WTF--(is in my cupboard?)

Before I start today's topic, I have an awesome story to share:

Yesterday morning, I met Nicole Ducleroir! If you think she's awesome and entertaining and all-around amazing over the web, you should meet her in person! We had a great time, and ended up chatting for 2 and 1/2 hours. Yowza! Can't wait to do it again!

That's me on the left, looking all awkward in the photo as usual. And that's Nicole on the right, being all photogenic and wearing a beautiful sweater. And if you're wondering why 2 Georgia-living ladies are wearing sweaters in August--Starbucks is friggin' COLD! 

FIN

WTF???

is in my cupboard? 

Ahhh, dinner. We all have to eat it. A lot of us have to make it. At some point or another, we all dread those six letters. 

Even though it's been a couple years since we were living the college dream, mine and E's cupboard/fridge doesn't always reflect that. I'm a lazy shopper at best, so I'm often stuck with the dinner panic and next to nothing in my cupboard. 

What to do? 

Make a random recipe of awesome, of course. 

Since this happens fairly often, I'm going to share these very random, quite basic experiments that turned out quite tasty. 

With photos. Because nothing says Julia Child like taking pictures of your dirty stove. 

Italian Sausage Goulash and Nacho Cheese (makes no sense together, right? WRONG!) 

1. This isn't actually goulash. I have no idea what to call it. 

So, here's what I had on hand:

1 Italian sausage (beef) 

A few cans of black beans

Rotel 

Onions 

Spices 

Tortilla chips 

So here's the dilly-yo:

Cut up that sausage and brown the meats. Careful--it spatters! (No cooking naked.) 

Since I'm cooking for 2, I only used one can of each. I drained the Rotel, but not the black beans. 

At this point, I also put in a hearty spoonful of minced garlic (can't have too much!) and diced a vidalia onion. 

Cook for a while--you know, till everything's nice and soft (aka, done). 

I cooked some brown rice to go with this, but we ended up not using it.

This part is easy. 

For whatever reason, I decided some homemade nacho cheese would be good with this, despite this's decidedly Italian feel. 

A lot of homemade NC is gross, but this recipe is the best I've made yet. I'll continue to experiment in the future:

1.5 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 c. milk

1 oz. cream cheese

1 c. cheddar cheese

1/8 c. monterey jack (I used colby jack, because that's what I had) 

1/2 tsp. chili powder (I used more)

1/4 tsp. paprika 

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in cornstarch. 

Pour in milk, add cream cheese, and stir until smooth. 

While stirring, mix in shredded cheddar and jack cheese. Once smooth, add chili powder and paprika. Stir until well-blended (only about 5 minutes.) 

We ended up pouring the cheese on top of the fake-goulash, and it tasted awesome! 

So next time you're wondering WTF to have for dinner, maybe you should look a little harder at those random cans in your cabinet... 

PS: I never claimed this was fat-free, low-fat or in any way healthy. :)