I only do it for the gravy.....

I give up! I cannot fry chicken on the bone and I admit it! Just simply cannot do it- I have tried (God knows I have) and I realize that not being able to fry chicken on the bone might get my 'southern cook' card revoked, but I am DONE (or DUN) with trying to fry it. I have no switched to frying tenders which (uh duh) are easier to fry than those big ole "breastesses" that I love to eat... but you know the fried chicken- in any form- is just an excuse for GRAVY!!

So here is my recipe for Cajun Chicken Tenders....

When doing the tenders, I normally use a lighter breading without egg/milk that I use when I do chicken fried steak. So it's a little less messy and easier to deal with.

What you'll need:
1 pound chicken breast tenders - I normally used 2 large breast tenders
1.5 cups of AP flour
1.5 tablespoons Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning (it's the BEST)
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Louisiana Hot Sauce - as much as you want and it really is the ONLY one to use

1. Cut the breast tenders into strips as large or as small as you'd like. You could just fry up on large breast tenderloin, but I like the smaller pieces. Soak the tenders in a generous coating of LOUISANA HOT SAUCE for at least one hour.
2. For the breading mixture, mix flour and other seasoning well. Place in a shallow dish for easy handling. Seriously, you could use any type of seasoning you'd like, but I loves cajun seasoning and spices.
3. Coat chicken with flour mixture, shaking off excess and then FRY baby FRY in vegetable oil in small batches. It will take a bout 4-6 minutes on each side to fry depending on the size of the tender you have cut.

The cajun seasoning will allow for a nice gravy to be made with this so server with rice or potatoes, but savor every single moment of it as it is pure heaven! I ask again, why does fried food have to be so damn fattening?

That looks like an autopsy....

That is one of my favorite lines from "Steel Magnolias" after Ouiser sees a piece of the armadillo red velvet grooms cake. So Red Velvet cake is a southern tradition and I have never attempted a 'homemade' one although I have friend who bakes a GREAT one... So I LOVE some shortcuts to baking, and have I ever found a winner in the cake mix cookies. I have done several versions, but the recipe I share today is a real treat! I love red velvet cake- it's just one of those wonderful southern treats that makes an ordinary day seem very special!

One box Red Velvet cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
cream cheese icing

1. Combine the cake mix with 2 large eggs and 1/2 cup oil. This dough should be not too wet so add the oil a bit at a time to ensure it's not too wet.
2. Roll dough into balls about the size of a walnut and place on cookie sheet. Try to make the dough balls very close in size!
3. Bake at 350* for 13 minutes. Pull out and allow to cool on sheet for 5 minutes before moving cookies to rack.
4. When cookies are cooled, match up cookies to form a top and bottom. Spread icing on one cookie and top with another- forming a sandwich.

Channeling my Inner Paula

Now I love Paula Deen and always love tuning into her show for the recipes and the reassurance that there is NO substitute for REAL BUTTER! I admit that I love her story and her determination and spirit. She is a pretty amazing woman to be sure. I have never waiting hours to eat at her place in Savannah, but have eaten at her brother's seafood place out towards Tybee Island.

I saw this recipe one day on her show and I knew I could get up and make it as I had every thing I needed. I made it her way the first time, but since then I have tweeked it a bit, but I do give total credit to the wonderful Ms. Deen! I had not made this in over a year, but pulled it out of the magic hat today to much acclaim!

Paula's Corn Casserole

1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernel corn
1 package Jiffy cornbread mix
1 cup sour cream (fat free is fine!)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
cracked black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350* and then combine the first 5 ingredients and mix well.
2. Pour into a 13 x 9 glass casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes, take out and top with cheese and cracked black pepper and garlic powder if desired. Return to oven for 10 more minutes
4. Remove and allow to sit for at least 5 minutes.

I added the two types of cheeses just because I thought it would be a bit more unique and tasty- and I love Pepper jack! I add the garlic powder for the same reason, but you don't have to. The cracked black pepper is put on top of the the cheese. This is one of those recipes that is very easy to put your own twists and turns on - to make it yours!

This is a Dave tested and approved recipe! PS... he loves it for breakfast too!

Summer Sweet Cocktail

It's no secret, I loves me some sweet wine! Now, don't get me wrong, I have yet to turn my nose up at any sip/taste of vino- my husband will attest that I downed all samples at a horrid little winery in eastern Pennsylvania called 'dupken schollesena" something-- but I do prefer the sweeter wines. I had never been wine tasting before the summer of 2007 and my first trip to Lake Erie with the Dave. We enjoyed the wine tasting so much more than we thought we would. So I recommend the Chautauqua County Wine Trail if you are ever in Western New York and the fine wineries in the Northeast PA area too-- great wines from Niagara to Delawares. Someday I will blog about the little ole man in his bathrobe!

But down here in the Carolinas, most of of our wineries feature the local muscadine and scuppernog grapes- and truth be told, it's a healthier grape and makes for some mighty fine wine! And it'squite sweet naturally without a lot of added sugars. However, I have found that drinking an entire glass of this sweet wine is not always the best thing to do on a hot day. I decided to 'lighten' it up and make my own wine cooler.

Muscadine Vino Cooler

1 cup of semi sweet muscadine wine
2 cups of any diet lemon lime soda
1 twist of lime


The best part? You can drink more without getting sloshed! :)
Which is exactly what I shall do on this beautiful day in the Carolinas on my Veranda!

I take on my mother on Mother's Day...

We often joke in my family that my mother can't cook. The truth is my mother prefers NOT to cook. She cooked the standard family meals when I was younger- our absolute NON favorite was salmon patties- but at some point she just stopped doing major cooking. She will cook from time to time, and when she does, it's a real treat because she is a very good cook. However, since she would 'prefer not to' cook, she is fortunate that she got me for a daughter because I love to cook. I do all the holidays and really enjoy cooking and baking for the family. However, there were dishes that I did not attempt due to my mother's aptitude for those dishes. One dish is potato salad. I know, who the hell heard of a southern cook who doesn't do potato salad? Well, I didn't! To be honest, it was easier just to have Momma make it and it was something she was willing to do and she knows she does it well!

So today, as my brother in law who abhors all 'white creamy stuff' elected not to join the Dave and I for dinner, I decided to give potato salad a whirl. First thing, I called Momma. No, she doesn't have a recipe so she just told me what she put in hers. Next, I told Dave he had to get celery and off he went. Then I got busy taking Momma's recipe and adding my twists and turns to it.

So here it is.. my recipe for Potato Salad...

4 -5 russet potatos, boiled, peeled, and cubed
1/3 cup of chopped onion
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 stalks of celery, chopped finely
1 tsp dill seeds or dill weed
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp ground pepper

Put in a bowl and then add DUKES mayonaise - hello, have you ever tried this stuff? -- a little at a time. Start with 2 spoonfuls and begin to combine. It's better to add a little at a time than way too much of the 'white creamy stuff'. After it was mixed up, I put in the refrigerator to for an hour to chill and for the flavors to marry!

So on this Mother's Day, I made one of my mom's signature dishes! And it passed the Dave test- only he thinks it needs more pickle relish! This recipe made about 6 servings so when needing more than that, you will need to up the ingredients. Add what you like to it too... I think that's what is awesome about making it... you can do your own thing with it!

An EASTER Dilemma...

Last year, I had a family cookout for Easter - no hassle cooking for a wonderful holiday so that we could enjoy our family time. This year, I am going even EASIER- I ordered a Boston Butt and it will be picked up on Saturday in time for a great family dinner on Easter Sunday. We will be pulling in some homemade touches, but the main cooking is DONE for me! Gotta love that, right?

However I will be making either strawberry ice cream or strawberry cake. My Daddy (yes, I am 41 years old and still call my father Daddy and my Yankee husband snickers all the time at that) loves STRAWBERRY anything. He prefers cake so I might bake a cake, but The DAVE loves ice cream- as he has displayed this Spring/Easter Break by having not one but two Cookout shakes to my '0'. So that's my Easter dessert dilemma- whom do I make happy?

So here we go with two recipes.... who knows what I will do! These are both super simple so I might end up doing both.... Yeah, that's just what the fat girl ordered!

Strawberry Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1-2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sliced strawberries
1 tablespoon of strawberry syrup juice.

1. Slice or process strawberries with sugar substitute. Set aside and let the strawberries make their own syrup juice. You will need a tablespoon of that juice.
2. Mix together sugar and milk on low speed for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add cream, vanilla, and strawberry juice.
4. Turn on machine and add mixture. Let machine go for 25-30 minutes.
5. Add strawberries during the last five minutes of the mixing.

Adding a little chocolate sauce on top with whipped cream is a GREAT hit.



Strawberry Pudding Cake

1 white cake mix
1 box of vanilla pudding mix
2 cups fresh strawberries

1. Prepare the cake, with red food color if you'd like, as directed in whatever cake pan you desire. Bake according to the box- yeah, a little semi homemade here! I guess you could use a strawberry cake mix, but I like the white.
2. Prepare the vanilla pudding with a drop or two of red food coloring if you'd like. Using sugar free/fat free pudding at this house!
3. Process or slice strawberries with sugar substitute and set aside while the cake bakes.
4. Sprinkle strawberries, reserving a few berries for garnish, over the top of the cake and then spread the pudding on top. Garnish with reserved berries. Put in fridge for about an hour before serving.

So what will I do? Check back for pictures after Easter!

He's not Italian, but loves him some Italian food...

I never did make much Italian food before meeting Dave.. but he absolutely loves Italian!It has a lot to do with the fact that my grandmother did not do Italian foods so my Daddy does not care much for Italian- he recently acknowledged that he has 'put up with' my mom's spaghetti for 45 years. So when we were first dating, I made what I called Pasta Bake- basically a baked pasta with cheese! I had no idea that the Dave liked it so much until he complained that I never made it anymore. He often times complains that I stopped cooking when we got married, but considering the lack of significant weight loss by him, you know that is not true. So I have decided to surprise him tomorrow evening with a pasta bake- which is simple and yet, Dave approved!


Pasta Bake

4 cups cooked pasta- I use what I have and sometimes a mix!
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup green pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1.5 cups pasta sauce
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup or more of mozerella cheese


1. Prepare pasta and set aside.
2. Brown meat, peppers, and onions together using a large sauce pan. Season with salt and pepper- you can use garlic salt if you like it. After browning, add pasta sauce and tomatoes along with Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese at this point.
3. Add the pasta to the sauce and combine- then put into a 13x9 glass casserole. Add mozerella cheese and mix in a bit- use the rest to top the pasta combination. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes until cheese begins to melt and get bubbly.

This isn't really a recipe, but just how I do something! I never really thought about how much or when to do some of the steps so play with this one, but it works! Dave loves him some Italian and this fits the bill when I don't want to do meatballs or put together a lasagna.