Category: Your Kitchen (Page 35 of 39)

Chipotle Mac & Cheese and Tex-Mex Meatballs

January 14, 2011 / Mike Farley

This is another great dish (or two dishes) to try during cold weather months, and is especially great for football-watching-food. I posted this on Grub for Guys a couple years ago. Enjoy and let me know what you think….

Two Spicy Dishes That Explode With Flavor:Chipotle Mac & Cheese and Tex-Mex Meatballs w/Spicy Tomatillo Sauce

Guys, if you like spicy food the way I do, I’ve created two dishes that you’re going to love. Skill level is easy to moderate on the mac & cheese, and a bit more complex for the meatballs, but worth it. I’ve tried to give you a classic mac & cheese with a twist, and a summery, fiery meatball dish that is different and made for the bold taste buds of the common dude. Enjoy!

Chipotle Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
8 oz. macaroni
4 small to medium chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 cup whole milk
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup flour
½ stick butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook macaroni, drain and set aside. Melt butter in large skillet, then add flour and stir for about 20-30 seconds. Add milk and whisk to break up chunks of flour mixture. When mixture is warm and starts to thicken, add cheese. Stir until cheese melts, and then add chipotle peppers. Put cooked macaroni in a large bowl, and pour cheese mixture over it. Stir to combine and then pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake for about 20 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serves four, or like previous recipes I’ve posted here, two very hungry guys.

Tex-Mex Meatballs w/Spicy Tomatillo Sauce

Ingredients:
For Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
2 medium ears cooked corn on the cob
2 jalapeno peppers
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 slice white bread, cut into cubes and soaked in ½ cup milk

For Sauce
3-4 tomatillos, papery skin removed and rinsed
1 jalapeno pepper
¼ of a large red onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
½ medium avocado
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. black pepper
juice of one lime

Directions:
For the sauce, spray the tomatillos, two jalapenos (one for sauce, one for meatballs) and red onion with cooking spray and grill over medium heat until the skins on tomatillos and pepper turn brown and begin to blister and onion lightly browns. Cut off tough core of tomatillos and remove the stem and seeds of jalapenos. Throw the vegetables in a blender, saving one jalapeno for the meatballs, and add remaining sauce ingredients. Blend for a few seconds until smooth.

For the meatballs, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the corn off the cob, and chop the remaining grilled jalapeno. Combine in a large mixing bowl along with beef, cilantro, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then take the soaked bread and add to the bowl, discarding the milk. Mix thoroughly with your hands and shape into 1 ½ inch meatballs. Brown meatballs in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes. Then move meatballs to a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about ten more minutes, or until cooked through.

Pour some sauce on a plate and top with a few meatballs. You should have about 20 meatballs in all, which will serve between two and four people. Serve with a frosty Mexican beer, and trust me, you’ll need it to wash down both of these dishes!

Recipes, Your Kitchen

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Spaghetti sauce 101

January 8, 2011 / Mike Farley

For you guys that have never made homemade spaghetti sauce, here is my version that is so easy, a monkey could do it. And it’s real. I’m not talking open a few jars easy. Go ahead, give it a try….it’s the weekend and it’s cold outside in most places……

Here is what you’ll need:

¼ cup olive oil
2 32 oz. Cans crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 small onion
2-3 garlic cloves or 1-2 teaspoons jarred garlic
2 tsp. Sugar
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil and parsley

You’ll need a giant pot, like a soup pot. Heat the oil over medium heat for a minute or two, and while that’s warming, peel the brown skin off the onion and throw it in the oil, whole. Push that around with a wooden spoon until it sizzles, and let it sizzle for a few minutes. If using garlic cloves, peel them and smash with the back of a large spoon or dull knife—but trust me, the jarred stuff is easier to use and just as good. Throw the garlic in the pot and let it brown, which takes about 30 seconds. Then add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir until the paste thins out into the sauce.

Then add the sugar, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of salt, a tablespoon or so, but that’s me. If you have high blood pressure, that’s not such a good idea. Then lower the heat, cover, and let that simmer for 2-3 hours. Just before serving it, chop a little fresh basil and fresh parsley and throw it in. That’s it.

Then just boil some spaghetti and you’ve just made homemade spaghetti sauce, just like Mom or Grandma used to. For an added touch, Purdue makes these really great, low-fat pre-cooked turkey meatballs. You can either warm them separately or throw them in the sauce for 10 minutes. Add a salad and maybe some store bought garlic bread or plain Italian bread and you’ve got a complete meal that will not only impress your wife, girlfriend or date, it should also impress yourself.

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He-Man fiery sausage and peppers

January 6, 2011 / Mike Farley

Hey guys. If you are like me, and like spicy food to the point that you sometimes crave it, I’ve got a great dish for you to try. This is probably not the kind of thing women will like, so it’s a good dish to make for your buddies for an NFL Sunday or other get-together. And the cool thing is you can make it extra spicy just by making a few adjustments. And hey, there’s beer in it! Are you ready? Oh, by the way, this was originally published on Bullz-Eye.com’s Grub for Guys.

Here is what you’ll need:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 links pre-cooked smoked bratwurst (or 4-6 hot dogs)
2-3 poblano peppers (the dark green, oblong ones)
3-4 jalapeno peppers (fresh, not from a jar)
½ cup beer
¾ cup diced tomatoes
½ cup barbecue sauce
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat. While that is heating, cut the peppers—slice off the top stem of the poblano, remove the seeds and membrane and slice thinly. Then slice the jalapeno carefully—first cut off the stem, and then cut into rounds. I like to do this and leave the seeds in for two reasons. One, it won’t burn your hands (though you still might consider plastic gloves), and two, the dish will be spicier with the seeds intact. Throw the peppers into the skillet and stir fry until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.

Then cut up the bratwurst into slices about ¼ inch thick, and add those to the skillet. Let them start to brown just a bit, maybe 2-3 minutes. Then pour in the beer slowly, which should loosen all the brown stuff at the bottom of the pan (if you use cold beer, you can drink the rest of the bottle). Add the tomatoes, barbecue sauce and hot sauce, then sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, and let simmer on low to medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the sauce starts to reduce and thicken.

If you want the dish to be really hot, try any combination of these tips….use a hotter hot sauce, use Ro-Tel extra spicy tomatoes (trust me, the stuff is nasty hot), leave the seeds in the jalapenos, and maybe buy a sausage that’s already spicy—I’ve seen some habanero chicken sausage that would work well for this.

That’s it…you might want to serve this with bread or crackers to help soak up the heat, or just let it burn your mouth and cool off those taste buds with a frosty, refreshing beverage of your choice.

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Losing that holiday weight

January 3, 2011 / Mike Farley

Yeah, I know. This is not what you wanted to hear from a food site right after the holidays. But the truth is, we’re all in need of larger pants after a month of indulging. Heck, I wrote on here a couple weeks ago that I bought bigger pants at Old Navy before going to my favorite Wisconsin cheese store. I’m wearing them now, in fact. So yeah, now it’s time to try and shed a few pounds. Of course, that doesn’t mean this is going to suddenly be a blog about weight loss. But here are a few guy-friendly recipes I posted on
Grub For Guys, especially good if you have a bigger bulge right now…..

After the holiday edition of Grub For Guys that we presented you with, and after all of the holiday meals you no doubt indulged in, and on, you guys probably have a few extra pounds you want to shed this time of year. Well, I know I do. So I’m back on my favorite diet, the South Beach Diet. I’m a big proponent of this diet because it works, and because it’s easy for most guys. We get to eat lots of meat, cheese, nuts, and veggies, as well as a few sugar free treats, and all in all it’s not that hard. Well, sometimes it is, because in today’s world, cutting out bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and anything with sugar is very difficult. So I’m here to give you a few great low-carb options that make life a bit easier when trying to shrink that gut…..

Mikey’s Cobb Salad

Ingredients
4-6 cups shredded lettuce
1 8 oz. strip steak
1 4-5 oz. boneless chicken breast
5-6 slices bacon
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 avocado
1 tomato
¼ cup shredded or cubed cheddar cheese
¼ cup green or black olives
¼ cup pickled jalapeno peppers
Low carb dressing such as ranch or blue cheese
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Wash lettuce and shred into two large bowls. Sprinkle steak and chicken with salt and pepper and grill over medium-high heat 5-10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and steak is to desired doneness. Remove from grill and keep on a plate covered with foil. Cook bacon until crisp (I use one of those microwave trays that cooks it perfectly every time). Cut avocado in half, remove pit and scoop out flesh. Slice and place on lettuce. Chop tomato and put that on lettuce. Slice egg and divide over salad. Add cheese, olives, and jalapenos. Slice chicken and steak and place on salad. Crumble bacon on top. Serve with dressing. Makes 2 servings, but you can double or triple as needed.

Grilled Buffalo Tenders

Ingredients
1 pound boneless chicken breast tenders
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray
½ cup Buffalo wing sauce (Frank’s Red Hot is great and is very low in calories, fat, and carbs)

Directions
Spray tenders lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour wing sauce into a large bowl. Grill tenders over medium high heat until no longer pink and slightly charred on the outside. Toss tenders in sauce and serve with celery sticks and blue cheese or ranch dressing if you like. P.S. Trust me, you won’t miss the deep fried version of wings one bit with this one.

Cheese/Peanut Butter Squares

If you like those crispy cheese/peanut butter crackers, and who doesn’t? I’m giving you a low-carb option that you’re going to love.

Ingredients
4 slices mild cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter

Directions
Lay cheese slices on a plate or large cutting board. Spread peanut butter over two of the cheese slices, and top with other two slices. You should now have two large square “sandwiches.” Cut each of these into quarters and serve. Makes 8 squares, but you can easily double or triple this one as well.

Muffaletta Rolls

The best part of the Muffaletta is the olive salad and the meat, right? Well, it’s also the kickass giant Kaiser rolls they use. But we have to improvise here and this is as close as we can come.

Ingredients
10 slices deli ham or turkey, or both
1 cup pimento stuffed green olives
½ cup pickled cauliflower or other pickled vegetables
1 Tbsp. juice from olives
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Red or white wine vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
Dash of salt and black pepper

Directions
Separate meat slices on a large platter. Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until combined but still slightly chunky. Spread a bit of olive salad on each slice of meat, roll up and serve. (Note: you can also roll up in provolone cheese or combine meat and cheese before rolling up).

Turkey Brat Bites

Ingredients
6-8 Smoked Turkey Bratwurst
Mustard

Directions
Grill brats until glazed and with a few grill marks. Slice into chunks and serve with your favorite mustard for dipping.

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Ham, olive and three cheese grilled cheese

December 30, 2010 / Mike Farley

Here’s a great lunch for a cold weekend day, and even better if you live in a cheese haven like Wisconsin! It was originally posted on Bullz-Eye.com’s Grub for Guys.

Ham, Olive and 3 Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwich

On the comfort food charts, it’s pretty hard to top a good grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of tomato soup. My friend Matty once told me he eats three grilled cheese sandwiches every Saturday. I can’t imagine that being the kind of lunch a cardiologist would recommend, but there shouldn’t be any harm in having one at a sitting. With that, I didn’t want to present you with the same old, same old here. I also didn’t want to do anything too girlie. The end result? A classic sandwich with three cheeses, ham and chopped green olives. If I was selling you this sandwich, it would come with a money back guarantee, because I just tried it and it’s that good. I hope you agree!

Ingredients
4 slices bakery sourdough bread (most supermarkets have bakeries, so splurge on some fresh stuff)
2 Tbsp. whipped cream cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped green olives
2 slices Swiss cheese
2 slices American cheese
2 slices ham
1-2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

Directions:
Spray a nonstick skillet with bit of cooking spray over medium-high heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread, and then lay them, buttered side down, on a plate. Combine the cream cheese and olives in a small bowl, and spread that evenly over the unbuttered side of two of the bread slices.

Then on the remaining two bread slices, layer the Swiss cheese, American cheese and ham. Assemble the sandwiches by matching a cream cheese slice with a ham/cheese slice, giving you two full sandwiches. Grill in the skillet for about 3-4 minutes per side or until the bread is lightly browned and the cheeses have melted. Serves two, or one, if you’re a hungry dude like Matty.

Note: Campbell’s Tomato Soup is always good with grilled cheese sandwiches, but it’s even better if you mix the condensed soup with milk instead of water.