HBI Signature: Keto Ice Cream

I recently started back on the Keto Diet after 3 or so years of being off of it. And of course the sweet cravings started kicking in. So I needed a way to curb my sweet cravings while keeping my carbs low. This high fat low carb treat is a great for just that. This entire dish only has 22-30 grams of carbs. That’s equal to one Laura Bar or one miniature can of ginger ale. Which means if you divide this recipe it into 6 serving you have less than 5 grams of carbs per serving.

It’s important when picking your ingredients to be mindful of the the brand. Each brand has varied levels of carbs which can affect your overall outcome. These specific brands will make sure you get the lowest amount of carbs as possible per serving.

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 small container heavy whipping cream (see pic above)

1 small container of sweetened condense milk

1 TSB Vanilla extract

1 Pinch of Salt

Shaved almonds

Dark Chocolate (for garnish)

Electric Hand Mixer

Instructions:

Pour whipping cream into a bowl and whip until cream becomes stiff and forms peaks. Warm coconut oil in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Make sure it is cool before you add it to the mixture. Then add evaporated milk, vanilla, coconut oil and salt. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Fold in almonds and freeze for at least six hours.

Once mixture has solidified, scoop out and serve with shave chocolate and almonds for garnish. Enjoy!

This recipe is totally adjustable. You can change out coconut oil for olive or avocado oil. And you can swap out almonds for walnuts or pistachios.

Make sure you take pictures and share with us on Instagram @huskyboysintl with the hashtags #stayHusky #HsukyBoysIntl.

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Recipe: Husky Boys Intl. Signature Glaze(s)

This is a great base soy sauce based that only takes a few adjustments to create multiple delicious glazes for any protein. Make sure you try it and share on IG @huskyboysintl

Ingredients for the HBI signature glaze Base

4-6 cups soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 clove garlic (Minced)

2tsp ginger powder or fresh grated ginger

Combined all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and reduce until sauce completely coats a metal spoon!

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Now this is delicious on its own. But if you want to kick it up a notch here are some sweet and spicy variations.

HBI Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Ingredients for the base

1/4 cup brown sugar

Chili flakes (to taste)

HBI Honey Sriracha Glaze 

Ingredients for the base

1/4 cup honey (so that make 2/4 all together)

1/4 cup Sriracha (add more or less base on your taste)

HBI Teriyaki  Glaze

Ingredients for the base

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Simply Orange Pineapple Juice (Yea I know but it’s AWESOME)

HBI Thai Glaze

2TBS thai Red Curry Paste

1/2 tsp fish sauce

4-6 cups soy sauce

2/4 brown sugar

 

Recipe: HBI Signature Sweet Potatoes

This is a recipe for Sweet potato mash that was created by the Husky boys! Try it out, take a picture and share with us on IG @huskyboysintl

 

Ingredients:

4-6 large sweet potatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 TBS Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

Rosemary (Minced)

Honey (taste)

Salt

Hand mixer

Chop sweet potatoes into 2-3 inch rounds. Bring pot of  lightly salted water to boil. Remove skin and boil sweet potatoes till soft.

Add sweet potatoes, heavy cream, butter, and vanilla to a large bowl. Hand mix until smooth and creamy. Then add the minced rosemary and honey to taste (mixture should not be super sweet). Mix again until all ingredients are incorporated. Add a pinch of finishing salt and Voila!

 

 

Blog: Homemade Vegan Chili

Check out the vlog on youtube first then enjoy our lessons learned

Lessons Learned:

No one is perfect. In your home cook journey there will be things that don’t turn out exactly how you  envisioned. That’s ok! Dust off your utensils and try again.Much like life “Failure only happens when you stop trying to succeed” – @WRickyBurton

This version I would rate a 7. Here’s what I’d change:

1. Use the whole can: I think I could have added the whole can of beans. I was nervous that the mixture would get too thick. The final result was not enough as to where it was too soupy but it was not as thick as I’d like.
2. Try Different Tomatoes: I was convinced that the fire roasted tomatoes would give me an extra layer of flavor. I’m not sure if it was the brand of tomatoes or just fire roasted tomatoes in general but something added a very bitter taste. Next time I’d just add a  can of regular diced tomatoes.
3. Get Smoked Paprika: I usually ALWAYS have smoked paprika in the house. However, this time I ran out and was too lazy to go to the store. Next time I’ll make sure I have it.
4. Way too much Kale: I got a little over ambitious with the kale. As I said in the Vlog, I always add kale or spinach to my Chili. In this case, I didn’t chop it down enough and I used to much. I think that also added to the bitter back note I was getting. Next time I’ll use 50/50 kale and spinach.
5. Butternut squash instead of Acorn Squash: This is all about personal preference. The Acorn squash did not add much character to the chili. I like butternut squash better in chili because it adds a bit of sweetness and it stands on it’s own in the mixture. If your taste buds are different then by all means use acorn squash.
6. Taste ahead of time:
   So I bought a new brand of the secret ingredient and did not try it ahead of time. I discovered that I liked the old brand better.
   1. If you haven’t seen the video yet, to find out what the secret ingredient is you have to follow the Husky Boys Intl. Instgram page, Like 3 pictures, and send us a DM saying “Secret Ingredient.”

Give the recipe a shot and share your pictures with us on IG @HuskyBoysIntl With the hashtags #StayHusky #VeganChili

 

Quick Tips:General Grocery Shopping #CookingLikeChopped

Ever since college I’ve been making good meals from random things. I would take whatever I had in the cabinets + plus the techniques I learned from books, magazines, & T.V. and made some masterful creations (at least for someone in college). My friends always asked me “How were you able to make that?” The answer to that is combination of things (accrued knowledge from multiple sources) but the most important piece is how I shop.  And the way I shop helps me cook like Chopped.

Here are some quick tips on how to prep your cabinets to cook random creations:

1. Keep it simple– When shopping to stock your cabinets for the first time never buy a bunch of complicated things. Your stashes will grow over time. As well,  your tastes and style will too. So, don’t rush. Keep it simple. Start with the items that you know you like and/or the items that go well with anything.
2. Get aromatics– The key to any good dish is aromatics. You have to keep those things in stock in order to give your dishes good flavoring. No matter what I project I may make in the future, I always buy a yellow or red onion, at least one garlic clove, some type of bell pepper, and fresh herbs (mostly Thyme or Basil. I love Basil). Some other options are celery and carrots.
3. Fresh Veggies– Each time you go to the store just grab some veggie that look good, green and fresh. Doesn’t matter what it is you’ll figure it out later. But you always want to have at least one type of fresh veggie in the house.
4. Don’t buy all the spices– Spices can get expensive. Especially if your shopping organic. So take your time just buy one or two per grocery stop. If you see one that’s interesting, look it up and buy it the next time. Now you have a recipe and a new flavor.
5. Tomato Sauce– Tomato sauce is one of those things that’s you can get a lot of dishes out of. It’s super versatile.
6. Noodles– Doesn’t really matter what type. I prefer the traditional pasta noodles. But if that’s not your style, switch it up. Noodles are a great base for dishes and it doesn’t take much to execute a good noodle dish. Also rice (I personally don’t really like rice).
7. Eggs – Eggs are in everything. As well, they can stand on their own as a quick snack.
8. Potatoes- Like Noodles and rice, potatoes are one of those things that you can do anything with and it’ll taste good. Even just loading it with cheese, chicken, broccoli, and your favorite BBQ sauce.
9. This is another one of my unofficial rules. Always buy Chicken breast. Only if you’re not Vegan or against chicken. I’ve haven’t found a dish that I couldn’t substitute chicken breast for. It’s like the most versatile meat in the world to me. When in doubt buy chicken.

These shopping tips should set you up for success in your kitchen. Check out the VLog of me #cookinglikechopped and you try it at home! Take some pics of your shopping or your creations and share them with the hashtags #HuskyBoysIntl #CookingLikeChopped #StayHusky

Quick Tips: Grilling #TheGrillingBruhz

I’ve been around the grill all of my life and until college I hated it. I remember summers when my dad would by massive amounts food and charcoal and we’d be out in the blazing sun all day preparing a grilled feast. My Dad, although having tons of Mc  Donald’s fry cook experience (See Fryon? My Cooking Journey) isn’t the best griller. He simply overcooks things, to the point of lifelessness.

It was until I pledged Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, to which my father is also a member, that I learned how to grill. I learned the most from two of the older members, Applewhite and C-Murder. Both guys are experts on the grill. Every homecoming they would break out their grilles/smokers and cook restaurant quality BBQ. They even smoked a whole hog some years. The entire campus would come to our area to get a plate. When I was a new pledge it was my duty to maintain the grill. That meant keep the fire going and cook the hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausages. I got so into it that when they retired their homecoming grills, I took over the grilling duties and trained up some of the younger members. It was during that time I really learn to appreciate the grill and learned these quick tips that  can help you make great grilled food. Here they are:

1. Burn the coals first- If you’re using a coal grill you have to burn the coals white before you start cooking. Otherwise your food will taste like lighter fluid. You’ll start your first batch of coals in the grill to get it to temperature. After you’ve gotten those coal white and hot your ready to cook. If you need to heat additional coals to keep the fire hot, you achieve this by burning off the coals in a metal trash can (unused of course) or metal barrel. Then scoop the fresh hot coals into the grill when they turn white. If you don’t have either of those you can use a disposable aluminum pan. If  you go the cheap route be sure to sufficiently wet the ground you’re working on first. Otherwise you’ll start a fire. You might want to do that regardless.
2. Have a hot and cool side- For Gas and coal grills you always want to have a hot side and a cool side. This helps if your fire kicks up too hot. It gives you a place to put your food until the flame calms. This also helps if you have sufficiently charred your food but it has not reach the proper internal temperature. You can continue cooking it on lower heat until it reaches proper temperature. You achieve the hot and cool side with a coal grill  by piling more coals on one side than the other. After you’ve burned your coals off, pile the fresh hot coals together for the hot side. As they cool move them over and that starts your cool side. For gas just turn half of the burners down or off.
3. Char first, then bake- A grill is basically a glorified oven. To ensure that you don’t over cook your food, give it a nice char to lock in the flavor. Then move it to the cool side or top rack and shut the lid to cook it to temperature.
4. Keep the heat in- Newcomers to the grill have the tendency to continuously open the lid to check the meats. That’s not the best practice because you let the heat and all of that good smoke out. Smoke = Flavor!
5. Low and slow- Grilling is a game of patience. Work with lower heat and infuse as much smokey charred flavor as you can.
6.   If you’re not serving immediately, cook it a little under– If you’re prepping for a cookout and anticipate food sitting in the oven or on a Sterno, cook it slightly under. Just enough so that by the time it’s ready to serve it will be at the desired internal temperature. If you’re serving immediately cook it to temperature.
7. Buy a thermometer- Look, lets not play the guessing game. Buy a thermometer so you’ll know exactly when your meat is done to your liking. If you don’t have a thermometer you’ll have to work with what I like to call the “Jesus piece.” That’s the thickest pieces of meat you’re cooking. You’ll have to sacrifice it (get it? lol) by cutting it open to check for doness. Based on that, you get a relative gauge on the rest of the meat you’re cooking.

Follow these steps and you’re on your way to successful grilling. Stay Tuned for #TheGrillingBruhz part 2. On that Post we’ll talk all about getting the best flavor!

Share your pics of your grilled creations and of you grilling with a Husky Boys T on IG and Facebook with the hashtag #HuskyBoysGrill

#StayHusky

Fryon? (My cooking Journey)

I guess I come from a family cooks. On my dad’s side, my grandfather and his brother were in the restaurant business for 20 plus years. My grandpa Randy did some cooking/serving and his brother Dopey was the maitre d’ at the Halfway House (Petersburg, VA) for a number of years until he opened his own restaurant in Richmond, VA. I also have some other close family friends on that side who own a soul food restaurant(The Family Secrets) in RVA. Just recently, I found out (about a month ago) my dad was the lead fry cook a Mc Donald’s in high school. Apparently he held the record for cooking the most food in an hour, major feat (sarcasm lol). It was at my great uncle’s restaurant that my interest in food began. There I had my first Turkey Sandwich with bacon. I was about 10 years old and I never had a Turkey club sandwich before. I never knew the food rules allowed for such a winning match up. I think that was the aw inspiring moment that changed my taste pallet for life.

Then  around the 6^th grade I realized that I look at life and food from a different perspective. However, growing up in a traditional black household doesn’t give you much room for uniqueness, at least not without a bit of joking. I was with my cousins and sibling in the kitchen making Turkey sandwiches , which I fashioned after my uncle Dopey’s, and I ask “Why do we call bacon bacon if we always fry it?: We should call it Fryon.” Mass hysteria and laughter broke out. But it was a serious question to me, that led me to later on try to make bacon in the oven. To which I was rebuked “Boy you don’t put bacon in the over.” “But Why?” I asked. And with no real justification my kitchen privileges were revoked and I was no longer allowed to make my box brownies and turkey sandwiches.

(Check out my Tips for making crispy bacon in the oven)

It was then I realized that my family generally ate the same things all the time (this is starting to sound like the backdrop of Disney’s Ratatouille). Fired Chicken, meat loaf, turkey, pot roast and the regular sides we see on every African American dinner table were the daily norm in my house. I was growing tired of the same old same old. So while no one was home I started cooking random things. Potatoes, over easy eggs, and fried hot dogs is usually what I ended up with. But occasionally I’d sneak in my parent cabinet a toss a splash or two of some red wine in there. Voila, horrible fails but that’s how I got started. Then one day my aunt came over to get her hair done and turned to this channel I’d never heard of “The Food Network.” So, that became my favorite channel. As, I watched the food network I learned more and  began to cook more and tried new things and my family would say things like “You eat like white people.”

College is really when my skills exploded. Why? Because I was hungry. When you’re hungry you figure things out very quickly. I continued to learn new dishes and techniques from the food network and applied them to my everyday food journey in my dorm room. I stay in the apartment style complex so I had a full kitchen to work with. I would take whatever  we had in the fridge and cabinets and create amazing dorm room dishes. Honestly, I think the show chopped was based on my college experiences. My favorite creation was the ramen spaghetti made from Ramen Noodles, frozen hamburger patties, left over Prego sauce and whatever aromatics I had in the fridge. Then after I pledge, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity INC., and got introduced to the power of grill  I was unstoppable.  (see “The Grilling Bruhz” for my grilling journey and grilling tips).

Here I am today. I’m a regular guy who likes to cook and loves to eat. I hope through these blogs you get to see how anyone can cook and though not every dish is going to be perfect, it’s the journey that makes the meal enjoyable( also the seasonings, you have to season lol. (See our Quick Tips on Seasoning Here).

#StayHusky

Quick Tips: How to Eat Street Food (Bangkok Edition)

I hear a lot of talk from some of my fellow foodies about  being afraid to eat street food when visiting other cities. I stand as a testimony that if you follow some simple rules, you can eat street food and survive! While living in Bangkok I was super afraid to try street food. All of my peers assured me it was great but I wasn’t convinced. Everyday I walked down Sukhumvit toward my room on Langsuan and passed by a man frying chicken. The smell allured me so much that one day I had to stop and try. It was the best chicken I ever had in my life! Yes it rivaled my moms (don’t tell her I said that). After that I was sold. I went all over Bangkok and tried every bit of street food I could. Once I took a whole day and went looking for all the delightful dishes I could find (click here to see video of my one day food adventure here). I’ve had grilled street meat from the mobile carts, pretty sure I had rat on accident(I caught that on video), I had the most amazing pork belly at the chatuchak, and delightful deserts! Never once have I gotten sick. Even after potentially eating a rat. Simply because I created and followed some simple rules that never lead me wrong. Here they are:

(Wanna see some more photos and video from my BKK trip? Click here)

1. Never eat at an empty stand. You always want to eat at places that have a lot of foot traffic. If people go there that means the food is good and it’s fresh. Empty stands mean that the food has just been sitting there.
2. Only eat at a stand where they cook in front of you. Watching them cook the food ensures you can see their food handling practices and ensure food is cooked to your preferred level of doness. The street carts with street meat can be tricky. Always go to the ones with the grill still lit. That way after you purchase your treat you can toss it back on the fire to kill any lingering germs.
3. If the flies don’t eat it, you shouldn’t either. Never have I ever seen a fly that did not try to get on any food. Furthermore, flies have a pretty low standard of eating. If a fly won’t even go to it, as my mentor would say, “Something in the milk ain’t clean.”
4. This is my last and unofficial rule: If you see a black person there, it’s probably good. Black people are very picky with their food. So, if they trust it, you can generally trust it too. I only say that because I’m black lol.

Get out there and eat some street food! Share your pictures on IG @HuskyboysIntl with the hashtag #HuskyBoysIntl #StayHusky.

Husky Boys Take Thailand

So I had the privilege to live in Thailand for about 3 months.  It’s still one of my favorite places in the world! Bangkok, which is where I lived, is extremely multi cultural. You can find a street for almost every ethnicity. And there was so much to do. We ate out at restaurants from Soy 11 all the way to Thong Lo. All with amazing themes, decor and food. The was even this jazz club with musician that you couldn’t convince me that they weren’t black. We went to Khao San Road and drank and ate bugs. We ate at an Argentina steak houses that had amazing food and house made caramel vodka. I highly recommend visiting that steak house. Also, on one street you have a German pub, Australian, Burger joint, Fish house with house made ketchup and tons more! I even ate soul food. Yea it blew my mind too! There were cool clubs, including an ice bar (see what I did there lol) and a speakeasy cigar lounge that was our Friday ritual. We even visited temples and saw a Buddhist monk vacuuming. Which was odd to me. (Click here to see the clips of my trip)

 

 

 

However my favorite part about Thailand was the food.  The food is extremely fresh and multicultural. Anything you want to eat, you can find it in BKK and it’s all amazing. Except Italian food. For some reason the Italian food wasn’t what I wanted or expected. But the street food was amazing (Check out our post “How to Eat Street Food Bangkok Edition)

While I was there I also had the honor of attending cooking classes at two Thai cooking schools.

 

 

 

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Anybody who is a foodie has to make a stop on your journey to Bangkok. Your taste buds will thank you.

 

#StayHusky

 

Quick Tips: Crispy Bacon in the Oven

I’m sure you’ve guessed by my first post that I’ve figured this bacon in the oven thing out. So I wanted to share a quick tips on how to make crispy bacon in the oven every time.

“Drain the grease”

As we all know, bacon contains a lot of fat. When cooking bacon in the oven the bacon kinda just sits in that fat and never crisp up. So to prevent that from happening and to ensure you always get crispy bacon you have to drain the grease.

There are a couple of ways you ca do that:

1. Periodically drain the grease: Every 10-15 minutes you can grab the pan from the oven and drain into the sink.
2. Get an oven grill pan: This is probably the preferred and easiest thing to do. This will allow for the bacon to cook and the grease to just run into the drip pan. Then you can dump it after the bacon is cooked.
3. Macgyver it: Because I’m cheap and lazy I don’t see the need of duping oil every 10 minutes or buying a tool when I can make shift a way.

Here what I did! I cut slits into a regular aluminum pan. Then I balled up two pieces of foil and put them in a separate aluminum pan. Then I stacked the pan with the slits on top of the pan with the foil. The slits allow for the bacon fat to drip into the second pan while the foil balls keep the the fist pan elevated just enough so that grease doesn’t spill into the oven due to volume metric displacement. (pics below)

 

Voila! That’s how you get crispy bacon in the oven the Husky boys way!

#STAYHUSKY