alphapenguin - Haughtypenguin Blog

April 29, 2012April 29, 2012

Uncrustables! Why make your own PB&J?

My buddy Tejal introduced me to this amazing invention. Apparently it has been around “for a long time” yet I have never seen or come across it before. I was sitting in the dining room and I saw Tejal with this apple pie/dumpling looking snack. It appeared very tasty. When she told me what it was I was in awe, yet dumbfounded. Why would anyone buy this? It is probably much more expensive than getting two slices of bread, some jelly and peanut butter. If you really hate the crust just cut it off. It just looked so good I decided to go pick up one up in the cafeteria as well (after eating lunch already).

First impressions: just two pieces of bread with PB&J crimped along the edges. Yumm! Well no less yum than a PB&J sandwich, but YUM nonetheless.

PROS: with the ends crimped, you dont really have to worry about the jelly falling out on one end. It’s premade and comes frozen. You let it thaw at room temp for 30 min and then eat it up to 8 hrs (according to the box). If you hate crust… voila no crust. Easy for the lazy or kitchen challenged parent to grab one, throw it in a lunch box, and send the kiddies on their way to school.

CONS: cost! about 3$ for a box of four. I dont think it comes in whole wheat.

Overall: cool idea, and I wonder if they sell crimpers to make these things at home in case Vivi hates crust, and I want to premake PB&J weeks in advance.

Suffice it to say, on my milk run tonight I opted to buy a box or two and share with MommyMD.

Thanks Tejal for introducing me to such a cool treat.

here’s a little diddy I found from a google search on making your own:

http://thecreativeimperative.blogspot.com/2011/06/make-your-own-uncrustables.html

http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Sandwich-Sealer-N-Decruster/dp/B004M5J1NG

I’m liking this:

Now I need a penguin shaped sandwich sealer

April 28, 2012

Mango Mojito

I love mangoes, and what’s better than a Mango Mojito?

You will need:

Mango Rum – I personally like the Malibu for some reason, but it depends on your pref.

Diet Sprite – I like to use diet sprite instead of the tonic water
Mint Leaves
Lime

Mix 50/50 Diet Sprite with the Mango rum, throw in a mint leaf and then throw in a slice of Lime. Voila. Mango Mojito. You can obviously change the ratio of Rum to Sprite. Eitherway it’s tastey.

April 28, 2012April 28, 2012

DIY Rotisserie Chicken/Cornish Hen

My personal Recipe for Rotisserie Chicken. I personally use Cornish Hen because they are smaller/easier to handle. I also dont want tons of leftovers.

Things you need:

2 Cornish Hens
Butter (doesnt matter what kind really) and a ceramic/porcelain bowl
Rosemary
Garlic or Garlic Salt
Rotisserie
Basting Brush
some sort of string that you can tie the legs and wings together (otherwise they flop all over)

I love my grill, and if you want a top of the line grill without going overboard, get an American Outdoor Grill (AOG). They are made by the same company who makes FIRE MAGIC, which is in the high end grill range. I will dedicate a review specifically when I get to it.

First you want to fire up the grill to heat it up. One thing I noticed is when grilling in the dead of winter with snow, things take FOREVER to cook. Didnt think it would matter since I would have the grill cover down, but… yep it matters. Eitherway, it is nice if you have a back burner for the rotisserie, but if you dont have one and just have a regular burner, that should be fine, as long as you get the temperature up to around 350-400 degF.

You will need to make the basting/marinade. I just use about half a stick of butter, place it in the bowl, place the rosemary and garlic salt in. Set the bowl in the grill as well (off to the side not on a direct flame). This melts the butter nicely.

Now wash up the hens nicely/thaw them out. Stick them on the rotisserie spit and tie the legs and wings together so they do not flop around as discussed earlier. Once the grill is up to heat, mount the spit on the rotisserie motor and let it roll. Take the butter/rosemary/garlic salt mix and start basting the hen every 5-10 min. This thing will smell amazing, and be so tender when it is done.

So how long should you cook this for? Well in the dead of winter, I’ve noted cooking times as long as 1-2 hrs. Not sure if it really should take that long, but it was definitely cooked and was not dried out at all. During the spring/summer it seems 40 min is sufficient. I obviously would always make sure the meat is cooked through before eating.

Once all and done, eat up and share with friends:)

April 28, 2012March 6, 2013

DIY Gyro Meat with Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Recipe from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/gyro-meat-with-tzatziki-s…
Cook Time: 1 hr 15 min
Level: Intermediate
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

* 1 medium onion, finely chopped or shredded
* 2 pounds ground lamb
* 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
* 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
* 1 tablespoon dried ground rosemary
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Tzatziki Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a tea towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

Return the onion to the food processor and add the lamb, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until it is a fine paste, approximately 1 minute. Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

To cook in the oven as a meatloaf, proceed as follows:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Place the loaf pan into a water bath and bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and place a brick wrapped in aluminum foil directly on the surface of the meat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

To cook on a rotisserie, proceed as follows:

Form the meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of 2 overlapping pieces of plastic wrap that are at least 18 inches long. Roll the mixture in the plastic wrap tightly, making sure to remove any air pockets. Once the meat is completely rolled in the wrap, twist the ends of the plastic wrap until the surface of the wrap is tight. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight, to allow the mixture to firm up.

Preheat the grill to high.

Place the meat onto the rotisserie skewer. Place a double-thick piece of aluminum foil folded into a tray directly under the meat to catch any drippings. Cook on high for 15 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F. Turn off the heat and allow to continue to spin for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees. Slice and serve on pita bread with tzatziki sauce, chopped onion, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Tzatziki Sauce:

16 ounces plain yogurt

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

Pinch kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

April 28, 2012April 28, 2012

Steamed Salmon with Spring Onions and Tsai’s Special Sauce

: Fresh Salmon

This recipe was inspired from:

First you take some fresh salmon, clean it up real good like a gangsta.
Throw some salt on it
Cut up some spring/green onions length wise and sprinkle it along the salmon
Let the salmon sit in the fridge for about 20 min (you dont want it to get all nasty on you)

: Ready to Steam

Then you want to steam the fish, but there are multiple ways to do this. You do not need a power burner, or an outdoor kitchen to do this, but it’s just so much more fun. The fish will take about 20-30 minutes to steam. While that is gett’n goin, you will want to prep the special sauce. Now I can not really take any credit for this at all, but I did take some liberty in how this is made.

The Sauce:

take some fresh garlic, about 3-4 cloves, dice them up and throw them in a small pot to boil
cut some ginger in discs, sqaures, strips, doesnt matter. I always am at a shortage of giner, so I just use ginger powder (good enough). How much? meh… trow in a tsp or so.
throw in some brown sugar, about 3-5 tbl spoons
add 3/4 cup to 1 cup light soy sauce
add 3/4-1 cup of cooking wine (sometimes I use Soju or Sake)
get about 2-3 tsp of seasamie oil and heat it over an open flame to get it nice and toasty, then add it into the sauce concoction.
continue to hear the mix until it boils a bit, then you are good to go. you can play around with amount of ingredients.

Now the fish and sauce shold be ready. You want to be careful with the fish, as there will be a lot of water sloshing around. Try to drain some if possible. However you do it, just be careful because it is HOT.

Pour the sauce over the fish and serve. Goes great with some stir fried spinach and rice. yummmmmmmmm.

April 28, 2012

Follow up to the Blessing in Disguise

Well here I am. May is coming and still pending any finalization with a future employment. No worries though, because I am not worried. I was able to come across a variety of great opportunities. Not only are they are stable and offer a much more pleasant atmosphere it would seem. I have been able to narrow it down to two different places, and I am awaiting some final details before I can make an definite choice and sign that elusive contract. Back to the point though with the blessing in disguise. I was much more vague in the initial post, but care less currently about being vague. Suffice it to say, when people say “maybe it’s a blessing in disguise” there are many ways to interpret the events that unfold, but I have to say PHEW. Despite having a rug tugged from under my feet, I fortunately landed in a field of mangoes. (I love mangoes, so I figure landing in a field of mangoes would be a good thing). More to come later I suppose when things are final, but I must say. Things are on the up and up.

March 2, 2012March 2, 2012

“Maybe it is a blessing in disguise…”

Well when life throws your a curve ball, and the ball smacks you right in the face, breaking your nose or causing a orbital blow out fracture, it’s a little hard to see it as “a blessing in disguise.” Then again you really can not appreciate the situation until your nose stops bleeding, and you regain your eye sight. No worries, I did not get smacked in the head by a ball, but it feels more like a kick in the nuts. Eitherway, such things heal, and life goes on.

I will not go into specifics, but the adage “do not put all your eggs in one basket” does appear to hold true. In life make sure you have a back up plan of some sorts. I am not saying never invest all your heart into something. I’m saying you have to keep your mind open for opportunities. When you develop tunnel vision on only one outcome, you will freak out when you have to take a detour.

It appears I am just rambling on aimlessly now. I started out wanting to interject the pent up frustration I have had over the past month, but I do realize that in a public forum, I have to be cognoscente of what I display online. On that note maybe I will just end this thought here and now. I will update this fully once I figure out if my blessing in disguise truly is a blessing or just truly a kick in the nuts.

NamMyoHyoRenKeKyo

February 12, 2012March 5, 2012

Biscuits+Honey Bears – Babies = :)

In a followup to my Biscuit and Honey post. I figured I would just buy frozen biscuits and a honey bear from Kroger. Can NOT beat fresh Biscuits and Honey. Just need to keep the honey away from the baby. PSA: no honey for babies, or you get a floppy baby… then a dead baby. That is no good.

but the sweet delectable honey on biscuits is!

February 7, 2012February 7, 2012

SPAM comments

Seriously, what the heck is with all the spam comments. None are getting posted because my spam filter on WordPress is catching them all, but holy crap. I’ve deleted over 70 spam posts today. If I really had so many hits, I’d be flattered that people are coming to my site, but… not so much.

Please stop spamming. I will not approve your useless comments about Viagra or Tiberland or Acer, nor will I promote your useless blogpages that are selling medications or whatever.

Maybe this is falling on deaf ears since most spam is probably created by spambots. Only if this spam was the type people could eat, then the world would never go hungry… EVAR!

P.S. your comments will never be displayed spammers, so why bother?

February 2, 2012February 2, 2012

“I want adipex, and I refuse to exercise” – how about Develop a weight loss plan with the Kinect

I am sure people already have some fangled setup using the kinect to lose weight, but I wonder if we can actually entice patients to lose weight more effectively using video games. They are more fun, and would more likely keep attentions spans longer.

Games like Dance Central and Just Dance are very exhausting, yet still fun. Other cool thing is your progress is tracked, and I think you should be able to share the progress online via the XBox Live. I am pondering if we can do a study that would have people play the kinect consistently every day for about 30 minutes a day, and eat a healthy diet. Maybe there would be more compliance and success with weightloss. You might think, “duh, if you exercise and eat right you will lose weight.” That is a no brainer, but the hardest part about doing that is… doing it. I’ve tried many times to finish P90X, but it just gets kinda of boring. It’s a great workout and I have no doubt if I stuck with it every day, I’d have

Abs like Thanh Nguyen. Also if I had no obligation every day, I would definitely not mind spending 90minutes a day with Tony Horton and him telling me to “x” him.

Then again, playing the Xbox might not be enough motivation to keep on an exercise program. That too can still get boring. I guess it’s all about motivation. There was a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] titled “Financial Incentive–Based Approaches for Weight Loss”

They were trying to see if people would have more compliance/success with weight loss if there was a monetary incentive/benefit. Their conclusion:

The use of economic incentives produced significant weight loss during the 16 weeks of intervention that was not fully sustained. The longer-term use of incentives should be evaluated.

Employees of Ohiohealth who have the employee health insurance are able to enroll in this “Health Miles Program”. You get this pedometer and you can get money back if you log a certain amount of steps/activity every day throughout the year. You can get up to 500$. There is no cost for you to enroll either. Now you would think this is a great incentive to stay active, but I never made it to the $500. Some days I was too busy to wear it, and there were many days that I was still just too lazy to stay active. Another drawback is people cheat, I have see many people [at least when it first started] that sit there on the hospital floor and just shake the pedometer in their hand…. yah. anyway.

Maybe my friend, we’ll call him Qi, has the right idea, and compete with your friends in “the biggest loser” contests, where you win something for losing the most weight. Then again, the goal should be to be healthy and lose weight, not get fat as you can and then crash diet to win the contest.

Then again we have the people who see me for the first time and want to talk about weight loss. They tell me “I don’t eat anything” and “never lose weight”, and ask me to prescribe Adipex (weight loss pill, stimulant, more or less not good for you). I usually ask them to keep a food diary/activity log so they can visualize how much they “are not eating” or rather ARE eating. Of course, I would say 99% of the people don’t follow through, or don’t come back. Endocrine disorders aside, it’s really simple math. Calories in minus calories out. If you get a positive number, you are taking in too much or not using enough. If you get a negative number, then you really should be on your way to shedding weight, (or you are logging your cals wrong).

I am not a big fan of diet pills because of the dangerous side effects. I wouldn’t want my patient’s heart to explode because they were too rev’d up from the diet pills. I mean there is a place (I suppose) for the use of these medications, but if you are not going to make an effort at watching what you eat and try to exercise… a diet pill is not going to do it for you. It’s the same for the bariatric surgeries, some people expect the surgery to do all the work. They don’t change their life style, and they end up gaining their weight back.

Well, I think I got a little side track with this post. Maybe I will see if MommyMD will give me some stimulants so I can lose weight too, and forget about this P90X and Tony Horton can just X himself. (I jest).