Easy Breakfast Idea

If you are like many Americans, you may have football obsessed weekends during the fall where you tend to eat way too much.  So when I was coming up with a breakfast plan for Sunday morning for our two guests and us, I decided to keep it simple and relatively light.

Pigs in a blanket are very easy to assemble.  Just buy a package of crescent rolls and cut each roll into two pieces.  Then roll them around a little smokie (we used all beef) and bake them according to the package directions.  You could buy these pre-assembled in the frozen section.  But this is so easy, why not just do it yourself?

They are buttery, sweet, and savory.  I think they are irresistibly delicious little bits.  

To round out our sort of healthy breakfast, we sliced up a bunch of fresh fruits and macerated them in their own juices.  Just lightly stir them together in a bowl and you will have essentially created your own fruit cocktail, but without all that unhealthy syrup they pack them into.

We served this all with a light lemonade, yogurt, and coffee.  It was the perfect size breakfast after stuffing ourselves the night before.  It made for a great start to our Sunday.

Caramelized Onion Tartlets

"They're just darling.  I love them!" my wife exclaimed after we were finished making these.  This dish was truly a joint collaboration.  We were like Lennon & McCartney working together on this one.  We needed to make a side dish to bring to an office party and we intended to make a pumpkin & squash guacamole for a fall-themed dish.  But when we got to the store, the avocados and squash were not up to par.  So enter Plan B.

As the title suggests, you are going to start by caramelizing onions.  Slice onions in half and then into thin strips.  Add them to a pan with butter over medium-low heat.  Add salt to draw out some moisture from the onions and help them caramelize.  This process takes a really long time.  The temptation is to turn up the heat, or stop before they're really caramelized.  But good things come to those who wait.  A chef told me it could take up to 45 to do them right.

Meanwhile, roll out some pie crust dough and cut it into very little rounds.  Then place them in a mini muffin tin and bake according to the directions.  Remove them from the tins and let them cool on a rack.

Next, mix together crème fraîche with finely chopped chives in a small bowl.  Crème fraîche is similar to sour cream, but it is less sour and has a higher viscosity and fat content.  What that means to you is there is a mild, tangy taste with a smoother mouth feel.  You may be able to substitute Greek yogurt here; but I wouldn't use just sour cream.  Fill your cooled tartlet shells with a small scoop of the mixture.

Once your caramelized onions have cooled, grab a small fork and start topping the little shells full your crème fraîche mixture.  Try to twirl the onions a little like spaghetti on your fork so they sit nicely atop the pie shells. These are finger food; and you don't want them to be too messy.

The pie crust is sweet and flaky, the crème fraîche mixture is cool and rich, and then the caramelized onions add another later of sweet, buttery goodness to top it all off.  I think these were really great, and at least two people pulled my wife aside at the party to tell her how good they were.  When you have a whole smorgasbord of foods to chose from, it's nice to stand out.

Family Dinner

I posted a blog yesterday for Beer Can Chicken that I made while my parents were in town visiting.  We decided to cook dinner at home since we had lunch out at a restaurant.  After the weekend was over, my wife actually told me that was her favorite part of the weekend.  She opened a bottle of wine, got out the nice serving dishes, and we got to enjoy a nice family meal together.

The picture above shows what went into that.  The chicken description can be found in the previous blog post.  But we also made sweet potato chips.  This is another favorite at our house.  Sweet potatoes are kind of a super food because they are full of nutrients.  A lot of restaurants serve sweet potato fries, and this is basically the same thing.  We slice them into round chips; but the main difference is that we bake them instead of frying them.

If you have a mandolin, that would slice them into perfectly uniform chips.  But I have been trying to improve my knife skills, so I sliced them myself.  Don’t make them too thick or they won’t have the same feel.  And if you slice them too thin, you run the risk of burning them.  But we toss them in a little olive oil.  A little.  You will be surprised at just how small of an amount will coat them nicely.  So don’t be tempted to use too much.  Then season them with salt & pepper and put them on a baking sheet.  Bake them for about 25-30 minutes, flipping once.

The second side was Mustard-Braised Brussel Sprouts.  If any picky eaters (or kids) are reading this, they probably instantly went “Yuck!”

This is a dish I invented a while back.  I started by sautéing little pieces of summer sausage in a pan.  You can use any type of pork here, and it’s even fine without any.  In this instance, I just used ham.  Then slice off the ends of the sprouts and cut them into little wedges.  Toss them into the pan and add Dijon mustard and either red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.  As always, use salt & pepper to season to taste.

Toss them around to coat them evenly and cook until they are tender.  They are sharp and bitter, but not in a bad way.  If you like mustard, or the tangy vinegar taste, you’ll love these.  I actually make them quite often.

Beer Can Chicken

Chicken is a very humble ingredient.  It is often the least expensive among the Entrée choices at a nicer restaurant.  When you’re given a wedding reception RSVP card and presented with the choice of chicken or (anything else), chances are you go with the other option.  But I wanted to give chicken a chance to shine.

My parents were in town visiting, and that gave me the opportunity to try something new.  There are no better guinea pigs than people who have a full-time job of always being supportive toward you.  Plus, my dad has been trying new recipes when we come to visit.  So we figured I should push myself to try something new as well.

I had never even eaten this before.  But I’ve heard about it several times over the years, and it always gets really good reviews.  You start with a whole chicken, with the neck and gizzards removed.  Rinse it inside & out, and then pat it dry with a paper towel.  Brush the bird with vegetable oil and season liberally on both the outside as well as the inside cavity.  You could use butter instead of vegetable oil, but don’t use olive oil.  Vegetable oil has a higher burning point.  This dish will be cooking on the grill for a while, and you don’t want that burnt taste in your mouth.

Pour out (or better yet, drink) half of a can of beer.  Then I actually put dried onion & minced garlic inside the beer can.  Prop the bird on top of the beer can with the legs and the can forming a tripod.  

The beer can is going to steam the bird from the inside and keep the meat really moist and juicy.  The malt & barley are also supposed to react well with chicken to release a lot of delicious flavors.  Cook the bird over medium-high, indirect, heat for 1 hr 15 minutes until it is cooked through.  Then I took it off the can and cooked it directly over the heat for a few minutes to crisp up the skin.

It was really tender, juicy, and full of flavor!  I think it was definitely a great idea, and I’ll be doing it again some time for sure.  This was no humble bird at all.  In fact, it was quite regal.

Fish Tacos

My brother used to live in Dallas and one night he took us out to eat for "great fish tacos".  Being a Midwestern guy, I thought the idea sounded really weird.  He told me they were great, everyone local loved them, and I had to try them.  They were pretty darn good, I'll have to admit.  It was maybe just a thing I wasn't used to up here.  Growing up we basically just had ground beef in our tacos.  If you went to a restaurant, then we could venture out to pork, chicken, steak, or carnitas.

About a year ago I made my first fish tacos on a whim.  I like to buy those frozen fish fillets and bake them in the oven.  I know it's not fancy, but I'm a kid at heart ... and I always loved fish sticks.  This are a little more grown up than fish sticks, but not too far off.  Anyway, at some point I decided to cut them in half lengthwise and throw them into a tortilla.  It went over really well with my better half.  And fish tacos were born at our house.

I assembled a lot of fresh ingredients to offset a frozen filet of fish.  I diced up a fresh tomato, cut up some green onions & cilantro, and shredded lettuce and cheddar cheese:

Then I made my own spicy aioli.  Aioli is a fancy way of saying mayonnaise.  In this case I take some mayo and added hot sauce and lime juice.  Sometimes I'll use a little seasoning salt or celery salt, but this time I minced up a slice of dill pickle.  And of course, I have been using my pickled peppers at every chance I get. So those got to join the party too.

I like to heat up the tortillas first, and then just spread the aioli  and start adding your fresh toppings to the fish fillets.  It was crunchy, spicy, rich, and delicious.  I recommend giving it a shot if you're looking to mix things up a bit.  I'm glad I did.

Snacks

Snacks are an important thing for you to control in your lives.  This blog isn't only about fancier meals.  I will occasionally write about practical items you can prepare quickly, without sacrificing flavor.  It's easy to grab a bag of chips, cookies, ice cream, etc. when you're hungry.  But this is where a lot of hidden calories lie in our daily routines.  It's like that discretionary cash that you can't really account for in your budget.  You know the big items, but it's the little impulse things that slowly add up.  I have a good control of breakfast, lunch, and dinner in terms of how many calories I'm consuming in a given day.  But then later in the evening, that snack craving sneaks up on me.

This dish doesn't involve any cooking.  You are just assembling.  But it's a healthy way to satisfy those snack cravings.  You'll get full too, which is always important.  But just as importantly, you'll get to enjoy a crunch, a richness, and sweetness that will hopefully keep you from snacking again later in the evening.

This parfait pictured is strawberry-banana yogurt with sliced bananas, granola, and fresh raspberries.  One of my personal favorites is vanilla yogurt, granola, and blueberries.  But this one is also very good.  If you want to bulk it up a little more, sometimes I dice in an apple.

I use Dannon Light & Fit yogurt because it is only 90 calories, instead of the 150 found in most yogurts.  It isn't any smaller or less flavorful either.  Their vanilla is probably my favorite of any brand.  We get Kashi Go Lean granola.  Be careful with the granola, though, because while it seems like a health food it actually has a lot of calories.

A dietitian friend of mine once told me that your snacks should try to have "protein & produce".  Here is her free advice:

If you are not eating a full size meal after working out, it's recommended to eat a snack of protein and complex carbohydrate such as:

 

fruit + cottage cheese

whole grain crackers + tuna (don't eat albacore tuna everyday like my husband used to do due to mercury content, if you like tuna, use chunk light instead of albacore, or limit to 2 times per week)

string cheese + fruit

hummus (bean dip) + veggies - boring, but low calorie

yogurt + low fat granola

peanut butter + apple or PB sandwich

1 oz nuts + fruit

low fat milk + graham crackers

 

<whatever combination of the above should be about 200 calories or less, if it's a snack, that's why using fruit is a good choice. Don't drink juice, very high sugar content, or limit to 4 oz per day>

Spicy Cajun Stew

This recipe is a huge crowd pleaser, so be prepared to have this in your repitoire for the foreseeable future.  Everyone we have made it for loves it.  People always ask for the recipe, and the beauty of it all is how simple it is.  I’ll put the whole recipe below and you can see just how easy it is.

It was a gloomy, rainy, 50-60 degree day yesterday so we needed something to warm us up.  This is quite possibly the perfect dish to accomplish that.  We actually brought these ingredients with us last year to make a post football game meal for our friends at their house, and it was greeted with the usual fanfare.  It is great for football season.

You can buy either Polish sausage, kielbasa, or really any linked sausage for this.  Slice them into bite-sized pieces and sear them off in the bottom of a stock pot.  You want to get a nice caramelized crunchy glaze on the outside of the meat.  Then pour in the diced tomatoes and green chiles to deglaze the pot.  You should be smacked in the face with a wonderful aroma at this point.

If you like more heat, use two cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies.  And if you don’t like heat, then just use diced tomatoes.  Pour in the chicken stock and then add the drained chopped spinach and cook them together for a few minutes.  Throw in the rice and you’re done!  It’s really that simple.

You get great nutrients from the spinach and tomatoes, plus protein from the sausage and chicken stock, and grains from the whole wheat rice (yes, we use whole wheat here too).  This dish is spicy, tangy, sweet and utterly delicious.  I shared the recipe with a co-worker and she added shrimp to hers.  I suppose you can start adding variations to suit your own tastes.

Just be sure to serve this with either corn bread or some type of roll so you can soak up all that delicious broth from the bottom of your bowl.

Recipe: 

1 Package (16 oz.) fully cooked Polish Sausage or Kielbasa, cut into ¼ inch slices

2 Cans (10 oz. each) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained.

1 Can (14 ½ oz.) chicken broth

1 Package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

¾ cup uncooked instant rice (I use brown rice)

1. In a large skillet, sauté sausage until lightly browned; drain.  Add tomatoes and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in spinach.
2. Return to a boil; cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in the rice.  Cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Stir and serve.

Alfredo Pasta with Bacon & Cherry Tomatoes

You could make a home improvement commercial with our Sunday activities today.  The Mrs. painted our master bedroom while I handwashed & waxed both vehicles.  We were exhausted by the time dinner rolled around.  So we needed something to replenish our zapped strength.  Enter:  pasta.

I'm not the kind of person that says "everything is better with bacon".  I think it's too cliche.  And I think too many cooks use bacon as a crutch.  Now don't get me wrong, I love bacon.  Love it.  If it weren't so unhealthy for you, I could probably snack on bacon strips like a bag of chips.   

All that being said, it can add another dimension to a dish.  Bacon is smoky and salty and even a little sweet.  That's why it can compliment so many dishes.  I this instance we were using alfredo sauce.  We sliced fresh cherry tomatoes for some sweetness and a little acidity.  Then I chopped green onions for a little snap.  And we topped it with chopped bacon.  

To reiterate something I said in an earlier pasta blog:  salt the water first, cook the pasta until it is almost done, drain (but don't rinse), and then finish cooking it in the sauce.  It really soaked up the alfredo sauce and  made the noodles much more flavorful.  This way you get to eat the sauce, rather than having it left in the bottom of your bowl.

The pasta is filling, the alfredo is rich, and the tomato and bacon really round out the dish.  It hit the spot.  I also made some garlic cheese bread and a small side salad.  With that meal, and a good night's rest, we should be ready to go come Monday morning.

*A quick note on side salads.  We eat them a lot.  It's our way of getting a little vegetables when we're feeling guilty.  We just buy bag salads so you can throw them together quickly.  Then we almost always slice up some cherry tomatoes.  A nice twist that we really like is to mix in cilantro.  It really adds a new dimension into a simple salad ... for those of you who fall into the "like cilantro" crowd.  

Loaded Baked Potato

This is another great idea for something quick when you've had a long day.  In this instance, we just got back from the gym and were both hungry after long days of work & exercise.  This is a really hearty dish that will fill you up.  Plus, it's crazy easy to make.

I actually "bake" the potatoes in the microwave.  That saves a lot of time ... and carbon footprint.  Poke a lot of holes in the potatoes and toss them in the microwave for about 6-8 minutes.  You can test how done they are by slicing into them.  If it's hard & crunchy, it isn't ready yet.  You should easily be able to cut it open.

Then start going nuts with the toppings.  Most times, we use broccoli and cheese.  Classic loaded potato toppings.  But this time I used leftover pulled pork.  I also added my pickled jalapeno peppers and some fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden.  (See previous posts for pulled pork and pickled pepper recipes.)  The green you're seeing is actually radish greens that I sauteed in a little butter with minced onion and salt & pepper.  I made another sliced radish salad for use the next night, and thought "What the heck?   Let's try these greens!"  They were pretty nice, and a little bitter.  Top the whole thing with a little sour creme and your'e ready to go.

We had fresh rolls and little side caesar salads to finish off this quick weeknight meal.

Harvest Corn Chowder

The soup recipe comes from Gourmet Today which is a really great cookbook I got for Christmas from my grandpa a few years ago. The husband doesn't like the lack of pictures, but I feel pretty sure the results make up for it. I used a slightly cooler Sunday afternoon as an excuse to make the first Sunday night soup of the season. Homemade soup is almost certainly my #1 favorite type of food to cook. I like the process of spending time in the kitchen chopping and mixing and then having something bubbling away on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

This soup is a great combination of tasty and healthy. There is a little bit of cream and a little bit of bacon, but otherwise it's full of tons of vegetables and some chicken stock. I basically saute the onions, carrots, celery, and bell peppers until they're soft which is about 10 minutes.

Once the vegetables are soft add both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes. At this point the stock is added to make it a "soup", and it just needs time to cook and meld the flavors together. When the potatoes are soft I add lots of corn and little bit of cream. Top the soup with homemade bacon bits, tomato, and green onions, and that's it. Get a big bowl, some warm bread, and enjoy.

Whiskey & Coke Pulled Pork

This tailgate classic combines two of my very favorite things:  whiskey and pork.  These sandwiches were so good, we had probably eaten 7 or 8 of them before it even dawned on me to take a picture.  Thankfully there was still some left, since I made 5 lbs. 

We have made pulled pork probably three times before, but this is the best they have ever turned out.  This may make some of you angry, but I trimmed off most of the fat cap.  It tends to disintegrate into this unappetizing goo otherwise.  There is plenty of flavor in this dish without it.  Trust me.  Our guests did not leave hungry.

Start with a 4-5 lb pork shoulder.  If you’re lucky enough to live in the pork capitol of the world, this is no problem.  Then I cut it into four large hunks.  This will allow the meat to be broken down easier, plus it gives you more surface area to season.  Cover it liberally with salt & pepper on all sides.

In a crock pot, quarter an onion and separate it into large pieces. Then add ½ cup of BBQ sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, a can of cola and my secret ingredient:  whiskey.  Use 1-2 shots.  The alcohol will cook off, but you’ll be left with that nice smoky, oaky, caramely flavor of whiskey.  And to add even more smoky flavor, use 2 Tbsp of adobo sauce and top each slab of meat with a chipotle pepper that was packed in the adobo sauce. 

Turn the crock pot on low and let it go for 8 hours.  You may be tempted to turn it up, or open the lid to check on things, but let it go low & slow for 8 hours and you will be rewarded.  After 8 hours, take the pork out and put it onto a plate or a cutting board.  It will probably fall apart, so you will be scooping out some stray pieces with your tongs.  I poured out most of the liquid, keeping only a small amount left in the crock pot.  Then shred the meat using the tongs and a fork.  It should pull apart really easily.  Then toss it back in the crock pot, mix it with the remaining sauce, and turn it down to the warm setting.

We like to use some fresh little rolls, and serve them with pickles and mustard.  You could top them with coleslaw too.  That’s always a hit.

Korean Steak with Red Bell Peppers & Mash

If you have read the previous entry, you already know that I decided to make a Korean steak dish.  If you haven’t read it, the ingredients and technique are all there.  Just scroll down, or click on the link over to the right.

I grilled the steak whole.  I got my grill nice & hot, and then put the “seasoned” side of the steak down first.  (The side facing up in the Marinade picture)  Then I actually poured a bit of the marinade onto the steak while it was on the grill to baste it.  I wanted to get a hard sere on the meat to lock in the juices. I flipped the steak over and did the same on the other side.  Then I reduced the heat and flipped it back at an angle to create that great lattice-work grill marking the restaurants do.  One final flip to do the same on the other side and we’re done.  The whole process took about 7-8 minutes.  I like to wear a watch while I’m grilling so I know the time.  But I also poke at the steak with my finger to test how done the meat is.  You don’t want to overcook it and make it tough.  It should still be soft and plump.

Then get it off the grill and set it aside to rest.  If you cut into it right away, you will loose tons of juice which will dry out your steak, make it tougher, and let a lot of good flavor escape.  So please, let it rest a few minutes.

While the steak was grilling I also julienned some red bell peppers into long strips.  I took a pan out to the grill and cooked them in some olive oil and a seasoning mix of onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Really simple seasonings.

I also had another pan with some broccoli, butter, dried onion flakes, salt & pepper.

During this time, the Mrs. made some mashed potatoes.  She was really sneaky about this, and I didn’t even notice until I had eaten several bites.  But she snuck cauliflower into them!  I thought it was just a little chunkier mash.  You can only really notice the flavor once it has been pointed out.  But it’s a great way to sneak vegetables in on your kids … or a man-sized kid such as myself.

I sliced the steak thin, across the grain.  Then served it atop the mashed potatoes with the red peppers underneath.  It was really flavorful, moist, and quite delicious.  I’m clearly an Iowa boy (“The Hawkeye Plate”), so meat & potatoes are in my blood.  But this is a fun way to deviate from the normal steak & baked potato route.  Give it a shot some day.

Marinades

There are many steak purists out there who believe you should only ever use salt & pepper.  Let the beef speak for itself, and all that.  While I believe that is true for the nicest cuts of steak, I think a good marinade can really elevate a lesser piece of meat.  Outside of beef steaks, I think marinades can be really great on chicken or pork chops as well.  I have even developed my own special marinade for pork chops.   I’m sure I’ll get to that soon enough.

This week I was planning to make some pork chops.  Then we saw some Korean cooking on TV and got inspired.  This picture is the marinade that I used for what started as a modest piece of meat. 

First I took a fork and poked holes all through the meat to tenderize it.  This will break through some muscle and connective tissue to make the meat softer.  It will also create little pores to allow more of the marinade to be absorbed.

I used molasses & soy sauce as the base for my marinade.  I also used a dash (or two) or Sriracha sauce, which is a spicy Asian chili sauce.  Then I added garlic & ginger.  Some people will insist that you use fresh garlic & ginger, but I was working with what was on hand.  And I believe them to be perfectly suitable substitutes.  There are plenty of bold flavors here.  Then I added lime juice for some acidity.  This will also help to tenderize the meat.  Finally, I chopped up some cilantro and mixed it all together in a bowl.  Pour this over your meat, cover it, and let it sit for at least 2 hours and up to 6 in the refrigerator.

Tune in tomorrow to see how it turned out.

Omelets

I have heard experienced celebrity chefs say that if you can cook eggs, you can cook anything.  That gave me a lot of confidence because eggs are one of the first things I learned to cook for myself.  I started out by making cheesy scrambled eggs, but now I can do scrambled, over-easy, sunny-side up, fried, soft boiled, hard boiled, omelets, and frittatas.  I have yet to try a poached egg.  I guess that’s something I need to put on my cooking bucket list.

I actually learned how to cook omelets in Family and Consumer Science (home-ec) class in ninth grade.  I have subsequently improved my technique quite a bit, if I must say so myself.  And since nobody else is writing this blog for me, I must.  I have been told that my presentation looks professional.  There is one small blemish in my photo … and that’s driving me nuts.  But oh well, you can’t make an omelet without slightly tearing a few eggs.  

You can put any number of ingredients inside an omelet.  In this case, the filling is the topping from my “summer vegetable goulash” so it was full of fresh vegetables and sausage.  It was quite delicious.  In other cases I would sauté the vegetables first so they are cooked when I put them inside the omelet.

Crack your eggs into a separate bowl.  You don’t want any shells in your pan.  I like to use a small to medium sized round non-stick pan over medium-low heat.  Whisk the eggs a lot.  You want to incorporate air into them so they will be light and fluffy.  I don’t add milk because my chef friend told me not to.  I trust him on these things.

Get a little butter melted in your pan.  This will give it that nice golden brown color, and help to keep the eggs from sticking.  Pour the eggs in and let them go until they set up.  I like to shred a little cheese into mine and add some salt & pepper.  I don’t flip.  Some people do, but I don’t.  I add in the toppings into one side of the pan.  The carefully lift up on the other side and fold it over.  Let it continue in the pan a minute or so, so the egg & cheese kind of bind together.  Then slide it out of your pan and top with a little more cheese and salt & pepper.

There.  That wasn’t so hard, was it?

Mise en Place

Mise en place (pronounced [miz on plas], literally "putting in place") is a French phrase defined by the Culinary Institute of America as "everything in place", as in set up. (Wikipedia.com)

This will really help you in your cooking.  Timing is one of the most difficult things to master when you’re cooking.  Few things will stress you out more than being “in the weeds” and trying to chop something quickly while your food is over-cooking.

Prepping your food ahead of time will really make things much smoother.  These are ingredients that I chopped up for my “Summer Vegetable Goulash”.  I had all the vegetables ready to be added along with the seasonings and other ingredients I would need.  There are all sorts of handy kitchen gadgets that will help you chop, dice, and mince.   But I’m trying to improve my knife skills -- so I like doing stuff like this.

Of course if you have a sous chef, you could leave this work for them.  But how many home cooks have a sous chef just hanging around?