What things to you "Doctor" up?

[Heigh-Ho]

I don't make my own noodles, but my daughter has a noodle maker and it has a ramen setting. She and my wife are really hard core about making things from scratch that aren't really are that hard to make.

But do they sometimes skip making from scratch and use boxed noodles? Do they always as in never ever resort to pre-made things and they always as in always make what they consider easy from scratch? Rarely is anyone perfect in that if they are being honest. I like to make things by scratch at times and other times I just don't have it in me. Both is totally fine

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Look at her recipes in post #55. But just for you, her Doctored up Instant Ramen recipe. https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/cooking-tips-tutorials/a94711/elevating-instant-ramen/

But none of those are what you’ve said you’ve seen on her show. And all appear to be exceptions not the rule. Why can’t you provide any back up for what you’ve claimed?

ETA: this ramen is a terrible example. She’s just using the noodles as a base for actual cooking. That is no different than buying other dried pastas.

 

[tvguy]

But none of those are what you’ve said you’ve seen on her show. And all appear to be exceptions not the rule.

Not sure everything I have seen on her show is somewhere on the internet that I can find.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Not sure everything I have seen on her show is somewhere on the internet that I can find.

Well my guess it didn’t actually happen. Because there would be something somewhere that mentions it, even a Reddit thread and there are zero results when searched.

 

[tvguy]

But do they sometimes skip making from scratch and use boxed noodles? Do they always as in never ever resort to pre-made things and they always as in always make what they consider easy from scratch? Rarely is anyone perfect in that if they are being honest. I like to make things by scratch at times and other times I just don't have it in me. Both is totally fine

Of course not always. But it is not out of ordinary. My wife and I work early hours, I have to be at work at 3 am, she has to be at work at 3:30 am today. We get up at 2 am and while she was eating her breakfast she put a pork roast in the crockpot and poured in all the spices and tomato sauce in for homemade BBQ sauce. That was 14 hours ago and I work at home and I have been smelling that all day! And NO she doesn't make her own tomato sauce, but my daughter has.

 

[tvguy]

Well my guess it didn’t actually happen. Because there would be something somewhere that mentions it, even a Reddit thread and there are zero results when searched.

OMG, Reddit?!?!?!?!?!?!? Don't get me started on Reddit. I spent over an hour today tracking down information from a Reddit post (that restaurants in our county are going to be forced to stop outdoor dining like Los Angeles County is doing tomorrow). Not a shred of truth it. At least use a credible source!!! I posted the results I found.

 

[tvguy]

But none of those are what you’ve said you’ve seen on her show. And all appear to be exceptions not the rule. Why can’t you provide any back up for what you’ve claimed?

ETA: this ramen is a terrible example. She’s just using the noodles as a base for actual cooking. That is no different than buying other dried pastas.

I'm sorry I don't have access to the entire archive of Pioneer Woman shows. Good gravy!

 

[Heigh-Ho]

Of course not always. But it is not out of ordinary. My wife and I work early hours, I have to be at work at 3 am, she has to be at work at 3:30 am today. We get up at 2 am and while she was eating her breakfast she put a pork roast in the crockpot and poured in all the spices and tomato sauce in for homemade BBQ sauce. That was 14 hours ago and I work at home and I have been smelling that all day! And NO she doesn't make her own tomato sauce, but my daughter has.

I don't see any problem with that at all I think most of us are like that making some meals (especially in a crock pot though I'm sure to some that's not okay) that way.

It was the discussion about homemade vs boxed noodles and it seemed you were taking issue with Ree about it. Most of us use boxed stuff at some time or another. Having watched The Pioneer Woman enough times she's usually pretty transparent about her ingredients. At least to me that's the important part.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

OMG, Reddit?!?!?!?!?!?!? Don't get me started on Reddit. I spent over an hour today tracking down information from a Reddit post (that restaurants in our county are going to be forced to stop outdoor dining like Los Angeles County is doing tomorrow). Not a shred of truth it. At least use a credible source!!! I posted the results I found.

You missed the entire point of my post. I never claimed Reddit was a reliable source nor one I use. Actually more to the point you make - people post everything on there, so it not showing up even there makes it all the more believable to me that the episode you talked about never actually existed.

It was already explained by another poster why the examples you provided don’t actually back up your claim.

Remember, you and I have a history of you claiming things to be fact that end up not being

 

[porschegrl]

And the ramen recipe is from the Pioneer Woman's website.

Yes, it's posted on thepioneerwoman.com, but it is not a Ree Drummond recipe. It is written by Erica Kastner, the creator and writer of the blog Buttered Side Up.

 

[tvguy]

It was already explained by another poster why the examples you provided don’t actually back up your claim.

Remember, you and I have a history of you claiming things to be fact that end up not being

Well, you are welcome to believe what you want, and IF had access to the show archives I would gladly post the clip. And yes, as I recall you have a different definition of facts than me.

 

[tvguy]

It was the discussion about homemade vs boxed noodles and it seemed you were taking issue with Ree about it. Most of us use boxed stuff at some time or another. Having watched The Pioneer Woman enough times she's usually pretty transparent about her ingredients. At least to me that's the important part.

Yes she is transparent. I just noted that it was always a source of amusement to my wife and daughter.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

I’ll get creative with cake mixes. Add fall spices, ginger, all spice, nutmeg, gingerbread And cinnamon. Also tablespoon of sour cream or plain yogurt or substitute buttermilk for regular milk in a chocolate cake. I’ll throw chocolate peanut butter or cinnamon chips in pancake ps.

 

[Heather07438]

My favorite thing to "doctor up" is muffin mixes. When you scratch make muffins, they just don't quite taste like the beautiful bakery ones, especially when you have to keep it dairy and tree nut free.

But, man, a beautiful allergy friendly boxed mix and some fresh produce and herbs (with adjustments to the water and baking time to account for the amount of water in the produce) is a beautiful thing.

Today, since I used the fennel bulb in a veg dish earlier this week, I decided to make the best apple fennel cinnamon muffins (a cinnamon muffin mix with 2 grated apples, 5 grated fennel stalks - you get less than you think, some diced fennel fronds, and 1/4 cup less water and 5 minutes more baking time). I just had one and it's a dream. Healthier than it started, but so, so tasty...

Most mainline store muffin mixes have no real fruit/veg in them even if they have "the flavor" - so I pick my favorite spice flavor and just jazz them up with my favorite fruits and veg...

Sounds great!

Some chopped fennel cooked with plain corn is really good too.

 

[neverlandsky]

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. So many possibilities from a dash of just cinnamon to all the toppings in the world.

 

[Imzadi]

My brother was home on leave and I was making ramen noodles and he grabs one of the packages, "You ever eat these raw?" and takes a bite immediately spitting it out.

That's funny because my kids also DO it it raw from the package as a snack!

I sometimes break up part of a raw packet and sprinkle it on a salad as crunchy noodles.

For Ramen, drain the liquid, add a scoop of peanut butter, soy sauce, and hot sauce. Chopped peanuts, green onion and cilantro if you have it. Yum.

That's 3/4 of the recipe for Sesame Noodles by Rachael Ray. Basically just add sesame oil or tahini and some (neutral flavored) vegetable oil. (I add a little bit of the boiled pasta water to the peanut butter mixture to thin it down and get it to move and spread more easily onto the noodles.) Can be eaten hot or cold.

If people don't want to get a can of tahini and basically have it just sit around as you don't use it for anything else, a little bottle of sesame oil lasts quite a long time and is more versatile. You can find it in the same section as soy sauce.

I make a dipping sauce for sushi with sesame oil, soy sauce, (neutral flavored) vegetable oil, and some wasabi.

 

[Imzadi]

Well, the Rao's pasta sauce I use isn't so much processed as just someone else made marinara sauce and put it in a jar for me. It has no preservatives or anything crazy. The ingredients are: Italian whole peeled tomatoes, olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, basil, black pepper, oregano. Those are literally the same ingredients I use in my own tomato sauce. So, it's basically just a time saver. This sauce gets moldy about 10 days after opening, so it's basically fresh sauce.

Also most dry boxed mixes are just shortcuts where they combined all the dry stuff for you and you still have to add eggs, milk, butter or oil, etc. We also have a huge selection of this kind of stuff in our stores (foreigners are often shocked at how large our supermarket aisles are and how many choices we have) and many are literally just ingredients you would use if you were starting from scratch. I have a vanilla cake mix right now that is just flour, sugar, baking powder, Madagascar vanilla bean, salt. I have to add milk, eggs, and melted butter.

I know sometimes it seems like Americans use a lot of boxed foods, but it's mostly out of convenience. It's not all junk. Especially nowadays with so much focus on foods being healthier.

Exactly. I read the ingredients and look at the nutrition labels on ALL the pre-packaged foods I get. Pre-processed foods do have a bad history and reputation as many of them are made with too many preservatives, artificial ingredients and way too much sodium or sugar or fat.

But, there are growing businesses who are making more wholesome products, made with organic ingredients, no artificial ingredients, etc. as people are demanding them. These products are minimally processed or messed with. They are basically made so the foods are more convenient to USE. They are sold at many health food frocery stores.

Raos is actually a tiny, Italian-American, family-owned restaurant in NYC, since 1896. They've been able to open several other restaurants around the country and launch a successful retail food business with their sauces that are minimally processed. Good for them.

Many people are in double income homes. Neither have the time or energy it takes to be peeling and cutting vegetables, making homemade pasta, etc., after a full day at work. Each process does take TIME.

I will not spend 15 minutes peeling and cutting and blending vegetables for a tomato pasta sauce, or another 15 minutes to hand make pasta when I can open a jar of wholesome, organic pasta sauce in 5 seconds, and dump it into a pot where the meat is browning. Same for opening a box of pasta. I won't be shamed or apologize for cooking this way.

 

[DLgal]

Exactly. I read the ingredients and look at the nutrition labels on ALL the pre-packaged foods I get. Pre-processed foods do have a bad history and reputation as many of them are made with too many preservatives, artificial ingredients and way too much sodium or sugar or fat.

But, there are growing businesses who are making more wholesome products, made with organic ingredients, no artificial ingredients, etc. as people are demanding them. These products are minimally processed or messed with. They are basically made so the foods are more convenient to USE. They are sold at many health food frocery stores.

Raos is actually a tiny, Italian-American, family-owned restaurant in NYC, since 1896. They've been able to open several other restaurants around the country and launch a successful retail food business with their sauces that are minimally processed. Good for them.

Many people are in double income homes. Neither have the time or energy it takes to be peeling and cutting vegetables, making homemade pasta, etc., after a full day at work. Each process does take TIME.

I will not spend 15 minutes peeling and cutting and blending vegetables for a tomato pasta sauce, or another 15 minutes to hand make pasta when I can open a jar of wholesome, organic pasta sauce in 5 seconds, and dump it into a pot where the meat is browning. Same for opening a box of pasta. I won't be shamed or apologize for cooking this way.

Exactly. The other night I made chicken parmigiana, garlic bread, and salad. I made the garlic bread from scratch as well as the salad and the chicken. That took almost 2 hours start to finish. If I can open a jar of sauce that is exactly what I would make (and I do sometimes still make pasta sauce from scratch), and save another 30 minutes, why not? I don't need to slave in the kitchen all day to feel like I accomplished something. I consider myself an excellent cook, but even the best cooks use shortcuts (or have a staff of sous chefs to do all the grunt work like sauce making).

I spend an inordinate amount of money on groceries every week because I only buy super high quality stuff and we can afford to eat well. If I have boxes in my home, they aren't a majority of "just add water" mixes. Although I would never look down my nose at anyone who likes those things either. We all like what we like.

 

[NannyBeBe]

When I was a little girl, my grandma would make me what she called "spaghetti." The sauce was tomatoes that she crushed through a sieve and then added butter and a little sugar. That was it. It was so good; and I didn't realize why it was so delicious until much later in life. The tomatoes she used were lovely tomatoes that she had grown in her garden and put up in mason jars. I don't have a garden but I still make her simple sauce with a can of good quality crushed tomatoes, butter, and sugar. Sometimes simple is best.

 

[Hikergirl]

Jarred spaghetti sauce
my kids doctor up their ramen