Tinfoil Chef

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Losing weight can be one of the hardest things to do. Even the strongest willed is going to eventually start thinking “If I keep this up, I’ll never get to have the ‘goodies’ again.”

The best thing to do is find things that allow you to have some of the tastes that you’re craving only without some of the unwanted parts. For example a longtime favorite of mine is French fries. I don’t have them at all often and that’s probably a good thing, otherwise I’d have to have a pack of fries in one hand and a bottle of alli weight loss pills in the other.

Fortunately, there’s an easier way to have the fries and leave the grease out of them and still have something that’s really good.

Start out with a couple of medium potatoes. Don’t bother peeling them, just give them a good scrubbing. Make sure to get rid of the ‘eyes’, any sprouts or the occasional bad spot. The reason to prep potatoes this way is because a large part of the nutritional value in potatoes is within 1/8 inch or so of the skin and normal peeling generally puts this part of the potato in the trash.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then slice each half into lengthwise pieces, finally slice each piece into however many 1/4 inch wide pieces that you can. Don’t worry about being accurate, it’s just fine if you make some larger or smaller.

Soak the potato slices in cold water for twenty minutes or so, then drain and dry them.

Put the potatoes in a large plastic bowl with a tight fitting lid (or a plastic zipper bag works good too). Add some vegetable (or Olive) oil and shake well to coat the potatoes.

Spray a cookie sheet with your favorite non-stick cooking spray and then arrange the potatoes in a single layer. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for twenty minutes, stirring them once in a while.

To season them, Just before they’re done sprinkle with salt, pepper and / or whatever your favorite seasonings are. Paprika, celery salt, chili powder, onion powder are just a few possibilities that would work well (though probably most wouldn’t want all of them at once.)

They’re sure to be better than anything you can get at any fast food outlet.

Technorati Tags: losing weight, low cal, french fries, recipe, low fat

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In short, Sarah’s Cucina Bella is, in her own words, about “Recipes that the whole family will eat . . . and the stories that go along with them”. To make a short story a bit longer, it’s more than just that. The stories are good family fun, such as a recipe featured last April called Parmesan Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries.

Apparently her husband is one of those who’re pretty much set in their ways with no interest in changing. Part of that included a dislike (or at least strong disinterest) for most things vegetable. Reading that story I get the idea that he’d have sooner been willing to take horse supplements than to sit down to something that’s primarily vegetable in nature… especially if said vegetables weren’t the “open a can” variety.

Then came the Sweet Potato Fries. She apparently decided to take a different tack and simply not offer them to him. He surprised her by actuall asking to try them which goes to prove that we men are willing to try new things once in a while, it just that pushing us to do so only increases the resistance. By not offering them she took the pressure off.

Anyway, Those fries looked so good that sometime soon we’re going to have to make them here. I for one can’t wait to see how they’d taste with a bit of curry powder cooked onto them along with the rosemary & olive oil.

They’re made by peeling about a pound and a half of sweet potatoes and then cutting them into 1/4 inch wide french fry shaped strips while the oven preheats to 400 degrees.

Next you add 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped rosemary and some sea salt and about half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese and stir or toss the mixture to make sure that all of the potato strips are coated.

Spread ‘em out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle some more Parmesan cheese on top.

Cook them for about 20 to 25 minutes, making sure to turn them about halfway through. When they are browned around the edges they’re done. Move ‘em to a paper towel lined plate, salt to taste and serve warm.

Technorati Tags: recipe, sweet potato, sweet potato fries, fries, cooking blog, homemade fries

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I was looking through the kinda haphazard collection of files that makes up most of my recipe collection and tucked away in a forgotten directory on my flash drive was this rather interesting sounding rice dish. I do believe it’s the first time I’ve ever seen rice cooked with orange.

In a 2-quart microwave safe casserole dish, combine a cup of uncooked rice, a cup of water, a cup of orange juice, a teaspoon of butter and a dash of salt.

Cover it and microwave on High for 5 minutes. Then stir in a tablespoon of fresh grated orange rind. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn and microwave on high for another 10 minutes, turning the bowl after 5 minutes.

When it’s done do not uncover the bowl. Instead, allow it to set, covered for an additional 10 minutes or until all of the liquids have been absorbed.

Just before serving, fluff it with a fork and add a half cup of seeded orange sections and mix gently.

Technorati Tags: rice, side dish, recipe, orange rice, orange, microwave cooking, dinner

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Start out with 2 cups fresh raspberries and about a half cup of water and 3 tablespoons of sugar, heat this in a medium sauce pan. While that’s cooking, dissolve one and a half tablespoons of corn starch in some water and add it to the raspberries.

When the raspberries thicken to form a clear sauce that’s not milky colored from the cornstarch remove it from the heat and allow to cool. As it cools it will thicken considerably.

Once it’s cooled you can use it as a spread or in pies or recipes like the Raspberry Streusel Bars

Technorati Tags: streusel filling, raspberry filling, desserts, pie filling, recipe, filling

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French bread is something that goes with a lot of meals and is also good for making some really great sandwiches. It also brings to mind the classic French restaurant with the soft lighting and violin music playing in the background. Mostly, I have to agree with my wife and say that what I like best about it is the smell of bread baking.

Start out by getting the yeast activated. Dissolve 4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water (about 115 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Accurate temperature is actually important for yeast to work right so take the extra time and use a thermometer to be sure. Let the yeast stand for five minutes or so. It should be bubbling and turning foamy almost. If it’s not, the yeast is dead and you’ll have to start over.

Once the yeast is bubbling, mix in 2 cups of flour and a cup of lukewarm water. Let this sit for a half hour to proof. It will reach a spongy consistency.

Then add a teaspoon of salt, another 4 1/2 cups of flour and another cup of water and knead. Add more flour or water as needed until the dough is soft.

Put a tablespoon of oil into separate bowl and coat the dough with it. Then cover it with a cloth and put it in a warm place for about two hours and let it rise until it’s doubled in size.

Poke the dough with your finger and if the dough does not bounce back then it’s ready for the next step. Punch it down and knead it lightly in the bowl. Cover and let it rise a second time.

Put a couple of brick roof shingles in the oven then heat it to 450 degrees. Shape the dough
into two loaves and let them rise covered with a cloth on a cookie sheet that’s been sprinkled with a liberal layer of cornmeal until they’ve doubled in bulk.

Carefully move the loaves onto the hot roof shingles and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the loaves are deep golden color and sound hollow when tapped.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

Technorati Tags: recipe, bread, french+bread, baking, baking+bread

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I’ve always been a seafood lover. I honestly can’t remember a time that I didn’t like fish and I’d say that one of the only seafood dishes that I would hesitate to even try is sushi. I’m sure it’s just wonderful for those who like it but somehow I just can’t wrap my mind around the idea of eating raw fish. I wouldn’t do that anymore than I would eat raw beef. The entire concept is just plain unpalatable.

Anyway, back to the seafood. My enjoyment of seafood started with the basic, not very fancy tuna salad and progressed to just the tuna and it’s gone on from there. I’ve had a variety of different kinds of fish ranging from things like catfish and trout to cod, sole, halibut, lobster, crab and a bunch more. One time I even had a shark steak. Of course, living as far away from the places where seafood is plentiful and less expensive, I sometimes feel like I’m undergoing a kind of addiction treatment only the addiction in question is seafood.

The basic tuna salad starts out with a 6.5 oz can of tuna (the kind packed in water! Fish don’t live in vegetable oil, they shouldn’t be packed in it.). Drain the tuna and add a couple of chopped hard boiled eggs and a quarter cup of chopped celery and 2 tablespoons of reduced calorie mayo. Mix well and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

It’s great by itself or on sandwiches. I personally prefer a good multi-grain wheat bread or a hearty dark pumpernickel and some mustard.

Technorati Tags: tuna+salad, seafood, fish, recipe, diabetic+friendly, sandwich

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Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees so it’ll be ready when you need it. Spray 12 medium sized muffin tins with a non-stick cooking spray (you could also line them with paper baking cups but I’m lazy, I don’t want to do that all that work to “unwrap” it when it’s time to eat).

Next, add 2 1/4 cup oatbran uncooked cereal, 1/4 cup chopped nuts, 1/4 cup raisins, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to a large bowl and give ‘em enough of a stir to combine everything pretty much evenly. Then add 3/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup honey, 2 beaten eggs and 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Mix just until all dry ingredients are moistened. Fill prepared muffin cups almost full. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until they’re golden brown.

Technorati Tags: oat+bran, muffins, oat+bran+muffins, diabetic, diabetic+friendly

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I was looking through some Diabetic friendly recipes and ran across this one that sounds really interesting and I’m going to want to try it sometime soon.

You take two to three onions per person. The original recipe called for them to be “cooking size”, but nothing defined exactly what “cooking size” is. I’m assuming medium to medium-small onions.

Without cutting or peeling them at all, put the onions in a foil lined baking dish and give them an hour in the oven at 400 degrees.

When they’re done, cut off the root end of the onions and squeeze the stem end and the cooked onion should come out whole. Butter them and season with a bit of salt and pepper to taste.

This isn’t exactly what I’d call a main dish but it’s certainly an interesting way to cook onions. Of course, I’d definitely recommend using a sweet onion such as Vidalia. I’m also certain that using garlic butter would also be an interesting variation.

Technorati Tags: baked+onion, butter, Diabetic+friendly, Dinner, garlic, garlic+butter, onion, side+dish, vidalia, recipe

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That’s right. A yogurt with a Boston Creme pie flavor. Sure, I’d seen the ads on the tube talking about this yogurt brand that was featuring all kinds of flavors that apparently hadn’t been done in yogurt before but really, Boston Creme Pie? THAT got me totally off guard.

Why? because I’ve never really been a big fan of yogurt. There’s been some that were ok but never a big enough deal to make me want to run out and get some or decide on having it for a snack or dessert. Then my wife brought some home on a recent shopping trip and we gave it a try.

We were both impressed with how good it turned out to be. They really managed to capture the flavor. Another one that I’ve tried is a Cherry Vanilla, which also was pretty good. There’s a bunch more flavors but that’s the ones that I’ve tried so far. Since then we’ve found off brand versions with the same flavors at a better price with no noticeable difference in taste.

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This started out as something called “Ham Salad Croissants”, which my wife found in Taste of Home magazine. We thought it sounded good but of course, being the tinkerers that we are there was just no way we were going to leave it exactly as we found it.

This is also a good example of the kind of thing I talked about in Measuring vs “Eyeballing”, some of this is measured out and the rest of it is pretty much a judgment call on the part of the cook. This is because some things are really just a matter of personal tastes and simply are not going necessarily be the same for everyone.

This started out with one of those four pound boneless hams. I cut it in half and wrapped one piece in foil and put in in the freezer for another time. The remaining half I sliced and cubed.

Then I took four ribs of celery, about two thirds of a cup of diced green pepper and diced half of a sweet onion and sauteed that in a couple pats of butter.

My wife took the ham and used the food processor to grind it down to a paste like consistency. Then the vegetable mixture was given the same treatment and added to the bowl of ham.

Next she added roughly half of a 16oz jar of Miracle Whip dressing, a generous heaping tablespoon of sour cream and about a third to a half cup or so of dill pickle relish.

From here it’s just a matter of stirring this whole combination together and taste a sample of it to see if any one thing is overwhelming anything else. If at this point the taste is satisfactory then you’re ready.

The way we used it last night was to simply make sandwiches with some shredded cheese and a few leaves of spinach on your favorite type of bread. This mixture also makes for a really good variation on the breakfast burrito, simply use the ham salad instead of the egg & sausage mixture. It also makes a fantastic dip for most kinds of chips.

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