Broccoli!

Hello, lovelies!
I know, I know - I've been terrible about updating.  Things have been quite hectic in my personal life and my schedule's been rather nuts.  However, I've been cooking up a storm!

Last night I tried out this recipe, the link to which I discovered on Pinterest (if you aren't on there, stop what you're doing right now and sign the fuck up, dudes.  Seriously.  It's awesome!).
Here is the link directly to the recipe in question.  I'll summarize it here for you:

Ingredients:
4-5 lbs. fresh broccoli
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 lemon
Freshly grated parmesan
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Fresh basil, julienned (optional)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 425F.
2.  Cut broccoli into relatively large florets - be sure it's *dry*!
3.  Toss the broccoli with garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on a cookie sheet.
4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven when the broccoli is relatively crispy, but still tender.  There should be some the tiniest bit of browning here and there.
5.  After removing the broccoli from the oven, place in a bowl and zest the lemon over it, then squeeze the juice of the lemon into it.
6.  Add a touch more olive oil, parmesan, and the basil and pine nuts if you'll be using those.
7.  Give it a few stirs to combine the additional ingredients and enjoy!

NOTES:  For this recipe, I didn't use the pine nuts or the basil (just like in the link posted) and it was AMAZING.  However, I will probably try adding the basil and pine nuts next go round to see how we like it. GDB and I were both pretty big fans - this is *definitely* something I'll be cooking pretty often now.  It's delicious!

Pollo a la Gato

I've been experimenting with new ways to use roasted tomatoes (thanks to the fabulous yield of tomatoes from family and friends, since my garden didn't quite take off due to the timing of our recent move).  I came up with this idea since I wanted to incorporate some of the chicken from the freezer along with the tomatoes and some cilantro I picked up at the farmer's market earlier this week. So, here goes!

First, you roast the tomatoes:

Preheat your oven to 200F for cherry tomatoes, 350F for medium and large tomatoes.

Cut the tomatoes in half, removing any bad spots and the tops.  For this recipe, I used local yellow tomatoes (they have a little more of a tart flavor), but you can use any tomato for this.

Place the tomatoes on the skin-side on a nonstick baking sheet or pizza pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt.  Add some fresh garlic (peeled and sliced) on top of the tomatoes to allow the flavor to bake in.  You can also sprinkle on some seasonings like oregano, cayenne pepper powder, etc. depending on your tastes.

For medium/large tomatoes, cook for about 30 minutes (longer for super-large varieties - you want them nice and roasted through).

After roasting, you will put the tomatoes into a blender or food chopper and chop until you're happy with the consistency.  It can be as chunky or smooth as you like.

Place your chicken in your crock pot and pour on the tomatoes.

Add a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, the juice of 2-3 limes, and some sliced green onions.  Salt to taste. 

Stew in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 2-4 hours.  

Serve over rice.  Accompany with margaritas.

Enjoy!

Kale chips

Okay, I know it sounds gross, I do.  I was skeptical at first (as was the Bearded Wonder).  But seriously, these things are AMAZING!  They're also good for you AND toddler-approved!

Ingredients:
Kale, torn into small bits (ditch the stems)
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Additionally seasoning (see notes)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place the kale on a nonstick cookie sheet.
Drizzle with about 1 tbsp. olive oil.
Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.
Bake for 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven.
Remove from oven and pig out.

Notes:
Regarding baking times, try to keep a close eye on your first few batches to get a feel for how long it takes in your oven.  You want them nice and crispy, but not super brown and burnt.  You also don't want them too squishy (they need to cook a little longer when this happens).
Kale chips tend to be super crunchy and wind up in tiny bits.  Some people enjoy this over popcorn or salad.
For seasoning, you can experiment (as always!).  Some tried and true ideas:
Try sprinkling a little bit of brown sugar over the kale after removing from the oven.
Before baking, add sesame seeds.
Of course, try Tony's.
You can also try sauces - a friend of mine likes Tabasco, I've had luck with worchestershire sauce.

Enjoy!

Apple dumplings!

Do I suck at updating or what?  Stupid real life, getting in the way of my blogging!  As it turns out, two year olds don't give a shit if you want to sit at your computer quietly for fifteen minutes.  Who knew?
This is a recipe that initially started with my mother-in-law.  I loved the recipe, but it used a LOT of sugar and my husband (who isn't too big on super-sweet food) would never help me eat it, so I'd invariably wind up eating basically the whole thing over a couple of days by myself with only a little bit of help from Kiddo.  So, I decided to experiment.  The results were AWESOME.  So here is the recipe I now use!

Ingredients:
About 4 medium apples (choose your favorite type)
2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter
1/2 can of Diet 7Up
1/3 cup honey
Zest from two lemons

1.  Grease your pan(s)/casserole dish and preheat your oven to 350 F.
2.  Slice the apples.  You want medium-sized chunks.
3.  Wrap the apple chunks in the individual crescent rolls and place in the pan.
4.  Melt the butter and stir the honey, zest, and 7 Up into the melted butter.  Pour mixture over the dumplings.
5.  Cook until dumplings are a nice golden brown (about 30 minutes).  Allow to cool and enjoy!

These dumplings are excellent to bring to potlucks, or serve with breakfast.  They're also great hangover food.  (HI MOM!)

Crepes... and then some

Today, I experimented with this recipe:  ZoomYummy: Crepes with cream cheese filling

I was very excited, knowing that I had two bricks of cream cheese in the fridge just waiting to go into our bellies Cream cheese is a MAJOR favorite of mine.  I am convinced it should be a food group.  Anyway, I start putting the ingredients on the counter... and realize we don't have enough milk.  I don't keep canned milk or anything along those lines in the pantry.  As I opened the freezer to make sure we still had some frozen fruit I could use, I spotted a viable alternative to the milk:  frozen breastmilk.
Now, before you gag, let's keep in mind:  these are to be eaten by me (who makes the milk, after all) and my daughter (who still drinks the milk), so really, nothing squig-worthy there.  I'd never serve anything with breastmilk in it without warning people.  While I don't find anything weird about it (after all, cow's milk does come from cows, so why should human milk be gross for any reason?), I can respect that others may.  So, that said, we went to work.
I also didn't have powdered sugar for the cream cheese filling, so I substituted with plain white sugar.
The results were FABULOUS.  I couldn't tell a difference regarding the milk, and my only possible complaint is that the filling was a touch too sweet, but really, I should have reduced the amount of sugar since it was regular.  Otherwise, it was very, very awesome.  I covered it in the fruit (which had thawed) and Kiddo and I inhaled it.  Definitely a nice mid-afternoon treat for us.  :-)

Cat's boozy spaghetti sauce

I felt the urge to play with my usual spaghetti sauce today.  It's not that I don't like it, but sometimes it's nice to change things up.  So here's what I concocted with ingredients from my pantry, freezer, and fridge.  Oh, and it tasted AMAZEBALLS ;-)

INGREDIENTS:
1-2 lbs. ground beef (depending on how meaty you like your sauce)
Dry white wine
Minced garlic
Bunch of green onions, chopped
0.5-1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
Stewed tomatoes (about 2 tomatoes, or 1 can)
1 jar of Newman's Sockarooni sauce
Whole peppercorns
Crushed red pepper
Oregano
Salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Brown the beef.  Do not drain.
2.  Add the veggies and seasonings minus the salt.  Add about 1 cup of wine (add more for a richer wine flavor)  Simmer for 10-15 minutes (until veggies are cooked over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3.  Add the sauce.  Also add more wine if you don't want a super-thick sauce.  Simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
4.  Serve over pasta.  Enjoy!

Steamed shrimp with veggies (and, uh, fungus)

This is another quick fix that people seem to love :)

Ingredients:
Peeled shrimp (I use about 2-3 lbs. for the three of us and we always have plenty for leftovers)
Potatoes, sliced
Mushrooms, sliced or whole
2-3 bell peppers in strips
Old Bay seasoning

Directions:
In a steaming device of your choice, throw in the ingredients and apply Old Bay liberally.  Add water to the bottom of said steaming mechanism (duh) and cook until shrimp is pink and veggies are cooked, stirring occasionally.

Notes:
You can add pretty much any veggies you like to this recipe, this is just what we prefer.  You can also take away whatever you like - initially this started with just shrimp and potatoes.  Some good veggies to add:  corn on the cob, spicy peppers, squash, zucchini, etc.

Cat's Cajun pan-fried chicken nuggets

This is a nice recipe that goes with a wide variety of sides.  It's a bit hands on, but completely worth the effort.

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken cut into bite-size pieces
Cornmeal
Tony's Creole Seasoning
Oil or butter for the pan

Directions:
1.  In a flat dish with edges (I use pie dishes), pour a bit of cornmeal mixed with Tony's to taste.
2.  Coat the chicken pieces in the mixture.
3.  After coating, throw the pieces into the pan (which should have oil or butter to keep things from burning).
4.  Turn the pieces over occasionally and put on a plate covered in a paper towel once they're nicely browned and cooked through.

For such an easy dish, these are surprisingly tasty.  Then again, Tony's is one of those seasonings that just seems to improve almost anything.  The cornmeal and Tony's give them a nice flavor without them being too weighed down.

Crazy Cajun cabbage

I know what you're thinking.  It's something like "Ew, cabbage."  That's what I thought for a long time.  But after seeing how cheap it is to get a head of cabbage at the store, I thought "Let's figure out a way to make this crap edible."  So, that's how this recipe was born.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 heads of cabbage (chopped)
1 can Rotel
4 strips of bacon

Directions:
1.  In a large pot (stock pots work well), add the cabbage, Rotel, and bacon.  Fill up to about 2-3 inches below the top of the ingredients.
2.  Cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 hours or until cabbage is the consistency of Southern collard greens.
3.  Drain if it seems too watery to you.
4.  Pig out.

This is a super simple recipe.  It WILL make your house smell funny, but it's totally worth it.  Most people who have tried this can't believe it's really cabbage and ALL of them ask for second helpings, including my selectively picky toddler.
I often serve these with Cajun fried chicken (I'll post the recipe later) and my Mexican cornbread.

Spaghetti sauce with a kick

I love my spaghetti sauce to have lots of flavor to it.  No bland food in this house!  This recipe is easy, but tastes like it's truly made from scratch.  Enjoy!


Ingredients:

1 can diced or stewed tomatoes (you can also use Rotel if you want more of a Tex-Mex flavor)
1 jar meat or chunky veggie spaghetti sauce (do NOT use it if there's cheese - it never comes out right)
2 lbs. ground beef
2 cloves fresh garlic
Tony's Creole Seasoning
Dried oregano
Crushed red pepper
Salt

Directions:
1.  Chop or press the garlic and throw it in the pan while browning the meat.  Add a little Tony's while browning.  Do not drain the meat unless there's a TON to drain - it helps give it a more legitimate flavor.
2.  Add the tomatoes and spaghetti sauce to the pan and stir.  Use the rest of the seasoning to taste.
3.  Serve over pasta.

Seriously.  It's that easy.  But I get ridiculous compliments on it.  Crazy, eh?

Notes:
The reason I don't use cheese spaghetti sauce is because I feel that it tastes dark and unnatural - like goblin meat.
This, like most spaghetti sauce recipes, can be pretty easily changed to tastes.  Don't like spicy food?  Ditch the Tony's and red pepper and focus on more Italian seasonings.

Easy crock pot roast

This is one of those dishes you can throw in early in the morning and have for dinner.  Sometimes I let it cook on low overnight for extra tender meat and a thicker broth.  It's also great for leftovers!  You can make po'boys with it, if you like.

CAT'S EASY CROCKPOT ROAST

2-3 lb. beef roast (choose the cut you like best)
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
2 bell peppers
1 medium onion
1 lb. mushrooms (I prefer "baby bellas", but it's whatever)
1-1.5 lbs. potatoes
2 15 oz. cans of beef broth
Crushed red pepper
Tabasco
Tony's Creole Seasoning

1.  Put your beef in the crock pot.  Add a dash of the red pepper, a few drops of Tabasco, and a shake of Tony's.
2.  Slice your veggies.  If the pot doesn't look full enough, add more potatoes!
3.  Add the veggies to the pot, then add the broth.  Add seasoning to taste.
4.  Set crock pot to "low" and leave for at least 6 hours.

Yield:  About 10 servings

Prep time:  15 minutes   Cook time:  > 6 hours

Variations and notes:
You can cook the roast on high for a shorter time, but I've found that the meat isn't as tender when you go that route.
Seasoning can be easily experimented with.  I tend to cook with lots of Cajun and Creole seasonings, but for those not too big on the spicy food, there are plenty of other spice combinations to try.  Rosemary is a favorite alternative of mine.
Vegetables can also vary.  Experiment with what's in season and with different combinations.

Mexican cornbread

This is a favorite recipe of mine.  My husband loves it, my toddler begs for it when we have it, and it's a good use of things that are often found floating in my pantry (yes, things in my pantry defy gravity).
Be sure to check out the variations at the bottom - it's fun to alter the recipe a bit to change things up.
This is also a great dish for any occasion that requires a dish - make it alongside a pot of soup for a friend who's just had a baby, or bring a big batch to a potluck.  I promise people will ask for the recipe.

MEXICAN CORNBREAD
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 15 oz. can cream style corn
1 can original Rotel
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Yield: 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes   Cook time:  1 hour

1.  Preheat your oven to 300 F (150 C).  Lightly grease a 9x13 pan or baking dish.

2.  Add the melted butter and sugar to your mixing bowl and stir.  Blend in eggs one at a time.  Then add the corn and Rotel.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.  Then add this mixture to your mixing bowl.  Stir until smooth.

4.  Pour the mixture into the pan, then bake in your preheated oven for 1 hour.  To be sure it's done, test with a toothpick.  When it's cooked, the toothpick will come out clean.

Variations:
If you don't dig tomatoes, you can just use chiles for the recipe.  The reverse is also true - if you don't like chiles, just use a small can of diced tomatoes.
For some kick, blend in a little Tabasco sauce and lime juice.
You can also add shredded cheese to the mixer before pouring into the pan.