If I were going to the electric chair tomorrow....

This would be the request for my last meal!

Last night the Man-of-My-Dreams and I went out for our anniversary.
we went to "Pappas Seafood House", our favorite seafood restaurant.
Once a year I get to order their Stuffed Salmon.
(this picture is of my Left-Overs, it was THAT big!)

It is the PERFECT meal in my opinion.

Perfectly cooked succulent salmon.
Stuffed with an absolutely divine seafood stuffing.
Topped with sweet, tender jumbo lump crab meat & BIG ol' shrimp.

I have tried to duplicate this dish at home...
but I just don't get it.. how do they take a HUGE slab-o-salmon that is thin on one side and really thick on the other end, and cook it perfectly on both ends??
I do it and the thin side is overcooked when the thick side is perfect.
Or the thick side is raw then the thin end is perfect!
This is one of the questions that keeps me awake at night!

Papa's Seafood House Stuffed Salmon
Served with grilled asparagus & a Greek salad and of course a hunk of cheesecake is my perfect last meal!

What would you request as your last meal before you met Old Sparky?
Leave your meal request in the comment section and we can all drool over them and die happy!
Or... live with really happy tummies!

Cook The PERFECT Syeak!

I am from Texas. (ok.. well I wasn't born here... but I got here as fast as I could! gimmie a break will ya?)

And, as anyone from Texas will tell you, We take our steaks and other red meats very seriously.
Cook at steak wrong and they'll kick you plum out of the state!

When I was on the Wife Swap TV show, I had to throw a swanky dinner party the first night. I cooked steaks. They all asked... "How did you get each steak cooked so perfectly?!?"

I taught them this little handy trick.
Follow these simple tips and you'll cook the perfect steak each and every time!

The first rule of cooking steak is do not puncture it!!

Don't fiddle with it and poke it with a fork or cut into it with a knife checking for doness. Puncturing the meat only allows the juices to run OUT of the meat.. juices are goooood, we want em in there! Use tongs for cryin out loud!

Season it and cook it as you wish....
I prefer a good wood fire. HOT to sear it on both sides.
But after you get that far, how do you know how done it is without cutting into it to look??

I do it all by feel.
wanna know how to feel your steak like a pro?
Simple....
Here we go.

Lay your hand on the table....

Let it relax.

with your other index finger... feel the meaty part of your hand.

This is what a Rare steak feels like.

Now, take your index finger and let it join up with your thumb making a circle,

not flat like this picture. (think like an OK sign).

Feel it again...

This is what Medium-Rare feels like.

Now... do the same thing with your thumb and middle finger...
Yep, you guessed it!
This is what Medium feels like!
(easy huh?)

Thumb and ring finger?
You got it!
This is what Medium-Well feels like!

Put your thumb and pinkie fingers together.
This is what a Well-Done steak feels like!

Wasn't that easy??
A little practice and you'll be cooking steaks to perfection every darn time! (just like a Texan!)

Go forth and Grill baby!!

Let the Cooking Begin! (Batch Cooking)

Tomorrow morning I am going to the store to buy supplies to cook for my freezer.
A lot of people like to do what is called Once a Month Cooking.
I have never done that really, I just double or triple our usual meals and freeze family meal sized portions for later.
It's so nice to be able to pull out a whole family meal from the freezer when I'm not in the mood to cook or my schedule is too busy to spend hours in the kitchen.

Today, I pulled out a smoked pork loin.
Threw it in the microwave.
Made some mashed potatoes & Green beans.
And we had a wonderful dinner!
It takes all day to smoke a pork loin.
And it's no more work to smoke three or four at a time than it is to smoke one.

So we ate one when I cooked em, and vacuum sealed the others with some of it's juices for later. It was perfect!

Over the next few days I plan to make a few meals for the freezer...

Bacon Wrapped stuffed chicken breasts. (24 of em!)
Worlds Best Italian Meatballs. (great for lots of uses later!)
Lil' cheddar meatloaves. (16 individual sized meatloaves)
2 Chicken Enchilada casseroles
2 King Ranch Chicken casseroles
2 Ravioli Lasagnas
Spinach & Sausage Stuffed Shells (30 of them)
2 Perogy Lasagnas

I'll post the recipes and freezing tips for each as I go.
Cross your fingers and lets get ready to cook and fill those freezers!!!

Batch Cooking

Ever wonder what 20lbs of diced boneless/skinless chicken breasts looks like?

Like this!

Now, if I can just keep the little hands out of it!

Keep in mind this is my new Tupperware "Thatsa-bowl"... it holds 42 cups!
(I'm falling in love with Tupperware.... it's more expensive yes, but I am sooo sick of containers that have lids that pop off... and bowls that stain, and crack, and just feel flimsy..

This ain't your Mom's Tupperware! Tupperware makes me happy!...

Man! it's official I am a Dork!)

This mountain-o-chicken is going to be the base meat for my two batch cooking dishes for tomorrow.

King Ranch Casserole
and Chicken Pot Pie.

Stay Tuned....
Tomorrow we cook!!!!

Take a Peek

batch cooking is paying off.

click the pic for a full-side view

Now I need another freezer!

underneath is tons of home grown pork.... smoked hams .. the worlds best breakfast sausage, the mountains of blueberries.

hmmm where am I gonna fit the pierogi lasagnas?

Oh yeah.... I have another small freezer outside.. whew!

No Roll Pie Crust!!

Seriously....
a wonderfully flaky slightly sweet pie crust that you can't mess up!
No Rolling Pin required!!
All ya need are the ingredients...
press em in your pie pan.. and POOF perfect pie crust!

NO Roll Pie Crust

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 tablespoons milk

1. Mix dry ingredients together with a fork in your pie pan.
2. Make a well in the center and add the oil and milk.
3. Mix with a fork until it forms a ball.
4. Flatten and press into the pan in pie crust shape and flute the edge.
5. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes until golden.
6. One crust pie, perfect for cream pies and crumb topped baked pies.

21 meals

I just read somewhere that most family meal plans consist of 21 "Family Favorite" meals,
In other words, most families have about 21 meals that are the standard fair at the dinner table.
This got me thinking....
If I had the ingredients for just 21 meals in my freezer and/or pantry at all times, I would never have a moment of "Oh Crap!! What am I gonna make for dinner?!?"

How great would that be??
So I had to figure out, what are my 21 meals?
I like to try new recipes, so you never know what you'll find on our plates.
But, as I tried to think of our 21 meals I realized that we do, in fact, have about 21 meals that are always in the rotation. They are my standby meals. Everyone loves em and they are our comfort meals.
Here is my list in no particular order.
I didn't include side dishes, just the main course.

21 meals

1. spaghetti
2. smothered steak
3. grilled steak
4. bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts
5. beef stew
6. Cajun chicken fettuccine
7. Pork tenderloin
8. Meat loaf
9. Jambalaya
10. Roast chicken
11. Breakfast
12. Pork chops
13. Burgers
14. Hamburger gravy
15. BBQ/smoker foods
16. Chicken Ceaser salad
17. Chicken Breasts w/ Stuffing
18. Lasagna
19. Mexican Lasagna
20. Taco Salad
21. Fajita’s

What about you?
What foods are in your list?
I'd love to see some of your favorite family meal ideas!

3-Minute Salsa

Here in Texas we LOVE our Hot Sauce.
Or Salsa.... whatever you call it.. we LOVE it!
We eat chips and salsa like it's going out of style!
We cook with it.
We would drink it if it would fit in a straw!

I used to spend hours making and canning gallons of homemade salsa.
Then I found a great little cheater recipe for wonderful salsa!
It takes 3 minutes! No Lie!
Simple ingredients that I bet you have in your pantry!
If you don't... You should!I dare you NOT to fall in love with it!
It's wonderful to have on hand when you have unexpected visitors!
Here we go!

Dana's 3-Minute Salsa

Ingredients

- 1, 28oz can of tomato sauce
- 1, 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
- 2, 10oz. cans of Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies (I use ROTEL brand, You can use 1 can if your a real sissy)

- chunk of an onion (maybe 1/3 of a med onion)
- Salt , generous pinch
- garlic powder just a shake or two.

OPTIONAL
- Cilantro, to taste
- Jalapeno peppers, to taste
- Sour Cream (I always top my bowl of salsa with a dollop of Sour Cream)

Directions
1.) Toss your chunk of onion & peppers into your trusty blender.
2.) Dump in your cans of Tomato & Chillies
3.) turn on the blender for a few seconds to chop up the onion/peppers.
4.) dump in all other ingredients.
5.) blend until well mixed. (longer if you like it smooth, shorter if you like it chunky)
6.) pour into a bowl, top with sour cream if you like it that way... and enjoy!

How easy is that?!?!?
you can play with it all you want.
Add LOTS of hot peppers for more heat.
Add lots of Cilantro if that floats your boat.
Have fun with it!