Lamb-beef Mediterranean Meatloaf with Brown Garlic Rice and Collards

This recipe stems from a markdown find at Target for ground lamb. I got 2 lbs of ground lamb for $3.50 each that I had tucked away in the freezer, so I decided to get creative! I found this recipe for

Lamb, Balsamic, and Sundried tomato meatloaf and adapted to my taste. Here's what I used:

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 lb ground chuck

2 large eggs

1/2 cup rolled oats

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 tbsp onion diced

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 cup sundried tomato paste 

1 tbsp Penzey's Tuscan sunset

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. First combine meats together in a large bowl and set aside. Then, whisk all other ingredients together. Pour egg mixture over meat and mix until combined thoroughly. "Grease" (I used bacon drippings I keep in the fridge) a loaf pan and put meat mixture into pan, forming a "loaf" of sorts. The lamb is a finer meat so it will not be as solid as a normal meatloaf might look. Place in oven and set timer for 30 minutes. Check at 30 minutes- the loaf should have an internal temperature of 140-145. At this point I turned off the oven and let it sit a few more minutes while I finished up the rest of the meal. 

The collards were easy. I had some already chopped and washed collards so I grabbed a handful and dumped them in a saute pan with about 2 cups of homemade chicken broth (out of the freezer), two slices of bacon cut into little bitty pieces, and about 2 slices of onion diced. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir together and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer. Let collards cook, stirring occasionally so they don't stick, until desired tenderness is reached. about 30 minutes (So my suggestion is to start the collards first and then do the meatloaf- then they will be done at the same time)

I cheated on the rice. It was a 90 second microwave bag from TasyBite. These are so good, flavorful, gluten free etc!!! Whenever I see them at the store (usually Fresh Market or World Market) I'll grab a few to keep on hand. 

Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!

tomato-chili grouper over cilantro couscous with lime-cilantro black bean sauce

This one is a litte more on the fancier culinary scale. I've been doing alot of left over recreations and quick nd easy meals, so tonight it was time to go back to the finer, more intricate recipes. We had two small grouper fillets in the freezer from our last trip to the beach this fall that I wanted to use. Normally I get my inspiration from simply googling or looking on pinterest for the ingredients I want to use . I found a recipe for Jicama Grouper with Black Bean sauce. As you can tell, I comletely changed the recipe, but I wanted to give credit for the inspiration. So here we go. 

Ingredients:

Bean sauce:

1 cup black beans, 2 tbsp cilantro, 1tbsp lime juice, salt and pepper to taste

Fish: 

2 medium sized grouper fillets

1/4 cup dry wine

1 tbsp olive oil

1 can rotel tomatoes

1/2 small onion diced

1 tsp minced garlic

Couscous: (cook according to package directions- just add cilantro)

11/2 cups water/ chicken broth

1 cup couscous

1 tbsp cilantro

So now for the fun part- to attempt to explain the ramblings that occur in my brain while I'm cooking/creating... So here we go!

First start with making the black bean puree which will later become your sauce. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside in small sauce pan.

Next dice the onion and drain the tomatoes. Combine the olive oil, wine, tomatoes, onions, and garlic in a large skillet and bring to a nice simmer. Salt and pepper both sides of the fish and add to the simmer. Scoop a small amount of the tomato mixture on top of the fish to get the flavor. Cover, reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until fish has reached internal temperature of at least 130 degrees. 

While the fish is cooking, prepare the couscous, and heat the black bean sauce. Bring to a simmer, stir, and remove from heat until ready to plate. 

Arrange a small scoop of couscous on the plate. Remove fish from the pan and place ontop of couscous. Spoon a small amount of the black bean sauce over the fish and down onto the couscous. Top with the tomato-onion mixture and sprinkle around the couscous for a fancy display. 

Enjoy! Disclaimer: the rotel tomatoes make the dish slightly on the spicy side. If that's not for you you can substitue for regular diced tomatoes.  

slow cooker pulled pork with fried squash bites and steamed broccoli

This meal was super easy and contrary to the title, the pork is not the main attraction. Mind you, the pork was melt in your mouth awesome, but the squash took the cake! I'm always look for ways to change up or recreate the normal, ho-hum vegetables- it just makes life more interesting. So here we go....

Pulled pork:

I can't take much credit for this one, other than being a super observant/savy Target shopper. I've mentioned before that Target often puts coupons on items in the meat and vegetable department that they want to sell fast. This was one of those finds. Hormel makes pre-seasoned pork roasts. This one had a $3 off coupon so for $4.99 I was willing to take a gamble. See this link Hormel BBQ seasoned pork for the exact product. It was very easy. I was skeptical of the instructions: open package and place contents into slow cooker. Cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low. immediately my inner chef raised an eyebrow because there was no mention of adding water or a moisture source. However, the people at Hormel know what they're doing- nothing was needed and the pork came out later so tender I had to scoop it out of the slow cooker- it fell apart right on the fork. The flavor was amazing too. A nice smokey barbeque taste, almost as if it had just come off the smoker. There was no need for additional seasoning or sauce, and that's quite an accomplishment.

Fried squash bites:

They don't look like much in the picture, but these little things are a southern bite of heaven. Like I said above, I'm always looking for ways to change up my vegetables and side items and this one was was a homerun. Since the broccoli was steamed I needed something crisp but light to even everything out. Then some little lightbulb went off- I'll cook it like I do fried okra! It will give me the light crunch but still maintain the vegetable inside. 

- Dice squash into bite sized pieces

- Lightly mist with olive oil or cooking oil (your preference, you could even use cooking spray)

- Season Cornmeal with salt and other flavors ( I used seasoned salt and garlic)

- Dust/toss squash pieces in cornmeal until fully coated

- Warm just enough cooking oil to cover the squash 

- When oil is warm, carefully add the squash and cook until pieces begin to turn golden and crispy. 

- Drain on paper towel and enjoy!

I was so thrilled with the way the squash turned out. My husbamd loved it too. He even said "This could be used as an appetizer in a restaurant." If you like fried okra, you'll love this! 

Enjoy!!! 

Ham and Beans

Sorry for the long hiatus between posts! Life has been crazy busy and I really haven't cooked anything blog worthy recently. But tonight, we have a winner! So by now, you all know I absolutely love recreating leftovers. I really hate throwing anything away that can be used in the next meal. For Thanksgiving we had a houseful. 13 guests and a highchair all gathered in our livingroom. It was great! We had the traditional Thanksgiving meal: turkey, ham, potatoes, green beans, deviled eggs, sweet potatoes... and then fried okra and stuffed cabbage rolls. Anywho- needless to say we had enough food to feed a small army. I've been using up the leftovers all week- Pineapple/Ham kabobs, Turkey quesadillas, mashed potato cakes and now this amazing ham and beans soup with cornbread. I had come home at lunch to feed my new pet dragon (yeah that's a whole other crazy story) and saw the last of the ham sitting in the fridge. I began thinking of creative ways to use it. Today was also dark and rainy so something warm and filling was in order. My mind suddenly went to a dish I had eaten recently at a local restaurant and bam! Ham and Beans was the answer. Pretty much its a fancy version of baked beans with chunks of ham- but oh my was it good! Did I mention I did it all in the slow cooker???

Ingredients:

2 cans of great northern beans

1 can red kidney or chili beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

1 lb cooked ham cut into chunks

3 tbsp minced onion

salt and pepper to taste

I first dumped all three cans of beans into the crockpot (juice and all- don't drain). I then added the onion and minced onion. Then I salted and peppered. Last I threw in the chunked ham. Stir until mixed together. Add the cup of water and stir again. Cook on high in slow cooker for 6 hours (stir occasionally). The bean will be soft and sweet and the ham will be melt in your mouth tender. 

I then made some simple buttermilk cornbread. Place cornbread in bowl and spoon ham and beans over top. enjoy!!!!

Apple-cinnamon-pecan pork chops with roasted asparagus and baked sweet potato

I absolutely loved this recipe!!! It was kinda my own creation but I got the inspiration from Taste of Home, but changed it to suit my ingredients on hand. Normally my meals begin with a main ingredient and then what do I do- go to pinterest or google. I type in the ingredients and see what comes up. I get some inspiration, browse a few recipes and then create my own dish from that. I always try to give credit to the original inspiration site so others can enjoy their take on a similar dish! 

I bought a family pack of thinly sliced pork chops BOGO at publix this week (so you might be seeing pork chops again tomorrow). Since the weather is trying to change (we all know how that is in Alabama) I really had something nutmeg and cinnamon flavored on the brain. Asparagus is always a great go-to vegetable, and of course when you have nutmeg and cinnamon, sweet potatoes are the perfect companion. 

Asparagus: heat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Break bottom ends off asparagus place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil until lightly coated, then season with desired flavor. It cam be as simple as salt and pepper or garlic. Tonight I chose Penzey's Northwood's seasoning. Place in oven and check often until asparagus is roasted to desired crispiness (about 10 minutes). 

Sweet potato: The best way is in the oven, however tonight I cheated and used the microwave... Poke potato several times with a fork and microwave for 4 minutes, flip, 4 minutes and check softness. you should be able to squeeze the potato easily and it feels soft. Cover with cloth and keep warm.

** mix up apple cinnamon sauce before cooking chops.**

Apple-Cinnamon-Pecan sauce: One cup/package apple sauce, 4 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp melted butter, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon sugar. 1/4 cup chopped pecans. Mix until totally combined. Set aside.

Pork chops: Melt butter in grill pan or spray with cooking spray. Salt and pepper both sides of chops. "Grill" in pan (about 3-4 minutes each side) until internal temp of 145 is reached. You should have nice brown color or grill marks on each side. Leaving chops on the heat, spoon a small amount of apple-cinnamon sauce over each chop spreading to cover the whole piece. (only use about 1/2 the sauce). Let cook for about one minute then flip chops over and repeat on other side.  When Sauce has warmed and slightly melted on chops remove from heat and plate. 

Use any left over sauce/pecans to make the presentation fancy. Arrange asparagus and sweet potato on plate. Enjoy!!!

Breakfast tacos with polenta cakes

This meal was straight out of "what can I make for Sunday breakfast from the random stuff in my fridge...". I had some left over chicken from the chicken and dressing I pre-made for Thanksgiving and also had about 1/4 of the tube of polenta left from the attack of the crawfish meal. so viola- here's your sunday brunch! I love making breakfast tacos or burritos, whichever you choose to call them. Its so easy, basically scramble some eggs and throw in whatever ingredients you want, place in a tortilla and bam- breakfast scramble taco. 

so here's the process:

** go ahead and have all add-in ingredients prepared, because once you start, things will move quickly.**

Scramble eggs and pour into heated skillet ( I used 4 eggs here and it made enough for about 5-6 tacos). As the eggs begin to cook, add in other ingredients- so for above add the shredded chicken. other ingredients could include: peppers, onion, broccoli, mushrooms, squash, bacon, etc... Toss/scramble ingredients until eggs are cooked through. If you choose to use salsa, you can add it shortly after the chicken or use as a garnish on top- completely up to you. When your egg scramble is done, place in bowl and cover to keep warm.

For the polenta, cook the same way you did in the crawfish attack recipe. Season as you wish- since this was breakfast, I used a little bit of bacon grease I had in the fridge instead of the butter in the pan. It changed the flavor slightly to go with the breakfast theme. 

Lastly I crisped up the tortillas in the oven. I use corn tortillas, but flour will work too. Spray lightly with cooking spray and put on low broil until desired crispiness is reached. WATCH THEM!!! They will burn quickly!!!

Assemble tacos, add garnish and enjoy!!!

Creole shrimp and broccoli in burned butter sauce over zoodles

This one is very similar to other posts with zoodles, but I wanted to show how truly versatile zucchini noodles can be! My husband actually asks for them now instead of pasta noodles- which is fine by me! More veggies, less carbs- big thumbs up in my book! For this recipe you will need:

- 1 lb medium-large shrimp (peeled)

- Cajun/ creole seasoning

- 1/2 stick butter

- 1/2 head of broccoli cut into bite sized florets

- 2 medium- large sized zucchini (one per person)

Since you will be making a burned butter sauce, I highly suggest prepping everything first. Once you start melting the butter everything will move quickly! Go ahead and peel the shrimp, cut the broccoli, and julienne the zucchini. If you're new to making zoodles, refer to my previous post on Zoodles for a quick tutorial on how to prepare and cook them ( however, for this recipe, wait to saute the zoodles until after you have cooked the shrimp and broccoli).

Start by melting 2 tbsp (1/4 stick of butter) in a large skillet, saute pan, or wok. Let the butter completely melt and cook until you see it just begin to turn golden/brown. Immediately, but carefully, add in the shrimp and broccoli. Season with creole/cajun seasoning to taste. When broccoli is cooked, remove and set aside in covered bowl to keep warm. 

Melt the rest of the butter in the same skillet/pan and when melted (doesn't have to be browned) add zoodles and cook according to previous directions (see link above). When noodles are almost done, add in shrimp and broccoli and toss until mixed together. 

Note: you may need more butter depending on the size and moisture of the zucchini

Plate, serve and enjoy immediately! 

Attack of the Crawfish over grilled polenta

Sorry for the hiatus in posts! Since Halloween I haven't really cooked anything I felt was blog worthy until tonight- and this was was honestly just more fun to plate than anything. I just can't help myself when it comes to crawfish! So I cheated on this one and the crawfish were actually cooked saturday for the football game against LSU, but hey- left overs are fair game right? So I had a small internal struggle as to whether or not to cook the crawfish with noodles, zoodles, dirty rice etc... So I started searching the pantry for options. I found some polenta I had recently purchased at World Market and bingo! That was the ticket! So without further adieu....

Crawfish: cook/boil/steam with cajun seasonings how ever you like. Mine were already cooked, so I simply added butter to a saute pan and "re-heated" them. I set them aside in a bowl in the microwave to stay warm.

Polenta: Polenta is rather versatile and easy to cook with. you can find it in various forms, however, the most popular and easiest is all ready prepared. (comes in a plastic tube like chorizo) I opened the package and sliced the polenta into 1/4 in cakes. Then brushed them with melted butter and sprinkled a bit of Tony Chacere's seasoning on them. I then turned back on the stove and cooked the polenta in the same pan as the crawfish, to soak up that extra cajun seasoning. My husband said this made it a little on the salty side- so you may want to use a different pan, or not season them before. Cook the polenta for about 2-3 minutes each side, of until you notice it lightly brown on the under side. Flip and cook the other side. Be careful when flipping or handling polenta cakes as the light brown crust on the outside will flake off. When they are done plate and serve!

Green beans: The green beans were simply pole beans from Sam's Club. I simply steamed them with some garlic and onion and then sauteed them with some butter just for a little more flavor and to take away some of the crunch. 

Now for the fun part! Assemble your plate! I chose to make it look like the crawfish were hiding behind a fortress of green beans ready to attack. Haha. you could do some many things! enjoy!

Salisbury Steak with a Turkey Twist!

Last night I was searching the kitchen for something for dinner. We were tired of left overs from the Halloween party and I wanted something different, however, I also was not in the mood for getting out in the rain to go to the store. So here we are! Salisbury Steak, made from turkey patties, not ground beef/chuck, with a side of cauliflower rice and lightly pan fried okra. Healthy comfort food for a rainy day!

Riced Cauliflower:

Cut one head of cauliflower into florets and steam until soft. I use a double boiler for this, putting about 1-2 cups of water in the base and boiling to steam through to the cauliflower covered on top. When cauliflower is steamed and can easily be stuck with a fork, remove from heat and place in mixing bowl of stand up mixer. (If you don't use a double boiler, make sure to drain cauliflower first).

Slice 1/2 stick of butter into "slabs" or "pads" and distribute among florets. You may also add minced garlic or onions if you desire. Begin to slowly mix. Cauliflower will begin to breakdown. As it becomes smaller, you may want to add chicken broth to the mixture. Increase mixing speed to get a finer breakdown- this is called ricing. Some people go as far as to put the cauliflower in a food processor and make "mashed potatoes", but for me the riced cauliflower works just fine. Move to a bowl, cover and place in oven or microwave to keep warm while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Okra: For okra I use My husband's Granny's method, and it's rather easy. Cut okra into bite size slices or rings. Place in mixing bowl and drizzle or spray lightly with cooking spray/oil. (the okra should be just barely wet not soaked). Then take about 1/2 cup cornmeal and season with salt, pepper, garlic,- whatever you like. Dust okra with cornmeal mixture adding a little, tossing the okra to coat, add a little more, toss to coat.... you get the picture. Then set aside and work on the meat- you'll cook the okra while the meat is simmering....

Turkey Salisbury Steaks:

I cheated and used pre-made Jennie-O turkey patties I had in the freezer, but you can easily make your own out of ground turkey. Turkey patties: Mix one lb ground turkey with 2 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs (or if you're working in a house with allergies ground oatmeal works just as well), one egg white (again if you have allergies a flax egg works great!), 2 tbsp diced/minced onion, 1 clove garlic minced, and salt/pepper to taste. Combine all ingredients and form into patties. Then you will want to make your sauce- I just used the sauce part of this Salisbury Sauce recipe.  Do this before cooking the patties because when they are browned you'll want to pour the sauce immediately over them. Take one can of french onion soup and combine with 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 tbsp cornmeal (I used that because I already had it out from the okra), 1 tsp dijon mustard (I like dijon instead of powder), 1 tbsp Worcestershire, and it says one cup water, but I left that out. you can always add it if the sauce gets too thick. Warm a small amount of cooking oil or cooking spray in skillet and cook turkey patties until browned on both sides.  When patties are browned, pour sauce over and bring to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer/cook for about 10-15 minutes or until you think the patties have soaked up the sauce flavors. Feel free to flip the patties while simmering so both sides get a good flavor. 

Ok- back to the Okra- Warm cooking oil in medium sized skillet on stove. Just enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet and cook the okra, but not enough that the okra is swimming in it. When the oil is hot, CAREFULLY place okra in skillet. Watch okra and stir occasionally so that it cooks evenly. When you notice the sides turning brown begin to remove okra from skillet- the most brown pieces first. Place on paper towel on plate to catch extra oil. 

Everything should be ready! Just plate and enjoy!!!

HALLOWEEN!!!

 I LOVE HALLOWEEN! So this year we threw a grown-up, full blown costume party at our house. I've pictured here a few of the fun Halloween themed foods that were served, and I'm going to give you the run down on one that's not pictured here, mainly because it was so good I couldn't get a good picture before it was devoured! And just to throw it out there Disclaimer: most of these ideas are not my own, they are adapted from other bloggers I found on pinterest (click the links to see original recipes)

Witch Hat Cookies
I definitely recommend these if you need something easy and quick for a party or school function. All you need is a package of fudge stripe cookies, about 30 hershey kisses, and some orange decorating icing (Betty Crocker makes colored icing in a can that it easy to point, press, and decorate). I suggest unwrapping the hershey's kisses first, because once you get started you need to move quickly. There are about 24 cookies per package and you will need one kiss for each cookie. Melt a few (3-4) kisses in the microwave until they

 are smooth and you can use it like glue. Take a toothpick, small paintbrush, or cotton swap to "glue" the kisses to the bottom (chocolate) side of the cookie. When the chocolate is set, decorate however you wish. I chose to make little bows on each hat. Store in air-tight container to stay fresh!

Spider web layered dip
This is another super easy and quick throw together recipe that's also cute and impressive. This is a simple version of the popular mexican seven layer dip. I didn't have exactly seven layers, but you understand the gist of it. Feel free to ass more layers in you desire. For this you will need: 1 can refried beans, 1 package taco seasoning (I used a tbsp Penzey's taco)1 can diced tomatoes with chilies- drained (rotel), 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1/2 cup guacamole (I cheated and used store made because I honestly ran out of time), sour cream (or greek yogurt), and 10 olives. I used a pie dish, but you can use whatever plate or dish you like. Mix taco seasoning into refried beans and then layer ingredients in the following

order: Beans, tomatoes, cheese, guacamole. Then lightly draw your spider webs with the sour cream and cut olives to look like spiders. Keep refrigerated until time to serve! Serve with tortilla chips.

Blood-shot eye deviled eggs
This one is my own recipe. I did get the idea for making the eggs look like eyeballs from a magazine post, but the recipe is my own. You will need: 1 dozen eggs- hard boiled, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp (or more) dill relish or diced dill pickles, celery salt and pepper to taste, one olive slice per egg, and hot sauce to make the red bloodshot lines. Peel and cut eggs into halves. Gently scoop yellow centers out into mixing bowl. Set whites aside. Using a fork, combine egg yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, pickle, celery salt, and pepper until creamy. (taste and adjust flavors if you desire more or less of anything). Fill egg white halves with almost a tbsp of yellow filling. Once filled, place one slice of olive in the middle of each egg, and then use a toothpick or small

paintbrush, to lightly dab lines on the yellow filling to make the eyes look blood shot.

Celery and pimento cheese mummies
I used the idea from the link above, however I changed it a bit for my own liking. You will need 1 bunch celery, about 1 cup pimento cheese (that's my fav recipe), 1 small package of thinly sliced deli meat ( I used carl budding's smoked turkey- if you want fresh from the deli, estimate one piece per celery stick), and tiny olive pieces or pimentos for the eyes. Wash and cut celery into 3 inch pieces (pretty much each stalk into 3 pieces), then stuff with pimento cheese. Cut the turkey into thin strips, then wrap each piece of celery. Place eyes to make mummies complete. Keep refrigerated until time to serve, store in air tight container in refrigerator.

Popcorn Balls
I'd never made these before, and while it was fun, I'll probably never make them again. They are very time consuming, messy, and honestly quite wasteful. Also, if you have special dental work I don't recommend eating these. The syrup that holds them together is sticky and worse than caramel to get off your teeth! However they are delicious and a great throw back to old timey Halloween! I followed the directions pretty much to a t. The only thing I did differently was that I used air popped popcorn instead of microwave or stove top, because I wanted to make them allergy friendly (no butter), and I also used Pam cooking spray instead of buttering the sauce pan for the syrup. I would suggest clicking the link above and using that, because they spell it our better than I can, and If I try I'll probably just end up confusing you, and rambling on for the next three pages!

The last recipe I will share, which was a total hit, was my own version of Queso con Carne. I normally stray away from cheesy dishes because we have a dairy allergy in our house, however for a party, it's always something that the guests flock to! It's a simple recipe, but I wanted to share my special "cheat" that everyone said really made it stand out from other cheese dips they'd had. You will need: 1 lb block of melting cheese (velveeta), 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies- drained (rotel), and 1 can chili without beans ( That's the cheat). Many times people will brown ground chuck or sausage and throw it in there, but I think that the extra sauce from the chili makes it more creamy and rich. First turn crock pot on to high heat, and place liner inside. - If you haven't discovered Slow Cooker Liners you're missing out! its a huge time saver, especially if you use your crock pot alot! Just place one inside, do your cooking, and at the end, just pull it out and dispose- clean up is a breeze- not scraping, or soaking required. Anywho- back to the recipe. Cut cheese into small blocks and place in crock pot. Drain tomatoes and pour over cheese, followed by the chili. As the cheese melts, occasionally stir ingredients together until smooth. When all is melted turn crock pot to lowest setting (mine has a "keep warm" button). Serve with tostitos scoops!
Hope you enjoyed! We had a fabulous halloween!

Pan seared salmon with capers, mashed potato cakes, and steamed broccoli

This meal was thrown together with leftovers and freezer fish :)  The potatoes are the most time intensive so I'm going to start with them first.

Potato cakes:This is a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes. Mix in an egg and approx 1/4 cup flour until ingredients are combined. It will not make a dough, but it won't be as thin as mashed potatoes. Feel free to add in chives, onions, bacon bits, cheese, or garlic if you wish. Spoon more flour onto a plate. Spoon the mashed potato mixture (one spoonful at a time) and drop into flour. Pat gently with finger tips and flip, so both sides of your small potato cake are coated. Repeat until mashed potatoes are gone. Heat cooking oil in large skillet. When hot, carefully add potato cakes to oil and cook until golden brown, flipping once to get both sides. Place on paper towel to drain. 

Next, heat another skillet, dry (no butter, oil, nothing) over high heat. While heating, rub salmon in olive oil and season. you can use salt and pepper. I used my usual Ruth Ann's Seasoning from Penzey's. When hot, place fish SKIN SIDE UP. Cook for about 3-4 minutes then flip. Add capers and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes with an internal temp of 135 degrees. 

The broccoli is easy. Cut into florets, gently rinse (leaving a little water for steaming) place in microwaveable bowl. Take several skinny slabs of butter and arrange throughout broccoli. Add desired seasonings. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes. Check and cook for an additional minute if further steaming is desired.

Plate fish, potatoes and broccoli and Enjoy!!!!

Open faced fajita tacos

Open faced fajita tacos-  Pretty simple recipe here. I basically just layered the taco/fajita ingredients on a baked corn tortilla, almost like a tostada. 

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas, Refried beans, spanish rice, guacamole, bell pepper, onions, steak (or meat choice).

* The rice will take the longest to cook- so start that first!*

I started by making the guacamole. It's a version of Alton Brown's Guacamole. Click on the link to see the exact amounts of ingredients. Scoop out two medium sized avocados. Dice 1/2 medium sized tomato, and dice jalapenos to taste. Place in bowl with avocado. Squeeze in lime juice, add onion, garlic, salt, and cumin. I don't use the cayenne pepper. Mash all ingredients together until desired consisteny is reached. I prefer slightly chunkier guacamole, so I just use a fork, but you may use a food processor to get a smoother or creamier taste. 

The beans and the steak or meat are really the only other two parts that need to be "made". The beans are simple. Open a can of refried beans and add a tablespoon of penzey's fajita seasoning and mix well. Then heat in microwave or stovetop as directed on can.

Slice the steak or chicken or whatnot and cook in skillet. Once cooked through set aside. Slice peppers and onions and place in skillet. Cook until soft. Add meat to peppers and onions and continue to cook. Start by adding a tsp of fajita seasoning and stir. If desired add more fajita mix. Let cook until flavors are mixed well. 

Now it's time to assemble. I started by baking/toasting the corn tortilla briefly in the oven. Then spread a thin layer of the beans, rice, meat, peppers and onions, and then if desired shredded cheese. Serve with a side of guacamole and corn chips. 

Enjoy!

Cajun sauteed royal reds over garlic zoodles and corn

This meal sounds absolutely crazy when I tell you that its julienned zucchini, corn, and shrimp. But oh boy is it amazing!!!! We had some royal reds in the freezer from our trip to the beach a month ago, a zucchini from the farmer's market, and some left over corn from a previous meal. I had in mind what I wanted to do, but honestly the corn was an afterthought that came minutes before serving. 

So here we go!

Shrimp:
- Thaw, peel, cut in half (royal reds are huge!) and devein.
- Marinate in a mixture of italian salad dressing and cajun seasoning. I used penzey's cajun seasoning. (I swear I'm not sponsored by them- I really just love their spices!)

Zucchini:
- Many people have fancy vegetable noodle makers or spiralers, but I use a simple julienne peeler
that I ordered from Amazon.com
- Cut the ends off the zucchini and shred long ways from top to bottom. You will know when you are done because you will reach the core or seeded part of the squash and it will probably snap in half. depending on the size of the zucchini, and how any people you are feeding, you may need more than one. I normally use 1 per person.
- Once zucchini is shredded, heat 3 tablespoons of butter (or more) in large skillet with a spoonful of minced garlic.
- Add zucchini to butter/garlic and sautee (stir constantly about 2 minutes) until zucchini is cooked, but not soggy. Set aside.

Now back to the shrimp.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of butter to a smaller skillet and let melt.
- Add shrimp with marinade to butter. Sautee until cooked.

Now to add everything together.
- put zucchini back on heat and once warm again add shrimp and corn.
- stir until all three ingredients are well mixed and warm.
- Plate and serve!

Enjoy!!!!

No peek pork tenderloin with whipped potatoes and collards

This recipe is one of my favorites and such an easy go-to! A grocery store near my parents often runs a sale on pork tenderloins for $1.99/ lb. When they do this I'll pick up a few and store them in the freezer. For this recipe make sure you allow plenty of time for the pork to thaw. Also, this recipe takes a full hour and 15 minutes, maybe more depending on the size of your tenderloin. Ok, so lets get started.

- Pre heat oven to 450 degrees. 

- take tenderloin out of packaging and rinse, then pat dry. 

- line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray (I used Pam grill/high heat spray)

- Place tenderloin on baking sheet and season. You may go as simple as salt and pepper, or lemon pepper. However I used penzey's chicago steak seasoning. Generously season tenderloin on all sides. 

- When oven has reached temperature, place tenderloin on middle set rack, and cook for 5 1/2 minutes per pound. So- Mine was right at 2 lbs and I cooked it for 12 minutes (I added one minute for good measure). 

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!!!! WHEN COOK TIME IS DONE, TURN OFF OVEN AND WALK AWAY!!!!! DO NOT PEEK! DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!!!! 

- Leave tenderloin in the oven for 60 minutes. 

AGAIN- DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!!!! DO NOT PEEK!!! JUST TRUST!!!!!

- After the 60 minutes is up your pork tenderloin will be perfectly cooked. It will look slightly wrinkled, but thats ok. It will be tender with a juicy pink center. 

So- while the tenderloin is cooking you can make the potatoes. My general rule is one medium sized potato per person. I used only two potatoes- so make sure to change ingredient amounts accordingly.  Other ingredients needed: 1/2 stick butter, 1 cup chicken broth, minced garlic, salt.

- Wash, peel, and cut potatoes into small cubes. Place in sauce pan and cover with water. Salt water and bring to a boil. 

- Boil potatoes until they are soft and can be easily cut with a fork. 

- Drain potatoes and place in mixing bowl. (I use a kitchen aid mixer to whip the potatoes)

- Slice butter and add to potatoes, also add in salt and a spoonful of minced garlic (how much depends on how many potatoes and how much you like garlic. 

- Using the whisk attachment- turn the mixer on a low speed. Gradually increase speed as potatoes mash and mix. Add chicken broth little by little as necessary to make potatoes smooth. You most probably will not use the whole cup of broth. 

- Potatoes are done when they are smooth, creamy and whipped. Transfer to another bowl, cover and place in microwave to keep warm. 

The collards were cooked the day before in the slow cooker. I got a large bag of collards at the farmer's market already cleaned and chopped (yep I cheated).  I placed about 1/2 the bag (if i had to guess about 6 cups of chopped collards) into the slow cooker. I diced 1/2 onion and stirred it into the collards, along with 4 pieces of bacon cut into bite sized pieces. I then poured a quart of chicken broth over the collards and stired again. Cover and cook in slower cooker on high. Check often stirring each time and checking chicken broth. I cooked mine for about 4 hours, however you may cook them as long as you like, depending on how soft and tender you like. As always- salt and pepper to taste, and later add hot or pepper sauce if desired! 

sorry for the long post! enjoy!!!

chicken and wild rice soup

So in an attempt to redeem myself from the previous post failure, I began to think about how I could use the chicken, rice, and broccoli to create something delicious. I have to say, I worked some sort of magic in Kitty's Kitchen tonight. I decided to make chicken and rice soup out of the leftover one dish meal. I first took out some homemade chicken broth from the freezer, thawed it and brought it to a boil. While the broth was thawing, I took out the left over chicken thighs, de-boned them, and cut them into bite sized pieces. I also searched in the fridge to see what other leftover ingredients could become part of this soup. I found some leftover potato slices from sunday breakfast, and some baby spinach. I dumped everything into the boiling broth: chicken, rice, broccoli, potatoes, and spinach. I tasted the broth and to me it needed a little seasoning, so I added salt and pepper to liven it up a bit. I also threw in a small handful of minced onion for good measure. I stirred this together and turned down the heat to a simmer. I continued to watch it until the spinach was wilted and the rice had finished cooking (remember from the previous post that my rice wasn't completely cooked to my likeing :) ). While the soup simmered I warmed up some yeast rolls and sprinkled some garlic salt on top.  I have to say this soup was amazing, and definitely a save for those leftovers! Remember, you don't ever have to eat the same thing twice. Be creative and always have an open mind to how foods can be reinvented.  Enjoy!!!!!

One dish- Chicken, Broccoli, Rice bake

Looks fancy and fabulous doesn't it? However- this one is gonna go in my First time Fail Folder. Don't get me wrong, it was fine to eat- but like most cooks I'm my own worst critic. I'm going to help you learn from my mistakes so that your meal WILL turn out perfectly! The best way to ensure that this dish turns out right would be to simply cook everything separate and then plate it, but that's boring and kinda takes away from the whole- "easy one dish" idea. My problem was that the rice wasn't done, the chicken was perfect, and the broccoli was starting to over cook... So my thinking is do it in steps. Start baking the rice first, then after a time add the chicken, and then after a little more time add the broccoli. Still a one dish meal, but more of a cooking relay race. So here we go!

( if you want the original recipe see One dish chicken and rice bake) I wish I had read the comments first where they said to pre-bake the rice before adding the chicken!

Ingredients:

- 1 can cream of mushroom soup (or chicken, celery, or even broccoli cheese! they all would work)

- 1 cup water or chicken broth (I used chicken broth b/c I like the flavor it gives the rice)

- 3/4 cup uncooked rice (if using brown rice see notes about longer cooking time)

- salt/pepper/ other seasonings to taste. (I used Penzey's Ruth Ann's- yes I wasn't kidding when I say I use it on everything!)

- 1/2 head broccoli chopped into florets.  (see picture)

The original recipe states to mix soup, water/broth, and rice together in dish. Then season chicken and arrange on top of rice/soup mixture (this is what I did), and then my own little flair- I arranged the broccoli in a border like so....

Next time- and this is what I suggest you do- I will pre-bake the rice ( about 20 minutes covered) and then add the seasoned chicken. Note: If you choose to do this, either reserve or make extra soup/broth mix to pour in with the chicken in case the rice soaks it all up. Recover and bake 30-40 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temp of 165 degrees. Add the broccoli in about half way through the chicken baking (so about 15 minutes later).

This is what it looked like when it came out. I should have known the rice wasn't ready because of the large amount of liquid left, but I was afraid the chicken would dry out and the broccoli would be over cooked. Lessons learned I guess!!! The flavors were wonderful- the chicken was just right as was the broccoli. The rice wasn't terrible- it was just a little on the "al dente" side if you know what I mean. However- this is a great dish and with some alterations I will be making it again! Try serving with a piece of crusty garlic french bread for an extra addition. Plate and enjoy!!!

Crispy oven baked wings/drumsticks

For this one, the main attraction is the chicken. The green beans came from a can, and the potatoes didn't turn out how I wanted them to, so I'm not going to waste your time with the recipe. I've done several different versions of oven baked chicken, and this one seems to be the best flavor when it's done. Oh, did I mention it also takes about half the time of all the other recipes I've found out there? 

Yep! Only 25 minutes for these babies. 

So, if you didn't know, Target has a practice of marking down their meats when they get close to the sell by date. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, they just reduce the price to get it gone. At my store it normally occurs on Sunday- you may want to check with your meat department to see their mark down schedule. Anywho- I made out like a bandit this week. I normally pick one or two items to keep in the fridge and the rest goes right into the freezer. The key is to be open minded and also know what the original price is, to see how great the discount really is. Here's my breakdown this week:

- 2 packages of ground chicken (1lb each)- Normally $3.99, $2 off coupon on the package = $1.99 each

- 2 packages of ground lamb (1 lb each) (I've never worked with lamb before, but for this steal I'm willing to accept the challenge) Normally $6.99, $5 off coupon on the package = $1.99 each

- 1 Family size package of chicken thighs Normally 6.49, on sale for $5.82, $2 off coupon on the package, and 5% cartwheel discount = $3.64

- 1 package (6 drumsticks) drumsticks, normally $3.99, $2 off coupon on package = $0.99. You got it, that dinner pictured above was less than $5 TOTAL- not just per serving... TOTAL!!!

Ok, so now that I've educated you on how to rack up on meat at Target, How about we get to cooking?

- First Heat oven to 425 degrees. If you have a convection option make sure it is on.

- Begin by gently rinsing and patting drumsticks dry. - Make sure to get excess water off or you wont have a crispy skin! 

- Next, get out a baking sheet and some type of raised rack ( I use my cookie cooling rack). Spray the rack with cooking spray so the chicken doesn't stick. If you don't some type of rack, you can cook the chicken directly on the oven rack or on a well greased sheet lined with aluminum foil. You'll just have a little more clean up later. Place the rack on the baking sheet. 

- Season the chicken so that all sides have a generous coating. I use Ruth Ann's Seasoning from Penzey's, but any seasoned salt, lemon pepper, garlic, or even cajun seasoning will work. Then Place chicken on rack.

NOTE: it is important that you season the chicken before putting it on the rack, as anything that is left on the baking sheet below will burn and smoke while the chicken is cooking.

(see how the rack is raised above the sheet)

- By this time, your oven should have reached temperature. Carefully move baking sheet and rack to oven. You will want the baking sheet positioned on a level in the middle or slightly lower since the raised rack elevates the chicken. Basically, you don't want the chicken to be too high in the oven. 

- Cook for 25 minutes and check temperature. Make sure chicken has reached internal temperature of 185. (Time may vary depending on the size/thickness of your chicken pieces). 

NOTE: This process of baking WILL CREATE SMOKE!!! Do not worry, the chicken is not burning. You will want to turn on ceiling fans, blowers, open an outside kitchen door, or even bring an extra fan into the kitchen to direct the smoke outside. It's totally worth it for the incredible flavor and crunch you are about to receive. 

- When chicken has reached 185 degrees, carefully remove from oven and set aside. IT WILL BE VERY HOT! I suggest letting it set for 5 minutes to cool. 

( look at that golden crunchy baked skin!)

The only thing left to do, is prepare any side items you may want to have and then assemble your plate! I would give suggestions for dipping sauces, but believe me, you wont need them! Enjoy!!!

Spaghetti squash with caramelized bacon, garlic, and onion with sauted spinach and kale

So once again, here's a recipe that I saw online and totally changed to make my own. Spaghetti squash is a monster I've been trying to harness for a while and now I think I got it! Here is the original recipe- spaghetti squash- however the only part I really used was how to cook the squash, and the basic ingredients. I highly recommend this method of cooking the squash. Its super easy and the squash actually turns out perfect! 

Squash-

1.) preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.) Cut about one inch off each end of the squash. Then continue to slice the squash in one inch rings. 

3.) Brush the parchment paper with olive oil, and then both sides of the squash ring. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. 

4.) Bake squash rings for approximately 30 minutes or until very tender. You will need to let the squash cool for 10 minutes after baking so that you can shred it easily- make sure to account for that when cooking the other ingredients.

5.) When squash has cooled slightly and other ingredients are ready, make a small cut in each ring and peel the skin off. The flesh of the squash will basically shred itself with a little pulling with a fork or even your fingers. See below for when to add to other ingredients.

WHILE SQUASH IS COOLING COOK OTHER INGREDIENTS:

Other ingredients:

- 6 pieces of bacon cut into 1 inch pieces

- 1/2 onion diced

- 2 large garlic cloves minced

- 3 cups of fresh spinach/kale mix

Heat skillet on medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until edges begin to brown. Add diced onion and garlic. Cook until onions and garlic are caramelized and bacon is cooked, but not crispy. Add Spinach and kale one handful at a time, stiring until wilted between each addition. BE CAREFUL WHEN ADDING FRESH SPINACH AND KALE- IT HOLDS WATER AND WILL POP WHEN MIXED WITH THE BACON GREASE. 

Once bacon, onions, garlic, spinach, and kale are ready, turn off heat and add in the squash. Use method outlined above in how to peel and shredd the squash. Stir until squash is combined with other ingredients and serve immediately. 

Notes: Spaghetti squash is a great alternative to real spaghetti noodles, however if you're expecting wheat based pasta noodles you will be dissapointed. See my other post about Zoodles for another noodle alternative. Enjoy!!!

Baked salmon with lemon, dill, caper sauce. Fresh steamed green beans and side salad

This meal was thrown together with things around the kitchen and pantry. The salmon recipe was suggested to me by a friend, however modified it alot to make this. So here we go!

I always try to cook in order of when the food will be ready. Cold items on the plate is one of my biggest pet peeves in cooking, and kind of adds a challenge to the whole process.

I put the salad together first. I used some organic spring mix as the salad base. Then cut up a hard boiled egg, the last tomato from my garden, some bacon bits, and some french fried onions to add  crunch. Then right before we ate I drizzled homemade dijon honey mustard dressing. 

Then I cut the fresh green beans (also from my garden) and placed them in a steamer pot (double boiler) with about 2 cups of water in the bottom. I let them steam while I prepared the salmon. When the beans are bright green and tender they are ready. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Finally, preheat oven to 400. Spray glass baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil. Salt and pepper salmon and place in baking dish. Then take 3 tbsp butter and melt in microwave. Add 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp capers, and 1 tsp dill weed. whisk together.  and spoon evenly over each piece of fish.  Take a thin slice of butter and place on each piece then squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon over whole dish. Bake until fish is flaky and has an internal temp of 130. (less than 10 minutes- just keep checking it)

Hope you enjoy!!!!

Blackened Snapper, Garlic Braised Brussels Sprouts, and Steamed Broccoli

This one is a retro post from an earlier date! As I've mentioned before, I picked up a large amount of fresh seafood from Joe Patti's in Pensacola, FL. If you've never been there it's a must!!! They have the best and freshest seafood on the gulf. And the experience is amazing! Joe himself comes in and calls out the customer numbers and often gives suggestions on the best catch of the day. They will also pack your cooler with ice for travel. Any-who, back to the delicious picture above...

I would suggest cooking the vegetables first, as they take longer and are easier to keep warm. I always like to serve fish hot and fresh off the grill, or in this case skillet. 

Brussels Sprouts- This recipe was adapted from this blog Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts. 

1 pound/ bag Brussels Sprouts/ cut in half ( you can even use less if you don't have many people to feed)

1 tbsp honey

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

4 slices bacon (optional- I did not use this time)

4 cloves garlic- minced (also can use garlic powder)

kosher salt- to taste. 

1.) preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2.) Mix olive oil, bacon, garlic, salt, and 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar together.

3.) Place Brussels Sprouts in large mixing bowl and toss with above mixture until coated. (sometimes I make a little more of the coating depending on how much flavor you want)

4.) Spray baking sheet with olive oil and spread brussels sprouts in one layer. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until tender. 

5.) While baking, mix the honey and remaining balsamic vinegar together.

6.) Remove from oven and place back into mixing bowl. Drizzle with honey mixture and toss to coat. (again you may want to make extra honey mixture- it really depends on how much you like)

Broccoli-

Broccoli is one of the easiest side dishes I make and it's almost embarrassing to post it- I feel like I'm cheating! 

1.) Chop broccoli into bite size pieces. Place in colander and run water over broccoli to clean and also add moisture for steaming.

2.) Place "wet" broccoli into large microwaveable bowl (one that you can cover with a plate). 

3.) Cut small pieces of butter (or tiny spoons of margarine) and evenly distribute, or I like to think of as tucking or nestling it into the broccoli. 

4.) Season with whatever flavor you desire. Our favorite is Tony Chachere's. Give the broccoli a nice dusting, but not too much as a little bit goes a long way. 

5.) Place in microwave and cover. Heat for 2 minutes, take out, stir, recover, and heat for one more minute. This will steam the broccoli. Check for desired tenderness- everyone likes their broccoli different. Just add 30 seconds or a minute until it's how you like it. I normally just leave it covered in the microwave until we're ready to eat and it continues to steam. 

The snapper was easy. I used Old Bay Seasoning on the fish and then cooked it in a very hot skillet. drizzle a small amount of cooking oil in skillet and heat to very high heat. While the skillet is heating up, coat both sides of the fish with the seasoning. CAREFULLY place fish on hot skillet- beware! The oil might sizzle or pop when you place the fish down. This is a smoky process, so also make sure the hood fan is on, or you have an extra fan nearby, and it's probably a good idea to open an outside door. As it sounds, cook fish on one side until it appears lightly blackened- NOT CHARRED AND CRISPY, but blackened (see picture above) and flip to the other side. Do the same on the other side. Check fish for internal temperature of 130. If the blackening occurs before your internal temp is reached, you can always finish the cooking in the oven. Heat the oven to about 350 or 400 and that should easily bring your fish to temp in a few minutes. 

Once everything is ready have fun plating it! the two green vegetables really pop against the dark blackened fish! enjoy!

Football fried fish feast

This feast was a joint effort with a friend of mine. We were trying to plan what to eat while watching the Alabama vs Georgia game and she suggested a fish fry. Now, fried food is slightly out of my normal repetoire- but hey, you gotta indulge every once in a while right? This post may be a little lengthy as there are many parts to putting this together, and it took us a good two hours to create- however it was great girl time and we had so much fun in the kitchen. There were several firsts for us too! We'd never done homemade fries or hush puppies, so it was an incredible success!

The order in which we cooked was fries, fish, and then pups. I warmed the oven to 200 to keep everything warm until we were completely ready. 

The first thing we did was prepare the fish. My friend's husband had caught several catfish locally and cleaned them. We patted the fish dry with paper towels and then added the following seasonings: (recipe adapted from Creole Contessa. )

4-6 whitefish filets such as  tilapia, swai, or red snapper

1 tbsp. creole seasoning

2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. paprika

2 tbsp. hot sauce

1 tbsp. yellow mustard

1 egg beaten

1 c. flour

1 c. corn meal

Mix seasonings into a small bowl. Place fish in gallon sized zipper bag. Add seasonings to fish a little at a tie, making sure the fish is thoroughly covered. Add beaten egg, hot sauce and mustard to fish. Mix lightly. Add cornmeal and flour (corn flour) to the bag and shake until all pieces are covered. Heat oil to 350 degrees, and place fish in basket. Carefully lower into oil and watch for about 7 minutes. When fish has reached desired crispiness- remove from oil and drain on papertowel. Remove from paper towel and place in oven to keep warm. 

While my friend was working on the fish, I worked on cutting the potatoes. I first peeled the potatoes and cut them in half longways. I have a mandolin slicer with a julienne attachment. I just ran the potatoes through the slicer and then placed them into a large bowl of water. (This pulls some of the extra starch from the potatoes and also prevents them from turning pinkish/brown). Let the potatoes sit in the water until you are ready to fry them. When ready to fry, remove potatoes from water and dry as much as possible. Warm oil to 350 degrees. When oil is ready, place potatoes in basket and lower into oil. Continuoulsy check potatoes until they are golden brown. (about 10 minutes). Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Salt/season immediately. Remove paper towel and place in oven to keep warm. 

Next for the hush puppies. 

1 large jalpaneo minced/diced

1 small onion diced

1 can creamed corn

2 cups corn meal

2 tbsp creole seasoning

1 tbsp brown mustard

2/3 cup beer 

Mix all ingredients together. Heat oil to 400 degrees. When oil is ready, carefully drop batter by rounded scoops into the oil. Pups are ready when they turn a medium brown color and float to the top of the oil. Set hush puppies on paper towel to drain. Remove paper towel and place into oven to keep warm. 

Homemade Tartar sauce (adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp dill pickle relish 

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp sriracha

1 tbsp minced onion

salt/pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together. 

Baked Beans: Open a can of Bush's beans, add 1/4 cup mustard and 1/4 barbeque sauce. Add 1 cup sliced conecuh sausage. Stir together and let simmer on stove until warm. 

Once everything is ready, transfer from oven onto serving plates and enjoy!!!!

- ROLL TIDE!!!!