Spanish Rice!

Tonight, we had a taco bar.  It was an easy meal to pull together as I had made two pounds of taco beef a few weeks ago and froze half for another meal which was tonight :).  The taco bar took less than ten minutes to pull together!  I also made Spanish Rice.  It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish.  Everyone liked it, even my 7 year old!  We had a milestone tonight when my youngest asked for and ate a taco instead of a plain cheese quesadilla!  He is slowly coming out of his narrow food shell and trying an liking all sorts of food.  This makes me a happy momma!!  

Spanish Rice:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil

2 cups white rice

1 small onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 cups water

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute rice, onion, and bell pepper until rice is browned and onions are tender.

Stir in water and salsa. Season with chili powder, cayenne pepper and salt. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.

Happy 1st Anniversary, Messy Cookin!

Today is the first anniversary for the Messy Cooker blog!  It has been a fun and exciting year!  My family has put up with me photographing every meal and trying lots of new and interesting recipes.  Some of those recipes were keepers while others were one hit wonders.  Throughout it all, my husband has been my unfailing support and kitchen cleaner upper while my sons have jumped into the roles of sous chefs. I feel so fortunate to have such a great family that inspires me everyday!

Sean, my husband, conquering the dishes!

My family!

I also couldn't have made it this far without the readers!  In a year's time, there have been 4890 views which is unbelievable!!  You have been from countries all over the world! Here are the top 10 countries.

I hope you have tried and enjoyed the recipes that have been shared. The top ten viewed posts were:

I hope you continue on this food journey with me.  Over the next few months, we will be moving to an apartment as we build a new home which will include my dream kitchen.  I will have lots of new recipes to share!  Thank you all!!!

XO

Debbie

(aka The Messy Cook)

Sides, Sides, Sides! Part 2

This weekend, I made two of my favorite side dishes, cole slaw and cheesy potatoes, Yum!! Both dishes make enough for a party and/or two or three family meals.  The cheese potatoes are my sister's signature dish for family get togethers and are always gobbled up!  The cole slaw is a copy cat version of KFC's cole slaw.  I've tweaked both recipes as I found they had too much liquid for my taste.  I made these dishes for a cook out and then I am pairing the leftovers with a grilled ham steak tomorrow.  I love prepping and cooking once and getting a couple of meals!  You know how the magazines show you 10 clothing pieces that make lots of different outfits? That is how I view my weekly meal planning.  I gather together ingredient  that can make multiple meals without feeling like we are eating the same thing every night!

Cheesy Potatoes:

Ingredients:

2 bags frozen hash browns, thawed

1 cup butter, divided

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

1 onion, diced

2 cups sour cream

3 cups corn flakes crushed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. In a large bowl, combine the thawed potatoes, 3/4 cup(1.5 sticks) melted butter, salt, pepper and onion.  Add the soup and sour cream and mix well. Lastly, add the cheese.  Place the potatoe mixture in the prepared casserole.  In a small bowl, mix yj corn flakes and remaining 1/4 cup of melted butter.  Top potatoes with the corn flak crumbles.  Bake in hot oven 50-60 minutes.  

Copy Cat KFC Coleslaw:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp lime juice

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp celery seed

1/4 tsp pepper

2 16oz bags of coleslaw

Directions:

Whisk together all the ingredients except the coleslaw mix.

In a large bowl, combine the bagged coleslaw and the dressing and mix well.  It will look pretty dry, but don't worry after refrigerating for at least 3 hours, the dressing will increase.  Toss before serving.

Sides, Sides, Sides! Part 1

I'm trying to catch up with all the dishes that I've made, but haven't had time to post!  Here are two side dishes that are easy and nutritious, sweet potato fries and skillet squash and leek au gratin!  I do zesty fries as we are not big fans of the sweet version using brown sugar.  Both of these dishes take less than an hour and are minimal mess!  I used panko crumbs to top the au gratin, but you could easily substitute corn flake crumbs or some other GF choice.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries:

Ingredients:

3 sweet potatoes

3 tbsp olive oil 

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400*F. Peel, slice, wash and pat dry potatoes.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, mix together the oil and spices.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Gently toss the potatoes in the oil mixture.  Evenly distribute the seasoned potatoes on the baking sheet.  Bake in oven for 40 minutes. Turn once during baking.  If you would like crispier fries, place the fries under a low broiler for 2-3 minutes.

Skillet Squash and Leek Au Gratin:

Ingredients:

2 zucchini 

2 summer squash

2 leeks

3/4 cup milk

1 tbsp cornstarch

Salt and pepper

1 cup panko crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Thinly slice the leeks up to to the dark green.  Soak the leeks in a bowl of cold water to remove sand.  Gently pat the leeks dry.  Slice the squash and zucchini.  Melt 1 tbsp of the butter in an oven proof skillet over med-low heat.  Add the leeks to the skillet and sauté for 2-3 minutes to soften.  

Add the squash and zucchini to the skillet and cook for and additional 5 minutes.  Stir gently several times to avoid over browning.  Mix milk and cornstarch together until smooth.  Add the mixture to the skillet and turn up the heat to medium.  Bring to a slow boil stir several times.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  After the sauce is thickened, top with panko mixture and dot with remaining butter.  Place a skillet in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden brown.

GF Shake 'n Bake Chicken

I cook lots of chicken in this house and up until I started deleting processed foods from our diets, I used Shake n Bake quite a bit. The boys love the crispy topping.  This is my GF version which looks pretty close to the out of the box version.  Everyone gave it the thumbs up so the recipe will stay in the rotation :). I paired the chicken with corn and roasted asparagus, Yum!  Love the summer veggie choices!  

For the asparagus,  I just drizzle on olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste. After gently tossing the asparagus on the pan, I sprinkle corn flake crumbs and Parmesan cheese over the top. Bak at 350* F for 20 minutes and enjoy!

GF Shake 'n Bake Chicken:

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 egg

1 1/2 cup corn flake crumbs

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp italian herbs

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts.  Beat the egg and milk together in a shallow dish.  Melt the butter and mix with the corn flakes, paprika, herbs and spices in another shallow dish.  

Dip each chicken breast in the egg mixture and then the corn flake mixture to coat evenly.  Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350*F oven for 40-45 minutes or until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a fork.

Bang Bang Shrimp!

This dish is a family favorite! It is a fusion of a few recipes that I've come across of the yummy Bonefish Grill appetizer.  These shrimp take no time at all to make since I take a shortcut and use pre-cooked shrimp.  I use them to avoid the mess of peeling and deveining, but you could easily do that if you wish! I served the shrimp over brown rice and made a broccoli and cauliflower medley.  The meal took about an hour to put together.  I did a quick crisp in olive oil, but if you preferred baked, you can do that In a 400* oven for 15 minutes. 

Bang Bang Shrimp:

Sauce: 

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

6 tsp Sriracha

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp rice vinegar

Mix all ingredients together.  Let chill in refridge for 1-2 hours so the flavors become well blended.

Shrimp Coating:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of pre cooked shrimp

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup flour ( I used corn flour in an effort to eliminate gluten)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 egg

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (Use corn flake crumbs to make the dish GF)

chives for garnish

1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. To the bowl add the  egg, and buttermilk and whisk until you have a smooth batter. In another bowl add about a cup of Panko breadcrumbs.  Dip the shrimp into the batter and then coat them with breadcrumbs, add more breadcrumbs as needed.  Add oil to a large skillet and heat over a med-low burner.  Fry the shrimp for 3-4 minutes turning once.  Remove from oil when golden brown.  Drain on a paper towel. Drizzle shrimp with sauce and garnish with chives before serving.

Fish Camp 2013: Fresh Caught Walleye!

I've been away from my blog for a few weeks, but I've been cooking!  One of those weeks was spent on a beautiful lake in the Northwestern Ontario.  This was the 19th year for great Canadian fishing!  My dad has been taking me fishing since I was a young girl.  We fished many a summer evening on Lake Erie catching Perch and Sheep Head.  We also waded into trout streams on opening days hoping to entice a Rainbow out of its rocky home! During my teenage years, we lived on a lake so fishing was plentiful, but then I left home and my time was taken up with school and work.  The trips to Canada started in 1994.  We went to Healy's Gods Lake Narrows Lodge, Manitoba, CA.  It was the first time I caught Northern Pike and Walleye!  We had a great time and made new friends! I was officially hooked!  

I'm rockin that perm!! :)

We travelled to Gods Lake for 6 years and caught hundreds of fish!! We have always done catch and release while keeping a few each day for lunch!  Below is a picture of one of those stringers.

After those years, we found Tukto Lodge, Northwest Territories and Dubwant Lake, Nunevant, CA.  Both of these camps are on the Arctic tundra.  They have large Lake Trout and aggressive Arctic Grayling.  The other inhabitants of the land include Grizzly Bears and Musk Ox!  We saw both from the safety of the float plane which was fine by me!  My record fish, a 33 lb trout was caught in the icy waters of Mosquito Lake where Tukto is located.  Yes, the lake lives up to it's name with lots of mosquitos!!  The lodge is run by a gentleman who also owns several outpost camps in Ontario so last year, we tried one of the camps.  We also added a third to our fishing party, my nephew, Davis! 

It was our first adventure without a guide.  They dropped us off for 3 days of fishing!  It was super hot and the fishing was low, but Davis loved his first taste of the Canadian wilderness although he did do a jig when we got back to electricity to charge his phone! ;). This year, we tried a new lake and caught lots of fish, played UNO, sat around the campfire and made memories to last a life time!  I feel so blessed to make these trips!  My husband is such a great partner and isn't afraid to face a week alone with the boys even when they were babies.  He knows how much this trip means to me!  These trips with my dad and now my nephew too are special to my heart!!

Our cabin this year was very pretty and had a great kitchen run entirely on propane.

Every day we had walleye for lunch which we cooked in a fish cooker much like you do a fried turkey.

The recipe is really simple.

Fresh Walleye:

3 walleye (6-7 fillets)

2 eggs

2 tbsp water

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Beat eggs and water together in a shallow bowl. Mix the bread crumbs and spices together in another bowl. Dredge the fish through the egg mixture and then through the crumbs.  

Cook the fish in hot oil for about 2 minutes and enjoy!

Thanks Dad and Davis for another wonderful trip!  I hope we have many, many more!! XOXO