DiscussionsDiscussions in the Kitchen

Hello Everyone:

We are happy you are here!  Thought it would be helpful to have an area for members to introduce themselves. It’s nice to know a bit more about the person behind the post.  

These are some things we would love to know about you:

(1) What brought you to the Pillsbury Community?

(2) Who taught you how to cook?  Who do you cook for now?

(3) Biggest time saver in the kitchen for you?

(4) Name some top ingredients that are the most often bought (and most often used) in your refrigerator and cupboard. 

(5) Anything else you want to share!

Sincerely, CateC and Emily

UPDATE: Introduce yourself in a new thread: http://www.pillsbury.com/CommunityForums/forums.aspx/37

Okay, I'll go first!

(1) What brought you to the Pillsbury Community?

My Job! [:D]

(2) Who taught you how to cook?  Who do you cook for now?

My family has been a huge influence. I love making the “family classics”! Also, I’ve gone out of my comfort zone- making new meals out of curiosity. I usually stick close to the recipe for the first time and then I usually get creative and attempt alterations.

I cook for my husband and me. When I am with my extended family, I love cooking with them. Also, I rather cook and entertain for my closest friends rather than go out to a restaurant.

(3) Biggest time saver(s) in the kitchen for you?

We just moved to an area that gets Pea Pod, and it does save us time when we think ahead on what we want/need.

Also, I love my rice cooker. I love that I can set the time that I want it cooked and ready.

Finally, pre-cut ingredients. If I am making multiple things in the kitchen- I might cheat and buy (ie) pre-cut fruit for the salad…

(4) Name some top ingredients that are the most often bought (and most often used) in your refrigerator and cupboard. 

Beans (refried and black beans), fresh/canned tomatoes (all types), cheese (Feta, Colby, Sharp Cheddar), hummus, apples (Fuji/ Red Delicious)

(5) Anything else you want to share!

Five other facts about me:

1-    I could watch the food channel/discovery channel all day and not get sick of it.

2-    I love a good cup of tea everyday.

3-    I need to fall in love with my crock-pot again.

4-    My family has raised me to think of the kitchen of the heartbeat of the house.

5-    Dirty dishes in the sink drive me crazy. 

Hi everyone, My name is Erin and I am one of the moderators of the community, along with Catherine. I look forward to getting to know some of you!

Here are my answers to the Introduce Yourself questions. I encourage you all to answer them too!

(1) What brought you to the Pillsbury Community?

My job!

(2) Who taught you how to cook?  Who do you cook for now?

My mother, and figuring a lot out through trial and error (emphasis on the error). Being single, I cook for myself, but love to share!

(3) Biggest time saver in the kitchen for you?

Hands down, the microwave. For boiling water, my electric kettle.

(4) Name some top ingredients that are the most often bought (and most often used) in your refrigerator and cupboard.

Olive oil, tomatoes, cheese and barbecue sauce. Lately, I’ve been using Thai peanut sauce as a dip or condiment.

(5) Anything else you want to share!

— I love spicy food!

— My biggest pet peeve is when people put an empty ice cube tray back in the freezer.

—  I love vintage cookware and housewares in general. I obtain pieces through my mom or at garage sales.

—  I was born on Thanksgiving Day. My mother did not get a Thanksgiving dinner, and my father ate his in the hospital.

AFriend sent me an e-mail with the latest Pillsbury Dessert recipes. Of course I could not resist joining.I can never pass up a great recipe and I love Pillsbury Products. (no I am not being paid to say that). :-)

Who taught me about cooking: My mother always let me watch when she was cooking. She lived in Belgium and France and learned there. She was a wonderful Gourmet Cook. Since I grew up in Berlin Germany during WW2 and ingredients were scarce and precious, I could only watch! But it taught me so much. I still I learn a lot from cooking programs and have The Food Network on a lot. I love Alton Brown, because he is like a Food Enciclopedia. He makes food facts fun. I think Ina Garten is my favorite Chef. I hate it when you watch them preparing a recipe and when you print it off things don't jive at all.

I collect cook books and read them like novels. I have always had the ability to read a recipe and know if it would be good. I cook because it is enjoyable to me and love it when people enjoy what I have prepared.. I love to experiment with recipes and could not exist without Herbs and Spices. When we lived in Milwaukee I discovered The Greatest Spice House around (Penzey's) and since we retired to The South I would not be without their catalog when I need to replenish my suppliy.Being known as a good cook can be a detriment. Pleople love to come to your house, but are afraid to invite you to theirs. :-)

I have been teaching cooking classes through a "Learning in Retirement Program" sponsored through The University here for several years now. I love every minute of it. Fast-Easy- Delicious and Cost Effective are always high on the list of requests.

Time savers:The right utensils to me are the biggest time saver. I love Gadgets, but they must meet several needs.

What is in our refrigerator or bought most of the time? Cheeses of all kinds. yogurt, lite sour cream,vegetables refrigerated pie crust, biscuits, crescent rolls, and lite cream cheese. and pickles of all kinds.My pantry is always filled with staples like tomato products, beans, artichokes,mushrooms, corn, clams, tuna ,salmon, jams and jellies and all kinds of pie fillings and cake mixes and puddings. I bette stop there.

I love to read, do crafts, watch a "good movie, go shopping. My husband and I also mentor foreign students at the university here. It started when we "adopted" a couple from Venezuela and Cuba who played in our church orchestra. Many have come and gone. Graduated and moved on. It has been rewarding and educational.Right now we are waiting for The Lord to bring us some more. :-)

The buttermilk biscuit brought me here. I went to your site to say thank you for making such good product. I have these leftovers and I was wondering what is the best thing to do with the turkey and I discovered that the biscuit can also be an "empanada" dough for my turkey empanada and it was even better using pillsburry. So if you guys are thinking of things to do with your left over then here's the recipe.

Filling:

1 cup shredded turkey

1/4 cup celerey chopped

chopped onions

black pepper and salt

green peas

Cook your filling:

Saute the filling ingredients then set aside to cool

flatten the dough  ( its easy since theyre already round)so just roll and you create a circle

put the filling in the center and top it with cranberry sauce (optional)

fold it then seal the edges with a fork

bake it for 350 degrees for 20 minutes

Make sure you preheat your oven :)

Trust me youll love it! Thank you pillsburry!

Hello! everyone....I have been married 47yrs. five kids..23 grandkids..6 "GREAT" grand kids.  My mom taught me how to cook. She was great..It is very hard now to cook for two. One of my husbands favorite Pillsbury  carmel nut Rolls. Does anyone remember them..I would love to make them again,but don't quite know how to start them. Do they still make them somewhere????

[quote user="grandma23852"]

Hello! everyone....I have been married 47yrs. five kids..23 grandkids..6 "GREAT" grand kids.  My mom taught me how to cook. She was great..It is very hard now to cook for two. One of my husbands favorite Pillsbury  carmel nut Rolls. Does anyone remember them..I would love to make them again,but don't quite know how to start them. Do they still make them somewhere????

[/quote]

Hmmm... So it's none of these recipes? 

http://www.pillsbury.com/search/searchresults.aspx?terms=caramel+nut+rolls&tab=All

or maybe this one? 

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/gooey-scratch-caramel-rolls-recipe/1/

1.  just browsing

2.  Mainly watching my mom, and just experiementing on my own

3.  I clean as I cook

4.  beans, cheeses, beef, chicken, pastas

5.  I could watch food tv, hgtv, or lifetime all day

     I love cooking

Hello,  I am thrilled to be a part of the Pillsbury Family.  I have always had a great amount of influences in cooking.  All from my family, of different ethnic background.  My mom's both parents were thru and thru Irish w/many delicious Irish delites.  My dad's mom was French and Native Candian Indian(northern territory).  His father was three years old when He  came to America from  Italy.   My faternal granddparents owned a restaurant before the depression.

They have all taught me the love of cooking.  Yes I do watch the food channel. This is I would  say one of my favorite show.  We use alot of Pillsbury products in our house hold.  My granddaughter's favorite is your cinnamon rolls for breakfast, I personally like the orange glazed rolls.  My daughter and her husband enjoy your cresent rolls.  I have recently been laid off from my job.  Now I have more time on my hands to be able to enjoy more of my cooking techniques and join your website.  Hopefully be able to share a few of my recipes with all of you.  Good health to you all and happy cooking.  Darlene from NY 

Hello.   I am a fairly recent member and just learning to navigate the threads as well.  Due to my schedule, I am not able to sit and enjoy looking through and responding to the conversations very often but could today..  But I love it almost as much as I do cooking, PROVIDED, that I am not rushed.

1.  What brought me to the community was the email newletter I signed up for to receive recipes.  I finally clicked on to the community spot, and LOW AND BEHOLD, there all of you were.  What Fun!!!

2.Mom taught me to cook!  Who is a fabulous cook not baker.  Mom never measures anything which is great if you do a pinch of this, a shake of that, etc.  But in baking, you generally need to be a little more precise.  Due to circumstances, Mom no longer cooks.  I miss it so much.  But she still watches the food channel and she enjoys that.  The  two biggest talents of Mom's are: being able to eat something, then go home, figure out what was in it and recreate it. And the other is taking practically nothing and inventing a new and FABULOUS recipe.  She is so creative with spices and what is on hand.

3.  I am not sure about the time saver.  I am more old fashion.  I do not even own an electric can  opener, I don't like them and  use a hand one.  And don't own a food processor as I dislike the cleanup.  I do like  my microwave.

4.Spices, onions, tomatoes

5.  I want to share recipes, which I have posted 2  today and copied down 2.   And since I am more old fashion,  wish young people were more interested in cooking than fast, purchased, prepared food.

hi. i am also a new comer. so far i love everything about it. i love to cook and try other peoples dishes.i also dont have much time. i am going to enjoy every change i get.

I am also a new member.  At the present time, my husband is doing our cooking.  We have been married 45 years so we truly like the same dishes.  I had to have a kidney transplant in 2004 and a gastric by-pass 11/23/09.  That is why he is doing the cooking.  Slowly I am taking over the kitchen again.  I enjoy cooking and trying new dishes.  Since I am diabetic and now with the gastric by-pass; we have had to change our cooking habits and rules.  Since Nov I have lost over 60#.  We have gone to a much healthier eating plan and it has been very helpful for both of us.  We have 2 adult children (?), 6 grandchildren and 15 grandpets--(four legged friends).  Our kitty ran away in Nov and we still miss him very much.  Looking forward to hearing from someone......Readingmama

I can’t believe February is almost over!  Where does the time go? 

We are glad to welcome the newest members to our world …

Hello Lloydbraun, what are your favorite things to bake?  What are your favorite ingredients?  We would love for you to share some of your favorite recipes in our user generated recipe section: http://www.pillsbury.com/mypillsbury/membercontentlanding.aspx.

Welcome Ajm59, I am always searching for time savers in the kitchen as well.  The Easy Weeknight Dinners conversations always help me find something quick, simple, and yummy for meals: http://www.pillsbury.com/CommunityForums/forums.aspx/9.  The slow cooker is a really great timesaver too.  There are a lot of really great slow cooker recipes here: http://www.pillsbury.com/search/searchresults.aspx?terms=slow+cooker&tab=All&U=1.  Bakes save a lot of time as well.  Throw everything together and toss it in the oven!  Here are some good bake recipes: http://www.pillsbury.com/Search/SearchResults.aspx?terms=bakes&tab=Recipes&U=1

Hi Readingmama, wow, 45 years of marriage, how wonderful!  And congratulations on the weight loss, that is fantastic! Pillsbury.com lists all of the nutritional info on each recipe which is so helpful when you follow a strict diet.  You should also check out http://eatbetteramerica.com/ and http://www.tablespoon.com/ for some great healthy recipes!  What are your favorite healthy recipes?


How do you celebrate pizza night at your house?  Please share in our Family Fun with Pizza discussion:
http://www.pillsbury.com/CommunityForums/forums.aspx/10/1344/5001#5001

Don’t forget to check out this week’s Headlines! These bloggers love wrapping, and not presents … food! http://www.pillsbury.com/CommunityForums/forums.aspx/26/1355/5024#5024

How did you celebrate Black History Month?  Hopefully with lots of good food!  We’d love to hear your favorite comfort foods here: http://www.pillsbury.com/CommunityForums/forums.aspx/29/1348/5008#5008


Again, thanks for joining!  We can’t wait to hear more from you!

Sincerely, Cate

Hi there,

My name is Kim and I'm from a little town in Ontario Canada named Pembroke.  Just wanted to mention that I too have had a successful gastric bypass surgery and have reached and maintained goal for almost 3 years..I lost a total of 163 pounds..I, too would be interested in recipes using high protein sources such as beans (hummus perhaps), well that is actually chickpeas and garlic and maybe beef or tuna..As you know we must be vigilant about meeting our protein needs first and foremost..Fantastic to hear you've lost over 60 Pounds!! Congrats to you and also your husband for adopting a healthier lifestyle and eating habits..Look forward to hearing from you..

K.

I thought I would give this a little while to read other info, since no one else has responded I guess I will take a stab at it.
1. I have enjoyed the sites at Pillsbury and Betty Crocker.  For some reason I can no longer log into the Betty Crocker site so this is the one I go to most often.  For postings at least.  I also like the Hershey's site.  (If anyone else goes to the Betty Crocker site tell them "Mittens" says HI)

2. I watched  and learned from my Grandmother mostly.  She lived with us for quite a while and after my Mom died she did a lot of the cooking, until she got sick then I did the cooking.  I was about 10 at thet time.  My dad was a pretty good cook also.  By the way write down your recipes and make sure they get passed down.  I don't have any of the "Old family recipes" and I miss them.

3.  I don't really look for time savers I enjoy cooking and baking and I find it fun.  My grandson has declared Friday as his night with grandma so my grandson and I enjoy our time in the kitchen as well.

4. Top ingredient has to be Chocolate.  When I splurge.
My husband and I have lost quite a bit of weight so I try to cook healtful meals.  I told myself I don't want the weight to come back.  It has been 8 years and for the most part it is still off. (that last 10 pounds just won't go away.) That said I do go a little crazy on weekends when I allow myself a treat.  So during the week it is mostly home made meals and good salads.

5. I am 55.  Married for 25 years, been together for 30.  2 (step) children (I dislike that term, if any one has something better let me know). Retired from a full time job 4 years ago after 30 years.  I work part time at a Curves and I love it!
I have been asked what's with the Grandma "Ikki"  I love telling the story:  When my grandson was learning names, I guess my daughter was trying to get him to say Grandma Nikki and Grandpa Rich what came out was Grandma Ikki.  They must have laughed and that was all it took to reinforce the name.  When I saw him he said Grandma Ikki and laughed.  I asked him to say No, Night, Nice, and Nikki he said them all pronouncing the N just like he should. When I said, say Grandma Nikki he responded by saying Grandma Ikki then he laughed and ran off again.  The grandma Ikki stuck.  And I love it.  I almost dread the day when it stops.

Well I hope to learn more about everyone else now that you know more about me than you thought you wanted to know.