I brought Bacon to our Holiday Party, honestly I did!

To be fair- I am very interested in exploring vegan recipes. I actually believe my daughters will really enjoy the few I have read about. For now, back to bacon.

So the next question is – how do you cook your bacon?

When I was kid my dad would cook it in a skillet, i can almost hear the popping sound and even sometimes the smell would wake me up. What my did after he was done cooking could only be described today as cause for concern. He would remove the bacon, then crack a few eggs and cook them in the bacon fat. Now many of your know me today- 5′6″ 300 lbs- well I can dig up picks from middle and high school – I was pretty skinny(ish).

Later in life I moved to microwaving them- sometimes in those bacon cooking devices sometime jsut paper and zap for a 1 minute per slice. For some reason I cannot get it right- so I thought- why not ask the readers of the blog.

So readers and future comment makers – 3 part question:
How do you cook bacon?
What type of bacon do you like?
Favorite meal with bacon?

Answer these questions in a comment and you are eligible for a $25 Gift Certificate from restaurant.com. Only those who comment get a chance at winning. One comment per person.
However, if you want to improve your chances you have 2 more options. If you have a blog, write about this on your blog and add a link to your comment, or if you use twitter simply tweet the link about this article -again post the direct tweet link here as proof. So by simply sharing your love for bacon you could be this weeks winner of the $25 gift certificate from restaurant.com.

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Pick your favorite Movie Food Scene

I posted a quick survey- follow link and select which scene was the best movie food scene.
Disagree with the ones I picked- add a comment below -

http://twtpoll.com/r/bn6pi0

Enjoy
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Please take a moment and visit this site. Great resource for tracking all kid related activities in Monmouth County (NJ)

College cooking at it's finest!

A comment by a former student of mine got me thinking. College will be starting up soon and anyone who has been to college knows the food there is not always of the highest quality/taste/consistency…. A lot of the time it is simply BAD.

So Why Not Cook it yourself. I know rules vary regarding what can and cannot be in your room, but if you have a mini fridge, some basic cooking supplies and a microwave you are set.

Below I am posting links to sites other college cooking sites, plus some of my own recipes – but I would love to hear about what you make in your college dorm. Please remember this is a family site.

First off, COLLEGE DORM QUICK RECIPES:
BREAKFAST:YUMMY YUMMY STICKY BUNz

* 1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1/3 cup chopped nuts
* 1 can (8 ounce) refrigerated biscuits

Combine brown sugar, butter, and 1 tablespoon water in an 8 inch round micro proof baking dish.
Cook, uncovered, on roast Medium for 2 minutes, or until butter melts. Stir mixture and spread over bottom of pan. Sprinkle nuts over top. Place biscuits on top of mixture. Bake, uncovered, on roast, Medium for 4 to 5 minutes, or until biscuits are firm and no longer doughy. Let stand about 2 minutes. Invert onto a flat serving plate.

LUNCH:MINI PIZZA

* 1 package of 6 English muffins
* 1 small jar pizza sauce
* 8 ounce package shredded Mozzarella cheese
* 48 slices pepperoni (or meat of your choice)

Method
Pour sauce on to open face muffins. Place 4 slices of pepperoni on each muffin. Top each muffin with a generous amount of cheese. Bake in microwave for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

HANG’IN OUT:AWESOME PARTY MIX

* 1 stick of butter or margarine
* 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
* 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
* 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 7 shakes hot sauce
* 3 cups Corn Chex
* 3 cups Rice Chex
* 2 cups Wheat Chex
* 2 cups small pretzels
* 2 cups cheese square crackers
* 1 can mixed nuts

In small bowl combine butter, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce; cover with wax paper and cook on high until melted 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Combine rest of ingredients in a large bowl. Pour liquid mixture over dry mixture and stir well. Cook for 6 minutes on high, stirring every 2 minutes. Remove and pour out onto paper towels and let cool.

APPETIZER: Potato Lover “Stuff’m Up” Potatoes
* 4 medium baking potatoes
* 3 ounces cream cheese
* 1–2 scallions, thinly sliced
* ½ cup plain yogurt
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
* salt and pepper, to taste
* ½ Shredded Cheese, for sprinkling on top

Poke potatoes in a couple places with a fork. Cover and bake on high for about 15-18 minutes. Slice off top of each potato and scoop out the inside, leaving a ½ inch shell remaining. Place in a bowl and mash. Stir in cream cheese, sliced scallions, yogurt, olive oil, garlic powder,salt, and pepper. Return contents to shells. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Return to microwave and heat on full power for about 3-4 minutes.

EVERYONE’S’ FAVORITE: DESSERT
BAKED/STUFFED APPLES
* 6 baking apples
* lemon juice
* 1/2 cup slivered almonds
* 1/4 cup raisins
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 6 teaspoons butter or margarine

Wash and remove apple cores creating a bowl like space, use a knife and scrape out some extra to create a larger hole/space.
Mix together almonds, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Fill space with mixture and place each apple in a micro proof coffee cup or small bowl.
Put 2 tablespoons of water in cup around apple.
Dot each apple with 1 teaspoon butter. Cook on HI for 10 minutes Let stand 3 minutes before serving.

yumyumyum

Here is a site with a ton of recipes- all worth experimenting with.
NON COLLEGE PEOPLE- like me- nothing wrong with try these when you are in a jam.

I would love to hear what you think about these recipes. How do you cook with your microwave?

Why was the Animal Crackers box designed with a string handle?

How many flowers are in the design stamped on each side of an Oreo cookie?

What was the name of Cheerios when it was first marketed over 50 years ago?

What was the first of H.J. Heinz’ “57 varieties”?

What recipe, first published 50 years ago, has been requested most frequently through the years by the readers of “Better Homes and Garden”?

If you are on Twitter- I will also give you an additional entry into the giveaway if you retweet this post! @bigbites

Great tips for gauging steak doneness (rare, medium, well)

I came across this list some time ago- copy and pasted it so I would use it whenever I was out grilling. My family is diverse- I eat Medium closer to rare, my mom loves well done and my dad was in the middle. My wife is a medium-well type person. SO when you have 4 or 5 steaks on the grill how can you tell if they are at the right temp?

You could take out a thermometer, but after reading this you will no longer have to. It seems to be pretty fool-proof, depending on the fool.

For rare, let your left hand hang loose in front of you. Poke your right index finger into the fleshy part of your left hand between your index finger and thumb. It will offer very little resistance and is soft and pliable. This is how a steak cooked rare will feel to the touch.

For medium rare, extend the same left hand but this time spread out your fingers and poke the same spot with your right index finger. You’ll see that it is firmer and a little springy to the touch. This is how a steak cooked medium rare will feel.

For medium, make a fist with your left hand and poke again. It should feel firm and only give a little. This is how the medium steak will feel.

For those how like their meat well done, guess how that feels. Very firm!

try it out- for me it has 100 percent accurate. Hope this helps!
Enjoy

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You are going to quickly learn that din din time can be family fun time, but like most things in life safety should come first. As parents we need to be the ones creating the safe environment in our childrens lives- since we are working the kitchen lets take a look at  my top 10 family friendly kitchen tools. These tools will be used in almost every recipe we will be working on.

1. Apron


Is this really safety? Yes – consider you could be cooking something with hot liquid- this is your first line of defense. Also, if your child is like mine- getting a stain on her clothes is worse then a 1st degree burn. Seriously, does anyone else child need to change her outfit 3 times a day?

2. Oven Mitts

Ovens= Hot, Grills= Hot – do the math – you need to have a high quality set of mitts. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not use the decorative ones that match the china/dishes. Key word here is decorative- they aren’t called practical or effective mitts.

3. Magic Bullet

No not the cool visual effects from the Matrix- Im talking my lifesaver. You know the infomercial where the over enthusiastic man and woman cook things in no time flat by chopping stuff up. IT WORKS- When I had my Lapband surgery in February all the other Bandsters – that was people who get bands call themselves- suggestd it- great kitchen tool I own and my girls can use it to. We chop, mix, blend everything in it. trust me- I may use it in 75% of my recipes. Actually in my kitchen pic- you will see this is the only tool I keep out 24/7.

4. Kids Scissorrs

Lettuce, veggies, thin chicken or pork- these scissors will do the trick but you know your child will be safe. Most importantly, they get involved and feel ownership in your family meal.

5.  Silicone Spatula

The one pictured is a great example of tool for younger kids. Even though my daughter is nearly 4 she wants to use what Daddy uses to cook, however, my 2 year old daughter would play with the little person spatula all day long. Keep in mind- spatulas are like oxygen and water to recipes- 99% of the recipes will require that ingredients be mixed in or poured out. This is the perfect and safest tool for that job.

Did I miss anything? I would love to hear about what tools you use in your kitchen- feel free to comment or add on to this list.