EASY, HEALTHY-ISH RECIPES TO MAKE WHEN YOU’RE WASTED FROM A NIGHT OF BINGE DRINKING.

by Greg Colfaz (NWM Staff Writer)

Hey from Cottonwood Idaho. Well November has crept up quietly behind us and thrown that proverbial plastic bag over our heads. I blink my eyes and I’m 3 weeks away from my high school buddies making return trips to the Gem State. Which means lots of “catching up” nights at the bar. It also means more drunk cooking, since our diners close waaaay before the bars do ‘round here. If this sounds familiar, here are 2 NEW seasonal, healthy-ish recipes that are a cinch to make after a supreme night of beer boozing…

BEER ‘N BEAN DIP

Ingredients:

• Old El Paso Refried Beans
  
• Kraft Mexican Shredded Cheeses
  
• Can of beer (dealer’s choice)
  
• Tostitos Scoops

Directions:

Grab a big bowl and empty in the can of refried beans. Mix well. Then add a generous sprinkle of cheese. Microwave at 20 second intervals. This way you won’t over-cook the cheese. When, things start to get hot, stir in 2 pours of a beer and bring on the chips.  Enjoy!

FESTIVE TUNA CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

• 2 packs of Ramen Noodles
  
• 1 box of Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese
  
• 1 extra packet of Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese powder
  
• 1 can of tuna
  
• Mayo
  
• Tub of margarine 

Directions:

In a bowl (with water) nuke the Kraft elbow macaroni for 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Next do the same with the Ramen noodles, except for only 2 minutes. Combine noodles in BIG bowl, add packets of cheese and stir. Make sure there are no clumps of powder. In another bowl mash up tuna and add mayo.  Dump tuna in with noodles with margarine and more mayo. Stir some more and eat. Serves 12 (or 1 drunk person). 

NOTE: Bacon bits can be added to either recipe.

EASY, HEALTHY-ISH RECIPES TO MAKE WHEN YOU’RE WASTED FROM A NIGHT OF BINGE DRINKING.

by Greg Colfaz (Staff Writer)

Hey from Cottonwood, Idaho. Big surprise, my town doesn’t have lots of late night eateries like you city folks. Sure we’ve got the Pizza Factory and Camas diner and couple of other places. Though to be honest, the whole town pretty much goes to sleep at 5 past 2am. So if you’re looking for late, late night, drunk eating options you have to fend for yourself. Drunk cooking. Here are my 2 standby recipes (any wasted moron can make) that are somewhat healthy-ish.

EASY MAC STEW SURPRISE:

What you need:

• Can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew
  
• Pack of Kraft Easy Mac.
  
• Ball Park turkey franks

How to make it:

Nuke all 3. Probably best to do it one at a time. Chuck everything in a bowl. Mix it up. Then nuke it again for 2 minutes. Chances are you didn’t fully cook anything the first time.

Healthy ingredient(s):

Ball Park Turkey Franks (if you only use a half of one – yaaa!)

 

LEAN CUISINE O RAMEN:

What you need:

• 1-2 Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatball meals (for guys 2 is standard)
  
• Margarine / butter type spread
  
• 2 packs of Ramen Noodles
  
• Kraft low fat parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Microwave the Ramen noodles first. Drain, then place to the side. Next, cook up the Swedish meatballs. Throw everything in a big bowl and mix (same as recipe #1). Use your drunk-discretion when it comes to how much parmesan cheese and butter you want to add. I usually go for broke.

Healthy ingredient(s):

Lean Cuisine (before you fatten it up)

BEST BLEU CHEESE BETS FOR WINGS!

Football is back. Which means once again I’ll be gorging myself into a food coma every Sunday. This season however, I promised myself that I wasn't going to wreck all that new found healthy-ness in my body – unless it was truly worth it. To me, Buffalo wings definitely fits this caloric qualification. Of course, that's ONLY if you have the right bleu cheese. Use a watered down bleu-ish dressing, and you'll totally kill the taste of even the best wings. Now if you’re at the bar, you’re at the kitchen’s mercy. If you're tailgating or doing the couch thing, you do have a couple of winning options. Here are my 3 personal picks.

#3 – Kraft Roka Bleu Cheese:

This is not their regular dressing brand. It’s a bit more heavy duty on the thickness – compared to Kraft’s regular stuff. The taste is good, and not overpowering. However, it still lacks the richness I crave. When you stick a wing in, it should literally be coated like paint. I also feel they could up the cheese chunk factor.

#2 – Wish-Bone Chunky Blue Cheese:

This one is still light on consistency. However, it totally makes up for it with the sheer amount of big bleu cheese chunks they cram in. It almost borders on too much. Almost. As far as taste goes, Wish-Bone is pretty much the sharpest of the bunch. Which might produce a bad after taste with the honey mustard or BBQ wing flavors.

And #1…

Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese:

Put dressing in a jar and you got me sold. Marie’s just looks like your getting sauce for dipping, instead of dressing. As far as the coating factor, it totally exceeds all expectations. It’s creamy, rich with just the right Bleu cheese crumble ratio. They also score extra points for having 5 Blue Cheese varieties (Blue Cheese Vinaigrette, Blue Cheese with Bacon, Chunky Blue Cheese, Lite Chunky Blue Cheese and the Premium Super Blue Cheese.) For tailgate time, Marie's is a must in my playbook.

Learn even more about Marie’s than you care to...