Pineapple Casserole

We would like to thank Deep South for this little gem. Here is the site for the recipe. http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2011/04/ritz-cracker-baked-pineapple-casserole.html
Go visit her site as she does have some yum dishes over there.
My wife's mother is from Houma La. and she loves to go look at her site. Now her mother cooks some things a little different but its all good.

1 20 oz and
1 8 oz can of crushed pineapple
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese and
1/2 cup of the cheese to top
1/2 stick butter cut in thin pieces

Preheat oven to 350
We used a 9 .5" pie Pyrex dish lightly greased with butter.
Crush crackers in a plastic bag with a rolling pin and set aside.
take the can of pineapple and drain the juice in a sauce pan add sugar.
Cook over medium high heat stirring till sugar melts and a syrup forms. This took about 20 minutes all I can say is eyeball it.
Now add pineapple and sir till blended.
Pour 1/2 of pineapple mixture in dish top with 1 cup of crushed crackers place 1/2 of butter slices on top and sprinkle 1 cup cheese.
Repeat layers reserve last 1/2 cup of cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25 minutes till bubbly. Remove and place last cheese on top and place in oven till cheese is melted. Melt in your mouth goodness.

Bad weather

Just want to say we are praying and thinking of everyone who has been threw this latest tornado outbreak.

Wife was watching live streaming on line of Birmingham as that's where her family lives as it was hitting Birmingham. Her sister in Pinson had debris from T town in her yard. They are all ok but for my mother in law it was just to close for her. The pictures are just hard to believe.

Here in our little town we were spared but it was all around us. WE have to boil water and we had to throw a bunch of stuff out from the refrigerator as the electricity was out over 6 hours. We are just glad to have water and a home. With that said I thought I would post a list of stuff we got from USDA. We were out over 8hours so we had to throw a good bit away. SO we hope to be better prepared as hurricane season is coming.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp

Always keep meat, poultry, fish, and eggs refrigerated at or below 40 °F and frozen food at or below 0 °F. This may be difficult when the power is out.

Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed.
When to Save and When to Throw It Out
FOOD Held above 40 °F for over 2 hours
MEAT, POULTRY, SEAFOOD
Raw or leftover cooked meat, poultry, fish, or seafood; soy meat substitutes
Discard
Thawing meat or poultry Discard
Meat, tuna, shrimp,chicken, or egg salad Discard
Gravy, stuffing, broth Discard
Lunchmeats, hot dogs, bacon, sausage, dried beef Discard
Pizza – with any topping Discard
Canned hams labeled "Keep Refrigerated" Discard
Canned meats and fish, opened Discard
CHEESE
Soft Cheeses: blue/bleu, Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, cottage, cream, Edam, Monterey Jack, ricotta, mozzarella, Muenster, Neufchatel, queso blanco, queso fresco
Discard
Hard Cheeses: Cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Parmesan, provolone, Romano Safe
Processed Cheeses Safe
Shredded Cheeses Discard
Low-fat Cheeses Discard
Grated Parmesan, Romano, or combination (in can or jar) Safe
DAIRY
Milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, eggnog, soy milk
Discard
Butter, margarine Safe
Baby formula, opened Discard
EGGS
Fresh eggs, hard-cooked in shell, egg dishes, egg products
Discard
Custards and puddings Discard
CASSEROLES, SOUPS, STEWS Discard
FRUITS
Fresh fruits, cut
Discard
Fruit juices, opened Safe
Canned fruits, opened Safe
Fresh fruits, coconut, raisins, dried fruits, candied fruits, dates Safe
SAUCES, SPREADS, JAMS
Opened mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradish
Discard if above 50 °F for over 8 hrs.
Peanut butter Safe
Jelly, relish, taco sauce, mustard, catsup, olives, pickles Safe
Worcestershire, soy, barbecue, Hoisin sauces Safe
Fish sauces (oyster sauce) Discard
Opened vinegar-based dressings Safe
Opened creamy-based dressings Discard
Spaghetti sauce, opened jar Discard
BREAD, CAKES, COOKIES,PASTA, GRAINS
Bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, quick breads, tortillas
Safe
Refrigerator biscuits,rolls, cookie dough Discard
Cooked pasta, rice, potatoes Discard
Pasta salads with mayonnaise or vinaigrette Discard
Fresh pasta Discard
Cheesecake Discard
Breakfast foods –waffles, pancakes, bagels Safe
PIES, PASTRY
Pastries, cream filled
Discard
Pies – custard,cheese filled, or chiffon; quiche Discard
Pies, fruit Safe
VEGETABLES
Fresh mushrooms, herbs, spices
Safe
Greens, pre-cut, pre-washed, packaged Discard
Vegetables, raw Safe
Vegetables, cooked; tofu Discard
Vegetable juice, opened Discard
Baked potatoes Discard
Commercial garlic in oil Discard
Potato Salad

Chicken Scaloppine

This recipe comes from ehow.com
We have a bunch of chicken and like to find new ways to fix it. And this was another winner and we will make it again.

two chicken breast boneless
3 Tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
cooking spray
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 lb mushrooms sliced
4-5 green onions thinly sliced
capers (optional but they do add a burst of flavor we liked it)
rice or pasta we used pasta
(Note.....we felt this needed a little ummph so we added a little garlic and red pepper flakes.to taste)

Cut chicken into 1/2 to 2 inch pieces
in large skillet use cooking spray add oil and place over med high heat.
Cook chicken till until pinkness is gone.
Add onions and mushrooms,capers and cook for about 2 minutes stirring to get onions and mushrooms heated.
Add wine or chicken broth, and lemon to skillet bringing to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.
Serve over pasta or rice

Chicken tenders

Who has not tried Cracker Barrel's chicken tenders. Wife loves them so we found a copy cat recipe and gave it a try. Well it was close but still missing something.
Now we did cook in skillet instead of grilling but the taste was a little off. Most people in the comment sections said they were better grilled. Maybe a splash of teriyaki sauce would do the trick and a little red pepper flakes. Any way they were good with a hot biscuit and easy and quick for a week night. We also did half of the recipe just for the two of us.

1lb ck tenders
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 1/2 honey

Mix dressing lime,chicken and honey in plastic bag and marinate for one hour.
Cook in pan or on grill until golden brown.

Sunday Cats

This is a picture of Miss Itty and Boots before he passed. Ms Itty (aka Cleo Patches)and Boots were the best of friends. She has been grieving and we hear her calling like she used to for him. It is so sad..
Ms Itty and Ms T are our only females and the boys seem to pick on them real bad. We have to keep Ms T separated from them as it is war when she is out. Ms Itty is out with the boys but they have her scared and hiding all the time. She seems to be a little better now Romeo lets her come lay with him but the younger ones are picking on him to now.

Mint Tea

The other day we mentioned that we forgot to make mint tea to go with our meal of Chicken Shwarma. This was our take on how to make it. We used Lipton 6 bags cold brew and made as usual. 1 to 3/4 cups sugar fill picture almost to top with water with bags in container. While this is steeping we took two bags Plantation mint (spearmint) that we steeped for 2-5 minutes in cup of boiling water. Then add to picture squeezing the bags and stir to blend.
I'm sure we will find other recipes but this is what we had on hand and it turned out pretty good.
Our mint plant is just showing and we will be using that when it gets a little bigger.

Moroccan Chicken Casserole

Wife made this and the whole house smelled great when I got home. But I must say it did not ring my bell as much as it did hers. In all fairness it was better the next day.
Funny when something has all the ingredients you love but does not rock the boat.
I think it had to much ginger and that it was a little overpowering so if you are not used to ginger very much I would half it.
1 head cauliflower
2-3 pounds chicken
2 Tablespoons butter
1 onion finely chopped
1 Tablespoon ginger finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 carrots chopped 2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 red pepper cut in thin strips
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup minced cilantro
2 teaspoon salt
1 lemon
Preheat oven to 375
The base of the casserole is cauliflower grated into a rice like texture. spread the cauliflower in a 9x13 greased baking pan
Salt and pepper chicken and melt 1 teaspoon butter in a deep skillet over high heat.
Brown chicken about 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove to side
Turn down heat to medium and onion,ginger,garlic,and carrots. Cook till onions are soft, add remaining butter and all spices and stir well.
Add red pepper,can of tomatoes cilintro and salt. Return chicken to pan and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Pour the chicken mixture over the cauliflower and make sure it is all covered by the sauce.
Slice a lemon in thin pieces and lay on top. Cover the pan and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and cook another 25 minutes more. Garnis with clintro.

New cookware

With all the news out about how we are being poisoned by Teflon that is flaking off we took a good look at our cookware and decided we needed some new stuff. So each month we are getting a new piece. This is my new skillet. Now what to cook in it.

Sunday Cats... a few day late

Ok I know I'm late in posting. Friday our go to town day was put on hold by the wife, she said it was going to be bad weather. Sure enough it was. The town of Clinton(about 26 miles away) where we go shop a good bit got hit by a tornado in fact on the road we go into Clinton on. We spent the rest of the day watching the TV. We were lucky again as everything was north or south of us in fact we didn't even get any rain.
Sat we spent on our shopping and cutting grass. Sunday it was weed eat and re pot our plants that had been in the house and planting our tomatoes. We have only three this year. Which we will show in another post. I was pooped.
This is some of our babies looking out the back door on Sunday watching us work.
We didn't even know NC got so hard hit till the 10 o'clock news.
Our prayers are with everyone affected.

Sunday Cats Frosty and Romeo

These two are what we call our people cats. What that means to us: they are always with us on the couch, kitchen or bed. We have one more Sweetie pie who also likes to be with us. Most of our other cats come for a little loving when they feel like it and then disappear. Romeo (black and white) is now our oldest at age 16. He is our biggest lover boy so Romeo was a good name. We find him snuggled up with other cats cleaning and hugging but right now the smitten gang are picking on him. They are the babys and have no maners.

Moroccan Shrimp

Since we had the Ras El Hanout spice we found this recipe for shrimp we knew we had to try. And it was wonderful.... also good to make as a pita sandwich.
Shrimp marinade
3 Tablespoons yogurt(we use Greek)
2 Teaspoons Ras El Hanout
salt and pepper to taste.
1 lb shrimp (we used less)
Marinate for 1 hour
can grill but we cooked in skillet with a little oil.
We had this with the chicken Shawarna the other night but the orig recipe had it as a kebobe with veg. If you want to make it that way just add veg shewers to grill like zucchini in chunks, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Add all the vegs that you want to use to the marinade. (we will have to try it this way at another time.)

Greek yogurt desert

Well it looks like I have to give up my nightly ice cream this Summer and eat something a little more healty. Dang... its hell getting old. Thank goodness we discovered Greek yogurt. It is thicker than regular yogurt and does taste good even plain. To dress it up we add strawberries (or any fruit you wish) honey and I use walnuts and wife likes almonds with hers.

Chicken Shwarma

We tried to fix a chicken shawarma like we had at Aladdin's restaurant.
This will do when we can't get there. Served with Humus and saffron rice its pretty darn close. Now we just have to duplicate their mint tea. That's what we forgot this time.
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon coriander
(Now just a note here on the spices. We bought the prepared spice called Ras El Hanout at the grocery store at Aladdin's and used that instead of the above.)
1 Tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lb skinless and boneless chicken breast halves thinly sliced.
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine first 6 ingredients (or Ras El Hanout)in a large bowl; stir in 1 Tablespoon juice.yogurt and 2 cloves garlic. Add chicken and toss to coat. We let this marinate in the fridge over night but you might be able to get away with one hour.
Heat oil over med high heat add chicken and mixture to pan and saute for about 6 minutes until done stirring frequently. Add over rice.

Sunday Cat...Moonface

This is an old Tom that has been around here for about 5 years now and he is showing his age. He would not let us touch or get near but this past fall he decided the wife was ok and let her pet him. Now he is always out back waiting for her. He shys away from me but runs to the door when she comes out. But then again he probably know she has a soft spot for black cats. We called him Moonface because he has the biggest round head.