I Lied About the Alligators

Well, I told you that I don't have alligators in my back yard, but there are always sightings near by. They love to hang out in ponds and canals. Occasionally you will read about a gator capture in the city.  If you really want to cross gator viewing off of your bucket list , then come to swamp! I call it Whale watching for rednecks! Just a few miles down the road from me is an actual gator farm.  Go here to read all about Kliebert's Alligator Farm. On your visit you can see those famous reptiles up  close and personal.   Their gift shop carries a  wide variety of swamp items. Who doesn't need a alligator head,some turtle meat, or a t-shirt like this one, a must have for the little lady(or maybe the not so little lady)?

Busy Day Faux-Smoked Brisket

There's nothing like a big hunk of meat to make the fam really happy. Especially if it is smoked. I fool 'em all the time with my cheaters recipe for smoked brisket. I pull out the slow cooker for this one.It is  so easy and the house smells like a Texas Bar B Que all day long.

I am enjoying taking hoards of pics then blowing them up. I figured since this is a Texas style recipe, the pics should be Texas size, too. 

Ingredients:

Trying some outdoor photos. Cool perspective, don't you think?  And all with a micro camera.

Take your slab of brisket and brown it in a skillet that has been heated with a bit of canola oil. Be sure to turn on the exhaust and alert the fire dept. Add a little tobasco. Be careful.

Time for the dry rub, use a spatula to press it into the meat.

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Place in slow cooker and add some more stuff.

And now for my favorite cooking ingredient: Onions. Slap some sliced ones on top.

Cook  for a really long time. Voila!This is what it looks like when done. Yee Haw.Can you say Voila and Yee Haw in the same sentence? That's my Texalian coming out.

Shred with a fork and serve on buns with barbque sauce today and use the left overs to make a Tex Mex pizza tomorrow night! To have leftovers at my house, I would have to have a bigger hunk of cow.

Busy Day Faux-Smoked Brisket

3-4 lb trimmed beef brisket

1 Tablespoon canola oil

few shakes of Tabasco

For the dry rub:

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp.

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. celery seed

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika

For the smokey goop:

1 Tablespoon smoke flavoring liquid

1 tsp. honey

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon Thick Worcestershire sauce 

1 onion, sliced

Heat skillet til very hot. Add oil and cook brisket  until lightly browned. Remove skillet from heat and add dry rub to brisket, using a flat spatula to press the seasoning into the meat. Transfer  meat to a slow cooker set on low. Mix together smokey goop ingredients and pour over brisket. Add sliced onion to the top. Place lid on top and cook for 4-5 hours. Shred with a fork.  Serve with your favorite barbque sauce. Makes about 8 sandwiches.

Notes: You can use this very recipe with a pork roast or country pork ribs. The smoked paprika really adds a nice color and a super smokey flavor, but if you don't have it available, use a little more of the  liquid smoke flavoring. If you don't have a slow cooker, wrap the brisket in foil, place in a shallow pan and cook 300 degrees until tender--about 3-4 hours.

Busy Day Faux Smoked Brisket

Sleepy Squares

Dr. Oz  recommends Scottish oats, tart cherries and pumpkin seeds to help you go to sleep at night. These foods contain high amounts of tryptophan and melatonin. I combined all three to make these yummy, not too sweet,squares. If you don't need the sedative affect, just make the substitutions in the notes below. Sweet Dreams.


Ingredients:

Mix it all up, bake it, and this is what you get.

Sleepy Squares

1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds, ground
2 cups Scottish oats
1/3 cup tart dried cherries
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. honey
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp. canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 pan. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add egg and oil and mix until thoroughly combined. Press into  pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool and cut into 12 squares. Store in airtight container.

Notes: You can use rolled oats or steel cut oats if you don't have access to the Scottish. I grind the pumpkin seeds in my coffee grinder but you can use a food processor. You can substitute any other dried fruit for the cherries and/or any nut for the pumpkins seeds .  As I have said before, I haven't met a nut I didn't like!

Sleepy Squares

Quinoa with Cumin Chicken

If you have never tried quinoa (pronounce keen-wa) you are missing out. This is grain comes from South America and is packed with protein. You can use it in place of rice. It has a nutty, earthy flavor. I like the red quinoa best. You can find it some grocery stores but for sure at Whole Foods or a gourmet store.

Here are some of the ingredients. You don't have to use fancy vinegar as I did, you can use any that you have on hand.

First, you make the dressing.

Then you cook the quinoa using pacakage directions. It looks really weird, kind of like worms, but you are gonna have to trust me on this one.

I like to slice through the chicken breasts. This is called butterflying. It makes me wonder how they get those chickens to grow so big. Hmmmmmmm.

Liberally season your chicken with this stuff. You can cut back on the cajun seasoning if your shy.

The pan should sizzle when you place the chicken in.

You know how I love that caramelization process. Get some color on that bird. Be sure your exhaust is on . You may want to open a window too. Cough.

Smell-vision.

Mix dressing ingredients into cooled quinoa.

Slice the browned chicken on the bias. Look at all that yummy juice.

Time for plating and eating.

And now for the cleanup-dang it.

Quinoa with Cumin Chicken

1 Cup quinoa, cooked to pkg. directions

1/2 tsp. salt

Dressing:

1/4 cup vinegar

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. honey

Chicken:

1 lbs. chicken boneless, skinless breasts, butterflied

Cumin

Cajun seasoning

Additions:

1 stalk celery, diced

3 Tbsp. craisins, chopped

3 Tbsp. sunflower seeds (or other nut you like-I don't discriminate)

Directions:

Cook quinoa according to pkg. adding 1/2 tsp salt.

Combine dressing ingredients and set aside. Heat pan to smoking hot. Season chicken. Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil to pan and cook til golden brown. Slice chicken on the bias.

Combine dressing, quinoa, additions, and chicken. Enjoy. 

Quinoa with Cumin Chicken

Blurring Backgrounds

I just realized that my point and shoot camera has a feature that helps you blur backgrounds. This is what makes closeups look so professional. I was outside, it was lightly drizzling, so I decided to try this newly found  setting . Closest colorful subject? My freshly painted toenails. While I am quite happy with the the look of the photo itself, I am mortified at the quality of my self-pedicure. Yikes! Too much of a close-up for my toes.

This next subject is easier on the eyes. Azaleas are in bloom . Ain't these purty? I thought the rain gave them a special, dew-kissed appearance.

I have so much to learn and I would love a better camera. All in good time.

You know my motto. "Baby steps." Baby steps with a better looking pedicure. Ha!

Girls Night In: Sushi

My friend Lisa called and wanted to plan a girls night. By girls she meant her two girls(each with a friend) and of course me. I had to say yes because Thing2 is one of the friends and Lisa wanted me to teach them how to make sushi. Now, I have only made sushi a few times, but I am always up for a party that includes cooking and eating. If any Japanese person is reading this, I hope you won't be offended at my amateur approach to the beautiful art of sushi making. I know it takes 1 year just to learn to make sushi rice.  I won't be posting the recipe because it is so complicated, but I have a little kit that contains the bamboo roller and a book with great pictures and directions. Check your local bookstore for such books. There are tons.

Lisa's oldest daughter is taking a photography class. She was teaching Thing2 and me how to use her fancy camera. The pics in this post were taken with my lame point and shoot. I have a lot to learn about sushi and photography.

Thing2 fooling with the rice. Note: orange polka dot fingernails. That's my girl.

Sliced cucumbers add that nice crunch. They look pretty, too.

Here is the eel sauce. That yummy, salty, sweet,brown, gooey substance you drizzle on sushi.

This is Beignet, the Bichon. He wasn't sure about the eel sauce.

Here is the real eel. That was fun to say.

Finished product. The girls loved it. So did the moms.
 

Governor's Mansion

Today I have the great honor of going to the Governor's Mansion. I am helping to cater a party there in April.Even though I have lived here all my life, I have never been inside the mansion. Cannot wait .I am very excited. Oh boy!  Stay tuned for pics and menu.

All things Orange

I love orange. I love it more and more each time I look at it. I even painted my hall bathroom a color called "Orange You Happy" . If I wear orange near my face, I make sure it is more of a salmon or neon orange. Warm pumpkin washes out my skin tone. It makes me look nauseous and sad. However, I have been known to sport a hot orange purse, shoe, bracelet or toenails. Someone once told me that orange is the color of organization and since I am not the neatest nick on the block, perhaps it makes me feel like my world is in order. I have spent time thinking about why I love it so much. Let me count the ways.

1. It is warm
2. It is bright
3. It makes me feel happy
4. It is refreshing
5. It speaks life to me
6. My friend Kristin loves it and I trust her sense of style implicitly

I will be posting photos that contain orange., mainly because it will fun for me to have more orange stuff to look at. What is your favorite and why?
BTW-orange is very big this season. Yayyyyyy me.


All Things Orange

Orange Cabin

Arnold Palmer Look Alike

I don't like to consume a lot of artificial sweetener.  Why do anything to slow down my already sluggish brain?
I found a drink mix that contains stevia and sugar but is low in calories.

Take a 16 oz. glass of water.


Add one packet of this:

Plus 2 teaspoons of this:

Plus 1/2 tsp. or more of this:

Stir well and add lots of ice and a straw. Soooooo refreshing. I have tried it with the decaf tea, but it really tastes so much better with the regular. I have also tried it with freshly brewed tea, but the powdered tea makes me think of the 70's. Plus, it is a lot faster.  If you want to be shi shi, adding a sprig of mint or a slice of lemon would be a nice touch.

Arnold Palmer Look Alike

Words

I have a really smart friend. She is quite articulate and I love to hear her speak. I learn new words every time I am around her. Today she said "pariah'. I immediately demanded a definition. Here it is. A pariah is a social outcast. I will now attempt to use it in a sentence. I hope my friend approves. She graduated from Vanderbilt, I'm nervous. "In high school,although I wasn't a pariah, I certainly did not find myself circulating in the most popular cliques". Whew. I hope that made me sound smart. Do I get an "E" for effort?

Dad and Thing1 showing off their new fancy t-shirts from some redneck bar-b-que  restaurant out in the middle of nowhere. My two favorite things. Orange and funny stuff.

My Original Recipe Box

We all have them, don't we? I received this recipe box as a wedding gift in 1986. It is worn and torn, but I still use it! Look at the stain on the recipe! If you knew me, you would understand the stain. I cook a lot and I am messy. My goal is to blog these treasured , decades old recipes passed to me by family and friends. A daunting task. Baby steps.

Fat Cow

This place has the most incredible burgers, fries and onion rings in the world. They even have shakes made with Creole cream cheese. They are located near the South Gates of LSU. I really like the sign.

Click Here to see their menu and location.

Speck

"My mom blogs a lot. I sit in the window near the computer. I keep the evil squirrel invaders away. When I am not napping , of course."
Speck in the Window

Speck

"Mom won't let, let me put my paws on the white leather bar stools. I figured I could get a pass on the metal rungs. Gotta love me."

Speck Under the Chair

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I cannot remember how many years ago this dip became popular , but every time I make it, it gets wiped out. It is so simple that you should never consider buying it already prepared. Dip away.

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and  finely diced
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (the kind in the plastic jar)
1 box chopped frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 shakes of Tabasco
salt and pepper to taste

Squeeze any remaining liquid from spinach. Combine all ingredients. Place in a greased baking dish. Bake 350 til bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve with pita bites or corn chips, sour cream and salsa. Can be made ahead and frozen before baking.

Notes:
You could easily spread this on chicken or fish before baking. Yum.

Easy and Almost Quick Gumbo (Chicken and Sausage)

I did get around to making that gumbo last night. Hubby was very happy. Here it is.

I admit it. I do cheat a little on Gumbo. I use a packaged dry  roux instead of making it from scratch for 2 reasons: it is lower in fat and it saves time.  No one is the wiser for my little secret. Another secret is that I use boneless skinless chicken thighs. They are inexpensive and  the dark meat adds a rich flavor. No one has ever detected the dark meat. If you are white meat lover, just substitute breasts for the thighs.

First, season the chicken and  brown the thighs in 1 tablespoon oil. I like to use an iron skillet because it gets the meat really brown. We like things blackened and browned down here. Remove to a plate.

Next, brown the sausage then remove it to the plate with the chicken.

Do the same to the okra. This will help to release the gelatinous secretions. Sounds yuck but we love our okra in our gumbo.

In a separate pot, you are going to saute the onions, celery and bell pepper til soft.  Once soft, add the garlic  and mix well.

Whew, lots of steps, but now comes the fun part. Add the roux and stir well. Then whisk in the broth and the water. Once combined, add the okra. 

This is what it will look like . The brown roux will have the appearance of gravy. The roux is the most important flavoring ingredient.

After this concoction simmers for 10 minutes, you can add the chicken and sausage. How long it simmers after that is up to you. 30 minutes more is about what I like.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

2 medium white or yellow onions, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 cup dry roux

1 quart of chicken broth

3 cups water

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 lb smoked , pork sausage

1 bag frozen okra

salt, pepper, tony's seasoning to taste.

Heat an iron skillet on medium. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add 1 Tbsp. oil. Cook chicken until lightly browned. Remove chicken to a plate to cool. Add the sausage to the hot skillet and cook until lightly browned. Remove to a plate. Add okra to the skillet and cook til soft and most of the "slime" is gone. Tear cooled chicken into bite size pieces. Heat a dutch oven on medium and saute onions, celery and bell pepper. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Using a whisk, add roux and combine until smooth. Add broth and water and bring to a simmer. Add okra and continue cooking for 10 minutes. You may have to lower heat to keep it at a simmer. Do not let it boil rapidly. Add chicken and sausage and continue cooking for at least 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning. At this point you can add more salt, pepper or Tony's. Serve with rice and sliced green onions. Makes 8-10 servings.

Notes:

I like to use locally made smoked sausage. It is truly superior. Sometimes I will add a smoked chicken quarter and use less of the chicken thighs. You get a really smokey flavor in the gumbo by doing this. If you have a smoked turkey leg , that works well, too.

Easy and Almost Quick Chicken and Sausage Gumbo