Recipe #89 - Shrimp & Grits (Paula Dean Style)

_______________________________________________________________________________

My next door neighbors caught me cutting the lawn a few months back. They had cooked this recipe a few times before and couldn't bare the thought of me not having it in my blog!

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese. 

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turns pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes. 

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Serve immediately.

So it took me a few months to finally get around to cooking it, but well worth the wait! Though it'll probably take the next few months to work off all the butter, cheese and bacon! Hehe. It was very, very good. A little dry, but nothing a little more water wouldn't fix.

Rating: 7
Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients: 
4 cups water
Salt and Pepper
1 cup stone-ground grits
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
6 slices bacon, chopped
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup thinly sliced scallions
1 large clove garlic, minced 

Recipe #86 - Cheese Straw-Spinach Casserole

_______________________________________________________________________________

A Betty Crocker recipe served at this years Thanksgiving feast.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13"x9"-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic in butter, stirring frequently, until golden.

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and flour until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in salt and pepper. Beat in half-and-half with wire whisk until blended. Add spinach, Cheddar cheese and onion mixture. 

Spoon mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese straws (aka cheese crackers). 

Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 

It was a little dryer than I'd like.  I think I would have added a little less spinach and a little more onions and half-and-half. I also didn't enjoy the Cheese Nips. I'm more of a Cheese-Its kind of girl. So all-in-all not my favorite recipe. I think it was geared more towards trying to get little kids to eat something at Thanksgiving. Not an "adult" recipe. Lol.

Rating: 5 

Time: 50 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Per serving: Calories384; Total fat 31 g; Sodium 714mg; Total Carbohydrates 12g; Protein 12g.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 large onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk

5 boxes (9oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed ro drain

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8oz)

2 cups cheese straws, coarsely crushed (I used Cheese Nips)

Recipe #79 - Chicken Spaghetti

_______________________________________________________________________

Our house keeper's assistant, Morgan, recommended this recipe to me. She is a college student and made this recipe for group of her friends. They all loved it. Listening to her explain it reminded me of my college cooking experience and thought this would be a fun way to relive a few of those moments.

Heat a little oil in a cooking skillet. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink.

Add onions and cook until transparent.

Stir in cheese, rotel, and cream of mushroom until cheese is thoroughly melted.

Serve over a bed of thin spaghetti noodles. You may add a little water if the sauce is too thick.

Rating: 7
Time: 15 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds chicken
1 large onion
2 cans rotel
1 10-ounce can cream of mushroom
1 block Velveeta
Thin Spaghetti nooodles

Recipe #77 - Flank Steak Salad with Jalapeno Poppers

_______________________________________________________________________________

Recipe idea courtesy of Chuck Hughes from the cooking show Chuck's Day Off.

For the steak salad:
Rub the flank steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet on medium-high heat and cook the steak on one side for 6 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 6 more minutes.

Meanwhile combine the red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, mint and lime juice in a bowl and mix well. (Side note: this step called for 2 tablespoons olive oil, but I left it out and it tasted just fine with just the lime juice.)

Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste and set aside.

For the jalapeno poppers:
Heat oil in a deep fryer or a heavy-bottomed skillet to 350 degrees F. Carefully slice down the side of the peppers and remove the seeds. Set aside. In a bowl combine all the grated cheeses, season with pepper, to taste and stuff the peppers.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, egg, and beer to form a batter. Dip the stuffed peppers in the batter.

Fry in the deep fryer or in a heavy skillet for about 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Slice the flank steak into thin pieces.

Pile the salad on a plate with slices of flank steak, and top with 1 popper, sliced in half.

This recipe turned out really well. The colors where bright. It had a very fresh, summer taste to it. I've never tasted mint and cilantro together, but it was a memorable surprise pairing perfectly with the lime juice. It has been raining all day, so it's was a nice, uplifting, healthy lunch that brought some sunshine back into the dull house today.

Rating: 9
Time: 1 hour (there's a lot of cutting involved)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
For the Steak Salad
2 pounds flank steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 cucumbers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
1 cup torn fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup torn fresh mint leaves
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil, optional

For the Jalapeno Poppers
6 jalapeno peppers or milder peppers (which I recommend)
1/3 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup beer
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

Recipe #76 - Artichoke Cheese Oven Omelet

_____________________________________________________________________________

Spread salsa in a greased 9-inch deep dish. Top with the artichoke hearts.

Add cheeses.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and sour cream.

Pour mixture over the cheeses. 

I had to leave half veggie off for the veggie haters in the house.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Garnish with tomatoes, onions, and chives if desired.

I think breakfast eggs are a lot like tacos, you can make them 100 different ways and they still taste the same. Omelets, scrambled, over easy - dosen't matter. However, I think that this recipe has potential. Maybe add a spice of some sort to add some more flavor.

I made this recipe the night before and threw it in the oven the next morning. It was nice to be able to prepare a meal before hand.

Rating: 7

Time:  50 minutes

Serves: 6-8 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup salsa

1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rindes, drained and chopped

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

Chopped fresh tomatoes, sliced ripe olives and minced chives, optional

Recipe #69 - Grammy's Mashed Potatoes

Every Thanksgiving my Grammy Ann made these garlic mashed potatoes. Everyone, especially my sister Teresa, looked forward to eating the garlic, cheesy mess of awesomeness. In an attempt to make these even more amazing, I made 3 changes to the original recipe:

1. I used real potatoes instead of the potato flakes.
2. I substituted actual garlic cloves rather than the garlic powder. 
3. Instead of Cheddar cheese, I used extra sharp white cheddar cheese

Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place into a large pot of water. Bring to boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes brake apart easily when forked. 

Drain water. Add the butter, sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic and salt. Mash together well. Pepper to taste.

I forgot to take an end picture, but I made it with the "Recipe #70 - Better Than Carol's Meatloaf" so I'll just post this picture twice. 

But they turned out amazing! It was surprisingly spicy. I guess the mixture of the fresh garlic and sharp cheese gave it an unexpected kick, but very, very good. I would strongly recommend this recipe to everyone.

Rating: 10
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
5 pounds rustic potatoes (not red)
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces cream credit
4 extra sharp white cheddar cheese
5 cloves of garlic
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Recipe #48 - Italian Sausage Spinach Pie

_______________________________________________________________________________

This one was a suggestion from my little sister TJ. She had it at a friends house and wanted me to give it a go. So here it goes...

In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Separate one egg and set the yolk aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg white and remaining eggs. Add spinach, mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, garlic powder, pepper and sausage; mix well.

Line a 10-inch pie plate with bottom pastry. Add filling. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cute slits in pastry. If desired, make your own design from the pastry scraps; place on top crust. Beat water and remaining egg yolk; brush over top of pie.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

And it's finished! Although TJ said it wasn't as good as the one she had before, I think it turned out pretty well. Two things I would have done differently: 

1. After I thawed the spinach, I squeezed out a lot of the juice with a paper towel. It made the mixture a little dryer than I would have liked. 

2. There was a lot of mixture left over. Almost enough to make another pie. Also, I think the spinach to sausage ration was pretty off. It was very spinachy. To solve both problems I would add an extra half pound of sausage to the mix. It would balance out the mixture and add enough to be able to make a second pie.  

Rating: 7

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 2 pies - about 6 servings per pie

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds bulk Italian sausage

6 eggs

2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and slightly squeezed dry

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 (10 inch) pastry for a double crust pie

1 tablespoon water

Recipe # 41 - Cream Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

_______________________________________________________________________________

Let's add some spice to this blog! And by spice I mean friggin' hot jalapenos! 

Now I wanted to serve some hor d'oeuvres to my friends and family on the 4th of July. After a little research, I found this recipe. However, it only had three ingredients: jalapenos, cream cheese and bacon. Talk about blah! I took the idea and added a few of my own ingredients. 

If you try making these, one thing I recommend (actually, I insist upon) is using gloves when preparing the jalapenos. I did not. For the rest of the day every time I put a finger up to my mouth it started burning. Then it spread to my upper and lower lips and was amplified by the sun - it was miserable! Thanks to my clever aunts, I learned that if you apply either lemon or lime juice to the jalapeno burn it recedes almost immediately. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set out cream cheese and bacon to soften.

Start by rinsing the jalapenos and cutting them in half. Take a spoon or knife and remove all of the white membrane and seeds. Seeing as the seeds are what gives the jalapenos their main punch, you can leave a few inside to spice it up. I wasn't that daring :-/ Seeds be gone!

Mix the cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese and sour cream in a medium bowl. Then stir in the green onions and chives. 

Next, cut the package of bacon in half. Wrap each jalapeno in a half strip of bacon. You can use more if the pepper is larger. You may also secure the bacon with a toothpick if needed. 

Place the peppers on a grilling rack and pop them into the oven for 20-25 minutes (until the bacon is crispy). They put off a lot of juice so I placed the grilling rack on a cookie sheet pan to catch the juices. Serve immediately or at room temperature.  

When I told people that I was going to be making these, I got a lot of "yucks" and "uh I think I may skip that one". But when these came out of the oven, I literally couldn't stop people from eating them! They smelled and tasted better than any of us had anticipated. I had to smack a few hands to make sure everyone had the chance to try at least one. 

I would definitely recommend these as an easy, tasty and fun to make hor d'oeuvre for any time of the year.

Rating: 10

Time: 40 minutes 

Serves: 20 (you know, unless everyone loves them, then about 10!)

Ingredients:

20 jalapenos

2 - 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese

1-2 pounds bacon (I used a little over 1 pound)

2/3 cup sour cream*

1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese*

1 cup mozzarella cheese*

3/4 cup green onions, diced*

1/3 cup chives*

*You can eye these measurements, if you feel like it needs more or less, then by all means!

Recipe #29 - Bird's Nest Breakfast Cups

_______________________________________________________________________________

I found this one on my friend Clay's Facebook page. Actually it popped up on my News Feed after he liked it. Nevertheless, it looked amazing and had to try it.

This was originally was supposed to be a "healthy" recipe. All the way from turkey bacon to the egg substitutes. Of course I scratched all that and used the good shiz.

So, it's that time of the year again, time to take an extra long time to make egg recipes because I have to tap out the top and shake the heck out of the egg to try and extract the insides. All in the effort to have enough confetti eggs on Easter to turn our back yard into a confetti war zone.

Oh well, it's always worth it in the end... Lol. I digress. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side or until partially set but not crisp. Coat six muffin cups with butter; wrap two bacon strips around the inside of each cup. Fill each with 1/4 cup egg mixture; top with cheese.

Place into the oven for 18-20 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. I served with a side of biscuits. Dad presumed to put his whole Bird's Nest inside the biscuit, which actually looked yummy.

However, I think this recipe is all for show. It tasted just like bacon, eggs and cheese in a different form. Maybe if it had a sauce or something to compliment it, then it might have been a little more interesting end result.

Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 6
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
12 pieces of bacon
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon parsley
Salt & pepper to taste

Recipe #26 - Snow Mountain Green Beans

_______________________________________________________________________________

I needed a side for my Recipe #27- Parmesan-Potato-Crusted Halibut with Roasted Tomato-Zucchini "Salsa". Green beans were my first choice. However, I haven't been having very good luck with the green bean recipes. So, I thought I'd give it another go.

This recipe I found at AllRecipes.com. The name was what caught my attention, yes, I thought it was cute. Yet, it seemed very bland. So I took the concept and added a little twist.

Begin by rinsing and then snapping off the ends of the fresh green beans. Using a steamer, place the beans in a large pot with about an inch of water at the bottom. Bring to boil for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter and oil in a pan over medium heat. Once melted, saute garlic and shallots until shallots are transparent.

Drain green beans and add to pan with garlic and shallot mixture. Add salt and pepper. Stir for 3-4 minutes. To serve sprinkle with feta cheese.

Once again, not my favorite, but everyone else loved them. I'm still on the search for the best green bean recipe!

Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 7
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh green beans
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon extra vigin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 medium sized shallots, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup feta cheese