What you know good on this beautiful Sunday afternoon? I’m in the kitchen about to hook my husband UP with his all time favorite meal. Yesterday was his birthday and we could have eaten anywhere, but his only request was the following: “Soul food chicken, collard greens, fried corn off the Cobb, candied yams, and macaroni and cheese.” I don’t know about you, but just the sound of that makes me want to “holler for a collard.” Lol!

I must tell you the story about this recipe we deemed soul food chicken. Years ago we visited some mutual friends in Louisiana and after traveling by car for hours and hungry for a good meal, me and the lady of the house threw together this chicken using just basic ingredients we had on hand, and it turned out to be a hit! My husband kept requesting that I make that chicken we had over Roy and April’s, and I tweaked it a bit to put my spin on it. If you got Old bay seasoning, Lawry’s seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cream of chicken soup, milk, chicken stock, butter, and an 8 pc cut up chicken, you can make this dish. I vary the spices based on what I have a taste for, but either way the result is a tender, baked chicken with a rich stewed down glaze on top that is reminiscent of a good hallmark soul food restaurant. It is perfect with collards and yams. I will post the recipe shortly, but pretty much all you do is season chicken with a little bit of the above spices, heat a skillet with a little butter and olive oil on medium high heat, and sear chicken until brown on both sides, make the glaze with the soup, milk, and a little chicken stock, pour over chicken in skillet, cover with a lid, and bake in oven on 375 for an hour and an half or until fork tender. Delicious! I do like to add a little white wine to deglaze my pan once I finish searing the chicken before adding cream soup mixture. And for a quick cooking tip, any meat I braise in the oven, whether chicken or roast, I always sear first to get the crust nicely browned. Who wants pale chicken? Certainly not me. The above was the short cut recipe, but I will write and post my detailed version shortly.

In case you’re wondering, pictured above is fried corn in the making. We can’t wait for summer to arrive because corn is in season and we can indulge in this southern favorite. If you thought it was canned cream corn, you are wrong. We don’t “do” canned vegetables here. I told you we only about “all things whole food.” .

This is one of my cheap go to desserts. While busy working, I had a taste for a good comfort food dessert, and being I had white rice, raisins, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and heavy cream, this was a no brainer. This is an adaptation of Paula Deen’s baked rice pudding that I love because of the custard cream layer that naturally separates on top while baking. Mmm…delish! Leave it to her to bring you that old grandma type of heirloom recipe. This reminds me of the one my grandma made growing up, but I favor this one because it is more “custardy,” not thick. I think next time I will add some orange zest to give it a different spin. Even though this is a cheap cheat dessert, I take comfort in the fact of all the good all natural and/or organic ingredients I used from the organic raisins all the way down to the organic cream. Nostalgia at its best!

So what to do with all that smoked chicken and pork shoulder from the Memorial holiday? Make Brunswick stew! This was my first hand at this and it turned out incredible. It is chock full of yukon gold potatoes, baby Lima beans, onions, San Marzano tomatoes, fresh niblet corn, and pounds of fresh pulled smoky meat. I even found a great gluten free barbecue sauce to use in the broth base, so it was perfectly gluten free. It was so good my family went back for seconds, then thirds, and I sent my sister home with a quart. Served along jalapeño sour cream cornbread, it was a wonderful way to spice up the week by recreating what we had. Enjoy a bowl!

I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to this gorgeous Smoked Salmon and Dill Frittata I just pulled out the oven. My husband rises early for work before I am up for the day, so sometimes I try to prepare something the night before that he can enjoy for breakfast. No need to go through a drive thru when you got all this “yumminess” at home. Ok, I was talking about me then…Lol!

You guys know how I love the Barefoot Contessa and this is her recipe. It is filled with smoked salmon, fresh dill, Montrechat goat cheese, scallions, heavy cream, sautéed onions, and of course a dozen of eggs. This is a 12 inch pan so it will be plenty for my husband and girls. Hopefully they will save some for me.

I love making five star dishes at home. It makes me feel like we are getting our grocery store dollars worth, which these days is a nice size budget. When in the store picking out the specialty goat cheese, I struck up a conversation with the cheese guy on how he finds himself eating less, but better, meaning having a discriminate taste for top quality ingredients. I agree, and this, my friend, is one of those taste discriminatory moments. I wish you could have some…;-)

Say what?…

If you are a southerner, you know we love our catfish. Whether fried or blackened, or piled up high on a poboy sandwich, I am all in.

Don’t let “blackening” catfish intimidate you. All you need is a hot cast iron skillet, a little butter (in my case I prefer ghee as it has a higher smoke capacity), and catfish fillets seasoned with a little Old Bay seasoning or your favorite seafood seasoning as Cajun seasoning would work great too. Sear on both sides, laying front side down first and ending with bottom side. What you want is a good seared “crust” to form on the blackened side. Once done, just squeeze a little lemon over it and you are set. You can keep warm by placing in hot oven until you finish up the sides, skillet and all.

Bye for now. I hear some hushpuppies and spiced sautéed broccoli calling.

Wishing all the moms out there a fabulous day! This is your day to be showered with all the love you give each and every day. Children are a heritage, and I am so blessed to be called their “momma.” No cooking today, thanks to my husband. We opted for our annual Mother’s Day brunch at the Westin.

Reblogged from thepreparedtable73:

Dinner is served! Low carbing will be a priviledge tonight. Building a great low carb salad just starts with the basics of protein, leafy salad greens, and vegetables, but you can add the wow factor by maxing out flavor by grilling your tomatoes, putting a special spice rub on your meat, and adding in special elements like a good quality Parmesan (I only use Parmesan reggiano) and make your dressing fresh with a wonderfully aged balsamic vinegar and quality olive oil. And since we eat with our eyes first, take the time to make your plate beautiful by making your meal look restaurant quality. Even a simple meal looks fabulous on white plates.

I hope this photo does the title justice. These are grilled tomatoes that are seasoned with savory herbs, toasted garlic in olive oil, and a sprinkle of Parmesan reggiano and thyme. I started off on grill to get that smoked flavor, then transferred to cast iron skillet to roast in oven to reduce down, and finally topping with fresh grated Parmesan. I will serve this on a bed of organic spring mix salad and topped with thin slices of grilled ribeye on top. Perfection! I’ll make a simple dressing of fresh squeezed lemon, olive oil, Dijon mustard and Balsamic vinegar to dress the salad.

When my husband and I notice ourselves getting “chunky,” we resort to eating low carb to get back on track. I love it because it’s easy, no counting calories, just food combining. Eating this way keeps you full and satisfied. As a starter, I made mushroom bisque soup to tie us over until dinner.

Budget tip: I bought 2 1 pound thick cut ribeyes that I will slice thin in 4 ounce servings, which will give me enough for 2 meals (1 steak will feed us 4 tonight). I buy the big organic salad bins at Costco, along with tomatoes and mushrooms for the other dishes. Even the huge Parmesan reggiano can be purchased there. The idea is to buy in bulk the items you will use for a meal and double the servings for 2 separate meals. That way we will use up the fresh produce on hand and round out the meals.

I’ll post a pic when the plate is all dressed up. See you in a few…

If you grew up in my house as a child, when the question was asked “When can we eat,” the answer was “when the cornbread get’s done.” Somehow the cornbread in the oven became our timer for chow down time. So now that the homemade cornbread is out the oven, you know what time it is. Be slow if you want to, and you’ll miss out. Now let’s get swimming (cornbread) in my bowl of pintos. This cornbread is ready!