Green Tomato Pizza

A group of friends that we have dinner with each month gave five couples a green tomato and a challenge to cook it and share the recipe.  Well, we have all heard of "Fried Green Tomatoes" but you know me, I wanted to try something different.  The results were wonderful!  In less then an hour the house smelled like an Italian restaurant and our mouths were watering. 

Green Tomato Pizza
1.  Make a pizza crust.  I like the "Jiffy" pizza crust mix, it's perfect for three servings.
2.  Heat 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil and 2 cloves of freshly pressed garlic.
3.  Kneed the dough and shape into a greased pizza pan. 
4.  Brush the crust with the olive oil and garlic mixture and sprinkle the crust with a little Johnny's Seasoning Salt.
5.   Bake in a 400 degree oven for two minutes. 
6.  Slice a green tomato 1/8 inch thick and place it on top of the slightly baked crust. Top with about four ounces of shredded Mozzarella.
7.  Bake for 16 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is starting to brown.

I think this would be a perfect appetizer.  Sam wanted to add cooked bacon or artichoke hearts...what do you think?  We will definitely have this again.  Thanks Tom and Jeanne.

Shrimp Po' Boy

If you have followed my blog for awhile, you know I like to serve a sandwich for dinner once a week.  This week's sandwich was a tasty Shrimp Poor Boy or Po' Boy as they are often called.  I always go "light" on the hot spices while cooking and give my family and friends the option to add more punch to the food on their plate if they so desire.  With that said, the amount of chili powder I used was just right for my taste.  It allowed the flavor of the butter, shrimp, red cabbage, etc. to come through and not be overpowered by HOT.  You'll decide how hot you want to make your shrimp.

Several hours before dinner, mix  2 Tablespoons of dill pickle relish with 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise and 2 Tablespoons of plain yogurt.  Add the mixture to 2 cups of raw shredded red cabbage. Salt and pepper to taste.  Set this in the refrigerator to cool.

Several minutes before dinner (really that's how little effort this sandwich takes) clean 1 pound of raw shrimp and saute them for approximately 3 minutes in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

Slice some red tomatoes and red onions and assemble the sandwich on a sliced sweet French Crusty Baguette.  You can toast the baguette if you like.  I know a lot of folks like to use Hoggie Rolls but I find they have way too much bread and calories (340) verses about 100 calories in a good serving size of the baguette.  I hope you enjoy this easy recipe it makes four sandwiches.

Sweet and Sour Beef with Asparagus

Looking for something different to do with a pound of lean beef stew meat?  Check this out.
Here's what you will need:
1 to 2 pounds premium lean beef stew meat
1 (16oz) package frozen Oriental stir-fry vegetables, thawed
1 (10oz) can beefy mushroom soup
1 (10oz) can beef broth (I used 1 lb of beef and 1/2 a can of broth)
2/3 cup sweet and sour sauce

In a skillet brown the stew meat sprinkled with Johnny's Seasoning salt.  In a bowl, combine soup, broth, and the sweet and sour sauce.  Place the meat and vegetables in a sprayed crock pot, add the soup mixture and stir it well.  Cook on LOW for 5 hours.  During the last 30 minutes of cook time, steam fresh asparagus and make 1/2 of an 8 oz. box of Maifun Brown Rice Noodles according to the box cooking directions.  Drain and rinse the noodles and drain the asparagus and add both items to the crock pot.  Stir one last time to coat everything in the yummy sauce.  Enjoy!

This made four servings with 1 pound of stew meat.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

Broccoli Chicken Casserole
3 cups cooked chicken
3 cups steamed broccoli
2 cups thick sliced celery
1 cup thick sliced mushrooms
1 cup diced white onion
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup of milk
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
12 Ritz crackers crushed

Time got away from me yesterday and before I knew it, the family was asking "What's for dinner?"  I looked at what I had on hand, and whipped up this great tasting casserole.  I melted the butter in a saute pan and added the onion, mushrooms and celery.  I steamed the broccoli and diced the left over chicken.  I mixed the soup and milk, put all of the ingredients except the crackers into a baking dish.  I crushed the crackers and sprinkled them on top with a little Parmesan cheese and baked the dish for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.  I noticed the crackers were getting brown so I took the dish out of the oven and pushed the crackers down so they wouldn't crisp up any more and placed the dish back in the oven for another 15 minutes to be sure it was heated all the way through.  It was GREAT!  I'll make this again.

Peachy Pork Chops

Several friends have commented how often there is fruit on our dinner plates.  It's true, we love fruit!  Last night I tried a new recipe and it was a huge hit.  My daughter actually ate the leftovers for breakfast, that's how good it was!  If you like peaches, you'll love this.





6 - 8 (or less) pork chops
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 (28 oz) can peach halves with juice
 (I used a 15 oz can of sections since I only had three chops)

I lined a 9 x 9 square baking pan with parchment paper.  I seasoned the pork chops before I placed them in the pan.  I mixed the sauce and poured it over the chops.  I then placed the peach slices on top of the chops and poured more sauce over that.  I baked it in a 350 degree convection oven for 75 minutes, uncovered.  I basted several times during baking.

Note: the original recipe called for 6 to 8 (3/4 inch) thick bone-in chops, I used three big pork center cut chops with no bones. There was extra sauce, but I can't wait to use it in other dishes.

Note: you could also make this recipe in the crock pot by covering and cooking it on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.

Caribbean Ham

I just love the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It has some really good recipes that have stood the test of time.  Our dinner tonight was one of those recipes.  I took a small three pound bone in ham and sliced it into three 1 1/2 inch pieces.  I trimmed the bone and reserved the end piece for soup.  I then cut the two thick slices into big chunks and placed them in a baking dish and baked them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  While the ham was baking, I made rice and steamed brussel sprout.  I also made the yummy Caribbean glaze as follows:

Caribbean Glaze for Ham
1/3 cup of orange juice
1 Tablespoon whole cloves
1/3 cup of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons rum
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 cup of crushed pineapple
In a saucepan combine the orange juice and the whole cloves, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer gently, uncovered for 5 minutes.  Discard the cloves.  Combine the brown sugar, rum and honey stir the mixture into the orange juice and cook for several more minutes until the sugar dissolves completely.  Add the crushed pineapple and then spoon the hot mixture over the ham and baste several times during the remaining cooking time.  I also spooned some of the mixture over the rice.  It was very good.

Easy White Fish Gumbo

Hello Gentle Chiefs,
Oh what a discovery I have made!  I took last night's leftovers (the stewed tomatoes with green chilies, rice and broth) and I add 1/2 a bag of frozen gumbo vegetables, 1/2 a package of cocktail weenies and another can of chicken broth and let it all simmer in my stock pot for about 20 minutes.  At the same time I also boiled three Cod fillets that were pressure wrapped in individual packages.  When the Cod was done, I opened each package and stirred the broken pieces into three individual bowls of Gumbo.  The results were fantastic!

Do try both the Mexican Chicken and the Easy White Fish Gumbo.  Two delicious dinners, so different and each oh so good.