Time to go to the grocery store, boys and girls, or at least daddies and babies. More specifically, myself and the young daughter. Mom has to study, so the domestic chores sometimes fall to me and our beautiful six month old daughter, as in this case. We were off to the local supermarket, our local HEB Plus. It is, perhaps, one of the best times I have during the week. A little time to have some fun, do some shopping, really take some time to see what's available and what it is that we will be dining on for the upcoming week. Sure, we will probably cheat at some point and grab some take out, but while the daughter and I are at the store, those imperfections aren't in view. My diet is perfect. Until we get to the ice cream aisle, that is. This trip's list was pretty short on food items:

• 8 Healthy Choice frozen meals - We eat these for lunch during the week. Not as good as home cooked, but pretty good for the time we have to grab something in the middle of the work day.
• 1 box Central Market Organic Frosted Flakes - This is my breakfast indulgence for the weekends. I love frosted flakes, and used to eat the non-organic kind, but since they started carrying these, I have switched. Organic foods may or may not be better. I'm not a scientist, so I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to err on the side of caution, when possible.
• 1 Half-Gallon Central Market Organic No-Fat Milk - I keep milk around for my cereal and the occasional glass of chocolate milk. Also, I enjoy a glass of milk mixed with some protein powder, especially on days that I go to the gym.
• 1 box Boca Meatless Ground Burger - Never tried this before, but the beautiful wife has really wanted to go vegetarian, or mostly vegetarian for a while now, and since I do most of the cooking, I wanted to try out some new things to help her achieve her goals, and it wouldn't hurt me to improve my diet as well. We will see how this product works out. They make it look good on the box.
• 2 pints Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream - Strawberry Cheesecake for the wife, and Mayan Chocolate for me. Not helpful for the diet, but oh so good.

captainzoli

Tags: groceries, grocery, supermarket, shopping, shop, milk, ice cream, meatless, ground burger, hamburger, frosted flakes, frozen meal, organic, food

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Posted by the Captain at 11:03 AM CDT

Updated: Tuesday, 22 August 2006 3:22 PM CDT

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Yesterday was a busy day, and the wife and I needed dinner on the quick, or at least that's what we told ourselves to justify a quick stop at Taco Bell. Truth is, "need" is probably a strong word. Ok, ok, you got me. It was all my fault, my idea, the wife just went along with it. She is the innocent victim. There are no victim-less crimes. Anyway, back to the topic at hand: Taco Bell. Despite the horror stories and just the overall deficiencies of fast food as a food source, especially as shown in Morgan Spurlock's outstanding film, Supersize Me. Truth is, seeing that movie should be enough to keep one as far from any type of fast food as possible. Should be. Guess it hasn't worked on me completely.

I really enjoy Taco Bell food. Yesterday, I had the new Grilled Chicken Crunch Burrito, a couple of Chalupas, and a couple of Cheesy Bean and Rice Burritos. Definitely more than one person should eat, or at least more than I should eat. Need to get myself back in the kitchen and cooking, rather than taking the easy, grab and go way. It is very good, though. For what it is, that is.

captainzoli

Tags: fast food, taco, burrito, chalupa, food, dinner

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Posted by the Captain at 8:54 AM CDT

Updated: Tuesday, 22 August 2006 4:06 PM CDT

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It has been a busy, busy birthday weekend (her birthday, not mine) for the wife an I, and while I would spend several long paragraphs explaining it all in excruciating detail, it mostly has nothing to do with food, and even less to do with this topic by and large, so, I will stick to the task at hand. That task, of course, is talking to you about food, and in this specific instance, restaurant food. Even more specifically, The Outback Steakhouse.

Now, it wouldn't be fair to say that we make the Outback a regular place to eat, as a matter of fact, I can count the times I have eaten there on one hand. It isn't that the Outback is a bad place to eat, it's just that for us, it seems to be a bit pricey for a chain, and a bit pricey for what you get. I'm sure that some may disagree, but that's the way I feel. There are certainly some nice things I can say about the restaurant, though. Firstly, the cheese fries are great. Two types of cheese, bacon bits, and ranch dressing to dip with make it an appetizer I enjoy. The wife also ordered a Bloomin' Onion. These don't do much for me, but she really enjoys them. For me, I don't care for the way they always have some batter that doesn't get fried. I'd rather have onion rings, for my money. To each their own.

After the appetizers, we moved on to our main courses. The wife a large steak, which she seemed to enjoy greatly (except for the small piece of bone she found the hard way in her boneless cut), and I had the grilled chicken breast with vegetables. The chicken was moist, and came with a side of barbecue sauce which was suitably spicy, and the vegetables were steamed and tasty. We quickly polished off our main courses, respectively, and moved on the dessert menu.

Now, usually, we would have both gotten separate desserts, I being a big fan of Key Lime Pie, and the wife, not so much, but in this case, we decided to split a large piece of chocolate cake with a side of vanilla ice cream. The cake was very chocolate, and the ice cream was pretty standard vanilla. For me, the cake was a little bit dry, and the ice cream has tiny chunks of ice in it, which I didn't expect.

Overall, the experience wasn't bad, but it sure could have been better, especially considering the prices that the Outback is charging now days. Makes me wonder if they have forgotten they are a chain restaurant. The service was slow as well.

captainzoli

Tags: Outback, restaurant review, review, steak, chicken, vegetable

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Posted by the Captain at 2:13 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 21 August 2006 3:22 PM CDT

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Mood:  lazy

So last night the wife wanted something quick and easy, it being her birthday and all, so we settled on Whataburger.  Whataburger is a regional burger chain, and as far as fast food goes, quite tasty.  I had the Barbecue-Cheddar Whataburger with onion rings and a Dr. Pepper, and the wife had her usual Double Meat with Cheese Whataburger, Mayo instead of mustard (mustard comes standard on Whataburgers) and onion rings with a Coke.  Everything was good, though not good for us.

captainzoli 

Posted by the Captain at 12:14 PM CDT

Updated: Saturday, 19 August 2006 12:15 PM CDT

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Mood:  lazy

Well, we had a great lunch at Thai Spice.  You can read my previous review for this great restaurant and it all pretty much stands as I said it before.  If you are ever in town, it's a great place to eat.

captainzoli 

Posted by the Captain at 3:25 PM CDT

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Mood:  lazy

Today is my beautiful wife's birthday.  She is still much younger than me.  Happy Birthday, love.  Nice thing about it, is we will be going to our favorite Thai restaurant for lunch.  Can't wait for lunch.  I love the Lemongrass Chicken they serve.

captainzoli 

Posted by the Captain at 11:22 AM CDT

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Mood:  lazy

McDonald's.  Icon of the fast food industry.  Maker of cheap food, at cheap prices.  Last refuge of the tasteless.  Inexplicable draw for my wife (just kidding, cutie).  Actually, the spicy McChicken sandwiches aren't bad, espcially for .99 cents.  The wife and I went to the McDonald's near our house and ate poorly last night.  McChicken sandwiches, double  quarter pounder with cheese, fries and Dr. Pepper made up my poor, poor meal.  Can't do that too often or I won't lose any weight at all.  

captainzoli 

Posted by the Captain at 10:56 AM CDT

Updated: Friday, 18 August 2006 10:57 AM CDT

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Mood:  lazy

When I was doing the post regarding the Potato Pancakes yesterday, I mentioned that I had made a rice side dish.  This would be that side dish.  Or at least the recipe for it.  You will have to make your own.  Really, I can't do everything for you.  The recipe goes like this:

2 cups uncooked long grain brown rice

1 can diced tomatoes

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 package frozen vegetable mix

garlic powder to taste

black pepper to taste

salt to taste

Prepare the brown rice as the package directs you too.  Next prepare the frozen vegetables as directed by the package as well.  Bring spaghetti sauce to heat in a large pot.  When sauce is heated nicely, add the can of diced tomatoes and continue to heat. Lower heat on sauce mixure to med/low and add prepared vegetables.  Mix vegetables into sauce.  Add prepared rice to pot and mix into the sauce/vegetable mixture.  Season to taste.  The nice thing about this side dish is that it can be altered to add just about anything you like into it, such as fresh vegetable (saute in pot before adding sauce) or meat (again, brown before adding sauce).  The preparation time could also be significatly reduced by using white or even minute rice, although I personally prefer the brown rice.  Another nice thing is that this recipe makes a large amount of servings, so there will be plenty left over for later.

captainzoli 

Posted by the Captain at 10:44 AM CDT

Updated: Friday, 18 August 2006 10:48 AM CDT

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Mood:  lazy

It has certainly been a while since I've posted, but fortunately, the days of sporadic posting should be over.  At least I'm hoping my lovely PC will be working after arriving this weekend.  I'm sure it will.  Fingers crossed, at least.  Anyway, on to the recipe.  The wife says this is now her favorite food, and I have to say, I was pleased with the way the taste came out, but I'm still not completely satisied with the consistency.  They were a little come aparty for my liking, but really, taste is everything at the final accounting.  It went as follows:

6 medium to large potatoes

1/3 cup Milk 

3 tablespoons Olive Oil 

Paprika to taste

Salt to taste

Garlic Powder to taste

Black Pepper to taste 

First, the potatoes must be boiled, or baked, or microwaved.  Your choice.  Do what you have to do.  I chose to boil.  Some may choose one of the other methods I mentioned, and if you are one of those, I won't hold it against you.  Again, do what you have to do.  I boiled my potatoes over high heat for thirty minutes.  One tip on boiling, it seems to me that the potatoes  come out much better if I don't add them until after the water is good and boiling.  May just be me, but that's how it seems to me.  The downside is that I have to be extra careful when putting the potatoes into the boiling water for, what I feel, are obvious reasons and I suggest you do the same.  Don't want to burn yourself right before dinner.  After boiling, drain the potatoes in a colander, or any other safe method you may choose to use.  "Safe" being the keyword here, folks.  Next, take the potatoes and put them into a large bowl or pot, and mash them to the desired consistency.  I prefer a little bit chunky, more smashed than mashed.  Next add the 1/3 cup milk and mix into the potatoes.  I used skim but you can use whatever you wish.  Experimentation is the heart of cooking, after all.  After you have mixed in the milk, add seasoning to taste.  I used sea salt, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder.  After everything is all mixed together and tasting good, heat an appropriately sized frying pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Now, the size pancake you decide to make is entirely up to you, although it seems to me that smaller, say half dollar size, pancakes may stay together better.  I made pancakes the size of hamburger patties and they broke apart a little around the edges.  This is supposed to be fun, however, so do what you want.  Pat out the pancakes from the potato mixture into the size you like, and lay them carefully in the pan.  Cook until golden brown, then flip the pancakes and do the same on the other side.  It took about five minutes per side on my stove, but your mileage may vary.  When done, remove pancakes to a plate to rest, and immediately sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  It works best if you do this while they are still hot.  Then serve them up with your favorite foods.  I served them with a tomato based rice and vegetable dish and pan-fried chicken tenders, but they will go well with many different foods.  I'm thinking they would be great at breakfast, especially since I don't care for eggs all that much.  I think next time I might add some flour or egg to the potato mixture to see if that improves their ability to stay together, but it certainly isn't necessary as they only crumbled a little around the edges.

 captainzoli

Posted by the Captain at 1:16 PM CDT

Updated: Thursday, 17 August 2006 1:37 PM CDT

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Mood:  rushed

Quick Turkey Spaghetti

Ah, what would food be with Recipes? Why just a bunch of ingredients, laying all over the damn place, of course. So I guess it's safe to say that we can all agree the recipe is important, and I have certainly found them useful, at least as a guide line. So with this in mind, we will journey forth.

This is a recipe that was created by my lovely wife, and although simple and quick, is quite tasty, and perfect for busy people. Now, admittedly, the entire meal is not from scratch, but that is really part of the charm, and there will be a "from scratch" recipe in the near future, so don't panic. Ingredients are as follows:

package of dry pasta (I prefer whole wheat spaghetti for dietary and nutritional reasons, but to each their own)

ground turkey (again, pick the fat content that you prefer)

garlic, or garlic powder (your choice. If I have time, I prefer fresh garlic, but sometimes garlic powder has to do)

Italian seasoning of your choice (I recommend oregano or basil)

onion, or onion powder (see garlic above)

bottled spaghetti sauce (brand of your choice, but I would suggest you try some of the organic brands)

red wine (this is an optional ingredient that I rarely use, but the upside is it improves the taste of the sauce and then there is an open bottle of wine that needs to to be finished)

I bet that you can already see where this is going, but since I'm relaying the recipe, I'm going to tell you anyway. First, find a nice large skillet. The type isn't important (at least not to me), but that it is large enough to hold all the sauce ingredients is. I use a large, non-stick skillet I got from Pampered Chef. You can use whatever you have. A quick aside here: Cooking is largely a subjective activity. What that means is that I can tell you what works for me, but your mileage may vary. I may brown my ground turkey over medium heat, you may prefer high. I say, do what makes you happy. You have to eat the food, after all. Now back to our previous programming.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground turkey, or beef, or whatever ground dead animal you prefer. I'm on a diet right now, so I like turkey. When I'm not on a diet, I might prefer beef, but I suppose that's another story all together. This is one of those subjective times I was speaking about earlier. Season the meat as you see fit. Add garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, whatever you like on your meat. I prefer garlic powder, black pepper, some sea salt and oregano. The wife prefers enough garlic to knock over people walking by the house. (I jest, I jest) Anyway you choose to go, it's hard to go wrong, although it might take you a couple of times preparing the meal to truly fine tune the flavors to your own tastes. Don't forget to take into account the tastes that your sauce will bring to the party later as well. After seasoning, brown your ground. Or cook the meat until it's browned, but not burnt, and then drain the excess grease from it.

If you have chose the path of real onions and garlic, then remove the now browned ground turkey from the skillet, set is aside, and add the chopped onions and garlic. Cook them until they soften slightly, then add the meat back into the skillet.

Now add the sauce of your choice to the skillet containing the browned turkey (and onions and garlic if you went that way). Now is also the time to add red wine to taste, if your tastes lean that way. You want to heat the sauce over medium heat, stirring periodically, until it just starts to bubble, then lower it to low until time to serve.

At this point, I like to make the pasta, as per the directions on the packaging. This is personal preference, but I also do it for a reason. You could, and some do, make the pasta while working on the sauce, and dinner will be ready quicker, but if you wait to make the pasta til the sauce is on low,it will have an extra ten minutes or so (depending on your individual pasta cooking times) to simmer and mingle and such, and the longer a sauce has to mingle, the better it usually is. This especially applies to leftovers the next day.

Once the pasta is ready, you are ready to eat. You can pretty much scale this meal to serve from one person to quite a few, just scale the size of the cooking ware, and the amount of the Ingredients. Spaghetti is quick, fun, flavorful, and just all around good to eat, and I always recommend it, as well as try to eat it at least once a week.

Posted by the Captain at 12:37 PM CST

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