Still Here!

I'm still here, just having a busy year.  DIY projects, getting my Motorcycle license, and riding alot.  Stay tuned for some Autumn eats!  Be back soon!

Hoppin Jon w/ Andouille & Bacon

I took this recipe from Sunny Anderson and modified it to work w/ what I had on hand. Instead of the Cannelini Beans I used the traditional Blackeyed Peas that I had in the freezer. I also used 1.5 cups of brown basmati rice, this rice only takes about 25-30 minutes to cook. I followed the recipe until I got to the bean part. I added the peas and the rice to the pot and covered with 3 1/4 C of chicken stock, stirred the mixture, brought to a boil, covered and reduced to simmer for 30 minutes. This is a very easy, fairly quick and yummy dish! I will definitely make again. If you would like to try it click HERE for the recipe.

Tilapia w/ Asian Slaw & Noodles

My plan was to make fish tacos w/ slaw but I forgot to get tortillas, so I fried the fish, served it over crunchy Asian slaw with noodles. What you'll need: Slaw-1/2 pkg shredded cabbage mix, 1 garlic clove minced, 1 inch piece ginger peeled & chopped, 3 scallions chopped. Put this in a food processor and pulse 5 times. Place in a large bowl. Add 1 tsp sugar,  2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbs rice wine vinegar, 1/4 c mayonnaise. Toss this well with the cabbage slaw. Refrigerate until ready to use. Noodles: 1 pkg ramen type noodles cooked, rinsed and drained, 1 c of blanched green beans cut into 1 inc pieces, 2 scallions sliced, 1/4 c cilantro chopped, 2 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs rice wine vinegar, 1 tbs sesame oil, 1 garlic clove finely minced, 1 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced, 1 tsp chili flakes. Add these ingredients minus the noodles & beans into a medium sizes bowl an mix them well. Toss in the noodles & green beans. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Fish: 1 lb Tilapia cut into 3 inch pieces and set aside, 1 c all purpose flour, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp white pepper add these to a large zip lock bag and shake, place 2 eggs in a small bowl and beat them, place 1-2 c of panko on a large plate, 1 c of canola oil heated to 350 in a large non stick skillet. Add 5 pieces of fish at a time to flour mix and shake. Remove fish and dip into beaten eggs 1 piece at a time. Dredge fish into panko and fry fish pieces in small batches for about 3 minutes. Place fried fish on a plate layered w/ paper towels. Repeat until all fish is fried. Serve the fish over the slaw with the noodles. I drizzled some Siracha sauce over the fish. Next time I will make a Siracha mayo or Siracha sour cream sauce to drizzle over the top. Enjoy!!

How My Garden Grows

Love having a garden.  I wish I could grow more,  but my space is limited.  Love the idea of sustainability, organic, local home grown. My garden this year consists of 4 tomato plants (2 roma's for sauces and salsa, 1 beefsteak for burgers and sandwiches, and 1 grape tomato for salads), lots of pepper plants, (3 jalapeno, 2 habanero, 1 ghost, 1 cayenne, 1 red bell, 1 green bell and 1 poblano) 2 chives,  lots of herbs (3 basil plants, 1 thyme, 2 oregano (spicy and italian), 1 sage, 1 flat leaf parsley, 1 rosemary, 2 dill, 1 celery, 1 tarragon).  That's it.  I also have some marigolds growing in there, supposedly keeps out the furry critters.  Seems to be working or the furry critters just don't like what I grow.  Hope to harvest some grape tomatoes soon, the plant doesn't seem to be very happy, so we'll see.  I'll keep you posted with photos, and recipe as soon as the harvest comes in.
If you have any photos of your garden please share, would love to see what everyone is growing this year.
Keep growing good eats!!

Bacon & Chive Purple Potato Salad

Just returned from a Memorial Day trip to see my brother and sister n law and to visit a few family memorials.  My sis n law surprised me with this really awesome cookbook "Taste of Home" so I decided to try a simple side dish from the book.  I modified the recipe slightly using purple potatoes instead of the redskin and I added 2 boiled eggs and some fresh dill also.  The chives and dill came from my garden.  The only thing that would've made this really awesome is if the bacon would've come from hogs that I raised, but I would have to have livestock and I don't.  Anyway, everything in the dish was organic, local or home grown so that's a  bonus.  The salad is very easy to make and really yummy.  I served it along some organically grown corn that I grilled along with local farmed raised beef tenderloin and chicken.  Can't wait to dig into the cookbook some more, it looks like it has some really great recipes.  I will definitely share how they go and will post how to create,  but for now Good Eats!

Pork Chops with Rice & Beans

This is another Food Network recipe they I tried the other nite.  It's very easy and yummy, although I did have to do some modifications.  First I cut the recipe in half and I didn't have any tomato sauce, so I made my own by taking 1 part tomato paste to 1 part water.  Also, my chops were a little thicker than the recipe called so I broiled them until the internal temp reached 145 degrees F.  Also, my chops didn't have any juices left in the pain, it burned off.  I used leftover brown rice too.  The beans and rice were really good and I will definitely make them again.  I added a few drops of Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce to the beans and that added a nice kick. The chops were good, but nothing special.  I really don't think the addition of the cider vinegar or the tomato sauce added anything to the chops.  Anyway, give the dish a try or at least the beans and rice.  It's healthy and Good Eats.

Chinese Beef with Broccoli

Found this recipe for Beef with Broccoli on the Food Network.   It's really simple to make and it tastes great.  I used the scrap meat from a beef tenderloin that I had cleaned.  The meat is extremely tender and quite yummy.  I also marinated the meat overnight, which really allowed the meat to absorb the flavor of the marinade and made it even more tender.  It literally melted in your mouth.  I opted out of using tomatoes because my hubby doesn't like them.  But I don't think that it took away from the dish.  I served it over Basmati Brown Rice.  Give it a try, it's definitely Good Eats!!