Far From Gourmet
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Beef Up Your Salads
One lesson learned from the whole 'Summer of Salads' that wasn't, was that a salad can make a meal if done properly. And not just by tossing a whole head of lettuce in the bowl, but by planning you salad with what President Bush might call 'a little strategery.'
Think lots (variety) in your choices of fix'n as opposed to lots (quantity) of a few. A variety of colors, flavors, and textures will add up to a larger serving size without overcrowding your bowl.
And just like meat makes a hearty meal, it makes a satisfying salad too. A serving size (about the size of your fist) of roasted chicken, honey ham, or grilled shrimp will not disappoint. But if you want real bite in your salad bites, beef is the way to go. Slice up what's left after a steak night or those last few ribs left over after a BBQ, and toss it in your salad for lunch. Watch your cube mates salivate over the sight of a nice piece of beef and a serving of greens in the same bowl.
Gorton's Fresh Seafood
Think lots (variety) in your choices of fix'n as opposed to lots (quantity) of a few. A variety of colors, flavors, and textures will add up to a larger serving size without overcrowding your bowl.
And just like meat makes a hearty meal, it makes a satisfying salad too. A serving size (about the size of your fist) of roasted chicken, honey ham, or grilled shrimp will not disappoint. But if you want real bite in your salad bites, beef is the way to go. Slice up what's left after a steak night or those last few ribs left over after a BBQ, and toss it in your salad for lunch. Watch your cube mates salivate over the sight of a nice piece of beef and a serving of greens in the same bowl.
Gorton's Fresh Seafood
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Breakfast Protein Drink (Take Two) & A Yogurt Blended Drink
I tweaked the Breakfast Protein Drink recipe a little bit, and came up with a thicker a mixture, meaning a little less mess:
Breakfast Protein Drink (Take Two)
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces sliced fruit
- 200 grams of soy protein
- 1 can orange juice from concentrate
Directions: Add all ingredients in blender. Add 1 and a half cans of water to blender. Blend until smooth.
Makes 5 servings (approximately 10 ounces)
And since I used the orange juice from concentrate, I now had a new carton of Strawberry Banana Nectar that I had originally planed to make the protein drink with. I remembered seeing a guy at the store the other day doing sample of home made smoothes with plain yogurt, and had an idea:
Yogurt Drink (In Testing...)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup strawberry banana nectar
Handful of ice cubes
Directions: Add all ingredients in blender. (I added 1/3 cup of Splenda because I accidentally bought unsweetened yogurt and it tasted awful. Yes, we're still testing it...). Blend until smooth.
Makes 1 servings (approximately 16 ounces)
Liquidation.com
Breakfast Protein Drink (Take Two)
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces sliced fruit
- 200 grams of soy protein
- 1 can orange juice from concentrate
Directions: Add all ingredients in blender. Add 1 and a half cans of water to blender. Blend until smooth.
Makes 5 servings (approximately 10 ounces)
And since I used the orange juice from concentrate, I now had a new carton of Strawberry Banana Nectar that I had originally planed to make the protein drink with. I remembered seeing a guy at the store the other day doing sample of home made smoothes with plain yogurt, and had an idea:
Yogurt Drink (In Testing...)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup strawberry banana nectar
Handful of ice cubes
Directions: Add all ingredients in blender. (I added 1/3 cup of Splenda because I accidentally bought unsweetened yogurt and it tasted awful. Yes, we're still testing it...). Blend until smooth.
Makes 1 servings (approximately 16 ounces)
Liquidation.com
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Experimentation: Southwestern Wraps
I'm home alone this weekend, so I get to go back to my bachelor cooking roots: you make it you eat it. I have some tortillas that need to be eaten, and a long list of honey-do's to work on, so I figured I'd get some work out of my slow cooker and rice cooker.
Your challenge, if you are brave enough to accept it, is to ignore the look of the finished product. My challenge was to make it as healthy as possible and still have some taste.
Now I present to you, Southeastern Wraps:
Ingredients
Large tortillas
20 oz No Fat refried Beans
6 Oz Boca burger meatless crumbles
12 oz Rotel diced tomatoes and chili's
12 oz no salt added whole kernel corn
1 cup uncooked rice
Jalapeños, hot sauce, black pepper, seasoning, and shredded cheese to taste
Place all ingredients except the rice in the slow cooker on high. Cook rice, and add to the slow cooker immediately. Cook for about 3-4 hours. Heat tortillas and the scoop about a half cup into your tortilla. Top it with shredded cheese, wrap it up and eat like a burrito.
Because I cook with no salt but like food with flavor, I add a lot of pepper and peppers to my meals. I use different spices and have plenty of varies of no-salt seasoning for different tastes. I used the Boca Burger because I didn’t want to brown ground beef.
America's Best Barbecue
Your challenge, if you are brave enough to accept it, is to ignore the look of the finished product. My challenge was to make it as healthy as possible and still have some taste.
Now I present to you, Southeastern Wraps:
Ingredients
Large tortillas
20 oz No Fat refried Beans
6 Oz Boca burger meatless crumbles
12 oz Rotel diced tomatoes and chili's
12 oz no salt added whole kernel corn
1 cup uncooked rice
Jalapeños, hot sauce, black pepper, seasoning, and shredded cheese to taste
Place all ingredients except the rice in the slow cooker on high. Cook rice, and add to the slow cooker immediately. Cook for about 3-4 hours. Heat tortillas and the scoop about a half cup into your tortilla. Top it with shredded cheese, wrap it up and eat like a burrito.
Because I cook with no salt but like food with flavor, I add a lot of pepper and peppers to my meals. I use different spices and have plenty of varies of no-salt seasoning for different tastes. I used the Boca Burger because I didn’t want to brown ground beef.
America's Best Barbecue
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Pizza The Action
A pizza is something everyone loves but no one can agree with. Ask two people to go in with you for a pizza, then ask them what they really want on their pie...
But for the bachelor with a little bit of creativity in need of a meal, pizza are perfect.
Prime Wine
But for the bachelor with a little bit of creativity in need of a meal, pizza are perfect.
Need to impress that new lady in your life?
"I've got some leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge, and I can add a little white wine to the pizza sauce..."
Playing uncle to your finicky niece or nephew?
"If you want to put sliced cheese on your pizza, its fine with me..."
Hanging with the fellas?
"Is that all the meat you can handle? Throw another handful of jalapeños on that bad boy..."Homemade pizzas are simple, and pretty cheap. You can find premade crust in the refrigerated section and in the bread aisle. Sauce can be traditional pizza sauce, or spaghetti sauce, or BBQ sauce, or whatever you stomach can, well, stomach. Buy a bag of cheese and top it with anything you can imagine.
Prime Wine
Monday, July 10, 2006
Breakfast Protein Drink
Need a little something to help get you going in the morning? Blend a batch of this protein drink on Sunday night and then you have a week's worth of on the go juice to get you started:
Breakfast Protein Drink
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces sliced fruit
- 200 grams of soy protein
- 40 ounces of orange juice
Directions: Blend until smooth.
Makes 5 servings (approximately 10 ounces)
Vitamin Shoppe
Breakfast Protein Drink
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces sliced fruit
- 200 grams of soy protein
- 40 ounces of orange juice
Directions: Blend until smooth.
Makes 5 servings (approximately 10 ounces)
Vitamin Shoppe
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Fun With Slow Cookers: Spicy Sausage and Beans
It’s hard to find two things in my kitchen that I like more than my slow cookers and my rice cooker. Food preparation doesn’t come any easier when you can throw some ingredients in the slow cooker and 8 hours later have a meal ready to eat. Add on near perfect rice (and always simple cleanup) with a good rice cooker, and you can learn not to fear meal preparation, especially if you're on the hook for party or pot-luck dishes.
Last night, at about 15 till midnight, I tossed into my slow cooker the ingredients for the recipe listed below, Spicy Sausage and Beans. 8AM this morning, I put on two cups of uncooked rice in my rice cooker. I doubled up the recipe which make enough to last for maybe two weeks is we follow serving size, so that I can put some of the meal away in the freezer for last minute meals. Plus, who actually follows serving size.
Spicy Sausage and Beans
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
16 oz can red kidney beans
16 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup frozen chopped green pepper
1 cup frozen chopped onion
4 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
Hot Sauce to taste
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours. Serve over rice. Serves about 6.
Cooking.com
Last night, at about 15 till midnight, I tossed into my slow cooker the ingredients for the recipe listed below, Spicy Sausage and Beans. 8AM this morning, I put on two cups of uncooked rice in my rice cooker. I doubled up the recipe which make enough to last for maybe two weeks is we follow serving size, so that I can put some of the meal away in the freezer for last minute meals. Plus, who actually follows serving size.
Spicy Sausage and Beans
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
16 oz can red kidney beans
16 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup frozen chopped green pepper
1 cup frozen chopped onion
4 tbsp Cajun Seasoning
Hot Sauce to taste
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours. Serve over rice. Serves about 6.
Cooking.com
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
The Bachelor Kitchen: 20 Items Your Fridge Should Contain
This is a list I pilfered from askmen.com years ago and have been carrying in my palm pilot. I don't remember if the article was stressing 'for you' or 'for you to whip something up in case you got lucky and wanted to seal the deal with you amazing culinary skills,' but the basis remains the same. These twenty items are a staple that can help you in the need of a last minute meal or just convince you that you don't need a third night of fast food.
20 Items Your Fridge Should Contain
The Basics:
1- Water
2- Juice
3- Coffee
4- Milk
5- Margarine
6- Eggs
7- Cold cuts
8- Bread
The Healthy Stuff:
9- Lettuce
10- Carrots
11- Onions
12- Garlic
13- Apples
Miscellaneous:
14- Lemons
15- Salad dressing
16- Ketchup
17- Mustard
18- Prepared chicken
19- Chilled wine or beer
20- Baking soda
Peapod Online Grocery Shopping
20 Items Your Fridge Should Contain
The Basics:
1- Water
2- Juice
3- Coffee
4- Milk
5- Margarine
6- Eggs
7- Cold cuts
8- Bread
The Healthy Stuff:
9- Lettuce
10- Carrots
11- Onions
12- Garlic
13- Apples
Miscellaneous:
14- Lemons
15- Salad dressing
16- Ketchup
17- Mustard
18- Prepared chicken
19- Chilled wine or beer
20- Baking soda
Peapod Online Grocery Shopping
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
The Summer Of Salads Lasts About Two Weeks: Lessons Learned
"The Summer of Salads" was an idea my wife came up with as a way to help her lose weight and possibly save some grocery money over the summer while we without our finicky 11-year-old son to fuss over what we where eating (he has been shipped to grandmother's for the summer where he allowed to eat cheese slices and peanut butter for every meal). The plan, simple enough, was to eat nothing but a salad for every single meal until Labor Day.
Well, "The Summer of Salads" is officially done due to lack of interest...from my wife...who pushed for this thing in the first place. While the headache of coming up with themed salads every day is officially over (a week or so worth of meals were chronicled at one of my other blogs, The Mis-Adventures of the Jazzy Cool One), the challenge of having to think up consecutive salads with variations to keep it from being boring was a great exercise in creativity. Here's a short listing of some of the things I learned:
-Vary your ingredients: Just because you like cucumbers, peppercorns, and olives in your salad, don't put them in every salad. Vary your ingredienants and you vary you salad's taste.
-Choose your dressing wisely: Just like you're going to learn to mix and match ingredients, test different dressings you like on different salad combinations.
-Croutons & crunchies: For some they make the meal. Try different types and flavors of croutons and salad toppings.
-Have some meat with your greens: A steak salad? Greatest thing I ever tasted! I also used baked chicken with different flavors (BBQ, Spicy, Salsa, and Honey Dijon) and diced ham for other salads.
-Toy with your definition of 'salad': Lose the bowl and stuff you lettuce and veggies in a pita, taco shell, or tortilla
Brecks Bulbs
Well, "The Summer of Salads" is officially done due to lack of interest...from my wife...who pushed for this thing in the first place. While the headache of coming up with themed salads every day is officially over (a week or so worth of meals were chronicled at one of my other blogs, The Mis-Adventures of the Jazzy Cool One), the challenge of having to think up consecutive salads with variations to keep it from being boring was a great exercise in creativity. Here's a short listing of some of the things I learned:
-Vary your ingredients: Just because you like cucumbers, peppercorns, and olives in your salad, don't put them in every salad. Vary your ingredienants and you vary you salad's taste.
-Choose your dressing wisely: Just like you're going to learn to mix and match ingredients, test different dressings you like on different salad combinations.
-Croutons & crunchies: For some they make the meal. Try different types and flavors of croutons and salad toppings.
-Have some meat with your greens: A steak salad? Greatest thing I ever tasted! I also used baked chicken with different flavors (BBQ, Spicy, Salsa, and Honey Dijon) and diced ham for other salads.
-Toy with your definition of 'salad': Lose the bowl and stuff you lettuce and veggies in a pita, taco shell, or tortilla
Brecks Bulbs
Introduction To The Bachelor Cooking Blog
Welcome to my newest blog, dubbed the Bachelor Cooking Blog. This site will be a place to post and get responses to various recipes and kitchen maneuvers, in hopes of one day putting it in some kind of book. Expect things on cooking, but also other important life skills to have and master for bachelors (and in some cases bachelorettes) to enjoy life now that mom isn't there to handle every household dilemma.
A little about me to start out with. First, I'm not a bachelor. I've been married for almost three years and have a great 11 year old stepson. However, being a single man out of the house for ten years gave me a lot of time to perfect my bachelor skills drilled into me by my parents. For example, they made sure I knew how to cook at an early age so that when I left home, I wouldn't be waiting on a wife for a good meal because they figured it would be hard to find a woman who actually could cook. My dating life proved that, and my married life is like the exclamation point.
I have been a writer from as early as I can remember, from bad poetry to fairly good articles. Hopefully, I’ll work out the kinks of “The Bachelor Book” here, and give you the (perspective) readers something in the processes.
Cooking.com
A little about me to start out with. First, I'm not a bachelor. I've been married for almost three years and have a great 11 year old stepson. However, being a single man out of the house for ten years gave me a lot of time to perfect my bachelor skills drilled into me by my parents. For example, they made sure I knew how to cook at an early age so that when I left home, I wouldn't be waiting on a wife for a good meal because they figured it would be hard to find a woman who actually could cook. My dating life proved that, and my married life is like the exclamation point.
I have been a writer from as early as I can remember, from bad poetry to fairly good articles. Hopefully, I’ll work out the kinks of “The Bachelor Book” here, and give you the (perspective) readers something in the processes.
Cooking.com
