With a personal goal to try new things and push the limits of my cooking, I found a fun inspiration. It seems that Ancient Fire Wines and I have something in common; neither one of us are big pasta eaters. Now that’s not to say we don’t like pasta; we just couldn’t eat it every day. Ancient Fire Wines wrote a blog called Light & Easy Pasta Bake, and it looked wonderful. Now, I didn’t have all the ingredients in the house to make Jason’s pasta dish so I started scheming my own. It is such a fun thing to be able to take a risk and try something new, especially with cooking. You know the flavors you like and usually have a general idea of what tastes good together. That’s when the magic happens: trying combinations you have never tried before and coming up with something tremendous.

Now, just like Jason’s, my wife loves, loves, loves pasta! It’s very funny to read his blog and find these commonalities. It’s also fun to note that every once in awhile we like to make our wives happy and cook a little pasta. This dish is, according to my personal critic (my wife), one of the best pasta dishes I have made to date. Her exact words were, “You can make this any time!” And you  know, when momma is happy, we’re all happy. It’s a simple dish I threw together with random ingredients, and then we devoured. I am learning a great lesson in cooking. You have to take the things that are not your favorite ingredients (in this case, pasta) and find a way to make them their own. I am not a fan of red tomato-based sauces (I prefer cream white sauces). Also, I am a carnivore by heart, so almost any dish that is loaded with meat, I can take it a long way. When you try this dish be prepared for an amazing delight.

Italian Sausage & Linguini

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 Box Pasta, uncooked

1 Small Onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Italian Sausage Links, casing removed

1 Cup Button Mushrooms, sliced

1/4 Cup Olives, chopped

1 1/2 Teaspoons Italian Dressing Seasoning Blend (I used Good Seasons brand)

1 Cup Half & Half

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 Green Onion, diced

3 Slices Tomato, diced

Directions

1. Cook linguini to directions on the box.
2. In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until lightly opaque on medium-high heat.
3. Crumble sausage and cook until no longer pink (about 5 to 7 minutes).
4. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 more minute.
5. Stir in olives, Italian dressing mix, and half & half.
6. Bring to a boil; then simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.
7. Add tomatoes and mix in right before serving (you don’t want to cook them, just warm them up)
8. Serve and garnish with green onions and Parmesan.
9. Enjoy!

 

 

 

When I first started this food blog, I had already been cooking by a means that  my wife and I called “tempting fate.” We, jokingly, called it that because of the craziness of some things I’d sometimes throw in dishes or the ideas I’d sometimes come up with. When I decided to take on the challenge of cooking a meal once a week of something I had not cooked before, I knew what I had to call it. Hence, the new section on the blog called Tempting Fate. This is my first post in a series that will feature unique dishes from styles cooking that I have not done in the past. These dishes will be everything from vegan to Hungarian. Whatever recipes I can come up with within a given style.

Inspired by Cook Train Eat Race my first post is a vegetarian dish. Jason told me that a simple way to tip-toe into the vegetarian world is with what he called Soyrizo. What is Soyrizo? Well, it’s soy protein mixed with spices that comes out looking and, to our surprise, tasting like chorizo. Chorizo is a Mexican style sausage found in a lot of breakfast dishes. I wanted to do a dinner using Soyrizo as an ingredient, and my wife suggested Jambalaya. We thought it would be a good idea and a great way to mix some complex flavors and still keep it vegetarian. At our local store, I found a brand of Soyrizo from a company called Freida’s, whose biggest claim is 100% vegetarian. So with the Soyrizo in hand, I took my first dive into a vegetarian dish I hope you enjoy.

Soyrizo Jambalaya

Serves 2+

Ingredients

1 pkg Frieda’s Soyrizo Meatless Chorizo

1/2 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

¼ Cup Chopped Onion

2 Tablespoons Garlic, minced

½ Cup Tomato, diced

3 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce

4 Dashes Hot Sauce (adjust for desired heat)

1 Cup rice

1 Tablespoon Thyme

2 Tablespoons Paprika

2 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth

Pepper

Directions

1. Combine the Soyrizo, cajun seasoning, and paprika; mix it well and set it aside (remove the casing from the Soyrizo).
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and onions, and cook until onions or beginning to turn opaque.
3. Add the garlic, tomatoes, hot sauce, Worcestershire, thyme, rice, and broth.
4. Cook everything until the rice absorbs most of the liquid (approximately 15 minutes).
5. Once rice is cooked, add Soyrizo and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Season with pepper to taste (avoid adding salt since the Cajun seasonings come with lots of salt already in them and you can quickly over salt this dish).
7. Enjoy!

 

Tempting Fate Thoughts:

The dish was great! We enjoyed the flavor of the Soyrizo. My wife and I both would have wanted more meat-like things in the dish. Not knowing vegetarian cooking well, I would need suggestions for next time that we could have a Polish sausage-style ingredient and something to replace the chicken. It was really easy to make and completely fulfilling. I am glad we gave it a go.

 

What are you going to accomplish today? Many people feel like they are going nowhere in life. They get up, go to work, come home, cook dinner, and go to bed. They never feel like they accomplished anything. I tell people you get that feeling when you have no direction in life. When you have no target to aim at, you will just fly around aimlessly, hoping that you will land somewhere safe and secure. Wouldn’t it be great if every day before you went to bed you could look back on the day and think or say, “Wow! What a great day!” Well, here is a little tip to make each day a great day. Before you go to bed each night, write down 3 things you really need to get done the next day. Maybe it’s a project for your boss or to go grocery shopping; whatever it is, write it down. (I use 3×5 index cards and aim for 6 objectives a day.) Then, as you go through the day, every time you complete something on your checklist, draw a line through it  and cross it off your list. If at the end of the day, if you did not complete all your objectives, then roll whatever you missed onto the next card. Doing this makes you organize your thoughts and gets you moving in a forward direction. You will be amazed what this simple little trick can do for your life.

Another trick is each morning when you get up, go to the mirror and greet yourself with a huge smile and say, “Good morning! It’s going to be a great day, and watch out world; here I come one more time!” I know they may sound silly, but you will be amazed at the effect it will have on your day. Trust me. You cannot say, “Look out world; here I come one more time” without smiling. I promise you. Then each night before bed, you do two things. First, you write down your objectives for the next day on your index card. Then you go to the mirror, look yourself in the eyes and say, “Wow! What a great day! I completed everything (or x amount) of objectives today. What a great day.” Continue to say, “I am going to sleep great tonight and wake up refreshed in the morning.” You start building this into your routine and you will amazed at the quick transformation it will have on your life. Now onto the food.

 

Bacon Breakfast Tacos

Serves 2

Ingredients

8 Strips of Bacon

3 Eggs

1 Tablespoon Milk

1/2 Avocado, thinly sliced

1/4 White Onion,chopped

1/4 Cup Shredded Cheese

1/4 Tomato, diced

Lettuce, roughly chopped

4 Taco Shells (Crunchy or Soft)

Sour Cream & Salsa (optional)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

 

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees; warm tortilla shells 6 to 7 minutes.
2. Cook bacon until crisp ( I cook it in the microwave).
3. Add milk and salt & pepper to eggs and whisk briskly until combined.
4. Cook eggs over medium to high heat until light and fluffy 5 to 8 minutes.
5. Crumble bacon into base of tacos and top with eggs, cheese, avocado, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa.
6. Enjoy!

One of our favorite meals here is smothered pork chops. I know that I sometimes feature rather less-than-healthy meals that (more…)

Here is another one of my favorite quick dinners. I came up with this after visiting several different Mongolian restaurants and realized I could adapt this easily to a a fun dinner. To me, a Mongolian barbecue is more like a fun stir-fry but with incredible flavors. It’s very versatile and could even be made vegetarian, most likely (although, I would not have a clue as to how to go about making vegetarian). With this style dish, you can fix a family-style batch or make individual dishes for each family member, mixing and matching each person’s favorite ingredients. The key is to stack the flavors at the right time to ensure that the the meal gets a clean finish and all the meats are cooked properly. In most Mongolian restaurants they cook their barbecue on a round, flat-top grill (which I will have someday); however, at home, I cook it all in a wok. This is definitely a meal recipe for the amateur and could be easily spiced up by a pro. Dig in have fun and make some killer combinations.

Easy Mongolian Barbecue

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Chicken Breast

1/2 Pound Smoked Sausage Links, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/2 Pound Deveined and Shelled Shrimp, tails removed

1 Large Clove Garlic

1/2 White Onion, diced

1 Bag Frozen Broccoli

1 Bag Frozen Rice or Equivalent Prepared Rice

1.5 Cups Favorite Homemade or Bottled Barbecue Sauce

Hot Sauce, to taste

Soy Sauce, to taste

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Add oil to wok and set to medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle chicken breast with salt & pepper and cut into bite size pieces; add to wok and cook 5 minutes until chicken is no longer pink, stirring to evenly cook.
3. Cook broccoli & rice according to directions on their bags (I used microwave-steamer packages for this).
4. Add shrimp, onion, and sausage to wok and continue to stir fry for 3 minutes.
5. Add cooked broccoli and rice and cook for additional3 minutes.
6. Add garlic, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce, and stir until heated through.
7. Serve in bowls with chop sticks.
8. Enjoy!

Lately, I have been putting in a lot of time with all the work I do and have not cooked as much as I like. On my way home after yet another long day, I called my beautiful wife to ask if she wouldn’t mind whipping something together for dinner. The conversation played out as it always does: I say, “Can you make dinner?” To which she replies,  “What do you want me to make?” I say, “Whatever you want.” And then she says what she always says,  “I don’t know what I want.” What’s funny is that we have that same conversation any time we go out to eat. To be fair, it’s true that my wife doesn’t cook often; however, whenever she does, it always comes out wonderful and yet it’s usually a type of fare I tend to stay away from. Given free reign, she will most likely make some sort of pasta dish since I don’t cook pasta often and because she loves it. Last night she did a brilliant job of putting together a wonderful, hearty meal, and here it is for your pleasure.

Simple Linguini & Meatballs

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Bag Italian-Style Meatballs

1 Jar Home-made Tomato Sauce or Store-Bought Equivalent

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 Pound Fresh Mushrooms

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 package Linquini Pasta

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to directions on package (ensure that you salt the water); when pasta is done, transfer to a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat cook the meatballs according to package directions (Usually about 8 to 10 minutes).
3. Add jar of tomato sauce to meatballs.
4. Spice it up with oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and salt & pepper.
5. Serve over cooked pasta and with garlic bread.
6. Enjoy!

Once again, I have so many projects on my plate that some days I don’t even know which way I am going. With a Monday through Friday food blog that I write, 2 companies that I run, plus a full-time, regular job, finding time to spend with my wife can be a little daunting at times. They are all passions of mine, so that makes it a little easier. I have one really exciting project coming up that I will need help from other food bloggers on, so stay tuned for future information on that. Can’t tell you what it is yet, but wait until you see what we have in store!

Havarti cheese is very quickly becoming my and my wife’s favorite cheese. I had it for the first time not long ago at her parents’ house in a cheese tray we had picked up for their party. The soft texture and rich, mellow flavor gives it a nice buttery taste. Havarti will deepen any dish. I put it to the test last night. My most famous recipe is my award-winning smothered pork chops. These babies are slow cook and topped with mounds of bacon, mushrooms, sauteed onions, and melted provolone cheese. After last night’s dish, they may get a revamp to Havarti cheese.  Last night, instead of pork chops, I broke out some nice chicken breasts, trying to a stay little healthy. My wife cleaned her plate so well I thought she was going to lick the plate clean… Here we go!

Smothered Chicken 2

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 Large Button Mushrooms, sliced

1/2 White onion sliced and Seperated

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon each of Garlic Powder and Onion Powder,

Salt & Pepper

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Slices Havarti Cheese

1 Jalapeno (optional), sliced and seeds removed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Add oil to skillet an turn to medium-high heat.
3. Mix all spices in a bowl and coat both sides of the chicken breasts. (I typically do 1 side then place it in the pan spice side down then coat the other side.)
4. Cook for 3 minutes on each side and place in oven and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, and add onions and mushrooms to pan to pick up the drippings, and cook for an additional 2 minutes. (You want the onions to hold their crispiness.)
6. Top chicken with mushroms, onions, Havarti Cheese, and jalapeno slices and place back in the oven for 30 seconds r until cheese is melted.
7. Serve over a bed of rice.
8. Enjoy!

Life was crazy last night with so many things going on that I didn’t have time to prepare a dinner. So I am going to share with you my favorite thing in the world that my wife makes. This is simply a brilliant recipe that will feed a crowd. She does not cook often, but when she does, watch out, because she can put together some fabulous dishes. The first time I had this dish was at her parents’ house when we were just dating. I am not a shy person, but, remember, I’m not a big pasta eater. My parents raised me that it is impolite not to try everything on your plate, because someone took the time to make those items. I have always believed it to be proper manners and, when presented with unfamiliar fare, I just try to dig in and endure. However, I was surprised and delighted after trying this dish. The flavors meld together perfectly, to make a symphony of flavors that make you want to sip up all the juices at the end. Make sure you eat this with a good garlic bread and a glass of wine. The leftovers will keep for about a day in the fridge, so you can take them for lunch the next day. Now my wife thinks I deprive her some, because she could eat pasta for all three meals every single day. I am not that inclined; however, if you’re having a family get-together and want a good power-meal, trust me, this will do the trick!

Elizabeth’s Seafood Linguini

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Cans of 6.5-oz Chopped Clams in Clam Juice

2  Bottles of 8-oz Clam Juice

1 package of Dry or Fresh Linguini Pasta

1 Pound Fresh or Frozen Mussels

? Pounds of Fresh Shrimp

1 Large Onion

6 Cloves Garlic

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley

1 Teaspoon Oregano

1 Teaspoon Basil

Salt & pepper to Taste

Directions:

1.  Finely chop onion.

2.  Mince garlic.

3.  Add oil to skillet turn to medium-high heat.

4.  Add onions and garlic; cook until transparent, using caution not to burn.

5.  Open cans of clams; reserve juice for later use.

6.  Add reserved clam juice to onion-garlic mixture.

7.  Add herbs to mixture and stir until blended.

8.  Add mussels and cook for five minutes.

9.  Add shrimp and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

10.  Add cooked pasta to a large bowl and top with skillet mixture; toss to combine.

11.  Serve with a good white or zinfandel wine and garlic toast.

12. Enjoy!

I have had a ton of requests for my sweet potato French fries that accompanied my Bacon Wrapped Burgers yesterday, so I am going to share that recipe with you; however, I did not want to cook two meals in a row, so I will be giving you two sweet potato fry recipes.

Last night I made a great super-easy, go-to main course dish that even the most basic cook could put together. I accompanied it with corn and no-fry/baked sweet potato fries. Now these sweet potato wedges were a first time cook for me.  A great friend of mine told me that I had to try this recipe. I like my sweet potato fries the unhealthy way of deep frying them, but the baked way took them to a whole new level. I hope you enjoy all the below recipes.

Simple Barbecue Sausage

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Pound Smoked Sausage cut into ¼ inch pieces

½ Small White Onion, chopped

1 Cup Your Favorite Barbecue Sauce

1 Teaspoon Red Pepper

Directions

1. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add sausage and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add onions, barbecue sauce, and pepper, and cook an additional 5 minutes.
3. Enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Serves 4

Ingredients

4-5 Medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled down to the dark orange layer (remove skin and whitish under layer)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Good Chili Powder

1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Salt

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 400-degrees F.

2 Cut potatoes into 1″ wedges.

3 Toss in bowl with oil, sugar, and spices.

4 Place potatoes as single layer on lightly sprayed baking sheet.

5 Bake for 35-40 mins, turning potatoes every 10 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fries

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 Large Sweet Potato, cut shoestring style (leave skin on)

3 Cups Vegetable Oil

1 Table spoon Chili Powder

½ Tablespoon Onion Powder

½ Tablespoon Garlic Powder

1/8 Teaspoon Cumin

1/8 Teaspoon Red Pepper

Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Add oil to a deep pan and heat to 350 degrees.
2. Carefully add cut potatoes to grease (you can do this in batches).
3. Mix all spices in a bowl and set aside.
4. Cook potatoes for 15 minutes, until boiling slows and fries are floating to the top of the grease.
5. Remove fries and let drain on a couple of paper towels.
6. Coat the fries in spice mixture, grabbing the corner of the paper towel and lightly toss the fries to evenly coat.
7. Serve with anything from sandwiches to steaks.
8. Enjoy!

For the longest time in my family, it has been a tradition to have steaks for Sunday night’s dinner. We would have the traditional meat and potatoes, and Dad would have peas so covered in butter it’s a wonder he could taste them at all. Seasonings were not of huge importance for my parents when I was a kid; however, they have since learn the error of their ways.  See, mom and dad taught us three boys how to cook, clean, and take care of ourselves, but it wasn’t until we got on our own that we started to experiment with new flavors to liven up the palate. Growing up, Sunday night’s dinner was our tradition, and we all fully enjoyed it. Today, with all three boys in different states or countries, with work or military deployments, you are still expected, if possible, to call home on Sunday and check in with mom and dad and let them know you’re okay.  That’s a “tradition,” too. . . .

Since I’ve been out of the house for years and now married, we have still attempted to keep the “Steak Sunday” tradition alive. We may, occasionally, throw in a chicken here or porkchop there, but, traditionally, it’s good, ol’ steak. Well last Sunday, it was steak, and not just any plain, ol’ steak either.  This was one of the best steaks my wife and I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Recipe follows:

Grilled Ribeye with Mango/Avocado Salsa

Serves 2

2 12-oz Ribeye Steaks (3/4” thickness)

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

(I found a long while back that you can skip all the fancy steak marinades or and other store-bought concoctions and cook the best steaks with simple salt and pepper.)

Salsa

1 Large Avocado

1 Small Mango

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Lime

1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

Directions

1. Season steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside so they can reach room temperature.
2. Remove skin from mango and dice into small pieces and place in a bowl.
3. Remove skin and seed from avocado, dice and add to mango.
4. Add salt, the juice of 1 lime, and olive oil and combine.
5. Leave it a little chunky (the combination of mango and avocado are brilliant!).
6. Cover salsa and place in refrigerator while you cook steaks.
7. Heat grill to medium-high heat (you know it’s hot enough when you can hold your hand 3 inches from the grate for no longer than 2 seconds).
8. Place steaks on the grill and cook on each side for 7 minutes for medium rare. Give each steak a quarter turn half through that side’s 7 minutes to give it that nice hatch-mark effect.
9. To serve, let the steaks rest for a few minutes to redistribute juices; then top with mango-avocado salsa and enjoy.

We served it with a simple mixed-greens salad topped with feta cheese, tomatoes, purple onion, mushrooms, and a nice balsamic vinegarette.