Category: Meats

Meats · Starches · Vegetables

Shrimp Creole…Paula Deen Style

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Since we made a visit to eat at Paula Deen’s restaurant in Savannah, GA, whenever I see a recipe from her, I immediately know that I will go in my file to make. This recipe has the same ingredients as the creole we devoured in Augusta.

2 tables olive oil

11/2 cup diced green bell peppers’

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

1 teas chili powder

1 (14 oz) can tomatoes

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 tables hot sauce

1 tables Worcestershire sauce

1 teas white sugar

salt and pepper to taste.

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp (I buy the frozen cooked and deveined shrimp at Costco)follow directions on package for using shrinp in recipes.

green onions for garnish (and extra flavor)

Serve over white rice

In frying pan, heat olive oil. Add peppers, onions, celery. Cool until veggies are tender.

Add chile powder and sauté until caramelized. Remove from heat. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire, sugar, salt and pepper. Cool over low heat, covered, stirring frequently, for about 2 hours.

Add thawed shrimp and cook for about 20 minutes, until shrimp is heated all the way through. Serve over hot rice. Sprinkle chopped green onions over top.

 

 

Beef · Meats · Soups

Company Chile

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We are really trying to use up what is here and since Randy wanted chile and we had everything for it, that was our soup last night. I am not a huge chile person, but I actually liked it and had 2 helpings. It was very easy and Randy was a happy camper.

1 lb of hamburger meat (or turkey)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 can of pinto beans
2 cans (small) tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 teas garlic powder
1 package Lawry’s Original Chile Seasoning
Brown meat an onion together until meat is done and onion is clear. Drain off fat. Add the beans,juice and all, and the rest of the ingredients. I baked mine for 2 1/2 hours at 325 and it came out thick and we poured it over the cornbread. Easy, quick and really was good. Will make this again before warm weather sets in.

Breads · Breakfast · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Meats

Four Turtle Doves…Cheesey Sausage Breakfast Bread

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I know I am going backwards on the Twelve Days of Christmas, but I like the song better when it is counting down than up…much more fun to sing. So today, I am associating the Four Turtle Doves to this….It was cool enough to wear a Christmas tutleneck shirt while eating four chocolate Dove candies. I know, I know, ridiculous. Anyway, am posting the cheesy sausage biscuit bake that I took to church today. There was not a crumb left, and since our class isn’t Baptist, who is known for eating food, no matter what;(and since I am Southern Bapt, I can say that), the fact that there was not a crumb left let me know that the class liked it. Then several ladies ask if I was going to post the recipe. So here it is;
You know the moment that you take something out of the oven and you just know you have a winner, this was one of these recipes. Taken from Face Book, I was so anxious to make it because it sounded like a dish we would love. I modified it just a touch, well, maybe more than a touch.
1 16 oz can of flaky biscuits
1/2 can milk (I used whipping cream)
5 eggs
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1 small can of diced green chiles (opt)
1/2 lb of mild Jimmy Dean Sausage (or half a package of bacon, fried and crumbled)
1/2 teas garlic powder
1/2 teas black pepper
1 teas Lawry’s Seasoned salt
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion or green onions

Saute sausage in small skillet with onion. Drain and set aside.
Cut each biscuit into 4 parts. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whip the eggs with the cream (milk). Add the seasonings and cheese. Stir until well combined. Add the drained sausage-onion mixture and stir. When blended. add the cut biscuits. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes giving the biscuits time to absorb some of the egg mixture. Pour into a well greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake in 350 preheated over for about 45 min of until it tests done in the middle IMG_1998</a preheated 350 oven until golden and bubbly and knife is clean when inserted into middle. About 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven. Serve immediately.
Will taste delish after coming in from watching Rose Parade. Serve with fruit plate and hash browns!

Sa

Casseroles · Holiday Fare · Meats · Starches

Bacon-Cheese Stuffed Shells

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From the Thanksgiving Issue of Taste of Home, this recipe “called” to me when I saw that most of the ingredients were different types of cheese. A great dish for company.

24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells

1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 tables, puls 1/4 cup butter, divided

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened, divided

1 1/2 cups shredded Asiago cheese, divided

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup crumbled cooked bacom

2 tables minced fresh parsley, divided

1 teas garlic powder or fresh minced garlic

1/2 teas ground nutmeg

1/2 teas black pepper

2 tables flour

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

2 cups shredded Romano cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté mushrooms and onion in 1 table butter. until tender.

in large bowl, beat ricotta and 4 oz cream cheese until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup Asiago cheese, Parmesan cheese, bacon, 1 table parsley, garlic, pepper, nutmeg and mushroom mixture. Spoon into shells, and then place shells in a greased 13×9″ baking dish.

In a large saucepan, melt remaining butter. Stir in flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the cream, broth and milk. Heat until mixture begins to boil and stir for 1-2 minutes.

Stir in Romano cheese and the remaining cream cheese, Asiago and parsley. Pour over shells. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until mixture bubbles.

P.S. You can always leave the bacon out or substitute 1 cup chopped cooked chicken.

Chicken · Holiday Fare · Meats · Soups

Super-Bowl

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What a great soup for using leftover turkey, or having it for Super-Bowl parties or on those cold weather evenings.

6 tables unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/2 clove garlic, minced

5 tables flour

1 qt chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup shredded white American cheese (about 4 oz)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (about 6 oz)

1 cup diced deli ham

1 cup diced leftover roast turkey

6 slices baguette

6 slices bacon

1/2 pt grape tomatoes, thinly sliced

3 tables chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic; cook, stirring, until softened, abut 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and whisk, about 1 min. Add the broth and cream;, stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in the American cheese and 1 cup of the cheddar until melted. Add the ham and turkey and heat through, 3-5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, keeping warm with lid.

Spread the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush with melted butter. Transfer to the oven and toast until golden, abut 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, turning until crisp. Drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, crumble.

Toss the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Lade the soup into bowls and top with the toasted baguette, the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar, divided between the 6 bowls, and the tomato-parsley mixture and crumbled bacon. YUM!

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Meats · Soups

Suppers On…Come & Get It, Oops, I Mean, Dinner is Served

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I can’t help it, I lived almost 60 of my butter-laden years in the south, where folks come to supper, not dinner. When I found this new recipe last night in the Food Network Magazine, (which I will get to in a minute, but have to get this story out of my system first) I remembered an incident from dining out a few nights ago. First of all, just to begin this story, I am no longer allowed to talk about dinner anymore when in public. Returning home from Texas, home of Whataburger, Dr Pepper and Blue Bell, some of my all time favorite things, Mr. Sourheart, aka, Randy (the closer it gets to holiday time, he quickly changes from sweetheart to sourheart) picked me up from the airport and whisked me away to one of our favorite restaurants. Actually it is one of his favorites, because it is the only place in California where you can get Blue Bell ice cream.  As  we are sitting outside, enjoying the gorgeous weather, just waiting for our food to arrive, we are talking about how he is so glad to have me home so he doesn’t have to eat by himself. It was at this point that I asked, “what did you eat for supper while I was gone last week?” You can’t imagine the stares that came my way. Randy hid behind his napkin. I thought there for a minute we were going to be asked to leave or at least take the table by the kitchen door. People from the tables around us began to look my way and then whisper to their table companions. I felt so ashamed. Fortunately, our food arrived and Randy quickly stuffed a roll in my mouth before I could say anything more. He quietly “encouraged” me to save that kind of talk for when we were alone. Note to self….when not in the South, I eat dinner, not supper! There is just something wrong with ordering chicken fried steak with cream gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner, but sounds so much better when you are ordering it for supper. Tonight, because we are all alone, I am making this new delicious sounding soup for supper. Tomorrow, we are having company and  prime rib for dinner.  Am looking for new friends that don’t mind coming to supper, rather than coming for dinner. Think I will post the recipe in a new post, I got a little carried away thinking about dinner vs supper.

Supper

Chicken Fried Anything

Taters

Collard Greens

Gravy

Cobblers

Hot Biscuits with butter and jelly

Sweet Taters

Macaroni & Cheese

Corn on the Cob

Dinner

Prime Rib

Au Jus

Brussels Sprouts

Green Beans with Proscuitto

Stuffed Mushrooms

Merignues

See the difference?

 

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats

Butter Baked Chicken & Gravy

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If the first word in the title doesn’t hook you, I bet the last one will. Butter and gravy…two of the best things ever! This dish is such a comfort food it will warm your hearts and satisfy the most fussy eater.

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup flour

11/4 teas salt

1/2 teas black pepper

1/2 teas garlic powder

1/2 teas onion powder

1 (15 oz) can evaporated milk, divided

1 (4 1/2 lb) chicken, cut into pieces

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken or celery or mushroom soup (your preference, I prefer the celery or mushroom, as it is not such a over powering chicken flavor)

1/4 cup water

Hot cooked rice

Asparagus or Fresh Green Beans

Preheat oven to 350.

Pour melted butter into a 13×9″ lightly greased baking dish

In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt

In another separate shallow dish, pour 1/2 cup evaporated milk. Coat chicken pieces with evaporated milk; dredge each in flour mixture. Place chicken, skin side up, in prepared baking dish. Bake, uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn chicken.

In a small bowl, combine soup, water and remaining evaporated milk; pour oven chicken. Return to oven for 35 minutes longer. Remove chicken from baking dish; whisk gravy in baking dish until smooth. Serve chicken and gravy with rice or mashed potatoes and green veggie.

Chicken · Holiday Fare · Meats

Dressed Up Chicken

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In an old SLM, Oct 2003, there was a recipe that has caught my eye, 10 years later. Using canned biscuits as the bread bowl that holds the chicken mixture that makes a very simple dinner, the individual little bowls make dinner personal and elegant. Substitute turkey for the chicken to use leftover turkey in November.
To make the bread bowls:
1 (16.3 oz) can refrigerated jumbo flaky biscuits
Vegetable cooking spray
Roll each biscuit to a 5″ circle.
Invert 8 custard cups or ramekins, several inches apart on a lightly greased baking dish. Coat the outside of the cups/ramekins with cooking spray.
Mold flattened biscuits around outside of custard cups and bake at 350 for 14 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool slightly and remove biscuits bowls from the ramekins/cups.
Note: frozen biscuits may be substituted. Let thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes or overnight in fridge.
Biscuits may be slightly sticky; lightly flour before rolling out. Bake at 350 for 16-19 minutes.

Fill with Dressy Chicken
2 tables butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teas dried tarragon
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 package (16 oz package) frozen peas and carrots, thawed
1 (2 oz) jar diced pimiento, drained
1/4 teas salt
1/2 teas pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and mushrooms. Saute 2-3 minutes or until tender.
Whisk soup, 1/2 cup milk, sour cream, and tarragon together. Cook over medium heat 3-5 minutes. Add 1 cup Cheddar Cheese, stirring constantly until cheese melts. Stir in cooked chicken, carrots and peas, pimiento, salt and pepper.
Cook over low heat, stirring often for about 10 minutes.
Spoon hot mixture into biscuit bowls. Serve immediately.

Beef · Breads · Meats

Great & Simple French Dip Sandwiches

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Today while at the grocery store , I saw bolero rolls, 2/$1 so bought 2 and decided that tonight we would have French Dip Sandwiches. I wadddled over to the cheese/sandwich meat aisle and picked up a package of Oscar Meyer sliced roast beef, Havarti cheese. Proceeded well, you are probably not really wanting to hear about each aisle I went down, so will just give you the recipe. We just finished these and Randy (oops, Peter Pumpkin) and I both agreed that they were delicious sandwiches. So try them next Fri night when you are tired and not wanting to cook.

1 package Oscar Meyer sliced roast beef

2 slices Havarti cheese

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 teas garlic powder

1 package McCormick or Lawry’s au jus gravy mix

2 bolero rolls (or sub rolls)

Butter

Prepare the au jus according to directions. Put gravy in small saucepan and add roast beef. Cook over low heat while you are sautéing the bell pepper and onion.

In a small skillet, melt about 1 tables butter. Add the sliced bell pepper and onion and cook until they are both tender. While you are stirring them, sprinkle the garlic powder over it.

Slice the rolls in half (but leave them attached on one side) Butter each side. Put rolls on a baking sheet. Place roast beef and veggies on roll. Place two thin slices of Havarti cheese  on the veggies on each one and place in a preheated 425 oven to melt cheese. (about 2 minutes)

Serve with au jus

Beef · Breads · Meats

Comfort Food For Dinner

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IMG_1289IMG_1288

Last evening we had some dear friends over for dinner. Knowing that they had had a very emotional week,  I wanted them to really feel wanted and loved. When trying to decide what to make, I began to think of how I used to love walking in the door when I was growing up to the smell of a roast baking in the oven and the comfort I received at sitting down to a table that had all my favorites, roast and gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans and hot bread. So that’s what I made last night. I tried something a little different with the roast and the bread and because both were scarfed up quickly, I knew I needed to share the recipes today.

Chuck Roast

1 (2-4 pound) chuck roast

1 tables oil

1 onion, sliced

1 package of brown gravy mix

1 regular size can cream of mushroom soup

1-2  tables (use 1 for a 2 lb but 2 tables for the 4 pound) Kikomon Soy Sauce

Preheat oven to 300. Heat the oil over medium heat in an oven proof baking Dutch oven and brown your roast on both sides. Sprinkle garlic powder (not salt) over each side of the roast before browning. Sprinkle 1 teas pepper over roast, after you have flipped it from browning on one side. Add 1 tables dried parsley over top of roast.  Place the sliced onion over the roast. Then sprinkle the Kikomon sauce over the top. Spoon the cream of mushroom soup over the top and then mix the brown gravy packet with 1 1/2 cups water; stir until blended, then pour over roast. Place in preheated 300 degree oven and bake for 4 hours. The last 2 hours, I cut up 5 carrots and placed in the pot.

When ready to serve, remove the meat and carrots and if gravy needs anymore thickening, add 1 tables cornstarch to 1/2 cup water, stirring until it is blended. Allow gravy mixture to get to a boil, over medium heat and stirring constantly, slowly pour cornstarch mixture into gravy and stir until thick. Pour into serving bowl. The gravy that this makes is so rich and oh so good.

Bread

Using 1 large can of Grand Biscuits, cut each biscuit into 4th’s. Melt 1/2 package of Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese with 1/2 stick butter in the microwave for 30 sec, or until melted. Stir to blend. Take each biscuit piece and roll in butter mixture; place in a lightly greased baking dish (I used a 11×7″  baking dish) and bake at 350 until the tops are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Am posting a picture of the cheese so you will know what to look for. It is found in the specialty cheese section of the grocery stores.