Cooking

In the late 70s, during my junior and senior years of high school, I cooked almost 40 hours/week at Dakota House Cafe (all shifts).

While going to school at Dakota State College from 1979 to 1983, I worked part-time jobs at Dairy Queen and the Dakota State College Trojan Center Snack Bar. Also during that time, I was also assigned to Battery B, 1st Battalion, 147th Field Artillery (South Dakota Army National Guard) and often helped the cooks in the kitchen during guard drill weekends and annual training.

In 2000, while assigned to the 842nd Engineer Company (South Dakota Army National Guard), I received Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) training and became qualified as a Food Service Specialist.

In the mid to late 2000s, I became more interested in cooking and took it more seriously after watching many Food Network programs on TV.

In 2011, I began taking pictures of some of my dishes with my cell phone.

In 2014, I came up with, what I believe to be, a great restaurant idea.

Jun 10, 2014 Fillet Mignon Fillet mignon with al dente (slightly under-cooked) onions and mushrooms. Sides are Italian-seasoned red skin potatoes and corn on the cob.	July 4, 2014 Sliced Fillet Mignon Fillet Mignon is sliced and covered with mushrooms, onions and a gravy made from butter, wine and soy sauce. I don't buy this cut of meat very often, because of the price, but sometimes it goes on sale.	July 6, 2014 Fillet Mignon Burrito I grilled a burrito with sliced fillet Mignon, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, avocado and cilantro.
Oct 13, 2014 Steak-Mushroom-Onion I'm not 100% sure on the cut, but pretty sure this is a rib-eye. Included are Al dente mushrooms and onions and uncooked broccoli.	Nov 19, 2014 English Muffin Burgers I don't usually buy burger buns, because I don't eat burgers very often. So, I used English muffins instead. Included are julienned carrots, hard-boiled egg half, French fries and ketchup.	Nov 21, 2014 Spaghetti & Meatballs Spaghetti with meatballs Include garlic Italian bread toast and three kinds of cheese (Mexican blend, Queso Fresco and Mozzerella). The spaghetti sauce includes ground beef and pork chorizo with meatballs made from the same.
Jan 21, 2015 This hamburger sandwich Includes spinach greens, tomato and avocado.	May 1, 2015 Fillet Mignon w/ Pasta Fillet mignon includes fettuccini with Alfredo sauce	May 5, 2015 Fillet Mignon Fillet mignon and fettuccini Alfredo (with butter and parmesan only). Includes garlic toast made with Italian bread.
May 10, 2015 Corned Beef & New Spuds Corned beef includes new potatoes, avocadoes and tomatoes.

LUNCH & DINNER

BREAKFAST

May 11, 2014 Chorizo & Veggie This hash brown pizza Includes chorizo, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and Mexican-blend cheese on top of freshly peeled and finely shredded Russet potatoes that are fried in butter on med-low heat for 10-12 minutes. Also included are two (overcooked) poached eggs.	Sep 7, 2014 Tribute to Mexico Hash brown pizza includes chorizo, shredded Mexican-blend cheese, onions, tomatoes, tomatillos, avocado and cilantro.	Sep 26, 2014 Mushroom Avocado This hash brown pizza was topped with mushrooms, queso fresco, avocados and shredded Mexican-blend cheese.
Sep 26, 2014 Mushroom Avocado Plated This shows a quarter section of the queso hash brown pizza from the previous photo with a poached egg.	Sep 28, 2014 OverEasy Eggs &Shallots This one is topped with egg, shallots, mozzarella and Mexican-blend cheese.	Sep 28, 2014 Broken Yolk w/ Shallots This is the same pizza shown in the previous photo, but with the two yolks broken. This sure was delicious.
Nov 13, 2014 Bacon-Cheese-Mushroom This one has bacon, queso fresco, Mexican-blend cheese and mushrooms.	Jan 27, 2015 Queso Over Easy I was out of veggies and Mexican-blend cheese when I made this pizza with just over-easy eggs and queso.	Feb 23, 2015 Supreme Pizza This pizza was loaded with toppings, including pork tenderloin, ham, queso, green pepper, onions, tomatoes, tomatillos, cilantro and a little Mexican-blend cheese.
Feb 25, 2015 Queso Onion Tomatillo Along with queso and mozzarella cheese, these hash browns have onions, tomatillos and cilantro.	April 27, 2015 Veggie Mozzarella Hash browns with corn, red peppers, green onions and mozzarella.	April 28, 2015 Chorizo & Sliced Egg This one has sliced hard-boiled eggs, chorizo, queso and cheddar cheese, tomatoes and green onions.
May 17, 2015 Ham-Queso-Mushroom Scrambled eggs with ham, mushrooms queso and cheddar top this hash brown pizza.

2. EGG SCRAMBLES

Aug 2, 2013 - Chorizo Scramble Scrambled eggs with chorizo, tomatoes, shredded cheese and cilantro. Served with freshly shredded, homemade hash browns.	Mar 29, 2014 - Queso Scramble Scrambled eggs with ham, queso (fresh Mexican cheese), green pepper, green onion, tomatoes and shredded cheese. Served with finely cut, fried potatoes.	May 8, 2014 - Over Easy Egg Scramble OK, the eggs aren't scrambled, but this dish seems to fall into the category of a scramble to me. It has tater rounds, chorizo, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, shredded cheese and cilantro.
May 16, 2014 - Three Cheese Scramble Swiss, queso and shredded cheddar spread out on a bed of scrambled eggs, tater rounds, green peppers and tomatoes.	Jul 4, 2014 - Andouille Scramble This tater round scramble was prepared with Andouille sausage, green peppers, tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and cilantro.	Jul 16, 2014 - Poached Egg Scramble Ingredients: Two poached eggs, rice, black beans, chorizo, onions, tomatoes, and shredded cheddar on a soft flour tortilla.
Oct 5, 2014 Hard-Boiled Egg Scramble Includes tater rounds, chorizo, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, one scrambled egg and one (sliced) hard-boiled egg, shredded cheddar, cilantro and salsa.	May 5, 2015 - Fried Tater Scramble Scrambled eggs with fried potatoes, queso and shredded cheddar cheese, chorizo, green peppers and onions.	May 10, 2015 Ham Scramble w/ B & G Basic scrambled eggs, ham, green peppers, tomatoes and shredded cheddar with biscuits and pork sausage gravy. B & G - Biscuits & Gravy
Mar 13, 2016 Garlic Taters-n-Cheese Shredded fresh Parmesan over a bed of fried red-skinned potatoes and chopped garlic with a poached egg on the bottom.	Oct 9, 2016 - Ham, Peppers & Onions Scrambled eggs laid out on a bed of tater rounds, ham, red peppers and onions, topped with shredded Mexican cheese.

3. HOMEMADE HASH BROWNS

Feb 19, 2013 The Round Omelet I tried an experiment to use a form to make this omelet perfectly round and it worked! The omelet has cheese, tomato and cilantro on top. Also included are biscuits and gravy, bacon and hash browns with onions (that's why the hash browns look a little burned, because of the onions).	July 21, 2014 Chorizo-Dill This omelet, surrounded by a ring of tater rounds, includes chorizo, onions, green onions, mozzarella and dill.	Oct 13, 2014 Loaded Veggie Omelet This omelet has mushrooms, queso, shredded mozzarella, onions, green peppers and tomatillos with bacon and fried red-skinned potatoes on the side.
Nov 17, 2014 The "NordMcMuffin" Technically, these aren't omelets, but rather over-hard (fried) eggs sandwiched with chorizo and shredded cheddar.	Feb 17, 2015 Ham & Veggie Omelet This omelet has ham, mushrooms, onions, tomatillos, shredded cheddar and cilantro.	Feb 22, 2015 Basic Omelet Basic omelet with ham, queso, cheddar, tomatoes, green peppers and cilantro.
Feb 25, 2015 Basic Omelet in the Pan I photographed this while still in the pan. It's just another basic omelet as shown in the previous slide, except this one has no tomatoes. The next slide shows this same omelet on the plate.	Feb 25, 2015 Basic Omelet Plated This is the same omelet shown in the previous slide, except it's cut in half and plated.	Mar 22, 2015 Bacon Guacamole This open-faced omelette is loaded with tomatillos, onions, tomatoes and a little guacamole. Bacon and tater rounds surround the omelette.
May 11, 2015 Not Just an Omelet Cheese omelette with tomatoes, avocados, fried potatoes and biscuits with gravy on the side.	May 12, 2015 Mushrooms Added Basically the same breakfast as the day before (in previous slide), but added mushrooms to the omelette.	May 24, 2015 Hardy Breakfast 4 Sure Egg and cheese omelette with fried potatoes, bacon and English muffin.

4. OMELETTES

Jan 29, 2012 My Eggs Benedict Poached eggs on English muffins with cheese sauce and a side of fried potatoes and onions.	Mar 23, 2012 Bacon-Biscuits-Browns Over-easy eggs with biscuits and gravy, freshly shredded hash browns and bacon.	Jul 25, 2012 Simple, Delicious Meal Poached egg topped with shredded cheddar. Sides include thick slices of bacon, English muffin and hash browns.
July 21, 2012 This Will Fill You Up Poached egg, shredded cheddar, green onions and tomatoes on English muffin. Served with potato and onion hash browns and bacon.	Dec 25, 2012 Bacon-Egg-Biscuit-Tater Over-easy eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon and fried potatoes.	Aug 12, 2013 - Shape Experiment Over-easy eggs topped with shredded cheddar and served with hash browns and bacon. I experimented with a round mold to shape the hash browns.
May 11, 2014 Medium Eggs & Pizza Eggs over-medium and hash browns loaded with cheddar, mushrooms and onions (hash brown pizza).	Jun 13, 2014 Sausage-Mushroom Muffin Eggs over-easy on English muffin with shredded cheddar, mushrooms and Andouille sausage.	Jun 15, 2014 Poached w/ 2 Meats & HB Cheddar cheese covers a poached egg, served with Andouille sausage, bacon, hash browns (HB), mushrooms and pico de gallo.
Sep 6, 2014 Perfect Over Easy Over-easy egg, fried red-skinned potatoes and onions, shredded cheddar, avocado and sausage links (a little overdone, but I like it that way).	Jul 12, 2014 Rooster Breakfast Trying to get my young son to eat has been a real challenge, so I tried to make this breakfast look like a chicken, with the over-easy egg being the head, the cut mozzarella sticks being it's comb (on it's head), the bacon being the wattles (which hang below the beak), the hash browns being the neck and the veggies (orange peppers, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms) being the ruffle feathers on the back of the neck.	Aug 31, 2014 Poached eggs garnished with cilantro and served with tater tots, bacon and pico de gallo.
Sep 13, 2014 Eggs Two Ways One over-easy egg and a one-egg omelette with tomatoes, onions, avocado, cheddar and queso fresco. Hash browns and bacon on the side.	Oct 29, 2014 Swiss Cheese & Avocado Poached eggs smothered in melted swiss cheese with avocado and store-bought hash browns.	Sep 22, 2014 Just Eggs & Hash Browns Two poached eggs and hash browns. Looks like the left egg cooked quicker than the right.
Sep 21, 2014 Cheesy Poached Eggs Poached eggs with melted cheddar and shallot garnish. Hash browns and chorizo on the side.	Nov 15, 2014 Beans & Rice Breakfast Poached egg with tater rounds, bacon, shredded cheddar and a mix of chorizo, rice, beans, onions and green peppers.	Jan 3, 2015 Sour Cream-Bacon-Avocado Two poached eggs covered with cheddar, sour cream and bacon, surrounded by avocados and tomatoes.
Mar 17, 2015 Three Poached Eggs I ran out of potatoes, so poached 3 eggs and smothered with queso fresco and shredded cheddar, then topped with cilantro.	Jan 22, 2015 Homemade Bread Poached eggs and cheddar with bacon and homemade bread.	Mar 17, 2015 Poached Supreme Two poached eggs topped with cheddar, queso fresco, ham, onions, green pepper, tomatoes, garlic and guacamole.
Mar 18, 2015 Poached w/ Sausage+ Poached egg with sausage links, pico de gallo, avocadoes, queso fresco and cheddar.	Apr 5, 2015 Easy Avocado-Mushroom Eggs over-easy topped with cheddar, mushrooms and avocados. Sourdough toast on the side.	Apr 29, 2015 Chorizo and Fried Tater Chopped up poached egg with chorizo and fried potatoes.
May 3, 2015 Chorizo, Cheddar & Onion Poached eggs topped with cheddar and surrounded by chorizo, onions and toast.	May 16, 2015 Fried Taters and Ham Eggs over-easy with fried potatoes and a little ham and cheese.	May 31, 2015 Homemade Fries Poached eggs with green peppers, fried potatoes, pico de gallo and English muffins topped with some deli cheese (forgot the name of it).
Jul 22, 2015 Poached with Cheddar+ Poached egg topped with cheddar, green peppers and onions and served with hash browns.	Aug 21, 2015 Three Course Breakfast Two poached eggs, hash browns and sourdough toast.	Dec 11, 2016 Poached on Hash Browns Hash browns topped with two poached eggs and shredded cheddar.
Dec 12, 2016 Eggs, Browns & Cheese Eggs over-easy with hash browns and queso fresco.	Dec 25, 2016 Eggs & Tater Rounds Eggs over-easy topped with cheddar and served with tater rounds.	Dec 27, 2016 Cheesy Eggs & Toast Three over-easy eggs with cheddar and whole wheat toast.
Dec 31, 2016 Bacon, Eggs & Toast Over-easy eggs with cheddar. Bacon and toast for sides.

5. POACHED & OVER-EASY

Jun 21, 2014 - French Toast & HBs? Looking back, this blueberry French toast doesn't seem to pair well with the hash browns, but I'm sure I enjoyed it anyway.	Jun 28, 2014 - Mr Breakfast This blueberry French toast with bacon and sliced hard-boiled egg and cheese omelette was made to look like a face as practice for when I cooked for my son.	Oct 18, 2014 - Lite Breakfast One piece of French toast with strawberries, one slice of bacon and one egg.
Oct 22, 2014 - Panko French Toast After soaking the bread in a mixture of eggs, milk, a little sugar, salt, vanilla and cinnamon, I dipped them in panko bread crumbs before frying on the grill. They sure were good!

6. SWEET BREAKFAST

January 2017 - My son really scarfed down this food. It's fried walleye, spinach leaves, ketchup and baked potato with butter and sour cream.

Below is a collection of picture slideshows of some of the food I cooked since 2011. I created a menu for each category of food, so if you want to go straight to the slideshow of a specific category, just click on the item in the menu. To view all items, just keep scrolling down.

BREAKFAST (Usually served before noon, but not always):

1. BREAKFAST TORILLAS

2. EGG SCRAMBLES

3. HASH BROWN PIZZA

4. OMELETTES

5. POACHED & OVER EASY

6. SWEET BREAKFAST

LUNCH & DINNER (Served when I feel like cooking):

1. BEEF

2. CHICKEN

3. PORK

4. FISH & SEAFOOD

5. VEGGIES

6. PIZZA DOUGH & POT PIES

7. KID'S MENU

8. DESSERT

RESTAURANT IDEAS

1. WORLD GRILL

2. SOUP SANDWICH

Aug 23, 2014 - Chorizo/Avocado This tortilla starts with an egg and cheese on the tortilla. Added a fried-up mix of chorizo, onion and rice, then topped with tomatillo slices, tomato and cilantro. Where are the avocados? View the next slide for the answer.	Aug 23, 2014 - Chorizo/Avocado Added the avocados at the end, then sprinkled some Sriracha sauce to give it a little "kick".	Sep 12, 2014 - Poached with Cheese I don't recall exactly what I stuffed inside the two tortillas, because I didn't take a picture before adding the 2nd tortilla. However, I can tell you that I topped it off with a couple of poached eggs and cheese.
Sep 16, 2014 - French Fry Crab No crab in this dish, but it kinda looks like one. I have a bunch of stuff going here. Chorizo, queso fresco, avocadoes, tomatoes, onions, shredded cheese, eggs and French fries.	Oct 14, 2014 - Sour Cream Omelette This is not something you can get at a fast food joint. Essentially, this is an egg and cheese omelette inside a tortilla and topped with tater rounds and sour cream.	Nov 12, 2014 - Mushroom Bacon Egg This tortilla is loaded with two kinds of cheese, bacon, mushrooms, poached egg and a few cilantro sprigs.
Nov 16, 2014 - Chorizo, Egg & Bean Added queso fresco and shredded Mexican cheese to this chorizo, egg and bean tortilla.	Oct 5, 2016 - Taquitos Experiment I tried to reverse engineer the taquitos sold in local convenience stores. I really like the ones at the store, but they cost a lot more than if I made them myself.	Oct 6, 2016 - Taquitos Experiment I tried different recipes, temperatures, cooking times, etc., and kept refining and improving my results. Here's three in the oven. The ones I made were delicious, but still a little different from the store-bought kind.

1. BREAKFAST TORTILLAS

1. BEEF

Nov 12, 2011 - Chicken Strips & Pork They say you shouldn't eat more meat than the size of your hand, so I may have exceeded that here with 3 chicken strips and a pork cutlet. Sides are spiral macaroni and lettuce, carrot, queso fresco cheese and balsamic vinegar salad.	Nov 21, 2011 - Chicken Wrap Bacon-wrapped chicken with cheese. Included on the plate is lettuce, onion, shredded Mexican cheese, carrots, rice, mushrooms, shrimp and tomato.	Mar 25, 2012 - Lentil Sauce and Rice I used a form to shape the rice dome and placed it on a bed of lentil soup. Cut chicken breasts, dipped them in egg, Shore Lunch/flour mix, back in the egg, then dipped in crushed Saltine crackers, before frying. Onion slices were rinsed, then soaked in lime juice, olive oil and salt.
Jan 21, 2013 Chicken Bacon Pasta Mostly a bed of cheesy pasta with chicken, bacon and julienned carrots. The pasta is garnished with queso fresco.	Jun 16, 2014 - Grilled Wings I cooked these wings on a BBQ grill, turning frequently to avoid burning and brushing periodically with olive oil.	Jul 10, 2014 Pesto Chicken This chicken and pesto sauce was delicious and went well with the fried potatoes and salad (lettuce, mushrooms, bacon and cheese).
Jul 22, 2014 - Panko Fried Chicken Two of the three pieces of chicken were dipped in panko crumbs (not sure about the one on the left though). In the center is a pesto sauce. Surrounding it is rice with soy sauce and peas.	Jul 24, 2014 Chicken and Shrimp This here appears to be a mix of rice and cream of chicken soup, along with carrots, lettuce (or cabbage?) a piece of chicken and three pieces of shrimp.	Sep 2, 2014 - Tostada & Chicken Cheese, mushroom and onion tostada, with chicken, lettuce, onions and tomatoes.
Oct 27, 2014 - Couscous Dish Made a chicken gravy to cover the couscous and served with panko fried chicken breast and peas/carrots.	Jan 26, 2015 - Chicken, Corn & Beans Added rice, avocado and, in the center was a tomato and onion salsa.	Feb 5, 2015 Chicken, Beans and Rice Two leg pieces of chicken with a mix of beans, rice, onions and tomatoes on a bed of lettuce and garnished with shredded Mexican cheese.
Feb 7, 2015 - Chicken & Potato Stew Made a good gravy for this stew and added rice, then garnished with a few green onion pieces.	Mar 3, 2015 - Fried Chicken & Taters I fried the potatoes with onions and served with three pieces of chicken on a bed of shredded cabbage. I drizzled olive oil, lime juice, salt and mixed, with sour cream, into the cabbage.	March 14, 2015 - Chicken Wraps I cut a slit lengthwise through each chicken breast, stuffed a mozzarella stick, carrot, red pepper and mushrooms inside, wrapped each breast with bacon, then fried in olive oil.
March 14, 2015 - Chicken Wraps (2) This picture shows one of the wraps after I cut it in pieces.

2. CHICKEN

Aug 17, 2011 - Comfort Food Pork cutlet with corn, mashed potatoes and brown gravy.	Oct 15, 2011 - Batter Experiment I used either a beer batter or rice flour batter for the pork. Sides are spaghetti noodles, green peppers and a couple of tomato slices.	Mar 10, 2012 - Grilled Pork Burrito I stuffed this somewhat square pork burrito with pork, rice, cheese, onions and peppers, grilled it on all four sides, prepared a bunch of pico-de-gallo, avocadoes, guacamole and lettuce on the plate, drizzled a cheese sauce over the burrito, then sprinkled shredded cheddar over that. I like mine much better than Qdoba.
Aug 9, 2012 - Rice, Spuds & Leaves There's a mix of pork, red pepper, onion in a thick sauce over the rice. Thin potato wedges or thick fries, not exactly sure. On the right is an assorted leaf salad with avocado.	Aug 11, 2012 - Cutlet, HBs and Peas Delicious pork cutlet, homemade hash browns and peas.	Nov 7, 2012 - Sour Cream Cutlet Topped this cutlet with sour cream and added rice, lettuce, avocado and tomato to the plate. I sprinkled lime juice, olive oil and salt over the lettuce.
May 14, 2014 Chorizo-Queso Tostadas Along with chorizo and queso, I added green peppers and onions to fill these tostadas.	Jun 11, 2014 - Ribs & Red Potatoes Grilled baby-back ribs with seasoned red skinned potatoes and onions. Salad is cabbage with lime juice, olive oil and a little salt and pepper.	Jul 1, 2014 - Pork Chop with Gravy I made a brown gravy with mushrooms for the pork chop and rice. Also rinsed some onion slices, soaked them in lime juice, olive oil and salt, then used them as a garnish. To cook the sweet corn, I wrapped it with a wet paper towel and microwaved for about 4 minutes.
Jul 28, 2014 - Pork with Plantain Breaded pork with fried plantain, avocado, lettuce, tomato, a few spinach leaves and queso fresco in the center.	Aug 19, 2014 -Pork & Pesto Spaghetti Breaded pork loin with spaghetti in a pesto sauce and corn on the side.	Sep 7, 2014 - Pork and Pesto Rotini Topped the pesto rotini with a good helping of parmesan cheese. Steamed carrots on the side..
Sep 16, 2014 - Andouille Linguini Andouille Sausage slices with linguini in a spaghetti sauce.	Sep 18, 2014 - Andouille Fettuccine More Andouille with pesto fettuccine and lettuce, tomato and carrot salad.	Oct 31, 2014 Rib and Mushroom Spuds Grilled country style rib with diced carrots and fried potatoes smothered in mushroom sauce.
Jan 9, 2015 Taco Grinder - Side 1 This grilled taco grinder, as I call it, has ham, chorizo, shredded Mexican cheese, queso fresco and avocado.	Jan 9, 2015 Taco Grinder - Side 2 I thought it looked a little different from the other side, so I took pictures of both sides of this dish.	Feb 19, 2015 - Deluxe Taco Drizzled hot sauce on the tortilla, then added ham, chorizo, shredded cabbage, tomato, tomatillo, sour cream and cilantro. I also added lime juice, olive oil and salt to the cabbage.
Feb 19, 2015 - Burrito & Salsa-Guac This is a big ole grilled burrito filled with a bunch of stuff (I don't remember what all was in it, but it was good). I put a good helping of salsa-guacamole over a bed of shredded cabbage.	Feb 21, 2015 - Breakfast for Dinner For dinner, I made this English muffin with two poached eggs, ham, chorizo, onion, tomatillo, shredded Mexican cheese and cilantro.	Mar 31, 2015 BAT Sandwich Toasted sourdough bread to make this BAT (Bacon, Avocado and Tomato) sandwich. Didn't have any lettuce, but I had avocados.
Mar 31, 2015 BAT Sandwich Closeup	Apr 3, 2015 - Pork w/ Peas-n-Taters Sometimes I cut the pork open to make sure it's done in the middle. I made a gravy for the peas and potatoes, then added some onions marinated in lime juice, olive oil and salt. Not sure why, but I didn't cut up the avocado.	Apr 14, 2015 - Early Cinco de Mayo I fried these loose burritos, or whatever you call them, in a little olive oil. They have corn, beans, rice, chorizo, onions, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream.
May 11, 2015 - Late Cinco de Mayo I cut this grilled chorizo burrito in half, put the two pieces side by side on a paper plate, then added cheese, avocado and tomato.	May 14, 2015 - Sandwich Experiment I baked a loaf of Italian bread from a roll of dough I bought at the store, then sliced up and grilled. Inside is ham, pork, Swiss cheese and avocado. It's something different, that's for sure.	Jan 13, 2016 - Pork and Tater Wedges Along with the pork and wedges, I added salsa and avocados to the plate.
Jan 22, 2016 - Pork Cutlets & Potato Nothing but pork cutlets and fried potatoes with some seasonings.

3. PORK

4. FISH & SEAFOOD

Aug 22, 2011 Garlic Shrimp Alfredo I used shell macaroni with the shrimp, because it kind of matches the size of the shrimp and, when I was eating it, it almost seemed like I was eating more shrimp. Green beans and mushrooms on the side.	Jul 24, 2012 - Walleye, Pasta & Corn Breaded the walleye in egg, ShoreLunch seasoned flour, back in the egg and finished with finely ground Saltine cracker crumbs. The pasta has a pesto sauce (fresh basil, olive oil, lime juice, parmesan, salt & pepper in the blender).	Aug 2, 2012 - Baked Walleye I baked this walleye with green peppers and onions. Cooked some peas and yellow rice. I just added turmeric to get the yellow color.
Aug 8, 2012 - Baked Walleye Again Baked the walleye the same way as the week prior (previous slide). Have pesto pasta and assorted leaf salad on the side.	Jun 18, 2014 - Fried Walleye In 2012, as you saw in the 2nd slide, I was breading the walleye with ShoreLunch and cracker crumbs. Sometime after that, I learned about Panko bread crumbs and have been using Panko ever since.	Jun 27, 2014 - Walleye Fillets Baked these walleyes with lemon pepper and melted butter. I spread some pesto sauce down before plating the walleye. There are basil leaves in the center, with corn and fried potatoes on the side.
Jul 18, 2014 - Walleye & Shrimp Along with the walleye and shrimp, are a few onion rings, some kind of leafy greens and a mix of rice, beans, tomato, orange pepper, queso fresco, shredded cheddar, ground beef and corn.	Jul 24, 2014 Chicken-Walleye-Shrimp In retrospect, I think I went overboard by adding the bacon too. It's kind of funny, now that I look at it. In the middle is shredded cabbage and on the side are carrots and a mix of rice and cream of mushroom soup.

Jul 3, 2014 - In the Blender is... Getting ready to blend up some mushrooms, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, avocados, lime juice, olive oil and paprika.	Jul 13, 2014 - Veggie Tostada Corn, beans, tomato, onions and green peppers with cheese on a flour tortilla.	Nov 17, 2014 - Potatoes and Onions Made a cheese sauce for these fried potatoes and onions.
May 13, 2015 - Chip Dip Ingredients I used for chip dip are: cheese, tomatoes, avocados, onions, sour cream, lime juice and olive oil. I threw all this in the blender after this picture was taken.	Jul 15, 2015 Chorizo Quesadillas Along with the chorizo, I added cheese, beans, onions, corn, half an avocado and a little rice to the quesadilla. I made the guacamole in the middle with the other half of the avocado.

5. VEGGIES

6. PIZZA DOUGH AND POT PIES

Dec 5, 2015 - Beef Pot Pie When I was a teenager, I used to eat a lot of store-bought pot pies, but stopped eating them, because, it seemed, there wasn't much in them. So, I made my own.	Jan 14, 2016 - Clam Chowder Bowl I used pizza dough for this Clam Chowder Bowl and it worked pretty well.	Jan 19, 2016 - Chicken Pot Pie This pot pie is ready for the oven.
Jan 19, 2016 - Chicken Pot Pie This is halfway through the baking process.	Jan 19, 2016 - Chicken Pot Pie Finished product ready to eat.	Jan 24, 2016 - Pork & Gravy Calzone One morning, I got the bright idea to make a breakfast calzone with pork and gravy.
Jan 25, 2016 - Pizza Dough Pot Pie Made this chicken pot pie with pizza dough.	Jan 26, 2016 - Cheesy Calzone Yum, yum!	Jan 28, 2016 - Another Calzone I don't remember what i stuffed this Calzone with.
Feb 14, 2016 - Another Pot Pie	Jan 15, 2016 - Step 1 for Pot Pies I unroll the dough from the package and lay it out on my cutting board.	Jan 15, 2016 - Step 2 for Pot Pies I roll the dough out and cut it down the middle. I then roll out each half and cut about 1/3 off each half. The 2/3 piece is used for the bottom and sides, the 1/3 piece is for the top. I use a fork to seal the top and sides together. After trimming off the excess pieces and re-rolling, I can make 3 pot pies with one package of dough.
Jan 15, 2016 - Step 3 for Pot Pies I make a gravy, using flour, oil, milk, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper, then add carrots, onions, potatoes and peas to pre-cook the veggies a little.	Jan 15, 2016 - Step 4 for Pot Pies I cut four slots in the top to allow for steam to vent out, then bakes until brown and crispy on top.

Aug 2, 2012 - Baked Walleye Meal Baked walleye with onion and green pepper garnish. Sides of yellow rice and peas.	Sep 21, 2014 - Cheeseburger & Fries Didn't have any hamburger buns, so used bread instead. Along with the French Fries, there's Mozzarella strips and ketchup.	Jun 28, 2014 Blueberry French Toast Blueberry French toast with two strips of bacon on a kids plate.
Nov 15, 2014 - Smiley Face Breakfast I tried to make a smiley face on the plate, using bacon, tater rounds, shredded Mexican cheese, sausage and queso fresco.

7. KID'S MENU

Oct 15, 2011 - Coconut Cake Added ice cream, topped with a Maraschino cherry and sliced some kiwi fruit for the side.	Aug 13, 2012 - Bread Pudding Added peaches and ice cream to this bread pudding.	Aug 18, 2013 - Orange Bisquits Topped these biscuits with ice cream and a homemade orange sauce.
Jun 19, 2014 - Orange Cake Incorporated orange flavor in both the cake and frosting, then topped with orange zest (shredded orange peel). Served with ice cream (of course).	Jun 27, 2014 - Tasty Experiment Wasn't a very good experiment, because I don't remember exactly how I made this, but I do remember that it was very tasty. I tried topping with some pieces of bacon and added some blueberries on the side (mostly for decoration)	Jul 18, 2014 -Cherry Crepe This crepe was heavy on egg and light on flour. Along with cherries, I added shredded coconut, white chocolate chips, 3 thin strips of creme cheese, powdered sugar and ice cream.
Sep 14, 2014 Apple/Bacon Muffins Baked two English muffins with diced apples, cream cheese, shredded cheddar, bacon, then topped with homemade cherry ice cream.	Nov 19, 2014 - Basic Crepes Topped these crepes with light corn syrup and added vanilla ice cream on the side.	Nov 23, 2014 Pear Pancake Cut up some pears and made a sauce to cover the pancake, then topped with whip cream and a blueberry garnish.
Apr 27, 2015 - Butterscotch Crepes Filled these crepes with sour cream, topped with ice cream, then drizzled everything with butterscotch.

8. DESSERT

RESTAURANT IDEAS

There are far fewer restaurants in the small town of Pierre (population of 14,000) than what I enjoyed in Rapid City (population of 74,000) before moving to Pierre in 2005. I often think how nice it would be to have other choices, so I came up with a few ideas below.

1. WORLD GRILL

I thought about what the ideal restaurant would be. I like variety, so having a place that serves food from around the world would be good. I came up with a name, "World Grill". I really believe this type of restaurant would be popular in Pierre, because all the locals say they wish they had more choices. For that matter, I think it would be popular anywhere.

People could go to World Grill and eat food from a different country every day and not get bored with the food. You can't say that about any other restaurant here, because they limit their menu to only one theme (ie., pizza, burgers, etc.) or one country (ie, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, etc.). There might be a few people who enjoy the same food every day, but most people want variety.

Below is a rough draft of my World Grill lunch/dinner menu. In development, I scoured the internet for the top 100 dishes from around the world. Then I narrowed it down to the ones I thought were the best.

I haven't researched food costs to set accurate/fair prices for each menu item. Prices are just thrown in there to make it look like a real menu.

The World Grill logo is my rendition of the world evaporating on a hot grill.

LUNCH & DINNER MENU

2. SOUP SANDWICH

I thought of another restaurant idea that serves soup and sandwiches at an affordable price. I came up with the name, "Soup Sandwich" as an homage to my Army days where I often heard (and used) the term, referring to something that was messed up. I kind of like the name, even though it has somewhat of a negative connotation. To me, it describes exactly what is served and I also like the fact that the name has a story/joke behind it.

Below is my sample menu, again with fictitious prices.

Breakfast

Scrambles

Hashbrowns

Omelettes

Poached

Sweet

Lunch-Dinner

Chicken

Pork

Fish

Veggies

Pizza-Dough

Kids-Menu

Dessert

Restaurant-Ideas

Soup-Sandwich

Jun 10, 2014 Fillet Mignon

Fillet mignon with al dente (slightly under-cooked) onions and mushrooms. Sides are Italian-seasoned red skin potatoes and corn on the cob.

July 4, 2014 Sliced Fillet Mignon

Fillet Mignon is sliced and covered with mushrooms, onions and a gravy made from butter, wine and soy sauce. I don't buy this cut of meat very often, because of the price, but sometimes it goes on sale.

July 6, 2014 Fillet Mignon Burrito

I grilled a burrito with sliced fillet Mignon, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, avocado and cilantro.

Oct 13, 2014 Steak-Mushroom-Onion

I'm not 100% sure on the cut, but pretty sure this is a rib-eye. Included are Al dente mushrooms and onions and uncooked broccoli.

Nov 19, 2014 English Muffin Burgers

I don't usually buy burger buns, because I don't eat burgers very often. So, I used English muffins instead. Included are julienned carrots, hard-boiled egg half, French fries and ketchup.

Nov 21, 2014 Spaghetti & Meatballs

Spaghetti with meatballs Include garlic Italian bread toast and three kinds of cheese (Mexican blend, Queso Fresco and Mozzerella). The spaghetti sauce includes ground beef and pork chorizo with meatballs made from the same.

Jan 21, 2015

This hamburger sandwich Includes spinach greens, tomato and avocado.

May 1, 2015 Fillet Mignon w/ Pasta

Fillet mignon includes fettuccini with Alfredo sauce

May 5, 2015 Fillet Mignon

Fillet mignon and fettuccini Alfredo (with butter and parmesan only). Includes garlic toast made with Italian bread.

May 10, 2015 Corned Beef & New Spuds

Corned beef includes new potatoes, avocadoes and tomatoes.

LUNCH & DINNER

BREAKFAST

May 11, 2014 Chorizo & Veggie

This hash brown pizza Includes chorizo, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and Mexican-blend cheese on top of freshly peeled and finely shredded Russet potatoes that are fried in butter on med-low heat for 10-12 minutes. Also included are two (overcooked) poached eggs.

Sep 7, 2014 Tribute to Mexico

Hash brown pizza includes chorizo, shredded Mexican-blend cheese, onions, tomatoes, tomatillos, avocado and cilantro.

Sep 26, 2014 Mushroom Avocado

This hash brown pizza was topped with mushrooms, queso fresco, avocados and shredded Mexican-blend cheese.

Sep 26, 2014 Mushroom Avocado Plated

This shows a quarter section of the queso hash brown pizza from the previous photo with a poached egg.

Sep 28, 2014 OverEasy Eggs &Shallots

This one is topped with egg, shallots, mozzarella and Mexican-blend cheese.

Sep 28, 2014 Broken Yolk w/ Shallots

This is the same pizza shown in the previous photo, but with the two yolks broken. This sure was delicious.

Nov 13, 2014 Bacon-Cheese-Mushroom

This one has bacon, queso fresco, Mexican-blend cheese and mushrooms.

Jan 27, 2015 Queso Over Easy

I was out of veggies and Mexican-blend cheese when I made this pizza with just over-easy eggs and queso.

Feb 23, 2015 Supreme Pizza

This pizza was loaded with toppings, including pork tenderloin, ham, queso, green pepper, onions, tomatoes, tomatillos, cilantro and a little Mexican-blend cheese.

Feb 25, 2015 Queso Onion Tomatillo

Along with queso and mozzarella cheese, these hash browns have onions, tomatillos and cilantro.

April 27, 2015 Veggie Mozzarella

Hash browns with corn, red peppers, green onions and mozzarella.

April 28, 2015 Chorizo & Sliced Egg

This one has sliced hard-boiled eggs, chorizo, queso and cheddar cheese, tomatoes and green onions.

May 17, 2015 Ham-Queso-Mushroom

Scrambled eggs with ham, mushrooms queso and cheddar top this hash brown pizza.

2. EGG SCRAMBLES

Aug 2, 2013 - Chorizo Scramble

Scrambled eggs with chorizo, tomatoes, shredded cheese and cilantro. Served with freshly shredded, homemade hash browns.

Mar 29, 2014 - Queso Scramble

Scrambled eggs with ham, queso (fresh Mexican cheese), green pepper, green onion, tomatoes and shredded cheese. Served with finely cut, fried potatoes.

May 8, 2014 - Over Easy Egg Scramble

OK, the eggs aren't scrambled, but this dish seems to fall into the category of a scramble to me. It has tater rounds, chorizo, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, shredded cheese and cilantro.

May 16, 2014 - Three Cheese Scramble

Swiss, queso and shredded cheddar spread out on a bed of scrambled eggs, tater rounds, green peppers and tomatoes.

Jul 4, 2014 - Andouille Scramble

This tater round scramble was prepared with Andouille sausage, green peppers, tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and cilantro.

Jul 16, 2014 - Poached Egg Scramble

Ingredients: Two poached eggs, rice, black beans, chorizo, onions, tomatoes, and shredded cheddar on a soft flour tortilla.

Oct 5, 2014 Hard-Boiled Egg Scramble

Includes tater rounds, chorizo, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, one scrambled egg and one (sliced) hard-boiled egg, shredded cheddar, cilantro and salsa.

May 5, 2015 - Fried Tater Scramble

Scrambled eggs with fried potatoes, queso and shredded cheddar cheese, chorizo, green peppers and onions.

May 10, 2015 Ham Scramble w/ B & G

Basic scrambled eggs, ham, green peppers, tomatoes and shredded cheddar with biscuits and pork sausage gravy. B & G - Biscuits & Gravy

Mar 13, 2016 Garlic Taters-n-Cheese

Shredded fresh Parmesan over a bed of fried red-skinned potatoes and chopped garlic with a poached egg on the bottom.

Oct 9, 2016 - Ham, Peppers & Onions

Scrambled eggs laid out on a bed of tater rounds, ham, red peppers and onions, topped with shredded Mexican cheese.

3. HOMEMADE HASH BROWNS

Feb 19, 2013 The Round Omelet

I tried an experiment to use a form to make this omelet perfectly round and it worked! The omelet has cheese, tomato and cilantro on top. Also included are biscuits and gravy, bacon and hash browns with onions (that's why the hash browns look a little burned, because of the onions).

July 21, 2014 Chorizo-Dill

This omelet, surrounded by a ring of tater rounds, includes chorizo, onions, green onions, mozzarella and dill.

Oct 13, 2014 Loaded Veggie Omelet

This omelet has mushrooms, queso, shredded mozzarella, onions, green peppers and tomatillos with bacon and fried red-skinned potatoes on the side.

Nov 17, 2014 The "NordMcMuffin"

Technically, these aren't omelets, but rather over-hard (fried) eggs sandwiched with chorizo and shredded cheddar.