Lemon Steak, using lemon juice to tenderize your steak

Here's a great way to tenderize your steak and give it a little zip without making it taste lemony. Try it and let me know what you think.  I really like these chuck eye steaks when you can find them.  Make sure it's a chuck eye and not a chuck steak, big difference.

cook well,
Rob Barrett
Cooking for Dads

How to make a hamburger - props, pears, and peanut butter

Hamburger with lemon marinade.

For every pound of hamburger add the juice of one lemon, Combine with fingers and et aside for 15-20 minutes.  The juice tenderizes the meat without leaving a lemony taste.

Pear and jalapeno burger.

Heat grill and coat with olive oil.
Place a 1/3 inch lice of pear on grates, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until grate marks appear. Flip over, add a slice of swiss cheese and thinly sliced jalapenos.  Close grill lid and let is cook for 2-3 minutes.  Place on top of cooked burger and serve hot.


cook well,
Rob Barrett
www.cookingfordads.net

Raspberry Mango Lemonade and other fun "seize the day" summer drinks

Here are the written versions:

Cucumber Water:
1 gallon of water
1 lemon sliced
2 handfuls sliced cucumber
combine and store in the refrigerator,
Use within 2 days.

Fresh Limeade - (Lemonade):
1 large glass of water
add the juice of two small limes (1 large lemon) about 4 T
3 spoonfuls of sugar.
Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Add a piece of the rind and a handful of ice.
Drink and go "Ahhh!"

Barrett Special: (from our friends the Bains)
1 large glass filled 3/4 with Sparkling lemon water and ice.
Add a splash of cranberry juice
take a small piece of lime and rub tit around the rim of the glass
Squeeze in leftover lime juice and toss rind in glass.
Serve cold.


Strawberry Lemonade:
1/2 gallon of water
juice of 3 lemons 1/2 C
5 sp sugar
1 handful strawberries mashed
Place everything in large coffee press.
Squeeze down pulp.
Pour over ice and enjoy.

Raspberry Mango Lemonade (limeade):
In a large pitcher add 3/4 gallon cold water.
add 10 spoonfuls of sugar (about 3/4 cup) and stir until dissolved
In a medium bowl combine 1 small carton fresh raspberries (just over 1 cup), 1 cup fresh mango pieces and the juice of 6 lemons (almost 1 cup). Using a potato smasher or a big spoon, smash fruit until it forms a paste. Place a colander or strainer over another bowl and pour mixture into colander. Let the juice fall through. Use large spoon to smash down pulp to remove last bits of juice.
Pour juice mixture in to pitcher and stir to combine.
Add some lemon slices to pitcher.
Pour over ice to serve.

Cook well,
Rob Barrett
Cooking for Dads

Crispy Egg and Cheese Sandwich or How to Fry an Egg

There are a couple keys to these sandwiches.

1. Get a good non-stick pan.  Not having to add any oil or butter when frying an egg is a huge saving in the calorie area.  I love my Anolon Advanced.

2. I've used quite a few different cheeses but this Kirkland Mexican mix really works well.  You'll find that shredded cheese crisps up better than big pieces.

3. You can also do this with rolls or bread, but I really like these 100 calorie English Muffins.

Here's the Calorie Breakdown.
1 egg                               70 calories
1 english muffin            100 calories
1 thin strip of bacon        40 calories
2 T of shredded cheese   80 calories
1/2 t of butter                  30 calories
Total -                           320 calories

Cook well and enjoy.

Rob Barrett
Cooking for Dads

Healthy Fast Food, a review of grilled Chicken Sandwiches at Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's

Eating healthy can be tough, but even more so when you're relegated to fast food. If you're able to bypass the Big Mac or Whopper, which grilled chicken sandwich should you get? We at Cooking for Dads set out to answer that age old question.

We narrowed the options down to the grilled chicken sandwiches at McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's, the most nationally available chains. Both McDonald's and BK only have one option while Wendy's has 3. We chose the basic grilled chicken sandwich at each, with lettuce and tomatoes and accepted the way they served it to us. Here is the run down on the information for each sandwich.

The Review

Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich - $4.60 - 370 calories

BK Tender Grill Chicken Sandwich - $4.60 - 470 calories

McDonald's Classic Grilled Chicken Sandwich -$4.19 - $420 calories

All of them come under the Big Mac as far as calories (576) so right off the bat you're ahead. Here is our take on their tastes by each component.

The Meat:

BK - Nicely seasoned and juicy, cooked just right. We like the char burns on the meat from the flame broiling.

McDonald's - Surprisingly bland. We were surprised there wasn't more sodium at least. The chicken was in dire need of seasoning.

Wendy's - The meat has nice texture but the seasoning is a little sweet, and there's a chemical after taste.

The Buns:
BK - Tougher than the rest but a nice taste. The Wendy's and McD's buns were much softer.

McDonald's - The best bun of the bunch with great texture and nice white bread taste - just like mom. The Classic McD's bun.

Wendy's - Again nice texture but really quite sweet. The is a lot of sugar in this bread.

Over all Sandwich:

BK - Well, you can tell from the picture which one we liked. The only one that's almost gone. The BK Sandwich was heads and shoulders above the others in over all taste as a sum of it's parts. The meat matched the bread and the crisp lettuce and juicy tomato, they all worked together in ensemble. We will definitely get this one instead of a Whopper.

McDonald's - Not a terrible sandwich, but definitely lacking in interest. We would have expected more McDonald's magic in this one. Definitely get the Big Mac. This one's not worth it.

Wendy's - I'm a big Wendy's fan, but this sandwich is not an option. The bread is sweet, the meat is sweet, the sandwich is way too sweet. (We like sweet things but this is just too much of it) Maybe if you got it without the sauce it would help, but I would stick to the burgers or the fried chicken here.

So that's it for healthy fast food for today.

Remember when possible, cook well.
Rob Barrett, Jr.
Cooking for Dads

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu with White Wine and Lemon Cream Sauce

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu with White Wine and lemon Cream Sauce

for chicken:
2-4 thawed Chicken Breasts
honey
Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper
thinly sliced honey ham
sliced Swiss Cheese

Butterfly chicken breasts by slicing longways but not completely through (see video). Open up chicken breasts and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a small dollop of honey on each side of the breasts and spread with a knife. Do the same with the Dijon mustard. Place a small slice of Swiss cheese and a small slice of ham on each side of the breast and close breast by folding over. Place a toothpick to hold breast closed while cooking.

Grill over high heat (400 degrees) for 3-4 minutes a side or until completely cooked.

for white wine and lemon Cream Sauce
3 spoonfuls of white wine
1 inch of butter
the juice of one lemon
1 spoonful grated lemon peel (lemon zest)
1 spoonful finely chopped onion

Combine in pan and cook for 3-4 minutes over medium low heat until butter is melted, onions are softened and the combination starts to thicken slightly.

Add 1 cup heavy cream while stirring to combine. Continue to simmer for 3-4 minutes. don't let it boil.

Pour over chicken.

© 2011 Cooking for Dads

Cook well, it's worth it.

Rob Barrett
Cooking for Dads

Pecan Salmon for Mother's Day

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs salmon filets
3 spoonfuls honey
1 inch butter
4 spoonfuls mustard
chopped pecans
bread crumbs
fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
parchment paper

Directions:

In a small bowl combine: 3 spoonfuls of honey, 1 inch butter (melted), and 4 spoonfuls of Dijon mustard. Stir.

In another small bowl combine: small handful(1/4 cup) chopped pecans, small handful (1/4 cup) of bread crumbs, and 1 spoonful chopped parsley.

Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper, place skins side down on a baking sheet with parchment paper, and brush with mustard and honey mixture on one side. Add a layer of pecan mixture and pat down. Bake at 450º for 10-15 minutes or until salmon is just cooked through (just firms up). Serve with couscous and broccoli.