I hope that this post will find everyone in good health and good spirits.  Lately, I have been having a lot of problems with my blog and it really put me in a state of funk knowing that someone is able to tap into your blog is just not cool.  Hopefully, all is well but, I still have more work that I need to do.  Staying away from the blog has also showed me, that I have forgotten a lot of things that I need to brush up on.  So on we go, to some great food articles and more easy recipes.

I really have been experimenting with some good recipes so today, I want to talk about one that I really love and its very easy.  One of my favorite cooking shows  is the chew.  So one day, Josh Turner was on their show and they did his Frogmore Stew which, is really a low country boil.  So let me show you how easy it is and you can do the same for a few of your friends.  http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Frogmore-Stew-Josh-Turner

Ingredients

10 Russet Potatoes

3 14-ounce Packages Smoked Sausage

2 pounds unpeeled shrimp

3 ounces of Old Bay Seasoning

6 Ears of corn (shucked and broken in half

Salt

Melted Butter

Cocktail Sauce

You must use a large pot with the strainer inside of it.  Fill the post about 1/3 full of water.  Bring to a boil and add the old bay seasoning.  I added a bottle of beer to it myself along with my other favorite seasoning.  Cut the potatoes in half and add to the pot boiling for about 15-20 minutes.

Add the corn and boil for an additional 10 minutes.

Cut the sausage in bite size pieces  adding them to the pot and boil for another 10 minutes.

Finally, add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink.

I added some crab claws and man oh man, they were so good.

Drain off the liquid and serve with melted butter and the cocktail sauce.  I  really don’t have a large platter so, I did like they do down south and covered my table with plastic and then put some news paper on top of that so that the clean up would be really quick and easy.  Country boils have been around for a very long time, its how the people get together and enjoy themselves over some really good food.  I hope you guys try this recipe one, it’s a lot of fun and two, it’s just so dog gone easy.

Enjoy and always remember, KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cookinglady

Lately, I been cooking a lot more dishes in the wok.  I love it, it’s  quick and easy and as long as you have your ingredients already prepared you will be done in no time.  As much as I love to cook, unless it’s for a special occasion, I don’t want to be in the kitchen very long.  What I really have realized is that at the end of the week and you want to clean out the frig, all those veggies you have hey, cut them up and make yourself a stir fry and that’s exactly what I did so, I will try to break it down for you as easy and as I can.   This is similar to the Affordable Chicken and Vegetable Stir-fry that I did in another post or Easy Pepper Steak.  remember, this is all from left overs or what was in the frig.

Ingredients

1 Chicken Breast

1 rib of celery

1/2 of green pepper

1/2 onion

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Cut the chicken breast into strips and then into bite size pieces.  Add about a couple of tablespoons of oil to your wok or pan.  Add the chicken to the hot pan and make sure, you move it around a lot.

 Once the chicken turns white, you can start adding your veggies one by one and continue to keep stirring the food around.

 The one thing I don’t do, is let the vegetables over cook, I like to have a little crunch because, if you have left overs they will still have a little crunch the next day and not be soggy.

Now to me, the next important thing is the sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch until smooth and then add the soy sauce keep mixing together so there will be no lumps. Add this mixture to the chicken and keep stirring. If it gets too thick, add a tablespoon of water. The sauce will have a  creamy  like texture.  You might start thinking that you went out and bought it.  That’s why it’s important to know how to make gravy.  It comes in handy for some of these dishes.  Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat down and season with salt and pepper.

 And there you have it, a very quick meal made from leftover from your frig.  Serve over rice.  I hope this recipe is one that you can add to your collection my beginner cooks.  It’s always good to keep around.   And as always, KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cooking Lady

Hey everyone, hope all is well with everyone,  been having a lot of problems with my blog lately so I’m hoping all is  well now.  Now to the good stuff, I had the pleasure of attending a Chef Hangout with Chef Mary Helen Leonard of Mary Makes Dinner .  I had won the class and man was it fun.  There were only three people in the class but honestly, if there had been more, I wonder would the class had been longer.  Anyway, the other individual was William Burdette of Nosatiation who has a very interesting blog himself.  So make sure, you give these guys a visit cause you might find something you like.

This catagory of food was very new to me but, I was very eager to learn.  When you have a passion for something, you want to learn as much as you can, it really doesn’t matter.  I really would suggest that you check out the  Chef Hangout  there are a lot of different classes that you can take and it’s not expensive.  It’s a good way to meet new people and learn at the same time.

For Dumplings

 1/3 cups Water

1 cup Flour

1 pound Ground Pork

2 Egg Whites

2 tablespoons, fluid Dark Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger, Minced or Grated (optional)

1 1-inch knob of fresh ginger, sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

1 bunch Scallions (sliced)

1 tbsp Szechuan Peppercorns (Pepper Flowers)

¼ cup Vegetable / Peanut / or Canola Oil (for making pepper oil)

1 cup Malt Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil (for dumplings)

1 teaspoon Hot Chili Pepper or Siracha Sauce

salt & pepper

1 cup water (for dumplings)

             Directions: To Make Dumplings

• Combine the flour and water in a mixing bowl, or in a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook attached.
• Mix until fully combined, and then turn the dough onto a floured surface.
• Knead the dough for about 2 minutes, then put it in a covered dish to rest.
• While the dough is resting, put the peppercorns and ¼ cup of oil into the cold wok/pan.
• Turn the burner on to medium heat and hold allow the spices to warm in the oil until fragrant.
• Turn the heat off of the burner, and allow to oil to cool.
• Combine the pork, minced/grated ginger, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, and scallions
• Sprinkle with salt & pepper
• Add the egg white, and mix it into the meat in a clockwise direction until it firms.
• Remove the dough from its dish and cut it in half. Place half of the dough onto a floured surface and roll into a ½” thick log.
• Cut the log into 1 inch pieces.
• Roll each of the pieces into a ball with your hand, then press flat on to the floured surface.
• Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a small disc. Try to keep the inside of the circle thicker than the edges.
• Dust each wrapper with flour, do not stack on top of each other.
• Continue with the second half of the dough, until all the wrappers have been made.
• Place a wrapper in your palm, then carefully drop a heaping teaspoon into the center of the wrapper.
• Pinch the wrapper closed, and set the dumpling on a floured dish.
• Repeat until all the first batch of dough is exhausted. You should have about 12 dumplings.
• Repeat with second half of dough.
• Strain the oil from the wok and discard the solids.
• Return the oil to the pan (reserving two tablespoons for the salad dressing), and turn the burner on medium.
• When the oil heats up, carefully place the dumplings into the oil. Allow them to brown on the bottom. Work in batches if you need to.
• When all of the dumplings have browned, drain the excess oil from the pan.
• Return the pan to the burner and re-heat the oil. Add all of the dumplings to the pan (if possible) followed by 1 cup of water.
• Cover and bring to a boil. Allow the dumplings to cook until the wrappers contract. (Between 3 – 5 minutes)
• Drain the dumplings and serve immediately, with the vinegar & hot pepper mixture for dipping. You can use soy sauce if you prefer.

 This technique of making home made dumplings takes a lot of practice.  I actually had a lot of left over meat so, I made another batch of dough the next day.  Remembering everything I learned, I was able to make my dumplings a lot better and bigger. We also fixed a Cucumber Salad that I really forgot to take pictures of. I was really tired because we were on our feet for three hours.  After the class, my BFF decided he wanted to fix some shrimp fried rice and egg foo young.  I toldhim  hey, I’m never buying shrimp fried rice again that’s how good it was.  So, give this recipe a try if this is one of your favorite dishes or, take the class trust me you will have a good time.  And until then, KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cooking Lady

Have you ever wondered what inspires some one to be a  blogger?  I blog about food because it’s my passion.  It’s something I just love to do.  Did you ever wonder how I got the name Harm’s Place?  Well how about we find out who she is.  Meet Harmony!

 Every time I see her and she runs to me saying Grand MA it just makes me smile and feel real good inside.  I have been wanting to cook with her but kept putting it off.  She can be real talkative LOL!  One day she said I want to bake with you ok.  So, I said ok and how about we make some cupcakes.  Yea grand ma.  So now you will get to see the pictures from our cooking together boy what fun we had.

Ingredients

1 box Duncan Hines Cake Mix

Eggs

Oil

Cup cake holders

Now you guys know baking is not really my thing and that I do try to slowly get into it.  But decorating goes right over my head.  But I try.  So let me paint this picture for you.

Could you resist that smile!

Harmonies mom (my daughter) trying to horn in on all the goodies.

Well I know that Harm had fun she took her cupcakes home and took some to school the next day for her teacher.  And yes we will do it again she called me and said her Aunt and Uncle ate them all up.  LOL what do you think?  And after all that, I forgot to get the final picture oh well, until next time always remember KEEP IT SIMPLE, LOVE YOU HARM!

Cooking Lady

Summer is the time of the year where I do not cook in the house.  It’s too hot and I love being outside.  So lately, I’ve been gathering all the easy recipes that I want to cook on the grill.  There are so many it’s really hard to choose.  Through all my search I ran across this recipe that I kept sitting to the side cause I knew I would be trying something out of this book.  It’s FOOD at the time that I bought this magazine chef Eric Ripert was on the cover and I really like him especially when he hooks up with Anthony Bourdane another one of my favorites. They have a lot of different chef’s and recipes so you can just take your pick.

I’m really hooked on the recipes that Chef La La does she is a feisty little latino that cooks very big and has an interest in eating healthy because of the diabetes that runs in her family.  So, the recipe I choose to do this weekend is spicy if you don’t like spicy you have to make some changes.  So come on and let’s get cookin.

Ingredients

3   lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless

7   oz chipotle peppers in adobe sauce

12 oz  frozen orange juice

  4 oz tangerine juice

  3 oz brown onion, peeled and sliced

  4  garlic cloves, minced

1/4 t  pepper

   4 T  olive oil

    1 T salt

    2 medium oranges for garnish

48  metal or bamboo skewers

Cut chicken breast into strips on the diagonal into 1/2 – 1 inch slices.  Each skewer should weigh approximately 1.5 ounces.  Thread chicken onto skewers. place skewers into bowl or pan whichever you have available.  Remove chipotle peppers from sauce and chop couarse.  In a large bowl or pan, combine orange juice, tangerine juice, onions, garlic, pepper, olive oil and chopped chipotle peppers and remaining adobe sauce (reserving some sauce for garnish)

Pour mixture over skewers, marinate refrigerated for 2-4 hours.  Add salt to marinade just prior to cooking.  Grill skewers over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side or until to desired doneness.  Garnish with sectioned tangerines and drizzle with reserved adobe sauce.

Now this recipe makes 48 skewers and it’s only 209 calories.  It was so good that we served it with corn on the cobb that started out on the grill but started to rain so we brought it into the house and finished it by steaming it.  I also made some herb butter for the corn that was just sooo yummy.

Ingredients for Herb Butter

Garlic & Chive Butter – In small bowl, blend 1/2 cup softened butter or margarine, 2 cloves finely chopped garlic and 1 Tbsp. finely chopped chives.  When I had this done, I put the butter into a piece of  clear plastic wrap and rolled int into a loaf. Twisted the ends and popped it into the freezer until I was ready for it.

 Now our guest were very please with this meal and I was happy because it came off without a hitch.  So, these are the kind of meals that you want to think about cooking in the summer they are quick and easy besides the grilling part and they really didn’t take long.  So go ahead and start getting your summer recipes ready cause who wants to cook in the house in the summer.  But whatever you do, always remember

 KEEP IT SIMPLE!

 Cooking Lady

When summer comes, no one really wants to cook  especially in the house, I know I don’t.  You have to get your summer menu in check so you’re not sitting and wondering what the heck your going to cook.  You can always find a box of pasta in my pantry.  It’s just one of the go to meals I keep around.  Pasta salads can be looked at as a meal or a side dish.   But remember, you can screw them up by cooking them too long.  I found some interesting information on the history of pasta and some of this information I really didn’t know.  So here is the pasta salad I fix for my family and I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients 

Box of curly pasta

Mushrooms

Italian dressing

Cherry tomatoes

Salad  Supreme Seasoning

1 Large sweet or regular onion

This recipe is very quick and easy so boil the pasta according to package and rinse in cold water when done.  Chop or slice up the mushrooms and cut up the tomatoes. Slice the onions and combine all ingredients.

When ready to serve, add the salad dressing and salad supreme seasoning.  And there you have it.  I know, this seems just too simple but, remember there are a lot of people out there that can’t even cook or would even think to put these ingredients together.  They would rather go out and pay for a salad.  If you went and purchased all these ingredients,  it should cost no more than $6.00.  The salad supreme seasoning is expensive but, you would have it for a while because you would not use it everyday and remember, pasta has a long shelf life so this is something you want to keep in the pantry.  I  hope this will be a meal you add this summer but always remember KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cooking Lady

Hey there, hope all is good with ya and I want to tell you about a new easy recipe I found from the Chew.  As I was watching Michael Symon cook these chicken wings, all I could think of was that I had to cook them too.  This really was the first time I tried on of Michael’s recipes and guess what, I was not disappointed.  All my life, I have loved chicken wings, not wing dings but chicken wings.  Some days I cook them good and some days not.  Well trust me, try this recipe and you will fall in love with them.

I did make some changes only because my BFF can’t eat a lot of spicy food and I love spicy food.   So, let me not waste any more time and let’s get cooking.

Ingredients

• 3 Lb Chicken Wings
• 4 Cups Duck Fat
• 1/2 Cup Cilantro Leaves
• 2 jalapeno (thinly sliced)
• Marinade:

• 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
• 1 Tsp Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
• 2 Limes (Juiced)
• 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Wing Sauce:

• 1/2 Cup Sriracha
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Honey (or more if desired)
• 3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 1 Lime Zest
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

• ingredients 3 Lb Chicken Wings
  1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
  1 Tsp Sugar
  1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
  2 Limes (Juiced)
  1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  instructions Combine the kosher salt, sugar, paprika, lime juice, and extra virgin olive oil. Add the chicken wings and toss to coat. Place the wings in a gallon sized bag and marinate for 1-2 hours.
• step 2
  ingredients 4 Cups Duck Fat
  instructions Place a cast iron pan over medium high heat and add 4 c of duck fat. Using a deep fry thermometer to monitor the temperature, allow the fat to heat to 320 degrees.
• step 3
  ingredients
  instructions Preheat your oven to 350. After the wings have marinated, spread them out on a baking tray, with any liquid remaining from the marinade, and bake for 15-20 minutes until just about cooked through. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
• step 4
  ingredients 1/2 Cup Sriracha
  1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  2 Tbsp Honey (or more if desired)
  3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
  1 Lime Zest
  1/2 Tsp Salt
  instructions In the meantime, make the wing sauce by placing a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add all of the ingredients and whisk occasionally until the butter has melted than taste and season with salt, and more honey if desired. Set aside until ready to use.
• step 5
  ingredients Salt
  1/2 Cup Cilantro Leaves
  2 jalapeno (thinly sliced)
  instructions When your fat is hot (360F), add the wings, deep-frying until golden and crispy. Remove them onto some paper towels and season them with salt. Place them in a bowl; pour the sauce over the top, then mix to evenly coat all of the wings. Add in the cilantro leaves, tossing one more time. Serve with your favorite accompaniments (Michael served with lime wedges and sliced jalapeno).

Trust me, this technique has changed the way that I’ll be cooking my wings.  Adding the cilantro and the jalapeno’s gives me the heat I’m looking for and I’m almost sure that if I had used the Sriracha they would have really been spicy.   So give them a try and always remember,

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cooking Lady

Hello everyone, I know I’ve been missing in action.  I think, I was just a little bit burned out and stuck in a rut.  But I’m back and here to be able to show you some more easy and really good recipes that you can cook for yourself and your family.  I’m hoping that everyone had a very good Easter.  I had been gone for the last two years so, for me it was really special and I was blessed to be able to cook for them.  Our menu was of all the favorite dishes that I know my children like.  But, my newest dish was a Crown Roast of Pork.  I never thought that I would  ever cook one so, this was a first for me.  It was not hard at all I think the hardest thing for me was going to bed and smelling all of the different herbs.  It kind of reminds you of going to bed on the eve of Thanks Giving and smelling the turkey as it cooks in the oven.

Although, this is not a every Sunday meal it’s only for special occasions.  So, I want you to check it out it’s easier than you think it is.  I found the recipe in the Joy Of Cooking it’s like my BFF’s most used cook book and actually his only cook book.  So here we go, let’s get cooking.  We get our best cuts of meat from the butcher in our local eastern market.

 Ingredients

1 Clove of garlic

Fresh Sage

Dried Rosemary

Tarragon or Thyme

.   

 Season the roast really good with the above ingredients.

 Cover the tips of the bones with aluminum  foil.

Heat the oven on 400 F once you put the roast in the oven, turn the temperature down to 325F.  So, what I decided to do was put the roast in the oven at 11:15 before I went to bed and, it was done around 4:30 in the morning.  I drained off the drippings and made a heck of a gravy.  You can refer back to the post on Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy to learn how to make your gravy.  I will post my side dishes on another post.   So if  you have a really special occasion coming up, hey you might want to think about fixing up a crown roast it’s so yummy. 

I hope you all had a blessed day with your family and always remember KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cooking Lady

Last week, I went to lunch with a friend and had a dish that I hadn’t had in year.  It was called a wet burritos and when I would try to explain it to  people they  would think I didn’t know what I was talking about.  So we went to a restaurant call Los Galanas and they have very good mexican food.  And guess what?, I found the dish I had been longing for a wet burritos.  It was soooo good honestly and I couldn’t even eat it all.  So today I had that craving again for these wet burritos I really had to have it.

So, today I’m stepping out of my box and trying to cook a meal I have never attempted before.  This could be my first blunder but we shall see.  I’ve gathering all the ingredients I need so, here we go.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

2 avocados

1 pkg yellow rice

1 can refried beans

Taco seasoning

 floured Tortillas

Cook ground beef until brown and drain off the grease add the seasoning packet and let simmer.  Follow the directions for the yellow rice and get it going at the same time.

 I added a tiny bit of oil into the skillet and lightly browned the tortillas and, made the guacamole  which I should have put into the food processor so it would have been a lot more creamier.  Add the ground beef and tuck in the ends and roll up leaving the open end on the bottom.  Top with your favorite cheese and I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.  All in all, it wasn’t a hard dish to make as all it just didn’t have the flavor that I was looking  for.  So, I think this will be one dish I will leave to the pros unless, I find another recipe.   I’m posting this OOPS because I want you to know, everything I cook doesn’t always come out right.  It doesn’t happen often but when it does, I’m gonna post it too.  Hey if you can help me out, let me know cause next week, I’m going to the restaurant. LOL   and I really have a little bit of heart burn going on right now but, if you’ve been visiting this blog enough you already know, I’m gonna KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cooking Lady

Most of the time, when people go out they eat seafood it’s cause they don’t want to mess it up at home.  Are these some of your favorites?  Would you rather go out to eat them or cook them yourself?  I was like that at one time until I realized how easy it was to cook them myself.  And all the little extras that I want are just a footstep away.  It’s so easy so let’s just get started.

Ingredients

2 Lobsters

1 bottle of beet

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic

6 whole cloves

Crack down the center of the lobster.  Mix all the above ingredients together. Place lobster into mixture and let sit while you are starting up the grill.

Once you put the lobster on the grill, keep basting them with the liquid  that they were soaking in.  You should already know how to prep your steaks, season with your favorite seasoning and place on the grill.  Remove lobster when it turns pink. Another tip is to watch the dots on the back of the lobster that will also tell you when they are done.

So again I ask you, would you rather go out or cook it your self.  I thing the answer is clear here.  The total cost of this dish was around $25.00.  Now don’t get me wrong we don’t eat like this a lot and we do catch the seafood on sale.  If you went out the total cost of this dish for two people would be over $60.00 and I doubt it would taste all that good.  I like to add all my favorite seasonings which cannot be done in a restaurant .  You can serve this with your favorite side dishes mine is always my smash mashed potatoes and a vegetable.

so, you  be the judge but, always remember, KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Cooking Lady