Pico de gallo in a gyro One of my experiment creations! *Weird sounding but taste AMAZING!*

I have always been known for mixing foods and coming up with creations and etc. So one day I found out about a wrap named (Gyro) it soon became one of my favorite foods! So the day I found out about Pico De Gallo I had one, and it happened to be the same day I had my gyro. So first let me explain what a gyro is for those who may not know. A gyro is a wrap that can come with chicken or lamb and lettuces and tomato, onions, a special sauce wrapped up, it is simply amazinggg!!! So the day I found out about Pico de gallo my cousin was eating it. Now let me explain how the  Pollo de gallo is a spanish cuisine my cousin had was made so this was an uncooked sauce with tomatos and some of the things that are in the gyro; but I've seen that there are different ways to make it, however the way it was made for my cousin was amazing to go with my gyro and it can be eaten with chips. So being curious to how it taste I asked her to let me try it, when I tried it it was amazing. I still had my gyro and I put the Pico de gallo inside the gyro and it gave an extra kick and taste to the gyro! Marinating the sauce with the special sauce in the gyro and everything that comes in the gyro, it was amazing. I always think someone should be open to try something if it involves something that they already like and something else that has the ingredients of something else that you would potentially like.
For me personally I love the lamb gyros but I suppose the chicken gyro will be just as good with Pico de gallo. Being that my family is diverse I have different foods I eat and try so my creativity stays building and I am always creating what someone would call weird but I always suggest gyros to people if they don't know what it is or if they know but haven't tried it; and now that I know about the spanish cuisine I think even if you don't try it with the gyro like me people should try it anyway because it is so good! The Pico de gallo can be made at home and gyros can be gotten at places such as American Bistro, Mama Mia's and other places possibly that sell wraps. So everyone try away! ^ _ ^

Red Lobster's Cheddar Biscuits and Apple Sauce

 Ok here we go. Are you ready for this? My weird food combination is Red Lobster's famous cheddar cheese biscuits and ..... APPLE SAUCE!!!! That's right, apple sauce. Oh my goodness it is so good. I mean the cheddar biscuits are perfect on their own but the combination of the two together is unparalleled. What makes this a combo a match in Heaven is the contrast. You know what they say, opposites attract. The cheddar biscuits are salty to say the least. That's why we love them. They are packed with sodium and cheese which gives them a salty and starchy kind of taste to them and flavor that we crave. The apple sauce on the other hand has the almost exact opposite taste to it. Apple sauce is sweet with a hint of cinnamon in it. It’s also interesting because the biscuits are solids and the apple sauce is more of a liquid but it's not a liquid! (I think I am getting a little too excited about this topic) I like my apple sauce cold but that's just me. I like it cold because it balances out with the warmth of the cheddar biscuit. Let me set the scene for you.

                The red head Red Lobsters waitress places the basket of freshly made cheddar biscuits on your table that you have been yearning for ever since the aroma smacked you in the face when you first walked into the restaurant. You rush in to get the largest biscuit you see and then quickly realize how warm those biscuits actually are. You almost drop it on the table but somehow you hold your composure and gently place it on your plate. You look over to youre apple sauce, pick up a spoon and taste the sweetness of its content before you indulge in the meal that is cheddar biscuits and apple sauce. You pick up your biscuit and rip it into a fourth of a piece. Then you dip the piece into the apple sauce slowly. Why slowly, for dramatic effect of course. Now here comes the best part of the meal, you put the apple sauce covered piece of biscuit in your mouth. Your tongue starts to tingle. Your mouth begins to water. You start to see butterflies and unicorns. What is this feeling that I am feeling, you ask yourself. That, my friend, is the feeling of ecstasy throughout your mouth. (Not the drug but the other ecstasy)

                If you want to know how I stumbled across this pleasant combination, it’s because of my wonderful mother. It was totally by accident. Every year my grandmother celebrates her birthday at Red Lobsters. One year she drops a piece of her biscuit into the apple sauce and decides to take a chance and eat it anyway. She realized that it did not taste as bad as she thought it would and everyone else who tried it also enjoyed this new treat. Ever since then, we have been eating biscuits with apple sauce because it is delicious. We are so determined that when Red Lobster decided to stop serving apple sauce at their restaurants, we would bring our own apple sauce. Yes, it is that good. So the next time you’re at Red Lobsters eating those amazing cheddar biscuits, think of this story and imagine how much better it would be of you had some apple sauce with you. 

CHICKEN AND WAFFLES

Some times when its time for dinner you have a craving for breakfast so what better way to have this meal for dinner. Even though this meal might sound weird or nasty to some but it’s a meal catching on to a lot of people especially in the south is chicken and waffles. And I say don’t knock it till you try it, waffles are a huge staple for breakfast and every one loves fried chicken so why not add both of them together for a meal. To me you can enjoy this wonderful meal for either breakfast or dinner.  The classic flavor combination of sweet and salty is to die for. The chicken is crispy and savory with that fried taste, while the waffles are light, fluffy and sweet and once you add syrup on there its like heaven in your mouth its such a wonderful combination that I feel like every one needs to at least try once in there life time.

 The concept of chicken and waffle was born in Harlem, New York in the 1930’s Wells served many celebrities as they hung out in the late night hours. Many of them could not decide if they wanted breakfast or dinner so why not have both and BAM the creation of chicken and waffles started and is still going strong. And it caught on in the ATL with the building of Gladys Knights chicken and waffles in 1997 and has been going on great ever since. It’s a most try spot when you visit Atlanta or when you live in Atlanta.

 There are many ways to going about eating this wonderful meal. Some people go right for the chicken, saving the waffle for dessert. Others do exactly the opposite; they start with the waffle, because they want to save the chicken for last. You can shred the chicken, put it on the waffle, and pour syrup over the whole thing and eat it like that. I personally eat half chicken then half waffle and back to the chicken and end it with the waffle, switching from salty to sweet is a unique taste I must say the most.

So I end this with next time you are clubbing in the ATL and the end of the night has came and you are not drunk and starving instead of going to waffle house and just be limited to just waffles go to Gladys Knights chicken and waffles they are open to 4am and you will be hooked from there on in. The wonderful taste that I explained earlier or even better when you are drunk and starving you will find yourself asking why I have never enjoyed this wonderful combination. 

by: Kyle Sisneros

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it

First off, I am a fiend when it comes to mixing leftovers up to make new dishes. Basically I hate to waste food. So that extra broccoli from two nights ago gets added to last night’s pot roast and potatoes and all of them get diced up and added into an omelet. Pretty normal stuff. Not terribly original but it works.

The second thing you should know is I’m not really an ice cream person. Sensitive teeth. So I like to make ice cream sundaes sans the ice cream. Most of the time I use a bowl of cereal as my base, usually Honey Nut Cheerios, and then pile on the toppings: banana, chocolate syrup, strawberries, nuts, and lots of whipped cream. And NO CHERRY! Those things are nasty. My husband pounds down cereal by the truckload each week so oftentimes I find my pantry out of stock of my regular sweet tooth fix. Enter spaghetti. Actually it was macaroni elbows but pasta is pasta. I had leftover noodles in the fridge, but none of my usual ingredients. I did however have some real maple syrup, a jar of pumpkin butter that was about to expire and whipped cream. 

Taking my cue from Buddy the Elf, I poured on the syrup but instead of M&M’s and marshmallows I added a couple of dollops of pumpkin butter, sprinkled it with chocolate chips, pecans and topped it off with LOTS of whipped cream. And then for good measure I added a bit of cinnamon. It was amazing! And I’ll explain why it makes so much sense.

Plain pasta is amazingly versatile. It’s basically just starch and has no preference in the battle of savory versus sweet. Rice, another simple starch, is a great example. Rice pudding is an internationally well-loved dessert and chicken and rice soup makes a nice change from typical chicken noodle. Or just think of the versatility of bread. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are just as popular as grilled cheese. (Actually I prefer almond butter and Nutella but that's besides the point.)

Then there is maple syrup. I’m not talking about the brown colored corn syrup Mrs. Butterworth calls syrup. I’m talking real Grade A maple syrup preferably from Canada. In my humble opinion maple syrup is the best product we can obtain from trees. (I mean who really needs shelter and oxygen?) And what do we usually put maple syrup on? Waffles. Pancakes. In other words starches. I will ignore for now the joy of maple bacon. (If you’ve never tried maple syrup on bacon or sausage you are not living a full life.)

Pumpkin butter is a truly amazing thing. Sweet and spicy and so holiday! My sister and mom actually sent me some from my favorite store in San Diego last year for my birthday. It’s smooth and sticky and spreads easily. It forms a wonderful “sauce base” for the noodles, getting into all the elbows.

Whipped cream. Need I say more? Well I’ll just say that the dairy fat helps balance out all the sugar so far adding some richness. And chocolate chips and pecans added a much needed textural component to all the soft ingredients. The judges on Chopped would be pleased. Finally, the dash of cinnamon just looks damn pretty. And of course it complements the spicy pumpkin butter very well.

By breaking this dish, which I will dub “Ode to Buddy”, down to its components, it makes so much sense why this works so well. I really don’t know how I never tried this before. But I urge you to head to the grocery store and get everything you need right now! You won’t be disappointed. I promise.

You a broke college student? I got the meal for you!

The best food combo is spam, rice, and ramen. Yeah, I know, typical Asian ingredients, but this is the best poor man’s meal out there. I mean, you buy a can of spam for two dollars, a bag of Korean Shin Ramen noodles for like 68 cents at H-mart, and a bag of rice for twenty dollars that lasts a month or so. In total the meal would really be less than five dollars if the rice were bought in a single serving. This may sound fattening and salty, but it is delicious. The best thing ever invented since sliced bread. I mean like it’s spicy, meaty, and has rice/noodles. That includes all the essentials to make it through a day. Protein in the spam, sodium from the ramen soup base, and carbs from the rice/noodles; that’s three of the essential nutrients that nutritionists say are necessary for a body’s daily intake. It’s a perfect meal for anyone and everyone who likes to live off of five-dollar meals a day, but wait, there’s more. If you buy everything in bulk, as in a 20 pack of noodles and a whole case of spam, the cost by dollars and will last you for weeks. This is the best food combo ever. I mean like nothing will top this because it is beneficial in every way, except if you’re trying to eat healthy. But come on, like as if college students can afford expensive groceries like raw, free-range, drug-free, organic chicken. That junk is just too pricey for a poor college student. Plus even if the student could afford it, who would pick that over spam. SPAM. It has just as much protein per serving as chicken, but tastes so much better and can be prepared in a wide variety of recipes. It’s even precooked so you could eat it cold.

            Not only is this meal affordable and delicious, it is also non-time consuming. Unlike other meals where you have to pull out the whole nine yards of cutting boards, knives, saucers, and dishes, this meal requires a knife to cut the spam and a pot to boil it all together and even eat out of. You use three things in total to make this and it takes not even five minutes. It takes less time to cook than eat. What isn’t there to love about that? It saves time, is delicious, and is cheap. Who likes waiting an hour for food when it only takes ten minutes to eat? Take five minutes to make this and ten minutes to enjoy eating it.

            This recipe can also be improved upon if you feel fancy that day. I mean add an egg and BOOM a whole other world of flavor. Cooking dinner for a date? Just add an egg, chop up some fresh green onions, add a little bit of garlic, and BAM done. The girl will be all over you like white on rice. She’ll be so mesmerized by your “technique” of cooking this that her mouth will be constantly at work eating all the food. It doesn’t take a genius to realize the potential of this meal. This is by far THE best combo ever. 

KING COMBO

What's your favorite meal. Is it normal, because I know mine can get a little out of hand according to some people. Still, that's not always a bad thing. Some people get tired of normal and want a little change. Like everyone else a guy loves his food but if you want the best combination of weird meals possible, I'm your guy. Growing up in a house that loves going to golden corral I have come up with a meal combo that beats out all others in my opinion making it a just a MUST TRY.

First we have to get our plates situated. You start with what I like to call the pig out plate. On this plate I usually have popcorn shrimp, macaroni and cheese, a slice of pepperoni pizza, boneless pork ribs, and if any room is left on the plate then you can add on anything you desire . For me it may be extra shrimp or even some creamed corn, depends on how i'm feeling at the time. Then you move on to the plate I like to call Fruit Frenzy. I usually throw my favorite fruits on this plate, which would be a full plate of pineapples, tangerines, grapes, and sometimes peaches. Healthy, and delicious two words that some up my Fruit Frenzy plate very nicely. And what's a meal without dessert right? For I call the dessert page sweet childhood, because for the most part I still get the same dessert as I did when I was a child. I get a plate on rice crispies, marshmallows, and strawberries and drown them all in the chocolate fountain. Then I get a bowl of vanilla ice cream and fill it with  gummy bears and m&m's. My mouth is watering just thinking about the taste. Now I know many might look at these plates and think to themselves "what the hell is this guy thinking. But you have to take into consideration how good these different foods are when you eat them together. Pizza is usually eaten alone, and it's so good by itself, this is true. But what if you add the equally delicious popcorn shrimp to your taste buds. Take a bite of your pork rib and then follow it with a scoop full of macaroni and cheese. Top it out by taking a bite of whatever the last item you picked at this point your taste buds are already in heaven. Mix up the order you eat your food and surprise your mouth with the unmatched goodness of some of your favorite foods. Enjoy the different juices coming from the fruits that fill up your second plate. What could be better? I know, how about topping everything off with chocolate sweets and custom made ice cream. Give your sweet tooth something to yell about. Your already having a party in your mouth, why not invite more guess. If you try these combinations, I assure you you will be satisfied when you're finished chowing down. That's guaranteed or your money back.

Weird Food Combo "mango and peppered seasoning"

                My favorite weird food combo is moderately ripened mango dipped into a blend of seasonings because it satisfies every taste bud in your mouth, it fills you up and it is also a healthy snack. The seasonings comprise of Maggie cubes, which are a salty mixture of hydrated shrimp, beef or chicken, mono-sodium glutamate, and paprika cubed together, sugar, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.

                Firstly, the mango has to be moderately ripened to perfection. It should not be over ripened so it does not have a soft feel to it and should also not be too raw. The mango should be a hard ripe so that when it’s peeled, it still maintains its oval shape, since the slices must be a soft crisp. The mixture of seasonings should be done in a separate bowl and it takes a professional seasoning mixer like me to get the right amount of each ingredient.

                Mango dipped into this perfect blend of seasonings is the best weird food combo because as soon as you dip the freshly peeled and sliced mango into the seasoning mixture, the process of enjoyment begins. You start to salivate in anticipation of the taste. As you take your first bite, the tartness of the lemon slaps your taste buds and before you can respond to that, the sweetness of the sugar takes over the sweet buds and again, before you try to acknowledge the sweetness, the saltiness of the Maggie cube kicks in just in time for you to experience the tongue licking hotness of the cayenne pepper. At this point, you give up trying to evaluate what taste sensation you are experiencing and move on to enjoying the fresh fruit. Your mouth is now happy with you because all your taste buds have been satisfied, and even your teeth appreciates the tender bite into the fruit and your cheeks are watering in excitement for the next bite. The next bites are awaited because like the first, the anticipation starts from the dipping process and continues until the last bite.

                Mango dipped in this special blend of seasoning is also the best weird food combo because it is actually a very filling snack. The combination of tastes send signals to your brain that you have satisfied all your buds and therefore assumes you are filled up.

It is also a healthy snack choice because mango is a tropical fruit that is known to help prevent cancer as the antioxidant compounds in it protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers. Mango also helps lower cholesterol because of its high levels of fiber, clears the skin, helps in diabetes as it helps normalize insulin levels in the blood and last but not least, mangoes are a great source of vitamin E which help improves sex.

In the end, I believe that you will agree with me that mango and my special blend of seasonings is the best weird food combo ever as it benefits you in many ways while satisfying your hunger generously.