Author Archives: Meg
Cheat Code: Seasoning Ramen Yourself
There’s an interesting dynamic when it comes to ramen in the United States. On the one hand there’s the packaged ramen you can buy at any grocery store for like, 25 cents and that’s been stereotyped as a poor college kid food staple. On the other hand you have ramen houses/restaurants where you can get more authentic ramen dishes, but they tend to range from a bit pricey to way too expensive. I’m not entirely sure what it means, I’m just interested by the fact that there isn’t much of an in between.
That is, of course, unless you make your own in between. This post will look at some ways you can upgrade your cheap grocery store ramen to something a bit more personalized. Ramen comes with its own flavor packets, which are tasty, but a lot of times people don’t want to use them because of the massive amounts of sodium in them. Here at PCFG if we’re using the flavor packet we usually only use about half of it, and it’s fine. But here’s some ways to give flavor to your ramen without using the flavor packet at all.
Test the Recipe: Peas with Sesame Butter
“Test the Recipe” is a recurring column on PCFG where we test vintage (anything published before 1990) recipes and see if they stand the test of time or need updating. In this post we test the recipe as exactly as possible for the most accurate outcomes. Those recipes that need updating will be featured later in a “We Can Do It Better” post.
I realized when looking through recent posts that the first two “Test the Recipe” posts were desserts. Not that there’s anything wrong with dessert, but we here at Poor Couple’s Food Guide believe in eating a balanced diet. So for this edition I turned to veggies. It was actually harder to find a good recipe to test than I thought it would be. There was a fair amount of vegetable recipes, but I had to narrow it down to ones that seemed quick, since this was going to be a side dish and not a main course, and also contain vegetables that everyone eating dinner would eat (which is easier said than done). There were a lot of recipes for vegetables I don’t like. Why so many asparagus and mushroom recipes guys? There weren’t even any I really wanted to use in the first book I looked through, but luckily I found one I felt like testing in Betty Crocker’s Working Woman’s Cookbook from 1982. I’ve always been a fan of sesame, so peas with sesame butter it was.
Super Bowl Snack Round-Up
The big day is almost here! The most anticipated day in sports is just around the corner. That’s right; I’m talking about the Puppy Bowl. Oh yeah, and there’s some football thing going on too. Whichever you’re watching, it’s a day to indulge in some classic snack/party foods. If you’re scrambling to find good food to serve to all those people you have coming over, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. We’ve rounded up some of our best game day snacks into this convenient post.
Basic Guacamole
If you’re putting out tortilla chips, you need to put out something to dip them in. That’s where this guacamole recipe comes in. It’s easily doubled, or tripled if you have a crowd to serve.
Perfect for dipping.
Chicken Nachos
If you’re feeling more ambitious you can make some nachos for your guests. Be prepared for them to go quickly though. They’re really good.
Dig in!
Shredded Taco Chicken
If you want to set up a taco/burrito bar for your guests, be sure to include this shredded chicken as a filling option.
Don’t feel like going Mexican? Don’t worry; there are other options as well!
The Snack Report: Cinnamon Bun Oreos
Well, Oreo is at it again. It seems like every week there’s a new limited edition Oreo flavor out in stores. Due to how often they’ve been releasing new flavors we’ve fallen behind in reviewing them all. Oreos are kind of pricey and we can’t afford to buy new ones constantly. But we were both intrigued by the idea of cinnamon bun Oreos so we gave these ones a try. The idea of recreating a cinnamon bun in cookie form isn’t an inherently bad one. Cinnamon buns are amazing and wonderful, but they’re a pain in the ass to make yourself at home (from scratch anyway) and getting them fresh usually involves a trip to the mall. So a cinnamon bun treat that’s easily accessible should be a big hit. The difficulty comes in capturing what makes cinnamon buns so delicious in a non-bun form. How did Oreo do at accomplishing this? Let’s assess.
Quick Recipe: Avocado Breakfast Toast
Most mornings I’m satisfied having a bagel, cereal, or oatmeal for breakfast. But some mornings I just wake up wanting more. When that happens I usually turn to eggs. They’re yummy, full of protein, and fast to make. But eating just scrambled or over easy eggs with buttered toast can get boring. That means it’s time to mix things up! On the particular morning that I came up with this I happened to have half of an avocado lying around that I wanted to use before it went bad, so I proceeded from there.
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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