Not Your Kid's Tuna Salad

_{I was remembering the other day what it was like to “cook” as a child.  I used to concoct barely-edible “delicacies”. My favorite? Sugar peas with French’s mustard, cooked in the microwave – truly a meal only a father could love:).}

_{Since then, my cooking skills and my palette have become a bit more sophisticated. I do take one childhood cooking triumph into adulthood, however. Tuna salad, though now it’s more of a “vehicle food” for veggies and condiments. Thanks for letting me be your favorite chef, Dad, even when I couldn’t cook!}

_INGREDIENTS:

_{2 cans Albacore tuna - drained}

_{½ Cucumber - finely diced}

_{¼ c. Onion - finely diced}

_{¼ c. Baby dill pickles - finely diced}

_{½ Red/Yellow/Orange bell pepper - finely diced}

_{¼ c. mayo}

_{Splash of pickle juice (optional)}

_{Sliced tomato (for sandwich)}

_{Lettuce (for sandwich)}

_{GET COOKIN’:}

_{Combine all ingredients in a med bowl and mix thoroughly (make sure tuna chunks are well broken up). Serve on sandwich bread, on saltines or try it as a dip for pita chips! If it needs a kick sprinkle in some Johnny’s Seasoning.}

_Enjoy!

_SERVES:

_{4 generously.} 

Add chopped ingredients to bowl and mix.

Mix all ingredients and tuna dry before adding mayo.

Enjoy a tuna salad that tingles your adult taste buds!

Sassy Bread Pudding Custard

I love southern food, and what’s more southern than custard? Here’s a custard that’s sure to be a success and will have your friends drooling for more! 

I first tasted this type of bread pudding at a cute local bistro. The main courses left something to be desired. But our taste buds we certainly tantalized by the vanilla, cinnamon and caramel concoction the pastry chef called bread pudding! My bread pudding recipe is a best-guess-adaption with a city-girl twist. The secret? Twice as much custard as usual bread pudding, and letting the bread and custard set for 3 hours. I'm tell you, don't cut corners in the soaking department. I tried to short-cut the time and it was just not the same! Bon appetit!

Ingredients:

• 2 Loaves of soft-crust French bread, de-crusted and cut into ½” -1” cubes (Kroger sells 2 loaves for $3 in their bakery)
• 10 Eggs- beaten
• 4 c. Granulated sugar
• 3 c. Milk
• ¼ c. Pure vanilla extract
• ¾ c. Sweeten condensed milk*
• ¼ c. Water (to thin condensed milk)*
• 1 ½ c. Packed dark brown sugar
• ½  c. (1stick) Butter – dice half
• ½ c raisins (plumed in sugar water by heating in microwave)
• 3 Tbs. cinnamon

*Can substitute water and sweetened condensed milk with 1 c. of regular milk.

Get Cookin’:

• Put bread cubes in 9x13x2” glass baking dish (bread should almost reach the top of the dish) 
•   Let bread stale overnight. If you need to expedite the drying, place bread in the oven on low heat to dry out.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together: eggs, granulated sugar, milk, sweetened condensed milk, water, vanilla and cinnamon.
•  Pour custard mixture over bread cubes evenly, coating all of the bread. Mixture should almost come to top of dish.
• Let set for 3 hours (this allows the bread to soak up the custard).
• After soaking, crumble ½ c. of Brown sugar over top, evenly sprinkle butter “chunklets”** over top of bread mixture.
• Preheat oven at 350º
• Drain raisins and spread generously over top of bread mixture.
• Cook in oven for 30-40 min. Check at 30 min. Bread pudding should be moist and not too crunchy on top. Pull some of the bread apart. Pudding should be a little more than moist but not too soggy. If soggy, place back in oven and check every 5 min.
• 5-10 min. before removing pudding from oven, melt remaining half stick of butter in a small saucepan over med-high heat.
• Add remaining 1 c. of brown sugar (add more based on desired consistency). Melt stirring constantly for 7-10 min., making sure caramel is smooth and not gritty. When done remove from heat and pour over hot bread pudding.
• Cut and serve hot.

      **Chuncklets = Slices of butter that are then quartered.

ENJOY!

Serves 10-12 generously.

Helpful hint: Share the love. Make 2 6x9”dishes and give one away!

Easiest Apple Dumplins

Nothing says indulgent breakfast like granny’s homemade apple dumplins. But who has the time, these days, to hand-make dumpling dough? That’s where my good friend Pillsbury comes in – A true savior of American living cuisine. And, by the way, this is one of the few recipes I make that doesn’t include Johnny’s Seasoning (Johnny's really is that good).

INGREDIENTS

4 green apples (Sliced)

2 packages of pre-made frozen pie crust

Sugar (1/4 c per dumpling)

Cinnamon (1tsp per dumpling)

Vanilla (1 tsp per dumpling)

Butter (2 pads/slices per dumpling)

GET COOKIN’

Place approx. 1 apple in the center of each pie crust.  
Place butter pads/slices ontop of apples.
Sprinkle ¼ c. sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon over apple slices. 

Pour vanilla over top of apples and sugar mixture

Fold edges of dumpling up around apple slices, leaving top open just enough to expose part of the apples.

Arrange dumplings in pan so that their sides are just touching.

Cook covered (foil will work) at 350 for about 30 min. to 1 hour.

When apples are tender (poke with fork) and dough is no longer doughy, dumplings are done.

Let cool. Serve and enjoy!

SERVES

4-6

Serendipity Chicken & Grilled Vegetable Medley

Serendipity is more than just a delightfully cheesy chick-flick starring John Cusack and a famous ice cream parlor in NYC, it’s what happened to my chicken dinner last week.

Boring but healthy BBQ grilled chicken is what I set out to make, what resulted was nothing short of fantastical!

Being the absent minded multitasker I am, I didn’t actually give myself enough time to prep my dinner properly. I cut up a whole chicken (you can do this as it saves you a bundle, but it’s much easier to just buy bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces) doused it in seasoning and put it on the fired-up grill. I then forgot about it for about 10 min. and came back to a smoking fire! Attempting to salvage the dinner, I flipped the chicken and let it cook a few more min. on a low heat. As I bit into the meat below the blackend skin I anticipated a dried out bird. Quelle Surprise when the meat was tender and juicy and tastier than any grilled chicken I’d ever eaten.

I replicated this “disaster” a few days later (at my husband’s request) and it was just as delicious. How great – a meal you don’t have to worry about burning! You really can’t ask for more than that!

Serendipity Chicken

INGREDIENTS

8 Bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (can use all breasts, etc.)

Johnny’s Seasoning (Buy it here: http://www.johnnysfinefoods.com/Seasoning-Salt--85oz_p_39.html. You can use a substitute seasoning, if you must. Johnny’s Fine Foods does not sponsor my site. They should, but my endorsements are 100% love).

Gas Grill

GET COOKIN’

Liberally sprinkle chicken with Johnny’s Seasoning Salt.

Heat grill with burners all the way up.

Place chicken skin side down (bone-side up).

“Burn” for 10 min.  Seriously, if your chicken skin isn’t darker than George Hamilton (jet black), it’s not done.

Once skin is blackened, flip bone-side down. Lower heat to medium and cook for 5-7 more min. Cut into largest piece to see if chicken is cooked. Once chicken is done/nearly done, place it on the heating rack up off of the heat.

Place veggies (see recipe below) on tinfoil on grill and cook until tender.

Remove Chicken and veggies and serve.

Serves

4-6

Vegetable Medley

INGREDIENTS

2 zucchinis (¼”- ½” slices)

1 yellow squash (¼”- ½” slices)

1 Lb. Mushrooms (halved)

1 Belle Pepper (red, yellow or orange), sliced and diced into ½” pieces

1 Onion, cut into wedges   

2 Tbs. minced garlic (from the jar)

Johnny’s Seasoning Salt (I’m telling you, it makes EVERYTHING better)

Olive Oil

GET COOKIN’

Mix all veggies in a large bowl.

Lightly drizzle olive oil over veggies.

Sprinkle with Johnny’s Seasoning and Garlic. Don’t be stingy – Johnny’s Seasoning really brings out the flavor of the legumes.

Mix well.

Spread veggies out on double folded piece of tinfoil. Fold edges of foil up to keep oil and juice from escaping.

Place on grill and cook until tender.

SERVES

6

Fish-Tacos & Homemade Guacamole

Fish tacos are my fav! They take me back to “Taco Tuesdays” at my favorite beach-side eatery in Malibu. Sasha (my sorority big sis) first introduced me to fish tacos just after I pledged. I was skeptical. Tacos to me, conjured up visions of re-fried beans, grilled meat and that heavy feeling most Mexican food provides.  But one bite of that Baja deliciousness, and I was a believer! Now, each time I make fish tacos, I think of Sasha and can almost feel the sand between my toes.

Trust me when I tell you that these tacos are refreshing, light and perfect for summer – even the Indian kind.

INGREDIENTS

2 Lbs. Fish (cod, tilapia – something cheap and not too fishy - in thinly sliced strips)

8-16 Small Corn tortillas (soft)

Cajun/Baja seasoning (I like Cajun’s Choice – Low Sodium Creole Seasoning)

Cabbage

½ c. Sour Cream

½ c. Mayo

2 Limes

1- 1 ½ Tbs. Cilantro (finely chopped)

GET COOKIN'

White Baja Sauce:

Combine mayo, sour cream, and cilantro in a bowl. Mix well.

Cut limes into small wedges. Juice 1 small wedge into sauce and set other wedges aside.

Add Creole/Baja seasoning (to taste).

Refrigerate.

Fish Prep:

Sprinkle fish generously with Creole/Baja seasoning.

Cook on grill or under broiler in oven. About 5 minutes.

While fish is cooking, cut cabbage in half and then thinly slice (like an onion) so that you have “shredded” looking cabbage. Chop as needed to make strips about the length of your flour tortillas.

Remove Fish from grill.

Taco Time:

Place flour tortillas in microwave in between damp paper towels for 10 -15 seconds.

Place 1 -2 small pieces of fish in flour tortilla (trust me, it will be filling enough). Tacos should be soft. If your tortilla begins to fall apart, it’s ok to use 2 tortillas to keep 1 taco together.

Sprinkle in cabbage.

Drizzle a thin helping of Baja sauce over fish and cabbage.

Squeeze a little lime juice on each taco.

Fold tacos and serve, 2 per plate, with a lime wedge and your favorite guacamole and chips (see recipe below) or a side of tropical fruit.

SERVES:

4

Quick Guac Recipe:

Here’s a fresh take on guacamole that’s more like pico de gallo with avocado.

INGREDIENTS

2 - 3 Avocados (halved and diced)

½ Red/Orange/Yellow bell pepper (finely diced)

1- 1 ½ Tbs. Cilantro (finely chopped)

Tabasco or Franks Hot Sauce (add to taste it you like it hot)

¼ c. onion (finely diced)

2 Roma tomatoes (diced)

Lime (squeeze 1 wedge to keep guac from turning brown and to add a little zip)

GET COOKIN'

Combine ingredients in a bowl and roughly stir together, letting avocado coat other ingredients. If you think the guac lacks a little something or needs some more liquid, add 2 Tbs. of your favorite salsa. Serve with chips, veggies or add it to your salad or sandwich.

Almost-Southern Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a recipe that will have your friends and family raving. As I said earlier, I moved to the South from So. Cal a little over 2 years ago; I quickly fell in love with sweet tea, rich food, southern hospitality and not having to be a size 2. But as I watched the time it took to make those yummy southern dishes I thought, I just don’t have that kind of time.   Chicken noodle soup was one of the dishes. I found a way to make it in half the time, while keeping that hearty homemade, slaved-over-it-all-day kind of flavor. The answer was Beer. Beer (which, I don’t generally like the taste of) adds a homey flavor to the soup, making it uncannily similar to the slow-cooked, giblet-laden broth that’s generally accompanied by a thick southern drawl. And don’t worry, the alcohol cooks out.

INGREDIENTS

·         1 Rotisserie chicken (you can season and bake your own chicken, but Costco sells them for $4.99)

·         3-4 Finely chopped celery shoots

·         1 Onion - diced

·         2 Tbs. Butter (you’ve got to have a little or it just isn’t southern at all)

·         Poultry seasoning (to taste, about 3 tsp.)

·         Johnny’s Seasoning Salt w/ no MSG (to taste, about ½ - 1 Tbs. If you have never heard of Johnny’s Seasoning, invest in it, trust me. It’s truly magical and transforms just about any dish into something utterly ah-mazing! http://www.johnnysfinefoods.com. If you don’t have Johnny’s, you can use another seasoning salt, like Lowry’s.  When substituting only use ¼ - ½ Tbs. and season slowly, tasting often to ensure it’s not too salty.

·         1 Tbs. Minced garlic (keep it simple and buy it by the jar –  no time and no mess)

·         ½ cup Crinkle cut carrots chopped diagonally

·         5 cans Chicken broth

·         1 bag Egg noodles or Amish-style noodles

·         1 cup bottled lager (I use Yuengling. Make it a light for less calories)

·         ½ Tbs. Olive oil (or less, depending on preference and diet – this is just for coating the pan)

GET COOKIN’

·         Pull about 2 cups of chicken from the bone. Mix white and dark meet, per your preference. You will have plenty of chicken left over for something else.

·         In a frying pan, add just enough olive oil to thinly coat part of pan.

·         Once pan is hot, add: chopped celery.

·         Let cook for 2 min.

·         Add onion, garlic and butter.

·         Season with 1 tsp. of Jonny’s Seasoning.

·         Cook until celery is transparent.

·         In a pan combine: broth, chicken, chopped carrots, and lager.

·          Bring to a boil.

·         Add celery/onion mixture to broth.

·         Keep soup at a boil and add: poultry seasoning and additional Johnny’s (to taste). Sometimes I add black pepper, as well.

·         Once broth has desired flavor, add noodles.

·         Boil noodles as directed on noodle package.

·         Turn heat down and simmer for 20 min. to let all of the flavors blend and be absorbed by the noodles (if you have time).

Serve with bread or crackers. This soup tastes even better on day 2, so save your leftovers.

Enjoy!

SERVES

6

Panang Curry (Thai-ish) w/ Peanut Butter

This recipe is an adaption of various recipes and a little trial and error. I kept attempting to recreate the panang curry from my favorite Thai restaurants, but with no luck. Then I paid extra careful attention and noticed that the smooth creamy flavor we attribute to the coconut is really a sweet peanut flavor.

Being the busy city-girl that I am, instead of making the peanut paste , figuring out what cane sugar even is,  and how much to add, I substituted these ingredients with Jiff and brown sugar. Let me tell you, no one can tell that peanuts, much less peanut butter, are ingredients – they simply taste that smooth and creamy “coconut” flavor that we all love.

​INGREDIENTS:

Curry Sauce/Base

Curry paste - 1-1 1/2 Tbs.

Canned coconut milk – 2 cans (have 1 extra can on hand)

Creamy peanut butter 2 Tbs.

Fish sauce - 3 shakes (about 1 tsp.)

Coconut extract – 1 tsp.

Brown sugar (about 1 Tbs. but add this to taste once other ingredients are combined and boiling)

Soy sauce about 2 tsp. But add this to taste, and remember people can add more soy once served)

TIP: If your sauce gets too spicy, salty, sweet or bland do the following to balance the taste:
If too spicy – add more coconut milk
If too sweet – add soy sauce
If too salty – add brown sugar
If coconut is too faint (if it doesn’t taste smooth and creamy) -  add more peanut butter

Curry Contents:   

2-3 Chicken breasts sliced thinly (cut strips using butterfly technique)

1 can sliced water chestnuts

1 can Asian baby corn (cut in half)

1 can sliced bamboo shoots

1 red/yellow or orange pepper sliced lengthwise and cut in half

 

Serve With:

Jasmine rice (start your rice before you begin your curry as it takes about 20 min to cook).

GET COOKIN’:

Combine all sauce ingredients in a pan and bring to boil. Taste your base and get it to the desired flavor and texture. It should be creamy, smooth, sweet and a little spicy (or a lot – if you’re up to it).

Add all canned ingredients, peppers and chicken. Let boil, stirring often until chicken is cooked (usually 3-5 minutes).

Serve over jasmine rice and add extra soy sauce to-taste. Great with chili paste for an extra kick. 

 

ENJOY:

Serves 6

* Pics and videos coming soon! 

Add soy sauce to-taste after served - Asian salt!