Busy Week

Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been a tough and busy week. Even though I don't consider myself to be much of a writer, I have discovered that this "blogging thing" is a great stress reliever. This week we had record numbers for our Wednesday Night Dinner at the church for which I work. We ran out of the pork tenderloin and had to go to the old standby--chicken nuggets! Friday night I cooked for our Celebrate Recovery ministry which was a lot of fun. We had Honey Mustard Pecan Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes and Maple Glazed Carrots, Rolls, Tossed Salad, Key Lime Bars and Honey Lime Fruit Toss. I had doctors' appointments, work, cooking, home stuff, washing machine broken, etc. Tonight I tried a new recipe in the slow cooker for dinner. It was wonderful and I want to share it with you. Please let me know how you like it if you decide to make for yourself or for your family. Also, please ask questions. I love to teach as well. I would love to hear from you.

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

1/4 cup butter
1 (0.7 ounce) package Italian salad dressing mix
2 (10.75 ounce) cans golden mushroom soup
1 (8 ounce) container cream cheese with chive and onion
1 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Hot cooked angel hair pasta

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add dressing mix, stirring to combine. Stir in soup, cream cheese and wine or broth; cook stirring constantly until cream cheese is melted and smooth. In a 6 qt. electric slow cooker, add chicken. Pour soup mixture over chicken. Cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken until tender. Serve over pasta. Garnish with parsley if desired.

New Recipe

Good Evening, fellow cooks! If you can believe it the weather know it alls here in Richmond, VA are calling for snow again tomorrow evening! This winter has been the worst on record in quite some time. So, with that in mind, I decided to try a new soup recipe for dinner today. It is pretty simple and quite tasty! Working at the church tomorrow making Roasted Garlic Pork Tenderloin, Cinnamon Buttered Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Rolls, French Silk Pie. It's going to be a really busy day due to our reservations being up! (makes me very happy!) I look forward to Wednesdays each week. Here is the Italian Bean and Pasta Soup recipe from this evening. Let me know if you like it!

Italian Bean and Pasta Soup

2 ham hocks(if you're not from the south you may not know what these are!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
12 cups water
2-16 oz. cans navy beans, drained
1-15.8 oz. can great Northern beans, drained
2-14.5 oz. cand diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 cups uncooked ditalini pasta(can be difficult to find. Any very small pasta will work.)

In a large Dutch oven,(at least 6qts.) combine ham hock, onion, celery, carrot and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 1 hour. Remove ham hocks and let cool. Remove meat from ham hocks; discard skin, bones and fat. Return meat to Dutch oven. Stir in beans, tomatoes, Italian seasoning and pasta. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender. Serve immediately.

Great served with garlic cheese bread and a salad!

Random Thoughts

This week has been really busy! I have been doing quite a bit of cooking at work this week and even more planning for upcoming events. Got booked to speak at a conference this summer so now I have to start planning that class. Just finished my kitchen policy and procedures and will be having a kitchen training class at 4 today. As I am writing my for my summer class at conference, I will share with you the process in several blogs. My topic is event planning how to's. This is a big topic! I am so tired right now I can barely think straight. Yesterday, I made muffins, scones, danishes for a continental breakfast. Then, I made lasagna, pasta marinara and chicken alfredo for a banquet. Watch this week for another post with some recipes for you to try. Will post a simple Chicken Piccata, my personal recipe for rice pilaf and my Aunt Ruby's pound cake recipe. All are absolutely spectacular and extremely easy. Watch for the blog!

New Recipe

I came home today so tired. I had planned on cooking a new recipe from Paula Deen. Being so tired I thought this recipe would be great because it was categorized "Quick and Easy". So many times that label does not live up to its name. It is usually NOT quick, NOT easy or is a very bland recipe. This recipe was absolutely QUICK, EASY and is definitely NOT bland. As working women, moms, etc., we all need to have in our repertoire recipes like this one. Try it! I'm sure you will love it! I will be trying some more new recipes later in the week and will blog my opinions and share the recipes if they are found worthy.

Chicken and Asparagus with Pesto Sauce

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
2 tablespoons olive oil(EVOO)
1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons prepared pesto

Cut chicken breasts in half crosswise to make 6 pieces. Pound to 1/4 inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken, in batches if necessary, and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet; set aside and keep warm. Add cut asparagus to skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until just tender. Add cream and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in pesto. Return chicken to skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes longer, or until heated through and there are no pink juices from chicken. Serve immediately.

*I served this over linguine. It was absolutely a stunning dish! Enjoy!

Pantry Items

Here is the pantry items that I suggest you have on hand. I'm sure I forgot something, so ask questions if you need to do so.

I will be trying some new recipes this week so I will post one if I have found a spectacular one. Happy Cooking!


Pantry Lists

Items listed are for dry goods, cold foods and frozen foods.

Novice Cook
Salt (sea salt preferred- I use Real Salt.)
Ground Black Pepper
All Purpose flour
Sugar
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Your choice of cake mixes-at least 2 in stock
Granulated Garlic
Onion Powder
Olive Oil
Canola Oil
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chili powder
Dried basil
Dried parsley
Canned tomatoes
Cream of chicken soup (4)
Cream of mushroom soup (4)
White Rice
Shortening
White vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Light brown sugar
Cinnamon
Popcorn
Tomato sauce
Tomato paste
Macaroni
Your choice of pasta
Jar of your choice of marinara
Plain Bread crumbs
Italian bread crumbs
Chicken broth
Beef broth
Ketchup
Mayonnaise (Duke’s ONLY)
Yellow mustard
Eggs
Butter (always unsalted)
Baking potatoes
Cheddar cheese
Bacon
Sour cream


Average Cook
Anything on the previous list adding the following:
Dried mustard powder
Italian seasoning
Chicken Stock
Beef Stock
Brown Mustard
Dijon Mustard
Bragg’s Amino Acids (use as Worcestershire sauce)
Your choice of honey (I use Sage or Tupelo, but prefer Sage.)
Bag salad
Onions
Fresh garlic head
Chicken breasts
Fresh carrots
Broccoli Florets or Spears (can be fresh or frozen)
Ranch dressing mix
Beefy onion or onion soup mix


Experienced cook
Anything on the previous list adding the following:
Mushrooms,
Green pepper
Red pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Chipotle peppers in a can of adobo sauce
Cilantro
Fresh Thyme
Fresh flat leaf parsley
Heavy cream
Half and half
Kosher salt
Peppercorns (to be freshly ground)
Cheesecloth
Parchment paper
Extra virgin olive oil
Pecans
Panko bread crumbs
Orange Juice
Cumin
Coriander
Dill
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Fresh Garlic
Red Wine Vinegar
Champagne Vinegar
Rice Wine Vinegar
Sesame Oil
White Wine Vinegar
Truffle Oil (if you can afford it; it’s very expensive)
Saffron (also very expensive)

Pantry Items

Guess what? Weather people are predicting more SNOW!!! Ugh!!!!!!!!!! I sure hope we don't get anymore. I have just had enough of it. I have a men's breakfast to cook Saturday morning. Going to make these guys, maybe 25-30, ham and cheese omelettes, hash browns, pepper gravy and biscuits and scalloped apples. I told you I would let you know about the Citrus Pan Grilled Chicken that I made on Wednesday night for our family dinner. My family LOVED it! I just bought a Calphalon Unison grill pan and wanted to create an entree that would use the pan. Just let me say that I think the pan is AWESOME! I will list the recipe for the chicken at the end of this blog. I have had a question submitted to me by several of you via the blog or email that I will be answering soon. I am working on the answer right now and will post it as soon as possible. Some of you have asked me what I keep in my pantry. So, I am comprising a list of pantry items for the novice cook, the average cook and the advanced cook. Watch the blog for this coming soon. Please tell your friends and family about my blog!


Citrus Pan Grilled Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, well trimmed
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
4 tbsp. fresh orange juic
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbslp. lime juice

Mix the olive oil and the remaining 8 ingredients in a bowl. Pour the marinade into plastic ziplock bags or into a roasting pan. Pour the marinade into the bags or pan. Marinate a minimum of 2 hours to a maximum of 4 hours. Heat the pan with a slight amount of olive oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken and grill them until brown and flip to brown the other side. Usually , it will take about 3- 5 minutes on each side. When done browning the chicken place it in a prheated 350 degree oven to finish it for about 20 minutes. It should come out very moist and delicious. Let me know what you think.

4th Snowfall of the winter season

Well....Do I need to say it again?? I'm so sick of snow and am SO ready for spring and summer! I'm snowed in again due to the road conditions here in Richmond, VA. So, I guess I'm going to do some more housecleaning and some more cooking. I'm going to try a new recipe tonight for our family dinner that I think will be good. If it is phenomenal, I will post the recipe. I'm going to call it Citrus Pan Grilled Chicken. We will see what happens. Our side dishes tonight will be oven roasted garlic and onion potatoes and roasted winter veggies. Check tomorrow for my results of the chicken dish. Tonight we were going to have Chef Tammy's Beef Stew, pasta salad, tossed salad and yeast rolls with vanilla bean cheesecake for dessert at our Wednesday Night Dinner at church. Guess I will have to plan that for another Wednesday night due to all activities being cancelled due to snow! Stay warm, stay indoors and keep on cooking. Please send me any cooking questions you may have. I enjoy problem solving in the kitchen as well!

Addition to Sunday's blog

The steak and gravy recipe has beef broth as an ingredient. It is an optional ingredient. I add about 1/2 to 1 cup of beef broth when I have it in stock.

Memories of My Mom

Last evening's dinner brought back a wonderful childhood memory. My mom was one of the best southern cooks ever! She made a mean country style steak and gravy that was always one of my favorites as a child. When I would smell that steak cooking, it brought such joy to me and my sisters! So, with all of the snow here, I decided to make a comfort food dinner. So, we had country style steak and gravy, buttered rice, green beans and sweet potato souffle. It was awesome and tasted just like my mom's. My mom is no longer alive, but is definitely here with me everytime I step foot into my kitchen or my church kitchen. I hope that all who read this blog will not get tired of hearing about memories of my mom. I love you, Mom, and am so grateful for the love of food and cooking you instilled in me! Here are the recipes for the steak and gravy and the souffle. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Souffle-6-8 servings
This is really more like a pudding than a souffle. I have made some additions and alterations to the orignial recipe that I have had in my recipe box for almost 29 years.

3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping
1 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 stick butter, melted

Mix all ingredients and sprinkle on top of souffle filling.

Mix all ingredients together and pour into lightly sprayed or greased souffle dish or 1 1/2 - 2qt. baking dish. Cover with topping and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50-60 minutes. In a souffle dish, it could take up to 60 minutes.

Country Style Steak and Gravy-6-8 servings

3 lbs. cubed steak
vegetable oil
salt
pepper
1 cup flour
1 tsp. onion powder or 1/2 cup onion thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic or powder
beef broth
3 -4 cups water

Pour vegetable oil to cover bottom of heavy duty frying pan, preferably cast iron or stainless steel, to about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch deep. Combine flour, salt and pepper to taste, garlic and onion powder if using. Stir together or sift together well. Heat oil on medium high heat or 350 degrees. Cut steak into serving size pieces if necessary. Dredge in flour mixture and place steak pieces into hot oil. DO NOT overcrowd the skillet. When browned on both sides, remove from oil and place on a platter lined with paper towels to absorb oil. When meat is finished browning, add remaining flour mixture to oil, adding more flour if needed, to make a roux, or thickening agent for the gravy. If you feel you need more fat for this step, add a little butter. Brown the flour mixture for about 3-5 minutes. Carefully pour the water into the pan stirring constantly. Lower the temperature to medium heat or 325 degrees. Bring the gravy to a simmer until slightly thickened and add the steak back to the gravy. Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until tender.

*Tip-If you have a pressure cooker, after browning add meat to pressure cooker, then make gravy. Add gravy to pressure cooker keeping the gravy thinner because it will get thicker while it cooks in the pressure cooker. Cook the steak and gravy for about 35 minutes in the pressure cooker.
*Tip-You can do the same with a slow cooker. Just cook on low for about 7-8 hours.

Snow Again!!

Well, it's snowing AGAIN!!! In 2 weekends here in Richmond, VA, we have had probably in the neighborhood of 18 -20 inches of snow depending on where you live! I'm sick of the snow! It shuts everything down here! I am a born and bred DEEP SOUTH southerner and I don't care much for snow. I like it for just a few minutes. It's beautiful while it's falling; it's beautiful when it's undisturbed, but it's only really good for ONE thing---SNOWCREAM!!! Snowcream is an absolute must to make if you are from the south! I learned to make this as a very young girl when it snowed in NC or GA, the two states I lived in as a child. I will share the recipe with you here so you can make it for yourself or your family. Snowcream is a family affair; everyone can get involved! You can alter this recipe to your liking--less sweet or more sweet, less cream or more cream or different flavorings. Remember, you have to work quickly due to the snow melting when coming inside. Enjoy!!!

Snowcream

• Place a LARGE bowl outside to collect snow when it begins to snow. A decent snowfall of about 4-6" is necessary to get the"right" snow and the right amount.
• Get your ingredients ready inside before bringing the bowl of snow inside.
• I place 1 cup of sugar into my snow that is at least 5 inches deep and 2 tsp. of vanilla.
• I add 1 cup of half and half and mix quickly.
• Serve immediately!!!!
• Be careful! Snowcream can give brain freeze!!!
• Again, you can make it less sweet or more sweet, you can use milk for less fat or heavy cream for more fat. I suggest the following flavoring: vanilla, almond or coconut.

Enjoy! Stay warm if you live near me!