delicious and nutritious turkey lettuce wraps

DATE ALERT: Do not serve this on your first date with that girl you met at the mawl...  
These are delectable, easy to make, and ideal if you're watching your weight - unless you consume the whole lot in one sitting, which, no doubt, you will want to do.

You'll need:
o  a pound of ground turkey or chicken
o  coconut oil - you can find this at Whole foods and if your budget doesn't include fancy things like coconut oil, use any sort of oil except baby.
o  something called Chinese 5 spices - it's in the spice area and you will thank me later
o  scallions or cilantro - both good; together better- slice up the white parts of the scallion
o  garlic- a few peeled
o  shredded carrots - about half a cup or more
o  tamari or soy sauce
o  grated fresh ginger - about 2 tbsp
o  splash of rice vinegar
o a head of lovely bibb lettuce - the kind that has large, tender leaves

Separate the lettuce into big pieces and put on a plate. (you're almost done)
heat a big pan up about medium with a couple of tablespoons of oil.
once it's melted and hot, throw in your carrots and cook for a minute.
throw in some smashed garlic, ginger, turkey, and as much grated ginger as you can stand - the more the better in my opinion. Throw in the scallions. (you can slice up the green parts of the scallion and throw that in towards the end of cooking.
Cook all that thru, about 10 minutes, breaking up big hunks of turkey.
fling a good handful of chopped cilantro in, toss in a sweep of tamari and about 2 tbsp of rice vinegar and cook that up for another minute.

This should be smelling really good and you'll want to grab a spoon and eat it out of the pan but if you didn't heed my advice about the date, don't do it..she was impressed when you whipped out the Chinese 5 spices but will be grabbing her purse if you can't restrain yourself.

Put a spoonful of the mixture on top of the carefully laid out lettuce leaves and serve!
(roll up like a burrito and grab the napkins)

b'jeez, eh, time t'cook

A certain Canadian friend of mine was disturbed that IHungry didn't represent the superior recipe options from his homeland. So, I decided to do less of whatever the hell I am doing and take on a more international vibe for all of you ambitious sorts who require ethnic variety, jeezis...my friend is currently out on a glacier somewhere, hunting arctic moose to feed his village so I'll have to invent a good Canadian supper..sometin' aboot bacon'r ham eh? 

'Mazin Sundee Supper for you and yer Compnee

HOG 'n bacon CASSEROLE

First, you'll need to put on some flannel-lined waxed plaid hunting pants (or your old Ottowa hockey jersey), turn the temp WAY down so you can see your breath, if you're 21 make a strong toddie (homemade moonshine poured in a coffee mug with a sprinkling of hot water and lemon),   and throw some maple leaves around on the kitchen floor in order to get in the mood.

Stuff you'll need:

¼ Cup salted pork(I don't know what the hell this is either - must be a Canadian staple you'd find in an old attic hung  on wire hangers near the open window where snow can blow in and keep it from rotting - just use a few pieces of bacon - chopped up is fine - b'jeez)

1 Onion, cut into small cubes 

2 Green onions (we call them scallions -skip this if it's freaking you out) cut into small pieces 

4 potatoes peeled and thinly sliced 

2 Cups diced cooked ham 

2 Tbsp flour 

2½ cups milk 

¼ tsp thyme 

Pinch nutmeg 

Salt and pepper 

Here's what y'doo:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.   Cook rotting, snow-encrusted mystery meat - er bacon in this case - in saucepan for 2 minutes. Add onions cook 3 minutes. (Canadians look to the stars to determine time, so don't blame me if my stars were off)

In casserole dish (spray lightly with vegetable spray - or rub a little hog grease),  place one potato layer and sprinkle with cooked onions and bacon. Add ham. Repeat layers. Season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with spices. 

Mix flour and milk with a whisk.  Pour mixture over ham; cover and cook in oven for 40 minutes. Then remove cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Serve to yer compnee.  If it don't work out, cook the smith'reens oot of d'stuff and use it as a hockey puck, by jeez. 

SOBA FAST

Supa Fast Noodles

this recipe is so fast I'm almost done with it now! 

It's an Asian noodly yum I invented when I was feeling like something a little saucy/salty. This recipe will leave you waving your chopsticks in the air, begging for more!

Ingredients:  SOBA noodles - a buckwheat pasta  sold in the Asian aisle

                     sesame oil

                     tamari (or soy sauce)

                     frozen spinach

                     can of oily tuna (do not use the narsty white "tuna packed in water" or you will keel over  

                         choking on a gob of dry, imitation tuna product that tastes like a 70's rubber Barbie doll foot-

                         and please 

                                don't ask how I know what that tastes like...memory is too painful)  squeeze out a

                                little of the oil

                                    from the can

o  boil a pot of water.

o  when the water is in a rolling boil, throw the noodles in, wait for it to boil again, then turn down the temp a little bit.  If you don't, the starch from the noodles will cause your pot of water to erupt like Mt. St. Helens - not so fab unless you're aiming to impress your friends with a fun volcano demonstration before dinner - which won't exist unless you're into frozen spinach for dinner cause that's all that'll be left, bucko. 

o  in 2 minutes or so throw in a big hunk or a couple cups of frozen spinach..your water will sit there for a minute, confused, sad, and pissy because of the spinach ruining the fun, so turn up the heat a tad to get things moving again, then turn it down again a bit otherwise you'll have a GREEN volcano science project to clean up. 

o  after about 2 minutes, test a noodle - if it's soft, you're done.

o  drain mixture, throw in a big bowl, and add about TBSP of sesame oil, a good splash of tamari, and your can of delicious, oily tuna. Stir around with your chopsticks and bon appetit! or rather douzo meshiagare!! 

FISHK

For those of you young darlingsk who have never seen the musical, Popeye, with Robin Williams, you're just going to have to deal.  For those of you COOL people who appreeshkiate that film I will honor your happy memories and use Popeye-speak...it was meant to be. Here's some good fishk fastk.

SHLIMPS when you really want em now

Ingrediments:  Shlimps - frozen, already cooked (you can totally use freshk or uncooked ones but this   

                        recipe is quick-like easy - I llllllike the medium to large kind

                        Garlicccc - a ton - smashed and ready to go

                        Olive oil (I know not THE Olive Oil - the other one)

ohhhh Popeyyyyye

                        small tomatees - not the tiny grape ones but the larger ones

                        optionimal:  baby spinachk, leftover spinachk, frozen spinachk, save the canned 

                        spinachk for Popeye   

         

pppppprocess:  Heat up some o.o. in a big pan - the bigger the bettah...not too hot (never burn the garlic, if you do, better throw the whole damned thing overboard or you'll be scrunching up one side of your face and mumbling about some nasty taste in your chomps. Plus Sweet Pea would never go near you again).

After a minute or so, throw in a pile of tomatees. Throw in some salt and peppeh and yell, 'I yam what I yam!!' as you do it.  In a couple of minutesk, before the tomatees get too soft, turn up the heat and throw in your shlimps. Cccccccover.  (If you're using frozen spinachk, best to nuke, then drain it now-add at the very end.)

If you're using fresh spinachk, wait a bit before you throw that in or it'll become limpk and nasty. The second the shlimps seem to be heated thru-don't overcook - remember they are already cooked; you're just basically reheating, throw in that spinachk and uncover. Stir around a bit with the end of your pipe, add more seasoning or some red pepper flakes until it looks delishk.   Serve with quinoa or rice or over pasta or if you're like Popeye, eat it right at the stove from the pan, even if steam comes shooting out of your ears...(you can add a bit of pppesto to it if you're getting real fancy shmancy)  Enjjjjjjoy. 

Roasted Veggies

If you throw a bunch of vegetables in the oven you can have delicious beginnings for breakfast, lunch or dinner for several days.  Here's a basic recipe and some things you can do with it afterwards:

WICKED GOOD ROASTED VEGETABLES that go a long way.....
You'll need any hearty vegetable matter: eggplant, garlic, onion, asparagus, carrots (peeled), bell peppers (take out seeds!), zucchinis, broccoli, fennel...whatever you find. Lemon juice if you want.
Preheat oven to 400

Cut vegetables into thick slices or chunks.  If you have garlic, leave the skins on.  You will have to be vegetable cop here and keep order (don't let the peppers comingle with the asparagus) since some vegetables take longer to cook than others so try and keep them as separate as possible.
Oil up a pan or two - allowing vegetables to sit on the pan without having to rub elbows with its neighbors.  Sprinkle on olive oil all over the mix making sure they're good and doused-use your CLEAN hands to distribute.  Throw a good amount of kosher salt and pepper all over..bake.  In about 10 minutes check and take out whatever is ready - asparagus and beans usually are done first (take out before they are shriveled and black).  Stay on guard and remove whatever vegetables are next in line until they're all lovely and lightly browned. Flip them around if they seem to be browning too much on one side.  Throw them all into a big bowl.  Squeeze out garlic into mix when it's cool enough to handle.  Sprinkle lemon juice.  If you have parsley, throw that in too if you want.

Ideas on how to use these things:
 breakfast: heat up veggies in nuker briefly. Top with a fried egg, leftover bacon, guacamole, rice or beans, sprinkling of cheese and salsa and serve on a warm tortilla - you will not be hungry the rest of the day, guaranteed!
 lunch:  toast up a thick slice of french bread, rub some garlic on the bread while hot, sprinkle a bit of olive oil on that, throw on some veggies,  lay a slab of feta cheese or cheddar on top and chow down...you can also broil it a bit for extra deliciousness.  
dinner:   in a big pan, fry up some bacon till crisp, drain on paper towels..pour off all but about a tbsp of bacon fat into an old can. In the fat, throw in some big pieces of walnuts and brown.  Scoop out walnuts and drain on paper towels.  Meanwhile boil some ziti, heat up your veggies, cut up some cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. When the pasta is done throw in a big bowl your warmed veggies, crumbled bacon, tomatoes, basil, walnuts in bowl; add more olive oil if it seems too dry...serve with parmesan, salt and pepper.
Or just throw the veggies in a bed of leftover rice or quinoa with a bunch of chopped fresh herbs or arugula and lemon..done.

EGGhead

For those of you who like the other part of the chicken...namely the very shy egg, you are in luck because I LOVE EGGS...more on that later - 
For now, if you want a great, portable lunch or breakfast item, pack a hard-boiled egg - it's the perfect food. 
study this highly complicated recipe -- your yolks will NEVER turn that unsightly green color EVER.  Martha Stewart will never speak to you again if you serve her another green-yolk egg so get with the program.

lovely hardboiled eggs

place eggs in deep saucepan.

fill with water to cover eggs.

turn stove on to med high-high

bring water to rolling boil.

turn off heat, cover pan, let sit for 20 minutes (if they're really large eggs, wait 30 minutes)

rinse eggs in cold water. put in fridge.

done. 

btw, I've gotten way distracted during my egg boils (writing the great American novel, composing another musical production, practicing my Cantonese, watching another episode of Honey boo boo, pouring concrete...you know usual stuff) and left them (gasp!) for close to 50 minutes and they were absolutely fine. So don't stress out about the time. It would be pretty hard to mess this up. 

ALSO, use the contraband eggs and not the organic, free range, happy eggs - the shells come off easier. Do not ask why, otherwise you might swear off eggs.

More Chicken please!

I'm busy testing out a vegan, raw, no gluten, free-range, tastes-just-like-chicken recipe so in the meantime, you'll just have to have chicken again tonight! 
Here's a recipe some chick sent me that is clucking fantastic.  
DIANE'S JUICY, CRISPY THIGHS 
Set the oven to 400

What you need:
8 Chicken thighs
5 T melted butter (can melt in microwave, 30 seconds or less)
3 T Dijon or grainy mustard
2 tsp Maple syrup or honey (optional)
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
1-1/4 c Bread crumbs
1/3 c Shredded parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Dried parsley flakes

Line a baking pan with tin foil, and spray with oil. Rinse chicken in cold water and
pat dry.

Combine the melted butter with mustard, syrup or honey and garlic powder in a
shallow bowl.

In another bowl combine panko crumbs with parmesan, S&P and parsley.

Brush or rub the chicken thighs with the butter/mustard mixture and then press
all sides into the panko crumbs to coat thoroughly. Place in the lined baking pan
and bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until the juices run clear when chicken is pierced
with a fork.

something fishy

A fishing friend of mine suggested this recipe which totally passes the "simple as pie" test...although, in my opinion, pie is everything BUT simple unless your next door neighbor bakes one.

But anyway, onto FISH!!  For those of you who like to do some fishing in your spare time, this recipe is best (per Doug's suggestion) with an oiler/gamier fish.  Good luck with all that. This one's made with salmon.


Skin-on salmon fillet

1 part soy sauce
3 parts orange juice
coarsely grated fresh ginger (unpeeled is fine)

mix ingredients

marinade the fish for 30 minutes flesh side down in a non-metal dish or ziplock.

Grill fish on very hot, well-oiled grill; flesh side down until well browned. Turn fillet and finish. ~4 minutes each side but this will vary depending on the thickness of the fillet. Watch for flare ups.

You can also broil it in a cast iron skillet (easier cleanup than broiler pan) skin side down. Takes about 8-10 minutes in my broiler. 

@#$%%!!! dinner

Those piercing screams you may have heard this morning were coming from IHungry (me) on account of a minor "incident" with the staff (my stubborn computer). Because of this unfortunate situation, which is too vicious to describe, a very valuable recipe fluttered away into cyber space along the my already stressed techno-patience.  The staff of IHungry (me, again) apologizes for any inconveniece and/or lost recipes.  Here is the much adored excerpt you may have missed out on:

Since IHungry was currently in France here's a recipe you should try in honor of the self-conscious but respectful ingredient - the stinky cheese. It's lovingly called:  @#$%%!! or

HOLY HELL WHAT THE @#$%%!! IS THAT SMELL IN THE FRIDGE PASTA

INGREDIENTS:

o  bow tie pasta, question: why bow tie? answer: because it looks fancier covered in cheese

o  some sort of herb-thyme is always good

o  nasty, green encrusted cheese: camembert or brie you've discovered in the depths of your fridge that has caused even your innocent stick of buttah to reek like the clenched hooves of a dead, rotting, goat head (yes, I realize there are no hooves on dead, rotting goat heads, but imagine the stench if there were) - scrape off questionable bits.

o  some sort of veggie to mellow out stinky cheese (mushrooms or peas..)

PROCEDURE:

1) clear out house now! otherwise your roomies will hurl all kinds of insults and comments your way

2) cook pasta

3) Cook your peas and/or mushrooms:  saute mushrooms in olive oil and thyme (or use the mooshroom recipe with a little butter instead of creme fraiche - sans eau de hoof), nuke peas - throw on lots of herbs and salt and pepper

4) drain pasta

5) immediately pour hot pasta in big bowl, plug your nose and add chunks of cheese, stirring as you go. 

(cheese should melt right into pasta), add a little olive oil and your herbified veggies

6) grate on parmesan (the cheeses can fight it out in the bowl)

NOTE: this recipe is actually...how do you say...formidable -- Bon appetit!

MUST HAVE PASTA TONIGHT

If you're like a lot of active kids, you crave CARBS.  Here's the absolute bare bones recipe for baked pasta..it pains this pseudo-chef to have you buy already-made sauce, but when you've got a craving, it does not include complication...so here goes:

MUST HAVE PASTA NOW, Baked Ziti:  BBB (basic beyond belief)  

(you can add pretty much ANYTHING to the dish before cooking including: nuts; olives; tofu; lightly cooked or leftover veggies such as: onions, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, green peppers, eggplant, zucchini;..you name it, it will work, and if it doesn't, by god, you'll snarf it down anyway, we all know)

Ingredients:
about a pound of ziti or penne the big ones
Italian sausage, spicy or not - any old grocery store version will do-either sliced or cut down center and remove casings (I like this better-do your roommates a favor and don't fling the casings onto the counter or into the sink-ewwwww)
11/2 to 2 big cans (more or less) of tomato sauce (if you insist on getting fancy, throw in some dried basil and oregano and call it "homemade")
mozzarella - real or fake, shredded, cubed, any which way will do-about a pound
grated parmesan or the kind in the green can (my grandmother is already rolling in her grave as we speak)

Set oven to 400
o  find a 9x13 baking pan, lightly spray it with oil
o  Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta AL DENTE...not mushy, like about 9-10 min worth/drain
o  while pasta is boiling, heat a large frying pan with a splosh of olive oil to med. high..when it's hot toss the sausage in there and break it up as it browns. This is splattery so don't be putting your face in the pan to smell the deliciousness.  Don't keep stirring it, let it brown then stir.
o  When sausage loses its pink color, you might wish to drain off the oil and you might not...no one is looking. Your heart may thank you later on in life if you drain...and your kitchen plumbing may thank you if you drain into a tomato can and not the sink.
o  pour sauce in frying pan...use your best judgement on this - look at your pan, look at the amount of pasta you're cooking, look at the sausage...if you misjudge it's not the end of the world, it's just a little messy.
o  simmer until sauce is bubbly
o  spoon some sauce into baking pan. Throw some pasta on top of that along with a sprinkling of mozzarella. Now that there is more room in your frying pan, mix the pasta and sauce together in there - go slowly-you are aiming for gloppy, gooey, yummy. (If you have leftover pasta, that's fine.) Put in more mozzarella but leave enough to sprinkle on top. Dump all this into baking pan and top with grated parmesan and a good helping of mozzarella.  If it's all the way to the top of the pan, put a big piece of tin foil on the rack below your ziti to catch any drips.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbling and a little browned on top.
Serve with salad and bread or eat with a soup spoon and lots of napkins.
NOTE:  You will need to do some laundry tonight.

Hurry Curry!!

NOTE: you'd better get a handle on your Indian accent before attempting this, seriously - watch a little Slumdog Millionaire first (also, the curry will be way too sweet if you watch Bollywood).  If it's teetering on the Scottish or East Providence lilt, your dish will be sadly confused. Get it right, man.

Recipe donated by friend, Megan; a devout baconetarian who occasionally throws caution to the wind and devours an occasional (de)feathered fowl...word on the street is, though, she lip synched thru this recipe!  Vicious rumors spread after her dinner guests, annoyed by her perfect-Indian-accent fart and knock knock jokes, realized Megan's husband had been in the kitchen the entire time she was cooking!! (highly suspicious)  Turns out, her husband did spend his early childhood in India, cleaning out hookahs for the local pig farmers.  That explains Megan's choice in jokes and why she kept flinging peas at everyone. The curry is good despite this stupid story.
WICKED EASY CHICKEN CURRY-make sure you got the rice figured out first (see below)
1 1/2 TBSP (tablespoon) vegetable oil
1 pound chicken cut in cubes
1 medium onion chopped up - save a kleenex, wear goggles
1/4 tsp  (teaspoon) salt
2 tsp curry powder
1 can unsweetened coconut milk (look in the international section in grocery store)
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
2 TBSP tomato paste (if you can find a tube of this stuff, you won't waste a whole can)
3 cups packed fresh baby spinach (your moms would be proud)


In large saucepan, saute the onion in the oil on med low until wilted and translucent. Add chicken and cook a minute. Throw in the next 5 ingredients (your Indian accent is already getting better - say "ingredients" again), stirring all the time.  Bring to a gentle boil then turn heat way down - should be done pretty quickly-maybe 10 minutes.  Take off heat. Have some more Chai tea.
2 minutes before you're ready to serve, turn up heat, throw in spinach and cook until bright green and just wilted.  TASTY.

Tastes great with RICE:
(NOTE: you can start your rice BEFORE or at the same time as the curry - when 20 minutes is up, turn off heat, lay a clean dishtowel over pot, replace lid and it'll stay steamy and hot for a long time;  don't fluff up until you're ready to serve.)

Easy rice even you can't mess up:
1 part rice - I like Jasmine only because it smells like popcorn when it's cooking.
2 parts water   

So, for a small group, use 1 cup rice and 2 cups water, get it?
In a small saucepan with a tight fitting lid, pour in water and bring to boil
add rice and bring to boil, stir once, put lid on top, turn down heat to very low& cook for exactly 20 minutes.
Be sure to yell at everyone in the room (in your Indian accent so they know you mean business):  "I'm making the...how do you say...RICE unt no von ees to TOUCH EET or I'll EET your UGLY toes for veenershnitzle gutton blagen!"   because if anyone lifts the lid to your rice to see what delicious thing lies within, it will be ruined forever. sorry about the Indian/German accent, it comes out when I'm excited about making rice.

Authentic, Imitation, Italian Focaccia

an old friend who is a gourmet cook showed me how to whip this up for her kids and I thought, man, if she can use store-bought dough with a cartoon character on it, then it must be ok. You can add all sorts of junk to it before baking: leftover shredded chicken, lumps of pesto, mushrooms, anchovies, turkey gizzard..but it's pretty darned good as is.
INGREDIENTS:  pillsbury pizza dough - thin style if possible (do not attempt homemade dough if you're already starving; trust me on this)
olive oil
dried rosemary
garlic 3 or 4 cloves (or more if you're like me)
goat cheese, crumbled (about a cup)
kosher salt
baking pan with rim

NOTE: be prepared - you may not even get a sliver of this since it smells so amazing when it's baking.

preheat oven to 425
coat the baking pan using your fingers with some olive oil
take out the dough and try and get it in the pan as thinly as you can without ripping it - if it rips just do a rough patch job.  Should fill most of the pan.
drizzle olive oil all over dough and spread around with fingers so it's quite glossy on top..like maybe 
2-3 TBSP worth. sprinkle some kosher salt on - not too much, maybe 1/2 tsp.

smash your garlic/ lightly chop it,  then pretend you're sneezing garlic alllll over the dough in a crazy haphazard fashion - do not place garlic on focaccia in any gridlike formation otherwise it'll totally suck and taste like a sour, nasty shoe. It's all about the sweep.

Next crumble about a TBSP of rosemary in your greasy, nasty hands and throw that around& over your shoulder like you've been doing this for years.  Do the same with the goat cheese. Smear the remains all over your boyfriend's face and yell, gesturing furiously with your hands: "FOCACCIAFORMAGGIOPARMESANIPREGOABUNDANZA!!!!"
He'll glow with pride and happiness that you've finally brought some damned culture into the house (and his skin will be soft as silk once you pick the rosemary out of his beard).  note: this pretend chef realizes this could be considered sexist;  please excuse the implication that men don't make focaccia...they do.  I just liked the beard thing.

Now Throw that baby in the oven and watch it like a hawk..it will be done/golden on the edges less than 10 minutes probably - it's always different.  You can slice into pieces like a pizza or put  the whole focaccia under your bathrobe and wolf it down in the closet in the dark before anyone can find it.

FA-Hee-Taz for To-morraz

Ok, this takes a little foresight..so after you get out of work, go to the grocery store and buy some
o  FLANK STEAK, AVOCADO
Also buy, unless you can dig it up at home:
o  Garlic
o  soy sauce
o  ginger
o  dijon mustard
o  lime juice - they now sell this bottled if you can afford it
o  olive oil
o  cayenne pepper (optional if you like spicy)
NOTE: you can get the additional ingredients tomorrow - put it off, relax.
NOTE #2: for fish-eaters: there is no way you'll be able to grill up a sad, limp fish next to a steak without getting insulted and dissed so just forget about it this time.
Go home, but before you put your feet up while your ramen noodles are simmering, DO THIS: combine in a big ziplock bag:
some black pepper
a few smashes of garlic (no skins) - like 6
a couple of tablespoons each of soy sauce and grated ginger (no need to peel it if you're grating it)
2 teaspoons or so of Dijon Mustard (dash of cayenne if you're into that nasty stuff) 
1/2 cup olive oil

Mush the bag around and plop the steak in there; get the air out and press and gently pound a bit of the marinade into the steak. THAT'S IT, now put the bag in the fridge for 24 hours and attend to your now overcooked and congealed ramen noodles.  You are now in the club of having an idea of what's for dinner tomorrow!! CONGRATULATIONS!!
NOTE: avocados are only good if they're ripe - if yours aren't quite there (you can't press your finger into one), place in a paper bag close up and hopefully by tomorrow night they'll be good to go.

Dinner for tomorrow:  FA-HEE-TAZ
before breakfast, give that bag in the fridge a little shake and flip.


Our version of fajitas involves anything edible wrapped in a tortilla. But these are actually really good and you've accomplished the first most important step: marinating the steak!
INGREDIENTS (all optional - fajitas will still be amazing if you have nothing but steak and salsa):
tortillas - wrap some tin foil around a bunch and warm them in a very low (200) oven
chopped tomatoes
grated cheddar cheese
sour cream or plain greek yogurt
refried beans or pinto beans, heated
sliced romain lettuce-best in thin strips
grated carrots
sliced ripe avocado
any sort of salsa
wedges of lime
chopped onion

Ok, here's when you delegate chopping veggies and putting the ingredients in separate bowls. If all your bowls are in the sink and caked with last week's ice cream and burnt mac and cheese, then just chop up the veggies and serve from the counter - call it A.L.M.O.C.  (assembly line meal on counter). 

You are now to PREHEAT the grill: 
Scrape off any giblets, melted plastic, tennis ball fur, mouse droppings, etc.
Preheat to HIGH or at least med High for a few minutes-depending on what you just scraped off.
Spray the grill well.
take out your lovely marinated steak, let the marinade drain off it, make sure the grill is REALLY hot, make a grand announcement that THE MEAT IS NOW GOING ON! and throw that baby on the grill.

I'm a top-on kind of griller but you have to find your way on this. If the meat flames on then blow it out. (Do not, I repeat, do not spew any sort of alcohol onto the grill - you will lose your face and then you will never be able to enjoy fajitas other than thru a straw, attatched to your stomach...so don't.).
About 3 or 4 minutes on one side - FLIP and 3 minutes on the other. Try not to move the steak around, leave it in one place
(use the FINGER TEST approach to determining if it's done) NOTE: if you keep taking little bites out to see if it's done you will:
risk seering your gizzard, lose your friends forever, drain all the goodness that you worked so hard to achieve. If it ends up too raw, as long as it's seared on the outside, you probably won't die of mad cow disease.

Take the steak off the grill - turn off the grill - put steak on a plate and LET IT SIT FOR 5 MINUTES! you can do this!  Otherwise you will serve a dried up old piece of shoe leather instead of a deliciously marinated steak...#1 reason why people go vegetarian.

AFTER 5 minutes, take a sharp knife and slice thin slices - of steak, not fingers - against the grain of the meat - remember they have to be placed in a tortilla and feed your starving friends, so thinly slice and make sure you don't lose any of the juice. place plate of steak alongside other ingredients and get to work! (Make sure you clean out those dishes in the sink afterwards so you don't have to do another A.L.M. tomorrow.)  Fa heeeeeeee TA!  Serve with corn on cob and watermelon juice with a sprig of mint - yum.

FANCY SHMANCY CHICKEN

Good for a special night. Looks tricky but you simply can't mess it up.  Choose your cooking pan* before you start cooking - make sure the chicken will fit in the pan without overlapping!

INGREDIENTS: chicken parts (I prefer breast but thighs are good too) with skin and bone still on!
chopped shallots (or an old onion-no one will know), lemon juice real or from a bottle (1/4 cup?), chicken broth, carrots (chopped or get those "baby" carrots), chopped fresh or dried parsley, a spoon of creme fraiche (real fancy) or greek yogurt or heavy cream, 1 cup of white wine - any old white wine you can find in the back of the cabinet will do as long as it's not "dessert wine." Use "cooking wine" if you must.

preheat oven to 350
pat chicken dry and sprinkle salt and pepper on it. 
In a pan* (with high sides) that can go in the oven, heat about a tablespoon or so of oil on medium high heat until it's very hot but not smoking!  put chicken in pan - don't crowd - and brown for a couple of minutes on both sides. Place browned chicken on a plate until all chicken is browned.  


pour off any excess oil from pan and lower heat to low/medium low.  Add a bit of butter to pan and saute the chopped shallots with a bit of salt for about  5 minutes - don't burn..do this slowly. 


Add chicken (skin side up), juice from plate, carrots (like a handful), wine, and enough chicken broth to come up to the sides of the chicken. Turn up heat and bring to a boil. Then turn down and simmer (gentle but affective bubbling) for about 3 minutes-reducing the liquid to about 1/2.  COVER and place in oven.
(Note: at this point you can stir in a spoonful of dijon mustard and some dried tarragon or leave as is)


(Chicken can braise like this forever but it will taste best and be tender and delicious after about 25-35 minutes.  If you aren't quite ready to eat, turn temp down to 275 and let it sit in oven covered until you're ready.)


Using POTHOLDERS, carefully lift pan out of oven without sploshing. Stir in lemon juice, cream or yogurt, throw on parsley and VOILA!  (vw-ah-la!)
You can serve this with French bread or make some boiled potatoes (small potatoes, put in pot, boiled for about 15 minutes).  Just be sure to fling the chopped parsley and lemon around like a crazy French person and keep shouting VOILA! VOILA! and everyone will admire and respect you forever.

GILSON burgers

You know you want it! This is the original, tried and true Gilson recipe for meat on bread:

 INGREDIENTS: ground beef (85% fat is good), english muffins, cheese

 Preheat oven to 350/375 depends on how well done you want your beef - higher temp, more pink inside. separate english muffins and place on baking sheet. take ground beef and roll into tennis-ball sized portions then press into english muffins. Sprinkle with salt (and pepper if you're going nuts). Bake for about 25-40 minutes. Depends on how hungry you are/how long you can wait. Just before they're done, place a slab of cheese onto the tops and bake until melted and bubbly. 

You may have to toss the pan afterwards if you're heavy handed with the cheese. 

 NOTE: Mr. Gilson has been known to like a little something special in his Gilson burger; he'd hide a little slice of garlic in the burger before cooking...a nice touch I think but this mom also prefers a little slice of bacon on top. Have fun but remember: the best Gilson burgers are the simple ones. Make sure you have LOTS of napkins and ketchup and don't seer your innards with all that bubbling cheese.

 (Gilson burgers are fabulous for breakfast if there are any left! just wrap a bit of papertowel around one, nuke for about 20 seconds, and go! Just make sure you have a big napkin in the car, otherwise everyone at work will see the greasy mark in your lap and be super jealous they didn't have a Gilson burger for breakfast.)

IT's CHICKEN and potatoes!

MOM's BAKED CHICKEN for those busy, hardworking teenagers:

 INGREDIENTS: chicken breasts (bone in, skin on) as many as you want, flour, dried tarragon, butter

 Preheat oven to 350. place about a cup of flour in a bowl or better yet, a zip lock bag. pat dry chicken breasts, sprinkle salt onto chicken. throw chicken in flour and coat chicken pieces - tap off excess - make a huge mess of it. 


place chicken, breast side up, on a metal pan that's been sprayed with oil. sprinkle some tarragon on top (if you're really going wild, sprinkle a little paprika as well). cut up some butter and dab on 2 or 3 dabs of butter onto the top of each breast..maybe a tad more salt. Bake for an hour or until golden brown. DONE!

Serve with:

 FABULOUS ROASTED POTATOES:

 Ingredients: new potatoes or small white potatoes, rosemary (dried is good), lemon, garlic, olive oil Preheat oven (I find anything between 350 and 360 is good) halve potatoes or quarter if they're kind of big.

Mix together in a gigantic bowl (it'll get messy otherwise):  about 1/2 cup olive oil, smashed up garlic (take a butter knife and pound onto peeled cloves - I like a lot, like 5 cloves - and a big squeeze of lemon (watch out for those seeds). crumble up a good amount of rosemary in your fingers and throw that in too.

 Now, toss in potatoes and stir around till they're well-coated. pour potatoes onto a cookie sheet with a rim - making sure most-not all- are cut side down (good for crispiness). (you can dip some bread into the oily bowl if you're starving - yum)
sprinkle on kosher salt and some ground pepper. Bake for about an hour - same as chicken - until golden or when you can't stand waiting any longer. Sprinkle on more lemon and some chopped parsley if you want to look like a real chef.

VEGETARIAN

EASY Vegetarian DINNER: Best Eggplant Ever FIX: serves 4

 INGREDIENTS: 2 eggplants, can of MUIR GLEN chopped tomatoes (or any good canned tomato), greek yogurt or herbed goat cheese (if you got a really good tip today-since it's more $$), seasoned breadcrumbs, mozzarella or parmesan.

 preheat oven to 400

 Halve eggplants the long way (you can keep stem on-good fiber) Put tomatoes in a pot and warm up or microwave - add chopped garlic if you want to go insane.

 heavily smear the goat cheese or greek yogurt onto the cut sides and press into breadcrumbs (only on the cut side of the eggplants with the gunk on it); sprinkle with salt and pepper; then place cut side down onto an oil-sprayed pan (count: you should have 4 portions). Bake about 10 minutes or until golden, flip, spray a little oil on top of eggplants, then bake a bit more until tender - probably 25 minutes total give or take.

 Serve with warmed up tomatoes spooned over and a sprinking of parm.

 NOTE: You can top with mozzarella and briefly broil before putting on tomatoes but then you risk burning the bajeesus out of your dinner. Only attempt if you are completely focused and have your spatula at the ready. You can be creative and sprinkle on some canned garbanzo beans (rinsed) or chopped olives or or chopped parsley. Serve with couscous (easy middle east couscous mix in grocery store - takes 5 minutes) or pasta or polenta (ready-made in refridgerator section, just heat up or grill or fry in a pan). Or just eat off the pan with a spoon. YUMMMY.