Shrimp and Grits

This is a delicious and hearty meal
Serves 4 with some grits left over for breakfast the next morning

Cheese Grits
Bring 1 half-pint cream, 1-14 oz container chicken broth and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. (Add 1 clove minced garlic if desired)
Add 3/4 tsp salt and 1 cup quick cooking grits to liquid, simmer about 10 minuets until thickened
add 8 oz shredded SHARP white cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup good quality shredded Parmesan cheese and hot sauce to taste. Keep Warm

Shrimp
Cook 6 slices of bacon in a heavy duty skillet, set aside bacon
in the remaining drippings (remove some of the grease if necessary) saute 8 oz sliced mushrooms, a bunch of diced green onions an 2 cloves minced garlic until tender.
Remove shells from 32 large shrimp (devein if desired)
Salt and pepper shrimp, dredge lightly in flour
Add shrimp to skillet and saute until pink, adding more bacon grease if necessary
add 1/4 -1/4 cup chicken broth and hot sauce to taste
allow sauce to thicken

Spoon grits on to serving plates,
top with a serving of shrimp mixture
top with crumbled bacon (and some extra green onions if desired)
DELISH!
Enjoy with a loaf of crusty french bread and a side salad.

Ranch Chicken over noodles

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
6 slices of bacon
2 TBS flour
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 1/2 cup milk
egg noodles

Prepare egg noodles according to package direction, set aside, keep warm

Salt and pepper chicken, cut into bite-size pieces and set aside
Cook bacon, draining off all but 2 TBS grease
Saute chicken in remaining bacon grease
When chicken is nicely browned and no longer pink, sprinkle with the flour and the ranch dressing mix. Toss to coat. Add the milk, stir and allow sauce to thicken. Serve over egg noodles.

New Year Resolutions

I have a well stocked pantry and am known for buying items when they are on sale (Yes, I have 10 jars of marinara sauce on hand--but never pay more that $1.00 a jar for this either. which results in a FULL Pantry but money tied up in inventory)

Therefore, this year I RESOLVE To use what I have on hand rather than buy, buy, buy more. This is going to be a hard one for me to be disciplined enough to NOT purchase when on sale for a period of time and it will also require some creative cooking and new recipes (share yours) but I am up for the task!

Tailgaiting

We faithfully attend the University of Louisvlle football games and I prepared this tasty dish when we stomped Cincinnati last week.

Philly Cheese Steak (It's Louisville, home of the Kentucky Derby!)


Hoagie rolls-split, lightly toasted...you want them to still be soft

1/2 lb rib eye steak shaved (by your butcher) for each sandwich (I made 6 using 3 lbs)
Wet hands with olive oil and work the meat apart
add bout 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, heat, add meat and then
add a liberal sprinkling of Lawry's seasoned salt
a dusting of Lawry's Garlic powder
pan fry until no longer pink

sauteed peppers and onions (2 large onions and 1 bell pepper sliced, plus one clove of garlic)
I also add a hot pepper, diced
Sauteed in butter and a little olive oil

Saute mushrooms if desired (Butter and a little Worcester sauce)

Provolone cheese

Line each bun with a slice (or 2) of provolone cheese
Place a liberal helping of meat on each bun
top with sauteed vegetables and another slice of cheese

Wrap in foil for easy transport to the game
Place in a glass casserole with a warming element
Delicious!

The Versatile Chicken Breast

Since I haven't had time to post in awhile I thought I provide a few easy chicken recipes. Once you've made these you won't need a recipe, they are THAT easy

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

enough frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts to feed your family

1 can cream of chicken condensed soup for every 6 breasts

1 container of sour cream for each can of soup

cumin, if desired to taste

Season with salt, pepper and cumin breasts to taste

place in crock pot on low setting

cover with soup

allow to cook all day

sauce may be thin so you can thicken with flour if necessary

add sour cream, stir to blend. Allow to warm as you prepare the rest of your meal

Serve over brown or white rice you prepared in the microwave. Served with a veggie or a salad

Make Extra, this is yummy!

Chicken Wallo

enough chicken tenders to serve your family

one egg, beaten

Italian flavored bread crumbs

olive and butter for sauteing

1/4 cup Italian dressing

Salt and pepper chicken tenders

dip in beaten egg, roll in bread crumbs

saute in butter with a little olive oil til nicely browned (do not need to be cooked thoroughly)

remove chicken and drain oil from pan

return tenders to the pan and add Italian dressing

allow to simmer until done

Serve with wild rice and a veggie. Easy and delicious

Chicken Wallo is great because it is tasty but you can make as much or as little as needed (just add more tenders and dressing). Kids love to take the leftover tenders in their lunch box

Skillet Cordon Bleu

Boneless chicken breasts, 1 per person, pounded until flat or use MARKET DAY Chicken Steaks

1 egg, beaten

Italian bread crumbs

Canadian bacon, thickly sliced and then cut into strips (I use 2 slices per every 3 breasts)

Swiss cheese slices

Salt and Pepper chicken

dip in egg, roll in bread crumbs

saute in olive oil until nicely browned and nearly done, with little pink remaining inside

Transfer to an oven safe baking dish

top with sliced Canadian Bacon and cheese

bake at 350 until done and cheese has melted

Outback Chicken

Chicken breast per person

bacon slices, cooked

Colby cheese

sauteed mushrooms (saute mushrooms in butter and add a TBS Worcester for flavor)

honey mustard dressing

Salt and pepper chicken

grill to desired done-ness

top with Honey Mustard dressing, bacon and cheese. Serve with additional Honey Mustard for dipping

Serve with a baked sweet potato and vegetable of your choice

No Worries!

Using ingredients you have on hand

Trying to come up with a quick dinner and wanting to use some cheese ravioli I perused allrecipes.com site http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx recipe search. This site allowed me to indicate what ingredients I want included as well as excluded. I am not sure which cheese ravioli recipe I'll be making tonight but I DO know I will be using this site again to help me prepare dinner using what ingredients I have on hand!

Linguini with Smoked Salmon in Cream Sauce

I made this for dinner last night after Cross Country Practice and it took less than 30 minutes to get it on the table

8 oz dried linguine
6 oz smoked salmon (we smoke our own, shrink vac it and store in the fridge until we need it)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TBS butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 TBS fresh dill weed
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel (optional)
grated Parmesean cheese

Cok pasta accordng to package directions, drain, keep warm

Slice salmon into bitesixe thin strips, set aside

For sauce:
saute garlic and green onion in butter until tender
Add Salmon, cook for 1 minute
Stir in whiping cream, dill weed, lemon pepper (optional) and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

Top Pasta with sauce, sprinke with parmesean cheese. Enjoy!

Serve wth crusty bread and a fresh salad