Trader Joe’s does it again with Black Forest Bacon
Posted by Mike Farley (05/02/2013 @ 5:25 pm)
It seems like every week when we visit Trader Joe’s for a family grocery shopping experience, there are new products that catch my attention and somehow become pulled by gravity into the shopping cart. This can be good and bad–good because more often than not, it’s something delicious and unique or both. Bad because it’s typically something we want to eat and not stop eating.
Such is the case with Trader Joe’s Black Forest Bacon. You know what’s crazy though? There is almost no information on this stuff online. It’s like they are sort of trying to keep it top-secret. Which is fine, because that means more for me and for my wife. But mostly for me (shhhhh). I did find this contest on Food & Wine and while there are some TJ’s bacons on here, I don’t have to try anything on this list to know that the Black Label will whip their bacon asses all up and down that page.
Why is it so good? Well, it crisps up beautifully, meaning it’s tender and the fat becomes something of a liquid pork rind (which is, well, what it is), and the bacon slice itself is bursting with flavor and crispness. It also has no fake taste whatsoever, as it’s real smoked and uncured and has a nice dry rub, but it’s even more remarkable that even if you slightly burn it (which you almost have to to get it crisp), it doesn’t even taste burnt. I don’t know how they do it, but they do, and they do so in my house almost every day lately. We now buy two packs at a time, and might ramp up to three this weekend. I mean, you never know when you will have a bacon emergency, right?
Posted in: Grocery stores, Product Reviews, Your Kitchen
Tags: bacon, bacon contests, bacon for guys, best bacon ever, best bacon on the planet, crispy bacon, delicious bacon, food for dudes, Grub For Guys, guilty pleasure, midnight snack, Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's Black Label Uncured Dry Rub Bacon
Spicy dogs and chili and mustard and olives
Posted by Mike Farley (12/12/2012 @ 6:23 pm)
I’ve talked probably more than I’d care to admit that I’m trying to lose a few pounds. Aren’t we all this time of year?
Anyway, and maybe fortunately or unfortunately, I find loopholes in Weight Watchers’ point system. Maybe they are not loopholes, but they are ideas of healthy deliciousness. In the case of one of my favorite foods, the hot dog, I made this kickass lunch the other day–two fat free white meat turkey franks (thank you Ballpark) on Brownberry white Italian bread, and made two kinds. One had a Kosciusko spicy brown mustard and a small amount of Tony Packo’s Hot Dog Sauce (this stuff is remarkable and by that I mean tasty as hell); and the other had a (literally) kickass Beaver Brand jalapeno mustard and some spicy That Pickle Guy muffalatta style olive salad.
First of all, these hot dogs are fantastic. They do not taste fat free in the least, they are delicious, and they are mild enough to let the other toppings shine. And since I’m eating these dogs like two or three times a week, I’ve become more interested in trying different mustards. Which makes it convenient that we have the National Mustard Museum here in Madison.
And hey, it’s almost lunch time and this post is making me hungry. And I think I know what I want for lunch!
Posted in: Food on a Budget, Grocery stores, Healthy, Ingredients, Product Reviews, Recipes, Your Kitchen
Tags: Ballpark Franks, Beaver Brand spicy jalapeno mustard, Brownberry white Italian bread, easy healthy lunch, easy lunch, fat free white turkey franks, food for dudes, Grub For Guys, healthy hot dogs, hot dogs, Kosciusko mustard, lunch for guys, Madison, National Mustard Museum, spicy food, That Pickle Guy spicy muffalatta olive salad, Tony Packo's hot dog sauce, Weight Watchers
Mikey gives props to…..
Posted by Mike Farley (12/06/2012 @ 3:32 pm)
Cooking Light Magazine–I’ve mentioned on here before that I am on Weight Watchers. Yes, it sometimes affects and stifles my creativity as a home cook, but it also opens up possibilities and challenges me. Well, I recently started subscribing to Cooking Light Magazine. And of all of the food magazine recipes I’ve made lately, almost everything we’ve tried the past two weeks from their 25th anniversary edition have been phenomenal. Here are a few you can try that we did:
 Creamy Four-cheese Macaroni & Cheese–You will not believe how few calories this is per serving. I defy anyone to find me a full-fat recipe that is as good as this one.
 Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis–Some of the best meat loaf we have ever had. It helps that you can use full-fat cheddar, and being in Wisconsin, we have some good cheddar.
 Top Chef: Seattle–I need to be honest. I am a fan of the Top Chef brand, but have found Curtis Stone hosting Top Chef Masters to be grating. And their new Life After Top Chef is kind of so-so. But the original, which now is in Season 10 for Top Chef Seattle, remains one of the best shows on television, cooking show or otherwise. Bravo to Bravo and to Magical Elves production. I mean, I’d rather look at and listen to Padma Lakshmi than Curtis, and Tom Colicchio is like the Godfather of the show, but every season they do not disappoint with the collection of chefs, and with the episodes and challenges. It’s just a fun show to watch and guaranteed to make home chefs inspired.
 Home Run Inn Frozen Pizza–This is hands down the best frozen pizza on the planet. It comes from Chicago, so I’m not sure if they ship beyond the proximity of the Midwest, but my goodness. The crust is ridiculous–it tastes like fresh bakery bread. The sauce is perfectly simple with no garlic whatsoever, unlike many sauces on other frozen brands that ruin the pizza that way. The cheese is just mozzarella. And now they have thin crust varieties that are Weight Watchers friendly–for real.
Posted in: Chefs and Restaurants, Food on a Budget, Food TV, Grocery stores, Healthy, Ingredients, On the Grille, Product Reviews, Recipes, Your Kitchen
Tags: best frozen pizza, Bravo, cheesy mini meat loaves, Chicago, Cooking Light Magazine, Cooking Light recipes, Curtis Stone, easy recipes for guys, easy recipes for men, food for dudes, Grub For Guys, Home Run Inn frozen pizza, macaroni and cheese, Magical Elves, Mikey props, Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, Top Chef 10, Top Chef Seattle, Weight Watchers
Football season = smoked meats time
Posted by Mike Farley (09/17/2012 @ 10:16 pm)
One of my favorite things about football season is that while there is a chill in the air outside (for the most part, as even in Wisconsin we have some pretty warm weather through September) is that it’s a great time to break out the indoor smoker my wife bought me a few years ago. And while typically I make chicken wings in my Cameron Indoor Smoker, and occasionally ribs–the first two weeks of the season I went a tad healthier to honor the fact that I’m trying to lose weight.
Last week it was chicken tenders–extremely easy as I put them in the smoker frozen, sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled with salt, pepper and other spices. The cooking time is minimal compared to the low and slow time needed to “tenderize” wings and ribs. I am pretty sure the chicken smoked for about three hours and came out perfect, albeit maybe slightly overcooked before I finished the tenders on the grill. I mixed up some homemade ranch dip by mixing light mayo, light sour cream, a splash of vinegar, onion and garlic powder and salt and pepper. Perfection.
Then yesterday I made a flank steak in the smoker. And it was made even more perfect by the fact that I was in Nashville this past weekend, and picked up some Loveless Cafe dry rub–an awesome sweet, spicy and savory blend to rub on meat before grilling or smoking it. I had the steak in the freezer, so also put that right in the smoker frozen and rubbed it generously with the spice mix. Then I smoked it for about four hours until tender and slapped it on the grill for about five minutes. Done deal: meat snacks! It’s like homemade jerky, but more like a combination of thick steak and jerky that is nicely smoked and seasoned.
Posted in: Food TV, Healthy, Ingredients, On the Grille, Product Reviews, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen
Tags: Cameron indoor smoker, chicken tenders, easy football food, easy smoked meats, flank steak, food for dudes, football season, Grub For Guys, indoor smoker, Loveless Cafe dry rub, man food, Nashville, NFL Sundays, ranch dip, ribs, smoked meats, wings
Easy chicken barley soup
Posted by Mike Farley (08/20/2012 @ 10:29 pm)
 Finally things are starting to cool down, and when “soup weather” is upper 70′s, you know we have a problem. But hey, this blog is about the food, right? And it felt good to make some soup last night and eat some for lunch today. Not the open a can type of soup, but the real, from-scratch kind. And as with most of my recipes for this blog, I try to keep things simple, so here is how I made it…..
Ingredients
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast half, diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
Salt and pepper
1 carton (32 oz.) chicken broth
1/2 cup quick cooking barley
1/2 tsp. each–dried basil, oregano, thyme
Pinch of garlic powder
Pinch of onion powder
Directions
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken, and stir until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Add carrots, celery and onion and stir/cook for about 3-4 minutes, adding a generous pinch of both salt and pepper. Add chicken broth, barley and spices, and bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover loosely and simmer for about 15 minutes. You can add more broth or water if the soup is too thick. Serves 4, or 2 really hungry people.
That’s it–simple and it tastes really good! I should add that I really like Trader Joe’s Free Range Chicken Broth. It really makes the soup.
Posted in: Food on a Budget, Healthy, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen
Tags: chicken barley soup, chicken vegetable barley soup, easy barley soup, easy chicken soup, easy lunch, easy soup, food for dudes, Grub For Guys, guilty pleasure, healthy lunch, midnight snack, soup, warm weather food
Product review: Barilla microwaveable meals
Posted by Mike Farley (08/08/2012 @ 8:34 pm)
This has nothing to do with the fact that one of my publicist contacts sent me some pasta to review–but Barilla is my favorite store-bought pasta. So I was thrilled that Barilla has new microwaveable meals. I’ve tried other versions of easy pasta like this, and kind of went into this a tad skeptical, but Barilla exceeded my expectations. There are five varieties–Mezze Penne with Tomato & Basil; Mezze Penne with Traditional Marinara Sauce; Mezze Penne with Spicy Marinara (my favorites); Whole Grain Fusilli with Vegetable Marinara Sauce; and Whole Grain Mezze Penne with Tomato & Basil Sauce.
Not only does Barilla have delicious pasta that cooks up nicely al dente, but this pre-cooked variety was very similar to Barilla pasta that you would make yourself. And these microwaveable meals are incredibly easy to make. You fold back the edge to “vent” the sauce, and warm for one minute. You peel back the entire top, and the sauce portion comes out, after which you pour it over the pasta and stir. A monkey could do this, and I mean that literally. Not only was it easy but tasty–we tried all but the fusilli, and the pasta was perfectly cooked and the sauce tasty as well. The best part of these meals is that they do not taste processed. So often meals like this have sauces that taste like (and probably are) re-constituted powder–not these Barilla meals. They are a home run in every way.
Oh, wait, since we’re talking baseball, here are the other stats–all of the meals are 320 calories or less with no artificial ingredients; they have 9 to 11 grams of protein and are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin A; and the whole grain varieties are a good source of iron.
Posted in: Grocery stores, Healthy, Product Reviews, Your Kitchen
Tags: Barilla, Barilla microwaveable meals, Barilla pasta, basil, easy lunches, easy meals, fusilli, Grub For Guys, guilty pleasures, marinara, microwave meals, microwave pasta, microwaveable lunches, midnight snacks, penne, spicy marinara, tomato
The Fourth–hot dog time
Posted by Mike Farley (07/03/2012 @ 4:44 pm)
Last week I celebrated the 4th of July early with one of the synonymous food items for it–the hot dog. Specifically, I had a two-dog Chicago style dog rolled up in a tortilla. And really, this is a great way to have a dog with all those toppings, because you don’t have toppings all over your plate or the floor. It mostly all goes in your mouth. And also, it’s an easy way to slide two dogs into your bread vehicle.
So what goes on the Chicago? Any combo of this–yellow mustard, tomatoes, onions, sweet relish (neon green if you can find it), pickles, cucumber, hot peppers and celery salt. And it is best with all beef dogs, but that is not at all necessary. For me, I can’t eat raw onions without heartburn and bad breath, so I do myself and my wife a favor and omit those.
But really, you can also come up with all sorts of combos to top a dog. It’s the 4th, right? Also, the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest is on ESPN, another tradition that we have–going to our local parade, and then watching the contest and eating a dog (or 50!). Have a great holiday everyone, and make sure to hand your keys to someone if you have too many (drinks that is, not hot dogs).
Posted in: Ingredients, On the Grille, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen
Tags: celery salt, Chicago dogs, cucumbers, food for dudes, fourth of July, Grub For Guys, guilty pleasure, hot dog eating contest, hot dogs, hot peppers, July 4th food, July 4th hot dogs, July 4th recipes, midnight snacks, mustard, Nathan's, neon green relish, onions, pickles, sweet relish, yellow mustard
More pizza and eggs
Posted by Mike Farley (06/27/2012 @ 6:17 pm)
 I recently whipped up a kickass omelet using cut up pizza as the filling. It’s a combination that I’m not sure why it’s not done more. So when I was in upstate New York last week visiting family, and had the most awesome pizza from Bud’s Place, I commented that this pizza was so good, I might have to have it for breakfast with my eggs in the morning. And I wasn’t joking.
So the next day, I heated up a slice of pizza (my sister showed me that the best way to re-heat pizza is in a frying pan, and she was right). Then I fried an egg, sunny side up, and slipped that right onto the pie. Pure heaven. Seriously, I wasn’t hung over but if you can think of a better hangover food combination, tell me what it is.
Man, I’m hungry now. I wish I had some pizza on hand!
Posted in: Chefs and Restaurants, Food on a Budget, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen
Tags: breakfast food, easy breakfast, easy hangover food, easy lunch, eggs, food for dudes, Grub For Guys, guilty pleasure, hangover food, midnight snack, perfect hangover food, pizza, pizza and eggs
Wing Sauce Wednesday–gazpacho revisited
Posted by Mike Farley (06/13/2012 @ 10:20 pm)
note: this photo is not mine, but it looks a lot like my gazpacho
I posted a recipe a couple years back called Guy Gazpacho on Bullz-Eye’s Grub for Guys section, and I re-posted it here last May. And I thought that now is a good time to re-visit that one, because it’s getting brutally hot outside everywhere, and because tomatoes are coming into season, as are cucumbers and peppers. Plus, hey, it’s Wednesday, and that means it’s a great time to have another Wing Sauce Wednesday column. That’s because wing sauce is one of the secret ingredients of my gazpacho.
If you, like me, love Buffalo wing sauce and feel like you’d be really happy just doing shots of it, this is the soup for you. It has 2 tablespoons of wing sauce, but I have started adding more like 3-4 per batch. The other secret ingredient for me? Avocado. It gives the soup a nice smooth texture and taste. I also do not use onions or raw garlic as many chefs would, because my stomach is not a fan of that stuff in its raw state. But you could certainly add some of either or both. There are no rules, but if you do make this gazpacho on Wing Sauce Wednesday, you should definitely add the sauce. Trust me, it’s worth it on Wednesday or any day.
Posted in: Green Living, Grocery stores, Healthy, Interviews, Recipes, Your Kitchen
Tags: avocado, Buffalo wing sauce, cold soup, cucumbers, easy gazpacho, easy soup, easy summer soup, food for dudes, garlic, gazpacho, Grub For Guys, onions, peppers, tomatoes, wing sauce, Wing Sauce Wednesday
Product review: Sheets Energy/Sleep Sheets
Posted by Mike Farley (06/11/2012 @ 10:41 pm)
Wake, or sleep?
That is the question if you’re looking for a boost in either direction, the folks at Sheets brand have the products for you that are as easy to take as those breath strips that have become so popular the last few years. That’s because they are strips–the kind that dissolve on your tongue within seconds.
 We reviewed the Energy Sheets a while back, and they recently sent us some samples of a new flavor–Mint Boost. These strips have no sugar, no calories and are loaded with B-vitamins, and they really taste good, similar to a fresh breath strip (which I need badly now because I’m on the South Beach diet!). There is a bit of caffeine as well (50 mg), which is about the amount of maybe a third of a cup of coffee. That might explain why I felt a jolt for a few minutes that did not last beyond that. So while the Sheets may give you some extra vitamins, I’d suggest grabbing a cup of coffee instead if you need that afternoon boost or need to stay awake while driving on the freeway at night.
 But the Sleep Sheets are a completely different story. I have an affinity for so-called “relaxation” drinks such as Serenity and Marley’s Mellow Mood. They all have a mixture of herbs and natural supplements such as melatonin and/or valerian root that promote relaxation and sleep. But the problem with these beverages is that, well, you have to pee a couple hours later, right as you’re in the midst of a kickass night’s sleep. Sleep Sheets won’t make you pee, and it has those same key ingredients such as melatonin, theanine and chamomile. And they have a nice minty flavor too. The best part….they work. Take this an hour or so before you plan to crash, and you will relax and fall asleep easily. I can’t recommend this product any more than I am right now!
Check out www.sheetsbrand.com for more information.
Posted in: Grocery stores, Healthy, Product Reviews
Tags: energy strips, Grub For Guys, natural energy aides, natural sleep aides, product review, product reviews, Sheets brand, sleep aides, sleep strips
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