Mexican is probably my favorite type of food.  It has a lot of combining flavors is relatively easy to make. It can be a little pricey compared to Taco Bell but homemade tacos and nachos will not do the damage that T.Bell will to your stomach.

Taco Meat

Tools:

Large stove-top pan

Mandolin/Food Processor or sharp knife

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

taco seasoning

Hard or Soft shells/ Tortilla chips

Sour cream

Onions

Taco  flavored cheese

Salsa

Lettuce

                    Taco Sauce

Directions:

Heat pan to a Medium/High temperature.

Place ground beef in pan and chop with the spatula into bite sized pieces as it cooks.

While the meat is cooking, now is a good time to get the vegetables prepped. One at a time, run each vegetable through the processor/mandolin or just chop/mince into small piece.

After about 10-15 minutes of moving the ground beef around the pan it should be just about cooked.  Most people drain the fat off the cooked and mix the seasoning with water before adding it to the cooked meat. I leave the fat in and just add the seasoning at this point.  In doing this you do not lose any flavor.  The fatty juices will absorb into the seasoning and back then back into the meat.  Once the juices cook off your done.  

Assemble your tacos or nachos with all your vegetables mountain and enjoy.

Super quick and easy whipped cream

Who doesn't love whipped cream?  Well the stuff from a tub or can has nothing on this three ingredient recipe.  You can make this up to ONE day in advance.  If liquid begin to separate just simply remix ingredients.

Required Tools:

Chilled metal mixing bowl

Measuring cup

Tablespoon

1/2 Teaspoon

Wisk or electric hand mixer

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsps confectioners sugar

1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

Pour heavy cream into chilled mixing bowl.

Add sugar and cream

Wisk to desired consistence

For soft peaks, the cream will be just thick enough to hold its shape in soft pillows. For stiffly beaten cream, the beaters or whisk wires will leave distinct traces on the cream and stand in firm peaks when the beaters are lifted.  

Serve with fruit, ice cream, pie or anything else you may think of.

Another Sunday Breakfast

This past Sunday for breakfast I made french toast.  It is very easy and quick to make.

Required Tools:

Flat Stove-Top Pan or Griddle

Spatula

Shallow round or square pan 

Wisk

Measure cup

1 and 1/2 Teaspoon

Tablespoon

Ingredients:

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

2 Tbps sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 Tsp vanilla extract

8 - 10 slices of bread (i use white)

Syrup

Powered sugar

  

Heat stove-top pan to medium/high

Add eggs to shallow pan 

then

add the sugar

To that add the cinnamon

and 

the vanilla

Lastly, add the milk

wisk vigorously for about 30 seconds

The cinnamon should not be lumpy

Once the pan is nice and heated add some butter or Pam spray so the bread will not stick to the pan. Reapply each time you add new bread. You do not need to reapply between flips.

Dredge the bread in the egg/milk mixture (both side)

Cook the toast on one side until you see steam coming from underneath.  Flip the toast and heat this side for almost the same amount of time as the first.  Flip again if the first side did not cook enough  the first time.

It should look relatively like a grilled cheese (minus the cheese of course)

Top with butter, syrup and powdered sugar.

Total cook to plate time: 15 minutes

Sunday Morning

        Cereal is nice and easy for the weekday rush, but who doesn't like a nice home-cooked breakfast. I like to start off Sunday morning with a nice family breakfast, usually provided by me. This past Sunday was no different, so i made Sausage Gravy & Biscuits. It is a southern style dish but you can find it at any Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans anywhere in the country. Restaurant food is never as good a meal made at home in your kitchen. So let's get to it with this simple recipe.

Ingredients

Required Tools:

Large Stove-Top Pan

Baking Sheet

Wisk

Measure Cups

Measuring Spoons

Ingredients:

1lb. pork breakfast sausage (I use Bob Evan's original)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk (I use whole for this)

salt & pepper to taste

8-10 hot biscuits (i use Pillsbury)

Chopping Sausage

Instructions:

Browned Sausage

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 and large pan on the stove-top to just above medium.  

Open package of sausage and toss in the now heated pan.

Chop up sausage into smaller chunks and continue until all pieces are bite sized. 

Flip several times while cooking.

Cook sausage until browned and a little crispy, about 10 minutes.

half flour added

Worked in flour

Add 1/2 of the flour and work into the sausage until it looks like the image on the right.

 Add the remainder of the flour to the sausage. Continue to work in the flour like with the first half.

Follow directions on package for placing biscuits on sheet and get into the now heated oven. Bake 12 - 16 minutes.

Add milk to sausage, be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan once the milk is added to get the crispy flavor off of the pan.

Frequently wisk the milk for 10 - 15 minutes until it gets thick consistency like grits or a dip.

Lastly, add salt and pepper to the gravy.  This step all depends on personal taste so be sure to start with a pinch of each, give it a taste after mixing and add more as needed.

Slice two biscuits and pour sausage gravy on top. Enjoy.

Introduction

Do you have trouble trying to figure out how to freeze water for ice cubes? I sure hope not,but you may be completely helpless when it comes time to cook without using the microwave.  I'm not talking about heating a frozen pizza in the oven or cracking open a box of Mac and Cheese and throwing it in a boiling pot of water on the stove.  I'm talking about real cooking, worthy of a Thanksgiving feast for you and your family. You eat roughly three times a day, every day. I'm just about to turn twenty-nine so that means I've eaten about thirty-one thousand seven hundred fifty-five meals over the course of my lifetime (probably more because I'm a bigger guy) and that number only grows every day. Don't you think you should learn how to do something you physically need on a daily basis? The only necessities of life are food, water and sleep. If anyone tries to stop you from doing any of those things, murder them (Louis CK joke).  Sleep is a given unless you have insomnia, and to you I say good luck because that's not what this blog is about. Food and water are a different story all together. A person can not just drink water from a river, stream, lake or puddle.  The water has to many contaminants, so it needs to be cooked or boiled (same difference). Pretty much goes the same for any food, it has to be cooked to be safe to eat.  The only raw food I'll eat is fruits and vegetables and those aren't even all that great unprepared. So I'm here to give you some basics, helpful hits, original recipes of my own creations and maybe a helpful survival tip or two. For example, did you know you can use Doritos (any flavor) as kindling for a fire if you can't find any small sticks, paper or lighter fluid.  They burn for about five minutes, more than enough time to get some logs burning.