Low Country Boil

June 26, 2016

Hello and happy Sunday!

Certain things symbolize summertime to me. Campfires, lighting bugs, Blue Moons with an orange slice, flip flops, sleeping with a fan on through the night, a bushel of crabs, ice tea brewing in a glass jar on the back porch, a Kenny Chesney new single release and low country boil.

This one pot wonder packs a mean punch of flavor and I love the ease of serving. A low country boil quite simply is a large pot of boiling yumminess, some newspapers lining a gathering table and just before the dinner bell rings, one giant pour of all ingredients, spread across a tabletop.

Typically, you reserve this dinner for a back porch evening. You pour yourself a cold one, invite over your closest friends and you sit back and pick and eat. Simple as that. My kind of meal.

My mother-in-law was the first person to introduce me to low country boil, many blue moons ago! 🙂

When Nathan, requested I make it for Father’s Day dinner, I will admit, I was intimidated. But, good golly, this meal seriously is as easy as they can come. Just like a summer night. So, after one attempt and personal declared successful attempt, I share with you!

LOW COUNTRY BOIL:

5 Quarts of Water
1 – 12 oz Bottle of Light Beer
1 Bag of Crab & Shrimp Boil Seasoning
1/4 Cup of Old Bay
2 T Sea Salt
2 Lemons (juice and rind)
1 Sweet Onion
1.5 lbs of Red Potatoes
5 Ears of Corn
Kielbasa
2.5 lbs of Large Shrimp
1 Stick of Butter
2 T of Minced Garlic

In a large stock pot add water, beer, bag of crab and shrimp boil, Old Bay, salt and the juice of two lemons. Bring to a boil and add the lemon rinds and an onion, quartered. Reduce to a simmer for five minutes. Add potatoes and set timer for 10 minutes. Add corn and cut kielbasa and cook for five minutes. Add shrimp and cook for three minutes.

Melt one stick of butter. Once melted, add minced garlic and mix well.

Drain the ingredients leaving a bit of liquid in the bowl. Pour the melted butter and garlic over ingredients and serve.

Enjoy!

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Banana Bread Blondies with Caramel Frosting

October 27, 2015

When I get hungry you know what I crave? Well, besides homemade mashed potatoes, brick oven pizzas and wings… sweets! Yep. Anything sweet. That is why the Double Stuffed OREOs don’t last in our home. Ever.

But besides my sweet tooth, I am actually trying to get better at not being so wasteful. Especially when it comes to food. So, when some ripe bananas hanging out on my kitchen counter caught my eye, I thought, “I better use them up.”

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Easy Stuffed Peppers

September 9, 2015

When the going gets tough, the tough make simple, easy dinners. And, then everyone stuffs their faces and then everyone goes to bed. Well at least that is what happens these days in our home. I will not take full credit at all for this recipe. It actually exists on the back side of those bagged baby peppers. It is a popular appetizer among our family, but with a stuffing as good as they produce, I decided to make it into a full fledged easy dinner recipe. So, I guess you can say I was inspired!
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No Bake Cookies

August 16, 2015

I am not a baker. I wish I was.

I am pretty sure I scrambled eggs in a cake once as I added the hot butter. And, I work too fast, which means I sometimes mix up the directions. “Oh, 1 cup of flour not 2!” In my defense, the ingredient below was 2 tsp of Baking Soda. Minor mix-ups, I tell ya.

One thing I can promise is that my No Bake Cookie recipe is easy and delicious. Plus, if this hot mess of a baker can achieve cookie success, you are golden.

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Easy Peasy Caprese

July 30, 2015

The weekend is approaching folks! You know what that means… get yo’ food on. Well it does for me anyway. Ahh, I missed my calling… a restaurant critic would have suited me just fine.

If you are like me and the rest of the East Coast, you know it is hot as all get-up. I am opting for a popsicle or two for dinner. Bring on the banana flavored! And, the naturally cold-blooded body of mine is all like, “why are you not shivering and what is this thing you call sweat?”

Therefore, while Baby Lo and I stick to each other the last thing I want to do in the evening is turn on the oven or stand behind a stove. I mean, please! So, I convinced Nathan that one of our favorite appetizers would totally be an acceptable side dish to our BLT’s. Because again, I am not making myself more miserable in this heat and he knows I would be completely okay with a Popsicle for dinner, so he goes along.

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Southwest Scrambled Eggs

June 20, 2015

Have I told you before? Yes, I know I told you before. Nathan, does most of the breakfast cooking in our home. (Actually lately, he has just been doing the cooking in general).

Breakfast has always been his specialty. What it really is though is timing, and let me tell you has this mastered. Just as he is plating the eggs, he removes the breakfast meat from the stove, pours us cups of Orange Juice or refills our coffee and the I hear a DING! and the toast is popping up from the toaster. Master, I say.

Although, while I will give full credit most mornings. I am taking the credit for these.

SOUTHWEST SCRAMBLED EGGS:

1 Tbsp of Light Butter
6 Large Eggs
1 – Can of Black Beans
Splash of Milk
Red Onion – Diced
Yellow Pepper- Diced
Red Pepper – Diced
2 Slices of Monterey Jack Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Salsa to taste

Heat 1 Tbsp of Light Butter in skillet on medium high. Add the diced Red Onion,Yellow Pepper and Red Pepper to the skillet and cook until soft. In a separate bowl beat eggs, add a splash of Milk and season with pepper. Add eggs to pan. Let the eggs cook for a minute before you begin to push around mixture. Once the eggs begin to fluff up, add in the two Monterey Jack Cheese Sliced broken a part. Flip the eggs, melting the cheese. Salt and pepper the eggs to taste. While you are cooking the eggs, heat the black beans on the stove.

Plate the eggs and serve the black beans along the side.

Add a spoonful of eggs and black beans to your plate, top with salsa to taste and serve alongside your favorite breakfast meat. Notice my picture below has no toast? Yeah, I am not the master of timing!

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Easy Eggplant Parmesan

April 1, 2015

The past few weeks have been so incredibly busy with work. Major events and projects have collided together creating late nights, early mornings, skipped meals and crash and burn evenings. Dramatic, much? I know.

My dear husband has had to really take charge, as my parenting and household upkeep has been needless to say, slacking. After receiving a frantic call from my husband that consisted of a one way street conversation of – “Get home!” I was slightly nervous as I turned the front door handle and stepped into a quiet house. As I peeked into the nursery I saw my husband rocking a wide-eyed baby as he mouthed “be quiet.” I ninja-tip-toed out of the room and over so many baby items scattered across the floor. The house looked like we were robbed. As if a robber knew that somewhere under the building dust some serious loot resided and combed every inch of our home throwing bottles, diapers and baby clothing in complete madness.

I walked into the Master Bedroom and saw all of Baby Lo’s Diaper Bag belongings out and about throughout the room. Blankets, a formula dispenser, diapers, baby clothes, more diapers, even the Infant Tylenol and Vitamin D Drops which were neatly stored in their boxes and tucked away in a pocket of the diaper bag were out of their boxes and laying scattered across the bed (I am completely organized in the wrong places in life these days).

“Umm… what happened here tonight?” I asked. I think my husband had a twitch in his eye as he stated, “Onesie. I just needed a onesie.”

“And you thought maybe you would find it inside the Tylenol box?”

We still are laughing about that one. Needless to say, he warned me to buy more onesies, like boxes and boxes, but he has also been super helpful and amazing with taking care of Baby Lo, our home and even me.

So, in an effort to gain some normalcy back into our lives, I decided a home cooked meal is just what we needed.

EASY EGGPLANT PARMESAN:
Serves 4

1 – Eggplant
2 – Eggs
1 Cup of Breadcrumbs (Italian Flavored)
1 1/2 Cups of Shredded Parmesan
3 tsps of Dried Basil
1 – Jar of Prego Traditional Pasta Sauce
2 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella
Pepper to taste
Fresh Basil to garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Peel the skin of an eggplant and cut 1/3 of an inch pieces, so you have various circle size bites (basically, do not cut lengthwise). Beat two eggs in a bowl. In a separate bowl or plate mix 1 cup of breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 tsp of dried basil. Dip the eggplant in the egg, coat evenly, and then dip into breadcrumb mixture, again, coat evenly. Place eggplant on baking sheet. I end up using two sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

I use a 9×13 baking dish since this recipe serves four. Coat the bottom with pasta sauce. Place a layer of eggplant and add a spoonful of sauce. Add 1 cup of Mozzarella, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, 1 tsp of dried basil and pepper to taste. Repeat the layering with eggplant, the remaining sauce and cheeses and season with 1 tsp of dried basil and pepper.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the top is golden and gooey, like this!

Garnish with fresh basil and serve alongside salad and bread! Delicious and easy!

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Sausage And Pesto Pizza

March 18, 2015

One item that is typically always in my refrigerator is a pizza crust. Now the toppings, well that is another story, but a pizza crust, yes, you will find. Pizza is an easy solution to weeknight dinner predicaments. Since, we are creatures of habit in my household, we typically lean towards pepperoni and cheese or a version of a supreme depending on what vegetables are available. My personal favorite is our buffalo chicken which is a recipe we have perfected, but every now and then we get creative. In my opinion when you mix creativity with simplicity in the kitchen, well boys and girls, you have culinary success!

This recipe was adapted from another Blog, Food n’ Focus. I stumbled upon the post on Pinterest and after I made some adjustments based on the ingredients I had on hand, I decided to share with you.

SAUSAGE AND PESTO PIZZA:

1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 Pre-made Store Bought Pizza Dough
4 Sweet Italian Sausage Links
1/2 Cup of Pesto
1 Cup of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Jar of Artichokes
Handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano Shavings
1 Package of Pre-Cooked Chicken

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Remove casing from the Sweet Italian Sausage Links and crumble the sausage. Cook the sausage in 1 Tbsp of Oil in a skillet on medium high. Once cooked through, remove and drain.

Start by spreading 1/2 a cup of Pesto over the Pizza Dough. Then layer on 1 cup of the Shredded Mozzarella Cheese and 1/2 cup of Shredded Parmesan Cheese. Add the Artichokes and the Pre-Cooked Sausage to the top of the Pizza. Sprinkle the top with a handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano Shavings. Place the Pizza directly on the top oven rack and place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any food. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.

Remove and sprinkle with fresh basil.

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Snack Attack Smoothie

February 3, 2015

6 weeks post baby and I have learned that the day slips away from you. One moment you are feeding your baby at 5:30 am, then you blink and you are rocking your baby after multiple diaper changes, additional feedings and cooing sessions and the clock reads 3:30 pm. It is easy to not eat at all or eat really badly. I will admit… I am a sucker for Oreo’s and will sneak to the cupboard for one here and there throughout the day and then suddenly I realize, I have eaten half a sleeve.

So, eating healthy is essential for loosing the baby weight, maintaining energy and just overall feeling good about yourself. For me, smoothies are my healthy snack go-to. They are easy to make, they pack a lot of punch (since you can combine a bunch of nutrients into one drink) and the possibilities are really endless (so, no boredom here!)

When the snack monster attacks, well I enjoy fighting back with a smoothie creation. Here are two I recently created. Enjoy!

Banana Berry Smoothie:
Serves 2

1 Cup of Frozen Blueberries
6 Large Strawberries
1 Banana
1 Cup of Almond Milk – Original

Combine the blueberries, strawberries, banana and almond milk in a blender and mix until well blended. Serve up!

Pineapple Banana Smoothie:
Serves 2

1 Cup of Frozen Pineapple
1 Banana
1 Yoplait Strawberry Banana Yogurt
1 Cup of 2% Milk

Combine the pineapple, banana, yogurt and milk in a blender and mix until well blended. Serve up!

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Easy Weeknight Buffalo Chicken Pizza

October 7, 2014

Let’s face it… if you are anything like me, then you are hungry when you get home from work, yet there is no Chef waiting for you. I always tell my husband that if we ever won the lottery the first thing I would do would be hire a Chef. I know… you are probably thinking, “Your Blog is about cooking and your recipes?” I know! I know! I mean I do enjoy to cook, but I am also pretty tired after a long day and sometimes I wish dinner awaited me, ready to just eat when I walked through the door.

But so far, no lottery winner here and dinner must be made. So, if I can find a quick and easy weeknight recipe that is also delicious… I am sold forever. That is the case with my Buffalo Chicken Pizza.

I mean look at it. Isn’t it just delicious looking?

Well, it is! Such an easy recipe and in my opinion better than any Buffalo Chicken Pizza I have eaten out at a Restaurant.

BUFFALO CHICKEN PIZZA:

1 Pre-made Store Bought Pizza Dough
1 Cup of Franks Hot Sauce
1/3 Stick of Butter
1/2 Cup of Blue Cheese Dressing – I use Marzetti Chunky Blue Cheese
1 Package of Pre-Cooked Chicken
1 1/2 Cups of Mozzarella Cheese
Handful of Crumble Blue Cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Start by spreading 1/2 a cup of Blue Cheese Dressing over the Pizza Dough. Then layer on 1 cup of the Mozzarella Cheese. In a microwave safe bowl, melt 1/3 stick of Butter. Add 1 cup of Franks Hot Sauce to the Butter and stir. Add the Pre-Cooked Chicken to the Butter and Hot Sauce and allow it to soak up the sauce for about a minute or two. Then using a fork, add the Chicken to the top of the Pizza, which was layered with Mozzarella Cheese. Be sure to spread evenly. Once the Chicken is added, using your fork, sprinkle or splatter some of the Butter and Hot Sauce mixture onto the Pizza. Please do not dump left over sauce. This will make for a soggy pizza. Add the remaining 1/2 a cup of Mozzarella Cheese to the top of the Chicken. This helps in making everything stick. Sprinkle a handful of Crumbled Blue Cheese to top. Place the Pizza directly on the top oven rack and place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any food. Cook for about 15 minutes.