Roasted Cauliflower - Who knew how good it is?!

I don't know about where you live but, here in New England, Fall has definitely arrived! I am not going to complain about August - it was one of the most delightful Augusts ever in my life - but September is supposed to be a bit more temperate and just this morning, it was 44 degrees this and it might MIGHT, hit 70 this afternoon! WHAT?!  This is unheard of!

I am still not going to turn the heat on until November 1. Not. going. to. do. it!

As the temperatures have dropped, I have begun my annual (actually, my daily) search for yummy, filling, warming foods that all of us can (and will) eat.

Some of you know that my family lives with Diabetes.  I don't care if all of us don't have Diabetes, when one family member has it, you all have to live with it!

When I cook, not only do I have to be careful about the sugars in everything (and that's the natural sugars as well as added, refined sugar), but I have to be super careful about the carbohydrates. Believe it or not, a lot of vegetables are LOADED with carbs. High carbs means it's a no-no for at least one of us.... DARN YOU, GREEN BEANS! Why you gotta be so carby?

Now, add majorly picky eaters to the Diabetes situation and you may understand why I am just stymied sometimes.  I have had my days where I want to bring home a bag of prewashed salad for every day of the week and just throw it at someone. But....sigh... that's just not who I am.

While perusing the grocery store sales flier the other day, I noticed that cauliflower was on sale (like $1.50 per head on sale!)..... which reminded me of the recipe for Roasted Cauliflower that flitted past on my Facebook page recently... so I thought, "Wellllll, what the heck?!".

So, I bought a head of $1.50 Cauliflower, and then Googled "Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower". There were a TON of recipes, some of which I couldn't use, and some that had some good ideas but wouldn't make it with the picky palate eater....so, I improvised a bit... took a couple of ingredients from this recipe.... a couple of directions from that recipe.... decided a few things on my own.... I still somehow cooked up a hit!  No one is more surprised than I am!

So, here's my version of Roasted Cauliflower:

This recipe served 3 people - no leftovers, no seconds

1 Large head Cauliflower
6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic, crushed then minced
1/3 Cup Grated Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
Line a baking pan with foil and spray with baking spray
Trim Cauliflower of leaves and stem pieces, then cut Cauliflower into "Two Bite" pieces.
In a large plastic zipper bag, combine Oil, Garlic, Grated Cheese, then Salt and Pepper.
Add Cauliflower and shake or flip a few times to coat.
Pour everything out onto the prepared baking sheet
Cook for 20-30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so, so it browns evenly.
Serve immediately.

I hope you love it!

Update 9/28/13
I also tried this Roasting Method  as follows - Brussels Sprouts:
1 Bag Brussels sprouts, stalk end trimmed and big ones cut in half
Roughly equal amount of fresh Carrots (trimmed but a little of the green left on)

6Tbsp olive oil in a roasting pan
1/2 stick butter, cubed and put in roasting pan
2-3 cloves Garlic (smashed w/ side of knife and minced)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put prepared vegetables in roasting pan and stir to coat
Roast at 425 for 20 ish mins, shaking every once in a while to prevent scorching.

ENJOY!

Holy Jalapeno!

Big Daddy has spent about 20 years dreaming of growing his own fruits and veggies.  It was tough to do in South Florida with the rather wet, hot weather, the sandy soil and the sun burning down on you with no relief.

When we bought our house a couple of years ago, Big Daddy's eyes lit up when he saw the 16 x 16 foot garden, already fenced in.   He had plans for that area that did not include any of the flowers that were there...

He spent the winter of 2011 flipping through seed catalogs, buying soil testing kits, having our water tested (it's City water, so I'm not sure what he was looking for),  taking the soil temperature.... boxes and boxes of plants and seeds were misdelivered through out the neighborhood, so we got to know our neighbors a little bit... actually, in a few cases, I got to know the housekeepers as some of my neighbors apparently don't answer their doors themselves.

Weird.

Big Daddy bought Peat Moss and mixed and mixed and mixed it in to our soil.

He bought some funky dunky compost from Canada that's made with lobsters and he mixed and mixed and mixed it into our soil.

He took over my indoor growing area in the mud room with flats of seeds that he was starting...

I asked for two things in this garden:  Jalapeno plants and Tomato plants.

I got 3 Jalapeno plants which pretty much took their sweet time to get used to their new home. 

Then they started to produce the mildest peppers you have ever encountered.  What?  We had given a whole bag full (probably 1 lb) of peppers to a friend. Who is from Texas. Who wanted them for some kind of super hot Jalapeno jelly.

Weren't we embarrassed when the entire batch was "ruined" because it was so mild?!

Eventually, the plants started to produce hotter peppers (can someone please explain this to me?)... and we were getting maybe 1/2 pound of peppers per day... now there's only so many Jalapenos you can put into a salad before it's too hot to trot, so we had a bit of a build up....

Until one day.....

I was making Buffalo Wings.... See my recipe somewhere here, under recipes, for Wings. We love wings.

I figured, the flour was out, the panko crumbs were out... I had some sour cream and "shred ched" (shredded cheddar) ... the oil was hot.... are you thinking what I was thinking????

Home made Jalapeno Poppers!!!

They were hot! They were spicy! They were tasty! They were delicious!

Here is your chance to make my "Poppahs"!

Jalapeno Poppahs Ala GruvEmom:

6-8 whole Jalapenos
4oz Cream Cheese, softened for 15 seconds in the microwave
2ish oz shredded cheese
1/4 C flour seasoned with salt and pepper
1/2 C Panko crumbs w/ Italian Seasoning or Flavored Bread Crumbs (your call!)
1 egg whisked and in a saucer or small plate

Preheat about 1-1/2 inches of vegetable oil to 350degrees
Line a
Cut tops off of the peppers, then use a steak knife to remove the seeds

Stir the cheeses together and use a spoon to fill each pepper from the top

When the peppers are stuffed with cheese, one by one:

roll them in the egg
roll them in the flour
roll them in the egg
roll them in the panko/crumbs

Carefully, put them in the hot oil

Turn them gently with metal tongs and cook 2-5 minutes until the bread crumbs are a toasty brown.

Remove the peppers to  a small plate or small flat cookie pan that has been lined with paper towels and let the peppers drain and cool for a minute.

Serve hot with any kind of dipping sauce you like (I prefer Bleu Cheese dressing!) and a napkin or two.

Feel free to make your own decisions on cheeses/ stuffing/ coatings - but let me know how you like them!

Oh, PLEASE be sure to handle the peppers with care. ALWAYS wash your hands after handling them and before touching your face or eyes or kids... just trust me....

Gruve On!

What is Wrong With Me?

I swear. I can NOT make chicken soup!

What is wrong with me?! Someone please tell me!

I google recipes for chicken souup. I read recipes for chicken soup.

I write them down. I study them.

I buy rotisserie chickens and styrofoam trays of cellophane wrapped "soup greens".

I buy cut up fryers organic, locally grown, dirty because they were just wrestled from the ground this morning veggies.

I buy bouillion (ew). I buy "Better Than Buillion" (YUM).

I buy chicken stock. I buy Organic Chicken Stock.

I buy Rachael Ray's Chicken Stock.

I buy College Inn Chicken Stock.

I buy wine. I try putting some in the soup.

I MAKE chicken stock from the present chicken and freeze it until I have the NEXT chicken.

And still! SUCKY CHICKEN SOUP!

sniff sniff.

My chicken always comes out dry.

The veggies never NEVER have any flavor or texture.

Big Daddy lives dangerously and claims that my Chicken Soup has no taste.

I add Salt!

I add Bouillion!

I add White Pepper!

I add Black Pepper!

I add Hot Sauce!

sigh

I hang my head in shame.

I can't make brownies from the box, either.

Cool as a Cucumber Salad

If you are like me, and you have a scary garden, you might have planted a few cucumber seeds last Spring.

Maybe you planted 5 seeds and they grew. And you were pleased.

And the cucumbers grew some more. And you were very pleased. Because you like cucumbers and were excited to be able to not spend money on something you buy every single week throughout the year.

And then you went on vacation for two weeks.

And you came home to find that those 5 seeds took over your garden and swallowed your house.
My house is fine, but only just.  The cucumber vines are watching me. I can feel them. They are waiting to make their move.

Big Daddy had a great idea this year, he took a section of mesh fencing and a couple of old, metal fence stakes, and made a sort of an angled trellis for the cucumbers. He trained the vines to grow on the trellis so that the cucumbers don't sit on the ground and rot. The cucumbers dangle through the fencing and grow really, really, really big.

They grow really big, very, very, very quickly. They are almost zucchini like in their size and number.

Fortunately, Big Daddy works with a lady who has a teen aged son. The lady refers to her son as "Hoover". I don't think he's named for President Hoover, I think he just inhales every bit of food in her house.

I hope her son doesn't decide not to like cucumbers. If he does, I'm going to have to set up a farm stand at the end of my driveway and you will see me on the news because I don't have a license or permit to do so and the town will come down on me and I will have to call the news channels to come and document my liberties being squashed (or in this case "cuked").

Just so you know, if that does happen, and you see me and my house on TV, we are renovating.  I don't really live in a burned out meth lab. It just looks that way. There is no way to dress up a dumpster.

So, if you, like me, have a plethora of cucumbers, here is a simple, inexpensive and versatile salad for your end of summer dinners, picnics and par-tays.

If you come up with your own yummy version, won't you come back and share it with us?

Ingredients:

2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced as thinly as possible
8 oz Sour Cream (whole fat, skim, no fat, it's up to you)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional: herbs of your choice - I use Dill Weed (dried)

In a large bowl (because you need room to stir it up), place the cucumber slices and the onions.
Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.
Dump the Sour Cream on top
Stir thoroughly to combine
Sprinkle in some Dill Weed or whatever dried herb will enhance the delicate flavor of the cucumber and stir again.

Cover tightly and refrigerate for a while . Stir again before serving.

When you remove it from the fridge, the salt will have made the cucumbers sweat so it might look watery. This is completely normal and will thin the sour cream out a bit, which is desirable.

Consume with in a day or two, stirring before serving/ eating.

ENJOY!

Stuffed Clams a la Gaga - and my First Ever Giveaway!!!

I'm giving complete credit for this recipe to my Gaga, who cooked everything for us that was ever worth eating. She made these stuffed clams every 4th of July.

The stuffed clams, fresh out of the oven, fragrant with sage and butter and clams, each contained in it's own real clam shell, were the highlight of our annual family 4th of July at my Grandparents' house on the lake.  These clams are one of those foods of summer. The kind of food that got the kids out of the water, the Moms out of the kitchen, and the Dads away from the explosive devices. Serious 4th of July food.

Every summer, Big Daddy, MiniMe and I spend 2 weeks by the sea. Usually, we are there in June, after school lets out and before the tourists descend.  This year, end of school was delayed because the beginning of school was delayed, so we had 4th of July in the middle of our vacation.


Fourth of July 2012 was Big Daddy's and my 20th Wedding Anniversary.  Where, did the time go?  We don't look all that different from the day we pledged our troth (ok, I admit, different glasses and color from a bottle). It feels like it was just last week.... 

Because we were going to be on vacation, because it was our anniversary, and because we felt like it, we decided to have a 4th of July party. A real party. We still did the cooking and decorating and cleaning up, but we had invites printed with a "RSVP" which we sent to most of our friends, old and new.

Though I had never made Gaga's stuffed clams before, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try them. They were a hit! I didn't have the quahog shells, like Gaga had, but I made do with some scallop shells I found on the docks where the local scallop fishermen dump them on a regular basis.

Here's the recipe. I hope you have a summer party for which you can make them, too!  Or, if you are feeling beachy this Christmas, maybe they'd make a good appetizer for your holiday feast.

Please don't ever admit that there are no fresh clams in this recipe. I never have and I never will!

Oh, and warning - this recipe's got some Paula Deen amount of butter in it so beware!

You will need:
1 15oz Can Clam Chowder not "Ready to Eat"(Gaga used Campbell's which I couldn't find. I used 1/2 can Chunky brand)

1 Can Progresso White Clam Sauce

1 16oz box Ritz Crackers

1/2 C Parsley finely chopped

1 egg

1tsp ground Sage

Pepper

Paprika

1 Stick Butter

1) Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and place the rack just above the middle position -NOT at the broil position!

2) Remove sleeves of crackers from the box and roll and crush them to bits before opening packages and dumping into a medium bowl with the Clam Chowder. Using an electric mixer, mix cracker crumbs and chowder until they come together

3) Add the White Clam Sauce, the Pepper, the Parsley, and the Sage and mix thoroughly. The mixture will have the consistency and appearance of oatmeal. Don't hold it against me. I promise you, it will taste better than it looks at this point. PROMISE!!!

4) Spoon the mixture into individual clam shells or scallop shells, if you can find them. The amount of stuffing per shell depends on the size of the shell. I used an ice cream scoop to fill the scallop shells.  Put about 1/4 Tbsp of butter on each clam (1/2 Tbsp for scallops), then sprinkle with Paprika. Place them all on a baking sheet - it's ok if they are crowded.

5) Pop clams into the preheated oven and Bake 5-6 minutes for clam shells, I baked the scallops for 10 - 12 minutes. The tops will be nicely golden brown when ready. If you aren't sure, poke a fork into the biggest, fattest one and make sure the fork comes out hot. 


Eat 'em up with a fork and a smile!!


ENJOY!!!


Disclaimer:  I have no commercial, personal or impersonal relationship with any of the above referenced brand names. They don't know me from Adam!


I used about 10-12  large scallop shells (6 ins across) or maybe 20-24 large clam shells for the above recipe. Be prepared to replace the shells every so often. They get thrown out by mistake, taken home as a souvenir of a great day, or sometimes (ew) used as an ashtray.  The edges of the shells can be fragile, so they break easily as well.

When you get them home, scrub the shells with whatever you use to scrub a pot, then run them through the dishwasher. You can put them in the silverware basket if they won't stay in the racks.
If you get scallop shells, they should be about the size of a cocktail plate - put them in the top rack.

I know you are going to want to know - "WHERE DO I GET SHELLS????" If you aren't by the sea or near a fishing port, find a raw bar or a sea food market and ask if you can have a bunch of their cast off shells.  

Giveaway: Because my collection of shells is readily replenished, because it's Tuesday, and because I've never done it before, I will give 8 of my Scallop Shells to a randomly selected entrant.

Or, if there's only one entrant, they get it. US shipping addresses only, please!


Just leave a creative comment below by next 11:59 PM Tuesday, July 31, 2012! I will announce the winner on Wednesday, August 1st.


May the odds be forever in your favor!

Flour Tortilla Buildup.....

I went grocery shopping the other day and came home with a ridiculously small amount of food for an enormously ridiculous amount of money.

Is it just me, or are groceries getting more expensive?  I mean, really more expensive? I don't think it's just me. Thank goodness Big Daddy and MiniMe planted a garden ... ofcourse the chipmunks will be eating better than the family....

So, I came home to put the sacred offerings and ingredients away in the fridge. As I'm moving stuff about, I realize that I've got 3 different open packages of flour tortillas. I mighta bought tortillas for enchiladas, but I'm not sure. I probably used a kit for that.....

 Now, I use the tortillas for Fajitas which all of my family members can, will and love to eat.  All 3 of us eating exactly the same thing at exactly the same time is some kind of red letter meal in my house.


Anyway, I do want to make Fajitas, but in the mean time, what the heck do I do with 7 flour tortillas of different sizes and "use by" dates?

Steak quesadillas for my lunch today! woo hoo!

What are You Reading Now

I just finished Meagan Donohue's first novel called "How to Eat a Cupcake". All I can say is if you are going to talk about all of those fanciful flavors, a person could put a recipe or two in the back of the book. Just sayin'. Otherwise, it was a quick, cute, chick-lit read. And we have a Crumbs bakery in town.

They stock  Red Velvet and know me by my first name. sigh.

Over and Out.
Gruve

Don't be a Chicken Picatta!

I'm one of those people who almost never order pasta or chicken in a restaurant because, really, I can cook it at home for $1.50 a serving, not $25.00!

There are two exceptions for pasta. At Paul's Pasta Shop  you can watch them make the pasta through the front window, (while you wait in a ridiculously long line for 5:30 on a Monday!) or if there's a pasta dish with bacon on the menu. The latter is not necessarily an automatic choice, but you know that bacon makes everything better! At Paul's I usually order the Carbonara. I have to. It's delicious.

Chicken doesn't fare much better in the restaurant world. I mean $30 for a broiled chicken breast with  a prune juice reduction and steamed fake baby carrots? I know your prep cook and I know he carves your carrot pieces to look like that!


Of course, between not ordering Pasta and not ordering Chicken at restaurants, I'm pretty much left with Lamb and Sea Scallops so now I'm no longer a cheap date for Big Daddy....


Chicken Picatta (or veal picatta) is one dish that I never considered cooking at home, because with all of the pounding and the beating and the wailing and gnashing of teeth - oh, sorry that's just me -  I  thought it was a very difficult dish to cook.  So, it was a Restaurant Dish. One that I didn't feel guilty about ordering and one that I occasionally wished I could serve at home.

So, I happened to buy a cookbook from the Mystic Seaport called "New England Seasons" or something like that. Now, when I buy a cook book, I read it cover to cover. - actually, I usually take the cookbook out of the library first, cook a few dishes and then decide if I want to put them into my little handwritten cookbook or if I want to actually buy the real thing. They Mystic Seaport cookbooks, however, are pretty tried and true.

Anyway, I get a cookbook and I read it cover to cover.  As I read, I write down the name and page number of the recipes I want to cook, and then slide it into the front of the book for future reference.
So imagine my surprise when I flipped a page in a new cookbook that was full of relatively easy recipes, and saw a recipe for Chicken Picatta!

And I read the directions. And they were easy! And I thought to myself "I'm never ordering Chicken Picatta at a restaurant again!".

So, I made the Chicken Picatta for MiniMe and Big Daddy - the pickiest of picky eaters -  and much to my surprise they loved it.  L O V E D it!  I serve it with Rice Pilaf and Sauteed Baby Spinach or Steamed Broccoli. Or Steamed Fake Baby Carrots.

I can tell you, there are days when I'm having a big stare down with a couple of Chicken Breasts and wondering what to do with them that I haven't already done a hundred times and I realize that I've got all the ingredients for Chicken Picatta. I've gone from culinary zero to culinary hero in no time!

So, from my crazy kitchen to yours, here's a fancy schmancy, impress the guests if you need to, recipe (which I changed a bit for our tastes)  This recipe feeds the 3 of us with a little bit left over.

You Need:

2 whole boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts. Separate and trim the breasts. You are going to pound them silly, so if they are still big, slice each breast in half. (you could totally do this with Veal Medallions instead of Chicken). You can pound first and cut the pieces into smaller portions, too.

1/2 cup regular flour (I use King Arthur because it's from New England) in a pie plate Seasoned with salt and pepper or some Tony Chachere's

4 large eggs, beaten in a pie plate and mixed with:

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese (the stuff out of the shaker for family, freshly grated for Mothers in Law, Bosses and Holidays). Stir it into the eggs.

1 Stick Butter (salted, unsalted, whatever you have!)

1Tbsp Tiny Capers, Crushed - if desired - if you don't like 'em don't use 'em and substitute 1/4 c white wine

1 Lemon cut into wedges for serving.

1) Pound the chicken until it is very thin - think 1/4". I like to put the breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and use either a big, heavy frying pan to bang away at it, or a meat mallet. The pan makes more noise. The mallet will scare anyone who walks into the kitchen wondering what all the noise is about.

2) Over Medium Hi heat, melt Butter in a large frying pan. You want the butter to be sizzling hot to start and to brown by the time you finish cooking.  On my stove, I put the knob between 6 and 7 and keep it there.

3) Dredge each filet  through the flour until it's covered, give it a little shake when you take it out of the flour to get rid of any flour clumps. This helps the eggs adhere to the Chicken.

4) Place the chicken in the Egg/ Cheese mixture and flip, to make sure the chicken is covered with the egg. Before you move it to the frying pan, let it drip a bit back into the plate so you don't drool egg all over the place.

5) Place the Egg covered Chicken into the hot pan. It should sizzle at least a little. Leave it for 4ish minutes (the thinner the meat, the shorter the cook time). Don't touch it till the 4ish minutes are up. You can shake the pan a little if you need to. Your kitchen will smell like French Toast. This is normal. After the 4ish minutes, flip the Chicken until cooked through. This will depend on how thin the Chicken is, so keep an eye on it.

You can cook as many pieces at one time as will fit into the pan and stay flat on the bottom of the pan. Move the cooked pieces to a warm platter.

6) Once the Chicken is all done, stir the capers (or the wine) around in the left over Butter in the pan, scraping up any bits or pieces.  If you use the Wine, this is called "De glazing". Pour this sauce over the cooked chicken on the platter and serve.

This is 6 steps, which some of you may feel is more work than you want to do. Trust me. This is not a huge deal to make, and if you need/ want to impress someone, this is a great dish to do it.

So, I'm going to break it down for you:

Slice (if necessary)
Pound
Dredge
Dunk
Fry
De glaze
Eat

Enjoy!

** As a note for the Gluten Free - I'm considering using Corn Starch in place of the Flour for a Gluten Free option. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated!

Please note that I am not acquainted with King Arthur, his court, nor his flour.  I also do not know Tony Chachere, though he lived in the neighborhood where my friend grew up. All opinions are my own and I am not compensated for any shameless name dropping.

Cooking - Lazy Side Dishes

Hi All! My grocery store had Oven Stuffer Roasters on wicked sale this week, and with the early Spring like temps, I decided a roasted chicken was just what my family needs - the smell of the roasting chicken wafting through my house, the warm, buttery taste of a fresh from the oven chicken (as opposed to fresh from the grocery store roaster) with some some starchy, tummy filling sides. You know it. That's the stuff, isn't it?

So, I've had a bag of Prince Edward Island potatoes sitting on the counter for some time and I figured it was about time I cooked some of them before they sprout. Though I am a lover of potatoes in any form, MiniMe and Big Daddy are not fans of "mashers" and I really didn't feel like doing anything creative.

Here is what I do when I've got a hunk - o something roasting in the oven:

Prep time - 3 mins
Cook time - final 30 mins of whatever is roasting

Raw potatoes - enough for your crowd, depending on the size of the potatoes. and crows
Olive oil - Couple Tablespoons - Xtra Virgin, Never been a Virgin, Expensive, Store brand, Rachel Ray Brand, Italian, Spanish, Greek. I don't care. Whatever you've got
Seasoning of some kind - Tony Chachere's is my "go to", Salt & Pepper with some Herbs de Provence, Italian Seasoning. To your taste.

Wash the raw potatoes and leaving the skin on, cut each potato in half, then quarters then 16ths you should have chunks that are about 1 inch.

Put the chunks in a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil - swirl it all around so potatoes are coated.

Sprinkle with your seasoning of choice (I suggest at least Salt and Pepper). If you are using Tony Chachere's, sprinkle it on, then give it a couple more shakes of the stuff in honor of my Bestie Charlotte.

Swirl the potatoes around in the stuff till they seem coated.

Open oven and carefully so you don't go burning yourself, pour the potatoes into the bottom of the roasting pan. Shake the pan so the potatoes all get down to the bottom of the pan.  If you are a bad, bad, naughty person and don't care about the grease, feel free to put a few potatoes in the cavity of the chicken. Don't stuff it though!

Close the oven. Whew! put the bowl in the sink.
Sit down and go online and look at Charlotte's website. Use the link at the bottom of my blog.
You are welcome!

Potatoes are done when they are tender to a fork. Hopefully, this will be at the same time as the chicken!

Come back and post your version/ recipe

Gruve on!

OMG I Made These Wings?!

My family loves Wings. Hot Wings. Buffalo Wings. Chicken Wings.  Whatever you call them, in our house, they are Wings.

When we lived in SoFlo, we used to go to a place called Miller's Ale House because their wings, while deep fried, weren't one step up from a "nugget".  It was awesome, TVs everywhere, every sport known to man, plus a lot of cheer leading competitions, good menu selections, good service, good prices, crayons for the kids.... you see where this is going.  The problem is, we moved. And there's no Ale House in our new town.

While grocery shopping one day, we tried some of the "IQF", cook at home variety. Banquet Brands makes a good frozen wing, assuming that you buy the "Hot and Spicy" flavor, not the "Honey BBQ" kind (ew).  We fired those up, and they became our "go to choice". But they're expensive - $10 for 18 wings - and I still had to clean up and do dishes? no.

So, one recent day, reading over on The Pioneer Woman's blog, Ree Drummond - you might know her for her Food Network Show on Saturday mornings or her "Food From My Frontier" cookbook (new one just out on March 13) - had a magical recipe  for Wings and their Buffalo hot sauce.

I thought "Wow, I might be able to do that!"
I tried it. I loved it. My family love it. I adjusted it for my family and they loved it more...
Here's my version - try it this way once and make your own adjustments .... post it on your blog - YUMMY!

Ingredients:
1 gallon size ziploc
Big Bottle Canola Oil
2 packages "chicken wingettes" for my 3 person family for dinner (mostly for hubby)
2/3 C all purpose flour (I recommend King Arthur, but just b/c it's what I use)
2 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Seasoning in the green container. Find it in the spice aisle. My friend, Charlotte introduced me to this ingredient and she knew the real Mr. Chachere, so add an extra sprinkle in her honor. You'll be happy that you did.

For the sauce, you will need:
1 stick butter
1 12 oz bottle Louisianna Hot Sauce (or Tobasco).
*Optional: Sriracha Sauce - preferably the one with the green top so the sodium doesn't kill you

In an electric frying pan, heat about 1" of canola oil to 350 degrees. I pour the oil into the cold pan up to the depth of the 1st knuckle on my index finger. I assume it's an inch.
You will need metal tongs.

Rinse and place the chicken pieces on a couple of layers of paper towels to dry. All of my paper towels say "Home Sweet Home" because I love my house. I make sure that all of my paper towels say "Home Sweet Home" on them on purpose. My house is old and the pachysandra in my garden is a plague so I like to remind Big Daddy that I love my house. You should see me in the paper towel aisle. People walk on the other side of the aisle when I'm there, and give me the "side eye" when they walk by.

In the ziploc, mix the flour and Mr. Chachere's seasoning - just throw 'em in there, zip it and shake it up.
Add the chicken to the ziploc and shake it - who remembers "shake and bake"??? - until the chicken is coated. This will create a crispy coating with out being southern fried.

When the oil comes to temperature (the light on the electric frying pan will shut off), gently shake extra flour off the chicken pieces and place them into the hot oil, piece by piece. Be careful because the oil can splatter. You can use the tongs to do this, if you are afraid of the hot oil.  Move the chicken around a little so the chicken doesn't stick to the pan.

Don't walk away. The oil is hot and stuff is cooking. Walking away can result in problems. Your children may end up with stories that they will tell to every fireman they meet for the rest of their lives. Preferably when they are in your presence.

After about 10 minutes, turn the pieces over and let them cook on the other side.  You want to cook the chicken for about 25 minutes total.  The chicken should be cooked to 160 degrees.

While the chicken is cooking, over low heat, melt the butter. This is done on the stove, if you misunderstood and thought maybe you should do it in the same frying pan as the chicken.

When the butter is melted, add the entire bottle of hot sauce. I like to whisk it together until it's combined. Or, if you don't want to dirty a whisk, just jiggle the pan (carefully!) until it looks mixed up.

Back to the chicken:
Using the tongs, remove the chicken from the oil and place on a couple of layers of paper towels on a tray or a cutting board.

Pour the prepared sauce into a bowl. I use my stainless salad/mixing bowl.

Throw a few pieces of the cooked chicken (as many as you dare) into the bowl of sauce and jiggle them around until they are coated with sauce. Do this with all of the chicken then eat it up. ** for those that like a little more spice, coat half the chicken in the regular sauce, then add a few drops of Sriracha Sauce, mix then add the rest of the cooked chicken and coat. Firey!

Serve with a tray of baby carrots, celery sticks and blue Cheese salad dressing.

or not.

And lots of napkins. And a Diet Coke. I believe Diet Coke has superpowers that automatically negates whatever naughty stuff you eat with it.

Awesomeness, Sister (and you too, Brother)!!! Think of that next Superbowl Sunday - or Next Wednesday, while you are rooting for your favorite American Idol!

MiniMe's Salmon Wraps - a Lenten Dish

MiniMe is on top of all of the Catholic Holidays, High Holy Days and Holy Days of Obligation.  Somehow I gave birth to a religion loving kid. She reminded me on Monday, before I went food shopping, that it's Lent and that there are more meat free days than just Friday. 

Here is one of MiniMe's fave fish dishes. It's great in the summer and apparently will work for our Lenten meals as well as get the kid to eat a veg.

Ingredients:
1 Salmon Filet per person (about 8oz) (buy 'em fresh or from the frozen section of your market) Prepared
1 Box Wild Rice Mix Prepared (mild or non flavored)
1-2 heads Romaine Lettuce Leaves - separated and washed

Prepare your Salmon however you like it: Grill, Broil, Bake, wrap in foil with a little Tony Chachere's seasoning, and butter or marg, a lemon slice and some fresh dill.

Plate up the fish, rice and lettuce leaves and serve to your grateful dining companions.

Eaters: Take one Romaine Lettuce Leaf and add a couple spoonfuls of the prepared wild rice
put the cooked Salmon on top of it. If you have a huge leaf of Romaine, you might be able to do this while leaving the fish whole. Otherwise, crumble it or chop it in 1" chunks.
Squirt with lemon if that's how you roll.
Sprinkle with some Tony Chachere's Seasoning if you roll like me.

Wrap the lettuce leaf around the deliciousness and eat.
It's messy so put some extra napkins in the middle of the table.

Happy Lent. Did you give up anything for Lent? I was going to give up gossip but then something huge went down in the yoga world and I decided not to. Don't worry, I'm not going to Hell because I moved to a small town and gave up flipping off the bad drivers.

Enjoy!
Gruve