  Remember that we are celebrating the venerable tomato and to support our favorite tomato packagers, Red Gold Tomatoes, and along with out favorite chili creators, Willis Chili Seasoning, we are having a giveaway that will make your mouth water. The winner will receive a can of Red Gold tomato sauce, a package of Willis Chili Seasoning and a lovely Red Gold Tomato apron to wear while making chili. I know it is summer, but we eat chili all year round and it is one of our summer favorites. So leave a comment below and on following posts or previous posts and your name will automatically go into the drawing that will be held on August 20th. Good luck! I just thought I’d give you an idea during this okra season that will give you a little extra umph for your salad. I don’t know about you, but when I fry okra, I have just enough left over that I look at it and say, “Do I REALLY want to keep this? It isn’t enough for more than one person but I sure don’t want to waste it.” Well, you don’t have to waste it. Put the fried okra in a refrigerator dish or bag and keep it refrigerated. When you make a salad next time, put the okra on a cookie sheet and bake it at 350º for about 8 – 10 minutes (just long enough to heat through and crisp). Instead of croutons on your salad, add the okra. It gives the crispy of croutons but gives more fiber and is really tasty!!   So don’t throw that little bit of okra out! Enjoy it on your next salad. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!  |
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Posts Tagged ‘salad’
Left Over Fried Okra?
Thursday, August 14th, 2014
Game Day Chicken Fingers
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
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Apple Time Giveaway  Not a soul in Oklahoma is away from the television when OU and OSU come together to fight it out at “Bedlam” when the Red and White intermingles with the Orange and White. Mixed marriages of OU and OSU alumni have been known to need police protection on the premises. This year, Bedlam is the last game of the OU season and though my dear son-in-law is of the OSU variety, I have to cheer the Sooners on, singing Boomer Sooner at the top of my lungs. Fortunately, Mr. Fix-It and I are of one mind and he tolerates my screams at the television set, my jumping up and down and my offers to Coach Stoops the expertise that can only come from a woman who has never played football or had a son who had any interest in playing football. Both of our sons played drums and guitar, but I see a similarity to the passion needed in a team, so that makes me qualified to coach from a standing position in front of the television in Mr. Fix-It’s line of sight. Of course, there is always food for a game and one of Mr. Fix-It’s favorites are boneless chicken fingers dipped in a variety of sauces. This recipe is especially for you new cooks who are just getting started and is very elementary. But it’s quick, easy and yummy and it is my own recipe. So get out those big, foam fingers and get ready for your favorite big game. It doesn’t matter who wins – at least you’ll be full! (this recipe can be doubled or tripled, etc for larger groups) 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders or breasts cut into strips Milk 1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 package Liptons Cream of Chicken Cup-a-Soup Oil for frying Directions:  In a large, plastic bowl with a lid, add flour and spices and mix.  Mix in powdered soup  Place pieces of chicken into the bowl with the flour mixture and cover tightly with lid.  Shake until all pieces are well-floured  Place floured pieces of chicken one at a time into the hot oil.  Brown and then turn to brown the other side. Only brown, it doesn’t matter if the chicken gets done all the way through.  When browned, place pieces of chicken onto a cookie rack that has been placed over a shallow cookie pan. Place the rack and pan of chicken, uncovered, into a 350º oven and bake for 20 minutes. This cooks the chicken to tender and also removes much of the oil while leaving a nice crust.  Remove chicken from the oven and let cool slightly. Now you can cover pieces in different sauces. I like to toss some of the pieces in honey.  And then add our favorite barbeque sauce to make a honey-barbeque. I coat the pieces evenly by putting them into plasticware dishes with lids and then covering and tossing in the sauces.  Of course, I HAVE to have my hot wing sauce!  Leave some plain to be served with white gravy or chicken gravy and you have a nice variety! As I said, this recipe can be increased for however many people you plan to entertain.  And IF you have any left-overs, lunch or dinner the next day is yummy indeed with a nice salad of organic greens, cranberries, sunflower seeds and plum tomatoes topped with the cubed chicken and blue cheese.  |
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Yummy Salad
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
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Here in Oklahoma, we are EX-CITED! We have a new Sunflower Foods store in downtown Oklahoma City. And Whole Foods will be opening next month. The only thing that could make it better would be for a threesome finished out by Trader Joe’s which appears to be in the works!! See? Okies do have taste. Yes, they do. Well, Wednesday I ventured into the wild crowd that packed our newly opened grocery and took advantage of a sale of sales. Organic plums for 77¢ – organic celery for 99¢ – organic 2% milk for $3.99 – 5 pounds of Gulf Shrimp for $18.00 – and the list goes on. But, oh my, they had an olive bar!! Give me a plate and call me Greek. I love olives. All olives. And all the things that go with olives like pickled garlic and marinated mozarella! Oh yeah. So I loaded up on olives and the works and left that store with visions of a salad deluxe and boiled shrimp. 1 1/2 cups lettuce, greens and spinach per person 1/3 cup olives of your choice per person 2 Marinated Mozarella Cheeses per person 2 slices bacon per person + 1 tsp brown sugar per slice 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tblsp butter 1/2 cup pecans 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese per person tomato slices Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing or Greek Vinaigrette I got home, chopped lettuce and put it into large bowls, one for me and one for Mr. Fix-It and set those aside. I used iceberg lettuce and some fresh spinach, but you can use any greens at all. That’s what I had on hand for this week.  Next, I melted 2 tablespoons of butter and added 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I stirred that around on medium heat until a thick liquid was formed. This can take a little while and just when you get frustrated – poof – it all melts!  I added 1/2 cup of whole pecans and stirred those until they were coated. You don’t want to cook the sauce too long or it will scorch and get too hard.  I poured the nuts onto a nonstick tray to cool. Once cooled, I tossed them into the food processor and pulsed until they were chopped into large pieces.  Meanwhile, I really did it and sprinkled brown sugar onto strips of bacon. I cooked those in the microwave, but if you want to cook them in a pan, you can start them frying and then sprinkle them with the brown sugar. It gives a crisp, sweet taste to the bacon for salads.  Finally, I piled different olives onto the center of the lettuce and spinach, put two pieces of the marinated mozarella on the edge of the bowl alongside two slices of tomato, piled about 1/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese over the whole thing and then sprinkled the pecans and crumbled bacon over that. With Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing or Greek Vinaigrette, it is awesome!! I boiled some of the shrimp, made some drawn butter and called it supper!! Mmmm. Mmmm. |
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Thanksgiving 2010
Saturday, November 27th, 2010
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Thanksgiving is over – it was wonderful for us – and time to move on to the next big meal at Christmas! I think that this time of year is measured as time between meals or maybe, as pounds gained? Whatever, the food just seems to taste better during the 37 or so days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. While it appears that everywhere from Colorado to Idaho to California experienced a freezing, snowy Thanksgiving, those of us in sunny Oklahoma felt some nippy temps but still had trees with painted leaves as a background, through the window, to our massive dinner spread.  We enjoyed a houseful of guests, four of whom sported guitars, and so a lovely day was spent eating and then listening to the soulful strains of Hank William’s “So Lonesome I Could Cry”, the harmony of gospel songs and the catchy beat of the eldest son’s original creations. Having two professional musicians in the family, along with a whole slew of amateurs makes for a toe tapping, knee slapping concert whenever we all get together. Our dinner consisted of the usual turkey, oiled up and totally covered with smoked paprika, baked in a separate roaster for a much more tender, juicy bird. Cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied sweet potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, corn on the cob, 7 layer salad and my pasta salad (recipe follows) accompanied the bird of the hour. Just for the heck of it, I decided to see what everybody had to say about the sauerkraut and so I sliced up smoked sausage and baked that on a bed of the kraut. If I may brag, everyone went nuts over it and several ended up carrying home a jar! Yay. I suppose I’ll have to find cabbage at 10 lbs for $1 again and get busy.  I have to admit to a huge, red-faced mistake, however, before I give you my recipe for a pasta salad. My favorite pie in the whole world is pecan pie. I am a terrible American because I can’t stand pumpkin pie. However, because I love my family I do make a pumpkin pie each year and I generously let them have every single bite! For the pie cook, one of the kitchen utensils that we carry at the Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ store is the First Slice Out Pie Spatula and it is the handiest little thing. It is placed into the pie plate and then the pie shell is placed on top of it. Once the pie is filled and covered, it is baked and the first slice out is easily achieved by cutting around the spatula and just lifting it up.  Sounds brilliant, right? Well, it is – that is unless a runny, sticky, custard pie filling and large, glass pie plate are involved. It works like a charm for apple or cherry or such in a standard pie tin, but a pecan pie is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. Well, not that pecans and fish have anything in common. Bad metaphor. Never mind. Anyway, it seems that when the sticky, gooey mess that is pecan pie filling is poured into the shell, if there is ANY kind of crack in the crust, some of it WILL seep under the pie shell at the edge where the spatula and crust meet. The baked result is a pie spatula that is adhered to the pie pan with the strength of Super Glue. I sheepishly pried under the spatula with a knife to no avail to get that first slice out and everyone gathered around to watch me battle with my genius utensil, each giving their own suggestions based on obviously more engineering know-how than I possessed. Finally, my dear son-in-law who is so smart, took the knife from my feverish fingers and gently rocked the spatula back and forth until, with a great sucking sound, it lifted off of the surface of the pie pan, bringing strings of oozing mess with it. He popped the mess into his mouth and announced that it tasted like taffy candy. Lovely. My pie was a dug-out disaster, but it tasted like taffy! It may have been the ugliest pie at the buffet, but it DID taste good. So word of warning: The pie spatuala works best in a standard pie pan and make sure that your crust is thick and perfect if you are going to use a custard filling!  Our Thanksgiving Day was just that – a day of thanks. However, for us here at the Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ homestead, every single day is a day of thanks for all that God has provided and for the strength and wisdom He offers. There is good in every situtation, no matter how bad it may look to us. Growth can always be had if one will focus on what God is teaching rather than what the circumstances seem on the surface. We pray that, for you all, this time is one of love, joy and personal growth. 1 1/2 cups uncooked pasta 2 tsp olive oil 3 stalks celery 1/2 cup sliced carrots 1 small head broccoli cut up 1/2 med. onion chopped 1/2 cup black olives, chopped or sliced 1/4 cup green olives, chopped or sliced 1/2 c. mayonnaise (light or fat free is fine) 2 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar 3 tbsp vinegar 1/4 cup any type Italian salad dressing 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp oregano        |
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