Mexican Food Videos

I am uploading 2 videos on youtube today

One is on how to make Refried Beans and one on how I make Beef Enchiladas.

http://www.youtube.com/user/cokkadudledue

*TIP* on the beef enchiladas I added a little flax seed and Wheat germ to the beef to make it a tiny bit healthier, I also used leftover steak as the beef, I just processed it in a food processor!

Turkey Salad

I made this the Day after Thanksgiving and took it to work...

2 cups chopped turkey (chicken)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green olives
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup Miracle Whip
1/3 cup Helmans Mayo
S&P
Cayenne to taste

Mix everything in bowl and serve with crackers

My turkey was a honey brined turkey, so it had a sweet note to it that played well with the almonds.

Eating Great on Business Trips

Last Saturday and Sunday I traveled to San Antonio to visit some friends, we decided to eat at some of the places where "Man vs Food" showcased. Here is a link...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR7Y0rT9lo0


We ate at Chunky's were my friends Boyfriend attempted to eat the Four Horseman Burger, he failed! But it was hilarious. In the video they talk about the Island burger, that is what I had, it had pineapple on it. It was Great!

Sunday morning for Breakfast we had to go try the Cinnamon roll. Here is a pic of ours.

The cinnamon roll was AMAZING!

I got back into town late Sunday night and had to leave for a business trip monday morning to Odessa, Tx. We ate and drank at many different places. One of my rules is to eat at places that are not back home.

We ate at a hibachi grill, I had the Calamari Steaks, they were scrumptious, they gave us so much food that we could not eat it all. Here is a pic of the chef preparing our food.

We also ate at a hole in the wall mexican food place the last day that we were there, and it was by FAR the best place, we asked a few locals where to eat at. The place was called Mamasitas.

So, when you are traveling, ask locals where to eat, use the internet to see reviews and most of all, Have Fun!

Pumpkin Soup

I was tired of always trying different Butternut Squash soup or Pumpkin soup and it tasting like a wet pumpkin pie...This is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

Small Pumpkin

1/2 Onion

3 Baby Carrots

1 Tbsp Sour Cream

1 1/2 C Chicken Stock

Olive Oil

S&P

Directions:

Clean your pumpkin and quarter it (leave the skin on). Place the Pumpkin, Onion, and Carrots on a roasting pan, coat with Olive Oil and S&P. Roast at 310 degrees for about 30 minutes. Take from oven and let cool.

Once cool, scrape the meat of the pumpkin into a blender, add all of the other ingredients. Blend until smooth and serve.

I serve mine with Saltines and a few homemade croutons and Sour Cream on top.

Ain't Nuthin' but a Chikin Wing.

Apricot Honey Chicken Wings!

I was wanting something different than a regular ole chicken wing with BBQ sauce or Buffalo Sauce... Here is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

24 Wings (just bake them off in the oven)

1/2 cup onion chopped finely

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup Apricot Preserves

1/3 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

S&P to taste

*optional* Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp Butter

Directions:

In a large pan add the butter and onions, cook until the onions are soft... Add everything else except the wings and saute until the mixture is nice and thick (about 4 minutes) add the wings in and coat them well...serve..

*I know the pic is bad, I took it with my phone...I used Pineapple leaves as the garnish (Use what you have!)

BlueBerry Scones

I was noticing that at the place where I work people were paying $3 for a scone that was NOT freshly baked. I wanted to see if I could beat their scones. Here is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

2 C Flour
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 stick of butter
1/4 C dried Blueberries
1/2 C Sr Cream
1 large egg
2 T grape juice

First you need to rehydrate the Blueberries, place the blueberries in a bowl with the grape juice and microwave for about 45 seconds, set aside...turn oven on to 365

Sift together all of the dry ingredients...mix in the butter until the mixture looks like cornmeal, mix in everything else including the blueberries....pat out until about 3/4 inch think and cut into 8 slices, place on baking sheet and bake at 365 degrees until lightly golden brown.

TIP* Make them look great, sprinkle with a little sugar just before baking.

Try New Things

Today I was really craving a hamburger... I didnt have any hamburger buns and didnt want to drive the 2 blocks to the store and buy them...So I thought all hope was lost. Then I opened the fridge and saw them...I had Croissants! I shaped them into bun shapes, sprinkled them with S&P and a little parm cheese, and baked them. They tasted awesome as buns!

Pepper Dip

My mother was asking me for some jalepeno pepper dip...I've never made it before and she can only remember it from a party 20 years ago...Here is what I came up with....

1 8 oz package cream cheese (softened)
2 tablespoons bread & Butter jalepenos (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablesspoons onion (finely chopped)

S&P to taste
(i also added a pinch of garlic powder)

Mix everything in a bowl well, let set in fridge for at least 1 hour before serving on toast, crackers, or veggies...

she liked it..I liked it..

Sometimes it just doesnt work

I want people to not be scared to experiment in the kitchen...Sometimes my stuff doesnt work either...but I get ideas on what might work next time.

2 examples today...one worked and one didnt!

Today I wanted potato salad but I didnt want to wait 30 minutes to cook a single potato..so I put it in the microwave for 3 minutes...blended it with other potato salad ingredients and it worked perfectly....

Then later a neighbor brought over a whole mess of squash....so I started thinking...could I fry these like potato chips...I tried...didnt work well enough...I ruined a squash but I learned that if I want to try this again...I will have to cut the squash and put them in a food dehydrator for a few hours to remove excess moisture before frying them....

How I Lost 8 pounds in 3 days without Exercise

My aunt wanted to start this 3 day diet...I decided I would try it along with her. It is basically a meal plan but you might already have most of the items in your cupboard or can buy them cheaply at the store. I did not exercise while I was on this diet. I also made a few substitutions to the plan...here is what I did.

8 pounds is 3% of my body weight!

Day 1

Breakfast

A small glass of orange juice with extra pulp
Cup of Black Coffee with one package Truvia
Slice of White Toast with 1 TBSP crunchy peanut butter spread on top.

Lunch

2.5 ounce package of Tuna packed in water with some mustard and 1/2 cup shredded lettuce mixed in
Slice of White Toast
Glass of water
Small container of fruit yogurt

Dinner

Piece of LEAN meat about the size of a deck of playing cards (I had STEAK!)
1 Cup of steamed Green Beans (I seasoned mine with garlic and soy sauce)
1 Cup Steamed Carrots (I made a glaze for mine...*recipe below)

Dessert

An apple

*The glaze for my carrots...2 teaspoons honey, 1/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon soy sauce....cook in pan with a small amount of cornstarch to thicken it. Toss in cooked carrots.

DAY 2

Breakfast

cup of black coffee with Truvia
One scrambled egg placed on top of a slice of toast (I added picante and a jalapeno)
one apple

Lunch

One Tuna Steak (about 6 ounces) with Vinaigrette...Recipe Below*
Slice of Toast with 1 teaspoon Olive Oil and sprinkle of garlic powder
Glass of Water

Dinner

2 hot dogs without the bun (I dipped mine in 1 TBSP ketchup)
1 steamed artichoke
1/2 cup steamed carrots

Dessert

banana

*Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice..1 teaspoon whole mustard. S&P to taste

DAY 3

Breakfast

Small apple
small glass of Orange Juice with extra pulp
Piece of Toast

Lunch

Piece of Toast with Egg Scramble* recipe below
Water
Small apple

Dinner

2.5 ounce package of Tuna in water (I used mustard)
2 cups steamed okra
Water

Dessert

1 cup Cantaloupe



Egg Scramble
teaspoon chopped jalapeno...one egg...picante sauce...slice of American Cheese....Scramble everything in a pan and top on your toast.




A few Tips...You can have all of the mustard that you want..I used it to moisten the tuna. Instead of carrots ONE day...substitute Broccoli or cauliflower...use 5 crackers instead of toast.
If you find yourself getting hungry throughout the day...have a cracker and a glass of water....have a piece of sugar free hard candy....I was only hungry the first day... I took my lunch to work most of the time...to keep the apple from turning brown I used a Tablespoon of Orange Juice in the container. Drink as much water as you want...I also used vitamin water when I started to get tired of the blandness of regular water.

please consult your DR before starting any diet. print this off and let them look at the menu!

Food Brings Back Childhood Memories

When I was growing up, during the summer my mother would make us lunch on her days off from work. Normally lunch always consisted of some form of leftovers from the day before. The thing I remember the most is Grilled Cheese and Potato Salad. My taste have changed since I was a child but I still crave my mothers Potato Salad with a Grilled Cheese. Below is the recipe for my childhood and the grown-up version I make for myself now.

Old Fashioned Grilled Cheese

2 slices white bread
2 slices American Cheese
Butter

Assemble the sandwich with the cheese in the middle, slather butter on the top and bottom of the bread. Place in pan on the stove and brown the bread...that's it! Yum.

New Version Grilled Cheese

2 slices of Wheat Bread
1 slice of American Cheese
1 slice of Muenster Cheese
Butter
Olive Oil
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder
S&P

Prepare the sandwich just as before...but in the pan pour 1 tsp of olive oil, heat.....sprinkle top of buttered sandwich with just a touch of cayenne, garlic powder and S&P. Grill till golden!

Somehow now that I am older, a half of Avacado and a few olives make it on the plate with the grilled Sandwich and PotatoSalad. I also put the slightest hint of drizzle of honey on the potato salad now. My mouth is watering just thinking of this......Thank God for Mothers!

Nominate Me Please!

Please visit http://tj.mtv.com/open-nomination/ and nominate me for MTV Twitter Jockey just type in @ThomasJowers to nominate me...Thanks

Zest up your Mayo

Having people come over and you want to impress them....try dressing up your mayonnaise. Below are a few tips to dress up your mayo....choose one that fits with other parts of your meal. If you are having Mexican food, try the avacado, having italian, try the roasted red pepper...etc.....

Avacado Mayo

1 c. Mayo
1 large avacado
1/8 t cumin
S&P to taste

Put everything into a food processor and blend until smooth


Roasted Red Pepper Mayo

1 c. Mayo
1/4 c. roasted red peppers
1 t fresh parsley
S&P to taste

Southwest Mayo

1 c. Mayo
2 t grill seasoning
2 t Worcester (spelling?) Sauce
S&P to taste

Cumin

Cumin is the second most popular spice in the world after black pepperCumin seeds are used as a spice for their distinctive aroma, popular in Indian, Pakistani, North African, Middle Eastern, Sri Lankan, Cuban, Northern Mexican cuisines, and the Western Chinese cuisines of Sichuan and Xinjiang. Cumin can be found in some Dutch cheeses such as Leyden cheese, and in some traditional breads from France. It is commonly used in traditional Brazilian cuisine. Cumin can be an ingredient in (often Texan or Mexican-style) Chili powder, and is found in achiote blends, adobos, sofrito, garam masala, curry powder, and bahaarat.

Cumin can be used ground or as whole seeds, as it draws out their natural sweetnesses. It is traditionally added to chili, curries, and other Middle-Eastern, Indian, Cuban and Tex-Mex foods. Cumin has also been used on meat in addition to other common seasonings. Though used infrequently in Mexican dishes, the spice is common in Tex-Mex cuisine. It is extensively used in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Cumin was also used heavily in ancient Roman cuisine. Cumin is typically used in Mediterranean cooking from Spanish, Italian and Middle Eastern cuisine. It helps to add an earthy and warming feeling to cooking making it a staple in certain stews and soups.

I took the above directly from wikipedia.org....please visit wikipedia if you want to learn more about cumin and other spices.

Psuedo-Cocktail

Okay I was just in the kitchen looking for something for lunch and decided to make an oyster mushroom risotto...well I am waiting for the mushroom to rehydrate in some beef stock...whole recipe to come later..

I decided to make myself a little drink/cocktail

I was going to just have a glass of grape juice when I noticed something else in my fridge.

I saw a bottle of Grape Raspberry Zero Vitamin Water....and some Fresh Cherries...and a bottle of Vanilla Rum

I filled a short glass with crushed ice...filled it nearly to the top with the vitamin water, added two crushed cherries...and MAYBE a teaspoon of the rum...VOILA! Done.

It is refreshing (it is already 85 degrees here) and maybe actually good for you.

I called it a Psuedo-Cocktail because there is only about a teaspoon of Rum in it. This would also be great with a little mint muddled into it! Yum....

Portion Control

Yeah well... I am dieting AGAIN...

I am doing a popular shake routine and have lost 6 pounds in 6 days! I am learning a lot about food that I thought I would share with you.

The very first thing I reminded myself is that people eat with their eyes first. So I bought some smaller plates. (the square white ones that you see in every food magazine) If the food looks like a larger portion compared to the size of the plate, I tend to feel more full when I finish my plate. Thus, I am eating less.

Snack throughout the day. I am eating or having a shake 6 times a day! Yeah 6 TIMES a day. I am never hungry though out the day now. I bought those little 100 calorie snack packs and they are a perfect little snack to fend off hunger pains.

The plan I am on requires me to eat a meal that is 500 calories. I can fit a lot of food in for under 500 calories. I can have a salad, soup, and sandwich....or a salad and a serving of a casserole etc.... The key is that I usually always have a small salad and I try to have at least a tiny portion of dessert!

I am having cravings though...I want my beloved Taco Bueno....I will be checking their website for nutritional ratings later today to see if I make something on their menu a meal!

I am also saving lots of money from my diet, visit my Finance Blog to read how. www.ABuckADayBlog.com

Dippity Dip

So lately I have been trying recipes with frozen peas. I am kinda addicted to them as of lately.
Here is a simple dip that I have tried (and enjoyed) on pizza, saltines, chicken wings, and veggies.

1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sr cream
1-2 Tbsp crumbled blue cheese
1-2 Tbsp crumbled gorganzola cheese
1/3 cup frozen peas

In a small pan put your frozen peas and let them cook for a few minutes, just to let them heat through......now combine everything and eat!

TIP...I smash a few of the peas with a fork before I mix them in! Yummy!

Amazing foods

I recently took a day-trip to San Antonio and had some fantastic food and some that just plain made us sick.

The first meal was at SeaWorld where I had a the fried fish sandwich and my friends had the fajitas. They loved the fajitas and the fish sandwich was alright. Nothing to write home about, but I hungry.

Dinner that night was at the Hard Rock Cafe. OMG the triple premium margarita there is to die for! I had 2 before the appetizer got there! We had Chips and Salsa as an appetizer and they sucked. The chips were stale and the salsa was nasty. My friends and I each ordered a different hamburger. One friend had the Red, White, and Blue Burger...She loved it but it was too big or her to finish. My other friend had the SOB burger, she also loved it, it was spicey and she was unable to finish it. I had the Granny Smith and Onion Burger....OMG it was AMAZING! I would rate it a 9! It was Great..... Hard Rock was worth the 3 hour drive alone!

The next morning we decided to eat breakfast at the hotel (long story) but since it was a hot breakfast we thought it would be perfect. We all ordered the Sausage El Burrito. They were horrible, The eggs in the burrito had the mouth texture of plastic, the burrito only had two pieces of sausage the size of marbles in it, and the tortilla was old. YUCK! The bottled orange juice was the best part of the meal. My two friends both were a little queasy on the ride home from those burritos.

Egg Salad Changed Up!

I only crave Egg Salad about 3 times a year. I will NOT eat egg salad unless I see it made simply because I want to see it made fresh! I tried this new idea that might make we want this delicious dish more than every 3 months.

2 Whole Boiled Eggs
1 Avacado
1 TBSP Sour Cream
2 TBSP Mayo
2 pieces of Crusty Toasted Bread
2 TSP relish
2 TBSP chopped onion
S & P

In a Food Processor add everything except the bread and pulse till smooth. Smear onto your toast and enjoy. SUPER SIMPLE and yummy!

TIP Change it up even more, I put cayenne pepper and cumin on mine, gave it a kick and a little smokey flavor.

TIP Lighten it up a bit, remove the yolks from the eggs, use light mayo and sour cream.

TIP Want a lighter onion flavor, use chives instead of the onion !

Pina Colada Cake

I made this cake for my co-workers and they seemed to like it! Plus it is really simple. This is a two layer cake so you can use one cake mix and divide it, but I used two and made a really big one.

Cake
2 Pineapple Upside Down Cake mixes
1 Can of Cream of Coconut
1 Can of Minced Pineapple
1/4 cup Chopped Strawberries
1/4 cup Granola
Rum Optional

Frosting
Egg Whites
Pineapple Juice
Sugar
vanilla
Cream of TarTar

Prepare the two cake mixes per the directions on the box BUT reserve 2 of the egg whites for the frosting. Add 3 tablespoons of the Cream of Coconut. Drain the Pineapple and add it to the cake mix. Keep the juice. Add the Granola and the Strawberries to the mix. Bake at 350 until cake is done. Let cake come to Room temperature. Remove from cake pan and put on cookie sheet. Now smother the cake with the rest of the Cream of Coconut and the rum. The Cake will absorb ALL of the liquid.

In a saucepan on medium heat add the pineapple juice that you reserved, add an EQUAL amount of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Let reduce for a few minutes. While sugar/juice mixture is dissolving/reducing beat eggwhites with 1/2 teaspoon Cream of TarTar until you get hard peaks. Add the HOT Sugar/Juice mixture to the eggwhites while they are beating! Quickly apply to your cake before the egg whites set.

This cake will need to be kept refrigerated if you dont think it will be eaten in a day. I decorated mine by sprinkling extra granola on top.

The Food Critic in Me

I use a scale of 1-10 with 10 being "I would walk across a desert just to smell it again" and a 1 being "get it away from me!'

I recently took a trip to vegas with some guest and we ate at some great and not-so great places.

The first day

We arrived at our hotel (Luxor) and ate at Nathan's Fast Food Restaurant. Me and one of my guest had The Philly Cheese Steak with Fries and my other guest had Chicken Strips and Fries.

I would rate the Philly Cheese Steak and Fries as a 6 and the Chicken Strips were really dry so I would rate them as a 4. Both were about $10 each.

Later we had dinner at the Pyramid Cafe inside the Luxor. I ordered the Chicken Parmesian, one guest ordered and Hamburger and Fries, and one ordered the daily special, a Chicken Fried Steak.

My Chicken Parmesian was great, even though the said that the sauce was made of Roasted Red Peppers, I could not taste the peppers, just tomatoes. I would rate it a 7.

The Hamburger had a stale bun but the meat was wonderful. I would also rate it at a 7.

The Chicken Fried Steak was the weak point for us. I was breaded with bread crumbs instead of flour, but the mashed potatoes that it came with were outstanding. We would rate it a 6.

2nd Day

We decided to go downtown to see what was going on. We decided to try the Breakfast Buffet at The Golden Nugget. It was wonderful, my favorite was the French Toast. It seemed to be made of potatoe bread and topped with macerated strawberries. I rate the french toast as a 8.

For Dinner we decided to go to the Seafood Buffet at The Rio. OMG, this was by far my favorite spot for food of the whole trip. I had great lobster, fresh oysters, sushi (my personal fave), and all of the other seafood you can think of. It was a little pricey at $40 per person. IMHO it is still well worth it! I rate the entire buffet as a 8.

3rd Day

We were leaving this day so we decided to eat the MORE Buffet at the Luxor. It was wonderful! One thing we all got on our plate was Beef Strogenoff. It was tender and savory, I would rate it as a 7.
The best part of the whole buffet was the dessert bar. I went crazy. All the desserts were in tiny little 'shooter' bowls. I grabbed a strawberry whipped tart, taramisou, chocolate mousse, and caramel flan. All were wonderful! I would rate the dessert bar a 9 EASY!.

OMG = Oh My Gosh
IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

At the airport on the way home I stopped at Starbucks and had a Java Chip Frap with Whipped Cream, It hit the spot and was wonderful. I rate it a 6.

Bacon and Onion Dip

This is a quick dip to make but gets better if it sits in the fridge for about an hour before serving.

1 tablespoon Bacon Bits
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup Sour Cream
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a saucepan add butter and onions, when onions begin to turn translucent add the bacon bits, let bacon bits soak up most of the butter (about 1 minute) mix everything together and let stand in fridge for 1 hour for best results. Serve with Chips or your favorite veggies. Yum!

Tarter Sauce

I made this recipe about 20 minutes ago to go with some Salmon that I pan seared.

Ingredients:

1/2 c Mayonnaise
2 TBSP Sweet Pickle Relish
2 TBSP Finely Chopped Onion (I prefer red onion)
1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients in bowl and serve alongside your fish dish.

TIP
Use this as a dip for veggies, just add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of soy sauce.

TIP
Some people like to add a teaspoon of fresh finely chopped Dill to the Tarted Sauce when serving with fish. I sometimes use Parsley.

Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Poor Man's Gnocci

This is a great little trick for using leftover mashed potatoes or baked potatoes.

In a bowl make sure that your potatoes are mashed very well (I used approx 2 cups of leftover potatoes) add 1 egg and mix well. Add any type of seasonings you prefer. I added approx 1/4 cup flour to the mixture to tighten it up to a dough. Yours may take more/less flour due to the moisture in your potatoes and the egg. In salted boiling water add teaspoon size dumpling to the water and wait 30 seconds after they float. Remove them and pat dry on a paper towel. You can sauce them with Pesto or Alfredo Sauce and Serve.

My Lunch Today

It is a New Year, I have a New Job, and I want a new Me. I plan on making a trip to Las Vegas this year and I want to lose weight so I will better about myself. Here is the lunch I made for myself today.

1 cup dried bowtie pasta
1 cup fresh spinach chopped finely
2 tablespoons roasted bell peppers chopped finely (from a jar)
2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic
2 teaspoons lemon juice
S and P to taste


Cook your pasta according to directions on package and set aside. In a small skillet add olive oil and saute your spinach and garlic for about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and S&P. Wait about 1 minute so the lemon juice can begin to concentrate. Add the bell peppers and butter and continue sauteing for about another 2 minutes. Pour over your cooked pasta and taste for seasoning before putting in container to take to work. Viola, simple and great tasting and HEALTHY!