Bill's Blog

Tasty Steak Tacos

2009-04-30T09:55:00.003-05:00

I've recently been inspired by some friends to try and be a little healthier, and I've found the perfect diet. It's called the slow carb diet, and the main components are lean protein and legumes.

So why is this the perfect diet? Simple, I can have meat and refried beans all the time, which works out great because I'm completely addicted to Mexican food. I'm not going full out yet, since that would mean cutting out milk (not possible, also addicted), but I figure if I follow the guidelines a little, plus not eat as much, plus exercise, it will be effective.

I think it's already working a little, which is encouraging, and I feel motivated, also a good thing.

This is a quasi-slow carb meal, if you cut out the corn tortillas, sour cream and cheese it would be full-on slow carb.

Thinly cut steak - I found some top sirloin, although I wish I could find somewhere that has skirt steak
2-3 Roma tomatoes
Lemon
Onion
Can of beans (pinto or black, refried or otherwise)

I marinated the steak in the juice of half the lemon, some salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic salt, and cumin. I would have added some fresh cilantro, but the grocery was sold out. While it was marinating I chopped my tomatoes and a few tablespoons of onion, then added the other half of the lemon juice and some salt and pepper.

During this I was also heating a skillet over medium-high heat and heating the beans in a sauce pan. After my skillet was nice and hot I got the steak out of the marinade and cooked it for about 2 minutes per side, really depends on how the thickness of your steak.

When it was done, I sliced it into strips and served it with warm corn tortillas, sour cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce, and the tomato and onion salsa. Of course you can put the beans on the taco, too, or eat them on the side. The lemon juice on the tomato and onion salsa really gave it a fresh taste, and made the taco extra tasty.

Pretty Good Chicken w/ Roasted Vegetables

2009-02-13T10:52:00.004-06:00

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since this summer. What a slacker. What's worse is that this recipe isn't even the best ever, I just needed something quick.

I cut some chicken breasts into pieces and cooked them with half of a red onion, sliced. I threw in some random Indian spices, cayenne pepper, and seasoned salt.

The vegetables I roasted were sweet potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, went with a root vegetable theme. I peeled and chopped the veggies into almost bite sized pieces so they would cook more quickly. I put them on a baking sheet with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and turned them a couple of times during cooking. Next time I'll know to cut the carrots and parsnips a little smaller, they were cooked, but being from the South I like my vegetables a little softer.

Hopefully now that the ice storm is over I'll be inspired to cook a little more. Having electricity is always a must-have ingredient.

Donut Bread Pudding

2008-07-30T10:30:00.003-05:00

I finally got around to making something worth of note. I had heard about making bread pudding from Krispy Kreme donuts, but had never tried it for myself.

I had some leftover donuts from a local bakery and decided to give it a try. I found a great recipe and the results were quite delicious.

I followed the recipe exactly, and only made one small mistake. I was thinking that the dish should be firm when the baking time was done, but when you let it cool for 15 minutes it sets up quite nicely. I let it go for a few minutes longer than the recipe called for, and a couple of pieces sticking up on top got burned.

Warning: you only need one serving, trust me.

Quick Greek Chicken Wraps

2008-05-13T15:17:00.002-05:00

Needed something quick and easy last night, so I decided to make some Greek-inspired chicken wraps.

Ingredients:
Spinach flatbread
Deli rotisserie chicken
Artichoke garlic hummus
Tomato

I simply sliced the tomato, shredded the chicken, spread some hummus on the flatbread and assembled the wraps. You'll probably want a little salt and pepper in there, and some Tzatziki sauce would have been a good addition as well.

I've made a similar dish before by cooking chicken breasts or thinly cut steak with onions and peppers, also a good variation.

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Puff Pastry Chicken

2008-05-08T09:22:00.002-05:00

I was watching a little 30 minute meals the other day and caught a recipe for chicken cooked then wrapped in puff pastry with some goat cheese. I thought it looked pretty good, so I decided to make something similar. The puff pastry intimidated me a little, but it was actually as easy to work with as crescent roll dough.

I seasoned my chicken breasts with Kosher salt, fresh pepper, garlic powder, Lawry's seasoning and some McCormick's grill seasoning. I then preheated just a little bit of olive oil in my skillet and cooked the chicken.

While the chicken was cooking I got my puff pastry out of the freezer and let it start to thaw, as well as preheat the oven.

Once the chicken was done I turned off the heat and let them rest while the dough finished thawing.

I then put a nice amount of Chevrie on the puff pastry, sprinkled on a little dried rosemary, placed the chicken on top and sealed it all inside the puff pastry.

Wow! The rosemary combined with the flavorful goat cheese and the chicken was amazing, not to mention kind of fancy looking inside the puff pastry pockets. I'll have to invite some friends over and impress them with this dish in the future.

Fast Fish Tacos

2008-04-16T08:08:00.002-05:00

Wanted to make something good but easy last night, and I stumbled across a recipe by Robin Miller for fish tacos. I adapted it slightly to make it even quicker, and I was pretty happy with the results.

Ingredients:
Fish sticks
Tomato
Onion
Cilantro
Jalapeño pepper
Lime
Black beans (drained)
Sour cream
Flour tortillas
Uncle Ben's 90 second Spanish rice

I cooked the fish sticks according to the directions on the box. Then, I diced the tomato, one quarter of the onion, cilantro, and half the jalapeño and made pico de gallo. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and the juice from half of the lime.

Then all that was left was assembly. I microwaved the tortillas to make them pliable, then put on three fish sticks, a spoonful of the black beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, and served it with the rice on the side and the rest of the lime cut into wedges.

The freshly made pico de gallo was really good, just be careful when handling the jalapeño.

Easy Pizza

2008-04-02T16:10:00.002-05:00

Bought some ingredients to make paninis the other night, but my ciabatta bread had gone moldy. Luckily I had some tortillas that I was able to use as pizza crusts.

I fired up the oven with my pizza stone in then assembled my pies. I made a couple of different varieties, all which were good.

Here is the list of my toppings. I used the provolone cheese and basil on each one.

Yellow tomato slices
Red bell pepper slices
Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Basil
Smoked provolone cheese, I got fairly thick slices from the deli

I tore the cheese slices into pieces, then piled on some toppings. Baked on the pizza stone until the edge of the crust browned and the cheese was nice and bubbly. Made a couple with the yellow tomato, red pepper and basil, one with basil and red pepper, and one with the sun dried tomatoes and basil. The basil really adds a nice flavor to the overall pizza.

Of course I would have rather made my own crust, but this was so quick and easy I'll have to do it again.

Great Pasta

2008-03-26T08:49:00.002-05:00

Made one of my favorite pasta sauces the other night. My wife made it the first time the night before she went into labor, so it has some sentimental value. She saw it on Everyday Italian on Food Network.

It's really pretty simple, you just brown a package of Italian sausage (casings removed), then throw in some chopped sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and artichoke hearts. One thing Giada did on EI was to use some of the oil that the tomatoes are packed in to brown the sausage.

While that's working you cook your pasta, I used tri-color fusili. Toss together when finished and sprinkle in some shredded mozzarella cheese. Giada used fresh mozzarella cut into cubes, but I found it got too stringy when I mixed everything together.

If you like Italian sausage, you'll really like this dish. If you're not a huge Italian sausage fan you may want to only use half a package or just 1 or 2 links.

Louisville

2008-03-17T15:41:00.003-05:00

Took a weekend trip to Louisville and had a quite enjoyable culinary experience. Where to begin?

First had some Tilapia fajitas at Tumbleweed for lunch on Saturday. Very tasty, although I probably should have put more fish and less condiments in my tortillas.

That night had dinner at Cafe Magnolia inside the Galt House hotel. I enjoyed an open-faced Reuben that was very good. Really awesome corned beef.

The next morning went to the brunch in the Rivue restaurant atop the Galt House. I didn't get to try half the stuff they offered, but everything I did have was fantastic. Definitely a must if you're in Louisville on a Sunday.

My wife's got some new recipes she's going to try later this week. They sound pretty good so I'm sure I'll be posting about them later.

Eggs Benedict

2008-02-29T09:12:00.002-06:00

Made some delicious eggs Benedict last night. I told my wife I could be a competitive eater in eggs Benedict. Of course I didn't make the Hollandaise sauce from scratch, so maybe I could try that next time. I won't list a recipe here, since you can probably find a million out there, I'll just give a couple of tips I found to be helpful.

Stole this from Rachel Ray; toasted my English muffin halves on a sheet in the oven instead of using the toaster. I had the oven on about 300 degrees while I was cooking everything else, then turned on the broiler to brown the tops for a couple of minutes.

I put a teaspoon of vinegar in my poaching water, which is supposed to make the eggs set better. I'll have to try without the vinegar and compare. I also think I put too much water in my pan, but the eggs still turned out really tasty.

We may be making some corn chowder this weekend. If so, I'll report on that next week.

Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

2008-02-27T08:34:00.002-06:00

This is one of the best dishes I have ever created. Really simple, but tons of flavor and good the next day, too.

Ingredients:
Boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped (half a package)
Small red onion, chopped
Can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup rice
2 chicken bouillon cubes
Vindaloo and tandoori Indian spices
Pat of butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and throw in the chicken thighs and onions. Let them cook on one side until nicely browned. Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and stir in the rice. You want to coat the rice with the butter and oil and get it heated up. After the rice is hot, pour in 2 cups of water and the chicken bouillon. Allow to cook over medium heat until the rice is dimpled, then cover, stirring occasionally. Give your chicken and onions a stir and let chicken finish cooking, then stir in the rinsed and drained black beans and heat through.

Now for the spices, you want to use a pretty good amount of the vindaloo spice, but be sure to go slowly if you're not sure how much you need. I also usually put in some turmeric, fresh black pepper, and other seasonings depending on what I'm in the mood for. After the rice is done, stir it with the chicken and enjoy!

Papa John's

2008-02-15T08:01:00.003-06:00

Had a great Hawaiian BBQ Chicken pizza for Valentine's Day. Pineapple, red onions, chicken, great BBQ sauce, what else could you ask for on a pizza? My wife got me a pizza stone for Christmas, so I should try to recreate the goodness sometime.

One thing I shouldn't try to recreate is my failed buffalo chicken pizza. What goes great with hot wings? Bleu cheese dressing, of course. What doesn't go great on a chicken pizza? Bleu cheese. It was edible, but there were plenty of leftovers (trash) if you get my drift.

Been sick the past couple of days; that fact coupled with my kitchen being a disaster has resulted in not a lot of cooking. Hopefully next week I'll get back in the swing of things.

Mexican Shells and Cheese

2008-02-01T12:38:00.000-06:00

Made some really tasty shells and cheese last night. Went for a Mexican theme to mix it up.

1 lb. ground turkey or beef
1 package small pasta shells
1 small package Velveeta (Mild Mexican)
1 can corn (I used the no salt added)
1 can mild chili beans
1 package taco seasoning

Simply brown the meat in a large skillet and stir in the taco seasoning according to the instructions. While this is browning, start your pasta water. Once your water is boiling, start your shells and pour the corn and chili beans into the meat. Drain your shells, and return to the pasta pot. Slice the Velveeta into large pieces and put into pasta pot along with the meat mixture. Stir until all the cheese is melted, and you've got a great dinner.

Great Meatball Subs

2008-01-22T08:37:00.000-06:00

Made meatball subs for the work crew yesterday. Never made meatballs until college, but now they're one of my favorite dishes. The original recipe I found called for making your own sauce, using three kinds of Italian sauage, etc., so needless to say I simplified it quite a bit.

1-2 lbs. ground beef, chuck, or round
1 package Italian sausage with casings removed
2 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 can of Italian bread crumbs
Minced garlic (at least 2 cloves)
Minced onion (about 1/2 a small yellow onion)

Combine all of these in a large mixing bowl, take of rings and watches and let the fun begin. Bake at 350 degrees until done all the way through. Then, depending on when you'll be serving them, you can put them in a slow cooker with a large jar of Prego or heat the sauce up immediately in a large skillet and stir the meatballs in with the sauce.

I did find that yesterday the longer the meatballs sat in the sauce in the crock pot, the better they tasted.

Serve with provolone or mozzarella cheese on a hoagie roll and enjoy. Also great the next day reheated, but there probably won't be any left.

Crispy Chicken Pitas

2008-01-16T10:10:00.000-06:00

Ran to the grocery to pick up a quick dinner Monday night, and came up with a pretty tasty meal. I like to eat Greek-inspired food on a fairly regular basis, so that was my inspiration.

Picked up some fried chicken tenders from the deli, pita style flatbread, some spicy three pepper hummus, a tomato and a red onion. The only prep was to dice up the onion and slice the tomato. I warmed up the flatbread in the microwave, spread hummus on the bread then piled on the rest of the ingredients. Very quick, easy and tasty.

BBQ Chicken Pasta

2008-01-11T13:03:00.000-06:00

My wife made dinner last night, and it was quite good. She just used a can of chicken, a can of pineapple chunks, Sweet Baby Ray's Hot and Spicy BBQ sauce, and some grated parmesan cheese. It was really good warm, and I bet it would be good cold, too, if there were any leftovers.

I was thinking bacon bits and green onions would also be good additions. We both agreed that next time we'll use crushed pineapple or the smaller chunks.

Just a few more hours until the weekend.

New Blog Direction

2008-01-10T09:19:00.000-06:00

I've decided to make this blog almost exclusively about one of my favorite passions, food. I'll be sharing recipes, thoughts, menus and musings from my culinary world.

My other blog Bill-Adkins.com will be geared more towards technology, but I'm sure content might be shared on both from time to time.

So, last night I had a great taco salad with baked Doritos, taco meat, grape tomatoes, shredded cheese and some leftover chicken taco meat. Totally delicious. I may have had three helpings.

Tonight we're having BBQ chicken pasta salad. My mom made some for me to take on a road trip several years ago, and it was really good. I'm going to try and make it from memory, so it probably won't be quite as good. Perhaps I could see if she still has the recipe, but I doubt she does. Hopefully it will turn out well.

Ice Cream Results

2008-01-09T13:04:00.000-06:00

The raspberry gelato was quite good, although my current sieve didn't get all the seeds out. I may have to look into buying a chinois, although a quick search turned up some very high prices. Don't know if I make sauces and purees enough to justify one of those.

Italian beef sandwich for lunch and taco salad for dinner; this is shaping up to a nice food day.

Weekend!

2008-01-04T18:22:00.000-06:00

Going to see my sister tomorrow for her birthday. Mexican food here I come!

Also going to try out the ice cream maker tonight. Raspberry mango gelato, I know you're impressed. Hopefully I won't eat all of it in one sitting.

Back to Work

2008-01-02T11:18:00.000-06:00

Had a great Christmas break, but now it's time to go back to work. Being bitterly cold outside is not making the first day back any easier. And yet, even though it's cold I still want to use my new ice cream maker.

Pranked!

2007-12-20T11:43:00.000-06:00

I was about to walk out the door this morning when I noticed some toilet paper in my trees. Totally unexpected rolling. My car was also wrapped like a Christmas present plus decorated with inspirational messages. Luckily I decided to clean it up before leaving, as it is now raining steadily.

Only today and tomorrow and I'm off for a great Christmas break. I'm really looking forward to some R&R and spending time with family.

Traffic School - Not Too Bad

2007-12-17T10:06:00.000-06:00

Traffic school wasn't nearly as dull as I thought it would be. Our instructor was a big part of this since he had lots of interesting stories that made the time go by more quickly. Learned some interesting and disturbing facts about the people we share the road with. Small amount of snow yesterday; just enough to remind you that Christmas is close.

The Weekend is Near

2007-12-14T16:37:00.000-06:00

Only a few hours until the weekend begins. Unfortunately, much of this weekend will be spent in traffic school. I will get to see some family before and after that, so it won't be a total wash.

Weather Change

2007-12-12T10:42:00.000-06:00

So the temperature has dropped 20 degrees or so in the past 24 hours, so it feels like winter instead of spring. Today I'm going to play with Google apps for your domain to see if we could use them for work.