According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control, 49% of American will eat at least one sandwich on any given day. That’s really not so shocking; I eat one most days, if not two. And why not? A sandwich is easy to eat while working, requires no dish or utensil, and you can put just about anything in it. Most can be eaten with one hand. That’s why the sandwich was invented in the first place! What is a little surprising is the findings about what Americans put in their sandwiches.

As you can tell from the graph, lettuce is on more sandwiches than any other ingredient. That’s because it automatically goes on so many store-bought sandwiches of all kinds, and there are no other vegetables that produce as much crunch. However, if you look closer, you can see that “Cheddar or American cheese” shows up three times in the graph, depending on how it was described. If those were combined, they would be at the top. Personally, I’m surprised that peanut butter isn’t much higher on the list. You can read more about the study, and see what kind of breads we’re using on sandwiches, at FiveThirtyEight. -via Digg   

                 Image Credit:  TBS The Book Service Ltd

Sometimes, you just find something online that reminds you how good you actually have it. It can be a picture of someone going through something terrible, or it can be a video that hits you right in the feels. But in this case, it was something as simple as someone sending me a pic in my email, and BAM, I loved my life again. Why? Because I knew I would never need the book seen above. Microwave For One by Sonia Allison. Yes, it is real, and judging from the price, perhaps a bit of a collector's item.

But let's take a moment for the true sadness of the concept behind this book to sink in. There, do you feel that? Just the thought that this book needed to be written hints at some very lonely lives (filled with unpleasant food). It really is "forever alone", the cook book.

So think about this book next time you are lonely or having a bad day and you just might realize, it could be a lot worse. You could have written Microwave For One.

Chicken and waffles are a staple of American soul food. They belong together just as nature intended. Usually they are not made into a classic dessert. Graham Blackhall, a chef in New Orleans, has now changed that.

Blackhall’s chicken and waffles cake uses a vanilla buttermilk cake as a base. It’s topped with a maple syrup buttercream and a spicy sage caramel. Then it’s decorated with chicken nuggets and Belgian waffles.

This is a great start. To go further, I suggest placing chicken nuggets between the cake layers.

-via That’s Nerdalicious!

(DailyMotion link)

Australian folks try out some really odd foods they’ve never encountered before: aerosol cheese, dried meat sticks, and something that night be chips, but are designed to burn your tongue. Described that way, they really do sound weird, don’t they? It’s difficult to suddenly develop a taste for something you’re not used to. If you grew up in Australia and never had ranch dressing on a salad, you would have no idea what to expect from Cool Ranch Doritos. In the same vein, most Americans have never tried Vegemite. Let’s see how that goes.

(DailyMotion link)

-via Tastefully Offensive

(Photo: The Buffalo News)

Flamin' Hot Cheetos and bagels! Like pickled pigs' feet and jelly-filled donuts, they're two foods that naturally belong together. Now they are finally united, thanks to Allison Ewing of the BreadHive bakery in Buffalo, New York. Or perhaps the credit properly belongs to a 10-year old who proposed it while hanging out in the bakery. Andrew Z. Galarneau writes for the Buffalo News:

“She was supervising, and asking questions, and eating Flamin' Hot Cheetos,” said BreadHive’s Allison Ewing. "She said, 'You should put these on a bagel.' ” […]

They crushed a bag of the alarmingly crimson processed snacks, and dipped the ready-to bake bagels in them, instead of using organic garlic or one of the usual toppings. They found that the crumbs stay crispy for a few hours, and crisp up again if you toast the bagel.

(Photo: Calgary Reviews)

-via First We Feast

The jack-o'-lantern is a traditional symbol of Halloween, and a smiling ambassador of fall. When you see Jack's grin around town you know it's almost time for spirits to haunt the land of the living, and visions of candy and costumes start dancing around in your head.

Here are 13 fun, and easy to make, jack-o'-lantern shaped dishes that will add some Halloween fun to your get togethers, or simply make dinner with your family more festive.

1. Jack-O'-Lantern Quesadillas-

Let's start out with a super simple recipe that anyone can make, a recipe so easy even your kids can get in on the fun.

Simply cut eyes, a nose and a jagged smile into the top tortilla of a double decker quesadilla and put a smile on their faces!

Tutorial Link

2. Jack-O'-Lantern Cheeseburgers-

Imagine the look on your guest's faces when you slide a smiling jack-o'-lantern burger onto their bun, they'll be grinning from ear to ear!

Tutorial Link

3. Smiling Pumpkin Fruit Plate-

The smiling pumpkin fruit plate is another super simple recipe/concept that you'll be using for years to come.

Arrange a plate of fruit, or candy, or pretty much any colorful finger food, into the shape of a smiling jack-o'-lantern on a serving tray and watch that pumpkin head slowly disappear during the night. 

Tutorial Link

4. Masked Jack-O'-Lantern Cookies- 

This recipe is a bit more difficult to prepare than a fruit arrangement on a plate, but the end result is so satisfyingly delicious it's worth all the effort.

This recipe is great because you can sub out any of the fancy tools or decorating ingredients for simpler ones- frosting instead of luster powder, cookie dough leaves instead of fondant, and jam instead of candy in the middle.

Tutorial Link

5. Simple Jack-O'-Lantern Cookies-

If you're looking for a simpler cookie recipe, without all the razzle dazzle but with plenty of flavor and character, then you'll love this jack-o'-lantern cookie recipe which uses real pumpkin!

Tutorial Link

Nick Chipman is the executive chef of DudeFoods, a site filled with the most manly and nutritionally dubious foods in the world. We've featured his work extensively.

He recently made a hamburger that had compressed macaroni and cheese for buns. One of his readers pointed out that he could make a mac and cheese burger even more mac-y by building a Big Mac with mac and cheese buns. This beautiful meal is the result.

Chipman says that it's hard to eat because it's so tall. But:

On the plus side, there’s a really simple solution to the problem — deep fry the entire thing and serve it on a stick!

Is there any image that Nathan Shields cannot recreate in his preferred medium of pancake batter? His latest project was making pancakes that resemble the characters from The Walking Dead!

(YouTube link)

It takes a steady hand, a feel for the proper shades of each image, and perfect batter. And some zombie jam to sweeten the finished product! Shields teamed up with pancake artist Kevin Blankenship to make these pancakes and enjoyed them while watching the season premiere Sunday night. -via Laughing Squid

For kids Halloween is all about the candy, but adults look forward to the parties, the fun costumes and, of course, a holiday themed cocktail to drink.

Halloween themed cocktails make party monsters howl with delight, so before you throw your spooky shindig you should consult this list of 25 Halloween Cocktails compiled by Real Housemoms and make it a graveyard smash!

Drinks range from scary, like the Bloody Tooth Cocktail or the Zombie Shooter, to colorful and totally festive, like the Candy Corn Cocktail or the Vampire’s Eclipse, and they all sound sinfully delicious!

There’s even a recipe for a popular party treat that looks as good as it tastes- Candy Corn Jell-O Shots. They taste like an orange creamsicle, and they look amazing because they're served in orange peel wedges! Bottoms up!

Spaghetti isn’t hard to eat, there aren’t any rules about how you get those noodles into your mouth, you just shovel them in and chew.

However, there is one generally accepted rule when it comes to spaghetti- it belongs in your mouth and not your shoe, your bathtub or your favorite book.

Spaghetti is delicious, squirmy, and totally enjoyable in every way, but these people are trying to bring the value of spaghetti to well below zero.

They’re doing spaghetti all wrong, taking those saucy noodles where they’ve never gone before. The dark side of foodie life, which used to be kept in a dark corner of their memory closet, is now being publicly aired via the interwebs. 

Take a gander at these crazy folks who have no clue how to spaghetti, but be forewarned- you may not look at everybody's favorite pasta noodles the same way ever again!

You think you like Gummi Bears? Christof Neimann is a connoisseur of Gummi Bears, and doesn't mind to admit it.

My children think they can hide their candy consumption from me. But they fail to recognize my tactical advantage: They mistake me for an ignorant grown-up, when I’m actually an eternal preteen. My relationship to sweets has hardly changed since I was their age. Yes, I might eat candy less often now. But once I start, a precise choreography ensues.

Then he tells us each step of this “precise choreography,” with illustrations. But don’t we all have these little routines when we eat our favorite treats? When eating Smarties, I separate out the white and green candies, saving them for last because they are the best. I bite off the very top of a cherry cordial to keep the liquid from running out (a technique the kids tried and failed to emulate; therefore cherry cordials are for adults only). And everyone has their particular “correct way” to eat an Oreo cookie. Read Neimann’s column on Gummi Bears at the New York Times, and think about how you tackle your favorite candy. I’d love to hear it!

Adding herbs and spices to your culinary efforts can do wonders in the way of bringing out the flavors of their ingredients. While the words "herbs" and "spices" are often used interchangably, the herb refers to leafy portions of the plant, and spices are the product of any other part. Many are easy to grow at home; starting from seeds or a small plant can save money and add to your homemade dishes and salads. For those who are interested in honing their cooking skills or getting a better grasp of the flavors of herbs and spices, this guide created by Cooksmarts.com is a good foundation. -Via Design Taxi

Recently, I wrote a post about a donut shop in Los Angeles that has inventive recipes, such a donut with a whole Snickers bar baked inside. In the comments, BillB said, "They've got nothing on Amy's in Colorado Springs."

He has a point. Amy's Donuts in Colorado Springs, Colorado offers a donut unlike anything I've seen before: a jalapeño and chocolate-covered donut!

Amy's Donuts also makes donuts with Almond Joy bars, Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, and cotton candy. I like the way that Amy thinks.

It's time for a road trip! Thanks, BillB. I appreciate the tip.

Zombies would love these candy skulls, because they’ve still got their brains! Spanish designers Ruth and Sira Garcia made these chocolate skulls with plenty of sugar, and an assortment of brains: sculpted chocolate, walnuts, or nonpareils.

See more pictures of these ghoulish delights at the project’s Behance page. -via Boing Boing

Debbie Goard of Oakland, California (previously at Neatorama) has been making cakes for over twenty years. In that time, her skills have risen to the point that now she regularly makes cakes resembling anything imaginable — except cakes. As illustrated by these photographs, the appearance of Goard's cakes belie their sweet insides. 

“There have been stories about my cakes being on full display for hours before anyone realized it was edible. That’s pretty gratifying,” Goard said.

Goard says that even the most basic designs take her eight hours to make; intricate designs can take her a week or more. Her favorite cakes are food and animals, although she fulfills customer requests at her business Debbie Does Cakes. Check out her website to see more of her artistry.

-Via Buzzfeed | Images: Debbie Goard