Category: Food on a Budget (Page 10 of 12)

      Awesome turkey sandwich

      March 25, 2011 /

      I posted this on Grub for Guys a while back, and it’s a good choice if you’re watching your waistline and want a good manly sandwich. Check it out!

      You’ve probably read about the health benefits of whole grains, lean meats and healthy monounsaturated fats like those found in nuts, olives and avocados. Since I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist, I can only go by what I read, and I have read enough to know that those foods are good sources of vitamins and healthy nutrients. So what we’ve done here is come up with a sandwich that incorporates all of those things and tastes great too. And it’s pretty simple, provided you don’t wash it down with more than a few beers.

      Ingredients:
      2 slices 100% whole wheat bread (try to avoid the kind with high fructose corn syrup)
      4 oz. sliced lean turkey breast
      2 slices center cut bacon
      2-3 slices lettuce
      Homemade guacamole (recipe below)

      Guacamole:
      1 small or ½ large avocado
      2 Tbsp. salsa
      1 tsp. lime juice
      salt and pepper

      Directions:
      Cook bacon until crisp and set aside. To make guacamole, slice avocado in half and scoop out pulp, removing and discarding the pit as well. Place the pulp in a bowl, mash with a fork and add salsa, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. (you can add chopped onion if you like, but the flavor of raw onion is too strong for me). Spread guacamole on each slice of bread (it will be heaping, but that’s good). Layer turkey, bacon and lettuce on bread and close sandwich. Do not cut in half to retain your inner caveman. Serves 1, so double, triple or quadruple accordingly.

      Food on a Budget, Healthy, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Chicken, bean & spinach stew

      March 4, 2011 /

      Here is one of my favorite recipes that I came up with for my Grub for Guys column on Bullz-Eye.com. It’s chicken, bean and spinach stew–healthy, tangy, spicy and filling all at once. In fact, have some with some crusty bread and you have a meal. Heh-heh, I said crusty. Anyway, give this a shot and let me know what you think….

      So the summer is winding down and you’ve got that spare tire around your midsection. Longer daylight hours and warmer weather usually means lots of burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and cold beer—all delicious, yet all fattening. Well, here is a dish I came up with that is not only good for most diets, but packed with protein and vitamins. And oh yeah, it tastes really good. So this fall, if you’ve got 30-40 minutes to whip something up before the game starts, this stew is an easy and healthy option.

      Ingredients
      8-10 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed (2-3 breast halves)
      1 can Great Northern beans
      1 16 oz. bag baby spinach
      2 Tbsp. olive oil
      1 clove garlic
      ½ medium tomato, seeded and chopped
      ½ cup white wine
      ½ cup chicken broth
      salt & pepper to taste
      red pepper flakes
      Grated Parmesan cheese

      Directions:
      Heat oil in large, deep skillet. Sautee garlic 30 seconds, then add chicken. Stir fry for about 3-4 minutes or until chicken just starts to brown on the outside. Add wine and stir to loosen brown bits (for you guys who want to impress someone, this is called “de-glazing” the pan). Add spinach and chicken broth. Simmer for a few minutes until the spinach wilts. Add beans, tomato and salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Stir and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until sauce starts to thicken. Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan. Serves (about) four.

      Food on a Budget, Healthy, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Mini pizzas: Buffalo chicken and chili dog

      March 2, 2011 /

      Buffalo wings and chili dogs are, well, classic guy food. So when I had a few extra pizza crusts lying around once, I decided to experiment. And here is what happened…..

      Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Mini pizzas? That’s girl food. Well, not really, if you do them my way. I’m talking Buffalo chicken pizza and chili dog pizza. I mean, what says D-U-D-E like those food items? And since these are the kind of pizzas that can get messy, and possibly eaten with a knife and fork, they are best suited for the smaller size. But that doesn’t mean you can’t release your inner caveman and eat five or six of them. With that, here we go…..

      Buffalo Chicken Mini Pizza

      Ingredients
      1 small pre-baked pizza crust (my favorite is Mama Mary’s but Boboli works too)
      2-3 chicken tenders, uncooked
      ¼ cup Buffalo chicken sauce
      ¼ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
      1 small jalapeno pepper (raw, not pickled)
      salt and pepper
      cooking spray

      Directions:
      Even though these crusts are “pre-baked,” if you really want them to be crispy, pre-bake them yourself for 3 or 4 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken tenders with salt and pepper and grill them for 2-3 minutes per side, until no longer pink in the middle. At the same time, spray the jalapeno with cooking spray and grill it for the same amount of time, or until it’s slightly charred. Cut the chicken into small pieces, and put the pieces in a saucepan with the Buffalo sauce. Heat for 2-3 minutes until warmed through, then spread the chicken mixture on the crust. Top with the cheese. Then slice the grilled jalapeno pepper and put those slices on top of the cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to turn brown and bubbly.

      Chili Dog Pizza

      Ingredients
      1 small pre-baked pizza crust
      2 hot dogs
      1/3 cup chili without beans (I like Bush’s Best)
      ¼ cup Cheez Whiz
      A squirt of your favorite mustard

      Directions: As with the previous pizza, pre-bake the crust for a few minutes. Meanwhile, place the hot dogs in a pot of boiling water and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Remove them from the water, and slice into small pieces. Dump the water, return the hot dog pieces to the pot, and add the chili. Cook that over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until heated through. Meanwhile, nuke the Cheez Whiz for 20-30 seconds, and then spread that on the crust. Top with the hot dog mixture, and then bake for about 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Swirl some mustard on top, and eat.

      And not like I have to say this, but both of these go really well with beer. Yum.

      Food on a Budget, On the Grille, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Cajun Chicken Fettucine

      February 24, 2011 /

      This is one of those dishes that, when I think about it, makes my mouth start to water. Anything spicy and creamy at the same time that has a mound of pasta is good dude food in my book. This was originally published on Grub for Guys this past summer, but it might be more of a cold-weather dish. Anyway, give this a try and let me know what you think:

      Fettuccine Alfredo is one of those dishes you can only eat once in a while, because it has enough butter and cream and cheese to clog your arteries on the spot. But man, does it ever taste good. But for as good as the standard Alfredo is, the Cajun version is even better if you like spicy food. Actually, it borders on being the food equivalent of crack. I’ve experimented with my own Alfredo sauces, and I just recently attempted a Cajun version….it passed the test of both my wife and I, so I hope you’ll give it a shot. You might try washing it down with an amber colored beer or even a light red wine like a Chianti.

      Ingredients
      1/2-pound fettuccine pasta (or one 9oz. fresh kind like Buitoni)
      1/2 stick butter (I don’t mess around, there is nothing like the real thing)
      2 Tbsp. olive oil
      1 raw jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced (with seeds)
      2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
      ¼ cup heavy cream
      ¼ cup whole milk
      1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese
      2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
      1 cup cooked grilled chicken, cut into small chunks (pre-packaged grilled strips are fine)
      ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
      Kosher salt & ground black pepper to taste

      Directions:
      Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter and then add olive oil. Add jalapeno and sauté for a minute or so. Add flour and stir for 30 seconds, then whisk in cream, milk, Laughing Cow cheese, and chipotle peppers. Stir until sauce begins to thicken, about 2-3 minutes. If it thickens too fast, add a bit more milk until it reaches your desired consistency, which should be creamy but not runny. Add chicken, Parmesan, salt and pepper, then stir in cooked pasta and warm until heated through. Serves 2-4, depending on size of who you’re feeding and how hungry they are, and the recipe is easy to double.

      Food on a Budget, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Valentine’s Day dinner–staying home is classy, not cheap

      February 14, 2011 /

      Seriously…..everyone goes out to dinner on Valentine’s Day, potentially making for a miserable experience. But if you stay at home, and cook a super-romantic meal like the one I posted on Grub for Guys a couple years back, you just have to have earned some brownie points. And brownie points on V-Day are worth a bit more. If you can only try one, make the pasta….hopefully then, you can make the quiche in the morning. So give it a shot, and let me know what you think…..and good luck!

      So this one is for you guys who have a female companion sleep over for one (or two) nights, or for you guys who are married and want to do something special for Mother’s Day or your anniversary. Let’s face it – women love men who cook, and these two recipes will impress her. Trust me, I tested them both recently to rave reviews in my house. But first , if you’re like me, the thought of making quiche makes you feel like less of a man. But if you stay away from things like shallots and rosemary, and focus on bacon and cheese, I say your manhood is intact. Here we go….

      Real Man Quiche

      Ingredients
      1 frozen 9-inch pie crust
      4 large eggs, beaten
      ¼ cup chopped Canadian bacon (you can substitute cooked and crumbled bacon or sausage)
      1 Tbsp. Olive oil or vegetable oil
      1 medium onion, sliced thin
      1 garlic clove, minced
      ½ tsp. Italian seasoning
      1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
      1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
      ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
      salt and pepper

      Directions:
      Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and take the pie crust out of the freezer. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and then sautee the onion and garlic for about 4 minutes; stir in the Italian seasoning and remove from heat. Let cool for a few minutes, then combine the onion mixture, eggs, the cheeses, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour this into the crust and bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until browned on top. Serves 4, or two extremely hungry people.

      Bistro Pasta With Tomato and Basil

      Ingredients
      8 oz. cooked linguine (preferably the fresh kind like Buitoni)
      1/3 cup olive oil
      1 large tomato, chopped
      3-4 garlic cloves, minced
      ¼ cup minced basil leaves
      1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese (if you’ve come this far, you’re not really going to serve her that stuff in the green jar, are you?)
      salt and pepper to taste

      Directions:
      After cooking the pasta, set it aside to drain. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and add the garlic and tomato, and fry for 3-4 minutes. (Yes, it’s a lot of oil, but it will be absorbed by the pasta and cheese, and olive oil is supposedly good for your arteries.) Add the basil leaves, then the pasta, then the cheese. Heat for a minute or two or until warmed through, add the salt and pepper to taste, and serve. A good idea would be to have a decent bottle of red wine on hand and a Sinatra CD. Serves 2.

      Food on a Budget, Healthy, Recipes, Your Kitchen

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