Category: Recipes (Page 23 of 24)

      Hot meals for winter months

      December 17, 2010 /

      Okay, so we moved from balmy Nashville to frigid Madison, Wisconsin in April–right after the thaw. And so now we are experiencing our first blast of winter–which arrived with a fury right after Thanksgiving. It’s not so much the snow that is difficult to take–it’s the insane cold and wind chill. It’s 24 degrees right now and feels warm. Well, whatever…we chose to move here and the best part about the cold weather is making warm–no, piping hot–comfort food. Even if you’re a dude, you can enjoy stuff like these two oven dishes I created on Bullz-Eye.com’s Grub for Guys last year……

      As the weather gets colder, we men retreat to the den and watch sports in the comfort of an easy chair. To sustain ourselves, we spoon up big bowls of rib-sticking hot casseroles. Below are recipes for kickass chicken and rice, and a dish that has everything manly in it except the kitchen sink. And yes, that includes beer.

      Dude Casserole
      Casseroles might bring to mind Betty Crocker, church potlucks or, well, the women who usually make them. But we’re here to put some testosterone in casseroles…not literally, mind you, but with four types of meat (including bacon), cheese, macaroni, cream of mushroom soup, jalapeno peppers and BEER among the ingredients, this casserole is made for the common man. It’s especially for the common man who likes to watch football and bulk up in the winter months. Make this for your buddies and you will suddenly have more buddies the next time you cook, I guarantee it.

      Ingredients
      1 lb. Elbow macaroni
      2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (we use canola)
      2 slices bacon, chopped
      1 lb. Ground beef
      2 bratwurst (we like Johnsonville stadium brats), chopped
      4 pre-cooked breakfast sausage patties (spicy kind if possible), chopped
      1 small onion, chopped
      1 poblano pepper, trimmed, seeded and chopped
      1 jalapeno pepper, trimmed, seeded and chopped
      1 tsp. chili powder
      ¼ tsp. garlic powder
      6 oz. beer
      2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
      2 cans cream of mushroom soup
      ½ cup milk
      2 Tbsp. soy sauce
      1 cup ketchup
      ½ cup canned corn
      1/3 cup sliced black olives (optional)
      1/3 cup bread crumbs
      Salt & Pepper to taste

      Directions
      Spray a large casserole dish or 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions and set aside. In a very large, deep skillet, heat oil over medium/high heat. Add bacon, beef, brats, sausage, onion and peppers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When beef is browned and onion and peppers are softened, add chili powder, garlic powder, then beer. Stir occasionally and let simmer until beer is almost completely absorbed, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine cheese, soup, milk, soy sauce, and ketchup in a large bowl. Stir pasta, corn and olives into soup mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Add that mixture to meat mixture, and then dump everything into the casserole dish. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove cover, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot. Serves 4 hungry dudes.

      Kickass Chicken & Rice
      Chicken and rice go together like football and beer. And while we’re not advocating eating a football, you get the idea—it just works. Here we take this dynamic duo and add some creamy chicken soup, cheese and other bright flavors to make another great hot dish for a cold day.

      Ingredients
      1 pound boneless chicken breast tenders
      salt and pepper
      Cooking spray
      1 can cream of chicken soup
      ½ cup milk
      1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
      1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
      ½ teaspoon onion powder
      1 teaspoon dried parsley
      1 cup white rice
      ½ cup frozen peas
      1 cup French fried onions

      Directions
      Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle tenders with salt and pepper and brown in skillet for 2-3 minutes per side. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine soup, milk, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, onion power, parsley and more salt and pepper to taste. Spray a large (preferably a short and wide) casserole dish with cooking spray. Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with rice, and add more if it doesn’t quite cover the dish entirely. Place chicken tenders on top, then sprinkle peas on top of chicken. Then pour soup mixture evenly over everything. Cover and bake for 35-40 minutes or until soup is absorbed by the rice and chicken is completely cooked through. Uncover and sprinkle with onions, and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately, and serves 2-4, depending on how hungry everyone is.

      Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Grub for Guys: chicken fried hamburger with cheddar sauce and tomato-pickle relish

      December 16, 2010 /

      Here is another recipe I had fun making for Grub for Guys: chicken fried hamburger with a cheese sauce and tomato-pickle relish:

      For those of you who love cheeseburgers and anything fried, I’ve got a recipe for you that I promise you’ll want to make again and again—chicken fried hamburger. The first time I tested this out, I used brown gravy and it wasn’t quite right. This time, I had the idea of making a cheese sauce to in effect create a cheeseburger, and then added a tomato-pickle relish to cap it off. Success! The only warning here is that we don’t suggest telling your cardiologist about it, okay?

      Ingredients:
      Relish:
      ½ large tomato, seeded and chopped
      4 crunchy dill pickle spears (such as Claussen), seeded and chopped
      1-2 Tbsp ketchup
      1-2 Tbsp. prepared mustard

      Sauce:
      ½ stick butter or margarine
      2 Tbsp. flour
      ½ cup whole milk (or more as needed)
      1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
      1 tsp. hot sauce
      Salt & pepper to taste

      Burger:
      1 pound ground beef
      ½ cup flour
      2 eggs, beaten in a bowl
      ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
      2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
      Salt & pepper to taste

      Directions:

      Combine relish ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

      For sauce, heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When melted, whisk in flour for about 20 seconds. Add milk, and continue to whisk until it starts to thicken. If it’s too thick, add a splash or two more of milk. Then add cheese, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, set aside, covering to keep it warm.

      For burgers, form beef into four oval patties. Then set up three shallow bowls in a row with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, respectively. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper to each. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Then dredge the patties in the flour, followed by the egg, followed by the breadcrumbs. Gently add each patty to the pan, and cook for about 4 minutes per side or until crispy on the outside and at least medium to medium-well on the inside.

      Slide patties onto a plate, top with cheese sauce and relish, and serve. Makes four servings, or two two-patty servings for you guys with big appetites.

      Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Huevos rancheros

      December 10, 2010 /

      Here is another killer recipe I posted on Grub for Guys a couple years ago….

      You want something the morning after a night of, um, sipping a few cocktails? Yeah, usually what you’re craving is not just a giant glass of water and some coffee, but some protein to soak up the residual alcohol. Well, here’s a bonus…even if you don’t drink, my Huevos Rancheros recipe tastes good, and it’s a quick, easy and healthy breakfast any day of the week.

      Ingredients:
      2 six-inch corn tortillas
      2 eggs
      ½ cup refried beans
      Hot sauce to taste
      Chopped cilantro (optional)

      Directions
      Put the tortillas in a toaster oven at 300 degrees for about 5 minutes, or until they start to become brown and crisp. Another option is to fry them quickly in a non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray for maybe 30 seconds on each side. The key is to make sure they are crispy and not still limp (no blue pill jokes, please).

      Put the refried beans in a microwave safe bowl and nuke them for about 45 seconds. Spread ¼ cup beans on each tortilla.

      Then fry the eggs in a medium size skillet until the whites begin to set—that means they are safe to eat and the yolk will be slightly runny. Those yolks will also be delicious and may be enough to cure your hangover alone. Put an egg over the beans on each tortilla, douse liberally with hot sauce and cilantro, and serve.

      This recipe serves two people or one really hungry dude. Heck, some guys could probably down three or four of these, but the recipe is easy enough to adapt if that’s the case. Enjoy!

      Food on a Budget, Healthy, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      B-A-C-O-N

      December 8, 2010 /

      I’m going to put together a few recipes for a Bacon Grub for Guys post. I can’t believe I haven’t done it yet! Anyway, does anyone have a good bacon recipe idea, or have you had something recently that might spark an idea for me?

      Here is a recipe Mrs. Mikey made about a year ago that was from the Food Network Magazine. And they were maybe the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. My mouth is watering as I type!

      Oh, and maybe what we’ll do is have Bacon Week soon on Mikey’s Kitchen. So stay tuned for more bacon-y info!

      Ingredients, Recipes, Uncategorized, Your Kitchen

      Steak and potatoes 101

      December 7, 2010 /

      This was the first entry I did on Grub For Guys a couple years back. And since tomorrow is my birthday, we’re going to have my favorite meal for dinner–a thick, juicy steak. Of course, my wife is making a cake, and that’s good, because I am pretty much clueless when it comes to baking, and because who wants to make their own cake anyway?

      Here is the steak and potatoes 101 piece. Enjoy!

      Hey guys—whether or not you want to impress your lady (assuming she eats meat), your buddies that are coming over for the big game, or even if you’re just cooking for yourself and are craving steak, I’ve got a simple menu for you and some easy preparation tips.

      This also assumes that you know how to operate a basic grill, so if you don’t, you can refer to Bobby Flay’s website for help with that. Then I will help you with the rest!

      Here is what you’ll need, assuming two people or one really hungry dude:

      2 NY Strip steaks
      2 Idaho baking potatoes
      1 bunch asparagus
      1 red or yellow bell pepper
      Olive oil
      Kosher salt
      Black pepper

      First things first — if you want a good baked potato, use the brown, Idaho type, and don’t ever microwave them. Microwaving a potato is the man-law equivalent of putting orange slices in your beer. So rinse the potatoes, being sure to scrub off those gnarly dirt specks.
      Then wipe them off with paper towels, and stick in the oven at 450 degrees for 1 hour, flipping over once at the 30-minute mark.

      When you’re at that 30-minute mark, get your grill pre-heated. I like to do the vegetables first, because they cook quickly and you can keep them warm while preparing the steak. For the asparagus (yeah, it makes your pee smell funny, but it tastes damn good off the grill), rinse and break off the rough ends. Sprinkle liberally with olive oil, and a few sprinkles of salt and pepper. Take the bell pepper, cut off the top, then remove the inner membrane and seeds. Cut that in half and sprinkle that with olive oil, salt and pepper as well. Throw these on the grill, being careful not to let asparagus fall through the grates. Depending on how thick the asparagus is, cooking time ranges from 2 minutes to 5 minutes. Once it starts to brown, remove from the grill onto a plate and cover with foil. The bell pepper will take up to 10 minutes, and you’ll want to flip it a few times until charred nicely. Remove that to the plate with the asparagus.

      For the steak, I like to use New York strip, and not because I’m from New York. They are sometimes pricey, but almost always tender and tasty. Sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper, and slap them on the grill. Trust me, you don’t need foo-foo marinades for steak either, because the salt and pepper will bring out the natural flavor nicely. Grill to desired doneness, which can be anywhere from 5 minutes for rare to 12 minutes or so for more well done (a meat thermometer is also not a bad investment). If you really want to look like a pro, after flipping the steak a third time, move it at a 45-degree angle for criss-crossing grill marks. Once you flip it over and see you’ve done this properly, pounding your chest is optional.

      By the time the steaks are done, your potatoes should also be ready. Put everything on a plate, and bring some butter and sour cream to the table for the potatoes. Steak sauce is optional, but I’m telling you, you won’t need it if you follow this simple steak recipe.
      That’s it. Throw in a nice bottle of red wine or a hearty beer, and you’ve got a meal that’s simple and yet restaurant quality.

      On the Grille, Recipes, Tailgating, Your Kitchen

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