Fried Okra with Fresh Okra

 Rinse Okra. Cut tips and ends off fresh okra. Slice into 1/4 inch slices. 

2 eggs

1/2 t salt

Beat eggs and salt and toss okra in mixture. Soak for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in black cast iron skillet until water drops pop.  375°

In a gallon zip bag add: 

1 1/4 c yellow corn meal

1/4 c flour

1/2 t ground black pepper

1 t salt

 Remove okra from egg with a slotted spoon shaking off excess egg.  Place in ziplock bag with seasoning and shake until well coated. With slotted spoon take out 1/2 of okra and fry until golden brown.  Drain on plate with paper towels. continue frying the other half.  Salt with Kosher salt as needed.

Funeral Potatoes

Ingredients:

3/4 c chopped onion, 1 small
1 clove garlic
1 bag of shredded hash browns
1 c sour cream
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/4 c parmesan
1 1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c butter
2 c crushed cornflakes

Preheat oven to 350° Saute, garlic and onion in butter or small amount of olive oil.  Set aside.  In separate bowl combine shredded hash browns(slightly thawed),  sour cream, cream of chicken soup, parmesan cheese,  1 c of the  sharp cheese, and onion garlic mixture.  Mix until blended and spread into a greased 9X13 pan.
Add remainder of the cheese on the top.  In a separate bowl combine cornflakes and butter and spread on top.
Bake 50-60 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Baked Parmesan Zucchini

Ingredients:

4 zucchini quartered and cut into spears
1/2 c  grated parmesan cheese
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 t dried basil
1/4 t garlic powder
Kosher salt
2 T olive oil


Preheat oven to 375°  Spray pan spray on cooling rack and place on a cookie sheet.
 Mix dry ingredients.  Drizzle spears with  oil and then  sprinkle with mixture. Bake  on prepared rack 15 minutes, and then broil  2-3 minutes until crisp and golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Zucchini Tomato Skillet

Ingredients:

2-3 T oil
4 medium zucchini, sliced
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t basil
1 t sugar
2 fresh tomatoes cut into wedges
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper

Heat oil in skillet and fry zucchini until slightly brown.  Push aside zucchini and saute onion and garlic until golden. Sprinkle basil and sugar and stir fry until zucchini is crisp. Stir in tomatoes and heat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add Parmesan cheese(opt).  Serve over rice.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans green beans, drained
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1 can of Durkee French Fried Onions
salt
pepper


Mix all ingredients with only 1/2 of onions. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.  Top with remaining french fried  onions, for the last 5 minutes.

Pakora Indian Fried Vegetables

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen peas
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup cubed zucchini
1 cup cubed carrots
1 diced onion 

Dice/cube all veggies to be the size of the peas. You can use a variety of veggies. 

Batter:
2 cups flour (add an additional 1T of flour at a time if you want a thicker consistency)

2 cups water

1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t curry
1/2 t garam Masala
1 t baking powder

3/4 t salt 

When making batter, you want to aim for pancake batter consistency. Add 4 cups of diced veggies.


Drop by spoonfuls in a skillet of hot oil on medium heat and fry until golden brown. Salt to taste

Chevy's Red Rice

Chevy's Red Rice is a "MUST HAVE" for a Mexican feast. It takes a regular burrito or a Mexican meal to an amazing one. Enjoy!

Chevy's Red Rice

2 cans of diced tomatoes, blended
1/2 tsp  chipotle purée** (See note - you can increase up to 2tsp for added spiciness)
1 tbsp  chopped cilantro or 1 tsp of dried
2 cups of water 
1 tsp  chopped garlic 
2 tsp salt 
1/3 cup canola oil 
2 cups long-grain white rice 
½ cup chopped yellow onion

Blend the tomatoes and chipotle purée then stir in the cilantro and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the water, blended tomatoes, garlic, chipotle purée**(See note) and salt and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot/pan over high heat until just before the oil begins to smoke. 

Add the rice and onion and sauté until ¾ of the grains are bright white or slightly brown, 7 to 10 minutes - don’t drain the oil.

Add the tomato mixture from the bowl to your pot and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Remove from the heat, cover and let stand covered for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and tasting to see whether the rice is done. 

When the rice is cooked through, fluff with a fork then keep warm until ready to serve.

We usually double this and it keeps well in the fridge and makes great leftovers. 

**Do not omit this ingredient. It provides the main smoky flavor of this rice. CRITICAL ingredient. Chipotle Puree is just a can of "chipotles in adobo sauce" blended up until smooth - easy. They can be purchased at any grocery store, Walmart, Kroger, etc. You can keep leftover puree in the freezer. It will keep up to a year in the freezer. The original recipe calls for 2tsp. My family cannot do spice so I reduced it to 1/2tsp and it provides the flavor with a low spice. 

Julie's Guacamole

Julie's Guacamole

4 avocados
1/4 purple onion, finely diced
1 small tomato, finely diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp of cumin
Squeeze of resh lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients. Mash together but do not overmix, I like chunky guacamole. Taste with a chip and add salt and pepper to your liking.

You can really adjust any ingredients to taste. If you like a lot of onion, you can go up to 1/2 of an onion and if you like a lot of garlic, you can increase the garlic... you get the picture :) This is just my basic starting point.

Great addition to any party, meal, or mexican feast :)

Vegetable Korma

Vegetable Korma

Sauté until potatoes are tender:
1 1/2 T oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large potato, cubed

Add, sauté for 1 min:
1 teaspoon minced ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced

Add:
1 1⁄2 c cream or half and half.
1-4oz can tomato sauce – Or sauce from chicken tikka
2 teaspoons salt
1-3 T sugar
1/2 T curry powder

Add:
2 to 3 cups of frozen or fresh vegetables that you enjoy.
    (I like peas, cauliflower, carrots, sugar peas, broccoli.)

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro to
serve.

Breakfast Burriots

I found this recipe not too long ago and I make excuses to eat these multiple times a week. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. It doesn't matter, they are great any time of day. Try one and you'll never eat a breakfast burrito w/o roasted tomatoes again! Delicious.

 Breakfast Burritos

1-2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 small sweet onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
salt/pepper

4 large whole wheat tortillas
8 eggs
2-3 Tb milk
salt/pepper/red pepper flakes

grated pepper jack cheese/cheddar cheese
baby spinach leaves
fresh avocado slices

Start out with tossing the tomatoes and onion in olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 oven for 15 minutes. This step is a MUST! It makes the burrito superior to any other :) They will look like this when they are done:

While these are cooking, scramble the eggs. Crack all the eggs in a bowl, add your seasoning and milk and whisk until well combined. pour into a saucepan and cook slowly at medium heat. When the eggs are almost finished cooking remove from heat and they will finish cooking while you get the tortillas ready.

Heat the tortillas in a fry pan on the stove with a teeny tiny bit of butter (I don't use butter, just heat), for just a few moments on each side. Put the warm and toasted tortilla on a plate, then lay the spinach down the middle. Spoon on some of your roasted tomatoes and onions, scrambled eggs, top with cheese and avocado.

I fold mine up like a taco b/c I don't' think their is a burrito shell big enough to contain it all. If you can roll it like a burrito, do so. If not, get a fork and enjoy what falls out after your breakfast burrito/taco is eaten.

Double Broccoli Quinoa

This is delicious. It's light, healthy and packed with all the good stuff. Enjoy!

Double Broccoli Quinoa
Printable Version

3 cups cooked quinoa
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems
3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream

Toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado
crumbled feta or goat cheese

Cook the quinoa according to it's package's directions. Set aside. (I successfully made it in my parent's rice cooker. 2 parts water 1 part rice... same ratio... turned out great)

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6.

**To make the red chile oil: You'll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes - until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.

Recipe from 101Cookbooks