Good Eats: A Little Big Lunch - English Muffins

The plan was to make Eggs Benedicts for our fifth anniversary celebratory breakfast.  But seeing as it was after the zoo and after lunch before our english muffins were ready, we held off until the next day.  But the english muffins were excellent, even by themselves. 

We didn't have english muffin tins, nor could we figure out how to cut the bottoms off tuna cans so we used metal dinosaur cookie cutters.  Don't tell Alton.

English Muffins

Makes 8

From Good Eats

Time: Overnight and then 1.5 hours in the morning

Combine:

• 12 ounces all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 ounces nonfat dry milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Microwave:

• 10 ounces water
• 1 tablespoon shortening

Bake:

• nonstick spray
• 8 teaspoons quick rolled oats

Combine first five ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix on low for 10 seconds.

Put water and shortening in a microwavable container and nuke to 120 - 130 degrees F (about 2 minutes).  Stir until the shortening is thoroughly melted. Add water to the dry ingredients and mix on medium until well combined. Stop to scrape down the bowl halfway through mixing. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove dough, uncover, and mix on medium for 3 minutes using the paddle attachment.

Position 8 cans (or cookie cutters) on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray.  Sprinkle a layer of quick rolled oats in the bottom of each ring.  Scoop the dough evenly between each ring. Sprinkle another layer of rolled oats on top of the dough. 

Cover with parchment paper and let set in a warm place for 60 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Leave parchment paper on top of the rings and add another baking sheet on top. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the top sheet pan.  Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until the muffins are lightly browned.

Remove the pan to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.  Slide a knife around the perimeter to loosen. Cool completely before splitting and toast before serving.

Good Eats: Bowl O' Bayou - Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

I don't even like Gumbo so I'm not sure why I tried this Alton Brown recipe so long ago.  Maybe for Steven or maybe because Alton makes everything look delicious.  As it turns out, I just don't like bad gumbo because I love this stuff!

It takes a while to make (about three and a half hours) and there is a lot to be done so make an afternoon of it. The roux is the most intimidating part but by baking it in the oven, it's pretty much no fail. Although I did spend like 10 minutes frantically googling "burnt roux v. brick roux". I couldn't see any red in mine but it was a solid dark brown and delicious. 

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

6 servings

3 hours and 30 minutes cooking time.

Adapted from Good Eats

Bake:

• 4 ounces vegetable oil, by volume
• 4 ounces all purpose flour, by weight

Cook:

• 1 1/2 pounds raw, medium, whole shrimp (head on and everything...at least shell on if you can only find beheaded shrimp)
• 2 quarts water

Add:

• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced green peppers
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

Add:

• 1/2 cup tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 bay leaves

Add:

• 1/2 pound andouille sausage, sliced 
• 2 cups of okra, sliced OR 1 tablespoon file powder

The first step (after gathering all ingredients) is to make the roux.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk the vegetable oil and all purpose flour in a dutch oven. Place uncovered on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for 1.5 hours, whisking two or three times while it bakes.

While the roux is baking make the shrimp broth. Dehead, peel, and devein the shrimp placing the heads, shells, and tails in a large pot. Refrigerate the shrimp.  Add two quarts of water to the pot and set over high heat until it reaches a boil.  Decrease the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced to 1 quart.  Strain the liquid into a container and discard the solids.

While the shrimp broth is cookings and the roux is baking... chop all your vegetables if you were a bad cook and didn't do it before hand.

When the roux is done, move it to the stove over medium - high heat. Add the onions, celery, green peppers, and garlic. Stir continuously for 8 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves then stir to combine.

Slowly add the shrimp broth while whisking.  Decrease the heat to low, cover, and cook for 35 minutes.

While the gumbo base is cooking... brown the sausage on medium heat in a separate frying pan.

Turn off the heat then add shrimp, sausage, and okra (or file powder).  Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes so the shrimp can cook and the okra can thicken the gumbo.  Once shrimp is pink, serve over rice. 

Tomato Beans

Did you know you are allowed to ADD things to canned goods.  Like seasonings! Or other canned goods! It was no trouble adding a couple of seasonings I already had in my pantry. Then I just...heated it up, I might have stirred it once but other than that I stood there and tried to look busy. This is the new fast food!

Not much to look at, granted, but we will definitely be repeating. We served with green beans and fried okra for a hefty vegetarian meal.

Tomato Beans

Serves 4

From Eggton

• 2 15 ounce cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped finely
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• dash a pepper

Add ALL the ingredients to a pot and heat on medium until warmed. Good as a side, a vegetarian meal, or add some meat to make a main course. So versatile. 

Pretzel-Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard

White meat for white people! Also a good pretzel dip. Next time I might go the pork chop route.

Pretzel-Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard

Serves 2

Adapted from Cuisine

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

• 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 1/2 cups salted pretzels
• 2 chicken breasts, quartered
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Set up three shallow bowls.  Mix the flour, paprika, and pepper in one. Whisk the mustards, honey, lemon juice, and garlic powder in the second but reserve half to use as a dipping sauce. Crush the pretzels to crumbs and add in the third bowl.

Heat vegetable oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Dredge each chicken piece in flour, then mustard mixture, then the crushed pretzel, then into the skillet.  Cook chicken on one side until it is brown and crispy (about 5 minutes) then flip.  

Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until done (about 10 to 15 minutes). Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with the reserved mustard dip.

Bland Mushy Pork Shoulder

So far this year I'm feeling very uninspired and lazy. We are just getting back into our routine and I am fighting it every step of the way.  I'm definitely over christmas, but I'm not ready to leave my warm cozy house, or frankly, my pajamas.  Can't we just keep snacking all day and not cooking a 'real' meal?  Do I really need to go to the grocery store?  

The Bland Mushy Pork Shoulder was the kick in the butt I needed.  I only planned meals for like two days this week and decided we would live off pork for the rest of the week.  

It even looks as gross as it sounds!

But we did it. And lived off pork for the rest of the week. (Is that something I should brag about?) All you need to do is shred, season, and broil. I added sriracha and soy sauce then broiled for about 6 minutes until crisp to make spring rolls.

We mostly broiled up some pork, and made tacos with refried beans and corn tortillas. Or kept it super simple with crisped pork, canned black beans, and canned green beans.  Did I mention I'm feeling lazy this year?  Want to take it a step further? I saved the chicken broth that I cooked the pork in and made it the base of chicken tortilla soup.  Just heat it up in a big pot, add frozen corn, diced tomatoes, any spices that sound good, and shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken. Don't forget to make more broth from the rotisserie chicken to replenish your stock!

Bland Mushy Pork Shoulder

Adapted from Shutterbean <- check out for more ways to use the pork

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 lbs pork shoulder
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 14.5 ounce canned diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth

Mix all the spices together into a small bowl.  Rub the pork shoulder with the spice mixture on all sides.

Line the bottom of the crock pot with the garlic and onions. Place pork on top. Pour the tomatoes and then chicken broth on top.  Cover and cook on high (yes, high) heat for 8 hours, turning halfway through to ensure even cooking. Shred and save!

Chicken Pot Pie or why Henry will need therapy

Saying Henry loves pie is the understatement of all 2015 and 2016.  Henry lives for pie. As soon as he gets to his Nanny's house he starts to chant "pie? pie? Pie? Pie. Pie. Pie! Pie! PIE! PIE!!!".  He once refused to eat an entire meal because he knew pie was coming for dessert.  Henry has never missed a meal.  Nanny rewarded him with two pieces of pie. She's a pushover and also a damn good pie-maker.

For the above reasons I never make pie.  It turns my child into a demon and I couldn't do it as good as Nanny anyway.  But chicken pot pie doesn't count as pie.  It's a meal, not a real pie.  It was the New Year. Plus it's Papaws recipe, not Nanny's.  It had to be made! 

We called it "Chicken Pot" all day and had no problem. I made it in secret while Steven kept him distracted. 

The day was beautiful, my child acted beautiful, and my 'chicken pot' was beautiful.  

One thing we failed to account for was it looked like PIE! Henry saw it when we sat down for dinner and his eyes filled with hope. He was ecstatic. The chanting began and we tried to play it off.  We assured him it wasn't pie like Nanny's but he could have some.  He poked it around on his tray and said "no! pie!" 

We held our ground. "This is dinner. This is all there is. This IS the pie."  He nibbled at it, smashed his sippy cup in it, you know, the usual. We asked if he was done and he said, "no! pie!".  But there was no pie. You could tell the moment it clicked. The exact second he realized there was no pie and as such, no reason to live.  

To say the least, the aftermath didn't made 2016 feel very welcoming. But the pie was good. 

Papaw's Chicken Pot Pie

Each pie serves 4, this makes enough filling for 2 pies

• 3 large or 4 small chicken breast
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• frozen mixed vegetables: peas, corn, carrots, greenbeans
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• pie crusts
• egg, beaten

Place chicken breast and bouillon in a large pot. Cover with water about 3 inches above chicken.  Boil on medium-high until chicken is tender.  Remove the chicken and shred. Reserve the broth in a separate bowl. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Add the chicken and as many vegetables as desired into the large pot over medium heat. Mix 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 cup of the broth and pour into the pot.  Boil mixture and add chicken broth and cornstarch as needed to form a thick pie filling. 

Place a pie crust on the bottom on the pie plate, add half the mixture, and cover with another pie crust.  Paint the top of the crust with the beaten egg.  Bake until crust is golden brown, (about 30 minutes).  We usually freeze the other half of the mixture. 

Bake a dessert pie as well because this is one battle you just don't have the energy to fight. 

Apple Brie Bite

When you run out of crackers but still need that crunch. And brie, you always need brie.