Busy Last Few Days

My husband works every other week. On his weeks off we try to pack as many things in as possible. On Thursday I had plans to go with my girlfriend on a scenic boat ride around Milwaukee but she cancelled on me and I was forced to take my hubby instead lol! Did I mention it was using Groupons most of the week?
Groupons are a discounted coupon available in most areas. http://www.groupon.com/r/uu1531594

Our next Groupon stop was John Hawk's Pub in downtown Milwaukee. I was unimpressed. We sat inside or attempted to. We didn't know where to go and there was no one inside. Finally a hostess told us to go wait out in the waiting room. I am not sure why? We waited a few minutes and were seated only to wait about 10 more minutes for someone to wait on us. The service was incredibly slow. The food was so so. Not somewhere I want to eat again.

Friday I had off work. It was another fully packed day. We had ressies to get my daughter's pics taken at hte Picture People with yes, another Groupon. Beforehand we stopped to use a Groupon at Takera Sushi restaurant. We got there a bit before 4:30PM and didn't realize they weren't open yet.

We had some time to kill and I realized I hadn't cut my daughter's finger nails. There was a salon right there named Polished. I came in an the male receptionist was outside and said he would be right with me. I asked if someone could cut my daughter's fingernails and he said "No. We are all booked." This is literally something that would have taken them 2 minutes to do but since the receptionist was so rude I will never go back again. He literally could have handed me a clippers and I would have done it myself.

Finally our restaruant was open and I didn't take my camera lol! The food was very good. My oldest daughter and her friend had the shrimp tempura. Thankfully it was on the kids menu because the adult price was $18.00. My hubby had the chicken terriyaki. And I had the sushi plate with an eel and avocado roll and some pieces of Naguri.

We got to the mall around 5:30PM and checked in with the Picture People. Luckily they had two cancellations! We were able to get in right away and didn't have to wait for our pictures. This was another awesome Groupon deal.

After dinner we headed to use our last Groupon. It was at Cold Spoons Gelato. We had gone to use this Groupon previously but they were not open. I chose a Snickers flavor and Salted Caramel flavor. Both were delicious. My youngest tried the Smurfberry.

All in all it was a fun last few days. Back to the grind tomorrow!

Chicken and Shrimp Etouffee' Hits the Spot

I have long been a fan of Southern cooking. As a child my Mom waitressed at a restaurant named Vnuks. That was my first taste of Cajun food. I was willing and still am willing to try everything and anything. I have passed on that trait to my kids thankfully.

It's still very hot here but I made this dish with just the right amount of spice. I leave it toned down with spice for my family and have a bottle of hot sauce available at the table. The dish itself comes together in about 15 minutes.

Chicken and Shrimp Etouffee'

1 boneless skinless chicken breast cubed
1/2 bag shrimp devained (I am using precooked devained)
2 Andouille sausage links cut into coins (used Johnsonville)
2 cups chicken stock
2 TBSP tomato paste
2 Bay leaves
hot sauce
1/4 cup Canola oil
1/4 cup flour
1 onion diced
1 clove of garlic minced
1 green pepper diced
2 stalks celery diced
salt and pepper
white rice

Save time by having all your ingredients ready to go. I make my rice in a rice cooker. That's one less thing I have to worry about. In a large frying pan add the oil. Once shimmering add the flour and brown for 2-3 minutes stirring with a whisk to prevent lumping. Next add the veggies. Stir into the flour and brown for another 3 minutes. Add the 2 TBSP tomato paste and sausage and brown for another minute. Now add the chicken stock and Bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Add the cubed chicken and cook for 5 minutes more on medium heat or until the chicken cubes are no longer pink. Lastly add the shrimp. Since they are precooked you only need to bring them to temperature. Serve over rice.

Crock Pot Meatball Subs, Tabbouleh, and Falafel

It was a week from hell this past week. The weather here in Milwaukee was unbearable. Temps were near one hundred and the dew point was very high. That made for a week of quick meals that didn't require baking or much use of the kitchen. This week is going to be in the 80's temp wise. I have a few things planned like clothes shopping and a cruise of Lake Michigan with my friend made all the much better with alcohol.

On Friday I also took my daughter to an organic food store called the Outpost. My normal grocery store stopped carrying Falafel mix and Tabbouleh which is a Bulgar wheat that you make into a salad. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable actually. I am used to instant Tabbouleh. This one it said to boil for 20 minutes. Now I see other recipes on the Internet that don't require boiling. My salad did come out well though. I made enough to last me all weekend. The tabbouleh was not mushy and came out the way it was suppose to. I used 4 cups of water and two cups of Tabbouleh.

Bulgar Wheat with tomato, mint, seedless cucumber, lemon juice and EVOO

For dinner Friday my daughters and I had Falafel balls in pita pockets with cucumber, tomato, and tahini (a sesame paste) My hubby had left over Jerk chicken stew.

Friday was supposed to be meatball sub night. When I went to use the French bread on Saturday, one was a total loss. Well a total loss for the subs. I used the stale bread to make garlic bread crumbs later that night.

I started out first by making the meat balls. I used a pound and a half of ground chuck and this pre-made Bertoli sauce. I really like the taste of their sauce!

I browned the balls on the stove before placing in crock pot



Crock Pot Meat Ball Subs

1 1/2 lbs ground chuck or meat of your choosing

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

1 cup chopped mushrooms

cheese (I used Gorgonzola)

1 loaf French Bread

1 jar Bertoli pasta sauce

Brown meatballs in olive oil on all sides on stove top. Move to crock pot and add your favorite sauce and mushrooms. Cook on high for 4 hours. Cut bread into three pieces. Cut down the middle and scoop out the insides of the bread. Add meatballs and sauce and your favorite cheese. Crisp for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven to melt the cheese.

Spicy Jerk Chicken Stew..Turn Up The Heat!

I am a big fan of Andrew Zimmern and "Bizarre Foods" on the TravelChannel. This week he visited Jamaica. It just so happens I got this recipe from Food.com in my email this week about a Jerk stew. One of my husbands' favorite dishes is Arroz con Pollo. This dish is a take on grandma's chicken fricasse'. It does have a kick though even though I removed all the seeds and spines. You may want to use one whole jalapeno diced and seeds removed instead. My whole family ate this dish however. We like the spice!

Jerk Chicken Stew

5 Habeneros diced or 1 jalapeno seeded and diced

2 TBSP fresh thyme

1 bunch green onion

2 TBSP Allspice powder (otherwise you will be fishing out the seeds)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c vinegar

1 c beer

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

3 cloves garlic

2 TBSP flour

1 onion diced

4 carrots chopped

4 ribs celery

2 lg sweet potatoes cut into chunks

5 pieces chicken thighs

5 pieces chicken drumsticks

olive oil 1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP

Note: be sure not to touch your face or eyes after you touch the habenero!

First thing get all the prep out of the way. Chop all your veggies. Keep the carrots celery, onion, and garlic, on one plate. Chop the sweet potatoes into large chunks.

In a food processor add the thyme(stems included), Allspice, habeneros, salt and pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and about 1/4 cup olive oil. Begin to grind into a paste. Make sure you have the feed whole covered. You do not want to get this in your eyes!

notice I used whole Allspice

Next begin to brown the chicken pieces. Season each with salt and pepper.  Heat about Each batch takes about 10 minutes to brown. The chicken will not release from the bottom of the pot until it's ready to be turned. Leave the juices in the pot.

After all the pieces are browned remove them to a ceramic plate. Throw in all the veggies except for the sweet potatoes.

Brown for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour and stir in. Brown for another two minutes. Next add in the Jerk paste and brown for 1-2 minutes. Add the beer, vinegar, water, and stock. Also add the sweet potatoes and make sure they are covered by broth. Add the chicken back in and the juices from the plate. Cook on medium high flame for 1 hour. Serve over white rice with cornbread.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is one of our absolute favorite boneless skinless chicken breast recipe. It has been extremely hot here so I have been keeping actual cooking to a bare minimum. We have a air conditioner in our living room that has been on for four days!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup blue cheese crumbled
salt and pepper
indoor grill

Note: I have an indoor grill that cooks from the bottom and top at the same time. You can also pan brown these and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until no longer pink.

Using your hand hold the chicken breast down and with a knife slice sideways to the middle of the chicken breast making a pocket. Dump the blue cheese in a bowl and stuff each breast with 1/4-1/2 cup blue cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Grill on a indoor grill with both a top and bottom for 10 minutes. About half way through I turn the chicken sideways to make hatch marks.

This Week is All About Quick Meals...Black Bean, Chicken, Avocado, Quesadillas

OMG! Wisconsin as much of the rest of the U.S. is going through a heat wave. I work in a public school building that doesn't have air conditioning. I brought my daughter with me to work today and she quickly became ill. I ended up going home from work early and threw her right in the shower. I really don't want to go back there! Besides that  I really hate to see my electric bill this month! I have had the air running for 24 hours straight!

The theme of the week is spending less time in the kitchen and more time in front of the A/C! Last night I threw together some Black Bean, Chicken, and Avocado Quesidillas. The black beans I defrosted from my freezer and I still had a half a head of lettuce left from our turkey B.L.T. night. Avocado's are something I enjoy. In fact I ate a avocado and mayo on toast sandwich today for lunch. Dinner today is crock pot pork tenderloin with gravy and mashed potatoes.

Here is the recipe:

Black Bean, Chicken, and Avocado Quesadillas


1 pk flour tortillas
2 chicken breasts (boneless skinless)then cubed
1 whole avocado cut into slices
1 can black beans (if using canned drain and rinse)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic salt
sour cream
1/2 head lettuce chopped
1 cup shredded cheese
salsa (optional)
a egg pan
PAM
and a ceramic plate

In a medium sized frying pan add the EVOO and chicken. Brown until no longer pink. Season with the garlic salt and cumin. In a omelet sized pan spray the bottom with PAM. Add one of the tortillas. Place a handful of cheese on the bottom. Next add the chopped lettuce, chicken, black beans, and cheese. Lay a tortilla on top. Let brown on a medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Flip by covering with a plate and inverting it. Brown the other side of the quesadilla. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Another Use For Those Left Over Brats, Sunday Breakfast

Here in Wisconsin brats and grilling go hand in hand. Yesterday we had our annual block party. Neighbors whom you never see come out and everyone brings a dish to pass. I a made the loaded potato salad I made a few weeks back and we also grilled some brats.

Sunday is our family breakfast day. With the left over brats and some extra unused potatoes from the potato salad I made a potato and sausage hash for breakfast along with some over easy eggs.

Brat Potatoes O'Brien

5-6 red potatoes boiled until able to pierce with fork
2 brats cut into coins
1/2 green pepper
1/2 small onion diced
olive oil
salt and pepper
PAM

First spray the pan with PAM and add a TBSP of olive oil to the pan. Fry the onion and green pepper for 3. Add the sausage coins to warm through. Continue to cook  until the onion becomes translucent. Remove from pan. Once again spray the pan with PAM and add another TBSP of oil. Add the potatoes and cover. Turn every few minutes so the potatoes brown evenly. Every time I turn the potatoes I also salt them. When the potatoes are brown add the sausages, green pepper, and onion back in. Heat through and serve.