Chicken Wraps

Sorry about not blogging on Monday. Sunday we went to St. Vincent's Spring Festival where JW shot paintball's, rode a train, jumped in the inflatable jumper and played numerous kid games, while we watched and laughed and had a great time. One of JW's friends gave him a fish that was won when they played the ping pong toss game, so of course we kept it. WE headed to Wal-mart when we left the festival to pick up about $30 worth of stuff for the new fish (who JW named Fishy). While we were there JW asked if he could play with my phone, which is not unusual. I have an iPhone and there are games on it just for him, but when he started playing with it, the unexpected happened. IT DIED!! I have all of my family, friends and clients numbers in my phone. Along with pictures, email addresses, addresses and everything else that makes my life easier. Monday when I got to work I called Apple to see if they could help me fix it. They have very nice people that work there and were a big help, but my phone was still dead. I even took my sim card out and put it in my old iPhone, but it wouldn't work either. Apple decided that I needed a new phone, so they sent me out a box to ship mine in and they would send me a new one. Tuesday when I left the house for work, I decided to take my iPhone cord from the house and try to restore my phone again. This time it worked! Thank goodness! 2 days without a phone is not my idea of a good time. This is my busy season and I have clients calling me right and left on top of emailing me. It was very frustrating, but I'm glad my phone is fixed. I feel much better now that I vented some.

Now for the food...

Saturday my boys and I went to Mark's friend, Kelly's house to go swimming. Before we went to his house we stopped by Wendy's and ordered some of the grilled chicken wraps. They were very good and not too filling. Last night I decided to make my own wraps.

Start with 2 chicken breasts.

In a plastic bag or between some plastic wrap, whack them until they are nice and flat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Cook them in a skillet or on the grill until they are done. Cut into strips, lengthwise.

Shred some lettuce.

Grate some cheese.

Break out the honey mustard or make your own.

Warm the tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds.

Top the tortilla with lettuce, chicken strip and honey mustard.

Add some cheese.

Make as many as you want and enjoy. They were so good and would be even better for lunch or a snack.

Try them out. I will be doing different variations of them as the summer goes on. Steak and blue cheese with sauteed onions would be awesome! How about pork with grilled peaches? Sounds good to me.

Monday sucked but it could have been worse. My brakes could have gone out on my truck, oh wait, they did. Hopefully my week will be better. I can't wait for tomorrow when we find out what sex the baby is! I'll let you know...

Oven Fried Chicken and Bacon Green Beans

Thursday night, JW and I had supper with my parents on Dauphin Island. Mom fixed fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green peas. All of which are my favorites! Sunday night, after a great weekend with my boys, I decided to cook some oven fried chicken and green beans. I was going to fry the chicken, but I didn't feel like making a huge mess. Plus I'm sure there were some calories cut by cooking them in the oven.

Pre-heat oven to 400

You will need some breadcrumbs, flour, Old Bay seasoning (or any Cajun seasonings), Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper. Combine all of the ingredients in a large zip top bag.

After washing the chicken, pat it down with paper towels and cover with butter (may have made up for some calories there).

Add chicken to the bag, one piece at a time, and shake to coat. Place them on a foil lined baking sheet that has been covered with cooking spray. Bake for an hour.

You may have to cover the chicken with a foil tent after a while to keep it from burning.

While the chicken is cooking, break out the bacon. Cut into small pieces and cook until crispy in a sauce pan.

Remove and drain when it is done. Pour off some of the bacon grease, but not all of it.

Add a can of green beans with the juice and let simmer for 15 mins or so. You can use more beans if you need to. It just depends on how many people you are feeding.

Remove the chicken from the oven.

Top the green beans with the cooked bacon. Grab a piece of chicken and enjoy. My neighbor, Claire, showed me how to do the green beans. I don't fix them like that all of the time, but they sure are good!

Try it out and tell me what you think. I still love fried chicken first and foremost, but since I had just eaten Mama's fried chicken, I didn't want my taste buds complaining. Also, I left the skin on. You can remove it if you want to, but who really wants to do that? For the beans, you can always add some onions and garlic. I do that sometimes when I don't have bacon.

My Favorite Sandwich!

I will never forget the first time I had a BLT. I was spending a weekend with my aunt in Huntsville, I guess I was around 12, maybe older, anyway, she ran down the the store near her house and picked up 2 BLT's for breakfast and I have been hooked ever since! I am a huge fan of bacon and mayonnaise. However, I am not to thrilled about tomatoes, but the combination is perfect.

The key to a great BLT is great ingredients. First of all, DO NOT BUY CHEAP BACON!! It is a sin in my book. (It's up there with "don't buy cheap toilet paper or cheap ketchup." There is a difference!) Microwavable bacon should be banned and the inventor beaten with a frozen slab of pork. Second, use quality mayonnaise. I prefer Duke's or in a pinch, Blue Plate. As for the tomatoes, I like mine sliced paper thin so I don't really have to taste them. What I really prefer is a fried green tomato instead of a fresh one, but they aren't in season yet. That will defiantly be on my blog whenever I can get my hands on some!

Now for the sandwich...

Start by cooking some bacon. I use Wright's bacon. It's thick and meaty and oh so good.

Go ahead and throw some bread in the toaster. I use white bread and only white bread. Wheat would be another sin in my book.

Slice your tomato to your preferred thickness.

Wash some lettuce and have it ready for action.

When the bacon is done, take it out of the skillet and onto a folded paper towel.

Add some mayonnaise to your toast.

Start assembling.

Cut in half and enjoy. I know I did. The only thing that would make this better is a glass of sweet tea and a little basil in the mayonnaise. Since I am expecting, that means no caffeine for me and I was out of basil. There will be a next time. You can count on it! What is your favorite sandwich?

Sorry the pictures aren't that great. I had to use my phone because I broke my digital camera, but fear not, I maxed out my Target card buying another one!

Biscuits and Gravy

Hey Ya'll! I'm back! Sorry to leave you hanging for a week. JW's school was out all week for spring break and in this house that means one thing.....BEACH TIME! We absolutely love going to the beach and our favorite hang out spot is Dauphin Island (click on this link to see me riding my pony during Mardi Gras and for DI info). If you have never been, come on down, you won't want to leave. Dauphin Island is a barrier island off the coast of Alabama. There are no red lights, fast food, putt putt golf or bungee jumps but it does have beautiful beaches and a boat load of history. My parents live on the East end of the island near Fort Gaines and our house is closer to the west end, within walking distance to the park and beach. Located about 45 mins from our house in Mobile, it is a great place to spend weekends and relax.

Mark and I actually met on the island 8 1/2 years ago at a bar called the Pelican Pub. I won't go into that at this time, but it is a good story. We have been together ever since so I guess you can find true love in a bar!

Anyhoo, JW and I hung out on the beach and at the park all week. Mark had to work during the week but we did spend Easter weekend down there with my family and gorged ourselves on ham, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, deviled eggs and stuffing. It was wonderful. Even the Easter Bunny came to see JW. Sorry, no pictures of the food. I was too busy stuffing my face. Remember, I am pregnant.

Now for the food....

Saturday before we loaded up my truck to head to the island, I made breakfast for my boys. I wanted something that would be filling since we would probably have a late lunch, so i decided on biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs.

Pre-heat your oven to what your biscuits call for. I like to use canned biscuit because it is fast, easy and not messy. Place them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven when it is ready.

Brown up 1/2 pound of ground sage sausage in a large skillet.

Drain and pour off some of the fat in the skillet.

Melt some butter in the same skillet used for the sausage.

Add some flour and let it cook for a few mins.

Whisk in some milk, pepper and Italian seasoning. Stir until the gravy is thick but pourable.

Remove the biscuits when they are ready.

Whisk together some eggs with some salt and pepper.

In another skillet pour in the eggs to cook.

Remove to a bowl when the eggs are finished cooking.

Split a couple biscuits in half, top with the sausage gravy and enjoy.

If you have never had biscuits and gravy, then you must have them before you die. There is something about a buttery,fluffy biscuit and creamy gravy with chucks of sausage that just warms your soul. I love it. Try it out. If you are not a fan of sage sausage, you can use regular or hot. The sage sausage has a better flavor to me.

Cheeseburger Pizza

So the other day I was thinking about what to cook for supper. I went ahead and thawed out some ground beef in the hopes that an idea would come to me. Not wanting to do the usual spaghetti or meatloaf so I opted for the combination of 2 favorites: Pizza and a cheeseburger.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Spread out some canned pizza dough on a cookie sheet.

Bake for about 10 mins and remove from oven.

While the dough is baking, brown your ground beef and drain.

Mince some onion.

Saute the onion until it is soft.

Squirt some mustard on the dough and spread it around.

Top with the cooked ground beef.

Sprinkle with onions.

Top with some shredded cheddar cheese and pickles.

Bake for another 10-15 mins. Cut into squares and serve.

I like to top mine with ketchup! We didn't have any leftovers. I love making pizzas at home. It is super easy and super cheap. I'll have to share a couple of our favorites with you later on. Hope you enjoy this unique pizza. What is your favorite pizza?

Corn Dogs and Mashed Potatoes

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. Saturday we took JW to a classmates birthday party at the skating rink. Let's just say that he get his skating abilities (or lack thereof) from his dad. I hate to admit, but I laughed so hard it hurt. He could barely stand up much less actually skate. It wasn't long before he said screw it, I'm playing somewhere else. Hopefully his Aunt Meagan will be able to teach him how to skate soon.

Sunday:

JW and I made chocolate chip pancakes and enjoyed every one. Mark missed it. He had a late night so he slept late. Around lunch we went downtown to the Gulf Coast Explorium and had a ball. That was then followed up with some cheap Mexican food and a long nap. The only thing that would have made the weekend better is a walk on the beach. Maybe next weekend.

Now for the food....

Corn dogs have been one of my favorite foods since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I love living in Mobile because there is always some festival, carnival, cook off, music event or something going on and that means corn dogs are not too far behind. Can you really go to the fair, Bayfest or Mardi Gras parade without getting a corn dog? NO you cannot not! They are simply irresistible. Smother it in mustard and you are ready to go.

To start with you will need a pack of good hot dogs and some skewers. Insert 2 skewers in the middle of the hot dog.

Rub cornstarch all over the dogs so that the batter will stick.

Mix together some flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder and ground mustard.

Combine an egg with some milk.

Add the milk and egg to the dry ingredients and mix well. Dip the skewered dogs in the batter.

Place them in the hot oil, making sure that all of the dog is in the oil at some point.

Remove when they are golden. Insert dirty remarks here.




Now for the potatoes...

My Mama makes the best mashed potatoes in the world! I have tried, many times, to duplicate her recipe, but it never comes out like hers. Instead, I have changed it and made it my own. I am not too proud to admit defeat.

Start by cutting up some Yukon gold potatoes.

Boil them until they are tender.

Drain them and add some butter to the pot.

Press them through a ricer. If you don't have one, stop what you are doing and go get one. You will thank me later.

Add some milk, garlic powder, pepper and mayonnaise to the potatoes and stir together. Yes I said mayonnaise. You can't taste it, but it makes it so much better that you won't be able to live without it.

Grab a couple of corn dogs and a scoop of mashed potatoes and enjoy.

Caution:

If you decide to use the skewers for the corn dogs, the ends are pointy and sharp. Be smarter than me and cut them off. Obviously I had a brain fart.