Tag: corn

Brunswick Stew

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Brunswick Stew

  • Servings: 12 -14
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Stews, soups and casseroles are all “yucky weather” type dishes because they warm you up from the inside out and allow you to thumb yer nose at the cold, wet and otherwise cruddy stuff going on outside the window.

I like the traditional soups and stews….. butternut squash, potato and leek soups  along with chicken and beef stews….. but I like to try different types of stews as well and so I decided to try this one which if we went traditional would mean using things like rabbit and squirrel and since I can’t use rabbit (I would be shot if I did) and I would never use “tree rat” (that’s squirrel kids) I opted for pork and chicken as the protein.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 2 pounds Pork shoulder – cubed
  • 2 pounds Chicken thighs – cubed
  • 3 tablespoons Canola Oil
  • 1/2 cup of Butter
  • 1/4 cup Flour
  • 1 large White Onion – diced
  • 3 Garlic cloves – chopped
  • 1 1/2 pounds Baby potatoes – quartered
  • 4 cups Chicken stock
  • 1 19 ounce can Diced tomatoes (liquid as well)
  • 3 cups frozen Corn kernels
  • 3 cups cut Green Beans
  • 3 teaspoons Tomato Paste
  • 1/2 cup Yellow Mustard
  • 1 1/2 cups Smokey BBQ sauce
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Putting it all together:

  1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or Stock pot and brown the pork and chicken removing to a large bowl when done.
  2. Melt the butter in the same pot and saute the onions and garlic for about five minutes. Add in the flour and whisk well.
  3. Pour in the Worcestershire, chicken stock, yellow mustard and BBQ sauce and stir well.
  4. Add back the meat and the remaining ingredients.
  5. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the meat and potatoes are tender, about 50 minutes.
  6. Adjust the seasonings if needed
  7. Ladle into a bowl and serve with some crusty bread for sopping up the juice.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time…..

                          Bon Appetit

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Stuffed Poblanos

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Stuffed Poblanos

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”
Orson Welles

 

I’m not a fan of traditional Stuffed Peppers mainly because the ones I’ve had usually contain too much tomato sauce and therefore I wind up with major indigestion due to the acid content in the dish. That being said I have to admit that I have always wanted to try my hand at making them just to see what the end result would be however, being who I am I of course have to add a little spin to the dish. I will also point out that this is not an original dish but I have added enough changes to make it my own.

Cooks note: I used Poblanos because they have a medium heat level without being to heavy handed but feel free to substitute whatever kind of pepper you wish keeping in mind that whatever pepper you use it should be as round as possible for ease of stuffing.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 4 large Poblano peppers – halved (cut north to south) and seeded
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground Pork
  • 1 10 ounce can of Black Beans
  • 3 tablespoons Canola Oil
  • 1 8 ounce can Niblets corn
  • 3/4 cup Cream Cheese
  • 3 cups shredded Mexican Cheese
  • 2  tablespoons Granulated Garlic
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons of Granulated Onion
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons Chipotle Powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
  • 2 tablespoons dried Parsley
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ground Black Pepper
  • pinch of Salt
  • Fresh Parsley for garnish (cilantro can be a substitute)
  • Sour cream for garnish

Putting it all together:

  1. In a large non reactive bowl combine the pork, dry spices, black beans and corn. Cover and set aside for an hour to allow the flavours to develop.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, add the pork mixture and cook until the pork is just done . Add the cream cheese and continue cooking until the cheese is nice and smooth. Pull from the heat and set aside to cool.
  4. Evenly fill the poblano halves with the pork mixture . Put in the oven until the poblanos have softened, about 30 minutes. Top with the shredded cheese and put back in the oven until melted and bubbling.
  5. Plate and garnish with the parsley and sour cream.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……….

                          Bon Appetit

Curried Mussel Chowder

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Curried Mussel Chowder

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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You don’t become a chef to become famous.

Eric Ripert

I think every home cook has the daydream of hitting it big on T.V. as the host of their own cooking show and having millions of adoring fans just gobbling up any and all recipes they showcase and I admit that I fall squarely in this group however being the practical person that I am I know this will never happen so I will be content with cooking the best food that I can for my family and friends and posting the pics to my blog in the hopes that others will enjoy it as well.

Shopping list:

  • 1 1/2 pounds frozen precooked Mussel meat
  • 4 cups Vegetable stock
  • 2 cups Milk
  • 1/4 cup Butter
  • 1 cup diced Potatoes
  • 1 cup chopped Leeks – white and light green only
  • 3/4 each finely chopped Celery and Onion
  • 4 tablespoons Yellow Curry powder (see cooks note)
  • 1/4 all purpose Flour
  • 1 cup Corn Kernels
  • 2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro for garnish

Putting it all together:

  1. In a stock pot or Dutch oven melt the butter and saute the onions for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until blended. Cook the butter and flour for about 5 minutes but don’t let it brown.
  2. Pour in the vegetable stock and whisk until smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients except the Cilantro and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer (stirring occasionally) for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  3. Pour the soup into four individual bowls, top with some cilantro and serve.

Cooks note: For a milder curry flavour substitute Garam Masala for the Yellow Curry powder.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……….

                          Bon Appetit

Chicken and Shrimp Burritos

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Chicken and Shrimp Burritos

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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“Nouvelle Cuisine, roughly translated, means: I can’t believe I paid ninety-six dollars and I’m still hungry.”

Mike Kalin

When I picked my grandson up from school today he looked at me and said “Pops……. you know what day this is ? It’s Taco Tuesday!!” Now I love Mexican food….. Carne Asada, Pozole, Chicharone and Taquitos……… but lately I’ve kind of gone off Tacos and decided that I wanted something different—– enter Burritos.

There is something about the mix of meat and rice and seasonings that I find very alluring in a Burrito unfortunately the Mexican take out places we have in the area are so heavy handed with the hot sauce that you can’t taste anything else and so I made my own.

Due to having a bunch of starving kids running amok in the house I took the liberty of some short cuts that I don’t normally use because if I didn’t I surely would have lost my sanity.

Oh and my grandson still got his Tacos.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list: 

  • 1 package of large 10″ Tortillas 
  • 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken breast
  • 12 Shrimp – shelled and deveined
  • 5 teaspoons Vegetable oil
  • One package shredded Cheese
  • 1 8 ounce can Corn kernels
  • 1 10 ounce can Black Beans
  • 6 Spring Onions – white only, sliced
  • 1 18 ounce can Diced tomatoes
  • 3 cups Uncle Ben’s 5 minute Rice
  • 3 cups Water
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons granulated Garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons Smoked Paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 6-8 tablespoons Salsa Verde

Putting it all together:

  1. In a large pot bring the water, corn, black beans and tomatoes to a boil for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, onions and rice. Cover and remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
  2. In a large fry pan heat 3 tablespoons oil, add the diced chicken, season with the chili powder, salt, pepper and smoked paprika and saute for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  3. In the same pan heat the remaining oil, add the shrimp and season with the Old Bay. Saute until firm – about 3 minutes. Add to the chicken.
  4. To build the burrito: Heat a tortilla for approximately 20 seconds. Place some cheese in the center of the tortilla, top with the rice, chicken and shrimp mix, salsa and more cheese. Fold the east and west side flaps of the tortilla until they meet in the middle. Using your thumbs fold the bottom flap up and over and roll until you have made your round burrito.
  5. Enjoy.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……..

                          Bon Appetit

Baked Mexican Breakfast Bars

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Baked Mexican Breakfast Bars

  • Servings: 10-12
  • Difficulty: easy
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What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?

Anthony Bourdain

While breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day it can also be the most challenging one to make. I mean how many times can you have bacon and eggs or pancakes with bacon or French toast with bacon before you get tired of it and want something completely different?—- okay let’s be serious…. NO ONE ever gets tired of bacon but you get my drift.

This was the conundrum I found myself in this morning and as I remembered reading about this kind of dish recently I set out to make it and of course put my own spin on it.

These are also great to freeze and use on days when you are in a hurry because you can just heat and run.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • 3 cups diced Ham
  • 1 medium white Onion – diced
  • 1 cup chopped Asparagus spears
  • 1 8 ounce can Corn kernals – drained
  • 1 8 ounce can Black beans – drained and rinsed
  • 10 large Eggs 
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated Garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Chipotle powder
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons dried Parsley
  • Salsa – (optional)
  • 1 9 x 12 x 1/12 Mini loaf pan

Putting it all together:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°. While the oven is heating mix the eggs in a 4 cup measuring cup and set aside.
  2. In a large non reactive bowl mix all the remaining ingredients.
  3. Spray the loaf pan with a non stick spray, spoon the ham and veggie mix equally into the mini loaf pan.
  4. Pour enough eggs into each slot to just cover the mix and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove from the oven and serve with salsa if using.

There you have it “another simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time………..

                            Bon Appetit

 

Chicken and Tomato casserole

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Chicken and Tomato casserole

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: easy
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This recipe comes from my Diabetes cookbook and with some embellishments from me (because I can’t help myself) it turned out to be one of the best, and healthiest,  casseroles I think I have ever made. I will most certainly be making this one again.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping list:

  • Eight bone in, skin on chicken thighs
  • One 10 ounce tin black beans
  • One 16 ounce tin diced tomatoes
  • Three tablespoons dried Oregano
  • Three tablespoons granulated Garlic
  • 1/2 cup sliced pimento stuffed olives
  • Two cups Long Grain Rice
  • Four tablespoons Canola oil
  • Chicken dry rub (see Dry Rubs and Marinades)
  • Parsley for garnish (optional)

Putting it all together:

  1. Pre heat your oven to 375 degrees
  2. Lightly season the chicken thighs with the dry rub
  3. In a large non reactive bowl mix together all the other ingredients and pour into a large casserole dish
  4. Heat the oil in a large saute pan and brown the chicken on both sides
  5. Place the chicken on top of the tomato mixture and put in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the chicken hits 165 degrees internal.
  6. Garnish with Parsley and serve.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond”

Until next time……………..

                       Bon Appetit

 

 

Grilled corn on the cob

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One of my all-time favorite sides during the BBQ season is corn on the cob.

There is something about that sweet earthy flavor that just brings out the best in any dish you might be making and besides it is also one of the least expensive items you can add to a BBQ menu. I purchased a half dozen large ears the other day for $1.99 and they were great.

Now for many years I have done my corn on the cob in the same way. Shuck the ear put it in boiling water and wait 10 to 15 minutes then slather it in butter, salt and pepper and go through a whole pile of napkins but in recent years that has changed as I am trying, note the word trying, to eat a little bit healthier.

My method for corn on the cob now is to grill it. You still get that great corn on the cob taste but with the added grill flavor and if, like me, you are trying to cut back on the butter and salt then do what I do and make it like Mexican street food and sprinkle Chili powder on it.

Ingredients

–         Half a dozen unshucked  ears of corn

–         Chili powder or butter, salt and pepper (or any seasoning you like)

Method

–         Without uncovering the corn remove the any visible silk

–         Soak the corn in a sink of cold water for approximately 1 hour

–         Heat your BBQ to 350 degrees

–         Place the corn on the BBQ and close the lid

–         Check the corn after approximately 7 minutes and rotate on the grill so it won’t burn to badly

–         Continue to monitor and rotate the corn for approx. 20 minutes.

Less time on the grill will give you a more crunchy cob so grill to your liking oh and— any leftover corn helps to make a killer Roasted Corn Salsa.

Bon Appetit