Not Food Related But. . . . .

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Texas Fried Chicken Gizzard

 

Growing up in Texas, this was a favorite snack.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

1 lb chicken gizzards

1 c whole milk buttermilk

2 Tbsp hot sauce (I like Franks Red Hot)

2 tsp seasoning salt

BREADING

1 c self rising flour

1 Tbsp seasoning salt

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Marinate chicken gizzards in ingredients for 2- 4 hours.

2. Drain chicken Gizzards. In a mixing combine all the breading ingredients. Place breading in in mixing bowl or bag. Bread chicken gizzards, coating evenly.

3. Heat deep fryer to 320 degrees. Deep fry for 4-6 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

4. Serve with with or without hot sauce.

Diabetic? Enjoy Dessert Anyway

Just because you’re a diabetic, doesn’t mean that you can enjoy delicious desserts.  Watch this video to see 7 tasty diabetic friendly desserts.

Pita Salad With Grilled Chicken for the Spring

Ingredients

2 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (1 lb. total)

About 6 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise

4 ounces block feta cheese, broken into chunks

2 cups halved grape tomatoes

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

2 cups pita chips

2 cups loosely packed baby arugula

Directions

. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for high heat (450° to 550°; you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 2 to 4 seconds). Coat chicken breasts with 1 tbsp. oil and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in the center and grill marks appear, about 7 minutes total. Let rest 10 minutes, then slice.

. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, 1/3 cup oil, oregano, and pepper; set aside. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, drop in asparagus, and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water.

. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, cheese, asparagus, tomatoes, olives, and pita chips. Pour reserved dressing over mixture and toss gently to coat. Add arugula and toss once more just to combine.

Impromptu Quick and Easy BBQ Ribs

Have you ever been a situation where friends dropped by unexpected or you just decided to have an impromptu BBQ?  Instead of just settling for quick and easy burgers, try quick and easy BBQ Ribs.  Video courtesy of Cooking for Dads.

Take the Time, Eat Healthier

 

Let’s face it, cooking is not a top priority in the lives of every man, woman, or child on the planet. In fact, far too people have made learning to cook a priority in their lives. This means that we often exist on convenience foods and boxed mixes rather than taking the effort to prepare healthy meals for our families and our own personal enjoyment.

The same holds true for lunches when we often resort to a can of soup or box of macaroni and cheese or some other such product rather than putting our creative efforts into making a quick and easy yet delicious lunch. You will see many ideas in this article and the hope is that these ideas will not only get you off to a great start for ending the lunch rut we all seem to find ourselves in at some time or another but also to try new things on your own.

First of all, not all great lunches require actual cooking in order to prepare. Some of them will require the use of the microwave and some of them will need to be cooked or at least prepared before hand and reheated. The choices are virtually limitless once you understand the creative concept that must be in place. You should also find that many of these ideas are so simple you will wonder why on earth you have never thought of them. I certainly hope that some of these ideas will become main features within your own home.

Lettuce wraps. These mike delightfully delicious lunch treats and the filling can be prepared ahead of time, which leaves only reheating the filling and wrapping when you’re ready to eat. This is a fun lunch to share with your little ones and it teaches them that lettuce is much more versatile than people often give it credit for being. Some people choose to go with a teriyaki inspired filling; my family likes taco inspired fillings for our lettuce rolls. You are perfectly free to come up with a favorite filling of your very own.

Try sandwiches with different breads. Believe it or not, my children love trying new things. It’s a rare trait for which I am extremely grateful. Believe me I understand all too well how fortunate I am. My youngest however, has a little difficulty with thick or crusty bread. Her favorite sandwich choice has become Hawaiian sweet rolls. We put the meat, cheese, mustard, and pickle in her roll as if it were a bun and she’s thrilled. Other great ideas include hollowing out crusty rolls and filling them with roast beef and cheddar. You can broil this in your oven for a few minutes for a rare sandwich treat. The cooking part is very minimal and you do not have to have in depth knowledge of anything to prepare or enjoy these simple treats. Other great bread ideas include croissants with ham and cheese or chicken salad, taco pitas (another great favorite in our household), and paninis (this works really well if you have a George Foreman grill or a panini press).

While this is by no means the end all be all guide to cooking quick and easy lunches it is good food for thought. The hope is that this will get your own creative juices flowing so that you can prepare wonderful lunches for your family without needing to do too terribly much heavy cooking in the process.

Cauliflower Fried Rice

As a diabetic, I’ve substituted cauliflower for rice on occasion.  I stumbled upon this recipe that I will certainly try.

 

 

Interesting Post from the Blog of Tim Ferris

Tim Ferriss Blog

 

In this post time tells you how to how to lose weight with no exercise.  I have used a modified version of this with some success.

How a Freak Accident Caused me to Gain Weight and How a Medical Diagnosis Helped me to Lose it

This is kind of a rags to riches to rags and back to riches story, except that instead of monetary wealth I’m talking about personal health.

A few years ago I was about 15 pounds overweight.  I had retired from the military about eight years earlier and thanks to a post retirement office job I was relatively sedentary.  I am 5’8″ and at the time 46 years old. Historically have been able to eat as I please without fear of getting excessively out of shape.  Based on my height, my ideal weight should be about 155-160 pounds.  At this point I had creeped up to about 175.

I decided to start a popular 90 day workout regimen to get back to my “fighting” weight.  Everything was going well, I was doing the workouts but not following the recommended diet.  Nonetheless I was losing weight at a satisfactory rate.

By the time I reached the 76th day I was down to 165 pounds and pretty proud of myself.  Then tragedy struck.  That evening I had some steaks on the grill out on my patio.  Something, I don’t remember what, prompted me to stand up from my lawn chair.  Maybe I needed something from the house, I really don’t remember.  The tragedy, really a freak accident happened when I went to stand up.  As I planted my feet on the cement, my right foot landed on a charcoal briquette, I rolled my ankle and sustained a very severe fracture, A FREAKING CHARCOAL BRIQUETTE!

After six weeks in a cast and another four weeks in an orthopedic boot it was obvious that the injury did not heal correctly.  I ended up walking on a cane for the next 10 months until I could get a surgery.

Needless to say I was not doing any workouts for this entire time and I certainly didn’t change my eating habits.  I ballooned up to a whopping 195 pounds.  To add insult to injury, I was very quickly diagnosed with diabetes type II.

For some time I didn’t take my diagnosis seriously and had given up hope of losing the weight again.  After almost a year later, my doctor said that if I didn’t start watching my glucose intake that the diabetes would end up killing me.  This scared the bejeezus out of me and I immediately started cutting out the sugar from my diet.  I started by quitting all sodas and deserts.  This helped not only to bring my blood sugar levels down but as a side effect, I had even lost a few pounds over a few months.  My blood sugar levels were still above ideal though, so after a bit of research, I decided to drastically reduce my carb intake.  I switched to brown rice and whole grain bread.  I quit potatoes altogether.  This really made a difference.  My glucose levels were where they needed to be and my weight was coming off at a brisk but safe rate

I have yet to take up working out again and my weight is down to about 170.  I am feeling pretty darn good and my next step is to ease into an exercise routine.  I hope to be down to my ideal weight by the middle of this year.  Wish me luck.

Oh by the way, I have since become a believer in gas grills.

 

 

Healthy Quinoa & Chickpea Salad

Two of my favorite ingredients.  This is a very healthy and refreshing salad that is packed with delicious and healthy ingredients.  It is simple and fulfilling recipe that I enjoy regularly.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup garbanzo beans (chick peas) – drained and rinsed
• 2 cups or 3 small tomatoes – chopped
• 1 cup or 1 small cucumber – diced
• 1 small onion- cut in half and sliced into rings
• 2 cups kale – washed, stems removed and chopped into bite sized pieces
• Coconut oil spray
• 2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
• 2 cups or 1 medium zucchini – cubed into bite sized pieces
• 1½ cup or 2 small summer squash – cubed into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup walnuts- roughly chopped (toasted optional)
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice or 2 lemons – squeezed
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Sea salt – to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper – to taste

STEPS

1. In a large bowl add the chick peas, tomatoes, cucumbers and kale
2. Heat a medium- sized skillet and lightly spray with coconut oil spray or your favorite cooking spray
3. Add the onions and cook until fragrant and tender
4. Add the zucchini and summer squash and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender but firm
5. Remove from heat and add to the salad
6. Add the cooked quinoa, walnuts and the seasoning/ spices
7. Toss well to combine
8. This salad can be served warm or chilled.