Recipe: Appetizer - Oriental Tuna Steaks

Image via Wikipedia

From Denny: This was one of many popular appetizers (no photos of these appetizers, guess they didn't last long enough to photograph!)that were a big hit here in Louisiana at a recent chefs' preview party where volunteers who are home cooks made appetizers for the local top chefs, caterers and restaurateurs. They were honored for their service in the Capital Chefs’ Showcase which benefits Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge.

This year is most special as it is the 50th golden anniversary of the Cancer Services. This organization helps over 5,000 people annually with free services, assistance and support.

This is a recipe easy enough for the home cook to make as these ladies proved to the top chefs in the city!

From: Cheri Lasseigne from a “Body for Life” cookbook

Serves: 8 as a main dish or about 50 as an appetizer. Serve hot as an entree or cold as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cup peeled and coarsely chopped fresh ginger

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon raw honey

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil

2 pounds tuna steak, about 1-inch thick

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 bunch green onions, chopped

3 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. For sauce: Place garlic, ginger, mustard and soy sauce in food processor; process until blended.

2. Add honey and vinegar and process again. With motor running, add sesame oil and coconut oil gradually, blending until sauce thickens and emulsifies.

3. For tuna steaks: Brush tuna steaks with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side on a grill or broiler.

4. If serving as an entree, place tuna steaks on warmed plates. Spoon sauce over steaks and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. If serving as a cold appetizer, take tuna off grill and coat with sesame seeds. Cut into bite-size pieces and place on a tray over ice. Sprinkle some sauce over the tuna and garnish with green onions. Serve with additional sauce on the side and bamboo skewers or toothpicks like they did at the party.

Note: If serving as an entree, this dish goes well with steamed string beans with toasted almonds and mashed potatoes.

For more appetizers from this party check out my other food blog: Comfort Food From Louisiana.

Recipe: Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches with Arugula and Balsamic Aïoli

Cover via Amazon

From Denny: Featured recently in our local newspaper was this recipe from the Weber's Grill cookbook. The heat is in triple digits across America and we could use some "brain food" as our brains feel cooked! And I sure love Portobello mushrooms - the texture is almost like a steak with a lot less calories! :) Enjoy!

And make sure you are drinking lots of water in this summer heat - even when you don't feel thirsty - if you wait until then you may suffer serious heat stroke.

From: “Weber’s Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling”

Serves: 6

Aïoli:

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tbls. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. minced garlic

Marinade:

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbls. finely minced shallot

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

6 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned, stems and black gills removed

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 Kaiser rolls, cut in half

2 ozs. arugula, trimmed, rinsed and dried

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the aïoli ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the sandwiches.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the marinade ingredients. Place the mushroom caps, gill sides down, in a large baking pan. Brush the mushroom caps generously with the marinade and turn the caps over. Spoon the rest of the marinade over the gill side. Allow the mushrooms to marinate at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat.

4. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and reserve the marinade. Lightly season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the mushrooms, gill sides down, over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until they begin to soften, 4 to 6 minutes.

Brush the cap sides of the mushrooms with some of the remaining marinade from the pan. Turn the mushrooms over and then grill them until they are tender when pierced with a knife, 4 to 6 minutes.

5. Grill the rolls, cut sides down, over direct medium heat until lightly toasted, about 30 seconds.

6. Spread aïoli on the toasted buns and top each one with some arugula and a mushroom. Serve warm.

Way to grill portobello mushrooms: Cut away the stems and any curled edges around the rims. With a spoon, gently scrape away the dark gills that might be holding dirt. Use a vinaigrette to marinate and baste the mushrooms. Finish grilling the mushrooms with the stem sides facing up so that the juices are held inside the caps.

Recipe: Emeril Lagasse’s Beer Battered Fried Trout Tacos With Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

Chef Emeril Lagasse at a book signing

Emeril Lagasse’s Beer Battered Fried Trout Tacos With Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

From Denny: Louisiana in the summer is all about quick and easy, usually seafood. Chef Emeril Lagasse came down from New England, was embraced by the New Orleans food establishment when he was a young man and taught how to really cook.

Down South folks are willing to mentor to help someone develop. Nor do they get angry when the student is ready to mentor his own, starting up his own restaurants. Emeril has previous shows and recipes stashed at Food Network and now teaches on the green network. He's one busy guy! Below is one of his recipes he developed where he really captures the essence of Louisiana food.

To make the recipe you require two other recipes first: the Cajun seasoning and the coleslaw recipe so I'll put these up first.

Emeril’s Essence Creole Seasoning

From: “New Orleans Cooking” by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

Makes: 2/3 cup

Ingredients:

2-1/2 tbls. paprika

2 tbls. salt

2 tbls. garlic powder

1 tbl. black pepper

1 tbl. onion powder

1 tbl. cayenne pepper

1 tbl. dried oregano

1 tbl. dried thyme

Directions: Combine all ingredients. Emeril sells this product in your grocery store too if you don't want to mix up your own.


Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

From: Chef Emeril Lagasse
Serves: 6

2-1/2 cups shredded green cabbage

2-1/2 cups shredded red cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

2 tbls. finely sliced green onions

1-1/2 cups peeled, seeded and diced cucumber

2 jalapeños, stem and seeds removed, minced

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tbls. plus 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 tsp. salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbls. sour cream

3 tbls. freshly grated horseradish or 1-1/2 tbls. prepared horseradish

1-1/2 tsps. Creole or coarse-grain mustard

Directions:

1. Combine cabbages, carrots and green onions in large mixing bowl. In a small bowl toss the cucumbers and jalapeños with the lemon juice and add to the cabbage mixture.

2. In small mixing bowl combine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

3. In small bowl, blend mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish and mustard. Add mayonnaise mixture to coleslaw and toss. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.



Emeril Lagasse’s Beer Battered Fried Trout Tacos With Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Oil for frying

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 tsps. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tbl. vegetable oil

1 cup beer

1/2 tsp. hot sauce

4 trout fillets, about 6 ozs. each

2 tbls. Emeril’s Essence Creole Seasoning

6 large, soft flour tortillas

Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

Hot sauce, if desired when serving

Directions:

1. Heat oil in deep fryer or in a large saucepan to 375 degrees.
2. Sift 1 cup flour, the baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper together into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil, beer and hot sauce. Stir until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Set aside.

3. Season each fillet with 1 teaspoon of the Essence. Cut each fillet into diagonal 1-1/2-inch strips. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour with the remaining 2 teaspoons of Essence. Dredge the fish strips in the seasoned flour then shake to release any excess flour. Transfer to a plate.

4. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Wrap the flour tortillas in aluminum foil and place in the oven to warm or warm according to manufacturer’s instructions.

5. Dredge each piece of fish in the beer batter, making sure the fish is completely coated. Allow any excess batter to drip into the bowl, and then slowly lower the fish into the hot oil. Repeat with remaining fish, working in batches if necessary.

6. Fry until fish is puffed, golden brown and crispy (4 to 5 minutes). Remove the fish with slotted spoon or tongs and drain on paper-lined plate. Place in warm oven while cooking remaining fish or until you’re ready to assemble tacos.

7. To serve: Divide the fish among the warmed flour tortillas and top with some of the Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired.

Recipe: Simple Eggplant Parmigiana

Image via Wikipedia

From Denny: How about a simple recipe of Eggplant Parmigiana? Light foods like this are great in this summer heat, easy and faster to digest than heavy meats.

Did you know that tomatoes are cooling for your liver? Why is that important? Cool your liver; cool your body! A win-win in this summer heat!

Same goes for foods like cucumbers and vinegars. A little (like about 1/2 teaspoon per large glass of water) white or red wine vinegar in your glass of water helps your liver handle the hot weather.

Eggplant Parmigiana

From: “Savannah Collection” by Martha Giddens Nesbit

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

2 small eggplants, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch circles

Salt

2 cups cottage cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 clove garlic, squeezed through a press (if using commercial spaghetti sauce)

1/2 cup olive oil, approximately

2 cups tomato sauce (recipe follows) OR commercial meatless spaghetti sauce

10 ozs. grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Salt sliced eggplant and allow it to drain for about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.

2. In small bowl combine cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese and parsley. I used commercial spaghetti sauce so I squeezed 1 clove of garlic through a garlic press into the cheese mixture for added flavor. Set aside.

3. In large, nonstick skillet, heat oil and fry eggplant until lightly browned on both sides. At first the eggplant will soak up the oil, but as it cooks, the oil will release. When browned, drain on paper towels.

4. Use a 9x13-inch shallow baking dish for making a one- layer casserole or an 8x8-inch dish for two layers. Begin by spreading the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the dish, all of it for single layer casserole or half the remaining ingredients if you’re making two layers.

Layer cooked eggplant slices over sauce then spoon cottage cheese mixture over eggplant, spreading it out as evenly as you can. Top with grated mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, beginning with tomato sauce if making a double layer and ending with mozzarella.

5. Bake in 400-degree oven for 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Tomato Sauce

From: Recipe is from “Savannah Collection”

Makes: about 4 cups of sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced (I love a lot more!)

2 (16-oz.) cans Italian plum tomatoes

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cleaned and chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add other ingredients.

2. Cover and cook, stirring often, for about 30 minutes. Use in eggplant dish, or freeze for later.

Recipe: Lime Pie with a Twist - White Chocolate!

See how tiny these key limes are? Intensely flavored and tart! Image by m kasahara via Flickr

From Denny: In the heat of this summer (which it seems you have heard me endlessly whining about - grin) and to be enjoyed after a good garlicky seafood dish is a citrus flavor to cut the oils, salt and heat.

We adore Key Lime Pie here in Louisiana! Louisianians often visit the Florida beaches and golf courses where we were introduced to such a sweet treat as to what they like to create with Key Limes! (We also love their soft shell crabs - yum!) Here is another twist on the classic recipe by using white chocolate.

Easy Key Lime Pie with a Twist

Yield: one (9-inch) pie

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream

1 (11-ounce) package white chocolate morsels

1 tablespoon Breakstone's sour cream (you can use another full fat brand)

1 teaspoon grated Key Lime rind (these things are tiny to grip; if you have a microplane it's easier to grate them)

1/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (these tiny little limes are awesome!)

1 (9-inch) pre-baked chocolate graham cracker crust (I prefer a chocolate crust as I find the plain just a little too bland but you can choose whatever you enjoy!)

Garnish: lime slices

Directions:

Over low heat in a medium saucepan you want to combine the white chocolate morsels and the whipping cream.

Cook 5 minutes or until white chocolate melts; stir constantly. Remove from heat and now add the sour cream, lime rind and juice; stir well. Note: The reason you remove it from the heat is that you don't want the sour cream to separate or the white chocolate to seize up on you.

Note: Variation - Before you pour this mixture into the crust you can add some zing with another variation: spread a thin layer of sour cream on the bottom of the crust. You could also spread a thin layer of melted semi-sweet chocolate here too! I've even placed finely chopped butter-roasted pecans here.

If you want to just proceed with the basic recipe and skip the variations, go ahead and pour the sour cream-lime mixture into crust. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Garnish, if desired with more whipped cream, finely chopped butter-roasted pecans and lime slices for beautiful presentation! Dare I say it? Lip-smacking good! :)

Feel free to subscribe to Comfort Food From Louisiana just click on the orange feed icon next to the feed count right hand side at the top of the page! Thanks for visiting!

Video and Recipe: Fried Shrimp with Crab Etouffee Topping

From CajunCookingTV.com:




Ingredients for Fried Shrimp Norman:

1 pound Large or Jumbo Shrimp

Crab Etouffee (see recipe)

1 package Fish/Shrimp Fry (or Corn Flour)

½ cup All-purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Tony’s Creole Seasoning

1 Tablespoon Sea Salt

Canola Oil

1 egg

½ cup milk

Directions:

Make Crab Etouffee according to recipe, but use less water or stock. Etouffee should be a thick consistency.

Peel shrimp leaving the tail on. Slice deep through the top of the shrimp to both devein the shrimp (take out the black vein) and butterfly it for frying. Set aside in a bowl.

In a mixing bowl, prepare the Fish/Shrimp fry by blending ½ cup All-purpose flour, Sea Salt and Tony’s Creole Seasoning.

In another small mixing bowl, crack the egg and stir in ½ cup milk. This is the egg wash.

Take each shrimp and coat in the egg wash.

Move shrimp to the Fish Fry mixture and coat with corn flour.

Fan out the tail for a pretty presentation (be careful – there is a sharp point on the tail of a shrimp that can pierce your hand or finger). Place a clean platter.

Heat oil. Fry Shrimp a few at a time until golden brown or floating on top the oil. Remove the shrimp to a paper towel lined platter to blot excess grease.
Serving Suggestions for Fried Shrimp Norman:

To serve, arrange 6-8 shrimp with tails up on a plate.

Spoon the Crab Etouffee over each of the tails or just place in the center.

Adding a small mound of white rice is optional.

To eat and enjoy, take a shrimp and scoop up a dollop of Crab Etouffee and take a big bite of some deliciously good groceries.

Crab Etouffee



Ingredients for Crab Etouffee:

½ lb Fresh Crabmeat (claw or white)

¼ cup of Flour

5 tablespoons butter

2 cups Cajun Trinity with minced garlic

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 cup white rice

1 teaspoon Tony’s Creole Seasoning

Chopped green onions or Parsley for garnish

Directions:

To begin, in a medium saucepan – boil 2 cups water. Add 1 cup rice. Stir. Cover and turn down the heat to medium low (#3) for 20 minutes.

Next in a large deep skillet melt 1 tablespoon of butter and sauté the Cajun Trinity and minced garlic. Set aside in a bowl. In the same skillet make a roux. Melt 4 tablespoons butter on medium heat (#6). Gradually add in ¼ cup of flour stirring constantly. For an Etouffee, continue to stir until golden brown caramel coloring.

Carefully add the Cajun Trinity back to the skillet. Add Rotel tomatoes and 4 cups water. Stir well and simmer on (#4) for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning or scorching.

Fold in the crab meat. Season with 1 teaspoon of Tony’s Creole Seasoning. Simmer another 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
Serving Suggestions for Crab Etouffee:

Serve Crab Etouffee over rice in a deep plate. Garnish with chopped green onions or fresh chopped parsley for color and a side of garlic French bread.

Recipe: Oreo Cookie and Chocolate Ice Cream Calypso Pie

Oreo Cookies Image: Ah, childhood pleasures of licking the filling off the cookie and then dunking it in a cold glass of milk... by penguincakes via Flickr

From Denny: Severe thunderstorms in my area today and had to stop posting for the day. Apologies for getting this out so late at night...

This recipe is quite the calorie buster and a definite show-off for the holidays or entertaining! It comes from the Southern Recipe Restoration Project that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is sponsoring. There are a lot of interesting easy recipes you can do with Oreo cookies and this cookie crust for this intriguing special pie is just one of many.

From: Ashley Leckey, a Tallahassee native and University of Georgia graduate who has lived in Atlanta since 2004. This recipe comes from her jack-of-all-trades grandmother, Cele Marcoux, who was an editor at a newspaper, had a line of luxury ties, worked in a dental lab and was even a nurse in the Army. Now that's job experience!

Marcoux often flavored this recipe with her own homemade liqueur and used the sauce recipes supplied below too.

Hands on time: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
Serves: 12

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), divided

18 Oreo cookies, crushed

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 quart coffee ice cream (or 1 quart vanilla bean ice cream plus coffee-flavored liqueur to taste; see link below to separate recipe)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:

Melt 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter. Mix crushed cookies with melted butter; press into bottom and up sides of a 10-inch pie plate and chill.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and remaining butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and salt. Add the evaporated milk gradually, blending well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts.

Set aside to cool to room temperature. When the shell is chilled and the sauce has cooled, set out the ice cream to soften slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Fill the pie shell with the ice cream. Put the pie in the freezer until ice cream is firm again.

In the meantime, beat the whipping cream until it just holds a peak. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Spread the fudge sauce over the ice cream layer, then mound the top with whipped cream and sprinkle with pecans. Store in the freezer until ready to serve. Remove and let sit a few minutes before slicing.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 482 calories (percent of calories from fat, 63), 5 grams protein, 42 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 35 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 72 milligrams cholesterol, 261 milligrams sodium.



Coffee-flavored Liqueur

Hands on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: Makes 1 gallon

Ingredients:

4 cups granulated sugar

6 1/2 cups water, divided

1 cup instant coffee

1 (375 milliliter) bottle 190-proof grain alcohol, such as Everclear (some of us might prefer a better quality vodka)

2 vanilla beans

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine sugar and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; simmer for 20 minutes. Cool. Meanwhile, mix instant coffee with 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Cool. Combine both mixtures; add alcohol and remaining 2 cups water. Pour into four 16-ounce bottles and add 1/2 vanilla bean to each.

Nutrition:

Per ounce: 48 calories (no calories from fat), trace protein, 13 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.



Copycat Chocolate Fudge Sauce

Hands on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Serves: Makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, stir together sugar and cocoa. Add milk and syrup and stir until blended. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil; continue stirring and boiling for 8 minutes. Remove from heat; add chocolate and butter and stir until melted, then add the cream. Return to the heat and boil an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool; store in the refrigerator in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. To serve, uncover and heat the jar in a saucepan of warm water for a few minutes (or in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds).

Nutrition:

Per tablespoon: 73 calories (percent of calories from fat, 45), trace protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 4 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 9 milligrams cholesterol, 21 milligrams sodium.


Thanks for visiting Romancing The Chocolate!



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Recipe: Fast and Easy Sloppy Joe Biscuit Pot Pies

Key West, Florida bar called Sloppy Joe's Image by bfraz via Flickr

From Denny: School season is fast approaching and busy moms need some easy recipes with little hassle to keep from being overwhelmed and over tired. Pillsbury always comes up with easy ideas at their site.

Normally, I'm not the biggest fan of frozen mixed vegetables. The only veggies that seem to do well in the freezer in my mind are things like peas or beans like lima beans and other normally dried beans. Okra doesn't do too badly either. Potatoes? Forget it! :) Seriously though, frozen veggies should work just fine here as the chili sauce will overpower any possible "freezer taste." The mustard and brown sugar will also help the flavor tremendously.

As to frozen biscuits that's your choice. I like to control what kind of fat, preferably that without cholesterol, that goes into my food so I make my own, cut them out and then freeze individually on a tray. When rock solid frozen I then place them in freezer baggies and they can last a good year if that were actually possible in our house! :)

This recipe is simple, fast and tailored to individual portions so if you want to spice up (for adults) or down (for young children or picky eaters) it can be done quickly. To make it more Cajun I'd add extra garlic powder and Cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere's (low sodium version).

Meat already has a lot of salt in it naturally, especially chicken as the sellers plump up that chicken you buy in the supermarket with injections of salt water. Sweet, huh? The up side is that salt does kill bacteria so in that sense it can be a good thing. Just watch how much salt you add to any recipe with chicken in it.

Fast and Easy Sloppy Joe Biscuit Pot Pies

From: Pillsbury.com

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1/2 pound lean (at least 80%) ground beef
(Denny: you could substitute ground turkey or chicken)

1/4 cup chopped onion (from a medium onion)

3/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables (add some fresh chopped celery too)

1 teaspoon packed brown sugar

1/2 teapoon dry ground mustard

3/4 cup chili sauce

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 Pillsbury Grands Frozen Buttermilk Biscuits (from 25-oz. bag)

2 teaspoons milk

1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds, if desired


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Spray an 8-inch skillet with cooking spray. Add ground beef and onion and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until
beef is thoroughly cooked. Drain.

3. Stir in frozen mixed vegetables, brown sugar, mustard, chili sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender.

4. Spoon beef mixture into 2 (1-1/2-cup) ungreased ovenproof bowls or ramekins. Top each with frozen biscuit. Brush each biscuit with milk, sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

5. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until biscuits are deep golden brown.


Photo: Key West, Florida bar called Sloppy Joe's Image by bfraz via Flickr

Recipe: Fast Easy Barbecue Bacon Chicken Breast

From Denny: How many times have we all wished for a wonderful meal in just minutes from ingredients already in the house? I've made this same recipe many times and loved it both for its simplicity, ease of making and speed to the table.

Barbecue Bacon Chicken Breast

From: Jeanne Besser

Note from Jeanne Besser: Crystal Ellis of Marietta writes, "Here's a great-tasting easy main dish created from my refrigerator. Kids love it!" This is truly a meal most of us can cull from our reserves, but that still makes a substantial dinner. I added the step of crisping the bacon under the broiler, but if you like softer bacon, you could skip this.

Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 (1 1/2-pound) package boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 strips thin bacon, cut in half

9 ounces ( 1/2 bottle) honey barbecue sauce (or your favorite flavor)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with foil. Sprinkle chicken breasts with pepper to taste. Place 2 bacon strip halves horizontally to cover chicken breasts. Top with barbecue sauce and fold foil over to make a packet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is just done. Increase heat to broil. Open foil and broil until bacon crisps, 1 to 2 minutes. Top with cheese. Put back in oven and cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Nutrition:

Per serving: 420 calories (percent of calories from fat, 34), 43 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 16 grams fat, 128 milligrams cholesterol, 952 milligrams sodium.



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Recipe: Super Easy Key Lime Cake Goes Well With Seafood

Photo by m kasahara @ flickr


From Denny: Since we love seafood so much in the South, well, you need something citrusy to chase the garlic taste. Another food popular in Louisiana is cream cheese icing and this cake has a cream-cheese key lime icing. Key limes from Florida are awesome! This simple recipe is just the ticket, enjoy!

From: Mae Hogg

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil (I like canola as it is a neutral oil that doesn't influence other flavors)

4 eggs

3/4 cup orange juice

1 (3 ounce) package lime Jell-O

1 (1 pound) package plus 1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

8 ounces cream cheese

3 Tablespoons lime juice


Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs, orange juice and lime Jell-O. Pour into 3 greased and floured (8-inch) cake pans.

2. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F. oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

3. Let cool 10 minutes, then remove from pans. Let cool completely.

4. To make icing, combine powderedsugar, butter, cream cheese and key lime juice.

5. Ice between layers and on top and sides of cake. Enjoy!