For All You Beer Lovers Out There

I came across a neat site for Beer Lovers. It has anything and everything you want to know about beer, including all the beer festivals in North America. Thought I would share it with you.

Beer Info Website

Eating Oatmeal for Heart Health

Have I mentioned that I love oatmeal. I think it is the perfect breakfast food and to top it off, it is good for the ole' heart. Oatmeal is cholesterol-free and made of whole grains. It contains soluble fiber that actually binds to and helps remove cholesterol from the blood. Quite amazing, no doubt. No one needs clogged arteries, so it is a good idea to add oatmeal to your diet.

I do get on fried egg kicks every once-in-a-while, but I always go back to yummy oatmeal. It is the perfect winter food too because it is hot and creamy and tastes great with a little cinnamon and Smart Balance buttery spread. I like Smart Balance products and I am really excited that I can get Smart Balance now with added Omega-3's.

It is so important to keep your cholesterol low and your heart healthy. So when they make food products that will help keep you healthy, I get all excited. I do wish they would make Smart Balance a little creamier because it is a little difficult to spread on toast. So, Smart Balance, take note; we need creamier spread. That will make consumers very happy!

Kudos to Quaker for making my mornings happier.

Beef Stew, Perfect for a Cold Day

I don't know about you guys, but I am getting tired of being cold. Even my dogs are miserable. They can't play outside and Lord knows, I don't want to have to stand out in the cold waiting for them to do their business. You should see me at 5:00 in the morning shivering in my pajamas waiting for two spoiled rat terriers to step onto the cold, wet grass to relieve themselves. It is really comical because they are so pathetically spoiled that they don't even want their paws to touch the grass. Here I am freezing and they are acting like Paris Hilton. I tell them, "give me a break, you're a dog for crying out loud!"

Louisiana people are just not equipped for this type of weather. We do not like it to be in the 20's; hell, we don't like it to be in the 40's; much less the 20's! But we are troopers and we tough it out by drinking an extra Hurricane. You got to love Pat O'Briens.

There were reports of snow flurries in North Louisiana yesterday. I couldn't believe it. The news said 10 parishes had reported flurries. What a shocker! But I know now that we are good for another 5 years. Because we get snow about every 5 years and it really isn't even good snow. You should see a Louisiana snowman. Quite funny!

But anyway....since I am stuck indoors with two unhappy dogs, I thought it would be a good day for a Beef Stew. I checked the pantry; had everything I needed and got to cookin'.


Beef Stew

Serves 8

2 lb Beef Stew Meat (I prefer chuck roast)
6 slices of Bacon, chopped
1 cup Onions, chopped
3 cups Mushrooms, sliced
3 cups Carrots, sliced
3 medium Potatoes, peels and chunked
1 - 14.5 oz can of Stewed Tomatoes, do not drain
1 - 14.5 oz Beef Broth
3/4 cup Italian Dressing

Marinate the beef stew meat in Italian Dressing for approximately 30 minutes.

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan on medium heat about 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove the bacon and drain the saucepan.

Add onions and mushrooms; cook on medium-heat 10 minutes or until softened. Remove meat from marinate and add the meat, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes with their liquid; the broth and bacon to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Reduce the heat to low; cover and simmer for an hour and 15 minutes.

Simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes or until meat is tender and the sauce is thickened, stir occasionally.

Serve with hot cornbread

Enjoy!

Fiesta Chicken Picadillo

I have chicken breast to cook tonight and found this recipe in our local paper today. It sounds wonderful especially with the addition of raisins, almonds, cinnamon and Tabasco, so I'm going to give it a try. I wanted to share it with you.


Fiesta Chicken Picadillo

Serves 4

1 lb Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Vegetable oil, divided
1 Red Bell Pepper, cored and chopped
1 Medium Red Onion, chopped
1/2 cup Pimento-Stuffed Olives, chopped
1/2 cup Golden Raisins
1/4 cup Slivered Almonds
3 tbsp Tabasco green jalapeño pepper sauce
1 tbsp Capers
Dash of Ground Cinnamon


1. Cut chicken breasts into 1/2-inch chunks; sprinkle with salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring frequently. Remove chicken to large bowl.

2. Add remaining tablespoon vegetable oil in same skillet over medium heat. Cook bell pepper and onion until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in olives, raisins, almonds, Tabasco green jalapeño pepper sauce, capers and cinnamon.

Serve with Cornbread, hollowed out halved bell peppers or halved poblano peppers, chips or tortillas, as desired (I think I will serve it with cornbread)


If you get a chance to visit Avery Island in South Louisiana, be sure to visit the Tabasco manufacturer.
It's surely a place to be seen & enjoyed!

Visit Tabasco

Fried Eggplant

This is one of my favorites. I remember my mom cooking it and we would always eat most of them before dinner was even served.

I found a couple of huge eggplants at the market on Sunday and cooked them tonight to go with baked chicken. My girls actually liked it; with ketchup of course. But at least they ate it!

Fried Eggplant

Serves 4-6

2 Eggplants
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
Creole Seasoning or salt & pepper
Bread Crumbs, flour or corn meal (whichever you prefer)
Cooking Oil (I use Canola)

Peel eggplants and slice in rounds or strips. Soak in salted water for 1/2 hour and drain.

Beat egg and combine with milk.

Dip eggplant in mixture, remove and roll in seasoned bread crumbs, flour or corn meal.

Fry in hot oil until golden brown and drain on absorbent paper.

Enjoy!

Basic Roux Recipe

Basic Roux (pronounced Roo)

The basis for all cajun stews and gumbos:

1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 cup Butter or Cooking Oil

Heat oil in heavy pot. When oil is hot, gradually add flour, stirring continuously until well mixed. Lower heat and continue stirring until color is chocolate brown.

Remove from pot and set aside. If you leave it in the pot it will continue to cook and my burn. Burnt roux is NO good.

Always use Warm Water to dissolve the roux.

You can make more than enough and store it in a jar. It keeps well in or out of refridgerator.

Chicken & Okra Gumbo

This is great cold weather cuisine. Hot and a little spicy....yummy!

Chicken & Okra Gumbo

Serves 10

4 to 6 lb Hen, cut into pieces
4 tbsp Oil
1 stick Butter
4 tbsp Flour
2 cups Fresh Okra, chopped
1 large Onion, chopped
2 sticks Celery, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tbsp Green Onions (scallions) chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Creole Seasoning or salt & pepper
3 quarts Water
File'


Season chicken well.

In a large aluminum Dutch oven (do not use black cast iron pot) fry seasoned chicken in 2 tbsp oil until brown. Remove and set aside.

Add 2 more tbsp oil and fry chopped okra for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly to keep from burning.

Add roux. See Recipe
You will use only enough roux to make the required amount of liquid needed for your recipe. This chicken & okra gumbo recipe calls for 3quarts of water, so you will make enough roux to mix with 3 quarts of water and get the desired amount of gravy for your gumbo.

Add chicken, worcestershire sauce, chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic and 3 quarts of water.

Bring to boil and simmer 2 - 3 hours or until meat is tender. Skim off excess fat and serve in soup bowls with rice.

Garnish with chopped scallions and a sprinkling of file'


Enjoy!

File' (real cajun style)

In case you don't know what file' is, here's an explanation:

File' (pronounced Fee-Lay) is finely-ground sassafras leaves. When added to gumbo is adds an exotic flavor. I've never had gumbo without file'. Some people even sprinkle it on top of gumbo for more added flavor.

In August, during the full moon, you can break branches from a fully-matured sassafras tree. Hang them to dry in a shaded, well ventilated place for about 2 weeks. Expose to bright sunlight for 1 hour before finely-grinding in a mill. Store it in an amber jar, tightly sealed, in a cool place.

But, if you are in a hurry, you can always find it at your grocer!