Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

Thanksgiving Tip: Fresh or Frozen Turkey?

I’m sure you’ve seen signs in the grocery store urging you to order fresh turkeys now. But is fresh really better than frozen?

Actually, it’s really your preference because the quality of frozen and fresh turkey meat is about equal. Frozen turkeys are less expensive and can be stored in the freezer for at least a month with no loss in meat moisture and tenderness but require time to defrost. Fresh turkeys are more perishable and are therefore more expensive because of how they have to be handled to get them to market safely. Fresh turkeys should also be refrigerated until they’re ready to be prepared for roasting and should be cooked within a day or two of purchase to ensure maximum freshness. One key point: if you ordered a fresh turkey, make sure to pick it up the day BEFORE Thanksgiving at the latest as most grocery stores are closed Thanksgiving Day.

For more Thanksgiving tips and step-by-step picture book recipes designed to make your Thanksgiving as stress-free and FUN as possible, please check out the Thanksgiving Help page you can get by clicking this link or by clicking the tab as shown in the picture below.

Thanksgiving Help Page

 

 

Brussels Sprouts Chips – Flavorful Alternative to Bagged Chips & All in Pictures


Brussels Sprouts ChipsBrussels sprouts chips are an excellent quick, flavorful, and much more nutritious alternative to commercially bagged chips.

Peeling Brussels Sprouts Leaves

The hardest part about making these great tasting chips – and it’s actually not hard at all; it just takes a little time – is peeling the sprout leaves as shown above. After that, it’s just add oil, broil & enjoy!

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Microwave Cooked Pistachio Pesto and Hummus Quesadilla – All in Pictures

Microwave Cooked Pistachio Pesto & Hummus QuesadillaFood usually comes to mind while I’m out on the bike. After a spectacularly colorful October ride, I came home to put together this recipe that combines the nutty flavors of pistachio pesto and hummus along with the fresh crunch of red bell pepper and creamy texture of avocado. Great stuff for a post-ride/workout meal or any lunch or dinner.

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How to Cook Dried Kidney Beans – All in Pictures

How to Cook Dried Kidney BeansBuying and cooking dried instead of canned kidney (or any) beans has two distinct advantages: dried beans are less expensive than canned beans, and, unlike canned beans – even those labeled “low salt/sodium”, dried beans are not at all processed with added salt or preservatives. Here’s an example of an ingredients label from a bag of dried kidney beans in my kitchen.

Dried Kidney Beans Ingredients Label Read more »

Microwave Beans Alfredo Fusion: Full-On Flavor and All in Pictures

Microwave Beans Alfredo Fusion I’m a big fusion fan! Here’s a fully flavorful, richly nutritious, and very easy to make recipe that came to mind while ripping it on a gorgeously colorful fall bike ride the other day that combines – or fuses – the Italian creamy Parmesan cheese flavor of a modified (less fat, lower calorie) Alfredo sauce with the richly flavorful and nutritious Latin American staples of kidney beans, cilantro, avocado, and tomato.

Here’s a picture of what you need to make a bowl of microwave cooked beans Alfredo fusion.

Microwave Beans Alfredo Fusion Ingredients Read more »

Sweet and Savory Fig, Plum, Onion & Lettuce Salad – All in Pictures

Sweet & Savory Fig, Plum, Onion & Lettuce SaladLike a richly balanced symphony of sound, the sweet and savory ingredients in this salad bring out the best in complimentary flavors. The sweetness of fruit enhances the savoriness of lettuce and onions, and the savory does the same to the sweet.

Here are the ingredients needed to make this sweet and savory salad. (NOTE: Figs and plums are seasonal fruits. Read more »

Pasta with Sausage and Fresh Fig Sauce – All in Pictures


Pasta with Sausage and Fresh Fig Sauce

Pasta with sausage and fresh fig sauce: great stuff! Aside from its warmly robust sweet and savory flavor, the sausage and fig sauce can be made in the same time it takes just to cook pasta.

Now, what if fresh figs aren’t on the market – or you don’t like them? No problem. Just substitute those figs with any other available fruits: apples, pears, peaches, or plums – or whatever suits your taste.

Here’s what you need for ingredients.

Pasta with Sausage and Fresh Fig Sauce Ingredients Read more »

Taking Fish Tacos From Simple to Exciting! – All in Pictures

Fish Tacos - Simple to Exciting!Fish tacos: fantastically flavorful, easy to make, and just as easy to vary in flavor using either your choice or a combination of the “simple to exciting!” ingredients you see below – or whatever you want to suit your imagination and taste.

Fish Tacos From Simple to Exciting Ingredients Read more »

Another Blessed Sunday – by Bill Fleming: In Pictures

I’ve laid down a couple fish recipes lately and have another that I’ll put up soon. But first, I got the fish/fishing story you see below from a darn good friend I served with in the Navy it seems like lifetimes ago. Bill Fleming was – and still is – the real deal as both a river boat gunner in Vietnam and savvy intelligence officer both at sea on carriers and on land in Washington DC. We got a lot done together in DC while, at the same time, having our good share of laughs.

Bill posted this story on Facebook a few weekends ago. I got a good smile out of it and hope you do too.

Introduction: With nothing planned for lunch, our Lord provides, I’ve always been told. So, in pictures, this is how my (recent) Sunday of culinary experiences unfolded.

It all started about 6:00 A. M., much darker than it appears. The lonely dock became my church, sort of, with a congregation of one this morn. That’s the moon shining overhead, not the sun! I plugged for bass and jigged for crappie, turning up one undersized specimen, released to grow some more.

Bill Fleming - Another Blessed Sunday 1

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Fish Tacos – Quick & Easy and All in Pictures

Quick and Easy Fish TacosLast post showed how to cook a whole fish on the stove, which is a technique I just recently learned – and like very much for its terrific flavor and because it makes the most of the fish by reducing the loss of meat that takes place when fish is filleted (removed from the bone while the fish is raw). But since filleted fish is most available on the market, especially in our U.S. grocery stores, making these quick and easy fish tacos is a great way to make a complete and fantastically flavorful meal with a good piece of fish fillet.

Here’s what you need for ingredients to make quick and easy fish tacos.

Quick and Easy Fish Tacos IngredientsClick any picture on this page for a complete, easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book recipe. Read more »

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