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Chicken Hot Wings – Oven Roasted and Cooked to Perfection

Tom December 19, 2016 Dinner, Easy Impress, Essential Homemade, Grain-Free, Paleo Friendly 0 Comments

Do chicken hot wings have their own place in the food pyramid? I think they might have left them off the bottom… Maybe they just ran out paper when they were drawing it.

Glorious chicken hot wings, how I love thee. If there ever was a food that could brighten even a dark Chicago winter day, it would have to be the perfectly roasted chicken wing, with magic dust of course, and finished with some Frank’s hot sauce. Worries disappear as you get covered in hot sauce and the lips start to tingle. BLISS.

I perfected this recipe while living in CHI-Town (Chicago for the rest of y’all) in a classic high-rise condo building. It’s nice enough, but they forgot to put a balcony with a grill on our unit! Consequently, I have been relegated to preparing my favorite chicken wings in the oven. My love for wings and chicken makes this one by far the most tested recipe.

For years I have oven-roasting these famous wings on aluminum foil lined pans, but recently switching over to parchment instead. I have heard from a few people about how aluminum might hurt the brain… I would much rather kill my brain cells with booze rather than aluminum foil!

Be careful, these wings are bound to impress your friends, so buy plenty if sharing. I have seen 100 pound girls demolish upwards of 20 wings, seriously.

These wings are also great un-sauced for those with a little less tolerance for the spicy.

Let’s Cook!

Recipe for Oven Roasted Chicken Hot Wings with Franks Hot Sauce and Magic Dust

Ingredients

Hot Wings
3 pounds high quality chicken wings
1/2 cup Magic Dust seasoning (Check out the recipe!)

Sauce
2/3 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce
1/2 stick butter (not margarine folks…)

Chicken Hot Wings – Oven Roasted and Cooked to Perfection

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Summer Seafood Stew with Salmon and Mussels

Tom September 21, 2014 Dinner, Easy Impress, Great Left-Overs, Paleo Friendly, Recipe 4 Comments

Seafood Stew Recipe with Salmon, Mussels, Fennel, and Chorizo

Bright, hearty and complex! This salmon and mussel seafood stew has a delightfully fresh tangy flavor and a deep savory finish. Although it is a warm stew, it is perfect on a summer evening with a glass of white wine.

This is one of our favorites for at home celebratory meals. Compared to some of the more simple (and cheaper…) dishes featured on Eat with Tom, this one is definitely worth the investment. Maybe a good idea for the next big night in with your sweetie…

Feel free to make this with whatever seafood is available in your area, this dish is versatile. I have made it with a variety of fish and seafood ingredients, but have landed on Coho salmon and mussels as my favorite. The Coho Salmon has a strong flavor that is perfect in the stew and tends to hold together nicely.

Recipe Inspiration – Feasting at Home (blog)

Don’t forget the lemons! The stew develops a wonderful depth of richness that is brightened up with the zestiness of the lemon juice.

Step-by-Step Summer Seafood Stew Recipe

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Sweet Potato and Hamburger Hash – Paleo Breakfast Ideas

Morgan Paris August 19, 2014 Breakfast, Easy Impress, Paleo Friendly, Recipe 5 Comments

Sweet Potatoes with Hamburger Breakfast Recipe

Guest Post from Morgan Paris Fitness

“What should I eat for breakfast?” AKA – the most common question I receive from clients who are just starting their Paleo journey. This warm and savory dish with a hint of sweetness from the sweet potatoes makes for a great start to many of my days. With grains and dairy out of the question, most people are not sure what they will do without their standard breakfast of cereal with milk or yogurt.

And I don’t blame them! This is a common hurdle for people making the lifestyle change because most traditional breakfast foods don’t fit into the Paleo template. So I wanted to share this extremely versatile recipe for Sweet Potato Hash to help you see that breakfast can still be really yummy, even without ham, cheese and egg sandwiches. :)

One of the reasons I started making this recipe was the fact that I was eating according to the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol to help relieve some of my autoimmune symptoms. One of the foods to avoid in this diet is eggs. At first, that seemed to take away even more options for breakfast but I soon realized that it actually expanded my options – I could eat all sorts of things outside of the traditional breakfast choices! So thanks to the Autoimmune protocol, this delicious recipe was born.

And in fact, although the base of this recipe is the sweet potatoes and ground beef, you can add in as many different kinds of vegetables as you want (I use mushrooms and spinach most often) and experiment with the type of protein as well. I also love using ground turkey thigh and ground lamb. It’s fun to experiment with flavors and textures!

“Let’s Cook”, as Tom says!

Sweet Potatoes with Hamburger Recipe

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Healthy fruit recipes easy peach seasonal toasted quinoa ideas

Peach Quinoa Crumble (Vegan, Gluten-Free) – Healthy Dessert Recipe Ideas

Angela June 25, 2014 Desserts, Easy Impress, Recipe, Vegan 2 Comments

Peach Quinoa Crumble – Healthy Dessert Recipes

**Guest Post from Angela the Baker**

Toasted and ground quinoa combined with almond meal elevates this simple peach crumble to gourmet status. Almonds and peaches are a winning combination as close cousins on the family tree (pun fully intended.) These blushing ladies I got are so amazingly sweet, it only takes a little boost from some jam and maple syrup to reach that perfectly balanced nature of home-style fresh fruit crumble. Missouri has so many wonderful small production farms and orchards. When I saw these peaches from Hilltop Farm, I melted with joy! This is seriously healthy comfort food any way you slice (or scoop) it. Bonus, it’s vegan!

For the topping I toast and grind the quinoa to create the awesome texture everybody loves. The sweet nutty flavor that develops compliments the almond meal and oats, enhancing the simple nature of the grain. Bound by some coconut oil and seasoned only with a pinch of salt and some sugar, the stuff is snack crack!

The recipe will yield a bit of extra topping, never fear, try it on top of some fresh fruit (or homemade yogurt) and you will be in heaven. When I first became aware of quinoa, I didn’t give it much thought, but a fascinating conversation with a friend and a few minutes on wiki got me really excited. As a pseudo-cereal, it is a complete protein, and chalk full of important minerals that some people struggle to include in their diets like magnesium, calcium and iron; with plenty of fiber and essential amino-acids this underutilized grain deserves its super-food title.

I hear a lot of requests for vegan and/or gluten-free desserts, and before recently, I would have just passed it off. But the more I explore the better I feel about adapting my favorites. I personally have no need or major concern for following any specific diet plan, no big allergies to contend with or any other situation, but I have come to love cooking this way. You can really wow some people after they’ve tried this crumble by telling them it’s true nature. The smells that come from it while it’s baking should be bottled and sold.

As Tom would say,
“Let’s cook!”

Peach Quinoa Crumble – Healthy Dessert Recipe

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hot wing dust spice blend recipe for magic dust

How to Make “Magic Dust” Spice Recipe, Amazing Chicken Wings

Tom June 9, 2014 Basics, Easy Impress, Recipe, Spice Blend 2 Comments

Chicken Hot Wing Dust Spice Blend Recipe

The one and only “Magic Dust” by Mike Mills, is an amazingly versatile dry rub style seasoning for chicken and pork. The flavor is slightly spicy and savory invoking an almost Cajun effect that finishes with hints of sweetness. It is guaranteed to invoke fond summer memories of outdoor barbecues and sauce on your shirt. (kinda like that old country song…)

Recipe Inspiration – Peace, Love, & Barbecue

You can use this spice blend a thousand different ways, but my favorite is on roasted chicken. Just substitute it for the Rustic Tuscan Season from my earlier post “Cook Her the Perfect Roasted Chicken.” Be sure to drizzle a bit of olive oil on your meat first to help open up the spice. It is gentle enough that you can generously throw it on without fear.

The combination of salt and sugar in the “Magic Dust” helps to create a luxuriously satisfying crunchy chicken skin. No matter how strong your self-control, you’ll be eating some of that skin! Try it on wings and finish with “Frank’s RedHot” sauce to create the best hot wings known to man. (More on these wings to come in a future post!)

This is another recipe that I discovered through my dad, who has been known to make some seriously good barbecue over the years. He first utilized Magic Dust on pulled pork, both as a dry rub before smoking and post pull, directly on the sandwich. Be sure to check out the original source of this recipe, Mike Mills book Peace, Love, & Barbecue.

All spices from our local shop The Spice House in Old Town – Chicago

Spice Blend Recipe Chicken Hot Wing Dust

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The best recipe for gluten free pizza - chickpea flour crust

Chickpea Pizza with Eggs, Spinach and Tomatoes

Tom May 7, 2014 Dinner, Easy Impress, Gluten-Free, Recipe, Vegetables 10 Comments

Gluten-Free Chickpea Flatbread Pizza Crust Recipe

“I want Pizza!!” We all have the craving, so why fight it? This gluten-free pizza recipe will leave you not only satisfied, but inspired to create all kinds of pies. The chickpea crust has a uniquely creamy and hearty taste that will fill you with happiness. Not to mention, the crust is soooo easy to make, you will never have the urge to deal with a ‘regular’ pizza dough again!

Recipe Inspiration Food Matters, Mark Bittman

This recipe has become a busy evening favorite at my house. As with any pizza, you can make it as complicated or simple as you like. I erred on the simple side for this ‘za (as my brother the pizza delivery driver says…) to help you get a handle on this method of creating the crust. Also, with a pizza this basic, you likely have most of the ingredients in your fridge.

This dish has evolved from the Mark Bitman recipe for Easy Whole Grain Flatbread. He mentions building the pizza after the bread (crust) is fully cooked, but I have modified the cooking times to accommodate a hearty dose of toppings.

I have baked this off quite a few times and have included a few tips below that will aide you in a perfect pizza on your first try.

Chickpea Pizza Crust Recipe with Eggs, Tomatoes and Spinach

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Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Grapes

Tom April 17, 2014 Dinner, Easy Impress, Recipe, Side Dishes 0 Comments

Roasted Brussel Sprouts Recipe with Grapes

When did Brussels sprouts become so cool? People that normally don’t like veggies will even eat these. They seem to have turned into the gateway drug for folks that often stay away from the green stuff. Cool to me!

My parents introduced me to this dish and at the time I had not traveled down the veggie road nearly as far as I have today. Although it was a few years back, I can still vividly remember the first time these divine tiny cabbages crossed my lips (sounds kinda dirty… oh well.) The explosion of the sweetness from the cooked grapes tames the slight bitterness of the Brussels for an incredible taste.

This last December, some friends of mine were throwing a potluck dinner party at Christmas-time for quite a large group of early and mid-twenty somethings. As always, I wanted to share some of my favorite dishes, so I brought a few pounds of roasted broccoli and Brussels with grapes. I assumed I would be the one eating them all and might even have to drag the leftovers home, but worth a try.

To my utter amazement, the broccoli and Brussel sprouts were the first empty dishes! I spent half my night explaining the recipes to everyone. Bottom line, if you want to impress some people, serve this one!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe with Grapes

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Perfect Roasted Chicken Recipe – Impress the Ladies!

Tom April 13, 2014 Dinner, Easy Impress, Essential Homemade, Paleo Friendly, Recipe 5 Comments

Perfect Oven Roasted Chicken Recipe

The easiest way to get the perfect girl to fall in love with you, serve her a perfectly roasted beautiful bird. The mythical aphrodisiac effects of the golden crispy skin and luscious meat will unfold before your very eyes. Or at least she will give a hearty compliment on your valiant attempt and big hug. But hey, I’ve heard success stories…

Recipe Inspiration – The Perfectly Roasted Chicken, Mindy Fox

This method really benefits from starting with a high quality chicken. I have had the best luck with air-chilled birds. As much as I like to eat organic, I have found that the Whole Foods chicken that is one step below (around $8 per bird) are pretty comparable. Learn to cook a chicken with this technique and you will never be tortured with dry white meat again. Rarely a week goes by in which I don’t roast a bird for at least one meal. If I am feeling fancy, rich or just want to impress some special lady, I will splurge on the most expensive organic bird I can get my hands on. I still remember this $22 bird I got from a small butcher shop (The Local Pig) in Kansas City, roasted it, and MIND BLOWN. I learned the power of happy, healthy chicken on that fateful evening. Wow.

Roasted Chicken Recipe

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Healthy recipe ideas for dinner, Portabellas make a great side dish

Portobello Recipe – Roasted Mushrooms with Balsamic Vinegar

Tom April 10, 2014 Dinner, Easy Impress, Paleo Friendly, Recipe, Side Dishes 0 Comments

Portobello Recipe – Roasted Mushroom Side Dish / Appetizer

Portobello mushrooms are from Mars… A UFO shaped meaty treat magically grows on composted poo… Yep an alien species! I am always amazed by their interesting structure (pop off the stalk and observe the texture) and how they seem to hover somewhere between the animal and veggie world. Maybe they are actually more like fish, they do have gills.

Anyways enough of the tangent… This recipe for preparing portobellos is SUPER simple and will give you the confidence to just pick up a few mushrooms and make them anytime. I will often grab a few of these mushrooms to make as a snack while enjoying a glass of wine cooking dinner. A great appetizer idea.

Fun Fact: Portobellos are actually just mature cremini (button) mushrooms. Check out mushroominfo.com

Recently I picked up a bottle of some exquisite balsamic vinegar a cool little shop called Old Town Oil in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago. I love finding places like this that are amazingly authentic with true quality ingredients. So just to tell you how cool it is, they have an entire store with large kegs of various olive oils and balsamic vinegars. The kegs have taps on them, and they encourage you to try EVERYTHING. This place is definitely on the list for further exploration.

Let’s cook!

Roasted Portobello Mushroom Recipe

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Eat with Tom makes easy recipes that promote healthy living

Grain Free Fried Rice Recipe – Grated Cauliflower and Shrimp

Tom April 6, 2014 Dinner, Easy Impress, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Great Left-Overs, Paleo Friendly, Recipe, Side Dishes, Vegetables 4 Comments

Grain-Free Fried Rice Recipe made out of Grated Cauliflower

Seriously, is that fried rice without a grain of rice?? The amazing cauliflower strikes again! Really, what can’t you do with cauliflower? Recently I have ran across recipes utilizing this humble plant in all kinds of uncommon ways, such as pizza crust and taco tortillas to name just a few. Maybe I will have to do an entire series on innovative uses of cauliflower. I am intrigued.

This fried “rice” experience is so fast and easy to prepare, it will likely go onto your list for weekday dinner meals. This meal will satisfy even a hearty desire for savory spice without lots of meat. I have also made this without shrimp and its 93% as good. Just add all of the spices to the onions and carrots to make a pure veggie version.

This was one of first times putting ancho chiles to work. The fragrance and color take this dish to the next level. I picked up some that were already ground up at the Spice House in Old Town. As I was testing this recipe, one attempt got so spicy that I nearly made my girlfriend cry… and we are not talking about my spicy dance moves either. So be sure to measure out the peppers in this one or cut them back a bit if are feeling a little less adventurous.

To top off this recipe, don’t forget the squeeze of lime right at the very end. The touch of acid brightens the flavor and finishes it so nicely.

My favorite thing about this recipe: It’s cauliflower, eat as much as you want.

Let’s Cook!

Cauliflower Fried Rice Step by Step Recipe

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