Where were we? Ah, yes. This soup will knock your cold OUT. It’s your classic “1-pot-cooking”. Check it out:

Nutritional Info:
Makes about 10 servings
240 calories, 3g fat, 5g carbs, 22g protein.

Cook Time:
About 45 min (start to finish)

Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts
4 cans chicken broth (low sodium)
1 can vegetable broth
3/4 cup rice
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 whole chopped onion
2 tbsp butter

Seasonings:
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon pepper
Salt to taste

What you’ll need:
Big pot

Reference Photos:

Directions:

1. Chop the onion, 1 cup of celery, and 1 cup of carrots.
2. Chop the 2 chicken breasts.
3. Break out the pot, bring up the heat to medium-high. Put the butter, onion and celery in. Let simmer until veggies are tender (about 5 min).
4. Add 3/4 cup of rice to the pot. Cook for 5 more minutes.
5. Add vegetable and chicken broth.
6. Add EVERYTHING else to the pot. Chicken, chopped carrots, a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, the black pepper, the cayenne, the garlic powder, and the salt – to taste.
7. Bring heat to high and let boil vigorously for 10 min.
8. Bring heat down to medium and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Put the soup in a bowl when it cools off a bit. It’s hearty and its got quite a kick. Enjoy, dudes! Oh, and feel better…

Artichokes are one of the best veggies for you – PLUS, they’re fun to eat (see bottom of article).

I recommend pairing this with the cheesy garlic biscuits.

Nutritional Info Makes 2 servings: 111 Calories, 6g Fat, 12g Carb, 3g Protein. (Measured using margarine)

Cook Time:
Artichokes: 35 min
Sauce: 10 min

Ingredients:
2 large artichokes
1 large lemon
4 cloves of garlic (2 cloves minced, 2 cloves whole)
1 bay leaf (optional)
2 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
1/4 cup of water
Pepper to taste

What You’ll Need:
1 large pot (artichokes)
1 small pot (sauce)
Steamer (optional)

NOTE: You’ll start with the artichoke preparation, then, while they steam (when there’s about 10 minutes till they’re done), go ahead and start the sauce. If you dont have a steamer, just lay the artichokes stem down in about 1″ of water to steam.




Artichoke preparation:

Reference Photos:

1. Fill a large pot with about 2″ of water. Add 1/4 of the lemon, 2 whole cloves of garlic, and a bay leaf. Bring it to a boil.
2. While you wait for the water to boil, cut the spikes off of the artichoke leaves, as pictured here.
3. Cut about 1″ off of the stem and off of the top.
4. Lay the artichokes onto the steamer in the pot (or into the pot with boiling water if you don’t have a steamer) and let steam for 35 minutes. Move on to the sauce!

Sauce preparation:

Reference Photos:

1. Add the butter/margarine to the small pot on medium heat and melt it down.
2. Add the garlic and let it lightly brown. Careful, once it browns, it burns quickly, so keep an eye on it.
3. Add 1/4 cup water and squeeze the remaining 3/4 of a lemon into the pot.
4. Add a dash of pepper.
5. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Separate the sauce into 2 dipping bowls and have at it! It’s deceptively filling, tastes amazing, and doesn’t get much healthier! For all you new to the art of the artichoke – check this article out: How To Eat An Artichoke. Enjoy, dudes!

Here’s the TBC solution.

Nutritional Info Makes 12 bites: 116 Calories, 5g Fat, 13g Carb, 4g Protein.

Cook Time:
20 min

Ingredients:
20 slices of pepperoni
2 cups of Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Pizza sauce

What You’ll Need:
1 mixing bowl
1 muffin pan

Reference Photos:

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Slice the pepperoni slices into strips.
3. Add the bisquick, milk, cheese, and garlic powder. Mix well.
4. Place equal amounts into each space in a muffin pan.
5. Put into the oven for about 10 minutes, or until it begins to brown.
6. Put a bowl of pizza sauce into the microwave for about one minute (cover with a paper towel to avoid splattering).
7. Take out the bites and serve with the sauce!

Enjoy, dudes!

…but mostly it just tastes good.

Nutritional Info: 146 Calories, 8g Fat, 16g Carb, 4g Protein.

Cook Time:
15 min

Ingredients:
2 cups of Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

For garlic butter topping:
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder

What You’ll Need:
1 mixing bowl
1 baking sheet

Reference Photos:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix the Bisquick, milk, and cheese, just until mixed – no need to over-mix.
3. Grease a baking sheet with pam or butter. Take little smaller-than-baseball-sized portions of dough out and form into a biscuit. Place each ball onto the baking sheet. This should yield 10 biscuits.
4. Put them in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until just beginning to brown.
5. Place the butter and garlic powder into a microwaveable bowl and microwave for about a minute, or until butter is melted.
6. Brush the tops of the biscuits with butter mixture and serve! (Note: if you don’t have a brush, you can just slowly spoon a bit on top of each biscuit).

This MIGHT just work for date night as well…while jagged misshapen biscuits don’t exactly squeal “do me” the taste surely will! Enjoy, dudes!

NOTE: Do your marinating in a refrigerator, steaks zipped tightly into an air-tight ziploc bag, and remove it a half hour prior to cooking (always cook steak starting at room temp).

See: The Best Damn Steak Marinade to prepare your own marinade. Here are a couple of rules-of-thumb for you, should you want to veer from my prized marinade:

1. Acids break down connective tissue which make your steak more tender. Good items to achieve this include: hot sauce, lemon juice, and vinegar.
2. Never add salt! Salt draws juices out of the meat – exactly the opposite of what we’re trying to do here.
3. Brown sugar caramelizes on the outside, acting as a great agent to achieve a well-seared outside and keep the center rare and juicy.

Check out the video below for my personal favorite verison of a steak marinade.

Cooking Your Steak:
Here is an easy easy way of cooking steaks that are .75-1.5″ thick. For anything thicker, add 30 seconds a side for every .5″ – it also might be a good idea to drop the $20 for a meat thermometer to make sure your meat is fully cooked, for steaks that thick.

Always let the BBQ warm up on high for 5-7 minutes.

Cook the steak for 2 minutes a side with the heat on high, flipping 3 times for rare, 4 times for medium, and 5 times for well done (well done – gross).

If you’re a have a meat thermometer and are a stickler for cooking temperatures (read: don’t want to get e-coli or mad cow disease), here is a breakdown of temperature measurements from the middle of the steak and what it will yield as far as desired redness (in fahrenheit):

Rare: 140° (don’t go below this – or die….possibly)
Medium Rare: 150°
Medium: 160°
Medium Well: 165°
Well Done: Never.

*Remember – the steak will continue to cook for another 5 minutes after it leaves the grill.

This should get you started. I love adding a little bit of bleu cheese crumbles to my steak on the last flip, letting it melt and brown for the last 2 minutes of cooking. AWESOME.

Anyway, as usual, enjoy, dudes!