Strawberries and Cream Ice Cream

Though I've had my ice cream attachment for my stand mixer for several months now, I hadn't used it until summer was in full swing. I am kind of proud of myself for having the restraint to not drown myself in my own home made ice cream. 

Around here, Blue Bell is king, and with every right. It is heaven, so I have set out to create their flavors at home. Vanilla went great (I will note at the bottom how to use this recipe to create the copycat of theirs), chocolate was even better, and this was delicious too. Get your freezer ready for some ice cream!!

Strawberries and Cream Ice Cream

2 1/2 cups half and half

2 1/2 cups of heavy cream

1 1/2 cups sugar

10 egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups frozen, thawed, smashed strawberries plus

3 tbsp sugar

In a large sauce pan, add cream and half and half and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Separately, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until totally combined and light in color in a large bowl.

Once cream is hot, turn off the heat, and while constantly whisking, slowly add individual full ladles of hot cream to the bowl to temper the eggs until nearly half of the cream has been mixed into the egg yolks and sugar. 

Add all the egg/cream mixture to the pot of remaining cream and turn on burner to medium heat. Stirring constantly, cook the anglaise until it evenly coats the back of a spoon and when you run your finger through middle, it holds the line (if you have a thermometer, it will be about 175 degrees). Cool to room temp and add vanilla. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. 

While the ice cream is churning, smash the strawberries with a fork until mostly broken up, but still slightly chunky (let it be noted that the 1 1/2 cups measurement is POST smashing). Sprinkle on remaining 3 tbsp of sugar and allow to macerate for the duration of the ice cream making. Once the ice cream is prepared, stir in the strawberries and liquid until well incorporated. 

Transfer to your desired containers and freeze for 5-6 hours to harden. Enjoy! This recipe yields a generous 2 quarts of ice cream. 

~For vanilla: leave out the last two ingredients and adjust vanilla to 2 1/2 tbsp. 

~For chocolate: leave out last 2 ingredients and add 3/4 cup cocoa powder to cream and half and half when warming. 

Warm black bean and corn salad

In the quest to lose weight and get healthier in general, I'm always looking for new ways to take veggies and make them feel satisfying and offer a variety of flavors. I mean, you can only eat steamed or sauteed vegetables so many times before you just get sick of it and have a huge pile of buttery mashed potatoes with gravy for dinner. (Oh, that's just me? :sigh:)

This particular recipe I wrote to accompany a simply seasoned and seared Mahi Mahi filet to round out a light, healthy, and explosively flavorful dinner. It was a totally successful marriage in taste and texture! 

Warm Black Bean and Corn salad

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

1 green or red bell pepper, diced

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

12 oz frozen corn kernels

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil for the pot

1/4 cup of your favorite salsa

1 tsp cumin

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

In a medium pot over medium high heat, saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil until onion becomes slightly translucent and soft. Add in frozen corn and cook for 1 minute. Reduce to medium heat and add in lime juice, cumin, and salsa, stirring a bit to combine. Add in black beans, taste, and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or cold! 

This tastes great alongside fish and would be great with chicken and/or as an addition to soft tacos! Enjoy!

Traditional Meatloaf

So meatloaf..... it's one of those things that no one thinks they like, but is essentially one big meatball. People like meatballs, but not meatloaf? I don't get it either. Meatloaf is a highly sought after thing in my house. My husband and daughter LOVE it, and I have come up with a recipe that I find trumps most all others I've had. It's got traditional flavors that have been intensified and a sweet/spicy ketchup sauce on top. I just wish we had leftovers.... :(

I apologize I didn't get a picture... the folks I feed were starving to DEATH (yeah..) and couldn't wait any longer.

Meatloaf

1 lb ground pork
2 lbs ground beef 85/15
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 large yellow onion
1 large green bell pepper
3 tbsp bacon fat
1 cup ketchup, divided
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, divided
3/4 cup 1 minute oats
2 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp packed brown sugar
4 dashes of your favorite hot sauce

Preheat your oven to 350º.

Dice onions and bell peppers and saute in the bacon fat until they are tender. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, add your meat, eggs, cooled veggies, 2 tbsp of Worcestershire, 1/4 cup of the ketchup, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your hands and once combined, sprinkle in oats, mixing again with your hands.

Once prepared, press the mixture into your loaf pan (you can also free form a loaf onto a baking sheet, but cooking time should be adjusted) and pat the top flat. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with foil. Depending on the size of your loaf pan, there may be some drippings that spill out and this will allow for an easier clean up. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until it reads an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

While the meatloaf is baking, you can mix your ingredients to make the sauce. Add the remaining 3/4 cup ketchup, remaining 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, sugar, and hot sauce and whisk until sugar has dissolved some. Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking if necessary. After 1 hour of baking, spoon the sauce generously all over the top of the meatloaf and allow to finish baking in the oven.

Once it's done baking, allow to sit and rest for 5-8 minutes before slicing and serving. Slicing too soon will result in a loss of juicy goodness. Enjoy!

Shredded Chicken for tacos

I have a hard time getting my daughter to eat meat aside from fish, shrimp, bacon, or sausage, so when she gobbled this up I knew I had hit the chicken jackpot. We love Tex Mex and Mexican food at our house and tacos are just so versatile and easy to put together. I'll share my recipe for shredded chicken tacos so y'all can get hooked too!


Shredded Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 tbsp diced pickled jalapeno
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp ancho chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil


In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion until soft. Add garlic and peppers and saute an additional minute. Pour in tomatoes and scrape the pot if there are any brown bits. Pour in chicken stock, lime juice, and stir in spices. Once the mixture starts simmering, add chicken breasts, nestling them down into the braising liquid. Adjust the heat to low and once resuming a low simmer, cover with a lid and slow cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Once cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken. Keep uncovered and allow to simmer until most of the liquid has reduced. Taste for seasoning, add spices or salt and pepper as necessary.

This is particularly good served on a whole wheat tortilla with sliced avocado, sour cream, and your favorite corn salsa for crunch. Enjoy!!

Have leftovers? This makes some juicy, gooey, amazing quesadillas!

Olive Tapenade

Whether it is a Muffaletta or just as an accompanying condiment for bread, I LOVE a good olive tapenade. It's bright, salty, mildly sour, and not something you see everywhere. Recently, I decided to come up with a basic version of it so that I could have it whenever I want. I'm sure this will be a base for many variations and uses in the future.

Basic Olive Tapenade

1 2.25 oz can of black olives, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup green olives with pimentos
1 tbsp drained capers
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 large garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mince olives and capers, making sure to very finely mince the garlic. Mix in olive oil, lemon juice, and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper accordingly. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours (or make 1-2 days ahead) to allow garlic to mellow out. Serve with bread, on sandwiches, or as a garnish for meat dishes! Enjoy!

3 Cheese Mac and Cheese

Even the healthiest of eaters have those moments when they "cheat" or indulge, right? I have always had a love for comfort food, and the cold weather yesterday really had me wanting something rich, warm, and comforting. Now, I have dabbled with mac and cheese recipes for a past year or two, coming up with some that were good, but nothing that really stopped my quest for creating something better... until this one. Some people like creamy mac and cheese, drier baked mac and cheese, cheddar mac and cheese, fancy mac and cheese, there are just so many ways to make it and THIS is the kind of mac and cheese that I love. Baked, creamy, super cheesy, and ULTRA comforting!

A little tip about cheese: I never buy the shredded stuff in the bag. If you have the time, it is SO worth it to grate/shred cheese yourself. The bagged stuff is lightly coated with an anti-clumping substance that can really change the consistency of cheese when you are melting it. Plus, it's a few extra calories burned to compensate for all the yummy cheese you're about to devour! And, there is NOTHING like the good stuff when it comes to parmesan. The wedge of parm may seem expensive, but you are really getting just as much, if not more, cheese for your money grating it yourself and a TON more flavor.




3 Cheese Mac and Cheese

4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 dash of nutmeg
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups room temp milk
4 tbsp grated parmesan
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz grated swiss cheese (this could be subbed for Monterrey Jack or Mozzarella)
10 oz grated extra sharp cheddar
1 lbs elbow pasta

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Whisking constantly, add in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in milk and stir until it has thickened to a thin gravy consistency. Off the heat, stir in nutmeg, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese and set aside to cool. While cooling, cook pasta as directed but stop 1 minute short of package directions. Drain and return back to pot.

Preheat oven to 375º.

By this time, your white sauce should have cooled to a lukewarm temperature and can be poured over and mixed up with your hot, cooked pasta. Once well mixed, stir in your heavy cream and cool an additional few minutes. Stir in shredded cheeses (you want the mixture to be cool enough not to melt the cheese before adding it so the oven does the melting for you), reserving a large handful of cheddar for the top, and pour into a 9x13 baking dish, top with remaining cheese, and cover with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes and remove foil, turn up temp to 425, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the edges brown slightly. Serve hot and enjoy!

Lighter Strawberry Muffins

This is definitely a new favorite for something sweet that could double as breakfast or a dessert. I was really trying to reduce the amount of egg, milk, sugar, and flour to cut calories and fat and the result is really quite satisfying! (My calculations put these muffins at 175 calories each)

Strawberry Muffins

1 stick salted butter, room temp
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temp
1 cup of strawberry puree*
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
3/4 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1-2 tbsp flour
optional red coloring

*For puree you can use 1/2 lb of frozen thawed strawberries or the equivalent of fresh strawberries with 1 tbsp of added water to loosen the mixture.

Preheat your oven to 375º and line a dozen standard muffin tin with liners.

Cream together butter and sugar, then mix in egg. Once well mixed, add puree and vanilla extract and 4-5 drops of red food coloring if desired (without the coloring, the fresh puree in the batter will make the muffins dark brownish. If you are serving them to people besides yourself, you may want to brighten up the color a little to make them more obviously strawberry and a little more visually appealing).

Separately, mix together baking soda, powder, and flour. Slowly mix these dry ingredients into your wet mix until just combined.

With a rubber spatula, fold in oats. Spread the strawberries out over a paper towel and pat dry a bit. In a separate bowl, sprinkle and toss chopped strawberries with enough flour to coat them, as this will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin while baking. Once coated, fold into the batter.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin liners and bake for 20-25 minutes. Check with a toothpick. Allow to cool slightly before eating/serving. Enjoy!

Crawfish Etouffee

I LOVE Cajun/Creole food. It ties with Mexican food for my all time favorite. I don't live anywhere near a decent Cajun restaurant so, in order to keep my cravings satisfied, I've had to start creating my own Louisiana culinary delights at home. Here is my most recent recipe for all you Etouffee lovers!

Crawfish Etouffee

Roux:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup flour

3 cups cooked crawfish tails
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
cajun seasoning, to taste
1 1/2 cups chicken or fish stock
4 tbsp butter
2 green onions, diced


In a small skillet or saucepan, whisk together veg oil and flour. Bring to medium heat, whisking constantly, and cook until the roux reaches a brown color a shade or two darker than peanut butter (this could take anywhere from 7-12 minutes depending on your stove). Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a large skillet, melt butter and saute celery, onion, and bell pepper until soft. Pour in chicken stock and adjust to medium heat. Add in tail meat and green onion and simmer 2-3 minutes*. Stirring constantly, slowly pour in cooled roux (the oil may slightly separate while cooling, just whisk to combine again before adding it) and continue to stir until the mixture has thickened to a gravy like consistency. At this point, lower the heat to low and season to taste with your cajun seasoning blend.

Serve with cooked rice and enjoy!

*If you are using the frozen cooked crawfish tails, simmer a bit longer to help cook out some of that "dirty" flavor that they can sometimes have. Keep in mind, the seasoning will flavor the tails well also.

Bits and Pieces- Budget Savers!

So this entry won't be about a recipe specifically, but more about what you can do with those little scraps and extras you have from the meals you've cooked. Some of these things you may be throwing away without even thinking twice about it. I'm a bit weird about trashing food that hasn't gone bad, even if it is something as seemingly useless as the ends of onions and carrots, the last one or two tortillas in the package, or the carcass of a chicken you carved and have eaten. Here's a few of the little things you can do with your bits and pieces that can save you a few dollars and inspire you to get creative and take charge of your food!

Chicken Stock. We all buy chicken broth or stock at the store for an array of dishes, and if you buy the cartons of stock, then you know one carton costs you anywhere between $2.50 and $3.50. Here's how you can make up to $15 worth of stock basically for free: Save the scraps. The trimmings off chicken breasts, the bones of your cooked chicken, the neck out of the whole chicken cavity, the ends of your onions, those funny little middle cloves of garlic, ends of carrots, ends of celery, veggies that aren't super fresh anymore, woody stems of mushrooms and asparagus, the aromatic vegetables you use to stuff a whole chicken... basically any thing you trim off or have left over of these vegetables and chicken- you can clean them up (the veggies) and add to a collective resealable bag in the freezer. When you get 2 or 3 gallon bags full, put them all in a stock pot, cover with a generous amount of water, add some salt and pepper, and boil for a couple of hours (once it has cooled, refrigerate overnight, strain and skim off solids and fat, and freeze or use). It beats the flavor of store bought stock, you can portion it out and freeze it to use when you need it, and it is such a great way to add flavor to dishes instead of using water. The best part? It is made totally of ingredients that you would have thrown in the trash.

Roll ups. I always buy flour tortillas for tacos or some other Mexican dish and it seems I always have 1 or 2 left in the bag. It's never enough to make another dish with but I don't want to let them go bad. I will whip up a little ranch flavored dressing (mayo, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and dried dill) and spread it on, add some turkey lunch meat, and a slice of cheddar cheese. It's fewer calories than making a sandwich, you can eat it with one hand while you do something else, you're using up that last tortilla, and it's a little different than that boring old sandwich you've eaten a million times. This is a concept you can do SO many things with, so get creative!

Bread crumbs. Your bread got a little stale or you have just the "butts" left. It isn't exactly sandwich material anymore but it isn't trash either! Cut them into squares, toast them in the oven, whiz them up in the food processor, and store in an airtight bag or container for a week or two. You can even create your own seasoned varieties with some dried herbs and spices. They will be ready for your next meatloaf, meatballs, pepper/mushroom filling, oven fried chicken, or crunchy topping for fish. Why buy bread crumbs when you can make them for free!?

Casseroles. You have some extra taco meat or baked chicken left from dinner last night but you either won't have a chance to eat it before it goes south or you just don't want it to lose freshness. Make a casserole, cover, and freeze! There are so many things you can do with extra cooked meat and veggies to keep from wasting them. For example: Leftover taco seasoned ground beef can make a great Mexican lasagna. Layer in a baking dish with an arrangement of tortillas, refried beans, olives, cheese, tomatoes, and/or cooked onions and peppers. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze it. You can thaw it out, bake it, and top with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, and salsa! If you have leftover cooked chicken, you can assemble a chicken spaghetti, a chicken and rice casserole, or any other casserole you love with your chicken, cover, and freeze. It's dinner that's ready and waiting for a busy night when you don't have time to cook and it is much better than the frozen stuff from the store.

Soups. You can take your leftovers and freeze to have on standby for your favorite soup recipes. It really is just a matter of transferring it from the Tupperware to the zip lock bag and popping in the freezer. Not only are you saving the couple of dollars from going in the trash now, you are saving another few dollars later by not having to use up new ingredients in your soup!

Frozen herbs. Fresh cilantro, parsley, basil and so many others add such a fresh flavor to your dishes that make their cost WELL worth it. It seems you always have more in the bunch than you actually need in a 2 or 3 day period of time before they have wilted on you. If you have an ice tray, you can chop these herbs while they are still fresh, sprinkle into the compartments of the tray, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, and freeze until you need them. You have portioned herbs ready for your sauces and soups!

It only takes a little bit of time and effort to use tricks like these to stretch your grocery dollars and cut food waste. You may be surprised how easily these things can become part of your kitchen routine and just how much money you can save!

Italian Chicken Soup

Leftovers are something we eat constantly at my house. There's always something waiting in my refrigerator that was delicious yesterday but I need to do something new with it for dinner tonight. Since we are always watching fat and calories, chicken is the usual suspect for leftover re-purposing. Tonight on a total whim, I threw this together with Minestrone soup as inspiration for flavors. It is super healthy, and could be converted to a vegetarian or vegan recipe with little effort. The recipe follows...

Italian Chicken Soup

1 large chicken breast, cooked and diced

6 stalks of Kale, stripped of ribs and chopped

1/4 cup chopped celery heart

1/2 onion, diced

1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 can (same) diced tomatoes

1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed

2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

8 oz. elbow or shell pasta

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 carton chicken stock

3 cups water

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil 

Drizzle olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute carrots, celery, and onion until the onion is translucent. Stir in garlic and pour in chicken stock. Pour in tomatoes (with liquid), crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, water, and beans. Keep heat at medium.

Pour in pasta and cook for 3 minutes. At this point, add in the chicken and kale and stir occasionally until pasta is cooked. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. 

Serve with croutons or parmesan cheese as a garnish. Enjoy!  

Oven "Fried" Chicken Nuggets

So in our quest to lose weight and get healthier, I am always trying to come up with new ways to cook things we love to eat, but lighter, less fat/calories, and a nutritional bargain. I like fancy, complex food as much as any other foodie, but sometimes you just want some salty, crunchy chicken nuggets!

These are healthier for a number of reasons, first and foremost because they are baked and not fried. I use buttermilk because it's low in fat, it is far more flavorful than regular milk, keeps the chicken moist, its thickness helps bind the Panko without using egg, and it is a familiar flavor associated with traditionally fried chicken.

These are so yummy that my child who is sometimes iffy about meat ate a TON of them! This also doubles as a quick/easy/affordable weeknight meal for busy folks! Hope y'all enjoy!

2 large chicken breasts, trimmed
1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp dried chive
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 3/4 cups panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tbsp chicken boullion powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika

Mix together the buttermilk, hot sauce, dill, chives, and garlic powder and set aside to meld the flavors.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch chunks and submerse in the buttermilk mixture. Allow to sit for 30 minutes at room temperature (if you are going to marinade longer, refrigerate). In the meantime, combine all the dry ingredients in a shallow dish and preheat the oven to 400º.

Once marinated, drain off as much buttermilk as you can from the chicken. (Too much buttermilk will keep the chicken from crisping up like it should in the oven) Dredge each chicken nugget in the dry mixture and place on a parchment lined baking sheet*. Be sure to really press it down into the chicken.

Bake at 400 until the chicken is cooked through- roughly 15 minutes.

*parchment paper is better than foil or the bare baking sheet because it will allow the chicken to crisp up on the bottom and keep it from sticking/losing the bottom coating.

Chicken Noodle Stir Fry

This recipe is relatively balanced, and, aside from cooking the pasta, is a one skillet meal. Enjoy!

2 large chicken breasts, trimmed
1/3 head of cabbage
2 garlic cloves
2- 6 oz packages of Asian noodles (chow mein or the like)
2 carrots, peeled
1/2 yellow onion
2 scallions
vegetable oil for the pan
salt and pepper
1/2 cup water

Sauce:
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce*
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp corn starch

Shred carrots on large grate, slice cabbage into very thin strips, dice onion, grate garlic with a rasp or small grate, and chop scallion (green and white parts). Separately, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Set all of the above aside.

Slice chicken breasts into thin strips and season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, coat the bottom with vegetable oil and bring to temperature over medium high heat. Saute chicken until cooked through, then remove and set aside.

In the skillet still on medium high heat (add more oil if needed), add onion and cabbage and saute until slightly softened. Pour in water to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the brown bits, add garlic. Once most of the water has reduced, add in cooked noodles (as prepared according to the package), carrots, and pour in sauce ingredients. Remove from heat. Toss to combine and garnish with scallions. It's ready to serve!

The vegetables in this recipe can be swapped or added to depending on what your tastes are. The flavor bases really come from the garlic, onion, and sauce. Get creative!

*Low sodium soy is really important for this recipe..... using regular soy may make it too salty for some.

I'll introduce myself....

So per request of several friends and family, here I am, finally starting a blog. This will be a place where I will share recipes, food/kitchen gadget info, money saving ideas, and the occasional dining out experience and inspirations. I'll share a little info about myself and what brings me to blog. 

I'm the wife of an oilfield man and a stay at home mom to my darling daughter. Everything I cook, I make to share with my friends, my family, and to bring a little something special to the happy times we spend together. We gather to eat for holidays, birthdays, nightly dinners, celebrations, to have a good time, to relax... Whatever the reason, food does more than fulfill a basic human need; it brings us together no matter how formal or casual, fancy or simple, conservative or indulgent. 

As each generation comes up, cooking and the concept of how food happens seems to be more foreign and inconvenient. With dining out, microwaving, chemical cooking, and "just add water" type meals being so common and almost ruled as the "only option" for all our eating needs, I want people to know you don't have to have a culinary degree to cook you/your family wholesome, real food. Regardless of your budget, time, equipment, or skill level restrictions, anyone can make delicious food. If you have a 1st world heat source, a pot and/or a pan, and some real and raw ingredients, you can make something great! Our bodies, futures, health, traditions, and loved ones depend on the continuation of home cooked, wholesome meals and the concern we share about what we are eating and where it comes from. 

Join me in the foodie movement that should be happening in all our kitchens! We absolutely CAN cook!