Chicken Spaghetti

I know, I know, your thinking Chicken Spaghetti, really? But this is not just any Chicken Spaghetti. This is the Mother of all Chicken Spaghettis. We were doing a fund raiser at church this weekend and I made enough chicken spaghetti for the whole congregation! It took 3 of us 10 hours to make, but not to fear if you are making this for a reasonable amount of people, like say 10? It will only take you a few hours and most of that time is cook time :)
Cook a five to six lb chicken and reserve the stock. Debone the chicken and set aside. Cook down 2 yellow onions, 2 green bell peppers and 2 stalks of celery chopped in a little bit of olive oil. Once they all get nice and soft add 2 cloves of garlic. (This weekend my recipe needed 22 cloves of garlic, it is now 2 days later and my fingers still smell like garlic even with gloves on!) Then add a twenty ounce can of stewed tomatoes and 2 small cans of tomato paste along with 22 oz of chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning and Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning to taste. You can add a little or alot of this, I like alot! Let that simmer for about 2 hours, now add back the chicken in bite sized pieces and a small can of mushroom. Serve over Angel Hair Pasta and Wowya!! Look out!

Chicken Soup- A Cure-All!

This weekend my Husband came down with Strep-throat! Yikes! He throat hurt so bad that I knew he would not be able to swallow too much and when my throat hurts all I want is Chicken Noodle Soup, it's like Jewish Penacillen :)I am Methodist and for us it is more like a well said Prayer.
I boiled, then simmered a 5lb Chicken (cut into pieces) with 6 cups of water, a little salt, a little pepper and one bay leaf for 2 hours. During the last half hour I added sliced carrot and celery. When the Chicken is falling off the bone, take it our of the water and debone it and chop it into bite sized pieces and set aside. Skim the fat off the top and add about a cup and a half of noodles. Cook until tender and add the chicken back to the pot. Sprinkle generously with parsley and voila!!
This soup makes being sick, not quite so bad :)

Sauces

No one ever gives enough credit to sauce! Can you think of a single meal that does not include or could not be improved with the right sauce? It could be as simple as Maple Syrup or Ketchup or as complex as a nice Beurre Blanc (a hot emulsified Butter Sauce, usually made with Vinegar, white white and shallots with cold butter is blended off the heat to avoid seperation)or a more popular Hollandaise (an emulsion of egg yolk and butter usually sweetened with lemon juice). OR if you are from my neck of the woods you might just want to smother everything with a good gravy, 'round here we do not ask if you would like gravy, we simply ask if you want brown or white!
I always eat a dish and think, this is good but what if I added _______? when I was 16, I was babysitting my youngest brother and for dinner I just pulled all the leftovers out of the fridge so that we could just sort of graze as it were. Well, we had Chinese food with the good red sweet and sour sauce and we had pizza. Sean and I decided to eat both :) So, I just dumped the sweet and sour sauce on everything and heated it up. OMGoodness, that was the best pizza ever, unfortunately you can not buy sweet and sour sauce of that calliber at the grocery store so unless you have just recently had chinese, you will most likely not have such a sauce, so what you ask could be substituted if you find yourself in this conundrum? I would say grape jelly baby!!!!!!! Oh yeah... Try it and tell me what you think.
I would also like to challenge everyone to come up with a dish that they believe is perfect and could not be improved with some sort of wetness, lol

Healthy Kick

Husband and I have decided that we need to lose some weight :) So, I will be attempting to cook healthier and also more frequent. It is either more expensive or more time consuming or both to eat healthier but we need it so, here goes...
Last night we had Lemon Pepper Chicken and green beans.
I bought Chicken Breast Tenders so that it would be a faster cook then the whole breast for a quick weeknight meal. I heated about 2 tbspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and seasoned my tenders with salt and lots of black pepper (freshly cracked). Cook the tenders over medium heat, turning over every 3 to 4 minutes until you have some good color on the outside and they are no longer pink in the center. About half way through cooking process I vested a lemon over the top and then added the juice of 1/2 of that lemon (it was a good sized lemon). For the green beans, I hate to admit it but we used the canned variety :( But if you want soft cooked down green beans it is gonna take time, I like them a little crunchy but no one else in the house does, so what are you gonna do?? lol

Deep Fried

Here in the south we deep fry anything and everything! I was just listening to a local radio station, and they were discussing the new state fair item coming this fall, get this, DEEP FRIED BUTTER! What!! They said 1/2 the butter actually melts in the deep fryer so what you end up with is really buttery batter. We also have deep fried coca cola (don't ask me how they do that one!), deep fried oreos, deep fried snickers. I just can't take deep fried fat, I can feel my arteries clogging, haha.
My preference is deep fried vegetables, yummy. Green Tomatoes, squash, okra and my favorite- PICKLES!!! I first had this delectable treat at a gas station in Arkansas in 1998, I think this is probably where most of our better culinary endevours began, lol. I think the reason why the fried pickle appeals sooo to me is because you get that wonderful acidic bite from the vinegar, and the lovely sweet and spicy breading is the perfect counter point. I like my breaded in a mixture of corn meal and flour, seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika and just a touch of cayenne. Deep fried to a nice golden brown :) And dipped in a nice homeade buttermilk ranch dressing.
If you have not had the opportunity to try this culinary wonder, I would strongly suggest whooping up a batch of these, like pronto!! ENJOY

Chicken Pot Pie- Quick and Easy

ok, I know that it is not exactly cool enough weather for Chicken Pot Pie or any of my other favorite cold weather, comfort dishes but I just can't wait any longer!!!!!!!! School is starting back and I can see the pumpkins, feel the cool air, smell all the fair food that is coming! So, tonight I will turn the thermostat down to 65, put my "all the way down pants" on and enjoy this deliously easy Chicken Pot Pie :)
Ingredients Add to grocery list
2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (1-pound) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.

2.In a large bowl, combine soup, and next 6 ingredients. Stir in vegetables and chicken. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish; set aside.

3.In a small bowl, combine baking mix and cheese. Add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop biscuits by heaping tablespoonfuls evenly over chicken mixture. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until biscuits are browned and pot pie is hot and bubbly.

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking with Paula Deen Jan/Feb 2007

Who doesn't love a good Paula Deen Recipe? I love that lady. I asked my husband the other day which food network personality I was most like, i.e. my cooking style and I guess he thought he needed to pick someone really cute so as not to upset me and so he says "Rachel Ray". I told him that he must be eating at someone else's house cause I act and cook like Paula Deen or maybe Sunny Anderson :) Obviously one of my idols would be Ina Garten of The Barefoot Contessa but if we are going to be realistic here... well, maybe one day lol...

Pasta-laya

Why does Pasta-laya tastes so much better to me than Jambalaya lol? I think it is because that pasta is sooo tender in this dish because honestly it probably gets a little over cooked, so if your one of those die hard AL Dente people then this is not for you.
I like to start with chopped onions, green bell peppers, celery, and garlic, all cooked down and fragrant. (I cook it down in extra virgin olive oil) then add some smoked sausage and some chopped smoked pork (all meats already cooked) and some cooked pasta, really any will do as long as it has been broken up small enough. And this is just me but i like to add a little tony's and a little kitchen bouquet :)
Let me know how you like it!

Boudin...Did you know

Last nite Husband was feeling generous, so he offered to take care of dinner. This means that he picked something up, bless his heart. And he went to Tony's seafood in Baton Rouge and got us some fried catfish, boiled shimp, boiled corn and my favorite the Boudin Balls!! Yum!
Did you know that Boudin is a french dish? This does not surprise me as most New Orleans cuisine has had it start in either France or Spain. For French boudin blanc is a highly perishable sausage made with pork, chicken, and/or veal mixed with milk, cognac, and spices.
In Louisiana we usually make ours with pork and always, always with lots of rice and a delectable mixture of cajun seasonings :)

Whole Foods

I love love love whole foods!!!! But I can barely afford to shop their and certainly not all the time :( Do you know why I love whole foods because their fruits and veggies are always fresh, well for the most part and their meat is fantastic. But why should I have to pay a freakin arm and a leg to get meat and produce that is not on the verge of spoilage all in one store!!! I currently buy my meat at the local associated grocery (Oak Point) but their dairy is usually dated with use by the current date! So, I go to Albertson's for Dairy but I don't like the look of their chicken and for the most part their meat is overpriced! Walmart is the devil but I still buy most of my prepacked goods there, I just have to, everyone else is twice the price. And as far as the fruit and produce go I just get what I can, when I can between a combo of these stores :(
But as soon as I win the lottery, I will shop exclusively at WHOLE FOODS!!

Check out this link, it is for the you tube video "Getting real in the whole foods parking lot" too funny :)

Best Chicken Enchiladas!!

I know that everyone says that their recipe is the best but I gotta tell ya this is the BEST one that I have ever had!! It is a variation of a recipe in one of Paula Deen's Magazine but oddly enough does not contain any butter :( lol
I use a rotissarie Chicken this just speeds things up and to me inparts more flavor. Go ahead and debone the chicken, and grate or buy pre-grated cheese ( you are gonna need something crazy like 2lbs :) I like a combo of sharp cheddar and mexican but whatever you prefer will work. Your also gonna need the juice of one lime, a handful of fresh cilantro (chopped), and about 1/2 of a yellow onion (also Chopped). You could also add a small can of green chilies but that is strictly optional. Now combine everything (except for about 1/3 of the cheese) and roll up in tortillas ( I like flour ) then pour 2 cans of enchilada sauce on it and top with remaining cheese. Bake this at 350 for about 15 minutes and then top with sour cream!!
Ps. Shout out to Mike and Kelly!!

This will be dinner tonight!

Breakfast! It's what's for Dinner :)

What is your go-to weeknight meal, when you have nothing planned, you didn't leave anything out and you don't want to go to the store? I usually do grilled cheese and soup but tonight I am craving Breakfast :) Eggs, Bacon and Pancakes. I have this skillet that I bought at wal-mart years ago, called a pancake skillet. It has a lid and you can actually flip it over and cook it on the other side. You will never again have to do without pancakes!!! hahaha

Manicotti- Any way you like it

The traditional Manicotti is a mixture of italian cheeses (usually including ricotta) inside pasta rolls, topped with sauce and then more cheese (typically Monzarella or Parm). I made this dish Husband friendly by stuffing the shells ground meat, onions, green bell peppers and garlic, cooked together and seasoned well. Topped with a previously prepared marinara and after baking this for about 20 minutes, I topped with Monzarella and then cooked until melted and bubbly! Even your pickiest eaters with enjoy this :)