The musings of a madman...

It should be mentioned that the lady and I are eating right these days, so we employ healthier options for some of our meals.  This is one we've made a staple, or a favorite if you will.  Simple to make, inexpensive and goes a long way. We're going to do this in action.  Start with a package of sausage from your local Aldi: ($2.49) Next, dice them up and saute it in your oiled pan: Stop when it is nicely caramelized, it's a texture thing: Now for that ground turkey: ($3.39) Toss it in the same pan your sausages were just in and brown it up, then add the sausage back to the pan:  Now you pour in the sauce ($1.98) and add your seasonings: 2tbsp Italian Seasoning, 1tsp basil/oregano 1tbsp garlic powder, 1tbsp onion powder 2tbsp minced garlic 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($1.89) Everybody in the pool: Bring the sauce to a light boil, reduce the heat, add salt to taste and get to work on your zucchini noodles ("zoodle

"Curry Chicken Pizza Roll,"  yes I said those words in that order and you didn't wake up from a dream. Since the Bookface is trying hard to make me fat again with all the recipes and ideas people post all the time, sometimes I find myself in position to ape a recipe and turn it into something so different from what it started as that I need not even link what the inspiration was.  This is one of those times. Day One: For this, you will need: The star of today's show, the seasonings: Mix them together (quantities to be discussed below): Let the big spoon there be your guide: 2 heaping spoons of the curry and one small one of the cayenne (cayenne to taste, it is actually optional but I like my curry spicy).  A good hefty dash each of the lemon pepper, onion powder and garlic powder and a light dash of the nutmeg (nutmeg is assertive). Start a roux; enough oil to coat the bottom of a saucepan set to medium/hi heat, and when it is up to temp, two of the

            I advise that this will be another of one of my short ones of these.  It was seriously just that simple to construct and do… Simplicity is not without cost, though.  Let’s start with a cast of characters: (Ground chicken, chicken sausage, chipotle Panko breadcrumbs, Feta cheese, and ranch dressing mix.   In observance of my granddaddy’s birthday last weekend, I am opting for brown eggs this week.   That is $17 in supplies and I have not even gotten to the sauces yet.) Before doing anything, put the chicken sausage through your mini-chopper and chop it up as completely and finely as possible.   There is not a picture of this step in the process because it really is that simple and a mini chopper can be had for less than $10 at Wal Mart so you should already have one. Now for the easy part, EVERYBODY IN THE POOL!!! (Yes, simple as that.   Put everything in the mixing bowl, add a couple dashes of hot sauce of your choosing and (an option I visited) Wor

            The sweet thing about this post will be how little it actually wound up costing.  I honestly had no plans when I went to the store to make it, but when I walked past the fish, it was priced so perfectly that I could not have left it there.  I went into the store with intentions on getting something simple and inexpensive to cook and it was ABOUT to involve some chicken and probably potatoes, but then this happened. Cast of characters… 3 small packages of farm-raised catfish (wild catfish are fucking disgusting bottom feeders) nuggets  ($1.33, $1.35 and $1.45, respectively): ½ cup of lemon or lime juice ($1.79 for the bottle): Call your mom on the way home from the store and raid her cupboard for a few handfuls of Jingos and cheez-it crackers ($0.00): ½ cup vinaigrette of your choosing ($0.00, already in the house): Seasonings of your choosing ($0.00, already in the house): (not pictured) 3-5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce an

            This is a concept that I have ATTEMPTED three times before finding success with it.  I would say “with varying degrees of success,” but I would hardly refer to anything that even I left the situation saying “it was good, but not like earth-shattering or anything…” myself as a success. It turns out quite simply that I was overthinking it.             Inspired by the mountain of leftovers back at Christmas – and a meatball recipe I'd devised ONLY for the holidays but have been demanded to revisit – I realized that this would be DEAD-ass simple. You will need… 2 bags of peeled, deveined, tail-off RAW shrimp: (did y’all notice that bags of shrimp are now coming in 12oz instead of a pound these days?) You WILL need to use raw, because already-cooked shrimp will be too tough when you finish. 1 box of Stovetop Stuffing: ( I preferred the Savory Herbs one, but you can use whichever you choose) 1 medium-sized yellow onion: Seasoni