just a little preface...
This blog consist of meals that are practically all purchased with the help of my footstamp budget, I work full time, but as a single mom with two children at home I am classified as "poverty level". I thank God everyday that my children get good homecooked meals, because there are so many kids in the USA that go hungry every day. I just wanted to add this so if you think you cannot purchase good food and create good meals on a tight budget I hope my blog makes you think of food in a different way. noturtypicalgma
the only thing i ask in sharing these recipes with you, is that you must really love the person you serve them to....cooking is how i show my love to the special people in my life.....
It ain't no thing but a chicken wing....and a damned good one at that! I capital L love chicken
wings...we have not had them in a while and I usually reserve them for some party or get together that I will throw occasionally. These wings are party worthy and not a lot of work. The sauce is homemade and pretty much what is in my homemade BBQ sauce in this recipe, I have added and omitted some thing that are in my original recipe for BBQ sauce. You can adjust the heat by adding more or less of the Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce.
WING MARINADE RECIPE
Juice of two limes
1tsp garlic powder.....not garlic salt
1tsp salt
1tsp black pepper
1 can of mexican beer....tecate preferrably
1 2.5 lb bag of buffalo wing pieces
Open bag and put all ingredients in same bag or transfer to a ziploc bag, marinate at least 1 hour if not more heck marinate em overnight in the fridge and they will really soak up the beer flavor!
WING SAUCE RECIPE
1 24oz bottle Ketchup
2tbsp White Vinegar
1tsp Liquid Hickory Smoke
1 cup plus 2tbsp of packed Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Dark Molasses
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of powdered ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 Vietnamese Garlic Chili Sauce
While wings are in the oven on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, mix all ingredients in a sauce pan and let simmer for the that time... sauce should thicken and be perfect when wings are fully cooked. If you do not want them too spicy add Chili Sauce 1tbsp at a time. I think they were just right for me and I am a light weight when it comes to chili heat! I did not reserve any BBQ sauce but could have used half of what I did in the video when mixing them so add half of your sauce unless you are making a full five pounds of wings! This recipe can easily be doubled and tripled! Just have lots of napkins on hand! Enjoy your game day!
Time got away from I was supposed to post this last weekend and then some stuff called life came up...so I am sorry I did not get back to it. So here we go... late is better than never. Just some simple basic recipes, unfortunately some of my video was deleted, my rolls and gravy. I will add those at a later date. I hope you and your family and friends enjoy the day with good food, good drink and good company. From my Family to yours Happiest Thanksgiving Wishes!
This green bean recipe came about because I wanted something fresh...no canned, no frozen, fresh greenbeans, the kind that when you bite into them they still have that snap! If you want a cleaner version omit the bacon altogether.
Mushroom, Onion, Garlic and Bacon Greenbeans
1lb of Fresh green beans ends snapped
6-8 fresh white or crimini mushrooms sliced
1 small white onion sliced
3 cloves of garlic minced
6 slices of bacon fried and crumbled
1-2tsp of olive oil
pepper and salt to taste
These are simple garlic mashers, I use both white and russet to balance out the waxiness of the white and the starch of the russet, the garlic adds a nice taste to these simple potatoes, if you have sour cream use dollops of that intsead of milk!
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
3 russet potatoes peeled and cut into equal size pieces
3 white potatoespeeled and cut into equal size pieces
3 cloves of garlic peeled
2 tsp salt added to water when boiling
splash of milk or 2tbsp of sour cream
2 tbsp butter or margarine
Boil till soft, drain water leaving garlic in and add milk, and butter and mash away, add salt to taste if needed
Wanted something different but my daughter wanted her good ole marshmallows so the video has two toppings on it, the grown up and the kid friendly version of Sweet Potatoes
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Pecans, Brown Sugar and Honey
4 med size yams boiled
2 tbsp margarine or butter
2tbsp of milk
1/3 c. of brown sugar
2-3 tbsp honey
1/3 cup of pecans
This stuffing is a recipe my Grandma Katie used to make, hers was a lot moister.. I prefer mine stuffed in the turkey. From the pan or in the turkey it is a hit at my house.
Grandma Katies Sage Sausage and Olive stuffing
2 packages of bread cubes
2 cups of chopped celery
2cups of chopped onion
2 cans of black olives, sliced
2 packages of Farmer John Sausages
2tbsp of poultry seasoning
1stick of margarine or butter
2 cans of chicken broth
Turkey is basically like a big chicken! Just make sure you have the right times for your stuffed or unstuffed turkey and follow the guidelines in the link I provide. If you are worried about your turkey being dry cook it in a Reynolds Oven bag...guaranteed moist turkey!
Roasted Sage Turkey
1 turkey
1 bunch of fresh Sage
1tsp of poultry seasoning
1 to 2 tsp Paprika
1/2 to 1 tsp of Garlic powder
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp of canola oil or olive oil
Mix all of your dry powdered spices and salt together
Before roasting your turkey go to this link to get the correct roasting time time for your size turkey
To be honest with you I had a little anxiety about cooking my first turkey way back years ago. After watching the Martha Stewart show and pouring over recipes I just created what still remains my Thanksgiving meal. Some things have changed a little bit like the greenbean casserole which is now fresh green beans, and the yams which are not covered in marshmallows but a more grown up brown sugar honey and pecan although Kassi does want the marshmallows version.
I am doing these recipes early so I can share them with you. These posts are geared to first timers who have never cooked a turkey. Let your anxiety and fears go. Trust in your oven and the fact that cooking a turkey is like roasting a big chicken. Your first Thanksgiving is no time to fuss with some gourmet recipe where anything like brining and marinating, injecting and using a weird stuffing is the highlight of the recipe.
This is a simple no nonsense oh so good recipe! So this is for you my daughter Destinee hope that you like it and your Thanksgiving Dinner is a success.
Thanksgiving Menu
Sage Roasted Turkey
Sausage and Black Olive Stuffing
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Whipped Honey Pecan Yams
Fresh Mushroom Onion Garlic Green Beans
Homemade Gravy
Homemade Refigerator Rolls
Molten Chocolate Lava Cake
Most of these recipes have less than 6 ingredients and this menu should feed about 4-6 people so I hope you enjoy trying them. Here is your shopping list.
1 13-15 pound turkey
Fresh Sage
poultry seasoning
Paprika, Garlic powder, Pepper, Salt
olive or canola oil
3-4 russet potatoes
3-4 white potatoes
garlic
1-2 pounds of Fresh Green Beans
2 white onions
1cup fresh sliced mushrooms
1 pkg bacon
2 pkgs Farmer John Sausage
1 can black olives
celery
1 can or 3 fresh large yams
brown sugar
1/2c pecans
honey
Cornstarch
All Purpose Flour
unsweetened cocoa powder any brand
Milk any kind
eggs
instant yeast
1 package of margarine or butter
Whipped Cream/Cool Whip or Vanilla Ice Cream
This is all you will need to make this Thanksgiving Meal!
By all means if you like cranberries get a can and add to your meal. My kids dont like it so I do not want to waste it!
Stay tuned as I post video recipes throughout the day!
Feta stuffed chicken is one of my daughter Kassi's favorites, she has been asking me to make it for a while and so I thought it would be a nice change from the comfort foods we have been gorging on lately....creamy soups, and gravy laden meals....gives me a warm fuzzy feeling just thinking about it! This meal is light and refreshing and also clean eating...yes I do eat that way occasionally! I aspire to eat more like that but its hard being the lover of food that I am.
Last week Madera had their first ever Pomegranate Festival, and I was working so did not go. Next year I cannot wait to go. Pomegranates take me back to my Grandma Katies house. I remember being in her back yard where there were fruit trees and lots of plants, it felt like a magical forest back there. I would sit out there and just enjoy nature. It was her tree that I first had a pomegranate from and I fell in love with the sweet yet tart taste and I liked that it stained my lips a pretty natural color. I remember Grandma Katie peeling one showing me how to pick one off of the tree that was cracked a little bit. She assured me the cracked ones would be the sweetest. Her old fingers peeling back the leathery flesh to a soft creamy white pith and membrane that kept those sweet seeds safe. She peeled back the membrane and the crimson juice stained the white napkin as she sat and gently freed the seeds from their strong hold. She handed me one and I have been a lover of pomegranates ever since! We grow a lot of pomegranates here locally and even have pomegranate honey at a local growers. Time for a field trip! To complete this simple meal I will show you how to make couscous. Rachel Ray ain't got nothing on this Gma, this meal takes less than 20 minutes to make. People will think you have slaved over it!
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, just such warm creamy yumminess to eat on any day of the week and something my kids love! Yeah I know we all have eaten that uber orange stuff in a box but nothing beats homemade mac with a creamy cheese sauce that can be used for other recipes like Broccoli and Cheese soup. I learned how to make this cheese sauce on the back of an Argo cornstarch box about 20 years ago and have been making my mac and cheese this way, I have tried variations with extra sharp cheddar and one with 5 blend Italian cheese and add lots of garlic and parsley for a penne pasta dish I make that my kids love...I have made Alfredo with this recipe using Parmesan and regiano and asiago so if you have the basic white sauce recipe you can make many different cheese sauces I bet one with pepper jack would be awesome. Hope you experiment and try this recipe!
Ingredients
4 cups cooked whole wheat or regular durham semolina macaroni or penne, or shell pasta
2cups or more of extra sharp cheddar or your favorite cheese(s)
1/3 cup of Parmesan (optional)
1/4 cup heaping of sour cream
4 tbsp butter or margarine or spread like smart choice
3 tbsp of cornstarch
1 cup of milk low fat or non fat is fine
salt and pepper to taste
optional topping like bread crumbs,crushed crackers, chips, crushed croutons
1/4 c or more of cheese to top casserole
additional butter or margarine to dab on bread crumbs
a note to bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes till topping browned and cheese melted
I made this soup last night and invited some friends over.. it ended up being a few girlfriends of mine and we ate soup and had a drink and laughed and talked into the nite. That is exactly what I like to happen when I cook for the people I love in my life...good food, good conversation, and good times.. thanks Pauline, Stephanie and Denise!
Clam Chowder soup has been a favorite of mine since I was a child, my Mother never made it but she loved it too. I perfected my recipe by trial and error and by reading the ingredients on a can of soup. Basically I surmised that it was a glorified potato soup, but as I have cooked it more often I realize it is much more. I love clam chowder or clam chop soup as my daughters use to call it when they were little. It is an ideal comfort food served in a soup mug or in a bread bowl...these I made following a bread recipe http://noturtypicalgmacooks.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-bread-so-easy-kid-could-make.html that is posted on my blog, using the water method, since it yeilds a much more crusty bread. So I hope you enjoy it and if you do not want to make a vat, this serves about 16-20 people simply cut everything in half. Also a note about the cornstarch I did add about 1/2 cup of dry cornstarch mixed with enough water to dilute it... and added it to the final soup. This thickened it perfectly, add more or less to your desired consistency. When you add water to cornstarch it is hard to stir at first but with a few stirs it becomes thinned out and should be like a heavy cream in consistency. Make sure to always dilute with cold liquid, and stir as you add the cornstarch until the desired consistency is acheived.
Ingredients
4 cans of whole baby clams or minced clams with juice
Who remembers the grill cheese sandwich as a child? Dipping it in your tomato soup, total complete yumminess...takes me back to my days as a kid on Lincoln Street. Well tonight I make a version of a "gorilla" (as my lovees used to say when they were little) cheese sandwich that I saw You Tuber Foodwishes make, and my homemade cream of Broccoli soup that is sooo good. The turn of the weather here in the Cen Cal valley has me pining for comfort food... its only dropped down into the 80's but hey that's 20 degrees less than it was 1 month ago. So I hope you are ready for some comfort food recipes this month. Last month was super hectic and I blogged not one bit... but now that football is winding down for my daughter we are getting ready to have a break and some good home cooked food so I am warning Taco Bell that they may take a dip in sales this month.
Traditionally soups that are cream base are well, made of cream and lots of butter and flour and fat and calories. So in order to eat the grill cheese sandwich LOL I needed to cut calories somewhere and I do it by using chicken broth, the broth from the broccoli that I have boiled and 2 percent milk, along with olive oil, and margarine (yikes i know) you could use butter folks and some good ole cornstarch. This cream base can be used for many soups and sorry but when I was filming it I somehow lost the part where I mix the liquids with the cornstarch so bear with me and I will post that piece again when I make some clam chowder this weekend.
Ingredients for Cream of Broccoli Soup
8 cups of boiled broccoli pieces and some stem
1c. of chicken broth
1c. of 2 percent milk
2 c. of water from the boiled broccoli
3tbsp butter or margarine
1tbsp of olive oil
3 cloves of minced garlic
1/2c. of white onion
3tbsp of cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
~for garnishes~
crumbled bacon
croutons
grated sharp cheddar cheese
Gorilla Cheese Sandwiches
bread for however many servings you want to make
good ole white bread or fancy schmancy grown up bread
good quality sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese grated and some sliced
butter, margarine, mayo or olive oil to toast bread
Video Recipe
just a note people I say the F word to my kid, its not said with any seriousness, if you know me you know I am who I am so take it or leave it....I am not on the food network but maybe I should be well at least I could battle with Gordon Ramsey in Hells Kitchen! F bombs would be flying! I take nothing in life too seriously shoot I woulda had an aneurism by now if I did...
