jarandhel

Two 2.5 ounce packets of Salmon, of your preferred brand.  I believe I used chicken of the sea, not walking out to the kitchen to double check right now.
Three to four spoonfuls of Miracle Whip.  You want just enough to coat the salmon, not enough to overpower.
Mix thoroughly.

To this, add:
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Basil
Mrs Dash Italian Seasoning
Mrs Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning (go heavy on this one)
Poppy Seeds
Celery seeds would also work, but alas I didn't have any.  Likewise onion flakes.
A very small (less than one tablespoon) splash of white vinegar.

Mix thoroughly.  Serve on bread.  Shepherd's Bread is very good for this.

Serves 1 Jarin, and Lego gets to lick the bowl.

The lunch I made for myself today = WIN.  Warning: if, unlike me, you do not have a cast iron stomach you may want to use less spices than I did, because this stuff is thermonuclear hot.

Ingredients:
1 Large Potato
1 Small Onion
1 Large Chicken Breast (bonless, skinless) or 3 Small Chicken Breast Tenderloins (same)
Vegetable Oil (not olive oil, I think that'd ruin the taste) Enough to coat bottom of skillet in thick layer, though could use less if desired.
Water - Enough to completely cover everything in skillet.
2 heaping tablespoons finely ground korean red pepper from H-Mart
2 heaping tablespoons coarsely ground korean red pepper from H-Mart
1 tablespoon finely ground ginger
1 tablespoon garlic salt or garlic powder
(Tablespoon measurements on all spices other than the red pepper are approximate, as I didn't use a spoon to measure them.  Feel free to adjust proportions to taste.) 

Directions:
1. Chop up the potato, the onions, and the chicken breasts into pieces, each no bigger than the smallest joint of your pinky. 
2. Coat the bottom of the skillet with a thick layer of vegetable oil.  At the very least enough to coat all of the ingredients if you toss them in it.
3. Add the spices and toss the ingredients till they are thoroughly mixed.
4. Pour enough water into the skillet to completely cover all ingredients.  Toss again to mix the spices & oil with the water.
5. Cook uncovered on burner on high till 1/2 to 3/4 of the liquid has boiled off.  Stir frequently.
6. Serve.  Salt to taste.

It's kinda awesome... it's a little like Thai yellow curry, but way hotter.  Plus, no milk or coconut required.  Frozen vegetables, including soup vegetable mixes or stir fry mixes, can also be added to the recipe if you like.  Ultimate result is really tasty and quite cheap to make.

Btw, seriously, I'm not kidding about how spicy this is.  I REALLY don't recommend trying to make it spicier than I did.  And for gods sake, be careful about getting any near your eyes.

As I'm sure most people have noticed, times are tough right now.  I came across something today that might help make them a little better:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=DepressionCooking&view=videos

It's a series of videos about recipes from the Great Depression.  I've been enjoying it a lot.  I've also started looking for other resources with recipes from that era.  This is what I've found so far:

http://feeds.delicious.com/v2/rss/jarandhel/depression-era-food

Spent last night at lyssabard and tlttlotd's halloween party. Much fun. :) Sadly, my preferred costume was far too hot to wear so I abandoned it and went as myself, as did the majority of attendees. Still, it was very fun, and an evening of pleasant conversation was had by all. We didn't even get around to breaking out the horror movies, but nobody really seemed to mind. :)

As the party was pot-luck, and I didn't remember that till the last minute, I whipped together one of the easiest dishes I know how to make that I had the ingredients for. It's kind of a casserole. The recipe was taught to me by an ex-girlfriend whom I no longer have any contact with, and I consider it to be one of the few positive things I got out of that relationship. All you need to make it is some rice, a can or two of creamed soup, some meat, and some cheese. Spices help make it edible, but are not strictly necessary. There are no real restrictions on what flavors of creamed soup, meat, or cheese you use. Tomato soup can also be substituted in certain variants of this recipe, but it tends to come out more like spanish rice than casserole if you do that. The variation I chose to make for the party was truly unique, and got this reaction from kyrin7: "Oooh, dead thing I haven't tried yet!" You see, I used ostrich as the meat.

Here's the full recipe, for anyone who wanted it:

Ingredients:
2 Cups Jasmine Rice, uncooked
Four cups water
One heaping tablespoon butter
1 small can (10 3/4 ounces) campbells condensed cream of broccoli soup
1 small can (10 3/4 ounces) campbells condensed cream of potato soup
8 ounces ground ostrich meat (available at Wholefoods)
Shredded Mozerella cheese (amount will vary to taste)

Spices that I used last night:
Salt
Pepper
Sumac
McCormick Hot Mexican Style Chili Powder (chili pepper, red pepper, oregano, cumin, salt, silicon dioxide, and garlic)
Best Chef Specialty Cajun Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic, tri calcium phosphate)
Simply Organic Grilling Seasons Chicken Seasoning (organic garlic, sea salt, organic sage, organic onin, organic rosemary, organic thyme, organic oregano, organic marjoram, organic black pepper, organic fennel, organic coriander, organic peppermint, organic bayleaf)

1. Place water in large saucepan or pot. Place on high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Add rice and butter. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent rice from sticking, till rice is fluffy and water has been absorbed.
3. While rice is cooking, prepare the meat to taste. I chose to go the easy route and defrost it by microwave, slice it into bite-sized chunks, and then cook it the rest of the way by microwave. Cooking it in a skillet or by other means is also perfectly acceptable, but the meat must be fully cooked in this step.
4. Place rice in a large microwave-safe container. Stir meat and condensed soups into rice. Add spices to taste and stir till the mixture appears uniform. Microwave for between two and four minutes, to help heat the soup and make sure that the rice has remained warm while the meat is being prepared. Slight cooking at this stage also seems to help disperse the taste of the spices throughout the dish.
5. Take the cheese and stir it into the rice. The heat from the rice will melt the cheese, no further microwving is necessary for this stage. You may also optionally further top the dish with large slices of cheese and allow them to melt somewhat before serving... microwaving for a minute or so may be necessary for this. I did not choose to do this with the batch I made last night, as I know not everyone shares my love of cheese.

Feeds a lot of people apparently, since a lot of folks tried it last night and I've still got leftovers. Or it feeds two people if it's their sole meal for the day and they both have a heaping plate of it. Eating nothing but one heaping plate of this every day for two months will in fact keep you alive, but it will not be enough nourishment to necessarily keep you thinking straight. Trust me, I know this from experience.