101 Cooking For Two - Everyday Recipes for Two

The Best Steak Marinade

2013-06-14T21:01:00.002-04:00

Step that steak up a few notches with an excellent marinade. Maybe something special for Father's Day.

The inspiration is a very common recipe around the internet on blogs and recipe sites. The original (I think) is known as "Best Steak Marinade in Existence" on Allrecipes.com. Only a few changes to simplify and some rounding for a smaller (Cooking For Two) amount. Plus I didn't bother with running though a blender.

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Banana Nut Cake

2013-06-07T22:20:00.000-04:00

Super moist and delicious. The perfect cake for when you need to take a dish or family is coming for dinner. There is something special about a cake when you know what is in it and can pronounce all the ingredients.

This is a family recipe of a family friend (thanks Janet). I have learned to accept gifts of this type. Many are great in an old fashion way (I can't remember the last time I used a shifter...). If you have a family favorite, email it to me.

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Grilled Chicken Tenders

2013-05-31T00:01:00.000-04:00

An extremely easy moist and tender fingers... For the kids or the kid in you.

Do you have one of "those" kids? You know, the one who won't eat what you cook and you end up doing something separate and almost always unhealthy. This is the solution. Minimal work, time and guaranteed to calm that 3 year old dinner monster. You have steak, they have healthy chicken tenders.

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How to Cook Corn on the Cob - Three Easy Methods

2013-05-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

It's corn on the cob season. Here are three easy ways to enjoy this great side dish. Grilled corn on the cob, microwave corn on the cob or oven roasted corn on the cob... your choice.

As an Iowan, I claim genetic superiority in all things corn. You will love all three methods. I have published all of these before but this is your Spring reminder.

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Parmesan Garlic Baked Potatoes

2013-05-18T09:12:00.000-04:00

Meet your new favorite side dish. A crispy parmesan crusted potato half infused with garlic and butter. This is SO EASY, it's an "everyday" recipe but it well also be your go to recipe for company. Skill level 2/10, just don't cut yourself with the knife.

Start with some butter, seasoning and parmesan in a glass baking pan. Scrub up some potatoes, cut in half and place cut side down on the parmesan. Bake and allow to cool in the dish for a few minutes to firm up a crust and you are good to go.

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Grilled Blackened Tilapia

2013-05-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

Wonderfully spicy grill tilapia. Keep them coming back for more with this blackened tilapia. Healthy eating has never been so good nor so simple and easy.

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Simple Tarter Sauce

2013-05-11T22:14:00.001-04:00

An easy homemade tarter sauce using only 4 ingrediants you already have in your kitchen. Use it anywhere you need it.

I broke this out of my Oven Baked Blackened Tilapia post so I could refer to it better from other recipes.

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Grilled Whole Baked Potatoes without Foil

2013-05-09T10:04:00.000-04:00

A great grilled sided for the summer and it is simple, simple, simple. Only a few secrets to getting that whole baked potato grilled to perfection and it does not involve aluminum foil.

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My Best Grilled Pork Tenderloin - Memphis Style

2013-05-02T22:39:00.000-04:00

BBQ at its absolute tastiness. This is the best grill pork tenderloin... period. Moist, tender and the most wonderful spicy taste.

Memphis BBQ Pork Tenderloin is the most common recipe people claim as their all time favorite from my site. It had a special spot on my site for a year and a half as "My One Must Try Recipe". And I called it the best meal I had ever grilled at the time and it probably still is. It really is that good.

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Taco Casserole

2013-04-28T08:23:00.001-04:00

A family friendly easy baked taco casserole that has great spiciness just in time for Cinco de Mayo. Think of it a Mexican comfort food.

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Kitchen Cheat Sheets

2013-04-25T21:17:00.004-04:00

Don't know the safe temperature for that ground chicken or what to substitute for buttermilk, I have your back. I now have a special place for you. Check out the new Kitchen Cheat Sheets page. You will find cooking references for most of your everyday kitchen needs.

For the shape eyed visitors, you may have noticed this page appear and disappear a few minutes later many times as I worked on the HTML. This has been a work in progress for months and I finally have a good start. And make no mistake, there is more to come.

Updated

April 25 2013

Dan Mikesell

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2013-04-20T16:34:00.002-04:00

Never buy another package of taco seasoning with this spicy taco seasoning in your pantry. This is SO MUCH BETTER. Now you can have a tasty tacos in about 15 minutes.

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Ham Bone Vegetable Soup - Crock Pot Edition

2013-04-13T20:51:00.001-04:00

Smoky ham flavor in a slow cooker simple vegetable soup. We occasionally have a ham bone, not a real common occurrence when you're cooking for two but it does happen. So what to do with a ham bone from that holiday spiral cut ham? You can toss it or make soup.

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Low Fat Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones

2013-04-06T13:38:00.000-04:00

Guilty pleasures - low fat edition. I love a tasty sweet something for breakfast but they usually ar not good for me.It must be good for you... it has blueberries and whole wheat. Plus it is only 200 calories and just under 3 grams of fat.

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Recipe Index Update

2013-03-30T15:49:00.001-04:00

A new and improved recipe index in now online. It includes all posts from the beginning of this site has a more complete listing of categories of recipes.

The previous had a 25 post listing per category limit and cut off a lot of early posts.

Give it a look.

PS. For you bloggers out there, new instructions for an automatic updating recipe index are on my Blog Within A Blog

Updated

March 31 2013

Dan Mikesell

Healthier Low Fat Carrot Cake

2013-03-27T19:58:00.000-04:00

Wonderfully moist and almost good for you. At about 250 calories and 7 grams of fat you get one of the best carrot cakes I have had plus it won't leave a pool of oil on the plate. I away though carrot cake would be hard to make. Nope... it was relatively easy with 3/10 skill level and just a little more work than a coffee cake. You can do this cake.

A normal recipe for carrot cake starts with a cup of oil. Read that as almost 2000 calories and you have not added even a carrot yet. You can't really do that very often. So I looked around a lot for just the right recipe. Many had "odd" ingredients. While I'm not a "all natural" guy, it still needs to be reasonably natural ingredients.

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Crock Pot Pulled Pork Loin

2013-03-22T21:36:00.000-04:00

Use it for BBQ, use it for Mexican or anywhere you wand a moist and tasty shredded pork. Healthy and low fat "pulled" pork from a pork loin using a slow cooker. An almost no work recipe.

I love pork but generally pork loin is way too lean for shredding but cooking it in a spiced up braising liquid and then adding some back for moisture will get you what you want. I modified my own oven based shredded pork loin recipe. I'm giving you two options. One for BBQ and one for Mexican.

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Zero Fat Biscuits

2013-03-16T11:31:00.003-04:00

Tender and fluffy with really good taste in a non-guilty zero fat biscuit. Some recipes are low fat but this one is zero. Using non fat yogurt to replace the butter and milk, you still get great rise and texture. Plus, just a few ingredients will get you there.

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Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin

2013-03-14T20:20:00.002-04:00

Sweet and Spicy OR is it Spicy and Sweet? Which ever, but this is a really tasty pork tenderloin. Start with a spicy rub, pan sear and oven bake . Then brush with a sweet spicy sauce you make from the rub. Very nice.

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Crock Pot Chicken Marinara Sauce

2013-03-07T17:27:00.000-05:00

Easy and tasty for Italian night. Just dump the ingredients in the slow cooker and come back to eat.

I started with my wife's marinara. It bursts with sweet tomato taste due to the paste that is used. Add some skinless boneless chicken breast and you have a healthy low fat Italian family feast.

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Healthier Whole Wheat Banana Bread

2013-03-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

A healthier banana bread with mostly whole wheat, less fat and sugar. Drop the calories by over a third and the fat by 75%. It's time to fell less guilty for that great taste.

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Oven Baked Butter Lemon Salmon

2013-02-25T08:13:00.000-05:00

A tasty recipe for salmon baked with butter and lemon. This is your basic 20 minute weeknight recipe that you can serve company anytime.

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Google Plus

2013-02-24T16:49:00.001-05:00

Many of you use Google Plus so I'm "coming out of the closet" with my real name. I have been hiding behind DrDan for 3 years now. I haven't been very hidden since it was buried at the bottom of each post anyways. So this is for you Google+ people. I will try to be social.

I will continue to use DrDan since I like that name from one of my favorite children's book .

Updated

February 24 2013

DrDan

Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Gravy

2013-02-22T20:51:00.002-05:00

A classic comfort food made crock pot easy. Have a full meal with left overs ready when you get home. Spend a few minutes making gravy and you're the dinner hero.

I started with a chuck roast. You can use a leaner cut of beef but it will not be as tender. We like our roast falling apart. I browned mine before adding and cooked the onion and garlic a little before starting but skip both these parts if you want. Most home cooks do but I think the minimal work adds some additional flavor.

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Hash Brown Potatoes - Easy Peasy

2013-02-16T22:57:00.004-05:00

We love hash browns. Not good for us but we love them. But people seem not to be able to make a decent has brown.

Tips for a really good hash brown.

Use a nonstick pan
Use enough oil
The potatoes MUST be dry (see pictures below)
And last, KEEP YOU HANDS OFF

That is all you need to know.

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