A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

The Walking Dead Parody: The Snacking Dead Cookbook by D.B. Walker

The Snacking Dead: A Parody in a Cookbook, by D. B. Walker.  "Walker"?  Really?  D.B. as in "don't be a"?  It's like an extra parody in the parody!

This cookbook was a gift from my cousin Jenn for my f-f-f-fiftieth (my second favorite "f" word) birthday. I've had tons of fun with it so far. My first foray into it was two weeks ago for the premiere of the new season.  I made three of the recipes:  "Dripping Ribs with Bourbon", "Squirrel Poppers", and "Li'l Ass Kicker Punch". I also looked at "Sweet-sh Fleshballs with Red Berries". That will be our next Walking Dead/Snacking Dead Sunday night while-we-watch dinner.  Our review?  We both LOVED the ribs. The citrus in the marinade/sauce is a great counterpoint to the sweet, sour, and heat.  Pre-baking and then grilling (or broiling for us that night) caramelized the meat for a sweet, savory, and fall apart deliciousness. We'll be using this recipe again and again.  Gene loved the "squirrel" (chicken) poppers; I was ambivalent. We both loved the chicken base (prior to shaping/breading/frying) so I'm going to use that recipe, with added vegetables, the next time I make chicken pot pie.  And the punch? Oh yeah! I did make one more southern (by my definition) ingredient substitution that I talk about later in this post. I made a smaller quantity punch than the recipe (party-sized) calls for but even so, the bottom of the pitcher was dry by the end of the night. 'Nuff said!

The book is available at all major bookstores. You can easily find your favorite in the drop down menu on The Snacking Dead's website by clicking on "Grab a Copy". 

 

Pinterest Recipe: King's Hawaiian Roll Mini Baked Ham Sandwiches

I've been seeing this recipe for King's Hawaiian Roll Baked Mini Ham Sandwiches for a long time. It looks and sounds great, but to be honest, I've been burned on some Pinterest recipes. The more loudly it proclaims "Best (fill in the blank) ever and only (fill in the blank) ingredients!" the more I now tend to ignore it.  But. I will say that this recipe is delicious.  I've seen several versions on Pinterest but I went straight to King's Hawaiian Rolls web site itself to get the recipe and it came out nicely.  The baked on sauce adds a little zing, a little salty crunch, and a little savory to the sweetness of the rolls. Yummy!

Crock-pot/Slow Cooker Kielbasa Casserole

 

 What's better than a hot bowl of comfort on a cooooooooold winter day?  A hot bowl of comfort that's as good for you as it tastes!  Can it get any better than those two things?  It can when it's a quick layer into the crockpot, flip the switch, and getting to go one of the other million things on my to-do list until it's time to grab a bowl, a spoon, and our appetites.

Pinterest Recipe: One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese

 

 You know how you, okay: me, pin a million recipes on Pinterest that look good or proclaim to be "the best ________ ever!" and you, okay: me, either never get around to trying them out or I do try them and they are lackluster at best? 

This one (photo to left) works--it's a keeper! 

It's called chili mac but, to be honest, it's what we called, when I was growing up, Mom's goulash.  The differences are the cheese, the beans, the chili powder, and the best of all: ONE POT!  I know, right? That last part made my little heart skip a beat.  ONE POT.  No cooking the pasta separately and the skillet to brown the ground beef, etc.  Just brown, drain, dump in cans from the pantry, pasta that tastes even better from having cooked in the sauce, and it's a done deal.  To most people, that's called a weeknight dinner win-win.  To me, as a 12-hour nightshifter with a non-traditional work schedule, it's work night or sleep day win-win.

To get the recipe, click below: 

One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese from Damn Delicious blog

Nutrition per 1/8th recipe:  Calories:   153;  Protein:  12;  Carbs:   13;  Fat:   6;  Fiber 1;

Cook's notes:

I did make a few changes, no reflection on the original recipe, I just had to work around what I had in my pantry and fridge.  I used double the amount of meat (hubs is a big meat eater) half of it ground beef and half ground sausage.  I used large shell pasta instead of macaroni simply because that's what I had, I doubled the amount of cheese, used kidney beans only, and used shredded "Mexican" cheddar/monterey jack mix, again, because that's what I had on hand. 

Related articles

Folks Who Use My Recipes: No Work Crockpot/ Slow Cooker Chili

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili over Rice

Ina Garten's Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

It's March which means the "madness" in our family is always the family game we play called "What does James want for dinner for his birthday?"

Since I was a child, the tradition in our family was always that the birthday boy or girl got to choose their birthday menu, anything under the sun they wanted. As a kid, I always wanted my Mom's Chicken Chow Mein and my Nannie's (grandmother) Banana Bread. 

As adults, we've created a slight twist on the tradition with my cousin James where he tries (not very hard, LOL) to "stump" Auntie Miranda and I with his menu choices.  I usually make the dinner and Auntie does his cake from a clue or direction rather than a specific dish.  Last year he said "European peasant food" and since we're Swedish/Norwegian I went to from scratch Swedish Meatballs with cranberry sauce and Jansson's Temptation, while his direction to Auntie was "checkerboard cake" from which she created an incredible Cherry/Vanilla checkerboard cake. Yum!

This year we were told "Greek"  and "Pineapple Upside Down Cake".  Since I had to work the night before, Auntie very kindly created both the cake and the entree:  Pastitsio and Greek Pineapple/Coconut cake.  Holy Crap, she "did good!", as we told her last night.  Today I have Pastitsio recipe and tomorrow will upload the cake recipe and link back.  These are great recipes for anytime but, definitely, any birthday boy or girl would give you tons of hugs and kisses for making these!

 

Swedish Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce

 

 For my cousin James's birthday, we usually have a small get together of the Dexter Dinner crowd.  The hallmark of this get together is James's annual game of "Stump the Cooks" where he challenges Auntie Miranda and I on his choice of meal.  So far we have ALWAYS risen to the challenge, I'm proud to say! 

This year he challenged me to a dinner menu of "European peasant food" and since our family is primarily Scandinavian, that's the direction I went. His challenge to Auntie was "cherry and vanilla checkerboard".  Yup, nailed it on both!  Today, I present Swedish Meatballs (not made with the cream of mushroom soup man of us grew up on) with cranberry sauce.  Later this week I'll have recipes for Jannsson's Temptation, Cucumber Salad, and Auntie's Cherry and Vanilla Checkerboard Cake.

 

Snow Storm Comfort: Paula Deen's Hot Chicken Salad

I first had this recipe about 20 years ago at my cousin, Ann's, table and  everyone in our family loves it as a casserole with a salad for dinner, on Liza Ashley's Angel Biscuits as an appetizer, or with crackers as a snack.  Chilled chicken salad is great but hot baked chicken salad is just a delicious and versatile and very warming on a cold winter's day.

Unbelievably, I couldn't find my handwritten recipe card of Ann's recipe but during a quick search I found this Paula Deen version that had one difference:  cheddar cheese.  Hmmmm.... cheese is always a good thing.  I like both versions, can't even pick a favorite, so I think my next time making this dish will all depend on my mood and if I have the cheese handy in the fridge or not.

The recipe is wonderful served piping hot or room temp, and heats up beautifully in the microwave.

Click for the recipe:

Paula Deen's Hot Chicken Salad

 Nutrition per 3/4 cup serving:  Calories:  381.6;    Protein:  20.2;   Carbs:   2.8;   Fat 32;  Fiber:  2.

 

 

 

 

Related articles

The Best Baked Potatoes EVER!

Halloween 2013: Bacon Jalapeno Cheese Ball Monster

Pinterest Recipe: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (Two Versions)

The greatest thing about the invention of the Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole is the ease of it. I've made cordon bleu from scratch, and while it's not hard, it takes time.  The casserole combines both the basic elements of traditional cordon bleu: chicken, ham, and swiss cheese, along with a built in sauce for that creamy, dreamy, yumminess that is chicken cordon bleu.

I pinned two different recipes for Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole on Pinterest and this was the night I finally got around to moving it from my "wish" list to my "been there/done that/plan to do it again" list. 

This recipe (on the left) from Recipe Sweet was my biggest inspiration. I liked the sauce made from scratch, although I spiced mine up a little differently and I used whole pieces of chicken rather than rotisserie, not that there's anything wrong with using rotisserie chicken, it can be a great time-saver. I just used what I had on hand.  I prefer white meat and Gene prefers dark meat so it was easy to make a His and a Hers side to our casserole, along with a last minute thought on my part of adding broccoli to cook in that wonderful sauce, added to the Hers side, of course, since Gene hates broccoli.  But for non-broccoli-haters, it would be good strewn throughout the casserole to bubble away in the sauce.

My second inspiration was this Pinned recipe from Little B Cooks for a quick put together. The sauce is made from Cream of Chicken Soup which cuts the time down to almost negative minutes putting this one together and there are times when that is a HUGE plus! Both of these recipes call for pre-cooked chicken, rotisserie or other, which can save oven time but I started with the uncooked chicken breasts and thighs I had on hand. Either works beautifully. 

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar and Balsamic Pork Loin

        

 Pinterest Recipe? Why yes, yes it is.  And an excellent one at that. Easy to put together in the slow cooker and melt in your mouth yumminess!

After clicking several links, I finally tracked it down to Danielle at Let's Dish who adapted it from Wendee who posted it to Allrecipes.com (links below to their versions).  I adapted it slightly from Danielle, mostly to accommodate that I used boneless country ribs instead of a tenderloin or loin. The ribs have more fat in them  so I didn't add the water to either step in their recipes and did remove most of the melted fat (with a turkey baster--great fat removing tool) before adding the sauce.

We will definitely be making this again. 

Recipe by Danielle at Let's Dish, which she adapted from a recipe called Herb Roasted Pork by Wendee on Allrecipes.com

I've adpated it slightly from both so I'll post my version.

8-Year-Old Samuel's Taco Dogs at the R Family Cafe

        

After reading on Facebook the other day that the grandmother of our neighbors was going over to their house for lunch made by her grandkids, I was excited when they posted a photo of their lunch made by 8 year old Samuel and thrilled when he agreed to come over and allow me to interview him for his recipe for "Taco Dogs".

Apparently, entrepreneurally-minded Samuel has been busy this summer running a business he calls "The R Family Cafe".  He charges $2.00/5 year membership for regular lunches and an extra $1 per "romantic meal".  Gene and I will have to take him up on that one!  Wonder what he charges to cook for a dinner party of 4-6?  We might have to contract him for one of our Dexter dinners, although with the violence and Debra's cursing, we'll probably have to send the Chef home to bed prior to  showtime!

When I asked what his little sister was doing while he was slaving away over a hot microwave, Samuel informed me that she "played on the computer" but after lunch provided an impromptu ballet recital for the entertainment.

When asked what he served with his taco dogs, Samuel stated that his mom steamed broccoli from their backyard garden "you know, on top of the stove where the fire is" and then put cheese on it to form a tasty sauce.  He also said that since they had to pick off a few bugs who were trying to munch for free on their garden broccoli, that meant it was extra good. I agree. That's how you know your garden is successful, when you have to fight the critters and bugs for your produce!

All I have to say in closing is "Watch Out!" to all my local chef friends: Dave Ponder, Steve Young, and Brad Lyons, Samuel is on his way up and he's going to be a force to be reckoned with!