A Simple Crunchy Salad

Apr 21, 2014 by Ben

I love this salad.  I love this salad for several reasons.  First, its delicious.  Second, its super easy to make.  Third, its very easy to make ahead of time and then mix all the parts together when you are ready to eat it… aka its great to take camping.  And fourth, it uses the cabbage I grow in my garden and sometimes I struggle to find recipes to eat all the cabbage. But this salad is very easy to make, is very tasty and is a nice change from the normal boring salad. Here’s how you make it. First you will need a head of cabbage.  here is an awesome one that I grabbed from the garden. Second, you’ll need some chicken.  I used the leftover chicken I had from the Greek Pita recipe.  It was super tasty, but you can just use any chicken however you’d like to prepare it.  Cut it up into chunks and cook it up. Next you’ll need some Oriental flavor top ramen.  You know its awesome when there is ramen in it! Before you open the ramen package, smash it against the counter a few times to break it up.   You want to chop up the cabbage.  If you have a mandoline slicer, now is the time to bust it out and use it. Chicken is cooked and looking and smelling awesome.  Set it aside. Throw the ramen noodles in a sauce pan. Add a couple tablespoons of butter and the oriental seasoning packet and cook it up for a few minutes.   You want it to remain crunchy and mix in the flavor, so only cook it for a c0uple of minutes. that is a lot of cabbage, but thats why I love this recipe.  If you keep the parts separated you can mix it together any time you are ready to enjoy this. Ok, now to make the dressing for this salad.   Super easy.  In a small tupperware container mix 1/4 cup sugar. Then add 1/4 cup white wine vinegar Then a tablespoon of oil. and finally a teaspoon of pepper. Now put the lid on and shake it up.  You are done with the dressing. If you are making this all at once, put the cabbage in a big bowl and add 1 cup of peanuts.   Then add the chicken and salad dressing and shake it all up.  Top it off with the crunchy raman noodles and you are set.  I prefer to leave the components separated so I can make the salads individually.  Again this is super easy to make ahead of time and put into separate zip lock backs for camping.  Its a great lite salad to break out at lunch. Here is the final product.  The savory chicken with the tangy and sweet dressing mixes with the crunchy noodles for the perfect salad that has an amazing texture.  Try this salad out next time you want something new and tasty.  It is awesome.

Ben…

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Zucchini Pizza and Cheese Fried in Cheese (KETO)

Feb 11, 2014 by Ben

Wow has it been a long time since I’ve posted a recipe.   I’ve been very busy with a lot of new projects and a new kid and thus I have not taken the time to get some new posts up.  I’ve been cooking a lot as usual, but in a new way.  I recently started on the KETO diet as a way to lose some weight, but really more to experiment with an entirely different way to eat and see how my body liked it.  I’ve been having some bad allergies and sinus issues where I couldn’t taste anything, hence the no new recipes for a while.  Allergy shots have been helping and the new diet is in full effect.  I’m still learning as I go as its a whole different paradigm, but the essentials are, low carbs, high fat.

With that, I’ve been cooking some fun low carb recipes lately and this was one of them.  You know I love zucchini and put it in everything from muffins, to waffles so I was happy to incorporate it into my low carb pizza.  This meal turned out amazing and I LOVE the marinara sauce.  It’s so simple and so tasty.

Here’s the final product and it is good.  Now lets get making with the food.

Here’s what you’ll need for the marinara sauce.  I modified the recipe from this one.

Ingredients:

• 28 oz can Peeled San Marzano Tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Here’s the easiest part of this recipe.  Put all of that into a blender or Nutribullet and blend it up.  It’s just that simple.

Now onto the pizza making parts.  You’ll need some zucchini, mozzarella cheese and pepperonis

Slice the zucchini at 1/4 inch strips.  A mandolin slicer is the way to go for this.

Grill them up on high heat for 30-45 seconds per side.  You just want them to have the nice little lines but still be firm.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil and lay down your zucchini strips.  Add a little salt and pepper and spoon on your marinara sauce

add your pepperonis

and then the cheese and throw it in the oven at 350 until the cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

Viola, super yummy and low carb pizza.  Now onto the cheese fried in cheese

To make these cheese sticks you will need…

Ingredients:

• String cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• almond flour
• oregano
• basil
• garlic powder
• an egg or two
• pork rinds

basically you are going to dip the string cheese into the egg and then into your coating and deep fry them.  I experimented and tried out two different coatings.  The first was just Parmesan cheese and the spices.  Pour out your cheese onto a plate.

add in your spices.  This was all by eye.  I used a good sprinkle of garlic powder and a nice dash of oregano and basil.

for the other mixture experiment I crushed up some pork rinds

and then added almond flour and the spices

I got this nice consistency

again, just cut the string cheese in half to get more manageable pieces.  Dip them in the egg, then roll them in the mixes and set on a tray.

Before frying in oil, put the coated cheese pieces in the freezer for 20-30 minutes so they can chill out and be easier to work with when you are frying them up.

Fry them in oil as you would deep fry anything else.  They only need to cook for a very short time until they are nice and golden brown.  Both mixtures turned out good, but I think the cheese only mixture was the slight favorite.  My friend who ate with us that night was blown away that you could fry cheese coated in cheese.  He was very happy.

speaking of happy, here was my little helper for the evening and one of the reasons I’m not posting as much lately.  He’s worth it.

As always, let me know how it turns out when you make this

Ben…

 

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Resolutions Start When You Do

Dec 29, 2013 by Ben

The simple truth of news resolutions is that they only work when you do.  Within that truth lies this one; your resolutions start when you do.  You can have great ideas and plans for all the great things you want to change in the new year, but they won’t happen until you start.   As with all of these weekly posts I’ve been posting for the past year, it comes down to simple actions being taken.  Thinking about and planning the great diets and workout routines you will start in the new year don’t amount to squat unless you take action on them daily.

Soon you will see a lot of new faces at the gym and running along the streets in your area.  Very soon after you won’t see those faces anymore.

It all comes down to taking action.  Intentions are well and good, but they don’t make the difference.  Your resolutions start when you do, not on January 1st.

If you make any resolutions this year, let them be to take some simple actions toward your goals.  If you are looking for any simple actions to take each week to make your life better, then check out any of the 51 suggestions below.

Have a safe and happy new year and may 2014 be the best year you’ve ever made for yourself and others.

Ben…

TSA = Truly Simple Actions The goal of the TSA project is to improve your life and help make this world a better place, one simple action at a time.  Take time this week to do this one simple thing. Previous TSA’s: 

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Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Dec 23, 2013 by Ben

If you’ve been paying attention, the last several week’s posts have all been about adding a little holiday joy into your life.  I hope you’ve taken the time and action to do just that, but if not, its not too late.

Tomorrow is Christmas eve and as the calendar goes, Christmas the next day. You have two full days to decorate your house a little, make some Christmas cookies, and call up some friends to come over for a nice holiday get together.  Throw some Christmas music on Pandora, or watch your favorite Christmas movie with your family and friends and enjoy the moment.

The point is to have yourself a merry little Christmas.  That is all you have to do this week.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Ben…

TSA = Truly Simple Actions The goal of the TSA project is to improve your life and help make this world a better place, one simple action at a time.  Take time this week to do this one simple thing. Previous TSA’s: 

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Add a Little Holiday Spirit

Dec 16, 2013 by Ben

Building upon my previous post of creating your own traditions, infusing a little holiday spirit can be just just as simple as adding a little candy cane.

If you are looking for an easy way to infuse some holiday spirit, just make some chocolate chip cookies and add in some crushed up candy cane.   It’s just that simple.

These are perfect for any holiday party or just to make the house smell awesome while you are wrapping presents.

My wife gave me the best compliment after making these, which was

“Never make these again!  They are too good and I can’t stop eating them!”

Your Truly Simple Action this week is to infuse a little holiday spirit into your week.  Turn on some Christmas music.  Make some cookies.  Invite some friends over for some eggnog (WARNING: Adults only!)

Ben…

TSA = Truly Simple Actions The goal of the TSA project is to improve your life and help make this world a better place, one simple action at a time.  Take time this week to do this one simple thing. Previous TSA’s: 

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