By Mike Thayer Out of all the snacks out there available in food land, chips are my go-to.  It doesn’t really matter what kind of chip, potato, corn, pita, or tortilla.  They could be regular, with ridges, rolled or puffed.  They could be classic, kettle cooked or flavored in some fashion.  Chips are no doubt […]

Southwest Flavor By Mike Thayer Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.  To me there’s nothing more comforting to start the day than a cup of coffee and a warm breakfast sandwich of some type, meat, cheese, egg in a biscuit, crescent roll or wrapped in a tortilla. But I’m trying to cut back […]

By Mike Thayer A friend of mine gave me a popcorn popper for Christmas, something I’ve never seen the likes of before. Without question it is THE most easy to use, most efficient popcorn popper I’ve ever used and I’ve tried them all!  I’ve done Jiffy pop, cast iron over electric and gas stoves, stove-top […]

Great Deal! By Mike Thayer So having received a mailer from Natural Grocers for what they are calling a “Breakfast Bundle” – buy some bacon & eggs and get some free pancake mix, I decided to check the store out. I’ve never shopped at Natural Grocers before and I was looking forward to seeing what […]

By Mike Thayer I hate doing dishes, even with a dishwasher available.  If there’s a way to avoid doing dishes, even if it’s simply rinsing off some plates and silverware and throwing them in the dishwasher, I’d just rather not. Enter, Sandwich Baskets. Whoever invented these things was a genius, I LOVE these things!  I […]

By Mike Thayer Did you have a grandma and grandpa that had a cellar or basement full of canned goods and food supplies?  I did, they were the parents of six kids, a farming family, living the hard life through the Great Depression.  They used their life skills to get through some very tough times.  Lessons of […]

By Mike Thayer If you don’t have any pork flavored Ramen on hand, beef works too Ramen soup, it’s cheap, it’s a budget food, a single-person’s food, a plan ‘B’ food, a college dorm food, a don’t-know-what-else-to-have-so-this-will-have-to-do food… Don’t just make it per the package instructions, liven things up!  And what a great way to […]

By Mike Thayer So you’ve got a bunch of ham leftover from the Christmas dinner you made, or holiday ham you were given to take home….  You can’t just keep slicing a big thick slice of it off and eating it as is…..  Well, you can, but there’s no variety in that. What else can […]

By Mike Thayer Tortilla chips, the foundation of so many fantastic snack and appetizer creations, ‘chips & salsa’, nachos, ‘chips & guacamole’, ‘chips & bean dip’….  they’re also good used as a crunchy topping for just about any Tex/Mex casserole dish.  Having a good chip puts all those great foods in tasty motion.  Then there’s […]

By Mike Thayer Blended and flavored whiskeys are red hot right now, consumer demand for brown spirits continues to rise with American Whiskey in particular seeing some phenomenal sales growth. Regular readers know that I am a fan of flavored whiskey, I’ve always got a bottle of something in my freezer for a chilled shot […]

By Mike Thayer Here’s a nice little hack for making some really great ‘Pulled’ (shredded really) Pork done in the crock pot. Margarita Mix Talk about some flavorful, oh-so-tender and juicy pork!   And this recipe is versatile.  You can go classic BBQ, Mexican or even Asian cuisine with this recipe/shortcut/hack. Ingredients: 2 pounds of pork […]

By Mike Thayer I recently wrote about what to look forward to in 2019 from fast food.  Trending, are smokehouse/steakhouse style burgers and sandwiches and the meat of the year is predicted to be brisket. Does size matter? Consumers are clamoring for something more, creations beyond the ordinary realm of classic burger and sandwich flavors.  […]

By Mike Thayer So you’re cruising down the Interstate needing to go somewhere 200 miles away, you’re making good time when your progress gets slowed by a stop at a toll booth….  UGH!  Having to stop is a bit of a pain, sometimes there’s a line of cars and trucks, more pain….  Stop to get […]

By Mike Thayer I am a sucker for just about any kind of egg roll, pot sticker, dumpling and the like.  I’ve always got a box or bag of something along those lines in my freezer.  Recently, I picked up a bag of Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu from Costco.  It’s a new offering by my […]