Shrimp Po' Boys & Hurricanes

If anyone asks me "What is the best trip you've ever taken?", I know immediately what to answer. In case you hadn't guessed from the title of my post, my best trip ever was to New Orleans. It was a fantastic trip with awesome friends, food, drinks and culture. It would be hard to walk along Bourbon Street and not get caught up in the party atmosphere. We indulged in jambalaya, po' boys and hurricanes a plenty. My favorite meal was at one of the hotels - I had a cornish hen stuffed with potatoes and wild rice. It was amazing! And for dessert......Bananas Foster. Hands down, the most delicious concoction ever! I was a little nervous when the waiter fired up the rum and bananas table side, but it was well worth it. I ate every bite and left the restaurant with my eyebrows in tact. So do yourself a favor, get to New Orleans at some point in your life. It's quite an experience, both food and fun wise. This particular meal was something I whipped up to reminisce about my trip. I can't compare what I have made to New Orleans' cuisine, but it turned out pretty great!
Shrimp Po' Boys(Serves 2)
20 medium cooked, cleaned shrimp, tails removed
1/2 -3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/8 TSP of white pepper
1/4 TSP ground mustard
1/4 TSP Salt
2 TBSP  Frank's Hot Sauce
3 TBSP olive oil( for frying)
2  Italian or French Bread  Hoagie stye rolls ( I made a french loaf in the bread maker)
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, sliced 
Sauce
4 TBSP  Horseradish Sauce
4 TBSP  Spicy Mustard
1 TSP Frank's Hot Sauce 
Directions
Mix bread crumbs,pepper,ground mustard, salt and hot sauce in a Ziploc and add shrimp. Shake bag until shrimp is completely coated. Heat oil in a medium pan and shrimp. Remove shrimp when golden brown. To make sauce, mix horseradish sauce, spicy mustard and hot sauce. Spread on rolls, then add lettuce, tomato and shrimp.

How to Make a Hurricane
4  oz Pineapple Juice
4 oz Orange Juice
1 oz light rum
1 oz dark rum
1 splash of Grenadine for color
1 splash of Rose's Sweet Lime juice
( You can always add more alcohol if you like them stronger)  

Guinness Makes the Burger

My taste in alcoholic beverages has changed a great deal over the years. In my early twenties, I enjoyed light, watered down beers and whatever was pink and fruity. In my mid to late twenties, I enjoyed my share of Merlot and Pinot Grigio. I have never included dark, brooding beers in my drinking repertoire. Ever. Just watching someone take a sip of that dark sludge in a pint glass was enough to make me gag. My husband, on the other hand, is a dark beer man. So, what was I to do with four of the six left over bottles of Guinness from our Superbowl get together? I sure as hell couldn't fathom drinking it. I cooked with it. I made the most delicious burgers I have ever made and a sauce that was so tasty I wanted to take a bath in it.
Guinness Burgers from Inspiredtaste.com

Guinness BBQ Sauce (makes about 2 cups)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, small dice

1/4 cup molasses( I subbed brown sugar here - Google the equivalents)

1 12 ounce can stout beer (Guinness)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 can tomato puree

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

Directions: 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat add the olive oil and saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the molasses, beer, vinegar and tomato puree then stir to combine.  Add all of the spices and allow the sauce to simmer on the stove for about 20-25 minutes until it has reduced into a thick glossy BBQ sauce.  While simmering, keep an eye on the sauce and stir occasionally.

Guinness Burgers (4 burgers)

1 pound minced beef (80% lean, 20% fat)

1 egg, whisked

¼ cup Stout beer (Guinness)

1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing the grill

2 teaspoons mustard (Coleman’s Mustard)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

4 burger buns

Top with Guinness BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, arugula, tomatoes and red onion

Directions:

Preheat the grill or pan to medium.

Add beer, olive oil, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper to the beef then lightly mix with a fork.  Do not over mix.  Separate the mixture into four portions, then lightly roll each portion into a ball and press down to make a burger patty.

Once preheated, lightly brush the grill with olive oil and place each burger patty down onto the oiled grill.  Leave the patties for 4 minutes then flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes or desired doneness (4-5 minutes on each side should be cooked to medium).

Remove the patties from the grill and assemble each burger with desired toppings.

Confetti Meatloaf

I am not going to lie. My kids are not the greatest eaters. With the exception of broccoli, and the occasional pea, I stand on my head trying to get them to eat veggies. Meat is not easy either. So, for at least 3 years, I have been wracking my brain to put together a no fail, meat and veggie combo. A big thanks to Sharon S., one of the moms I chat with online, I put together a meatloaf that was divine. Sharon had mentioned several times how she would sneak veggies into her daughter's meals and she had a kick butt recipe for meatloaf. Of course, I never copied the recipe, so I used some of this things she mentioned and winged the rest of it. My kids hoovered the meatloaf. I was afraid my hands would get caught in the crossfire if I got too close when giving them seconds and thirds. As usual, this was an easy prep, bake and clean up recipe. Did I forget to mention healthy?

Confetti Meatloaf (feeds 4)
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/2 large green pepper
1/2 large red pepper
1/4 large onion
1 TSP Lawry's Seasoned salt
1/4 TSP pepper
1/2-3/4 cup of Progresso Garlic and Herb Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Roughly cut onion and peppers. Add to food processor and pulse until the consistency is between a dice and a puree. Add peppers and onion mixture to ground beef or turkey. Add other ingredients to meat until evenly combined. Form a loaf and add to meatloaf pan. Place meatloaf in oven. Set timer to 20 minutes and check the loaf to see its progress. It should take between 30 to 40 minutes total.

Chocolate Cream Pies

When I was dieting, I had an old stand by for something sweet: Two graham crackers, low fat whipped cream, sandwich together and freeze. Last night, I was planning on making the chocolate mousse mix I had in the house. I filled the cups with the mousse and whipped cream, but still had some mousse left over. Then, a brilliant idea hit me. Why not make my favorite frozen snack and add the mousse into the filling? How did it come out? Three letters: O.M.G. They were delicious. Delicious and easy. If you don't believe me, give it a try.

Chocolate Cream Pies
1 box of instant chocolate mousse (You will use about a TBSP per graham cracker, the mix will make plenty of mousse)
2 graham crackers per sandwich
Cool Whip (you can use any variety you like - again, it is 1 TBSP per cracker)


Directions
Prepare mousse according to instructions. On one graham cracker, put 1 TBSP of chocolate mousse and top with 1 TBSP of whipped creme. Top with a graham cracker. Freeze for at least two hours in a container.

Crunchy Cheerios Chicken Biscuits

I guess I can't ever get bored of making due with what food I have on hand in the house. Can you tell by this recipe? Traditionally, people have used corn flakes or even Capn' Crunch as chicken coating. Well, we had none of those, so I used Honey Nut Cheerios. It was totally tasty! I whipped out my trusty hammer and Ziploc bag, then smashed those little bits of honey nut goodness into smithereens!!! If they ever make a reality show where you use tools instead of kitchen appliances, I could totally be the star. Plus, since I didn't use a food processor, I have less clean up. Less clean up and a quick meal. I like it!

Crunchy Cheerios Chicken Biscuits
1 package of Bisquick Complete Biscuits(ready in 15 minutes- I used the honey flavor)
2 6-8 oz thin chicken cutlets
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of smashed Honey Nut Cheerios
1/4 TSP ground mustard(optional)
2 TBSP of olive oil

Directions
Prepare biscuits according to directions.Toss the chicken in flour to coat. Place Cheerios in a sealed Ziploc and crush with a hammer or meat tenderizer(on its side) or pulse Cheerios in a food processor until finely ground. Add ground mustard to mix, then chicken cutlets. Shake,shake, shake until fully coated. Heat olive oil in medium pan. Add chicken and cook for about 10-12 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes. Cut into small tenders so they fit on the biscuits and serve.

Fettuccine Alfredo

I will spare you the "I hate cheese" speech that usually accompanies my posts about meals with cheese. What I can say about this dish, in particular, is that it really did smell good enough to eat. Alas, I was not brave enough to try it. But everyone else chowed down and loved it. The sauce is really quick to make and simple; my short cut for the pasta was to use the ready made Buitoni Fettuccine. The pasta took 2-3 minutes to cook after the water finished boiling. The sauce took about ten minutes with tons of stirring. So Alfredo lovers, you are certainly in for a treat with this recipe.
Alfredo Sauce from All Recipes.com
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese 
1/4 cup of parsley 
1 package of ready made Fettuccine(such as Buitoni)

Instructions
Melt the butter. Add the cream, garlic and cheese and stir continuously.  Boil water and add pasta. When pasta is done, drain and separate with fork. Add sauce and serve. Top with parsley for garnish.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Let's face it. Crock pot cooking is the simplest way to get a great, home-cooked meal without much effort. Sometimes we don't have time in the morning to toss everything in the pot, so what can we do? You can still use the crock pot, just take some short cuts. This Monday was an example of how my day became so crazy, I totally forgot to set up the crock pot in the morning to get our meal going. Fortunately, this particular recipe from cooks.com was able to be made on low or high. I also found this recipe in a search for my friend Jen R., who loves cacciatore but wanted to avoid making it with a whole chicken. So here's the secret to my short cut: Perdue Perfect Portions. They sell them in the meat/poultry aisle, by the chicken cutlets and come individually sealed and marinated (I used the white wine garlic).  The cutlets are pretty thin, so cooking time is faster. The dish was done with in two hours, cooked alternately on high and low.

Crock Pot Cacciatore from Cooks.com
3-4 lbs. boneless/skinless thighs and breasts ( I used about 4 portions of White Wine Garlic Perdue Perfect Portions)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 large red or green bell peppers, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon each basil and oregano
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 (8 oz.) can stewed tomatoes with chiles
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups burgundy wine( I used about 1 cup of Merlot and the wine did not clash with the 'white wine' taste of the cutlets)
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling before serving

Directions 
Place sliced onions on bottom of crock pot. Add chicken.
Stir together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.
Cook on low 7-9 hours or high 3-4 hours.(I alternated between high and low for 2 hours, checking the consistency/doneness of the chicken) Serve over pasta, with a salad on the side.