New Snack addiction: PUFFCORN!

A friend of mine introduced me to these.  I only had 2 pieces that day, because the first one told me that I would eat that whole bag if I didn't stop while I was ahead. 

It's that good, and easy on the teeth and gums. 

Basically, like the bottom of the bag says "Oven baked, unlike popcorn, no hulls or hard kernels."  If you have teeth that hate you but you LOVE popcorn (like I do) then this is your solution. 

At $2 a bag and 46 pieces/160 calories per serving, I can't keep my hands off it.  I let a friend try some the other night and we ended up finishing off the bag.  They have a cheese flavor, but I'm overjoyed with butter flavor.  Considering they have a cheese puff like texture, I can probably safely assume that the cheese flavor would taste like misshapen cheetos.

Either way, if you haven't tried this then I would suggest hittin' up the closest gas station and grabbing a bag.  You cannot go wrong here.  Unless you hate popcorn, in which case I'd have to ask: "What's wrong with you?"

Odd Pairing, Awesome Outcome : "Fickled" Onions

I take NO credit for the creation of this one.  This is something I discovered about a year ago at a pot-luck Christmas dinner.  I'm not entirely sure of it's origins, the only thing I'm certain of is that the woman who brought it was Colombian and it's something she's been making and eating most of her life.  I also never got the actual name of this.  Sorry.  It was a pretty straightforward and self-explanatory thing, so I didn't have to ask what was in it.  I did, however have to develop the method.

Basically it's like a pickle, but it's not cucumbers.  It's onions.  Red ones.  "Say whattt?"  Yep, red onions and it's not vinegar based either.  "Ok, now I'm confused, how do you pickle something without using vinegar?"

Lots of lime juice and a little salt.  "But lime juice is gonna break down, vinegar is to preserve, if you're not using vinegar, it's not gonna keep long, amirite?"  You are, and I never said it was going to keep like that 5 year old jar of peppers in the back of your fridge that the Scoville scale couldn't even rate by now.  I just said that it's basically a pickle.  Same principle, different execution.  "Red onions are so strong, that doesn't even seem edible."  Dude, trust me, it is.  Most of the Latin/South American/Hispanic/however you want to categorize them dishes that I've had, had some SERIOUSLY bold flavors in it.  Ever bitten straight into a wad of cilantro?  Instantly, you either love it or hate it and I for one, love it.  Huge fan of cilantro AND lime. But that's another story.

If you wish to try this, and I HIGHLY suggest that you do, here's what you'll need:

2 med-large red onions, peeled and thinly sliced into rings or half-moons
5 limes, (These can be hard to squeeze, so roll them on the counter with gentle pressure, then microwave for NO MORE than 30 seconds to help release the juice.)
Approximately 1-2 tsp of kosher salt, depending on how much onion you have 
Cracked black pepper, to taste
Large bowl or container with a TIGHT fitting lid (chinese take out soup/sauce containers are great for this)

Slice your onions and separate them into individual pieces as best you can in your bowl or container, making one layer at a time, sprinkling your salt and pepper for each layer.

Cut limes in half and start squeezing!  You want enough juice that you can shake it around like a marinade.  About 1 inch of standing juice on the bottom of your container, depending on how much you're making, is a good way to measure it. If you're only using 1 medium onion, you'd only want about 1/2 inch of standing juice.  Unless you're a lime freak like I am, then add as much as you'd like.

This is a small batch after about 4 hours of sitting. 

Once you've added your desired amount of juice, mix it through with your hand or a fork to get it started, then cover your bowl/container and SHAKE IT!  Just like you would for a dressing.  You want every single piece of onion to coat itself.

Place in fridge for at least 20 minutes.  Come back and check on it after that time is passed and you should notice that the onions have started to turn clear, wilt and turn the juice purple. SUCCESS!

This will keep for about about a week, if it lasts that long.  After that time frame has passed, it's no longer food, it's Darwinism.  You wouldn't think that it's that good, but you'd be surprised.  Somehow, the salt and the lime cuts the super strong flavor in the onion down a notch or two. 

You can eat it as an accompaniment like you would banana peppers, make it a side dish, or a topping.  My favorite use for it is on steak or a piece of grilled chicken.  The liquid works WONDERS on Spanish rice (I'll have a recipe up on that one later) or even plain white rice! 

"How did you make these?!" Turkey Burgers

I rarely eat ground beef anymore, I switched to ground turkey for three reasons: 1. I don't have to strain/drain grease out of the pan after I brown it.  2. It's just better for you.  3. IT'S SO MUCH CHEAPER!

"But they have extra lean ground beef now, that doesn't put off grease either."  Again, TURKEY IS SO MUCH CHEAPER.  With the way that prices are, I can buy four 1lb rolls of turkey for the price of ONE pound of ground beef.  I don't see how anyone can argue with that.  Turkey has gone from that enormous yard-bird in the middle of the table at holidays to an every day meat.  It's not just legs, wings and breasts anymore.  There's even turkey chops!  I haven't found a pack of those yet in my wally world adventures but I'm always on the lookout.  Either way, it's a much more versatile meat than it used to be and like chicken, it only has the flavor you give it.  So you're gonna have to church it up a bit first.  I church mine up to taste like steak burgers and no one is the wiser unless they see the packages or I tell them.

This recipe calls for the No-Salt seasoning discussed/reviewed in my previous post, but if you don't have that (yet) then I'm sure you can just sub in the old standbys of garlic, onion and pepper and probably get the same result. 

2lb ground turkey
1 tblsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp Montreal Style Steak Seasoning
1 tblsp Big Lots Brand No Salt Seasoning
1 tblsp Your Favorite Brand "Bold and Spicy" style steak sauce

Mix to combine ensuring all seasoning has been evenly distributed and start making your patties.  Now I caution you, these are gonna shrink up, so I would make your patties a decent size.  With these measurements I can get 4 small burgers or 2 large burgers, so adjust your meat amounts according to how many plates you're setting.

Cook these the same as you would any burger.  If at some point you find your pan to be too dry, you can totally get away with adding a little water and covering it for a minute or two.  This will not only steam your burgers but it kinda helps them cook quicker, I find.  It also helps keep them from the possibility of burning.  So if you have to walk away for a quick bit, add a little water to your pan for a safety safe.

Serve as you like and enjoy!

The Greatest Seasoning $1 Can Buy

As I mentioned in my last post, I've cut back or out my salt since I've changed the way I eat.  It's hard to find a good seasoning that's NOT loaded with sodium or MSG.  McCormick has a few no-salt options out there that I've found so far.  I've tried their garlic and herb version and while I liked it, I quickly learned that a LITTLE goes a LONG way! The garlic granules they use in it are huge and strong.  Liberal application highly UN-recommended.  A sprinkling however, is perfect.

While trying to find the happy medium with that and getting over the odd after-taste of salt substitute, my friend told me about a no-salt seasoning that she had found at Big Lots and couldn't stop raving about.  I was intrigued, even more so when I found out that it was only $1 as compared to the name brand stuff at $2.75 a pop.  So I picked up a bottle of it the next time I was there.

I should have gotten two or three.

It's that good.

I went back 2 weeks and an almost empty bottle later and bought two more.

That's it over there, to the left, in all of it's "best dollar I ever spent" glory.  I actually have NO clue what all is in this.  I know it's got the basics, garlic, onion and pepper. There's also some dehydrated onion and celery seeds. I don't know and almost don't care what else is in there, I just know that with this I MUST SEASON ALL THE THINGS!  I put this on my eggs, people.  Yes. Eggs.  Scrambled OR fried, it doesn't matter, it works.

Other than the fact that it's beyond amazing, it's not overpowering unless you use 1/4 of the bottle at a time.  I can use this liberally and not regret it.  My favorite application so far is on steak.  Sprinkle a little coarse salt onto a ribeye followed by a good coating of this stuff and throw it in a hot pan to sear.  -wipes drool-

If you're looking for a way to control your sodium intake AND keep/enjoy the taste of the food on your plate, this is the way to go.

We've got two different Big Lots in my area and both of them have this on a regular basis.  It's in the same aisle as the rest of the spices and obscure sauces that only Big Lots seems to find.  Go out and grab a bottle!  It's only $1!

Where's Waldo?

I started this thing and then just kinda..stopped.  Lots of things came up all at once:

Busy times at work.
Trying to plan Thanksgiving.
Birthdays.
Christmas.
Anniversary.
Restaurant I worked for closing, unfortunately.
New Years.
Realizing that my health was not what it should be and something needed to be done about it.
Joining a gym to focus on making myself healthier.
More birthdays.
Divorce.

Yep.  Didn't see it coming but then again, not everyone does. It tried to kick my ass but I didn't let it happen.  Well, not like it wanted to at least.  No one just bounces back from that like nothing happened and it was no big deal.  Well, unless you're a complete jerk off, but I digress.

With that whole health realization thing came eating habits change.  Cutting back on the fat, cutting back/almost out on added salt.  Watching caloric intake (not counting, that's doing too much). Which means that I've had to re-vamp the way that I cook and shop.  Let me tell you, it really IS cheaper to be fat.  Eating healthy on a budget isn't easy.  Everyone claims it is, but my bank account just doesn't see it that way.  Unless you know where to shop.

I don't eat a huge variety of veggies, so once it's goes beyond green beans, corn, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, brussel sprouts, potatoes and butter beans I'm pretty much out.  Almost everyone else I know eats ANY veggie, but there's some things that I just won't touch.  Okra, cucumber and tomato being the top 3 I can think of right this second.  Regardless, I have found that Aldi is the greatest grocery store on the face of the planet for everyday items.  I can get all of my veggies (most of them are frozen) from there for SUPER cheap!  There's always other stuff I need too, most of which can be found there as well and so far the only thing I've been disappointed with the quality of was a pack of turkey dogs I bought on a whim.  When it comes to my meats though, nothing can compare to the little mom and pop grocery store right up the road.  Dollar and bargain stores are your best friends, too.  So I'll be posting about amazing, must try/have finds from the ones I frequent also.  

In the last 8 months I have learned how to stretch money and food better than I ever thought I could.  I've come up with new things that I cannot eat without (most of the time) and I'm going to do my best to transfer my new ways of doing from my brain to the screen as best I can. Since I started this better way of cooking along with gym visits, I've managed to lose 30 pounds, come off of my controller medication for blood pressure and pre-diabetes as well as fit comfortably back into my beloved size 18 Diva's (brownie points if you know who carries that style). 

Between the weight loss and the divorce I have found a whole new side of myself.  One that doesn't really care what anyone has to say or think of me (unless it's positive that is). Well it's not completely new, it's the way I used to be before I had to carry myself a certain way to please certain people, or worry about the impressions I gave in certain circles.  I just haven't seen it in so long that it feels new.  I realized I was being forced into a mold that wasn't built for me in the first place and that it needed to be broken free of.  So I shattered that bitch into a million pieces, Office Space style.

One thing is for sure though, I still enjoy a good meal and I still adore my proteins.  That will NEVER change.  I just have to learn to do it healthier and stick with it!

Except for cheat days.  Cheat days are sacred and must never be forgotten if sanity is to be kept. 






-- Meg