There isn’t any bad parts on a chicken. At least that is what my taste buds say. Most don’t like fried chicken livers, but I guess I am an exception to the rule. I do like chicken livers and eating them with other parts of the chicken is a good meal. I know most don’t like the taste of fried chicken livers, but they do like the drumsticks and breast from the chicken. I guess you just wouldn’t be American if you didn’t like at least one part of this tasty bird.

Now have you ever tried fried chicken hearts? They are hard to find in the supermarkets. I have seen the Tyson chicken company put a pack together that includes gizzards and hearts. It will mostly contain gizzards, but there are some hearts in it. I love fried chicken hearts and it’s probably the best part of the chicken for me. If you haven’t never tried the heart of a chicken before, you really owe it to yourself to try one sometime.

A chicken’s heart is not big. The taste of the chicken heart is nothing like the taste of the liver. So don’t worry about chicken hearts tasting like chicken liver. You can save your chicken livers for fishing and catfish love chicken liver and save the fried chicken hearts for eating. I understand why some don’t like the taste of fried chicken livers, but I think most would love the taste of chicken hearts. The gizzards in chicken is a little tough and chewy to eat. The chicken heart is easy to eat and not a bit chewy. A fried chicken heart is a wonderful treat and I’m sure there is some great health benefits in them too.

If you search different supermarkets in your area and perhaps ask the guy working in the meat department, you should be able to track down some chicken hearts. You could also call up the chicken companies like Tyson, Seaboard Farms, Pilgrim’s Pride, or Gold Kist and ask them if you could order some chicken hearts from them. All of these chicken companies should have websites online and you may be able to submit a question at one of their websites on how to order chicken hearts or where you might could pick some up at.

Killing chickens and eating them is common in the South. We have been known to have some good old fashion chicken dinners down here. If we get our hands on a few live chickens, we usually can kill and clean them our self. We can take an axe to their head and chop it off or just put their necks in our hand and begin shaking them until we break the neck and usually it separates from the body real easily. It might sound a litte gruesome, but it is a humane way to kill them.

The kids love to watch chickens getting prepared for the frying pan. After you do remove the head from the body, the body of the chicken can run around the yard for several minutes. If you ever heard the term “running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off“, you will know what it means, if you ever see this in person. The chicken’s muscles are still working in the body and especially the legs and wings, so after you cut the head off, you can see chicken running around and flapping it’s wings. This always amazes the kids and even the adults too! This is one way you can get the heart from a chicken, but there are more practical ways for those that do want to try fried chicken hearts. Please come back here after you have tried to eat some and let me know what you thought. If you have already ate fried chicken hearts before; then please let me know if you like them or never want to try another one again.

Mike Woodson the coach for the Atlanta Hawks has never been accused of being the sharpest tool in the shed and you will know why after his Thanksgiving comments to the team. He asked the Atlanta Hawks players (the NBA team he coaches) to not eat turkey on Thanksgiving day; due to a chemical in the turkey that causes drowsiness. His team had a big match up on Thanksgiving night against the Orlando Magic and this was a game that the team had to win.

Well that same chemical which is called tryptophan is found in pork, chicken, and some cheeses. Doctors say if you had an empty stomach and ate a really large amount of turkey; then a little drowsiness could occur. Most people want to take that cat nap after the big meal they eat on Thanksgiving; rather than the amount of tryptophan that is found in turkey that causes drowsiness.

Charles Barkley was wondering why the fans in Atlanta was not coming out and supporting the Hawks. They are off to a hot start and have one of the best records in the NBA. However, it’s the way Mike Woodson coaches the team and his philosphy on playing players that keep the fans from attending the Hawks games. So Chuck if you want to know why the residents in Georgia don’t go to Hawks games at Philips Arena; now you know!

For those that have tried to diet and exercise and need to lose some extra inches around the waist line then you want to check out Vaser Liposuction which is the newest technology in fat reduction. Through this innovative ultra sound technology you can trim down with a faster recovery time than normal lipo. This procedure is meant for health individuals so be sure and check with your health care provider. The staff at the clinics are prepared to answer your questions and provide a free consultation in order to make this procedure is right for you.

Do You Like To Eat Crab Legs?

I am someone that goes around saying that I love to eat seafood. I’m not really sure if I am a seafood lover or not. I actually like a nice piece of fresh fish that is grilled to perfection. If you can throw me an endless plate of popcorn shrimp and some french fries to go with my grilled mahi mahi, amber jack, tilapia, or grouper; then I’m good to go. There are a few other items that I like to munch on at the seafood buffets, but it’s the grilled fish and popcorn shrimp that I like the most.

I have seen over the years that the people that eat crab legs, really eat their crab legs! I have tried crab legs many times and still can’t find what the fascination with them is. I don’t think they taste bad, they are just something to nibble on for me. I’m sure crab legs is healthy and there are probably some good nutritional values in crab legs, but as far as taste they are just average for me.

The people that load up on Friday and Saturday nights and go eat at the local seafood buffets will fight people over their crab legs. I recently ate a Chinese buffet with my mom and they offered crab legs on their buffet. The restaurant could not bring them out fast enough to keep up with the demand of people wanting to eat crab legs. As soon as a big pan of new crab legs got brought out, about 8 to 10 people would snatch them all up and there were a couple that were still waiting for their crab legs. When people say they like to eat crab legs; then they really mean it and it seems to be the most favorite seafood item a buffet can offer.

I know crab legs influence the prices of buffets. I will see some buffets that are around 10 to 12 dollars, but on the nights they offer crab legs, it goes up a few extra dollars. It’s not worth the extra money to me and I would just prefer to go on the nights where crab legs weren’t being served. Now are you one of these crazy people that fills up your plate to the max and the crab legs are your main focus on seafood buffets? Perhaps you could help me to understand where this craze comes from and why so many people will make their self sick, just filling up their bellies with these crab legs.

If you want to start a restaurant and want an easy food that you can cook and serve, but it will be one that people will knock down the doors getting to; then focus on crab legs. I can’t think of another food that is more popular in restaurants than crab legs are. I would rank them as the most desired food in the world and especially when it comes to the popular items on a seafood buffet. Give me a list of some of the things you like to see on a buffet that specializes in seafood and how high does crab legs rank on your list?

I know I probably made some people hungry talking about crab legs, but no worries. The weekend is almost here and you can go out and find you a good buffet that offers crab legs. You may find the Chinese restaurants offer crab legs at a slightly cheaper price; than some of the other American restaurants that serve all-you-can-eat crab legs. I have heard that butter with crab legs is good and I haven’t never tried to eat crab legs with butter. I couldn’t tell you the differences in taste when it comes to Alaska Crab Legs, King Crab Legs, or Snow Crab Legs; it seems all types of crab legs are popular and I just don’t know why.

Those goodies the children get from going trick or treating each year is not intended for the adults. The parents might want to dive in their kid’s bags this year, but remember those Halloween sweets are loaded in calories. Adults that are on a diet will want to stay away from the candy this year and try their best to just skip Halloween. It may be tough for those that have kids or your house is a popular destination for trick or treaters each year. If you’re going to be forced to be around all those tasty treats this year, you may want to try taking an appetite suppressant and see if that helps to cure off the cravings. I have a sweet tooth 365 days a year, so Halloween is pretty much just another day for me. Some households will buy more candy during the Halloween holiday; than they would normally buy for the entire year. These are the situations that could be costly for someone trying to lose weight. It’s almost impossible to stay on a diet during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, so making a stand on October 31st does give you more freedom for the last 2 months of the year. If you fall off that wagon this early on your journey; you may still be trying to lose Halloween calories in 2010.

Most of the good food we eat in restaurants are usually in a building type structure. Anytime we think about a restaurant winning a food award, we naturally think about their location and what great food items they serve to win a food award. A recent food award was a little different and it didn’t go to the typical setting for a restaurant. This is because the award went to a New York Vendor that serves Mexican tacos. These awards were actually geared toward the vendors and gave them props for serving good food each day in New York City.

A husband and wife team that runs one of these NYC vendors was the lucky winners of the first prize that was given out Saturday at the 5th annual Vendy Awards. They mainly serve up tacos and quesadillas to their hungry customers in New York. They are very proud of their Vendy Award and it makes them feel good to know that people like their food.

The next time you find yourself in New York and you’re a little hungry; then make plans to search the streets for their Mexican taco stand. You will be able to buy most items for about 6 dollars, so it isn’t that expensive to get great food in the City of New York. We will have to wait until next year to see how their new found fame helps them at the 6th annual Vendy Awards.

If you like pizza and who doesn’t? Then an interesting story is breaking out of Louisville, Kentucky today. The owner and founder of Papa Johns Pizza was on a mission to find an old car he once owned. John Schatter had to sell his car to help his father keep a tavern going; while using the rest of the money to start Papa Johns Pizza.

 

He sold the 1971 Camaro back in 1983 and looking at it 26 years later, I think he made the right decision. I think most of us would sell our car today, if we knew we could turn the cash into a successful pizza chain. Papa Johns does make a great pizza with a very tasty pizza sauce. Adding in a pepper to each order has been a little trademark of Papa Johns and those peppers called peperoncini are great with Papa Johns Pizza.

It wasn’t easy to track down this 1971 Camaro and John did go to great lengths to find it. It turns out that the original buyer back in 1983 no longer had the car, but did help track down the people he sold the car to. These people still had the car and good thing they did. John wanted the car back so bad, that he posted a 250,000 dollar reward for the person that would deliver him the car back. After paying this hefty reward for his beloved car back, John did take care of the other guy that helped him locate the car. This man received a nice $25,000 for his efforts in helping the owner of Papa Johns Pizza to find his old Camaro.

Papa Johns Pizza stores all across the land are offering a free pizza on Wednesday (today) to anyone that owns a Camaro. You will be hard-pressed to find a better pizza out there and if you haven’t never tried a Papa Johns Pizza; then today would be a good time to start. Especially for those that own a Cheverolet Camaro and can get a free pizza!

I guess many of you are wondering what he will do with the car now? John actually had a replica on display in the Papa Johns Headquarters located in Kentucky. He will now replace that car with the actual car he had to sell 26 years ago. People visiting Kentucky for years had the KFC tourist attraction that people travel to each day to see where the first KFC restaurant was located and where all that good chicken started from. The success of Papa John’s business has made this another tourist attraction in Kentucky and you can purchase Papa John stock on the NYSE (PZZA). The stock price is up today and selling for just a shade over $24 a share. You can’t buy Papa Johns Pizza in every U.S. state and they are still growing as a company. I do think this is an attactive long-term stock to buy for those wanting to get in the pizza business through Wall Street.

Now the final numbers and tracking the famous 1971 Camaro goes as follows:

*John sells the car in 1983 for $2,800 to the original buyer (money used for father’s tavern in Jeffersonville, Indiana and to start Papa Johns Pizza)

*Original Buyer sells the car for $4,000 in 2004 (approx.) to Jeffery Robinson in Flatwoods, Kentucky

*John starts massive campaign to track down the black and gold Camaro and even offers a $250,000 reward

*Original buyer sees an interview with John on a preseason NFL game this month talking about the hunt for the car

*Original buyer contacts John and the person he sold the car to and helps reunite the man and his car

*Jeffery Robinson collects the $250,000 reward by selling the car back to John and the original buyer gets $25,000 for his efforts

All 3 men in this story profit from one very famous 1971 black and gold Camaro! Let’s look at this in terms of money spent and the money they earned by coming in contact with Papa.

1. Original Buyer buys the car for $2,800 and profits $1,200 when he sells the car for $4,000. Gets rewarded an additional $25,000 for helping track down the person he sold the car to. Total Profit: $26,200

2. Jeffery Robinson pays $4,000 for the car and sells it back to John for $250,000. Total Profit: $246,000

3. Papa John buys the car for $$$ (unknown) and sells the car for $2,800. Money used to help dad’s tavern and to start Papa Johns Pizza. John has to pay out $275,000 to retrieve the car. Total Profit: -$272, 200 Plus earnings from the Papa Johns Pizza Franchise which calculates into the millions based on the value of the franchise. Real Total Profit: Priceless

This is truly a story everybody wins in and I think all 3 parties are very happy about 1 special 1971 Camaro from the Blue Grass State of Kentucky. Not to mention the free pizza that every Camaro owner in America can take advantage of today or where they have a Papa Johns Pizza franchise.

Have you ever worked at a Papa Johns restaraunt? If so, then please be sure to share your stories on your work experience there. Do you like the food as an employee? How is John as a boss? Do you feel that Papa Johns Pizza is as good as Dominos Pizza or Pizza Hut’s pizza?

Have you ever ate Papa Johns Pizza? Please be sure to give feedback on how good you think their pizza really is? How do you think it stacks up against the other guys in the pizza market? How would you rank todays most popular pizza places?

1) Papa Johns

2) Pizza Hut

3) Dominos

4) Little Caesars

5) Cici’s Pizza

6) Other?

Since doing this blog post it has made me a bit hungry and I am craving a little Papa Johns Pizza. I think I would have to rank them (Papa Johns) first at this moment on my rankings. I would put Dominos in 2nd place, Pizza Hut in 3rd place, and Little Caesars in 4th place. Based on price and value for the almighty dollar, I do love Cici’s Pizza’s “all you can eat” buffets and rank them first on value with the $5 large pepperoni pizzas Little Caesars sells each day as 2nd on the value list. All 5 of these popuplar pizza chains do make great pizza and you should try them all. Let me know your favorite places to eat a good ol slice of pizza from.

Food in the NFL is getting expensive.

We really don’t get that hungry during the summer time or at least for people that live in really warm-weather climates. It seems our sun and the heat we have in the summers in North Georgia are like a natural appetite suppressant. It is different during the cold weather months and I think more of us get hungry during these times. I’m not saying we don’t ever get hungry in the summer months, but we do eat less when the weather is really hot outside. I’m sure people get hungry late at night if they worked in the hot sun all day and their bodies get a chance to cool down in the evenings. During these times I do build up a big appetite for eating, but you can keep the food for the daylight hours. Our food supply is much better in the summers, since fresh garden vegetables are available and they can make a good meal a better meal. Green beans and tomatoes are my favorite two things from the garden and they have a big taste difference compared to the ones you can buy at the store. Once you get a chance to experience this taste difference, you will want to eat fresh vegetables all the time and perhaps have fewer hunger pains when you do!

What is your favorite snack to munch on while watching sports on television? I know the NHL playoffs and NBA playoffs are in full swing and lots of fans have been glued to the tube watching their favorite teams play. The Detroit Red Wings are hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight and the winner of this game will be the ones skating around the ice with the Stanley Cup high above their heads. The NBA is getting ready for Game 5 on Sunday and this will take place in Florida. The Orlando Magic have only won 1 game so far in the series and it would appear that Kobe Bryant is about to win another championship with the L.A. Lakers.

All of this great sports action on television and I haven’t even mentioned baseball yet. I love spending my evenings watching the Atlanta Braves and this is my home town team. I get hungry watching these baseball games and all of my other sports too. I will eat just about anything that I can find, but was curious to what other sports junkies like to eat when they watch sports. Let me know what your favorite snacks are and maybe I can enjoy something new the next time I sit down to watch sports on television.

Did Dr. Pepper Lose Their Famous Soft Drink Recipe?

It’s not clear what was in an old book that a man in Texas bought. Bill Waters was just traveling through the panhandle of Texas; when he found an old ledger filled with formulas in a Texas antique store. He paid 200 dollars for the old tablet and began to notice some strange things in the old book; several different recipes for things like piano polish, cough syrup, and hair restorer. One recipe that caught his eye was for “D Peppers Pepsin Bitters” and this made Mr. Waters do some research on the old book.

He noticed some letterheads were from a Waco Drug Store and while doing research he found it was the first place that Dr. Pepper was sold at and this was W.B. Morrison & Co. Old Corner Drug Store. Charles Alderton was a pharmacist working in the Waco Drug Store and he started selling Dr. Pepper in 1885. The owner of the drug store in Waco, Texas was Wade Morrison. This was the start of the popular soft drink and today millions have tried Dr. Pepper. Also appearing on the cover of the book in faded letters was “Castles Formulas“. John Castles was a part owner of the drug store and was also a drugist there.

The people that run Dr. Pepper today in Plano, Texas says that the recipe is nothing like the 23 flavors that make up Dr. Pepper today. They suggest it might be a formula for something else and perhaps a stomach remedy. The book’s formula for the D Peppers Pepsin Bitters includes things like sweet flag root, syrup, and mandrake root. Apparently these are not the ingredients in the 23 flavors that make up Dr Pepper today. Only 3 people in the whole world know the exact recipe or formula for the 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper.

Does the Old Ledger with Formulas Have Any Value?

Apparently the $200 that Bill Waters spent on the old book while traveling through Texas isn’t a total lost. It is going to go on the auction block May 13th. People interested in obtaining this old ledger that does have historic value can place bids with the Heritage Auction Galleries that is based in Dallas, Texas. The old book that has more than 360 pages and its size is 8 1/2 by 15 1/2 inches is expected to get bids of $50,000 or more. I would think this would be a hot auction item and a lot of Dr Pepper fans may factor in on the price that this old book will eventually sell for. It doesn’t look like there is anything to gain from this book and the famous Dr Pepper recipe, but the historical value of this item is huge. It should be interesting to see what it does auction off for and the sell date right now is for May 13th. Congratulations to Bill Waters, who is 59 years old, for discovering this gem in a antique store in the panhandle of Texas.

A new burger may be coming soon to a McDonalds restaurant near you! The company is planning to release a new hamburger this year. It was going to be released in the fall of 2009 but it appears things are speeding up and we may see this new burger this summer. The new burger will feature the Angus beef that is said to be so tasty. I personally don’t see the fascination with Angus beef and it’s not too tasty to me. I know many food and beef critics would disagree with me on the taste. The new hamburger from McDonalds that will be made with Angus beef should be a hot seller in the first few weeks.

McDonalds will not keep the new Angus beef burger on the menu at all times. This will be a promotional item they bring on the menu from time to time. It will work like the famous McRib sandwich they offer and will appear every so often on the McDonalds menu. I love the McRib from McDonalds and I always go there and order it a few times when it appears at my local McDonalds. Now the new Angus burger from McDonalds isn’t expected to be as good as the McRib or even the Big Mac for that matter. A company spokesperson even went on record to say that the McDonalds Angus Burger isn’t the Big Mac. It should offer another solid choice for those that like to eat at McDonalds regularly.

What are your thoughts on the new Angus Burger from McDonalds? Do you think this will be a big product for them or something that disappears in 2009 and is never seen again? How excited are you to try this new burger?

Which McDonalds Product Would You Order Today?

1. Big Mac

2. McRib

3. New Angus Burger

4. Other

Would you like to try an award winning chili recipe? Susan Dean took top honors with this great chili recipe in 2008. Let’s look at the steps for making Susan’s famous chili recipe:

Step 1 – Combine 3 TB San Antonio Original Chili Power and 2 TB Mexene Chili Powder to create Susan’s chili powder blend.

Step 2 – Brown 2 pounds of coarse-ground beef. Cover with liquid and boil for 20 minutes.

Step 3 – Add the following and simmer for one hour
               One can 14 ½ Swanson beef broth
              1 -  8 oz can Hunt’s no-salt tomato sauce
              1 cube Knorr’s beef bullion
              1 cube Knorr’s chicken bullion
              3 TB Susan’s chili powder blend
              1 TB granulated onion
              1 TB paprika
              1 pk Sazon Goya
 
 Step 4 – Add the following and simmer for thirty minutes
              2 TB Susan’s chili powder blend
              1 tsp granulated garlic
              1 TB cumin

 Step 5 – Adjust heat with Louisiana “Original” Hot Sauce

That’s it!

Did you ever think an award winning chili would be so easy to make? Based on some recipes I have seen that won awards, I think this one is pretty simple to make. Are there any ingredients in this chili recipe that you don’t like?

If you’re looking for something to do one weekend and have a craving for chili; you may just want to try Susan Dean’s chili recipe. This tasty chili did win an award and you can be the judge and see if you think it is award worthy. Enjoy!

I love to eat lasagna. I think I must have been an Italian in my past life, because I really love the foods from Italy. If you have a great recipe for lasagna, I would love to give it a try. I am looking for some great lasagna recipes and look forward to trying some new ways to prepare lasagna.

I tried one the other day that was great. I didn’t cook it, but the person making this lasagna added in mushrooms and black olives. I never have thought to add-in mushrooms and it’s strange that I haven’t; since I do like mushrooms so much. I like black olives on pizza and it does work well with the lasagna too. Perhaps you can add mushrooms and black olives to your lasagna the next time you prepare it. If you do like to cook lasagna and have a good recipe or steps into making it; please reply to this blog post with recipes and all the tips you have for making a great lasagna.

Doesn’t it seem like Saturday evenings and the nights were made for the best meal of the week? I think the greatest meal of the week should always happen on Saturday night. This is the night you take the family to the local steak house or a good seafood restaurant. Every family needs that one night of the week they can expect to get a really good meal. A buffet that you could eat all you wanted or your favorite restaurant is where you should be this Saturday night. A big dinner out and then you can come home and relax to some music and sip on the brew you got from the wine of the month club. I think Saturday nights like these would make working during the rest of the week easy. You need something to always look forward to. If you don’t have that now; try adding the Saturday night meal to the schedule.