Cook Together

Jun 10, 2013 by Ben

I finally got back into the kitchen after an extended break due to some sinus issues that resulted in me not being able to smell or taste anything.  Not fun.  But I’m back, and back with a vengeance.  I posted, not one, not two, but three awesome recipes and it feels great.  I love cooking.

We also went up to visit my wife’s sister and family yesterday and all cooked a big breakfast together and it was so much fun.  We had 10 people all packed into the sisters cute apartment and cooking up a storm.  The kids helped make blueberry pancakes.  We had eggs, potatoes, lil smokies, bacon and more.  It was a great breakfast and great time with family.

Your Truly Simple Action of the week is to plan and cook a family meal.  It could be breakfast, or a nice dinner, or even a picnic lunch.  Just plan a meal with your family and friends and cook and eat it together.  There is something so simple and therapeutic about everyone gathering around the kitchen helping and talking and having a good time.

Pick a meal.  Pick a day.  Invite your family and friends.  Do it.

But I don’t have a big kitchen, or I don’t have the right tools you say.  Well first off, stop whining.  No one likes a complainer.

You will be fine, and you will make do.  We squeezed way too many people into a very small kitchen to make this breakfast.  We were stepping all over each other to share the stove, but we made it work.  We didn’t have all the right tools, but a towel works just fine for a pot holder.  You will figure it out.  I have complete faith in you.  Don’t let some little excuse prevent you from doing this.  Just start doing it and you will figure it all out on the way.  You may hit a little speed bump or two, but that only makes it that much easier the next time you do it.

We had a great time cooking, eating and talking about everything under the sun.  I want you to do the same.

Pick a meal.  Pick a day.  Invite your family and friends.  Do it.  It’s just that simple.

Ben…

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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Bananrama… this is what you do with those brown bananas

Jun 7, 2013 by Ben

We all love bananas and we buy a big ripe bunch at the store and then we forget about them on the kitchen counter and they are somehow all brown within  a day of bringing them home.  It’s a classic tale as old as time.  I’m pretty sure Shakespeare has a play about it.

So what do you do with those brown bananas that no one wants to eat?

You make this awesome dessert that is likely to be tastier and healthier than all that crap in the stores.

This recipe requires a bit of forethought as you’ll need to freeze the bananas ahead of time.  So take those browning bananas, slice them up onto a plate and throw that plate in the freezer for a few hours.

Once you have the frozen bananas, throw them in the food processor or blender.  Our blender sucks, so we shall use the food processor.

turn the processor on until you get this creamy mixture of bananan-y goodness.  You can stop here if you want.  You’ve made a tasty and smooth banana ice cream like treat and it is good. Or you can keep going and make it epic.

Here’s the part where you get to add whatever you like.  I had a Reese’s peanut butter cup on hand, so in it went.

Add a bit of Hershey’s chocolate syrup

Add a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter

This was the best idea ever.  I am hooked on these damn cashew clusters from Costco.  I should not buy these, but they are just so tasty.  I had all the crumbs from the end of the bag, so I threw them in.

I’m a genius.

Blend it all up.

And it may not be the most appealing picture, but it is oh so tasty.  You can take it out and eat it right then or throw it back into the freezer to let it firm up a little more.

This is a great snack and an awesome way to not throw away perfectly good bananas that no one will eat.  Depending on what you put in it, this can be a very healthy dessert as well.

Ben…

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Cauliflower rice aka Oh my god why haven’t I made this before

Jun 7, 2013 by Ben

I like cauliflower as much as the next guy.  We eat it every once in a while and have even made an awesome mashed cauliflower recipe from one we grew in the garden, but we probably don’t eat it that often.

My wife found a recipe for Cauliflower rice and has been asking me to make it.  Well I finally got around to it and dammit I wish I had been making this stuff every day for the past 10 years.  It is so freaking good and so simple to make.

The recipe is basically this

1.  Chop/grate up your cauliflower into tiny little pieces.  2.  fry it up in a pan.  3.  add spices.   It really is that easy.

The really great thing about this recipe is that you can add whatever spices or flavors you want and they all taste great with the cauliflower

So here’s what you’ll need.  Some cauliflower, onion, garlic and some spices.

Cut up the cauliflower into smaller chunks.

In a food process throw in several cauliflower florets and pulse.  It works better to do smaller batches at a time.

You will end up with your cauliflower looking like this and that is what you want.  Put all your cauliflower in a bowl and set it aside

now throw in the garlic and onion and chop it up as well.   I used 3 garlic cloves and maybe 1/2 cup of onion.

Now in a pan, add some cooking oil of your choice, and the garlic and onion.  I used olive oil.  cook for a minute until the onion in translucent.

Add your cauliflower and stir around.  I added 1 tablespoon of butter at this point to give it a little flavor.  Cook this for 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Then  just add your spices and stir for another minute.  The awesome thing about this recipe is you can add anything you like.   I made three separate batches.  One had garlic and salt spices, the other, red and black pepper with chili flakes (pictured above) and the other had just salt and pepper steak seasoning.  All were super tasty.

I am definitely making this again and going out right now to plant more cauliflower in my garden.  I could eat this every day.

If you are on a paleo or keto diet, this will be your new best friend.

Ben…

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Yummy Yummy Pancit

Jun 7, 2013 by Ben

So every Thursday night we go to the farmers market in downtown Oceanside.  Its near the beach and its more a tiny street fair than farmers market, but that is why we go.  The food is awesome.

We take the dog and he gets to say hi to all the other puppies and get attention from all the other people, but we mainly go to eat.  Did I mention the food is awesome?  Nothing matches the blue crab burrito.

But one of our favorite food vendors was this Filipino food stand that made the best pancit  and lumpia, and sadly they are no longer there.  There are a couple of other Filipino places that also sell pancit and lumpia, but they are no where near as good as this other place was.  So we’ve been missing our weekly pancit and lumpia and thus I set out to make my own pancit and holy cow was it easy.

If you’ve ever made any stir fry or fried rice, its basically the same thing.  This is so easy.

Here’s the final product and it is so tasty.  So lets show you how easy it is to make it

I don’t have a picture of all the ingredients, but here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 pack of rice sticks (found in the Asian section of your grocery store)
• cabbage
• carrots
• pea pods
• onion
• celery
• green onion
• garlic
• soy sauce
• fish sauce (also found in the Asian section of your grocery store)
• pepper

First you want to boil your chicken breast.  I cut a couple slices to help speed up the cooking time.  Save the water from this step.  You’ll need it later.

Here’s a nice haul of veggies I got from my garden.  Yeah free veggies!

Here’s the rest I bought.

Here’s what the rice sticks look like.

Looking at this carrot from the garden it looked big and awesome and ready to be harvested, and then I get this cute little carrot ball when I actually pull it up.  Nice

Slice up all your veggies

You can use as much of each as you’d like.

I made a big double batch so here’s what I used per a single batch: (approximately)

1 cup cabbage

1 cup carrots sliced thin

1/3 cup green onion

1/3 cup onion

2/3 cup celery

2 cloves garlic

OK once your chicken has boiled for a bit, take it out and shred and chop it into small pieces.  Don’t worry if its not fully cooked, you are going to cook it again

In a large pan or wok, add some oil and throw in the garlic for 30 seconds

Next add the onions and carrots and cook for a minute or two

Next throw in the chicken and stir it up

Time to add the sauces.  Use 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon fish sauce.  I just pour it in and estimate.  Stir that all round and let it cook.

OK, I missed a picture, but throw all the rest of the veggies in and let them cook for a minute or so.  You want to keep the veggies crisp, so don’t over cook it.  Next separate and throw the rice sticks on top.

Now take that chicken stock from cooking the chicken breast earlier and pour that into the mix.  Some recipes call to pre-soak the rice sticks, but then they just soak up the water and not all this awesome flavor.  After you pour in the chicken stock, mix it all up so the noodles are at the bottom of the pan and soaking in the good juices.  You can add more soy and fish sauce here if you want or need to.  Stir it around for a few minutes letting all those flavors mix.  Add a bit of black pepper at the end and taste it to make sure the noodles are done.

You will end up with this awesome dish that took no time to make.  While I am not an old Filipino grandmother, I still think this turned out pretty good and will definitely make it again.  And of course I made way too much, so its great for leftovers.

Ben…

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Chicken and Dumplings in the Crock Pot

Feb 28, 2013 by Ben

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted a recipe and I’m sorry.  I haven’t been cooking as much as I’ve been having some sinus issues that have prevented me from smelling and thus tasting and thus less cooking.  I’m working on getting the sinus stuff figured out, but I’ve had some better days than others and tried to cook when I could taste it and now I recommend these awesome recipes to you.  Enough talk about boring sinus issues, onto great and simple recipes you should make.

I’ve made some awesome chicken and dumplings in the dutch oven while camping, but this one is even easier in the crock pot.  It really doesn’t get much easier than this and it is oh so yummy.  Also check out these awesome red bowls I got my wife for Christmas.

Here’s what you’ll need

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of chicken broth
• 1 Chicken bullion cube
• Carrots – about 4 big ones
• Celery – about 6-8 stalks
• Onion (not pictured)
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• Bisquick – 2 cups (not pictured)

Bust out the crock pot and throw in the chicken breast

dump in the cream of chicken soup

and the chicken broth and bullion cube

also parsley flakes and set the crockpot on high and cook for 2-3 hours.  After that, take a couple of forks and separate the chicken into pieces.  Sorry don’t have a picture for that.

Next up, the vegetables

I like celery so I used a lot.  Chop them up into 1/2 inch chunks

Same with the carrots

I forgot an onion, but luckily my garden hooked me up.  I love shopping in my garden.

chop it up in some thin slices

Throw it all into the crock pot and let it cook for another hour

Now time to add the dumplings part of the recipe.  Per the bos, add 2 cups Bisquick and 1 cup water and mix it up in a bowl with a fork.   Dump in small spoon-sized pieces into the crock pot and let it cook another 30 minutes to an hour until the veggies are cooked to your liking.  I don’t like them mushy, so I try not to overcook them.  Try is the key word for me sometimes.

And voila.  Your house will smell like awesome homemade chicken and dumplings and you will get to eat awesome chicken and dumplings.   Both are awesome and you and your family will love it.

Ben…

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TSA#5 – Why Diet’s Don’t Work

Jan 28, 2013 by Ben

See if any of this sounds familiar…

(Sometime after Christmas)

I’m going to go on a diet on January 1st.  This is the year that I get into shape.  for reals.

But since it’s not January 1st yet, I am going to indulge and let myself eat whatever I want because after January 1st, the diet IS ON!

(Mid January)

OK, the diet is on, but it really sucks to not eat anything fun.

Next weekend is my birthday.  I get to splurge on my birthday.  After that, the diet is back on!

(early February)

Superbowl parties don’t count.  Of course you have to eat all those fun snacks and appetizers.

And we have to go out for Valentines day and you can’t go out AND be on a diet so I’ll just have one fun night out and then back to the diet.

Also, chocolates.  You have to have chocolates and candy for Valentines day.

And wait, what??  Girl Scout cookies are out now?  Well crap, I have to support my nieces and buy several boxes.  They have to sell 450 boxes to get to go on the cruise.

(March-ish)

I admit I should not have eaten all those boxes of Girl Scout cookies, but dammit if there isn’t anything better than frozen thin mints.

Ok, the Diet is going back on now.

Easter is coming up or something lets get on this fasting for 40 days thing.

(April-May)

Crap, spring is coming and summer soon after.  I better get back on the diet and get in shape.

I’m going to do really well this month.  Shoot wait, I have my friends big birthday bash and a work trip this month.

I’ll splurge on those and just get on the treadmill a little extra next month.

(June)

When did summer get here already?

Time for a juice fast

(July)

Just fasts suck.  I want a cheeseburger!

Ok, I’m just not going to eat anything until the big party at the beach next week.

(August)

Summer is almost over and I still need to get with my diet and get into the real shape I know I can.

No more parties or splurging.  I can do this!

(September-October)

Where did summer go?  How is school starting already?

Who has time to cook?  I’ll just grab something quick from the fast food place, but I’ll try to be healthy.

I’ll just get a salad…and fries.

And this year I WILL NOT pig out on all that Halloween candy

(November)

OK, I said I wasn’t going pig out on all that Halloween Candy, but it’s just cheaper to buy it at Costco.

Next year I should not buy it on Oct 1st and keep it around the house.  That was my downfall.

And with Thanksgiving coming up, I should probably just put the diet on hold for a bit, until after the holidays.

(December)

I really need to stop overeating on all that holiday food, but those sugar cookies just remind me of Christmas so much!

And eggnog!  Who doesn’t love a glass or two of eggnog.  That is what Christmas is all about.

But right after Christmas, I am going on a diet.

Well, I should probably way until after the first of January to start the diet, with all the new years parties and such.

That’s it!

I’m going to go on a diet on January 1st.  This is the year that I get into shape.  for reals.

And that is why diets don’t work.  Insert your own birthdays and anniversaries and schedule into the above timeline and you get an unattainable goal.  We have stuff to do.  We have places to go, and people to see. We have lives.

So what is the answer?  How do we fix that endless cycle?  How do we get into a healthy cycle?  It’s simple.

Eat less, move more.

We have two big problems with our American diet and lifestyle.  We eat too much, and we sit around too often.  The portions of serving sizes have gotten huge and we sit around all day and the combination of the two is killing us.

So what do we do to fix this?  We are going to eat less and move more.  No fad diets.  No get slim quick schemes.  No pills or powders.  We are going to make this very simple.  We will eat less and move more.

Part 1: Eating less.

The good news about the ginormous portion sizes if you are a couple is that you can split any meal and have more than enough food for both of you.  This not only saves you the extra calories, but you also save money when you are going out to eat.  My wife and I do this all the time.  We share a meal and sometimes even have leftovers.  If you are going solo, eat half of your meal and take a break.  Often times I rush through a meal and then after stuffing it all into my mouth realize I ate too much and feel terrible after.  Slow down.  Take your time.  Understand that it’s too much food and you don’t have to eat it all.  Eat half and stop.  Take a few minutes.  If you are still hungry then maybe eat more, but 90% of the time you will be full and can take the extra’s home for leftovers.

Also try cooking at home a little more.  You can better control your portion sizes and not eat as much.  Put less food on your plate.  You will eat what you have in front of you.  Try smaller plates or bowls.  If you have a smaller surface area you won’t be able to fill it with so much food.  Again slowing down here is important.  Take a smaller portion size and eat that.  Then get up and go get more if you really need it.  You will find that you don’t need it.

Lots of great recipes on the Food & Cooking section.

Part 2: Move More

If you sit at a desk all day like I do its important to get up and move around.  I have a big bottle of water at my desk that I try to drink and get up to refill often.  I also go running at lunch.  This is a nice way to break up the day for me.  If you can’t exercise at lunch, try to get into the habit of doing it before or after work.  Take the dog for a walk in the morning.  Go for a jog with the family in the evenings.  Get up off the couch and do something.  Turn off Honey BooBoo and spend that time walking around your neighborhood.  Go for a hike on a nearby trail.  Ride your bike down to the local park and let the kids run around.  Just get up and do something.  Start small.  Walk around the block.  Then when you can do more, walk around 2 blocks.  Get into the practice of turning off the TV and doing something active.  Once you make this a habit you will start to see big changes in your health and weight.

So this is your Truly Simple Action of the week: Eat less and Move more.

Resolve to eat smaller portions and start the habit of getting up and off the couch to get more movement in your life.

That’s it.  Simple huh?

Also a quick note on foods to eat or not eat.

You know what’s good for you and what is bad for you.  It’s not hard.  If its growing out of the ground its probably good for you.  If it has a lot of ingredients and chemicals that you can’t pronounce then its probably bad for you.  Throw away the bad food and go out and buy good food.  This will help you on your way to a more healthy lifestyle.

Ben…

Previous TSA’s:

 

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