These were a Country Boy and Dirt Road Dreamer Production,

and we KILLED it!

First toss a package of wings (10 whole wings) and a package of 10 drumsticks (pocketbook friendly) in a couple of Tbsps of olive oil to help those skins get crispy.

Chicken Seasoning:

1 Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp pepper

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 Tbsp garlic powder

Blend this seasoning mix together, then toss with the chicken.

Heat your grill up to medium/low about 30o degrees.

Then grill these beauties low and slow about 45 minutes to an hour.

About the last 10 to 15 minutes crank up your grill a few notches to really put some color on those wings.

These wings will be every bit as good as any fried wing you’ve ever had.

I’m telling you that you can eat them just like that, but if you really want to take it over the top then toss them wing sauce and enjoy!

Wing Sauce:

2 sticks of butter

1 12oz bottle of Louisiana Pepper sauce

(I like Frank’s Red Hot)

Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until completely combined.

Add several dashes of Tabasco until your sauce is the heat you like.

Hope you enjoy!

We’re celebrating the start of the Olympics just like any red-blooded American would,

With Margaritas and Mexican food

I’m so stoked about this dinner, it’s one I’ve made up on my own except for the enchilada sauce, which I mostly borrowed from Emeril, but I didn’t have cumin or tomato paste so I had to improvise.

Enchilada Sauce:

1 can of tomato soup

1 can of chicken broth

1 tsp of oregano

1 tsp smoked paprika

a dash of coriander

1/4 cup chili powder

1/2 tsp of salt

I was having a huge craving for Mexican food, but I didn’t want to go out and eat poorly.  I’ve been really good about my diet lately and my guts are thanking me, so I’d like to keep this trend going.

What DIET you ask…. lots and lots of veggies, a medium amount of protein, and little to no wheat or dairy, low carb basically except for fruit, and a few grains in my granola.

The big thing is the veggies, I am eating copious amounts of them, I’m talking about spinach salads for breakfast amounts of veggies.

So I decided to make this dinner based on what I had at home and what might curb this mex food craving.  So here it goes…

4 cooked shredded chicken breasts

1/2 a large sauteed onion

8 sliced button mushrooms

4 cups of spinach

2 cloves of garlic

Sweat it all down and layer it in a 9X9 pan with the enchilada sauce, goat cheese and tortilla chips.

If you didn’t want the chips you could leave them out or replace them with actual tortillas, or rice, or cauliflower “rice”.

There are endless options here.

As the meal stands it is a gluten free option as long as you make sure there is no flour in your tortilla chips.

I use goat cheese because it’s a better option for me, I like the flavor and it doesn’t tear up my insides like cow dairy does.

When it comes out, it may not be that pretty, but you can dress it up with some avocado and cilantro.  But just trust me it will be good no matter how you eat it.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did Country Boy had two helpings, always a good sign.

I also made a “fresh” Pinterest margaritas with strawberries, fresh orange, limes, and some gucci Clase Azul tequila I had.  Yum Yum!

Now that our cravings have been satisfied, Country Boy and I are going to turn our attention back to the Opening Ceremony.

I can’t believe they put Mr. Bean in there, I loved him when I was a kid.  My dad is obsessed with British humor, as was my 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Robinson.

Night Y’all

Ya’ll are not going to believe this mousse….

What it’s made of I mean.

I first saw the idea for this fabulous dessert on Peanut Butter Fingers, one of my favorite healthy living blogs.

This dark chocolate mousse is decadent and so simple to make, it’s only 4 ingredients and the base is simply made of avocados.

That’s right, I said avocados.  After I read Julie’s recipe I went in search of every recipe I could find and finally decided on this one.

Dark Chocolate Avocado Mousse

2 avocados

1/2 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder

1/2 cup of honey or agave syrup

1 tsp of vanilla

Blend in a food processor until smooth, and then refrigerate until you are ready to serve.  This version is extremely rich and it will satisfy any sweet tooth.  Country Boy even enjoyed it!

Enjoy.

Workout:

I finally got my key for the pool in our neighborhood, so I decided to head over this morning during lap swim to get a workout in.

They advertise it as an “Olympic” lap pool, we’ll use that term loosely.  It’s 25 meters and it had the lines painted on the bottom, but it doesn’t have lane lines or flags to mark turns.  But I can walk over there and it’s free

Since it’s my first swim workout in about 3 years I took it easy today.

400m warm-up (easy)

50m sprint (fly) rest 10sec

50m sprint (breast) rest 15 sec

50m sprint (free) rest 20 sec

50m sprint (free) rest 1 min

100m (medium pace) rest 35 sec

100m (medium pace) rest 45 sec

100m (medium pace) rest 1 min

200m cool down

For a grand total of 1100m.  It wasn’t overly hard, but it felt really good to stretch out those muscles and I’m really looking forward to swimming a lot more.

Food:

Salmon “Burgers” with Homemade Tarter Sauce

Y’all I’m telling you, these are worth a try!

The recipe makes 4 burgers.  I ate one with lots of spinach, and Country Boy ate 2 burgers on toasted bread.

Ingredients

• BURGERS:
• 1 lb. salmon, filleted, skinned and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tbsp. mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 3 tbsp. canola or olive oil (for sauteeing)
• 4 hamburger buns
• 4 crisp lettuce leaves

Instructions

1. With an electric mixer or in a food processor, coarsely chop the salmon until it attains a hamburger-like texture. Remove and place in a mixing bowl. Use a fork to blend the rest of the ingredients in with the salmon.
2. Shape the salmon mixture into four patties about 3/4 inch thick. Place on a waxed paper-lined plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour and up to 6 hours ahead this will chill them enough so they can keep their shape during cooking.
3. Heat the oil on medium-high heat in a skillet large enough to hold the burgers. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side and about 1 to 2 minutes on the other or until crispy brown on the outside and just cooked through.Homemade Tarter Sauce:1/4 cup mayo

   1/4 cup sour cream

   1 tbsp lemon juice1 tsp dijon mustard

   pinch of cayenne pepper

   1 tbsp fresh parsley

   1 tbsp of chopped dill pickle

   Enjoy!

   
   You can view the original recipe here.

Right?!

This dinner is so simple, yet flavorful…. and 30 minutes is all it takes.

First, toss some green beans and cherry tomatoes in some olive oil and season salt, with fresh cracker pepper.  Grill over high heat in aluminum foil for about 20 minutes, or until you have char marks on the green beans.

Grill the strip steak to rare, or medium rare.  However you prefer, but I don’t recommend any more than medium.  We use  McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning to give some great flavor.  Let the steak rest for about 5 minutes after grilling.

While your steak and veggies are grilling you can put together the chimchurri.

In a food processor blend:

1 garlic clove

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp water

1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro (I used both)

fresh cracked pepper and salt (to taste)

When you have all the parts compete, plate up your dish and enjoy.

If you have enough veggies (2-3 cups of green beans and 1 container of cherry tomatoes), then 1 12oz strip should feed 2 people.

This is a great meal to stretch those expensive meats

Here is the link to the original recipe from Food Network.

Enjoy!