Summer Lovin'

So my parents just left this morning for a lovely tropical cruise. It made me long for summer and all of the food and fun that goes along with warm, beachy vacations. Low and behold, I opened my Google Reader this morning (basically my morning news paper), and one of the recipe blogs I follow had this....
Recipe for Salad with Tomatoes, Avocado, Feta, Shrimp, and Caper Vinaigrette

I know it is sort of a lame thing for my to post only to give you a link to another post, but does this not make you think (even for just a minute) that you are at the beach and the weather is all warm and sunny and you have a tropical drink in your hand? I haven't made it of course, since I just read it this morning, but I think I see Saturday's lunch in my crystal ball. Maybe I'll even put on a sarong and some flip flops while I make it.... Mmmmm, I can smell the suntan lotion now...

Crock pot love (and smoked sausage and rice)

Hey guys. Not much going on here (thank goodness). I am partially recovered from the Mercedes half marathon from Sunday. I can now pick up my feet again instead of just sliding them along the floor. Thanks for those of you who supported my fundraising efforts for The Bell Center. It is MUCH appreciated. And for those of you who didn't, there's still time - just click "donate" on the widget on the right side of this blog. ...But onto cooking now!!!!

As you all know, I am quickly becoming the queen of the crockpot. There are weeks that I don't even put it away because I use it so much. OK, another reason that I use it so much might be laziness because the cabinet where I keep it has all of my pots and pans, so there's always a little frustration that goes with putting it away. Regardless of the reason, I'm a die-hard lover of my crock. I have a couple, but the one I use I highly suggest because of the timer on it. I can tell it how long to cook on high or low and once that time is over, it turns itself down to keep warm. I must say too, that its "keep warm" setting is not the pits-of-hell-boiling kind of keep warm that a couple of my other crocks have been. It is a truly superior crock pot if I may say so myself (and reasonably priced at your friendly, neighborhood Wal-Mart too)! Click here for details.

Also, while I'm on the subject of crockpots, here's a good ol' stand by. Nothing fancy, but always good and filling. Not to plain, but not too crazy either. Just a healthy set-it-and -forget-it (if I may plagiarize Ron Popeil's tag line) type meal.

SMOKED SAUSAGE AND RICE

• 1 pound turkey smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 ½ cup long-grained wild rice
• 2 ¾ cups chicken broth
• 1 16 oz can of diced or stewed tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (can sub 1 yellow onion, but has a different taste all together - still yummy, just different)
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• Cajun seasoning, to taste (2 tsp is about my rule of thumb)

Add all ingredients in crockpot, mix well, and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Checking at hour 4 to ensure rice doesn’t overcook.

Enjoy!
Gina

Dry cleaning and African Stew!

So, I am so mad about the dress I wore for New Year's Eve! I love it and it is ultra comfy. The problem is that it is delicate silk and has a few water spots on it and needs to be cleaned (before Friday mind you), because we have a cocktail party to go to and fatty patty here is too uncomfortable in her other two cocktail dresses that she likes (I have two others that fit fine, but don't really like either of them). Here's a pic where you get an idea of the "bedazzling" that's causing the problem (it cracks me up that you can see the reflections on Kate). The rest of the dress is this black to gray ombre silk.


Anyway, I took it to two different dry cleaners (good ones, mind you), and they were both like "Uh, yeah. We can't guarantee that that stuff at the top (embellishments, bedazzle-ing, whatever you want to call it) won't turn weird colors after it's been cleaned." What the heck?? Shouldn't the manufacturer say "Consider this a disposable dress, because you won't be able to get it cleaned." If they had done that, I wouldn't have bought it. I guess that's why they didn't. Grrrrr...

OK, so besides the dress incident yesterday, I made African Groundnut Stew last night (Hkatenkwan). It sounds totally odd, but it was really good, very filling and mucho healthy. And the next time I make it I may even leave out the chicken, I don't know. Anyway, if you are looking for something different, give this a try. It doesn't taste anything like you think it will. I was actually surprised how much I liked it. I made minor alterations here and there as it cooked and it is kind of a hybrid of several recipes that I found for it. Anyway, be brave and try it and I think that you will be pleasantly surprised!

Groundnut Stew (Hkatenkwan) ...I'm assuming the "H" is silent

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
• 1 can undiluted condensed tomato soup
• 1 can stewed tomatoes (I cut them up with kitchen shears in the can)
• 2 cups chicken broth or stock
• 1 large yam, cooked and cubed (canned - hello, they are already cooked and cubed)
• 1 cup okra (I used thawed, frozen okra)
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 tbs fresh minced ginger (you could used powdered, but ginger is so cheap if you just buy a "nub" of it and it is sooo much better fresh)
• 1 tbs. cumin
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 3/4 cup peanut butter (I used natural, so it may taste different with processed pb)
• A 2-3 pound cooked chicken, cubed or torn - skin removed and discarded (I went the easy way of rotisserie from the store)
• hot pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and salt to taste (probably about a tsp of each, but everyone is different)

Saute onions and eggplant until cooked, add liquid ingredients and spices. Bring to low boil, and add peanut butter and remaining vegetables and torn or cubed chicken, return to low boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. If the stew is too thick, just add more chicken broth until you reach the desired consistency.

• Serve over brow rice (Since it takes brown rice about 25 minutes to cook, I just started it, when I added the vegetables and chicken.)

**One of the recipes called for adding a sliced banana, which I did not do because it scared me, but in retrospect, I think that it would have been fabulous and I plan on buying one and using in the leftovers!

Give it a try!

Gina

White Trash Tuesday

Not really... Um, well maybe sort of. Two words - Taco Meatloaf.
This is not really a "classy" recipe, but it is so darn good! I've passed it along to a few friends who either don't like meatloaf themselves or have kids who don't and it still gets good marks because hello, who doesn't like Mexican?? Anyway it is very healthy using the turkey and 2% cheese (please don't try to go "no-fat", that stuff is wretched and fake). I served it with a rice dish made up of stuff I had on hand and it was an excellent meal.

Taco Meatloaf

• 1lb ground turkey
• 4 taco shells, crushed (I use these because they aren't salty and they are CHEAP, the taco seasoning is salty enough, so I think that fritos or corn chips might make it too salty unless they are left over freebies from a Mexican restaurant - hmmm, this has me thinking now, but I digress)
• 1 pkg taco seasoning
• Minced onion to taste (I just used the dried, who wants to chop a whole onion for this?)
• Garlic powder to taste
• 1 can Rotel (drained)
• Grated cheddar cheese (I probably used about a cup in the meatloaf because we like cheese, and then probably half a cup over the top)
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• Taco sauce
  

Combine all ingredients and spread in a lightly greased pan or dish (I don't use a loaf pan, I prefer an 8x8). Bake for 60-70 minutes at 350. Before it was completely done, I spread a little taco sauce over the top and sprinkled with more shredded cheese.

Mexican Black Beans & Rice

OK, so this was made purely out of stuff I had on hand that I thought might work together (so by all means, play around) but it was PERFECT with the meatloaf and a salad.

• 1 cup uncooked rice (brown is healthier, so it's what I had on hand and it was quite good)
• 2 cups chicken broth (I just like rice cooked in broth better than water and I ALWAYS have chicken broth on hand because I use it in everything)
• 1 tbs Cumin
• 2 tsp dried minced onion

Cook Rice according to directions, and about about halfway through add...

• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained (I'm sure Mexicorn would be even better)
• 1 can black beans drained
• 2 tbs black bean salsa (I love the Sam's brand of this, so again "on hand", but any of it would work, or just use a bit of the taco sauce from above)

White trash as may be we love it and it's inexpensive, quick, easy, good and suprisingly healthy. My trailer just caught fire though, and my old camaro is up on blocks so I need to go...

Next week, Spam Surprise!! Just kidding ;-)

Scary Stuff!

So I was in the kitchen this morning talking to a coworker who is pregnant and getting all of the fun scoop, when she breaks out the news that he daughter has strep and SCARLET FEVER! April and I were completely freaked and thought that only happened in Little House on the Prairie days, but apparently not. Her child was diagnosed with strep, but they missed the scarlet fever until she couldn't get rid of her fever, turned red from torso to toes with a smooth red rash that turned to a sandpaper feel by the next day (apparently the tell-tale signs of SF). To make matters worse coworker had to have some special blood tests and stuff done to make sure that baby is OK since pregnant moms do NOT want to come in contact with SF. Hopefully all is going to be fine though! Scary, scary and be aware of the scarlet fever signs! Who knew??

Later,
Gina

P.S. I need to decide what couple of things to cook this weekend. Any requests or ideas? I'm kinda thinking taco meatloaf for one and Caribbean pepperpot soup for the other. ?? That soup may be too much for Richard after doing so well with the Tikka Masala though...

P.P.S. I want a great camera. I know that I only have dogs and cats to photograph but I need to practice anyway...

Tasty Tuesday (in honor of Leslie's posting hiatus)

So, although I am a creature of habit, something I really get tired of the same ol', same ol'. And even though I have a husband who swears he'll eat anything I put in front of him, he is a little less than adventurous when it comes to food. So this leaves me trying to think of something different and yummy that he won't hate, and all of a sudden it hit me! Chicken Tikka Masala! It is to Indian food, what the California roll is to sushi - kind of the "gateway" food, if you will. Anybody who eats it likes it.

I figured I could "deheat" it a little by omitting the really hot stuff and give it a try. I also wasn't sure how it was going to taste without grilling the chicken, but I just broiled it on a broiler pan (lined the bottom with foil for easy cleanup) and it was a snap. And a plus is that I was only in the kitchen on an off for about 30 minutes. It is just as good as any Indian restaurant and just has fabulous flavor. Richard loved it too and that was a plus. I will list the recipe as it should be made, and I've noted my small changes as well. We at it with a salad and served it over rice. If you want to be really authentic, buy some naan and have that too - YUMM!!!!

Chicken Tikka Masala

1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
salt to taste (I just put one little pinch of sea salt)
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces (I use 4)
4 long skewers (I didn't use skewers - just put atop a broiler pan)
_________________________________________________________

1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (Omitted this one totally for the less hot version)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons salt, or to taste (just a pinch or in my opinion it is too salty)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half because it is what I had on hand and then added a little yogurt to thicken the sauce since half and half doesn't thicken quite like cream)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (omitted this because I just didn't want to buy it just for this)

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 teaspoons salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour (or up to 24)
2. Preheat a grill for high heat, lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side (it was nasty and cold last night, so I just put my oven rack in the middle and broiled the chicken for about 8-10 minutes)
4. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro.

I really urge you to try it, it is quite yummy and really easy. I'm really looking into a way of doing this in the crock pot, but I'm afraid it's just not a "crock pot" kinda recipe. :-(