First Cookout of 2012

Posted on April 10, 2012 by John

Well, I finally unpacked the grill from the garage for the first time this year. It took over an hour to clean it and get it ready to meet some new meat. I’m curious, how does a grill sitting in the garage for three months get so dirty? It’s like little leprechauns sneak in during the wee hours of the morning and use up all the propane and dirty my grill! I guess that’s one of the disadvantages of living so close to Notre Dame…

Anyway, I started off by par-cooking a slab of baby back pork ribs and a slab of beef short ribs. I rubbed them down with bacon grease and seasoned them with a variety of dry southwestern spices. Then I slow-cooked them in the oven before tossing them on the grill. What’s that? Really? You’ve never rubbed down your ribs with bacon grease? You have to try it!

Next, I added some hand patted burgers (seasoned with fresh ground Himalayan salt), a package of brats, and an onion. (I will speak of this marvelous onion and how I learned about it from grilling mastermind Steve Cooksey in a future blog entry)

Finally, I added some asparagus for my wife, rubbed in coconut oil with a little salt and pepper. No, let me clarify, my wife was not rubbed in coconut oil, it was the asparagus that was… oh, never mind! Personally I am not a fan of asparagus, but if you are one of those ultra-paleo crazies (I say that with all due respect as I’m married to one) who only eats grass fed stuff, how can you go wrong eating something that is pronounced “aspara-grass” by rednecks everywhere?

Here is how my plate looked after it was all said and done. Who am I kidding!? I should say “here is how my first of many plates looked” fresh off the grill. Notice how juicy the ribs look. The only things I added were the bacon grease and spices – not one drop of that cancer causing, corn syrup infested BBQ sauce that I once thought I couldn’t live without.

Well, the first cookout of the season was a huge success. Now I need to go secure the garage and find out how those blasted leprechauns are getting in!

 Here’s one last beautiful picture of meat trying to impress me and doing a good job of it!

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Bacon Taco Shell

Posted on April 5, 2012 by John

 

courtesy of www.thatsnerdalicious.com

So someone sent me this picture recently and I had to try my hand at making bacon taco shells. I started out by placing strips of bacon over a mold that I made with aluminum foil and then I baked them on a tray in the convection oven at 325 for 20 minutes.

They turned out OK, but next time I will have to do better with the mold because they curled up on the edges.

The good news is that I was able to hold the taco with my hands and the shell held up very nicely. I’ll post an updated picture when I try to perfect it again, but next up will be the bacon pizza crust!

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Sunday Omelet

Posted on April 1, 2012 by John

At first I awoke to the shock and horror of being out of onions and green peppers. Then after mourning the lost omelet opportunity, I discovered a jar or fire roasted red peppers and the olives… And my omelet Sunday was back on! Spicy breakfast sausage crumbles, crispy bacon strips, and melted provolone brought it all together.
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Bacon!

Posted on March 25, 2012 by John

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Bruno’s Pizza Omelet

Posted on February 28, 2012 by John

I had some left over Bruno’s Pizza (again) and decided to make one of my favorites, the Bruno’s Stuffed Omelet. This time I improved on my old recipe. I added an extra slice of pizza toppings and two tablespoons of low-carb sausage gravy spread over the top.

I am not sure if I will ever be able to improve on this version!

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Lucky Buffet Breakfast

Posted on February 24, 2012 by John

Today was the first Friday in like forever that I was off from school and clinicals, so I was finally able to take advantage of the Friday $7.77 Lucky Sunrise Buffet at the Blue Chip Casino. Their billboard video has haunted me many times and caused massive hunger pangs as I’ve driven by on non-Fridays:

I added some jazzy music to make it more festive.

Wait a sec, I’m trying to remember… is it hunger pangs or pains??? I think it’s pangs but maybe that’s what vampires have? I’m just not sure. Anyway, here’s a picture of my first plate. I called this one “sausage-fest” since there were three different types of sausage on the plate (there was a big patty hiding under the eggs).

I grabbed a quick picture of the Mike expertly flipping my awesome omelet while the dude next in line disapprovingly glared at me like I was a member of Jeremy Lin’s family on vacation at Disney World.

The omelet was delicious! It was stuffed with diced veggies (onions, peppers, tomatoes), bacon crumbles, diced ham, slices of sausage, and fresh spinach (yes, I said spinach). I thought it was kind of weird that they used slices of cheese instead of shredded cheese, but once it melted it was all the same. I added some sauteed onions and green pepper strips with kielbasa slices to even out the plate.

You probably imagine that I went up for two or three more platefuls of food, but I will neither confirm nor deny that assumption on your part.  I was glad to finally enjoy the Sunrise Buffet after dreaming about it for so many weeks, and for $7.77 you can’t beat the price for all the food that is available for a low-carb dieter. If you like carbs, then there are even more buffet stations that you can take advantage at the Blue Chip with items like cinnamon rolls, made to order M&M waffles, and biscuits slathered in sausage gravy to name a few! (I think I just gave myself another hunger pang / pain!)

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Primal Pizza

Posted on February 21, 2012 by John

CJ offered to make me a pizza yesterday. At first I was a bit skeptical because she is one of those Paleo people. You know the kind; those people who go out digging in the dirt looking for caveman skulls and dinosaur bones. Oh, wait! I think that’s a paleontologist… She is a paleoist – when it comes to diet. She follows the likes of diet gurus Mark Sissom and Steve Cooksey and has a diet regimen I can only hope to aspire to one day. If you follow my blog at all you know that I cheat way too much to ever consider myself paleo or primal, but I do try to maintain low carb habits most of the time, unless I encounter one of my terrible triggers like stress, hunger, exhaustion, relaxation, sadness, or happiness to name a few. I can tolerate her paleo ways because most of the stuff cavemen ate was low-carb so it works for me.

Anyway, so she makes me this awesome pizza crust with coconut flour and eggs but says that the pizza can’t be called paleo because strict paleoists don’t do dairy. What? Are you kidding me? Cavemen didn’t eat cheese? That is amazing! I must say that I did see a guy that looked a lot like the Geico cave man drinking from a carton of milk the other day at the hospital… So I guess if you eat dairy you aren’t allowed to be called paleo, but you have to call yourself primal instead. So many rules! That’s why I can’t join their diet club…

Sidetracked again… Ok, back to this delicious pizza. She topped it with organic pizza sauce, extra large slices of gourmet pepperoni, Bob Evans Italian Sausage, diced green pepper, mushrooms, and olives. Then she added some Meijer taco cheese (with zero carbs!) just for me.

You will notice in the picture above the left side of the pizza has no cheese so that she can eat it and still remain paleo…

I ate my piece with a salad topped with low carb ranch (yes it had dairy in it).

Who am I kidding! I ate the entire pizza except for the parts without cheese. This is the 5th or 6th low carb pizza crust recipe that I have tried of hers and I must say that this turned out the best by far. It tasted like a whole wheat pizza crust, and I would never have guessed it was made without wheat. Too bad cavemen couldn’t eat cheese, they had no idea what they were missing. Although I do have one question, where did those cavemen plug in their food processor to grind up the coconut into such a fine flower? hmmmm…

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Almost an omelet…

Posted on February 5, 2012 by John

 

I made this beautiful overstuffed omelet a few days ago:

I woke up this morning with the intent of making another one just as good looking, but this time with sausage. I put all the fixins together in a cast iron skillet and simmered them in a little bacon grease: bacon, onions, tomatoes, and sausage ( I was out of mushrooms).

I was just getting ready to whip my eggs and pour them into a bacon greased skillet when I had an epiphany! I decided to take my omelet toppings and cover them in mozzarella cheese on a platter, and then place them under the broiler to melt the cheese!

While the cheese melted I poured my eggs out of the mixing bowl right onto a simmering skillet and cooked them quickly under a lid. Then I slid them from the skillet onto the plate of omelet toppings covered in cheese. Then I added a few more diced tomatoes and another helping of mozzarella cheese!

Oh, the yumminess!!!

Right before digging into it like a ravenous dog and washing it down with a hot cup of coffee, I did something that would have appalled my wife had she been home: I smothered the entire breakfast in ketchup!

So, the ingredients for my omelet are all there on that plate, but it didn’t quite qualify as an omelet. It was not as pretty as my last omelet, but it sure was a nice spin on breakfast; especially when complemented with nice cup of Donut House Cinnamon Roll coffee fresh from the Keurig!

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Simple Paleo Dinner

Posted on February 4, 2012 by John

If you are looking for a simple low-carb steak recipe that also meets even the most strict paleo diet requirements, here is an idea for you:

I took a new your strip, seasoned it with chipotle spices, and broiled it up in my speed-broiler. It takes about 6 minutes on one side and 4 minutes on the other to get it done medium well. While it was broiling, I sliced up fresh mushrooms and sauteed them in coconut oil. Once the meat was ready (after letting it stand for five minutes), I placed it on the dish and poured the oily mushrooms over the top. Fifteen minutes is all it took to make a great healthy dinner!
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Krispy Kreme Addiction

Posted on February 1, 2012 by John

Hi, my name is John and I am a Krispy-Kreme-Aholic!
Yes, I went on a bit of a bender this weekend and fell off the low-carb wagon, thanks to that evil edible drug – Krispy Kreme! I learned a valuable lesson that I should have already known – You can’t eat just one. I tried, and I failed. There is just something fascinating about watching those little circles of heaven roll down the line and get coated in hot sugar as they come out of the oil!

Krispy Kreme FactoryIt doesn’t help when the sadistic clerk hands you a fresh off the line piping hot sugary surprise when you walk in the door either! I ended up eating three fresh ones at their bakery and taking a couple dozen home.

Well, two days later after the sugar hangover wore off I am finally back on the low-carb wagon. I figured the best way to get things back on track was with a meat binge. I started with a New York strip steak and some beef patties in the broiler.

It was a great choice! I ended up eating the steak with eggs and putting away the burgers for snacks later today.

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Lamb for Supper

Posted on January 12, 2012 by John

I put a leg of lamb in the rotisserie for about an hour and forty five minutes. Then I mixed up some low carb gravy with the drippings and 1/4 cup beef broth. I simmered some fresh sliced mushrooms with the gravy and poured it over the top of steaming lamb slices.

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New Bacon Technique

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John

I thought I would try something new to get my bacon done fast today: I took a pair of scissors and cut a package of bacon cross-wise, then fried up a few of the sections on medium heat. Here’s what it looked like:

I had to turn them several times but overall it was a success. The neatest thing is that the portions kind of looked like lobster tails to me, so my next experience will be to cut a package of bacon into the shape of lobster tails and see what happens!

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Bruno’s Pizza Stuffed Omelet

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John

So I made my weekly Bruno’s Pizza run the Bruno’s in New Carlisle. I eat only the toppings since I am doing low-carb and I ended up with a few slices left over – so I made an omelet! This is a picture of three whipped eggs solidifying while the toppings melt on a skillet:

I could not believe how good this pizza omelet tasted!

I was really hungry so I added a lamb chop to the omelet to make a filling supper.

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Tic-Tac-Toe Burger

Posted on December 7, 2011 by John

A simple low-carb dish: Pan Fried burger with strips of chipotle cheese, and steamed broccoli.


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Bacon Covered Ham

Posted on December 4, 2011 by John

I was strolling through the grocery store and nearly squealed with delight when I saw this hand written sign taped to the deli case glass: “New Eckrich Bacon Covered Ham – Try a sample!” Well, try a sample I did! Then I bought a pound to snack on later.

Bless you, Eckrich for combining my two favorites bacon and ham into one slice of heavenly deliciousness!

I made some ham roll-ups by rolling up a slices of chipolte-cheddar cheese inside ham slices and then frying them in bacon grease. It made great football snack!

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Pesto Pepperoni Chicken

Posted on November 30, 2011 by John

So what would happen if you took a fresh boneless chicken breast, tenderized it with a meat beater, then seasoned it with a dash of Cajun spices, and fried it in coconut oil with green peppers, mushrooms, and onions?

And what would happen if you brushed fire-roasted spicy pepper pesto sauce on it? (Well, you’d shout “Bam!” if you were Emeril!)

And then what would happen if you took the sauteed veggies and put them on top of the pesto chicken breast?

Oh, but then – what if you put slices of tomato on top of the stack?

But wait, there’s more! What if you added slices of pepperoni to that pesto madness and then topped it with chunks of raw pepper jack cheese?

Oh, but what if in a moment of genius, you decided to finish it all off under a flaming broiler?

And them, what if it all ended up looking like this melty mountain of flavor? What if all that happened and you cut into it with a knife and savored the spicy cheesy meltiness of it all? What would happen then?

 

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Broiled Omelet?!

Posted on November 28, 2011 by John

OK, two questions: 1) How do you spell it, omelet or omelette? and 2) why do all my blog entries begin with me sautéing something in bacon grease. AND here’s another spelling question: is it sautéing, sauteing, or saw-tey-ing? (either way if bacon is involved it has to be good, right?!)

Well, not to be different, let’s start off this blog by talking about what I was simmering in bacon grease this morning: diced onions, green peppers, and fresh mushrooms.

After last night’s disastrous omelet attempt I was determined to redeem myself. I saw someone doing omelets in the oven on YouTube and it made me think of using my new infrared broiler to make an omelet on a flat skillet, since all my actual omelet pans came up missing for some reason…

So, here is how I made a broiled skillet omelet: After sizzling the veggies in bacon grease, I whipped three large brown eggs with a dash of heavy whipping cream in a little bowl using a fork. That was fun! I always like to see how fluffy I can get them before pouring them onto the skillet.

I added a few strips of bacon while it rested over a medium flame for a few minutes to get the bottom cooked up a bit.

Then I placed the skillet under the broiler set to medium. It was like 20 seconds and the eggs started to rise like a fluffy cake! OMG! I was so excited I whipped out my iphone and started videoing. Here’s how it looked:

Just look at how fluffy this gorgeous omelet turned out in the broiler! It cooked so fast I didn’t have time to see how long it was actually in the broiler, but I am guessing it was well under a minute. I’ll do a better job of timing it next time.

I slid it onto a plate and dressed it up with diced tomatoes for this picture. Then I slathered it with salsa, and washed it down with a piping hot cup of coffee. Yes, omelets in the broiler are not only possible, they’re great! (in the words of Tony the Tiger).

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The Game = Winning!

Posted on November 27, 2011 by John

Today, I decided to go to The Game sports bar at the Blue Chip Casino to catch the Sunday football games on their wall of HD screens. Football makes me hungry so I decided to order lunch off of their menu, proving to myself once again that I can find a cool low-carb choice on any restaurant menu.

After drooling over all the carby items on the menu, I wiped off my chin and decided to order the Margarita Chicken open faced sandwich. (grilled chicken topped with shredded and fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil) Instead of fries I asked for a double order of green beans. I couldn’t have been happier with my choice.

Not only did I have an excellent seat for that Jets win, but I was able to enjoy a great meal without stressing because the typical sports bar menu is not low-carb friendly. Expect to see me post more meal pics from The Game as playoff season approaches!

Of course, keeping with my low-carb tradition, I ate everything but the bread! Check out The Game’s menu here and let me know what low-carb choice I should have on my next visit. One day I hope to finish their 40 ounce KO Burger, pictured below!

The Game, KO Burger

 

[yelpprofile term="The Game" location="Michigan City, IN" align="left"]


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Black Friday Leftovers

Posted on November 25, 2011 by John

Traditionally for me, Black Friday is more about leftovers than about shopping. If I do go shopping its usually for things to go with my leftovers…

So today I pulled out some of the frozen Italian mozzarella pinwheels that I made up a few weeks ago. Here’s the original pinwheel recipe. I had a bunch of my Bruno’s pizza stuffed turkey breast left over and sliced up, so I decided to make turkey pinwheel sandwiches in the broiler.

First I had to get the cheese nice and melty. I put the broiler on high and tossed the bottom two layers under the broiler until it was nice and bubbly

Then I added the top slice of turkey breast wrapped in bacon and stuffed with pizza. It was a little runny fresh out if the broiler, but that was OK because I love melted sizzling mozzarella.

It turned out very nice!
Here’s all the delicious flavor that was packed into this taste bud teaser: The bread free top was made up of fresh turkey breast wrapped in bacon and stuffed with Bruno’s toppings (mozzarella, green peppers, onions, pepperoni, sausage, green olives) and then slow roasted until the bacon made a crispy seal around it. The inside cheesy roll was made up of mozzarella, sandwich pepperoni, bacon, banana peppers, pickels, and mustard. All those flavors packed into one little low-carb sandwich was unbelievable! Yum!!!!!

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Bruno’s Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburger

Posted on November 24, 2011 by John

Weighing in at just under a pound, this giant burger stuffed with Bruno’s pizza is the king of all low-carb burgers!

All you need to make this beauty is one pound of 80/20 ground beef and a large slice of COLD Bruno’s famous Combination Pizza. I get mine with green olives instead of the black ones. It also has sausage, pepperoni, onions, and pepper toppings, along with that unique thick cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

First make up 2 one-half pound beef patties, not too thick but as large and flat as you can. Next take your cold pizza slice and separate the toppings from the crust. I use cold pizza for 2 reasons: It is easier to separate the toppings, and the cheese cooks better and does not separate in the cooking process before the burger gets up to temp, making it nice and stringy when you bite into it. If it gets too hot, it will liquify before your burger is done and seep out into the pan.

Cut the biggest square that you can out of the toppings and center it on one burger patty. Then stack the remaining toppings into a nice pile. I topped mine with two slices of bacon, because I put bacon pretty much on everything!

Now, take the 2nd patty and put it on top. Pinch the edges all the way around making it look like a meaty flying saucer

Then reshape the entire burger so that the edges are sealed tightly. You don’t want all that luscious cheese to run out during cooking! Next, place giant patty in a super hot greased skillet. I use bacon grease of course… The reason for the high heat is that you need to sear both sides of the burger fast to create a seal to keep the melted cheese inside.

It took me almost 30 minutes to cook this bad boy! After searing both sides I turned the heat down 1/2 way and flipped it about every 4 minutes until I finally got it up to temp. It grew much taller as it cooked.

To serve, cut it in half to show off the juicy insides and put it in a basket with festive wax paper to show off its fun side, and you have just created the world’s best bun-free burger: A Bruno’s Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburger!

Bon Appétit!

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