So, the other night, I caramelized some onions for some burgers. In my time-honored tradition of always making too much… I had some leftover. I had an idea for English muffins for breakfast topped with the onions & some Swiss cheese, so I tried it, out.
The were absolutely delicious. Just posting this so I can pin it & refer back to it.
When caramelizing the yellow onions in a ridiculous amount of butter, I added some salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, ground mustard, & black pepper. I have no idea if this is “correct” but it was delicious. I start them out on medium until they’re translucent, then cook on medium-low for a ridiculously long time.
Fast forward to the next morning, I split some L’Oven Fresh English Muffins, spread butter on them, spread some of the leftover caramelized onions on them, and topped with half a slice of Swiss cheese… and baked in a pre-heated 350ยฐ F oven for about 13 minutes. (The onions were cold from the ‘fridge, & I wanted to be sure they were heated up before everything was too toasted.)
It was a great breakfast… but I did miss a beef broth or au jus kind of flavor. Would have been like French Onion English Muffins then. Maybe next time?
What would you call this? Have you done something similar? Would you do it different? Ever try the oven method to caramelize onions, or something other than slow & low on the stovetop? Let me know in the comments!
I have had it in my head for a while now that I wanted some of the homestyle creamy baked mac n’ cheese. Inspiration hit with the snow coming down today, wanting some comfort food, so I just did it. I had been wondering if you could use a box of Kraft as the start to “good” mac & cheese, too. I had some stuff in the ‘fridge & pantry to make it happen. Posting it here to remember what I did.
I didn’t really measure, but this is close…
Ingredients:
2 boxes Kraft mac & cheese (noodles & powder packets)
ยฝ cup butter & ยผ cup butter (for later)
ยฝ cup flour
1 block sharp cheddar cheese (16 oz.?), grated
4 cubed chunks (approx. 1″ cubes) of Velveeta (I used the Aldi version)
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
2ยฝ cups 2% milk
ยฝ cup half & half
ยพ cup panko breadcrumbs
ยพ plain breadcrumbs
yellow mustard (a dash)
ground mustard (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
white pepper (to taste)
salt (to taste)
onion powder (to taste)
garlic powder (to taste)
table blend salt-free seasoning (to taste)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350ยฐ F.
Boil the pasta in some water with bit of salt, for about 5 minutes… the time on the box overcooks them.
Melt ยฝ cup butter in a cause pan on medium, stir in the flour (season it here), cook 2 or 3 min. until golden.
Slowly stir in milk & half & half. (Season it here too.)
Slowly stir in the grated sharp cheddar & chunks of Velveeta. I put the squirt of mustard in here. (Season it here too.)
Slowly stir in one of the cheese powder packets from the Kraft box. (Season it here too.)
Drain the pasta when it’s done while you’re doing all that, then put it in an 8″x8″ glass baking dish.
Stir in your cheese sauce. (If I understand correctly, that was a roux, then a bรฉchamel, then a mornay… right?) Season it again if you nasty, and you’re reading this, so I know you are.
Melt the ยผ cup of butter in a small bowl with a handle. (Season it here too.)
Stir the breadcrumbs, the other Kraft cheese packet, & the table blend seasoning into the butter bowl.
Sprinkle the shredded colby jack on top of the cheese n’ macaroni.
Spread the buttery cheesy breadcrumbs on that.
Pop it in the oven for like 18 minutes.
Notes:
I popped it in for 20 minutes, and while the breadcrumbs got a little overdone, they weren’t quite burnt. I may cover it in foil for a bit next time, or put the breadcrumbs on after a bit of cooking?
I’ll use a bullion cube in with the macaroni next time. I do that with pasta a lot but was worried the Kraft cheese packets may be salty, they weren’t as bas as I expected.
I needed some grated parmesan shake cheese, but didn’t use any because I couldn’t find it. Ha ha.
What about crushed Cheeze-Its instead of breadcrumbs? What about bacon pieces in there?
Have you done this? Obviously I could just use regular pasta & forgo the Kraft powdered cheese sauce concoction. Got any tips or tricks? If you say nutmeg or cinnamon you can see yourself all the way out.
I did it. No one died. Everyone seemed to like it. I’ll put my recipe down here first & the shenanigans after that… because Threads gave me some shenanigans. Trigger warning for Nonnas worldwide:I put brown sugar in jarred sauce. Proceed with caution.
Preheat oven to 375ยฐ (Next time I may do 350ยฐ for a longer time, but we were in a but of a hurry.)
Brown the beef in a pan on the stove with some of all your spices to taste. (I could/should have included onion here.)
Mix the ricotta, one bag of the shredded cheese, the grated parmesan, a bit of the shredded parmesan, the eggs, fresh parsley, & shredded zucchini in a large bowl, again with all the spices including the garlic.
This filled two 9×13″ glass baking dishes for me. I think I layered them both a bit different. Follow your heart. Put sauce on the bottom, sprinkle in some brown sugar, the dry lasagna noodles, the ricotta mixture, the ground beef, some more shredded cheese, more sauce, more noodles, and just keep going. I did put a very little bit of water in the jars of sauce to swirl around & empty more.. and put that into the dishes too. Sprinkled cheese and made sure there was lots of sauce on top of each.
Cover them tightly with foil & put them in the oven for 50 minutes.
Take out, sprinkle on some more of the shredded parmesan, cook for another 10 minutes.
Pull out, rest for a bit, then serve.
Notes:
Like I said, lower & slower next time. Maybe 350ยฐ for an hour then uncover & go for another 15 minutes?
Carrots may be good in with the ground beef… and/or mushrooms?
Maybe spinach in the cheese mixture or as another layer. Let’s get some fiber up in here.
I don’t generally like sausage, but if you do it’d be good here for sure.
What would you do?
๐
Readers, let me tell you… people have feelings about calling that strip of pasta a “lasagna noodle.” There is also the fact that “American” lasagna has ricotta, but traditional does not. I was even told that because I added shredded zucchini it is no longer lasagna. I have made it replacing the pasta with long thinly-sliced zucchini planks and still called it lasagna.
People have lost their damn minds. No one knows that food and language evolve over time and across regions and even households?
I did plug my ingredients list into Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, & Copilot to see what they would churn back out, but honestly I didn’t follow through with any of their advice.
I look forward to your thoughts about lasagna, your tips, tricks & recipes, and the nuance of semantics involving pasta naming conventions in the comments. How do you layer yours? I feel like I need a way deeper pan. Do you go “traditional” and eschew ricotta? Do you call lasagna noodles lasagna noodles or are you pretentious?
If you want beef, then bring the ruckus! My mushroom meatloaf ain’t nothin’ to โโโโ with.
With the likely chance of repeating myself, I like to make meatloaf different all the time. I make “normal” ones often, and made a crazy breakfast one one time. I think I have even crushed up CheeseโIts or Doritos in lieu of breadcrumbs. I blame Chopped. I forgot that I made one VERY similar to this not too long ago. The blog post was kind of sus as I was using LLM as I cooked to keep track of what I was did in hopes of having a coherent recipe for a post, & had 4 of them pop out interpretations of my recipe. I put the examples there. That may be overwhelming. I’ll do all the writing for this one. I sort of half-plan and wing it with meatloaf. This time I wanted to do some mashed potatoes & acorn squash with it too… so I did.
Mushroom Meatloaf Mayhem
This was an absurd amount of meatloaf, but I like leftovers and I’ll probably freeze some for later too. This is what I bought or had on hand this time. Most of my ingredients nowadays come from Aldi, & we do get some stuff at Giant Total Eagle.
I used a lot of processed ingredients, so I didn’t add any salt… other than what was in the season salt. I forget if we have McCormick or the Aldi brand. Of course you could use fresh mushrooms like I did last time… but this is what struck me to use this time. Also, you can use any kind of cheese or meat you want. If you don’t like, mushrooms, or onions… I will say “Bean Soup” to you and you can find other meatloaf recipes where they’re not the focus. If you don’t like meat… I would be interested to hear your suggestions for substitutions here.
You know… if I put shredded green beans in this, and maybe bacon pieces… it would be green bean casserole meatloaf. ๐คฏ
Here are all the parts to the meal, and what I did to bring it all together at the same time…
The Mushroom Mayhem Meatloaf
Ingredients:
ยฝ stick unsalted butter (OK, maybe ยพ)
A splash of EVOO.
A splash of milk.
ยฝ Spanish Onion
1 cup French-fried onions.
2 4-oz. cans of mushrooms
2 10.5-oz. cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1ยฝ cups panko breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded Havarti cheese.
2 tsp. jarred minced garlic (oh I know some of you hate it)
4 lbs. ground beef (As it worked out I had exactly 4 lbs., 2.54 of 80/20 & 1.46 of 93/7.)
A1 (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
Seasoned Salt (like Morton’s Season All, Lawry’s, or Stonemill to taste)
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend (to taste)
Black Pepper (to taste)
Ground Mustard (to taste)
Paprika (to taste)
4 slices of cheap spongy white bread
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375ยฐ.
Drain & dice one can of mushrooms, dice the onion, and crunch up some of those french-fried onions to throw in there too.
Hit the onion with garlic powder & onion powder.
Melt some butter with a splash of EVOO on medium-high heat in a frying pan, then add the mushrooms & onions, sautรฉ on medium-low for a while until the mushrooms are translucent & almost starting to caramelize. Toss in some of that minced garlic once it gets going. Set aside.
Mix 1 can of the cream of mushroom soup, the breadcrumbs, about a ยฝ cup of the French fried onions, & 2 splashes of A1 in a bowl. (Would this count as a panade?)
Whisk the eggs, the splash of milk, & all your spices in the bowl. Or use a fork. Be whimsical. Improvise.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground beef, about ยพ of the sauteed mushrooms & onions, the sort-of panade, the egg mixture, about 1 cup of shredded Havarti, & another tsp. of that minced garlic. Mix it all up. (I started with a spoon spatula, then just used my hands.)
Form the meatloaf into two loaves placed on top of the slices of white bread on a sheet pan. (You had that ready right? I mean, you read this all through before you started and knew you needed to have that ready before you got your hands all raw-meatloafy, right?)
Sprinkle Seasoned Salt & whatever other spices you want on the top.
Cover with foil, & put in the oven for about a ยฝ hour-ish? I cooked to temperature, not time. (The USDA says ground beef should hit 160ยฐ to prevent all kinds of potentially horrible things.)
Mix together another can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, some more shredded Havarti, some French-fried onions, a small can of mushrooms, about half of what you have left of the sauteed onion/mushroom mix, & some A1 & spices.
Open the oven, take the foil off, insert your thermometer probes, slather on the mixture, and slide it back in. Cook for about an additional hour. Maybe? (This is where I slid it to the side & popped in my golden acorn squash.)
Take it out when it hits the 160ยฐ, let it rest for a bit, and have at it!
Notes:
I add whatever spices at each step as I go.
Of course, use fresh mushrooms or different onions, or whatever speaks to you.
Monitor your meatloaf, if cooling alone maybe do an hour covered, then uncover a bit, put in the probes, & slather the stuff on top later. I didn’t want to keep opening the oven.
I rarely measure when making stuff like this… these are suggestions at best.
I was originally going to make one long-ass loaf, but I decided on 2 smaller ones at the last minute. I should have put them side by side, not end to end.
Use a loaf pan or two if that’s your thing, or a glass baking dish, or whatever works for you. I like the freeform loaf on bread, it works for me. Just maybe don’t do feetloaf or faceloaf. Really, don’t do this.
I start with an empty dishwasher and just rinse & pop everything in there as I use it because I have a small kitchen.
Your oven is already at 375ยฐ with the meatloaf above, right?
Melt the butter, spices, & sugar in a microwave safe bowl.
Cut the acorn squash in half with a sharp serrated knife from the stem to the tip on both sides, then pop it open.
Scoop out the seeds & strings with a spoon.
Score the insides with a cross-hatch pattern or whatever floats your boat.
Put the 4 halves open side up in a glass baking dish in about ยผ of water.
Try to evenly distribute the sugary melted butter in the centers, being sure to drizzle some on the top too. I used a small gravy ladle.
Let it ride in the oven for about an hour or so, maybe an hour and 15 minutes. You want it to just slightly start to burn on the edges.
Notes:
If I was not sharing the oven with meatloaf, I probably would have put these in at 400ยฐ or 425ยฐ. I am here to tell you that recipes are merely suggestions and you are free to adapt on the fly and use your own free will.
Lots of recipes have you start acorn squash face down, then turn them over, do the hokey pokey & all that. I am here to tell you that you absolutely do not need to do all that. Save your time & energy for other meal prep or solving one of my mazes.
Use whatever spices or sweetener you like. I find maple syrup overpowering sometimes, but it is popular here. I actually in hindsight should have tried hot honey on one. It seems to be all the rage. Some cayenne would really work well here.
Instead of a cross-hatch pattern, you could make a face, carve a list of your enemies, or this.
Squashes sounds weird. Can squash itself be plural?
Nashed Tapaters N’ Gravy
This may be controversial. I like boxed instant mashed potatoes. They’re quick. I can control the consistency easily. They are a blank canvas upon which you can paint your flavorful dreams. On holidays? I am doing real potatoes. Typical dinner? Flakes are fine.
Mashed Potato Ingredients:
Boxed Mashed Potato Flakes
Milk
Butter
Beef Bouillon Cube
Shredded Havarti
Black Pepper (to taste)
White Pepper (to taste)
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
Mashed Potato “Recipe”:
Make the potatoes according to the directions on the box. Their suggested serving sizes are a lie. Go big, or go home.
I pop a beef bouillon cube or two in the water instead of the salt. It ties it in to the meatloaf nicely and adds salt & flavor.
Stir in some shredded Havarti cheese at the end. Measure with your heart. Or your appendix. Whatever organ is speaking, just listen.
Add some more butter.
Gravy Ingredients:
1 brown gravy packet
1 mushroom gravy packet
1 4-oz. can of mushrooms
1 10.5-oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Some of those sauteed mushrooms & onions from waaay back up top
Black Pepper (to taste)
White Pepper (to taste)
Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend (to taste)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Onion Powder (to taste)
Gravy “Recipe”:
Mix the gravy packets both at once according to the directions on the pack… adding in your preferred spices.
Once it is fully simmered & not clunky… pop the burner back up to medium and add in the soup, the canned mushrooms, and some of your sauteed onion & mushroom mix.
Keep that going until it’s all heated through, you shouldn’t need to let it boil again. Let it rest a bit.
Notes:
I’m an anarchist when it comes to instant potatoes. Toss in buttermilk, sour cream, cheese, garlic… whatever you want. Use chicken stock or vegetable stock instead of water. I try to tie it in to the main dish.
You could make a gravy from scratch… but it’ll be almost the same stuff that’s in the packets. And, I wasn’t about to collect the drippings from the meatloaf to make a gravy like you would with a roast. ๐คฃ
๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐ฅ
There you have it. What would you do differently? Have anything you picked up that you might try? What are your meatloaf go-to recipes, tips, & tricks? Have any other meatloaf styles, or do you do it straight-up old school ketchup glaze? Most importantly, what are you rocking out to as you make meatloaf?
This is becoming a trend. I want to make a sandwich and don’t have the appropriate bread or bun. Thankfully, this lack of planning for a meatball sub brought forth the almighty Meatball Club (the Meatball Melt isn’t bad either). This was not a bad alternative, if I do say so myself.
I made some of my grilled chicken noodle soup that we had with a salad for dinner last night. I had some leftovers for lunch today and wanted a lil’ sandwich to go with it. Not much beats a local mom n’ pop pizza shop Italian Sub. I had some almost sort of close enough ingredients in the house, so I crafted my own.
In my humble opinion, the key to a great local sub shop Italian Sub is the toasting. The second key is to call it a sub and not a hoagie, grinder, hero or whatever other word yinz have for it. Maybe this would be less a Subwich and more a Submersible?
I didn’t have a sub roll, but I did have the super cheap hamburger buns. That worked, because it was lunch time and I didn’t need a foot long sandwich anyway.
The Italian …Subwich?
Here’s what I did…
I preheated the oven to 400ยฐ and gathered all my stuff.
I melted some butter & EVOO with garlic powder, onion powder, & Italian seasoning in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl.
I spread the butter on the insides of the bun, sprinkled on a tiny bit of shake cheese, and toasted it inside up in the oven for 5 minutes on a sheet pan.
I stacked the cold cuts, cheese, & veggies like this from the bottom up on the bottom bun: Turkey, hard salami, provolone cheese, ham, hard salami, jarred roasted red peppers, sliced black olives, shredded Parmesan from a tub,
I put a slice of provolone on the inside of the top bun.
I put it back in the oven for 6 minutes.
I took it out & assembled the sandwich.
I brushed a little more melted butter/spices on the top, and put it back in… this time on convection at 350ยฐ for two minutes because why not?
I bought it out and it definitely gave me mom n’ pop pizza shop vibes. Those slightly burnt edges make it kick.
My wife likes the Roasted Red Pepper Italian dressing & some mayo on hers. If you’re going to comment that you don’t like back olives, can’t eat roasted red peppers, or would add onions, lettuce, & tomato… I’ll lift the weight off of your shoulders and ask how you’d make this yours?
If you are here to say bread, meat, or cheese are not for you and/or ask what you can substitute, I’ll say “Bean Soup” to you.
I asked Gemini to pull out an ingredient list, and it did this whole ass thing, so I’ll paste it all below for the “jump to the recipe” crowd. It’s funny how it says to slice the bun like this isn’t the ~$1 pack of 8 from Aldi. It does know what “shake cheese” is though. Do other people call it that, or just me? It adds some wild stuff all inferred from my text above.
Ingredients
This is for one sandwich, but is easily scalable for a crowd!
The Butter Brush & Dressing
1 Sub Bun (or your favorite hoagie roll)
2 Tbsp Butter (unsalted or salted)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2-3 Tbsp Sweet Italian Dressing (or another vinaigrette of your choice)
1-2 tsp “Shake Cheese” (the grated Parmesan from a container)
The Filling
2 Slices Provolone Cheese
3-4 Slices Turkey (deli slices)
3-4 Slices Ham (deli slices)
6-8 Slices Hard Salami (layered)
2 Tbsp Jarred Roasted Red Peppers (drained)
1 Tbsp Sliced Black Olives
1-2 Tbsp Shredded Parmesan (from a tub, for texture)
Wife’s Variation (Optional)
Roasted Red Pepper Italian Dressing
Mayonnaise
Instructions
1. Preheat and Prep the Butter
Preheat your oven to 400ยฐF.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and EVOO together.
Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Set aside.
2. Toast the Bun
Slice your bun open and lay both halves on a sheet pan, inside-up.
Brush a generous layer of the seasoned butter mix onto the insides of both buns.
Sprinkle the insides with a tiny bit of the “shake cheese”.
Toast the buns in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.
3. Build the Base
Remove the buns from the oven.
Pour a drizzle of the Sweet Italian Dressing onto the inside of both bunsโdon’t saturate it, just a light coat.
On the bottom bun, stack the cold cuts, cheese, and veggies in this order:
Turkey
Hard Salami
One Slice of Provolone Cheese
Ham
Hard Salami
Jarred Roasted Red Peppers
Sliced Black Olives
Shredded Parmesan
Place the second slice of provolone cheese directly on the inside of the top bun (it will act as a shield and melt beautifully).
4. Melt and Warm
Put both halves of the sandwich (still separate) back in the oven for 6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Carefully remove the sheet pan and assemble the sandwich by placing the top bun onto the bottom.
5. The Final Kick
Take it out, slice it, and enjoy!
Brush a little more of the remaining melted butter/spices right onto the top crust of the sandwich.
(Optional, but highly recommended) Turn the oven to Convection at 350ยฐF and pop the sandwich back in for 2 minutes. This gives you those amazing, slightly crispy, burnt edges that make the sandwich sing.
Teriyaki Stuff [November 19, 2023] Why I want this sauce.
La Choy Teriyaki Terror [December 8, 2023] ยท I sent a maze to La Choy (Conagra) to literally illustrate my fristration at not being able to find their sauce.
So, yesterday I made spaghetti with homemade meatballs.โToday, I wanted a meatball sub.โI was thinking I still had some good buns from New Year’s day.โThey were not good.โI had already melted the butter.โThe store-brand white bread was calling to me.โA sandwich?โNo, a club..,โSomething worthy of shenanigans.
Behold:โThe Meatball ClubLook at that toasty goodness.Open up & say “Mmm!”If you don’t cut it diagonally, you’re doing it wrong.
It seemed to be a hit on various social media platforms, so I thought I’d share the love.โIf you make one, please, post the photo, tag me (@AiXelsyD13 on just about everything), and let me know how it was!
The Meatballs:
I have shared my meatball ingredient secrets a quadruple of times:
I generally don’t measure, and make them different every time.โThis time I fried them on medium-high in a large pan on the stove & a tiny bit of EVOO.
The Sauce:โ
OK, gonna level with you.โI am not Italian.โThis is going to make some people mad.โI use jarred sauce.โThis was the cheap Aldi stuff.โUsually we get that or the Prego Three Cheese.โI add brown sugar & Parmesan/Romano shake cheese.โSometimes, I even add shopped garlic, onion powder, or “Italian Seasoning.”โThis time it was just brown sugar and cheese.โI don’t measure.โI toss a little in with abandon.โI like the sweetness & it cuts the acid.
The Club:
Get your stuff…
ยผ stick butter
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Parsley or (Italian Seasoning)
6 or so leftover meatballs.
Shredded cheese (I had Gruyere & Swiss, but I would probably go for Mozzarella or Provolone, but the stuff I had was fantastic.)
“Shake Cheese” I had the cheap Giant Eagle brand Parmesan/Romano blend.
Three pieces of white bread.
Do it…
Pre-heat the oven to 390ยฐ on the air fryer setting.
Melt the butter w/ garlic powder, onion powder, & parsley to taste in a microwave save bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until it’s a liquid.
Put the bread on a baking dish, brush on the melted butter after a good stir.โ(I just did the top sides.)
Air fry for 2 minutes, & it gets almost crispy on top, the bottom was nice and toasted.
While you’re doing that nuke the meatballs & sauce on a microwave safe plate for 2 min. (or longer if needed.)
Pull the toast out.โ(I cut the meatballs in half with a spoon then scooped them and the sauce on to two of the slices of bread.)
Top the meatballs with the shredded cheese.
Put the “shake cheese” on the 3rd slice of bread.
Put it back in on air fry for for 4 or 5 minutes.
Pull it out, assemble it like a tower of gluttony, then slice it diagonally with a giant serrated bread knife for dramatic effect.
Take a photo to share & make people hungry.
That’s it.โIt took a little bit of time & prep, but it was worth it.
Notes:
If you cook & have your own meatball or sauce recipe, of course do that.
Use whatever kind of cheese you want, shredded, or sliced, or whatever.
I would guess you can use the oven on 375ยฐ-ish on a regular setting for a bit longer times, or a counter top air fryer.
You could also probably do all of it in the air fryer from cooking the meatballs to melting the butter if you have the appropriate vessels.
If you slice it in rectangles and not triangles, you are a psychopath.
Discussion:
If you’re out of sausage or sub buns, or hot dog buns, what are you using?โPita?โTortilla?โSoft Pretzel?โDinner Rolls?โBisquick?โCrescent roll dough?
Please, tell me in the comments how wrong it is to use jarred sauce or add brown sugar.
Share with me your meatball secrets.
Do you like the powdery shake cheese or the fancy stuff?
Well, the tweets from before were apparently incorrect.โThe La Choy teriyaki variety that I liked has been discontinued.โI emailed Conagra via webform and found a bunch of names and tried to garner email addresses online, which worked on at least 2 counts.โI also got some replies from various grocery stores.
From: Conagra Consumer Care consumer.care@conagra.com Date: Tue, Dec 19, 2023 at 1:03โฏPM Subject: LA CHOY Consumer Care Response: Case # 06631637 [ ref:!00D800cIJR.!500QU02afd0:ref ] To: [me]
Hello Eric,
Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to us regarding the La Choy Teriyaki Sauce. There was obvious passion in your correspondence, both for the former product you preferred and for the current product that does not meet your expectations. Weโd like to offer some background and what we hope is a worthy alternative.
Previously we produced both the La Choy Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce that you enjoyed, and the La Choy Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade. With two similar sauces available, earlier this year we discontinued production of the La Choy Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce. We work with grocery stores and other retail partners to optimize our product assortment. Through these conversations, we often need to make decisions about discontinuing products. These are difficult decisions, as we know a discontinued product can be a disappointment to consumers.
We appreciate your candid feedback on the current La Choy Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade. This feedback was shared with our brand team and will go to our internal culinary team as well. Every piece of consumer input is valuable to us.
Within the Conagra Brands portfolio, we also offer PF Changโs Home Menu, and we hope their Teriyaki Sauce is one that youโll enjoy. PF Changโs Home Menu is inspired by the tastes and high-quality ingredients of PF Changโs bistros. The Teriyaki Sauce is part of a collection of sauces we introduced a few years ago, and if youโre interested in trying it, weโd be happy to send you a few bottles. If this would be ok, please reply to this email with your complete mailing address, and if applicable, please include the Unit or Apt. #.
Thank you again for your loyalty to the La Choy brand and the time you spent providing us feedback. Both are appreciated.
From: Conagra Consumer Care [consumer.care@conagra.com] Sent: 12/11/2023, 1:43 PM To: [me] Subject: LA CHOY Consumer Care Response: Case # 06631637 [ ref:!00D800cIJR.!500QU02afd0:ref ]
Hello Eric,
Thank you for reaching out to Ms. Schaefer’s office to let us know you were a fan of our LA CHOY TERIYAKI MARINADE AND SAUCE.
From time to time we reformulate our product recipes, this also includes how consumer preferences change over time. Unfortunately, itโs no longer available but we’ll make sure to share your comments regarding your request to bring back the older formulation with appropriate personnel.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our supervisors at 1-800-722-1344, between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. CST, Monday through Thursday, and between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. CST, on Fridays. Please give reference number 06631637 to the supervisor who answers your phone call. If a supervisor isnโt available, please leave a voicemail with your name and reference number. A supervisor should return your call within 48 business hours.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your feedback.
Thank you for replying. We're unable to provide the recipe as it is proprietary but appreciate your interest in our products. Thank you again for taking the time message and enjoy your week.
From: Guest Relations guest.relations@target.com Date: Mon, Dec 11, 2023 at 4:12โฏPM Subject: Your Inquiry to Target.com Executive Offices To: [me]
Hello Eric,
Thank you for contacting Target about your experience. I received a copy of your email from our executive offices along with a request to reach out.
Thanks for asking about this “La Choy Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade” we understand you are interested to know if we carry or plan on carrying this. I do apologize, but we do not have this item available in our assortment and at this time we do not have any additional information to share regarding future availability. To view the wide variety of other Teriyaki sauces we do carry please click here.
We appreciate you reaching out and sharing interest with this item. Iโll be sure to share your comments with our buyers.
From: Melissa (Fresh Thyme) support@freshthyme.zendesk.com Date: Sat, Dec 9, 2023 at 10:50โฏAM Subject: [Fresh Thyme] Re: La Choy Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade To: [me]
Your request (26880) has been updated. To add additional comments, reply to this email.
Melissa (Fresh Thyme)
Dec 9, 2023, 9:50โฏAM CST
Dear Eric,
Thanks for reaching out! The products available at our stores may differ by location. To find out if your local store carries (product name), you may visit our website http://www.freshthyme.com and search for any of your desired products.
I will forward this to the Store Director for the Bridgeville, PA store location for you as well.
Thank you for being a Fresh Thyme customer! Melissa Fresh Thyme Customer Care
Nothing from Giant Eagle, Walmart, or Shop’n Save.
You should try to solve the maze, & then post it & tag me on social media.โI’m @AiXeLsyD on pretty much everything.
I write to you today to invite you on a journey with me. The journey is the quest for the most absolute perfect Teriyaki sauce. You may find yourself wondering if it exists. I can assure you, it doesโฆ or at least it did. Over the past few years it has been increasingly difficult to find. You’re surely wondering by now, to which magical elixir I am referring? It is confusing, but I will try to explain: The original La Choy Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce is wondrous perfection, yet the La Choy Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce & Marinade is devastatingly abhorrent.
I know that โteriyakiโ may refer to a style, much like โbarbecueโ can denote many kinds of sauces, but it ought to be a crime to label these two sauces with the same descriptor. โKetchupโ came to describe the sugary tomato-based condiment we all know today, even though at one point it could have referred to many different things including a sauce with fermented fish.
I have seen the words on the label move around in various orders, so Iโm not 100% sure exactly what to call the sauce, or how to differentiate it by descriptorโฆ but I can tell you that the darker sauce in the bottle with the same shape as your soy sauce is fantastic, and the other stuff in the salad-dressing style bottle with seeds floating in it is terrible.
Over the years, I have written to my local grocery store, and they said the distributor discontinued it. I had one local store that carried it, and they have replaced its spot on the shelf with a similar yet inferior brand that we would have called generic in my youth. I have reached out to Conagra on social media, and was told to use the product locator. The product locator shows that no one around here sells that sauce, and seems to indicate it is not available online.
The La Choy website that lists all of the sauces does not show the good style sauce, but only the gross style. Is this an indication that you no longer manufacture the good stuff? Google searches lead to one gallon jugs or full cases. I only need a few bottles at a time. Looking closer, it shows as โout of stockโ on some sites. Are you having supply chain issues? Is it being phased out? Is it available only regionally outside of my region?
I am writing to implore you to get me some answers other than the stock โYes, we still make it. Please use our product locator.โ I would like some real concrete answers. I also plan to write to all of my local grocery chains.
Please enjoy the attached maze, to help you as you contemplate a suggested resolution to my quest. Are you able to let me know the names of any of the distributors or local/national grocery chains where I can reach out to request your product, or even independent stores? I am in Bridgeville, PA, USAโฆ just south of Pittsburgh.
I would love email addresses, or even snail mail. I am not a fan of these constraining contact forms.
I look forward to your reply, and thank you for the many tasty dinners that I have enjoyed thanks to your delicious sauce. I wonโt even ask for an apology for the terribleness of the other sauce, even though you really should apologize for it.
I thank you for your time and attention, may you have a joyous and cheerful holiday season this year!
Your Hangry Fan, -Eric aixelsyd13(at)gmail.com
Help me on my quest!
I sent that to Conagra’s contact form, well, what would fit, but was able to attach the maze. I also sent it through Facebook and Instagram messages, and tried to reach out via Twitter (again).
I used a google search to find their CEO’s name and their supposed email syntax, and sent the message to several variations of his address. None have bounced back yet, but I doubt they will all go through. I did also email their media relations and investor questions email which I found in a press release.
What’s my next move? Snail mail? Other executives? Board Members? I plan to email local food chains & maybe even smaller grocers. How do I find their distributors? Should I snail mail these out?
I feel like I have been getting the run-around on this for years:
So, @ConagraBrands… how can you (in good conscience) call both of these #Teriyaki sacue with the only tiny disction on the label being one is a marinade & one is for stir fry… while one tastes like kissing an angel & the other like licking a demon's butthole? #LaChoypic.twitter.com/NvNohQ750J
So, right before new years, I went on adventure looking for mini cocktail rye breads from Pepperidge Farm. They used to make one called Jewish Rye, and Pumpernickel.
The Jewish Rye was cool because it contained ground caraway seeds instead of the standard whole caraway seeds. I have had bouts with Diverticulitis, so I try to stay hydrated & avoid tiny sharp seeds. Caraway absolutely ruins sauerkraut, but it is good in rye bread.
Pumpernickel is cool because it essentially is named for the devil’s farts… and if that’s not cool, I don’t know what is. This is also code in my household for “I am always right.” I told my wife the name origin behind it, she said there was no way, Googled it… and, like I said… I am always right.
Did they just stop making those little mini seedless cocktail rye bread things? They are increasingly hard to find every new year. Struck out at Kuhn's & Shop 'n Save, @GiantEagle has been a miss the last few years. Maybe @FreshThymeFM?
I know that the other manufacturer, S. Rosen, make cocktail-sized rye and pumpernickel bread… but the rye is not seedless. Apparently Hanky Panky means something entirely different in some parts of Ohio.
My wife likes to make this stuff for New Year’s that’s like swiss cheese, lemon-pepper, and mayo on the cocktail-sized Jewish Rye then toasted in the oven. It’s delicious. I like to make little mini open faced Reubens. The pumpernickel would be an acceptable alternative if I absolutely can’t find the seedless rye.
Because I’m weird and can’t leave anything alone, we have this…
Hey there, Eric. We're sorry to hear you're having trouble finding our Party Rye and Pumpernickel Bread. Unfortunately, we have discontinued it. We will be sure to let the team know you were looking for it. https://t.co/7lhEBw42Iu
I, of course, posted it on Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook. I tagged Pepperidge Farm & Pepperidge Farm Cares. To their credit, they did reply:
Hi there, we're sorry to hear this! Unfortunately, this variety is no longer available. We will pass along to our team that you want to see them return.
I did tag all the stores that I could in the photo on Instagram and Facebook, but none of them have taken the bait.
I had to turn it up a notch, to which they did not reply:
All of that just says:
Hello,
I was wondering if anyone had time to try and complete my maze while considering bringing back cocktail-sized Jewish Rye.
The ground caraway was awesome, because it isn’t a potential diverticulitis disaster like whole seeds are.
My wife wpuld [sic] use it to make this delicious lemon pepper cheese appetizer, and I like to make tiny Reuben sandwiches and pretend I am a reformed King King that no longer has to eat people sacrificed to me on Skull Island.
The mini pumpernickel is cool just because of the etymology. I mean? It has to be the most metal bread out there. ๐ค
How can you discontinue such wonderful things?
Also, AI generated art seems to be the cool thing these days, so I tried to make this on a few different ones to go along with the blog post:
I may have to buy a gorilla suit and make some tiny Reubens with the S. Rosen bread… and convince the wife or kids to take my photo.
Or, I may have to make a maze for S. Rosen, featuring a caraway seed that must make the journey through my guys without getting stuck, causing inflammation & a possible infection. Or maybe it has to make its way through a grinder before beign added to the dough & baked?
@SRosens1909 So, do you guys make a seedless cocktail rye bread, or just the Pumpernickel (the most metal of all breads! ๐ค๐จ)?
I know the big PF dropped the ball and you picked up the slack. Bravo!
I doubt than anyone at Pepperidge Farm or Pepperidge Farm Cares is going to complete my maze. But, if they do, you can thank me later.
As far as discussion here, which I always ask for yet rarely get in the comments, let me know what you do with mini cocktail rye or pumpernickel bread.
Also… Ler’s discuss Reubens. Russian or Thousand Island? Regular rye or marbled? Do you add anything like bacon or swap out corned beef for Pastrami? Do you ever use Havarti instead of Swiss? Grilled in a pan, or on a panini press? I should blog about Reubens. Mmm. I’m hungry.
Also, please, please, complete the maze! Send me the results, post & tag me!
The most important takeaway is that if I tell you something, I am always right. Pumpernickel.
![Hello,
I was wondering if anyone had time to try and complete my maze while considering bringing back cocktail-sized Jewish Rye.
The ground caraway was awesome, because it isn't a potential diverticulitis disaster like whole seeds are.
My wife wpuld [sic] use it to make this delicious lemon pepper cheese appetizer, and I like to make tiny Reuben sandwiches and pretend I am a reformed King King that no longer has to eat people sacrificed to me on Skull Island.
The mini pumpernickel is cool just because of the etymology. I mean? It has to be the most metal bread out there.
How can you discontinue such wonderful things?](https://aixelsyd13.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/wp-1674692091553.jpg?w=220)
World (and Lunar) Domination 