food

Tasty Tuesday–Coconut Cream Pie

pieWe had a little family get-together this weekend, which included epic card games, cocktails, and lots of fun. I made a huge meal of fried chicken, rice, gravy, biscuits, and veggies. If that wasn’t enough, I cranked out a couple of pies, one of which was this coconut pie at my husband’s request. (On a side note, my butt will be on the treadmill every day this week after that marathon of indulgence). I officially need a weekend from my weekend, and maybe a salad…or ten.

Anyway, this is Granny’s super-easy recipe, which comes out rich, creamy, and oh, so decadent. Whip one up and I guarantee you will impress somebody…if you don’t hoard it for yourself, that is. I won’t judge.

Granny's Coconut Cream Pie

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Ingredients
  • 1 deep dish frozen pie shell or 1/2 pkg. refrigerated pie crust (or go homemade if you're ambitious)
  • 2 cups whole milk (Granny insisted that you cannot use reduced fat in this recipe or the custard won't set right)
  • 1 tbs. butter
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp. coconut extract
  • 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut, plus additional for garnish ( This can be found in the baking aisle, usually by the nuts and chocolate chips)
  • Fresh, sweetened whipped cream
Procedure
  1. Bake pie crust according to package directions, and set aside to cool.
  2. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, butter, flour, sugar, and egg yokes with a whisk. Cook this mixture over medium-high heat, whisking constantly (seriously, dude). Continue whisking until the mixture begins to thicken, about 7 to 10 minutes give or take. Once the mixture starts to bubble/boil, continue cooking for one more minute.
  3. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in coconut extract and flaked coconut, whisking well to combine. Pour mixture into pie crust and refrigerate until cold. Top pie with plenty of fresh, sweetened whipped cream and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Sprinkle with additional coconut to garnish if desired.

pie 2Yummers!

Tasty Tuesday–Maple-Mustard Grilled Lamb Chops

lambMy sister’s birthday was this weekend, and I cooked a big meal in her honor, complete with some of her favorite foods and a towering chocolate peanut butter cake. Since she loves lamb, I decided to make these little beauties which are always a hit. I love this recipe when entertaining because I can marinate the lamb the night before, and with a fast grill time, I have a stunning yet deceptively easy meal ready in a flash. Lamb, in years past, hasn’t been readily available in my little corner of Louisiana. However, now most grocery stores and Sam’s Clubs carry it. I still miss those big, bone-in legs of lamb we used to get when we lived in California, but at least we are no longer completely denied.

Maple-Mustard Grilled Lamb Chops

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Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup (the real stuff)
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 racks of lamb
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
Procedure
  1. Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut lamb racks into individual chops. If your butcher will do this for you, go for it. Place lamb chops in a large, resealable zip-top bag.
  2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl, whisking well. Pour marinade over lamb, shaking bag well to coat. Place bag in a large bowl (just in case it leaks), and refrigerate at least 6 hours. Turn the bag occasionally to ensure even marinating.
  3. Remove lamb from bag, discarding marinade. Salt and pepper both sides of the lamb chops. Grill over medium-high heat until desired doneness, 3-4 minutes per side. You can serve these as an appetizer or an entrée.

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The leftovers make great sandwiches. I smeared some of the cheesy, twice-baked potatoes on one of my husband’s toasted homemade onion rolls and topped it with the lamb. I’m obscene like that. Don’t judge, it was dang tasty.

lamb 3

Tasty Tuesday–Chocolate Kahlua Cake

cakeThis cake is an older recipe, but is one my husband loves to make it when he is puttering around the kitchen. Y’all know me, any cake with hooch in it is a thumbs up. However, this really is a good, fast cake recipe that elevates the lowly box mix into company-worthy dessert.

Chocolate Kahlua Cake

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Ingredients
CAKE
  • 1 box Devil’s food cake mix
  • 1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix (5.9 oz) (the larger box!)
  • ¾ cup Kahlua
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
GLAZE
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ cup Kahlua
Procedure
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, or spray it with the nonstick spray that contains flour (Baker’s Joy, Pam with Flour, etc.).
2) In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, Kahlua, water, oil, and eggs with a hand mixer. Blend on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2-3 minutes more, until batter is thick and smooth. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan.
3) Bake until the cake springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-47 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan and place on cake plate or platter 
4) Place powdered sugar and Kahlua in a small bowl and stir until well combined. Spoon glaze over warm cake, allowing it to drizzle down the sides and into the center. Cool completely before cutting.

Tasty Tuesdy–Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Pie

Summer weather is still strangling Louisiana, but I’ve declared it to be fall in this house. Even my husband said he’s itching to bust out some seasonal décor, so I bet I know what we will be doing this weekend. I spent part of today test-driving a candied jalapeno recipe (which will make great holiday gifts), and will start frying chicken for dinner shortly. Technically, I probably should spend this time tackling the overwhelming pile of projects from my clients, but that would require mojo that is decidedly absent today.  There’s always tomorrow, I guess. Meanwhile, in honor of the return of pumpkin spice everything, here’s a recipe y’all might like for jumpstarting your autumn kitchen.pie

Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Pie

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Ingredients
  • 1 frozen deep-dish pie shell or you can use homemade or refrigerated pie crust
  • ¾ cup canned dulce de leche
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbs vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 (12-oz.) can evaporated milk
  • Garnishes: sweetened whipped cream, toffee bits
Procedure
1) Place pie shell on cookie sheet. Spoon dollops of dulce de leche into piecrust, spreading to edges. Place prepared piecrust in refrigerator.
2) Whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Whisk in pumpkin and next 7 ingredients until smooth. Whisk in milk. Pour filling into prepared piecrust. Bake at 375° on bottom oven rack for 48 to 50 minutes or until pie is just set (center will still jiggle just slightly). Cool completely on a wire rack. Garnish, if desired, but do so immediately before serving.

 

 

 

 

Labor Day, Red Jalapenos, and Kicking Summer to the Curb

gmanWe had a quiet, yet very fun holiday weekend. My husband set up the waterslide on Saturday, and let the neighborhood kids run wild while I canned the last crop of jalapenos.

Jelly

I had inadvertently let the most recent crop of jalapenos turn red on the bush, which was a first for me. However, I wasn’t going to let them go to waste even if I was worried about how they would perform. The resulting jelly turned out fine, and seemed maybe slightly spicier than the original version. I read conflicting opinions on the internet as to whether jalapenos are more or less spicy as they mature, so I’d say you just have to try it yourself to decide. If you do want to test a red jalapeno for spiciness, I’d suggest a recipe with a small amount of jalapeno to compare, and not some bold experiment like bacon-wrapped red jalapeno poppers. Better safe than tongue-burned. Unless you’re a weirdo, and are into that kind of thing.

Sunday was fill of fun times with family (and good food), while Monday was grilling with the neighbors followed by a quiet afternoon of movie-watching with the kids.

Bean

It was the symbolic end of summer, and I am so very past ready for cool weather and the fun traditions of fall. I just hope the weather takes a turn for the better soon, because this burning heat sure sucks all of the fun out of September. Summer, you’ve overstayed your welcome, and it’s time for you to go now.

My husband stays I have to wait a couple more weeks before breaking out the fall decorations. We’ll see who wins that one, won’t we?

Tasty Tuesday–Crispy Potatoes with Leeks, Lemon & Honey

potatoes

After plowing through a gazillion loads of laundry yesterday, not to mention the who-knows-what I mopped up from the kitchen floor, I decided to make a well-earned dinner to take the sting off of Monday. After all, discovering that one of the kids left more Kleenex in his pockets, via a paper explosion upon opening the dryer, was a call for a pick-me-up. I originally saw this recipe on Food Network, and it sounded incredibly bizarre. The honey and lemon seemed just unusual enough to ensure that these would either be really tasty, or a big, fat, Nope. They ended up as an amazing combination of flavors and textures, with each element bringing a perfect balance to the dish. I have adapted the recipe since then, and it’s the perfect side dish when you want something a little different and just a bit decadent.

Crispy Potatoes with Leeks, Lemon and Honey

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Ingredients
  • Salt
  • 2  lbs  fingerling potatoes or small yellow potatoes
  • 2  Tbs butter
  • 1  leek, halved, thoroughly washed and sliced up to pale green part
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 2  Tbs  olive oil
  • 1  tsp honey
  • 1  tsp dried parsley
  • Zest of 1 lemon
Procedure
1) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Gently poach the potatoes for 10 minutes, or until just tender when pierced with a fork. You don't want them to be completely mushy or they will fall apart when you try to pan fry them. Drain the potatoes, cut in half, and dry thoroughly.
2) Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Melt the butter, add the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Set aside.
3)  In the same pan, heat the olive oil. Put the potatoes cut-side down in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes; flip and repeat on the skin side. Add back the leeks, drizzle with the honey and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
4)  Sprinkle with the parsley and lemon zest. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Spaghetti Casserole for a Faux Snow Day

Today is yet another Louisiana “snow day.” Unlike last week, when we had an actual real snow day, today was once again a day when school was cancelled under a threat of mythical snow that never materialized. I guess the real snow we had on Friday made everyone a little overly optimistic. I am not complaining, however. I’ve managed to tackle my sentient laundry pile, bake some bread and brownies from scratch, and talk to my mom for longer than five minutes at a time.

Work has been so busy lately that our meals, though homemade, have been the thrown-together variety. Yes, I am the mom who served her family French toast and sausage for dinner last night…sue me.

When I do actually have longer than thirty minutes to feed the heathens, I try and make food we all can agree on, and Spaghetti Casserole certainly fits the bill. Want to satisfy three hungry, excessively picky guys? Here’s what you need:

Spaghetti Casserole

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-1 pound lean ground beef
-1-1/2 cups of your favorite pasta/spaghetti sauce
-a small onion
-8 ounces of spaghetti noodles
-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-2 cloves garlic
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (yes, I cheated and used the Velveeta crumbles…I was feeling especially lazy)
-1/2 cup water
-2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
-wine of your choice
To get started, pour yourself a glass of wine…and celebrate the fact that it's Tuesday, five o-clock, sunny outside, the Mardi Gras season or whatever other reason you can think up:
While you are at it, get a large pot of water boiling to cook the spaghetti noodles in. Next, chop up the onion:
In a large skillet over med-high heat, brown the ground beef and onion together, stirring occasionally:
While the meat is browning, chop up the garlic cloves, have a sip of wine, and crank up the music:
Once the ground beef is browned, add the garlic to the skillet and cook for a minute or two:
In the meantime, cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package directions:
While the noodles are cooking, add the cream of mushroom soup, ½ cup of water and 1-1/2 cups of the pasta sauce to meat mixture:
Reduce the heat to low, stir and simmer until the beef mixture is well-combined and looks like this:
By now, the spaghetti noodles should be about done. Drain them and add them to the skillet with the beef mixture, stirring gently to combine:
Pour the spaghetti mixture into a lightly greased 9x13-inch casserole dish, and spread it around evenly. Sprinkle casserole with both the cheddar and parmesan cheeses:
Bake the casserole at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until bubbly.
As you can see from the top picture, I just served it with green beans, garlic bread and called it a done deal. Sure, the heathens complained about the green beans, but I did get super-mom credit for the casserole.

That’s about all a girl can ask for, I guess.

The Heathens’ Favorite Cookies…Or An Excuse to Play Off Laziness as Mental Illness

My picky eaters are picky about everything, including their cookies…the freaks. But, even as they beg me for Happy Meals instead of nice, home-cooked dinners, they still think I am Super-Mom when I make their favorite cookies. These cookies are unusual, because they have an almost cake-like texture. When I’m asked to bring a snack to school, this is what the boys clamor for.

 I like them, because they only require one bowl, and practically no work or measuring.

Yes, I am so lazy, sometimes even the thought of washing the extra measuring cup is enough to send me screaming from the kitchen.

We’ll call that Working Moms’ Schizophrenia.

Chocolate Cake Cookies

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  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 stick butter, room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the real stuff, don’t even buy the imitation stuff…you’re better than that)
  • 1 (18-ounce) box devil’s food cake mix
  • Powdered sugar
Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beating until well-combined. Beat in the cake mix.
3) Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in powdered sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will remain soft, and have a cake/brownie type of texture. Cool completely on wire racks.

Just avoid those guys with the butterfly nets.

Husband-Friendly Soup…I Promise

My husband has some pretty definitive ideas about what makes a meal. I often say he eats like a hobbit…lunch, elevensies, dinner, second-dinner and so on.

Well, not really, but when he does eat a meal, he wants a full, substantial meal, or he will be rummaging in the kitchen shortly thereafter. I don’t know why that annoys me, but it sure does…blame the OCD, I guess.

As a working girl, a mom and a sane person, I sometimes just don’t have it in me to dirty up every dang dish in my kitchen on a weeknight meal. That’s when my fall-back one-pot meals come in handy. This recipe is just one of those…it’s technically soup and a one-pot meal, but trust me, it’s hearty enough that even my hobbit considers it a full-on meal, and not just an appetizer to his later pantry-scavenging.

Chicken Fajita Chowder

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  • 3 T. all-purpose flour
  • 1 envelope fajita seasoning, divided
  • 3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 4 T. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 15-1/4 oz. can Fiesta Corn
  • 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 14-1/2 oz. can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
  • 4-1/2 oz. can chopped green chiles
  • 3 c. chicken broth
  • 1 c. instant brown rice, uncooked
  • 10-3/4 oz. nacho cheese soup
Garnish: sour cream, shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, green onions
1) Combine flour and 2 tablespoons of the fajita seasoning in a large zip-loc bag:
2) Add cubed chicken, seal bag and shake to coat:
3) Heat oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the outside of the chicken turns golden brown. At this point, you will have all kinds of good browned bits of chicken and seasoning sticking to the bottom of your pan. Don't panic! We'll fix that in a second:
4) Toss in the onion and garlic, and sauté 4 to 5 minutes, or until onions appear to soften:
5) Add the chicken broth to the pot. Turn the heat up to high if necessary, and start scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen all those yummy browned bits. If you are fancy-schmancy, we'll call this deglazing. Once you've scraped as best you can, turn the heat back down to med-high, and it should look like this:
6) Add the remaining fajita seasoning, fiesta corn, black beans, green chiles, stewed tomatoes and brown rice. I try to cut the stewed tomatoes with the kitchen shears before adding them to the pot, because too-large tomato pieces would scare the heathens away:
7) Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, get your toppings set up. My husband is morally opposed to green onions, so we only had some shredded pepper jack, crushed tortilla chips and sour cream:
8) Once the soup is done, it will look like this:
9) Dish it up,  top chowder as desired:
And bask in the fact that your kitchen has not been demolished in a dirty-pan siege. Besides, the troops are much more inclined to do the dishes when there are less dishes to do.

It’s Machiavelli…Mom-style!

Lunch…Or How to Turn Healthy Vegetables into Only Moderately Fattening Tastiness

When I first moved back to Louisiana, we had an overly ambitious bagel shop in the middle of my hometown. This bagel shop not only offered a plethora of fresh bagels for its patrons, but it also served several bagel-sandwich options for lunch. The lunch-hour business was an essential market for this part of town, though the local college did contribute to eateries in its’ immediate vicinity.

My sister and I loved the veggie bagel, which was basically a bagel of your choice piled high with vegetable-laden cream cheese. Considering that we were two high school girls who avoided vegetables like the plague, our love of the veggie bagel was indicative of how good it was.

Unfortunately, a bagel shop was too ambitious for both the city and the time in which we lived. This was Louisiana, after all.

Bagels?? Um, can we say Yankee much?

Bagels were far outside of our cultural influence, but more so, the bagel shop existed long before riverboat gaming, economic growth and national restaurant chains helped broaden our community’s perceptions and economy. Though we lost our one and only bagel shop, I never got over my craving for their veggie bagel. A few years ago, I stumbled across this recipe for Roasted Vegetable Cream Cheese:

Well, not only does this recipe conjure my memories of our long-lost bagel shop, but it also acts as a flavorful bagel spread, dip and overall appetizer for any event I’ve hosted. This recipe is an awesome way to sneak vegetables into the unsuspecting masses, or to wow unknowing guests. While I prefer to serve it on bagels for me, or on mini-bagels for guests, you could still serve it as a spread with crackers if you were so inclined.

Roasted Vegetable Cream Cheese

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  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced into rings
  • 1 medium onion, sliced into rings
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small zucchini, sliced
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the bell pepper, onion, garlic, zucchini, and olive oil in a medium mixing bowl and toss until the vegetables are coated. Spread the vegetables evenly on sheet pan lined with foil and place to the oven. Roast, tossing occasionally, until they are soft and are beginning to turn brown around the edges, approximately 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
3. Place the vegetables in the bowl of a food processor along with the cream cheese and process until well combined and spreadable; do not process until completely smooth.
4. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Just ignore that whole cream cheese part. You get the cool points for eating the zucchini, and that’s all that matters…