Couscous with Italian Sausage

This dish is very similar to the Polenta dish I made a month or so ago, but I used the couscous instead.  Couscous is a rolled pasta that cooks very quickly by just adding boiling water to it.  I find that it's very versatile and can be used in many dishes.  I like to use it as a starch in Indian, Italian and Latin foods.  It's very common in Mediterranean and Moroccan dishes as well.  What I made tonight is very simple, quick, economical and yummy.  You will need 3 sweet Italian sausages (casing removed) and broken into bite size pieces, 1/2 of a red and green bell pepper med diced, 1/2 of a yellow onion med diced, 6 oz of button mushrooms thinly sliced, 4 garlic cloves chopped, 2 tbs of chopped flat leaf parsley, 2 tbs of olive oil, 1/4 - 1/2 C chicken broth, 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, S&P to taste,  parmigiano reggiano and couscous.  Add 2 tbs of the olive oil to med size skillet and heat over med heat.  Add all your vegetables and saute them, tossing them often for about 5-7 minutes and season with a little S&P.  Remove them from the skillet and add your sausage pieces and cook thru tossing periodically about 7-10 minutes.  While your sausage is cooking go ahead and cook your couscous following the directions on the package.  I made enough for 3 servings.  Add your vegetables back to the skillet with sausage add your chicken stock and red pepper flakes and let it simmer for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Once it's finished, remove from heat.  Fluff your couscous with a fork and serve into bowls with the sausage mixture.  Grate some fresh parmigiano reggiano over top and sprinkle with parsley.  Bon Appetit!

Christmas Eve Treats

We are planning on spending Christmas Eve with my in laws and I thought I would bring a simple appetizer and dessert.  The appetizers are from the Pioneer Woman.  I first heard of the Pioneer Woman watching a Bobby Flay Throw Down episode.  Her name is Ree Drummond and she lives with her family on a ranch somewhere, she does a food blog and with her win on Throw Down she now has a show on the Food Network Channel.  Anyway, I found this recipe by Googling bacon appetizers and she came up.  The recipe looked yummy and easy, so I thought I would give these Holiday Bacon Appetizers a try.  All you need are some club crackers, thinly sliced bacon and grated parmesan cheese. This recipe is very simple and they taste great, they're crunchy, savory and easy to eat.  I mean who doesn't love bacon?  but be prepared for a 2 hour bake time, so give yourself some time.

I was going to go to the Cheesecake Factory to buy one of their signature cheesecakes, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend close to $60 on a cheesecake, plus gas, plus dealing with the holiday shoppers.  I'm really not a baker and by no means does this dessert even compare to a Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake, but it saved me some $$, gas and time.  These Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars are from the Food Network kitchen and are very easy.   All you need for this recipe is a package of cream cheese, 1/2 C sugar, 1 egg, 1/2 C shredded coconut, and a roll of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies.  Please keep in mind that these taste nothing like chocolate chip cookies or cheesecake, so if you're looking for something a little bit more special, don't make these.

Candied Pecans are also a great holiday treat and are pretty easy to do as well.  What you'll need is 1/2 C of corn syrup, 1 tbsp of unsalted butter, 1 lb of pecan halves, 1/2 C granulated sugar, 1tsp of cayenne, and 1 tsp salt.  Preheat you oven to 350 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a small sauce pan heat your butter and corn syrup until butter is melted and gently stir.  Place your pecans in a large bowl and pour the butter corn syrup mixture over the pecans and mix with your hands or large spoons to coat all the pecans.  You might want to wear latex gloves since the mixture is very sticky.  Pour the pecans on your cookie sheet and spread them out evenly.  Bake them for about 15 minutes.  While those are baking mix the granulated sugar cayenne, and salt in a small bowl. Remove the nuts from the oven and place them in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the sugar, cayenne and salt over the nuts and gently mix with your hands or large spoons, be sure to use those gloves again.  That's all there is too it,  let them cool and put them in a zip lock bag or any tightly sealed container.  These will store in a cool place for several months.  They are great over salads or just by themselves.  Enjoy!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Beef Stroganoff

Hey!  I'm still here just so much has happened since my last post.  I have to say that "2011" hasn't been my best year,  but it could always  be worse I suppose.  No worries, I'm still cooking:>).  Tonight I made beef stroganoff from a Food Network Recipe.  I followed the recipe to a tee and you know what?  I don't like beef stroganoff.  I can't say that I had it before, so I really didn't know what to expect, but I don't like it. I don't think it was this particular recipe because I reviewed several and they were all pretty much the same.   I found it to be rather too boring and bland for my liking.  I like foods that add a punch and this just didn't do it for me.  Anyway, I'm sure that this dish is good eats for someone, but not me.  Oh, Will also thought it was just kind so-so.  Anyway, until next time Happy Holidays!  I'll be bringing a quick and easy appetizer and simple dessert next time, so stay tuned.

Bobby Flay Lasagna Kind Of

I had my heart on making Bobby Flays Lasagna last weekend, but I had to make modifications.  Have you ever tried to find actual beef and pork flanks with meat on them?  Good for you, because I called 4 different Kroger stores and the Whole Foods Market and nope, they didn't have them.  Needless to say I had to modify and I used 3 lbs of ground chuck and 2 lbs of ground pork.  If you have to resort to the ground meat then the first few steps of Bobby's recipe will need to be changed. I made my Bolognese by browning my pancetta in my large Le Creuset and removed it from the pan and then I sauteed my vegetables in the same pot with the pancetta fat.  After those softened I removed them from the pot and set aside.  I added the meat to the pot and let it brown. After the meat was browned I did drain a lot of the fat off  and then I added the wine, store bought stock, the vegetables and pancetta back into the pot,  and mixed everything in.  I crushed 2 28 cans of San Marzano tomatoes by hand and added those to the pot and stirred those in along with the herbs.  I added some S&P to taste.  BTW, if you make this Bolognese you won't need that 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes.  Anyway, I let the Bolognese cook for about 2 hours and in the meantime followed the recipe, but my last step before putting the lasagna together was the Bechamel sauce.  If the Bechamel sits too long it gets quite thick, so best to make last so that you can pour it over the layers.  Anyway, this recipe requires some time and has a few steps, so be prepared.  Obviously we couldn't eat it all, so we've been eating on this a good part of the week, but it's time to retire it.  I will freeze the leftovers and we can just pull them out of the freezer on those days when we don't have a lot of time to make dinner. Anyway, give it a try and let me know how it works out for you.  Until next time Good Eats!!! Oh, the picture doesn't quite show how it looks when you get ready to eat it.  When you serve it you will add the Bolognese over the top with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Spicy City Chicken

I remember as a child that my mom would make something called City Chicken.  I don't really know how it was prepared.  I just know that I liked it.  This dish tonight is NOT what my mom used to make, but needless to say it was REALLY GOOD!  I found the Spicy City Chicken Recipe on the Food Network.  It's loaded with shallots, mushrooms, cilantro and jalapenos and has some nice acid with the addition of red wine vinegar. I followed the directions to a tee and I was very very pleasantly surprised.  FYI, if you make this dish there are a lot of steps and it does take some time, so if you don't have a least 1+ hours then I would save it for a weekend meal.  Try and let me know how it works out for you.  Bon Appetit!

Ghostly White Chicken Chili

Happy Halloween!! To celebrate this ghoulish nite I made a Ghostly White Chicken Chili.  What you will  need if you choose to take part in the gore is: 2 lbs ground chicken breast, 1 large store bought rotisserie chicken removed from carcass and shredded, 1 tbs canola oil, 4 cloves garlic minced, 2 jalapenos chopped (seeded if you can't handle the heat), 2 poblano peppers seeded and chopped, 1 large yellow onion chopped, juice of 2 limes, 1 large handful of cilantro chopped, 2 tbs ancho chili powder, 3 tbs cumin, 2 tsp coriander, S&P to taste, 2 14.5oz cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained (mash 1 can of the beans with a potato masher), 4 C unsalted chicken stock, grated white cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips (Scoops are great for this).  Ok, let's cook.  Take a large pot, I used my medium size Le Creuset (if you don't have one of these you should definitely make the investment-well worth the money and will last a lifetime) and heat the oil over med heat.  Add your garlic, peppers and onions to pot and saute for about 5 minutes or until the veg is soft.  Add your ground chicken and continue to cook until no longer pink, breaking the chicken up into bite size pieces as it cooks. Add your spices and lime juice and continue to cook for about 5 minutes add S&P to taste.  Add the chicken stock, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.  Add roasted chicken, beans and cilantro and continue to cook for an another 5 minutes.  Serve the chili in bowls, topped with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream and use the tortilla chips for scooping, I dare you to try this!!

Gourmet Breakfast Sandwiches

These are not your ordinary breakfast sandwiches, these are gourmet.  So why gourmet you ask? It's all in the cheese.  The cheeses that I chose were a Colliers Welsh Cheddar which is a mature, robust cheddar with a slightly sweet flavor.  This cheese originated from the Welsh mountains in Denbighshire.  The other cheese was a Fromager D'Affinois which is similar to brie with a bloomy rind and a creamy paste.  It's produced in the Rhone Alps and boasts a creamier texture and more buttery flavor than brie.

I made 2 sandwiches, one for me and one for Will.  Will's gourmet sandwich consisted of a toasted Asiago Cheese Bagel with melted Murray's "Colliers Welsh Cheddar" with Wrights Applewood Smoked Bacon, JD mild sausage and 1 large fried organic egg.  My gourmet sandwich consisted of a toasted Everything Bagel with melted Murray's "Fromager D'Affiniois" with Wrights Applewood Smoked Bacon, JD mild sausage and 1 large fried organic egg.  Yummy!  Not the healthiest choice for breakfast, but it's not like we do this everyday.  If you get a chance visit Krogers Gourmet Cheeses section, they have a great selection of cheeses and they also have a section where you can choose small portions of a variety of cheeses, so you're not stuck with a large amount of cheese you don't like and it won't break the bank.  BTW, the Fromager D'Affinois sells for $14.99/lb and I was able to get a small portion for $2.55, the Welsh Cheddar sells for $9.99/lb, but the small portion only cost $1.60.  I also picked up a few other cheeses that otherwise I wouldn't even had thought of buying or trying for that matter had it not been for the small portions with the small price.

Sausage & Peppers with Polenta

Last night we did sausage, peppers and polenta.  I've never made polenta before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Polenta is just cornmeal cooked in boiling water.  I used an instant polenta, so it only took about 1 minute to cook.  Polenta is a very popular dish in northern Italy and preferred over pasta dishes.  I began by preheating my oven  to 350 degrees and then I took 1 lb of sweet Italian sausage, if you use links be sure to remove the casing and break into pieces.  I browned the sausage in a large skillet.  While the sausage cooked I julienned 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper and 1 jalapeno pepper and tossed them into the sausage.  I added about 1/4 C of chicken stock and just let this saute for about 5 minutes until the peppers softened and most of the stock had cooked off.  I removed the skillet from the heat and transferred the sausage and peppers to bowl.  I then cooked the polenta, which only took 1 minute to cook.  I then poured the polenta in the skillet and spread out in the pan.  I drizzled a little EVOO over top and then placed the sausage and peppers over the top of the polenta.  I placed this into the oven and baked for 20 minutes.  After is was finished baking, I generously sprinkled the dish with parmigiana reggiano.  That was all there was too it.  I was surprised how yummy it really was.  We both had leftovers for lunch and agreed it was just as good the next day.  Buen Appetito until next time.

Stir Fry Chicken Caston Style

Stir Fry with sriracha 

I love Asian flavors, so tonight I made a chicken stir fry Caston style.  This is easy and quick and this is how you do it:  For your sauce you will need:  4 cloves of minced garlic, 1.5 tbs fresh minced ginger, 3 scallions chopped, 1 tbs fish sauce, 3 tbs soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tbs chili garlic oil, 1tbs sugar, 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, 1/2 - 3/4 C chicken no sodium chicken stock, 1 tbs corn starch.  Add all of the ingredients except the chicken stock and corn starch to a small sauce pan and bring to boil, stir the sauce, reduce the heat and add the chicken stock.  Let this simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the corn starch and continue to simmer, stirring it until it thickens to a consistency that you like.  For me, it was an additional 10 minutes, and then I removed it from the heat and set it aside.  My stir fry consisted of 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with S&P and cut into bite size pieces, 1 red bell pepper small diced, 1 green bell pepper small diced, 1/2 yellow onion chopped, 1 carrot peeled &  thinly sliced, 1 8 oz pkg of shitake mushrooms thinly sliced, 1/2  8 oz pkg of white button mushrooms thinly sliced and 2 tbs of canola oil.  I heated the canola oil in my wok over med high heat and added the chicken and just tossed it in the oil and let it stir fry for about 3-5 minutes until all sides were no longer pink.  I removed the chicken from the wok and set it aside.  I added my veggies to the wok and stir fried them for about 4 minutes, I then added the chicken back to the wok and tossed it in with the veggies.  I then added the sauce to the wok and stirred it in.  I reduced the heat to medium and continued to stir fry for an additional 3-5 minutes until chicken was cooked thru.  I like for my veggies to have a little crunch to them, so I don't overcook them to sogginess.  I let this cool for about 5 minutes and served it over a short grain rice, and drizzled some sriracha sauce (a very yummy asian hot sauce- it should be in your pantry) over the top.  Really yummy!   I even have left overs for tomorrow.  Good Eats!!

Caston's Original in the Tummy is Yummy!

If you've read previous posts, you know that Chorizo and I have a love hate relationship.  If you don't know what Chorizo is, it's a sausage that is loaded with spices, and very heavy on the paprika.  It has a very strong flavor and can overpower some dishes.  I've worked with it a lot and tonight for whatever reason me and Chorizo got along very well.  What I used to make this very yummy dish:  3 Chorizo sausages in casing chopped into bite size pieces (these I had grilled over charcoal the nite before), 3 tbs EVOO, 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 4 cloves garlic minced, 1/2 green bell pepper small diced, 1/2 yellow onion small diced, 1 jalapeno chopped, 1 carrot peeled and grated, 2 tbs hot Hungarian paprika, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/2 C chicken stock, 1/2 C heavy cream, 2 tbsp cream cheese, 1/4 C sour cream and S& P.  I started by heating the EVOO in a large skillet over med high heat. I seasoned both sides of my chicken with S&P and placed them in the skillet and browned both sides (2 minutes/side) removed from heat and set aside.  I then took my veggies and sauteed them in the same skillet over med heat until they softened.  While the veggies sauteed, I chopped the chicken thighs into bite size pieces. I added the spices and tossed them into the veggies, continuing to saute for about 3-4 minutes.  I then added the chicken stock, heavy cream, cream cheese and sour cream and stirred it in.  I let this simmer and thicken for about 10 minutes.  I added the Chorizo and chicken and continued to simmer for an additional 5-7minutes until the chicken was cooked thru. I served this over pasta with a few sprigs of cilantro.  Next time I will serve it in a bowl instead of a plate, that way I can spoon up all that yummy sauce.  I think that you could serve this dish with rice, or pasta or alone with a nice crusty bread to sop up the sauce.  Give this dish a try and Good Eats!

Pizza Fest

I decided that last night I was going to make some pizza's, it's been quite sometime since I've done that.  Not going into details,  but I made the dough from scratch and it turned out great.  I like my crusts to be thin and chewy and these were just that.  I made a sausage, mushroom pizza, a sausage, green pepper and jalapeno pizza and a white arugula pizza which is a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa.  They were all very good, but my favorite had to be the white pizza. If you make it, it doesn't take 4.5 hours to make, that must be a typo in the website.  Buen Appetito!

Surprise Visit

Miss Olivia having ice cream

I was so surprised the other day when my best girlfriend Sarah, her hubby Michael and their baby girl Olivia who I had not met yet showed up at my workplace.  I can't tell you how elated I felt.  I couldn't stop hugging them.  It was soooo emotional.  They had moved away to Arkansas and I hadn't seen them in 6+ years so you can imagine how shocked I was.  Anyway, after all the tears and hugging we took a trip down to the Village Ice Cream Parlor and shared a banana split.  It was so cute watching Olivia, this was her 2nd time ever that she had ice cream.  Needless to say she was liking the ice cream.  We headed back to my house after the dessert and just hung out, shared stories, ate food, drank coffee:o).  What is so great about our friendship is that it's like we just start where we left off and there's no awkwardness.  I love those guys and it was awesome to meet Miss Olivia, she's beautiful.  I hope it's not 6+ years until I see them again, but if it is I know that it will be just like it was on that day, a wonderful surprise.

Spooky Chili

It's getting to be that time of year when the temperature drops, football season begins and comfort food calls. Today was one of those days that screamed chili. If you've read my posts, you know that I'm not the best chili cook. I have to keep trying, because I'm sure one day it will be good. So today I went to my dear friend the Food Network, and a recipe by Pat Neely caught my eye. I thought I would give it a try, with just a few modifications, hence the name Spooky Chili. For my chili I used 2 lbs ground chuck + 1 lb ground pork (we like meaty chili), 6 cloves chopped garlic, 1 med onion chopped, 1 green bell pepper chopped, 1 red bell pepper chopped, 1/2 of a ghost chili finely from my garden minced (hence the name Spooky Chili), 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (pureed), 1/4 c tomato paste instead of the 24 oz cans of diced toms & stewed toms, 1/2 c chicken stock (which I added with the tomatoes. Everything else I followed from Pat's Recipe. So, you are wondering how it turned out? Really good as a matter of fact, but the ghost chili really didn't seem to add the heat like I expected, so next time I will add the entire chili seeds and all. Give the recipe a try using my mods or strictly follow Pat's. Good eats!

Campanelle Pasta, Grilled Pork Chops & Grilled Asparagus

I know it seems like I do alot of the same things over and over, but when I find something I like I....So tonight we grilled some pork chops.  These guys were huge, probably 1.5" thick.  I created this rub, which consisted of lots of paprika, a little cumin, a little onion & garlic powder,  a little thyme, a little kosher salt, and a dash of cayenne.  I put all of these in a little container and shook the heck out of them until they were mixed in.  I generously sprinkled the rub on my my chops and let them sit at room temp for about 30 minutes.  Then they were grilled until they reached a temp of about 140 and then we let them rest.  You can tent them with foil, but I find that they will continue to cook when they are removed from the grill and in our case reach the perfect temp of 145. Yes, it all worked out fine,  but here is how it began.  While I was preparing the chops, Will got the charcoal going.  Folks let me remind you that when you ask you husband to get the grill going that is ALL he thinks he is expected of doing!!!  Long story short, 2 people CANNOT BBQ together unless you're the Neely's, so needless to say we got into several arguments because our expectations were different.  Have you read the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus?  You should, it really helps explain the differences between the sexes and may or may not help you avoid bickering and arguing (it didn't help tonight, but I was reminded of the book).   Anyway, after all the bickering and cussing we ended up with some really beautiful chops and some delicious grilled asparagus.  We also had this Campanelle pasta, which I had never had.  It's like Farfalle (bow tie pasta) with a twist.  I like the way they looked so I thought I would give them a try.  The pasta dish is so easy, you will  need 6 cloves of garlic roughly chopped, 2 tbs butter, 2 tbs EVOO, and 2 tsp of red chili flakes, 1/4 C dry white wine, 1/4 C half & half, 1/4 C fresh basil chiffonade, S&P to taste and parmigiano reggiano.  Heat a small pan over med heat, add your butter & EVOO until butter is melted, add garlic and saute for about 2-3 minutes, add your pepper flakes, cream and wine and just continue to simmer for about 5-7 minutes, gently stirring.  When the pasta finishes cooking, reserve a C of pasta water and drain the pasta and place back in the pot, add the garlic and butter mixture and the fresh basil and gently toss the pasta, and add the pasta water just to keep it loose.  Serve the pasta with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano and fresh ground pepper.    That's how we rolled tonight.  Despite the bickering and arguing, we had a delicious meal, funny conversation after the fact and a yummy meal for lunch.  Any suggestions or questions? Bon Appetito!!

Potatoes with Chili's

Potatoes with Chile sprinkled with Monterrey Jack Cheese

Have you ever had Abuelos Papas Con Chile?  They are the one of best mashed potatoes that I've ever had, so I tried to recreate them.  I googled several recipes and I only found one that were like the Abuelos version.  The other recipes were "authentic", but I wasn't in the mood for authentic Papas Con Chile, so I made the following recipe from Group Recipes.  I cut the recipe in half and used 1lb of Idaho Potatoes instead of the red skin, be sure to leave the skins on.  I used 1/4 red pepper finely diced instead of the pimento and I didn't add the diced green chiles, but I did use the pickled jalapenos.  These potatoes were soooo good, definitely going to be a staple in this household.  We served these with the infamous Tejas Tacos made with ground beef minus the rice.  Give these a try, I thought they really tasted like the potatoes from Abuelos.  Bon Appetit!!

Just Relaxing

Camp Kitchen

Recently returned from a long ATV trip in Hocking Hills, so much fun!!  Cooked one pot meals, drank wine, and relaxed by the fire.  Wish you could've been there too!

Pot Luck Meal

Nice Fire

Tejas Tacos Take 2

We had a long day today, working on the house, so we made the Tejas Tacos again tonight from leftovers from last nights Grillin & Chillin. We took the grilled chicken thighs, a roasted poblano pepper and a red onion and Will chopped them up and sauteed them for about 5 minutes.  He then added some Monterrey Jack cheese to it and let it melt into the mix.  Instead of making our own refried beans tonight, we just used a can of refried black beans and we added cheese to it as well and mixed it in, until it was melted. We assembled the tacos as we did in the last Tejas Tacos post. SOoooo good!! You have to try these, like I said the possibilities are endless, so have fun with this.

Grillin' & Chillin' Part II

Last night was all about grillin & chillin. We fired up the charcoal grill and grilled some chicken and vegetables. This how we did it: you will need a 4-5 lb whole roasting chicken, 1 12 oz can of beer, EVOO, spice rub which I borrowed from Pat Neely, from the food network " Down Home with the Neely's". The rub is really good, so make up a large batch for future use. We just followed Pat's directions for roasting the chicken. We also generously sprinkled the rub on some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and marinated them in the remaining beer for about 1 hour, while the other chicken roasted. We also took some asparagus, drizzled w/ EVOO, sprinkled w/ S&P and wrapped a slice of bacon around it to grill and finally, we took some poblano, jalapeños, and ghost chilis-covered those w/ EVOO and S&P. When the beer can chicken had been roasting for 1 hour I checked the temp and it was at 200' so I removed it from the grill. BTW, I never opened the grill while the chicken roasted. I then grilled the thighs, peppers and asparagus. The thighs only took about 8-10 minutes, but be sure to check temp until it reaches 166. The peppers & asparagus took about 20 minutes. The beer can chicken tasted SOoooo good and the asparagus had a smokey flavor and the perfect crunch. We didn't even plate this, we took the neanderthal approach and just dug in with our bare hands. This is definitely a chicken dish that we will do again. Stay tuned, we are going to use the peppers and chicken thighs for some more of those Tejas Tacos.

Tejas Tacos

OMG! This dish is off the hook. I confess it's the best thing I've ever eaten and it only took 10 years for my hubby to share it with me. My husband was born in Mississippi and spent his childhood in New Orleans and Texas.  When he lived in Texas, the Tejas Tacos were a staple.  Well, we just happened to be watching the food network when a commercial came on for taco shells  long story short I said, "I want soft and crunchy tacos together", and that's when Will said, "that's a Tejas Taco" and he explained what it was.  You take a 6" soft tortilla and spread a thin layer of refried beans over it, then rice over the beans, then you take a crunchy taco, fill it with the meat, place it in the middle of the soft tortilla, wrap it up, drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. YUMMY! So Good!! This is what we did: I took package of Toro Negros Carnitas (VERY VERY GOOD ACTUALLY), refried beans that I made by taking 2 cans of pinto beans rinsed and drained, placed them in a pot with 1 C of chicken broth, a slice of bacon, S&P to taste and just cooked them down until they had a creamy texture, rice that was cooked with 1 C fresh corn from the cob, 1 tbs cumin, 1 tbs hot paprika, and 1 tbs turmeric and 2 C chicken broth.  The sauce that I made was from a recipe by Susie Jimenez, she a finalist on the next food network star- spicy tomatillo avocado sauce, drizzled this over the tacos and sprinkled some monterey jack cheese over top. You have got to to try this!  Biting into it, you get this explosion of textures and flavors, SOoooo good! I'm so excited, there are so many possibilities.

Meat & Potatoes

Tonight nothing complicated.  We all grill, we all make baked potatoes and we can all do a salad out of a bag, Right?  If you don't know how, let's get started.  Preheat your oven to 425 for your baked potatoes.  Then take your 10oz russet potatoes that have been scrubbed clean and dried and coat them with EVOO and Kosher Salt, when your oven reaches temp., bake them for 40-45 minutes.  The salt and oil will give the skins a crispy coating.  After my potatoes finished I placed them in my warming drawer and then I preheated my grill to med high heat.  I also made the bruschettta, which is just a crunchy bread toasted and rubbed with a fresh garlic clove, drizzled with EVOO and sprinkled with S&P.  I usually do these in my panini press, but you could do them on the grill or in your toaster.  Your are looking for grill marks or a golden brown appearance.  I had 2 3/4" strip steaks seasoned with Kosher Salt and lotsa fresh ground pepper and a little EVOO to coat both sides of each steak.  Be sure to let them sit out on counter for 10 minutes or so, just to bring them up to room temp.  I then placed my steaks on the grill.  Grilling time is based on thickness of steak and how hot your your grill is.  For these steaks I grilled one side for 3 minutes over med/high heat, turned them over and grilled for an additional 2 minutes I also added a tsp of butter atop each one to finish them off, and I then removed them from grill and let them rest 5-10 minutes.  While those were resting I just opened a Caesar Salad Mix and of course added some more fresh grated parmigiana reggiano cheese, sliced red onions and fresh ground pepper.  Voila!  The steaks were cooked to a perfect medium rare and required no addition seasonings. the potatoes were crunchy outside and fluffy inside and enhanced with some unsalted butter and sour cream, the bruschetta was crunchy and well the salad was "a salad from a bag", but OK.  Tonight just the simple meat & potatoes, but still really good.

Mexican Lasagna

I wanted to make stuffed poblano peppers tonight, but I had to rethink because my poblano peppers from the garden were just too small.  So tonight I've made for you a Mexican Lasagna.  Now keep in mind if you make this dish you can really use whatever you have on hand, substitutions are great, so be creative. What I used:  8" flour tortillas cut in half (I would wait to cut the tortillas because the size of your baking pan will determine how many halves you need).  For the Filling: I used 1lb of 93/7 ground turkey, 1 chorizo sausage, 1/2 lb of veal (these meats were in frig and I needed to use them), but you can use whatever you have turkey, lamb, beef, chicken whatever and it doesn't have to be ground meat, you could use any meat cut into bite size pieces.  I also chopped 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 poblano pepper, 1/2 red onion, 1 jalapeno, 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, 3 cloves of garlic. I used 1 C frozen corn, 1.5 tbs hot paprika, 1.5 tbs cumin, 1 tsp coriandor, 1 tsp marjoram or oregano, S& P for taste, 1 15 oz can of beans rinsed & drained (whatever you have on hand), 1 14 oz can of tomato sauce.  You will also need 2 C of monterey jack cheese and I also added 4 oz of cotija cheese (this is a cheese from Mexico and is hard and crumbly, similar to feta but not as salty). For garnish a handful of chopped cilantro several scallions chopped.  Let's cook!!  Preheat your oven to 425.  Take a large skillet and add your meats and heat over medium heat and brown the meat and break it up as it cooks 5-7 minutes, add your peppers, onion, spices, beans, corn, and tomato sauce and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Now it's time to start the layers for your lasagna: meat mixture, tortillas, cheese and just layer it  until you are either out of the mixture or tortillas.  Place your lasagna in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cheesed is bubbly and lightly browned.  Garnish with your cilantro and scallions.  *NOTE I only had 2 layers, so next time when I get to the last layer of tortillas I think I will save some meat mix to place over the final tortilla layer and then top with cheese, or maybe an additional cup of cheese. Try it and let me know what you think.

Herb Chicken & Sausage with Basil Couscous

Tonight I was inspired by Chef Giada DeLaurentiis not because it's her recipe, but because she is so beautiful and  I love to watch her cook.  So tonight we took boneless, skinless chicken thighs that had been marinated all day with fresh herb sprigs, garlic from the garden and some dry white wine.  The herbs I used were fresh rosemary, thyme, basil, and oregano.  I crushed 3 garlic cloves too.  I added the chicken, herbs, wine and garlic to large zip lock and let them marinate for about 6 hours in the frig.   You could marinate overnite too if you have more time.  What  you will  need for the dish:  marinated chicken thighs, 3 italian sausages casing removed and broken into bite size pieces,  3/4 C dry white wine, 2 tbsp duck fat (you could use EVOO too, but I've had this duck fat in frig for awhile, so I wanted to try it),  4 cloves garlic minced, fresh asparagus ( I only had 5 left from a bunch, so I cut them into 1/2" pieces, 5 mushrooms sliced, 1/2 C heavy cream, 1 C fresh spinach chopped, 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 sprigs of oregano.  For the couscous, just follow the directions on the box, I added 1 tbsp EVOO and 10 leaves of chopped basil to the finished product.  I also cooked my couscous in chicken stock and I used the butter which is optional.  Now that we have our mise en place together lets cook.  I took a large skillet and added the duck fat and heated over high heat for 5 minutes.  I added chicken thighs and seared both sides for 2 minutes (be careful, the duck fat really pops and splatters),  I then added the sausage and let that go for additional 2-3 minutes, stirring periodically to brown all sides of the sausage.   I added the wine and let the pan deglaze and reduced the heat to med.  I added the asparagus, mushrooms, garlic to the skillet and mixed everything in.  I cooked this for about 3-5 minutes and then added the heavy cream and the spinach and continued to cook for another 2-3 minutes.  I then added the herb sprigs (which you will remove from the dish before serving).  I reduced to heat to med low and let this simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes.  I removed from the heat, covered the dish and let it rest until I served it over my basil couscous.  Not sure if the duck fat added anything special, but this dish was really really yummy, so give it a try and let me know what you think. Bon Appetito!!

Chorizo & Chicken Tex Mex

I'm back at the Chorizo again and this time it was a success, yay!!  If you're not familiar with Chorizo, it's a spanish sausage loaded with paprika and spices.  It has a very strong flavor and I think it works well with chicken.  The chicken will absorb the flavors of the Chorizo and sometimes it's not necessary to add extra spices when you cook with it.  This dish tonight is loaded with flavor and textures, so lets get started.   You will  need:  2 Chorizo sausages, casing removed torn into bite size pieces, 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs rinsed & patted dry, 3 cloves garlic chopped, juice of 1 lime, 1/2 of 1 red bell pepper julienned, 1/2 of 1 green bell pepper julienned, 1 jalapeno julienned (I didn't remove the seeds), 1/2 Spanish onion sliced thin, 2 tbs tomato paste, 1/4 C low fat sour cream, 1/4 C heavy cream, 2 tsp hot hungarian paprika, 2 tsp cumin,  S&P, 1 tbs EVOO, for garnish -3 scallions chopped, 1/2 avocado sliced/ 1/4 C cilantro chopped and 1/4 C shredded monterey jack cheese.  You will also need your favorite rice to serve this with.  I used 1 C basmati rice and simmered it in 1.5 C of chicken stock for 20 minutes after it was brought to a boil.  Now let's make the meal- I took a large skillet and added the EVOO and heated on med high heat for about 3-4 minutes.  I seasoned the chicken thighs with S&P on both sides and added the whole chicken thighs and the garlic to the skillet and let the thighs brown on each side for 2-3 minutes and removed them from the pan.  I then added the Chorizo pieces, lime juice and the peppers and onions, stirred them and let them cook for about 5 minutes.  The lime juice will deglaze the skillet and add a bit of acidity. While that was cooking I cut my chicken thighs into bite size pieces and added them back to the skillet with the Chorizo and peppers.  I added the spices, tomato paste, sour cream and the heavy cream to the skillet, stirred it in and then reduced the heat to low and let this simmer for 5 more minutes.  At this point is was really getting thick so I added less than 1/4 C water. I continued to simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes until chicken was cooked thru.  I removed the skillet from the heat and let it rest covered for about 5 minutes.  I served the Chorizo & Chicken over the basmati rice and garnished it with the a sprinkle of shredded cheese, scallions, cilantro and wedges of avocado.  Give it a try, it's easy, quick and really yummy!!

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Check this out!!  Tomato Plant Eating Horn Worm invaded by Parasitic Wasp Larvae.  Survival of the fittest.  Nature Rocks!!!

Quick Chicken Curry and Vegetables

You may have noticed by looking at my blog that I really like curry flavors.  I haven't yet made my own curry spice mixture, but I'm working on it. Until then I use a curry powder that I bought from Jungle Jim's which is this huge market that sells everything food wise that a foodie would love.  It's just an amazing store and I spend hours and lots of $$ every time I go.  If you haven't been, take a road trip and check it out, you won't be disappointed.

This dish is very easy, very quick and tastes great.    I got my curry rice going which consists of 1 C basmati rice, 1tbs butter, 1 tsp of curry powder, 1 tsp kosher salt,  1.5 C chicken stock.  Just put all this in a pot and cook, bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook about 20 minutes.  Let the rice rest for about 10 minutes after cooking and fluff with a fork.  Now the curry chicken and veggie is really easy, tonight I just used what I had on hand, 1.5 lbs organic boneless skinless chicken breasts (rinsed in cold water and patted dry) cut into bite size pieces, 1 tbs EVOO,  3 garlic cloves chopped, 2 C broccoli florets,  1/2 C frozen peas, 2 C fresh baby spinach leaves, 1/2 C heavy cream,  1/2 C chicken stock, 1.5 tbs curry powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp garam masala, 1tsp hot Hungarian paprika 1 tsp kosher salt.  I added the EVOO to a large skillet and heated it over med high heat for about 2 minutes and added the chicken pieces and chopped garlic and coated them with oil and just sauteed it for about 3-4 minutes until all sides if chicken were no longer pink.  I added the broccoli, chicken stock, broccoli and peas, salt, spices and continued to simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes.  I then added the heavy cream and stirred the mixture, and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes.  I then stirred in the spinach, reduced the heat to low, covered and simmered for about 3-4 minutes.  I removed the skillet from the heat and just let it rest, covered, for about 10 minutes.  I served the chicken over the curry rice and garnished with a spring of cilantro and crushed red pepper.  I wish  I would have had some naan bread on hand to dip in the creamy sauce, but maybe next time.  I hope you try this dish.  It's really easy, quick and yummy.

Sunday Supper

Louis whipping us some beans

Autumn's Banana Pudding

We had a wonderful Sunday supper with my in-laws, the whole gang was there my momma and papa in law, mamaw in law, my sister and brother and law, my niece and nephew and my cousin in laws, and my hubby.  My papa-in-law Louis cooked up some serious Louisiana cuisine (they are from Mississippi and Louisiana, so they kind know their cajun food).  I would give you the recipes, but it's pretty much a little of this, little of that, with a pinch and a dash of that too.  He's a great cook and he just has everything he makes in his head.  My sister-in-law takes after her father, because her recipe for her amazing banana pudding was similar to her dad's.  She said you use some bananas, banana pudding, sweetened condensed milk and whip cream.  Yeah, I think I can do that:o).  Anyway, we had a feast with "authentic" cajun dirty rice made with fried chicken livers, spicy baked beans, bbq chicken slathered with this amazing spicy, sweet, savory bbq sauce (definitely umami).  I'll try to get the recipe.  My father in law kind of gave me the recipe for the dirty rice and it goes like this, saute your trinity (onion, celery and green pepper) until soft, set aside.  Fry the chicken livers until done and then chop them finely and add this along with the trinity to 5 C of rice and chicken stock and cook until done.  Oh, and don't forget the S&P.  The finished rice is sticky and not wet. It was a an amazing Sunday Supper not only because of the food, but because we were together as a family.  Thank you all for a wonderful Sunday Supper!!

Grilled Pork Chops with Cappellini

We had been on a long ride, so when we returned home we grilled up some pork chops and served those with some cappellini pasta (angel hair pasta). We used the gas grill, since it was late and we were both pretty hungry.  I preheated the grill with 3 burners on high and 2 on low.  I prepared the chops with some kosher salt and a generous amount of fresh ground pepper.  I also had a tbs of unsalted butter reserved to brush on the chops while they grilled.  I placed the chops on the high heated side of grill and grilled each side for about 5 minutes.  I only turned them once for 5 minutes per side.  After that I moved them to the low side of grill and brushed butter on one side. It took the chops about 20 minutes to grill total until they reached a temp of 145.  In between turns I buttered the chops.  After those finished I let them rest for about 5 minutes.  While my chops rested I had my salted water going for my pasta.  While chops were grilling Will minced 4 cloves of garlic and made a chiffonade of about 1/4 C of fresh basil leaves.  The cappellini only takes about 4 minutes to cook.  We reserved a C of the pasta water and drained the pasta, placed it back in the pot with 1 tbs of butter 2 tbs of EVOO the garlic, basil and fresh ground pepper.  We also added some of the pasta water to keep it loose.  We served the pasta with some grated Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper along with our grilled pork chops.  Bon Appetito!

Country Fixins

Last night we grilled some corn on the cob and some thick pork loin chops.  We also had some half runner green beans and red skin potatoes.  We grilled the corn and chops on the charcoal grill.  The chops were about 1.5 inches thick and I seasoned them S&P.  I grilled them until they reached an internal temp of 145.  They took about 20 minutes.  I've tried grilling corn several ways, removing husks and laying on grill , soaking the corn in cold water for several hours and not soaking the corn.  I think my favorite way is to soak the corn with the husks left on in cold water for up to 8 hours and laying the corn on the upper grates of the grill, where they will steam.  I usually keep them on the grill up to 30 minutes. While my chops and corn were grilling I prepared the half runner beans and potatoes for the pressure cooker.  If you're not familiar with half runner green beans, they are thicker and larger than the green beans you usually find in your market.  They are firmer, and have a large beans inside the pods.  You also need to remove the string from the pods before cooking.  They also are more yellow green in color.  I've never seen them in my local market.  Farmers markets usually have them in the summer.  When I was a child my grand parents always grew a large garden with lots of half runner beans.  When the beans would come in I would help my mamaw pick them and string them.  She would usually can 20-30 qts of the beans.   I remember that she would slow cook the fresh beans with bacon and bacon fat.  They were so yummy with mashed potatoes, corn bread and fresh home grown tomatoes.  This was a wonderful summertime meal.  For this meal I took the beans and some red skin potatoes quartered and cook them in my MDF pressure cooker for 6 minutes.  I let the pressure cooker get to max pressure, reduced the heat to low and cooked them for 6 minutes.  After 6 minutes I removed the cooker from heat and let it release pressure naturally.   When they cooled we placed in bowl with S&P and butter.  Yummy!  We served the corn with lots of butter and S&P along with our beans, tators and chops.  Now that's some country fixins.  Enjoy!

Ginger Garlic Chicken & Noodles

This dish has a lot of potential, and it could've been really awesome had I done a few things differently.  So this is how you should do it... take 3 boneless skinless chicken breast and cut them into small bite size pieces and coat them lightly in a mixture of cornstarch and Kosher Salt.  Heat about 1/4 C canola oil over high heat in a large skillet.  Add your chicken to the hot oil and brown.  While chicken is cooking get your noodles going.  I used linguini.  Be sure to add salt to your boiling water.  Cook noodles according to directions.  Remove the chicken from the pan and add your garlic and ginger and saute over med heat until the oil infuses the garlic and ginger (about 3-5 minutes), add your chicken back into the skillet and add 3/4  C  chicken stock and let the dish simmer for about 10 minutes.  Drain cooked noodles and reserves about 1/2 C of the pasta water.  Take 10 leaves of fresh basil and tear by hand and added to noodles and add about 3 tbs of thai garlic chili oil to the pasta and fold it in.  Add a little of the pasta water, just to keep the noodles loose.  Serve the noodles in a bowl with the chicken over top and drizzle about 1 tsp of soy sauce over top.  That's it.  FYI- be sure to get your skillet very hot before you add the chicken otherwise the chicken will get a slimy coating on it from the corn starch.  This slimey coating will overtake the dish and that's not Good Eats.

Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Kluski Noodles

Tonight was about using whatever I had in the refrigerator and pantry, so I came up with this dish that was good for a first timer.  First thing, I got my Kluski Noodles going-it usually takes them about 20 minutes to cook.  I chopped up 5 cloves of garlic, and one jalapeno and I sauted those in a very large skillet with 1tbs of EVOO over med heat for 1-2 minutes. I had 2 different types of mixed veggies in the freezer and I added those to the skillet and let those saute for about 5 minutes.  While the veggies cooked, I took some leftover chicken thighs and drumsticks, removed the skin and bone and chopped the chicken into very small pieces.  I added the chicken to the veggie mix.  To the skillet I added 1/4 C unsalted Chicken Stock, 1/4 C heavy cream and 1/4 C low fat sour cream.  I stirred it and brought it to a boil and then reduced it and let it simmer.  While it simmered I added 1tsp marjoram, 1tsp oregano, 1tsp of red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp thyme and a 1 tsp of onion powder to the skillet and mixed it in and continued to let it simmer.  As it was simmering it was getting really thick, so I added about 1/4 C of skim milk.  When the noodles finished cooking I added them to the skillet with the chicken and veggies.  I also added about 1/3 C of the noodle water to the skillet just to keep the dish loose.  The end product was like a chicken stew and it was good, but it would be better with fresh vegetables and the addition of white wine to the sauce would've been nice.  From start to finish this dish took less than 30 minutes, so if you don't have a lot of time give it a try and let me know how it turned out.

Tex Mex Beef & Saffron Rice

You've seen variations of this dish several times, but I like to try different things, so you will continue to see it in the future until I get it exactly the way I want it. Typically when I make the rice for this dish I use Turmeric, but tonight I wanted something different, so I used Saffron. If you don't what Saffron is, its the stigmas of the Crocus Sativus Flower. It has a strong flavor and should be used sparingly. It also gives a beautiful golden hue to dishes. Saffron is one of the most expensive spices and that is also a good reason to use sparingly. Tonight I added a pinch of Saffron to the Jasmine rice while it cooked in chicken stock. I also added a pinch of kosher salt to rice while it cooked. My Tex Mex beef consisted of using 1 lb of lean ground beef, chopped garlic, green pepper, jalapeño pepper, shallots, corn, 1 can of rinsed & drained low sodium black beans, 1 8oz can no salt tomato sauce, no salt added chicken stock and my Tex Mex seasoning blend. First thing I chopped my veggies. I had some corn on the cob leftover and I cut kernels off. I added my veggies to a large skillet with 1 tbs of EVOO and sauted it for about 10 minutes. I added the ground beef and broke it up while cooking. I then added the beans and sauce along with 3 tbs of my seasonings and 1 C of the stock. The season mix has cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, coriander, cayenne, chili powder and corn starch. I use more cumin and paprika because those are my favorite spices.  When you make your spice mix, just play with it, you will figure out what you like best. I let the meat mix cook down and served it over the rice with avocado, cilantro and low fat sour cream. This dish took about 30 minutes to make. I really didn't like the tomato sauce addition, a little too acidic. I added 1 tsp of sugar to smooth it out, but it was still acidic. I didn't add more, because I didn't want it to be sweet. Next time less or no tomato sauce. Let me know what you think.

Indian Spiced Veal & Beef with Brown Rice

This recipe is one that Padma Lakshmi created. She is the co-host of Top Chef. She also had her own food show, but I haven't seen it in quite sometime. This dish is good and it's loaded with flavor. I deviated with the spices, by adding 1 tsp of curry along with the garam masala. I didn't have a lemon, so I used a lime instead and I only had 1/4 C of frozen peas. I also chose to use 1 8oz can of tomato sauce instead of the fresh tomatoes. I served the this over brown rice. This dish is simple, tasty and quick. FYI- very spicy, so be careful with the chilis. Give it a try.

Grilled Pork Chops With Pesto & Pasta with Veggies

When you have the charcoal grill going it's such a shame to waste the heat. So the other nite after I grilled the steaks, I just couldn't waste the hot coals, so I grilled up some pork chops, potatoes, smallwoods and corn. Tonight we had the pork chops topped with a dollop of fresh pesto with farfalle pasta and sauted veggies. I started by chopping up some garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, green pepper and sweet onion and sliced some mushrooms and sauted them in EVOO until the shrooms were a golden brown. While my veggies cooked, I made some pesto from basil in my garden. My recipe is simple- I roast about 1/3 C pine nuts in a 375 degree oven until they are light golden brown. This takes between 7-10 minutes. I take 3 cloves garlic, 3 C of basil packed in the measuring cup, and I blend in the food processor. I then add the pine nuts and drizzle 1/4-1/3 C EVOO into the processor as its still blending. I don't add salt because the cheese supplies plently. You are looking for a smooth creamy texture. I remove the mixture and place in a medium bowl and I fold in 1/4 C of freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano. You want the cheese to be finely grated. That's it!  I drained the cooked pasta and added it to the pan with he veggies along with  1/4 C chopped basil and mixed it in.  I served the pasta with the grated Parmigiana Reggiano and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Check it out-yummy and very easy!!

Healthy Herbed Meat Sauce and Farfalle

My favorite thing about summer is the garden.  I have a very, very small garden and I grow tomatoes, peppers, garlic and herbs.  One of these days I'll have a garden where I can grown corn, beans, cucumbers, squash, potatoes and more,  the sky is the limit, but right now I'm happy with my little garden.  Tonight I made a meat sauce and I used fresh herbs from the garden, basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley and rosemary.  This is a really simple dish; first thing, I got my pasta going.  Then I chopped 5 cloves garlic, 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 vidalia onion and sauteed them in 1 tbs of EVOO until they were softened.  I took 1lb of Laura's Lean ground beef w/ 4% fat and a and little fresh parmigiana reggiano.  I served it over farfalle, but you could use whatever pasta you like. One thing I would like to mention is that tonight while making the dish, I was conscience of not adding additional salt to anything.  Not the best idea, because pasta really needs salt and this pasta didn't have any flavor.  I recommend adding salt to the pasta water.  The sauce was fine with no added salt especially with the cheese.  If you want something healthy then I would give this dish a try.  Good Eats!

Grilled Chicken Drumsticks and Smallwoods

Tonight I was tired and I wanted something that required little effort, little mess and clean up, and I didn't want to sacrifice taste, so we grilled up some drumsticks and made a Smallwood.  I started by preheating my gas grill,  the 3 left burners on med and the 2 right on low.  I would've used my charcoal grill, but I was out of charcoal, and like I said I was tired.  You know when I was a kid I hated the dark meat of chicken, but now it's my favorite.  I love thighs and drumsticks they just cook up so juicy and flavorful.  Don't get me wrong I do like a good breast, but it has to have the skin on and bone in. So I pulled my drumsticks from the frig, a stick of unsalted butter and my veggies for my Smallwood.  I melted 4 tbs of butter in the microwave.  I rinsed and dried my drumsticks, placed them in a large bowl, poured 1/2 the butter over them and sprinkled them with S & P and then I just worked it all into the flesh.  I sat those aside and started chopping up the veg for the Smallwood.  If you don't know what a Smallwood is, it's just your favorite veggies roasted in a foil pack with butter or oil and your favorite seasonings.  I learned this little trick on a rustic camping trick.  You know when your camping primitively, which I seldom do now, everything tastes great.  Especially over an open fire.  Camping for me today consists of setting up camp in Hocking Hills and using my Coleman Stove, Coleman Grill and just about Coleman everything.  We save the campfire for smores. I failed to mention that we sleep in the trailer that we haul our ATV's in with a queen size blow up mattress, fans and heaters and electric.  I have to say it's pretty cushy.  We just lack running water and a toilet, but who needs a toilet when you have the woods and a shovel.  Right?  OK, back to the Smallwood- tonight I had on hand garlic, poblano, red and jalapeno peppers, asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash and red skin potatoes.  I chopped the veggies and quartered the potatoes and left the garlic cloves whole (they roast up so nicely).  I placed in a bowl and remaining butter and some cajun spices mixed it all up and just placed in a foil packet.  I placed the Smallwood on the low heated burner side and the chicken drumsticks on the medium side.  I grilled it all for about 25-30 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally and basting it with the butter that was leftover in the bowl. Always check your chicken with a thermometer, there's nothing worse then serving up bloody chicken. I also shook the Smallwood occasionally, so that everything inside cooked evenly. That's pretty much it and look how it turned out.  Looks good doesn't it?  Well it's not difficult so give it a try.  Bon Appetit!

I Don't Know, But it Sure Was Good!!

Last night I pulled some leftover frozen smoke pulled pork from the freezer.  I had smoked the pork butt back in the winter.  I thought when I pulled it out that I would just do pulled pork sandwiches, BORING!!  But tonight I decided to put a tex mex flair on it.  I started by getting my rice concoction started.  I added 1 C basmati rice, with 1.5 C water, 1.5 tsp chicken bouillon granules, 1 tbs cumin, 1.5 tbs hot hungarian paprika, and 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 can of rinsed and drained red beans, 1/2 C frozen corn.  I just mixed it all up, brought it to a boil and then I covered it and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  You could add whatever beans you like, I just had the red beans on hand.   While the rice was cooking, I chopped 1 jalapeno (w/ seeds), 1/2 poblano pepper, 1/2 red pepper and I sliced 1/2 of a red onion.  I heated a large skillet and added a 1 tbs of EVOO and then added my veggies and let them saute for about 5 minutes.  I then added 1 1lb of the smoked pulled pork and 1 C of no salt chicken stock and mixed it up.  After several minutes I added about 2.5 tbs of my mexican seasoning which consists of cayenne, chili powder, cumin, oregano, hot hungarian paprika, salt and  corn starch.  I'm partial to the paprika and cumin so my mixture has more of those 2 ingredients.  Just play with your mix and find what's right for your palate.  I let this simmer for about 15 minutes.  You might need to add water if the mixture gets too thick.  I served the pork over the rice with chopped scallions and cilantro, grape tomatoes and sour cream.  Enjoy!!

Grilled Pork Chops with Smallwoods

I'm very sorry to say, but my dad past away 2 weeks ago Saturday morning.  Obviously not really interested in posting lately, been so busy, so tired, so everything!!!  Although, yesterday Will and I did have a really nice day, we rode the bike to Yellow Springs and had lunch at Peaches Grill.  Love Peaches, great biker joint with great burgers and over 20 brews on tap.  Anyway, we spent most of the day riding and later stopped to visit with his folks.  My in-laws are great people, I'm blessed to have them.

I failed to mention that my parent's gave Will and I this really kick @#$$ charcoal grill.  I've never been much for charcoal grilling,  but I'm a convert!!! Love it.  So when we got home we grilled up some nice pork chops (no brining-trying to cut back on salt).  I just seasoned them with some Cajun spices and little EVOO.  I guess it took them about 20 minutes to grill.  We also did something referred to as a "Smallwood".  A Smallwood consists of taking your favorite veggies, garlic, your fav herbs/spices w/ butter/evoo and place them into a foil packet and grill them.  I don't puncture the foil.  Just let the veggies steam in their juices.  If you add potatoes, sweet potatoes or carrots you will have to steam for a least 25 minutes.  Oh, but when it's finished, it is oh so yummy.  What I love about this dish is that you use seasonal veggies and they are SOoooo good.  Give it a try, it's so easy and very little mess and clean up.  BTW, in our Smallwood we had asparagus, green beans, mushrooms, whole garlic cloves, red skin potatoes, red bell pepper, zucchini, squash, jalapeno and flat leaf parsley.    Bon Appetito!!!  Will be back soon.

Tex Mex Drumsticks and Rice

Tonight I made a Tex Mex dish that I found from All Recipes, but I made some Mods.  Before I get to that, I must preface that these drumsticks were delish!!!
Ok, so I first took five drumsticks (skin on) and rinsed and dried them, put them in a bowl and poured 2 tbsp of unsalted melted butter over them and massaged the butter into the flesh.  My grill has five burners, so I heated the outer 2 on med high and the inner 3 on low.  The gauge read 400 when I placed the drumsticks on the grill.  I grilled them to perfection for about 30 minutes.  They had a golden brown outside and of course the temp was 166.  While my chicken was grillin, I started the sauce, which I modified for my liking.  I used 1.5 C skim milk, 1 C low fat sour cream,  3 chipotles in adobo sauce and 1 tbsp of the chicken bouillon granules.  I put it all in a large mixing bowl and used my immersion blender to blend it all together.  In the mean time I took a large skillet and heated on med low 1tbsp of unsalted butter.  Once the butter was  melted I added the chipotle sauce to the skillet and simmered it while my chicken grilled.  I also made some rice cooked in chicken stock and added 1 tsp turmeric, 1tbsp cumin, 1 tsp kosher salt 1 can black beans rinsed and drained, 1 C frozen white corn and just just let that cook.
When the chicken had reached temp, I removed it from the grill and  placed it in the skillet with the chipotle sauce and let it simmer in the sauce for about 10 minutes.  I served the drumsticks with a drizzle of the chipotle sauce over top and the rice.  I garnished it with cilantro, chopped onion, dollop of low fat sour cream and chopped jalapenos.  This was really yummy.  The drumsticks were so moist and most awesome.  Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think.  Enjoy!!

Grilled Curried Chicken Thighs w/ Curried Couscous

Hey Folks! Wow my last food post was awhile ago. Been very busy w/ my family. My dad was placed in hospice care, which has been very stressful, yet it has also been a blessing. Hospice is a wonderful thing and they are taking great care of my dad. This experience has really brought the family together and it's just been really good all around.  I've cooked a few unusual dishes for my dad and I think he's been pleasantly surprised.  I made low sodium dishes for him and found that the dishes still were really tasty minus the salt.  Mrs Dash has become a good friend lately.  I'm working on a low sodium pizza, he's really been craving it.  Anyone out there have a yummy low sodium pizza recipe that you would like to share?  Did you know that the average slice of pizza with Mozzarella cheese has about 4000 mg of sodium?  OMG!!!  I also read that we should only consume about 1500 mg of sodium per day.  Read the labels on your prepackage food, loaded with salt!!!

Anyway, back to the food- tonight I took 4 bone in, skin on, chicken thighs, rinsed and dried them. I set those aside and I heated the grill, 1 side on high and one side on low. I prepared a rub of 1.5 tbsp hot curry powder, 1 tsp hot paprika, 1 tsp cumin, a dash of cinnamon and 2 tsp of Mrs Dash (we are cutting back on our Sodium). I placed the spice mix in a large bowl and laid the thighs in the bowl and just rubbed the spices all over the meat.  I then took 2 tbsp unsalted melted butter and poured that over thighs and massaged the mixture onto the thighs.  Once the grill was preheated I placed the thighs skin side down on the high heated side of grill. I let those brown and let the skin crisp up, then I turned them and let the other side brown as well. After about 3 minutes I moved them to the low side and continued to grill for 12-15 minutes turning occasionally until they reached a temp of 166.

While my chicken was grilling I prepared my couscous. I placed 1 c of low sodium chicken broth, 2 tsp hot curry, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp hot paprika and 1/2 c frozen peas in a med pot, brought it to a boil and then added 3/4 c of couscous. I stirred in the couscous and covered the pot, removed the pot from heat and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Afterwards I fluffed the couscous with a fork and I served it with the thighs with a garnish of cilantro and cucumbers. I love this combination of flavors and textures: spicy, cool, crunch and chewy. Try it and let me know your thoughts. Good Eats!

Jus' Happy That We Still Have Our Fathers!

Shout Out To All You Fathers. God Bless, We Love You!

Bacon Burgers and Fries

We do burgers fairly regularly, today inspired by Chef Symon. There are some out there that I would love to make, but my honey is a little picky, so I try not push the burger creativity over the top.  Tonight we had bacon burgers and fries.  The first thing I did when I got home was to take 2 large russet potatoes that had been scrubbed and cut them in half lengthwise and cut the halves in to 5 wedges each.  I placed them in a bowl of water and let them sit for about an hour, because I didn't want them browning on me while  me and my honey took little ride thru the country on the bike, since we haven't really been able to get it out with all of this rain, BTW which will back tomorrow evening. When I got home I preheated my Breville oven to 450, drained the water, dried the potatoes and coated them with EVOO and S&P and placed them on baking sheet and popped them into the oven for 35 minutes.  While those were baking I took 1 part 80/20 organic ground beef, 1 part organic ground pork and 1/4 part organic chorizo, mixed them all together, formed into burgers and sprinkled both sides with S&P and put aside.  I took the bacon outside to cook  on the side burner of the grill.  Don't get me wrong I love the smell of bacon, but it permeates the house, and sometimes its just a little much.  Anyway, when there was 15 minutes remaining on the tators I heated my grill- 1 side on med  and 1 side on high.  Once heated I placed the burgers on the med heat side of the grill and let them cook thru, flipping only one time.  I placed the bacon slices and slices of red onion and monterey jack cheese over top, closed the grill and let the cheese melt.  While the burgers were grilling I also took my burger buns and lightly seared them on the grill.  That was it.  No mess, little clean up, easy and yummy.  We served our burgers with a little mayo, and some pickles next to those perfect fries.  Mmm! Mmm!

Spicy Thai Noodles with Ginger Peanut Dressing

This dish is also from the Food Network, from the Next Food Network Star Show.  The chef is Dzintra Dzenis and although she didn't win the title of Next Food Network Star, she did have some good recipes, this one being one of them.  As usual I modified the recipe to fit what I had to work with.  I used 1 lb of chicken tenders that I marinated overnite, but I didn't have thai chiles, so wherever you see them in the recipe I substituted jalapenos. I also grilled the chicken tenders on med-low heat for about 8-10 minutes total, turning often.  I didn't skewer the cooked chicken with the orange either, but I bet that would have been a nice combination.

The dressing was a bit thick, so I added about 1/2 C of chicken stock to loosen it up.  It really was peanut-ee, so next time for my liking I will use less peanut butter or substitute Tahini (sesame paste).  I also added chopped roasted peanuts atop the noodles along with the cilantro, peppers and scallions. One ingredient that I LOVE in this recipe is the chili oil.   You need to get it, it tastes so good and has that burst of heat that I love.  I can see me adding the chili oil to just about everything.  It would be great mixed with garlic over pasta.  I have some leftover linguini from the dish tonight, so that could be my lunch tomorrow.

Anyway, this dish was yummy and I will make it again.  Try it and let me know what you think.  Good Eats!!