popcorn.
I am from Scotland and as a child we ate black pudding which is pigs blood deep fried. I loved it then but cannot eat it now.
No odd food here.. unless you count schmaltz
My most unusual food was head cheese, which was served to me when visiting a friend’s home as a child. According to Wikipedia: “Head cheese is not a cheese but a meat jelly made with pieces from the head of a calf or pig (sometimes a sheep or cow) in aspic. It may contain onion, black pepper, allspice, bay leaf, salt, and vinegar. It may also include meat from the feet, tongue, and heart. It is usually eaten cold or at room temperature as a luncheon meat.” I remember it being pretty tasty, but my Mom nearly had a heart attack when she found out what we’d had for lunch.
It’s not the ingredients that are unusual but the recipe is. It is fried Kix or Cheerio’s cereal. Melt butter or margarine and then dump in a bowl of the dry cereal.Stir until the cereal is warm then season with Season All to your taste. A little odd but a great snack.
I’ve eat seacucumber, which sounds weird, but is actually very good (the seacumber has 5 rows of muscles inside and this is just like a delicate white fish). the most unusual thing i’ve eaten AND loved is jelly fish. My girlfriend is Asian and brought some to work. It comes packaged in a foil bag with a little pouch of chili sauce. It was very good, looked a whole lot like rice noodles and the chili sauce gave it a good kick.
Ohhhh…..I don’t do weird. I’m really, really picky. No innards, no strange animals, fruits or veggies. Nope. Don’t go there. No way. I get grossed out if I find a brown spot on an apple or a bit of fat on my chicken. There is however, a sandwich which my mom made that is (apparently) a weird combination…bacon, mayo, lettuce and peanuit butter. Mmmmmm. Now that’s good eatin’!
I live in Korea, so there are often things in the markets I cannot identify. One of our favorite things to eat in the winter here is a soup make with herbed pork (thick unsmoked bacon?), mushrooms, onions, and mixed greens. So yummy. So, one day I saw what I thought was the meat in the shops and I took it home to make up dinner, because it’s yummy & fast. It was actually a little bit of bacon and a WHOLE bunch of small octopi, which, strangely enough are the same color as the port. Needless to say, I was very surprised when I dumped it all into the soup pot. It was yummy, but a little scary and high on shock value. I am a little more careful now at the marked.
I don’t make many odd dishes. I have made Fried Pork Rice, which calls for bean sprouts…which I think are weird, but the rice came out so good. Tasted like it was made by our favorite Chinese place. I only made it that once because it takes so many ingredients and steps to make.
“Raisens…you like raisens .” 😉
Hmm…I guess I’d have to say phyllo dough and rosewater. My husband and I (mostly my husband) made a batch of baklava a couple of weeks ago. We used Alton Brown’s recipe from Good Eats. My husband took it to a Persian-themed potluck at work. He is now a rock star there. It was hands down the BEST I’ve ever had.
Cuy (guinea pig) – YUCK! When I travel I like to try the local food. Little did I know I’d be eating guinea pig when I went to Peru. If you go to Peru, I don’t suggest trying it.
Hmmm, I’m not sure I’ve eaten that many unusual things. I did try snail once and frog legs. I think those would be the most unusual things I have eaten.
I ate a piece of octopus with some horseradish. The octopus was cut into circles that looked like fat rubberbands. And that’s what it tasted like, chewy rubberbands. The only thing that had any real flavor was the horseradish. My lips burned for hours afterwards.
The weirdest thing I ever ate had cubes of squid as the main ingredient. It was basically cubes of squid and peas floating around in a soup of squid juice. My host mother made it for me when I was studying abroad, and despite my best attempts to be polite, I could only manage a few bites.
I once ate a fish dish that had a black sauce that had ink from an Octopus in it. It was very fishy tasting.
Well, it was pretty adventurous of me, but not that unusual. I recently picked up fennel for a roast chicken. Sooooooo good.
I’ve eaten octopus and I remembered the first time I had eel at a Sushi place; that was unusual for me. I also had goat for the first time a couple of years ago. Roasted goat is amazing!
The ingredient is not a wierd ingredient, but did not work as I used it. I was making a baked fish with white sauce and bread crumbs on top that was to be seasoned with lemon juice. I didn’t have lemon juice, but did have lime juice(have no idea why I had lime juice in my kitchen). Not being a seasoned cook, I thought I’ll just use the lime juice in place of the lemon juice. It was so bad that when I put it out for the dog, the dog wouldn’t eat it either!
I’ve eaten a lot of things that others have posted as “weird” – calf fries/Rocky Mountain Oysters (quite common here); cow tongue (my grandparents raised cows and farmed, of course we ate tongue – it was like sliced roast beef); fried alligator in Florida; durian fruit in Indonesia (along with some other things I don’t remember the names of). Sushi – yep. Calamari – yep. Octopus – yep. Sardines – yep. Hard boiled eggs pickled in beet juice – yep.
no bugs as far as I know, and I say no to guts from other animals. Probably the weirdest and ickiest thing I’ve eaten is crawfish/crawdads/mudbugs. Yuck.
In Girl Scouts we had fried rattlesnake. In the Army I had a soup made from indiginous plants and grasshoppers/other crawling bugs and earthworms. It actually tasted pretty decent. But then we were pretty hungry. It was our outdoor survival course.