Low-Carb Update| Earl Cooks Grilled Hot Dogs with Pickled Onions & Tomatoes

Grilled Hot Dogs with Home-Pickled Onions & Tomatoes - Almost CARB FREE! (I know there are a few carbs in onions and tomatoes)

After Eggs, hot dogs may be the most perfect food. These were simply grilled (after being sliced almost in half then covered with some pickled onions I had just made, and garden fresh pear & cherry tomatoes, with a trail of Dijon mustard on the side 

*This is a repost from 2018. I am updating my site with low-carb favorites from the past 

Earl Cooks Low Carb Pulled Pork & Riced Cauliflower UPDATE from 12/6/2017

In an effort to add more veggies to our diet that are good for weeknight meals, I discovered frozen riced veggies awhile back. The three I see most often are cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potatoes. These are more expensive than their non-riced counterparts but are great for a quick side dish. But tonight, I am going to turn the lowly cauliflower into the main event! I found in my deep freeze the last of the smoked pork I saved from Captain Len's, and inspiration began.

First I took riced cauliflower, from Boulder Creek, and microwaved per package instructions.

Riced Cauliflower, Diced Yellow Onion, Pulled Pork,
Seasoned Pepper,  Fresh Ground Black Pepper & Butter

While that cooked, I diced a yellow onion and prepared the pork. I seasoned the onions with seasoned pepper and added butter to sauté. To the onions, I added the smoked pork to warm through. I then added the riced cauliflower. (You may want to DRAIN for quicker cooking). Combine onions, pork, and cauliflower together and let any liquid cook away. Shave some Parmesan and cover. The cheese should melt right into the other ingredients, and you can serve it up! I topped our servings with a nice bit of butter. This would also be good topped with parsley or with some Cajun/Creole seasoning. It needs a lot of seasoning because cauliflower seems to be a black hole for salt & pepper.


*This is a repost from 2017. I am updating my site with low-carb favorites from the past 

Earl Cooks Beef Tips & Mashed Cauliflower - LOW CARB!

We have always been a meat and potatoes family. Don't get me wrong, we love veggies, but have always loved our starches, sometimes in the form of potatoes, sometimes in the form of chips or fries, my wife's (a.k.a. "Turkey's") homemade bread or even rice, but now, with my focus on low-carb eating, I have had to change my ways! I still get meat, but potatoes and rice are not really low-carb AT ALL! 

I in my search for a substitute, Birds Eye and Green Giant came to the rescue with MASHED CAULIFLOWER. There are other brands too, but these are very

easy to find and reasonably priced (not as reasonable as potatoes or rice, but that's another story). Mashed Cauliflower comes in plain and flavored varieties, but whichever you choose, you will want to enhance that. I found that cream cheese and sour cream are a good start. Think loaded baked potatoes, because the cauliflower is a blank canvas for your flavors. 

The other component is the MEAT! I discovered Hormel's Beef Tips years ago and they make a great addition. They are precooked and require only heating. I am only cooking for 2, so this makes sense. It would also be a great way to use leftover roast beef. I just cooked the mash and heated the beef and we had our meal! Since the mash is a heart healthy veggie, we didn't need anything else, although I did add some cherry tomatoes for a bit of freshness. Try this leave a comment on what you think or what you did to change the basic ingredients.

PB&J Without Butter?

 A few Christmases ago, in fact, the Christmas just before her passing, my dear mom was not well enough to come to our family Christmas party. Not to be left out of the holiday spirit, as each family member visited, she had a gift for them...a jar of Smucker's Red Raspberry Preserves. To this day, I don't know who brought them to her, but I have always loved Smucker's products and didn't think to ask. Fewer than 3 months later, she was no longer with us, but the preserves were and an anecdote about PB&J sandwiches along with it.

To set the groundwork, several years ago when my mother was cleaning the home of a wealthy woman (she loved cleaning), we were visiting the home where she cleaned, and making some sandwiches. Let me say that my mother has always loved BUTTER...not margarine or spreads, she could believe it's not butter! The interesting thing I learned that day was she had NEVER buttered the bread on our/her PB&Js! I understood not doing the jam/jelly side, but I always buttered the peanut butter side, cause I love butter too! I probably gave her a bit too much ribbing for her butter-less peanut butter, and I felt bad afterword. Other family members were surprised too.

That brings me to this post. Since being diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes, I have had to find a better way to eat a PB&J. In keeping with the gift from my mom, I still use Smucker's Red Raspberry Preserves, but now the Sugar Free variety sweetened

with Splenda. My favorite replacement for the peanut butter is Sunflower Butter from Trader Joe's and I use Dave's Killer Bread, or Franz's 24 grain bread, and let us not forget BUTTER! This is a truly delicious replacement and a bit more healthy for me. We never had whole wheat bread growing up; just the soft, white, store-brand with an occasional loaf of Wonder Bread thrown in! Bless you, Mom, and thanks for all of the PB&Js, even without butter!

Sunday Steak & Asparagus Dinner

We are quite simple with most of our meals. I tend to focus on the main dish, usually meat or fish, and the side, if any is usually quite simple. The one exception to that might be for Sunday dinners. This dinner is simple and delicious because it starts with a nice piece of meat and a simple steamed vegetable.

The meat I chose for today is a thin-cut ribeye steak I found quite by mistake, while shopping for other items at one of my favorite supermarkets. My wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") likes hers thin and will request her steak "butterflied" when eating out. But since I discovered sous vide cooking, she loves steaks at home. Why? Because sous vide cooking (French for 'under vacuum') cooks it perfectly without overcooking! It is almost impossible to do! You select a temperature you want to cook it to (today I chose 145℉ or Medium), and the time one wants to cook for and DONE! 

ADDENDUM: This post was started and the meal eaten BEFORE i was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, but is in fact low-carb and a meal I will go back to  regularly!

Earl Cooks Cassava Cookies - AGAIN

Cassava Cookies SECOND TRY!

As anyone knows who has read my posts here, I am NOT a baker. I consider baking the SCIENCE of cooking...all the measuring and weighing - UGH! But while shopping st Sprouts I saw something that I wanted to try - CASSAVA FLOUR. In my quest to cut carbs, I have read EVERY label on EVERY food product. I had no idea what cassava flour was and in fact, I had never heard of it. The package made it sound good because it had a recipe, so I bought a package. I have since researched it and discovered that it is the root from which we get TAPIOCA! I also learned that must be processed correctly to remove the CYANIDE it contains naturally! But the package had a simple recipe for chocolate chip cookies and I have not had any lately.

First Attempt: Chocolate chip dough domes!

My first attempt at these cookies, and in fact baking cookies,  looked much different than a cookie. This looks like perfect balls of dough, but it is, in fact, COOKED! Yes these are the BAKED cookies! They tasted fine to me, though my wife did not care for the texture. I altered the recipe a bit to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand.
I substituted Monk Fruit Sweetener for Coconut Sugar, which is why they are very light in color. I fixed that in the next try (see top photo) and found that coconut sugar is much like brown sugar in both color and sweetness, and not too bad price wise.

Second attempt: Tastes good but low-carb?
Not so much!

My second attempt was very chocolate chip cookie-like, and I even got an offer to buy some! My wife still didn't care for the flavor, so on my 3rd attempt I will use MILK chocolate chips (even though they have a few more carbs), which I will account for by using Almond Flour. I discovered that Cassava flour is okay for those on a gluten free diet, but has a bunch of carbs. I live and learn!

Is the THIRD time the charm...NOPE! As mentioned, I substituted Almond Flour for Cassava Flour and guess what? My wife thinks I needed more. flour. There is not a 1:1 ratio! The plus side was that they tasted GREAT! In fact my daughter said they didn't taste like LOW CARB and I totally agree. My wife is still not convinced, but she makes terrific cookies and is a great baker so I am not really trying for that level, just something I can eat and I found it! Since these didn't look like cookies, I cut them into small squares, like min-brownies! Let's hope the fourth time is the charm! 
 

Earl Cooks Breakfasts on My Low Carb Quest

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal and according to studies, it may be yours too! I have always loved preparing breakfast for others, especially my grandboys, but for myself I have often been lazy. I would keep on hand cold cereal or instant oatmeal for when I didn't want to ACTUALLY cook for just one.

NOW, however, I am on a carb restricted diet due to a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, and my plan is to find as many of the low-carb eats I can without sacrificing flavor or too many of the foods I love.

Fortunately for me, my favorite meal is also MOSTLY low-carb! Eggs, bacon, sausage, ham...but alas, pancakes, waffles, toast, tortillas are mostly too loaded with carbs (I still sneak a slice of bread for toast now and then)!

The photo above  reflects just 6 of the many breakfasts I have undertaken recently in my low carb cooking. 

• Top left: A steamed egg on cauliflower risotto with a dollop of Hollandaise.
• Top right: "Baked In Belgium" Waffles from Trader Joe's, topped with fresh berries, sugar free maple syrup and a bit of whipped cream.
• Center left: Eggs, bacon and sausage with a slice of "Dave's Killer Bread" (buttered with real butter of course).
• Center right: Captain "Len's Smoked Sausage" with 3 perfectly cooked extra large eggs and of course, black pepper.
• Bottom left: Loaded scrambled eggs with sweet cherry tomatoes on the side.
• Bottom right: Omelette Scramble - not a true omelette, just loaded with goodness like one.

Not all of these are as low carb as some may want, but all of them are under 30gm of carbs and are tasty and filling.

I have a way to go before I am satisfied. I want to feel like I am eating food as good tasting as it is good for me...and YOU TOO!

Earl Cooks Low-Carb Philly Cheese Steak Skillet

Tonight I wanted a Steak. In fact, a cheese steak. But as you may know, I am now on a low carb diet due to a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, so NO BREAD! But I had a plan. I knew I had some steak strips and a what Trader Joe's calls a "Melange a Trois" - 3 peppers - red, yellow & green, sliced and ready to use in whatever dish one wants, and I wanted a CHEESE STEAK! 

The only other pantry ingredients I needed were half an onion and shredded cheddar cheese, both items I always have on hand! I sauteed everything in my cast iron skillet and topped it with the cheese and let the residual heat and steam melt it when I covered it.

 This was great on several levels. It tasted just like a cheese steak...except I didn't have any mushrooms on hand, but it was very good without. It was all from products I had on hand (and will keep on hand), and was LOW CARB! As my wife would say "it's a keeper"!

Earl Cooks Low Carb - Steak & Chips

My new jouney with Type 2 is leading me down new paths, carb-less paths mostly. I am supposed to lose weight of course, but Karbs are Killers (see what I did there)?

For my first low carb I had some Thin Cut Ribeye Steaks that I bought to celebrate Father's Day. Turns out that steak is good for me! High in Protein with NO carbs. I just had to figure out what to eat with it, since potatoes are out. Earlier in the day, Daughter #2 and I went shopping, and she pointed out that when she was on her Keto Diet, she liked the Terra Chips, and was buying them still! I bought a bag for me and at first, thought I had made a mistake, but every bite got better and better! I decided to add something fresh to the plate, a tasty tomato medley. I love these and will eat them with many dishes.
...So meal 1 was quite a success in my opinion. Next comes Breakfast!

Earl Cooks takes a New Direction on Father's Day 2019

Me In IMC hospital bed (they became VERY uncomfortable)

I don't normally post pictures of myself on the site. This father's day, however, I  found myself in the hospital with a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes! How does this relate to EarlCooks.com? In almost EVERY way! I now have to watch EVERY aspect of what I eat and drink! The first food to go was one of my favorites Grapefruit Juice! Other juices must go too, except another favorite V8.

Why grapefruit? 2 reasons. Fruit juice is sweet and can cause a spike in the blood sugars. Second, Grapefruit of any kinde can wreak havoc with STATINS, medications for High Blood Pressure and blood thinning, a new addition to my medicine cabinet this week. 

V8 Has about ⅓ the CARBS so it is acceptable, although I think most dieticians want to harvest your own food, to be fresh. My journey is taking me a different direction. I want to modify my foods and recipes to be much like what I normally use/cook. I may change this as I go on, but for now I want to eat what I want to eat, with minor adjustments, rather than radically change my diet to accommodate my new challenges.
 
Fortunately, two of my favorite foods, bacon & eggs, are high in protein and low in carbs, so in one of my first meals I made Hard cooked eggs, bacon and a new addition to my diet "Dave's Killer Bread". It has carbs, but it also has 21 whole grains! And by-the-way, it tastes great!

My wife thinks this breakfast has the look of a face, and I put everything on the plate, into mine! I seasoned the eggs by dipping them into four different seasonings. Trader Joe's "Everything But The Bagel" seasoning, a new favorite, and one I discovered pre-type 2. Black Himalayan Sea Salt, Ground Sea Salt and Fresh cracked pepper.

This is a process, not a project, and one that will last my lifetime!

Earl Cooks Mother's Day Dinner for the Mother of My Girls

Are you my mother? No. But the mother of if my girls and the best woman I have ever known.

I started the meal with a sous-vide steakc which I then pan seared in my 12" cast iron skillet, seasoned with Chicago steak seasoning, salt & pepper.

AfterI seared off the steak, I removed it to rest and then place some

finely diced new potatoes to absorb the seasoning and beefy flavor from the steaks. Once that is well on it's way, I add some artichoke hearts to the skillet, just to heat them through. There w have it Steak & Potatoes & Artichoke Hearts.

My Gal (a.k.a.:"Turkey") is a meat and potatoes kinda girl, but she loves veggies and salads too! Love You!

Cinco de Mayo - The Mexican Holiday that isn't UPDATED

During the mid 70's I lived in central Mexico. I met the best people in the world and some delicious foods, many of which I had never tasted, or even knew existed. I tasted cactus pads (nopales), crushed worms as the base of a Salsa, Molé, Mangos, pigs feet, and many more. I discovered too, a language that was beautiful in it's simplicity and consistency. In short, I loved everything about Mexico, it's people, it's culture, and it's places.

Which brings me to this post. It is the 5th of May, or Cinco de Mayo. Never in my years in Mexico did I see any signs of "Cinco de Mayo". It wasn't a celebrated holiday. Only years later did I even learn what it was. In the U.S. it is a celebration of the Mexican Culture rather than brief, morning-to-evening battle during the Franco-Mexican War.

So, in recognition of my only second home, I am linking to my older posts where I have cooked Mexican foods or reviewed Mexican Restaurants.
Salsa Verde Poached Eggs  
Pulled Pork Quesadillas
Tacos on Taco Tuesday
All of my posts about Mexico & Mexican Foods
I will make and eat something Mexican today in celebration of a great people and their culture...

...instead, I wanted a guacamole burger with bacon from Carl's Jr. If you haven't tried one of their THICKBURGERS (they used to be called their Six Dollar Burger but now they are more than that). Anyway, the burger was their Guacamole Bacon with plenty of bacon, a good 1/3 pound burger pay and nice lettuce and tomato and onion, topped with pepper jack cheese and a nice guacamole. It was delicious and reasonable. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo. It's not strictly Mexican, but neither is the holiday!

While I was there, I tried their limited edition Bacon Truffle Fries and they were GREAT! I highly recommend them!

Celebrate Mom with Family & Sour Cream Chicken

We gathered as family of this lovely woman to celebrate her birthday. Her Children, Grandchildren & Great Grandchildren. Having departed this life 2 short years ago, but her memory, loves and life will be with us always.

For this celebration of her birth, I chose to make a favorite dish she had made her own - Sour Cream Chicken. This is actually a dish I first ate at my grandmother's home, my dad's mom. For some reason I can't remember, I was invited to eat at Grandma Mary's without the rest of the family. This is what she served. I raved about it so much that my dear mom got the recipe from my grandma and it became a family favorite, not just my favorite. She modified it to be able to use the whole chicken rather than just the breasts. The original recipe was for boneless skin-on breasts which are tough to find these day, but back in the day, the only chicken, besides whole, was a cut-up whole chicken. Skin on, bones in. Why skin on? It carries all of the flavor from the marinade into the chicken fat and makes for flavor you just can't get in skinless chicken. She used bone-in skin on legs, thighs, breasts, and whole wings to conserve both money and time. She also added a bit of extra butter to stretch the sour cream sauce created during cooking to pour over baked potatoes like the best sour cream/butter/chicken gravy ever created!

For my part, I wanted to get back as close to the original as possible. I found bone-in skin on breasts and decided to use them. My baby sis offered to provide baked potatoes and her home for the celebration. My Daughter #2 & #1, a birthday cake & soda pop respectively (mom loved Diet Coke). Other delicious favorites were provided by my brother and sister's families. Not all could be there but we all felt that mom was there.

Shown at the right, is a plate full of deliciousness like no other. Probably high in fat, calories and carbs, it is perfect for a celebration of life and love like today.

For the complete recipe Click Here

Earl Cooks Two Lunches From Leftovers

The first 'Lunch from Leftovers' starts with cooked broccolini. Broccolini is basically small, tender broccoli which I steamed for dinner earlier in the week, but since it is pricey, I kept the leftovers, not knowing how might use them but not wanting to waste them. I simply reheated them, added some cheese and quartered colorful tomatoes, and topped it all with capers. If you haven't discovered capers, you should! They give a nice tang to everything from steaks to sauces and are relatively inexpensive. This turned into one of the healthiest lunches I have fixed myself in quite awhile, and it was fresh and tasty!

My Second starts with my spicy 'creole' mac and cheese. I made this as a test for my friends food truck, and ended up with extra because it was too spicey for my wife. This was more simple than the first since all that was involved was heating the mac & cheese and adding some extra cheese sauce to the top. The extra sauce cut through the  creole spices nicely, and my friend now uses this as part of his food truck menu.

The reason I like to reconfigure leftovers is threefold. First, I hate waste! Second, I have watched the Food Networks "Chopped" quite a bit and am amazed what chefs can do with odd ingredients. And Third, I like to eat!

Earl Cooks Weeknight "Breakfast for Dinner"

We often have what others consider breakfast for dinner, and when we do, most often it is scrambled eggs. We like them with lots of cheese and we usually top them with green onions. But tonight my wife (a.k.a."Turkey") wanted the onions sauteed and more mild. I was more than willing to oblige, since variety is the spice of life, I sauteed the onions, whipped up the eggs in my handy little mixer and before I knew it, it was time to add the shredded cheese! Scrambled eggs are by far the quickest way to get a protein rich meal on the table.

My wife likes hers with ketchup, but I prefer Chili Sauce, which is basically very chunky ketchup, which I learned to eat when my mother made a large batch of it for my father when I was a child. I later found it in the grocery stores and they called "Homemade Chili Sauce" which is what we called too!. Heinz also makes a version, and most grocery chains have their own version. Not to be confused with salsa, this is mild, like ketchup, with the chunky freshness of salsa. When my dad later ran out of the real homemade, he switched to Tabasco, which isn't close. He didn't do the shopping and the good stuff wasn't available in the coffee shops he frequented. I also like mine with toast because it helps me shovel the eggs toward my fork, My toast was a delicious piece of my wife's homemade bread slathered with butter. Dinner is complete—veggies—proteins—carbs!

McDonald's Does BACON in a Big Way - A Review

Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese,
pickles, onions – on a sesame seed bun and now with BACON!

I  don't have  anything good or bad to say about McDonald's as a general rule. It does seem that they try to get away with as little quality and innovation as the market will bear. That said, today's fast food market in the U.S. is driven by McDonald's! They could use this power for good, and now they have! They are offering BACON on several dishes including their flagship BIG MAC®. They also have a Quarter Pounder® with Bacon and Cheesy Bacon fries.

As anyone who knows me can attest, I like bacon. I have tried bacon gum, bacon toothpicks, bacon toothpast, bacon floss...I have a bacon necktie and a shirt with a bacon slogan on it. I have tried it on many dishes but until now, never on a Big Mac®. It was lunchtime and I was passing a local McDonald's so I thought it was a great way to buy and try their newest offering. Pictured at right is a comparison with mine on the left side and theirs, (as pictured on their website), on the right. I don't think any restaurant can claim their food tastes as good as they MAKE it look, so I am always willing to TASTE it and decide. I may be at a bit of a disadvantage since the Big Mac® has never been my favorite burger at McDonald's, but when I worked at Wal-Mart, you could smell the bacon cooking as it wafted through the vents.
Let's begin:

The Big Mac® Bacon: This was a good burger! The bacon made it better and I don't have anything bad to say. They actually put a fair amount of bacon on each burger and though I would like more, that's my problem. I would recommend they make this a permanent menu item!

The Cheesy Bacon Fries: Normally, I like fries at McDonald's. These were NOT good! The bacon was okay, but the cheese was HORRIBLE! It was worse than any canned cheese I have ever tasted. Next time I might say "Cheesy Bacon Fries please...hold the cheese!" No. I will never order these again.

As always, McDonald's knows how to cross promote. Left is a clip of the bag my food came in. I have yet to try the Quarter Pounder® with Bacon, but I am sure it will be good too. Funny thing, the Quarter Pounder is Daughter #1's favorite, but she doesn't much care for bacon (we're still awaiting the DNA test because she might not be related😊)

Try the Big Mac® Bacon! DO NOT TRY THE CHEESY BACON FRIES!!!

"Turkey" Pressure Cooks Artichokes - Simple IS Better

Before I married my lovely wife, (a.k.a. "Turkey"),  more than 40 years ago, I had never eaten an artichoke (in fact, I had tried to avoid foods with the word 'choke' in them).

One of our wedding gifts was a Presto Deluxe pressure cooker in the lovely 70's color of Avocado Green and stenciled with animals, vegetables, and kitchen implements (shown at the bottom). A pressure cooker was also something I was unfamiliar with. Our kitchen growing up didn't have one, but my lovely wife knew just what to do — read the directions, follow the recipe guide — things I rarely do! One of the first and best uses of the new device is artichokes! We used to eat these regularly as our daughters grew up, and they loved them too. Don't confuse these with the canned or bottled stuff in the grocery store. These take real work to cook & real work to eat them right, but man, are they worth it.

 If you have never eaten a whole artichoke, a brief anatomy lesson is on the right, alongside  the required bowl of melted whole butter required to enjoy each petal. One may say that anything dipped in a bowl of butter is good, and I won't argue with that, but the act of peeling, dipping and then scraping the bit of artichoke flesh dripping in butter left on the petal is unique. I am a bit of a purist and butter is all I need, but my wife does like a bit of lemon on hers. And once you devour all of the petals, remove the thin purply covers, you get to the choke, which is aptly named, but once you remove it you are left with the heart.

Yes, the heart is what every one wants, bottles, or cans, and there is a reason—It is like butter coated smoothness, and then it is gone😒.

In the past, I have recommended frozen artichoke hearts, and they are fine, but the experience of eating them freshly cooked by my wife is light years bond those! Obviously, you can't have hers, but try them in your pressure cooker or instant pot or even in a steamer basket!

Earl & "Turkey" Cook Trader Joe's Wonton Soup

I love shopping at Trader Joe's! They have some great people, products that are unique or hard to find at the normal grocery store, and most products are their own private label! But don't think generic or cheap. Their products are reasonably priced and often imported. That said, sometimes their frozen products have failed to be what we expected. But I am always on the lookout for something new and tasty. On this visit I found Trader "Ming's" Chicken & Vegetable Wonton Soup. It looked good at first glance, but then I noticed it was microwave only, which always worries me. It had an uncooked protein, a wonton wrapper, and frozen carrots...three items I normally don't care to micro-zap. But the picture looked tasty, and we rarely go out to eat Chinese food, and I never cook it, so i bought one for each of us, and we each cooked our own.

My wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") had me go first. All I had to do was add about 5 ounces of water and microwave it for about 5 minutes in the provided bowl and voila, it's soup! I topped it with fresh ground pepper, added a dash of Soy Sauce and it was great! My wife even said it was good enough to do all over again. For a quick, satisfying meal, it is nice to have on hand!

Conclusion:
Taste ⭐⭐⭐⭐(Very good)
Price 💲💲(Really nice)

P.S.: I read a review today that said they didn't care it. We must have been eating different meals. Nothing they said applied to our meals!

Earl Compares Three Cheese Snacks

I can't express how much I like CHEESE! It is not only good by itself, it is good as an ingredient...I can honestly say I have never found a cheese I didn't like! Of course there are some I like more than others and some that are usually out of my price range (that's what I love about grocery stores that have good cheese sections - THE SAMPLES!) It will come as no surprise then that cheese snacks are almost always in my cheese keeper (fridge). For this post I am reviewing three cheese snacks. One is the one my #1 Daughter loves, one is a favorite of my wife (a.k.a. "Turkey"), and one is a newcomer to the marketplace at Sam's Club, Members Mark Jack Snack Cheese.

Let me start at the very beginning...a very good place to start, with the Jack Snack. I expected this to be a knockoff, like so many store brands. In fact, I was surprised that knockoffs of Babybel hadn't happened before now, at least near me. But when I opened it and tasted it, I was pleasantly surprised. From the name, I expected it to be a Monterrey Jack, but nothing on the package identified the type of cheese, just it's components. It is a semi-soft cheese, but not like the Babybels I have tried. It was sharper and tangy-er, a bit like Swiss, but not really, and I loved it. They come in a bag of 26 and run about 29¢ each. If you like cheese, you should buy these! As you can see from my photo, they do not have a nice red coating as the Babybels do, but that really means less trash!

The next in this taste test is Mini Babybel Mozzarella style. This is Daughter #1's favorite. It's texture is semi-soft, it's flavor is VERY mild, and much like mozzarella in bricks at the store. It seems an attempt to compete with string cheese, but this is NOT string cheese. It is smooth and quite delicate. No rubbery cheese here, and of course, no strings...don't even try. I like it, even if it has no identifiable flavor profile. These run 35¢ each and are also sold in a bag of 26.

My final review is my wife's favorite of the three. Mini Babybel light. "Turkey" (a.k.a. my wife) does not like cheese plain. On crackers, as an ingredient, melted on top of...fine. She likes to take one of these and mix it with her scrambled egg for lunch, or on a cracker with a Little Smokie for a game-time snack. I started buying these rather than the original to cut some fat calories from our lives. It hasn't worked, but I still have hope. These are very nice to have around. Like the mozzarella style, they are semi-soft and wrapped in plastic and red wax coating to remind you of it's heritage, coming from a French version of the Dutch EDAM cheese, which also is often red wax coated. Surprisingly, this is the most expensive of the 3, running 38¢ each, at Sam's. Not much, but if you extrapolate it to price per pound, it is more than $8/pound!

I started my taste test with trying to take a similar sized bite from each of the three. As you can tell from the photo, the Jack Snack is larger in diameter but also slightly less thick. All three weigh in at ¾ of an ounce.

I also tried them on a cracker. My cracker of choice is a Club Cracker. It's buttery goodness compliments the creamy texture and the salt kicks the flavor a bit, but my rankings remained unchanged with or without the cracker.


 My rankings are  as follows:

• First: Jack Snack—I liked the tangy element this offered, and the price is also the lowest.
• Second: Mini Babybel LIGHT—Because of the fat calories. It almost came in last because of it's added cost.
• Third: Mini Babybel Mozzarella style—This is a great snack and only came in third because I have so many other mozzarellas to chose from, I don't need another, but I may sneak one when I am at Daughter #1's!

My price comparisons were all from Sam's club, and Mini Babybels are quite a bit more at the grocery store. 

There are many more cheese snacks available, I chose these because I had them available for comparison. While I have had string cheese that wasn't stellar, mostly I would choose cheese over candy bars any day!

Earl Gets a Leg (and Thigh) Up on Lunch

My wife brought home a lovely rotisserie chicken so I could make a homemade chicken noodle soup. One of the best deals in most supermarkets and warehouse stores are their rotisserie chickens. Whether you use them for soup or one of the myriad of other dishes, or even just sit down and eat them caveman style, you cant go wrong. For my soup, I need the meat to place in my vegetable broth for a quasi-homemade chicken soup. Just one thing...my wife doesn't care for dark meat!  This is a win for me because I do! I set the chickens hind quarters aside for me for lunch later and this post is the result.

I don't care much for proteins heated in a microwave — especially if the are bone-in, and chicken NEVER! A microwave changes their flavor and textures to something I consider inedible. So I have these hind quarters from the rotisserie chicken and I have decisions to make. My first thought is chicken salad, always a great lunch, but no, I want to eat them as I did in my youth, when we would all scream for the legs, so I decided to heat them up whole. Not in the microwave, on my stove top grill! I heat the grill up, place them on it and use a bacon press to give it some nice crispiness and lovely grill marks.

It takes a bit longer to get them warm, but the flavor is worth it. If you don't have a grill pan, you can place them on a wire rack in the oven or even a skillet. 

I ate them caveman style and enjoyed every bite. 

Earl Cooks Smoked Brisket & Veggies for Sunday Dinner

Roast Beef was one of my mom's favorite Sunday dinners to cook, because it was a one-pot meals that could cook while we were at Sunday Services. On the TV series "Big Bang Theory Howard Wolowitz's mother makes a nice brisket, and of course for St. Patrick's Day corned beef brisket becomes corned beef & cabbage. We never had brisket growing up, just whatever roast was on sale. This last summer I was introduced to Capt. Len's Smoked brisket, and fell in love!

In years past when I had brisket in other BBQ places it was okay, but often dry and not real flavorful.

But the Captain's is Special. Shown Right is a whole smoked brisket after the Captain's rub, developed over years, and then smoked for many hours. Below is the piece I was working with for our dinner.

I placed the brisket in my favorite slow cooker, to bring it up to temp. I don't need to add additional seasonings and it is fully cooked, so I line the slow cooker with onion slices to provide moisture and protect the brisket. Quartered Yukon Gold potatoes are placed on top of the onions and the juices from the brisket will run down and make them brown and luscious. A few carrots are placed around the crock-pot. I made a simple Au Jus to drizzle over all and leftover brisket becomes an awesome Sunday dinner.

I always want to have extra brisket on hand for this and many other meals. It goes great in Ramen, stew, sandwiches and I made some Jerky that was a real hit and I will share in an upcoming post.

Earl Eats Wendy's Giant Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger Meal - A Review

It seems to me that when I see an ad for a new food product, I take it as a challenge! I don't know why but I want to compare and contrast whatever they are offering with their prior offers or similar offerings from their competition. This post is no different. Wendy's advertised a limited time offering of a GIANT Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, I had to give it a go. The pictures on the left show mine on the top with a side view. And below the picture Wendy's has. I am no food stylist, but you can see the difference. This combo is only $5 and includes 4 chicken nuggets, a small fry, the Giant Jr. and a drink. My break down is $1 for the fries, $1 for 4 nuggets $1 for a small drink, making the Giant Jr. $2.

Results & Conclusions:
First let me say that I will buy this again if the limited time isn't too limited. Next let me tell you that the Wendy's original JBC has always been one of my favorite bargain burgers because, well, BACON! And while this did not look like the advertised burger, it was good and relatively tasty!. You can get bigger drinks at other fast food places and you can get 10 nuggets for a buck at Burger King, though Wendy's are the second best (the best being Chick-Fil-A), and fries are, well fries.

When compared to the other $5 combos out there, this is at the top of the pile and blows away Taco Bell's $5 offerings. If you like Wendy's burgers, you should try this.

One of the things I like about this burger is that it has leaf lettuce and a nice slice of tomato. Their meat is never frozen and I think that shows, mostly in the texture. They say it is twice the beef and twice the bacon, and it tastes like it!!