Tricks For A Better Breakfast

My kids love "Breakfast Night".  Every so often I cook all breakfast foods for supper.  It's a fun thing I've been doing since they were little.  Tonight, I was going to make bacon, hash browns and waffles.  But, when I saw a can of biscuits sitting in my fridge, I decided to try something new.  Instead of plain old regular waffles, I turned those canned biscuits into Cinnamon Sugar Waffles!  Here's how I did it:

CINNAMON SUGAR BISCUIT WAFFLES

1 can biscuits (like Pilsbury)
Melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Heat your waffle iron and brush some oil on it (the sugar will stick if you don't).

In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.

Brush melted butter on each biscuit (front and back).

Roll the biscuits in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Once the waffle iron is hot and ready, place 2 biscuits in and close the lid.  These cook fast.  They were done in 2 minutes!  

We drizzled some cane syrup on top and they were crazy good!  But you could make a cream cheese glaze or melt some strawberry preserves to pour on top or dust with powdered sugar.  Easy, fun and yummy!

Another trick I wanted to share that really blew my mind is cooking bacon in the oven.  I never knew the best way to do it and I hate splattering grease while cooking bacon in a skillet!  I saw this on Pinterest (there are actually a ton of pins about this - all different).  I found this method to work best:

OVEN BACON

Bacon

A broiler pan

Cooking spray

Do not preheat your oven!  This is important!  You want to put the bacon in a cold oven then turn on the heat.

Spray a broiler pan (it has holes to let the fat drip away.  You could also place a rack on a baking sheet with sides) with cooking spray.  Lay strips of bacon on the pan.  Place in cold oven, then turn heat on to 375 degrees.  After 10 minutes, flip the bacon and cook 10 minutes more or until crisp.

As you can see, the bacon doesn't curl up.  It lays nice and flat.  Plus, the fat drips away so it's not insanely greasy (let's face it, it is bacon so it's gonna be a bit greasy, but it's not swimming in fat).

One more breakfast tip to share.  Freeze orange juice in an ice cube tray.  Then you have orange juice ice cubes.  Place them in a glass and fill with champagne.  Voila!  Mimosas that stay nice and chilled!  

So, try one of these tips the next time you make breakfast.  And don't forget the mimosa!  Cheers!

Shrimp and Grits

It is the season of Lent.  A time of sacrifice.  During Lent, many people give up meat on Fridays.  So, cooking this time of year takes a little extra planning.  For me, it is especially difficult.  You see, my Old-School Italian husband, (Italian Catholic, you know the ones who eat the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve) does not eat seafood.  I know!  I grew up on the river, so you know I LOVE seafood.  But him, not so much.  So, what do I cook?  I usually make cheese pizza, or pasta with no meat, or beans.  His non-love usually beats my love, so I stay away from seafood at home.  But sometimes, I make what I like and he just has to fend for himself!  Haha!  That's what I did today.  I love shrimp and grits!  The sweetness of the shrimp with the creaminess of the grits, plus the spiciness from the seasoning - it's just perfection to me.  Bonus:  it's pretty easy to make!  Here's how I did it:

SHRIMP AND GRITS

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
canola oil
Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning
Louisiana hot sauce
Worcestershire sauce
2 TBS unsalted butter, cut into pats (plus more for grits)
Quick grits
salt and pepper
fresh parsley, chopped (about 2 TBS or so)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

If your shrimp were frozen, thaw completely.  You can put them in the fridge the night before to thaw or put them in a colander and run COLD water over them until they thaw.  Either way, dry them well with some paper towels.

After they are dried, drizzle a little canola oil on them (not too much, don't drown them).  Then season them well with Tony's and rub it in.  Make sure everything is distributed evenly.

Put them on a cookie sheet with sides and roast in the oven for about 5 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp.  Mine were medium sized (41-60 count - that means there are that many shrimp per pound).  I think that size is perfect for this dish.  You will know they are done when they turn pink and curl up.

While the shrimp are in the oven, prepare the quick grits - just follow the package directions.  When the grits are done, season to taste with salt and pepper and add as much butter as you like.  Set aside.

As soon as the shrimp comes out of the oven, top with the pats of butter and let melt.

Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce to taste (more if you like it spicy, just a little if you don't).

Stir around to coat the shrimp. Then, sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.

Serve over warm grits.

This was so amazing!  I've only ever had this dish in restaurants because I was intimidated to try it at home.  Well, no more!  It was really easy and so good!  Do yourself a favor and give this one a try.  You will love it!  Hopefully you have a husband (or wife) who loves seafood too because this is a great dish to make for someone you love.  It looks impressive, but as you just read is super simple.  That'll be our little secret, though.  Enjoy!

Cajun Braised Chicken

Last week one of our local supermarkets had a super sale on chicken.  They had thighs, drumsticks and split breasts for $1.00 per pound!  Since I cook with chicken a lot, I stocked up.  I bagged most of it and froze it.  Then I used some of the split breasts (big, whole breasts with the bone) to make this recipe.  It's a braised chicken with a Cajun flair.  It was delicious!  Here's how I did it:

CAJUN BRAISED CHICKEN

4 lbs chicken pieces (bone-in)
Tony Chachere's creole seasoning (any Cajun seasoning will work)
2 TBS oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TBS tomato sauce (or paste, even spaghetti sauce would work)
Splash of Louisiana hot sauce
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth (plus more for braising)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large pot with a tight-fitting lid (dutch oven) heat oil.  Season chicken well with Tony's.  Brown chicken in the oil on all sides.  Remove to a plate and set aside.

Drain any excess grease and discard.  Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup chicken broth.  Make sure the pot is over high heat, then add the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to get up all the bits of chicken stuck to the bottom.  That's all deglazing is.

Once you deglaze the pan, add hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce.  Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic.

Return the chicken to the pot.

 Add enough chicken broth (or water or a mixture of both) to make the liquid level halfway up the sides of the chicken.

Bring to a boil.  Put the lid on the pot and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours*.  (If you want to cook this on the stove top, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 1-2 hours or until chicken is cooked through.  I like to put it in the oven because I find it easier).

*Cook time will depend on how big your chicken pieces are.  Mine were really big, so it took 2 hours.  Small drumsticks would take way less time, maybe 45 minutes - 1 hour.  Just check to see that the insides are not pink and the juices run clear.

Since my pieces were so big, I shredded them up instead of serving a giant piece of chicken (even though my husband could probably eat it and then some).

I like to serve this over rice.  After all it is a Cajun dish.  We Cajuns love our rice!  But you can serve it over pasta or french bread or just as is.  You definitely want to make this one!  It is so good.  Ca cest bon!    

Lemon Chewies (my favorite cookie)

I love cookies.  I make them all the time.  They are my go-to dessert.  If I have to send a snack to school with the kids, cookies.  If I am going to a pot luck, cookies.  If I need a hostess gift, cookies.  They are easy to make and everyone loves them.

Over the years I've made a million different kinds of cookies.  Peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, white chocolate cashew, cranberry breakfast cookies and of course, chocolate chip.  But my favorite cookie of all time is the lemon chewy.  It is soft, sweet, creamy, slightly tangy from the cream cheese and covered in a lemony glaze.  Oh my.  I could eat these every day!

LEMON CHEWIES

1 stick butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup all-purpose flour

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream cheese, softened
Juice from half a lemon
Remaining zest from lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Zest the entire lemon.  Measure 1/2 tsp to add to cookie batter.  Keep remaining zest to add to glaze.

With a mixer, beat butter, cream cheese and sugar until creamy and fluffy.

Beat in vanilla and 1/2 tsp of the lemon zest.  Gradually add in flour, blending thoroughly.

Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart (they will spread a little).

Bake at 350 degrees for 11-12 minutes or until slightly golden.

Transfer to wire racks (sit the racks on top of a cookie sheet to catch drips from the glaze).

While the cookies cool, make the glaze by combining powdered sugar, cream cheese, juice from half the lemon and the leftover zest.  Whisk until smooth.  If too thin, add a little more powdered sugar.  If too thick, add a little more juice.

Drizzle the glaze over cooled cookies and let sit to harden.

This recipe yields about 33 cookies.  If you need more, it's super easy to double.  I cannot stress how much I love these cookies!  They are so good!  If you like lemon, you will love these lemon chewies.  Give 'em a try.

Sour Cream and Onion Chicken Nuggets

Hello!  It's been a little while since I've blogged.  Sorry for the delay.  We've had some crazy stuff going on here!  But, I think you will enjoy what I have for you today.  Do you like sour cream and onion potato chips? (I know, who doesn't?)  Well, you will definitely like this recipe.  It's chicken nuggets breaded with crushed sour cream and onion chips!  I know!  Awesome, right?  The good news is it is as easy as it is yummy.  Here's how I did it:

SOUR CREAM AND ONION CHICKEN NUGGETS

4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into nuggets
A big bag of sour cream and onion chips (you will probably only need half a bag)
salt/pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put your baking sheet in the oven while it preheats.  This is a trick to keep the bottom of the nuggets from getting soggy.  Season the nuggets with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Put about half the bag of chips into a food processor and zip it until it becomes crumbs.  If you don't have a processor, just put them into a zip top bag and crush them with a rolling pin, or a small pan.  If you find that you need more crumbs, just crush up some more.  But I only needed half the bag.

Roll the seasoned nuggets in the crumbs (lay the crumbs out on a plate to make it easy).  Once all of the nuggets are coated, remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and spray with cooking spray.  Then, place the nuggets on the baking sheet.  Spray a little cooking spray on top of the nuggets (this will help them crisp up in the oven).

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy.

These are crispy and seasoned just right!  I like to dip them in honey mustard or ranch dressing.  My husband likes bbq sauce.  But they are pretty good plain, too.  If you have any leftover, they are great on top of a salad!

There you have it, another simple, tasty way to make chicken!  Give this one a try.