Flat Coke Conundrum

It's a pest - especially for those of us who are recreational coke users. What do you do with the bit that's leftover from the party? That lingering bottle of flat Coca-Cola has been haunting me for days. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. I couldn't bring myself to drink it. I've been caught staring off into space, deep in contemplation of how to put it to good use. I knew there would come an "AHA" moment where I would know just what to do with it.

Then it happened.  I actually had 2 moments that made me glad I hung on to that last bit of sugary caramel decadence. Now, I realize that neither of these ideas are exceptionally unique. There are probably reams of recipes out here in internet land that are similar, and possibly the same. These did, however, spring directly into my mind and were executed without consulting other sources.

Lemon Dill Barramundi with Panko crust

I was beginning to think that I had been cut from the ranks of the Frugal Antics Improv Challenge and was beginning to feel a bit insecure about my first entry last month.  So when this month's challenge arrived in my inbox I felt a sense of relief and excitement.  I have been thinking about doing a post about the Australian Sea Bass also known as Barramundi.

Barramundi fillet ready for inspiration.

Standing Ovation Roast Chicken

I started using stand up roasters for whole chickens when we were living in Australia.  The weather was often too hot to cook inside the house, so we adopted the classic Australian lifestyle of barbecuing.  I wound up purchasing three of these racks so we could utilize the full space of the grill.  Keeping a supply of frozen roasted chicken on hand in the freezer became a staple of our diet and made for easy additions to simple summer salads, as well as winter casseroles.

Eggless Spaghetti Pie

One of my favorite casserole recipes is Spaghetti Pie .  Now, I have always enjoyed eating casseroles, but as a cook, I couldn't understand the appeal of preparing a casserole as it seemed to create twice as many dishes. Dishes for making the pasta, cooking the meat if needed, preparing the sauce... maybe it's just me, but it seemed like a lot of extra work.

Mom's Best Home Fries

I grew up in a household, and community, that ate breakfast. Big breakfast. The kind of breakfast that sticks with you until well after lunch time, unless breakfast was at 6 am and the hours in between were spent working on the chain gang that passed as pulling your own weight around the farm. Whether it was weeding, pulling brush, trimming whatever needed to be trimmed, mom's breakfasts were substantial enough that you could never complain of hunger and have a wisp of a chance at being taken seriously.