JOHN McCAIN BABY BACK RIBS

Yep, I watched Rachel Ray with my wife last week and Senator McCain and wife Cindy was there showing her how he does his ribs. He said he’s had up to 4 grills going at once and loves to cook that way. He said, “The longer you’re grilling, the longer you’re with friends!”

He explained how he does his baby back ribs:

Ingredients

• 1 rack baby back ribs
• Equal parts garlic powder, salt and pepper, combined in a shaker to make a rub
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

So, I tried it, but unfortunately my grill will not reduce heat below 225 degrees. Therefore, after cooking them for about an hour and a half, bone down, they came out over done! My bad! I moistened them ever 20 minutes, with the lemon juice, and adding more of the rub mixture, and didn’t even turn them “meat down” until the last 10 minutes, but they still came out dry. Even adding my sauce didn’t save this meal. Luckily we had a great baked potato to fill us up.

I’m going back to my brother-in-law’s method, my method, or at lease cut the cook time on this one in half!

Sorry John!

BTW, while I was at it, I threw on a rump roast for a future meal! It did turn out well, because it was thicker perhaps!

REAL LIFE TO REEL LIFE!

Blog4Reel is the first-ever competition giving bloggers the chance to have their blogs turned into actual movies, not to mention the chance at winning $2000. So, ol’ Mushy and Suldog signed up! I entered my “Cross-Hairs” site (which could be a great screenplay), my “Mushy’s Moochings” sites. Hey, my life could be a movie!

They wanted realness and told us we could write specifically for the competition, link our existing blog/s to the competition, or join just to vote on our favorite blog/s (so I voted for Suldog)! It is that easy! It’s real life to “Reel” life.

We would appreciate it if you would take a moment to vote for us (see the VOTE in our sidebars), or go there and enter your blogs! Let us know…we’ll vote for you too!

You have to sign up in order to vote, but it’s not big deal…you don’t have to give them your SSN or anything!

Thanks in advance!

Apple-Fennel Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Judy and I watched an episode of Rachel Ray the other day and caught this great looking recipe. We just had to try it tonight.

Judy prepared all the dressing, the potato salad, and the coleslaw, while I did the work on the tenderloins. Here is the way it is supposed to go:

• Salt
• 1 package pork tenderloins (2 tenderloins)
• Pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus extra for drizzling
• 1 small fennel bulb, cored and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 firm apple, we used Gala, peeled, cored and sliced
• Pepper
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.

Trim the tenderloins of silver skin and butterfly them by cutting in and across – but not all the way through – the loins.

Cover them with plastic and pound them out to 1/4-inch thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Place a skillet over medium-high heat with two turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the fennel, onion, garlic and apple, season with salt, pepper and sauté until soft, 7-8 minutes. Add the apple juice to the pan along with the breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly to form a stuffing.

Divide the fennel-apple stuffing between the two tenderloins and spread into an even layer, leaving about an inch of the meat uncovered on either side.

Roll the tenderloins up like a jelly roll and place them seam side down on a sheet tray. Lightly drizzle some EVOO down over the tenderloins and season them with salt and pepper (use generously…ours needed more salt). Transfer to the oven and roast for 40 minutes, until the meat has browned.

Wash your hands after handling the pork. Then sit back and have Yuengling or two!

When the meat comes out of the oven, cover it with a piece of foil and let it rest for 10 minutes to allow the juices to settle.

To serve, slice the tenderloins and divide among four plates, or if there are just two of you, freeze one of the tenderloins for later.

Judy made coleslaw and potato salad for sides…man was it all good!

If you want to follow her recipe more closely, click here for the link.

BAKED PORK CHOPS, POTATOES, AND GREEN BEANS

On a baking sheet, Judy baked lean, boneless, pork chops for one hour at 400 degrees. The meat was generously salted and peppered.

She turned the chop after 30 minutes, and beside it she placed about 8 cut up “new” or “red skinned” potatoes on the same cooking sheet. She sprayed the potatoes with olive oil spray and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

After the sheet had been in the oven for another 5 or 10 minutes, she pulled it out and spread on some whole green beans (Naturally, the beans should first be de-stringed!), greased generously with olive oil, and put salt and pepper on them. She put it all back in the oven for the remaining 20 to 25 minutes.

The chop should be completely done and brown, the potatoes should be tender to the touch of a fork, and the green beans should be slightly wrinkled and blackened.

Delicious…low fat…and good for you!

CALHOUN'S AT THE MARINA

Neena and Ron met Judy and me for the wonderful lunch buffet at Calhoun’s today.

They have a wonderful assortment of tasty food on Wednesday and Friday each week. For $12, including the tip, it’s all you can eat of fresh vegetables (white and green beans, yellow corn, fried okra, carrots, cheese and cauliflower, mac’n cheese, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, and more), breads (sweet rolls and cornbread), fried catfish, chicken strips, fried chicken livers, and pulled BBQ. Sometimes there will be ribs!

Of course there are the usual condiments (honey mustard and tarter), and coleslaw!

Today there were chocolate chip cookies, or you could have all kinds of fruit, and cottage cheese.

Back at the table, the waitress keeps the glasses filled with un-sweet tea and water.

While we ate, we discussed upcoming plans to spend 3 or 4 nights in a cabin in Big South Fork, and of course, what we were going to eat then!

Out the window, we watched as boats entered and left the marina area, the geese and ducks caucusing along the bank, and schools of tiny minnows darting in and out from under the floating piers.

If you haven’t, you should visit Calhoun’s at the Marina in Lenoir City, Tennessee sometime for lunch. Or, visit either the indoor or outdoor bar sometime for great fun. I’m sure it’s hopping on the weekend too! Who knows, you may even be invited over to a party on one of the resident houseboats under the big shed!

If you prefer a quieter time, then sit by the peaceful Fort Loudon Lake waters, held back by the Fort Loudon Dam, and just watch the wildlife play.

MOM’S COUNTRY SUPPER

Judy and I ate supper with my little momma this afternoon. It was her standard meal, one which I ate many times over the years I’ve been blessed with her. It was a great meal that always filled me up and yet left me wanting to push in just one more bite of everything.

Judy loves mom’s pinto beans, or as she says it “beantos!” Another thing Judy likes with her “beantos” is chocolate cake! Yes, it is good, I’ve been forced to try it, but it was not something I have to have, but to her it is the dessert taste she craves. So tonight, after waiting for the beans to cook all day, she gave in to the “chocolate force” and enjoyed herself.

There is nothing better than a good tender beef roast, with carrots, potatoes, and onions all cooked up in the same beef juices! Yes, there is something green, kind of, it’s in the slaw, and man does the juice from the slaw make cornbread taste even better.

I have been cutting back on my eating for the past two weeks, so tonight I splurged and loaded my plate. When it was all over, I had a hard time deciding between one more bite of the hominy, the beans, the slaw, or the cornbread…so, I ate a little more of each!

Thanks mom for the great meal and love and warmth I’m feeling inside right now.

PORK TENDERLOIN AND APPLES

RETRO POST!

Since retiring, I love to spend time in the kitchen, sipping on an Old Scratch beer (made by Flying Dog), cooking up what sounds good to me. My imagination usually ends up tasting pretty good. Here's one of the first I tried:

• Heat vegetable oil and add half a large onion (whole if you like)
  When onions are soft add a table spoon of sugar and saute to brown
• Add 7 to 8 1” thick slices of port tenderloin and brown each side for 2 minutes
• Add 2/3 cup of hard apple cider and 2/3 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper to taste and a table spoon of sage
• Bring mixture to full boil and then simmer for 20 minutes
• Then separate the meat slices with slices (about 1/2 to 1” thick) of apple (any kind or mix) I used Mutsu
• Cook apples for 3 minutes each side (you can turn meat if you like)

Serve with either a salad, long grain brown rice, or, as I did, a cold bean salad on the side (see photos)

HORSESHOE BREAKFAST SANDWICH

So, I was sitting there in my living room watching the Food Network, and, as usual, I was sucked into Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives”! He and Paula Deen grab my “grease buds” every time I pass either show!

However, this particular “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” show was about crazy breakfast dishes, and especially one about the “horseshoe breakfast” sandwich. Man, this baby is a grease lover’s dream concoction, and I had to have one!

Mine was a little less loaded than the ones Guy featured, but the basics are the same:

1. One or two pieces of toast laying flat on a plate
2. Topped with two crumbled pieces of bacon
3. Topped with a slice of American cheese
4. Topped with fried cubed potatoes and onions (salted and peppered)
5. Topped off with a very runny, over easy, egg (or two)!

My tongue almost slapped my brain out before I could cut off a bite and get it into my mouth! To quote “Fat Bastard”, “Now get in my belly!”

Put one in yours today…so easy, so tasty!

MORE THAN A BIG APPLE TO EAT IN NEW YORK

After settling for McDonald’s biscuits the first morning in Manhattan, we opted for Ellen’s Stardust Diner on Broadway. The place is complete with “singing waitstaff”, all of whom are awaiting other tours in on and off Broadway Shows.

The air conditioning was off the morning we visited, and was almost unbearable, but the smell and taste of good breakfast food held us captive long enough to enjoy Chocolate Pancakes and The Bagel That Ate Brooklyn!

All the while waiters and waitresses took turns bellowing out show tunes. I must admit they were all very good, but it all soon grates on your last bite of bagel!

For lunch one day, we joined the local lunch crowd near Pier 17 on South Street and enjoyed ribs, chicken, burgers, etc. at the Heartland & Barbecue Brewery! It was a very cozy, relaxing, and cool (meaning well air conditioned) place to eat. Their selections of micro-brews were terrific too. Steve and I had a couple!

After cooling off on this particularly hot day in June, we took in the “Bodies - The Exhibition”. Their air conditioning was in great working order.

It was a very fascinating exhibition of male and female human bodies that had been dissected in very interesting and informative ways. As the warning says: Warning: Not for the squeamish. 'Bodies...The Exhibition' will give the public the unique opportunity to see first-hand the inner workings of our bodies through authentic, preserved human body specimens. This 32,000 square foot exhibit that features 22 whole body specimens, as well as more than 260 additional organ and partial body specimens. Please note: this exhibit is made up of bodies that were taken from the Dalian Medical School in northern China. There has been some controversy over the source, because the Dalian Medical School gets unidentified or unclaimed bodies.

That evening, back closer to the Novotel Hotel, where we were staying, we choose Ray’s Pizza. Ray’s is not your local family run pizza joint, but they do have many locations and serve up a good slice of pizza. Some places don’t offer single slices, but this place allowed me to walk down a line and point out several slices I wanted to try. This pepperoni and pineapple was simply delicious!

Steve and I had a great “boys night out” the evening Judy, Katie, Terri, and Julie took in “Hairspray”. We ended up a O’ Lunney’s Irish Pub just off Broadway. We were partying with the office crowd, still in their business work attire, while we displayed our manly legs in our tourist shorts!

Steve and I ordered, but he was the only one to get a meal. Through some southern low speaking misunderstanding, the little lady, who lived with her boyfriend, thought that the appetizer I ordered was my meal! I did not get upset, nor did I tell her of the mistake. I simply ordered another beer and watched Steve enjoy is fish and chips! Sure wish I had gotten to try that “corned beef”!

Oh yes, a side note, don’t you guys love these “afterburner” type hand dryers! My first experience with “Xlerator” dryers was at the Green Parrot Bar in Key West. Noisy little suckers, but they will blow freckles off your hands!

Judy, Katie, and I picked Rosie O’Grady’s for our last evening “big meal” and we were glad we did. The girls had a Prime Filet Mignon and I had, in honor of the trip, the New York Cut Sirloin Steak! Simply delicious and cooked to perfection!

After the meal we hammed around taking photos and then had the waitress take one of us. Unfortunately, the window light caused the camera not to fire the flash, so it was not as good as I had hoped. However, we enjoyed ourselves for a little over a $100 plus tip!

Yep, you can always find something to eat in New York City. Next time, however, if there is a next time, I’ll explore some of the ethnic food in the different boroughs. It has to be better than the tourist trap area in and around Broadway and Times Square.

For other photos and more information on our trip, check out Mushy’s Moochings, and Flickr.

CHICKEN TORTILLAS SMOOTHERED IN BLACK BEANS AND SALSA

Judy had me cook up some chicken tenderloin (about 8 pieces) my usual way – in EVOO, garlic, and hot sauce, salt and pepper them, and then cut them up into cubes.

She stuffed about 6 large whole-wheat tortillas, some onion, some chunky salsa, some Mexican mixed cheese, and rolled them up. She then placed them in the bottom of a 9x12 glass casserole dish.

She then put two cans of frijoles Negros (that’s black beans for you 'Mericans) into a bowl, dumped in more chunky salsa, and mashed it all up together. She then spread the mixture over the tortillas and covered the whole thing with a thick layer of Mexican mixed cheese.

Then she popped it all into the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees – just long enough forever everything to heat through and the cheese all melt. We got two very good meals out of this dish.

We did not eat anything on the side, but you could add a salad if you like.

OLD FASHION PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY

There’s also nothing like a granddaughter’s smile enhanced by her first taste of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

There’s nothing like a good old PB&J sandwich! Did you know it’s been around since 1922?

CABBAGE, CHORIZO, AND BEANS

We did not go out for St. Paddy’s day, instead we, as usual, elected to stay in and enjoy something in the safety of home!

I found a large head of cabbage in the refrigerator, that we kept overlooking, and there were also two chorizo sausages left over from where we had scrambled it into some eggs for breakfast! “That’s good enough,” Judy said.

So, we did have cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, but the chorizo was different from anyone else was probably having. Long the way, we found a can of pinto beans…we were in the big time now!

Judy cut the cabbage up and cooked it in olive oil with salt, pepper, and a couple of dashes of Spicy Ms. Dash! That combined with the chorizo made for a flavorful dish.

We got bowls, put a large helping of cabbage and chorizo into it and then ladled in a big scoop of beans right on top!

Yummmmy!

You can’t get any quicker or yummier!

BLACKENED CHICKEN ALFREDO – WITH A TOUCH OF RED!

I’ve been trying to watch what I eat, and thus far I haven’t missed a bite that goes by me! I was up to 247 at the doctor’s office today, but that didn’t stop me from wanting and fixing me a tasty pasta dish.

There used to be a place in Knoxville called McGuffey’s, but has since closed, which served the most wonderful blackened chicken pasta! They even put a slice of cantaloupe on the side, and man that was just the best taste combination you could imagine.

So, last night I boiled some Barille Penne pasta, fried some chicken tenderloins, and chopped up a huge red bell pepper, some dried tomatoes, some mushrooms, and a large onion, and proceeded to build two plates of the most lip smacking taste combinations! I didn’t have a cantaloupe, but that didn’t matter much. I seasoned the tenderloins with salt, pepper, and Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning, and fried them to a deep golden brown, almost black in some spots!

I poured me a glass of Yuengling and started cubing up the chicken I fried in EVOO, garlic, and hot sauce, and then I chopped up the pepper and the onion. Once the pasta was drained and set aside, I put the Classico Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo on to heat. In the same EVOO that I cooked the chicken in I dumped the mushrooms and dried tomatoes in and sautéed them for about 2 minutes before plopping in the peppers and onions.

I had salted the chicken tenderloins while cooking, and then the vegetables as they started to wilt. Leaving the vegetables slightly crunchy, I dumped them over the top of the pasta, and then added the hot Alfredo sauce and mixed it thoroughly.

Mmmm, look at that serving on the plate…some good garlic buttered bread would have been great too, but alas, I’m cutting back!

ANOTHER STIR-FRY CHICKEN VERSION

Yeah, I know, we eat a lot of chicken, especially when we are trying to cut back a little.

We have been eating oats with bits of almonds in the mornings, sweetened with NutraSweet®, along with a cup of coffee.

We also have been trying to ride our Lifecycle® Exercise Bike at least 20 minutes per day. Let me tell you, when you are 61 years old and out of shape, it takes a while to build up to that. I can’t imagine sitting there for an hour straight, but I would love to get to that point. For now, about 10 minutes at a time is all I can hold out, and it not just that my knees give out, it’s the pressure the stupid seat puts on my prostate area! Laugh, but it you’ve tried it; you know exactly what I’m talking about!

At lunch we are trying to hold ourselves to an apple, or maybe half and apple and half a banana, with some walnuts or pecans.

For supper (that’s southern for dinner) we eat small portions of whatever we want. Tonight it was some spicy chicken tossed with some vegetables.

I always begin by frying 6 to 8 pieces of Tyson® Boneless, Skinless Chicken Tenderloins in EVOO sprinkled with garlic bits and hot sauce. Once they have cooked…they get a toasty light brown when done…I take them out and cut them into little chunks and put them aside.

Into the same EVOO with the browned garlic bits I dump either fresh or frozen vegetables like different colors of bell pepper, cauliflower, onion, and broccoli. Tonight I dumped a small can of diced pineapple and water chestnuts into the mix and it was wonderful. Judy and I devoured about half the skillet’s contents and put the rest up for lunch tomorrow.

It’s good folks and not that many calories or carbohydrates.