If you are like me, you read new food magazines voraciously, especially ones that have cool typeface and awesome photos like Food Network Magazine. But then after trying a recipe or two, they pile up until you have a chance to clip your faves. I swear there is a business idea in there, if only I had time to develop such an idea.

Anyway, that being said, there are recipes I have clipped that I go to–frequently. One such recipe is the one I use for cole slaw from…wait for it….GQ. I have to hand it to GQ. My comp subscription has made me feel old at times, but every month I look for its recipes and ideas about food. Seriously. So in the June 2008 issue, there were barbecue items–how to cook a hamburger properly for one, how to make kickass grilled peaches for another. But the one that stood my test of time was the cole slaw recipe–it’s simple, it’s classic, and it’s delicious. It also gives me a template even if I veer a bit with the ingredients, but I never seem to want to because of how delicious the original recipe is.

Then there was this other one–an article and recipe in the March 2010 issue of Bon Appetit. This is a mag my mom reads and probably has 35 years worth of them piled up, but I grabbed one in an airport one day and wound up clipping this article about British “flapjacks.” Food journalist/blogger/restauranteur Molly Wizenberg wrote it and made these things appear to look and sound delicious. The recipe haunted me for two and half years until I pulled it out again the other day. The one thing holding me back–an ingredient called golden syrup, which is only available in specialty food stores and British import shops. They are not pancakes per se, but more like cookie/granola bar hybrids that they call flapjacks. The ingredients are simple–quick cooking oats, butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and a pinch of salt. I’ve always loved the taste of oatmeal and oatmeal cookies and anything made with oats, but dang…golden freaking syrup. Finally, I realized something. The last few months I have found things the new-fashioned way–online. Well, duh. You can buy anything on Amazon.com these days. So there it was–Lyle’s Golden Syrup, maybe $5 a can but about $10 in shipping. That was fine with me. It arrived and I made the recipe the next day. My wife and I devoured the whole tray and I made another tray which I devoured this past week. Now let’s be frank–a stick of butter will make almost anything taste good. But these flapjacks are the bomb, and I suspect we will make them again this weekend, making two trays or more.

Thank you, Molly Wizenberg. You brought me something from your own experiences/memories, and now I’m going to get really fat eating them because they taste so good. Now, if anyone can share a recipe that resembles those Buitoni toaster pizzas from my childhood that they don’t make anymore, I will be forever grateful.

It’s not always easy to make a quick, healthy breakfast, but here is one you can do that is way better than something you can get at any drive-thru. Breakfast tacos, and super easy ones at that.

For one person, you’ll need 2 corn tortillas (I like the white corn rather than the yellow), 2 eggs, some shredded sharp cheddar, optional bacon and some good salsa or hot sauce or both.

You can either warm the tortillas by wrapping them in foil and putting in the oven or toaster oven for 10 minutes at 300 degrees. OR my way is to quick fry them in a nonstick pan by spraying both sides with cooking spray and cooking over medium high heat for about 30-45 seconds per side.

If using bacon, cook 2 slices according to package directions (I use the microwave for this).

Meanwhile, heat another nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk with salt and pepper. Pour into pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until just set. Divide the egg on each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, crumbled bacon and hot sauce or salsa.

Fold in half and eat!

I’m not a big seafood guy, so this is my version of “shrimp and grits”–it’s grilled vegetables over cheese grits. It’s simple, satisfying and a great light meal for the summer months.

All you need are some grits, a good sharp cheddar cheese, and some veggies to throw on the grill. I had received an awesome box of produce from our CSA (community supported agriculture) from Driftless Organics–and in it were zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, onions and banana peppers among other things. So I used all of those as well as a red bell pepper I bought at the farmer’s market.

Here is what to do……cook grits according to package directions for four servings, and add 1 cup of shredded cheddar at the end of the cooking process. Stir until cheese melts and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut vegetables (enough for 4 servings) into large chunks, spray with olive oil or cooking spray, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for 4-5 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly charred with nice grill marks. Divide grits among bowls, top with some veggies, and then throw a few cherry tomatoes on top (we also got these from Driftless…you can grill these too but it’s not necessary), and then splash with hot sauce.

That’s it. This is an easy and really tasty dish. Of course, the sharper the cheese, the better. And the hotter the hot sauce, the better. Enjoy!

Well, not just for dudes, but I posted this on Grub for Guys a couple years back and it’s definitely dude-friendly, thanks to my secret weapon, Buffalo wing sauce. The weather reached almost 90 degrees here in Wisconsin earlier this week, so it’s time to start thinking about warm weather fare. So try this one when you have one of those steamy days….

It’s summer, and you can either embrace that or bide your time until fall. Either way, you can help yourself by eating foods that are warm weather fare—grilled steaks, chicken, salads, and cold pasta are always good choices. And if the thought of cold soup doesn’t scare you, gazpacho is one of the best summer foods, and it’s very easy to make. Here, I came up with my own version that includes a few non-conventional ingredients like avocado, cilantro and Buffalo wing sauce. Give it a whirl in your blender and on your taste buds and let me know how you like it. With that, here we go…..

Ingredients
1 ½ cups tomato juice or vegetable juice such as V-8
3 medium size tomatoes
½ small green pepper
1 celery stalk
½ medium cucumber
1 medium raw jalapeno pepper
1 small avocado or ½ of a large one
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. commercially made Buffalo Wing sauce
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
½ tsp. Kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Directions
Cut the tops off the tomatoes and squeeze the pulp and seeds out, then coarsely chop the flesh. Seed the green pepper and coarsely chop. Remove the strings from the celery and coarsely chop.
Peel and seed the cucumber and coarsely chop it. Seed and chop the jalapeno, using kitchen gloves if possible (or washing your hands immediately afterward…..I hope I don’t need to tell you why!). Then cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, scoop out the flesh and discard the pit and rind. Put all of the vegetables in a blender along with the tomato juice, olive oil, vinegar, wing sauce, cilantro, salt and pepper. Blend or pulse briefly until smooth (shorter time if you prefer a chunkier soup). Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, but you can serve as is if you’re hungry. Serves 4.

Chef’s note: Before making this, make sure you have a loaf of crusty bread and a good summer beer such as Corona on ice. Now you’ve got a meal!

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.