In the Storm

Recipes | Guadalajara Cheesesteak

Besides totally spelling Guadalajara wrong on the recipe card (which I will fix before printing) we, however, did not go wrong with these Guadalajara cheesesteaks! Similar to our beloved Jalapenos restaurants' Guadalajara cheesesteak. Both are smothered in a delectable cheese sauce, however, our cheese sauce is laced with cilantro and jalapenos and seasonings that speak to our taste buds - Mexican flavors.

These are perfect stand alone because they are filled with seasoned grilled steak and similar seasoned peppers and onions. You could easily serve them with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream along with the minced cilantro, but they are simply delightful on their own. We fill those flour tortillas to the brim with the meat and vegetables that one is plenty - unless you're my son John who will devour two, easily.

Below is the recipe care I created for our families recipe book, and the kids' recipe books.

Recipes | Butter Swim Biscuits

It has been ages since I posted new recipe cards that I have added to our family recipes. During the quarantine, while Jarrod has been home...that's Jarrod my chef-in-training, both attending culinary art classes at Savannah Technical College and working as a cook at the Bohemian, downtown Savannah, and I have been trying new recipes. Some baking straight from the recipe and some making the recipe our own.

Today, I am sharing a recipe I made using a recipe by Instrupix. I followed the recipe to a tee, mostly because it is a baking recipe and I'm not comfortable making changes to baked goods. 

Can I just say that these biscuits are to die for! I am not a buttermilk fan, unlike my dad was who could drink buttermilk doused in black pepper as a snack, but I bought a small jug of buttermilk with the intention to make these Butter Swim Biscuits and find another recipe to use up the remaining buttermilk.

Years ago I created these recipe cards for my kids' recipe books. Each one of my four kids received a Recipe album one year for Christmas. I made a recipe album for myself and I have been continuing to fill my album and most of my kids' albums as well. I was even asked to create a recipe album as a wedding gift for my daughter's best friend.

We had a new chicken recipe (I will be sharing that tomorrow), I steamed some broccoli, and I quickly - because there is nothing to this recipe - threw together these divine, swimming-in-butter, biscuits. Now, you could easily serve these biscuits stand alone. No butter required.

But, why would you?

Just add butter to the hot, buttery flaky biscuits. You'll be glad you did.

Creamy Parmesan Tuscan Chicken

This creamy Parmesan and sundried tomatoes chicken dish has become a staple at our dinner table. But, not only our table. I have made this on quite a few occasions when I have prepared a meal train. This dish is packed full of deliciousness and because I buy very large chicken breasts there is always leftovers for lunch the next day. Our family prefers it without the spinach, I like it either way, but I always include the extra greens when I prepare it for others.

A couple key ingredients to ensure the tastiest bites. Always use the best Parmesan cheese you can find. It truly does make the dish noteworthy! The smoked paprika over plain paprika is a must! It truly enhances the flavor and packs a punch.

Balsamic Chicken & Vegetables with Mozzarella Provolone

This is decadent chicken! Mouth-watering, long-lasting flavor that clouds the mind with it's tantalizing taste. Just. So. Good.

I have been gathering just chicken recipes that I can use in a weekly menu rotation where we're having chicken on Monday's along with a simple vegetable side (i.e. steamed broccoli, sautéed zucchini or squash, green beans, or asparagus). I eyed this recipe and immediately, after the first serving, added it to the rotation. One reason besides the flavor combination is amazing, is that it is seriously easy to prepare. Season the chicken. Whip up the sauces. Chop up the vegetables. Sprinkle on the cheese. Bake.

The tomatoes burst in the oven and the just-a-hint-of-sweet balsamic glaze with the spicy red onions - ahh, satisfying bite after bite. We use a combination mozzarella and provolone cheeses which in taste testing - there is a distinct difference in flavor and one that you won't want to go back to just mozzarella.

Savannah Gumbo

I'm calling this Savannah Gumbo for no other reason than I made this in my kitchen in Savannah. While most gumbo recipes call for okra, we are not an okra eating family, although I am not adverse to deep fried okra. It's the okra in soups and stews - and gumbo, when the okra takes on a different - soggy texture and the texture of food is paramount for my tastebuds.

But, here is the truth. Okra is not missed in this recipe. Filled with other yummy vegetables and three different kinds of protein it is hearty and satisfying. We serve this over either rice, or cauliflower rice (my favorite) and if you use cauliflower rice then more vegetables!

The last caveat for this gumbo. You MUST spinkle the gumbo filé and minced green onions over top individual bowl servings. Game-changer!

Oh, and another great thing about this gumbo: you can prepare it an hour or two before dinner and allow it to simmer. Perfections.

Balsamic Chicken & Vegetables with Mozzarella Provolone

This.

Is downright yummy!

The flavor combinations just cannot be beat. Sweet from the cherry tomatoes and the brown sugar and tangy from the balsamic vinegar plus perfectly juicy chicken smothered in the amazing combination of mozzarella and provolone cheeses - just makes for a mouth-watering experience.

This dish can easily be halved, or easily doubled, as needed. Jeff and I were alone for a week, recently, when the boys gallivanted off to Ashley's, so I halved this recipe, paired it with buttery, crisp garlic-infused zucchini and enjoyed one of those meals when there is silence. Except for the noises you make when you just cannot believe the food flavors. So good!

Enjoy!

 

Recipes | Jalapeno Popper Bacon Wrapped Chicken

I have been making this delectable dish for quite awhile now and is one of my easy go-to chicken dishes. Totally inspired by Closet Cooking's Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Chicken dish, it is truly a simple dish. And, I just realized I need to modify my recipe below because I left off the 4 finely diced Jalapeno's to the recipe.

We LOVE Jalapeno Poppers! We make them simple, too! Jalapeno's, cream cheese, and bacon. Yummy!

For this chicken dish, simply combine softened cream cheese, 2 cups of Monterey Jack pepper cheese, shredded, 2 green onions, finely diced, a small handful of dried parsley, four, finely diced Jalapeno's, and some freshly ground black pepper. I use one of those spatula scrappers so I can smooth all the ingredients evenly into the cream cheese. Then simply divide the mixture into fourths.

Butterfly the chicken breasts.

Fill each chicken breasts with 1/4 cheese mixture and wrap with bacon.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on how big your chicken breasts are.

The results are amazing. While some of the cheese filling oozes out of the chicken, we just scoop up that cheesy goodness and smother it on the chicken before serving.

Recipes | Parmesan Crusted Chicken Cordon Bleu with Dijon Cream Sauce

Please ignore all of the unbelievable spelling errors in the above photo

Instead, look at that divinely decadent and delightful ham and Swiss cheese stuffed chicken breast with a crusty Parmesan cheese coating.

While I love grilled anything, it can get old eating grilled this and grilled that plus a vegetable for dinner every night. But, a stuffed chicken breast with a variety of fillings? Calling my name. I keep it healthy using full fat and protein ingredients and lots of vegetables on the side. Well, healthy for my Keto-driven lifestyle, anyway.

The flavor combination was memorable. Divine. Decadent. Lovely.

I used both sliced Swiss cheese and grated a block of Boar's Head deli Swiss cheese. The ham I used were a package of 3 large Smithfield ham slices. I probably only used 1 1/2 slices, dicing the remaining for my breakfast omelets.

Next time I make these I will most probably leave off the sauce. Instead, I will spread the insides (or maybe the outside, too) of the chicken with Dijon mustard. It will simplify the recipe yet still keep that chicken cordon bleu flavor.

Crustless Zucchini Pie

I am trying to be faithful and disciplined to my Keto-friendly eating habits. One of the ways I am making that happen is taking some of our old favorites and figuring how I can make it Keto-friendly. This dish was a simple fix. Long ago, probably 20 years ago, I had a thin Pillsbury cookbook. I'm not even sure where I picked it up from, but, it had a recipe for Zucchini Pie. Over the years I have made it our own, tweaking the recipe to suit our taste buds. The original zucchini pie recipe called for 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls which made up the crust for the pie.

Enter Keto. No crescent rolls allowed. When I set out to create a crustless zucchini pie, or casserole, one thing I knew I wanted to include was the yellow mustard. It sounds weird but that hint of mustard makes a huge impact on the flavor. In the old recipe the yellow mustard was spread onto the crescent rolls before adding the ingredients to the pie. I decided to include the mustard into the egg and cheeses mixture. It was perfect!

We are zucchini lovers and I was so thankful I found another way to eat zucchini while eating Keto-friendly. I'm sure there are ways to make a Keto-friendly pie crust but truly the crust was not necessary. Although, Jeff said he missed the crust. He loves zucchini pie, as it was. Next time I will make a regular zucchini pie and a serving of crustless zucchini pie in a small baking dish for me. It's not really making two separate things and both Jeff and I, and the boys will be happy.

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

I have been doing a Keto-friendly diet for two and a half months now and totally loving it. While restrictive to many things I love (read: sugar) I am eating many more healthy foods that I normally - before Keto - wouldn't eat as much, like vegetables with every meal. For instance, I eat a salad for lunch every weekday. I don't eat a salad on Saturday because Jeff and I only eat breakfast and an early dinner. And, I don't eat a salad on Sunday unless I eat a side salad with our dinner wherever we are eating out, or I choose a salad for my meal, which doesn't happen often because on Sunday's we only eat breakfast and lunch and a salad for lunch doesn't carry me over until the next day.

So, these Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers...totally yummy! Green pepper halves stuffed, no loaded, with thinly sliced sirloin steak, cremini or button mushrooms (even baby portabello's), sliced red onion and smothered in white cheddar cheese and then topped with more cheese, because - well, cheese!

I only bake these peppers for 20 minutes because I prefer - absolutely have to have - the peppers to still have a good crunch to them. If a crunch is not necessary for you, then you could definitely add another 10 minutes to the baking time. Also, I added the sliced cheese to the top as they were going into the oven and that cheese totally melted into the meat, as well. You could certainly bake for 15 minutes and then add that sliced cheese and bake until the cheese is melted to desired - meltiness.

One of my sons does not like mushrooms but because I had sliced those small mushrooms thin, and everything was smothered in cheese, twice, he didn't even mind the mushroom and actually didn't really taste the mushrooms how he normally does. So, basically, my entire family loved these stuffed green peppers reminiscent of a philly cheesesteak sub, without the bread and Keto-friendly.