Dooooo you. . .do. . . eeeeeeaat like I do?

I don't mind telling you that I know my way around a kitchen. I thought I would make a post about some of my favorite thing to eat, which, unfortunately, means I have to cook them first. I'll waste no time.

First thing: throw out your vegetable oil, or, (shudder), canola oil. I only cook with olive oil and I will never go back. It tastes better and is better for you.

I have also been not buying flour. I have a wheat grinder (courtesy of Mom) and I grind whole wheat to make flour. It might not be quite what your used to eating, but it's cheaper and, again, better for you. I have grown to prefer this over white flour. If you're interested in red wheat, you can email my good friend Ryan Fernandez and he will fill you in on the gastrointestinal effects, as he so kindly did for Kaaryn and me.

But enough of this, on to recipes.

I will start with the most simple. There is a certain brand of pancake mix that puts all others to shame. I owe this one to Ryan and Teresa Fernandez. I used to home teach the Fernandi. During one visit Teresa told us about this mix and excitedly sent us home with a box of our own. I have since sent a few boxes home with people myself. That's how good this pancake mix is, it turns you into a crack dealer. "Hey kid, how would you like to fly . . . lumberjack style?" That's how good this mix is. As far as we can tell, it is only available at Frye's stores, they call them Kroger here in Texas. It is called "Premium Quality: Private Selection Belgian Waffle and Pancake Mix." Look for it at your local Frye's/Kroger store. Kaaryn has never liked pancakes, she loves these. When you eat them, be sure you use real 100% maple syrup. We recently began using real maple. It is much tastier and is not just flavored corn syrup, which is what you're eating if it's not real maple.

There is a certain pizza dough that I make frequently. I got this recipe online, but I find the exact one lacking. I found this recipe because it was the first one that came up when I googled "pizza dough recipe." There is the link below. But I make the following change to this recipe: When at the stage when you have just added 1 cup flower and 1/4 cup olive oil, I like to add crushed red pepper, black pepper, minced garlic, and oregano (at least, Kaaryn tells me it's oregano.) Follow the instructions and take my additions and it makes one tasty dish. The recipe will make one extra large pizza or two big calzones.
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/breads/yeast/pizzadough.html

My most simple taco meat. This couldn't me much easier, but we enjoy it quite a bit. I will brown a pound of beef in El Pato. El Pato is a Mexican duck sauce. It runs about 60 cents for a small can. It comes in both green and red cans. I like them both. I put the El Pato in before I cook the beef, cook it in the beef, and then drain it all in a strainer. It leaves a terrible mess in your sink, but is very easy and very good. Look for El Pato in the Hispanic Food section at your local grocer. (Bonus: Put El Pato on a frozen pizza. I call it the heartburn special.)


For all of you out there that think you could never make some good kabobs, I say "Don't be so foolish." Kabobs are simple. Just get yourself some decent beef, some chicken, and some veggies, (I prefer peppers, onions, squash, and mushrooms), marinate that beef and chicken over night and cook it over some charcoal. You heard me, Hank, propane is void of flavor. It may be clean and efficient, but I like the smokey taste of carcinogens.

Also, never again should you have a boring burger. Don't use pre-made patties, unless you're already drunk. Start with thawed ground beef. Knead some seasoned salt, some pepper, and garlic if you please, into the meat. If you have the means and the taste, a couple tablespoons of your favorite marinade is very good as well. This is very simple, but adds worlds of goodness to your burger. Once again, make sure it's cooked over charcoal.

Kaaryn tells me that Navajo tacos are a Snowflake favorite. Start by making some sopapillas. (1 cup flower, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, pinch salt: cut 1 tablespoon butter into flower mix: add 1/3 cup warm water and knead: fry in oil.) (Recipe from Kaaryn's family cookbook). Then just add some Mexican meat (the El Pato beef works very well), some beans, cheese, and whatever else you might like. This, like all my recipes, is very easy.


That's all I feel like typing for now. Please, if you have a favorite thing to eat, and make, leave it in the comments for everyone. I am always looking for more things to try.