bowls

I am going to concentrate a few posts on comfort foods that must be tried! Being a Southerner, I am a connoisseur of comfort food.  Today we are going to talk about bowls.  Yep...bowls. Allow me to show you some pictures...

KFC mashed potato bowl

Gravy is God's gift to food.  Here in Texas we put gravy on everything.  Putting all this yummy goodness in a bowl and topping it with gravy, genius! 

My hubby is from Iowa, look at this treasure.....

Iowa State Fair Hot beef Sundae

That looks so good!  Honey, we are going to the State Fair next year!

Here is a low fat version, looks fabulous!

Healthy Version

The possibilities are endless....

Buffalo Chicken Bowl

Chili bowl

Chicken and Veggie bowl

Bacon!

Isn't it a beautiful sight? Everyone knows the saying "bacon makes everything better"

My favorite commercial is the one with the dog who is excited about getting a bacon flavored snack.  The line "I would get it myself but I don't have thumbs" just cracks me up every time.  Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family that laughs hysterically every time the commercial airs <shrugs>.

Anywho,  for my food bucket list I think I need to take my love of bacon to the next level.  Check these out....

          

I found these and several other pictures of  bacon weirdness at http://www.delish.com/food-fun/weird-bacon-products

And this link takes us to more bacony goodness ideas....

http://www.rd.com/food/10-delicious-ways-to-use-bacon/

Bacon cheesecake, bacon doughnuts, bacon ice cream sundae!!??

Genius!

This final picture is a dish called bacon explosion.  You can order it online for 30 bucks, http://www.bbqaddicts.com/bacon-explosion/

YES please!  <burp>

better than potato chips???

As I get older my food bucket list includes healthy foods too.  I have discovered there are better and tastier veggies out there besides canned green beans and corn. Roasted Veggies especially have caught the attention of my taste buds! So here are a few of my bucket list veggies....
The girl and I decided to roast a variety together.  We have tried asparagus, but not the others .  We sliced, tossed with oil, and salt/pepper to taste the veggies and roasted them at 400 for 20 min or so.

ASPARAGUS

This stuff is so amazing, roasted, fried, grilled, cold, hot.  Roasted is my favorite.

White onion.  This is what I had on hand when we made this.  It actually tasted a little sweet after roasting.  I think any type of onion would do.

yellow squash, summer squash

YUM.  Oh squash where have you been all my life.  I have never cared for cooked squash, but roasted is fabulous!  And the girl loved it!

Tomatillos

This popular Mexican fruit is normally used in salsas or in Mexican dishes.  I wanted to try it roasted.  FAIL. Ick,  it didn't turn out well at all.  I like to make my own salsa so next time I am going to throw some of these bad boys in and see how it turns out.

Here is our after picture.  We really enjoyed snacking on these and they tasted even better the next day.  For those of you who know me (potato chip snack food unhealthy eating girl)  these gotta be good for me to be scarfing them down!

Mickey Dees

Who doesn't love the golden arches (okay don't answer that...it was rhetorical people!)
We have been to McDonald's in China, but we stuck to what we know...cheeseburger and fries.
Well....now I want to go to McDonalds in Japan and Canada, here is a visual explanation...

Exhibit A

Poutine (Canada)

French fries smothered in cheese curds and brown gravy

Exhibit B

Bacon Potato Pie (Japan)

Pie shell (like the one they have in the U.S. with apple or cherry) filled with mashed potatoes and bacon

WOW.  I would love to try these, they are like totally going on my bucket list dude. <drool>

http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-meals-around-the-world-2011-6?op=1 has an article by Robert Johnson   17 Awesome McDonald's Dishes You Can't Buy In America

The Rosti Brekki Wrap looks pretty good, but I am going to pass on the Bubur Ayam McD

PIE

An Ode to Buttermilk Pie

Buttermilk pie..you must try

It makes me want to cry

It's my favorite pie.

So custardy, so sweet,

It makes my life so complete.

It was a favorite of my dad's

It was something we always had

whether happy or sad.

I love thee buttermilk Pie

Forever and ever until I die

Amen

OK..poetry isn't my strong suit.  Seriously, I love this pie.  It is a must try if you haven't had it.  Here is a link to a good basic buttermilk pie recipe.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Buttermilk-Chess-Pie/

Enjoy....you can thank me later ;)

Kale

The New Sensation

It's a bird....it's a plane.....it's SUPER food!

I have been wanting to try this for a couple of years.  Kale is supposed to be one of the best foods to eat..health wise.  http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/9-health-benefits-of-kale.html is a good article about the benefits.
Pinterest is abound with hundreds of pins for Kale chips.  Everyone swears it is fabulous...so the girl and I decided to roast some and see.

We rinsed and tore the kale off the ribs (the thick part in the center) and tossed them with a tablespoon of olive oil.   We laid them out on a cookie sheet (sprayed with pam) and sprinkled salt, pepper, and chili powder on them.  NOTE: only a little salt is needed, not more than a tablespoon.  I put more than that, and parts were way too salty.

We cooked the Kale at 300 degrees for about 19 minutes.

  

I loved loved loved these!   They were so good and salty and crunchy. I put them in a plastic container and they tasted even better the next day.  The girl didn't care for them, but I can forgive that, she loves asparagus and squash!

I will definitely make them again.

Frog legs.....huh???

Any guesses on what you see above????

ribbet

Frog legs.  

When I was a young girl my Granny told me about how she had tried frog legs while in Las Vegas for vacation.  She said it tasted like chicken.  I was so fascinated by her story.  I have often thought, in her memory, I would try them....just once.  

For my dieting/health conscious friends, they are low fat and high protein!

www.Froglegs.org has a bunch of recipes and tips on how to cook them.  There is also information on where to buy them, even online.

So who is up for it??? Let me know and I will bring a side dish :)