Reality's Cooking!

So, here's the thing.  My little sister is on Summer break from college.  She lives with me when she's not living on the university campus.

She begged me to start watching a couple of her favorite shows with her:  Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef.  Admittedly, I didn't want to watch them.  I had no desire to see a boss - in this case Gordon Ramsay - shout obscenities at their crew; I got enough of that in retail and don't feel the slightest twinge of want to watch it happen over and over again.

Surprisingly enough, it's been oddly uplifting.


Don't get me wrong, I still don't like seeing people get verbally abused, but to see trained professionals in Hell's Kitchen burn and undercook items, gives me hope for my amateurish attempts.  I actually found myself speaking to the boneheads for not knowing what they are doing.  For example, on tonight's episode, a chef did not know the ingredients for a California Cobb Salad.  There was an example sitting not far away, and yet he added an abundance of sliced white button mushrooms that should not have been there in the first place.

Ugh!

What's crazier still, is that the menu doesn't seem to change.  Retention in these chefs is sorely lacking. Another chef had cooked scallops perfectly during one challenge and yet ever since then, she can't seem to cook a single one correctly. I don't get it.  Maybe it's the pressure of the situation, but in this instance the old cliche rings true.  "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Here's the Kitchenista herself!  Anna!

On Master Chef things are a bit sweeter, for the time-being.  We're just getting to know a few of the amateur chefs.  They were just whittled down to eighteen, including one very tall gentleman, a blind woman, and a single mom.  One woman in particular, touched my heart.  I found her recipe for Tarragon Beef Stuffed Onion Wrap with Shallot Vinaigrette and Horseradish Creme from this evening's episode rather intriguing.  I Googled it to see if anyone else had a similar recipe and was pleasantly surprised to find that she has a blog called "Brave Apron".  She's so adorable, and I find myself really pulling for her.  Her husband was a contestant in the beginning two stages, but sadly he didn't make it through.  He's a sweetie as well, but you could tell from the get-go that his wife was going to beat the pants off of him!

Are there any other shows I should be watching in relation to food?

Meatloaf Meal Night

I had a craving, so I took care of it.


Insane Onion BBQ Meatloaf


1 pound ground beef
1 cup favorite flavorful bbq sauce*
1 teaspoon favorite hot sauce
1 egg
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup breadcrumbs

In mixing bowl, mush together beef, bbq sauce, hot sauce, and egg.  Mix in onions and garlic.  Add bread crumbs and blend well.  I use my hands to mush the mixture together, but I know the action tends to gross people out, so use what makes you happy.  Roll and pat into an oval and place into the center of a roasting dish.

*I make my own bbq sauce and it tends to have a bit of a kick to it. I like mine a bit on the spicy side, but you may not.  Just pick a good sauce packed with flavor and you won't have to worry about any seasonings.

Cut four to six medium russet potatoes into small chunks. In small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and 1-1/2 tablespoons of Tone's Rosemary & Garlic spice mixture.  Add potato chunks and mix well.  Pour potatoes around loaf, toss in carrots with potatoes.

Cook at 425 degrees for one hour.

Slice meatloaf and serve.

4-6 servings.

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Simple I know, but it was so good.  I got my hands dirty and had to clean food out from under my nails with a nailbrush, but I was very happy to have to clean only one dish with cooked on/baked on food!  Woohoo!

Lunch With Mom

Sunday was a good day.  My mother had been traveling by car all weekend, and I wanted to give her a good meal.  I set out to make something cool, but pleasing to the palette that wouldn't leave her feeling weighed down.  I also wanted her to be able to choose how she ate her meal.  Seemed a complicated task, but I was up to the challenge.

I know most people can make a chicken salad sandwich pretty easily.  This was a successful lunch and my husband thought that I should add it to the blog because he felt it was worthy.  I was just so happy that my mother, sister, and husband all seemed to enjoy it greatly!

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Fruit Lover's Chicken Salad

3 cups shredded chicken
1/2 cup mayo
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 cup sweet relish
1 cup diced onion
1 Granny Smith's apple, diced
1 cup sliced grapes (because I like color, I used both white and red grapes)
1 tablespoon Tone's Rosemary Garlic spice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together shredded chicken, mayo, mustard, relish and onion.  Add apple and grapes and mix well.  Mix in your spice.  I used Tone's Rosemary Garlic spice, but you can use a mixture of 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon rosemary and 1 teaspoon of paprika.

(If I'd had them in my pantry, I would have added 1/2 cup cranberries.  Also for a little more texture a 1/4 cup of sugar coated, toasted walnuts, chopped fine. Replacing the mayo with 1/2 cup plain yogurt would be a good substitution as well.)

(If this meal had not included my mother and husband, I would have used more spice.  1 additional teaspoon garlic salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper.)

I gave the option of serving on Hawaiian bread buns or on a bed of spinach leaves.  Crazily enough it was eaten both ways by all.  You could also serve as part of a lettuce wrap meal.

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The above recipe could be used for shredded turkey as well.  My husband said it might be good as a tuna recipe; I hesitate on that point because, I am NOT a big seafood fan.  I keep trying, but my taste buds keep rejecting it.

Happy eating!