Catastrophic Cook

Catastrophic Cook Mom. Wife. Cook

06/02/2026

Steak salad

Steak of choice, grilled and sliced

Arugula
Cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes
Apples
Grapes
Red onions
Avocados
Roasted almonds
Goat cheese
Kalamata olives

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic smashed
1 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vinegar
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

05/23/2026

I’m your biggest Yalanji Lover but can also be its biggest hater. It needs to have the right amount of sour, but not be bitter. It cannot smell or taste like henna (IYKYK) and it’s gotta have a slight kick to it. And I needed an exact recipe that wasn’t just measuring with my heart. This is the recipe you didn’t know you needed.

2 lbs Grape Leaves

FILLING:
6 cups soaked and strained Jasmine Rice
3 large onions, finely chopped
9 large tomatoes, finely chopped
3 large bunches parsley, minced
1 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, grated or minced

2 cups olive oil
3 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Black Pepper
2 tbsp dried mint
1 1/2 tsp citric acid

FOR THE POT:
1 onion
2 potatoes
2 tomatoes
Water
Salt

1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil

Prepare your filling by mixing diced tomatoes and onions, minced parsley and mint and the smashed garlic. Add the soaked and strained jasmine rice. Grate the jalapeño. Add the salt, black pepper, dried mint, and citric acid. Add the olive oil and mix well.

Roll your grape leaves and set aside.

Prepare your pot by adding a little oil and then lining the bottom with sliced onions and potatoes. Top with the grape leaves and then the chopped tomatoes. Strain the leftover liquid from the filling and pour on top of the grape leaves. Add water (slightly salted) until the liquid is halfway to the grape leaves. Bring to a boil then simmer on low for about two hours or using a pressure cooker on high for 18 minutes. Once done squeeze a lemon on top and add the olive oil and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. I personally enjoy this at room temperature. Enjoy!

05/18/2026

Are you team rice under the chicken or team rice in the chicken?!

Stuffed Chicken

Marinade:
2 whole chickens 2.5-3 lbs each
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup hot sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp salt
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Meat:
1 lb ground beef 97/3
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Stuffing:
1/2 meat mixture
2/3 cup basmati rice
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Rice:
1/2 meat mixture
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
1 tsp salt

Mix your marinade together and add to your whole chickens. Soak for at least twenty minutes or up to overnight.

Prep the meat by cooking it with the spices. Reserve half the cooked meat aside. Add 2/3 cup basmati rice to half the meat and some salt. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and put on a low simmer for five minutes.
Once the water has boiled off the rice and it’s par cooked stuff the rice into the chickens packing it in well. Seal the chickens with toothpicks or just pull the skin tight. Add 1 cup water to the marinade left from the chicken and mix it in. Pour this mixture around the chickens in the roasting pan. Bake at 475 F for around 40-70 min depending on the size of your chicken. You want the internal temp of the breast to be 165F. While it bakes prep the rest of your rice. Add the reserved meat and 1 cup basmati rice. Add the salt and water and steam normally. Once the chicken is done plate on a bed of rice and serve with salad and yogurt! Enjoy.

05/13/2026

When the Mac and CHEESE Queen needs a Cheesecake recipe she can nail, I deliver. The dreamiest creamiest cheesecake ever. The only recipe you ever need. This cheesecake has been made by thousands of you and delivers every single time.

Crust:
21 whole sheets of Graham Crackers
6 tbsp Sugar
8 tbsp Melted Butter

Cheesecake:
2 lbs Cream Cheese
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
14 oz Sour Cream
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
4 Eggs

Make the graham cracker crust and press it into a double foil-wrapped 9 inch springform pan. Line the top oven rack with foil, shiny side up to prevent the top of the cheesecake from burning. Beat cream cheese until smooth, then mix in sugar, salt, vanilla, sour cream, and eggs one at a time. Pour over crust, tap out air bubbles, and bake at 325°F with a water bath underneath for about 1 hour, until set but still jiggly. Let cool gradually in the TURNED OFF oven 30 minutes, then on the counter 2 hours. Chill at least 6 hours or overnight. Loosen edges, remove pan, and top as desired. Slice with a hot, clean knife for neat pieces.

I misspoke and I actually used a 9 inch pan. You can also soften the cream cheese in hot water in its sealed foil for about thirty minutes.

Full detailed recipe on Catastrophiccook.com
tiniyounger

05/06/2026

Sourdough can be very intimidating, but once you get a feel for it I promise you it’s just more time consuming than anything else. I’m going to post a series on feeding ratios and dough expectations so keep a lookout!

Simple Sourdough (2 loaves):

Prepare your starter the night before. I feed my starter a 1:10:10 ratio.

14 grams starter
140 grams flour
140 grams water. Cover and set aside for 12-16 hours.

The next morning, add 700 grams of water and mix it till frothy. Now add 1000 grams flour. Mix till it’s all incorporated and you have a shaggy dough. Set aside covered for 1 hour.

1 hour later you add 20 grams of salt and just pinch it in. Set aside for ten minutes to rest. Now do stretch and folds till dough is rougher to work with. About 2-5 minutes. Cover and set aside for an hour.

1 hour later do 4 stretch and folds and if you want you can also do a coil fold. Cover and set aside for another hour.

If your dough is bubbly, jiggly and pulling from the sides it’s time to cut it. If not repeat the stretch and fold and set aside for an hour.

Allow your dough to fall out of the bowl on its own. You don’t want to deflate it. Cut into to loaves and roughly shape and rest for 10 minutes. Flatten and stretch rested dough. Shape and pinch seams and place in a floured basket. Cover and allow to rise in the fridge for 12 hours.

Preheat your oven to 450 F with your Dutch oven in it. Flip your dough into parchment or on a silicone sling. Score it and place in the Dutch oven. I put a handful of rice underneath to prevent burning and a few ice cubes to help it steam. Cover and bake at 450 for 35 min. Uncover and lower heat to 400 and bake 20-30 min until nice and golden. Cool for at least thirty minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

05/03/2026

It’s National Matcha Day and nothing compares to the one we make at home! My fave matcha is from .koyamaen_official

4 g matcha
40 grams warm water
120 g milk
30 grams sweetener

04/29/2026

One of my closest friends is Afghan , and she happens to be an amazing cook. She came over and took the time to show me how to make mantu because she knows how much I love it. And now I’m gonna show you.

Mantu

DUMPLINGS
1 pack Gyoza wrappers
3/4 lb ground beef
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 tbsp coriander

SPLIT PEA SAUCE
1/2 cup yellow split peas, soaked then boiled till tender
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp coriander
Salt to taste

YOGURT SAUCE
1 cup yogurt
1/4 cup Lemon juice
Water (adjust as necessary)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp Dried mint

Fresh cilantro and dried mint to garnish.

Sauté the ground beef in the oil till cooked through. Add the onion, garlic, and spices. Add a little water and cook down. Stuff the filling into the gyoza wrappers and steam or freeze. If freezing, freeze on a sheet pan till solid the put in a bag. Steam from frozen.

Soak and cook the split peas. Dice the tomatoes and cook with garlic and tomato paste. Add the split peas and salt and coriander. Add water if necessary.

Make the yogurt sauce and set aside. You want a thin pourable consistency.

Plate math by spreading yogurt first. Add cooked dumplings, top with split pea sauce. Drizzle with more yogurt and garnish with dried mint and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

04/23/2026

I’ve been so intentional with small changes in our life to help keep us healthier as well as reduce as much waste as I can. I’ve been wanting I garden for so long and have done well with small things but decided to really try and expand on it this year. But one of my big things was wanting to reduce our food waste and really use up everything! That’s where comes in. This composter has been life changing. We’ve reduced our food waste and trash by so much and everything that feeds us now feeds our plants and the cycle keeps repeating. It doesn’t smell, it’s so easy to use, and all around amazing.

04/22/2026

As if my cheesecake could get any better I’ve transformed it into minis. So much easier to make and it feeds a crowd! This makes 48 regular sized cupcake cheesecakes. Feel free to halve the recipe if you want less.

Mini Cheesecakes

31 graham cracker sheets (490 grams)
9 tbsp sugar
1 cup melted butter

4 blocks cream cheese (32oz)
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
14 oz sour cream
4 eggs

1/4 cup Mexican sour cream
2 tbsp condensed milk or sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream

Crush your graham crackers. Mix in the sugar. Add the butter and mix well. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out one scoop into each liner. Shake the pan to even out. Press down firmly with a slat bottom cup. Set aside.

Put the cream cheese in its sealed foil package in hot water for about 20 minutes. I do this while I do the crust.

Once it’s soft add to a bowl with the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Cream well. Add the sour cream. Mix well scraping the bottom. Add eggs one at a time creaming well between each. Pour on top of crust and bake for 9 min at 325 F. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Gently remove from the pan and place on a sheet pan. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Top with sour cream topping and fruit. Enjoy!

04/13/2026

🍓Fresas Con Crema🍓

The way this dessert has me in a chokehold. I’ve been eating this everyday for two weeks!

You can prep the cream an store in the fridge. Don’t mix into strawberries till you’re ready to eat!

24 oz .foods Mexican sour cream
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
2lbs strawberries

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