Thursday, July 29, 2010
|
| Italian Turkey Meatloaf Experiment II |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I'm in search of the perfect meatloaf. If you recall from a week ago, I attempted to make an Italian turkey meatloaf from scratch and ended up with an "ok" starting point.
In this try, I attempted to correct the dryness problem by increasing the amount of zucchini and adding a 1/2 cup of sauce. I recently bought a basil plant and decided to throw in some fresh basil as well.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
|
| Mumbai Chicken |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I don't actually know if this is something they cook in Mumbai but I probably have a dish titled Indian chicken and I need to call it something. In fact, I believe I literally have a dish named "Something Indian Chicken".
This was really tasty and would've gone well over rice but I was too lazy to fire up the rice cooker. Plus I'm really trying to cut out rice altogether. I thought about making quinoa but I was restricted by time more than anything else.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
|
| Grilled Curry Veggies |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
Do I need to list the veggies? That really seems to be unimportant since you can use whatever you like.
This marinade moves close to the top of my favorites list. The curry powder with the cayenne pepper gave it the right amount of flavor and bite.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Monday, July 26, 2010
|
| Balsamic and Rosemary Salmon |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I think I spent well over and hour chopping veggies in the kitchen. You'll notice the side of veggies next to the salmon. You'll also notice they have a yellow tint to them. That's because they were marinated in a curry mixture. The Mrs. doesn't like curry but wanted veggies so I made another veggie marinade altogether. Now you understand why all the chopping. :)
This was tasty and the marinade didn't overwhelm the natural flavor of the salmon.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Sunday, July 25, 2010
|
| 10 Weeks to Kona |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
If you want something done right...
I have learned many skills through necessity but I've discovered that in some cases, my time is more important to me and I'd rather pay someone than learn a new skill.
When hiring someone, I go in prior to my desired start, lay out my requirement and schedule a start date. I find that setting up an appointment and laying out my need allows the project to get done quickly and correctly.
I don?t know if it's the economy or what but it seems lately that doing a half-assed job is acceptable and asking for the job to be done correctly is asking for too much. But top dollar payment is still expected.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: General |
| |
|
| |
Thursday, July 22, 2010
|
| Spicy Honey Dijon Vinaigrette |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I'm one for two on the kitchen creations last night. The turkey meatloaf wasn't as good as I had imagined but this dressing saved the evening.
How does one take a picture of dressing? I had a photo of the bowl in my previous dressing creation. Prior to that, I've taken pictures of lettuce. And that's what I did again last night. Perhaps I should get colored bottles. Hmmm. I could take pictures of any colored bottles with liquid and make you believe the dressing is inside. I'm getting off track.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| Italian Meatloaf Experiment |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I had this great idea that I'd make an Italian style meatloaf. In my head, it was delicious. I set out to create said meatloaf in the kitchen and I decided I would throw a wildcard into the experiment by using bran instead of bread crumbs.
The result was an "ok" meatloaf. I think I know where I went wrong and I'm going to use this as my starting point. In my next attempt, I will add another 1/2 cup of cheese and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
|
| Almond Butter Chicken Soup |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
Almond butter has become a staple in my diet which I use primarily to add protein to my smoothies but I've also started adding it to my oatmeal as well.
While searching for recipe ideas, I stumbled upon a recipe for grilled peanut butter chicken skewers. From there, I wound up here. :)
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Monday, July 19, 2010
|
| Spicy Yogurt Chicken |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I've never bothered to look at the carb to protein ratio on a container of Greek yogurt until yesterday. Greek yogurt has quite a bit more protein and less carbs than a standard container of yogurt. Who knew? Anyway, that's an interesting tidbit of information if you're looking for less carbs.
This was very tasty and somewhat different than my more recent grilled chicken ideas. The cayenne pepper adds a bit of a bite to it but I think one tsp was exactly the right amount.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Sunday, July 18, 2010
|
| Grilled Chicken Salad with Mangoes |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
Obviously you could use romaine or spinach or whatever you like but lately I've been into mixed greens.
This was fairly easy to make although I always find it challenging to cut a mango. Does anyone make a product that automatically cuts mangoes? I should buy one of those if it exists.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Friday, July 16, 2010
|
| What Now? |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
The Trip to Kona
It's been a few weeks since Coeur d'Alene and I've managed to get my travel arrangements nailed down which include a house on the beach with an ocean view. It's my first trip to Kona, my birthday, and it's also our family vacation... I wanted to do it right. :)
The house we rented has a kitchen which means I'm finally traveling to a race where I won't feel the need to detox from all of the dining out.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Training |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| Sausage with Zucchini and Tomatoes |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
The prep time for this meal is longer than the cooking process. If you're a fast chopper, you can cook and prep simultaneously. Otherwise, I'd suggest prepping the entire meal before you start cooking.
This was well worth all of the chopping and I highly suggest using the fresh spices rather than using dried. Fresh basil beats dried basil hands down. The combination of all of the flavors created a delicious meal and I could hardly keep my fork out of the pot after dinner.
As you can see, the Mrs. had an opportunity to slip in another photo prop...
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Thursday, July 15, 2010
|
| Yellow Squash and Corn Chowder |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I really have issues. I saw this recipe and thought I could turn it into my own with a few modifications but "corn" as an ingredient started to mess with my head. You know... corn is bad. Not really but that's how I think sometimes. Weird, I know.
This was tasty and my wife liked it as well. It wouldn't work as a meal for me. I need more substance but it was a nice appetizer for my gigantic spinach salad.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
|
| Not Texas Chili |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
Chili is my backup plan when I have a package of turkey in the fridge and no brain power left for meal creation. It's also a good way of clearing out the refrigerator of random veggies and the cabinets of random cans.
I've actually lost count of the number of chili recipes on this site and I had to do a quick search to be certain there wasn't already one with the same name.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Monday, July 12, 2010
|
| Honey Mustard Salad Dressing |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
You might wonder why I'd go through the trouble of mixing my own salad dressing when I could easily buy a bottle of something at the grocery store. Buying a bottle of "something" is exactly how I'd describe it.
Flip over a bottle of "something" and see exactly what you're buying. In most fat-free bottles of "something", you're probably going to see high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients list. Reduced fat bottles of "something" have better ingredients but even some of those have a number of items I cannot pronounce.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Friday, July 09, 2010
|
| Chickpeas and Couscous with Matchstick Veggies |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
This was really easy to make and very tasty. If I had used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, I could call it a vegetarian dish. But I didn't have any in the cabinet so I could lie or you could just use veggie broth if you want vegetarian. :)
I bought a brand new grater last weekend and my wife looked at me and said... "We have plenty of graters." She is correct, we do have quite a few graters but my favorite is about to break so I bought one similar to it. I used it to grate the carrots and squash and I now have a new favorite grater. I'm really easy to please.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Thursday, July 08, 2010
|
| Dang Hot Chipotle Chicken |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I will warn you from the start. This could be really hot depending upon what you do with it. When I initially tasted it, I thought... "uh oh". Throwing it on a salad helped but if you're not into spicy food, you might want to find something else to cook.
Ok, I got the disclaimer out of the way. This was tasty and I could definitely see doing something else with this marinade in the future. I had very little time yesterday so the best I could come up with was throwing it on top of a salad.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
|
| Mexican Turkey Burgers |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
The Mrs. is out of town on business which gives me an opportunity to experiment. I was pressed for time but decided to fire up the BBQ and cook some experimental turkey burgers. I was thinking something spicy which led me to Mexican food. And then I thought, what would a Mexican turkey burger ingredients list look like? That's when I came up with this concoction.
We have a local fast food restaurant, In-N-Out Burger, which caught on to the Atkins Diet way back when and started to sell a burger without the bun. I'm not on the Atkins Diet but I didn't want bread with my meal and thought the photo would look a little strange with a piece of meat in the middle of my plate. I decided to go the In-N-Out Burger way and add some lettuce. I think the photo looks great! Of course what do I know?
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
|
| Green Beans and Potatoes |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
My wife decided she was going to add props to my recipe pictures which is why you see a small wooden cat propped up on my plate. It's pretty funny actually. I'm glad to see my warped sense of humor is rubbing off on her.
Potatoes! Real potatoes! When is the last time I used potatoes? It was only one red potato so I don't feel too guilty for not using an alternative. And it's not like potatoes are bad for you, it's just that I prefer to use alternative which have more nutrients.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Monday, July 05, 2010
|
| Carrots and Corn |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
You're probably wondering why I would cook two starches but what you don't see is the gigantic bowl of salad I ate after the carrots and corn.
Both of these were tasty and their individual spices were subtle but noticeable. I was expecting the carrots to have a bit more flavor and I might increase the spice amount on my next attempt to see if that improves their flavor.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Sunday, July 04, 2010
|
| Grilled Garlic Asparagus |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
Grilled asparagus is simple to make and absolutely delicious. The trick to prepping asparagus is to grab an individual piece by both ends and bend it until it snaps. And with all veggies, make sure you give them a good washing first.
Another recycled recipe is included in the picture, garlic lime chicken from BBQ Extravaganza, but on this attempt, I let it marinade for over four hours. It was well worth the wait... delicious!
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Saturday, July 03, 2010
|
| Quinoa Turkey Meatloaf |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I wonder if I have as many meatloaf variations as I do chili recipes? Hmmm. This version was tasty and very moist. I think I could do more to this in the future but I haven't figured out what just yet. I'm leaning towards more of a tomato flavor like with a few tbsp of tomato paste.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Friday, July 02, 2010
|
| I Do Requests |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
A friend wrote me and asked if I was going to write up an "almost Sub10 Ironman" post to go along with my Sub11 Ironman Download.
Hold that thought.
In 2008, I was the last person to cross the finish line in under 11 hours at Ironman Coeur d'Alene. The voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly, got the crowd going as I approached the finish. The crowd could hardly contain themselves because I had only a few seconds to spare as I crossed the finish line. The sound of their cheers was deafening, it was an incredible rush and one of the best finishes I've had so far.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Training |
| |
|
| |
Thursday, July 01, 2010
|
| Baked Steelhead Trout |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
After a few days of eating nothing but salads just to get my system back on track, I decided to actually cook something. I'm still feeling kind of lazy so I'm keeping it simple but I think with the holiday weekend upon us, I'll get some extra rest and be back to my normal cooking / recipe blogging self.
This was really tasty and it might as well be salmon because it looks just like it and tastes similar. If you can't find steelhead, use salmon it won't make one bit of a difference.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
|
| 2010 Ironman Coeur d’Alene |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
The Past
I know I keep saying this but I really like my current mental state for racing. Gordo calls it my "athletic sweet spot" which is where I ended up after digging myself out of a giant hole.
For those of you just catching up, the short version is that I ran around last year thinking I was definitely going to Kona via Lake Placid right up until the point of detonation at mile 13 on the run course.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Racing |
| |
|
| |
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
|
| Southwest Veggie Sauté |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
This is a continuation of my veggie experimentation. After creating five different grilling marinades, I decided to move back into the kitchen. I know, you only count four recipes but I'm holding on to one because they were all starting to look the same and I didn't want them all on one page.
This was a really tasty dish. I wanted a subtle hint of cumin and started off with one tsp but it wasn't enough for my liking (and dead taste buds). Two was enough for me and the combination of veggies complimented each other well.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Monday, June 21, 2010
|
| Curry Baked Chicken |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
Don't be fooled by the name, this is more like homemade barbeque sauce with curry powder. It really has a nice flavor and the curry powder adds a nice touch to it.
I was planning on grilling them but I didn't have anything else to throw on the BBQ so I decided to bake them instead. Either way would've worked well.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Sunday, June 20, 2010
|
| Chicken with Strawberries and Grilled Pineapple |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I've never cut up a fresh pineapple and I probably could've looked it up on the Internet but it seemed sort of logical to chop off the top and bottom first. I realize there's probably a machine that makes it round but I don't have one of those so I sliced down the sides.
Realizing those little pointy things have little holes, I sliced a little more down the sides and then dug out those little holes with a small knife. To finish it off, I stabbed the center, from both sides, in the shape of an octagon and pushed the core out. I should probably look up how to properly do it but that seemed to work well enough. :)
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Saturday, June 19, 2010
|
| Grilled Salmon Burgers |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I went to the store in search of salmon to discover skin on fillets only. I asked the butcher if he had any without skin and he replied by saying that he could remove the skin. With the precision of a surgeon, he managed to remove "just" the skin. His knife must be better than mine because I wouldn't have been able to do that without wasting fish.
I used a flat grilling tray instead of placing these directly on the grill itself. I think you would have to be careful when doing that since they are fairly delicate and "could" come apart. I had no issue when flipping them but like I said, it "could" happen.
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
Friday, June 18, 2010
|
| Grilled Wasabi and Maple Veggies |
| Posted by: Vince |
| |
I am getting so much use out of my new grilling basket. It's the best twenty bucks I've ever spent. Ok, that?s probably not true but it's the best twenty bucks I've spent in a while.
And on a completely different matter — I have two propane bottles for my grill in case one runs out but I have one empty and the other is feeling a bit light. Note to self... get more propane today!
Read more...
|
| |
|
Category: Health & Nutrition |
| |
|
| |
|
