Wrap It Up!

My husband was looking at my Southern Living magazine the other day when he found a recipe for skillet burritos. He hardly ever asks me to cook something in particular, so when he asked me to make them for him, I was kind of taken aback. I can't tell you how many times I ask him what he wants to eat for supper and his answer is always "it doesn't matter" or "whatever."

It turns out that this is a super easy recipe that tastes great and it portable, so it is great for lunch the next day.

Start by making the dipping sauce. You need sour cream, onion, pickled jalapenos, Dijon mustard, cilantro and lime zest.

Mix it all together and put it in the fridge until the burritos are done.

You will need a can of Mexicorn (drained), a can of back beans (rinsed and drained), cheddar cheese and cooked chicken breast, chopped.

Mix the filling together.

Spoon in the middle of an 8 inch tortilla and fold like a burrito.

Heat skillet and brown on each side.

Cut in half and serve with lime jalapeno sauce and salsa.

I had 2, my husband ate the rest. They are really good. That sauce is awesome and I'm happy that he requested that I make them. Now if I could get him to request more foods for me to cook....

Try it out. Change the fillings. Try a different cheese. That is what I'm going to do next time. I'm thinking breakfast burritos!

Cold Weather Comfort

Is there anything like a nice bowl of chili to warm your soul when it is cold outside? I think not! Fiery chicken chili is one of my favorite chili recipes in the world. I make this when friends come over, when we are going to the camp and when it is cold outside. The first time I made this for our friends, they had never had chicken chili before. Now I get requests for it often.

When I started making this chili, I didn't have a dutch oven, so thanks to my big brother and T-Fin, now I do. I love it! Along with the dutch oven you will need boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chipotles, oregano, cumin, onions, garlic, salt, paprika, pinto beans and tomatoes. Lets get started...

Cut up the chicken thighs into bite size pieces. Chop the onions, mince the garlic and mince 1 chipotle pepper. Don't forget to drain and rinse the pinto beans.

Saute the onions and garlic with the herbs and spices until onions are soft.

Stir in the chipotle and 1 TBS of adobo sauce.

Add the chicken and let cook for 5 mins.

Mix in the beans, tomatoes and another TBS of adobo sauce, if you want to. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 mins.

Uncover and simmer for another 40 mins.

Serve in a bowl with sour cream, cilantro, cheddar cheese and green onions. Avocado would be good on top too. For parties and get togethers, just put the chili in a crock pot on low, put the toppings in bowls and let your friends and family top their chili the way they want.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. If you want the recipe, just ask. Hope you all have a great day and stay warm!

Dauphin Island Mardi Gras 2009

Saturday was the start of Mardi Gras in Mobile. The Krewe De La Dauphine rolled down the crowded streets of Dauphin Island as thousands of people waved their arms in anticipation of catching beads, stuffed animals and Moon Pie's.

Since I didn't get to ride my pony this year, my husband and I decided to invited friends over to our house on the Island for our own Mardi Gras party. I figured that finger foods would be the way to go so I only really "cooked" one dish, the rest was either mixing stuff together or throwing stuff in the crock pot. I bought some chips and salsa too, can't forget that.

Bright and early Saturday morning Thibodeau, my bulldog, and I walked down to the beach for some pre-parade relaxation. When we got back to the house and everyone had breakfast, I got started on the party food.

I started with the meatballs since they take the longest to thaw out. All you need is 2 bags of traditional meatballs (not Italian), 2 bottles of BBQ sauce (I use Stubb's) and a crock pot.

Put the meatballs in the crock pot, drown them in BBQ sauce and crank up the heat to high for a couple hours. CAUTION: These suckers are hot when they are done so be careful!

I then let some cream cheese soften on the stove for the chicken spread and corn dip.

The chicken spread is just a big can of white meat chicken, drained, a packet of ranch dressing mix, and a block of cream cheese mixed together. Stick it in the fridge until it is time to serve.

My world famous corn dip is everyone's favorite. 3 cans of Mexicorn, drained, 2 TBS of minced pickled jalapenos, Tony's and cream cheese.

Melt the cheese on the stove, add corn, Tony's and jalapenos. Stir together until creamy. Put in a bowl and serve with chips.

I found some little cheeseburgers at the grocery store so I grabbed some of those and a meat and cheese tray. Of course there was little food left after the parade which is great because I hate leftovers.

If you have never been to Mardi Gras, then Dauphin Island is the perfect place to get your feet wet, literally. The parade's on the Island are very family oriented. There is no flashing of certain body parts and there's not people shoving you and fighting over throws like they do Downtown. We will be at it again next Saturday when the Island Mystics roll, but just remember that the KDLD is and will always be the "big dogs" on Dauphin Island.

See you Saturday and if not then, then we will hopefully see you next year! Happy Mardi Gras!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Loafing Around

I have been wanting some good meatloaf for the past few weeks so I found a great recipe on Cooking Light called BBQ meatloaf. What a perfect combo, meat and BBQ sauce. I had almost all of the ingredients at home, except for the meat. I like to buy meat the day I need it. If it goes in the freezer, it may never come out unless it is being trashed 6 months later.

Before we get started, preheat oven to 350.

I bought 1.5 pounds of lean ground beef and dumped it in the bowl.

Then I added 1 tablespoon of Stubb's BBQ sauce. If you have never had Stubb's before, run out and get it! They don't sell it in all of the stores, so you may have to do some store hoppin'. It has just the right amount of spice and twang to it. LOVE IT!!

Also added was mustard, onions, chili power, garlic powder, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and 2 egg whites.

Mix it all together my hand, breaking up the meat as you go.

Drop it into a greased loaf pan and top with BBQ sauce.

Let it bake for 1 hour. Take it out and let stand for 10 mins. Cut into 12 slices. The serving size is 2 slices.

I'm served this with green beans, but that is for another blog. I know, mashed potatoes would be wonderful, but I was out of potatoes. If you have any leftovers, which I doubt, you can always take 2 pieces of white bread, spread some BBQ sauce on them and put the meatloaf in between. Great midnight snack!

Tried and True

One of my husband's favorite meals is Chicken Parmesan. I started making this for him years ago while we were still dating. Though it may not be a Southern dish, I figured I would share it with you any way. This is a super easy recipe for new cooks to try. Seriously, it takes no brains whatsoever.

All you need to get started is boneless, skinless chicken breasts, spaghetti sauce, noodles, Italian breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese.

Pre-heat oven to 400

Get the water boiling for the spaghetti.

You will need to pound out the chicken breast to about 1/2 inch thickness using a meat mallet and a plastic zip top bag. You don't have to close the top and clean up is easy.

Season the breasts with salt, pepper and a little garlic powder. Cover with breadcrumbs.

Place chicken in a casserole dish or large roasting pan. Cook for 15 mins.

Remove chicken and smother with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese, put back in oven for 10 mins.

Drain the spaghetti.

Heat remaining sauce in a sauce pan to go on top of the noodles.

Put the oven on broil until the top is brown. Don't walk away from this one. The broiler can go from friend to enemy in like a minute. Trust me.

Top the noodles with sauce and a piece of chicken. I like to shave some Parmesan to finish it off.

If that is not good, then I don't know what is. I hope you enjoy it. I know we did. You will notice that I did not fry anything. I really like the way the baked chicken tastes. Besides that, it is a lot easier on the waistline.

Lazy Sunday Supper

Sunday is "lazy" day at the Southern Foodette house. I got up and threw some canned cinnamon rolls in the oven, turned on cartoons for the four year old and vegged out on the couch most of the afternoon. I did wash a few loads of clothes, so I wasn't that lazy. By that evening I was not in the mood to cook a fancy Sunday meal. I knew I had some Conecuh sausage in the freezer, onions, canned pinto beans and rice. Figuring I could make something quick and easy with what I had on hand, I got started.

While the sausage thawed in the sink, I got the rice going so it would be finished when I needed it.

Then I chopped the onions (with my sunglasses on) minced the garlic and sliced the sausage while my pan was warming up.

While the sausage and onions we hanging out in the skillet sauteing, I grabbed my beans, that were already washed, drained and ready to go.

Mixing in the beans, I added some chicken stock and Cajun seasonings and let that simmer for a little while, soaking up the flavors.

I don't like to mix my rice in with the other ingredients, so I put some in the bottom of a bowl and spoon the bean mixture on top. Make sure you add some salt and pepper to the rice before you top it and don't forget to pour some of the juice on there.

Talk about comfort food. I was feeling better after the first bowl. There are any number of ingredients you can use for this recipe. All kinds of meats and veggies my be substituted. Try it out and let me know what kind of spin you put on it.