Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Saturday, April 2, 2022

Inexpensive Smoked Pork Loin

Hello consumers.  Which the price of everything going up I have been trying to find good healthy choices that won't make me go broke.  

My wife and I shop at Sam's Club and yes we are Plus members.  We do that for the 2% cash back on our purchases and there are many things we buy and share with family members.  Also, if you use the Sam's credit card, you get an additional 3% cash back on all credit card purchases in the store and online with free shipping.  Well, that is enough of a commercial for Sam's Club, don't cha think?

On my last run to Sam's last week I was searching around for a good choice of beef to prepare and cook with my smoker.  My DynaGlo offset smoker does a great job and I love to use it.  Well, beef prices are absolutely absurdly through the roof.  A decent brisket that used to be in the $25-$30 range, they are all $70- 80.  For a freakin' brisket!!!!!  That is unacceptable for such a low end beef cut.  I can't do it, or actually, I will not do it.  

So, what I did find as a great cut of meat at Sam's Club was a pork loin.  It was a smaller one as you can see my my receipt clip and ad on SamsClub.com.




We cut it into 3 equal pieces and packaged it for the freezer.  

This week I prepared one of the pieces on the smoker.  My process is simple.  I brine it for 2 days in about 3/4 cup of salt in water in the fridge.  I put a light coating of TexJoy BBQ Seasoning Rub on all sides and smoke it for 6.5 hours at 200-225degF. 
I find that it really does not matter what type of wood you use to smoke, hickory, maple, cherry, mesquite.....they all work equally well.

And this is what is left after my wife and I had 2 meals with this pork sliced at about 1/8-1/4" thick.  It is tender and moist, the flavor is outstanding, and there is little fat left on the meat. (Personal pet peeve, I do NOT like meat fats, the texture to me is just nasty)  There is enough in this dish for at least 2 more meals for each of us, maybe three.  A great way to eat the leftovers and harden up the soft fat is to lightly butter or grease a pan and brown both sides of the slices.  That is soooooo good.

Another tip, while the meat is on the smoker, cut up a bunch of your favorite veggies, we typically like yellow squash, broccoli, onions, cauliflower. Put them in a ziploc bag with enough olive oil to coat all of the veggies and a dash more, then season to taste.  Salt and Pepper,  I use all purpose seasoning, but not a ton.  Shake it up to evenly lightly coat your choice of veggies.  Then, put them into an aluminum foil hammock  to fully enclose them.  Poke about five or six knife slits in the top of the foil tent.  Throw that in the smoker during the last hour of your cooking.  You will be incredibly happy with those results, I promise you.  This is the day after photo, looks rough, but they are excellent. And I tell you I can smell the smoke when I opened the container.
Happy cooking, and enjoy.




Friday, March 25, 2022

My Diet Plan that works - 33 lbs (so far) in 84 days this year

 JC’s South Park Diet: My unique version loosely based on South Beach (Dr. Agatston) and The Zone (Dr. Barry Sears)  diets 🡨Read these!!


Typical Breakfast


½ cup Egg Beaters omelette filled with a layer of turkey bacon or sliced ham and mozzarella (I like hot sauce with my omelette)


Typical Morning Snack (any one of the following)

Celery

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of cucumber with salt


Typical Lunch/Dinner

Hamburger (no bun) 

Lamburgers

Buffalo burgers

Baked or grilled chicken

Salads with Olive Oil (1/3) and Red Wine Vinegar dressing (2/3)….but limit the onions (sugars), no carrots (lots of sugar), no corn

Baked spaghetti squash (a JC favorite) topped with low fat spaghetti sauce or a spicy salsa and parmesian/romano cheese

Broiled salmon

Diced ham fried in olive oil with melted shredded mozzarella on top; put over diced fresh tomato (this is fab)


Typical Afternoon Snack (usually I need a little higer level of fat with low carbs, energy food)

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of turkey bacon


Great adders to recipes above

“Silk” soy coffee creamer

Hot sauces (RedHot, Tabasco, whatever you like)

Low fat salsa on top of anything is excellent 

Cook everything in Olive Oil or even better use Pam Olive Oil spray


THE RULES: (the most important part)

  1. IF YOU ARE HUNGRY, EAT.  DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF, DO NOT WAIT TO EAT IF YOU FEEL HUNGRY.   MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A SNACK WITH LOW FAT, AND LOW CARBS AT ALL TIMES.   Your whole goal is to keep your hormones that regulate insulin in your body at a low, even level throughout the day.  Insulin is the substance that your body uses to store fat.  At low levels, you will not store fat, you will have great energy all day.   This is the most important rule.  

  2. Read labels on your food; your goal is LOWER carbs (not zero), and LOWER fat (not zero) and ideally you want a little of both when you eat to maintain insulin as described in rule 1.

  3. Limit (and by this I mean avoid if you can):

    1. Sugars

    2. Breads

    3. Pastas

    4. Alcohol

    5. High fat foods

    6. High carb foods

    7. Anything that reads “Partially Hydrogenated (blank)”


Monday, July 29, 2013

Today's chili

Made another twist on chili today using honey as a sweetener to offset the heat in a mid level spicy chili - enjoy

Brown 1 lb ground chuck and drain off oil

Add:
2 tbso chili powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 pinch of cinnamon
2 tbsp cumin
1 can canned diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can garbanzo beans
1 cup diced onion
1 small can green chiles
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey

Cook uncovered on low heat for 2 hours, add water as necessary to consistency preference.


Sunday, May 26, 2013

THE Best Hommus Mix


This was easy to make, tastes phenomenal, and smells even better. Better yet it is very inexpensive to create. This mix makes great dip for parties when it is dipped into your favorite veggies, pretzels, or even tortilla chips....so here we go.

16 oz tub of Basha plain Hommus 
Mix in:
1/4 cup chopped cilantro 
1 tbsp minced garlic
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil

When fully mixed, refrigerate to allow the flavors to meld.

Enjoy. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Great Spicy Sweet Garlic Dip

This is a 2 minute dip and it is great.

Mix in a bowl and serve

1.25 cup mayo or fat free mayo
1 tbsp Chinese chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp black pepper

It's that easy and delicious.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Chipotle Chicken

This is easy and fabulous. The secret ingredient is hot Indian pepper paste. Spicy and delicious.

Chicken breast
1tbsp hot diced cherry peppers
1tbsp chipotle smoked jalapeño peppers
1tbsp sautéed onions
1tbsp hot Indian pepper paste
1/8 cup Mexican shredded cheese

Slice chicken lengthwise insert cherry peppers jalapeños, and onions. Fold into sandwich. Rub indian pepper paste over the top of the chicken.

Bake in oven at 350deg for 35 minutes.
Sprinkle cheese over top.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Great breaded tilapia

Bought this tilapia from Costco. Best bet is to cook at 375deg for about 15 minutes flip and cook other side for 15 minutes or until browned and cooked thoroughly.

The tartar sauce is the best. 2 tbsp lite mayo, 1 tbsp polish mustard, 1 tspn ground pepper and 1 tspn of sweet pickle relish. Really good with a light fish like tilapia. Enjoy.