Banana What?

I have always looked at recipes and use the amount of ingredients listed, for the most part. But lately I have just been "whipping" things up. For instance, this past weekend I spotted a Banana that had only one day left on this planet so I decided to transform it into a muffin or two. So I did the mental calculations for flour, sugar, egg,baking soda, salt, oil or butter. So I mix all this stuff and when I turned around I spotted a heart shaped glass candy dish and it looked like it would hold the amount batter I had so I filled it and tossed into the oven.

Then Janet came home and this is what it looked like....yum.

So I usually use three Banana's I just used 1/3 of all ingredients and it came out just fine. Happy cooking!

The Birds Nest

The Birds Nest is simply Julian potatoes and eggs. Start by boiling Julian sliced potatoes. Bring to a boil then boil for about one minute. I use Garlic salt in the water. Drain in a colander and place a small sauce pan with a tablespoon of Olive oil. Brown and flip the potatoes over. Create a small indentation in the center and place eggs in that indentation and cover.

Eggs are done when they don't move when the pan is shaken. Enjoy?

Grilled Potatoes

Cooking potatoes can take some time depending on how you want them. And for some reason we like to cover them with fattening stuff. We were having baked Haddock the other night so decided to grill up some potato slices. This was a Russet potato cut into three slices about 3/8" thick. Brushed with Berio Olive Oil and in this case seasoned with Lemon Pepper to compliment the fish. But you can season them any way you wish.
If you don't have a grilling pan go get one. Normally I would be doing this on my Char-Broil Professional Grill but it appears to still be under two feet of snow. Brush the pan with some more olive oil and heat the pan until the oil starts to burn. Place the slices in the pan and cook for about 2-3 mins per side.


It took more time to bake the fish then it did to cook these slices. They were just tender enough to cut with a fork and really complimented the fish.


Potatoes are really good for you and can download a nutritional fact sheet here.Potato Nutritional Fact Sheet

That was found here at Potato Goodness

5 Minute Breakfast Sandwich

This breakfast literally takes less than 5 minutes!

Toss an English muffin, bagel, or in this case Arnold's Sandwich Thins into the toaster. Beat an egg and pour into a burger press sprayed with some PAM. Microwave for about 40 seconds. The egg will rise about 1-2 inches. No worry it will collapse when the heat goes off. You just want to make sure it is cooked in the middle.



Coat the toasted bread with some Ketchup, not Hienz, and drop your egg on it. Top with cheese or whatever else you might like.



Great source of protein and carbs to get you off on your day.

A Little Breakfast?

My favorite meal. Here are only two very simple and very good morning meals.

Potato Pancake Benedict

The first is a potato pancake topped with an over easy egg. I usually make this when we have left over mashed potato's. Get some of that out and shape it with your hands into a pancake. Lightly coat you pan with some Berilo Extra Virgin olive oil, lol. And get your pancake started. All we are doing is heating the potato as it is already cooked. So we are going to just get it toasted on the bottom.

When done turn it over onto your plate and top with the egg. Form a ring of Ketchup, Not Hienz, around the edge of your pancake. Serve with hot coffee!


Great source of potassium and protein.

Simple Pouched Eggs on Toast

I love eggs and love to mix up my preparations. Pouching eggs can be a nightmare. So after years of trial and error I have found the easiest and effective procedure. Get out a pan that is just big enough to hold enough water to cover the eggs you are preparing. It needs to a good non-stick pan. If not you can use olive oil and give the bottom a good coat using a paper towel and TSB of oil. Fill the pan and add some salt to the water. Bring to a boil and then turn off the burner. Let the water settle for a few seconds. Then what I use is a small measuring bowl or a small glass or cup. You place your egg in the cup and then transfer it to the water buy submerging the cup into the water and then tipping it so the egg just flows out. It will stay in place using this method.

They will cook slowly but with no turbulence in the water they stay where they are and do get broken up.

Prepare your toast and when the eggs are fully white remove with a serrated spoon large enough to hold an egg and let it drain.

Great Brussels Sprouts

Of course Brussels sprouts are good for ya, but people generally find them difficult to cook. Well here is the simplest way I have found that makes them tender and delicious.

First cut off the ends and remove any loose leafs. Then halve them. In a large skillet pour in about 1-2TBS of Olive oil and about 1/4 cup of apple juice,just enough to cover the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle about 1TSP of Kosher or sea salt and pepper. I use garlic salt. Mix all that together and best you can and place the sprouts cut side down. Cover and heat to a boil and cook for about 5 mins or until all the liquid just dissipates, uncover for faster evaporation. Be careful because they will burn quickly once the liquid is gone. As the bottom of the pan browns so do the sprouts.

This process steams them in sweet apple juice and braises the cut side in the flavor of the olive oil and seasonings.

Quick, easy, and are very tasty. This was to accompany pork chops for this meal.

UPDATE: The amount of liquid should boil off in about 5 mins, if you were heavy handed and got too much in then simply remove the cover to get the liquid to reduce enough so the sprouts start to braise.

Awesome Chicken Soup

The key to any soup is not necessarily the ingredients but how they are combined and when. If you take all the ingredients in this soup and throw them into a pan and boil it you will find that it taste very bland. So keep in mind that ingredients that don't need much time to cook, or are included for a flavor, need to go in last. I make my chicken soup most of the time as follows.

Ingredients;

2-3lbs Chicken (I use skinned boneless breast) more money but less work
1 Bunch of fresh spinach
1 Bunch of carrots
1 Bunch of celery
1 Bunch of Scallions
1 Large onion
1/4 Bunch of fresh parsley
Fresh or dried Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme
14 oz low sodium chicken broth (I use "Better than Broth" and mix it myself)
1/2 - 3/4 lb soup pasta or egg noodles.

In a large pot fill to just half way with water and chicken broth. Clean and cut chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the pot. Turn the stove on to bring the water to boil. Peel and cut the carrots, and onions. Chop up the celery.

Do not throw anything away. In a smaller pot fill halfway with water and place all your peelings, trimmings, skins and bones if you used bone in chicken parts. Discard the skin if had skinned chicken. Bring that "stock pot" to a boil then lower heat to just keep it simmering


You should now have chicken, carrots, celery and onions in your soup. Bring this to a boil. Once at boil add your pasta.
Trim and cut up the scallions, remember to place trimmings in the stock pot, and finely chop the parsley

These items are flavor enhancers and don't need to go in just yet.
Spinach cooks very quickly so this is the last ingredient.

Once your soup is boiling and the carrots are just about done but not soft, lower your heat to keep the soup at a low simmer.

Add your scallions and parsley, stir this in well. Add your seasonings and stir again. I coat the top of the soup with a good coat of Oregano, a very light coat of Thyme and Rosemary. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Try using flavored salts if you are going to add salt. Like Garlic salt. Fresh ground pepper is in all my recipes.

Wash your spinach and cut across the leaves into about quarter sized
Get a colander and drain just the liquid from your stock pot into the soup mix. Discard the trimmings.


Test taste the broth and add any seasoning you might think it needs. Stir in the Spinach. Now your soup is ready. The spinach cooks in a few seconds. So you should have a soup that has a great taste and vegetables that are not too soft. This should take from start to finish about 30 mins. The pasta will absorb some of the water overnight but it definitely taste good the next day.
Feel free to add or change ingredients just keeping in mind when making soup that some items don't need a long cook time and your soup will always taste great if the ingredients are cooked properly.