What's For Dinner

Featured Recipe:

SPAM SANWICH RECIPE!

3 slices Wonder Bread
1" thick slice of Spam
1/2 cup maynaise (if you aint got no mayo, bacon grease will do)
2T salt

Spread 1/4 cup mayo on two slices Wonder bread.
Add Spam and salt heavily.
Use the third piece of bread to wipe any excess mayo
off the corners of your mouth. Enjoy!

ingredients:

5 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place popcorn in a very large bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and puree into a mousse Shape this mousse like a mouse on a plate and serve with crackers and, of course, a dry white wine. Be sure to enjoy this "mouse" with your favorite cat friend.

1 Porterhouse steak, at least 3/4" thick†

Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1/2 lemon

The porterhouse is one fine cut of steak that is sometimes referred to as a t-bone.† A porterhouse has a New York strip on one side of a t-shaped bone, and on the other side, it has a tenderloin.†

For this steak, salt the meat with the Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Only use this brand - others are different. If you cannot find it, you can use kosher flake salt (but it won't be as good).† Use about a teaspoon or so depending on your tastes. Be sure to salt both sides including the bone and fat. try not to over-salt it as there's nothing you do with an over-salted steak.†

The important part of this recipe is to let the steak sit for at least 30 minutes after it has been salted.† Then squeeze the lemon on both sides and let sit for at least another 30 minutes before cooking. If you couldn't find Lawry's and had to use kosher salt, then also sprinkle some worschestire sauce along with the lemon juice.†

Okay...I'm not going to tell anyone how they should grill their steak, that's up to you... but if you like your steak well done, this is probably not the best cut of meat for you.

Carrots and pineapple compliment each other beautifully! I don't know why this sidedish combination isn't more popular. Besides adding a burst of sunshine-like color on the plate, it's a cinch to make, healthy and delicious!

ingredients:

2 lbs carrots, peeled and diced
1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits in their own juice
1 T salted butter

Dice the carrots so that they are approximately the same size pieces as the pineapple tidbits. Place carrots in a medium/large saucepan. Add the juice from the can of pineapple. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer the carrots until they are bright and tender, approximately 10 minutes. Add the butter then the pineapple and cook for another few minutes.

ingredients:

cooked spaghetti
grated sharp cheddar cheese†
finely chopped onions
ground beef chili

Chili
1 - 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef†
1 chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic†
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 t. cumin
1-3 T chili powder†
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t.†crushed red pepper††
1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate

To make chili, in a†large skillet or saucepan brown ground beef with onions and†add the garlic the last few minutes. Drain off excess fat. Add all remaining ingredients except chocolate.†Cover and simmer over low heat for†about an hour.† Add a little water or beer if it cooks down too much. Finally, add chocolote and stir until it melts. (The chocolate adds†depth of flavor and the fat in it adds a creamy texture to the sauce - it's optional!)

ASSEMBLY:

Ladle chili over the spaghetti and top with grated cheese and onions.

ingredients:

Fillin'

8†oz super firm tofu (not silken)*†
2 T miso**†
1†T†tahini (sesame seed butter),†OR sunflower seed, cashew†or almond butter†
2 green onions††
2 celery stalks finely chopped

Fixins':

alfalfa sprouts†
shredded carrots†
sliced cucumber
sliced red bell pepper†
sprouted†whole grain bread***††

In a food processor add tofu, miso,†tahini, and green onions.†Process until mixed well.† Add finely chopped celery and mix in by hand.† Spread about one quarter to one third of the filling on one piece of hearty bread. Build sandwich as desired with other ingredients.

* Do not use silken style tofu. If the tofu is packed in a tub with water, then place it on a flat suface like a cutting board. Place another flat objecton top and add weight ie; a cutting board with an iron skillet on top. Leave this way for half an hour and most of the water will be squeezed out, thus extra firm.

** Miso is a salty fermented bean paste that is an important flavoring ingredient in Japanese cooking. The particular color (pale to dark brown) and flavor (mild to strong) of the miso depend on its production and aging process. Miso is high in B vitamins and protein.†It can be found at natural foods or Asian supermarkets.

*** Do not use soft grocery store bread. You will need a heatlthy, firm bread that can be purchased from a†health food store or section.

Spinach is a superior†food that is†a good source of Niacin, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, Copper and Manganese. One cup of cooked spinach has only 41 calories, 4 grams of fiber, 18870 ICU of vitamin A - that's 377% of your†recommended daily allowance! Not to mention†24% calcium, 36% iron, and 29% vitamin C recommended daily allowances.†

My muscle builder soup is one that†is not only great for muscle building, but it is far superior to chicken soup for helping the body†recover from illness.† Plus, you can eat as much as you like!††

Muscle Builder Soup

ingredients:

1†onion, chopped†
1†stalk celery choped†
1†carrot chopped††
4†c water††
2 T miso *see note†
1 lb fresh spinach leaves†
freshly grated parmesan†
freshly grated pepper
freshly grated nutmeg†

* Miso is a salty fermented bean paste that is an important flavoring ingredient in Japanese cooking. The particular color (pale to dark brown) and flavor (mild to strong) of the miso depend on its production and aging process. Miso is high in B vitamins and protein.†It can be found at natural foods or Asian supermarkets.

In†a large stockpot, combine water, onion, celery and carrot.† Bring to boil and add miso. Stir to dissolve.† Cook about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add spinach and cook for 2 more minutes or just long enough to wilt the spinach. Do not over cook. The spinach will continue to cook long after the heat is turned off.† Remove from heat.†Use a hand blender to puree this soup right in the pot. Serve immediately. This soup should be a bright healthy green color.† Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese, pepper and nutmeg.

ABOUT COLLARD GREENS:† Choose the youngest greens with the smallest stems if possible. Collards harvested in the winter will be less bitter than those harvested in the summer. To wash, fill a basin with water, dunk and swish several leaves at a time.† Remove the stems - at the very least be sure sure to remove the largest part of the stem. To cut, stack several leaves, roll the leaves vertically like a cigar, then slice or chop.

ABOUT USING BACON:† You can either chop the bacon or cook it whole then give it to your dogs. The bacon grease is the key ingredient here. Yes, you can use a healthier alternative like smoked turkey or turkey bacon or olive oil and smoke flavoring... but bacon grease tastes†REAL good with greens and if you're not used to eating greens, tasty bacon grease will ease you into it. You can graduate to heathier fats later... but I really don't think that the grease from two strips of bacon is all that bad considering it is causing you to eat one of the healthiest†foods on the planet.

Now that you can appreciate the complexity of this dish..lets get to the instructions, shall we? Instructions:

In a wok, very large skillet, or stockpot cook bacon until it is browned and almost crispy. Add the onion and brown as well. Add the greens and toss with tongs to coat. Add salt but be careful not to add too much as you can always add†more at the end and the bacon is already salty. Cook the greens until they are wilted, about 4-5 minutes on med-high heat. Add vinegar and let cook for a minute. Next add the sugar and hot sauce and cook for another minute, being sure to mix the greens with the ingredients. Add the beer and simmer the greens over low heat for 10-20 minutes, depending on how you like your greens. If you're a novice green eater, try cooking them longer. They will be less bitter and more tender. Adjust seasoning. Serve with pinto beans or black-eyed peas.†

Combine all of the filling ingredients and mix well.†Pour the filling into†a 9" pie shell. (I prebake the shell for about 15 minutes).†Bake in a preheated 375 F oven for approx 45 minutes, until the filling is just barely set. When the rim of the pie plate is nudged, the very center of the filling should barely move.†

ingredients:

1 can salmon - 6 oz size drained

2 green onions, chopped

2 T lowfat pancake mix

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 T Louisiana style hot sauce

2 egg whites, beaten (or 1/3 C Egg Beaters)

nonstick cooking spray

instructions:

Mash all the ingredients together in a bowl making sure that no large chunks of salmon remain.† Heat a skillet, spray with nonstick.† Make two patties out of the salmon mixture and cook in the skillet until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.† Serve with†a healthful fresh salad!

in honor of my "Grapes Are Good Too" pictoral, this recipe contains everything the pictoral does; Concord Grape Manischewitz, Cherry, and chickens!

ingredients:

4 cornish hens

white rice for 4

2 C. Manischewitz Concord Grape Wine†

1 can sweet cherries (sweet like me)

1 can cranberry sauce

2 handfuls raisins (dried grapes)

fresh nutmeg

allspice

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

instructions:

Salt and pepper hens to your taste, then roast hens covered with foil at 350 F for 30 minutes.†Remove foil and roast for†15†minutes. While hens are cooking, make sauce by putting Manischewitz wine, cherries, cranberry sauce, and raisins, and spices†in a saucepan.† Heat on low until all ingredients all married together, about 5 minutes. Remove hens from pan. Put rice and half the sauce on bottom of pan. pour the rest of the sauce on top. Cover with foil and roast for another 30 minutes.

ingredients:

2 small whole trout, guts & stuff removed

Kosher salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Flour

2 T minced onion†

1†T Oil

1 T Butter

Juice of 1 lemon

instructions:

Season fish meat (not the skin) with salt and pepper. Dredge the fish with flour and shake off any excess.† Heat pan, preferably cast iron over medium high heat. Add oil and let get hot then add butter until melted. Add minced onion and let cook about 30 seconds. Add trout and shake the pan a†bit for a few secs†to prevent†the fish from sticking.† Cook until fish is browned well on both sides. Add lemon juice about 1 minute before it is done. Serve†with plenty of beer.† Be sure to put out your campfire and hit the tent!††

ingredients:

4††fresh ears corn, shucked

1 bottle Loiusiana style hot sauce

garlic powder

onion powder

1 gallon sized ziplock bag

instructions:

Put corn in ziplock bag.† Add hot sauce, garlic and onion powders to your preference.†I use at least†a whole bottle of sauce and about a teaspoon or so of each of the spices. You can add salt if you like but usually the hot sauce is salty enough†on it's own.† Seal bag and squish corn around with hot sauce and spices so that they are well coated.† Store in the fridge at least 4 hours.† Throw these cobs on the grill and cook to your liking.† This is a tasty way to eat corn without butter!

ingredients:

2-3† sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 T butter

1 chopped chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle peppers†in adobo sauce. This item can be found in the†International/Mexican foods section of the supermarket.

1 T adobo sauce from†the can of peppers

kosher or sea salt to taste

instructions:

Steam the cubed sweet potatoes until they are for tender, approximately 25 minutes, by placing a†steamer basket filled with the sweet potatoes†over a pot of boiling water and cover - don't submerge the potoatoes or they will just boil.†Put steamed potatoes into a large bowl, add butter, and mash with a hand masher to your liking. Add the chopped pepper, adobo sauce and salt to taste.†

Put lemon juice, lime juice, sugar and all of the sprigs off the bunch of mint into a large pitcher. Smash mint a bit with a wooden spoon to release the flavors.† Add club soda, rum and ice! Serve immediately straining mint as you pour!

ingredients:

1 frozen pizza

ingredients:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Take the pizza out of the box. Be sure to remove the plastic wrapping as well as any cardboard backing.†† Place the pizza onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Cut into slices. serve and eat!