Southern Corn Casserole

Been awhile.  Sorry for the time between posts. This is for a corn casserole which I love to pair with a fake fried chicken. Both recipes are listed below.

Corn Casserole:

2 cans corn nibblets
1 can cream corn
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 cups cheddar jack cheese
salt
pepper

Pre-heat over to 450. In a casserole dish mix the corn, soup, bread crumbs and cheese together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes or until the mixture is bubbling.

Chicken:
3 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups of plain bread crumbs
olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika

Set the chicken in a bowl with some olive oil and let it marinate. Put bread crumbs, salt, pepper and paprika in a bowl. Dredge the chicken through the bread crumb mixture and shake excess off. Heat a saute pan with some olive oil and brown the chicken on each side. Place the chicken in the 450 degree oven and bake until the juices in the chicken run clear (about 10 minutes).

Chicken Salad

4 large Chicken Breasts
2 cups dried pomegranate
1 1/2 cup mayo
black pepper
celery salt
1 lemon

In a large pot boil the 4 chicken breasts, 2 TBS of celery salt and the juice of half the lemon. Let this boil for 25-30 minutes. Remove the chicken and let it cool.

Once the chicken has cooled, diced it into small pieces and place in a bowl. Add the mayo (I like Olive Oil based mayo), juice from the other half of the lemon and the 2 cups of pomegranate. Add pepper and celery salt to taste and chill until ready to be served.

Pork Burrito, Black Beans and Bacon, Rice

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Burrito:
2 2lb Pork Tenderloins
1 TB cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
12 oz Goya Salsa Verde
juice of 1 lime
8 flour or corn burrito toritllas

In your crock pot, place the 2 pork tenderloins and the spices in and cook on low for 4 hours.  Pull the meat apart with a fork once it has cooked and add the jar of Salsa Verde and and the juice of 1 lime. Continue to heat.

Rice:
3 cups of water
1 can of chicken broth (2 cups)
1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
2 cups of brown rice
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 tsp cumin
dash of salt

Boil the water, chicken broth, carrots and onions together.  Once that has come to a boil add the rice and spices.  Simmer on low for 35-40 minutes or until the rice is done, adding the peas at the end. 

Beans:
1 32oz can of black beans
1 cup chopped bacon

Cook the bacon in a sauce pan.  Once the bacon is cooked and crispy, add the beans and heat the mixture through.

The pork will make enough for 8 large burritos.  Feel free to top with cheese.  Heat the oven to 350 and place the wrapped burritos in the oven just to heat them through and give the tortilla a slight crunch.

Chicken Marsala and Polenta

Polenta:
6 cups of boiling water
2 cups of polenta
1 cup parmesan cheese
3 TBS butter
2 TBS dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Boil 6 cups of water in a large sauce pan.  Once the water has boiled add the 2 cups of polenta to the boiling water and reduce to low.  As the polenta simmers, add the butter, oregano, cheese, salt and pepper. Constantly stir the polenta so it doesn't stick to the pan. Keep this up for 30 minutes. Olive oil a glass pie plate and pour the polenta into the pan.  Let it sit for 15minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and let it set up in the refrigerator for 2 hours. When rhe chicken is cooking, slice the polenta and place it in a saute pan with 1 TBS of butter and heat it through.

Chicken Marsala
2-4 chicken breasts
6 crimini mushrooms
1 cup of Marsala Wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 TBS butter
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS cream
salt
pepper
flour

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Put 2 cups of flour in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, making sure to shake off any excess flour. Place the chicken in the hot skillet and brown on each side. Remove the chicken and place the chopped mushrooms into the pan.  Saute the mushrooms and then add the Marsala wine, chicken stock and cream.  Once that comes to a boil, return the chicken to the pan and reduce the heat.  Finish the chicken in the sauce, letting the sauce reduce.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper at the end.

Kid Friendly Mac and Cheese and Chicken Fingers

Tired of feeding your kids or family that nasty, powdered, 2 mimutes in the microwave mac and cheese? Or those "all white meat" chicken nuggets? Here's two easy takes on those foods that are not only kid friendly, but "grown up" enough to satisfy adult tastes as well.

Mac and Cheese:
1 1/2 lbs of medium shells (about a box and a half) 
4 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar
1 cup diced fresh mozzerella
1 cup shredded taco cheese (happened to have a small amount left over, so i added it)
1 cup chopped bacon (Hormel Real Bacon in a jar is my new best friend)
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp butter
2 tsp flour
salt
pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425

Boil the shells and set aside when cooked.  In a large sauce pan, melt the 2 tsp of butter and 2 tsp of flour in the pan to create a rue. Once the butter and flour are combined, add the 4 cups of mik and bring to a boil and whisk frequently. Add the 2 types of cheddar, mozzerella and taco cheese mix, salt and pepper to the milk, reduce to low and simmier, string frequently.  Drain the pasta and return it to the boil pot and add the milk and cheese mixture to the shells. Add the 1 cup of chopped bacon and spread the mix into 13x9 glass baking dish. Add the bread crumbs and parmesan to the top and place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the cheese and bread crumbs brown.

Chicken Tenders:
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups bread crumbs
salt
pepper

Cut the chicken breasts on an angle into 3 inch pieces lengthwise and set aside in a bowl. Once all the chicken is cut, spray with a butter spray (I don't use egg because my son has an egg allergy, the butter spray works fine) and dip into the bread crumbs, salt and pepper.  Make sure to shake off the excess bread crumbs. Place them in a bowl and put the refrigerator to help them set up.  Half way though the Mac and Cheese cooking, place the chicken on a cookie sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes at 425 or until the chicken browns.

Italian Beef Sandwich

This is similar to a French Dip Sandwich.  Very simple.

Beef:
2 lbs Beef Strip Steak
2-14 oz cans beef broth
1 8oz bottle Italian Dressing
1 green pepper
1 sweet onion
2 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Put all the ingredients in a crock pot and set to low for 5-6 hours. The beef should be thinly sliced, but not stir fry or shaved steak meat. The meat will be very tender, but not like pulled beef.  The larger and thicker the strips are will keep the meat from shredding. 

Oven Roasted Potato Wedges:
3 large Russet Potatoes
2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Chop the potatoes up into wedges and place them in a bowl with the oil and spices.  Coat evenly and place on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 45 minutes or until the potatoes get golden brown and crispy.

I used a nice, soft, bulky roll for the sandwiches, but a nice crunchy piece of Italian bread would work fine too. Top with provolone and some pepperoncini's and have at it.  Keep the "au jus" and use it to dip the sandwich in if you choose.

Chicken Parm

Sauce:
1 28oz can of crushed tomato
1 28oz can of tomato puree
1 8 oz can of tomato paste
1 small yellow onion
1 TBS minced garlic
1 TBS oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp olive oil

Sweat the onions and garlic together in olive oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for 2-3 hours (the longer the better).

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Bread Crumbs:
2 slices of multi grain bread, toasted (one piece of bread for each piece of chicken, so 3 pieces of chicken, 3 pieces of bread)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 TBS grated romano cheese

Toast the bread and let it cool.  Once the bread has cooled, place the bread and spices into a food processor and blend until a fine crumb mixture.

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz fresh mozzerella cheese
1 large egg

Place the chicken breasts in the egg wash and lightly coat the chicken breasts with the bread crumb mixture.  Brown each side of the chicken in a pan over medium heat with 3 TBS of olive oil, then place them in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes to finish them off. Add the mozzerella cheese to the chicken during the last 5 minutes and cook until the cheese melts.  Serve with pasta of your choice.

Cuban Sandwich

This isn't so much a "recipe" as it is more of a list of ingredients to make the greatest sandwich ever created.  The only thing you have to cook is the roasted pork.  Outside of that it's a build it and eat it scenario.

1.5lb Pork Tenderloin
0.5 lb Black Forest Ham (sliced thin)
0.5 lb Swiss Cheese
2 12 inch loaves of Italian bread
7-8 Kosher Dill Pickles
2 cups yellow mustard

Put the pork tenderloin in the crock pot and set on low for 4 hours.  Salt and pepper are all that you'll need for seasoning.  Once the pork is done, set it aside and let it cool.  Once cooled, pull the pork and place it in a bowl.  Cut both loaves of bread in half and spread mustard on the top and bottoms of each loaf.  Layer the sandwiches like this:
Half of the roasted pork, 3 slices of Swiss, 4 of the cut up pickles (length wise), half of the sliced ham, 3 more slices of swiss.
Once the sandwiches are layered, heat a griddle to 300 degrees. Now, if you have a panini press use it, I don't.  I took a heavy roasting pan and placed 2 heavy mixing bowls inside the pan and placed them on top of both sandwiches. Press and grill each side of the sandwich for 15 minutes.  That may seem long, but these are huge sandwiches and require the time to not only melt the cheese, but to heat the pork and ham as well.  You could always press them until the outside of the sandwich is heated and crusty and you could them place them in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes until they heat through. 
Makes 2 very large sandwiches.  Each one serves 4 people.

Orange Chicken

This following recipe is for one big meal or for two.  If you need to make it for more than that, just double up the recipe. It took a bit, but being home by myself and my son being in bed (apparently the law frowns upon going out for take out while your children sleep), I had some time and the ingredients at the house. 

2 chicken breasts
1 pkg Uncle Ben's Bag and Boil White Rice
2 cups orange juice
1/2 small red onion
1/2 medium green bell pepper
2 cups broccoli
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
salt
black pepper
cayenne powder
red pepper flake
flour olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 425

Dice the chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and toss in olive oil and then toss in 3 tablespoons of flour. Sprinkle a dash of salt, pepper and cayenne on the chicken.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake until golden brown and crispy (about 15 minutes). 
In a medium sauce pan bring the orange juice and teriyaki to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil, add a dash of salt and 1/2 tsp of cayenne and 1 tsp of red pepper flake to the juice. Reduce and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Boil water for the rice.  It should take no longer than 5 minutes once the water boils.
Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Drain the rice and toss it in the pan.  Add the chicken, veggies, ginger, garlic and half of the juice mixture and heat it through.  Once everything is incorporated, turn the heat up to high and add the rest of the juice for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and serve.  A nice addition is a little shredded coconut over the top.

This dish should have a nice amount of heat to it.  The heat should not ruin the meal, but you should feel it in the back of your throat and on your tounge.  Taste the sauce before hand.  If it's too hot, add another 1/2 cup of orange juice and that will tame it.  Or be like me, add more pepper flake.

Quick and Easy Chinese

Instead of take-out, try this.  Healthier and more cost effective, plus it's just as tasty.

1.5lb pork tenderloin
1 pkg angel hair pasta
10 oz cherry pie filling
10 oz crushed pineapple
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 medium green pepper
1/2 medium red onion
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups broccoli
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
olive oil

Rub the pork tenderloin with a teaspoon of olive oil, salt, pepper and place in the refridgerator to marinate (30 minutes will do). In a blender, combine the cherries, pineapple, teriyaki sauce and 1 teaspoon of ginger and blend it together.  Put the pork on the grill and cook for 10-15 minutes, basting with 1 cup of the "sweet and sour" sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking.  While the pork is on the grill, boil the water for the pasta and start the veggies.  Place 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a saute pan and place the veggies, garlic and remaining teaspoon of ginger in the pan and crisp the mixture.  Once the pasta has cooked, drain and place back in the boil pot and add the veggie mixture.  Remove the pork from the grill and dice into bite sized pieces.  Pour the remaining sweet sauce into the pan and give it all a good stir.  Heat through on medium and serve.

Breaded Pork Cutlet with Lemon Butter Cream Sauce

Having grown tired of red sauce and meatballs or my wife's favorite, Chicken and Broccoli with Ziti, I figured why not try something new.  I like lemon. Check that.  I LOVE lemon. You could put lemon on concrete and I'd eat it. So, why not fire off a lemon butter cream sauce and add the always under utilized breaded pork cutlet?  No reason not to try it.  This is another recipe that you can put together rather quickly with things you most likely already have in your kitchen.  This one just requires you to make your own sauce and your own bread crumbs.  Nothing Earth shattering.

3-4 medium pork chops
3 slices of bread (for bread crumbs, recipe below)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter (room temp)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 box of angel hair (or pasta of your choice)
olive oil for sauteing

Pork:
Find a package of 3-4 medium sized pork chops. Trim the fat off and hammer the chops until they are about 1/4 inch thick.  Salt and pepper the cutlets and toss them in a bowl with 2 tbsp of olive oil and set them aside.

Bread crumbs:
3 slices of toasted bread
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano

After the bread has cooled, place the slices of bread, along with the spices in a food processor and blend until the slices of bread become a fine crumb.  Toss the bread crumbs into the bowl containing the pork and olive oil and toss together.  After the chops are coated with the oil and bread crumbs (you can add another tsp of oil if the crumbs aren't sticking), place them in the refrigerator for an hour to set up.

Pre-heat oven to 400.

In a saute pan, heat 3 tbsp of olive oil and saute each pork cutlet, browning each side and then place them in a glass baking dish.  Once each cutlet has been browned,  place them in the oven to finish them off (about 15 minutes).

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 half and half
2 tbsp butter (room temp)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a medium sauce pan heat the milk, half and half and butter over medium heat.  Once the butter has melted, add the lemon juice and cheese.  Bring to a boil.  Once the liquid has reached a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer, whisking frequently.  The sauce should thicken within 5 minutes (if it doesn't, you may want to add another tbsp of cheese).

This dish will work with almost any type of pasta.  I used angel hair, but it really doesn't matter.  Plate the pasta, add the sauce and place one of the pork cutlets on the sauce.  Garnish with fresh chopped basil and perhaps a lemon wedge and you're done.  Very simple.  Very tasty. And it won't take up much of your time. 

Lemon Pepper Grilled Chicken

Very easy chicken dish that only needs about 2-3 hours of marinating time before cooking. (Sorry for the stock photo, forgot to take a picture of last night's dinner)

3-4 Boneless Chicken Breasts
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
pinch of oregano
pinch of sugar

Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts and toss lightly.  Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, remove and grill.  Doesn't get much easier than that. Light and simple. Works great on it's own or over a salad.

South American Meat Stew

I remember seeing something similar to this cooked somewhere before, but for the life of me I could never remember all the meaty ingredients..  All I knew was that it had meat.  Lots of meat.  There may have been lamb.  There may have been pork.  It looked good and I wanted to attempt it, so here it is.  This is my version of an Argentinian meat stew, with a few veggies just to balance it all out. 

1lb Andoullie Sausage
1lb Steak Tips
1lb Chicken Tenderloins
7 Pork Spare Ribs, bone in
28oz Crushed Tomato
12 oz Black Beans
1/2 cup water
1 medium sweet onion
1 medium yellow pepper
8 oz diced green chiles
1 tsp of the following:
salt
cumin
black pepper
paprika
minced garlic

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cocoa powder

Brown the steak tips and chicken in a pan (they don't have to be fully cooked). Remove the from the heat and dice into cube sized pieces.  Now you can cook this 2 ways: in the crock pot or on the stove top.  If you enjoy wasting energy, use the stove top, but I prefer the crock pot.  Place the tomato, water and black beans into the pot.  Place the ribs (uncooked) on top of the tomato and beans.  Add the onion, chiles and yellow peppers next and then top with the steak, sausage and chicken.  Add all the spices and give it a stir. Set it for low and let it melt together for the next 6 hours.  That's it.  Very simple.  Can be served with rice or warmed corn/flour tortillas for getting all that tasty broth up. 

Meatloaf

Let's face it, meatloaf is not exactly the sexiest of meals.  It seems to be the food item that ends up as the butt of every "bad meal" joke on television.  Dry. No flavor. Lots of filler. Gross. The fruit cake of dinner foods. Well, I'm hear to kill that myth and give you a meatloaf recipe that will make meatloaf a welcome addition to your monthly dinner rotation.

Preheat oven to 350

1.5 lbs ground beef (80/20)
1.5 lbs ground turkey (usually 93/7)
1 medium green bell pepper
1 small sweet onion
4-5 crimini mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs (from scratch if you can, it's just toasted bread and some spices)
1 egg
1 3oz jar Hormel Real Bacon Pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Finely chop the pepper, onion and mushrooms and saute them with 1 tbsp of margarine. Once the onions are translucent, add the entire jar of bacon pieces to the mix.  Stir this mixture around a few times, pull it off the heat and set it aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Add the cooled bacon and vegetable mix and stir it in.  Be careful not to over mix. 

Place the mixture in a glass 13x9 baking dish and form the mixture into a loaf shape (should look like an elongated football) and bake, uncovered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Let the meatloaf sit for 5 minutes once it comes out of the oven.  I prefer a brown beef gravy with mine. I'm not a huge fan of slathering my meatloaf in ketchup, but that's just me.  Feel free to make your own gravy, but any of the "add water" gravy packets will do the trick.

BBQ Sauce

BBQ sauce is something that can be so easily made at home, I never understand why people by that bottle stuff at the store.  If you open your 'fridge and cupboards you can easily find everything you need to create a BBQ sauce at home that tastes 100x better than that preservative laden stuff from the store.  And the beauty is almost every sauce starts with 4-5 very simple ingredients and then you add what ever extra ingredients to get the flavor you're going for.  This recipe here is for a sweet pineapple BBQ sauce that is great on pork and chicken as well.  It's a tomato based sauce, similar to those from Kansas City and Texas, not a mustard a vinegar based Carolina style sauce (which I will admit are my favs). This not a dipping sauce.  It's a fantastic marinade and it's best when used for basting chicken and pork as they slow cook in your oven, smoker or on your grill.  If this is the first sauce you'll be making from scratch you're going to find that it's not brown, not super sticky and tastes nothing like what you get at the store and that's because this is what REAL BBQ sauce looks and tastes like.  ENJOY!

Ingredients:
28 oz can of tomato puree
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp brown mustard
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 TBS maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 TBS teriyaki sauce
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple

Bring the tomato, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin to a simmer.  Add the brown sugar, maple syrup, ginger and teriyaki next.  Give it a good whisk to incoporate the sugar.  Once this is all set, add the pineapple (including juices) and whisk.  Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes on the stove. Make sure you taste along the way to see if needs more of anything. And that's it.  Once the sauce is cool, transfer it in small batches to a blender and smooth it out (the pineapple chunks will blend right into the sauce). After that, use it as a marinade or a basting sauce.  It also can be frozen, so if you think you made too much, you didn't.  It will hold in the 'fridge for 5-7 days. 

Here's this sauce on a 2lb pork tenderloin, slow grilled at medium low for 25 minutes (to achieve medium rare).  Pork was marinated in olive oil, salt and pepper for 24 hours and then a cup of the sauce was added 3 hours prior to grilling.  Baste the meat every 5-10 minutes as you grill it.

Update....

Just posted a lasagna recipe from this weekend. I'll be working on one of the many BBQ sauces that I make, so I'll have that at some point this week.  Here's a quick cannoli  filling for those that have too much free time on their hands (like myself):

4-6 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup  mascarpone cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1cup powder sugar

That's it.  Pretty simple.  Let it set in the fridge for a few hours.  This will easily fill 12 mini cannoli shells (for some reason none of the markets near me sell large cannoli shells).

Sausage and Beef Lasagna

Lasagna is an easy enough meal to prepare.  It can be made the day of or even the day before and just reheated in the oven (you'll just have to adjust the baking time for it being cold, but it tastes just the same). Here's a recipe I came up with that I hope you'll enjoy.

Ingredients:
28 oz can of tomato puree (save 1/2 cup for the baking pan)
6 oz can of tomato paste
1 small sweet onion (chopped fine)
1 medium green bell pepper (chopped fine)
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 pinches crushed red pepper flake
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb sweet sausage
1 lb 80/20 ground beef
18-20 lasagna noodles
30 oz ricotta cheese
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Boil water and a tsp of olive oil for the pasta. Cook until almost al dente. This will depend on the size pot you use, but should be about 15 minutes. Set aside and let it cool.

Start by sauteing your onions and peppers, in your sauce pot, over medium heat until the onions become translucent. At this point add your sausage, beef and garlic and cook until the meat browns.  I don't drain the meat, I think the meat fats add a ton of flavor. Once the beef and sausage has cooked, add the tomato puree and tomato paste and stir it all in to incorporate everything. Add all of the spices at this point, stir and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Place the 1/2 cup of saved tomato puree on the bottom of a 9x12 glass baking dish. Place 5-7 pieces of lasagna on the bottom and then cover liberally with your sauce mixture.  Place 5-7 pieces of lasagna on top of that and cover very liberally with ricotta and then top that with some of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Put another layer of lasagna on top of that and top with more of the sauce mixture (you may have some left over, that's fine). Cover that layer completely with mozzarella cheese.

Place in the oven and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. The cheese in the middle should bubble and be a little brown and crispy on the edges. Let the lasagna sit for 5 minutes, cut and serve. 

Jerk Rub

I forgot about this rub I made last week and it is without a doubt one of my favorite things to eat: jerk anything. Jerk chicken. Jerk shrimp. Jerk beef. Jerk fish. And this rub could not be easier to make. I’ve tried numerous bottled jerk rubs and never been happy with the balance of heat and flavor so I said “screw it, I’ll make my own.” And in truth, this rub is easy and you most likely have everything in your spice cabinet/drawer already. Everything in this rub is equal parts, with the exception of the heat element. Whether you want to use teaspoons, tablespoons or 1/4 cups, this will hold for months at a time and make grilling that much better. Here’s the deal, remember, equal parts of everything, but double the heat:
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Cinnamon
Cumin
All Spice
Nutmeg
Brown Sugar
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Paprika
White Sugar
Oregano
Cayenne Pepper That’s it. This goes great with shrimp and chicken. Marinate in Olive Oil and then rub the meat and let it sit for 12 hours, add some grilled Plantains and some rice. Delicious. Enjoy.

Welcome!

This is a new venture for me.  Some of these recipes I had posted on another blog that was cancelled, so here they are.  Enjoy, comment, I'll even take suggestions for things.  Thanks for visiting.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Very simple cake recipe.  So, easy you'll never buy a boxed cake mix or can of frosting again.  This is the recipe for a 2 layer cake, the cake I made was four layers.  Just double the cake batter portion to make it four layers, but don't make 4 layers at once, nothing good will come from that.

Pre-heat the oven to 350, margarine and flour two 9 inch cake pans

Cake Batter:
Sift these individually into the mixing bowl

1 3/4 cup of AP Flour
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup of cocoa

Then add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
1 cup boiling water

Mix until the dry and wet ingredients until incorporated, then add the boiling water.  Pour into cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out of the center clean.  Cool and a baking rack and then wrap each cake in plastic wrap and let them sit (they'll get super moist).

Frosting:

Chocolate:
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1 pkg of confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup cocoa (more if you desire)
1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter:
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup margarine

Lamb Marinades

Today I’m going to touch on lamb. All I ever remember of lamb is this: oven roasted, dry, horrible smell and mint jelly. About 4 years ago my brother in law got me into lamb and I fell in love. The cut of lamb I like to use is the kabob. If you have the time and money, feel free to use a full leg. I like the convenience of the kabob and it’s a nice lean cut of meat that takes the marinade very well. Here’s a few marinade that can take your lamb from “meh” to “yummy.”

Marinade 1:
This first one I came up with while staring into my ‘fridge looking for something different to marinate flank steak in. After eating it on steak I knew it would go well with lamb.
1/2-1 cup Merlot
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons brown mustard
2 tablespoons minced garlic (if using jarred garlic, use some of the juices)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
splash worcestershire sauce
splash soy sauce
1 shallot, finely chopped (or red onion if you prefer that)
pinch of dried oregano
Rub your lamb with a 50/50 split of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Whisk the marinade and place it in a freezer bag with the lamb. Massage it well and let it marinate for at least 8 hours (I prefer 24).
Marinade 2:
This is more of a mustard based marinade and provides a nice, crisp zip with the addition of red wine vinegar.
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Rub your lamb with a 50/50 split of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Whisk the marinade and place it in a freezer bag with the lamb. Massage it well and let it marinate for 4-8 hours.
Marinade 3:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
pinch of dried ginger
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
dash of soy sauce
handful finely chopped green onion
Rub your lamb with a 50/50 split of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Whisk the marinade and place it in a freezer bag with the lamb. Massage it well and let it marinate for no longer than 2 hours. Anytime you add citrus into the equation things can be tricky. Letting fish and poultry sit in citrus for longer than 2 hours can be bad for the meat. The acids in the citrus will begin to “cook” the meat. Let this sit for anywhere between 1 and 2 hours.

South American Inspired Pork

Today we’re going South of the Border.  Mexican and South American Food are some of my favorite dishes to make.  I love the spice combinations that create some of these tasty treats (especially that little hint of cocoa).  I’m going to tackle pork in this post. Pork is a meat that sometimes inspires, but can also be bland and tasteless.  A good pork tenderloin, when marinated properly can be tasty.  But plain old baked pork chops: yawn.  Boring and sometimes dried out.  We’re going to take the chop AND the loin to school today and add some needed flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:
2 thick cut pork chops (fat on)
1-2 lb pork tenderloin or pork roast
14 ounces crushed tomato
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
pinch of oregano
pinch of cinnamon
dash lime juice
dash apple juice
1 can (4.5 ounces) of chopped green chilies
bagged rice
can of black beans
First thing you need to do is brown your pork.  I used 2 thick cut chops, fat left on (about 1.5 lbs) and a good sized boneless pork loin roast (about 2 lbs).  Cut your pork into large cubes and put them in a hot sautee pan with nothing but Olive Oil and crank it to medium high.  Don’t be afraid to get some crust on the pork.  Let it brown.  This will take 10 minutes or so. Once your pork is done, take it out and set it aside in a bowl.
Next we’ll grab my favorite cooking device: the crock pot.  You can stew this on the stove as well, but I like the crock because you can throw it all in and not have to worry about it.  Take the 14 ounces of crushed tomato and place it in the crock pot.  Add the pork and all it’s drippings to the tomato and make sure all the pork gets covered.  Then pile in your seasonings and chilies and give it a good mix (for more flavor, add some chipotles).  That’s it.  It doesn’t get much easier than that.  Set the crock pot to “Low” and let it cook nice and slow for 4-6 hours.  Give it a stir every now and then to make sure it doesn’t stick.  But if it does, no worries.  That’s just more crispy goodness. Do be careful not to break the pork up too much. We don’t want pulled pork. You want nice, tender pieces of pork.
Heat your beans (I prefer Goya) and your rice.  I don’t mess with rice.  A great rice to pair with this dish is Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice.  The garden vegetable with corn, carrots and peas is perfect for this dish.  This rice has a light flavor to it and is not overpowering like those Lipton rice mixes.  And short of digging and making your own rice, this mix is as close as you’ll get to Mexican restaurant style rice. If you want to add a little to your beans in terms of flavor, I suggest bacon over cheese, but that’s just me.  Just cut some bacon up, cook it in the pan and heat your beans in all that goodness.
Plate your pork, beans and rice, garnish with some chopped cilantro and dig in. Sour cream and guacamole would be a nice touch on the side of you’re so inclined

Chicken Cacciatore and Sausage

Today we’re looking at Cacciatore. Chicken is good. Add sausage and the regular Chicken Cacciatore becomes even better. This recipe could not be more simple, but it is super satisfying. It can be done 2 ways: in a pan on the stove top or in the Crock Pot. I went for the Crock because I didn’t have the time to deal with it on the stove top today.
I added sausage to this instead of chicken thighs. Classic Cacciatore has chicken breasts and thighs, but I wanted to try something different, so I went with sausage instead. Here’s what you’ll need:


3-4 Chicken Breasts
6 small Sweet Italian Sausage
1 28 oz can diced tomato
1 28 oz can crushed tomato
1 large green bell pepper
1 medium yellow onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
Pasta of your choice
Most Cacciatore recipes call for the chicken to be dredged in flour and then pan sauteed. I chose the “healthier” route and put them in as is, no dredging. Place the chicken breasts, sausage, the entire can of diced tomato and half of the can on crushed tomato, the entire bell pepper (rough chop), half of the onion (rough chop) and all of your spices into the Crock Pot. Place the cover on and heat on low for 5 hours. That’s it. It doesn’t get much easier than that. The pan method doesn’t take as long, but it obviously requires you to be in the kitchen and tending to the cooking process. This makes an equally delicious meal. Like I said, I didn’t have the time yesterday to crank out the other version, so I went with the Crock. Truth be told, I like this version better. The sausage and chicken become fork tender and they both absorb so much flavor from the sauce. Is Crock Pot cooking cheating? Some people may say Yes, I say No. Nothing dries out, everything gets a ton of flavor and you can get things done while still cooking a fantastic dinner. I’ve made this recipe both ways and I enjoy it the same. To jazz it up a little, feel free to throw some mushrooms, capers and white wine in. I’m the only one in my household who likes mushrooms and capers, so I left them out.