An apple a day

Recently I had an anonymous comment from someone who emailed the following question:  "How do you slowly make your cooking habits to the more healthy way of cooking.. without sacrificing the recipes you love"

Savour the Flavour of Fall

This month as an Allrecipes brand ambassador, one of the assignments was to host a dinner party and cook a Barber Foods product.  I am not saying anything new, but I am a self-avowed food snob.  When I first found out about the assignment I'll admit I inwardly cringed as my friends know me for my cooking.  I had never even heard of Barber Foods prior to this assignment.  I went to the store and I wasn't sure which product to even try.  I did the next best thing and asked a lady what she would enjoy if she were going to purchase a product of Barber Foods.  My shopping trip completed I let the product rest in my deep freeze until party day. 

The day of the party arrived and I cooked three different varieties of the Seasoned Select stuffed chicken breasts.  I knew that I wanted my menu to reflect the flavours of fall, and I chose the Southern comfort sweet potato casserole from Allrecipes.com that I had previously tried. 

I also made my families Broccoli Cheese Casserole. My momma has been making this casserole for as long as I can remember, and it's always been a favourite of mine.  It's one of the very few recipes that I've never made any changes to due to its simple goodness - it's also one of the few recipes where the salt & pepper are the right seasonings. I've been able to convert broccoli haters into broccoli lovers with this casserole.  It's always a Thanksgiving staple at my parents house, and my relatives always ask my momma to bring it for family get togethers also.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

10 ounces frozen, chopped broccoli - thawed

16 ounces cottage cheese

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

3 eggs

3 Tbsp flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

salt & pepper to taste

In a bowl, mix the above ingredients together making sure the eggs get well incorporated.  Grease a 8"x8" casserole dish. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.  This is almost "quiche" like - and it would be low carb friendly for those who are watching their carb intake.  If you try this recipe, please leave me feedback w/ your thoughts. 

I also made a Tri-color orzo salad to go with the main meal. I chose to use romaine lettuce as opposed to the arugula, and feta cheese as opposed to the ricotta salata.

Even tho this was a fall themed meal, I also wanted to incorporate a bit of Halloween into the party.  I chose to make a black punch that I would effectively call Black Zombie Witch brew. 

To make this punch you will need the following:

1 packet orange koolaid 

1 packet grape koolaid

12 cups (3 quarts) water

2 cups sugar

2 litre bottle of Sprite

4 ounces Chambord Liqueur (to your preference)

4 ounces Passionfruit Rum (to your preference)

1 container Lime Sherbet

* Frozen hand

Dissolve sugar into water, add the koolaid packets.  Chill in fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.  Chill Sprite in fridge.  To assemble:  Pour koolaid mixture into a punch bowl, add the Sprite, and alcohol.  Add the sherbet by scoopfuls into the punch bowl. Float the frozen hand on top.

Frozen Hand:

1 sterile non-latex, non-powdered glove

16 ounces Sprite

2 ounce Grenadine

Rinse glove.  Add the Sprite and grenadine.  Try to remove as much air bubbles as possible, twist glove at the top opening, Secure w/ a rubberband - freeze overnight.  To remove from glove quickly rinse under warm water to loosen (OR) alternatively, use a sharp knife and cut the glove away.

For dessert I made a Pumpkin cake roll w/ cream cheese filling  I had never made a rolled cake before and was concerned about messing it up.  This recipe came through w/ flying colours and it was both quick, and easy to prepare. 

During the fall season, nothing is better than the company of good friends.  The night was a success and I turned into a "Barber believer"  I never imagined a frozen food product would turn out this delicious, tender and tasty!

 

Thank you to my guests for making the evening a success - you are wonderful friends and I treasure your friendship!  

Down South...Bourbon Street anyone?

Tonight I only used one Allrecipes recipe, and that was for the Southern comfort sweet potatoes the remainder of my meal was my own Brown sugar Bourbon Marinated Ribeye steaks, and then one of my "go to" side item freezer pleasers from Green Giant, and then a couple slices of 5 grain bread.

Okay let's talk about the sweet potatoes.  They were scrumptious!  These are what the marshmallow topped casseroles wanna be when they grow up!  These are very much adult oriented due to the Southern comfort in them, but it's quite safe to give to the kiddo's b/c the alcohol WILL evaporate out (sheesh lay down the paddle huh?).  The truth about this sweet potato casserole, it's more like a dessert so go ahead eat another serving b/c while it tastes like a dessert...it's not :)

Bourbon Brown Sugar marinade for steak:  This is MY creation - and feel free to snag for personal use but not personal gain...I don't want to read about someone winning a cook off unless they plan on splitting the winnings.  Okay good now that we've got an understanding off we go.

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup good quality bourbon
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp EACH chipotle chile powder, dalmation sage
1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 Tbsp A-1 Thick & hearty steak sauce
1 tsp granulated garlic

Place marinade in a gallon size ziploc bag, and add your Ribeye steaks, allow to marinate for 8 hours or overnight...and one more thing..when you go to grill it, don't step away - c'mon fire hazard huh Alcohol, fire - yeah you wanna keep an eye on your steak so it doesn't burn!

The remainder of dinner was pretty simple - side of veggies, and sliced 5 grain bread.  Doesn't get any tastier!