Loaded Chicken and Potato Casserole Is Superb!

Ever have those days when you are tired of making the same old recipes and  you want something different - something delicious?  You look in the refrigerator to see what's there to use.  Looking back at you are three boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  We all know how it goes with chicken.  It can be fabulous or it can be totally blah.  I wanted fabulous.

I had pinned this recipe on my Pinterest board some time ago because it sounded amazing.  Tonight was the night to give it a try.  I actually had all the ingredients for once.  No trip to the grocery was necessary.  Yay!

This recipe is like a big loaded baked potato with some slightly spicy chicken.  When I say spicy, I mean just a hint.  You could make it much more spicy if you preferred, but our grandsons were coming over so I went with the recipe as written.  It was perfect.  Here is what you need.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in approximately 1 inch cubes
6-8 medium russet potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup live oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 TBSP paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSPS hot sauce (I used Tapatio)

Topping

2 cups grated cheese - cheddar, jack,  or pepper jack (I used Monterrey Jack)
1 cup crumbled bacon  - about 1/2 pound (fry crisp and crumble)
1 cup diced green onions - whites and greens

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and hot sauce together.  Add the cubed chicken and potatoes, stir to coat.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly.  Cook for 55-60 minutes, stirring EVERY 20 minutes.  Fry the bacon while the casserole cooks.  Set aside until cool.  Crumble.

Once the chicken and potatoes are fully cooked (potatoes fork tender), remove the casserole from the oven.  Top with cheese, bacon, and onions.  Return to the oven and bake until the cheese melts.  Took about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve.

I put some sour cream on the table to add to the dish if wanted and extra hot sauce.  This is a dynamite recipe, is so easy to make and could easily be halved and baked in a 9" casserole if you wanted.

Thanks to Singing Through the Rain for this recipe.  Everyone LOVED it.  We will be having it again and it reheats very nicely in the microwave.  Great leftovers for lunch the next day.

Give this recipe a try the next time you want something truly superb and easy to make.  Add a green salad and you are good to go.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Try one new recipe a week just for some variety in your dinner routine.  They are not all keepers, but when they are it is great to have something new to add to the rotation.  donna

Chicken Breasts With Greek Yogurt And Parmesan Cheese

 How can it possibly be August 26th?  WHERE has the summer gone?  Oh, I remember.  We were packing and moving and then unpacking and putting it all away.  That's where the summer has gone.  It is truly hard to believe that it will soon be September, the last big hurrah of summer, Labor Day will be over,  and fall will be on it's way. That is okay by me actually!  I do love fall.

Today, I am going to talk about recipes, and sites like Pinterest and Food Gawker, and now Facebook is being flooded with recipes with everyone sharing them over and over.  There is one particular recipe that may be shared more than any other and the picture is beautiful and looks so good that of course everyone wants to try it, including me.  That recipe is for this chicken made with yogurt and parmesan cheese.

I have several trepidations about Pinterest and the first one is that people pin recipes and craft DIY's without going to the original source.  Many times, they are simply pictures with no recipe or instructions on how to make said DIY.  Lots of times when you go to the original site, they will tell you the site has been reported as suspicious so I stay away from those.  I always, always try to go to the original site before I pin something so that later, when I want to try the recipe or craft, it will actually be usable.  I wish everyone did that so they would not be disappointed when they later find there is no recipe or instructions.

Let's talk about this chicken recipe.  I decided I would try it.  It is very simple.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, some yogurt, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt.  Baked.  The picture shows this beautiful brown chicken that makes your mouth water.  As Chef Anne Burrell of the Food Network always says, "Brown food tastes good."  It surely does.  And, here is the conundrum.  When you make this recipe, it is NOT brown, not even close.  It is pale and anemic looking and not very appetizing actually.  I was distraught.   I don't like pale, anemic food.  To me, it is very unappetizing.   I had to come up with a solution fast.  (Perhaps they had used a torch to brown the chicken for the picture?  I don't know.  Mine sure didn't look like the picture.)

What would make it brown?  Bread crumbs!  So I covered the chicken breasts with some Italian seasoned bread crumbs and put them back under the broiler for a couple of minutes just to brown them up a bit.  It helped.  As you can see in the picture, it still isn't very brown.

Now, the reality is the chicken is delicious.  It was tender and moist.  (I know, gross word, sorry)  It was SOOO flavorful.  Dan, who does not care for yogurt or parmesan cheese LOVED this chicken.  Really loved it.  I even used the left overs for sandwiches made in pita pockets the next day.  Yum.

We enjoyed this chicken with mashed potatoes and heirloom tomato salad.  The acidity and color of the tomatoes was a fabulous compliment to the pale chicken and potatoes.  We eat with our eyes too and I like some color on my plate.  Don't know about you.

Here is what you need to make this chicken recipe:

3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine were very large, so I used 3)
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder (I prefer fresh garlic to garlic powder, so I used 3 cloves, minced)
1 tsp salt

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.  Place the chicken breasts in the dish and cover with the yogurt mixture.  *My suggest - sprinkle with bread crumbs now if you want brown chicken.*

Place in a 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

I placed mine under the broiler for about 2 minutes to brown the bread crumbs.  Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes and serve.

Yes, this recipe is worth making.  It is easy and delicious.  I have made it a second time it was so good, but I did use the bread crumbs because it still wasn't brown.  Still used the broiler after baking them to brown up the bread crumbs.

Bread crumbs or no bread crumbs is your choice.  If you try this recipe, let me know if yours comes out all golden brown.  I would be interested in knowing.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Sometimes you have to "doctor" a recipe to make it what you want it to be.  donna

Herb Roasted Chicken

Hello all.  Hope you had a great weekend and you are settling into the "back to school" routine that is already here in most places.  Because we were looking for a place to live, packing, and moving in June and July, I feel as if the summer flew by and we missed it.  Now, the sun is lower in the sky and there is a feeling of fall in the air.  That's okay though as it is my favorite season and I totally look forward to it.

The condominium we are living in has a lovely pool, and two of our grandsons and their mom and dad came over for a late afternoon swim a couple of Friday's ago.  I had told them I would make dinner so they didn't have to rush home and try to feed their two little ones.  It's so nice to be able to prepare meals again, now that everything is out of boxes.  Eating out loses it's enchantment quickly.  Home cooked meals are tastier, cheaper to fix, and so much healthier.  And, I just happen to like cooking.

I had two whole chickens that I had planned on frying, but somehow that seemed like too much effort for a Friday evening.  Perhaps something baked?  I went to my "go to" web site, Allrecipes.com, to look for something different.  This herbed chicken was one of the first recipes that popped up and it sounded easy and delicious.

I would compare this to the roasted chickens you can buy at the grocery or Sam's Club only better.  It was soooooo good and easy to make.  Here is what you do.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit.

Spice Mix:

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp drie basil
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I baked 2 chickens so I doubled this recipe.)

Mix spices together in a bowl and put aside.

Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.

Put the whole chicken in a baking pan, breast side up.  Rub the entire chicken with some good olive oil.  Sprinkle the spice mix over the chicken and rub it all over.

Put the baking pan with chicken in the 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees and roast for an additional 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.  Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.  (The leg/thigh section should fall away from the chicken and juices should run clear)

Cut the legs, thighs, and wings away from the chicken.  Carve the breast meat.  Serve.

I have to say, this is one of the best roasted chickens I have ever made or eaten.  It was simply delicious.  Actually, I roasted two at the same time.  We ate one and I had the second one to use the next day.  The meat was so tender and flavorful, the skin was brown and crispy -  mm, mm, delicious.

There are so many uses for the left over roasted chicken.  You can make chicken salad, use it in a casserole, make sandwiches, or put it on a green salad.  Makes dinner preparation so easy for another meal.

This recipe is one you should put in your "go to" file for those days when you want something comforting, delicious, but not too much trouble.  You can make this one hands down.  Everyone will think you spent hours slaving in the kitchen.  Just don't tell them otherwise.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Cooking is like love.  It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.  Harriet Van Horne






 

Savory Cheese, Olive, and Buttermilk Herb Bread

Bread - the staff of life.  My research shows that some form of bread is found in every society on earth.  Who doesn't love a good, delicious bread?  I'm not talking about white bread from the grocery store.  Not at all.  Actually, I don't like sliced white bread from a package, I don't care if it's the greatest thing ever.  Thanks, but no thanks.  Not a fan.

Baking bread can be quite involved, so many of us stick to banana bread, pumpkin bread, and zucchini bread because it doesn't involve yeast and waiting for the dough to rise and punching it down and waiting some more.  That's what bakeries are for, right?  But, have you ever thought about savory breads that don't require yeast and all the many steps listed above?

Pinterest addict that I am, I scour the recipes looking for things that sound amazing and delicious.  I found this recipe for cheese, olive and buttermilk herb bread that is from a blog site called sugarandeverythingnice.blogspot.com.  She adapted this recipe from "Mix and Bake" by Belinda Jeffrey.  I haven't seen the original recipe, so I don't know what changes the writer made to the original, but it is good and really easy.  Really good.  Really easy.

If you don't like olives, I don't know what to tell you other than the fact that they are not the most prominent flavor of this bread.  The most prominent flavors would be cheese and herbs.  If I make it again (and I will) I would actually add more olives because I love them.  You can leave them out if you want, that is up to you.  I will also add more cheese next time.  Cheesy bread is delicious bread.  Yum.

Here is what you need to make this awesome bread:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 dry mustard powder (I used 2 tsps of dijon instead because I love it)
1/4 cup (60 gms) grated cheddar cheese - I would use 1/2 cup next time
1/4 cup (60 gms) grated parmesan cheese - again, I would use 1/2 cup
1/2 cup green olives, sliced (I would use 1 cup)
8 pieces sun dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup mixture of spring onion (scallions) and Italian parsley
2 tsp thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
2 eggs
2 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or use 1 1/4 cup less 1 Tbsp milk + 1 TBSP white vinegar or lemon juice.  Set aside for 10 minutes before using)
Egg wash made from 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tsp water
Extra thyme sprigs and sea salt for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously butter a large loaf pan and dust with flour.  Set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, soda, salt, pepper and mustard powder (if using) into a large bowl.  Whisk to incorporate the dry ingredients.  Add both cheeses, olives, sun dried tomatoes, spring onions, parsley and thyme and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the oil and buttermilk and dijon mustard (if using) until well combined.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients.  Stir together to form a thick, sticky batter.  Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly.

Brush the top of the batter with the egg wash and then sprinkle some thyme leaves and sea salt on the loaf.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.  If the top starts to burn, place a piece of foil over top of the loaf and continue baking.  Leave in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

This loaf is best served on the same day.  Wrap left overs in foil and store in fridge.  Can be gently reheated if serving again.

We enjoyed this delicious savory bread with the cheese, sausage, and grits casserole I posted on Monday.  We did spread some garlic herbed goat cheese on it and it was fantastic!  This bread is sort of dense, almost cake like in texture.  I would have liked more cheese and olives, but that is just me.  If you don't like strong flavors, stick to the recipe.

If you get tired of sweet breads and would like something savory, this recipe fits the bill.  It would be awesome to serve for brunch or for an afternoon treat.  Children would certainly enjoy it!  The grandsons gobbled it up.  You could spread their favorite cheese on it while it's still warm.  Delicious!

Baking bread doesn't have to be hard or have a million steps to be delicious.  Give this recipe a try.  It's a keeper.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it's hard to beat bread and butter.  
Jaques Pepin

Potatoes Au Gratin With Harp Accompaniment

Hello everyone!  Sorry to have been absent for a while.  Dan and I had the totally creepy crud, the kind that lasts for a week and then takes another week to recover.  Whew.  I hope we don't ever have that again.  It was NOT fun, but we are on the mend.

In the meantime, I have undergone two laser procedures for my glaucoma.  Last week I had the left eye done and today the right eye.  I have had glaucoma for 30 years and am on maximum medications and my pressures won't stay down where they would like them to be.  So, they zapped each eyeball with a fancy little laser (the procedure is called an SLT).  The purpose is to create new drainage pathways.  It took about 5 minutes for each eye.  My eye felt a little irritated for a couple of days, and then it cleared up.  Today, the pressure in my left eye (first eye done) had dropped 7  points in one week.  The pressure usually runs about 23/24 with 4 medications twice a day which is way higher than they would like it to be.  Today, after just one week, the pressure was down to 16!!  Hip, hip, hooray!!  My pressures have not been in the teens for 20 years.  So grateful for the miracles of science and Dr. Bergman.  : )  I will return in six weeks for pressure checks and then my medications will be adjusted, hopefully eliminating  a couple of them!

Now that we are on the mend from our bout of creepy crudiness and our appetites are beginning to return, I had the in town family over for dinner last night.  Do you every get a craving for something and you just have to make it?  Mine was potatoes au gratin. Had to have them.  Cheese, potatoes, onions, creamy goodness.  Yum.  I made a 9x13 pan and there were absolutely none left.  Not.  One.  Bite.  Soooooo good and not hard to make at all.  Here is what you need.

4 pounds of russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
2 cups whole milk
1 small onion, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon corn starch
8 ounce block of cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 tsp salt
lots of fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Peel potatoes and slice about 1/4 inch thick.  Mince small onion and add to potatoes.  Mince clove of garlic.  Add butter to deep saucepan and melt at medium temp.  Add 2 cups of milk, heaping tablespoon of corn starch, minced garlic, salt, and lots of black pepper.   Stir until milk begins to simmer.  Add all of the grated cheese.  Mix until cheese is melted.  Remove pan from stove.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Add potatoes and onions.  Pour sauce over potatoes, should just barely cover potatoes.  Cover with aluminum foil and put in oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue to bake for an additional 35/40 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender and the cheese has started to brown.  Remove from oven.  Serve.

These are SOOOOOOOOOOO delicious, you really need to make some as soon as you can.  They are good with any meat.  We had them with grilled barbecued pork chops and grilled asparagus.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.  

If you know me at all, you know I never met a potato I didn't like and these are one of my most favorite ways to enjoy them.  What's not to like?  Seriously?  Cheese, potatoes, onions, deliciousness.  Is your mouth watering?  Mine is and there are no left overs.  (Insert sad face here).  Guess you know what that means.  Will have to make some more sometime soon.  Give them a try.  You can cut the recipe in half if you don't want to make such a huge pan of them, but you will be sorry later.  They are worth the effort.  Enjoy.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

My friend Ken is staying with us for a bit while he gets settled in Nashville.  He is a harpist and he is practicing while I type this.  He plays so beautifully.  What a treat, our own personal harpist.  Wish you were here to enjoy.  Haven't felt this peaceful in a while.  Thanks Ken.

Yellow squash, Onions, Rotel and Baby Spinach Satuee'

It turned cold today with really gusty winds blowing.  A few times I thought I might have to get out my ruby red slippers.  At least the cooler weather makes it seem a bit more like Christmas.  It's hard to get in the spirit when the temperature is 70 degrees.

Grandma has been working her fingers to the bone, let me tell you.  My goal was to hand make as many Christmas gifts as possible this year.  That means I have spent a lot of time at the sewing machine making puppet theaters, seat belt pillows, super hero capes and hooded towels just to name a few things - all for the grandsons.  We also made giant bubble blowers and beautiful beaded hand held bubble blowers that will be given with really cute buckets to hold the bubbles and a bubble recipe for making giant bubble solution.  Let me just say, I will be making myself a seat belt pillow (they are awesome) and a giant bubble blower.  Who doesn't love bubbles?  There will be tutorials coming for these things, but probably not before Christmas.  I am just frantically trying to get it all done.  The boys will be receiving a few things from the store, but the majority of things are one of a kind, hand made originals.

While sewing away this afternoon, I had to think about dinner.  What we were going to have?   I decided fish sounded really, really good.  So, I put some that I had frozen in a bowl of cold water to thaw.  You can find my recipe for fried fish on my blog post of January 12, 2012.  Then there is the proverbial question of what to serve with it.

Do you stand in front of your refrigerator and look and look, trying to figure out what to fix?  Then, you close the door, walk away, come back, open the door and stand there looking and looking, like there is going to be something totally different in there?  Hopefully,  I'm not the only one who does this.  While looking in the refrigerator for the second time, I had to get serious.  Hmmmmm, there was some yellow squash, zucchini squash, a bag of baby spinach, onions, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.  Decisions, decisions.  I chose the yellow squash and spinach and dedicated the zucchini for zucchini bread which I will be making later - recipe to follow.  Now what?

I diced up an onion and minced a clove of garlic.  I put the big sautee' pan on the stove and put a couple of rounds of extra virgin olive oil in the pan and turned the heat on.  This is one of those "wing and  a prayer" dishes which means I am making it up as I go.

I put the diced onion in to sautee' and cut the three large yellow squash into 1 inch pieces.  When the onion was nearly translucent, I tossed in the garlic and squash.  I let the squash cook until tender.  Now, how to flavor it?  I used a little salt and fresh cracked black pepper, a couple splashes of balsamic vinegar and dusted everything with grated parmesan cheese.  It was looking good and smelling really good.  Now what?  I opened a can of Rotel, drained it and added the contents of the can.  After letting that heat through, I added a bag of baby spinach and let it wilt down.  Not only was this dish colorful, it was delicious!  What a quick and easy side dish.  We all know that colorful food is good for you, full of antioxidants and vitamins.  Even better!

Here is what you will need to make this dish:

1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large yellow squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bag baby spinach leaves
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
Grated parmesan cheese to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Dinner was quick and easy tonight which is exactly what I needed.  There is one more sewing project to be finished and then hopefully I am done with that.  There are still a few other projects that need finishing, but I am finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.  Hip hip, hooray!

Do you have all your shopping done?  Gifts wrapped?  Cookies baked?  If you do, lucky you.  Me, not so much, but we are getting there - one gift at a time.  Saturday is cookie baking day with the grandsons.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

When things are hectic, you can still take time to make a delicious meal.  They don't have to be elaborate meals, just flavorful, delicious and nutritious.  Due to all the stress this time of year, it's very important to eat healthy food.

Sauerkraut and Sausage - One Of My Childhood Favorites

Sauerkraut.  Like it?  Hate it?  Sauerkraut is somewhat like cilantro, no one is ambivalent about it.  No one says I can take it or leave it.  It seems that you either like it or hate it.  I am a great lover of sauerkraut.  You would have to be my age to remember when they cooked real food in school cafeterias.  Sometimes, we had smoked sausage, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  This is one of my all time favorite childhood meals.  (Sometimes the sauerkraut would be served with hot dogs, which is good too).

I was the one child in the cafeteria who ate their sauerkraut and sausage.  There might have been more, but I never seemed to be sitting by anyone else who enjoyed this meal.  Oh well.  I liked it because we ate it at home.  We had sauerkraut at least once a week and that was okay by me.  Now Dan, on the other hand, would not put it in his mouth if his life depended upon it.  I keep telling him he doesn't know what he's missing, but he's not buying it for any reason.

It seems he has memories of his grandmother and aunts making sauerkraut in the summers when he spent time with the on their farm in Logan County, Kentucky.  He said he would stay outside all day because he could not stand the smell of it.  To me, that is very sad because it is sooooooooo good.  I'm not sure he's every tasted it.

Now, they know that sauerkraut has many health benefits because it is a fermented food and has lots of natural probiotics.  It also helps fight cancer.  Many people pay money to add probiotics to their diet when all they have to do is eat some sauerkraut on a regular basis.  You can add it to a grilled hot dog, bratwurst, smoked sausage or polish sausage sandwich.  Add some onions and mustard and you have one fantastic sandwich.  Serve it as a side dish or main dish.  It's very versatile.  Experts feel one of the reasons there are so many digestive problems in our country is because we don't eat enough fermented food.   It's time to bring back sauerkraut!  I'm in.

A week ago, I made ribs in the oven for our clients at the East Nashville CoOp Ministry.  With that, we had sauerkraut with polish sausage added for flavor and extra protein, mashed potatoes and waldorf salad.  It was delicious, nutritious and a major hit with everyone.  One of my fellow volunteers had bet me that no one would eat sauerkraut because he didn't like it and never had.  I told him I thought otherwise.  Who was the winner?  Ding, ding, ding.  Me!  There was not one shred of sauerkraut left.  Woohoo!  Another win for healthier eating which is one of our goals.

Sauerkraut is made by shredding cabbage and preserving it with salt which causes the fermentation process to happen.  The one down side to sauerkraut is that it is high in sodium.  That is why it is important to rinse it thoroughly before preparation.  The upside benefits are there are only 27 calories in a 1 cup serving with only .2 grams of fat.  There are 6.1 grams of carbohydrates and it is almost all fiber.  Sauerkraut contains vitamins C, K, and A1 plus lots of iron and all those good natural probiotics that are good for your immune and digestive system.

After preparing sauerkraut for lunch at the CoOp, I had it on my mind - actually I was craving it.  When it was time to make Sunday dinner (I invited the family over) guess what the menu was?   I made ribs, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and waldorf salad.  If I'm driving the bus, everyone is going where I go.  hahaha

Here is how I made my sauerkraut.  It is delicious made this way.

2 pound bags of sauerkraut (in the refrigerated section at the grocery store)
2 big hands full of light brown sugar
2 pounds of polish or smoked sausage, cut into 2/3 inch pieces
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
black pepper
NO SALT NEEDED

First, put the sauerkraut in a colander and thoroughly rinse three or four times, letting it drain after each rinsing.  Place the rinsed and drained sauerkraut in a 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle the sauerkraut with 2 big hands full of light brown sugar and 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce.  Mix thoroughly.  Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper.  Cut the sausage into 2-3 inch sections and lay on top of the sauerkraut.

Place the pan in a 350 degree oven and bake until the sausage is brown on top and serve.  This is so yummy that it is making my mouth water writing about it.

Now that cooler weather is approaching, this is really good autumn fare.  Served with some mashed potatoes, you have an excellent meal that includes some really great health benefits and fantastic flavors.  Don't overlook sauerkraut in your diet, it tastes so good and is good for you.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

"Sauerkraut is tolerant, for it seems to be a well of contradictions. Not that it would preach a gastronomic neutrality that would endure all heresies. It rejects dogmatism and approves of individual tastes. It forms a marvelous combination with numerous spices, odors, or spirits: juniper berries, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cranberries, Reinette apples, stock, and wine; it even welcomes flakes of yeast or leftover Gruyère since it accepts being prepared au gratin. Its flavor sustains various potato dishes: boiled in their skins, crisps (potato chips), braised, sautéed, grilled, or simply cooked in water. It adopts many sorts of fat, including lard, butter, goose fat, or roast dripping. The variety of meats to which it consents is infinite: sausages of all kinds, such as knackwurst, white sausage, Lorraine, Montbeliard, chipolata, black pudding, hams, smoked or salted bacon, quenelles, pickled and smoked pork, goose, pheasant, etc. It makes excuses for red wine, although it has a weakness for beer and lets itself be spoilt by white wine. Each stomach may find its own happiness in it."Julien Freund, Director of the Institute of Sociology in Strasbourg, (Les Saisons d'Alsace)

Fried Green Tomatoes With Horseradish Sauce - Divine!

Were you a picky eater as a child?  Are you still a picky eater?  Do you cook food the way your mother did or have you ventured out into other cuisines and methods?  Certain foods hold memories for us and we go to them when we need comfort, thus the term comfort foods.    Food holds such an important place in our daily lives - good, bad or indifferent.  Personally, I love food, certain foods more than others.   Some dishes can take me to a specific time and place in my life just like a song can.  How about you?  Are you emotionally affected by food?  I really think we all are in many ways, whether we realize it or not.

My parents were both children of the depression and both came from families who struggled a lot economically during that time.  My mother grew up in town and tells stories of her mother not eating many meals so there would be food for the children.  My dad grew up on a farm in Kentucky and they were lucky enough to be able to grow much of their food.  The things they could not produce, like flour and sugar, were gotten at the little general store in "town".  My grandmother made quilts and traded them for the flour and sugar.  How many of us would be willing to do that today?  We are very spoiled and take so much for granted.  Grandma told a story about a year during the depression when the only cash money they had during the entire year was 50 cents.  That is correct - 50 cents - period!  They were able to raise enough food and trade for necessities to feed their family of 6.  Personally, it terrifies me to think we would ever have to do this.  Don't get me wrong, they didn't have a lot but they did get to eat.

Growing up we had a lot of "country" food that my parents had eaten growing up.  Every week my mom would fix a pot of white beans, cook some cabbage, fry some potatoes and make a skillet of corn bread.  We would have several meals of just that, many times having no meat or maybe one piece of bacon for each of us.  In the summer we would have lots of fresh vegetables and again, no meat - or maybe a piece of fried baloney.  Ever had fried baloney?  It's not too bad really.  Sometimes there were pork chops or meat loaf.  On the weekend dad would grill burgers and on Sunday we may have roast.  My dad was a meat, beans and potatoes kind of guy.  It was his comfort food, what he had grown up on.  Dan's dad was the same way.  He never tasted pizza in his life, didn't want to.  He also would not eat Jello because he said he had no desire to eat anything that wiggled.  No casseroles, nothing mixed together.  He just wanted what we would call plain food - meat, potatoes and some kind of beans.  Now, how have our lives changed from this?  A LOT!

Our parents rarely ate out, it was too expensive and there weren't that many places when we were growing up.  I remember when the first McDonald's came to town.  My dad actually took us there.  You had to walk up to the window and order your food and eat it in the car.  We thought it was amazing!  Today, many of us eat out many nights during the week because it is easier.  Me, I still like to cook and eat at home most of the time.

Now, I have rambled about the good old days all to say this  - I love a lot of country food the way my grandma and mom prepared it.  Some of it I have improved on with additional flavors and techniques, but there is still comfort in a pan of fried potatoes with onions, or a big pot of white beans and some crusty cornbread.  Today's recipe is one I used to fix for my dad all the time in the summer.  He LOVED fried green tomatoes and I don't mean the kind with the big puffy batter on it like some restaurants serve now.  I am not a fan, let me tell you.  Green tomatoes rolled in yellow corn meal and fried crisp are the ticket.  Delicious!  Our daughter Annie is a lover of fried green tomatoes and I was lucky enough to find some really great ones at the farmer's market on Saturday so I made them for Easter Sunday.  YUM

The one thing I do borrow from the modern twist on fried green tomatoes is horseradish sauce.  It just takes the fried green tomatoes over the top!  Remember Fanny Flag's book Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe?  They made it into a movie and it is still one of my most favorite books and movies to this day.  Okay, I digress again.  Here is how I make our fried green tomatoes.

Ingredients:

Green tomatoes (I used 5 on Sunday, depends on how big they are - you will get 4 or 5 slices/tomato)
yellow corn meal
buttermilk
salt and pepper
cooking oil
sour cream
horseradish
dijon mustard

I am going to start out with giving you a big secret to great fried green tomatoes - BUTTERMILK.  Yes, you read right.  Buttermilk.  Now don't gag, you don't have to drink it, you are going to soak the green tomatoes in it to help soften them up.  Did you know buttermilk is great for marinating meat to tenderize it?  Makes the best fried chicken ever!  Okay, rambling again.  Back to the tomatoes.

Cut the top off of each tomato and cut them into slices about 4 to 5 per tomato.  Put tomato slices in a bowl and cover with buttermilk for several hours.  The calcium and acid in buttermilk help break down the fibers in meat and tomatoes.  Green tomatoes can be rather hard and even frying won't always soften them up.

When you are ready to cook the tomatoes, remove them from the buttermilk and pat them dry with a paper towel.  They need to be dry for the cornmeal to stick.  Salt and pepper both sides of each tomato slice.  Put several cups of yellow cornmeal in a flat bowl or pan (I used a corning ware dish).  Dip one side of the tomato in the cornmeal and then the other, making sure the whole surface is covered.

You just want a nice even coating of the corn meal on each side of the tomato.  Now, you want your pan and cooking oil really hot before you add the tomatoes, otherwise the cornmeal coating will stick to the pan and not the tomato.  I used my electric skillet for two reasons:  1.  I have a glass top stove and you can't use cast iron on it which is the best for frying tomatoes in.  2.  I can control the heat and keep it at an even temperature in the electric skillet - 350 degrees.

Put about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in the pan.  Grandma used lard, but it's that cholesterol thing (even though she lived to be 96).  Yeah, makes you wonder doesn't it?  Anyway, when the oil is good and hot, start adding the tomatoes.  Let them cook on one side without disturbing them until you can see that the cornmeal is getting brown around the bottom edges of the tomatoes.

This is the top side of the tomatoes before they are cooked.  When you see the brown crispy edges on the bottom, time to flip the tomatoes.  I use a fork and not a spatula.  Just poke it in the edge of the tomato and turn it over.  This is how they should look at this point.

See how nice and brown they are?  This is what you want.  (The middle one was just added to the pan when I took the picture, that's why it's still green).  Cook the second side until nice and brown and crispy.  Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.

Now, it's time to make the horseradish sauce.  Put 1/2 cup sour cream in a bowl.  Add 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of prepared horseradish from a jar.  Taste.   If you want the horseradish taste stronger, add more.  Put one squeeze of dijon mustard in the bowl and mix well.  Serve with your green tomatoes.  Oh my goodness good!

Frying these tomatoes on Easter Sunday made me think of my dad and how many times I made these for him.  He really loved fried green tomatoes and he liked mine better than mom's - or so he always said.  (Mom worked and I started doing the family cooking when I was 12).  Always made me feel so proud.  He passed away 15 years ago on April 3 and it was a good memory thinking of him and how much he loved my fried green tomatoes.  Sometimes it's the little things that can bring a smile.

I hope you give this recipe a try.  Not everyone loves fried green tomatoes, but if you do, this is the only way to eat them as far as I'm concerned.  Crispy, crunchy tangy green tomatoes with horse radish sauce are divine.  And, if you have time, watch the movie or read the book.  It's so good.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Ninny Threadgoode: Oh, what I wouldn't give for a plate of fried green tomatoes like we used to have at the cafe. Ooh!    Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe