WELCOME TO TEXAS, Y'ALL!

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The latest catering gig was for a meeting where some of the participants were flying into Texas from Indiana.  So providing lunch for this group was FUN because I wanted to welcome them TEXAS-STYLE!  I literally named the menu "Welcome to Texas, Y'all!".  Of course that meant stuffed barbecue chicken thighs, home-made baked beans, mini cornbread muffins, bacon-wrapped green bean stacks, cabbage salad with slaw dressing, and Texas tornado bars for dessert!  It was a huge hit and the chicken was delicious!!  So I have given you the gift of the easy recipe below!  Y'all.

Peppers & Cream Cheese-Stuffed Barbecue Chicken Thighs

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 green bell pepper, diced finely

1 red bell pepper, diced finely

1 yellow bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 red onion, diced finely

1 tbs sea salt

1 tbs pepper

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs paprika

2 pkgs cream cheese, softened

2 pkgs chicken thighs

sea salt

pepper

garlic powder

1 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup mustard

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

In a heavy pan (I use my cast-iron skillet, of course!), sprinkle enough evoo to cover the bottom and heat for one minute on medium flame.  Add all peppers and onion, and cook for two minutes.  Add sea salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic, and then stir and cook another two minutes.  Remove from heat and add to the cream cheese in a bowl.  Stir until creamy smooth.  Pound each chicken thigh out to make sure it is not uneven.  Add a teaspoon of the cream cheese and bell pepper mix to the middle and roll, laying each one on a prepared baking sheet, fold-side down.  Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour.

Remove from freezer and sprinkle the tops with evoo, and then sprinkle a little sea salt and a little pepper and garlic powder as well.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Meanwhile, mix barbecue sauce, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl.  Once fifteen minutes is up, baste the chicken thighs liberally with barbecue sauce mixture.  Bake another fifteen minutes.  Cowboy up!!

NOTES:  The longer you keep the thighs in the freezer, the less the cheese mixture will run out as the chicken cooks.  This is low-carb, too!

ONE A PENNY, TWO A PENNY...

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Hot cross buns!!  Do you remember that nursery rhyme?  It really stands out to me every Easter because I make the savory version to serve with our traditional ham, decadent potatoes, peas and carrots, salami pie, with carrot cake for dessert.  I even served a Cottontail Cocktail with it this year and it brought out the flavor of the raisins and currants in the buns.  If you've never tried them or had them, try this recipe!!  Share them with your family!  And "If you have no daughters, feed them to your sons.  One a penny, two a penny, HOT CROSS BUNS!!"

SAVORY HOT CROSS BUNS

1/2 cup apple juice

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 dried currants

1 1/4 cups milk

2 large eggs, plus one egg yolk (save the white for later)

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 pkg fast rising yeast

1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tbs ground cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp sea salt

1 tbs baking powder

4 1/2 cups flour

for the baste: 

1 large egg white

2 tbs milk

for after they are baked:

4 tbs melted butter

Combine the raisins, currants, and apple juice in a small sauce pan, and bring to a small boil, just till the fruit and liquid are very warm, and then remove from heat. Set aside to cool to room temperature. When the fruit mixture is cool, mix together all of the remaining ingredients except the milk and fruit. Heat the milk to just warm - don't boil it - and add to the dough mixture.  Fold in the fruit and apple juice mixture.  Let the dough rise for an hour, covered. 
Using a greased ice cream scoop, form about 12 to 14 buns, and arrange them into a greased 9x13 pan.  Cover the pan, and let the buns rise for another hour, or until they've puffed up and are touching each another.  Whisk together the reserved egg white and milk, and brush it liberally over the buns.  Bake the buns at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, baste with the melted butter, and transfer to a rack to cool.

NOTES: These are usually served with less savory spices, and with different types of dried fruits.  It usually has a sweet cream cheese frosting drizzled ver it in the shape of a cross; hence the name!  In this instance, I made them much more savory and skipped the sweet frosting and I.  Am. Telling.  YOU.  They were insanely good - like, RIDICULOUS good.  

AHOY, MATEY!

SHE2016©

I wanted to dedicate this particular Sunday Supper to my March Madness and all things Irish-and-green month.  I cannot begin to tell you how happy The Hubster was that we brought a little gastro-pub into the house!  I made Guinness-battered fish and chips with a side of slaw and Guinness beer bread with honey butter, a Pot O'Gold cocktails, and Guinness sticky pudding cake.  (Starting to see a theme here?)  

Let me just tell you how easy the fish-part of the fish and chips was:  EEEEEEE-Z!  I have included the recipe for you below.  Take a few minutes to cook this up - it is worth it times a thousand!!

GUINNESS BEER-BATTERED FISH

4 cups high-heat oil for frying, like canola

6 - 8 white fish filets (I use cod)

1 tbs sea salt

1 tbs white pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbs garlic powder

2 tbs paprika

1 egg, beaten

12 oz Guinness

Heat oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer (I use my cast-iron Dutch oven, of course!) to 370-375 degrees. Rinse your fish, and pat dry with a paper towel.  Season both sides with sea salt and pepper.  Combine flour, and other seasonings.  Stir egg into dry ingredients, and then gradually mix in beer until a thin batter is formed. You should be able to see the fish through the batter after it has been dipped.  Dip fish fillets into the batter, then drop one at a time into hot oil. Fry until brown on the bottom side, then flip once until brown on the opposite side.  Drain on a cooling rack with paper towel underneath.  Serve with seasoned potato wedges and cole-slaw for an authentic gastro pub feel.

NOTES:   I use organic canola oil, but any high-heat oil will do.  It helps to sprinkle a little sea salt on the filets once they come out of the oil.  A little malt vinegar on top doesn't hurt, either.  Oh, my Guinness!!  (See what I did just there?)

Green Eggs & Span (ish Chorizo)

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There are up sides and down sides to my obsessive compulsivity.  I know a lot of people can't imagine what the up sides could be, but I can tell you that for Life As She Does It, they scream volumes about the Bohemian Glitter Girl I am, and help me reach The Masses (that's YOU!), all while being a cathartic-and-helpful outlet.  The particular obsessive complusive part of me I'm referring to (Yes.  There are several) is the monthly themes.  I've been doing it for as long as I can remember.  It stretches from clothing to food, too.  So for example: March = Green or Irish.  Yes, I'm Italian, but the OCD transcends that fact.  I wear green every day in March.  Please don't ask me to explain in one post, just trust that there is a method to my madness.  As far as food in March, I either cook green food items, or Irish food.  This last Saturday morning, I created a Spanish take on green eggs and ham by making scrambled eggs loaded with cilantro with some Spanish chorizo and avocado on the side.  The Spanish chorizo was quite salty, so I drizzled some of the leftover mustard sauce  I made for the corned beef a couple of nights before, and it was absolutely luscious.  Stay tuned for the monthly themes to come; in the meantime, eat green to your heart's content and know Spring is right around the corner!

CILANTRO SCRAMBLED EGGS

4 eggs

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbs cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1` cup packed cilantro, chopped coarsely

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

2 tbs butter

In a medium-sized bowl, scramble the eggs using a small whisk or fork for a solid minute.  

Lucky Charm

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I know what my own little pot of gold holds at the end of the rainbow, and it looks a little like a stuffed bell pepper!  The lucky part of this is how healthy, low-carb, and all-around delicious this meal was!   I actually took the ingredients over to family's house to cook, if that tells you just how easy the prep was.  First day of March needed homage, so I filled the pepper with all-goodness and then cut a little shamrock into the side for the perfect touch!  Slåinte!

LUCKY CHARM STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

4 bell peppers (green, of course!)

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 pkg ground turkey

sea salt

pepper

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and slightly mashed

1 small onion, diced finely

1 small eggplant, diced finely

1 small yellow squash, diced finely

1 small zucchini, diced finely

2 tbs Italian seasoning

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 8-oz container ricotta cheese

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Prepare bell peppers by slicing off the tops as close to the stem as possible and cleaning out the seeds and membrane.  Place on a prepared baking sheet and set aside, and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sprinkle a little evoo into a pan over medium heat.  Place ground turkey into pan and sprinkle with a little sea salt and pepper, and brown until just cooked through.  Set aside in a medium-sized bowl.  In the same pan over medium heat, sprinkle a little evoo and add mashed garbanzo beans (or just mash them in the pan!) all vegetables and seasonings and let cook for about two minutes.  While veggies are cooking, add ricotta cheese to ground turkey and stir until just blended.  Remove vegetables from heat and add to meat-and-cheese mixture.  Stuff the mixture into the bell peppers, sprinkle a little grated Parmesan cheese on top and let cook for about 20 minutes or until peppers are to desired consistency.  Once peppers come out of the oven, let rest for about 5 minutes and with a paring knife, carefully cut your shamrock out of the side.  Pop said shamrock into your mouth for luck!

PASTA LOVE

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It is a Leap Year so we got an extra day in February!  So because this was the last Sunday in February I had to make sure it was a Sunday Supper of Love to remember!  I decided - even as the Low-Carb Girl in the house - to go all out and make The Hubster home-made pasta!  I topped it with chicken Parmesan and made a side of squash stacks of eggplant, yellow squash, and zucchini, and some lovely garlic knots.  I finished it off with almond-liquor raspberry-topped cheesecake and a Bishop Burgundy cocktail.  It was nothing short of amazing, but was still pretty easy!  Who would you like to show some love to?  The way to the heart is through the stomach, no?  

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FAST & EASY HOME-MADE PASTA

3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
a pinch of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup flour

Add the eggs, salt, pepper, and olive oil to a food processor fit with the blade attachment, and pulse two or three times.  Add half the flour, and pulse until it is absorbed into the eggs and you have a bit of a paste. Add the rest of the flour, and continue to run the blade until you see a ball-shaped mass of flour and eggs bouncing around the processor. If the dough is still too sticky to the touch, add an extra tablespoon of flour. If it's a bit dry, then add a little water as needed.  Take the pasta dough out and roll/shape according to what you're looking to accomplish with your dish.  For us this time around, it was fettuccine-shaped with marinara sauce.  I cooked it in the sauce for about five minutes, as fresh pasta takes a lot less time to cook.  And it was incredible.

NOTES: Carbs doesn't mean unclean in my house.  I still use organic ingredients, including the flour and olive oil.  I really do believe in this particular case, it makes for a better-tasting pasta.  Happy eating! 

TV DINNER

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It was a cold winter night and we had shows to binge.  I knew we would be spending that particular night in front of the Tube so I wanted to make some comfort food for warmth, and something that would go with the theme of the night.  It made me think back to the old-fashioned TV Dinners.  I remember them having a disk or puck of some sort they called "Salisbury steak", and it was usually accompanied by dry mashed potatoes or bland macaroni and cheese and a side of watery spinach or unseasoned green beans.  Well, I was just not feeling that, go figure.  So I put my own flavorful spin on it, added a healthy twist, and made a pretty simple She Gar-C TV Dinner instead!  Venison Salisbury steak with sour cream sauce, cauliflower "mac"-n-cheese, and apple cider turnip greens.......The Hubster could NOT get enough!  So we had a nice stay-at-home Date Night with reality TV, a cozy fire, and full bellies!

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SALISBURY STEAK

2 pnds ground meat (I used the ground venison my friend gifted me!)

1 can rotel, drained

1 egg

1 tbs winter-type seasoning, like Penzey's North Woods

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbs paprika

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

safflower or canola oil

Mix all ingredients down to the oil.  Sprinkle enough oil to barely cover the bottom of a heavy pan (I use my cast-iron skillet, of course!), and heat on medium.  While oil is heating, shape the meat into steak-like patties.  No need to worry about uniform shaping!  These are beautiful and rustic when they are all different shapes!  Place two-at-a-time into heated oil, cook for five minutes on each side and place on paper towel when they come out of the pan.  Make a small one for you to taste as you cook the rest for quality control. ;-)

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APPLE CIDER TURNIP GREENS

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 onion, sliced

1 pnd turnip greens, ribs removed, chopped coarsely

sea salt

pepper

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Heat about 3 tbs evoo in a pot (I use my cast-iron Dutch oven) on medium for about a minute.  Add your greens, and seasonings and cook down until just-wilted, stirring from time-to-time.  Once just-wilted, add apple cider vinegar to the pot and cook another minute or two.  Serve with ANYTHING as a side dish, and take your leftovers (if there ARE any!) to lunch the next day!!

GREEN WITH ENVY

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You just don't say no when you're a hustler and trying to get a business off the ground!  That's Life As She Does It!!  This catering job was from the Chamber of Commerce in my area for a hospital ward that was opening up, and their new logo had green with touches of blue - which meant they needed 250 green cupcakes with green frosting.  No problem, right?  I made THE most crumbly, moist, decadent cupcakes you've had this side of Cupcake-Land.  (And there IS a land of cupcakes!!)  But I couldn't make them green in good conscious by adding chemical food coloring.  Some people sincerely don't mind, but I just COULDN'T.  So I used India Tree all-natural food coloring.  It took a couple of batches of mixing and matching to get just the right color green, but The Fam didn't complain when they got the casualties.  Now, I sure couldn't indulge (hence, the envy), but it brought me joy to know I was filling total strangers' tummies with clean yumminess!  

SUPER-MOIST CUPCAKES

2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3 cups sugar

5 eggs, brought to room temperature

3 cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup organic whole milk, brought to room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk, brought room temperature

2 1/2 tsps vanilla extract

India Tree coloring of your choice

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Slowly add sugar one cup at a time, making sure to mix each cup before adding another. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully mix in each egg before adding another.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour milk, buttermilk, and vanilla into separate bowl and whisk together. Alternate butter and shortening mixture with milk mixture, starting and finishing with dry ingredients, and stir well. Stir in your food coloring.  Evenly distribute batter into cupcake pans and place pans into oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cupcakes don't jiggle when you move the cupcake pan.  Remove and allow to cool cool completely.  Frost or ice cupcakes as desired.

NOTES: I use all-organic ingredients, including the shortening - yes, they make organic!! - which I find in the all-natural and organic section of the grocery store.  I also make my own buttermilk in a glass measuring cup by adding 1/2 tbs white vinegar to each 1/2 cup milk and letting it sit for 20 minutes.  This recipe makes approximately 24 cupcakes when I use my ice cream scoop and fill each cup 3/4 of the way full.  There were a TON of happy  (green-toothed for those that indulged in a few more than one) smiles at the end of the night!