Coleman Organic Chicken

Look at the gorgeous bird below...it's a Coleman Organic Chicken! Recently I published a product review about this beautiful chicken, which can be seen here:

Coleman Organic Chicken

Coleman Organic Chicken--Ready for Service

A Few Words about Chicken Nuggets....

Last week my cousin offered me a sample of some chicken nuggets that she'd purchased at a local fast food restaurant. I'm not going to mention any names here but one of the main colors used by this establishment is orange. The other is white. 

I bit into a chicken nugget. At first chew, it tasted okay and I was pleased to see that appeared to be made with real pieces of chicken, rather than the "mechanically separated" and "glued back together" version. 

I hadn't finished chewing completely before the horror struck my taste buds. Whatever they use in the batter for these nuggets tastes extremely bad--they're too salty, for one, but the chemical aftertaste was far worse.  Whoever had this "bright idea" for a recipe should have to go to a chicken farm and clean out the chicken coops for a week! Terrible! Awful! Yuck! 

I am disappointed in this establishment. These were some of the worst chicken nuggets I've ever tasted, and that includes the ones that don't use whole chicken pieces. I think they should remove them from the menu post-haste.

I might not have noticed if I had dipped them in any sauces first, but I doubt it. It could be that my taste buds just won't tolerate this kind of junk anymore...I eat fast food on VERY rare occasions, so my palate is not subjected to a lot of processed food. 

I used to eat burgers from this establishment occasionally, but I haven't in many years. The last time I did, they were still making burgers to order. They were okay. Nothing to dance in the street about, but okay. I think they should stick to burgers, really. 

Maybe I'm not being fair and I should give these nuggets another chance. I ate a total of four...all that my cousin had left in her box that she didn't want to eat. I guess I should have asked her the real reason she didn't finish them. I only ate them because I didn't want to seem rude by refusing her offer. Mistake! But I do hate to waste food and I certainly wouldn't have fed those things to any animals....so I went ahead and took a bullet. (Four of them, to be exact). 

Should I give them another chance? Not on my wallet!

And Now...Dessert...Thanks to the Screaming Strawberries...

You can view this super fast, easy recipe here:

Conchiglie di Pasta with Screaming Strawberry Compote

Another recipe was born in Dr. Frazier-stein's lab yesterday. This recipe was conceived because of the strawberries.

Mom: "Please do something about those strawberries. Please stop them from screaming!"

Me: "Okay."

I cleaned them up and threw them in a pot with some sugar on low heat. I remembered that there were some strawberries that were in the freezer...I had placed them there last month (or maybe the month before), so I decided to throw those in, too.

While rummaging around...I saw some cranberries that Mom bought at a farmer's market in Oregon when she was visiting my sister last year. The cranberries were still beautiful, and amazingly enough--free from frostbite. I threw them in with the strawberries.

At first I thought I was going to make a pie or a cobbler with this mixture. Then I thought about manicotti. I could stuff them with some cream cheese and we could eat them with the compote and some whipped cream.

The store was out of manicotti shells so I grabbed some jumbo pasta shells instead.

They worked fine, and those who made ugly faces at the thought of sweet pasta (maybe they were thinking about "Elf"), enjoyed the quick dessert. I'll post the recipe here after I write it down. I'm going to tweak it around next time, maybe. I'm happy that the first try turned out so well.

I didn't have any pastry tips handy or I would have made it look a little fancier: 

Stuffed Jumbo Shells & Fruit Compote

Patti Jean Rock Cornish Game Hens Review

Please visit: 

"Patti Jean Rock Cornish Game Hens"

For a brief history about the origin of Rock Cornish Game Hens and my review on Patti Jean hens.

The Newest Creature from Dr. Fraziersteins lab: Zucchini Boats

Dr. Frazierstein has been in the laboratory again. It's alive!! Alive!! Here is a vegetarian recipe that's very tasty and super easy to prepare: 

Zucchini Boats

Maybe they should have been called "Zucchini Canoes," but "boats" is what stuck, so there you are. 

View the recipe with lots of great pictures here: 

Zucchini Boats

Introducing: The Lancon Burger! (link updated)

A meal on a whim produced a burger legacy that has spanned decades: 

The Lancon Burger

Catch the full story along with the recipe here: 

The Lancon Burger

Happy Eating!

We Doan Need No Stinkin' Condiments!

Here is a burger to delight vegetarians and carnivores alike. This is not my recipe, let me be clear on that. This is my interpretation of a recipe from the Art Institute. It is (or was) served in the restaurant there. The restaurant is open to the public at a certain time of day. I don't know the current schedule but I'll find out and post it here. There are a lot of good menu items served there, and it helps the students when the public dines there.

I did not sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding recipes, so I'm hoping they won't mind if I post this on my blog. If they do mind, I guess I'll be hearing from the legal department, lol.

This burger is made using Portabello Mushrooms. Portabello, Portobello, Portabella...however you wanna spella', it's a damn good burger.

Portabello Burger

This one is very simple. You need: sauteed red onion, roasted red bell peppers, avocado, mozzarella cheese (muenster is good, too) and portabello mushrooms. That is it. That is all. Fin.

1. Clean the mushrooms (snap the step out of each if there is a stem to be snapped). Brush the mushrooms with olive oil, or spray them with your handy-dandy cooking oil spray. Grill them, broil them, or simply toss them in a skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes.
2.  Put them on paper towels, gill side down and let them drain while you prepare the other goodies.
3.  Roast a red pepper in the oven on broil.  (You can also buy these pre-roasted and stored in olive oil--Marzetti's is a good brand.) Let cool and peel off skin. Slice lengthwise into 1/4" pieces. 
4. Slice onion into 1/4" half slices. Saute in 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter or olive oil until soft. It's cool if you get some browning on the onions, just don't overdo it.  
5. Lightly toast your buns, if you like toasted buns. If not, then don't do it. Cover and set aside. 
6. Flip mushrooms onto a pan, gill side up. Season with salt and pepper. Cover each mushroom with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Place in oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. 
7. While the cheese is melting, peel and slice your avocado. 
8. Build your burger: Mushroom with cheese on the bottom of bun, add a generous helping of sauteed red onion, then your roasted red bell pepper. Top with slices of avocado. 
9. Now chow down! You doan need no stinkin' condiments on this burger! 

You can find the complete ingredient list & recipe here: 

Portabella Mushroom Burger

Here's what it looks like before you close it up.

If you don't want "purdy" avocado slices, or if the avocado isn't cooperating with you; just scoop it out and mash it, then use it that way instead.

Damn Good Burger! I'll take 2, please?

 Look at it, so quiet and unassuming. It's just waiting to surprise you with the flavorful ingredients hiding inside.

Oh, one final note: I don't peel my mushrooms. Whatever for? You can if you want to. It's a personal preference. Also, this burger is good when made using whole wheat buns, but we couldn't find any in town.

Whole wheat or white, I absolutely recommend using buns with NO high-fructose corn syrup! Luckily, these particular buns don't carry HFCS disease. WOO-HOO!!

I think I covered all you need to know in order to make this burger. If anything isn't clear, feel free to write me for clarification. 

Happy Eating!! :)