Each meal that I make now attempts to combine a protein and a full serving of either fruits or vegetables.

I have also just about converted to turkey burgers, and can’t remember the last time McDonald’s cooked me anything that wasn’t a sausage egg mcmuffin.  I wonder if they miss me at 4th meal… I work the night shift.

Tonights dinner was really really good, it was center cut pork chops seasoned with old bay seasoning cooked in something that very closely resembled a stew.  Here is how it went down.

1) Season the pork chops on both sides with your favorite seasoning.  I chose old bay for porkchops because it saves me the trouble (and money) of combining all the spices I would use anyway!

2) Put down a tablespoon of olive oil in your biggest skillet and cook the pork chops on both sides for about 5 mins a side.

3) Chop up 1 onion and about 2 cups of baby carrots or long carrots.  If you are using normal size carrots, peel them then cut them 1 – 2 inches long, really your preference on this one, just don’t end up with carrot chunks.  Once you section the carrots, cut them in half end to end and put them aside.  Also, chop  1 or 2 stalks of celery, with nothing larger than a 1/4 inch.

4.  Once the pork chops are done cooking, remove them from the skillet and put them aside.  There not done yet!  Now you are left with all those amazing juices from the pork chops.  Put in the onions in the skillet and cook them on medium high until soft and they just start to turn color.  Once they turn, lower the heat and put in the skillet 2 cups of water and the carrots and chopped up celery.  Bring this to a boil and then let simmer until mixture starts to reduce.

5.  Put cooked pork chops back into the skillet and top with cheese.  Cover and once the cheese melts, you are done!.

Serve with a side salad or cooked greens, and tell me what you think!

2 cups seasoned bread crumbs or flour (season to personal taste)

2 eggs or 2 cups buttermilk

1 jar of dill or sweet pickles.

Heat vegetable oil on stove to 350 degrees, and make sure you have enough for pickles to float to the top of the oil, this will tell you when they are done.

Remove pickles from jar and place on towel, pat each pickle dry.  With one hand, place each pickle into the buttermilk and with the other hand, move each pickle one at a time into the bread crumbs.  From the bread crumbs, place each pickle individually into the oil just make sure that you don’t crowd them.  Try to not let them touch if you can help it.  Once they float to the top of the oil, remove them from the oil and place them on a plate with a paper towel on it to drain.  Serve with ranch, ketchup, or whatever your dipping vice may be, and enjoy!

If you don’t like pickles, I would assume you can fry almost anything like this, let me know your results!

Been under the weather the last few weekends, so all food tastes the same right now.

Needing inspiration, anything from the viewing audience?

Don’t be shy, I see your facebook posts too!!

1)  Add Olive Oil and Sliced Onions to bottom of pot.  Chop the onions as finely as you can, and then cook them until they are carmelized.  While this is happening, lightly salt both sides of the chicken breast, and place them in the pan.  Sprinkle allspice, garlic powder, rosemary and basil on each side of the chicken.  To prevent splattering of the oil, place a lid on the pot and brown the chicken on each side.

2)  Pre-heat oven to 400, and move chicken from stove top to a roasting pan.  Place grill in pan and chicken on the grill.  The oils and grease from the chicken will collect in the bottom of the pan, leaving behind some of the juiciest chicken you will have ever eaten.  Once the juices run clear, or internal temperatures are greater than 165 degrees, remove chicken from oven and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.

3) Serve with pasta, vegetable sides, or a hearty salad, and be pleased with the results.  You earned them!

I found allspice.   Usually paired with desserts, this powerful little spice transformed my soup into something unbelievable.

My wife had a suggestion that one day a week we have a meatless dish.  Its been an adjustment, but I have found out more about cooking on those days then any day of the week.  The soup turned out great, and it let us clear some space in the freezer / fridge for new groceries!

Roughly, the ingredients were

1 frozen bag of mixed veggies

1/4 of a bag of egg noodles

1/4 of a box of alphabet soup noodles (for the kids)

I stayed with very earthy spices, no garlic or anything that would take control of the dish, i instead made sure that all the flavors just came together.

• salt
• pepper
• rosemary
• allspice
• celery seed

I then let the veggies boil up and then simmer, meanwhile adding the spices in equal parts (no exact measurements, please, my grandma is watching!)

I then added the noodles last so that the flavor wouldn’t boil out from them, then let it all sit removed from heat for about 10 minutes for the final product to “rest”.

While it rested, I made the potato cakes.  They reminded me of pancakes, but had a very different texture, and outcome.

These came from using suggested proportions on the side of an instant mashed potato box, using the 4 servings directions.

I made the mashed potatoes and then moved them to the refrigerator to cool down.  After about 10 minutes, I pulled it out and mixed into it an egg and some salt.  Milk was added to make the desired consistency, then the entire mixture was placed on a cutting board.  I then heated a small pan and placed some butter in the pan, enough to crisp the edges of the potatoes so they could be cooked like pancakes.

They were the star of the show.

I started with a 5 pound picnic roast, which is basically a bone in pork shoulder.  It is a large bone, but this roast is a beauty.  You will need to also trim the fat from this guy as it has a very fat to meat ratio.  You don’t want to go crazy, but you will see that under the picnic there is almost 3/4 inch thick slab of fat that can be trimmed down.  Your reward is that the other side of this roast is pork skin, it makes an incredible crust and keeps the roast from burning.

You will need the following

Dry ingredients

• Salt
• Pepper
• Brown Sugar
• Mustard Powder

Wet ingredients

• Ketchup
• Worchestershire sauce
• Soy Sauce
• Mustard

You can try doing this a few different ways, just understand that this is not a quick recipe.  You will need at least 8 hours @ 350 degrees in the oven for this picnic to be the consistency of pulled pork.  You can try to eat it at around the 6th or 7th hour, but you will need to make sure it is up to temp and it is more of a roast consistency.  Still amazing, just a different dish.

Any way, all you need to do is prepare your rub and rub down all sides of the meat, except the fat located at the bottom of the roast, as it will melt away.  Be very generous with the rub, especially on the skin side.  Work it in with your hands, covering the roast.  Chop up some onions, garlic,  and celery and cover the bottom of the roasting pan with them.  Place roast on top of veggies and the pour in your liquid mixture.  At 350, this liquid should not boil away, and you will use it to pour it over the roast as it cooks in the oven.

Thats really it.  Be warned.  If people smell this being cooked, you will make new friends.  You will be pressured to pull it early, especially once you get to that crucial 7th hour.  That is when the meat will Finally break down and you will be able to make the pulled pork.  Don’t pull it early, you will be rewarded.

Serve over Garlic Bread or Texas toast with your favorite BBQ sauce, and let me know the results!

This is a simple one, but packed with flavor.  It also can be customized in many ways, can be seasoned almost any way you want, just remember the foundations here and you can make this one amazing!

1) Cut the chicken breasts in half to ensure even cooking, portions, and ease of skillet cooking

2) Don’t skimp on the type of olive oil, Extra Virgin is the only way to go here.

3) Season the chicken before cooking or cutting.

4) You are not frying these, so do not use a lot of oil, just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the skillet.

Recipe

3 Chicken Breast’s, split in have to promote more even cooking

Salt/Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Flavored for bread dipping

Defrost chicken in microwave or in refrigerator overnight.

Heat Olive Oil in skillet on Medium-High

Wash chicken and pat dry to get off all of the juices.

Season with salt/pepper to taste, then split the breasts with knife.  Spread breasts out, they should look like the shape of butterfly’s.

Cut in long strips and place strips in skillet, cook them in the oil until edges are brown, this will seal in the juices Because the chicken is also cut into strips, they might even cook all the way through.  That is fine.  Once brown on all side, move to either a 350 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes to thoroughly cook.  You can also move them to a foreman grill or a regular grill to get nice grill marks and ensure that you have cooked the chicken all the way through.

This one was a huge hit, it took about 10 minutes and we served it with steamed broccoli and a ceasar salad.

Tell me how it works for you!

All of the dishes listed here will follow the same format.

• Description of the flavors of the dish
• Description of the flavors being put together
• Description of  process to bring it all together.

Flavor of the dish

This dish is one of my wifes favorites, and the kids seem to like it too.  The shrimp and spaghetti will cook separately until just the very end, because of all of the potential flavors you can put on the shrimp.  My favorite is garlic and butter, but really, this dish allows you to test your creativity, and rewards you with amazing results!

Flavor of the ingredients

• Shrimp
• Spaghetti
• Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Butter
• Seasonings

Shrimp — Flavor is one of a kind, salty and just waiting for some TLC

Spaghetti – Umm… its spaghetti.  Not much to say there except to say don’t forget the oil when you boil it so that it doesn’t stick.

Olive Oil – Place in bottom of skillet once spaghetti has cooked.  It is important to use just enough that all the spaghetti is coated with the oil, but it should not be swimming in the oil.  If  it floats, you will have trouble.

Garlic – While at the start of our journey, you can use garlic powder, you really want to get away from it as soon as possible as an ingredient in this dish.  Minced garlic is fine, but 1 or 2 garlic cloves are best.  However, fresh garlic is more powerful than the powder, it is always better to choose less is more when using it, you can always add more if its weak.  The fun part of garlic is that once you break off a clove you get to smash it with your knife.  Just turn the blade sidewise over top of the clove and smash it with your fist.  Kablam!  now you have fresh garlic.  Cut it into smaller pieces and then throw it in the pan with the oil.  It will carmalize and allow the flavors to be a part of every bite of the spaghetti.

Seasonings

If you can find it, old bay seasoning simply makes this dish amazing.  In my mind its really all you have to add to the shrimp when cooking it, but again, this dish is designed to test your creativity and adventurous spirit.

The Final Product

The shrimp will also marinate in butter/oil, according to your preference in the dish.  Whatever flavor you want for your shrimp, add it to the the skillet of shrimp.  You want your shrimp to be completely flavored by itself and the spaghetti to also cook by itself so you can then bring them together at the end.  Shrimp start as pink when they start cooking and its also your preference if you leave the tails on or not.  The meat will get very tender and turn white very quickly, and once it is introduced to marinade, it will quickly take on the attributes of what it is cooking in.  Keep the shrimp moving in the skillet, move them around often so they do not burn.  You know its ready when the edges of the shrimp have a golden brown crust, and seem to shrink.  Your spaghetti should also be completed its boiling.  Quickly drain the spaghetti and fill the bottom of the skilled with a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Place smashed garlic in the bottom of the pan and let it cook until it turns brown.  Black is bad.  Brown is always good.  Once the garlic has cooked, add the spaghetti and shrimp.  Combine together and your work is done!

Let me know how this one works out for you, and I would love to hear of all the other cool flavors/substitutions you add to it.  Remember, in cooking, nothing is absolute, anything can be substituted, just remember the flavors you are putting together and you won’t go wrong.

I am a househusband by choice at the moment, and actually enjoying it.  I am almost 30, work a night shift job that allows me to spend time with my two boys while my wife and daughter go to school.  I have recently taken up cooking as a hobby, and maybe some day it will pay a few bills.  A guy can dream right?

My wife doesn’t enjoy slaving over a stove after a hard day at work, and so I have taken it on myself to help her with the meals and such.  I have had no professional training, and am inspired by the ramblings of ratatouille, simply stated, “anyone can cook”.

My first lesson would simply be this.  Learn to cook with olive oil.  Olive oil allows you to create almost anything you want, and is a staple for cooks at any level.  Olive oil also takes longer to burn than its other compatriots, it tastes better, and it seems to mix better with almost anything you combine it with.

Secondly, quickly learn proper meat stages, and be a master at implementing them all.  A meat thermometer is your friend!

Thirdly, Learn how to marry flavors together.  As in every marriage, it is obvious to all those around it when the marriage is working well, and when it is struggling.  Learn the basics of different tastes, and pair them with the partner who complements it the best!

Finally, learn the basics of seasoning foods.  We will talk about that alot, as this is what seemed to trip me up the most, and it truly is a mark of mastery as you learn how to properly season something that you can watch someone really genuinely enjoy!

The purpose of this blog is threefold

• Provide useful information about cooking meals from a journeyman or hobbyist point of view.
• Allow feedback from subscribers and other aspiring chef’s
• Share meal ideas, recipes, and meal planning ideas