Memoirs of a Soon-to-Be Former Fat Guy

Been kind of cruising along here at MOASTBFFG and it almost seems like I’m going through the motions. I haven’t really been hitting what I need to hit and I’ve been doing you, the readers, a great disservice.

The big ass blister has given me a chance to sort of pause and take stock of where I am, physically, mentally and blogally? Didn’t think that was a word.

See!?!?!? Pigs CAN fly!

I think I need to set some goals and try to establish a time frame. Operating without a set time frame is nice, but it’s easy to just mosey along until it’s too late. It sort of reminds me of being in college and having a paper due at the end of the semester and writing it all the night before it was due, fueled by caffeine and desperation. You can do that with a paper… not so much with weight loss. If that was the case, I’d be snapping my fingers, shotgunning Mountain Dew and I’d weigh 180 in the morning. Aye… and if pigs could fly.

I haven’t talked about recipes in a while. It’s not that I haven’t cooked, just that what I’ve been making has been not a lot of prep work. I’ve been trying to go a simpler route… making tasty food that is simple and depending on the actual food to be the flavor star, rather than the prep. When I made the giant scallops last weekend, all I did was brush them with olive oil and a little salt and pepper before grilling. That’s easy to do this time of year in Cow Country. With the produce being so fresh and available, well, why cover up all that wonderful taste?

One thing I did make was a batch of my meatballs. See, I’m kind of elitist when it comes to meatballs. I simply won’t eat those frozen ones… too salty and the salty taste overwhelms any real flavor the meatballs might have. Not only that, you can be pretty sure that she’s NOT using the highest quality beef. I will usually see the bags of Mam Lucia at the grocery store and mutter, “Mama Lucia… that bitch…”

I think the real secret to meatballs is how long you keep them simmering in the sauce. Not only does that give the balls a chance to absorb the richness of the sauce, it also makes them tender. My recipe is one that I’ve been tweaking over the years, and I am willing to share it.

Here goes:

Brian’s Meatballs

2 lb. ground beef (I use 90%)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. basil
1tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper (optional)
1/4 clove garlic (at a minimum)
2 large eggs
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan

Mix ingredients well. Seriously well. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, transfer immediately to sauce and simmer. Four hours, minimum.

For sauce, I usually make a combination of whatever jarred stuff I have in the inventory. I would prefer to make my own, but I don’t really have the time or the tomatoes. Maybe one of these days I’ll get ambitious. One other thing you can do is lightly cook some Italian sausage and put it in the sauce with the meatballs. Adds some extra flavor. My usual sauce ratio is one jar of DelGrosso three cheese and two jars of DelGrosso Tomato Basil.

As far as pasta goes, one of the nutrition people I spoke to had recommended Ronzoni’s Smart Taste pasta. It’s enriched with fiber and while it’s still pasta (40g of carbs) there’s 5g of fiber to help balance it out. While the whole grain pastas might have a smidge more fiber, this wins in taste, in my opinion.

At any rate, I’m going to try to refocus things here. I want to add a monthly measurements feature, more pictures of yummy noms, and just try to not be so scattered and completely stream of consciousness. I’ll still have those moments… this is my blog… but maybe not as many. Besides, the Olympic opening ceremonies won’t be coming around for a year and a half. Plus, they will be in Russia. Maybe President Putin will wrestle a bear or something.

Anyway, I wish you all a happy and healthy weekend!