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Ricotash

This recipe was originally based on a friend’s arroz con pollo recipe, it has since evolved into a pseudo-succotash and chicken mixture served over steamed rice, which became affectionately referred to as “Ricotash”

Note: Adjust the measurements as needed. This recipe as-is serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

1 cup of each:
tomato sauce
sweet whole kernel corn (drained if from a can)
kidney beans (drained if from a can)
uncooked rice

1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked chicken

Adjust the following to taste:
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp Cajun or Creole seasoning (low salt preferred!)

Directions:

First get your rice going. I use a rice cooker and leave it to cook while I cook my chicken.

In a small saucepan mix tomato sauce, chicken, corn, and beans. Next, add your spices. Mix thoroughly and simmer about 10-15 minutes over medium/low heat.

Serve sauce mix over rice.

Note: unfortunately I didn’t take pictures the last time I made this, but I do have a picture of leftovers.

Peanut Butter Balls

This is by far my FAVORITE holiday treat! My grandmother used to be a lunchroom worker (aka “lunchroom lady”) at Dixie Junior High (Alabama). This is one of the recipes that she used for years, then my mother used for years, and now I am continuing the tradition.

This is a photo of the recipe card that my mother has:

Little by little, I’m trying to get digital copies of the recipes that my mother has that I love …

Recipe Source: Dixie Junior High School lunchroom, by way of my grandmother

Ingredients:

1 cup Karo white corn syrup
1 cup sugar
2 cups creamy peanut butter
12 cups (plain) corn flakes

Directions:

Mix syrup and sugar and bring to a boil, then cool and add peanut butter. In a large bowl, cover corn flakes with mixture, then stir until well mixed. Using your hands, scoop and shape into balls a little larger than a walnut onto a large sheet of wax paper.

Yields approximately 75 peanut butter balls.

Nicki’s Note:

Over the years, I have found it helpful to grease my hands with margarine before attempting to roll these out! Also, these will have to be done quickly — as the mixture cools, it will harden!

Gert’s Summer Chicken

Recipe Source: Gert Meyers, by way of Cookie at The Cook Shack Gab & Grub

Marinated Chicken for grillin’ or BBQin’…

This makes a lovely marinade with a slightly sweet yet tangy flavor, ideal for grilled or barbecued chicken. It’s my own recipe, loosely based on a book-recipe, now long lost…

Marinade:

Mix together using a spoon or blender:

juice of a small lemon
4 tbsp of runny honey
1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil (or equivalent)
3 tbsp of vegetable oil (peanut or sunflower)
3 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tsp of balsamic vinegar (optional)
a few drops of Tabasco(TM)
some finely, freshly ground black pepper
a small pinch of ground cayenne pepper
a small pinch of fenugreek or ginger powder

Marinating:

It’s often believed that increasing the time of marinating to overnight improves the result but in my view that’s not entirely true. A marinade can only penetrate the meat almost no more than skin-deep and so it’s my experience that a couple of hours (even shorter) works quite well. For an instant marinade, I recommend adding a little cornflower to the marinade, which will make it more clingy: then you can simply brush your meat with the mix, minutes prior to cooking.

Cooking:

Use skinless pieces of chicken: chunks or strips of breast meat for instance, although turkey would also work well. You can be fancy and create skewers with some yellow or orange pepper, some red onion and some cherry tomatoes or even pineapple pieces, for a great presentation and a bit of Wow!-factor…

Alternatively, simply marinate the strips or chunks together with the pepper etc, then cook and serve on a preheated serving dish. Tuck in!

I suggest cooking these on low heat barbecue (make sure it’s cooked through and through) or a ribbed skillet (I usually put a good dollop of salt on my skillet, which acts as an anti-adhesive ).

Happy eating!

Poblano Corn Chowder

Recipe Source: Naiveray / allrecipes.com

Prep/Cooking Time: approx 1 hour

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tablespoons margarine
1 fresh poblano chile pepper, seeded and diced
1 quart heavy cream
1 quart half-and-half cream
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon lobster base (optional)
1 pinch ground dried chile de arbol
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and diced
salt to taste
white sugar to taste

Directions:

In a blender or food processor, puree the onion and celery; drain.

Melt 2 tablespoons margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery puree and the poblano chile pepper. Stirring constantly, cook about 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in heavy cream, half-and-half cream, sugar, and lobster base. Season with chile de arbol and black pepper. Stirring often, bring to a gentle boil.

Melt 1/2 cup margarine in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix in the flour, and stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat, and gradually mix into the large saucepan. Cook and stir until the mixture is well blended and thickened.

Mix cream-style corn and whole kernel corn into the large saucepan mixture. Stir in the shrimp, and cook 2 minutes, or until opaque. Season with salt and sugar.

Aztec Chicken Salad

Recipe Source: From the Cookbook, “Cajun Clark’s One Inch from the Top”

Notes:

Like most recipes, the amount of ingredients you need is in direct proportion to the number and size servings you want to wind up with, including any leftovers. This once again being the case, you can estimate how far the following amounts will go. But, do yourself a favor and cook the entire package at one time; you can then make a larger salad or have what you don’t use for another meal the next day. Makes sense to da ol’ mon Caj, especially if you’re cookin’ One Inch From the Top.

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts, seasoned to your liking, cooked–broiled, fried, grilled, you name it; it’s your decision–and sliced in 1 inch chunks.
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1 medium to large tomato, chopped
1/2 bottle Catalina dressing
Tabasco: brand Pepper Sauce
Tortilla chips

Directions:

Mix chicken, beans, corn, lettuce, onion and tomato together. Add Catalina dressing and hot sauce to taste. Serve over Tortilla chips. Can’t get much easier than this, no way.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Recipe Source: cooks.com

Chicken:

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. corn oil
1/4 c. dry sherry
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

Cut chicken into 1/2 inch wide strips. Combine remaining ingredients, except peanut sauce, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Peanut Sauce:

4 teaspoons corn oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Heat oils in saucepan. Saute onions and garlic until they are softened. Add sugar and vinegar, cooking until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

To serve:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Thread chicken strips onto small skewers and arrange on baking sheets. Bake approximately 10 minutes or until just cooked through. Serve hot with sauce which is at room temperature.

Frogmore Stew

Also known as “Lowcountry Stew” and “Beaufort Boil”

Recipe Source: www.co.beaufort.sc.us

Ingredients:

2-3 long links smoked beef sausage
3-4 dozen ears shucked, cleaned corn on the cob (best if cut in half)
1 1/2 pound shrimp, headed
Several heaping tablespoons of seafood seasoning (to taste)

Directions:

Fill a big pot halfway with water. Add seafood seasoning, cover pot and bring water to a boil. Add corn, cover pot and cook for ten minutes at full boil. Cut sausage into 2″ pieces and add to corn in the pot. Cook for five minutes at full boil. Add shrimp all at once. Cover pot and bring back to full boil. Cook until shrimp are reddish and completely done (sample one).

Pour contents pot into a colander and let the liquid drain into a sink for a minute. Put cooked sausage, corn, and shrimp on plates and serve hot!

NOTE: Some people like to add potatoes to the recipe. If you do, add several medium potatoes, unpeeled and quartered, five minutes after the corn.

Serves 3-4 people.

Classic Pecan Pie

Recipe Source: bluegatco.com

Prep/Cooking Time: Total Prep Time 20 min.

Ingredients:

3 Eggs
1½ cup Roasted Pecans
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Corn Syrup
2 tbl melted Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9-inch Pie Shell

Directions:

Beat eggs with a wire whisk or fork. Add butter, syrup, sugar and vanilla; mix well. Chop 1 1/4 Cup Pecans and Stir in. Pour into Pie Crust. Arrange rest of whole pecans on top of pie.

Bake at 350° for 50-55 min.

King Ranch Chicken

Recipe Source: thatsmyhome.com

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 can Healthy Request Condensed Cream of Mushroom or Chicken Soup
1 10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes
6 oz. cubed chicken, cooked
4 corn tortillas, torn in pieces
1/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

Saute pepper and onion in skillet with Pam. Add soup, Rotel tomatoes and chicken. Alternate layers of tortillas and soup mix. Sprinkle cheese on top.

Bake at 325° F. for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serves 4.

Cornbread Dressing

Recipe Source: mom

Ingredients:

6 cups crumbled cornbread
4 cups crumbled light bread
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 hard-cooked eggs, chipped
2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken or turkey broth

Directions:

Sautee onion, bell pepper, celery in 2 Tbsp. butter while preparing the ingredients. Them mix all ingredients and pour broth of chicken or turkey giblets and add cooked meat pieces that have been boiled. Stuff turkey or place in a greased roaster pan. Bake at 350° F. for 45 minutes or until done.