I cook too much/Chicken and Pasta

First of all, I wish I had taken a picture last night because dinner was fantastic. Too bad the girl child didn't get home in time with the camera. What did I cook? Simple - chicken breast strips seasoned with garlic, salt, thyme, basil and sauteed in olive oil. Sprinkled w/a little mozzarella. Served over bucatini rigati and marinara. Easy and perfect.
Anyway, as I was cooking and thinking about this blog, the thought occurred to me that I may just cook way to much. As in, maybe I am spoiling this whole crew. Growing up, almost everything we ate was from a box, the freezer, or something someone else cooked. My mom will cook, but she does not enjoy it. On the other hand, HIS mom never cooked anything from a box - he had never eaten hamburger helper or even a boxed cake. What a rude awakening for him. The funny thing is for a long time, there was a balance - I really cooked once or twice a week, did takeout some, and easy boxed or frozen some. Somehow over the period of the past 17 years, there has been a shift. As I look at this blog I realize that I cook probably 5 days a week and depend on quick and easy or takeout the other 2 days.
Is that a bad thing? I don't really think so. I love the whole process of making a meal, but I know not everybody does things this way. I just don't want my boys to grow up and tell their wives the same thing I heard at first - well Mom always made that homemade, or Mama always cooked it like this! As for now, I think I will try to keep a good record on this blog so the instructions will be there if they ever want to know how Mama did it!

Crab soup and tuna melt

Crab Soup:

1 medium onion

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1 c. chicken or seafood stock

1 c. milk

1 cup lump crab meat

old bay seasoning/tony cachere seasoning

splash of heavy cream (if desired)

In soup pot over medium heat, saute onions in 1/2 tbsp of butter until translucent. Remove onoins and add remaining butter and flour. Cook , constanslty stirring for 4-6 minutes. Slowly add broth. Add milk, crab meat, and onions. Season with old bay and cajun seasoning to taste. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add a splash of cream (if desired). Garnish with green onions and croutons.

Tuna melt:

1 can tuna drained

1-2 tbsp mayo (regular or light)

1/4 c. chopped dill pickle

1 tbsp chopped onion (if desired)

Cajun seasoning

Grape Tomatoes

Cheddar Cheese

Mix first four ingredients, add cajun seasoning to taste. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. For each melt, toast 1 piece of bread, spread with tuna, top with sliced grape tomatoes, sprinkle with cheddar and broil until bubbly.

Quick and easy on a rainy afternoon.

How to Fry Fish - southern style

Step one - send your kids fishing and then clean the fish - or go to the store and buy some nice filets (catfish, bass, perch, grouper - almost anything will do).


Generously salt and pepper fish. In a paper bag, make a mixture of 1/2 cornmeal, 1/2 plain flour, and seasoned salt to taste. Put 3 or 4 fish in the bag and shake to coat.


Heat peanut oil in a cast iron skillet until it reaches about 300 degrees. Fry 1 fish to test the oil. When fish is browned, take out and drain on paper towels.


Adjust temp if needed. Add 4-5 fish to pan and fry until browned.

Serve with grits, slaw and fries.

Heck of a butt rub!!

The secret is in the prep work. I found boston butts on sale this week and was pumped about making some good barbeque. I cut slits in the meat and stuffed about 20 (yes 20) cloves of garlic into the meat. Then I made a rub of garlic, hickory seasoned salt, paprika, dried onions, mustard, cayenne, white pepper, and season all. I wrapped in tight in foil and cooked it on low heat on the grill for 3 hours. Then I opened it up, added a bunch of wood chips that I had soaked and shut the lid and let it smoke. It took about 3 more hours for it to fall off the bone, and I kept adding chips for smoke. Usually I pull the pork and mix it with sauce, but this was so good, no one even wanted sauce.We had baked beans, corn on the cob and macaroni and cheese with it. Next time, I will buy more and cook at least 2 since it takes so long.

barbeque
butt rub

Gourmet Sliders

Everyone was off for spring break this week, and the whole crew thought we should try making sliders. I mixed ground chuck and my seasonings and heated my skillet to med. At first I had a hard time making the right sized patty. THEN I figured out that if I rolled them in the size of a medium meatball and used my large spatula to press them down as much as I could when I first put them in the pan, they turned out perfectly. I don't remember exactly how much ground chuck I had - I think between 2 & 3 lbs., but I ended up with about 40 sliders.
I used small white rolls and King's Hawaiian Rolls to make the sandwiches. For some of the burgers, I did classic toppings - cheese, pickles, mayo, mustard, ketchup and tiny chopped onions, I also cooked mushroom and onions, used mayo and a little hearty mustard and then topped it with them mushroom/onions and crumbled blue cheese, also did some with horseradish sauce instead of mayo, pepper jack cheese, a slice of bacon, and sliced grape tomatoes. These were all great.

Sliders:
1 lb. ground chuck
1 tsp. garlic
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. worchestire
2 tsp. seasoned salt

Roll into 1 inch meatballs. Use a spatula to press each one down in skillet over medium heat until cooked through.

For mushrooms and onion topping, slice about 2 onions and 1 cup of mushrooms. After burgers are done, wipe out skillet, add veggies and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Cook on medium heat until tender.

I served them with potato skins - the whole crew loved making their own variations.
sliders

Quick Dinner - Chicken Fajitas

OK, it has been crazy this week - no time to post. Since last week, I made pink eyed peas, potato salad, chicken fajitas, and paella. It has been crazy, but I tried to take pics. I will at least post a recipe if not a pic.

Chicken fajitas:

2 lb. boneless/skinless chicken breast cut in 1 inch strips
4 onions
2 bell peppers (red or green)

Place one tbsp oil in pan. Add chicken and vegetables, sprinkle liberally with fajita seasoning (I use Fiesta Brand). Saute on medium heat until nearly done. Add taco seasoning (taco bell or old el paso), and cook until meat is cooked through.

In a soft tortilla, serve with mixture mexican/spanish rice, sour cream, fresh tomatoes and green onions.

Perfect