Cindy's Creamed Spinach

This quick and easy dish makes a tasty side!

1. In a non-stick skillet add 2 TB. butter.
2. Add dehydrated garlic and saute on low for a few mins.
3. Add fresh spinach and toss together in to the butter and garlic to coat the spinach well.
4. Add half and half and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and allow to simmer on low till sauce reduces by half.
5. Finish off with a good pinch of Nutmeg.

Enjoy

Cindy's Crockpot Ground Beef Stew

Crock pot is cookin already this morning... Smelling too good! 

1. Starts out with lean ground beef/ 1 pkg. french onions soup mix and blk. pepper.
2. Cook in crock pot on high 1.5 hrs. add flour to the beef and onions. Sprinkle it on top and spread it all around the beef. Making sure there are no lumps and all the flour has been mashed into the pan drippings well.
3. Add potatoes cut bite size/ carrot/celery/beef base (bouillon), French's Worcestershire sauce, water, and Ketchup.

 

Georgia's Pineapple Crockpot Chicken

Here is the recipe my daughter Georgia made...

1. You're going to need: 3 lbs. chicken breast thawed. 20 oz. canned of pineapple chunks. 3 TB. Honey. 1 TB. Soy sauce. 1/2 c. Brown sugar. 2 TB ground ginger.
2. Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.
3. Drain juice off of the Pineapple and reserve the juice.
4. Place the Pineapple chunks on top of the chicken.
5. In a mixing bowl, place the reserved juice, and all the other ingredients and spices in the juice.... Mix well and pour over the chicken and pineapple.
6. Cook on high 3 hrs. or low for 7 hrs.

Serve with steamed white rice.

Cindy's Hooters-Style Chicken Tenders

Dinner tonight is Hooter's style chicken tenders.. This is my recipe for making them.

1. I use boneless skinless chicken breast. Slice each breast into 3 tenders lengthwise.
2. I season my all purpose flour with paprika & red pepper. You will want to taste the flour mixture and you want to see the spices in the flour after you have mixed the spices in well. Taste with your finger wet. Make the sass just right for your taste.
3. Dust the chicken tenders lightly with garlic powder. NOT GARLIC SALT!
4. Place the chicken tenders in the flour mixture and toss gently to coat all sides. Allow them to set in the flour for about 5 minutes before frying.
5. Add your choice of oil to a non stick skillet and bring the oil up to temp. *check the temp of the oil by flipping a small amount of flour on top of the oil after it's been heating about 2 minutes. Use med-high tempurature to fry chicken tenders.
6. Next roll the tenders in the same flour again. Shake off any excess flour and place the pieces in the skillet when cooking temp is reached. Fry till golden brown on each side.
7. While these are cooking prepare the buffalo sauce Hooter's STYLE. To make the sauce I add the my hot sauce to a sauce pan and add 1 TB butter.
8. Allow the butter to melt into the hot sauce. Keep heat on low.
9. After butter has melted add some of the seasoned flour you used to season the chicken. * this sauce is going to simmer for about 3-5 minutes. So don't worry about the chicken that was in the flour. The temps will destroy any issues from the raw chicken.
10. You'll use a large amount of hot sauce in this. When the sauce is to your liking and has thickened some. Dip the hot fried tenders into the sauce while it's hot and place tenders on a rack to allow excess to drip off.

These can be eaten immediately or placed in the crock pot on warm will serving time. Hope you enjoy these as much as my family does. Here's to COOKIN! Have a great day.

Cindy's Tips: A Quick Dinner Salad

A quick dinner salad. Mix a salad of fresh spinach/hard boiled egg, celery, onion, black olives, Pepper Jack shredded cheese and a blend of French dressing with a little Red Wine vinegar and slight oil.

Cindy's Cajun Veggie Soup

Dinner tonight was homemade Cajun Style veggie soup. Simple, but full of flavor! 

1. Started out with Lean ground turkey that I seasoned with fresh spices. Sage, Cajun spice, red pepper flakes, black pepper, Don't salt it till it's finished browning.
2. I mix this all together with my hands and use the tip of a TB. to make meatball like pieces of the sausage.
3. Pan fry this in a small amount of your choice of oil, till golden brown.
4. Add 1 can of veggies and the juice. All together canned product of tomato, corn, okra).
5. Add raw cabbage carrot (I use shredded slaw mix).
6. Add water and chicken bouillon. You can add more of the same veggies for a bigger batch. Just make sure there is enough water to cover the veggies.
7. I also added 4 baked potatoes cut in to bite size chunks.
8. Stir all veggies into the meatball mixture and broth and season to taste with minced dehydrated garlic, minced dehydrated onion, Cajun spice (watch out this is salty.. don't add too much), blk. pepper, and make it as sassy as you taste buds like. I added parsley also.
9. Cook cover with lid ajar, till cabbage and carrots are tender.
10. Serve with hot pepper cheese bread baked and crispy right out of the oven.

Cindy's Sassy Slaw

If your a lover of foods that are a bit sassy, then you'll love this new coleslaw recipe I put together today! So simple and very tasty.

1. Horseradish sauce *go light on this, and adjust to your liking if you really love SASS.    
2. The biggest part of the dressing, is made with Thousand Island dressing.
3. I use shredded slaw mix and those 2 ingredients.
4. Black pepper and mix all together Taste before salting. Salt to taste (lightly, it will become saltier as the dressing marries with the slaw mix).
5. Cover and chill for 1 hr. before serving. EXCELLENT on Sliders of any kind! 

Enjoy

Cindy's Version of Twice Baked Potatoes

Love seafood? Like potatoes? Here's a good one always to change up the traditional twice baked potato.

1. Bake potatoes in oven or microwave till just fork tender. Allow to cool so you can handle them easily.
2. Cut each potato in half lengthwise.
3. Use a spoon to scoop out 3.4 of the cooked potato and place the cooked potato in a bowl. Set the potato shell aside. *Remember to leave about 1/4 inch of cooked potato in each shell.
4. All these ingredients get diced fine, or dice fine in a processor. Celery/small shrimp/imitation crab. If you want to add onion, go lightly and make sure it's diced very fine.
5. Add butter to your skillet and cook on med. high.
6. Add the diced veggies and seafood and sauté all together for 4 minutes.
7. Mix this into all the cooked potato filling you placed into a bowl.
8. Mix well together and add just enough Mayo to pull it together.
9. Add a little bit of Old Bay seasoning, mix and taste.
10. Season to taste at this point and pack into the potato shells.
11. Top with your favorite shredded cheese and pop under broiler till cheese melts and is golden brown.
12. Serve this with your choice condiment or sauce. I prefer Sour Cream/little Mayo/slight Ketchup/good squeeze of fresh lime or lemon.
13. Stir and season to taste. Serve plate side as dipping condiment.

Cindy's Tips: Midori

A little Midori over ice for Christmas... Nothing like chill Midori, it's a liquer that is Honeydew flavored and it's great in a freeze. Smooth, festive color and slow sipping. Try a little Midori with 7up, ice & cherry. If you like crisp/light/melon flavor, you're gonna love this one for sure.

Cindy's Four Cheese Tortellini

Another of Cindy's own...

1. 4 Cheese filled tortellini boiled till tender and then drain it.
2. Place in a non stick skillet with butter that you have slightly browned.
3. Toss to coat and add spinach.
4. Allow to cook on very low till spinach has JUST lost it's bright green color.
5. Add Hellofagood roasted garlic & caramelize onion dip to the skillet and toss together gently.
6. Finish off with fresh grated Parmesan and coarse ground Aldi's steak spices (LOVE THIS STUFF)
7. Last add a good pinch of fresh nutmeg, toss and serve piping hot with Artisan salad.