- James Garrison for keeping me accountable and always motivating me. He also has done this before and knows what it will take and the struggles I face. I value his input and opinion so highly!
- @SteveKamb who invented and runs www.nerdfitness.com. He and Staci have been huge supporters of me and I know they wish me the best. The things that Steve teaches in his fitness and food books have been like a slap in the face to me; kicking my rear off the couch!
- All my friends, coworkers, family and fans! You guys are so inspiring, knowing that you are helping support me is awesome, you don't know the thrill I get when someone comments or likes this junk. And lately I'm getting people I don't even know liking my status and even a couple of subscribers. I'm big time!
- My wife, Angela, is my biggest fan! Always giving me words of encouragement and pushing me to be better. Plus she hates cooking so I get to try out all these great ideas I'm coming up with and subject her to them!
AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, SOME OF MY FAV RECIPES WITH PICS!
(*disclaimer: I don't measure very well so just throw what feels right in there and be done. As long as you're not baking, cooking is very easy and can be done without alot of thought to amounts, just eyeball it).- Salsa Verde
- couple pounds of tomatillos (looks like green tomatoes with paper husks)
- peppers of your choice (I use pobalano because wife doesn't care for the heat but a couple of jalapenos or serranos work extremely well.
- one big yellow onion (or two medium)
- three garlic cloves (or powder, doesn't matter)
- olive oil
- kosher salt/black pepper to taste
- half cup of your favorite salsa or pico de gallo
- cilantro (fresh or dried - if you use dried, use less ;)
- lime or lime juice (I keep a big bottle in the fridge)
- Chili powder to taste
OK, First off, set your oven to broil and throw the tomatillos (husked and washed), peppers, onion, and garlic if you're using fresh onto a cookie sheet. You can cut the tomatillos or not, your choice, depends on the amount of char you want.
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| Drizzle with some EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and salt and pepper then mix up to get all veggies coated LIGHTLY. Put in oven for about 7-10 minutes, depending on your level of doneness. |
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| I could have let this go a little more but needed room in the over for some other stuff so I yanked it early (TWSS). Now take everything on the pan and throw into a blender (EXCEPT the liquid, reserve that for later. And obviously you need to cut the stems off the peppers (should have done that before it got all hot but I don't think ahead) and deseed them if you don't want much heat. |
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| Now comes the fun part. Add the salsa or pico and mix that up like you're DJ Skribble at Spring Break 2000! |
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Alright, now you should have a blender full of hot green mess, lets finish it off.
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| Add your final spices: garlic powder if you didn't use fresh, chili powder, lime juice, cilantro and if you want it a little thinner, some of the liquid from the pan and blend for just a few seconds until incorporated. |
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| Now to store it, I use an airtight water bottle with a spout, makes for perfect pouring but any container with a tight fitting lid will work in the fridge. This salsa verde will work on ANYTHING. Try it, if you don't love it, I'll refund the entire amount you paid for this recipe. |
- Guacamole (Can't stand it but wife loves it so I make it for her so she's happy)
- two semi ripe avocados (not too firm but not squishy)
- couple of green onions (scallions to you fancy pants)
- garlic powder (would not recommend fresh as it can be too much raw)
- jalapeno (if you want heat, bell if you don't)
- lime juice
- tomatoes
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| I didn't take a bunch of step by steps but basically you split the cados, scoop it into a bowl, mash with a couple of forks, add diced onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, lime juice and stir to combine. |
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| Now I know what you're thinking, "My guac always turns brown so I have to eat it all immediately." Well I'll help you out, that's right baby birds, I'll feed you. Guac turns brown because of the air makes an enzyme in the cado oxidize.. No, I didn't make that up, it was on the interwebs, it has to be true! There are two ways to avoid it: remove the air or treat it chemically. For the guac you can put in a bowl with a tight lid and press some plastic wrap down onto the surface, preventing the air from touching it and it might keep for two days. Or, what I do, is add my lime juice now, just throw it in on top so it coats the surface, the acid in the lime slows the oxidation. I did that with this batch and it was still bright green a week later (or would have been if wife didn't eat it in four days) Little tip, this works with apples too!
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| Peel all the green off the heads and wash throughly. Remove the stalk and cut the florets into chunks about the size of an egg and dump into a pot of boiling water |
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| Boil for about 15 minutes or until the cauli is fork tender (you can stab it with a fork and the fork slides out easily) Alternatively you can roast the cauli in the oven for the same amount of time, it adds a nice roasted flavor and produces a dryer product. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel. |
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| Now lets get spinning, add the cauli to the food processor along with the seasoning, a dash of milk and some parm. Don't forget the garlic powder but use it sparingly! Cauliflower doesn't turn gummy in the processor like potatoes so mix until the desired consistency is reached. |
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Transfer to storage container and add chopped onions on top. Greatest part of using the yellow cauli? you can trick people into thinking it's potato salad and get them to try it before they claim they don't like it.
AND THE COUP DE GRACE - RATATOUILLE FROM THE MOVIE RATATOUILLE
Obviously I have WAY more veggies here than necessary, slice only what you need or you'll be like me and making up recipes for sliced eggplant for a week.
Get your favorite round or oval pan and add a cup of sauce to the bottom, spread evenly and add your onions, garlic, salt and pepper to it.
Start layering your veggies, in order, one of each color, leaving just a bit of each layer to make consecutively smaller concentric circles.
Once the entire pan is covered, make sure to force some extra veggies in the center and anywhere the sauce is visible. Drizzle with EVOO and then sprinkle liberally with thyme or Italian seasoning
Cover and bake in at 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the veggies are soft and you see the sauce bubbling around the edges.
Serve over brown or basmati rice with some goat or mozzarella cheese! Enjoy
That's all I've got for you this week. I hope I've inspired a couple of you to try something different and if you're on this journey with me, I'm glad to join you and if you need anything, reach out to me on Facebook or Twitter, they are both on this page. For now I'm going to take my 30 pound weight loss and add to it with the following steps:
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