Friday, May 31, 2013

JUNE 2013 Newsletter...

Wow, can you believe that it's already June? Recipes this month are copycat recipes from some popular places...hope you enjoy! Have a fabulous June!!!

Hugs,
Paula

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Where Would I Be Without You?
Where would I be without you?
I would be living a life of existence...
Putting all my energies into work and every day life.
With you in my life, I find love, joy and happiness...
Filling my days and nights...thoughts of you bring a smile
To my heart and soul...filling me with happiness.
Where would I be without you?
Saddened, filled with questions and wondering...
Still searching...still yearning for love; as so many.
With you in my life, I know love, joy and happiness...
Filling my days and nights...waking to thoughts of you...
My heart and soul comforted in your love.
Where would I be without you?
Lonely...questioning and wondering would love ever pass my way.
Searching and seeking a relationship with another.
With you in my life, I experience love, joy and happiness...
Filling my days and nights...resting each night in your love...
Knowing love,joy and happiness fill my days and nights.
Where would I be without you?
That's something that I never want to know again!
Days or nights filled with emptiness not knowing love.
With you in my life, I breathe love, joy and happiness...
Filling my days and nights...Knowing I am truly loved...
Anticipating each day and night that lies ahead...loving you.
Paula George





FOOD FOR TUMMY:
Copycat Friday's Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Description: Fettuccine tossed with sautéed chicken, onions and red and green peppers in a spicy, tomato Creole sauce.

Ingredients

10 oz. cooked fettuccine (cooked al dente)
1 cup Spicy Cajun Pasta Sauce (recipe follows)
1 boneless chicken breast, cooked and sliced in strips
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Spicy Cajun Pasta Sauce:


2 oz. olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped green peppers
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red peppers
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup V-8 juice
cornstarch (mix about a table spoon with a couple tablespoons cold water to form a slurry)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Prepare sauce: Heat oil in saute pan; add garlic; saute for 30 seconds; add onions and saute for 1 minute; add peppers and continue to saute for another minute. Deglaze with chicken stock and reduce to half. Add V-8 juice and cayenne pepper; bring to boil; simmer 10 minutes.
2. Thicken to consistency with cornstarch; season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Add cooked pasta to sauce and heat through until hot. 
4. Arrange on serving dish and top with chicken breast. Sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley.

Serves 4
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Ruth's Chris New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp
Ingredients:
... -Makes 4 servings
-20 large (16/20) shrimp, peeled and deveined
-1 ounce canola oil
-1 tablespoon plus 5 teaspoons green onions, chopped
-2 ounces dry white wine
-1 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic
-4 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
-1 teaspoon Tabasco
-1/2 teaspoon cayenne
-1/2 teaspoon paprika
-8 ounces (2 sticks) salted butter
Directions:
Place a large cast iron skillet on a burner and heat over high heat. Add oil and cook shrimp until they are just done.
It's best to prepare shrimp in batches if you do not have large skillet. Remove shrimp and set aside on a large platter.
Add green onions to the oil in the skillet and cook for 1 minute.
Add white wine and let simmer until it is reduced by half.
When the wine is reduced by half, add chopped garlic, Worcestershire, Tabasco. cayenne pepper and paprika.
Shake the pan well and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low.
Cut butter into small chunks with the knife and slowly add into pan, shaking fast to melt butter.
Continue to add butter and shake until all butter is melted.
Add shrimp back to pan and toss well to coat shrimp with butter and seasonings and to heat the shrimp.
Place shrimp on four plates and enjoy. Serve with a crusty baguette to enjoy that delicious sauce.
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This is for the dressing they give you with the Wildfire Chicken Salad:
Just combine the bob evans wildfire bbq sauce they sell at the counter with regular hidden valley ranch dressing! That is how they do it in the restaurant!
I use this on all kinds of sandwiches too, not just salads.
(Now I wish I could find how to make the wildfire BBQ sauce)
AND, here it is!
Bob Evans Wildfire Sauce
1 cup Kraft bottled original BBQ Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dry minced onion
1 tablespoon bottled Hormel Real Bacon Pieces
2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
2 tablespoons bottled Frank's Red Hot Sauce (not Tabasco)
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 cup Classic Coca-Cola®
Put all ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat just until the sugar is dissolved.
Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and put into a blender. Blend just until the mixture is smooth.
Keep refrigerated tightly capped to use within a few months.
Makes 2 cups.
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Crunchy Ramen Chinese Cabbage Salad
1 (3-oz) package of chicken flavor ramen noodles with flavor packet - divided use (Or Ramen Noodle flavor of your choice)
Dressing:
2-Tbs red wine vinegar
2-Tbs seasoned rice vinegar (Marukan is best)
3-Tbs granulated sugar
1/2-tsp salt
1/4-tsp ground black pepper
4-Tbs cooking oil
1-tsp toasted sesame oil
1 ramen chicken flavor packet
Salad:
8-cups (1 head) green cabbage, shredded
1/2-cup slivered almonds, toasted
2-Tbs sesame seeds, toasted
1 (3-oz) brick ramen noodles, broken into 1/4 inch pieces - uncooked
Directions
1. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar and sugar over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat. Stir in salt, pepper, contents of ramen chicken flavor packet, cooking oil and sesame oil.
Stir until everything is well mixed. Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine broken up ramen noodles and shredded cabbage. Mix well.
Pour cooled dressing over the shredded cabbage mixture.
3. Sprinkle toasted almonds and toasted sesame seeds on top of the cabbage salad.
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Starbucks Vanilla Scones
Posted on Copykats March 15, 2007 by May M.
Like the Starbucks version, these scones are sweet, buttery and vanilla-y, and have a light and tender texture.
Full-fat sour cream is the key ingredient, so please do not substitute.
To duplicate the Starbucks's version, I topped it with a simple powdered sugar glaze.
Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups weigh 9 oz)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2-teaspoon baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
1/2-cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces (5 TBL weigh 70 g)
Wet Ingredients
1-cup regular full-fat sour cream
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (per me, I use my homemade or only pure vanilla extract)
Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (per me, for that bit of extra goodness)
Water, as needed
* Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.
* Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
* Using any method you prefer, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until flour resembles coarse meal.
* In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk and vanilla extract until blended.
Add to the flour-butter mixture and stir with a fork until dough forms a cohesive ball.
Use a spatula to get the dry bits fully incorporated. (It may not seem to have enough liquid at first,
but the dough will eventually come together.).
* Place the sticky dough onto a parchment-lined (or un-greased) baking sheet and pat into a disk about 1-inch in height.
Cut the dough into wedges but do not separate.
* Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
* PREPARE GLAZE WHILE SCONES ARE BAKING.
* GLAZE:
* Place powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and add water one teaspoon at a time, mixing vigorously until smooth and runny.
* Use a pastry brush to apply a thin layer of glaze over the hot scones.
Brushing rather than drizzling gives a smoother appearance and requires less glaze.
Serve immediately. Store cooled scones in an airtight container.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Playin' In & Out of the Kitchen!!!

That's what I did today! First, our usual Monday breakfast of Homemade Biscuits, Bacon, Eggs & Peach Preserves from Peach Park in Clanton, AL.

Biscuits ready to go in the oven!


Time for breakfast!


Then, I decided to make some basil pesto!


And here it is, ready for the freezer!

Now onto dinner: Ribeye's on the Grill, Fresh White Corn on the Cob, Baked Beans!

Let the magic begin!

And, it ends with a perfect bite! :)

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Salads for Two...

These are a few of the salad recipes from what I plan to be my next cookbook that I self publish...
Still some proofing and additions before I complete it...hope you enjoy this tasting!

Start with a baking potato...roast them and turn it into a delicious meal in this hearty salad!









Grill 1-1/2 lb. flank steak or London Broil and have dinner for 2 nights!











Saturday, May 11, 2013

Appetizers...These are a Few of MY Favorite Things!

Appetizers are always fun to make and enjoy with family and friends! These are a few of my favorites!


Veggie Snack Squares
8 oz. crescent roll dough
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 package ranch dressing mix
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 cup finely chopped broccoli
1 cup finely chopped red bell peppers
1 cup finely chopped cauliflower
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cup bacon bits (optional)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Separate dough into two long rectangles. press to seal edges and place in a 13 x 9 baking pan. Press 1/2 inch up edges to form crust. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool.
Combine cream cheese, Ranch dressing mix until well blended. Spread over crust. Top with broccoli, bell peppers, bacon bits and Parmesan cheese. Cut into squares.
Makes 32 appetizers.



Paula's Caramelized Onion Dip
Paula George
3 large sweet onions, peeled and cut into strips
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
16 oz. sour cream
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. horseradish
In large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat; add onions, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until onions are caramelized(about 45 minutes) and golden brown. Set aside and cool. Mix remaining ingredients in large mixing bowl until smooth, add onions, beat with electric mixer for 1 minute to combine and chop the onions. Cover and chill 1 hour before serving.
Great served with tray of crudites, chips or crackers for dipping.


Paula's Smoked Salmon Spread
Paula George
1 lb. flaked smoked salmon (Alaskan Smoked Salmon, preferred)
1 lb. cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 Tbsp. dried dill
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. worcestershire
2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish (or more)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Delish, served with flatbread or "good" crackers to spread on.


I know KathyT has made this recipe numerous times and thought I would share it with others as she has always gotten rave reviews with it.
It is from "Some Like It South", a compilation of recipes from the Pensacola (my hometown)Jr. League.
Hope you enjoy!
Paula
Shrimp Dip
1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. lemon juice
1-5/8 oz. pkg. Italian dressing mix (like Good Seasons)
1-1/2 cups shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined and chopped (I always cook mine with Old Bay seasoning.)
Blend well cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and dressing mix. Fold in shrimp. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with crackers or chips.
Yields: 4 servings
p.s. you might want to double or triple the recipe!!!


Bacon Stuffed Eggs
6 large eggs
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Garnish: chopped chives or paprika, if desired
Preparation
Place eggs in a large saucepan; add water to depth of 3 inches. Bring to a boil; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes.
Drain immediately and fill the saucepan with cold water and ice. Tap each egg firmly on the counter until cracks form all over the shell. Peel under cold running water.
Slice eggs in half lengthwise, and carefully remove yolks. Mash yolks with mayonnaise. Add bacon and next 5 ingredients; stir well. Spoon yolk mixture into egg whites. Garnish, if desired.



Tortilla Pinwheels10 large tortillas (I use the Spinach-Herb and Sundried Tomato)

48 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 green onions, chopped fine
3 packets Ranch dressing mix
1-1/2 cups finely chopped celery
1-1/2 cups finely chopped red bell peppers
1-1/2 cups drained sliced black olives

Combine cream cheese, green onions and Ranch dressing mix in food processor. Spread over tortillas.
Sprinkle with celery, red bell peppers and olives. Roll up jelly-roll style. Wrap in plastic
and refrigerate for several hours. Slice 1/2" thick slices and arrange on serving platter.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Italian Cremecake (Momma's Favorite)

This was Momma's favorite cake! I made it for her each time that she would visit. Momma was an excellent cook although her baking repertoire only included biscuits and cornbread!



ITALIAN CREME CAKE
Ingredients:
•1 stick margarine, (4 ounces)
•2 cups flour
•2 cups sugar
•1 cup buttermilk
•flaked coconut, about 2 cups
•5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
•1/2 cup shortening
•5 egg yolks
•1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•1 cup chopped pecans, or walnuts
•.
•Frosting:
•1-1/2 package cream cheese, softened (12oz)
•6 cups confectioners' sugar, (1 pound)
•1 stick butter, softened (8 Tbs)
•1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preparation:
Cream margarine and shortening; add sugar. Add egg yolks and beat well.
Combine soda, salt and flour; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and nuts. Fold in egg whites.
Pour into 3 or 4 greased and floured cake pans; bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Frosting: Beat cream cheese & butter until smooth; stir in sugar. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in coconut. Spread on cake layers;
sprinkle top with chopped nuts.

Southern PlateSouthern Plate