Apple Pie

This is a great and easy apple pie recipe.  I used store bought pie crusts (you need 2, one for the bottom, one for the lattice top), 1 stick of butter, 3 Tablespoons of flour, 1 Cup of sugar (half white sugar, half brown sugar), and 6 granny smith apples.  Lay one of the pie crusts in a glass pie plate and cut the other pie crust into lattice strips.  Peel, core, and cut the apples and layer them in the pie crust.  Cook the butter and flour on the stove top until it forms a paste, then add all the other ingredients until just boiling, then simmer for 20 min.  Once the filling is ready, pour the filling onto the apples and cover with the lattice strips.  Bake in the oven at 350 for 45 min, cover the top with aluminum foil to keep it from burning.

Stuffed Zucchini

This was made with browned sausage, cooked rice, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions.  Cook all ingredients together in a skillet and then top a scooped out piece of zucchini and top with stuffing.  Bake the topped zucchini's for about 30 min, top with cheese before or after baking if desired.

Fresh Garden Pico de Gallo, Homemade Refried Beans, and Beef Nachos

My tomato plants this year created more tomatoes than I could eat so I made them into pico de gallo, my favorite.  I deseeded all 20 tomatoes and chopped them up into 1/4 cubes.  I added half and onion chopped fine, 3 jalapenos chopped fine, lime juice from 2 limes, cilantro from half a bunch minced, fresh garlic, garlic powder, and salt.  It was awesome.  I also made some beef nachos to go with it.  Chips, homemade refried beans, cooked beef, and shredded cheddar cheese.  I made the refried beans by heating a skillet, adding olive oil, heating the olive oil, adding drained pinto beans and garlic.  I let them saute for about 5 minutes, and then just start mashing.  I used a potato masher for this.

Father's Day Crawfish Etoufee Stuffed Chicken, Potato Pancakes, Southern Style Green Beans, and Cheesecake Bites

For Father's Day Dinner, I went to Abe's Cajun Market in Clear Lake, Texas and bought their Crawfish Etoufee Stuffed Chicken.  The directions were super simple, put it in a small roasting pan (I just used my lasagna casserole dish), bake in the oven at 375 degF for 1 hr 15 min.  I followed the directions, and it came out great.  I covered it with aluminum foil for the the first 45 minutes so that it didn't over brown, and the chicken still came out crispy.  I also made some Southern Style Green Beans by sauteing some bacon in a pot, once cooked, added the trimmed green beans for about 2 minutes while stiring so all the green beans were coated, and then added enough chicken stock to completely cover the green beans and let them simmer the whole time the chicken was cooking.  I also made potato pancakes, a family favorite.  It was 2.5 pounds of shredded golden potatoes, half of a sweet yellow onion chopped small, 2 eggs, and about 1/2 cup of flour.  Mix all the ingredients together.  Heat some olive oil in a skillet, and add a large spoonful and press down gently, wait a few minutes for one side to cook, then flip and cook the other side.  Set on paper towels.  I also made Cheesecake Bites, these come out looking so pretty.  It's just an 8 oz block of cream cheese, a 16 oz tub of cool whip, and some sugar to taste.  I beat them all together in my mixer and spoon them into premade cookie cups.  The cookie cups are made using store bough cookie dough, which I rolled out and set in a cupcake pan for tiny cupcakes, and they form perfect cups, let them cool before removing them.  I take them out of the cupcake pan using a toothpick.

Enchiladas and Homemade Sauce

First preheat the oven to 350 deg F.  Next, start the Homemade Enchilada sauce.  First heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a pot, once hot, add 2 Tablespoons of flour and cook one minute to make a roux.  Next add 2 Tablespoons of chili powder (more for spicier), 1 tsp of garlic powder (or a Tablespoon of fresh garlic), 1 tsp of cocoa powder (yes, cocoa powder), 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp of oregano.  Mix all spices into the roux until well blended.  Next slowly whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth.  Once the chicken broth is incorporated, add 1-28 ounce can of tomatoes.  Simmer the Sauce for 15 minutes.  While the Sauce is simmering, cook 1 pound of ground beef in a skillet (use ground turkey or chicken for a healthier option).  Add any desired spices to the meat while cooking.  Once the meat is completely cooked, remove the ground meat from the skillet and cook each side of each corn tortilla in the skillet for about 30 seconds each side.  As soon as all the corn tortillas are cooked, dip them in the enchilada sauce, set them on a plate where you can roll them, fill them with the cooked ground meat and shredded cheese, roll them up, and finally put them in an enchilada pan seam side down.  Once your pan is full (I usually have enough corn tortillas, 24 pack, and sauce to make 2 pan fulls and I freeze one) top it with the leftover sauce (you should have a lot), then top with cheese and pop in the preheated oven for about 20 min.

Lemon Butter Fish, Steamed Broccoli, and Homemade Bread

I bought fish filets from the market and topped them with butter and lemon slices.  Then I baked them in the oven at 350 degF until they were white and flaky.  While they were baking, I steamed some broccoli.  The dinner was complete with a slice of my homemade french bread, found in a previous post.

Gnocchi and Tomato Sauce

Start by making the Tomato Sauce since the store bought gnocchi cooks very quickly.  Fill one large pot with water, turn on high heat for boiling the gnocchi and using a separate pot for the tomato sauce.  I start by sauteeing an onion and some garlic until just starting to brown.  Once ready, I added a large can of Hunts diced tomatoes and a small can of Hunts roasted diced tomatoes.  I bring this to a boil and then add spices; pepper, salt, sugar, basil, and oregano.  Now it's time to start the gnocchi, add to the boiling water until they are floating.  Serve together.

Eclair Cake

This is a recipe for a super easy Eclair tasting cake.  It's made by layering graham crackers and vanilla pudding and topping with chocolate frosting.  First, make an entire box of instant vanilla pudding.  In the cake pan, I start with a layer of graham crackers that completely cover the cake pan and then on top of that, I add one third of the vanilla pudding.  Continue layering until the pudding is gone and then top with a layer of graham crackers.  Smooth the chocolate frosting on top of the graham crackers until the cake is completely covered.  Let the cake sit in the fridge for a few hours, this makes the graham crackers soggy like a moist cake.  Serve cold from the fridge, can last in the fridge for a couple days.

Cobb Salad

Ingredients for a great Cobb Salad include avocado, tomatoes, parmesan cheese, lettuce or I like to use spinach, boiled eggs, bacon, salt, pepper, and your favorite dressing.  Love this salad.

Orzo with Basil and Parmesan Cheese

My new favorite starch is orzo.  I make mine by heating olive oil in a skillet and sauteeing some onion, garlic, and raw, uncooked orzo.  Once the orzo is brown, add enough water to cover the orzo by about an inch.  Let the orzo cook, simmering, uncovered.  Once the water is almost gone, test to make sure the orzo is aldente, if not, add a little more more water and cook a little longer.  Once it's aldente and the right consistency, the right amount of water has evaporated, add chopped basil and a handful of parmesan cheese, these are my favorite additions, but use your imagination and add whatever you want.  I served mine with sausage and lem, broiled fish.

Chicken and Beef Fajitas

Chicken and Beef Fajitas with all the toppings: cheese, sour cream, tomatoes (deseeded and chopped), sauteed red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, avocado, beans, and rice.  Marinade the meat for 2 hours on the counter or 6 hours in the refrigerator.  A flavorful marinade could be made with soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic (minced).  Cook the meat on the grill or broil in the oven, and then slice.

Creamy Butternut Squash and Ham Soup

Saute chopped onion until translucent, add cubed butternut squash and chicken stock.  Boil until butternut squash is tender.  Strain, saving liquid, and puree the butternut and onion in a food processor or blender, add as much of the saved liquid as necessary to puree the mixture smooth.  Add the mixture back to the pot and add cream and/or saved boiling liquid to make it creamy and the correct consistency, not necessary though.  I didn't use all the saved liquid, just pour out the rest.  Once hot and the correct consistency, I added cubed ham that were leftovers from a Christmas Ham dinner.

Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

Started with a 5 lb pound pork shoulder, also know as boston butt, cut of pork.  I let it brine all day in a mixture of salt, brown sugar, and water, and I used enough water to just completely cover the pork shoulder.  Once it had been in the brine for 12 hours, I patted it dry and added a dry rub all over, made from dry mustard, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.  If you are going to use a dry rub and brine, use less salt.  I used the correct amount of salt for a pork brine of that size and a dry rub, but if you are using the two together, it can be too salty.  My pork definitely came out over salted.  I slowed cooked it in the oven overnight at 200 degF in my oven, with the pork in a dutch oven, uncovered.  Once the inside temperature of the pork reached 175 degF, I turned off the oven without opening the door and let the pork rest for 2 hours in the hot oven as it cooled down.  Once the pork had completed resting, I pulled it apart using two forks and removed the bone.  Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce.