Banginfood

Bison Burgers

2010-03-03T18:51:00.003-05:00

Hi all! It's been a long time. JP and I, continue on our healthy eating journey. Last night we had bison burgers with turkey bacon Brussels sprouts. Yum yum!

We have definitely been trying to incorporate healthier meats into our diet. Organic vegetable fed animals, no hormones, steroids, and all that jazz. I have been so blessed to be able to find these meats for decent prices at my local grocery store. Let's face it, it's a lot cheaper to get food off of a dollar menu. Organic foods just cost more. Which is just insane in my opinion.

This last grocery trip I decided to get some ground bison. I've had it in the past and really enjoyed it. But, at 5.99 for 1lb of meat it's not something I can get all the time.

If you can afford to get it, I highly suggest you try it. Bison is a very lean meat. The one I purchased was 90/10. It's a very good source of protein and it tastes just like ground beef. You can use bison in place of ground beef in any dish. This Bison was 200 calories per 4 ounces, which isn't to bad. Also, Bison takes less time to cook than ground beef. I decided on bison burgers. So here we go...

Ingredients:

1 package ground bison
Mediterranean sea salt and ground black pepper
1 egg
Arnold Sandwich Thins
Any Mixed Greens
Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb Wedges

Place ground bison in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle a good helping of sea salt and pepper on your meat. Crack one egg over meat and mix well with your hand or a spoon. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Form bison into patties with your hand. Or if you own one of those fancy burger shapers use that! I was able to make four decent size patties. Cook patties in your pan until done. Juices should run clear. Or you can use a kitchen thermometer to check the internal temperature. 160 degrees is a temperature. I made mine well done.

You can assemble your burgers anyway you like. I personally like using the sandwich thins, because they are only 100 calories. I place my burger on the sandwich thin, top with one wedge of laughing cow cheese and mixed greens. You may certainly add any garnishments you want. This combo works for me, because it's still pretty low calorie. JP wrapped his in mixed greens and topped his burger with one wedge of laughing cow cheese. We enjoyed these with a side of turkey bacon Brussels. Sweet potato fries is another great and healthy side idea. I have a recipe for those too!

Hope you enjoy! Stay tuned for more upcoming healthy recipes.

It's Finally Here!!!

2010-01-20T22:04:00.004-05:00

Chipotle has finally opened it's doors in Columbia,SC! You know we were there to get in all the action!

We have been waiting a looong time for this day! Chipotle opened up here officially on January 15th. They did however, have a sneak peek on the 13th. JP and a co-worker went to the sneak peek, and quickly left! There were so many people there it was just crazy! I'm sure it had something to do with FREE burritos! LOL We did manage to make it out the official grand opening (family in tow). They were giving away t-shirts and cards for free burritos to the first 100 people. Our friend Kris was actually the first one there. He saved a spot for us too! :)

Here we are waiting in line for our t-shirt and burritos! Don't the kids look excited??? Ha!

The t-shirt give away started at 3, and this it what the line looked like as time got closer.

We made it in! Burrito time!

Our free shirt and gift card. They made the t-shirt look like a burrito! Cute!

JP Enjoying his burrito!

Arial shot of our favorite burrito the Barbacoa!

Me enjoying my burrito. Check out our friend Kris in the background! LOL

All Pau! It was well worth it! We stood in line for about an hour. I'm sure glad they finally came to our town. We were driving an hour away to get our fix! Moes better watch out! Moes also had the nerve to try and give away free burritos on Chipotle's grand opening! How dare they! lol Other friends of ours went to the new Chipotle a couple days after the grand opening and said there were still long lines! Sounds like they are off to a good start! Good times! :)

~JP and Feather

Happy Birthday Banginfood!!!

2010-01-11T07:49:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't posted in ions and ions. lol I guess I've been in a cooking rut. But hey, guess what??? Today is Banginfood's 2nd birthday!!! Yay! Hopefully 2010 will be bring new cooking inspiritation. Thanks to everyone who support us and read our little blog. We appreciate it. Since it's our birthday, check out the post that started it all!

http://www.banginfood.com/2008_01_01_archive.html

Thanks,
JP and Feather Banginfood

Type rest of the post here

Recipe of The Day: Grilled Flat Iron Steak

2009-12-03T18:52:00.004-05:00

I am a person who enjoys a good steak, and sometimes I can't afford to get a good steak. This is a relatively cheap and easy way to get your steak fix.

I have only recently become familiar with Flat Iron Steak. We all know that steak can be very expensive and usually not something you eat often. I recently found some on sale at my local grocery store. I was willing to try something new so I grabbed some. I called my Mother for some suggestions on how to prepare this cut of meat. She suggested a marinade. But I wanted to try something instead of a marinade. So, I just went for more of a rub kind of thing. The results were very tasty! So now every time I see this cut of meat on sale I scoop it up. My kids love this steak and we never have leftovers every time I make it. So here we go...

Prep-Time: 5 minutes to season a few hours to chill in the fridge
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes (or longer depending how well you like your steak)
Serving Size: 4-6 people

Ingredients:
1 flat iron steak
garlic salt
ground black pepper
McCormick Mesquite Grill Mates

The first thing you want to do is generously season your steak like so. Cover that bad boy on both sides!

Then you want to either place the steak in a zip lock bag or do like I did and wrap well in saran wrap. I ran out of bags. Place the meat in the fridge and let it chill for a few hours. 1 hour minimum. You want to let those seasonings really sink in.

Okay, once your meat is done chilling. You want to prepare your grill for cooking. I let my meat chill for about 5 hours. I am using a gas grill, because that's what I own. I know some people don't like them, but that's what I'm working with. I preheat and clean my grill before cooking. I let the grill get up to about 400 degrees. I keep the burners set to high during the preheating.

When the grill is ready, I turn the burners down to low. Then you can throw your meat on. I let it cook for about 5-10 minutes, and then I turn. Then I wait another 10 minutes and turn again. I do this about 3 or 4 times, pretty much do this until the steak looks done. If you like your steak more well done then leave it on longer. I like my meat almost pink and juicy. Also, if you take it off and it is not done enough you can throw it under the broiler to get it how you want it.

Once you are done grilling. Remove steak from heat and plate. Do NOT, I repeat...DO NOT cut! You need to let the steak rest for about 10 minutes. Once you have given steak the proper time to rest, you can proceed with the cutting.

You should now have a well rested flavorful juicy piece of meat. You can now begin cutting. You want to cut this steak very thin and at a diagonal. A sharp knife will be very useful.

Once you have finished cutting the whole steak you can plate and serve. You will love the tenderness of this cut of meat. Who says you can't have good cheap steak? I am thinking about using this for burritos one day. Fajitas would be good too! Enjoy!

~Feather

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T10:06:00.002-05:00

My little Nya throwing down on a turkey leg a few years ago. Anyways, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day and GOD bless!
JP and Feather
Banginfood

Type rest of the post here

Recipe of The Day: Simple Shrimp Scampi

2009-11-18T21:53:00.005-05:00

My local Kroger has been good to me. They had a meat sale that started on Sunday and ended today. I really scored some good deals. One of those deals was a nice package of jumbo shrimp.

I love me some shrimp! Really, I could indulge on seafood any day! I just love seafood...period! The package of shrimp I purchased, contained about 22 jumbo shrimp. I knew I wanted scampi, and I already had a basic idea of how to make it. So I just pretty much threw this together. I do not have white wine, so I substituted with Rice Wine Vinegar...which seemed to work pretty good. I didn't use a lot, but if you can get either Vermouth or White Wine you can use those.

Prep Time: 20-25 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Serving Size: 2 hungry people (4 if your not that hungry lol)

Ingredients:
1 package of Jumbo Shrimp or any size you want really (my package had 22 shrimp)
5-6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 teaspoon dry cilantro
1 teaspoon dry chives
1 teaspoon dry parsley
1 teaspoon Adobe Season
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Oh my goodness! I forgot to say please clean and devein your shrimp before you do anything! Duh! lol

In a large skillet over medium heat, drizzle in your Olive Oil. Add in your garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Do not let it get brown or burned. Add in your shrimp and seasonings. Saute shrimp a couple of minutes. Add in your lemon juice and rice wine vinegar. Saute until shrimp are done. Adjust seasonings to your liking if need be. That's pretty much it!

This shrimp was so flavorful and so good I was in food bliss! lol I paired it with some penne pasta tossed in olive oil and parsley. You can top with fresh Parmesan cheese. Your mouth will thank you for it! :)

~Feather

Recipe of The Day: Creamless Potato Corn Chowdah

2009-10-21T19:19:00.004-04:00

The weather outside is frightful! Well...to me at least it is. The cold is starting to drift in. Days like these make me feel so blah. But, a good pot of hot warm chowder makes me feel great!

Unless this were a cheat day I would have pulled out all the stops and used heavy cream and bacon in this recipe. Since, I can no longer indulge in such flavorful fattening goodies I have to improvise. I had to think of a way that I could make a good tasting chowder that used no cream whatsoever. I tried to scour the net for some recipes. But, due to some malfunctions...thanks to Firefox that quickly ended. I figured a bunch of taters and some milk would give me the creamy results I was looking for. So here is what I came up with. Feel free to alter these measurements and tastes to your liking. JP and I like things spicy. Spicy to the degree that we would burn our throats in agony for some goodness! So here we go...

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Servings Size: 4-6 People

Ingredients:

4-5 large potatoes (any variety you like)
2 cups of 2% Milk
1 1/2 cups of frozen or fresh corn
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 large white onion
2 stalks of green onion
salt, pepper, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper to taste

Chop all of your vegetables. Spray pot with Olive Oil spray or use a tiny bit of regular Olive Oil. Saute bell pepper and onions in pot on medium high heat. Saute until soft. You can remove from heat and set aside. Chop and peel your potatoes. Put pot back on stove and add in potatoes corn and milk. Bring to a boil and then bring down to medium low heat. Watch your pot and be sure not to scald the milk. You can add in your seasonings. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add more season if you need to.

This is a really quick dish. It's a great alternative to a chowder that uses heavy cream. JP threw some shredded cheese in his and said it was good like that too. I also sprinkled some parsley on top of mine. It added a nice touch! :) Very nice for those cold nights. I just finished a bowl and can say I am fully satisfied!

Enjoy!

~Feather

Recipe of The Day: Whole Wheat Pizzas!

2009-10-20T11:40:00.004-04:00

I have been slacking on the site! I really have no excuses either. :( I've been cooking some good things, and I need to get them on here ASAP.

Last week I wanted the kids to do something fun. So I decided we should make pizzas! Not to mention they would probably eat pizza everyday of the week if we let them.

A few months ago I started buying whole wheat graham flour. I use it to make all kinds of things. On the back of the box there is a recipe for whole wheat pizza crust. The recipe is extremely simple and doesn't take all the work of a normal pizza crust. If you are expecting some pizza hut type results, well then you need to find a recipe like that. This recipe is very simple and boasts a dense thick crust. You can jazz it up to your liking. You can also determine how thick or thin you want it. I personally like thick crust, so it's really up to you. The kids really enjoyed making their pizzas. They are always asking me to help out in the kitchen. So I know they enjoyed themselves.

Here is the recipe:

Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Graham Flour Wheat Pizza

1 package of Active Dry Yeast
1 cup warm water 115° F
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Graham Flour
2 tsp. granulated sugar (or sub with sugar substitute)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups of White Flour (I use regular all purpose)

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Allow to rest 5 minutes. Stir in whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, olive oil, and 1 cup unbleached white flour. Knead in remaining white flour by hand; about 5 minutes (the dough will be smooth and elastic).

Spray a medium-sized bowl with no-stick cooking spray(you can use some olive oil I used an Olive Oil spray). Place pizza dough in bowl and turn to coat thoroughly. Cover and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes. Spray a one 14-inch pizza pan or two 10 inch pizza pans with no-stick cooking spray (or grease lightly with oil). Stretch pizza crust to fit pan and flute outer edges of pizza dough to hold fillings.

I would suggest not to make the edges to thick. Unless you like it like that. I added some pizza sauce and seasonings to the crust before we added the toppings. We topped our pizzas with ground Italian sausage, smoked sausage, boneless chicken breast, feta cheese, onions, green bell peppers, mixed shredded cheese. You can be creative and add anything you want. Whatever you like throw it on there! Have fun with it! Enjoy!

Here are the kids creations. They loaded their pizzas with tons of meat!

Here is my pizza. See how I made the crust a little thick? It was still good!

~Feather

Recipe of The Day: Strawberry Yogurt Pie

2009-09-22T08:10:00.003-04:00

You want something easy and delicious? Something that won't add thousands of calories to your waistline? I've got just the treat for you! Something to satisfy your sweet tooth without the guilt! Yay!

I can't take full credit for this yummy pie. My Mom, (who always made us ALL kinds of different types of foods) made this. I think when I became an adult I asked her for the recipe. I was surprised at how simple the recipe was. Every now and then I get a craving for it. It's so easy to make, and it really takes no effort. Since we've been eating healthier these days. I thought about this recipe, and figured it would be the perfect treat for our healthy lifestyle. I used all low fat or lite ingredients. If you can afford to use the full fat versions then go ahead.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook TIme: None
Serving: 4-6 folks

Ingredients:
1 tub of lite whipped topping
1 large tub of lite or low fat yogurt (any flavor I used Strawberry)
1 Reduced Fat Graham Cracker Crust
5-8 Strawberries

Pour all of the yogurt and whipped topping into a large bowl. You can start mixing them together. Mix well.

Cut your fresh Strawberries. Keep a few to the side for the topping.

Add your Strawberries to Whipped Topping and Yogurt mixture. Mix well. Pour mixture into Graham Cracker Crust pie shell. You can even the top out with a spoon or butter knife.

Cut the rest of your Strawberries and place them on top of the pie like so. Or make any other kind of pretty design you want. Cover the pie with seran wrap and place in the freezer. Keep in freezer until pie is firm and not soft. It can be frozen. Before serving, set the pie out to soften a bit. You can also place it in the fridge an hour or two before serving.

This is also a great summer pie. It's cool and refreshing. You can use many different types of fruits. You don't have to feel guilty about eating this pie and it won't hinder your dieting efforts! Enjoy!
~Feather

Guess Who's Coming To Our Town???

2009-09-15T16:23:00.006-04:00

Our burrito dreams have finally come true!!! *burrito dance* Yay! Yay!

It has been confirmed that later on this year, Columbia will finally get a Chipotle! *faints* Woo hoo! They have already built a location up in Greeneville. We knew it was coming, just didn't have a date. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the letter our friend Chris wrote to them. LOL But I cannot tell you how excited we are! You know how much we love them! Good thing they won't be to close, because all of our six packs and biceps may disappear! LOL

The aftermath after one of our many Chipotle excursions!

Link to news article about the new location: Chipotle In Columbia,SC

Recipe of The Day: Stuffed Crescent Rolls

2009-08-26T19:18:00.003-04:00

Here's a little something I made for the kiddies this evening. This recipe is easy and you can get creative with it.

I picked up some crescent rolls the other day, and knew I wanted to use them for something than just dinner rolls. I looked around on the Pillsbury website to get some ideas. They had a recipe on there for Crescent Pizza Triangles. I immediately knew my kids would love something like this. So here is what I came up with.

Prep Time:20-30 mins
Cook Time:15-20 mins
Serving Size:4-6 People

Ingredients:

2 packages Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sausage( I used some Rogerwood Sausage I made the kids the other morning)
1/2 cup chopped pepperoni
pizza sauce
Pizza Seasoning or Italian Season
Shredded Cheese (any variety you want)
salt, pepper, garlic salt

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Then you want to start browning your ground beef. In large skillet start browning your meat and onions. Season meat generously with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and Pizza Seasoning. Once the meat is almost fully browned and onions tender, throw in the rest of your meat. Fry in a pan a few minutes and remove from heat.

Get your crescents out of the fridge and open them up. Unroll so you have one big square. Don't pull the triangles a part. Leave it as one big square. Press down on the perforation so that it's gone and you just have one big seamless square. Take your pizza sauce and spoon on a tiny bit of sauce at one end of the square. Then spoon on about a teaspoon full of meat mixture on top of that. Top with a pinch of cheese. Then you want to start folding the dough up into a square. Pinch all edges to seal. Make sure everything is sealed tight so nothing leaks out. Continue this until you have done both packages of dough. Place them onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Top them with shredded cheese and bake until golden brown.

I made the kids some some super cheesy mac n cheese and peas to go with this. They loved it! This will definitely go into my recipe archives. It's fun simple and kids like it! A fun way to have pizza night. I tried them myself, and wooo they were soo delicious! The flakiness and buttery flavor of the rolls make these tasty. You can pretty much fill these up with anything. You can check out the Pillsbury website for more cool ideas.

~Feather

Recipe of The Day: Pork Broccoli Stir Fry

2009-08-19T19:26:00.003-04:00

I had no idea what I would cook the kids for dinner tonight. I made them BBQ meatballs last night. They told me they were the best meatballs ever! They had fried chicken on Monday.

Scanned the freezer and saw pork steaks. I grabbed them still not knowing what I was going to do. Didn't feel like grilling. Pan fry? That would be boring. I finally had an idea! Stir fry! Yay! This was going to be easy and quick. I could certainly whip this up in no time. Tomorrow will be the kids first day of school. So, there is much to do. I was pressed for time. I didn't follow any recipe. Just threw some things together. You could use any meat you want. I chose pork. Chicken and beef would work great too. I will get back to doing step by step pictures when I have more time.

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
Servings: 4-5 people

Ingredients:

1 or 2 pork steaks chopped (can substitute with chicken or beef)
1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 teaspoons sugar
flour for dredging
salt and pepper
oil for frying
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh broccoli

Lightly season meat with salt and pepper after it is chopped. Then lightly dredge in flour. You do not want it heavily coated. Heat a large skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Toss meat in the pan. Start to brown meat. When meat is lightly browned you can add in your ginger. Keeping stirring around in pan. Keep it moving! After a few minutes add in your Oyster Sauce. Then soy sauce. Keep stirring. You can also add in your broccoli. Keep on stirring! Finally add in your sugar. Make sure everything gets coated well. It might get a little sticky. So just kind of scrape the bottom of your pan with your spatula, and keep it moving. Once everything is nice and browned and mixed you can remove from heat.

As always we had a fresh pot of hot rice. I served it to the kids like this.

I tried to show them how to use chopsticks. They actually did pretty well. Considering they never really used them before. For some reason they kept calling the meat chicken. lol My son kept asking for more chicken. He would have eaten the whole pan if I let him. He's only 6! I'm scared to see what 16 is going to be like! I told him everyone in the house has to eat too. He asked me to cook some more. I said, "Do I look like a restaurant?" He replied, "Yes!" Kids I tell ya.

Hope you enjoy!

~Feather

Spicy Chicken Chili

2009-08-13T20:19:00.007-04:00

It has been really ugly around these parts for the past week. I even got rained on during my jog! I wanted something warm and delicious to eat. So I whipped this up.

I bought a bag of dried pinto beans. Not knowing really what I was going to make with them. So after sitting around thinking, I decided on chili. I have made turkey chili before with kidney beans, and that was good. I remember other people telling me they use pinto beans. So I decided to give it a try. Didn't have any ground turkey, so I used boneless chicken breast. I did a quick soak on the beans. Then after they were done soaking, I added in my veggies and simmered them for a few hours. I added in my chicken and let it simmer another couple of hours. I pretty much let this thing cook all day long. I could have just thrown it all in a crock pot, but the stove worked just fine. This dish came out so yummy. I topped it with some sour cream and threw down! JP topped his with extra hot sauce, muenster cheese and sour cream. It was perfect for a rainy day. Yum! To keep it as healthy as possible I did not add in any rice (although I really wanted to deep inside). Cornbread would have been good with this too. Even crackers! You could really top this anyway you like. I didn't follow any exact recipe, but I'll try and list what I used at the bottom. It's more of a taste as you go thing. Some people may like their chili spicier then others. Here in our house the spicier the better!

Spicy Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

3 medium sized boneless chicken breast
3 small red bell peppers
1 green bell pepper
1 large onion
1/4 cup jalapenos
1 small tomato
2 cups dry pinto beans
Goya Adobo Seasoning to taste
Chili Powder to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
Cumin about a teaspoon

Soak beans according to package. I did the quick soak. You bring the beans to a rapid boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat cover and let sit for 1 hour. Then drain beans when you are ready to cook.

Chop your veggies and add to pot. In a large pot cover beans and veggies with about 8 cups of water. Add in a decent amount of the seasoning and stir. Bring to a boil. Let boil a few minutes and turn heat down to medium-low. Simmer for a 2-3 hours. You can start to check your flavor. Taste and see what needs to be added. Chop your chicken breast and then put that in the pot. If you need to add anymore water you can add some. Cover pot and let simmer another couple of hours. Taste again to see if anything needs to be added. Remove from heat. Beans and chicken should be tender.

That's it. Serve by itself or over rice. Add any topping you like. This is a nice dish to have on a cold or rainy day. Enjoy!

~Feather

Sunday Dinner

2009-08-12T00:02:00.003-04:00

Here is what we ate over at my in-laws house on Sunday. Yummy! Bul Go Gi, Kimchi, Cabbage and Rice. JP's Mom is an excellent cook, I love it when she makes Korean dishes. They are soooo good! It's always a treat when we get some good home cooked food.

Here is a close look at the Kimchi, pretty fresh and spicy. Yum! She gave us a big jar to take home. I actually made myself some Kimchi soup today with some chicken.

This is the Bul Go Gi close up. It's basically a marinated beef. Very delicious with rice!

Then a couple of weeks ago she made us some Bi Bim Bap. Excuse the phone pics we had no idea she cooked this for us. This stuff was sooo goood! Far better than what we had in a restaurant! It's basically an array of different Korean style vegetables, rice, meat, fried egg and red hot chili sauce! It's all placed in a bowl and you eat! The flavors are soo good and mix very well with each other.

Here is the spread! Yum! Those are pork chops on the right side, and they weren't a part of our meal! LOL The kids actually ate those.

Here is our bowls before we started adding all the ingredients. We started off with rice and a fried egg. Then we went around the table and started adding in our veggies.

Some of the veggies. Not sure exactly what their names are, or what they are really. But, I do know they tasted really good!

Here are some cucumbers and the chili paste! After you get all your veggies in your bowl you top with some meat, I think we had Bul Go Gi. I could be wrong. Then she put some sesame seed oil and chili paste on top. Then you mix it all together and eat. Man! Let me tell you! I could eat this everyday! It was sooo good. We enjoyed these two meals a lot! Thank goodness for cheat meals! lol Thank goodness for Mom's who can cook! We are truly lucky, because both of our Mom's are excellent cooks. :)

I'll be posting food pics from our road trip next. Check back to see those!

~Feather

Not My Mama Biscuits!

2009-07-28T13:55:00.003-04:00

I love that episode of Martin where he tells Gina, "Not my mama biscuits!" LOL

Don't ask me how I married a southern man and never made him homemade biscuits. Especially since my husband almost every Sunday before Church rides to Bojangles and gets the whole family sausage biscuits. On the weekends JP and I allow ourselves to have cheat meals. This weekend I decided I wanted a good ol' homemade meal. I cooked some cube steak with homemade gravy and onions, rice, Brussel sprouts, and homemade biscuits. This was acutally my first time EVER making biscuits from scratch. I know, I know I'm a bad person. :( lol Not sure why I never attempted these. I guess I'm really not that fond of them. I searched the net for recipes and I actually found one to try out. It sounded fairly easy. I followed the recipes with some suggestions from others attempts. Guess what? They actually came out really good! I was proud of myself. The recipe was pretty good. I definitely will be making these again. My family loved them. I'll have to find one that is close the Bojangle recipe for JP. :)

Link to the recipe: Biscuit Recipe

Quick Food Review

2009-07-23T08:14:00.006-04:00

First of all let me tell you that eating healthy is really hard! Especially when you are someone who loves to eat and cook! Since February, JP and I have really been focused. People like us really need tons of variety in our diets. So, I have been trying out many different healthy alternatives in order to stay on track.

Lately I have been finding myself at Kroger's organic food section. I it find to be a lot cheaper than going to Earth Fare or some other specialty health food store. I had know idea they even had a organic/health food section. It's not a huge variety, but they have a decent selection. They best thing is they always seem to have things on sale. Which is great for me, because other specialty stores like Earth Fare can be costly. I wanted to review three items that I have tried over the last few weeks. Some organic baked cheese curls, organic whole wheat tortillas, and flour less sprouted bread.

Okay, so chips aren't exactly the most healthiest thing to have. But, if you are going to have some you might as well try and get something that won't hurt you to much. There are a ton of organic and low fat chip varieties. Like I said I have already tried a few. On my last visit to the store I spotted these. Michael Seasons Reduced Fat Baked Cheese Curls. They are are also Chili Pepper Flavored. Well right off that appealed to me, and I knew it would appeal to JP. Cheese and Spice! These are organic, no preservatives, wheat free, gluten free, low cal and low fat.

They are 130 calories per 1 cup. Which is actually a decent amount. I would probably say the equivalent to a small snack bag of chips. Now let me tell you something! The flavor says Chili Pepper, and they mean it! OMG! (ha ha using internet lingo) These things are sooo good! I'm serious if you like flaming hot Cheetos, these would be a great alternative. Probably a lot more cheesier than Flaming Hot Cheetos. But they are cheesy with a kick to it. Not just a slight kick, but a nice I need to drink some water kick. I got two bags for $4 which was an okay deal. I got one bag for JP to take to work and one for myself. JP had already finished his bag before the week was over. lol I still have about half of mine left. JP told me he threw a few them on his chicken wrap and it really kicked it up a notch. Overall I like the flavor of these. It is pretty spicy, but it does have a nice balance with the cheese. So if you can I would highly recommend these.

The second thing I would like to review is Food For Life's 7 Sprouted Grains bread. Food For Life makes tons of products and one of their popular items is the Ezekiel 4:9 bread. All of their products are Organic. They have things such as tortillas, English Muffins, Raisin Bread, and other types of breads. Over the last couple of months I have been eating their 7 Sprouted Grains bread. It is a flour less bread. Therefore it will go bad quickly. So you have to keep it refrigerated or frozen. This bread is a bit pricey at $3.99 per loaf. But it is absolutely awesome if you can get some!

At just 80 calories per slice and only 5 grams of fat this bread is some good stuff. It's packed with vitamins. I personally love it. It's the only bread I eat as of right now. It taste like a really good wheat bread. What's crazy is, it's not made with any flour! I have toasted it and ate it with Peanut Butter. Made Turkey sammiches and have not been disappointed yet. JP has also agreed that this bread is fantastic. So if you are looking for a good wheat bread I highly suggest trying this one or any of their other products.

The last thing I will review are Garden of Eatin's Whole Wheat Organic Tortillas. I am already a fan of their Greek Isle Pita Chips. Those are sooo good! So I decided to give these a try. You get 6 tortillas for $1.99 at Kroger. Not sure what they cost elsewhere. I was getting tired of those Low Carb Tortillas. Not even sure how anyone could call that tortilla. Those things are awful. As much as JP and I love burritos I need something that is going to be a little bit more tortilla like. This is another item that needs to be kept frozen or refrigerated. A lot of this Organic stuff goes bad quickly.

These are 110 calories per tortilla. Which isn't to bad. The carbs a bit high than I would like, but it's still better than eating a regular tortilla. These I must say are actually good. Waaaay better than those low carb things. They actually taste like a tortilla. The wheat taste isn't overpowering and the texture is good. I have made grilled chicken wraps with these and they were awesome. I heated them in pan with a bit of Olive Spray and they tasted great. Again, this would be another product I would suggest if you are looking for a tortilla alternative.

So that concludes my food reviews. I would also like to add that I am a very budget conscience person. I only spend about $200 a month for a family of 5 on groceries. So I really try to get things that will not break my wallet. I will have links to these food items. You can check your local grocery or health food store. If you have any questions or want to suggest some things for us to try shoot us an email. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Michael Seasons Baked Cheese Curls

Food For Life 7 Sprouted Grains Bread

Garden of Eatin Organic Whole Wheat Tortilla

Trying to get back in the swing of things!

2009-07-21T01:09:00.003-04:00

It feels like it's been an eternity since I last posted something. I am in fact still cooking daily. I have been cooking a lot more food too.

I have been experimenting in the kitchen with healthy meals. I have made a whole wheat pizza from scratch, which was great. Whole Wheat chicken burritos, and other things. I know I should be taking pictures and posting recipes. I've been so busy it's crazy. So hopefully I can start getting back into the swing of things. I still plan on doing some reviews of the healthy things I've been trying. I can say that I absolutely love Ezekiel Bread and Cliff Bars. I also have just tried Garden Of Eatin's Whole Wheat Organic Tortillas which I love too! So check back for some new stuff. I am trying my hardest to get it done. Thanks!

~Feather

Recipe of The Day: Whole Wheat/Oat Blueberry Muffins

2009-06-23T23:26:00.005-04:00

In an attempt to create more healthy recipes. I tried my hand at some Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins.

I found some Whole Wheat Flour today at Wal Mart. After purchasing the flour, I was walking around the house trying to figure out what I could do with it. Pancakes came to mind. The box even had a pizza dough recipe that looked good. I searched the net for ideas. I finally decided to try and make muffins. I found a simple recipe on Sparkpeople. I tweaked it a bit. I will say these are semi healthy, because I had to use real sugar. I didn't have enough Splenda. I also had to use Canola Oil instead of applesauce. Both of these things can be substituted to make an even more healthier version.

Prep Time: 15-20 Minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 Minutes
Serving Size: Makes 18 Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup Oats (I used plain quick oats)
1 cup Frozen Blueberries
1 cup 2% Milk (or a lower percentage)
1/2 cup Pure Canola Oil (or applesauce)
1 large egg
1 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 cups Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Graham Flour
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix milk, blueberries, and oats in a separate bowl and set aside. In another large bowl mix the rest of the ingredients. Add in oats, milk, and blueberries. Mix until it is well combined. I used 1 regular metal 6 cup pan and 1 12 cup silicone baking pan. If you are using a metal pan spray with a cooking spray. I used an Olive Oil cooking spray. Fill pans. Do not fill to the top, about 3/4 of the way. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove muffins and let cool.

That's it. This recipe was extremely simple. The muffins taste really good too. The kids loved them! I can barely tell they were made with wheat flour or oats. I will try these again with the other healthier ingredients. Enjoy!

~Feather

Food Review: Minute Khana and Emerald Dark Chocolate Flavored Almonds

2009-06-22T14:21:00.003-04:00

So we been MIA. Sorry :( We have done a total life change with our new eating habits. With that said, I've decided to do some food reviews on some things we've purchased and our trying in our new diet.

JP and I really love food! I mean really really looove, that's why we started this site. It's also the reason why we put so much weight on in the past. Changing your eating habits and lifestyle is a difficult task already. Loving food makes that hard. We like to think we have a very diverse palettes. It really keeps things exciting for us eating different types of ethnic foods.

JP's absolute favorite cuisine is Indian food. If he could, I bet he'd live at the Indian restaurant! LOL One day on his day off he suggested we cruise the local Indian grocery store. While we were there we found some ready made meals. They were pretty cheap. The pictures on the boxes looked good, plus they were giving you a free package if you bought two. There were so many selections it was hard to choose. We chose three meals to try. The brand is called Haldirams's Minute Khana. We got Amchi Pao Bhaji, Purani Dili Ke Chloey, and Kashmriri Duh Aloo. One was Chickpeas in a curry sauce, a mixed vegetable in another curry type sauce, and Whole potatoes in a tomato based curry sauce. I really had my apprehensions about these, because they are microwavable and they are in a box. Those two factors alone never quite work out to good! LOL

I prepared some brown rice and cooked some chicken breast to go with the meal. We ate the chickpeas and mixed vegetables. The food comes in a sealed bag, which kind of resembles a MRE. You literally empty the contents into a dish and heat for 2 minutes. Our microwave is extremely powerful, so 2 minutes was a little long. I plated the food and that was it. The aroma was wonderful. It smelled sooo good. The box claimed it was authentic Indian food. It smelled authentic. But did it taste authentic? That was the question.

We mixed the chicken in and ate over our brown rice. First bite was like,wow! It was delicious! Didn't even taste like it came out of a box. It had a serious kick to it. It was really spicy and very flavorful. We almost wanted to say it was slightly better than our favorite spot. I enjoyed every bit of the meal. The calories weren't to bad as well. Half a package only had 152 calories. Not bad. The sodium was a bit high. Both of the dishes we tried were very good. The chickpeas were a lit hard for me, but the overall dish was great.

JP and I loved these meals. We still have the whole potatoes to try, but I'm sure we'll enjoy those. We definitely are going back to get some more.

Here is a link to the brands website, it looks like you can purchase some online.

Minute Khana

The last thing I will show today is Emeralds Dark Chocolate Flavored Almonds.

Almonds are a staple for us. They are a great quick healthy snack. They aren't cheap by no means. But, if you can get some I highly recommend you do. JP picked these up for us the other day. All I can say is these are awesome! They almost taste cookie like. I told JP they almost tasted like Cocoa Puffs. The flavor is light with a hint of sweetness. Then you got the flavor of the almond which is great. You would assume being it was Dark Chocolate the flavor would be bitter. It's not. It works really well and these almonds are amazing. I love them. 1 serving is 1 ounce, which is about a handful or 1/4 cup. Only 150 calories. Very yummy. You have to be careful and stick to the serving these bad boys are dangerous! lol Anyhoo, this wraps up my food review for today hope you enjoy!

~Feather

Don Quijote

2009-05-25T00:56:00.005-04:00

I'm really attempting to get these Hawaii posts done. I think I have maybe 2-3 more to go. This post will be about the store formerly known as Daiei, which is now Don Quijote.

Daiei was a Japanese chain. When I left the island, it was still Daiei. To my surprise that was not the case when I returned. Not sure what happened. But now it's Don Quijote. Still the same layout, still the same products, pretty much looks like the same store. Just has a different name. During our stay we frequented this store quite a bit. (Not sure why)lol Since my family lives in Waipahu, we were at the Waipahu location a lot. We also visited the Pearl City location once. I just wanted to share some of the things we got there, and some of the things we saw.

Don Quijote carries a lot of Asian products, produce, and food items. They also have a lot of local items and treats. They even have a food court. To me it's like an Asian Wal Mart. If that makes sense. I picked up Da Braddahs and Friends DVD from there(local comedy). JP picked up some ear buds. I even picked up some Make-up(I'm an addict). JP even got me a cute Hello Kitty necklace charm. Awwww :)

One trip there I picked up some Tako and Imitation Kimchi Crab Poke. Tako is the Japanese word for Octopus. Tako Poke (Po-keh) is Octopus with green onion, Hawaiian Salt and Sesame Seed Oil. I believe sometimes they put Limu (seaweed) in there. I love the stuff. The Imitation Crab Poke is made the same way, except this one has Kimchi seasoning on it. So that version is pretty spicy. You could also get it plain poke style, which is equally good. I probably should have gotten these two from Taniokas, but I was at the store and had a craving.

I purchased 1/2 lb. At $3.18 I think it was pretty reasonable. This Tako was actually pretty tasty. I liked it. You can see there were some good sized pieces in there. The texture was perfect and the flavor was pretty good.

This on the other hand, was not good. I did not care for this one bit. I wished I had gotten it somewhere else. It was pretty cheap, and it tasted cheap. Oh well, that's what I get. lol It was to salty. I could barely taste any spice, because the salt was so overpowering. The texture wasn't that good either. It was kind of mushy. You can tell from the picture. I probably only took two bites from this container.

The only thing I dug from here was the Tako. If you want to try any of these local treats, I highly suggest getting them from a reputable fish market. This is not the place to purchase these items. :( Sorry.

Check out these different types of Octopus we spotted at Don's. One was deep fried. I think the second one was just fresh raw Octopus. Yum!

And check this out! Can you believe this is a Ramen isle? Have you ever seen so much Ramen in your life? Wow! LOL

Another thing we had there, which I did not photograph was Andagi. Andagi is like a Japanese fried donut. Specifically Okinawan. You can have it plain, with sugar, or cinnamon and sugar. These are pretty tasty. There is a man that is set up outside the store. You can get two for $1, not bad.

Don Q's, to me is a cool place. Even if you don't buy anything. They have all kinds of interesting things you probably won't find anywhere in the states. They have a few locations all over the island. I love the place! Check them out if your in town.

Don Quijote

Quick Recipe of The Day: Buffalo Chicken Salad

2009-05-23T10:56:00.005-04:00

Okay, here is another quick recipe for ya. I don't have a picture of this one. When we do it again, I'll take a pic.

This is JP's creation. He really enjoys the Blue Zalad at Zaxby's. So we decided to experiment and make our own version. This version does not have Blue Cheese, but you are more then welcomed to add some in. This again is quick and easy, the calories in this is low. We incorporate a lot of salads in our diet. This is for an individual portion. Everything has been measured to the exact suggested serving size.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 4oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
2 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce Leaves (or whichever lettuce leaf your prefer)
1/4 cup thinly sliced Red Onion
2 tbsp Texas Pete Buffalo Sauce
2 tbsp Kraft Free Light Ranch
Salt and Pepper to taste

The chicken breast can be prepared anyway you like. JP and I have grilled it on our BBQ grill.I have also pan fried it. Cook chicken until well done. Chop chicken into strips or bite sized pieces. Set chicken to the side. Chop two cups of Romaine lettuce and place in bowl. Thinly slice red onion. I use my Kuhn Rikon hand held slicer. Place in bowl with lettuce. Dash a bit of salt and pepper.Mix everything. In a separate bowl with lid add chicken and Texas Pete Buffalo sauce. Cover bowl and toss. Make sure you get all the pieces coated well. Place chicken on top of lettuce. Add on our dressing and your done.

That's it! JP's version was very tasty. You get a nice little kick from the chicken.You could probably tell by now, that we love spicy food. :) You could always use less Buffalo sauce if the spice is to much. Hope you enjoy!

Quick Recipe of The Day: Stir Fried Brown Rice and Salmon

2009-05-20T12:42:00.005-04:00

Hi all! I'm going to start sharing some of the healthy food we've been eating. JP and I, are still maintaining this healthy lifestyle. So I'm going to start posting some of the things we eat. These recipes have helped us shed all of that unwanted weight!

JP and I are on a high protein diet. So we consume a lot of chicken breast, tuna,and salmon. People always assume that if you eat healthy, food is bland and boring. I'm here to tell you that's so not true. JP and I love spice and flavor. So we've been finding lots of ways to jazz our dishes up. Here is a quick lunch I whipped up for myself today. This is for an individual serving. You could double it to make more. The whole meal is about 307 calories with 21 grams of protein. You could omit the oil to bring the calorie count down a bit. You could also add in more veggies or even maybe egg whites for added protein.

Stir Fried Brown Rice and Salmon

3/4 cup cooked Brown Rice (I had a pot already made)
1/4 cup Pink Canned Salmon (or fresh if you like)
1 cup chop and rinsed Baby Bok Choy
1/4 cup onion chopped
1 teaspoon Garlic Chili Sauce
Salt and Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Pure Canola Oil or Olive Oil

In a small saute pan, add in oil. Let it coat the bottom of the pan. Throw in your Baby Bok Choy and Onions. Saute for minute or so. Add in your Salmon and continue to saute. At this point you could add in a couple dashes of salt and pepper. Add in your brown rice, add in a little bit more salt. Throw in your Garlic Chili sauce, more or less depending on how much spice you like. Get it all nice and mixed up. Saute another minute then plate.

This is a great tasting meal. It's quick and easy. It has a lot of flavor. It's also filling. I also made it with spinach. So there is my quick meal for today. Be sure to look out for more healthy food posts! Have a great day!

Here are some links to other healthy recipes we've posted

Ginger Chicken

Spicy Tofu

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Faux Philly Cheese Steak

KCC Farmer's Market

2009-05-17T13:40:00.006-04:00

I'm so sorry for the slow posting! This new lifestyle JP and I have is taking over our lives! I still have more Hawaii things to post. *sigh* Okay, so here is another spot we went to on our trip. The KCC Farmer's Market. We headed out here early in the morning right before our hike to Diamond Head.

This market is awesome! It's located in the parking lot at Kapiolani Community College. If you plan on going, you've got to go early. The market is open from 7:30am-11am. It is very crowded, so you might have to wait a bit for parking. We actually found a spot fairly easy.

As you can see it was packed! There were several vendors out there.

There were a lot of tourists out there as well. It was good bit of people.

On our previous post, this is the vendor where we got the Spam Musubi. They also had a variety of Onigiri and Sushi. I'm not sure exactly what the above picture is. From my understanding it's a rice dough dumpling with a sweet salty sauce. Never had it before, so I'm not sure about how it tastes.
There is the Spam Musubi we purchased.

Right next to that vendor, this vendor was cooking some kind of pasta.

There was a lot of organic products out there. This vendor had honey.

Fresh pastries. These looked good!

Someone even had Calzones. These look delicious too! This post is making me hungry! lol

Fresh Coconuts. Yum Yum! This vendor also had some good local treats.

JP and I stopped by this vendor and sampled their Acai Berry Sorbet. It was sooo good! It was only a $1 for this little cup. The flavor was awesome and it was very refreshing.

The market is not limited to just food. They also have fresh flowers. These were very pretty.

The market has several vendors and you can get a little dizzy trying to decide what you want to get. We saw things from fresh Kettle Popcorn, plate lunches, fresh squeezed juices, an array of fresh vegetables and other produce. As I mentioned before you want to get there early. JP and I enjoyed walking around trying out different things. This is also a cool way to try out some of Hawaii's local treats. It's located right across from Diamond Crater. So you could explore the market and then head on over to the crater. That's what JP and I did. I would highly recommend checking it out.

For more information here is a link: KCC Farmer's Market

Spam Musubi

2009-05-07T14:59:00.004-04:00

Most people know that Hawaii is a beautiful tropical destination. But, did you know it's the state that consumes the most Spam then anywhere else? Hawaii loves Spam! It's everywhere! Including McDonald's! They even have a festival every year to celebrate Spam.

So today I bring you Spam Musubi. What is Spam Musubi you ask? It's basically a block of rice topped with marinated spam and wrapped with a piece of Nori(seaweed). Not really like sushi, because the rice isn't flavored with vinegar. Some variations do have Furikake mixed in the rice. Really there are tons of variations. It's a popular local snack. It's cheap, it's quick, and it's good! I had to introduce JP to da Spam Musubi. He was instantly hooked. We ate Spam Musubi anywhere we could find it. lol

The first ones we picked up were at 7 Eleven in Haleiwa. Pretty cheap at $1.29. They were pretty tasty.

This is me about to devour one. It's a pretty filling snack. You get all that rice, and that nice piece of spam right on top. Mmmm.

We even had some at the KCC Farmer's Market. Yum. These versions had Furikake mixed in the rice. You can see they also had Onigiri(Japanese Rice Ball) and Sushi too. If you get a chance to go the KCC Farmer's Market, you should. They have a lot of things out there.

Here is the KCC Spam Musubi up close. It was okay. Nothing to write home about. lol I'll talk more about the KCC Farmer's Market on another post. We had some other things while we were there.

And finally here is one JP had with Spam, Egg and Furikake. You can see me in the background stuffing my mouth! LOL I love my Spam and so do our kids! You can actually make this treat at home. You can buy a Musubi mold online, or you can use the spam can! You can also find recipes online. It might be something you might want to try. You never know you might like it! Or if ever your in the islands go and give it a try!

~Feather

Amish Friendship Bread

2009-05-06T22:52:00.003-04:00

I'm diverting from my Hawaii post, just to let ya'll know about something I just made. 10 days ago my neighbor Debbie gave me a starter for a Amish Friendship Bread. She explained to me how it worked, and I thought it was pretty cool. So I gave it a try.

Someone starts a batch of the batter and makes starters for their friends and passes it along with instructions. Then those people make their own loaves and starters, and passes those to other friends. It just keeps going and going. Once you receive the starter it takes 10 days for the whole entire process. The mixture pretty much just sits and ferments I guess for those 10 days. Then on the 10th day it's ready to bake. It does sound a bit crazy, and the smell of the batter would really put you off. lol But, really it turned out really good! The bread is really delicious! You can make so many variations with it too. I will try out another flavor on my next batch. My kids enjoyed it also. They were a bit apprehensive as well. lol But enjoyed it after they tasted it. I will be handing out starters to people hoping they will make some bread. I'm glad my neighbor showed me this recipe. Something I'll be adding to my recipe box.

Here it is up close. This is some I gave to the kids. It's really moist. I think it would taste good with tea or coffee.

I wrapped up a loaf to take to my daughter's Mother's Day Tea Party tomorrow. Then I changed my mind and sliced it up and made individual little gifts for the teachers. Anyway, if you ever get a chance to make this bread I would definitely give it a try. I will post the recipe below. I've looked up the recipe online, and there are so many different versions. I'll put up the one that my neighbor gave me. This was very simple to do and really takes no work at all. Enjoy!

Amish Friendship Bread

*Do not use a metal spoon or bowl for mixing.
*Do not refrigerate mixture.
*if air gets in the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to thicken, bubble and ferment.

Day 1: This is the day you receive the batter. Do nothing.

Day 2-5: On each of these days, all you need to do is let the trapped air out. Nothing else.

Day6: Add 1 cup of plain flour, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of milk. Squeeze the mix.

Day 7-9: On each of these day, all you need to do is let the trapped air out. Nothing else.

Day 10: Combine in a large bowl: the batter along with 1 cup plain flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk. Mix with a wooden spoon. Pour 4 1 cup starters into separate ziplock bags (use the gallon sized bags). Keep one starter for yourself and give the other 3 starters to your friends along with the instructions. Starters may also be frozen on this day for later use (will keep for six months).

To the remaining batter in the bowl add:
1 cup cooking oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Prepare 2 large loaf pans by spraying with Pam (or other cooking spray. I wiped the loaf pans with canola oil on a paper towel). Then coat the pans well with cinnamon and sugar. You can mix your own or use a prepared mixture. Pour batter into pans. You sprinkle additional cinnamon and sugar on top of batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Bread freezes well.

Optional: Add 1 cup of chopped nuts and or 1/2 cup of raisins to the batter before baking.

Other flavors to try:
Chocolate: Omit cinnamon in the recipe. Substitute with chocolate pudding mix for the vanilla. Chocolate chips and/or nuts may be added.
Lemon: Omit cinnamon in recipe. Substitute lemon pudding mix for the vanilla. Lemon extract may also be used as a substitute for vanilla extract.
Cheesecake:Keep vanilla and cinnamon, but use cheesecake instant pudding mix instead of vanilla.

That's it!

~Feather