There's no such thing as a buffalo turkey!

Yesterday may have been Labor Day to you but to me and two of my closest friends, it was Girls’ Day. I had Nichole and Sage over to hang out, eat, and plan our friend Katie’s baby shower. So yes, we mixed business and pleasure and ended up hanging out well into the night but the tiredness I am feeling today is totally worth it.

I played tennis in the morning with an awesome group of people (who actually asked me to join them again so I must not have been too terrible) so I prepped for Girls’ Day the night before by making the buffalo-turkey patties so they’d be ready to grill when I got home.

Tennis ran long and the girls beat me to my house so I did not hesitate to put them to work when they offered. Sage made the salad and Nichole took notes on the baby shower while I grilled up the burgers even though according to Sage, “there is no such thing as a buffalo turkey.” Sage may be an expert in many areas like Olympic Weightlifting and advice-giving but she doesn’t know that much about cooking (yet) which is why I usually have her over to eat instead of the other way around.

We wrapped the burgers in lettuce and ate them alongside Sage’s lovely salad while sitting in the back yard and catching up on all the things going on in each of our lives. We proved many things that day and one is that time really does fly when you are gossiping with a gaggle of good friends. Before we knew it, it was nearly 5PM and Sage took off for the grocery store and then home to study. Nichole stayed around to hang out so I decided to give her an impromptu cooking lesson. She was in a pretty bad car accident a few weeks ago and has just now got back to a regular routine including proper meals and has, admittedly, never really known how to navigate the kitchen.

I opened the fridge to see what was available. Since I probably should have joined Sage at the store, there wasn’t much to the naked eye but what I saw was potential for an Asian-inspired almond chicken. I quickly thawed a couple chicken breasts and whipped us up a meal in about 10 minutes. Nichole seemed highly impressed so I let her take home some of the leftovers for making me feel so smart.

Buffalo-Turkey Burgers
2 lbs. ground bison (Costco has started carrying this along w/ bison NY strips)
1 lb. ground turkey
3 cloves minced fresh garlic (or 3T pre-minced stuff in a jar)
Fresh basil, finely chopped (I got it from my friend Krazy K’s garden but it was probably 2 store pkgs.)
Salt & pepper

Put all ingredients in bowl and mix well. Form meat into about ten baseball size balls and flatten each into a patty. Grill what you are going to use immediately then individually plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze the rest for a quick meal later on. Serve on large pieces of lettuce w/ all the fixins.

Almond Chicken
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
½ onion, thinly sliced
1 small red or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 cloves fresh garlic (or 2T pre-minced)
1 jalapeno, minced or a sprinkle or three of red pepper flakes (optional for heat factor)
2T sesame oil
4T almond butter
4T (approximately) chicken broth (I always have a container in the fridge for such occasions)
2 cups raw broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces

Sautee onions, peppers, garlic, and jalapenos in sesame oil on medium-high heat until veggies start to soften. Add chicken and cook through. Turn heat to medium-low and add almond butter and chicken broth and mix in until a sauce forms and coats the meat. Toss in broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve.

Bison Ribeye & Krispy Kale - The One-Two Punch for a Fight Night Brainstorming Session on "The Evil Cooking Empire"

My friend Angela invited me over last night to watch the fight and cook some yummy food but really I went to talk about this new project called The M Good Life; the ongoing story and daily dialogue of my (I’m M Good) healthy life. I’m putting it all on this blog with the intent to turn it into a practical and fun show.

The blog will fuel ideas which will be turned into episodes of my “talk cooking show”. Each episode, I will interview a guest with expertise in a specific health-related topic ranging from acupuncture to organic farming. The topic of each episode will provide at least one related recipe that will be prepared for viewers.

Angela and I already have enough ideas to produce a weekly show for a year or more. She is full of ideas, excitement, and energy so she makes the perfect producer for this project. I know she will be able to help me finally make this “Evil Cooking Empire Dream” a reality by keeping things rolling behind the scenes as well as in the occasional cameo appearance or contributing editorial.

Not only is Angela a great producer, she’s also a mighty fine cook. For dinner, she prepared bison ribeye, sweet potato fries, and grilled eggplant from her garden. My contribution added crunch and texture to the meal. I wanted to share an unusual way to eat a dark leafy green and made Krispy Kale, a recipe I got from my friend, Lu Crenshaw, at CrossFit Allegiance.

This menu is perfect for a night of brainstorming since all of the recipes are simple and require minimal ingredients and prep time.

Bison Ribeye: Rub each ribeye with garlic, salt and pepper. Grill over charcoal to your desired cooking temperature (medium-rare is suggested).

Sweet Potato Fries: Cut sweet potatoes into long pieces and toss in olive oil or coconut oil then sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake at 425 degrees until slightly brown (about 20 minutes).

Grilled Eggplant: Cut eggplant into long pieces so they will not fall thorough slats on grill. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Grill for about 3 minutes on each side.

Lu’s Krispy Kale: Cut stems off of one bunch of kale. Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet and broil for about 3 minutes then flip and broil another 3 minutes. Watch these pretty closely because they finish quickly. You will know when they are done when they start to brown.