June 1st- Maple Hashbrown Omelete

  I have been away for a while. I had thought I'd lost the passion for cooking. As it turns out I just needed a break!
     Lately I have been cooking tons and tons! And couldn't be happier. The rust is off and I can once again create recipes from simple thought!  And so I bring you my new invention which I had for breakfast not 10 minutes ago.
     Its 2 PM...ok so I had a late day. :)

     Lately breakfast has felt lack-luster for me. The same thing day in and day out.
   And so the last few days I have been making some substantially gigantic omelets. All of which I'm sure I'll end up posting here eventually.
     I was half way through making my hashbrowns today when I once again got a craving for an omelet. This presented a problem, as my appetite can not hold both an order of hashbrowns and a stuffed to the max 3 egg omelet.
     What ever was I to do?
     The title says it all!

Here's what you'll need!!
1 Large Golden Potato
1/4th Cup Diced White Onions
1 Clove Garlic
3 large eggs, beaten
1 to 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
Salt
Sunflower Oil (can be substituted by your oil of choice)

I'm using simple, easy ingredients today.
They can be fun to, ya know.

Feel free to add more or less potatoes dependng on exactly how big you want this heaping man-omelet to be.

Let's get cooking!!

     My hashbrowns are quick and easy to make, so long as you've got some decent knife skills.
     First cut the potatoes in half, then lay them flat on your cutting board. slice them 6 to 10 times long ways, and then 8 or so times the other way to make little sticks of potato.
     Dice up your onion and garlic, add that to the potato.
     Heat up your pan on high, coat the bottom with oil (enough to lightly coat the hashbrowns)
     When the oil starts to pop, or just before, add in all the ingredients you just prepared. add salt to taste.
     After that, just remember to stir every minute or so until they're a nice crispy golden brown. Or maybe even a little burnt if you like them like that.

     When the hashbrowns are finished, set the stove to medium-high and set the potatoes on top of a few paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
     While the stove top is still hot, toss on another pan and give it a very small amount of oil (or butter. but I'm cooking in a dairy free house, as usual. )
     Pour in your beaten eggs with a very small amount of salt. your potatoes probably have enough of it to go around.
     give them a quick mix and let the bottom and most of the middle cook and set. It wont take long.
     Once the top isn't so goopy but isn't yet cooked either, add in your hashbrowns on top. along with one or two table spoons of maple syrup.
     fold your omelet over and let cook on both sides until done. about 30 to 50 seconds on each side.

     There you have it. When some of that syrup leaks out and begins to burn, your kitchen will be filled with the scent of a pancake-house.
     Plate and serve!
     Its the dynamic duo of breakfast, all rolled into one.

     Now who could resist that? I just wish I'd had some bacon to go with.

January 5th- Man Food Yo!

     I proudly present, My lazy day meal.

     As it seems, my new-years resolution is to cook dishes that make me happy. This big plate of food is one of my best friends in life. 

     It's filling,its satisfying and it doesn't need a bit of presentation. It's proof that really good food can look amazing just left as is.

     Though it isnt exactly easy to prepare, I've done it so many times I can cook the entire thing while hardly even realizing I've started. I'm probably more fond of this dish than any other I've ever cooked. it's a steady part of my life.

     This recipe involved a lot of chopping, if you're knife skills aren't up to snuff you may want to reconsider trying it. it will probably take you more time than it's worth. On the other hand, it's really good

 Here's what you'll need!

.80-1 lb Steak (Ny strip, delmonico, or ribeye)

1/4th White onion

2 cloves Garlic

2-3 medium Golden potatoes

1/6th White onion

2 cloves garlic

1-2 Tbsp maple syrup

4 eggs

Salt

     The meal is hash-browns, shredders, and eggs. 

     Shredders were an invention of mine that I created to get around my girlfriend's gluten and dairy allergies. If cooked right the meat and onions stand on their own better than any whole cheesesteak that I've had.
     I also sometimes add  red and yellow bell peppers, and occasionally tomato sauce.

Let's get cooking!

     To make this meal easily you'll want to prep everything in advance. remember that cutting is very important in this recipe. the more exact your cuts are, the more evenly your food will cook.
     Not to mention that the way you cut them will completely change the texture and may even alter the taste. experiment! But here's how I do mine.

     cut your potatoes in half,  and lay them on their flat side. Cut eight slices in each one long ways and completely through. then ten slashes short-ways.  If the potato is big, cut more slices.
     The onions have to be chopped. cut your onion in half long ways and lay it flat. Cut off about 3/4ths of an inch slice and slice it into thin strips.
     Simply mince the garlic.

     For your steak, cut them into inch strips as thin as possible. The end pieces might be a little thick but throw them in anyway
     This time with the onion, halved long ways as before.  cut them into thin  half circles.
     Once again, just mince the garlic.

     Now turn 2 burners on high, and one to medium. coat the entire bottom of the pan thinly with oil for the hash-browns.
     About half of the pan for the Shredders
     And just a little for the eggs.
     The hash-browns, onions, and garlic all go into one pan (salt to taste ) , and cook until golden brown and very crispy. Drizzle them with maple syrup.
     Seer the steak in the oil before adding anything to it (salt to taste) . make sure it's completely seared to well done before adding the onions and garlic. cook them until the onions soften and become translucent ( then just a bit more )

     Cook up your eggs sunny side up(salt to taste), but break the yolk before serving.

     This meal is more about basic techniques than ingredients. It may taste great the first time for you, but you may need some practice.

     Serves two very hungry people.

December 2nd- No Bean Chili

     Its getting cold out these days, 20 degrees or lower most nights.
     Its time for Chili!!

     Ok now lets get this out of the way before anyone freaks out. I do not use beans in my chili.
Why? Cause beans are an abomination if you ask me. they're disgusting and I have never liked a bean in my life. I have tasted one bean dish I could stomach but I still wouldn't say I liked it. and so, travesty or not, there are no beans in my chili. if you're looking for beans, look elsewhere now.

     With that out of the way, back to the topic. This is one of my more normal recipes. There isn't really any twist to it. my girlfriend just asks me to cook it so often that I felt obliged to put it into my blog. It's just a well balanced, mildly spicy, very tasty chili. it's kind of basic really.
     Despite that I've got no doubt that most of you will love it given the chance. Its great on a cold night or after a hard days work. and it doesn't take much to fill you up.
     Usually I make about 3 lbs worth, but this time around I did 5, so that's the recipe I'll be using.

Here's what you'll need!

2 lbs 93% lean meat
3 lbs 86% lean meat
1 large onion (Diced tiny )
1/2 medium green bell pepper
1/2 medium red bell pepper
1 jalapeno (use a spicier pepper if you want it hot.)
4 tomatoes (I use several kinds depending on what's freshest at the moment. cluster tomatoes are my favorite)
12 to 16 oz can tomato paste ( I use 12 for 3 lbs of meat and forgot to get a bigger can for this recipe but it still came out fine. still 16 oz may be worth looking into.)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp parsely
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ginger
1 cup dark brown sugar
(a few dashes of salt to taste)

     wow, there are a lot of ingredients in this one. But no worries. If you're spice rack is small you can mess around with the ones you've got until you find a good tasting blend.
     Alright, now that we've got everything we need...

Lets get cooking!

1. Brown your meat slowly under low heat, this could take 30 minutes or longer. but dont turn the heat up and risk actually cooking the meat. keep your stove strictly to low-medium heat.
2. Once its all browned you want to strain out all the fat out of the meat. if you don't, in my opinion it gives the chili and almost spongy texture. But go for it if that's what you're into.
3. Dice up your onion finely and mix it into the meat. simmer the meat stirring occasionally until the onions become translucent.
4. Red and green bell peppers, and jalapeno go into the pot chopped at least as finely as the onion. Simmer those for 10 minutes as well. Add all your ground spices at this point as well.
5. add in your tomato paste and chopped tomato cubes. half a cup of brown sugar. mix everything in well and taste. Add a 4th cup of brown sugar at a time, tasting after mixing until you're satisfied with the sweetness. I find the full 1 cup works perfectly.
6. simply simmer for 2 and a half hours, stirring every 15 and draining out excess far if it rises to the top in the form of liquid.

     It takes a while and there are a lot of ingredients, but in the end chili isn't very hard to make. just have everything prepped in advance and you'll be enjoying a hot bowl on a cold night in no time. and no gross beans to mess up that beautiful tomato-meat flavor!

Not only that, but you'll have left overs for days, and it will only get better!