Homemade Fish Fry

 Know how easy it is to make your own fish fry?

One part cornmeal (yellow or white doesn't matter)
Half part flour
Couple of tablespoons of your favorite seasoned salt
Mix well, store in an airtight container

 Um. That's it. LOLOL

     

Vanilla Cake Bites

So I have been really rolling through my Pinterest Recipe To Try Board. So far I've not been disappointed. You folks can cook!  These are really rich, there's an entire bag of white chocolate chips (vanilla chips) in the batter! Also, this recipe only makes a 9x9 cake. This one pot cake is perfect for tapas.

Vanilla Cake Bites

Adapted from: http://cookiesandcups.com/death-by-vanilla/

What you need:

Cake

• ½ cup butter
• 1½-2 cups white chocolate chips 
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs

Frosting

• 1½ cups powdered sugar sifted
• 3 Tbs butter, softened
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 - 2 Tbsp of milk (until smooth spreadable consistency)

Mix all frosting ingredients until smooth and set aside.

What to do:

• Preheat to 350
• Spray 9x9 pan with cooking spray
• In medium sized saucepan melt the butter and white chips over low heat. Stir constantly so the chocolate doesn't burn.
• When melted the chocolate will look curdled
• Remove melted chocolate from the heat and add remaining cake ingredients in the saucepan. Stir until combined and smooth (I didn't even use a hand mixer for these, just a rubber spatula)
• Spread in prepared pan.
• Bake for approx 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
• Let cool and then frost 

Citrus and Tequila Chops

A couple of years ago I did a tasting of new recipes at a friend's house.  It was a Mexican food themed event. I made orange pork tacos with a fresh orange pico de gallo. They were a hit!  

For these chops, I upped the marinade flavor by adding, not only fresh orange juice, but lemon and lime juices as well.   

What you need:

• Juice of one lime, one lemon and two oranges
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 Tbs oregano
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 1 Tbs cilantro roughly chopped
• 4-6 thick cut pork chops
• Tsp each: salt, pepper, garlic powder

What to do:

• Mix all the ingredients in a zip lock bag or bowl, except salt pepper and garlic powder
• Add pork chops and marinate for at least four and up to 24 hours
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Remove chops from marinade and discard marinade
• Sprinkle chops with salt pepper and garlic powder
• Spray a grill pan or oven proof skillet with non-stick spray.
• Over high heat, seer the pork chops for three to five minutes on each side. DO NOT press chops down on the skillet or constantly flip the chops. Place them on the skillet and let them get a good seer
• Finish chops in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until juices run clear
• Let the chops rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting into them

Now Churning: Sicilian Vanilla Ice Cream w/ Homemade Cookie Pieces

Who says you can't have homemade ice cream in the middle of winter!?  I surprised the ice cream lovers with this easy recipe last Sunday after a super delicious meal that will post later.  You can find this recipe here. I love Saveur's site!  The only variation I made besides adding cookies and walnuts, was that I used my own homemade vanilla extract (which actually has vanilla beans in the extract) instead of a vanilla pod. Regular vanilla will work just fine.

This picture is not the best because I lost all natural daylight, which I LOVE but I didn't want to chance there not being any ice cream left the next day! LOL

The Friday Five: Fargo Thrifting Finds

While in lovely Fargo, my sister took me to some of her favorite thrift stores. I was in heaven! I found some awesome items that made me so glad I drove so I could haul all of that stuff back! 
Here are a few of my favorites:

One of these still had the tag on it...2 bucks a piece! 

These are spice jars with the name of the spice on the lid! There were more than a  dozen jars!

This could be incorporated in a design some how, not sure how yet.

I was going to use this in my over the kitchen cabinet  redecoration but I've since changed my mind.

BBQ Roasted Wings

I heart a good roasted chicken wing.  I roast my wings the same way no matter what flavor combination I use. A high heat roast or low/high broil yields a good crispy skin and juicy meat.
What you need:

• 18-20 wing pieces
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3-4 Tbs of your favorite seasoned salt (I used my own homemade taco/chili seasoning recipe because I wanted a bit of a smoky flavor)
• 1-2 Tbs brown sugar

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Rinse and pat chicken dry (the rub will stick to the chicken better if it is not too wet). Set aside.
• In a bowl mix the oil, seasoned salt and brown sugar together to form a paste. Check flavor and adjust as necessary.
• Evenly coat chicken with the rub
• Place on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes broil on high.

Christmas Day Rolls

 While in Fargo visiting Best Sister ever and Best Brother in Law ever I made my Christmas Day Rolls.  I only make these once a year in my house because not only does the recipe make a lot of rolls but they are so good you will be eating them ALL DAY LONG. Not even joking.

After baking this delicious bread you can freeze them and reheat in the oven straight from the freezer in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  The recipe for these awesome rolls can be found here. TRUST me you won't regret it! 

Pinterest Recipes Overload

Image Credit

No secret that I LOVE me some Pinterest! While I love all of my boards, my favorite might be Recipes To Try.   The problem is I will Pin the photos with intention of coming back later to review the actual recipe. However, later has turned into nearly 400 recipes and counting!

With that being said, I am going to make a concerted effort to make and review the recipes on that board on a more frequent basis. Not only will it make room for more food pins (!), but it will also add something new to my meal rotation, I've gotten kind of bored with our usual. You can see my comments on the few Pinterest recipes I've tried by visiting this board.
What are some of the Pinterest recipes you've tried that you've loved or want to try? Link it so I can Pin it! LOL
Collage Image Credits: Chicken, Dirty Rice, Cake, Salad

Coconut Pound Cake w/Coconut Lime Glaze

Apparently, I am going to have to change my stance on coconut cause I've been cooking with it a lot lately. Coconut is a flavor I can take or leave unless it is in a cocktail.  However, sweetened coconut flakes add a really nice subtle flavor to baked goods that I think I might like after all.

This was an easy one bowl cake that I will definitely add to my growing cake arsenal! The glaze is optional because the flavor of the cake holds its on.

Coconut Pound Cake w/Coconut Lime Glaze Adapted from: http://www.twirlandtaste.com/2012/12/old-fashioned-southern-coconut-pound.html
What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil (canola, vegetable, olive, etc)
• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup coconut milk or whole milk (NOT cream of coconut)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded and sweetened coconut
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract
• Non-stick spray

For the glaze 1 cup sugar Juice and zest from one lime 2 Tbs butter 1 tsp coconut extract
What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Prepare bundt or tube pan with the non-stick spray, set aside
• Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
• Bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean

To make the glaze:

• Mix all ingredients over medium high heat until mixture comes to a boil and the sugar melts.
• Remove from heat and carefully pour glaze over cake.
• Let the glaze firm up for about ten minutes before 

Peacock Feathers!

My co-workers rock so hard! Only in Texas do you have co-workers who live on 5 acres and have peacocks as pets! LOL

The colors are unique and the feathers are long!  I have been threatening to make feathered place-mats ever since I was looking to purchase some a few years ago...they were $40. EACH.

For now they are chilling in a vase in the living room and more in the garage until I decide what else to do with them or find some creative person to make me a few place-mats!

All By Herself

This school break has been long. I love my B but it is time for her to go back to school! Back I say! LOL 
B was a bored one day and first started posing with a tutu on her head. Duck lips and all

*sigh*
She then announced that she wanted to bake some sugar cookies from scratch...without my help. I have no problem with B cooking as long as she cleans up afterwards and ask for assistance if necessary.

She found the recipe on her own, made sure we had all of the ingredients and went to work. She only had a couple of questions but she really did it all by herself. I most certainly laid up in my bed while she baked!
While I am not a sugar cookie lover, these were not bad at all! If she keeps this up I might have her cooking dinner up in here!

Go B!

The Friday Five: Websites I Am Loving

1. http://notwithoutsalt.com/ (Pictures are full of awesome!)
2.  http://www.savorhomeblog.com (Beautiful pictures, seemingly beautiful spirit)
3. http://www.thegalleygourmet.net/ (Her Sunday Dinner Menus always make my mouth water)
4.  http://creolecontessa.blogspot.com/ (I have a few recipes of her's that I can't wait to try)
5.  http://theboysclub.net/ (I can't wait to try the beautiful cocktails on this site.)
What are some of the websites you are loving? Link them in the comments!

Do Better

Image Credit