This was part of the ‘Cajun Birthday Lunch’
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I am one of those people who LOVE olives. The salty brine, green, black, kalamata, garlic stuffed, I love them all. These are your basic sandwiches until you add an olive salad to the mix. You can buy it in jar but it’s packed with oil, which frankly – sickens me. So I made this one up quick and I think it complemented the meats nicely. Like with the rest of the Cajun meal, there were NO leftovers for this!

ingredients:
6 ounces pitted green, chopped
6 ounces black olives, chopped
6 ounces green olives with pimento, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Mix all the ingredients together.

Seriously. That’s it. I have nothing more to say. I like to make this the day before I serve it so that all the flavors really mix up nicely but other than that – yeah. You’re done.

Oh, you want to know how to serve it? Place it on a nice soft roll with the following:

provolone cheese
prosciutto
coppa
salami
ham
mayo
mustard

I set it up so people could build their own sandwiches – it came out great and it was minimal work for me, YAY.

This was part of the ‘Cajun Birthday Lunch’
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Quite obviously this is not traditional red beans and rice, think of it as a shortcut version – but still tasty! Although I made it as more of a side dish for the Cajun birthday party, everyone seemed to to enjoy it as a main dish – it was gone in no time.

ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove chopped garlic
2 (15 ounce) cans red beans, drained
1 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1-1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (recipe here)
1 ham steak, chopped

rice

Now see, the reason this is sort of a ‘cheater’s recipe’ is because I used canned red beans instead of soaking dry ones…blah blah, I don’t have the time. When I have the time, I will, but for now – I’m draining the canned beans, ya dig?

In a pot on medium high, start with the ‘holy trinity‘ – onion, celery, bell pepper. Add the garlic until soft.

Pour in the beans and add tomatoes. Then add the Creole seasoning and stir to combine.

Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

Another ‘cheater’ quick step, instead of boiling down a hamhock I just chop up a ham steak. It works. I promise. Stir in the chopped ham, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with cooked rice and you have a quick fantastic southern meal.

This was part of the ‘Cajun Birthday Lunch’
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When I made plain old Tater Tots, I didn’t think they could get any better. But this is it. THIS. IS. IT! These came out so good, I made them for the Cajun lunch and they were WIPED OUT – totally gone by the end of the party. I will admit, I used my fryer this time and they came out extra crispy and delicious!

ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
2 russet potatoes
1/3 cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sour cream
kosher salt
pepper

1-1/2 cups flour
kosher salt
pepper
paprika
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
1-1/2 cups panko

oil
Creole seasoning (recipe here)

Set a pot of water to start boiling. Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut them into cubes and put them in the heating pot of water. Once it starts to boil, let them cook for 12-15 minutes until soft.

Drain the potatoes and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the milk, butter and sour cream to the potatoes. Mix until just combined. Don’t go overboard or you will just get a gummy mess.

Start to heat up your oil in the fryer. If you don’t have a fryer, start up your skillet on the stove.

If the mixture is a little soft, place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then you should be able to start forming them into tots. Using a small scoop make a small sized ball of potato and form it into a tater tot (i.e. marshmallow-ish but smaller) shape, set aside.

Once your tots are formed you can now set up your frying line. In one dish put the flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir to combine. The second dish whisk the eggs with the milk. The third dish set up the panko.

Dredge it in the flour first, making sure you tap off all the excess. This is the KEY to making any kind of fry coating stick. (That’s what O.G. told me was her secret anyway).

Then dip it into the egg mixture, again not too heavy on the egg. Then finally the panko.

Set the little Tots into their oil bath. I found that 8 minutes or so gives you a nice crispy texture, which made a world of difference.

Once browned let them drain and cool on a wire rack. While they are cooling I just sprinkle them with a touch of Creole seasoning, this is optional, it just adds a nice kick if you like.

These are so good. Crispy outside, with a nice creamy center. By using half potato and half sweet potato it gave these tots the perfect combination and texture.

These are fairly quick to make, you can even do the mash and form the tots the day before you serve them. Just keep them in the fridge and do the dredging when you are ready to eat!

Brown Sugar. Cinnamon. Bacon. They are the three best friends you could ever have.

ingredients:
1 pound of bacon (1 slab)
1/8 cup brown sugar (approx)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon (approx)

As you know I hate frying bacon – so the oven is a good alternative with minimum clean up. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line the bottom of sheet pan with foil. On top of that, place a wire rack.

Take the bacon and cut it in half. Essentially you will have double the amount, in small half pieces.

Take the bacon piece and twist it, laying it on the rack. It’s a little more difficult with these small half pieces, but just work with it and it will stay. I like to do this because I think it crisps evenly without having to turn it (I hate taking the time to turn things – lazy).

Now sprinkle the brown sugar and the cinnamon evenly over each piece. Be as heavy handed or as light with the ingredients as you want. The amount is just an approximation.

Bake for 20 minutes, then serve.

The kids love these and I like to serve them with Ovaltine Pancakes. And since they are smaller pieces that means you can eat more, right? Right.

I know what you’re thinking, “Why would anyone do this?” Believe me, I realize I need to get a life. But I try not to buy processed food for the kids and I talked myself into thinking I could make tater tots at home. It was pretty quick AND easy.

ingredients:
4 large russet potatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sour cream
kosher salt
pepper

1-1/2 cups flour
kosher salt
pepper
paprika
3 eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
1-1/2 cups panko

oil

Set a pot of water to start boiling. Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut them into cubes and put them in the heating pot of water. Once it starts to boil, let them cook for 12-15 minutes until soft.

Drain the potatoes and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer. Now you can mash these by hand or for a more ‘tater-tot-y’ mealy texture, use a ricer. But a mixer does well for me.

Add the milk, butter and sour cream to the potatoes. Mix until just combined. Don’t go overboard or you will just get a gummy mess.

Set a skillet filled about 3/4 of the way with oil, on medium high. Now I could have busted out my deep fryer for this (I will next time) but I wanted to see how a shallow fry would work for these. It was just fine.

Now set up your frying line. In one dish put the flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir to combine. The second dish whisk the eggs with the milk. The third dish set up the panko.

Using a small scoop make a small sized ball of potato and form it into a tater tot (i.e. marshmallow-ish but smaller) shape. Dredge it in the flour first, making sure you tap off all the excess. This is the KEY to making any kind of fry coating stick. (That’s what O.G. told me was her secret anyway).

Then dip it into the egg mixture, again not too heavy on the egg. Then finally the panko.

Set the little Tots into their oil bath. Once it starts browning, turn it to brown the other side. Don’t fool with these suckers, the more you flip them and turn them THEY WILL RETALIATE. By popping at you (god I hate hot oil) and even busting open to the pure mashed potato center. Phooey. You do not want that. Do your best to keep them in tip top Tot form.

Once browned let them drain and cool on a wire rack.

That’s it! You’re ready to serve! Bring on the tots!

A traditional mac ‘n’ cheese starts with a roux. This is not a traditional mac ‘n’ cheese. This is easy fo’ sheezy mac ‘n’ cheese where you get your kids to do most of the work so you can kick it and watch Oprah. And the kicker? It’s baked with a topping of crushed up Goldfish crackers! How cheesy is that? No child (or adult) can resist…

ingredients:
1 lb pasta (I prefer pennette)
4 cups cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bag goldfish crackers (save 1 cup, crush the rest)
1 Tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9×13 pan. Boil the pasta according to the package.

While it’s boiling, in a large bowl, combine THREE cups of cheese (setting aside one cup), cream, milk, salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.

Set aside one cup of goldfish crackers, and put the rest in a freezer bag. Now get a kid full of aggression who likes to bash things, luckily, I have one – give him a rolling pin and stand back. Let him go at the freezer bag of goldfish, til all are crushed. Take away the rolling pin. (This is for your own safety and sanity.)

By now the pasta should be ready. Drain it in a colander, then immediately pour into the bowl of cheese and stuff. Stir ’round until it’s all melty and combined. Pour into your prepped pan. Top with the reserved one cup of cheese and the crushed goldfish crackers AND the whole goldfish crackers. You are putting the whole ones just cause the kids get a kick out of seeing whole goldfish crackers sitting on top of the pasta. Add dabs of the butter here and there on the top of the crackers.

Place your pan on a baking sheet – this is in case it bubbles over. No one wants a cheesy oven to clean up – trust me. Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven, until bubbly. Let cool a bit before serving.

This makes a good side dish OR main dish. And the kids really get into helping since it’s just mixing and crushing! Sure this is kid’s food but uh…I like to sneak a few bites late at night. Usually while standing over my sink in my pjs…

I love Greek Salad – it’s the feta. I wanted to make a lightly dressed salad that would be good as a main dish OR a side dish.

ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package tortellini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons minced garlic
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup cucumber – cubed
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup pearl tomatoes
1 cup black olives

I like to use tortellini cause of the size and the filling adds a lot to this recipe. You can use other pastas if you want, the taste will definitely vary a bit.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the tortellini, and cook according to the package directions. Drain well.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl toss the tortellini with the dressing. Set aside.

Add in the cubed cucumber, feta, tomatoes and olives. Toss and refrigerate. I like this dish served cold, right out of the fridge. The crunch of the cucumbers and the flavors of the dressing and feta go really well with the pasta. It makes a great main dish or a nice side to chicken!

I never knew that these things had a name. O.G. always called them FOOTBALLS cause that’s what they looked like. Brilliant, I tell you. Anyway I was shocked at how simple they are to make and the kids absolutely love them.

ingredients:
2 cups rice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3/4 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon sake (I left this out when I made it for the kids, fyi)
1 package aburage aka tofu pouches

Cook your rice in the rice cooker. While that’s going, in a small bowl mix together the rice vinegar, salt, sugar and sake if you are using it. Set aside.

Now bring a pot of water to a boil and heat the aburage according to the package directions. Obviously this is the easy step, since the thing is pre-made. Pretty awesome and simple.

When the rice is done, mix it will with the sauce ingredients that you’ve mixed together. Careful, the rice is HOT.

Now get your prepped aburage ready. They look like little pockets.

Using a spoon, stuff the prepped rice into the pockets and serve. It’s that simple!

Part of Food Buzz 24, 24, 24: Cooking with Kids and the Farmer’s Market

This works in a weird way you wouldn’t expect. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a great refreshing summer salad.

ingredients:
1 tsp honey
1/2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 ripe avocados
1 Oro Blaco Grapefruit
2 Ruby Red Grapefruits

In a small bowl combine the honey, dijon, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and whisk together.

Peel the avocados, remove the pits. Cut into small cubes. drizzle with a little of the dressing just so the avocado won’t turn brown while you prep your grapefruits. Peel the grapefruits, cutting off the white pith. Carefully slice between each membrane so that you get only fruit segments.

Toss with the avocados and the rest of the dressing. Serve cold.

Part of Food Buzz 24, 24, 24: Cooking with Kids and the Farmer’s Market

This was originally a Neely recipe, but I changed it up jesssst a touch. I’m not a fan of overdoing it with cheese, but I’m sure that’s just me. This salad is a BIG hit at parties, but isn’t anything with bacon?

ingredients:
6 slices bacon
2 broccoli heads or 8 cups
1/2 red onion, sliced very thin
1/3 cup jack cheese, grated
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Fry your bacon, and let drain. Crumble into pieces and set aside.

Ready an ice bath. Cut the broccoli into florets. Blanch in boiling salted water very quickly, only about 20 seconds. Take them out and put them directly into the ice bath. This will stop the cooking and keep a nice bright green color. Drain well.

In a bowl, combine the cheese, mayo, sour cream, celery seed, salt and pepper.Fold in the broccoli. Then add the onion and the bacon. Fold together until everything is combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge to let the flavors set until you are ready to serve.