Image Credit Dairy.com

There are many reasons, the most important one is flavor. Don’t believe me? Make two batches of Rice Kripspy Treats, one with butter and one with oleo. Then give them a taste test. I’m willing to bet that everybody likes the batch made with butter. Unless, o course,  they are the people who prefer Miracle Whip to Mayonnaise.

But most of all I have found 20 reasons why butter is better thanks to Donna Gates and her Body Ecology website.

1.  Butter is rich in the most easily absorb able form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.
2. Contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and candida.
3. Contains lecithin, essential for cholesterol metabolism.
4. Contains anti-oxidants that protect against free radical damage.
5. Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
6. Is a great source of Vitamins E and K.
7. Is a very rich source of the vital mineral selenium.
8. Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
9. Butter contains conjugated linoleic acid, which is a potent anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster
10. Vitamin D found in butter is essential to absorption of calcium.
11. Protects against tooth decay.
12. Is your only source of an anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints.
13. Anti-stiffness factor in butter also prevents hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland.
14. Is a source of Activator X, which helps your body absorb minerals.
15. Is a source of iodine in highly absorbable form.
16. May promote fertility in women.9
17. Is a source of quick energy, and is not stored in our bodies adipose tissue.
18. Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children’s brain and nervous system development.
19. Contains Arachidonic Acid (AA) which plays a role in brain function and is a vital component of cell membranes.
20. Protects against gastrointestinal infections in the very young or the elderly.

But most of all, if you are any kind of chef who cares about the flavor of your food you will always use butter. Well unless, of course, you use lard. Oh Oh! Almost forgot, if your from the south there is always bacon grease.

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Chili Verde Con Carne is a green chili that I made for a potluck at work. Made with chunks of a beef roast cut up into bite size pieces. It tasted great but was a little off putting because of the way it looked.

Then there was Chile Verde con Carne y Tomatoes because my daughter didn’t like the looks of the “Chili Verde Con Carne”. This is essentially the same as above but with diced tomatoes added.

Then there was The Best Chili Con Carne with Beans which is more of a traditional American, mid-west chili. Once again made with chunks of beef.

Not everyone was crazy about the chunks of beef in the “The Best Chili Con Carne with Beans” so I made it with ground beef. Here is The Best Chili Con Carne with Beans 2.0.

Finally, if you don’t have the time or inclination to make your own chili and you just gotta have some you can always do what I do. I head to my local Wendy’s to get a large bowl of chili. I’m not saying it’s as good as a batch that you’ve been simering on the stove for eight hours, but in a pinch, it’s just fine.

Add two packs of  “Hot Sauce”,

Two packs of crackers, (I wish they had grated cheese)

Stir it up, and like I said “It’s just fine”

It’s a lot like “The Best Chili Con Carne with Beans 2.0″. Wendy’s chili is one of the best chili I have had at any restaurant, and by far the best corporate chili I have ever had.

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I have found a solution for all of us who have been, or will be, in this situation. You know that means all of us.

Try FoodDice.com. It will help you and your friends make a decision.

It even works on Web enabled phones. Here it is on my iPhone simulator.

So next time your yanking out your hair trying to decide where to go for dinner give FoodDice.com a try.

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I saw the menu for Palermo’s super extra large pizza. It’s a 24 inch monster. Here is what they say about it on their web site:

Are you tired of baby sized pizza? At Palermo’s Pizza our large pizza is a 24 inch giant. It’s nearly the size of three large at Dominos or Pizza Hut. Each slice is a foot long and loaded with quality toppings. We believe to call any pizza smaller than 24 inches “large,” is misrepresentation. How many times have you ordered a large pizza from other places only to be disappointed by some wimpy, baby sized pizza. Calling a 14 inch pizza large is like calling a Yugo a luxury car. Don’t be fooled.

They aren’t kidding, take a look

That is a 12 oz can of root-beer in the corner of the box.

Surprisingly it was very good! The cheese was chewy, the sauce was flavorful and the pepperonis and sausage were delicious.

All in all it was great pizza and the size was stupendous.

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I was Stumbling the web when I found The Crepes of Wrath blog which was doing an article about brownies with York Peppermint patties. Not being too fond of peppermint patties I thought of what I am fond of, and Reese’s’ Peanut Better cup miniatures sprung to mind.

So I set out to make some. I used boxed brownies mainly because the Lions were playing so I didn’t have time to make the from scratch. So it’s pretty easy.
All you need is:

Two boxes of brownie mix. I like Duncan Hines.
12 Reese’s Miniatures
2 six count Cupcake pans or one 12 cpount
Cupcake liners

Mix the brownies according to package directions. You can probably make  18 cupcakes with the two boxes of mix but I only had the two six count pans. So I used up the excess batter in a mini tart pan. It had 12 spaces for 2 inch tarts. You can put the rest in a 9×9 pan or what ever else you might have.

Place a scoop of brownie batter in the cups and squish the peanut butter cups in the batter, just enough to seat them.

Then place 1 and 1/2 scoops on top of the peanut butter cups.

You may need to bang the pans on your table to get the batter to flow around the cups.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with a very large glass of milk and enjoy!

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This was a fire in my home. But it was bad, at least for me.  We had just moved in to a newer place and I was not used to the burners on the stove. I was going to make some popcorn so I put the pan and some oil on the stove to heat. At our last abode the stove was lacking in the BTU department so it took some time to heat up the oil, or anything else. Not so at the new place. I went to check the oil and surprise it was on fire.

No big deal, I took the lid for the pan and placed it on the pan. Fire out. End of story? Not quite. I looked around for some place to dispose of the bunt oil, I still wanted popcorn.

Nothing in the house looked safe so I figured I would go throw it in the snow. I took the pan out side and removed the lid. Smoke shot out of the pan like a jet plane. Unfortunately, I admire it just long enough for oxygen to get to the oil.

FAWHOOM!! it burst into flames. Which really startled me, so naturally I tossed the pan, which then splashed flaming hot oil on my fingers? Why I didn’t just shove my hand in the snow I will never know.

I ran inside and ran cold water on it while my wife and brother where freaking out They saw the flash of flames and thought the worst. They were telling me I should get to the Hospital. I calmed them done and tried to relax myself to take stock of the situation. I said lets just sit here a minute and figure out how sever it was and how bad it hurt.

20 minutes later I was in the hospital emergency room shot up with enough Demerol and Morphine that it actually didn’t hurt any more. Well that’s not 100% true. It hurt but I just didn’t care.

I ended up with third degree burns to three fingers, and a new appreciation for patience.

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Here is the link: cookingbynumbers.com

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Unfortunately it was a little to crowded for my tastes. The view to the north.

The view to the south.

I did manage to sample one groups chili. They were from a local bar and eatery called Cheers Good Time Saloon. It was a passable chili, just the right heat but a little bit of a bitter after taste.

Found the guys from WLAV, they looked a little frazzled.That’s Bubba and Rob Brant.

Just after this picture’ someone spilled a beer down my back and then some chili on my shoes. Needless to say, I was ready to get the heck out of there. I just don’t seem to like the hustle and bustle like I used to.

I think next year I’ll enter the Chili Cook-Off myself.

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So I went to my bookmarks to find the recipes for the biscuits. This one had lots of pictures so I chose it. Cheesy Garlic Biscuits a la Red Lobster

Here is what you will need: (The link above doesn’t give you a list)

2 cups Buttermilk Biscuit Mix (like Bisquick or Jiffy mix)
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 to 1 1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2/3 cups of Butter Milk
4 Tbsp of Butter
2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Granulated garlic (They used Garlic Salt, Yuk!!)
A few Sprays of Pan Release (Pam or another brand)

Set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a cooking sheet with nonstick spray.

Dump the buttermilk biscuit mix, garlic powder, and shredded cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Stir everything together.

Pour in the milk. Stir until combined. As with all biscuit recipes just get it combined and as Alto Brown says, “ Just walk away”. It will look lumpy and not very well mixed. That’s OK just let it set for a few minutes and the milk will be absorbed and you will be rewarded with light flaky biscuits.

Use the two-spoon method to drop lumps of the dough onto your cookie sheet.

Stick them in the oven and set the timer to 10 minutes.

Now, melt the butter and stir in the oregano and granulated garlic.

When the timer goes off (10 minutes, remember?) brush some of the butter mixture over each biscuit. Then, pop them back into the oven for another 5-6 minutes, or until they’re lightly browned.

I brushed them with the garlic-herb butter again, waste not want not.

I served them with some grilled shrimp. I put BBQ sauce on half and more of the garlic butter on the rest. The shrimp was served on a bed of Green Chili Rice. Yummy!!

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“The slider is bifurcated, both upscale and working class now,” said David Gerard Hogan, a professor of American history at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio.

You just aren’t kidding. You can make them your self for a few pennies a piece or you can go the Kobe Club in New York City to get wagyu beef sliders that are served at the bar as a $27 threesome with caramelized onions, tomato, bacon and black truffle sauce.

Let me show you how easy it is to make these great little burgers so you won’t be tempted to jump on the next plane to New York City.

I made a big batch of patties and froze half of them for later, so you could probably cut this recipe in half. Or don’t and freeze some for your self.

You will need:
2 lbs Ground Beef (I prefer just plain old 80/20 hamburger)
1 med to lrg sweet onion diced fine
2 Tbls Granulated Garlic (as always, not garlic salt)
2 Tbls Season Salt
1 Tbls Season Pepper
Sliced Hamburger Dill Pickles
Heinz Ketchup
Franks Mustard
2 Packages of Dinner rolls. The square ones that come 12 to the package

Hardware:
Griddle of some sort I used my Happy-Day Griddle Grills
8 x10 Handy Wacks Bakery Tissue or waxed paper.
Rolling pin

Mix the burger, onions, and seasoning in a large bowl. Get in there with your hands and mix it up thoroughly. Anything else will just break.

Lay out some one of the handy wacks or peal off some waxed paper about 8 x 10 inches. This will be your rolling guide.

Place some of the burger mixture on the paper and shape it to the general form of the paper. Place more paper on the top and roll it out to about 3/8^th of an inch.

You don’t have to bust out a ruler, just make it thin enough to cook relatively fast. Once you have the burger rolled out remove the top piece of paper and cut the burger into more or less equal size squares. I used a pizza cutter

I made up all my patties before I started cooking.

To cook; heat your grill to med-high heat and toss on as many as will fit, or six at a time like I did. The important thing is that the will cook fast. So have everything else should be ready to go. Slice your buns and get out any other fixing that you want.

I served fries and corn-on-the-cob with mine. Just make sure everything is ready to go.

Flip the sliders once and top with cheese if desired. (Is there any other way) If there is room place the buns on the grill to brown and soak up some of the juices.

I was cooking so many I broke out the other Happy-Day Griddle to grill the buns on. Just lube liberally with butter. Or, dump some of the juices from the other griddle on it.

Once the cheese melt slide a slider on top the bottom bun and top with your favorite condiments. A pickle is traditional, but you can be creative and add what you like.

Enjoy!

As for the extra patties I just doubled up the waxed paper between them slipped them in a zip-lock bag and stuck them in the freezer till next time I get a craving for some great little burgers.

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