Jersey Mike's Subs Review

Sandwiches are my favorite food. Mainly because it's hard to mess up a good sandwich. But some places get it right, by using awesome bread, the right seasoning and fresh meat and veggies, while others, like Subway, us flakey crumbley awful bread and meats that taste strange. And for some strange reason when I get a fountain drink in Subway it tastes strange as well. I also like sandwiches because I enjoy fresh food. The greasy stuff is good but always leaves me feeling like death afterwards. So I try to stick to the fresher side of things.

Whenever a new sandwich shop opens up, I try to be in there asap, because they usually don't stick around very long. Case in point, there used to be a place called Dads Subs, which took over the same spot Quiznos once had. And Dads lasted about two weeks before closing down. That space in the shopping center has been empty for some time, until tonight when I noticed Jersey Mikes had opened up there. So after a long day of Christmas shopping, some fresh food was in order.

I went with the Club. All of my favorites in one sandwich. A simple signature sub that surprisingly some places just never get right. But at Jersey Mikes, you get your subs and you get them "Mikes Way". Which is lettuce, tomato, onion, and 'The Sauce". I won't tell you what "The Sauce" is, you have to experience it yourself. They also sprinkle on some seasoning, it says spice on their menu but my guess is some oregano.

So after all the build up, is it worth it? Yes. Mega huge fist pump from Jersey YES. Their bread is awesome, some type of seasoning or crazy magic is done to it, I saw something suspicious going on there. And it was delicious. The meats were all fresh, veggies were fresh, it tasted wonderful, and it also did a very nice job of filling me up. I actually have some left over, which is rare, I usually kill a sandwich in no time.

As for the service, it was top notch, very friendly and nice people working there who even slipped me a free sugar cookie for being a first time customer! They even made a sandwich that wasn't on their menu for me. My wife likes chicken with lettuce and ranch and I saw nothing even close to that on their menu, but they made it anyway. And was happy to see that unlike places like Quiznos, that appear to just have their chicken soaking in hot water to keep it warm. Mikes actually throws the chicken on the grill to cook and heat it up before it goes on your sandwich, giving your chicken that nice crisp fresh taste.

I will be back to Jersey Mikes in the near future. And hopefully unlike Dads, Mikes sticks around for a long time.

Find a Jersey Mikes near you!

Olive Garden Mixed Grill Review

Olive Garden has been an old school favorite of mine for years now, although until recently it's been a long time since I had the chance to visit.  Back in the old days I pretty much stuck with the chicken parmigiana, but I knew going in this time it was time to branch out and try something new. 

Before the main course, I have of course have to mention the Olive Garden salad which has always been 5 star, and I also went with the appetizer sampler which I don't believe has changed much in the 15+ years I've gone to Olive Garden (and that's not a bad thing.)  The toasted ravioli and stuffed mushrooms were great as usual and a nice warm up.

A few months back I checked out an Olive Garden take out menu and the "Mixed Grill" caught my eye.  The Mixed Grill consists of 2 skewers, one with steak and the other with chicken, and I decided that was right up my alley.  The server brought the giant plate with 2 skewers, then removed the meat, peppers, onions etc. and onto my plate.  Great taste, tender meat, and served with a side of squash/zucchini and roasted potatoes.  This meal is definitely one that will fill you up, so if you go with it you may have to hold back on appetizers or you will end up with a take home box like I did (which isn't necessarily a bad thing.) 

I would highly recommend this if you are looking for something that isn't the usual pasta with tomato or white sauce, or if you are just a fan of a great skewer.  This had great flavor and provided a plentiful amount of meat, with sides that compliment the meal nicely.

The Fast And The Furious Drinking Game

Yeah, us Hungry Jerks get a little thirsty, and sometimes we like to play games with our drinks while watching some bad ass stupid movies. So here is a game to play while watching one of the most legendary so bad its awesome movies in the world!

-Number 1 rule. You can have any beer you want while playing this game, as long as its a Corona. So please, to pay proper tribute to this insane movie, play this game with Coronas.

-When someone says "Dom" take a DRINK.

-When you someone shifts their car, take a DRINK.

-When someone hits the NOS, take a DRINK.

-When the camera goes into the engine of the car, take a SHOT.

-When Vince comes back to the BBQ, and Leon calls Vince "Old Coyotes R Us!" cheers, and then take a SHOT.

-When Vince smiles when telling Mia about "Cha Cha Cha" take a SHOT.

-Chug a DRINK during the Ferrari race!

-When Dom is hit by the semi truck at the end of the movie, begin to DRINK and continue drinking the entire time Dom is airborn.

That should get you good and hammered. Be back next week when I list the rules for a drinking game I actually played with some friends once. the SPEED drinking game.

Taco Bell Chicken Enchilada Review

I love me some Taco Bell. Sadly, Taco Bell doesn't love me. In other words, it makes me poop. A bunch. But, its worth it, because Taco Bell has some of the best tasting stuff around. So every now and then, I gotta just bite the bullet for a quick cheap good meal.

Taco Bell is always coming out with new items on their menu, constantly keeping it fresh without getting rid of some of its classics. They now have the Grilled Chicken Enchilada and this is an instant classic.

This is probably one of the best items on the Taco Bell menu. The chicken and sauce with the rice and cheese is perfect. If you're a Bell fan, I highly suggest this. It is not the best item there, (nothing takes out the chipotle steak salad) but I will for sure be getting another one of these bad boys on my next Taco Bell visit.

A Recipe and Review- Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Happy Thanksgiving Jerks!

As we celebrate whatever we are thankful for (may it be family, health, wealth, or food!), I would like to share with you a few things in particular that I am thankful for:

1. Pumpkin pie
2. Cupcakes
3. Cinnamon
4. Cream cheese
5. The above things combined into a heavenly cup of cake
6. And finally, the recipe to achieve such a feat

Last month, there was a recipe on bakeitinacake.com that caught my eye. It combined pumpkin pie......with cupcakes. I had to know how this tasted, so I followed the recipe.....and all I can say is...my god, what hath we created?! Utter brilliance.

Now, I can say this recipe can be a little tricky since it is practically made from scratch and so uses a lot of ingredients. You will need a trusty mixer or blender (I used a Kitchenaid stand mixer), lots of bowls to hold all of the ingredients in, mini cupcake pans and regular sized cupcake pans.

Above: There are actually mini pumpkin pies being plopped into regular sized cupcake tins!

Follow the recipe exact and you can't go wrong. All of the time and effort will be worth it once you take one bite from the finished product.

The finished product. The cinnamon ganache cream cheese frosting really sets the flavors off!

Here's the link to the recipe: http://bakeitinacake.com/recipes/pumpkinpiecupcakes

Try it out for this Thanksgiving, you will not regret it!

AMC Movie Theaters Now Serving Food

Well it looks like AMC Theaters now offer a different movie going experience with their new "dine-in theaters," where you can be served dinner while watching a movie.  Now this concept isn't that foreign to me, as we have a chain here in the Texas area called Movie Tavern that has served dinner while watching a movie for quite some time now.  Some people are of course up in arms over the fact that servers going back and forth and lights going on and off for orders will all be a distraction from the movie.  To me the answer is pretty simple, just go to a different theater.  There are plenty of traditional theaters around, and AMC itself isn't changing every one of their theaters to this style, so I just see it as an alternate option for people who like a real dinner to go along with the movie. 

On to the menu options, AMC will offer a "Fork and Screen" deal for $10 that will serve you at regular seats, or a $15 "Cinema Suite" which is a better setup and more menu choices.  The prices seems pretty good actually considering popcorn costs about $7.50 these days, and nothing on hte menu is much less.  Plenty of options on this menu, so I think one of these theaters would be worth a shot.  Probably not the best option if you enjoy pure silence and no distractions during a movie, but for the casual movie goer this could prove to be a good setup.  We will post a review once one of our writers gets a chance to check one of these out, as they are only open in a few select locations but more will be opening soon.

Taco Bell XXL Chalupa Promotion Discontinued, Replaced by XXL Burrito

One of our writers recently posted a Taco Bell XXL Chalupa Review. After reading his review, I decided to go try one. I ended up getting the combo at Taco Bell. The XXL Chalupa combo was $5 and included a drink and taco. I believe the XXL Chalupa was $2.99 by itself. I thought the XXL Chalupa combo was pretty perfect for me, when it comes to Taco Bell meals. I probably could have done without the drink and taco though. Normally I get 3-4 smaller/cheaper items at Taco bell so I can fillup for cheap. The XXL Chalupa was probably the perfect size for eating just one item at Taco Bell and feeling content.

Well, I went back the other day and the XXL Chalupa was gone. I didn't see it on the menu. So I asked about it and was told "Sorry, Sir. We no longer have that promotion." I did notice there was a XXL Burrito now on the menu. It didn't look quite as appetizing to me for some reason. For less money I decided to get 3 items- a taco, nachos, and cheesy fiesta potatoes. That filled me up fine, and I just wasn't that interested in trying the XXL Burrito.

Maybe I will go back and try the XXL Burrito before that is discontinued. Or one of the other writers might do a XXL Burrito review.

Local Restaurant Reviews and Cheap Food Recipes- More to Come

We are getting ready for quite a busy stretch here at Hungry Jerks. You should expect to read a lot more on simple food recipes for every day cooking at home. We will also be doing many more reviews on local restaurants, as well as your favorite chains.

I haven't been very active here, but that's going to change. I have a background in the restaurant industry, and when I was working I always experimented with my own meals. While I think I am pretty creative, my focus will be on simple preparation of home cooked foods.

I also know that a lot of people are struggling financially and a lot of people can't afford to eat out. Some people have no money and no cooking skills. It's pretty difficult to eat affordably if you have neither. Fortunately, if you have access to groceries and a kitchen, you can make your own cheap meals. Yeah, I said it: cheap. As we've said before, we love good food and eating out at restaurants, but we aren't food snobs. Sometimes you just need to eat to survive. In that case, let's help each other eat affordably without sacrifcing much in the way of quality.

I am going to do a series of posts on cheap meals for under $1. So far today, I've had an 84 cent breakfast and 83 cent lunch. I'm not talking cereal and bologna, either. I'm talking hot meals. Today I had a hot breakfast sandwich that will cost you around $3 bucks at fast food places. Mine's cheaper and better. And I will show you how to take advantage of cooking shortcuts. I had a soup and hot sandwich for lunch. We aren't talking gourmet here, but it's fast, filling, and affordable. Sometimes "time is money" and it's a lot more convenient to eat out or get something on the run, but a lot of people complain about the cost of food and don't realize how much money you can save making your own food. Sometimes it pays to be frugal. I like making money and spending it on good food, but I hate wasting money on garbage.

That's not going to stop us from doing restaurant reviews, either. We are going to keep bringing you local restaurant reviews in places like Phoenix Arizona, and we are lining up writers in new locations. We are going to unleash some of our writers with gift cards and certificates for local and national chain franchise restaurants and have them give you the true scoop.

I am also looking into to lining up some promotions and food give-aways. We are going to have at least one contest in the near future, and we are going to give away free restaurant food. Hopefully I can line-up some more sponsors and get more goodies for our readers.

I just wanted to let you know that Hungry Jerks is going to keep growing and giving you reviews and recipes you can use in your everyday life.

Logans Roadhouse 2 Full Meals For $13.99 Review

So we wanted to go some place to eat today that wasn't going to break the bank, but we also didn't want any part of fast food. So we cruised over to Logans Roadhouse, which has always been good, and decided to try the big deal they had painted on the windows. Two full meals, for #13.99. Monday - Wednesday only. And since it was Tuesday, we were ready.

Now on the menu, they give you quite a few options. I was thinking for that price their options would be a couple burgers, some grilled chicken and a salad of some sort. But they don't mess around. When they mean two full meals, you get two full meals.

I went for the Mesquite Wood Grilled Pork Chop. And my wife had her Mesquite Wood Grilled Chicken. Now every time we go there, she always gets that. And she claims it's the best grilled chicken around. I've had a bite, tastes like some grilled chicken to me, nothing too amazing, but it's good if you like some chicken.

The Mesquite Wood Grilled Pork Chop was fantastic. I am a huge fan of pork, and this did not let me down. Along with your main meal you get the two sides. The mashed potatoes and gravy is some of the best around. Gravy goes a long way in my book and can either make or break a meal and the gravy at Logans Roadhouse is one of the best.

All in all, with the drinks, the total came out to about $15.00. Which is great. $15.00 buys you and a guest a meal each, that fills you up and is at a quality restaurant. That is of course if you like country music, it is a roadhouse after all. (Those places with the peanut shells on the floor).

I would highly recommend this place, as the service was great, and the food was top notch and its a heck of a deal if you wanna go out to eat but you're on a tight budget. You can also up it to the $19.99 three course dinner for two meal. Which throws in an appetizer,

and a dessert. (Two desserts if you get the little buckets). Logans rules. End of story.

Jack In The Box Pumpkin Pie Shake Thoughts

I have a love/hate relationship with Jack In The Box. I love that in a jam, their food is ok to get for a quick bite. I hate how it sometimes makes me sick, like the most recent case of food poisoning I received thanks to their spicy chicken sandwich.

But even with the food poisoning, I still hold a soft spot in my heart for Jack In The Box, a very small soft spot, but a soft spot none the less. And that is because of their Pumpkin Pie Shake. It rings in the best time of year, Oct/Nov/Dec. It means all that hot weather is over, and it is time for holiday/birthday madness.

But on top of all that, it is also a very delicious shake. Too many times to I go to grab a shake from some place that has its listed flavor only to try it out and it not be that flavor at all, or anything close to it, like the time I tried some new shake at Burger King and it tasted like, I dunno it's hard to explain but it tasted like burning? The smell of something burnt, is what it tasted like, but Burger King sucks all around anyways so it doesn't matter. They have no yearly good times. Nothing that makes my stomach smile big like the Pumpkin Pie Shake at Jack In The Box. It tasted like a pumpkin pie. It is delicious, and gets me in the mood for Thanksgiving. So if you've been reluctant on trying out a shake that is supposed to taste like a pie, I can assure you, this is the real deal. The Pumpkin Pie Shake, is legendary.

Pig-N-Whistle in Anthem Arizona

I recently moved to Anthem Arizona and have been hoppin over to the mall here for general shopping and a bite to eat in their food court. I was in the mood for a good burger and decided I would try the Pig-N-Whistle which had a BBQ Cheeseburger, my favorite type of burger.

Now besides the BBQ, two other things caught my eye, one being, they charbroil their burgers, which is exactly how I like em, and the other, is they use Aunt Hatties Potato Buns for their buns there, which to me is the best hamburger/hot dog bun brand out there.

When I got there I saw they had samples of their BBQ Pork up, which I grabbed and found their BBQ sauce to be very good, so I knew this burger had to be great. And it was. In fact, I am declaring the burgers at the Pig-N-Whistle the BEST burgers around. Yep. It's a done deal. Hands down best burger I have ever had. And it was in the food court of a mall!

As for the service there, it was very nice, after the meal I went back to the counter to get a wet nap and the lady that helped me asked how I liked the burger, told her it was the best I've had, and she gave me a high five. I've never been given a high five at a food place before.

So with hat, Pig-N-Whistle receives two big BBQ covered thumbs up, and I will for sure make a return visit in the near future to try out their BBQ Pork Sandwich.

The Nacho Cheese Dorito Sandwich

You read that title right. The Nacho Cheese Dorito Sandwich. I've been making these bad boys since I was just a kid in the single digits. And still to this day it's just as good. Takes me back to my childhood. So here is how you make one of these.... pretty simple.

Choose your bread. I go with the traditional white bread. Nothing too crazy.

Miracle Whip. This is the key. Put a nice thick layer of Miracle Whip on there. This is very crucial. You gotta make sure you don't have too little of it, but also gotta make sure there isn't too much. You have to find a perfect balance. Add to both pieces of bread.

Add your Doritos. A nice single layer of Doritos on your bread. Nacho Cheese Doritos taste the best this way. Never been able to make a good Dorito sandwich with other flavors of them.

And that's it. Dorito Sandwich. Boom.

Recipes: Devon's Ultimate Nachos

I threw this one together for dinner tonight. It's quick, simple, delicious and abundant!

Prep time: 5 min.
Cook time: 15 min.

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 - 8oz. jar of Kraft Cheese Whiz
• 1 - 10oz. can of Rotelo Tomatoes & Diced Green Chilies 
• 1 - 11oz. jar of Tobasco Brand Chipotle Pepper Salsa 
• 1 packet of Old El Paso brand Taco seasoning.
• Sour cream
• Pinto beans
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Sliced jalapenos
• Tortilla Chips (I go with the white corn.)

Here's what you do:

• Brown your 1lb. of ground beef, and then add the taco seasoning. Follow the instructions on the packet of seasoning, most of them call for 2/3 cup of water or so.
• While your meat is browning, you can get your Cheese Whiz melting down in a nonstick pot on a different burner. If you're familiar with Cheese Whiz, you know it comes thick in the jar and has to be melt down. Do it on a low heat so you don't burn it, and once it's all melted and delicious, drop the heat down to low or warm. 
• Open your can of Rotelo and I like to use the lid to the can to just sorta press the tomatoes and chilies down, draining some of the liquid out. Once that's done, toss them in with the Cheese Whiz, stir it all together, and let it sit on the warmer until your ground beef mix is finished.
• Once your taco-seasoned meat is finished, drain out any additional grease or liquid there may be in the pan, and then slowly stir in the Cheese Whiz/Rotelo mix. Mix everything together until it's completely blended, and then let it simmer on low for about 5 minutes. 
• While this is going on, you can warm up your tortilla chips in the oven for about 6 or 7 minutes on 400 degrees. Also, toss your pintos in to a bowl and zap 'em for about a minute in the microwave. Chop up your lettuce, jalapenos, and tomato, and get your plate ready!
• I layer chips all over the plate, then toss on some beans, and then it's QUESO TIME. Use as much as you want, there's an ample amount here for 3 people. Once your queso is drizzled all over your chips, toss on the lettuce and tomato. Slap down a dollop of Daisy (sour cream) on top, and then drizzle that salsa all over. 
• Last but not least, bring a napken, and dig in!

Winn Dixie brings the savings!

As a resident of Jacksonville, FL, I naturally do a lot of my grocery shopping at the local Winn Dixie. The grocery chain is based here, and there's dozens of locations in my area. It's a quick trip up the street, and for me that was the main reason I started shopping there... after today, I realized I have a couple of reasons that I continue to give my business to Winn Dixie, instead of Walmart or the higher-priced Publix.

The Winn Dixie customer reward program is insane. I mean it, it's crazy. I did my big grocery trip today, and as the cashier started ringing things up I was getting a bit nervous as I got closer to my $200.00 food limit, but then BAM in the blink of an eye (and her hitting subtotal) the numbers just started dropping and dropping, until finally I had a much lower total... about 80 bucks lower! That's right... I walked out of there with 80 bucks worth of free groceries basically. How did I manage to do this? I take advantage of their weekly ad. Even before I start making my list, I check the weekly ad to see what is on sale, and how I can use that to my benefit. A good thing to do is to go to the store on Tuesday, because it's the last day of the weekly ad. Before I go, I can look at my paper ad I got in the mail to see TODAY's savings, but then I check the website to see next week's ad that starts tomorrow. I don't mind making two trips in two days if it means I can get two packs of pork chops tomorrow, and two packs of steaks today. Combine the sales with the constant stream of Buy One Get One Free options they have, and I can easily stock up and save money at the same time.

The second reason I continue to go to Winn Dixie, is not only do I save on gas because the store is close, but also because I earn money off of my gas purchases at Shell, just be shopping there! Winn Dixie has this great promotion going on, where for every 50 bucks you spend on groceries, you earn 5 cents off the price of gas at Shell stations. I like to let mine build up a little bit, and then when I go to fill up my tank, sometimes I can get as much as 25 cents off! That goes a long way nowadays.

Don't get me wrong, I do have a few gripes... like, the stores have a pretty limited selection. There's not nearly as much of a selection at Winn Dixie as there is at Walmart, and that can be a little frustrated, especially with the way every store has an aisle dedicated to cookware. Seriously nobody in their right mind is going to by cookware or appliances from a grocery store. Not to mention those items are WAY overpriced. Also, the whole aisle full of cheap toys and household junk... that can go too. You should have more than 4 kinds of doritos and at least two racks of cereal!

Long story short, even with the smaller selection I can't help but to save money and save big, so I will continue to shop at Winn Dixie.

Charley's Grilled Subs Ultimate Club Review

Went to the mall today to check out the "Nations Largest Christmas Tree". Yeah thats right, us folks here in grand ol Anthem Arizona have the biggest Christmas Tree in the country, so HA!

Anyways, after that we headed into the food court for a bite to eat and I see a place called Charley's Grilled Subs. Now I am a huge fan of the "sandwich". And I have had many toasted subs, but never a grilled one.

Charley's is a bit like Subway, or any other sandwich place, where you tell them what you want on the sub and they make it. Except at Charley's they put the meats and sometimes veggies on the grill along with the bread. So instead of it just being a bit toasted and warm, the entire sandwich itself is hot and grilled. Along with that, I also snagged their cheddar bacon fries. So how did it turn out?

Not bad. Not great. Nothing I will rush back for. It's a pretty basic sandwich, just hot. They don't have any special seasoning that they sprinkle on, or do anything extra to make the sandwich taste amazing. Now don't get me wrong, its good for what it is. But, it's just a warmed up sandwich.

The cheddar bacon fries? Well.... I will say this about Charley's. They don't skimp out on the toppings, they pile everything you want on there. Usually with cheddar bacon fries you get a squirt of the cheese and a pinch of bacon. These fries had tons of both, I was pleased.

All in all Charley's is a decent place to get a sub. But I wouldn't go back. Unless you got deep pockets. For just my 12 inch sub that really was just some ham, bacon turkey and lettuce, and a side thing of fries, the total came out to 15 bucks. That is a little more than I would spend for a sandwich like the ones they make.

Toby Keiths I Love This Bar & Grill Triple Decker Club Sandwich

Every other Tuesday I do video production work for a live show at Toby Keiths, so before theshow starts, I decide to grab a bite to eat and to get something simple, easy, and quick. So a club sandwich would be just right.... right?

Dead wrong.

The sandwich I was given, was about the size of a football. A regulation NFL football. I couldn't believe my eyes. This was the biggest sandwich I had ever seen in my life. on top of that, it had about a half pound of fries next to it.

Now, I had to eat this thing layer by layer pretty much. I always hear of triple decker clubs and its really just a normal sandwich, but this was no joke. As I have learned with all the food there at Toby Keiths. Their food is epic. Huge portions of everything. When you go to eat there, you might as well order a to go bad with your food, because you won't finish it. From the nachos, to the burgers, the food there is huge. Everything I have seen on their menu looks like something you would see on Man V. Food.

How was the sandwich? It was a club sandwich. They taste the same all over the place. It's hard to screw up a sandwich. Those are usually a safe bet when you go eat somewhere new. Unless you want a quick bite, then avoid Toby Keiths. But if you're hungry and need giant food, then Tobys is the place for you.

In-N-Out Burger is Coming to Texas

Ever since our review on Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a great debate has gone on as to which is better between Five Guys and In-N-Out Burger.  I tried Five Guys awhile back myself and it was great, but there were no In and Out Burgers in the area to compare to.  That will all change in mid 2011 when In-N-Out will open a rumored six locations in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.  Five locations are confirmed, those being in Allen, Garland, Ft. Worth, Dallas, and Frisco, with the six location being a mystery, but speculation seems to be that the home of the Rangers and Cowboys (Arlington) makes the most sense.  So for anyone in Texas that has been longing to take part in the burger battle between 2 of the most highly rated chains in the country, it will be on in 2011.

Source: NBCDFW.com

Taco Bell XXL Chalupa Review

When I go to Taco Bell. It's always up in the air. Everything on the menu is good, and everything on the menu will end up giving me the soft serve poops later. But one thing I usually always end up getting is either a chalupa, or a gordita. And I usually always have to get two of them because one just isn't enough.

Enter, the XXL CHALUPA!

Holy crap, literally. All this is really is a somewhat larger wrap with maybe a tablespoon more of every ingredient. Little extra meat, lettuce, sour cream, cheese and tomato. No big deal. And yeah, it even feels like it makes me take a tablespoon more of poop after I'm done eating it.

But what I will say is this. It fills you up. No need to buy two single chalupas anymore. The XXL Chalupa does the job. If you like food that is awful for you but tastes good and you're a chalupa fan, well grab one of these big bastards.

Totino's Party Pizza

Party Pizza! This stuff is great. Look, we never said we were some high brow gourmet food elitists. The fact is, I would rather have a Totino's Party Pizza than some lame take and bake pie.

In the previous review of Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza, our author said that when you want to cook your own pizza, a good frozen pizza is better. Ain't that the truth?

You know what else is better than a "Take and Bake" pizza? Not even a good frozen pizza. Even a very very bad frozen pizza is more enjoyable for me than a lame premade uncooked pizza. Which brings us to Totino's. This truly is a party in your mouth. The frozen Totino's Party Pizza is perfect for one person. And it's Cheap. My local Wal-Mart sells these frozen pizzas for $1.22, everyday low price. Kroger just had a sale- They were only $ 1 each. A buck for a perfect single serving pizza? Now that's good eating.

Look, I know these things don't even use real cheese. I don't know if they are technically even "pizza"- there might be some ongoing lawsuits over that. But you pop one of these bad boys in the oven at 450 degrees for 11 minutes ( here is your recipe/cooking instructions for this post), and you can plop the whole thing down on one standard sized dinner plate. It fits perfectly. Also, make sure you cook it directly on the rack. Some of the fake cheese will drip down to the bottom of the oven, but that's OK. it adds some quality smokey flavor to everything you cook. Sometimes the crust warps a little and gets stuck in spaces in the rack, but that is also good. It gives the crust a nice crunch.

Pair with a fine domestic beer and you have yourself a great Fourthmeal.

McDonalds McRib Is Back!

I am not a fan of McDonalds. At all. In fact it is the last fast food place I ever even think about going to. And I never do. Ever. In fact I actually do whatever I can to steer clear of fast food. I have found as I get older, the more fast food I ate, the worse I felt afterwards. So I usually try to either make food at home, or get something fresh like a sub or a salad.

But I have a weakness.

And it is the McRib.

Now the McRib is pretty much the greatest fast food item of all time. But is it REALLY?

Honestly, I think the reason why the McRib is so beloved by people, may actually be because of how elusive and rare it is to get one. When the McRib comes to McDonalds, it is always a huge event. So it seems to be the best thing in the world at the time. But if the McRib was always available, and always there to eat at every McDonalds, would it still be as good? It's really hard to say, but I would have to say no. I don't think the McRib would be as good or as awesome if it was a regular menu item. It would just be one more thing people complain about, like the McGriddle. Blagh.

But, the McRib is not a regular menu item. Instead, it is a wonderful thing that comes along every now and then, to brighten our day, and widen our guts. Now if you will excuse me, I have a McDonalds to go to. 1 McRib and 1 large Hi-C, here I come.

Papa Murphy's Pizza Review. Take & Bake??

Today, I wanted pizza. And I wanted it fast. So instead of just grabbing some Little Caesars. I saw Papa Murphys had opened up in the same shopping center. Never heard of it, never seen it, knew nothing about it.

So I stumble in there, as I was still half asleep. Just woke up, and it takes me a good couple hours to get my bearings on the day ahead. So I tell the girl I just want the large pepperoni. And she asked me to take a seat and it'd be right up. No problem.

I sit down, pop out the iPhone and start playing some Words With Friends when the man at the counter yells that it's done. As I walk to the counter I'm thinking "Wow! Fast just like Little Caesars, true its a bit more expensive but....wait a minute."

I saw an uncooked pizza in front of me. The man at the counter starts explaining the rules and regulations of going home and cooking the pizza. What the crap?! Go home and cook it myself?! Now I saw the "Take N Bake" sign but didn't realize that it was their only gimmick as they also had pictures of cooked pizzas all over the place.

What the hell kinda pizza place, or any food place for that matter other than a damn grocery store, only half way makes your food and then sends you home to cook it?! On top of that they asked if I had ever eaten there before and I said NO! So shouldn't they have given me a heads up?! Like a, "Hey bro you know you gotta cook this yourself right?"

Now I can KINDA understand the concept of this. Say you want some pizza for later on in the day and dont want to have it already made just to get cold. But isn't that what frozen pizza is for? Because Papa Murphys really isn't that much better than your good frozen pizza. Which is also better anyways. And even if you did want a pizza for later, why wouldn't you just wait for later to order it?

I really don't understand why a place like Papa Murphys exists. Its pretty much worthless and I won't ever return.

Random Villain Recipe: The Boss Burger

Time to unleash The Boss. This is my own creation. And now I share it with the world. I was going to make this into a video but who knows when I'm gonna end up making one of these bad boys again so I figured I would post the how to, and then do a video later. Here we go.

Grill up your burger, nothing special but add your favorite bbq sauce while you grill it up.

Throw the bun on the grill just long enough to get it a little on the toasty side.

After that, move to the kitchen, all the magic happens in there. Not on the grill itself.

Add the cheese of your choice, for this burger I stick with cheddar, but pepper jack is also good to use. You can also throw this on when grilling to get it melted some onto the burger.

Throw on some bacon. A few strips, don't get to crazy.

Pour some BBQ sauce on top. Yes, I know you did it to your burger while you grilled it, but add some more on top of the bacon.

And now, the key part. This is where you "BOSS IT" as my nephew and I say. What is this magic ingredient? Very simple.....

That's right. Tostitos Bean and Cheese dip. Heat it up for about a minute. Get about two table spoons and just pour some of this stuff on top. Now your burger is gonna get a little on the messy side, but if you wanna sit around and eat nice and neat pretty food, this isn't for you. This is for people who just love some tasty burgers.

After that, sprinkle some jalapenos on top of the dip.

Add some lettuce if you'd like. And BOOM. YOU GOT YOURSELF A BOSS BURGER.

Little Caesars Hot-N-Ready? No Joke.

I am proclaiming Little Caesars as the fastest fast food around. Their big gimmick now is Hot-N-Ready. Meaning your food is hot and ready the second you order it. And they're not joking around.

I used to hit Little Caesars back when I was a kid when they had the Big! Big! pizza going on, but never went back until recently and I was pretty blown away. I think the only way they can possibly get your pizza to you faster is by having it loaded into a giant slingshot that is aimed at the door and have it release the moment you step inside. This is know exaggeration, I literally have never spent longer than ONE minute inside of a Little Caesars at a time. I walk in, tell them what I want, I pay for it and before I can get my wallet back into my pocket, my food is there on the counter waiting for me to grab and head out with.

Now on top of that, their prices are insanely low. Large pepperoni with a bag of crazy bread and sauce runs only 8 bucks. Now granted, Little Caesars isn't the best tasting pizza around, but for their price and the speed of it all, it is well worth it if you're in a hurry and just wanna grab something quick. You will get no quicker than Little Caesars.

Recipes: Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

Mmm Mmm Mmm! I just whipped this up quick for dinner and it was so tasty I wanted to share it with everyone! This really is an EASY recipe. Anyone can make this... no excuses! My friend Brianna always says "you make it sound like it's so easy", but really IT IS!! Trust me! Just follow these easy steps and you'll have a hot, delicious meal in front of you in less than an hour.

Prep time: 10 min.
Cook time: 45 min.
Oven temp: 350 degrees

Here's what you'll need:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1/2lb ground pork
• 1/2 green pepper chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion chopped
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper

and then:

• 1 cup Cooked white rice
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp red cayenne
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 8oz tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
  
  

• 4 Large Green Bell Peppers - Tops removed, cleaned out. 
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan
• Pan Square, 6" x 6" x 2" - lightly oiled

Here's what you do:

• First things first, get a pot of water boiling. Add a little salt to your water. Drop in your bell peppers. We're only going to parboil these peppers, which is to boil them for about 2-3 minutes. Then remove them with a slotted spoon and set them aside in your pan.
• We're going to take a large frying pan and put enough oil to cover about 1/8 of the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is good and hot, add in everything from the first group of ingredients. We're gonna keep this going over a medium high heat, browning the beef and pork and cooking down the onions and bell peppers. Once everything is cooked, strain it out, get rid of the excess fat and grease and throw it back on the heat. Drop the heat down to medium, and mix in everything from the second set of ingredients. Let this cook for about 10 minutes, and then lets start stuffing the peppers. You should have enough of the mixture to stuff each of the peppers pretty full and then enough to fill in all the gaps in the pan around the peppers.
• Once your peppers are stuffed and the pan is full, let's sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan on top.  Throw those bad boys in the oven, which should be preheated to 350 degrees. Let em back for about 30 minutes. When they come out the cheese should be melted and browned slightly. The filling will be piping hot, so be careful. We enjoyed ours with a side of yams and garlic toast. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, let us know how it turned out, and don't forget to "Like" Hungry Jerks on Facebook! 

Recipes: The Only Marinara You'll Ever Need

Howdy Jerks! Do you like Pasta? Is red sauce your favorite? If so, this recipe might just be for you! I like to consider this my all-purpose pasta sauce, because it's simple, fresh, delicious, and can be doctored up to work with many different meals. So first up here's the ingredients, then I'll get in to the instructions, and lastly I have a few nifty ideas you can use this sauce for.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 8oz. cans of Hunt's Diced tomatoes, strained (No Juice). (I use the kind pictured here, with the added garlic, basil, and oregano.)
• 2 16oz. cans of Hunt's Tomato Sauce. (I suppose any brand will do, I just prefer Hunts for the quality and decent price.)
• 1 lg. sweet onion
• 6 cloves of garlic, fine diced
• 2 tbsp. butter - room temp.
• 1/2 cup of red wine.
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• Salt & Pepper to preference.

• Optional ingredients: Red pepper flakes, Sriracha, Ground beef, Meatballs... etc.*

Here's what you do:

• We're using a stock pot for this one, preferrably one with a wide bottom. I prefer them all with a wide bottom (heh.) Add enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat your oil over medium high, and while it's getting hot, chop your Lg. sweet onion to a medium chop. Once your oil is all nice and hot, go ahead and toss the chopped onion in. We're gonna let these onions cook down and get all brown and delicious. You want em to look almost see through, and as soon as they are, dump in your two cans of DICED tomatoes! Drop your heat down to about medium, and give everything a good stir. We're gonna let this cook down for about 6-7 minutes or so.
• While the diced tomatoes and onions are reducing down, go ahead and chop up your garlic cloves. We don't want the chunks TOO big, but we don't want them minced either. Somewhere in between is good.
• By now the tomatoes and onions should be cooked down to where there is little liquid left in the pot. This is where we're going to add the 1/2 cup of red wine. As it simmers, use your spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan making sure to get all the good bit loose and in to the mixture. Let this simmer for another 2-3 minutes, and then we're going to slowly pour in our 2 cans of tomato sauce. Next add the room temperature butter. Give everything a good stir so all elements are mixed together. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes, and then add dried herbs, salt/pepper, and the garlic. Stir, cover, simmer on medium low for about 15-20 minutes and it should be good to go. 

As for some of the other variations of this sauce, above I listed a few optional ingredients. To make a good meat sauce, just add ground beef or meatballs. If you're like me, you like a kick to your food, so I stir in a couple tablespoons of Chinese Hot sauce and a couple shakes of red pepper flakes. This sauce is really great for Chicken Cacciatore is you use the spicy upgrades.

So that's my homemade pasta sauce. Go makes some and let me know how you like it!

Southwestern Omelette

One of my favorite times of day is the morning. Even though waking up too early stinks, if you gotta be up, there's fewer things better to eat than a tasty omelette filled with all of your favorite flavors combined :)

My favorite omelette is a southwestern omelette. The following recipe serves 1 Hungry Jerk. It's simple, it's colorful, and it tastes heavenly!

You'll Need:

• 3 eggs
• A splash of milk (about 1/4 cup)
• Salt and Pepper (to taste)
• 1 small green pepper
• 1 small red pepper
• Your choice of already cooked meat, chopped into bite size pieces (I am a fan of linguica so I used that. Any meat will do though)
• 1 small onion (optional)
• Shredded cheese
• Sour cream (optional)
• Salsa (optional)

Set a lightly greased frying pan to medium heat.

In a small to medium sized bowl, mix your eggs and milk throughly (I use a fork or whisk). Whisk until the mixture looks like it is one color (a lovely orange color).

Set egg mixture to the side. Dice veggies and add to your egg mixture.

Add the omelette mixture to the warm pan. Add salt and pepper to the top of the omelette.

Now it's time to let your omelette cook for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it and once you can, take your spatula and run it around the rim of the pan and seperate the egg from it. Then you know it is about ready to flip. This is the time where you add in your cooked meat. Sprinkle it in a line down the middle of the omelette.

Mmmm....meat.

Now, fold one side of the omelette inwards (lengthwise over the meat) and cook for a minute or two before flipping the other side in as well. Allow this to cook another minute.

Flip like so~

Now here comes the tricky part. I'm not very good at flipping whole omelettes with one spatula, so I use two. Very carefully flip the entire omelette over. Let this cook for a minute or two to allow the two flaps on the bottom to 'seal'. Now is a good time to sprinkle cheese on top of the omelette.

Add some cheese, please!

Turn off the heat and get your spatula(s) ready. Very carefully lift the omelette off of the pan and onto a plate. Top with sour cream and salsa (or to the side. Whatever you like!). ENJOY.

Wa-la! Omelette....du...fromage..?

Food Stuffs: Foods that are better cold.

I like cold food. Always have. I'd rather have a cold sub than a toasted one. I'd rather eat cereal in the morning than eggs. Gazpacho is my favorite soup! So I got to thinking about what some of my all time favorite cold foods are....

PIZZA! Obviously. Everyone knows cold pizza is delicious, but to me there's one pizza above all others that is best when cold, and that's Dominos Deep-dish Pepperoni pizza. It's delicious when it's hot & fresh... but there's something that happens during it's fridge nap that causes this pizza to be a delicious dish when you chow down the next morning! Unfortunately, there are also some pizzas that SUCK when cold... Papa Johns... Lil' Caesars... yuck. Lil' Caesars pizza the next day is practically cardboard. It's no wonder they only cost 5 bucks.

Fried chicken! Cold Fried chicken is amaaaazing. Sidenote: shred up some fried chicken for a really awesome chicken salad. Which also reminds me, a couple weeks ago I went to Burger King and they had Buy One, Get One free classic chicken sandwiches. Now, I get mine with extra pickles and cheese... but I could only put back one of them. So, I threw the other one in the fridge knowing I'd likely want a snack later on, and wouldn't you know it? That sonofabitch was delicious! I threw a little extra mayo and some mustard on it, but it was really awesome cold. I was shocked!

Meatloaf! Two thick slices of wheat toast, two generous slices of cold meatloaf, swiss cheese, and some mayo. Holy cow!

Egg rolls! This one I found kind of recently. I wanted a midnight snack and there was a leftover egg roll in the fridge, so I just munched on it, and it was pretty damn tasty. With it cold, the cabbage and carrots were a little bit crispier and it had more crunch. They can be a little plain, so I guess you could dip them in some soy sauce or something.

So that's a few I like... what about you, readers? Are there any foods that I didn't mention here that you like?

This Cake is BANANAS

Hi Jerks, it's time for ice cream.

Ice cream is delicious. Cake is delicious. And we all know how great it is when you combine the two. Today, we take it to the next level. I've taken an ice cream creation icon...and turned it into a cake. An ice cream cake to be exact. I'm not even sure how the Universe is still in place. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, the recipe for a Banana Split ice cream cake.

As I list the ingredients needed, please remember that anything worth being tasty must have quality ingredients. I will list what brands I used, however you are more than welcome to use lesser/higher quality ingredients based on your preference! Also, this recipe is extremely easy, but takes time to make (as each layer must be frozen before another layer can be added). This recipe would be better suited made the day before it is needed.

You will need:

• 1 9x3 springform pan (I am only listing this because it is needed. It is a godsend with this recipe and worth every penny. Please do not skip this!)
• 1 cup hot fudge sauce (either of your own recipe or bought from the store. Check near the ice cream section!)
• 14 chocolate sandwich cookies (commonly known as 'Oreos')
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream (I used Mayfield, but you are welcome to your own favorite brand)
• 1 pint chocolate ice cream (I used Mayfield)
• 1 pint strawberry ice cream (I used Haagen-Dazs)
• 4 ripe medium size bananas
• 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream (or store bought whipped cream can be substituted here)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, broken into small pieces (or whatever kind of nut you like to top ice cream with!)
• Maraschino cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a plastic bag, finely crush cookies with a rolling pin.

2. In 9x3 springform pan, with fork, stir cookie crumbs and melted butter until evenly moistened. Press cookie mixture firmly onto bottom of pan.

Bake until crust is slightly darker on the edges (about 12-14 minutes). Place crust in freezer for about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the vanilla ice cream in the fridge to soften it. This will take about 30 minutes.

4. Once crust is frozen and vanilla ice cream is soft, evenly spread the vanilla ice cream over the crust. Cover and freeze until firm (about 45 minutes).

5. Get your bananas and fudge ready (exciting, I know!). Cut 3 bananas lengthwise in half. Pour fudge sauce over the ice cream. This can be tricky as you may have to warm the fudge slightly so it will spread easier, however the warmer it is, the faster it will cause the ice cream to melt so you will have to work fast here. Now, arrange the bananas on top in a neat little row. Freeze cake for about 1 hour now. This will get the fudge to freeze throughly. Meanwhile, place the chocolate ice cream in the fridge to soften (again, about 30 minutes).

B-a-n-a-n-a-s

6. Even spread the chocolate ice cream over fudge sauce and bananas. Now we have a real party going :)

Cover and freeze until firm (about 30 min). Meanwhile, place the strawberry ice cream in the fridge to soften.

7. Spread the strawberry ice cream evenly over the chocolate ice cream. Cover and freeze until firm, about 3 hours and/or up to 2 days.

Just waiting to be eaten...

8. To serve, in small bowl with a mixer set to a medium speed, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Cut remaining banana into 1/2 inch slice at an angle. Next, dip a small knife in hot water, shake off the excess water, then run knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Unhinge the springform pan to free the cake. Put whipped cream on top of cake and arrange the banana slices on top. Sprinkle the nuts and maraschinos. Let stand at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Restaurant Review: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Obviously we like a good goddamn burger here at Hungry Jerks... this has to be like the 5th burger post since we started... but I was sitting here listening to some a-hole on E! talk about In-and-Out burger being the best burger on the planet and it pissed me off. Clearly, this dude has no idea what makes a tasty burger. I promise you it's not frying the patty in mustard (the "secret" of an IaO burger.)

I wanna give you a rundown of some 5 Guys Facts, courtesy their website. Five Guys is a tasty burger establishment, while at the same time being as heart-health conscious as possible. They make sure there is absolutely 0% trans fat in their meals. Their delicious french fries are cooked in peanut oil to this purpose. They use only the freshest vegetables, and have used over 34 millions pounds of potatoes since they went in to business in 2008. That's a lot of fries!

Now don't get me wrong about the healthy food here..., a bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys still packs a walloping 62g of fat. Not to mention over 900 of your daily calories. Who cares though? It's delicious! You know what else is delicious? FREE TOPPINGS. That's right, at every Five Guys the toppings are free! All burgers are made my hand in each restaurant and their breads are baked fresh at local bakeries. If you've ever been to a Five Guys you know that while you're waiting on your made to order burger, they have an endless supply of peanuts for you to gnash on and then discard on the floor. I always love a restaurant that lets me throw my peanut shells on the floor. It's so liberating!

Like most big guys, I love a good cheeseburger, and for me it's gotta be Five Guys... otherwise I'd just cheating myself. I don't know what it is, but I think it's the combination of fresh toppings, fresh bread, handmade and then grilled burgers, crisp apple smoked bacon... what more could you ask for on a burger? What about you readers? Is Five Guys the bees knees for you too, or is there somewhere else you like? How do you feel about In and Out burgers? Also, I'd probably be writing a different article if there was a local Backyard Burger, but until then, I'm sticking with Five Guys.

Review: Pizza Hut Big Italy

The new Pizza Hut Big Italy pizza brings back a lot of memories, for me and anyone else that was a fan of the legendary "Bigfoot pizza" from Pizza Hut that was a staple of pizza ordering in the 90's.  Basically we're talking about a giant sized oblong pizza here, that is cut into square pieces just like the old Bigfoot.  When you order you can order the same toppings on the whole thing, or split it up and have different toppings on each side.  I went with the classic sausage/pepperoni/mushroom combo on the whole thing since that combo is usually a winner.  The delivery took almost an hour, but we're here to review the actual food more than anything.  What I got from this is that it's exactly like the Bigfoot pizza, except the crust has a salty flavor to it.  There really isn't much else different that I noticed.  Personally when comparing the two, I feel like Domino's is usually the better pizza overall, even though it's fairly pricey.  I do like the fact that Pizza Hut offers a specialty type pizza that sometimes just fits a certain occasion.  Sometimes you're in the mood to just order a giant pizza to add to a good time vibe, and the Big Italy gets the job done in that department.

While it may not be a totally new concept or anything wildly different, the Big Italy is a good choice if you want a change of pace and want to order a big damn pizza once in awhile, and the $12 price isn't too horrible considering the size.  If your just wanting a quality pizza without the party vibe, and don't need to feed an army or anything, I'd stick with Domino's.  But if Pizza Hut really wants this one to work, I think they need a great commercial campaign like this to get the job done:

Recipes: Linguica and Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers

Hi all, Happy Labor Day!

Now...I am no fat dude like the blog suggests (imposter, oh no!!), however...I do love tasty foods just as much as one, so I would like to share with you a recipe that resulted in some fine (and of course, tasty!) stuffed peppers using a delightful sausage called Linguica.

So, what is Leen-gwee-sah?
Linguica (or Linguiça if you want to be proper and fancy like) is a very flavorful yet mild lean sausage. It is typically used to compliment rice, breads, and soups.

I so happened to have some in my fridge just waiting to be eaten. But how? And with what?

Cravings can be a beast sometimes. And I was craving.....Stuffed peppers.
"There's sausage and rice stuffed peppers......why not linguica and rice?"

Ingredients:
6 large peppers (I used green Bell peppers, but any color Bell pepper will work!)
1 pound Linguica sausage
1 large onion, chopped fine (I used white onion, but any preferred onion will do)
1 clove garlic, minced finely
1 container fresh Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce
3/4 cup of parmesan or Romano cheese (I used freshly grated block parmesan)

Directions:

Wash the veggies and set all to the side except for the peppers. Take the peppers and slice the tops off. Remove the seeds and cut out veins from inside the peppers.

Remove casings from the linguica sausage. Chop the sausage into small pieces and brown in a wok or large skillet on a medium setting .

Finished Product!

Once the sausage is cooked, remove it from skillet and set aside in a bowl. Add your garlic, onions and mushrooms into the already hot skillet and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the linguica back into the skillet and mix throughly. Add in the cooked wild rice and fold the meat and sauteed veggies into the cooked rice. Note the delicious aroma that is wafting throughout your kitchen now! Add 4oz. of the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of the cheese, then fold in the parsley.

Preheat your oven to 425F. Spoon the rice mixture into the peppers and fill them completely. Pat the tops to pack the rice down into the pepper. Put the peppers into a baking or casserole dish that has been lightly greased. Use the remaining tomato sauce to pour over the peppers. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 425F for about 40-45 minutes (depending on how possessed your oven is!) Enjoy!