Our Biggest Loser Appetite

Every Tuesday, a group of lovely ladies get together to enjoy the finer things in life - some TV (Biggest Loser to be more specific), some food, some wine, and some eye candy. Sounds like the perfect combo for us Man Hunger sisters, right?!

Each time we gather, every girl is in charge of bringing a dish to share with the group. We've had everything from cheese and crackers, to macaroni and cheese, to meatloaf, and a multitude of desserts. We realize the irony of eating such amazing spreads during Biggest Loser, but we enjoy ourselves anyway. And as we munch away and in between comments about the contestants, we admire one of the newest additions to the Biggest Loser team:

Dolvett Quince

Our man here is one of the new trainers on the BL ranch, and we like his style! Whether he's yelling at the contestants, having a heart to heart, or giving us an enchanting smile, he always elicits a collective sigh or "Oh, Dolvett" from the group. So thanks for being the perfect dessert to our feast, Dolvett!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Oh, Dolvett!

Mariana and Paula

Strawberry Fields Forever

It has been positively freezing here in Tucson. I know, I know... there are places in the country that are much colder than us, but when you're used to the 80s and 70s and suddenly it drops into the 40s? It's brutal! So when I was trying to find something to bake for a certain someone's birthday, it figures I was drawn to a more summery treat. In celebration of my favoritest sister's birthday, I give you:

Paula's Birthday Strawberry Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups strawberries, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 9 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine strawberries, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Set aside.
 
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons granulated sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter in and rub the mixture with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream until dough starts to come together, then stir in strawberry mixture. Using your hands the entire time to mix the ingredients helps it to come together more easily.

Using a tablespoon (or your hands!), drop dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, spacing them evenly. If they're very round, flatten them a little with a spoon so that the inside cooks properly. Bake for about 24-25 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool. If you try to lift them from the parchment paper too soon, they'll stick, which we learned the hard way. Once they're cool enough to lift, enjoy with milk, coffee, or tea.

Happy birthday sissy wissy! I hope your dinner was fantastic (once again, thanks to Justin for helping make birthday dinners delicious successes) and that you enjoyed your cookies! Here's to a fantastic year for you! (And a little music never hurt).

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Happy Birthday!

Mariana

Return of the Mac

Here we are, at the Maloney house, in the midst of too many dogs, a cat that won't come out from under the couch and lots of hungry people. A perfect Thanksgiving! But we are very thankful to be surrounded by all this love and all of this great food!

Amidst the many adults, we have a couple of young children, as well a few adults that are still kids at heart. And what do kids love? Mac and cheese! So as a nice side dish, we made a big serving of homemade, baked macaroni and cheese! We haven't tried it yet but it smells fantastic! This will be a great dish for children, a cold night or just cause its awesome!

Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Elbow macaroni
• 3 cups Milk
• 4 tbs. Butter
• 1 Egg
• 3 tbs. Flour
• 1/2 tbs. Powdered mustard
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1 bayleaf
• 2 cups Sharp cheddar, shredded
• 2 cups Mild cheddar, shredded
• 1 tsp Salt
• Black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling water (salted), cook the macaroni to al dente. Be careful not to overcook the pasta or you could end up with mushy noodles after you bake it.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add in the flour and mustard using a whisk and keep it moving until the mixture is smooth and free of any lumps. Stir in the milk, paprika and bay leaf. Simmer for 5 minutes, being careful not to boil the milk over, and remove the bay leaf.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Carefully take about 1/2 cup on the milk mixture and slowly add it to the egg, constantly mixing it with a whisk. This helps bring the egg closer to the temperature of the milk mixture so that when you add it in, it doesn't just cook into a big scrambled mess! It is officially called "tempering an egg". Some of our fellow Hungertons may have known that, some of you may now be further impressed with our cooking skills! Add in your tempered egg to the milk mixture.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the mild cheddar and 1/2 cup of the sharp cheddar cheese and stir in the rest to the milk mixture, along with the salt and black pepper. Fold in the al dente macaroni pasta and pour into a casserole dish. Top with the reserved cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and browned on top. Let rest for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

For your musical delight, we have a great classic which we hope you all remember and enjoy!

Thanks again for following us in our foodie ventures. We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yum!

Mariana and Paula

Ode to Thanksgiving

Our favorite time of the year is here! With our love of food, cooking, and eating, is it any surprise that today is one of our favorite days? The mashed potatoes! The turkey! And the pie... oh, the pie.

But today is also about family, and friends, and love, and being grateful. So we'd like to take a moment to give thanks for all of the wonderful parts of our lives.

We are thankful for our family... for our parents who always support us, for our extended family who brings so much joy to our lives, for our furry children who keep us entertained, and for our new additions (thank you for having us Maloneys!).

Speaking of Maloneys, we are also thankful for Justin. Thanks for letting us do our sisterly thing Just, whether that's putting up with the Bachelor, testing out our cooking, or just listening to our ridiculousness.

We are grateful for our wonderful friends, old and new. You make us laugh, hear us out, and keep us sane! Hopefully we return the favor every once in a while.

We are also thankful for you, our readers, whom we've lovingly started referring to as our Hungertons. We're really enjoying sharing our eating and cooking adventures, and our love of hot guys, with you. Thank you for taking the time to read our silliness and for even trying out some of our recipes. We're excited to continue on with this little venture!

We would be remiss if we didn't mention that we are also thankful for each other. It's been wonderful to live in the same city again and always have someone to share things with!

And finally, we are thankful for food! We think it's important to realize every once in a while that we're lucky to be able to eat the way we do because many others cannot.

Alright... now about getting some wine for this cheese...

So savor today's meal and let us know how it goes! What dish made your Thanksgiving dinner special? If you can, take pictures and notes and send them our way! Oh, and don't forget some dinner music!

Happy Thanksgiving Hungertons!

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! Gobble Gobble!

Mariana and Paula

Our suspicions have been confirmed!

While we have our experimental apple cobbler in the oven and we play with a new macaroni and cheese recipe (make sure you check in tomorrow to see how it all turned out!) we have some time to reflect. On men. This last week we made a trip up to Phoenix for a Lady Antebellum concert. We got a great spot on the floor, sang our hearts out, and enjoyed the view! Most importantly, we confirmed what he had already suspected... Charles Kelley is H. O. T.

You may recall that we've already featured the one and only Mr. Kelley on a previous post. At that time, we based his hotness primarily on his voice and his ability to rock a pea coat like no other man we've seen. However, ladies and gentlemen of the Hungry for Men jury, we now present you the following additional evidence to support our claim:

Exhibit A: Kelley croons his way into our hearts, his passionate voice resonating in our souls.

Exhibit B: Kelley embraces his sexiness and uses it to seduce the audience.

Exhibit C: The camera loves Kelley and we are treated to a double dose of his beauty.

Exhibit D: Watch as Kelley rises from hotness and commands the stage and your attention. See how he makes tight pants and a beautifully revealing shirt look desirable (something that not just any man can pull off). Look above him to the big screen and admire the passion in his face as he belts out that gorgeous manly voice.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We rest our case.

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! We need Charles now!

Mariana and Paula

PS - We'd like to congratulate Charles for being the first man to grace our Hungry for Men posts twice. It's quite an honor, and, as evidenced by the above, a well deserved one!

Sprouts of Time

Brussels sprouts. We're not sure if there is another vegetable with a worse reputation than these little green bad boys. Justin hates them, Mariana likes them, and Paula has never even tried them. With Thanksgiving upon us and in an effort to see what kind of potential these sprouts have, we created a recipe for a side dish featuring the one and only Brussels sprouts (and maybe some bacon).

Bacon Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1/2 lb Bacon, cut into 1/4" slices
• 1/2 Medium red onion, sliced thinly
• 1 tbs Minced garlic
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tbs Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preparation

In our hunt for a good recipe, I uncovered some helpful tips on cooking sprouts. Food Blogga recommended "shocking" the sprouts, meaning moving them into a bowl of ice water after they have been drained to stop the cooking, helping them keep their vibrant color and keeping them from getting too mushy. So begin this dish by cooking the sprouts in a pot of boiling water, seasoned with about half a tablespoon of salt, for about 3 minutes and shocking them in ice water.

In a large wok or pan over medium high, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, bacon and onion slices in. Cook the bacon until nice and crispy. Then, very carefully drain as much of the bacon grease as possible or try soaking it up using a few paper towels.

Add in your sprouts to the pan and sauté everything for about 5 minutes or until the sprouts begin to get a nice golden brown to them. Finish up by seasoning with some salt and paper, and spinkling the parmesan cheese on top once plated on a serving dish.

The bacon sprouty wonders were a big hit at our last Biggest Loser viewing party and hopefully they will be a hit at your dinner table too!

And don't forget your music! (Caution: it's kind of a weird song...)

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Sprouts!

Mariana and Paula

Spaghetti Junction

In our household, spaghetti is considered a comfort food. It's warm, it's meaty, it's full of delicious carbs... what's not to like?! Justin and Mariana like to make it regularly, and have perfected their very own recipe. In fact, their wedding favors were little spice jars filled with oregano or chili flakes and accompanied by this recipe. For those of you who joined us that day (and hopefully joined the bride on the dance floor for a little Gaga, MJ, or Shout!), hopefully this is an oldie but goody! For those of you weren't there, we hope you enjoy it now!

 The Vazquez-Maloney Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 package of spaghetti
• 1 pound of lean ground meat or ground turkey
• ¼ onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 2 regular cans tomato sauce
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Oregano, to taste
• Chili flakes, to taste

Optional Ingredients:

• Garlic powder, to taste
• Fine herbs, to taste

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, begin sautéing the ground meat with a little salt and pepper. When the meat is about halfway done, add the onion and garlic. Stir frequently. Once cooked, drain excess fat and remove the mixture from the saucepan.

In the same saucepan, pour the red wine. You can use stale wine if you have it, or open a new bottle. Let the wine cook off a little. As it’s doing so, scrape the bottom of the pan to lift the taste of the meat, onion, and garlic.

Next, add the one can of diced tomatoes and two cans of tomato sauce to the wine. Stir, then add the meat, onion, and garlic. Add herbs, salt, and chili flakes (and optional ingredients if you're using them) and stir. Let simmer.

Boil water with a couple pinches of salt. Add spaghetti and cook according to the instructions on the package.

While the spaghetti cooks, taste the sauce. Add more of the herbs, chili flakes, or salt if needed.

Strain spaghetti. In large bowl, mix spaghetti with enough sauce to coat the noodles. Serve, then spoon a little more sauce on top.

Enjoy with bread, red wine, and a little music!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Meaty carbs!

Mariana and Paula

Jenny Artichoke Lived in a Boat...

We know, we know. We are totally slacking lately! But to make it up to you, we bring the scrumptious peace offering of...

Artichoke Dip

Unfortunately, we don't have a picture for you of this tasty treat cause in our haste to eat it all up, we forgot to take one!

Ingredients

• 12 oz bag Frozen Artichokes, thawed or two cans of artichoke heart in water, strained
• 2 Garlic clove
• 1/4 c. Diced red onion
• 1/2 c. Mayo
• 1/2 c. Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
• 8 oz. Cream cheese
• 1 tbs. White wine
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 1/2 tbs. Chili flakes

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Chop thawed artichoke hearts and the peeled garlic clove in a blender or food processor until fine.
• Put artichoke and garlic in to a mixing bowl and add in the finely diced onion
• Add the mayo, yogurt, Parm, cream cheese, white wine, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Mix together to blend well.
  
• Place in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, until golden and bubbling on top.

We made this great recipe in a GCS free version for a friendly gathering at the beginning of the week and it was a great hit! It can be paired with crackers, chips or bread.

And though we may not have a picture to go with the recipe, we do have your song!

Bon apperit! Buen provecho! Yummy hearts!

Men Get Hungry Too

Paula and I spend a lot of time discussing the blog, which often leads to brainstorming about men. During one such conversation, Justin spoke up, saying, "Men read your blog too, you know. It might be nice to see a girl every once in a while." Touche, Justin. Touche. So, in honor of his big birthday today, we've decided to do a special edition of Hungry for, well, Women!

Now, the following women were solely chosen and approved by Justin himself. They will not be accompanied by any comments from myself, because who am I to judge? He supports me in my love for Justin Timberlake and John Krasinski, no questions asked, so I can only do the same for him. And, as he pointed out, he has offered a wide variety of girls. So, without further ado, in his own words, we give you...

The sexy, raspy voice girl
(Scarlett Johansson)

The Canadian girl next door
(Cobie Smulders)

The athlete
(Alex Morgan)

The mom
(Reese Witherspoon)

The pirate
(Keira Knightley)

The girl with an accent
(Penelope Cruz)

The girl who dates the other Justin 
(Jessica Biel)

So there you have it, dear readers! Justin and I hope you enjoyed this very special edition of Hungry. I suppose it's good to have a male perspective every once in a while. Not too frequently though ;)

Happy birthday Just!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Girls!

Mariana

I want my baby back...

Tonight is a special birthday edition of The Man Hunger. On this lovely day some many years ago, our very own Mariana was born into this world, ready to eat and be merry!

To celebrate, her favoritest sister and her favoritest husband worked together to bring a delicious birthday dinner to the table.

Mariana's Birthday Dinner

Pork back ribs, mashed potatoes, and asparagus

The recipe for the ribs came from a combination of recipes from one of our favorites, Sam the Cooking Guy. Justin was in charge of ribs, I was in charge of the sauce for the ribs and we made the birthday girl make her yummy mashed potatoes, which you will hear about later.

Pork Back Ribs

 First, we get Justin's way of preparing the ribs (as told by Justin and transcribed by Paula):

So one day, Shawn told me there were some ribs in fridge but they were Ted's and he told me to steal them while Ted wasn't around cause Ted was somewhere else, stealing from Chuck. But I didn't do anything for a few days until one day everyone left early, including me but not as early so I took the ribs and brought them home in my front seat and put them in the freezer.
About a year later, Paula decided she wanted to make ribs for Mariana's birthday and I said, 'Hey, I have some ribs in the freezer we could use." So I went and pondered the ribs, not knowing what they actually were, just thinking I knew I had a bag of ribby goodies. So I took them out the next day and I relized I still didn't know what they were. So I defrosted them. And I found they were pork back ribs. *Snoring* Oh, sorry!
I pondered lots of recipes so I decided I would make up my own. They call me the rib god. So I baked them for an hour and 15 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees. Wash the ribs off prior, removing all of the gunk off, place on a baking sheet and add about 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar, one in each corner of the baking sheet and cover with aluminum. Remove the ribs after an hour and half and place on the grill until you see grill marks and have a good crispiness. Then you can baste it with the sauce. Be sure to do this with a beer in your hand or nearby at all times.
Now Ted doesn't have any ribs to eat at his house.

He's a wild one that Maloney boy! Just to recap, here is how you prepare the ribs:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Take a 3-4 pound rack of ribs, rinse and place on baking pan. Add 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar to the pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Place in oven and bake for an hour and half. Remove ribs from oven and carefully remove aluminum foil (there could be a lot of steam). On a gas or charcoal grill over medium heat, grill the rack of ribs until there are grill marks and a crisp outside has developed. Baste the ribs with sauce (recipe to follow), leave on for a couple more minutes, remove from grill and serve up promptly.

Honey-Garlic Sauce

For the sauce you will need:

• 3/4 cup of honey
• 3/4 cup of soy sauce
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes over low-medium heat. Any sauce left over after adding to the ribs can be served on the side for dipping.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Next, we will call upon the birthday girl for her very wonderful mashed potatoes:

Garlic mashed potatoes are my birthday tradition going all the way back to college (right Miss Mandy?), so it seemed fitting that they accompany the amazing ribs being cooked. For the potatoes, you will need:

• 10 small red potatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons of butter
• Milk
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne pepper

Peel the potatoes, but leave some of the skin if you like your potatoes a little lumpy. Cut into quarters, throw into enough water to cover them and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt to the water and the garlic cloves. Boil the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork or knife through them. Drain and return to the pan.

If you like garlic and aren't afraid to get a large chunk, leave the cloves in. Otherwise, remove before mashing the potatoes. Mash the potatoes (and garlic if you left it in) and then add a couple tablespoons of butter and milk (about a half cup). Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, some pepper, a large sprinkle of garlic powder, and a little cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly and taste. Adjust for taste by adding salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne as needed. You may also need to add more butter and milk to make them creamier and achieve your desired texture.

Asparagus

Thank you birthday girl! Lastly, I made asparagus to add some green to the savory dinner:

• One bunch of fresh asparagus
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• Garlic salt
• Fresh ground pepper 

Asparagus usually have a tougher, denser, less edible end at each stalk. You can easily remove this part by taking the stalk and bending it around the bottom third or quarter of it. The end should snap off very nicely. Rinse all of the stalks and be sure to shake off all of the excess water. Heat the oil in a skillet large enough to fit the amount of stalks you are cooking, over medium heat. Saute the asparagus, turning frequently. Sprinkle on garlic salt and ground pepper to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon each is usually what I use. Continue to saute until stalks are tender. Be careful not to overcook; you want them to still have a good crunch when you bite into them.


There was also a tasty fall treat of a Pumpkin Cheesecake Roll for birthday dessert! I will post the recipe for that later this week.

A special thanks to my gracious brother-in-law for helping out with this special birthday dinner and for his wonderful description of how to prepare the ribs.

Happy Birthday sister wister!! I hope you loved your birthday dinner and I will always look forward to many many more! I also give you this wonderful gift of music for tonight's post...

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Happy Birthday!

-Paula

Men We Want To Tackle

Here we are, dear readers, trying to fix our mother's analytical paper. Just when you thought you were done with school and homework, you have to do your mother's. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? But we love her anyway.

You know what else we love? Men. And men in tight pants. Tight football pants. Or are they capris? Either way, they show off the bums, and we like it. So, by popular demand (a.k.a. two people - thank you Laura Belle and Miss Mandy for not failing us), we give you:

Men We Want to Tackle

Ladies, your line up:

Name: Miles Austin
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Number: 19
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 215
Position: Wide Receiver
Status: Gorgeous Eyes

Name: Tim Tebow
Team: Denver Broncos
Number: 15
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 245
Position: Quarterback
Status: Hottie Petottie

Name: David Anderson
Team: Free Agent (that means he's available ladies!)
Number:Yours, if you give it to him
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 193
Position: Wide Receiver
Status: Boyish Good Looks














 

Name: Matt Forte
Team: Chicago Bears
Number: 22
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 218
Position: Running Back
Status: Hot chocolate

Name: Payton Manning
Team: Indianapolis Colts
Number: 18
Height: 6' 5"
Weight: 230
Position: Quarterback
Status: Totally Mariana's type - dorky white boy

Name: Mark Sanchez
Team: New York Jets
Number:6
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 225
Position: Quarterback
Status: One hot tamale!














Talk about Fantasy Football!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Hike!

Mariana and Paula

Chop Me Up

We had a little discussion over dinner today and decided that a) we haven't been posting enough, b) we should try to remember the whole "food" aspect of the blog, and c) we like football players. Thus, we decided that today's post will be about food, but we'd also like to know if you like football players too. We're now well into football season, and there are definitely some hotties! So who's your favorite? Let us know, and we'll be posting about them in the next edition of Hungry for Men Wednesdays!

Now onto the food. While we love eating, sometimes figuring out what to cook can be a challenge. Sometimes you get stuck in a rut, and all you want to make is pasta or grilled chicken. Or pasta with grilled chicken. Our tactic lately has been to hit the internet and find recipes based on what ingredients we already have around the house. This was one such recipe, and it turned out to be pretty tasty, so we'd like to share it:

Mustard Pork Chops

Serves 3

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• Cooking spray or olive oil
• 3 boneless, 1/2-inch thick pork chops
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup sliced onion
• 1/2 cup white wine (you know how we like to cook with wine!)
• Salt and pepper

 

Preparation

Stir the cornstarch, broth and mustard in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth.

Spray a large pan with cooking spray, or add olive oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the chops and then put them in the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until they're well browned. Remove the chops from the skillet. 

Reduce the heat to medium and re-spray/oil the pan. Add the mushrooms and onions and cook until they're tender.

Add the wine to the mushrooms and onions and let the alcohol burn off. Stir the broth and mustard mixture in. Cook and stir until it boils then return the chops to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chops are cooked through and the sauce has thickened. We served our chops with green beans, but you could also pair it with any other vegetable and/or rice.

There you have it! Easy, breezy. We can't wait to hear about your favorite football players! In the meantime, enjoy some music and a little nibble to satisfy your man hunger. 

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Chop chop!

Mariana and Paula

Hungry for Bradly Cooper

We are going to go with a classic hottie for this Wednesday's Hungry for Men post: The very lovely, Mr. Bradly Cooper.

His gorgeous baby blues alone will entrance you! And just look at that fine head of hair! He's certainly giving Patrick Dempsey a run for his money!

He's played some many fun roles over the years from the asinine fiance in Wedding Crashers, the wonderfully tan bud in Failure to Launch, to the epic role of the groom's best friend in The Hangover. And let's not forget that shocking scene in Valentine's Day with the ever-gorgeous Eric Dane!

We could go on and on about this sexy man but would we ever really capture all of the hottness that is Bradly Cooper? Probably not... So let's just continue to stare, shall we?

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! YumYum!

Mariana and Paula

The Uniform Effect

It's been well-established by this point that we Vazquez sisters love our television almost as much as our food. It's true (and sometimes shameful) - we watch a lot of TV. One of our favorite shows is How I Met Your Mother, which has inspired this week's Hungry for Men Wednesday's post. If you don't watch, you should. If you do watch, you know that Barney often likes to share his vast knowledge with the group, including this little nugget of wisdom: The Cheerleader Effect

Armed with this knowledge, we have come up with our own theory:

The Uniform Effect

While enjoying a Friday happy hour beverage at our local watering hole, we found ourselves in the presence of a large group of Army men. Our immediate reaction? Ooh! Hot! Nice! Damn! And so forth. But then we started looking more closely and soon realized that many were older, some were bald, and most (though not all) were not really all that good-looking. Thus our theory: do uniforms lead us to believe a man is hotter than he may actually be? Is this effect compounded when the men in uniform are in a group? We believe so! A couple examples...

Firefighters are the quintessential "hot because of the uniform" men. You may see a group of firefighters and your mind is tricked into seeing this...

When, sadly, you may actually be looking at this...

Another example is a less obvious form of a uniform, but one that still falls under the Uniform Effect. Men in suits...

Hot, right? Or are they...

Now, our theory still needs some of the details worked out. For example, these lovely men were brought to my attention:

Does the Uniform Effect apply to Ghostbuster uniforms? Is there any way Bill Murray could ever be hot? 

So we need your input readers! What do you think? Is the Uniform Effect theory solid?

Until we hear from you, enjoy that picture of the firefighters...

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Uniforms!

Mariana and Paula

PS: A huge thanks to Miss Laura Belle for helping to develop the theory. We know it was a sacrifice to stare at the men in their Army uniforms.

PPS: A shout out to Mariana's hubby Justin, who, in an attempt to be supportive of his wife, continued to check on the blog while in Montana for work. Except that all we blog about is men so he was caught looking at half-naked men on several occasions. :)

Just Keep Swimming...

Sometimes, a Monday is so rough that the only comfort you have is food. Today was such a day, and so we turned to one of our favorites...

Seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Potatoes and Sauteed Spinach

(Why yes! We are fancy. Thank you for noticing).

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Ahi tuna steaks
1 bag of pre-washed spinach leaves
4 medium russet potatoes
Wasabi
Butter
Milk
Salt
Pepper
White wine

Preparation

We purchased our ahi tuna at Trader Joe's. They come frozen in packages of two and are very decently priced. If we've never mentioned this, we love Trader Joe's.

Peel the potatoes and chop into eights. Boil in water with salt. When they start to fall apart, drain and return to the pot. Mash the potatoes, and then add a couple tablespoons of butter, a good squirt of wasabi, some milk, salt, and pepper. It's important that you get the measurements just right ;) Get out your handy hand mixer and whip! Sample and adjust for taste. If you like it spicier, add more wasabi. Add more milk and whip again if necessary, until the potatoes are light and fluffy.

In a wok or large pan, heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom.  Add in the spinach, doing it handful by handful until the entire bag is in the pan (it won't end up being that much). Splash a little white wine and sprinkle salt and pepper on the spinach. Sautee until cooked, which should take only a minute or two.

As you're doing that, heat another pan sprayed with Pam (or your favorite non-stick spray) until it's extra hot. Throw the tuna steaks on for about two minutes on each side, just enough time to heat it through while still leaving it pink in the middle.

Serve with a glass of the white wine and enjoy!

And for your entertainment...

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yummy!

Mariana and Paula

Hungry for Bachelors

In honor of tonight's Bachelor Pad 2 finale (you know, that one incredibly high-quality show on ABC), and by special request from our friend Analisa, we'd like to present to you some of our favorite men from Bachelor and Bachelorette history. And to make this more fun, we'll give you both an ABC-sanctioned picture, as well as the one we prefer.

There have been many a Bachelors (15 to be exact), but none have been quite as hot as Brad Womack. The quintessential bad boy with issues, Brad has actually been on the show twice. The first time, he made the bold move of not choosing a "winner"... gasp! The second time he proclaimed that he had been in therapy forever and he was ready for love. Armed with his traveling shrink, Brad gave it another go, only to end in failure once again. But that's ok. Other blogs don't call him Hotter Than Crap Brad for nothing:

But while there have been many-a Bachelors, we enjoy the Bachelorette seasons just as much. Why, you may ask? Well, duh... there's more men to look at! Like Mr. JP Rosenbaum:

 

Or Kiptyn Locke, also known as Kiptyn's Abs:

And then there was Roberto Martinez, who will eternally be known as the reason why women would ever brave such an adventure:

And finally, because we all know Mariana likes her slightly dorky men, there was Chris Lambton. The sweetest, nicest, make-me-sigh man in Bachelorette history:

And, oh yeah, these are his abs...

  

 

Enjoy tonight's quality programming readers!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! No shirt required!

Mariana and Paula

Hungry for... Kitty?

There are two very exciting events in our lives that make today's Hungry for Men post possible, both revolving around two very cute cats. First, we are happy to announce that we have a new man in our lives and his name is Hugo.

Paula has been considering a pet for quite some time, and not wanting to take on a dog, she finally decided to adopt a kitten (with a little pushing from Mariana). We headed to our local Humane Society and met Mr. Hugo here who captured our hearts with those cute little paws, that wiggly nose, and his purrrrring cuddles. He is now bounding around both Paula's apartment and Mariana's house, learning to get along with his two canine cousins (Lexi's quite curious while Duke is, well, terrified. What can we say, he's not your typical "hunting" dog).

While Mr. Hugo is nothing short of adorable, he does have some competition for favorite kitty. Even the Scum Devils around here have to admit that the start of Arizona football is incredibly exciting! So to honor the kick-off of our favorite time of year, we give you none other than Wilbur T. Wildcat:

He's furry. He's strong. And he's a Wildcat. What more could you ask for ladies?

Here's to fun with Hugo, a great Cat season, and some tailgating too!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Bear Down!

Mariana (and Paula, but she probably won't want to claim this one since I called her a Scum Devil. Lurvey you sissy!)

Spice Up Your Life

As you know, dear readers, food can often be used as a way to impress others, especially if you can whip something up that a lot of other people can't. Now in our family, this recipe is the most basic thing ever. We should be able to make it in our sleep, or with our eyes closed and one hand behind our back. In fact, we're pretty sure our Nana can do it in her sleep with both hands tied behind her. She can also tell you if you're using the correct pan by just the sound it makes when you set it down on the stove, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, that while our Nana might not be incredibly impressed by this specific recipe, others have been. So we are now passing it on to you... take it to a pot luck, offer it up at your house party, or make it for your future in-laws and we guarantee that the eaters will be impressed or your money back!*

*The writers of this blog would like you to note that you didn't actually pay for anything, hereby nullifying this guarantee. Sorry.

Roasted Salsa

Ingredients:

• 3 medium tomatoes
• 1 tomatillo
• 1-2 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 2 medium green chilies
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 slices of onion
• 1 lime
• Handful of cilantro
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Fire roast the tomatoes, tomatillo, jalapenos, green chilies, garlic, and one slice of onion. You can do this by holding them over the flame of your gas stove, putting them on the grill, or putting them in a cast iron pan on your electric stove.

Once the green chilies are roasted (the skin will start to blacken, crack, and peel) place them in a plastic bag to "sweat". This will allow you to be able to peel them later on.

Put all of the other roasted ingredients in a blender, add salt and pulse, so that everything is blended together but still slightly chunky. Pour into a bowl.

Chop the other slice of onion into larger pieces, and the cilantro. Take the green chilies out of their bag, peel the outer skin and slice open. Scrape out all of the seeds (rinse if you need to), and then chop. Mixed the chopped ingredients in with the blended ones, add a squeeze of lime, taste for salt (adjust if necessary), and you're done! Serve to your delighted guests with chips, or if you've grilled, suggest they top off their meal with it.

And if you really want to make an impression, offer up some music with your salsa. It's sure to stir up some emotions.

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yummy!

Mariana and Paula

How To Determine If A Man is Hunger-Worthy

As we continue our Man Hunger adventures with seemingly more men than recipes (we have several stocked up that just need to be written, we swear!), one may begin to wonder if there is a pattern in our men. Do we have a type? Time can only tell if that is the case, but what we do know, is that there are certain qualifications a man must have in order for us to be hungry for them. So in no particular order, here are a few of our requirements.

1. Eyes - If the eyes are the windows into a person's soul, then gorgeous eyes must mean a gorgeous soul, right? And certainly a man with a gorgeous soul is a man we're hungry for!

2. Humor - We've said it once and we'll say it a million times... A man who can make us laugh is incredibly attractive! Plus we feel that laughter provides a strong foundation for a good relationship, which is clearly what we're after with any of these men.

3. Dancing and/or singing abilities - Sexy moves? Sexy voice? HOT.

4. Abs - Let's be honest. Women are shallow too, so the fact that this is on the list should come as no surprise.

5. Sweet disposition - Blame it on the Disney movies we grew up with (Oh, Eric, you sexy prince you), or the endless list of chick flicks we watch, but we cannot help but fall for a man who is a sweetheart. Whether it's the way he pines over the woman he can't have, the way he treats his girl, or just being a good human being, as far as we're concerned, the bad boy isn't always the hottest. (Although sometimes he is).

Now, we're not totally unreasonable when it comes to our men, and would never expect a man we're hungry for to have all of these qualities, but could it be possible for one man to have it all? Ladies and gentlemen (because we know the gents out there love these posts too!), we give you:

Matthew Morrison

We invite you to watch an episode of Glee and you'll quickly find that:

1 - Will Schuester can smize right along with the best of them (even you evil Tyra Banks).
2 - He may not be as funny as Sue Sylvester (although really, who is?), but he can always make us laugh.
3 - Can the man dance and sing? Oh yeah!
4 - See picture above. Abs? CHECK!
5 - If Mr. Schue is not sweet, we don't know who is.

And best of all, he's even a little dorky (which we all know Mariana loves). So could Matthew be the perfect man? We're currently tracking him down so that we can confirm... stay tuned.

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! Abs!

Mariana and Paula

Hungry for Men - Special Edition!

So... no excuses. We've been slacking. Between busy schedules, trying to live in separate houses ("I miss you sissy!" That's what we scream at each other over the phone. Or just down the road because we live less than half a block away from each other), and plain old life, we failed to post last week. And yesterday. So to make it up to you, our dedicated and hungry fans, we are making this a very special edition of Hungry for Men Wednesdays. What makes it so special, you ask? Well for one, it's on Thursday. That alone makes it incredible. But if that's not enough for you, we've decided to ask our fans who the hottest male country stars are and why. So here's a smattering... enjoy!

We Think Their Tractors Are Sexy

Dierks Bentley - We'll admit that we cheated on this one a little. The fan who suggested him said she loved him for his curly hair. But when we came across this picture, we couldn't help but swoon! You feel free to come a little closer Dierks!

 

Josh Turner - That deep, manly voice of his has one of our fans absolutely hungry for this country star. And we can't help but agree, especially with that pensive, longing look in those gorgeous eyes. We'd be more happy if you were our man Josh!

Charles Kelley - This man sang his way into a certain fan's heart when she first heard him sing at the CMAs in 2009 with Lady A. There was magical snow swirling, he looked hot in a pea coat, and that voice. Oh that voice. You get drunk, give us a call, and tell us you need us now anytime Charles!

Brad Paisley - Now we admit, Brad wasn't the first man that came to mind when we thought of hot country stars, but there's a reason why he's on this list: his songs. Not "Celebrity" or "I'm Still a Guy," but "She's Everything" and "Then." He knows how to melt a girl's heart, that's for sure! We think you and your wife are adorable, Brad, but we still kind of wish we were your everything!

Tim McGraw - Hotty McHotterson! That's what one fan proclaimed when we asked her who the hottest country star is and she named Tim without hesitation. And can you blame her? We've been swooning over Tim for years as he crooned his way into our hearts. We can only imagine how good you'd feel on our lips Tim!

 

Chuck Wicks - Granted, the fan who suggested him had to Google "hot country stars," but we don't care! Not if it leads to this face. But now that we know about you, all we can think is that you're all we've ever wanted Chuck!

So there you have it! Just a taste of some of the hottest men who can sing! Did we miss someone? Sound off in the comments! You never know, we might end up doing a second edition since this was so much fun.

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! Oh. My. Yum!

Mariana and Paula