Little Italy meet Liberty City

Our sweet little one red-light town
here in East Texas is known as Liberty City.
It's a town by name only
because you won't find that name on any map.
There is no government run post office
or police department here. . .BUT,

we are most proud to have Sonic, Dairy Queen
and Whataburger.
The residents get their mail from
two different nearby towns
and our great school district is called Sabine.
Crazy, yes. . .but, having lived here
for more than 15 years, it is now quite the norm for us.

How did we come to meet Little Italy
here in this small town?
It's all in the ingredients, ya see.
This week's Free Recipe Friday
got to meet up with Little Italy a few weeks ago
when this recipe came in contact with our taste buds.
Such a yummy, light Italian meal! Oh my.

Lemon Butter Chicken
you are my new best friend.

WHAT YOU NEED:
-- 4 boneless chicken breasts
(these will cook much better if you
can pound them out a bit - but not required)
-- salt and pepper, of course, to season chicken
-- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
-- 6 tablespoons olive oil
-- 1/2 cup good chicken stock
-- 1/2 cup good white wine
-- 1/2-1 cup pitted kalamata olives
-- 2 tablespoons capers
-- 1-2 teaspoons black pepper
-- juice and zest of one large lemon
-- a dash of oregano and chives if you have them
it won't kill the recipe if you do not
-- 4 tablespoons butter
-- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
-- 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

WHAT TO DO:

Season the chicken breasts on both sides
with salt and pepper.  Heat up a good
heavy saute pan on medium high,
add 3 tablespoons of olive oil
and quickly fry them about 3 minutes on each side.
Longer if they are not pounded out.

Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium.
In the same pan add the remaining
3 tablespoons olive oil along with the garlic
and saute for about one minute.
Next, add into the pan the broth and white wine.
Simmer for a few minutes until the liquid has
reduced by about half.
Place the chicken back in the pan and
the remaining ingredients (excluding the cheeses).
Let the chicken soak in the sauce a bit
until the butter has melted and the chicken
has warmed through.

At the last minute, toss in the cheeses
and do a quick taste check -
does it need salt?

Serve with the pasta of your choice
and enjoy a winner, winner
chicken dinner!

ENJOY!!!

Stuffed with Bliss

Need a yummy springy time meal idea?
These are divine!
Easy, tasty AND pretty to look at.
Check out the latest write up in
The Wedded Bliss magazine
on newsstands in the Longview/Tyler area NOW.

Here's a link to the online issue as well,
Spinach and Feta Stuffed Salmon,
with a bonus recipe for Roasted Asparagus!

I think it's springtime already!

ENJOY!

Is it Summer Yet?

After a nice little pre-Spring Break, break...
I am back at it.  Rested? No. Relaxed? No.
But we are getting hongrrryy around here, so let's go!

Oh, did I mention our fridge went out this week. Yep.
Did I mention the new one won't be delivered until
next week?  Yep.  Do you know how hard it is to cook
so that you have little or no leftovers?  Yep.

Thaaaankfully, we have an old nasty one in the garage
that is helping us get through these pioneer like days.
Ice though?  No ice.  Uggh, it feels like we are camping.

But we DID take a pic so we can drool while we wait.

Ahhhhhh. I. Can. Not. Wait.

For this week's Free Recipe Friday
we can make muffins - those require no refrigeration, right?!
These are so easy and yummy and the recipe
comes from an old church cookbook,
how much better could it be!?!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 egg
1 cup fresh blueberries
(might even be worth a try with frozen)
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil

WHAT TO DO:
Preheat oven to 400.
In a medium size bowl beat egg.
Stir in milk, blueberries, vanilla and oil.
Pour in dry ingredients all at once
and stir until flour is just moistened.
Batter will be lumpy and that is A. Okay.
Fill greased muffin cups about 3/4 full. 

*Side note, a few times, I've even sprinkled a bit of
brown sugar on top of each muffin
before baking - mmm, good.

Makes about 1 dozen.
Bake about 20 minutes. 
Remove from pan immediately.
If not eaten right off the bat,
place them in a large ziploc baggie
to retain moisture.
Everyone will gobble these UP I tell you!

Thank you Mrs. Nita Henson for this great recipe!



ENJOY!!!

Fondue for Love!

Although I feel like Hallmark AND Pinterest
go a bit overboard with most holidays
throughout the year, I WILL say that
Valentine's Day is quite special to us.
Not that Flag Day or Labor Day

aren't special in their own way.
There's just something about the
'love holiday' that we take a likin' to.

It's actually an anniversary of sorts for us - 

of the day my hubs made his first move

towards dating me.  Whoa.

Sooo, we pretty much hold this occasion
up about as high as our wedding anniversary. 

This doesn't mean we always do grand things,

but they are always special.

Most years, we actually look forward to

planning and celebrating Valentine's 

AT HOME.
Candles, the real china, homemade menus,
making our children be our waitresses...
you know, the works.

Yes, I know, it's fun not to HAVE to cook a meal

but, in my book, we can eat out any time.
Save the dinner dates for a less crowded,
less stressful night to go out on - 

and celebrate this year at HOME.

If your spouse is the one that usually
prepares the meals, then I can almost guarantee you
that getting dressed up and cooking for them
AT HOME is the sweetest most romantic thing.
And if you are the one that usually prepares the meals,
take the stress off your mate by requesting
to stay home.  Cook some fondue together
or just order a pizza.  

Love AND less stress is the way to go.

When I think of something that would be
romantic, yet easy on the preparer -
I think FONDUE.

Whether you do a cheese fondue and/or chocolate -

what could be easier and less stressful to prepare?!?

No, seriously it is.
We have made this several times
and is such a perfect, relaxing meal.
It is so interactive - you really don't even need plates!

Check out a recent article I did
in The Wedded Bliss on just that!

Fabulous Fondue.

We make the Simpler Fondue recipe found there

and you'll find step by step

 instructions for three fondue recipes.

Take a night off from the stress of going out
on Valentine's and take your sweetie out to dinner
another time!!!  After all, it's easier to gaze into
each other's eyes at home than in a
baby screaming restaurant, yes?!

ENJOY!

Supah Dupah Chalupa. . . . .Beans!

Have you ever attempted cooking a pot of pinto beans?
It's a great southern tradition.
A big pot of beans can feed a herd, it's cheap,
and it can go alongside bbq, enchiladas and more.
Pintos can also be a stand alone meal all by itself.
Well, maybe with some cornbread.

This week at Free Recipe Friday

it's all about this tried and true one pot meal.

But this isn't your everyday standard pot of pinto beans.
Oh no.
This is "Aunt Kim's Chalupa Beans."

My memory may have failed me a bit
and swayed from her exact recipe,
but this is how we make them.
I am pretty sure this is how she does it.
Not only will your friends and family love you for it,
they will love Aunt Kim too :)

As with most any dried bean,
you basically pour a bag of them
onto a clean counter top, spread them out
and check for any "foreign debris."  Yes, foreign debris.
So take a few minutes to check for small rocks,
mystery beans/objects, etc.
Sorry if this is your first time at this
and that whole explanation was a bit disturbing.
The fact of the matter is no brand is exempt from this.

Our beans just happened to have been from Colorado,
delivered to us from a sweet sweet man
in our church.  They were, I must say
fairly void of debris.  Use whatever brand
you can get your hands on - just check for. . .
'which of these things is not like the other'
and remove those things :)

After the beans have been looked over,
scoop them up and dump them into your large pot.
Now fill the pot with water and put a lid on it
and set aside.  Back in the day
I would let them soak overnight -
those days are gone.  These days
I soak them in the morning
and begin cooking about lunchtime. 
They are ready to go by dinner!

**An important side note, after the beans have soaked
for several hours (or even overnight),
drain off the water and rinse several times.
Pour in fresh water, covering the beans
several inches above the beans.
I am convinced this helps remove the
excess 'gaseous-ness.' :)

That's it. That's the basics to
getting a pot of beans ready for cooking.

You should give them a try...
say, THIS WEEKEND!?

WHAT YOU NEED:

Any Pork Roast - preferably with the bone in
(I never buy a certain weight - just one that looks good)

Pinto Beans
(we used a 2 lb. pkg - you can certainly reduce)

Water - lots of water

Diced Onion, optional

Chopped Garlic, not optional :)

1 heaping Tablespoon Garlic Powder - seriously

appx 1 Tablespoon Salt/Pepper, or more
(I promise, the beans need this -
plus you have to remember
the meat will need it as well)

Aunt Kim's Spices
a bit of Oregano, Thyme, Red Pepper,
Chili Powder and Tabasco

WHAT TO DO:
After you have followed the soaking
instructions above, and have your
soaked beans rinsed and refilled -
place the stockpot on the stove
and add in the roast - right in the pot.
Turn heat on high and as it is coming
up to a boil, add your seasonings.

Make sure everything is covered in water
several inches above the beans/roast.
Once it all comes to a good boil,
reduce heat to low/medium and put a lid on
but leave it tilted to allow moisture to escape.
If you cook with no lid at all, the beans
will be more apt to lose their moisture too fast
and boil dry.  You do not want them to boil dry.
If the water gets low, and it often will,
add a cup or two more.
Towards the end of the cooking process
you will notice a change in the broth.
It will become a bit thicker and the beans
will be tender.  Check for seasoning at this time.

The pork roast should be falling off the bone
at this point.  Gently remove it and set on a plate
or cutting board.  Remove bone and excess fat.
Using two forks, shred the meat and place
back into bean pot.  You are ready to eat!

You can lay down a flour tortilla
and cover with beans and your choice
of other toppings such as CHEESE,
lettuce, sour cream, salsa, etc., etc.

You could also pour 'em up in a bowl
on top of cornbread or serve 'em up along side
some fried taters my precious.

Give 'em a try now, ya hear.

ENJOY!