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Tag: food

  • A Quickie…..Building a Better Burrito

    A Quickie…..Building a Better Burrito

    How do you build a better burrito? It’s pretty simple… you have to start with fresh Ingredients. That’s what draws us to places like Chipotle. They promise us fresh ingredients. It’s one of the reasons the McDonald’s corporation purchased the sweet Mexican chain. It wanted to be associated with fresh ingredients. Well if a big conglomerate like McDonald’s knows it’s all about the fresh then you should know it too.

    I wish  knew how t make my own flour tortilla because I would have but since I don’t I purchased some from my local supermarket. Everything else was freshly made. I made a pot of lime rice with chopped parsley stirred through. Dried black beans that I soaked over night and then cooked down with chopped onions and spices. Ground beef that I browned with cumin, salt, black pepper, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce and fresh garlic. Corn salsa with diced red onions, jalapeno, lime zest, lime juice, kosher salt and black pepper. And of course fresh guacamole made with avocado,diced red onions, lime juice, kosher salt and a dash or two of siracha sauce. I sautéed some bell peppers and onions. We cannot forget the cheese, Sargento’s Mexican blend. And of course a little sour cream makes it extra yummy.

    This is just one idea for a burrito but the options are endless. You could go pork or chicken, grilled veggies, multiple kinds of beans, potatoes just whatever your heart desires but remember to keep it fresh. Now get in that kitchen and go make memories.

  • A Quickie….Chicken Pot Pie

    A Quickie….Chicken Pot Pie

    So while perusing a Facebook group dedicated to people who like cooking, I came across someone’s picture of a pot pie they made. It instantly brought me back to my childhood, where my Mom had a freezer with individual boxes of pot pies for us (something for lunch she wouldn’t have to slave over and we liked them). We even had a choice of what kind we could eat, chicken or turkey. I loved them. One it wasn’t Jamaican food ( it was food I could relate to with the other kids in school) and two I had come to love pie crust( little did I know at the time that was an inferior product compared to what I would later learn to make).

    (In my Gollum voice) I must have the pot pie. So what I would have a late lunch. It would be well worth it. And so my journey began into making an individual chicken pot pie for myself. First things first, I needed to make the pic crust and get it in the fridge so that the fat and flour could make happy time together while chilling out (if you want a truly flaky dough you must use butter and shortening to achieve it). Then I proceeded to chop vegetables and dice chicken breast for the filling and….. And well 2 1/2 hours later I was enjoying (with a slightly burned tongue) Chicken Pot Pie.

  • A Healthier YOU

    A Healthier YOU

    I know on the blog I share a lot of things that may not be so health conscience but they aren’t meant to be eaten on a daily basis. If you follow me on social media you can get a feel for my daily eating habits, which isn’t all bad. With that being said I approached Miss Ebby K of I am EbbyK (a blog about fashion, fitness and faith) about being a guest on her blog. She loved the idea. So I share with my readers what is going to be shared with her readers. I hope you guys enjoy and take a moment to visit Miss Ebby K’s blog. Now go forward and make memories.

    Stuffed Squash

    The food pyramid says …oh wait it’s no longer a pyramid it’s now a plate. Right, so it suggests that as an adult woman you should get between 2-2½ cups of veggies daily and as an adult man you should get 2½-3 cups of veggies daily. So I’m always looking for ways to get vegetables in my meal. From adding fresh spinach and sweet bell peppers to my scrambled eggs or adding shredded zucchini and carrots to my spaghetti sauce when I’m creating an Italian styled meal. In the following recipe you can more than meet your daily vegetable requirement. I served it with brown rice cooked with vegetable broth and olive oil (instead of butter).

     

    Stuffed Zucchini

    serves 2

     

    1 large zucchini 7”-8” long

    1 small yellow 4”-5” long squash, diced

    3 mushrooms (white button or baby portobella), stems removed

    1-2 cloves of garlic minced

    ½ of small onion, diced

    ¼ sweet bell pepper, diced

    1 stalk celery, diced

    1 small carrot, shredded

    ¾ cup kale, rough chopped

    ¾ cup spinach, rough chopped

    ¼ cup of broth/stock ( chicken or vegetable)

    ¼ – ½ cup of panko breadcrumbs

    3 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese

    Olive oil

    Kosher salt

    Black pepper

     

    Heat oven to 450. Half zucchini. Using a spoon remove the core of the zucchini creating a shell. Save core to the side. When both halves are cored drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Take the reserved zucchini cores and dice.  Heat a saute pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil add onions,bell peppers, celery, yellow squash and diced zucchini core. Saute vegetables for about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, spinach and kale cooking for an additional 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add broth and then add breadcrumbs until mixture starts to come together. Turn off heat. Add 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Fill zucchini halves with mixture, over stuffing. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and remaining parmesan cheese on top of halves then drizzle with olive oil. Bake in oven for 15- 20 minutes or until shell is tender.

     

    You know that spaghetti sauce I mentioned earlier in the post? Why not take a chance on another stuffed squash. Buy a spaghetti squash, half it, scoop out seeds and then place it cut side down into a casserole dish. Add enough broth to cover the bottom of the pan. This helps to steam the squash and adds flavor. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 400 degree pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Remove squash from pan. Saute your favorite vegetables and add to your favorite sauce. Take a fork and flake up the spaghetti like strands of the squash then top with your sauce mixture and parmesan cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, 5-10 minutes. Eat with a side salad.

     

    I hope this moves you closer to your healthier you in 2015. Now go forward and make memories.


    The Chef In Pearls is a blog where food and fashion meet. A retired Chef learning to live life to the fullest. Please follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @TheChefInPearls  

  • A Quickie….Sargento

     

    So what do you do when one of your best friends is in town and stopping through? Well I always plan to feed people. Problem… she no longer eats meat and she’ll be there in less than an hour. You do what I did. You create a cheese platter with Saregento’s new tasting cheeses.

    One of my best friends, Lavern
    One of my best friends, Lavern

     

    It was a fun experience for us all. My cheese board included 4 of the 8 tasting cheeses Sargento has created: the New Zealander (hands down everyone’s favorite), the Aged Vermont White Cheddar (second runner-up in the list of favorites), the Parmentino (which I enjoyed with a slice of fresh pear) and the Medium Asiago. I included crackers, sliced pear and sliced apples one the board also.


    I look forward to trying the other 4 cheeses Sargento created in this line. I can’t wait to see what I will cook up with these cheeses.  As it stands we still have some of the cheeses left over from last night and I’m thinking quick and easy.  I see grilled cheese in our future with a blend of the leftovers on maybe a nice brioche.

  • Turkey, AGAIN? (Holiday Series Finale)

    Most people haven’t thought beyond turkey sandwiches on the day after let alone what’s gonna happen to the leftover leftovers. And by day 3 believe you me your family doesn’t want anything more to do with turkey either. Here’s a way to move beyond that bump in the road.

    My one suggestion is to get rid of the turkey. No I don’t mean throw it away.  I mean get it out of your family’s eye sight. Then you can re-introduce it at a later time…in a different form. First things first you have to…

    Freeze your leftover turkey. Remove you turkey meat from the carcass. Portion them out into plastic freezer bags and date. Try to remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn.The USDA says that turkey can last in the freezer for up to 4-6 months. If you want to keep it moist when you thaw, freeze with gravy or some stock.

    Now that you know how to freeze turkey you need to know what to do with it once you decide to thaw it. Actually this is one for the day after the big meal or the day before the big freeze. This one may get rid of quite a bit of your leftovers and still keep the family interested. Got turkey? Mashed potatoes? Gravy? Vegetables? Then you’ve got the makings of Turkey Shepherd’s Pie.

    2 cups cubed leftover turkey meat

    1 1/2 cups gravy

    2 cups of leftover vegetables (broccoli, peas, carrots string beans whatever you like or rather whatever you have on hand)

    3 cups leftover mashed potatoes

    1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

    Heat oven to 400°. Lightly grease a 9″x 9″ pan. Heat gravy and turkey together in a sauce pan. Transfer heated mixture to 9″x 9″pan. Top meat with vegetables and then top vegetables with mashed potatoes (Have potatoes at room temperature or warm some. It makes the next step easier to do). Spreading potatoes out to within a 1/2″ of edge of pan. Sprinkle shredded cheese across top of potatoes.  Place pan on top of sheet pan and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

    Ok so suppose you still have turkey to freeze after this dish. Consider yourself lucky and proceed to freezing it. What do you do with the turkey when it comes time to thaw. It’s really up to you. Take your favorite recipe and substitute the meat it calls for with your thawed turkey meat.   Like Chili or maybe a Brunswick Stew. Or try adding it to a dish that doesn’t traditionally have meat in it like maybe your favorite Mac & Cheese recipe. Use your imagination. .you never know you create a favorite for your family.

    I hope this series has helped with the madness of holiday meals. Let me know how this series may or may not have helped you. Leave a comment.

    Happy Holidays from Cassandra as The Chef In Pearls and owner of Gems and Baubles. Now go make some memories!

  • 2+2+1= Gravy (Holiday Meal Series Pt 2)

    So your gravy is…well…not the best.  Lumpy is just the start of what makes your gravy unappealing.  So what do we do to make it better? Well we turn to a little math, If you have this little equation you are well on your way to better gravy. 2 + 2 +1= Perfect Gravy. That is 2 Tablespoons of fat plus 2 Tablespoons of flour plus 1 cup of liquid and you’ve got gravy kinda. The only special equipment I suggest for this gravy making task is a whisk,it  helps to eliminate lumps.

    2 Tablespoons  Fat ( butter, olive oil or fat drippings from meat)

    2 Tablespoons all Purpose Flour

    1 cup Liquid  (stock,broth or meat drippings)

    Salt & Pepper to taste

    Melt fat in a sauce pan. Once melted add flour and allow to cook for about 1-2 minutes. Then add liquid while whisking to prevent lumps. Allow to simmer until thickened 3-5 minutes. Taste so that you can adjust seasonings as needed.

    Once you have this basic gravy down then you can get a little fancy with it.  You can make a mushroom beef gravy by sauteing freshly sliced mushrooms before melting fat and adding flour and using either a beef broth, stock or dripping from cooked beef. Or maybe you want something a little spicy add cracked peppercorn to the melted fat before adding flour.  The varieties are limitless and left only up to your imagination and taste-buds.

    Now you’ll be the champion of gravy at your next holiday meal

  • A Quickie….Teavana

    Teavana 11-9 019-1I grew up in a Jamaican household which means tea was a part of my everyday life. You were not allowed to leave the house without something warm in your tummy. Every ailment was met with a cup of tea…stomach ache… ginger tea…start of a cold… garlic tea. Let’s just say I grew to have a love for tea.

     

    Enter Teavana. ..I had the pleasure of joining The Brains & Beauty Academy meet-up for a tea tasting.  We got a chance to taste many blends including Oprah’s chai tea. I enjoyed the subtleness of it in comparison to their Maharaja Oolong Chai blend, which had a strong spiciness to it. But the tea of the day was their Iced Raspberry Limeade. ..addictive. When you get a chance head over to Teavana at Phipps Plaza for a great cup of tea. This is definitely Chef In Pearls approved.

    PhotoGrid_1415753771311Photographs courtesy of Nia Mason Design

     

     

  • Bring on the Holidays (Holiday Series)

    tholiday meal pic

    So Halloween is over and now it’s time to prepare for the big guns….Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a time of family and friends and lots of food.  So many make it a very nerve racking time of year and it doesn’t have to be. It’s all about planning and being prepared for anything.  For the next couple of posts I will help get you ready for the holiday meals before you. I’ll take you from shopping lists, how to make the perfect gravy, un-canned cranberry sauce and even dessert. Hope it helps to ease your mind for this holiday season.

  • Different

    It's what sets us apart...how we stand out...being different isn't a bad thing...being different makes us who we are
    It’s what sets us apart…how we stand out…being different isn’t a bad thing…being different makes us who we are
  • A Quickie…Potato Wedges

    A Quickie…Potato Wedges

    CAM00071

    As you already know I am a football girl.  To be more exact I am a New York Giants football girl.  Unfortunately I now live in Atlanta Falcons territory.  So when my Giants were scheduled to play dem dirty birds of course I had to hit the kitchen.

    I wanted to keep it simple so I went with making a batch of loaded potato wedges. Pretty simple to do and you only need a few ingredients.

    baking potatoes

    thick cut bacon

    green onion or chives

    sour cream

    cheddar cheese ( shredded)

    olive oil

    kosher salt

    black pepper

    Lay bacon strips on a baking sheet. Place in cold oven and adjust temperature to 400(by doing this you actually have strips that don’t curl up)should take 12-15 minutes. Split potatoes in half(cuts baking time down). Drizzle potatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt & black pepper. Place potatoes cut side down on baking tray and place in oven, roughly 25-30 minutes. Check tenderness with a knife. Remove bacon from oven and place slices on paper towel to drain. While potatoes finish baking dice bacon and cut green onions.  I like to thin my sour cream out with heavy cream to make it easier to drizzle(you can add thinned sour cream to a squeeze bottle for even easier drizzling).  Remove potatoes from oven. You want to work with them while still hot. Place a couple of halves on a plate and slice into wedges.  Sprinkle with cheese, bacon, drizzle sour cream and then top with green onion. Viola.