Okra and Corn Creole with Crispy Ranch Chicken

I buy frozen vegetables in the bulk sizes, usually from BJs, which don't get used in one, or sometimes even two meals. About every other week I prepare a dish that finishes the open bags of vegetables. Okra was on the list this week, alongside chicken. Okra and corn creole sounded perfect paired with crispy chicken.
Oh and before I forget, BJs has a 2 lb box (2 lb bags) of Kikkoman Panko bread crumbs for $4.99. In the grocery stores here a regular box, which is 8oz., costs$ 2.79. Pretty good deal huh? Ok back to the meal.

I checked out Mary's recipe for Crispy Panko Coated Ranch Chicken but didn't have all of the ingredients on hand, so I compromised. Rather than using Good Seasons Ranch Dressing-Seasoning and mayo, I used bottled light buttermilk ranch dressing.

Buttermilk Ranch Oven fried Chicken

6 pieces chicken - I used 2 breast and 4 thighs
1/2 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon soul food seasoning

Preheat oven 375. Wash chicken and pat dry. In a large bowl, mix seasons with panko crumbs. Pour ranch dressing into a small bowl. Brush chicken pieces, one ata time with dressing and dredge in seasoned panko crumbs. Place on shallow edge baking sheet. Cook for about 50 minutes or until juices run clear.

Very crispy and flavorful. The combination of seasons added just the right flavor, hubby was even impressed!

Okra and Corn Creole
adapted from Cooking Light Cookbook 1994 buy it used here

The original made 12 servings, so quantities are half of the original except the hot sauce, you know I love spicy food!

Ingredients
Vegetable cooking spray
1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped (I used red)
1/4 cup chopped onion( I used shallot)
1 1/4 cups fresh corn cut from the cob(I used frozen, thawed)
1/4 cup water
1 can no salt whole tomatoes, un-drained and chopped( I used diced tomatoes with green chili)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp sugar (I omitted)
1/8 tsp salt & pepper (I omitted salt)
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I added this)
1 cup sliced fresh okra (I used frozen, thawed)

Coat large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium high heat until hot. Add green pepper and onion; saute 3 minutes or until tender.

Add corn and water to vegetables in skillet, stirring well. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes; stir gently, and cook an additional 5 minutes. (I cooked 6 minutes total) Add tomato and next five ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add okra; cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until okra is tender. 12 servings

Now this was darn good, nice and spicy yet not so much that it brought on a sweat! Turned out to be the perfect side dish for crispy ranch chicken.

♥

Are you hungry?

Okra and Corn Creole with Crispy Ranch Chicken

2010-02-25T14:54:00-05:00

redkathy

chicken|dinner|side dish|vegetables|

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Quick Cakes - Spontaneous Sugar Satisfaction

The cold weather has really been a pleasant and inspiring experience, that is if you live in SW Florida! Cold to me is below 60 degrees, perfect baking weather. (Side note: I have to admit, when the temperature got down in the thirties, I was complaining.)

It's always the same with me, after dinner I want something sweet. "Hhhhmmm what quick and easy dessert can I make tonight"? Why I don't ever plan for dessert is beyond me. I guess I just like spontaneous sugar satisfaction!

First, I made a chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake. It was very good, quick and easy. I based it on this recipe at Deep South Dish. I traded pecans for chocolate chips and that work well. I didn't have a bundt pan, which made a huge difference. The cake was more like a snack cake rather than a coffee cake.

Then I tried this delicious Chocolate Pumpkin Cake. It was really moist and light. I choose powdered sugar as the topping; by the time the cake was ready to eat it was well past nine. The original recipe suggested cream cheese frosting, which would have been perfect with the pumpkin. Too bad my sugar craving couldn't wait that long!




Then I tried converting this Buckeye Bar recipe by using what I had on hand. It turned out really good. I used Planters seed, nut, and raisin mix instead of peanuts. The combination of condensed milk and peanut butter make these bars nice and rich. If you like crunchy, you will definitely enjoy these!

My favorite quick bake dessert were these Raspberry Strawberry Butterscotch Oatmeal Bars.

I used sugar free strawberry preserves instead of raspberry jam, lemon juice instead of water, and butterscotch chips. The lemon gave the bars a hint of citrus while the butterscotch chips increased the sugar fix a bit. Let me tel you, they were sooo good, my son Red and I went to work on these bars. Hubby is holding his own, not giving in to these sweet treats, poor guy. The entire 13 x 9 pan was gone in 24 hours, thus the photo of just three bars on a disposable plate.

Strawberry Butterscotch Oatmeal Bars

adapted from - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Raspberry-Oatmeal-Bars/Detail.aspx
Ingredients

 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
 2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
 3/4 cup margarine, melted
 1 cup raspberry jam sugar free strawberry preserves
 1 cup butterscotch chips - I added this ingredient
 1 tablespoon water lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together oats, cake mix, and melted margarine so that it makes nice clumps and there is no dry mix left. Press 1/2 of the oats mixture evenly into the bottom the prepared pan. In a separate bowl, mix jam with juice, and spread over the crust. Sprinkle with butterscotch chips, then the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 23 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. I baked for 20 minutes. Cool before cutting into bars.


Enough sugar?

♥

Quick Cakes - Spontaneous Sugar Satisfaction

2010-02-20T15:14:00-05:00

redkathy

baking|dessert|snack|

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Szechuan Broccoli, Asparagus,and Mushrooms

The Cinnamon Girl has started a new Food Blogger Event - Side Dish Showdown. I think a Side Dish Collection great idea and have been thinking about my first entry... Here's how it happened.

First let me give you some family history. My mother in law was a big book club fan. Being a shopaholic, she liked buying the reading material as much as she liked reading! Years ago the boys held a yard sale for her. Mom had what seemed to be fifty cook books on the table and maybe as many recipe card sets. Funny thing about that, my father in law was the 'house chef'. Anyway, she told me to take whatever books I wanted. I was tempted to keep all of those cook books don't you know. I ended up keeping a few, including the Light and Easy collection. The collection is organized in a nice binder, and the recipes fit perfectly with my cooking style.

So, I was in a hurry up dinner situation the other night; needed a side dish to go with my Teriyaki pork chops PDQ. This Szechuan Broccoli was the perfect side dish. Of course I added a few things, and used what I had on hand.

Szechuan Broccoli, Asparagus,and Mushrooms

Ingredients
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 Tbsp fresh garlic, minced
3 cups fresh broccoli,chopped (1 medium)
1 cup fresh asparagus, chopped (20 thin shoots)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (4 large)

Directions
Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar in a bowl; set aside. Heat skillet(or wok)and toast the sesame seeds, remove and set aside.(I didn't do this, wished I had for appearance sake) Add the oil, red pepper, and ginger, mix well. Next add the vegetables; gently stir fry for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, mix well, cover and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

This vegetable stir fry has a great flavor and just the right zing. The guys were impressed with it. In fact, we liked it so much there were no leftovers!

I think this is perfect for my first entry, don't you?

♥

Szechuan Broccoli, Asparagus,and Mushrooms

2010-02-17T09:57:00-05:00

redkathy

side dish|spicy|vegetables|

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Ground Beef Burrito Bake

Hubby says, What's for dinner, then spots the ground beef thawing. Again, what are making??? What can I say, it was 93% lean and priced right. In an effort to keep the household harmony flowing, I went to searching. Mind you I have to find a dish that's new and low carb too. A very tall task for me; pasta, rice, bread... I love casseroles and carbs!  I finally found this Layered Enchilada Bake on All Recipes that seemed to be a harmonious choice. Of course I put my own spin on it, using what I had on hand. I took exception to using the word Enchilada in my recipe title since I see an enchilada as a corn tortilla filled with spicy goodness, and a burrito with a flour tortilla. Anyway, back to the recipe.  The original recipe claimed one serving had 37.9 grams carbs. I used white beans instead of black beans, 10 grams less; Lite dressing about 5 grams less, and using Rotel rather than jar salsa decreased carbs and calories too. I delivered the news, hubby aka The Carnivore smiled and agreed!

Ground Beef Burrito Bake

Ingredients

* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 1/2 onion, chopped
* 1 tablespoons chili powder
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp Adobo seasoning (Latin all purpose seasoning)
* 1 cup chunky salsa
* 1 can Rotel (tomatoes w/ green chili)
* 1 (16 ounce) can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/4 cup Zesty Lite Italian Dressing
* 6 taco size flour tortillas
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1.5 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese


Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain if necessary. Add the seasonings to beef and onion mixture. Stir in next 4 ingredients and continue to cook for a few minutes to allow thickening.

3. Place 3 tortillas in single layer on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. (I used a glass baking dish) Cover with layers of half each of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat layers; cover.
4. Bake 40 minutes or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted, uncovering after 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Turns out this just might be my favorite Mexican style casserole ever! The Carnivore really liked it and I had seconds myself. The sour cream added just the right amount of creamy texture to the dish.

While this is far from a "dieting meal" by most standards, it fits hubby's "Diet My Way" plan perfectly. You know, he's lost 36 pounds so far, yeah!!

Are you hungry?

Ground Beef Burrito Bake

2010-02-12T20:51:00-05:00

redkathy

beef|casserole|dinner|mexican|

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Warm & Gooey Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Adventure

Quick baking adventure. Ever have one of those moments where you just need a rich and sweet something, like an addict needing a fix moment? Those seem to happen to me at like 10:00 pm; never have a thought early in the day when I have time, it's always like OMG I have to have something now but it's past ten, what can I do quick and easy??? Well lovemyphilly bailed me out the other night! Here's my fix for after 10:00

Warm and Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cake
lovemyphilly.com
http://lovemyphilly.com/warm-gooey-peanut-butter-chocolate-cake/

Ingredients
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist mix)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 eggs, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Instruction-
HEAT oven to 350ºF
BEAT cake mix, butter and 2 eggs with mixer on low speed 30 sec., stopping frequently to scrape beater and side of bowl. Beat on medium speed 2 min. Spread onto bottom of 13×9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray
BEAT remaining ingredients until well blended; pour over batter in pan
BAKE 30 min. or until edges are firm. Cool slightly.

Above are the exact directions, and I followed them to a tee. The taste was everything the post claimed it was. The cream cheese and peanut butter layer was a very rich and gooey yum yum. The bottom cake layer was chocolaty goodness, so on flavor I give it a 10. Ease of recipe and fix satisfaction, another 10. The only thing I don't get is why the edges were so darn high. I mean it looked like a baby peanut butter wading pool without liquid! The center was sunken badly, as you can see. Red was laughing at me and shaking his head whilst I criticized the cake. "Ma maybe you should fill it with chocolate, that will cure your fix, and make it a real pool", he replied with a laugh, still shaking his head. Now I was on a quest!

I looked at the photo with the original post while I was sampling my first piece and thought aloud, maybe their warm and gooey peanut butter cake looked like a barren cake pool too. Maybe the photo display is a middle piece... So guess what I did next, cut enough of the cake to take a center piece. By now Red had eaten a few pieces and said it was awesome. I went on with my quest...  I plated a center piece right quick. With my point and shoot I took a few photos in the near dark kitchen at about 11:30 at night, so don't laugh too much, ok. While eating that middle piece, I looked again. Lovemyphilly definitely had a quality photo but it could be true, the cake looks the same from the middle cut!

So my baking expert friends, I was hoping that you all might shed some light on this for me. What do you think, did I screw it up or are all the gooey "cake mix cakes" like that? I mean if that's the way these type of cream cheese cakes are it's ok with me, I just want to get it right.

♥

Warm & Gooey Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Adventure

2010-02-08T21:24:00-05:00

redkathy

baking|chocolate|dessert|snack|

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Macaroni and Cheese Paella with shrimp and scallops

I was really excited about making this mac n cheese dish. While browsing Food Buzz and tweeting, I came across huggingthecoast.com. I thought to myself, oh man this is the ultimate seafood site. Being a Philly born now Floridian, you can understand my enthusiasm. Red just loves mac n cheese so, even though the hubby is on a low carb diet, I just couldn't resist. I did make a few changes in the ingredients, used what I had on hand. Our local grocer did not have smoked paprika or liquid smoke so I made an alteration there too. I cut the recipe in half, except for the wine, as it serves 8.


Macaroni and Cheese Paella with shrimp and scallops, my way!
Ingredients:
1 lb - orzo pasta
3 Tbsp - olive oil
2 - large bay leaves
2 Tbsp - minced garlic, divided
1 lb - uncooked small or medium shrimp (51-60 or 41-50 count), shelled & deveined - three cups small salad size shrimp
1 lb - bay scallops
1/2 tsp - salt
1 tsp - small capers (optional)
2 Tbsp - Spanish smoked sweet paprika, or equivalent (see Cook’s Note) 1/2 Tbsp paprika + 1/2 Tbsp St Louis Mesquite seasoning
1/4 cup - white wine
1 - large sweet onion, chopped
3 Tbsp - chopped sun-dried tomatoes Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies and cilantro, drained well.
3 Tbsp - butter
2 Tbsp - all-purpose flour
1 cup - half  and half (or milk)
1 cup - chicken broth
1 cup - frozen peas, thawed (about 4 oz)
8 oz - sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
Additional salt, if needed
8 oz - pepper jack cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 Tbsp - minced fresh dried parsley, divided
2 Tbsp - sliced green olives with pimento (optional)
1/4 cup - roasted sweet red pepper strips
Lemon for garnish (optional)

PREPARATION:
Cook orzo according to package directions to the al dente stage. When done, drain, rinse (to stop the cooking process) and set aside.

Meanwhile bring 3 tbsp olive oil and the bay leaves to medium heat in a large heavy skillet. Add half the garlic and saute a bit, do not let garlic brown. Add the shrimp, scallops, and 1/2 tsp salt; toss to coat. Add the capers, paprika, St Louis mesquite seasoning and stir until shrimp and scallops are well coated. When seafood is just cooked through, remove shrimp and scallops from pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the bay leaves and as much sauce as possible. Set shrimp and scallops aside.

Add the wine to the pan and stir, letting the alcohol cook off for a minute or two. Add the remaining garlic, the onions, and cook until the onions are just softened. Discard bay leaves.

Melt the butter in the pan with the onions. Add the flour, stirring for 2-3 minutes to cook the flour, then add the milk and chicken broth gradually, continuing to stir as the mixture thickens.

When the sauce has fully developed, add the peas and bring sauce to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and gradually add the shredded sharp cheddar cheese, stirring until melted. Adjust salt.

In a large non-stick paella pan or baking dish, combine the cheese sauce with the orzo and stir thoroughly to coat. Gently fold in half of the shrimp/scallop mix, the pepper jack cubes, and half of the parsley. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Top with remaining shrimp/scallop mixture, olives (if desired), Rotel and red pepper strips and return to oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining parsley.
Serves 8.

Cook’s Note: Smoked paprika, with its unique and delightful flavor, is the secret ingredient of classic Spanish cuisine and is well worth seeking out. It can be found at many gourmet shops, specialty food stores, or online. Though there is no direct substitute, an equivalent amount of good quality regular paprika with 2-3 drops of mesquite smoke flavoring added can be used with good results.

The original post at hugging the coast.

I was right to be excited about this seafood pasta paella, it was really delicious. Red ate at least three servings, and the hubby enjoyed a nice size serving along with his chicken. As you can see there was plenty of seafood on top, allowing him to avoid most of the carbs; he was quite impressed with the flavor. This turned out so well I'm going to make this my first entry to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted this week by the lovely founder, Ruth Daniels, at Once Upon a Feast.

Are you hungry?

Macaroni and Cheese Paella with shrimp and scallops

2010-02-02T21:20:00-05:00

redkathy

casserole|dinner|pasta|seafood|shrimp|

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