Category: Recipes (Page 7 of 24)

      Wing Sauce Wednesday–gazpacho revisited

      June 13, 2012 /


      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.

      Green Living, Grocery stores, Healthy, Interviews, Recipes, Your Kitchen

      Low carb doesn’t have to suck

      May 29, 2012 /

      I am in need of having to shed a few pounds again, this time more than ever…oops.

      So I’m eating low-carb again for a bit….and started this morning with this creation I came up with on the fly–an overeasy ham omelet. Here is how you do it….

      Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Put two thin slices of ham in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, flipping every 30 seconds until crispy. Then crack an egg over each ham slice, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook for about 2-4 minutes, or until whites are almost all opaque. Then gently flip the ham slices over each egg yolk as if it were an omelet. Cook for another 30 seconds and serve.

      My yolk was still runny, exactly what I wanted to achieve with this. And with the crispy ham, it was perfect and made me feel like I wasn’t even eating what you might call “diet food.” Give this one a try, especially if you’re doing South Beach or something similar.

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

      Who Needs A Cookbook When You Have Your Cell Phone?

      May 25, 2012 /


      Pizza Man (Photo credit: ms4jah)

      Time for dinner and the man of the house is cooking tonight, so what will it be? Meatloaf? Pork chops? Pizza? How about chicken kiev or trout almondine? Men across the globe are discovering their kitchens, learning that cooking is not only a great way to impress the family, but it is also a lot of fun. There is also a great sense of pride in preparing a healthy, yet delicious, maybe even gourmet meal for the family.

      It is quickly learned that finding and planning something interesting and tasty each night for a family is no small task. Who has time to plow through a cookbook everyday, and then shop for every ingredient listed? Do I have some of that at home? Where do they sell bok choi? I don’t want to buy a large jar of dried cilantro when I only need a little. Keeping it together can sour even the most determined chef.

      Your cell phone can help. Almost every guy out there has his cell phone on him day and night. Almost anything you need for preparing and serving that perfect dinner can be found right at your fingertips. Use your Samsung galaxy phone to guide you through the kitchen.

      1. Finding The Recipes.

      There are apps for the phone to help you with recipes. Once you find the ones you like the best, you can keep them right on your phone, available for the next time you want to create that particular dish. Don’t know what to make? Do a search right from your phone. You can even enter ingredients you have on hand, and your cell phone can find a recipe for them.

      2. Finding The Best Ingredients.

      Using your phone to track down the ingredients you need will save you time and money, as you will not have to run from store to store. You will know exactly where each item is and plan your shopping accordingly. You can also look up sales and even plan a budget meal when the end of the month is near and the dollars need to be stretched a little more.

      3. Troubleshooting.

      Inevitably on your quest to become the master chef of the house, there will be mistakes. The souffle will flop, the butter will burn, or the meat will be tough. You can use your cell phone to look up ways to do it better next time, and learn little tricks to prevent the mistakes from happening the next time.

      Suddenly pizza night becomes gourmet pizza night, not a quick-fix dinner, but a gourmet dinner worthy of the highest compliments. Whether you are a seasoned chef, who knows all the ropes, or a beginner, just learning the ropes, using your cell phone is a great way to keep you organized, so that you can enjoy what you are doing.

      Recipes

      Worth the wait–beef jerky

      May 23, 2012 /

      Sometimes recipes look daunting. Or sometimes just the thought of making something delicious seems like it’s too much trouble. I subscribe to a great magazine called Clean Eating. Of course, I don’t eat as healthy as I should, or by the standards of this magazine all that much (if you read this blog, you know I have a soft spot for junk food)–but I do try to at the very least use it for some healthy habits and for some killer recipes. So last week my wife was reading the letters to the editor about how great their homemade beef jerky recipe was. I had missed that, so I dug it up from the January/February issue to see what the fuss was about.

      And as you can see by the attached photo, it sure looked like a lot of work, and a bit complicated because you have to take out your oven racks, reposition them, hang the jerky from the racks on skewers, put foil down and use a towel to absorb moisture. You also have to freeze the meat to cut it easier, then marinate it for 3-6 hours before baking/dehydrating it for 5 hours or more. That’s a long day. So after buying a nice London broil on Saturday, I looked closer at the recipe and became scared. I didn’t want to spend all day Sunday doing this.

      But on Monday I felt guilty and felt like I really should give it a go. I pulled out the recipe again in the morning, and fortunately I work from home. So I did it. I froze the meat for an hour, cut it, marinated for 3 hours, then did all the funky oven stuff (which was not difficult or time consuming as I had thought) and let the strips of deliciousness cook or dry out or whatever it does…for five hours. The result…..fantastic. Here I have homemade jerky that is tasty, spicy, just chewy enough, and with no ingredients I can’t pronounce. The only problem is that big batch from Monday is almost gone already. So it’s time to make more!

      Note: I couldn’t find this recipe online, but I will reach out to the editor to see if they have one or a pdf…and if you’re interested in that, e-mail me at mikeyskitchen@gmail.com or message me on Facebook.

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

      Product review: Element Bars

      May 8, 2012 /

      I realize that this blog is often geared toward recipes, reviews and ideas that are not exactly healthy. But we do include our share of healthy ideas, and truth be told, my gut is growing in inverse proportion to the inactivity I’ve endured following recent back surgery. And so I need to eat better, something that is always easier when it’s more convenient.

      Well, there is a product that was pitched to me recently for this blog that is healthy, convenient, and tasty–and has the added bonus of being gluten free–Element Bars. Standard granola bars often have so much added sugar or other sweeteners that offset the health benefits. Protein bars have long lists of ingredients that you can’t pronounce and usually they have this weird aftertaste. And there has been another wave of bars–the all natural kind, and Element Bars fit that bill. But they take it a step further by allowing you to customize your bars.

      Go to www.elementbars.com, and poke around. You can make your own bars based on whether you’d like them chewy, oaty, crispy, datey or fruit&nut. Those are the “core” parts of the bar, and from there you add whatever types of dried fruit, nuts, sweeteners (such as honey or maple syrup) and “boosts” such as whey, fiber or Omega-3. But you can also order pre-determined recipes, and some flavors I sampled were Datey Divine, PB Power, Almond Sunrise, Cherry Charge, Banana Repair, and Cherry Chocolate.

      They were all delicious, and I’m not just saying that because they sent me product to try. But there was the added bonus of knowing I was eating something all natural and good for me–with good amounts of fiber or protein or both. I have to say though that I was really partial to the “Cherry Charge,” which had oats and whey crisps, as well as dried cherries and cashews. And maybe one of the best points here–I was running out the door twice recently and realized I had no time to make breakfast. I grabbed an Element Bar, ate one in the car and my hunger was curbed for a few hours. No joke. I guess when you give your body the nutrients it needs, you don’t get hungry. Imagine that!

      Seriously though, for you folks that are health conscious, you won’t find a bar that tastes this good with this much nutrition. Or one that you can create on your own. Now that’s good marketing.

      For more information, check out www.elementbars.com

      Green Living, Healthy, Ingredients, Product Reviews, Recipes

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