This was not the first time I've cooked lentils, but they were delicious! A neighbor had given me a bag of dry brown lentils, so I wanted to cook them.   But how?  I wasn't in the mood for Mediterranean or Middle Eastern food, and most recipes for lentils are in those categories. So I came up with my own, based on how I've cooked red beans. Lentils don't take as long to cook as regular dried beans do, so they only took about 5 hours on low in the crock pot. Put one pound of dried lentils in the crock pot, and cover with chicken broth. After a couple of hours ..read more

As is the case for most of my original recipes, this one was created out of leftovers I had. I had some baby carrots in my fridge, that I had to use up. And I also had some leftover chicken broth. So I decided to put the baby carrots in the broth, and cook in the crock pot. It was awesome on its own, but you can season it however you like. You could even add potatoes and onions, if you're so inclined ..read more

So as we all are during this current pandemic, I'm staying home. And due to the grocery shortages because of everyone hoarding, we get the groceries we can get; I've been eating whatever is in my pantry. So I made a batch of Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice, because I love that stuff.  I could eat it every day. Today, I was craving carrots. So I heated up a can of carrots, drained, stirred in butter and brown sugar, and then mixed it in with the wild rice. It was quite delicious ..read more

What?  Pickle juice? Yes, Pickle juice. I first prepared the baby back ribs by seasoning with seasoned salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder.  Roasted in the oven at 400 degrees. When they were ready, they were terrific! But on a whim, remembering that a certain chicken place uses pickle juice on their chicken, I decided to try pickle juice on the ribs. So I poured some pickle juice on a sample.  Ehrmahgerd! I poured more pickle juice on more ribs.  It's awesome ..read more

This poem has been a work in progress for over 30 years. It's based on my life experiences: It doesn't take a genius or that Ph.D. of his,  to know "it's nothing against you, but", always means it is. it doesn't take a genius and it doesn't take much smarts,  to know that "I'm not prejudiced, but", always means you are. It doesn't take a genius and it doesn't take much thought,  to know that "I am sorry, but" always means you're not. it doesn't take a genius and it doesn't take much blue, to know "I don't condone that, but" means you certainly do. It doesn't take a genius ..read more

As with all recipes "created by me", this recipe was created by accident. I had made smothered fresh green beans for Thanksgiving.  I sauteed some "creole seasoning"** in olive oil in a cast iron skillet.  Added seasoned salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder.  Then I transferred it to a crock pot, along with fresh green beans, and added some chicken broth.  Cooked down the green beans overnight. ** "creole" seasoning is in the refrigerated produce section; It's finely chopped onions, celery, green pepper, and garlic, in a container ready to use.  I hate gre ..read more

Pictured above is the new Lodge product, the "cook it all". It markets itself as a combination griddle, grill, wok, pizza oven, and dutch oven. Which it basically is.  And when I saw the video, I immediately wanted one... until I saw the price tag.  Yikes!!! So having said that, there are some things you should know about the cook-it-all: It's got a ring on the bottom, that lifts the pot about an inch off the ground, just like camp oven legs.  So it is not practical to use on an indoor stove.  Maybe the oven. It's meant to be used over a campfire.  Video reviews ..read more

Tonight I had a slab of baby back ribs that I had to do something with. I've tried several different recipes for ribs, but tonight I decided I was going to try making one on my own. First I put the following seasonings in a bowl:  Black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar.** **I also added seasoned salt, but due to the salt content in yellow mustard, you don't need the seasoned salt.  Paprika might have been good. Then I rubbed the slab of ribs with yellow mustard.  Sprinkled the seasoning mixture on the ribs. Into the oven at 400 degrees.  I put the ribs ..read more

Years ago, I got a Volcano stove, after reading all of the hype about how great it was. I used it several times, and experimented with it.  Some of my experiences were good, and some did not meet my expectations. About two years ago, on finding that it was permanently stuck in a half-open position (would not collapse, would not completely open), I donated it.   That was actually one of my main issues with it, that I never posted about.  The collapsible Volcano gets stuck entirely too easily.  In fact, I kept it in the open position, because it was too difficult to o ..read more

This is an Orion Cooker.  It's a convection cooker, and it uses coals on the outside, while the food cooks on the inside. I tried to make a cheap, makeshift "do it yourself" orion cooker, using the bottom of my charcoal grill and a steel metal bucket, turned upside down.   Did it work?  Absolutely.  Would it have been much easier to use the Orion cooker?  Absolutely. I used my makeshift "do it yourself" orion cooker to make what is known as "trash can turkey", or as I prefer to call it, "turkey in a can". Thankfully, I only had a 10 pound turkey, because tha ..read more