Epic Cooking/Food Recipes & Tips (A Gamer's Food Guide)

[Hesruk]

Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

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• 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed (1")
•  8-10 medium potatoes cut in 1/2" cubes
•  1/3 cup olive oil
•  1&1/2 tsp. salt
•  1 Tbsp. black pepper
•  1 Tbsp. paprika
•  2 Tbsp. garlic powder
•  6 Tbsp. hot sauce
•  2 cups fiesta blend cheese
•  1 cup crumbled bacon
•  1 cup diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a 9X13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the left over olive oil/hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl ix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.  Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Hesruk

[Thectelo]

Thec Vegi Grub

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• Celery
• Zucchini
• 1 or only half of a large Jalapeno (cut out the middle to be able to use the whole jalapeno)
• 2 Stewed canned tomatoes
• 36oz Kidney beans can (big can)
• Baby carrots
• Garlic
• Organic veggie broth
• 3 cups of water
• onion
• Submarine roll with butter

1 tbsp of each:

• Thyme
• Basil
• Oregano
• Parsley

Sautee celery, zucchini, jalapeno, baby carrots, garlic, and onion directly in the soup pot until tender with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. Mix the remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat for about half an hour. Stir occasionally. Best served with submarine rolls and butter to absorb broth.

 

[Hesruk]

Big Ol' Mess (Smoked Sausage in Spicy Sweet Sauce)

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• 1 lb smoked sausage, cut into chunks
• 3 jalapeno peppers, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 sweet onion, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1⁄4 cup Tabasco sauce
• 10 ounces sweet and sour sauce

For the grill:

Make an aluminum foil bag. Use 2 12" x 18" sheets of heavy-duty foil (or double regular foil) and, (after the ingredients are in the bottom half), crimp the top half on.
Put the sausage, green pepper and onions in the bottom half of the foil bag.
Mix the Tabasco up with the sweet and sour sauce and pour it over the sausage mix. Seal the foil bag with the top half. Make sure it is "leak-proof".
Place on the grill (gas or charcoal) and cook for a total of 45 minutes, turning after each 15 minutes.
You can slit the bag open when done and serve from it at the campsite.
If you are cooking this in the hot coals of a campfire, reduce the total cooking time by about 15 minutes and turn every 5 minutes.

For the Stove:

Follow the instructions above, substituting a boiler for the foil bag, and cook on Medium to Medium-high heat, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes.

* - This is served, as is, as a side dish at the campsite, but I put it over rice (roasted/baked potatoes could defiantly be subbed) and made it a main course!

** - I also added an additional red pepper, and orange/yellow bell pepper for color

[Xoza]

Fruit & Nut Bars

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Simple ''create your own" dried fruit and nut bars.  You'll not only save money, but since they're slightly smaller, they'll make the perfect 150-calorie snack or dessert. They're made with almonds, dates, and raisins, but you can get creative and experiment with different nuts and dried fruits.

              

Ingredients:    (You'll also need:  A food processor)

• 10 dried dates, pitted
• 1 c. raw almonds
• 1/4 c. raisins

 

1. Mix Ingredients:  Process dates, almonds, and raisins in food processor about 2 mins, or until they're chopped and thoroughly mixed.  Fruit should appear smooth, but you'll still be able to see bits of nuts.  Mixture will look like firm cookie dough.
2. Form One Large Bar:  Tear off a 12 in. x 18 in. piece of plastic wrap and lay flat on a counter or cutting board.  Place mixture in center.  Pull up plastic on either side and begin to press it together to form one large bar, keeping the layer of plastic between your hands and the dough to prevent sticking.  Squeeze (& press) mixture firmly together — if it's loose, it'll fall apart when you try to eat it. You'll end up with a quarter-inch thick bar that's about 3 1/2 in. x 7 1/2 in.  Wrap large bar tightly in the plastic.  Place it flat in the freezer for an hour to harden slightly, which will make it easier to cut into bars.
3. Cut Into Individual Bars: Remove the large bar from the freezer, unwrap it, and place on cutting board. Divide bar in half, and then cut each half into thirds, creating six bars total. Nutritional Info:  One bar is under 150 calories, and contains a fair amount of protein and fiber. This is one well-rounded snack.

 

Costs Breakdown:     Cost of each bar:  65 cents

• Dates: $2.69 for a pack of 30; 10 dates cost 90 cents.
• Almonds: 3 lb. bag costs $14.99; one cup costs $2.50
• Raisins: 12 oz. bag costs $2.89; 1/4 cup costs 48 cents.

Total cost of ingredients for six bars: $3.88

 

Store any bars you don't immediately eat (or share with friends) in an airtight container in your cupboard. You can also wrap the bars individually in plastic wrap to pack in your purse or gym bag. If you're not planning on polishing off the bars within a week, store them in the fridge.   This will no doubt become one of your favorite treats. 

 

Approximately 100 calorie Raw Fruit Snacks -

• Apples. . . One and three quarter cups of sliced apples is 99 calories, but you'll also be consuming 4.6 grams of fiber.  
• Bananas. . . One medium banana offers 105 calories and 422 mg of potassium.  
• Blueberries...  Enjoy a cup and a quarter of fresh blueberries and it'll run you 103 calories. It's also a good source of fiber, offering 4.4 gms per 100-calorie serving.
• Cantaloupe. . . Another melon loved in the summer is cantaloupe (especially coupled with cottage cheese and craisins). It'll run you 106 calories if you eat two cups of this diced melon.  
• Grapes. . . I'm loving popping cold grapes in my mouth to stay cool. You'll consume 101 caloriesafter gobbling down 30 grapes (red or green).  
• Kiwis. . . Two whole kiwi fruits offer 93 calories, and who knew — 1.7 grams of protein. 
• Oranges. . . It's 106 calories for one and a quarter cup of sliced oranges. Besides vitamin C, this serving size of citrus also offers 407 mg of potassium.
• Pears. . . If you love this voluptuous-shaped fruit, one medium-sized pear is worth 96 calories, and you'll be happy to hear 5.1 grams of fiber as well
• Strawberries. . . Two cups of sliced strawberries is about 106 calories and over 500 mg of potassium — that's more than 100 calories of banana.  
• Watermelon. . . Enjoy two and a quarter cups of diced fruit for 103 calories. It may surprise you to hear it also offers 2.1 grams of protein. 

[Xoza]

Egg Salad Sandwiches

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With eggs being really cheap right now, there are plenty of recipes and tips out there for using eggs. This is easy and quick enough you should be able to toss it together and be happy with it.

 

Gaming impediment time: 15 minutes.

Don't forget to set timers.

 

Ingredients:

• Eggs
• Mayo
• Mustard
• Paprika
• Green Onion
• Salt
• Pepper
• Bread

 

1. Hard Boil Eggs
   1. Fill pot with cold water just enough that it would cover one egg.
   2. Add a little vinegar and salt  to the water.
   3. Place the pot on the stove and place eggs in.
   4. Set stove on high and cover.
   5. Wait for a rolling boil (consistent boiling).
   6. Remove from burner and let sit for 12min.
   7. Remove eggs from water and let cool and dry.
   8. Peel and chop.
2. Mix:
   1. Add eggs to mixing bowl or container.
   2. Add no more than one tablespoon of Mayo per egg or two.
   3. Add Mustard to your liking (no more than a quarter of the Mayo you'd put in, unless you really like mustard).
   4. Toss in some paprika, salt and pepper to your liking. (no more than a teaspoon depending on how many eggs you have).
   5. Add chopped green onions or greens. (you can use a little onion powder if you don't have anything,  same as the above spices).
   6. Stir or close and shake.
   7. Add to Bread.
   8. Win.

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