Now this meal is super easy, very health and even better tasting. My freezer was starting to get a little empty and towards the back I found a few pieces of salmon. I've never really done much with fish so I wasn't too excited to try coming up with something good. I started looking up some different recipes and came up with something that didn't sound too bad but turned out to be one of my new favorite dishes. It takes a few ingredients but it's real easy to put together Just get the following:
1/2 lb whole wheat spaghetti
4 pieces of salmon (4-6 ounces)
1 clove garlic minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
3 tablespoons capers (they're by the olives in the store, I had trouble finding them too)
1 lemon zested
2 cups fresh baby spinach
If you're new to cooking, you probably don't know much about zesting a lemon. You'll need to get a rasp or a hand-held grater. Over a cutting board just rub the yellow(zest) off the peel of the lemon and save the zest.
In a large pot of salted water boil the spaghetti about 8-10 minutes or until tender. Strain and put in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, minced garlic salt and pepper. Mix it all in and set aside.
Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan, season the salmon with salt and pepper, and cook about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the salmon from the pan.
Now add the basil, capers, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the spaghetti and mix all these in. Set out 4 plates and lay out 1/2 cup on the baby spinach on each. Top the spinach with 1/4 of the spaghetti then place a the salmon on top.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Whiskey Burgers
So I had about a pound of ground beef left in the freezer and I was trying to think of what I wanted to do with it tonight. As I had it out thawing I started looking through the cupboards for what I would use to give these burgers a little kick, and what came out of it was a lot better than I had expected. Here's what you'll need
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion
3 tablespoons Jack Daniels whiskey
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Place the ground beef into a large bowl and mix in 2 tablespoons of the whiskey and the Worcestershire sauce evenly. Then mix in the cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Mix evenly but be careful to not over mix the ingredients. Split the ground beef up into two equal patties and set aside.
Heat up a large frying pan and get out a smaller pan. Place the patties in the large pan and cook on one side for about 4 minutes on medium heat. Turn over and reduce the heat a little.(If you want cheese on your burgers put the cheese on now) Cover the pan and cook another 4-5 minutes. While the burger is cooking on this side put the olive oil and butter in the smaller pan and while the butter is melting chop up a small onion. Saute the onion in the butter and oil and add the other tablespoon of whiskey about a minute later. Saute until the onion is a light golden brown and soft.
Serve with the onions on top of the burger along with any other condiments you want. This burger went great with a cold beer.
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion
3 tablespoons Jack Daniels whiskey
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Place the ground beef into a large bowl and mix in 2 tablespoons of the whiskey and the Worcestershire sauce evenly. Then mix in the cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Mix evenly but be careful to not over mix the ingredients. Split the ground beef up into two equal patties and set aside.
Heat up a large frying pan and get out a smaller pan. Place the patties in the large pan and cook on one side for about 4 minutes on medium heat. Turn over and reduce the heat a little.(If you want cheese on your burgers put the cheese on now) Cover the pan and cook another 4-5 minutes. While the burger is cooking on this side put the olive oil and butter in the smaller pan and while the butter is melting chop up a small onion. Saute the onion in the butter and oil and add the other tablespoon of whiskey about a minute later. Saute until the onion is a light golden brown and soft.
Serve with the onions on top of the burger along with any other condiments you want. This burger went great with a cold beer.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Date Night
You finally got her to go out with you so you want to go a little above and beyond and really do something to impress her. Instead of taking her on the same kind of date every other guy has already done, clean your place up and have her over for dinner.
Spaghetti and meatballs
This one takes 2-4 hours so start it early.
for the meatballs you will need:
1 lb Italian sausage
1 lb meatloaf and meatball mix (you'll find it with the ground beef in the same type of package. it has a combination of ground chuck, ground veal and ground pork all ground together)
1 1/4 club olive oil
4 cloves of garlic(finely chopped)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian bread crumbs (regular dried bread crumbs is fine, I just like this because it's already seasoned)
Put about 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small pan and add the garlic. Saute until soft, about 1-2 minutes
Whisk the eggs and parsley together in a large bowl (I mean a real big bowl, remember you're going to have to mix everything else in it too) Then add the garlic, meat and cheese. Mix together well and slowly add the bread crumbs about 1 tablespoon at a time until it just holds together. Season with a little salt and pepper, cover and sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. While this is sitting in the fridge you can start on the sauce. For that you will need:
1/4 c olive oil
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic (smash the garlic before chopping real fine
1 large onion, chopped
mushrooms (however many you like, if you even like them)
1 green pepper (don't have to use it all, again it just depends on how much you like green peppers)
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Italian Medley (You can never go wrong with Mrs. Dash)
parsley (for garnish, it looks good)
Put the oil in a large pot and heat on medium/high heat. Add the chopped garlic and onion and saute for a couple minutes until the onion is soft and transparent. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 30 seconds. Now you'll add the stewed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. You can either add the chopped mushrooms now or saute them for a couple minutes first. Now bring this to a boil and reduce to medium heat and cook for 30 minutes. During this 3o minutes take the meatball mix out of the fridge and make into 1 1/2 inch balls. Put the remaining cup of oil in a large pan and heat at high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until golden brown on all sides, don't worry about them cooking all the way through at this point. Now add the meatballs, basil, oregano, Mrs. Dash and chopped green pepper into the sauce and reduce heat to medium/low and cover. Let simmer anywhere from 1-3 hours stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers the more the flavors will come together.
I want to encourage you to add any of your own spices and ingredients to these recipes that you like. It's always cool to come up with your own recipes.
Now here's something that will make a nice appetizer. It's real simple to make, just a little time consuming. I like to do it while the spaghetti is simmering.
Stuffed Mushrooms
1/4 -1/2 cup olive oil
1 package stuffing mushrooms
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Italian Medley
Wash the mushrooms well then with a knife, carve around the mushroom stems and pop the stems out. Save the stems. Carve the mushroom caps out with a spoon to hallow them out. Now chop the mushroom stems up real fine and mix together the bread crumbs, garlic, stems, Parmesan and Mrs. Dash. Add a little bit of oil at a time mixing it in until you get a crumbly mixture. Don't add too much oil, you don't want a paste. Preheat the oven to 350. With a spoon, fill the the mushroom caps with the bread crumb mixture and place them on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 15-30 minutes. Every recipe I've ever read for these say 15 minutes but they've never been done in 15 minutes for me. Just keep an eye on them and when the bread crumb mixture in the mushrooms turns a golden brown they're done.
When it's dinner time, start off with a salad. You usually can't go wrong with a Caesar salad. Go ahead and buy one of those pre made bags. You're going to be busy enough as it is with dinner so you don't need to be worrying about making a salad. After the salad serve the stuffed mushrooms. Before coming out with the mushrooms put some garlic bread in the oven and it should be done just in time to serve. Good luck!
Spaghetti and meatballs
This one takes 2-4 hours so start it early.
for the meatballs you will need:
1 lb Italian sausage
1 lb meatloaf and meatball mix (you'll find it with the ground beef in the same type of package. it has a combination of ground chuck, ground veal and ground pork all ground together)
1 1/4 club olive oil
4 cloves of garlic(finely chopped)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian bread crumbs (regular dried bread crumbs is fine, I just like this because it's already seasoned)
Put about 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small pan and add the garlic. Saute until soft, about 1-2 minutes
Whisk the eggs and parsley together in a large bowl (I mean a real big bowl, remember you're going to have to mix everything else in it too) Then add the garlic, meat and cheese. Mix together well and slowly add the bread crumbs about 1 tablespoon at a time until it just holds together. Season with a little salt and pepper, cover and sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. While this is sitting in the fridge you can start on the sauce. For that you will need:
1/4 c olive oil
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic (smash the garlic before chopping real fine
1 large onion, chopped
mushrooms (however many you like, if you even like them)
1 green pepper (don't have to use it all, again it just depends on how much you like green peppers)
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Italian Medley (You can never go wrong with Mrs. Dash)
parsley (for garnish, it looks good)
Put the oil in a large pot and heat on medium/high heat. Add the chopped garlic and onion and saute for a couple minutes until the onion is soft and transparent. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 30 seconds. Now you'll add the stewed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. You can either add the chopped mushrooms now or saute them for a couple minutes first. Now bring this to a boil and reduce to medium heat and cook for 30 minutes. During this 3o minutes take the meatball mix out of the fridge and make into 1 1/2 inch balls. Put the remaining cup of oil in a large pan and heat at high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until golden brown on all sides, don't worry about them cooking all the way through at this point. Now add the meatballs, basil, oregano, Mrs. Dash and chopped green pepper into the sauce and reduce heat to medium/low and cover. Let simmer anywhere from 1-3 hours stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers the more the flavors will come together.
I want to encourage you to add any of your own spices and ingredients to these recipes that you like. It's always cool to come up with your own recipes.
Now here's something that will make a nice appetizer. It's real simple to make, just a little time consuming. I like to do it while the spaghetti is simmering.
Stuffed Mushrooms
1/4 -1/2 cup olive oil
1 package stuffing mushrooms
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Italian Medley
Wash the mushrooms well then with a knife, carve around the mushroom stems and pop the stems out. Save the stems. Carve the mushroom caps out with a spoon to hallow them out. Now chop the mushroom stems up real fine and mix together the bread crumbs, garlic, stems, Parmesan and Mrs. Dash. Add a little bit of oil at a time mixing it in until you get a crumbly mixture. Don't add too much oil, you don't want a paste. Preheat the oven to 350. With a spoon, fill the the mushroom caps with the bread crumb mixture and place them on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 15-30 minutes. Every recipe I've ever read for these say 15 minutes but they've never been done in 15 minutes for me. Just keep an eye on them and when the bread crumb mixture in the mushrooms turns a golden brown they're done.
When it's dinner time, start off with a salad. You usually can't go wrong with a Caesar salad. Go ahead and buy one of those pre made bags. You're going to be busy enough as it is with dinner so you don't need to be worrying about making a salad. After the salad serve the stuffed mushrooms. Before coming out with the mushrooms put some garlic bread in the oven and it should be done just in time to serve. Good luck!
Superbowl Sunday
If you're hosting this year's Superbowl party try giving it your own touch with some simple snacks instead of buying a bag of chips and having wings delivered like every other party on the block. The recipes below will serve about 4 people, so just adjust the amount of everything for how many people you'll be having over.
We're going to start off with some guacamole and chips. Here's what you'll need:
4 ripe avocados
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
lime juice (I use a couple tablespoons, use as much as you want depending on your taste)
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (again, use as much as you want depending on taste. remember, cilantro can have a strong taste so start with a little and add as you feel necessary)
salt & pepper
and tortilla chips of course
First you'll need to peel the avocados, cut them in half and dig the pit out. After that chop it up into small pieces. Now mix the avocados, onion, jalapeno and lime juice in your serving dish to a chunky consistency. Season with the salt, pepper and cilantro to taste, get out the chips and eat.
Now if you really want to impress everybody, you can make your own chips as well. Here's what you'll need for that:
Frying pan with high sides
Peanut oil
12 flour tortillas
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Put about 2 inches of peanut oil in the pan and heat till about 360 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, just give it 3-4 minutes on medium high heat and that should be hot enough. While the oil is heating, cut the tortillas into quarters. Now fry the tortillas in batches until they're a light golden brown. Have a plate with a couple pieces of paper towel laid on it ready. You'll need to set the tortillas on this after coming out of the oil to soak up the excess. Immediately season with the cumin and salt and you're all set.
Now, of course, chips and guac aren't going to get you through the whole night. These mini burgers are very quick and easy and are always a party favorite. You'll need:
I lb ground chuck
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 (3 inch) buns or rolls
3 tablespoons mayo
favorite burger toppings
Mix the meat with the onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and salt in a large bowl until everything is evenly mixed in with the ground chuck. You'll then want to make 8 equally sized patties. wrap the buns in foil in put in the oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the patties on a griddle or frying pan for 2-3 minutes per side. Once the buns are done spread a small amount of mayo on each one and top with the burgers and whatever else you want.
Having some big eaters over? Well everybody loves wings so here's a simple recipe for some hot wings that everybody should enjoy.
3 dozen drummettes
25 ounces ketchup ( usually a little less than a full bottle)
4 tablespoons cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 tablespoons cajun seasoning
2 cups balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons white pepper
Cook wings on grill, broiler, deep fryer, baking sheet or however you want according to packages instructions. While wings are cooking mix all other ingredients in a pan and simmer for a few minutes, stirring until everything is mixed well. Once wings are done dip in sauce and serve.
If you're new to cooking, you probably won't have many of these seasonings so you'll be buying most of them on your first trip to the store. Don't be frightened by how much the grocery bill is your first couple trips. Once you start getting all the different spices and what not that you need, you'll find that most meals will be very inexpensive
We're going to start off with some guacamole and chips. Here's what you'll need:
4 ripe avocados
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
lime juice (I use a couple tablespoons, use as much as you want depending on your taste)
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (again, use as much as you want depending on taste. remember, cilantro can have a strong taste so start with a little and add as you feel necessary)
salt & pepper
and tortilla chips of course
First you'll need to peel the avocados, cut them in half and dig the pit out. After that chop it up into small pieces. Now mix the avocados, onion, jalapeno and lime juice in your serving dish to a chunky consistency. Season with the salt, pepper and cilantro to taste, get out the chips and eat.
Now if you really want to impress everybody, you can make your own chips as well. Here's what you'll need for that:
Frying pan with high sides
Peanut oil
12 flour tortillas
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Put about 2 inches of peanut oil in the pan and heat till about 360 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, just give it 3-4 minutes on medium high heat and that should be hot enough. While the oil is heating, cut the tortillas into quarters. Now fry the tortillas in batches until they're a light golden brown. Have a plate with a couple pieces of paper towel laid on it ready. You'll need to set the tortillas on this after coming out of the oil to soak up the excess. Immediately season with the cumin and salt and you're all set.
Now, of course, chips and guac aren't going to get you through the whole night. These mini burgers are very quick and easy and are always a party favorite. You'll need:
I lb ground chuck
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 (3 inch) buns or rolls
3 tablespoons mayo
favorite burger toppings
Mix the meat with the onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and salt in a large bowl until everything is evenly mixed in with the ground chuck. You'll then want to make 8 equally sized patties. wrap the buns in foil in put in the oven at 350 for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the patties on a griddle or frying pan for 2-3 minutes per side. Once the buns are done spread a small amount of mayo on each one and top with the burgers and whatever else you want.
Having some big eaters over? Well everybody loves wings so here's a simple recipe for some hot wings that everybody should enjoy.
3 dozen drummettes
25 ounces ketchup ( usually a little less than a full bottle)
4 tablespoons cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons garlic powder
4 tablespoons cajun seasoning
2 cups balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons white pepper
Cook wings on grill, broiler, deep fryer, baking sheet or however you want according to packages instructions. While wings are cooking mix all other ingredients in a pan and simmer for a few minutes, stirring until everything is mixed well. Once wings are done dip in sauce and serve.
If you're new to cooking, you probably won't have many of these seasonings so you'll be buying most of them on your first trip to the store. Don't be frightened by how much the grocery bill is your first couple trips. Once you start getting all the different spices and what not that you need, you'll find that most meals will be very inexpensive
Welcome to Meals for Guys
Guys aren't typically known for their skills in the kitchen. Who ever goes to "Dad's" for a good home cooked meal? How many family recipes do you have passed down from your Grandpa? Well if your family is anything like mine or most of most of America's, those are both things that aren't going to happen. No worries though, even with no more experience than making some mac and cheese or toast I'll be able to show you how to do everything from impressing a date with a gourmet meal, cooking healthy meals to go along with a new work out routine, provide all the munchies the next time everybody comes over to watch the fight or to just be able to eat great on a tight budget. So replace the pizza coupons on the fridge with a shopping list, it's time to eat right!
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