Mexi-Mac

 This recipe is intended to be a snack. Macaroni and Cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods because it's simple and delicious, and delicious because it's simple. I've enjoyed my mac&cheese in all sorts of delicious ways but this formula stuck with me because it too is very simple. Now, lets get hungry. You will need...                                         - elbow macaroni
                                                                  - cheese(what ever you like)
                                                                  - shredded mexican cheese
                                                                  - milk
                                                                  -butter
                                                                  - 1 jar of picante

                                                                  - sliced jalapenos
                                                               
  I will not explain how to make Macaroni and Cheese, this is not that kind of cooking blog. Now what you will be doing is sauteing the jalapenos in a skillet on medium heat setting. (PLEASE BE CAREFUL DOING THIS) Mix the sauteed jalapenos and picante to the mac&cheese and cover it with a generous portion of mexican cheese.   FLAWLESS VICTORY!

Spaghetti and Turkey sauce

  I developed this recipe because of a roommate I had who loved my cooking but refused to try my meat sauce when I cooked spaghetti. She was on some anti-beef kick so I decided to use ground turkey instead. I also decided to add smoked turkey sausage to the ground turkey sauce recipe. This version of my meat sauce is a big win with my relatives. Now because everyone has different methods of producing their pasta sauce for spaghetti I will only focus on what will be added to the sauce and how long it should cook together. I'll post a red pasta recipe some other time. For now, lets get hungry. You will need...

                                                                    - at least 3 lbs. of ground turkey
                                                                    - smoked turkey sausage
                                                                    - red, green, and yellow bellpeppers
                                                                    - a whole onion
                                                                    - basil
                                                                    - garlic powder
                                                                    - cayenne pepper
                                                                    - (your) pasta sauce
                                                                    - olive oil

   Now, pull out your cutting boards and cut your onion and peppers. For this sauce you can either dice or julienne the peppers(I julienne the peppers). But the onions must be diced. Slice your smoked turkey, I tend to use a lot of sausage so don't be afraid to. Drop all of this into the pot you're cooking the ground turkey and sliced turkey sausage over a medium or med-hi heat setting. Add salt & pepper and allow to cook together(Let your sausage sear and your onions caramelize). Now merge your meat and peppers with your pasta sauce over the same heat setting you cooked the meat over. Add basil and garlic powder at one's discretion. If you enjoy a little kick to your pasta add a single teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the sauce and stir. Allow the sauce to simmer on a med-lo heat setting for 10 minutes and then allow to cool. Rinse off some pasta and enjoy.  FATALITY!

Drunken Master's Steak Dinner

  Any cut of beef you like will do. I call this drunken master because you will be marinating your meat in wine. White or red is fine but it will alter the taste (I prefer white wine). You will salt and pepper your cut of meat and rub it down with any dry steak seasonings and seal it in an air tight freezer bag of white wine. (I prefer Gallo family vineyard wine) It's cheap. Allow this bag to sit in a freezer for about 4 hours. I like my steaks med-rare so I set my cooking surface to a med-high heat. I add raw onion to saute with my steak and use the wine and butter to create a very flavorful gravy sauce from the cooking steak juices to savor over a bed of white rice if desired. I strongly recommend it.

  This entree is best served with my Drunken Master Potatoes. Cut raw red potatoes into fours and bake them until soft. Transfer them into a sauce pan with a tea spoon of olive oil,  a dash of salt & pepper, 2 table spoons of butter and 1/3 of a cup of wine. Allow the potatoes to crisp on the sides over a med-hi heat. The potatoes are done when they have browned. Word to the wise; when preparing this dish just keep the bottle handy until you're done cooking. Enjoy your dinner!  FLAWLESS VICTORY!

Dragon's Tounge Teriyaki

 This eastern inspired recipe is something that took myself a couple years to perfect. I may not have any formal culinary training but I know altering a staple in foodology is risky business. I'm a cajun boy who loves his spicy food but I also love my Chinese food as well. So I sought out to make a spicy teriyaki stir fry. But the spice had to fall in melody with teriyaki, the vegies and the meat being served with it. Thus explains the recipe's name and special ingredient; a single fresh habanero pepper. If you're not really into spicy food this recipe is still good minus the habanero, but now the name loses all meaning. Anywho, lets get hungry. You will need...           

                                                              - a green, red, yellow and orange bell pepper
                                                              - a small fresh Habanero pepper
                                                              - carrots (shredded or chopped)
                                                              - fresh broccoli spears
                                                              - 1/4 of a whole onion
                                                              - soy sauce
                                                              - teriyaki marinade and glaze
                                                              - garlic powder or garlic salt
                                                              - olive oil

    It is only fair I warn you that preparation involves carefully cutting vegetables for a while. So while your rice is cooking (I prefer white Jasmine rice) pull out your cutting boards and julienne your bell peppers. The peppers make this dish an attractive entree. Cut you broccoli spears as you please and dice your 1/4 of whole onion. If cooking with a habenero you will need to cut a single pepper in half because you will only be cooking with half of a pepper. Dice your desired half and sprinkle over the veggies in the pot with the seeds. Those habanero seeds are very important. I would prefer you set your sauce pan to a med or med-high setting, apply a little olive oil in the pan. Onions in pan first, then carrots, peppers and broccoli. Now you add your salt, pepper and garlic powder with a few quick squirts of soy and a few splashes of teriyaki marinade. Add a half cup of water and put a lid on the pan. Allow the steam to cook down the vegetable but turn down the heat if burning occurs. Generously stir.

  You might be wondering at this point "WHERE'S THE MEAT?" This recipe works with any type of desired meat choice or just as-is with veggies and rice. If serving with fish I would prefer you bake your fish with a generous amount of butter and season with garlic salt and cover with teriyaki gravy when done. Chicken and beef can be precooked in a separate skillet then transferred into the stir fry until thoroughly cooked. Once the peppers are cooked and soaking up the teriyaki gravy the pot is ready to be served. The teriyaki has a daring spicy flavor. Those who like spicy things will love this recipe. This stir fry looks astonishing on a bed of white Jasmine rice. FINISH HIM!

                                                        

Mexican Cornbread

  I learned this recipe from my mother. She made this dish for casual pot lucks and cookouts. It's a great dinner choice as well. Mexican Cornbread is a non-authentic Mexican take on Shepard's Pie. A plus factor in this recipe my mom never exploited was the creativity factor at the end of the recipe. So, lets get hungry. You will need...                     -1 deep dish baking pan
                                                                 - at least a half dozen eggs
                                                                 - 3 boxes of cornbread mix (I use Jiffy)
                                                                 - milk
                                                                 - butter
                                                                 - at least 4 lbs. ground beef (depending on how big of a pan you want to fill is how much you use. I make mine pretty thick.)
                                                                 - 1 or 2 can of mexi-corn or just whole kernel corn
                                                                 - a jar of sliced jalapenos
                                                                 - a taco seasoning pouch
                                                                 - 2 or three bags of shredded mexican cheese (but any cheese you want would work fine, experiment.

                                                                 - olive oil

 Now that we've got those things preheat your oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is warming pull out your cutting board and chop about half a jar of jalapenos to cook in a pot with the ground beef on a little olive oil on a med-hi heat setting. Add salt, pepper, the corn and the taco seasoning pouch. Stir this over a med-hi heat setting until the ground beef is completely cooked and well mixed then let it simmer on a lo heat(drain the pot). Now grab the butter and coat the in side of you pan, every side. This is where you follow the instructions on your cornbread mix boxes and about 3 boxes worth in a bowl that is easy to pour from.

    Now, this part must be done carefully because you don't want to over-do it on the cornbread. Carefully place a thin layer of cornbread batter on the bottom of the pan. Believe me the thinner the better. Now grab that pot of simmering meat and scoop and layer it on the cornbread batter evenly. This is where you drop your cheese, cover the entire surface of meat. Just load it on because it all melts down. Now carefully pour on a layer of cornbread batter on top of the cheese. If there are gap in the batter they close when it bakes so be very light handed with the batter but do cover the cheese. Finally, the part you've waited for, now you get to place sliced jalapenos on top the cornbread batter. This is where you can say happy birthday, happy 4th, or make you favorite NFL logo. By now the oven is ready so stick the pan in the oven and follow the cooking time on your cornbread mix box or until the cornbread is brown and golden. When it's done looking at your message or picture is the second good feeling you'll have after you try a huge squared cheesy slice of Mexican Cornbread. I usually eat mine solo but it can also be enjoyed with a cool salsa and sour cream.  FATALITY!

                                                                         
                                       

First bite

Welcome. This is my first post on my first cooking blog. I'm a tattoo artist with a niche for cooking. I love vegetables as much as I like meat. So just because I don't post any vegetarian recipes doesn't mean I'm not open to any. I have cajun roots but my palet is pretty worldly. Eat well and life will follow.