I have always liked the idea of Hamburger Helper, but I think it misses a lot of things in it. I looked around online to see if it was possible to come up with a nice way to make homemade Hamburger Helper. I found a great site called CheapCooking.com. There they have a whole page on what spices to mix together to create the base mix and also what to add to make the different flavorings that Hamburger Helper comes in. Here is what you will need to make the base spice mix…

1 1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 Tbs. garlic powder

2 Tbs. dried parsley

1/3 cup instant onion

3 Tbs. onion powder

1 Tbs. salt

1 2/3 cup dry milk

3 1/2 Tbs. beef bouillon

Mix this all up and store in a glass jar or other sealed container. Use 1/2 cup for each pound of ground meat.

After you have your base spice mix you can make your Homemade Hamburger Helper just like you would with the store bought product…

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup of mix (above)

2 cups noodles

2 cups hot water

Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the dry mix. Add 2 cups hot water and 2 cups noodles. You can add more or less water and noodles, proportionately, depending on much you need to stretch that pound of beef. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook until noodles are tender, about 20 minutes.

Here are all the ingredients you will need…

I mixed mine in a large plastic bag. It was easier to combine all the ingredients and shake it up.

I then browned the ground beef. As you can see, I used a nicer ground beef this time. It was on sale at Kroger.

Once the beef was browned I added the half cup of spice mix, 2 cups noodles and 2 cups hot water. Bring back to a boil.

Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir every once in a while. The noodles should be nice and tender.

This is for my Catholic friends that can’t have meat on Fridays during lent. A friend made this for me a week ago and I liked it so much I cooked it the other day at home for myself. I typically don’t cook fish at home, I’m not sure why. This dish is Tilapia fillets with a Parmesan cheese sauce. It is so easy to cook and is very cheap. Here is what you will need.

Tilapia (about 3 or 4 fillets)

3 Tablespoons Mayo

1 teaspoon Spike or other all purpose spice

½ cup Parmesan cheese

Pinch of Red Pepper

¼ stick butter

I first made the sauce that will top the Tilapia. Combine the mayo, spike, cheese, pepper and butter into a small mixing bowl. Still together well and heat till it all melts together. Change the amounts as you see fit. I think I used a little too much butter.

As the sauce melts, place the tilapia on a broiling pan or a glass casserole dish. I just used my small dish.

Broil the fillets for 3 minutes per side. After each side has cooked for 3 minutes, top each fillet with the cheese sauce.

Continue to broil for 2-3 minutes until the sauce is the texture you like. I like mine with just a little brown on top.

Remove from the dish or pan and serve with some nice fresh veggies. Here it is just by itself on my plate.

I have some friends that decided to raise some chickens for fresh eggs. I have always heard that fresh eggs taste so much better than store bought eggs, but never had the chance to try them. Luckily for me, my friends gave me half a dozen to try. Needless to say, I am now a huge fan of fresh eggs. To really try it out, I fried a store bought egg right next to the fresh egg. Here is the difference between to two raw eggs. The one on the left (white) is the store bought and the one on the right (brown) is the fresh egg only a week old.

As you can see, they are just about the same size. I have been told that the size does vary from egg to egg. I also noticed that the fresh egg had a harder shell on it. I fried both of these eggs in a frying pan with left over bacon grease. Here they are just after cracking them. Still store bought on the left and fresh on the right.

What I noticed right away was the color difference of the yolks. The fresh egg had a much darker look to it. The egg whites also held together more than the store bought egg. This made for a nicer thick fried egg. The black spots are just pieces of left over bacon, so don't worry. Here they are when fried up.

They look about the same now except that the fresh egg on the right is much more thick. I first took a bite out of the store bought egg on the left and then the fresh egg on the right. Wow! There is a big difference. The fresh egg is full of flavor with a great texture. Every bite tasted like a great egg. The store bought was fine, but there was nothing special about it. I really did not expect there to be as big of a difference. I am now in love with fresh eggs! I am lucky to have friends that raise chickens, but you might be able to find some fresh eggs at your local farmers market. If I had to buy my eggs, I would definitely spend more for fresh eggs!

I received this email yesterday from the FDA regarding a recall of "Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars." It almost sounds like an April Fools joke, but it is real. I thought you might get a kick out of it.

DateTue, Jan 18, 2011 at 6:01 PM

SubjectRECALL: Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars

Candy Dynamics Recalls Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:03:00 -0600

Circle City Marketing and Distributing doing business as Candy Dynamics, Indianapolis, IN, is issuing a voluntary recall of all Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars, all flavors, Net wt. 0.7 oz (20 g) package. The product is imported from Pakistan.

• Product: All Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars, all flavors
• Distributed: Distributed nationwide in retail stores and through mail orders
• Why: Contains elevated levels of lead
• Illnesses reported: None
• For more information: Call Eileen O’Neal at 317-228-5012 (Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm EST) for further information.

So I then had to click the link and read more about this recall. Here is what the FDA has on their website for this product...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 13, 2011 - Circle City Marketing and Distributing doing business as Candy Dynamics, Indianapolis, IN, is issuing a voluntary recall of all Toxic Waste® brand Nuclear Sludge® Chew Bars, all flavors, Net wt. 0.7 oz (20 g) package. The product is imported from Pakistan.

A recent test performed by the California Department of Public Health has indicated that a lot (#8288A) of the cherry flavor of the above-listed product contains elevated levels of lead (0.24 parts per million; the U.S. FDA tolerance is 0.1 ppm) that potentially could cause health problems, particularly for infants, small children, and pregnant women.

Out of an abundance of caution, the company has determined to recall all lots and all flavors of the product distributed from the product's inception in 2007 through January 2011.

The products are identified as: Toxic Waste® Nuclear Sludge® Cherry Chew Bar (UPC 0 89894 81430 6), Toxic Waste® Nuclear Sludge® Sour Apple Chew Bar (UPC 0 10684 81410 7), and Toxic Waste® Nuclear Sludge® Blue Raspberry Chew Bar (UPC 0 89894 81420 7). Each chew bar has a net wt. of 0.7 oz (20 g).

No other "Toxic Waste®" brand product is affected by this recall.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.

The recalled Nuclear Sludge™ Chew Bars were distributed nationwide in retail stores and through mail orders.

The company has discontinued distribution of the cherry flavor and had previously discontinued distribution of the other two flavors.

Candy Dynamics is sending recall notices to its direct customers. Anyone in possession of the recalled product should telephone the company for information on destruction of the product. Please call Eileen O’Neal at 317-228-5012 (Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm EST) for further information.

You would think that the company would have seen this coming with that kind of name!

I have been on a mission to find the best pizza dough recipe that I can make in my bread machine. I think I have finally found it here at allrecipes.com. What I like about it is how simple the ingredients are and how well it comes out. Here it is.

Ingredients

* 1 cup flat beer

* 2 tablespoons butter

* 2 tablespoons sugar

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Directions

1. Put beer, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting, and press Start.

2. Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Roll or press dough to cover a prepared pizza pan. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

4. Spread sauce and toppings on top of dough. Bake until crust is lightly brown and crispy on the outside, about 24 minutes.

For the flat beer I just used a Miller High Life which is very cheap. My beer is normally not flat so I just poured one cup into a bowl and whisked it till it was flat. A little bonus is you get to drink the rest of the beer as you prepare the dough. I added everything into my bread machine and selected the dough setting. When it was done it had a great texture that was real easy to work with. I am still trying to get better at tossing my dough, so don’t laugh at the pictures below. I made a BBQ chicken pizza this time and it came out great. The crust is crispy with a flavor that you would expect from a good pizza parlor. I think this will now be my go to recipe for pizza dough.

Here it is on my pizza stone. See what I mean about my tossing ability

I then made a BBQ chicken pizza. I used shredded chicken from Angel’s BBQ and their house BBQ sauce.

After about 13 minutes in the oven at 500 degrees it came out nice and crisp.