Blackened Salmon

We found this recipe on the Real Simple website, and have used it on chicken as well.  We butterflied the breasts to make them thinner and cook faster while doing the oven method, but have also grilled the chicken.  We serve this with frozen corn seasoned with Tony Chachere's original Creole Seasoning (from walmart) and roasted sweet potatoes and green beans.  The kids like the chicken.  Apparently you can buy blackening spice, but this is very simple to make. 

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, combine the paprika, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon of the salt.
3. In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt 2 ½ tablespoons of the butter. Add the lemon juice.
4. Working with 1 salmon fillet at a time, dip the top and bottom halves first in the lemon butter, then in the spices.
5. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the salmon until blackened, 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the oven for 8 minutes.
6. Transfer the salmon to  individual plates and serve with the lemon wedges.

Read more...

Chicken Fried Steak & Gravy

Full instructions here

For the steak:

Cube steak (typically 2 steaks per package, each steak will serve 2 people)
Salt, pepper & garlic salt (to taste)
Eggs*
Milk (about 1 T. per egg)
Saltine Crackers*

For the gravy:

Pan drippings from steak
Oil
Flour
Chicken Bullion
Milk
Pepper to taste

Read the post linked above for full instructions - enjoy!

*I cooked this meal for 11 and it took 1 box of saltines and about 4 eggs to cover all the steaks.

Read more...

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Recipes don't get much easier than this!

As you can see, I used canned chicken, which made it even easier since I didn't have to take the time to cook any of the chicken. After grating some cheese and measuring my liquids(so.hard.), I cut the cream cheese into cubes...

I layered the ingredients in a small baking dish. I did shredded chicken, hot sauce, ranch, shredded cheese, then cream cheese on top.

Once everything was in the dish I stirred it up a bit, covered it with a lid (my dish had a lid, you can use tinfoil) and baked for 30 minutes at 350° until it's all warm and melty. Give it a good stir then serve it warm with corn chips! We also had veggies with ranch on the side. Mmmmm

Read more...

100% whole wheat pumpkin muffins

On a quest to find more things to make with my whole wheat flour. These turned out great. Maesyn ate one and liked it this morning, so it is a good kid treat. It has only 2 tbs of oil, so the fat content is low. Honey instead of sugar! I substituted almond milk and a little lemon juice for the butter milk. After I made then I was thinking I could have added Flax seed. I will next time, and maybe even reduce the oil after. I also did not add walnuts or cranberries because I did not think the kids would like them, but pecans would be great in this recipe too.

They are hearty but nice an moist. I think that this will be my new go to recipe for pumpkin muffins.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts
2 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 C. pumpkin puree (I use canned)
2 T. oil
3/4 C. honey
2 eggs
2/3 C. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. sweetened dried cranberries (like Craisins)
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a standard size 12 cup muffin tin (I use cooking spray).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, honey, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
5. Divide batter evenly between 12 standard sized muffin cups. Bake 20-23 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. Muffins are done when they spring back lightly to the touch or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

http://pinchmysalt.com/2007/11/20/whole-wheat-pumpkin-muffins-with-cranberries-and-walnuts/

Read more...