Kitchen Tip: Microwave "Baked" Potatoes - No Poking Required

 

"Potatoes in a Bin"
(Public Domain Photo) 

Do you use a microwave oven to "bake" potatoes? We went without one for a few years after the other one went kaput. Last year we finally took the plunge and got one at Costco. 

So a quick "baked" potato has become all the rage again, when hunger strikes and waiting for it to bake in a conventional oven is just not possible. It's not as great as a real baked potato, but hey...it is passable. 

One day I decided to change the preparation a bit. Instead of poking it with a fork in several places all over, I decided to make one cut with a knife.   

Here's how it works: 

1. Cut through the potato (lengthwise), almost to the other side, leaving about 1/4" to 1/2" uncut. Cutting it halfway will work as well. 

2. Place the potato in the microwave, with the cut side to the facing to the side. 

3. Cook as usual as per your microwave wattage.

Poking holes with a fork can sometimes be a pain, and you have to poke it in several places. That could be just me. When I poke it, I really poke the thing, and sometimes it's hard to pull the fork back out because of suction. 

Cutting it saves time and possible burns after cooking because all you have to do is open it up to add your favorite toppings, instead of cutting the hot potato. 

It cooks better too. I don't think I'm imagining that. I've done it multiple times.

So try it out next time you make a microwave potato, and let me know how it works for you. 

Happy Eating! 

Kitchen Tip for Pepperoni Lovers

 

Pepperoni, a classic topping we know so well. I still love it on occasion. What I don't love is the excess oil. I have been using paper towels to remove it on take-out pizzas (and frozen pizzas) for years. 

At some point back in the 90s, when I used to make homemade pizza for the kids on a regular basis, I started thinking about ways to remove some of the oil in the pepperoni before baking the pizza. 

There are two different ways I do this. One is simply layering the pepperoni slices on a plate and popping it in the microwave, then heating it for short intervals until the pepperoni releases enough oil to satisfy me. 

That method is acceptable, but I like the stovetop method better, because you have more control over the process. Just use a frying pan, (any will do the job), and toss your pepperoni in over low to medium heat. The slices don't have to be precisely lined up in one layer for this. Just toss in a handful, (or more if you're having a big pizza bash), and toss them around occasionally until they change color and the oil is released. Then pull them out and drain on paper towels. 

How long you want to do that is up to you. The pepperoni will be crispier after you bake the pizza, so monitor your oil-release level. After you've done it a couple of times you'll learn what your desired level of oil removal is. 

I have also used this method and made pepperoni "sprinkles" to add to pizzas (after baking the pizzas), salads, sandwiches, and other dishes that benefit from a sprinkling of crispy pepperoni. I just leach enough oil from the pepperoni until it is crunchy, then drain and chop it up when cooled. 

If you're a total pepperoni fiend you can make a double-pepperoni pizza and use the pepperoni sprinkles along with the familiar Parmesan cheese & red pepper flakes to finish off the pizza after baking. Pepperoni Heaven! (Just keep a large supply of antacids around as a sub for after-dinner mints. 😉)

You can use the same methods on cubed pepperoni. It won't make pizza into a health food, but at least it will remove a lot of fat without compromising the flavor. 

If you have any questions, just drop me a line in the comments. 

*Note:  Images are Public Domain

No attribution required.

Costco Product Review: Mission Hill Bistro Sliced Beef Brisket

 We recently took a trip to Costco after a lengthy hiatus. While we were there we decided to buy something for the 4th of July meal. It was an "impulse buy" that happened because the sample was so tasty, (which doesn't happen often, at least not on my part). We don't buy pre-cooked food like this on a regular basis, but once in a while it is okay. 

I am usually leery of products like this because of experience with them in the past. Sometimes you hit a winner, sometimes not. As far as smoked brisket is concerned, it's usually the latter. But we were at Costco, so the line of thought was that the product would be superior to those purchased in the past. In addition to that, in wasn't a sample consumed under duress by hunger, because we'd already had lunch. Taste buds are more objective when hunger is removed from the equation, at least to a degree, (That's just my opinion though. Your mileage may vary).

Mission Hill Bistro Sliced Beef Brisket

Here is the package of the Mission Hill Bistro Sliced Beef Brisket. I should have taken a picture before I opened it, but I didn't think about writing a review until I had already mangled it. I didn't want to cadge a photo from another website, so this is what I have. You may have seen Mission Hill Bistro products elsewhere. If I remember correctly, we purchased a beef roast dinner from Costco a couple of years ago that was the Mission Hill Bistro brand. 

This brisket is good. It's not like brisket from a BBQ joint, of course, but for a pre-cooked brisket, it is very tasty. There is no odd "aftertaste" like I've experienced from pre-cooked briskets (or other pre-cooked meats) in the past. It has a smoke ring, and the slices are very thin. It was jumbled in the package, just a big clump of meat, not neatly laid out in rows. There was solidified beef fat visible in the package, but not to the extreme. It had just the right amount, instead of being totally steeped in fat. 

I was going to put the whole shebang in the oven, but I opted to follow the heating instructions, at least loosely, because it was slightly frozen after being stored in our refrigerator's bottom bin. You can heat it entirely in a microwave, or you can heat it in the microwave followed by a stovetop visit in a pan with a tiny bit of oil. I did the latter. You don't need a lot of oil, I may have used 2 or 3 tablespoons. 

This brisket is tasty even without any adornments. I had my sauce on the side. I think it would be great for brisket tacos too, among other things. There were at least two pounds of brisket in the package and the price was reasonable. 

I was curious about the source of the beef, so I conducted a search on the company. Mission Hill Bistro is a trademark of Stampede Meat, which was founded in 1995. According to their website, they are "an innovative protein solutions company," and they have 5 facilities in the U.S. Four are in the Chicago area, and one is in New Mexico, where they converted a plant that used to belong to Tyson Foods. The New Mexico plant had its grand opening in 2018. 

Last year, the company filed a lawsuit in federal court after it was ordered to close the New Mexico facility for two weeks in November of 2020 because of the number of COVID-19 cases reported there. The lawsuit was settled in March of this year. You can read more about that here: Las Cruces Sun News. 

Stampede Meat has a blog on their website, and there's a post there from September of 2020 that is of interest. The company received an "infectious disease prevention certification" in Illinois. They were taking the proper steps to protect their employees, so I don't believe that the lawsuit they filed in New Mexico was a simple matter of greed. That is my opinion. One of the other reasons they fought against closure was the millions of pounds meat that would have to be destroyed if they closed for those two weeks, according to their pleadings in the lawsuit. I do recall reading about other companies throwing food away last year when facilities had to be closed. 

But everything "on paper" looks pretty good as far as Stampede Meat is concerned. They donated food to frontline workers, implemented a home delivery system for consumers to help slow the spread of COVID-19, and they had onsite COVID-19 vaccinations in both New Mexico and Illinois. They are taking the pandemic seriously. Kudos to them for that. 

I looked for employee reviews that were on other sites to get an idea about working conditions. The average for the company is about 3 out of 5 stars. Long hours, too cold, not enough breaks, and the need for better compensation were some of the complaints. Other former employees said there is room for advancement at the company, and there are benefits available. 

The company is also very concerned about food safety and has a program that exceeds USDA Food Safety standards. All of this inspires me to purchase their products again in the future.

As far as company sources for unprocessed products, well, they do use sources here in the U.S., and I can definitively say that they have imported beef products from Canada, Australia, and Mexico, according to the bills of lading available for view on import databases. I think we can assume they use imports from other countries as well, since the U.S. is ranked as one of the top importers in the world, and one of the main suppliers of meat in the U.S. is Stampede Meat, according to the Garay Company. If you have any insight about any of the info I posted here, feel free to share it and I'll happily add it and/or make corrections. 

Verdict: Mission Hill Bistro Sliced Beef Brisket is a good product that you can feel safe about consuming, thanks to the stringent standards of Stampede Beef, and the product has no "off-putting" aftertaste.

Mission Hill brisket, homemade potato salad, 
homemade sauce, chili beans

 

 

Texas BBQ Sauce

 

Texas barbecue sauce. What does it mean to you? If you're a Texan, what is the sauce you believe to be "The Sauce of Texas?" Same question to those who aren't Texans, I like to get every viewpoint here. 

I say, well, in the first place: Good bbq doesn't need sauce at all. It should be able to stand on its own, with sauce on the side for dipping if desired. No question about that. 

Now that that is out of the way, let's address the sauce. To me, a good sauce should also stand on its own. The sauce should be so satisfying that you can eat it with just bread and feel content. The sauce should be so good it should be in its own food group (Yeah, you know, like Aunt Meg's gravy in that movie...ha!) 

To me, a good sauce has sautéed onions, garlic, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, red wine or apple cider vinegar, a bit of molasses, S&P, chili powder, paprika, a few drops of Tabasco...and no feckin ketchup! Tomato paste is acceptable, but it is optional. Make it, throw it in a blender (optional), and serve it. 

This is the sauce I grew up with. Every bbq event, (whether private or public), had this sauce. Maybe it was a county thing or a regional thing...I wasn't old enough to drive around and sample sauce everywhere, nor did I think about doing such a thing when I was a kid. I just knew that I could expect it no matter where we had barbecue. 

Now I am hard pressed to find it anywhere around here. Bottled sauce seems to be the go-to for many. If it's not bottled, then it is some weak, pitiful version of bbq sauce. Maybe someone around here actually has it and I missed it somehow. I don't eat a lot of bbq these days, but I know most of the places in this area just don't have it. The last few times we bought plates to support various causes in the area, the people responsible for the bbq didn't have it either. 

Sauce seems to be an afterthought most of the time. I can understand that, because if you believe you have the best bbq, why is it needed in the first place, right? Okay, I get that, but if you are going to offer it, offer a sauce that has substance, not these weak, wannabe sauces. Not these sauces that are bottled sauces thinned with water, or a sauce with ketchup, Worcestershire, maybe a little vinegar & molasses. Forget about that! Make a good "stick to your ribs" sauce (pun intended?), and you'll get even more butts in those proverbial seats. 

What the heck happened to the good sauce? I remember watching it being made so many times when I was a kid. The cooks used giant stockpots, or even the giant iron cauldrons that can be hung over a fire if needed.  That's the ticket! 

My grandparents worked with a lot of families in this area when the big events were held, like Father's Day at Millheim Harmonie Hall,  Mother's Day at Peter's Hall, and countless others. I watched Mr. & Mrs. Lux make this sauce for the Chuckwagon Cafe at the fair when I worked there during the high school years. Everyone in our family made the sauce for barbecue. Any excess was frozen for future use, because it does freeze well. I'm sure my grandma has it written down somewhere among her collection of recipes. 

Today I made it for the 4th of July with some assistance from Mom to make sure I had the proper elements nailed down. Taste test, taste test. The ultimate taste test, I grabbed a piece of bread to test it. It passed! Score one for the kid! I know it will taste even better tomorrow, just like chili & stew do. When someone tells you the flavors need to "marry," they ain't pullin' your leg, Pod'nah. 

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July! 

Brisket with Texas BBQ Sauce on the side

Let's talk about...Swedish Meatballs

There are many different kinds of meatballs, but today I want to focus on Swedish Meatballs. Have you ever been in a restaurant that had Swedish Meatballs on the menu? You don't see that often around here. Maybe at a cafeteria. Well, one day I was at a restaurant and I decided to order their "Swedish Meatballs." Talk about disappointment! They brought out a bowl of what could only be described as meatball soup. Meatball soup IS a thing in different cuisines. But Swedish Meatballs are not meatball soup.

Granted, it's not the fanciest place in the world, but the food is usually passable (for the most part), and resembles its menu description. Not so with the Swedish Meatballs. What ended up at our table was nothing but meatball soup. Bland meatballs...not much flavor at all, plus some large pieces of bell pepper, and there were a few waterlogged tomato pieces in it too. I ate it, because I don't like to waste food, but it took a very long time to get over it. Plus, since I was really busy at the time, I didn't have time to make any at home to help erase that terrible meatball experience for at least 6 months.

Anyway, I had to have a rant about that. I've been meaning to rant about it for a while on this blog but  I didn't have time. Well, here it is...finally. (I won't call out the name of the establishment that has the non-Swedish Meatballs. If you want to know, I can reveal the name privately.)

I like my Swedish Meatballs with cream sauce. Some enjoy them with a little ligonberry jam or sauce on the side, but it's not a requirement for me as long as the cream sauce is available, along with some egg noodles.

Here is a batch I made recently, paired with spaetzle and sautéed asparagus. A lot of work but well worth it. I'll have to post the recipe. I got it from a Swedish friend, and of course I did some tweaking...not to change the recipe, but to enhance the texture of the meatballs.

So, until next time...Happy Eating! :)

Hassle-Free Cheese Enchiladas with Homemade Chili Gravy

Fast & Hassle-Free Cheese Enchiladas

A cheese enchilada dinner in under an hour. Works for me. The homemade chili gravy is a MUST though. The canned stuff totally sucks.

Use your favorite cheese. I used American cheese in brick form, (Velveeta or the like), and cut the cheese (ha ha) into sticks after it had some time in the fridge so it would be easier to cut. The enchiladas were topped with grated cheddar cheese, plus diced onions (truck-stop style, back in the day).

The best thing about these hassle-free enchiladas is skipping the PITA oil procedure. I don't like using the microwave method, (and we don't have a microwave in the house anyway), so this is what I do:

Heat up a comal, or cast-iron frying pan, (I have also used a non-stick pan and it worked just fine), spray lightly with oil spray, take the corn tortillas out of the package and put all of them in a stack in the middle of the pan. I used 10 the last time, so all 10 were stacked on top of each other in the pan.

After the bottom tortilla is heated, (and lightly toasted), spray the tortilla on the top of the stack, and flip the whole stack. Flip the tortilla that was on the bottom, spray it, then flip the whole stack over again. When the first tortilla is lightly toasted, remove it from the stack and place it in a container with a lid. (I don't have a tortilla holder so I use a wide, shallow bowl and put a pot lid that fits the bowl on top. The key is having enough space so the entire stack is covered when you're finished toasting the tortillas.) Keep going with the stack until all are lightly toasted. (And hey...you can do this one tortilla at a time, but by keeping them in a stack, the weight of the other tortillas hastens the toasting. Besides, it's fun to do it this way. lol)

I don't spray each tortilla every time, it just depends on how much oil is still on the bottom of the pan.  If there is still a sheen on the bottom of the pan, I don't use the oil spray. When you are ready to assemble your enchiladas, flip the stack over and start with the tortilla that's on the bottom.

You get more flavor this way than you would with the microwave method, and you don't have to deal with the PITA method and get oil everywhere and have the oil odor lingering in the house all night long. It's a win-win.

Hassle-Free Cheese Enchiladas

For the chili gravy: 

1/4  cup oil or butter

1/4  cup A/P flour

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cumin (to your taste)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp. paprika

1-2 Tbsps. chili powder (to your taste)

1 pinch of red pepper (or more if you like more heat)

2 cups of water, chicken stock, beef stock, or vegetable stock)

S&P to your taste

1 Tbsp. tomato paste (optional)

1. Using a 10-inch frying pan, make a roux with the flour & oil (or butter). Cook at least 3 minutes to eliminate the raw taste of the flour -- letting it cook until it is slightly golden is optional, but preferred. 

2. Add the chili powder & paprika, stir until combined, keep stirring & cook for 1 to 2 minutes. 

3. Add the stock while stirring to prevent lumps. 

4. Add the rest of the ingredients. Let it simmer for a few minutes before assembling the enchiladas. 

5. You might want to add a little extra water or stock to thin the gravy out a bit more before using. 

For the enchiladas:

10, six inch, white or yellow corn tortillas (homemade or your favorite brand)
16 oz. brick of American cheese or 20 oz. of your favorite cheese, shredded (I used American cheese but I didn't use the entire pound)
1/2 -3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese for the topping
Oil spray (as needed)
Chili gravy (recipe above)
Optional: 1/2 cup white onion (small dice)

1. Heat 10 corn tortillas using your preferred method.

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

3. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with oil spray. Ladle some chili gravy into the baking pan, just enough to cover the bottom.

4. Ladle a scant amount of chili gravy onto a tortilla, (1-2 Tbsps.), then enough shredded or diced cheese for filling (1-2 oz.). ***Alternatively, you can dip the tortilla in the gravy, but ladling it in does the job with less mess.*** Sprinkle in a teaspoon of diced onions if desired.  Roll up the tortilla and place it seam side down into the pan.

5. Keep going until all tortillas are filled, then ladle as much chili gravy as you like over the top of the enchiladas.

6. Cover your pan with a lid or with aluminum foil and place it in the oven.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle shredded cheese on top and sprinkle with the rest of the onions, if desired. Bake for 5 more minutes until the cheese melts.

8. Enjoy with your favorite side dishes.

Feel free to use more cheese. I don't like cheese overkill...(cheesed up to the point where all you taste is cheese and none of the yummy gravy or the corn tortillas), so I don't use an insane amount.

Tex-Mex Tales

I haven't checked in for a while and shame on me! There have been many food adventures since I last posted and I have a lot of catching up to do. Today, though, I need to opine about Tex-Mex.

We recently heard some sad news about the state of  a couple of Tex-Mex restaurants in our little town of Sealy, Texas. There was a report of possible rodent infestation at two of our local restaurants. The sources which generated this information are credible.

I'm not going to mention any names...if you live in Sealy and you want to know, send me a private message. I will describe the incidents, though.

The first incident involved take-out containers. The recipients of the take-out containers are related to me, so I take their word on this. The containers had been gnawed on by rats (or other small rodents). I shudder to think of what else they might be up to in that particular kitchen. Why didn't the waitstaff notice the teeth marks? I don't know. Maybe they did and decided to use them anyway to save money. Maybe they thought no one would notice. Yeah, that didn't work out so well. Now the word is out.

The second incident is far worse. Witnesses described a scene right out of a horror movie...oh, let's say...like "Willard" or "Ben." Meat had been left out on the counter to defrost, (already a big no-no and food safety hazard). The worst part? Rats were gnawing on the meat. Oh, yum-yum! NOT!

That's a little too close to "Demolition Man" food for me. (Remember the burger?) Not that that particular restaurant would have substituted a few of the rodents to make up for the loss of the meat, but...well...my mind wanders.

So...even if there is an announcement that these problems have been resolved...I just don't see myself being able to dine at either of the places again. Ever. It's a damn shame, because both of them were good. Not the greatest ever, but good most of the time.

Now if we crave Tex-Mex, we're out of luck as far as dining out. Well, there is one other place here, but we haven't been in years. Their beans always taste "off," like they weren't held at proper temperatures. (My theory on that was that they must have used them for the lunchtime buffet and saved them for the evening meal.)

That leaves driving out of town or home-cooked Tex-Mex. We do it on occasion anyway, so it's not that much of a stretch. That's what we ended up doing yesterday, on a bigger scale. We did a "combo meal": salad plate with tacos & guacamole...then cheese enchiladas, tamales, Mexican rice and beans. All dishes were made from scratch, except the tamales. Fresh and delicious! Untouched by rodent lips! Win, win, WIN!!

Of course, some of the products had GMO ingredients...hard to avoid since GMOs have invaded so many of our crops. But, the good outweighed the bad, in my opinion. 

Cheese Enchiladas from the home kitchen

No need to boil your corn tortillas to soften them. There is a better way. We'll talk about that later, though.

Loaded Tacos! 

Fortunately, we had some sour cream on hand, too. Oh, and don't buy that nasty taco mix full of fillers. You can make it at home in a snap.

Cheese Enchilada Plate with a tamale, refried beans & yummy rice

All we needed for this was a little extra gravy...I should have made two batches. The beans were brined overnight before cooking. We've been doing this a lot lately...it really makes a difference!

Now our Tex-Mex craving has been satisfied...and we have leftovers!! WOO-HOO!!

Have a great day and may you enjoy "rodent-free" cuisine for the rest of your life!

Tex-Mex Chicken Breasts with Rockin' Red Sauce

Annnnnnd....we have yet another success story from "Dr. Frazier-stein's" lab!! This recipe is fast and easy and will surely please lovers of Tex-Mex!

Click the link below to view this yummy creation:

 Tex-Mex Chicken Breasts with Rockin' Red Sauce

Very Tasty!!

Michael Angelo's Chicken Piccata: Product Review

Yes, it's been a while but I'm still here! Please enjoy this product review and then run out and buy some for yourself....(just click the link below):

Michael Angelo's Chicken Piccata

Michael Angleo's Chicken Piccata served over fresh pasta.

 

Roasted Kale, a Good Dish Indeed...

Roasted Kale: I've never eaten it and certainly never prepared it. That has changed because I ended up doing both in one day. This was the lovely food that was dinner, which also included a beautiful salad (not pictured).

Broiled Swai with a Shrimp-n-Mushroom Topping, Roasted Kale garnished with Caramelized Onions, & Mashed Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic. 

Another successful evening in the laboratory. Yahooooooo!!!!! :)

DO Try This at Home!

A Carrot Craving Turns into a Darn Good Side Dish

The word "craving" can be viewed as negative, if  you're on a diet and craving chocolate. It can be a positive thing, though. I was craving glazed carrots one day. By the time supper rolled around and it was time to cook, my brain had added a few more things to the carrots. The recipe is at the link, if you'd like to try it.

Carrot & Turnip Saute with Mango Glaze 

Carrot & Turnip Saute with Mango Glaze--Garnish: Spicy Toasted Sunflower Seeds

Eat More Salad!

I have to mangle Forrest Gump's quote a bit: "Salads are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."

Very true when you are dining out: Salads can be very good, very bad, or any point between the two.

They can also be very ugly, but as long as the ingredients are fresh, I'd chow down! But, if they are ugly as in: Rusty lettuce, dried out vegetables, looks like someone took them out to the parking lot and ran over them before service, well....Run, Forrest! RUN! 

Keep a good supply of veggies and fruits at home--that's your best bet. It takes minutes to throw a salad together and it's definitely worth it in the long run.

The stars of this yummy salad are: Leaf lettuce, baby greens, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, turnips, zucchini, carrots, red bell pepper, red onion, grape tomatoes, black olives, avocados & fresh mushrooms.

Go make yourself a salad right now!

Another shot of this kick-ass salad.

Fun Food, Fast Preparation

Here's a little something I whipped up that turned out to be interesting visually, so I decided it needed to be on the blog.

The taste was excellent, too.

Story is: I had some leftover spaghetti sauce that I made for us the other day. I didn't feel like eating pasta, but wanted to have more of a pizza-type dish instead. But not pizza. I also had some of that delicious rolled mozzarella left over, (the one with prosciutto & basil). 

So...I just needed some bread. French bread or baguettes. I didn't feel like baking any of those and driving to Katy was out. Wal-Mart was definitely out. That left the local grocery store, which is where I buy the majority of food items between trips to H.E.B. and other good stores in Katy & Houston. Support your local merchants!

Okay, the grocery store, Bill's, used to have a bakery but after they moved back to their old location a few years ago, they didn't have the room or the equipment. They purchase baked goods from a bakery in Houston. The items from this bakery are okay. I don't buy them that often. When I decided on this little endeavor, the baguettes that were available were in horrendous shape. They were under-baked and had weird looking spots on them, as if something was dripped into the baguette pans before the dough went in. So those baguettes were out.

Next best thing? At Bill's, that would be: Alexia's Garlic Baguettes. These baguettes are really, really good. They are partially baked and you do the rest at home. Bill's started carrying these...let's see....last year? The year before? It wasn't terribly long ago.

First, they had single baguettes. I noticed that they were almost always low on these when I went through the frozen section while shopping. Now they have double packs of this bread, plus some Alexia Dinner Rolls (the whole grain version). Good! Maybe we'll see even more Alexia products at Bill's in the future!

Back to the original story:

Of course the garlic baguettes already have garlic and butter, but I thought they would be okay for some pizza action. I opened the package and one of the loaves was broken in half. Dang it! I was going to cut them lengthwise, even though they are partially cut into slices.

Okay, so I ended up with two slices and four sections cut lengthwise. No problemo, Ahnuld.

Added "pizza" sauce and a slice of the mozzarella roll on each piece, then popped them into the oven until the cheese melted pretty good.

So here is the result. With the Superbowl coming up and all, I figured, enh...why not post it? It's a fast, fun food for a party, even when it's not Superbowl time. It looks impressive and it's really easy to make. It only took.....(how many paragraphs now?)....a little bit of yakking on my part to finally get to the point. Ha ha!

I suggest doing this next time instead of wasting money on frozen pizzas or frozen french bread pizzas. Those things have a LOT of crap in them, and frankly, they aren't really that good, even the more expensive brands. And yeah, pizza delivery. Convenient, but not all places have French bread pizza and really, there's a lot of junky-monkey crap in those products as well. Make it yourself whenever you can! You'll be eating less junk (chemicals, etc.) and have more flavor, even if you use a bottled sauce (as long as it doesn't have a lot of junk in it).

Okay, I will shut up now. Here is the photo of the baguette pizza:

Baguette Pizza

More Fun with Sriracha: The Sriracha Chicken Sandwich

These Sriracha chicken tenders would make an excellent po' boy sandwich. I didn't have any baguettes on hand so I made a regular sandwich with them the day after I enjoyed the successful Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders recipe.

This sandwich is served graced with tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and spicy ranch. If I'd had some sliced avocado, it would have been the perfect finishing touch.

I think it would be worth it to butterfly the breast, then follow the recipe as usual. Use the butterflied breasts to make a sandwich using regular bread, ciabatta bread or toasted hamburger buns. Yum!!

Beats any chicken sandwich from any fast food joint any day of the week! 

Sriracha Chicken Sandwich

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders marinated in Sriracha, then tossed in a spicy coating. Unlike the Colonel, I will share my recipe. There's no junk in it to hide from the public. Like, you know, msg and other bad crap you shouldn't be putting in your body.

Served with celery, avocado slices and spicy ranch dressing.

Most of the time spent for this dish is the preparation time. The cooking time is minimal.

Stay tuned for this recipe, I'll post it as soon as I can.

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders

Fish doesn't have to be boring...

Fish is a healthier alternative to meat, unless of course, it's battered and fried or baked and covered with a rich, creamy topping.

Well, you want to keep it light, right? Fish doesn't have to be boring. Toppings don't need to be made with butter & cream (though it is okay to do this on occasion).

The picture below is a fillet of swai. I would say it's like tilapia or cod, mild in flavor. The texture is more like tilapia, though.

This swai fillet was broiled 4-5 inches from the heat source for 7-8 minutes. You have to be careful with fish...it's just not as good when it's overcooked. 7-8 minutes is plenty of time (just watch your oven...temps can vary from oven to oven). Remember that there will be "carryover" cooking after the fillet is removed from the oven, too.

Back to the swai: the topping here is made from sauteed onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and romaine lettuce. The lettuce is added at the tail end of cooking. Cook for about 2-3 minutes after adding it, then cover and turn off the heat.

An herb-infused sauce was also used on the fillet. Not a lot. It wasn't drowning in it. I simply drizzled it over the filet before topping it and drizzled a bit more on top of that.

I'll post the full recipe as soon as I can. The swai and the topping went well together served with Jasmine rice pilaf and steamed duo of broccoli and cauliflower.

It was a healthy meal and tasty, too!

Fillet of Swai with Vegetable Topping

Lucky 7 Shrimp Salad

I spent a long day reviewing empirical studies and peer-reviewed articles for a research project. I decided that doing a bit of work in the "lab" was in order...for rest and relaxation. Here is what was born in Dr. Frazier-stein's lab today (click on the link below for the recipe):

Lucky 7 Shrimp Salad

Shrimp kissed with a marinade of balsamic vinegar, sesame oil & ginger syrup, then lightly roasted.

Served on a bed of baby greens dressed with emulsified apple dressing and garnished with toasted sesame seeds.

Was it good? 

It was GOOOOOOOOOOOOD! 

This one's a keeper! 

Lucky 7 Shrimp Salad

Mac-n-Cheese=Good. Mac-n-Three Cheese=BETTER!

This batch has Tillamook Cheddar, Muenster and Parmesan. Too much is never enough! My recommendation: Use a combination of cheeses whenever you make mac-n-cheese. Beats boxed crap full of chemicals EVERY time, even if you just use one type of cheese.

Another Successful Dish from Leftover Holiday Turkey

Turkey Croquettes! Okay, so they were patties. They cooked faster that way. The remainder of the Thanksgiving turkey went into these. Good stuff.

On a side note, the mixture itself would have made for some great turkey salad sandwiches<<<and that is coming from someone who is NOT a fan of chicken salad sandwiches. Tuna, sure. Never have cottoned to chicken salad, though. Maybe I will now, however.

You can view the recipe here: Baked Turkey Croquettes.

Baked Turkey Croquettes..err...umm...patties...Ha!

Vatrushky Night...Fun with Food!

A Lovely Vatrushka

Vatrushky, (the plural of vatrushka, much like kolache is the plural of kolach), are Russian cheese tarts that are savory instead of sweet. These tarts are very popular in the Ukraine and often served with dishes such as borscht.

I was doodling around one night, looking in a cookbook when I ran across a recipe for vatrushky. Had to try it out, of course.

The recipe called for cottage cheese which had to be drained for a few hours. For those interested, I used the entire tub of cottage cheese (16 ounces), and ended up with 2/3 of a cup of cottage cheese swill. (Which would have been great to use in another recipe, but alas! I didn't save it.)

These tarts are rolled out by hand but if you have some of those nifty mini-tart pans, those would do, too. Heck, you could get away with using a pie pan and just making one big one. But in the interest of making them the traditional way, I rolled them out.

These tarts are gooooood. The dough is superb. I think that it would be great in place of regular pie dough to make pies. I'm telling you, this is the closest recipe I've had where the dough tasted like communion wafers. If it was rolled thin enough, it would almost be spot on.

Anyhoo, I'm sure it was the sour cream in the recipe that made the dough so heavenly. Here's a link to a good vatrushky recipe if you're interested: Ukrainian Classic Kitchen. This is not the same recipe I used when I made my vatrushky, but it's close enough for a handshake.

Please enjoy my pictorial vatrushky adventure:

Roll out the dough: 4" circles

Crimp the sides

Add the filling

Glaze the whole tart with egg wash

The finished vatrushka!!

Happy Eating, Boys & Girls! :)