Category Archives: (Almost) Fool Proof Cooking Instructions For Dumb Men

Healthy Livin’: Grilled Stuffed Turkey Burgers

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Hey Sudden Bachelors, its Labor Day weekend and all the big Football games are starting.  Get on the healthy track and have some food the girls will eat. Remember we want them to want to watch the games. These burgers are super simple and really healthy, even you won’t know the difference. So give it a try with a simple salad and Light Beer!

Grilled Stuffed Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

1 Package of Ground Turkey Meat

1 Cup Marinara Sauce

Ms. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic Seasoning

Squirt of Pesto from a tube

1 tsp grated Parmesan Cheese

1 bag Fresh Baby Spinach

Sliced Low Fat Mozzarella

1 Small Jar Roasted Red Pepper (Drained)

Heat your grill or skillet to medium heat. In a bowl combine your ground turkey, marinara, seasoning, pesto, and grated cheese. Make a total of 8 patties. What you are going to do is place on small patty on top of the other and seal it shut. Before you top the burger place a few pieces of spinach, your sliced mozzarella and a roasted pepper. Then seal the burger by placing on top of the other and then on the grill. Repeat this pattern for all your burgers and enjoy.

Healthy Livin’: Stuffed Chicken with Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella

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Alright Sudden Bachelors -  time to get in the kitchen and cook something great for your date.  It won’t take long, it’s really easy, healthy and she will be happy that you took the time to make this great light dish.

Stuffed Chicken with Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella

Ingredients:
1 Package of Chicken Breasts
4-6 oz Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Ms. Dash (Tomato Basil Garlic Seasoning)
Dash of Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Small Bag Baby Spinach
1 Small Jar Roasted Red Pepper (rinsed)
Fresh sliced Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese (Polly O)

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Take your chicken breast and slice it butterfly style (not all the way through). Take your chicken and place it in a Ziploc bag. Using a mallet or a frying pan pound the chicken breast till it is thin. In a small bowl combine your vinegar, seasoning, and cheese, stir together. Take a basting brush and brush your pounded chicken with the dressing. Keeping your chicken butterflied stack a few pieces of baby spinach, a small slice of roasted pepper, and your mozzarella to one side of your chicken. Fold the other half of the chicken and close (if you want you can seal it with a toothpick). Place your stuffed chickens on a PAM sprayed baking dish. If you have more dressing coat the rest of the pieces and bake. Total baking time is about 35 minutes.

Guys – finish this dish with a great salad or baked sweet potato.  Oh and don’t forget the Wine!

Healthy Livin’: Peanut Butter Cookies

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This weekend I wanted to experiment with the baker side of me (which I am not). I wanted to bake something healthy, easy and with as few ingredients as possible. I decided to try “PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES.” But these cookies have a healthy spin, they are made with all-natural peanut butter (my favorite.) These cookies are so simple that I left my husband to the recipe while I worked on dinner! So Sudden Bachelors, if you think you can’t bake something special try again.

Ingredients:
1 cup Sugar (I used Brown Raw Sugar)
1 cup Natural Peanut Butter
1 egg (Organic Brown)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take all three ingredients and stir them in a bowl. Using a tablespoon scoop out your cookie mixture and place it on a cookie sheet. Make sure to spray it with a little PAM cooking spray so they don’t stick. Place into the oven for 10 minutes and let cool for about 5.

You now have some really healthy cookies that are great for a date night in, party or if you want to impress a loved one.

Chef Sara Moulton & Her “Fried” Catfish BLTs

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One of the major stumbling blocks for many Sudden Bachelors is food (lack of, preparation, etc). While we’ve delivered a few somewhat edible recipes, most of you will default back to pizza. So SBs, in an effort to help bring some new flavor to your lives, we are very excited to have our friend Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton check in and hand pick one of her recipes from her new book “Sara Moulton’s Everyday Family Dinners” (Simon and Schuster, 2010) specifically for you Sudden Bachelors. If you want more Sara, be sure to check her out on The Cooking Channel and Good Morning America. Now – over to Chef Sara Moulton:

“Fried” Catfish BLTs

This is a good recipe for a Sudden Bachelor because:
A. It is not something alien – meaning it is simply a take on a BLT and
B. It is a perfect recipe for a novice and
C. It is healthy and filling, basically enough for dinner with just a simple side dish such as cole slaw

The Husband tends to scorn the BLT as an “air sandwich.”  Of course it’s delicious – nobody ever goes far wrong as long as bacon’s involved – but it’s hardly what you’d call filling.  That’s why I’ve bulked up the traditional BLT with some “fried” fish.  (Actually, the fish is breaded and sautéed, which gives it that fried crunch without all the oil.)  I’ve also tricked up the standard-issue mayo with some fresh basil and a little lemon zest.  The result is a sandwich buff enough to kick sand in the face of the skinny little BLT.  Indeed, it is a sandwich worthy of dinner entrée status.

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Iron Chef – Sudden Bachelor Edition

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OK  SBs. As we’ve noted in the past, cooking may be a difficult task for many of you. You either don’t know how, don’t feel like doing it – or even worse – you don’t have a stove (or a home for that matter)! Let’s assume that you are now living out of a motel or you simply don’t know how to turn your stove on, but you want a ‘home cooked meal.’ Consider a grilled cheese sandwich cooked using a household iron (aka cooked dorm room style). You really can’t go wrong with a grilled cheese and just so you know, making one with an iron is not a myth – we here at Sudden Bachelor have done it in the past and they taste great.

You’ll need:

1 Iron
Bread
Cheese
Butter
Tinfoil

If you want to really get crazy and gourmet you can also add things like tomatoes, mustard, avocado, and sliced meats of all varieties!

1. Find a flat surface for the iron and turn it to “high.”

2. Take two slices of bread, and put several slices of cheese in between.

3. Put a little bit of butter on the outside of your bread.

4. Wrap your sandwich in a piece of tinfoil and place on your flat surface.

5. Iron each side of your foiled sandwich for a minute or so (the longer you spend ironing, the crispier you’ll make the bread).

6. Unwrap and Eat.

**Bonus Beats

Check out this video on how to make a grilled ham and cheese.

Cool Whip Dee-light

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sample_coolwhip_01_01

OK so you’ve met the woman of your dreams and you want to invite her over to your mancave and impress her with dinner made by you! Here’s a dessert that even you can manage to put together. And it only has 3 ingredients.

1. Buy a ready made graham cracker crust in a pie pan. Usually you can find this on the spice aisle near the flour and sugar.

2. Pick your favorite fruit flavored non-fat yogurt, maybe raspberry or lemon. Buy two 8 oz containers.

3. Lastly one container of Cool-Whip.

Fold yogurt into cool whip in a bowl. Don’t blend it completely but rather fold it together. Pour into said pie crust. Refrigerate for a few hours until filling is firm.

Pop in a video like “The Notebook” while enjoying dessert. She will be sniveling away in no time. This movie is so romantic she will be melting into your arms. Not to mention being very impressed that you managed to make dessert!

Enjoy!

loves_cool_whip

Breakfast In Bed: Huevos Rancheros

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OK Sudden Bachelors. Most of you don’t know how to cook (and most probably don’t know how to make a relationship last – but that’s another topic). Not only do you now need to know how to cook for yourself (see our dumb guy recipes), but as you enter the dating world again – cooking for a woman (and having it taste good) is a great way to earn cool points. Want to be the ultimate catch? Well, if you are lucky enough to be waking up next to someone special – make her breakfast in bed.  We promise, you’ll definitely get that 2nd date!

Now, obviously you want the food to taste good, but presentation is also important. Here’s an easy recipie for Huevos Rancheros – a delicious breakfast that looks good too!

Ingredients:

Eggs
Tortillas (corn)
Grape Seed or Olive Oil
Salsa
Cotija Cheese (google it)
Refried Beans (canned is fine)
Jalapeño Peppers
1 Avocado

Directions:

In a small frying pan, pour in some Olive Oil, heat the pan and then put a tortilla in and lighly fry each side until crisp. Do this for several tortillas, then put aside on a plate.

In a small sauce pan, pour in some salsa and heat slowly.

In a small sauce pan, pour in the can of refried beans and heat slowly.

Chop up a Jalapeño Pepper to use as garnish

Crumble up some Cotija Cheese to use on top of the eggs and beans.

Take your frying pan, pour in some more oil – crack 2 eggs in the pan and fry (ask her how she likes her eggs – over easy, well done, etc)

Once eggs are fried, take the out of the pan and place on top of 2 fried tortillas and lightly salt.

Pour warm salsa over the eggs and tortillas, scoop warm beans on the plate next to the eggs, sprinkle the crumbled Cotija cheese over the salsa and beans, top with a few Jalapeño slices for garnish.

Cut avocado in half, then scoop out a half with a spoon, slice and place on plate.

You know have some pretty damn good Huevos Rancheros.

If you want to really go the extra mile, brew some fresh coffee and squeeze some fresh juice.

Put it all on a tray and bring it to the bed for your lady friend to enjoy.

huevos

Enchilada Pie

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Enchilada-Pie_slideshow_image

Enchilada Pie

Before we start, SBs – don’t worry if the first enchilada pie you attempt to make ends up looking like dog food. It might not look as pretty as the one in the picture above, but keep trying!

2 lb. ground beef

2 onions, chopped

4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. chili powder

2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

12 corn tortillas

3 cups (or more) shredded sharp cheddar

2 cups med-hot red salsa

Brown beef and onion; add seasonings, salsa and tomato sauce. Alternate layers of tortillas, meat sauce and cheese. Cover and bake 400 deg for 40 minutes.

serves 12.

Mac & Cheese Wars

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sexymac

OK Sudden Bachelors, Sadie here. That recent recipe post for Kraft Mac n Cheese? Lose it. At least if you are making it for someone of the opposite sex. It’s gross! You are NOT going to impress a date with that 99 cent carb feast known as Kraft. If you want to sit in your kitchen alone like a loser eating boxed mac n cheese go for it. If you want to actually have a life, even you can manage this much better alternative.

OK, get an 8 cup casserole dish. Spray it with Pam.

1 pkg. (8 oz) elbow macaroni

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

3 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 large can of Durkee onion rings

1 1/4 cups milk

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Can use whole wheat pasta in this recipe which impresses women who care about what they weigh!!! and good for you guys too! we’re all getting old here……

Boil macaroni in water for 10 minutes; drain. Mix with soup, milk, Worcestershire sauce and pepper; stir until well blended; fold in cheese. Layer half the mixture into an 8-cup casserole; top with half of onion rings. Repeat and top with remaining onion rings.

Bake: 375 deg. for 30 minutes, or until bubby hot.

OK and I know you lame-O guys can handle throwing together a green salad of some sort here so there’s something healthy in the meal. If you cannot, then get your ass over to Whole Foods and buy one already made. While macaroni and cheese is baking, prepare this simple dessert that you certainly can handle.

While you’re at Whole Foods purchase one already made graham cracker crust, 2 containers of non-fat frozen yogurt (like raspberry or lemon or your fav flavor), and lastly one container of Cool Whip.

Fold the two containers of yogurt together with the Cool Whip. Then put into graham cracker crust. Refrigerate until firm. Again, women will be impressed with the non-fat yogurt dessert…..

Lastly purchase a very nice bottle of your favorite red wine. Cause we women really love red wine. This is an evening guaranteed for success. Unless of course you’re totally a loser in which case back to your cave!….

For more of Sadie’s recipes, click here.

Mac and Cheese and… ANYTHING

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mac-with-da-cheese

OK SBs- I’m writing at about 11 on a Sunday. A witching hour of sorts for SBs, since many of you are waking up just about now feeling like- your head was crushed in a giant nutcracker? And you’re wondering- WTF did I do last night with- OMG- no, not… And yet, there she is, lying next to you snoring like a buzz saw, the woman you met- where? And how? Did you use…?

OK let’s set aside those questions and think about dinner tonight. Albeit you won’t be able to think about food til like 9 at night if at all. Like prior recipes, this will help separate SBs into the categories of food slobs and food snobs. We aim to provide advice and assistance to both, but since your humble correspondence falls into the first category, I will need to give you what I know about cooking. Which is NEXT TO NOTHING! If you on the other hand are in the food snob category- we recommend you look away, the following scenes may contain violence to your delicate sensibilities.

So- IF you’re in the food slob category, AND you don’t want to or can’t afford to go out for dinner every night, AND you refuse to eat at Mickey D’s every night (not that that’s a bad thing…): here’s a food slob recipe for you:

Mac and Cheese and… ANYTHING

macncheez

Ingredients:

  • Kraft Mac and Cheese (or some other kind but Kraft is like $1.00 and practically invented the mass market category! And your kids will probably like it if you are nuts enough to make dinner for them…)
  • Olive oil
  • Something else

Directions:

  • Follow instructions on the box for the mac and cheese (even a monkey could do it, hence me…).
  • While the mac is boiling, you are first nuking something else in the microwave, a vegetable is good, it can be almost anything. I find corn to be a good neutral veggie for insertion in mac n cheese. Or Brussels sprouts (if you go in for that sort of thing). Or cauliflower or shrooms. First you nuke it, then you saute it in olive oil to avoid sogginess and add a little- oomph.
  • B.t.w. ground beef works well too, ideally with one other ingredient like- again, shrooms or something.
  • When the mac is ready, remember to put the cheese powder on the mac RIGHT AFTER you take it out of the pot. And leave a little water on the mac to help melt the cheese. Stir thoroughly before adding a little milk (if you’re not lactose intolerant, dispensable if you are). The finer points of making boxed mac and cheese from someone with experience!
  • Once the mac is enbowled (should there be an expression for ‘bowling’ something like mac? No? OK then once it’s in its bowl, whatever: Add the other ingredient(s), plate it, serve it, gobble it down like the pigs we all are…
  • And you might want to think about a salad on the side or something.

Et voila- cheap, cheerful, arguably bad for you but isn’t everything and if you do get those extra five years of life from 90 to 95 from being a f-ing vegan, is it REALLY worth it, since you will be a near-vegetable anyway- I mean really what is the quality of life those extra years you get by painstakingly spending like years of your life (cumulatively) sorting out your food situation and annoying everyone you know to be a vegan??? Just do what I do and take anti-cholesterol meds and delude yourself that that’s enough…. OK I will shut up now.