Asian Chicken Skewers!!

Can't get more 'summery' feeling then grilling chicken skewers outside by the pool!  They are a bit spicy, yet nice and sweet! These are easy, and so very yummy! I serve them with Knorr's curried rice you can buy at the grocery store and with a cold, crisp salad!  Simple, weekday, throw together meal!

Almost done!

Asian Chicken Skewers!
About 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs~ cut into 1 1/2 -2 inch pieces
6 oz mild sweet chili sauce
1 Tbsp ponzu sauce, sold in Asian aisle in grocery store (or substitute 1 tsp soy sauce)
2 tsp fish sauce, sold in Asian aisle
1Tbsp Red Curry Paste
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Skewers, metal or wooded (if wooden, soak first for 30 minutes before you skewer the chicken)

Marinate the cut up chicken pieces in the stirred up sauce in a large bowl, or large zip lock bag for about 15 minutes, then skewer the chicken, sometimes folding up pieces. Put as many pieces as you'd like on the skewers, close, but not too pushed together. Take marinade and put into saucepan and bring it to a boil. Put skewers on an oiled grill at medium heat.  Grill them for about 7-10 minutes, turning them, and basting with the marinade you just boiled up.  I had a lot of chicken pieces on these skewers, so I cooked them about 10-11 minutes with grill lid open, then 2 more minutes with grill lid shut.  That worked out well!  Take them off grill, and put onto platter, and tent with aluminum foil for about 4 minutes, then serve!  Really easy!

Bacon Wrapped, Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Jalapeno Cream Cheese!

Trying to spice things up a bit, and put a fun twist on a pork tenderloin!  I usually grill them, but wanted to try and bake one up, after stuffing it, then wrapping it all up in bacon!!  It was fun to make with my boys~ they were very helpful, handing me the bacon pieces so I could wrap the tenderloins faster!  This was EASY, EASY, but everyone thought it was some fancy, hard to make dish I had slaved over!  NOPE! It was FANTASTIC tasting, however!! :)

2 or more 1 1/2-2 pound pork tenderloins (if you do more than 2, remember to get more ingredients)
8 oz. Tub of Chive and Onion Cream Cheese~ (use as much as you'd like, a tub is more than enough for 2 tenderloins)
1 jalapeno, seeded, cut in pieces (1/2 a jalapeno for each tenderloin)
About 8 pieces of bacon, per pork tenderloin
Slap Ya Mama, cajun seasoning~ white pepper blend
black pepper and a bit of salt
Sugar~ about 1/2 a tsp, so 1/4 tsp per tenderloin

Can make this with a pork loin, as well! Details about that at the bottom! :) 

Season tenderloin with a bit of salt and pepper, and cajun seasoning~ Cut pocket into pork tenderloin, lengthwise.  Make sure not to cut all the way through, but pretty deep, so you can get lots of cream cheese and jalapenos in there!!

Wrap up tenderloin in bacon, but be sure that the ends of the bacon come together near the bottom of the tenderloin, not the top, so when they bake, they don't pull away from tenderloin! Top the bacon wrapped tenderloin with a bunch of the Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning, and sugar!

Put into glass pan (cream cheese pocket side up), and bake for 45 minutes, to an hour at 375. (Internal temp. should be 160)

Ooooo~ looks so nice!  After you take tenderloins out of oven, tent them with tin foil, and let sit 5-10 minutes.  After that time, place them on a platter, and cut them into pieces~ the cream cheese inside, with the jalapeno is divine!!  This is a great recipe~ I'll be making it, often, because my boys loved them, and so did I!! :)

Tried this recipe with a 3-4 pound pork loin roast, and it came out GREAT, as well!!!  Just make a slit down the center, lengthwise, about 3/4 of a way down  roast but not cut all the way through.  Added a whole tub of the onion and chive cream cheese, 2 seeded, sliced jalapenos, then made the same way with the bacon wrapping around it, coming together at bottom of roast. Seasoned it up just the same.  Baked at 375 for 1 hour 20 minutes.  Was so juicy and yummy!!! 

LOOKS GOOD, doesn't it??!!  :)  Another great option to add to your repertoire!! 

TEXAS Shrimp Dip~

My, oh my~ Great stuff!! 

This is the PERFECT Texas Summer, 'poolside' dip for parties!!  Nice and CHILLED, but spicy!!  SOoooo easy to make, and so very yummy!! This is another recipe I make where people always ask for the recipe!!  Sometimes my teen boys ask for THIS for dinner, and nothing else!  Dip for dinner, poolside, while we all chill, and talk!  Can't get much better than that!!  (OK~ it's not JUST 'perfect' for Texas folk, but any backyard party!! I promise~ you'll love it! :)

Texas Shrimp Dip

2 pounds frozen, cooked, peeled salad shrimp- thawed and picked through

12 Oz. bottle Red Devil Hot Sauce- or any other Louisiana hot sauce

1 small red onion, diced very small (almost minced)

2 large ripe tomatoes, diced into smaller pieces

1/2-3/4 bunch of cilantro, minced

The juice of 1 large lime

4 ripe avocados, cut into nickel size chunks

3 Tbsp of sugar~ YES, 3 Tbsp with a capital T!

After you thaw shrimp, put them into bowl with  all other ingredients, except for the avocado! 

Stir well, and chill in fridge for 30 minutes, if you have time.  When ready to serve, cut avocados up, and stir into shrimp dip!  Careful not to smash avocados~ 

This is big enough for a nice size crowd, so sometimes, when it's a smaller get together, we keep half of the dip chilling at home, and only serve the other half with only 2 avocados tossed in.  We eat the rest the next day, adding the other 2 fresh avocados in when ready to eat!!  We serve this awesome dip with Tostitos Hint of Lime Chips!  It's AWESOME!  A marriage made in dip heaven!! :)

Crawfish Etoufee, made easy!!!

OK~ So my family LOVES Crawfish Etoufee and we always go to expensive restaurants to get it, or in the past I have made Chef Paul Prudhomme's recipe from scratch, which is excellent, but more time consuming! A friend of mine told me about how she uses 2 types of soups to make the sauce instead of making a roux~ well, I had to try!! I'll make crawfish etoufee more often, the easier it is to make!! I tried it, and was blown away by how close the flavor was to etoufee made from scratch!!! Have to share with y'all!!!!

     CRAWFISH ETOUFEE

Looks good, doesn't it?!

1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 can cream of celery soup (normal size)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (normal size)
2 lbs cooked, thawed, and rinsed crawfish tails
1 Green pepper~ chopped small (not minced, but small for this and all listed below)
1 med-large onion~ chopped small
2 jalapeño peppers~ chopped small
2 stalks celery~ chopped small
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 sticks of butter
2 Bay Leaves
3/4 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
Red pepper flakes~ to taste, if not spicy enough
Salt~ to taste

Chop up veggies and sauté in melted butter til well cooked. Bay leaves, and garlic in too!

This is what you add to the cooked up veggies~ this was for a double batch, you'd use a small can of tomatoes, and only one can of each soup for just one batch!

Put soups, spices and tomatoes into pan! Stir well~ Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put all the crawfish tails into the Etoufee sauce after simmering for 20 minutes! Look at the pretty color of those tasty little tails!!!  Stir tails in well~Simmer for another 5 minutes, just enough to warm up the already cooked tails!

All mixed up and ready to serve over cooked rice! Salt and pepper to taste! Adjust spiciness with hot pepper flakes, to your liking!! 

YUMMY~  Hope you enjoy this great recipe as much as we all did! It's a keeper recipe that I'll make often!! Easy, great tasting Crawfish Etoufee!!! Hard to beat!!!!

'Smothered' Chicken with Bacon!

Found a GREAT, fun recipe in 'Food and Wine' magazine.  It looked really good, and I have been looking for another great Chicken recipe that my family would devour!  FOUND it!  As always, I have simplified the recipe, and altered it some!  My husband and boys, and a friend eating over for dinner, did, indeed, devour it, and told me I needed to blog this recipe, so we remember it and make it often!! Happy to oblige!! :)

'Baconie', gravy goodness!!

'Smothered' Chicken with Bacon!
10 bone in chicken thighs
6 thick slices of bacon- cut into strips
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium onion- sliced in half rings
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Asian fish sauce
2 tsps soy sauce
6 bay leaves
3 cups chicken broth (I used 1 1/2 Tbsp of Knorr's powdered bouillon in 3 cups water)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
pepper- to taste  (most likely, won't need salt..taste to check)
about 2-3 tsp Wondra Powder (for sauce at end)

Fry up bacon, til crisp.  After it is crisp, pull it out of pan and put aside into a small bowl.  KEEP the bacon grease in pan!

Place chicken thighs (excess skin and fat removed), skin side down into hot bacon grease.  Cook on med-high for about 5 minutes.

Flip over~ cook another 5 minutes!

Take Chicken out of frying pan, and put onto platter.  Leave 2 Tbsp of pan juices in pan!

Add sliced onions and bay leaves into pan and cook 2 minutes. Then add garlic, and cook another minute or two.

Add Vinegar, and soy sauce.  Scrape up bits.  Add chicken broth, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes!   Let simmer for 5 minutes.  Put chicken BACK INTO PAN, and simmer on low for 30 minutes, turning chicken over once during this time.  In pic below, I pulled out chicken again after cooking it the 30 minutes, then added Wondra powder to thicken up sauce.  IF sauce is too salty, add some water and reduce for a bit, then add Wondra Powder! 

After sauce has thickened some, add chicken back  into pan!  Let people take a piece of chicken, and spoon gravy-like sauce over it!

We served this over garlic and Herb Couscous!   The Couscous really soaks up all that flavor!! Such a great pairing!!  Hope you love, like we did!! 

TEXAS Hot Beef Dip!! Texas PARTY must!!

This Hot Beef Dip is Soooo addicting!!   (and Texans LOVE their Beef!!)  We have to make it for EVERY holiday and special family get together, as well as when we have friends over for the big game!!  I SWEAR, all men love this!  (the ladies, too!)  You can eat this dip with Chips, or go low carb, and eat it with zucchini slices!!  It's so yummy, my boys would actually be really upset if I didn't make it for a get together!!  :)

TEXAS HOT BEEF DIP! ~ Texas addiction!!!

YUM!!!  Boys digging in!!

HOT BEEF DIP~
1 pound ground beef~ lean
1  8 oz. block of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Ketchup
1  8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated (we just use parm. from shake bottle)
1 medium onion, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper~ or to taste
3-4 nice dashes of red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar

Sounds a little...JUST a little, redneck-like, :) but we serve this dip with  Nacho Cheese Doritos!!  It's AMAZING with these chips!  (BTW, I love rednecks!  Fun, awesome, real peeps!)

Cook up ground beef with minced onion, and garlic~ drain fat when cooked up!

After you drain out any fat, add all the rest of ingredients and mix well!  Cook on low, til all is melted, and nice and HOT!

We put the dip into a small crock pot, to serve, and it keeps the dip nice and warm!!

The family and friends on low carb diets use sliced zucchini instead of chips, and it's still AWESOME!!  HOPE Y'ALL LOVE THIS EASY, yet AMAZING DIP!!

Caprese Salad!!

Texas is starting to warm up for Spring!  Had our first Bar-B-Q of the year, and we grilled up some great Texas T-Bones!  Had to have a great salad with it, so I whipped up my families Caprese Salad!  SO yummy, easy to make, and fast~ fast to make, and eat!  YUMMY!

Caprese Salad!

2 pints grape tomatoes
2 8oz. packs of fresh mozzarella balls
 .66 oz pack of fresh basil- chopped
around 2 oz. of fresh pesto sauce
around 2 oz. of Italian dressing

Mix up all the goodies, and served chilled! Can't stop eating this stuff...it's amazing!!