Mom's Fried Green Tomatoes and Okra

There are no words for the gloriousness that is this dish. Oh. my. goodness. It is beyond good. Ever so often, especially in the summer, I start craving this and beg Mom to make it for me. Thankfully she has FINALLY written down the recipe so now I can make them myself! I cannot wait.  It is so unbelievably good. A little greasy.. but things that taste this good are NEVER good for you are they? Nope. Usually not. Make it before summer is over and finding green tomatoes becomes an impossibility. Wow. 

Fried Green Tomatoes and Okra

From: Mom (Judy R.) 

4 green tomatoes

4-6 cups of cut fresh okra (or bag of frozen, unbreaded okra- thawed)

1 to 1 ½ cups cornmeal (or unsweet cornmeal mix)

oil (or bacon grease if you have some)

salt and pepper to taste

Cut tomatoes into medium chunks, put into a large bowl and add okra, salt, pepper, and corn meal. Toss around to coat well, set aside. Pour oil (or grease) into large heavy skillet until it is at least ½ inch deep, and heat until hot. Add mixture, stirring as needed, and brown it. Turn the heat down to low and cover with lid. Stir often until all is tender. Serve while hot.

*note- You will need to add more oil (or grease) as you go because it uses up a lot.

Mom's Butter Parsley Potatoes

This is Mom's recipe for Butter Parsley Potatoes. SOO good. This is one of Jeff's favorite ways to have potatoes. She has made these for as long as I can remember. Yum. 

Butter Parsley Potatoes

From: Mom (Judy R.) 

8-10 potatoes of your choice

1 stick butter, chunked

3 T dried parsley flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Peel & wash potatoes, then cut them into medium size chunks. Put into a large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil. Once water starts to boil turn down to low and let them simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain well, place the potatoes back into the pot. Add butter, salt, pepper, and parsley. Allow butter to begin to melt; then mix with a large spoon, letting some of the potatoes mash slightly, and others to stay in chunks. Pour into a serving dish and serve while hot.

Christi's Chicken Broccoli Rice

This is a new recipe I made up tonight, based on part of an old recipe. Yes I know there was already a recipe posted on here for this, but every time it wasn't just "right" so I tried something different tonight and it came out perfect. So I am taking the old one down and posting this one in it's place. Jamie also has a recipe for this on the blog as well. ;-) 

Christi's Chicken Broccoli Rice

From: Me! 

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast; cubed

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 cups minute rice

1 bag frozen broccoli

1 tsp parsley flakes

1 tsp basil flakes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 “shake” red pepper flakes

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp olive oil

water

preheat oven to 350

After cubing your chicken, place it in a pot and cover with water. Add olive oil to the water and all your seasonings. Boil until chicken is cooked through, about 30-45 minutes.

While chicken is cooking thaw broccoli in microwave, set aside.

Once chicken is cooked reserve 4-5 cups of the broth (depending on how creamy you want your rice- the more liquid the creamier it will be). Take out the chicken and set aside, pouring the reserved cups back into the pan. Now add your soups and bring back to a boil. Once broth is boiling remove from heat and add rice. Then add back in the cubed chicken and your thawed broccoli, salt and pepper again to taste if needed. Stir together and pour all into a 9x13 pan. Place in oven and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

You can add any seasoning you like to your broth to change the flavor to your tastes, and you can also add in your favorite cheese. Just add the cheese about 5-10 minutes before you are ready to take the casserole out of the oven.

Cheese Ravioli with Broccoli Cream Sauce

This is a recipe I found on a website... and now I can't find which one to credit it! Sorry! This really comes out a simple way to make an Alfredo Sauce without using butter, and then tossing it with cheese ravioli and broccoli. It is delicious. It was really quick to throw together, even easier than it looks. Enjoy! 

Cheese Ravioli with broccoli cream sauce

From: ???

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dried red pepper flakes
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 lb. fresh broccoli
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
15 oz. package frozen cheese ravioli, cooked

Directions:

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan. Add garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper.

2. Saute until garlic is lightly browned, 5-7 mins.

3. Add cream; cook 20 min. to thicken, stirring occasionally.

4. Meanwhile, cut broccoli into 1-1/2" flowerettes. Place in separate pan, cover with water and cook until tender, drain and set aside.

5. Add Parmesan cheese to sauce mixture, stir to blend.

6. Add broccoli to sauce and pour over ravioli.

Note: I used frozen broccoli, threw it in the microwave and heated it as I normally would and then tossed it with the sauce and poured over the prepared ravioli. It was yummy, and a little easier than cooking fresh broccoli if you are wanting to save time. 

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake.

This is Jamie and Cody's recipe. There are only 2 words for this dessert- oh my. It is sooo good. They fell in love with this dessert on a cruise this summer and decided to figure out how to make it at home. After perfecting the recipe they made a bunch of these for Cody's 15th birthday instead of a traditional cake. It was delicious! 
Note: You will need 8 oz. ramekins for this recipe.

Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

From: Jamie and Cody

16 oz dark chocolate
1lb of unsalted butter
5.5 oz of flour
5 oz of sugar
10 eggs(room temperature)
Powdered Sugar
8oz size Ramekins(this recipie will fill 14-16 ramekins)

Preheat oven to 390 degrees.

Melt butter and chocolate in one bowl.
In another bowl, stir eggs and sugar together. Then add flour. You can use a mixer. Pour egg mixture into chocolate. Then fill ramekins 3/4 of the way full.
Cook 10 min and 30 seconds. Top of cake will barely be done. The bottom of the cake is melted chocolate. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Mom's Potato Salad

This is, by far, THE BEST potato salad you will ever eat. So yummy.

Potato Salad

By: Judy R.

5 lbs. potatoes
1 cup diced onion
6 boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup pickles, chopped (dill or sweet whichever you prefer)
1 1/2 cups salad dressing mayo (sandwich spread)
3T yellow mustard
salt & pepper to taste


Peel all potatoes then cut up into medium cubes. Put in large pot, cover with water, add tsp salt, and bring to a boil on high. Then turn down to medium heat and let cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well, then return the potatoes to the pot. Add all remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a serving bowl, can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Dinner Idea: Nachos!

Everyone loved homemade tacos right? Well why not make homemade nachos? Every time we make homemade tacos my mom ends up crumbling her taco shells onto a plate and making "nachos" instead of a taco. So I decided why not make nachos? It's simple!

Tip: If you want to melt your cheese really well- heat your oven to 350. Take your plate and cover it with a sheet of parchment paper. With scissors cut the paper into a circle to fit your plate. Layer your cheese, meat, beans, and other "hot" toppings. Carefully pull your paper, and nachos, onto a baking sheet. Place in oven for a few minutes, just long enough to melt your cheese. Take out, slide everything back onto you plate, and top with "cold" toppings like tomatoes, onions, sour cream, etc.

Here are some topping ideas:
Ground beef (or Ground Turkey!)
Shredded chicken
Shredded cheeses of your choice
Sliced Black Olives
Sliced Avocado
Diced onion
Diced tomato
Diced bell peppers
Diced peppers of your choice
Black beans
Refried beans
Guacamole
Salsa
Diced green onions
Sour Cream
Green taco sauce

The list goes on... This is another way to let kids have some fun in the kitchen. Let them pick out their favorite toppings and make their own nachos!

Tip: Schnucks has a great Pico De Gallo in their produce department that doesn't have hot peppers in it. It is basically just diced tomato, diced onion, and diced bell pepper in a container. I use this for nachos, tacos, or breakfast burritos. So much easier and it has a great fresh taste to it.

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree

I have seen Giada make this so many times on her show and every time I think I wanna make it and then think that Jeff won't like it and talk myself out of it. I finally decided to make it and I'm glad I did. It was good, and Jeff liked it! I think next time I might add chicken to it. 

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree

By: Giada De Laurentiis

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 garlic cloves

3 T olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 lb. rigatoni pasta

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup grated parmesan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Spread the vegetables out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile boil pasta until tender but still firm to the bite, and reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the torn mint and the extra-virgin olive oil. Puree the vegetables.

Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid ½ cup at a time until the pasta is saucy.