fried fish

a few nights ago we had sat out some white fish (i think it was striper) and we didn't want to just toss it in a frying pan like we usually do so we fried it. we mixed 1/4 cup of flour, 2 cups of cornmeal, salt, pepper and some old bay. dipped the fish in egg, coated in the cornmeal mixture and fried in a pan (not deep fried) with a little vegetable oil. it took about 15 minutes total. we went with french fries as a side because we had them. yummy.

beef and gravy

i really don't know what to call this dish. growing up at home, my mom would buy stew beef and cook it in a crock pot all night with water. we fished it out of the water and dumped it on some rice. adam calls it beef tips and gravy.

it's basically chunks of beef that you are looking for. sometimes it says stew meat. i used 2 lbs.

this takes a long time and you need a dutch oven.

generously sprinkle house seasoning (onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper) on top of all of the meat. heat a dutch oven with a little oil in the bottom to medium. brown the meat in segments starting with the seasoned side down. don't crowd the pot. season the top and flip after about 3 minutes. remove. continue until all beef is browned. there will be lots of good brown bits in the bottom of the pot. dump in 2 garlic cloves chopped and half an onion. it doesn't matter how you chop it because it is for flavor and pretty much melts. add about 3 cups of water and scrape the bits off the bottom. add the meat back to the pot and add more house seasoning (to taste) and a little dried rosemary and thyme. cover tightly and turn down to simmer. you can simmer it forever if you would like, but i'd make sure to give it at least 2 hours. today i let it simmer from 12 until about 4:30.

about 30 minutes before dinner start making some white rice. i made about 6 cups to go with 2 lbs of meat. we have leftovers. follow the directions on the box. mix about 1/4 cup of cornstarch with 1/2 cup water. bring the meat back to a boil and push the meat to the side. add the cornstarch mixture and stir about 1 minute while continuing to boil. the sauce will thicken. at this point the meat chunks will be falling apart. i just use the back of a spoon to press them and they fall apart.

put rice on a plate and top with beef and gravy.

because you need something green i served this with asparagus that i roasted in the oven (400 for 15 minutes) with garlic, salt and pepper.

adam always requests this dish. i love it too, but i consider it a fall/winter dish. we missed it though, so i made it and it was well worth it. i like to try to find the onion and garlic while i am eating. i never can. i have no idea where it goes.

afternoon snack

when i'm off of work i like nothing better than a cup of coffee (or two) in the middle of the afternoon. could explain why i am dragging every afternoon around this time when i do have to work.

today i decided to bake up a frozen cream cheese pastry that i got at trader joe's. pepperidge farm used to make one like this, but smaller, however now they only come in cherry and peach. i was so glad to see this while shopping because i have missed the cheese so much. it was so good.

salad with grilled chicken

tonight we had grilled chicken and salad for dinner.

i coated boneless, skinless chicken breasts with house seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder) and grilled it on a grill pan and we assembled salads. my favorite salad toppings are tomatoes, feta cheese, croutons, artichoke hearts and banana peppers. i like vinegarette dressings, but adam used cesar with parmesan cheese. it was pretty yummy, but even though i bought organic tomatoes at trader joe's, i was still disappointed in the flavor. there is nothing like a home grown tomato and i have been craving them bad. i guess it will be some time before i can get one, but i can't wait. i like eating them when they are still warm off the vine.

flourless chocolate cake

yesterday i made a stop at trader joe's and since it was my birthday, i was able to justify buying this flourless chocolate cake in the bakery section. it is so rich that you can barely eat a slice...you have to slice it really thin. it is really good with a cup of coffee and makes milk taste amazing. the case says "true decadence" and it is so true.

thanks to stacey for the cute dish towel that i receive in the mail today along with a batter dispenser. i am excited to use it to make pancakes soon.

happy birthday to me

yesterday, june 3rd, was my 26th birthday. on sunday i visited my family to celebrate and it was good.

my wonderful husband gave me the most awesome birthday gift ever, a brand new digital rebel xti by canon so i am so excited to make something good so i can photograph it.

we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, carrabas. it was so good, but we were too busy eating to take any photos.

pork chops with rice and tomatoes

my grandma used to make a huge pot of white rice which she added diced tomatoes to. then she would brown these little baby boneless pork chops and mix it all together. it was the best. this is my version of that dish.

we used seasoned boneless pork chops with our house seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder) and browned them in vegetable oil. i made a pot of rice and added a can of diced tomatoes (hunts brand with sauce). add a little garlic salt, a lot of pepper and a little parsley for color. so simple and sooooooo good. less than 30 minutes.

herbs

on friday i made a little herb garden on the back patio table.

i am growing basil, oregano, flat leaf parsley and chives. i also planted some tomato plants in the back yard so we'll see how that goes.

today i made a pasta sauce with some canned tomatoes our neighbor gave us from last years garden, red onion that was left over from the potato salad, about 4 gloves of garlic (!), and basil and parsley from the deck. yum. of course there is also salt, pepper and olive oil. we'll be having that tomorrow night with more homemade bread. i think this was my 7th loaf...i'm not counting anymore.

potato salad

tonight we had an awesome dinner of bbq chicken from the grill, corn on the cob and potato salad.

a few weeks ago we went to a vegan cookout at a friends house. they had some vegan potato salad that was awesome and i wish i had the recipe. i usually do not even like potato salad. yesterday i got in the mood to eat it again, but i had to come up with the recipe on my own. i'm pretty sure they didn't use pickles, but i wanted to.

ingredients:

1 bag of baby red potatoes. 3 lbs.
1/4 of a red onion
2 baby dill pickles (claussens)
1/4 cup of pickle juice
2 celery stalks
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 small garlic clove
salt and pepper

wash the potatoes. put them in cold water and boil a little less than 20 minutes. drain and cool. meanwhile, finely dice the pickles and onions and put in the pickle juice. dice garlic and use salt to make a paste and add to juice. dice the celery and add. when the potatoes are cool cut them into 4-8 pieces each. add the mayonnaise to the pickle mixture to combine and then add the potatoes. salt and pepper generously and refrigerate.

yummy!

banana chocolate chip ice cream

every summer growing up i remember my grandpa pulling out his old hand cranked ice cream maker. we always either had chocolate or cherry ice cream around the pool. it was so much work, the adults would take turns cranking the machine, filling with salt, packing the ice. it was so worth it though. there are few things as good as homemade ice cream! they later upgraded to an electric version.

a few years ago a roommate gave me a really thoughtful gift. i have only used it a few times, but i have a feeling i will be using it a lot this summer.

i have already mentioned how much adam loves the combination of chocolate and bananas so i knew just what our first home made ice cream of the summer would be.

i used a basic vanilla recipe

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cups sugar
vanilla flavoring

wisk milk and sugar together for 2 minutes to combine. add cold heavy cream and vanilla to taste. add to the machine. run machine for 25 minutes.

this is what is so great about making ice cream at home. you could really add anything after this and let work for another 5 minutes. i added 2 mashed bananas and about a cup of mini, semi-sweet chocolate chips.

transfer to a dish and freeze for 2 hours to harden. of course, my family always skipped this step and we just ate it soft, which is good too!

i am really getting excited about all the exciting flavors we can make!

cupcakes

yesterday i made cupcakes to bring to our mother's day celebration. i used this recipe. it made 24 with about a cup and half of batter left over that i ate. the batter was better than the baked cakes.

today i frosting them with this cream cheese frosting recipe. i squeezed a lemon in it though. the frosting was WAY better than the cupcakes.

pintos, cabbage and cornbread

yesterday i was in the grocery store and i couldn't think of anything to make for dinner, so i called adam. he said he had a big lunch and would like to just eat soup. since i was going to be home all day and i can't sit at home all day without the strong urge to cook something, i decided to take advantage and make something that i knew he wouldn't like. i picked up a large bag of dried pinto beans and a head of green cabbage and headed home.

i rinsed the beans and picked over them to take out the bad ones. dumped them into a large pot and added lots of water(cover the beans at least one inch and plan to add more while they cook). i added vegetable oil, kosher salt and i also grated in 3 cloves of garlic. i brought it to a boil, covered and simmered for hours (? i have no idea really how long i cooked them. maybe 3 hours or so). you have to keep adding water (and i keep adding salt because i am afraid of food not having flavor) and keep stirring them occasionally.

i already had a box mix of cornbread in the cabinet that i picked up at trader joe's a few weeks ago. i heard that it was really good, but i didn't have a reason to make it until yesterday. YUM! it is just the way i like it, sweet and sticky. of course, i can't follow a recipe so instead of adding the half cup of oil that the box calls for, i added a stick of melted butter. i don't think i'll ever make cornbread any other way.

then i chopped up the cabbage and added it to a pan with just a little water, oil, salt and pepper. cabbage wilts down like spinach, but you can eat it before it wilts all the way. not me though, i like it cooked to death.

to me this is a real comfort meal, but i guess adam had comfort meal too. he made tomato soup and a grilled cheese with the 5th loaf of bread that i also made yesterday.

pulled pork sandwich

with a pickle. it was amazing.

pulled pork

so today i bought a 7.5 lb boston butt while grocery shopping and came straight home and preheated the oven to 300. i generously rubbed the butt with paula deen's butt massage and a house seasoning that we made (salt, pepper, garlic powder) and put it in the cast iron pot with the lid on. placed it in the oven at 1:30 and took it out at 8. the house smelled amazing all day. it literally falls apart while it is cooking. we just drained all the grease out of the pot and pulled the pork to the texture that we like. i also made a vinegar based bbq sauce (there is no recipe because i just eyeballed everything). tomorrow night--pulled pork sandwhiches. we will have pork for days!

p.s. we store the sauce in an empty boone's farm bottle. cause we're classy.

lasagna

my mom had to come to charlotte all last week to work at my post office. fun times! finally all my co-workers and supervisors see where i get it from! wednesday was my day off, the only day i had time to cook, so we invited her over for dinner and a sleep over. of course, i made lasagna because it's her favorite.

there are so many ways to make lasagna. basically you just layer noodles, sauce, cheeses and whatever else you want in a dish and bake (duh). i don't feel like typing out a recipe, can you tell? i made this one meatless. i made tomato sauce and added cooked spinach to one of the layers. i am pretty excited about the sauce though. i decided to try something new because i usually have a chunky sauce and i wanted a thin one. i pureed a medium onion and 5 garlic cloves in the food processor and added to some olive oil with salt and pepper. then i pureed a HUGE can of crushed tomatoes with basil and added that so that everything was smooth. i added some other secret spices and simmered away for half and hour. then i proceeded to eat some with a spoon. it was so good!

i do not remember what the lasagna tasted like because i talked all the way threw dinner. adam finished the little bit that was left the next night. i boiled some spaghetti and mixed with the leftover tomato sauce. then i ate some bread dipped in the tomato sauce.

more bread

last wednesday i made my 4th loaf of bread. i am starting on my 2nd bag of bread flour. with my short work week coming up i think i will be on loaf 5 or maybe 6 by sunday. we LOVE this stuff.

fried chicken

i have wanted to make fried chicken for a long time, but i never have because i thought it was too involved and would make a mess. last night i took some chicken thighs out of the freezer to cook today, but only this morning did i decide that i would go ahead and attempt to fry them.

around 9 am i decided that i should soak it in buttermilk, but didn't have any so i made some with vinegar and milk. i soaked the chicken until a little before fry time.

i have seen so many people fry chicken in so many different ways so i just combined a few different recipes. here's what i went with.

i had 4 chicken thighs with bone and skin on hand so that's what i used. it's just adam and me so there was no need for a whole chicken.

i made a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and paprika. took the chicken out of the buttermilk and patted dry. sprinkled mixture on both sides of chicken. put 2 cups of flour in a plastic bowl with a lid and put each piece of chicken in one at at time, shaking to coat. i then let the chicken sit for 20 minutes while i melted one cup of shortening over medium heat in my cast iron pot. just for good measure, i coated the chicken with flour a second time because after it sat i didn't think it had enough.

once the shortening was melted i put all the chicken in and fried for about 15 minutes. flipped and fried other side another 15 minutes. then i took it out to drain the oil. i used a cooling rack over a sheet pan. i salted it again.

this really made no mess at all. i guess because i used the pot instead of a pan. now that i know how easy and tasty this is, i am scared that i will make it too often.

i made garlic mashed potatoes to go with the chicken. i have made this recipe a million times and i call it my own, but it really belongs to tyler florence. the best thing about this is the cream that you put in the potatoes. it is so yummy. instead of chives i used green onions since we had some left over from sunday's tacos. adam had to have something green on his plate. by the was--these potatoes are NOT fat free.

for my green i cooked up some collard greens that i had in the freezer. my grandma gave them to me. when i cooked them the house smelled like christmas to me. something about greens cooking reminds me of my grandma's house at christmas. they were very good too.

so my first fried chicken was a success. AND i made another loaf of bread today for our neighbors. it came out just as beautiful as the first.

tacos

we made tacos for dinner and it was messy! sauce dripping to our elbows.

so good.

of course there is no recipe. just bought a kit with hard/soft shells and some hamburger meat. of course, when i browned the meat i added onion and garlic and then the seasoning packet.

the toppings we had were cheese, taco sauce, lettuce, tomato, green onion and sour cream.

ice cream for dessert!

no-knead bread

i cannot believe that i just made bread. and it's good bread. this was one of the easiest things i have ever made.

two things
1. you have to be patient because the first rising takes between 12-20 hours and the second takes 2.
2. you must have a cast iron pot over 5 quarts. mine is 7 1/4 quarts and i think it was perfect.

you can check out this blog to see adorable step by step instructions.

this bread has the same texture and flavor as the french baguette from panera bread. i could eat it everyday!

you should make this. there is a certain satisfaction that comes from making fresh bread at home.

adam's cheeseburgers

adam makes the best cheeseburgers in the whole world. i promise. i don't even know what he does, but they come out perfect every time. i request them very often. we had them tonight and we will have them again on friday night to use up the buns. we like to eat them with french fries and lots of ketchup. adam even likes to dip his burger in a1 steak sauce.

coffee and a warm brownie

my perfect afternoon snack.

mama's spaghetti

trust me, i did not get my cooking skills or my love for cooking from my mother. my love for food?...maybe. some of my most memorable moments with her include food. eating it, not cooking it. well, there was this one time we made my birthday cake together...but that's a different story.

even though i love to make each dish my own, sometimes i miss some of the meals my mom cooked. this spaghetti is one of them. since i made it for dinner last night i had to omit the green pepper because adam doesn't like it. i also used fresh garlic (3 cloves) that i diced in with the onion.

mama's spaghetti

1 lb dried spaghetti
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato soup + can of water
pepper
salt
garlic salt

dice the onion and green pepper and saute with the ground beef until brown. add the tomato paste and mix well. then add the other canned ingredients and water. season to taste and simmer for as long as you have. cook your spaghetti.

at this point, in my mom's house, we would have dished out some spaghetti and topped it with sauce and ate, but at my house i like to mix everything ahead so that the spaghetti doesn't stick together. i guess everyone does it different. once i asked adam how his mom did it and he couldn't remember. i have no idea how he cannot remember this, but he often doesn't remember things that i ask him about.

how many does this feed? well... when i was younger we would eat this as a family of 4 and still have left overs for the next night. at my house somehow as a family of 2 we eat only 2 nights off of this. maybe we use bigger plates. it's goooooood.

i make spaghetti a million different ways and adam says this is his favorite.

a weekend of eating

last weekend we went to savannah, ga...to eat.  the main reason that we ever starting going there was to eat at the lady and sons, which is paula deen's restaurant.  it's southern cookin' at it's best.  we always get the buffet, but you can also order from the menu.  

if you want to go to the lady and son's you have to plan.  in order to eat there without reservations for 10 or more, you have to get in line in the morning to get your name on the list at the time you want to eat.  even though it is posted on the restaurant's website, people still do not know this.  the hostess starts taking requests at 9:30, but you better get there before then to wait in line.  we usually get there at around 8 and we are usually 3rd or 4th in line...then you just stand there and wait until 9:30, tell them the time you want to eat and your name, then you leave.  you come back 15 minutes before the time you chose and tell them you are there, then go into a waiting room and wait for your name to be called.  this time we got there at around 7:45 because it was a saturday and we had trouble getting hotel reservations because everything was booked so we knew lots of people would be in town.  we were like 10th or 12th in line!  

obviously you have to spend the night to eat there if you are driving in from the charlotte area.  that gives you an excuse to eat dinner the night before in town also.  last time we were there we went to an italian restaurant called fernando's that was amazing.  adam's dad had told us about it.  sadly, it had closed down and we had to go somewhere else.  luckily, we already had another place in mind so we went straight there.

the place we chose was b&d burger's.  it's a burger place that has probably about 40 different burgers.  adam had a cheeseburger with sundried tomatoes, mozzerella cheese and bacon and he went with standard fries as his side.

i chose the beer battered cod sandwhich with a side of fried pickles.  yum!before our food came the people next to us left and we eyed the mozzerella sticks and marinera sauce they left behind and decided to order some of those too.  everything was so good and we left with very full bellies.

so the next day we had lunch at the lady and sons.  as soon as you sit down you are given a garlic cheese biscuit and a hoe cake, which is like a small pancake made with cornmeal.  there is maple syrup on the table to eat with the hoe cake, but i like to use mine to clean up the collard juice!i had fried chicken, potatoes and gravy, creamed corn, lima beans, mac n cheese, collard greens and black eyed peas.  adam is not that interested in the veggies so he had fried chicken, pork ribs and mac n cheese. we both had seconds!  at the end of the meal you choose from one of three desserts.  i had gooey butter cake and adam had banana pudding.  

when we left we had to go straight to bed.  my belly hurt for days, but that didn't stop us from having an ice cream cone for dinner.

stacey, this is for you.

last week i was making fried zucchini to go with dinner.  i decided to make some extra to have for a snack...then i had a great idea.  i fried some pickles, too.  SO GOOD!

all you have to do is mix half flour and half cornmeal.  season to your liking (salt, pepper, garlic powder).  use the pickles that already come sliced in the jar (dill chips).  drain the pickles and add to the flour mixture.  heat some oil in a frying pan on medium.  carefully lay the battered pickles in the oil and let fry for about 2 minutes.  flip them over and let them fry another 2 minutes.  drain on a paper towel.

i like to eat them with lots of ketchup!

alone for dinner

my all time favorite food is spaghetti.  anyway i can get it, i will eat it, as long as it has a tomato based sauce.  i always have various types of pasta and canned tomatoes in the cabinet so that i can make this.  i probably eat it once a week and i always make it if i am on my own for dinner (unless i go to burger king and get a whopper junior with cheese).

so tonight i was on my own and i had 3/4 of a box of spaghetti and a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes.  i cooked the spaghetti in lots of salty water and drained it.  in the same pot i added half a diced onion that i already had in the refrigerator and 2 cloves of diced garlic to some olive oil and sauteed.  i dumped in about 3/4 of the can of tomatoes and crushed them.  salt, pepper, a little sugar and some basil...simmer...simmer...simmer.   add the pasta back to the pot.  toss.  eat.

yum.

p.s.  no, i did not eat it all.

chocolate chip banana bread

last week i purchased a bunch of rather large bananas at trader joe's for 19 cents each.  i ate a few, but saved 2 with hopes that they would turn brown by my next day off.  they did!

adam's favorite flavor combination is chocolate and banana so when i saw this recipe on love and olive oil i knew i had to make it for him.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup of butter softened

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup water

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 brown bananas

1/2 cup chocolate chips

preheat oven to 350 F.  grease and flour a large loaf pan.  mix all the ingredients together with a mixer.  bake for 55 minutes or until dark and cracked on top.  makes 1 loaf.

i think it tastes good, but adam will have to be the final judge.

new blog

i wanted to make a blog to showcase the food in my life.  i love food!  making it and eating it.  so does my husband.  we probably talk/think about food more than almost anything else.  sad?  we don't think so.  i intend to not only post recipes that we make at home, but also to talk about our eating out adventures and my food shopping excursions.  not really on a daily basis, just when ever i feel like it.  i will also include photos when possible.  basically anything that deals with food may be included.  enjoy!