Easy Bake Chicken!

I would think this is an easy recipe that most people already know how to do but considering I just learned how to bake one I am going to assume some others may not either. So here is it! It is a great rotisserie flavored BAKED chicken. It is great to eat on for a couple days and even use it for dinner, a salad for lunch or even to chop up and make chicken salad for the kiddos!

Buy yourself a whole chicken, preferably an organic one!

1. Clean it well!!!!
2. Cover it in olive oil, garlic powder, and Tony's seasonings.
3. Turn your oven to 400+ degrees for a high broil!
4. Broil it for about 5 minutes on both side, it will be nice and brown if not let it go a little longer!
5. Then turn your oven down between 350 and 375 degrees and bake it for about an hour and a half!
6. AND YOUR CHICKEN SHOULD BE DONE!

Making a Christmas Butter Pecan Cake - a tribute to Meemaw

So the very woman who has engrained in my mind since I was a young child that "a way to a man's heart is through his stomach", created this recipe. She is the reason for the name of this blog! Meemaw loved to cook and serve others, it was her passion. One of her family tributes that I grew up adoring about whether it was over Sunday lunch or her serving at church, LSU international students, or just people passing through. Her heart was genuine, pure and servant driven! 

I thought about Meemaw because the pecans are falling and my cousin Callie brought me a HUGE bag from Clinton, Louisiana out on their land! Caden and I were suppose to go pick them but got caught up, so she was sweet enough to deliver them to us! Now I am not only making one of Meemaw's recipes and hoping to share it with others! Meemaw was known for her baking!!!! She could cook just about anything southern but her baking flare was her gift!!!!

This is a great recipe for using Louisiana Pecans! Enjoy as much as the many McCollister grandkids did growing up!

MeeMaw’s Butter Pecan Cake

1 pkg. butter yellow cake mix

1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream

¾ cup vegetable oil

6 eggs

3 tbs. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

1 pkg. butter pecan instant pudding

1 cup chopped pecans

½ cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees

Mix together pecans and brown sugar. Mix cake mix, sour cream, oil, butter, and vanilla flavoring, and beat, adding one egg at a time. Add pudding and flavoring. Mix well.

Pour 1/3 mixture into Bundt pan, sprinkling over ½ sugar and pecan mixture, and then add 1/3 of the cake mixture into the pan. Add the remaining sugar and pecan mixture and pour over remaining cake mixture. Bake for 1-1.5 hours.

And Voila!

The Best GUMBO eva'

If you like a good gumbo that almost makes you smile and your man feel like he is at the duck camp, then you have the recipe you have been looking for sitting before your very eyes!

1 jar of Savoie's Roux 

2 ham hocks

1 whole chicken

2 packages of sausage (sliced)

2 small jars of minced garlic

2 containers of Creole Seasoning Mix (bell pepper, onion, parsley, combined)

4 bay leaves

Salt and Pepper

1/4 cup of Garlic Powder

Tony's

1 cup of parsley chopped

First you begin making your homemade broths! THIS IS THE KEY!

1) In a pot you will boil your whole chicken. Cover the chicken with water. Add in half of the container of Creole Mix. You will boil on medium high (NOT HIGH) this for about 4 hours. Add in more water if needed. Keep the water at about the top of the chicken or a little below.

2) In another pot you will boil your 2 ham hocks in 8 cups of water. Add in the OTHER half of the container of Creole Mix. Boil on medium high (NOT HIGH) about 3 hours. You may have to add in about 4 more cups of water as you go.

3) You will begin your next step in a LARGE double pot. Once your broths are near done, you will begin to sautee all your veggies in oil. When your veggies get fairly soft after about 10 minutes, you will add in your jar of roux ! key is to STIR this constantly for 20 minutes. Set a timer and constantly stir so it does not burn. 

4) Take chicken out of boil and set aside to cool.

5) After 20 minutes is up on your roux mixing, add in your broths, seasonings, sausage, and ham hocks. Mix well.

6) Now break and shred your chicken down and toss the bones away. Add in your chicken to the gumbo now. Let gumbo simmer for another 2 hours on low heat, so the veggies and flavors all combine well.

7) Serve with rice or potato salad or BOTH!

Enjoy!!!!

HOT CHOCOLATE TIME!

My favorite thing to make for guests when it gets cold is a hot chocolate bar. It is a fun way for kids to get excited about hot chocolate and even better when you pull out the Bailey's the adults do too! I did this for Christmas Eve last year and it was a hit, so much I decided it will become a new tradition!

Hot Chocolate Recipe:

Cheat and Easy Crawfish Etoufee!

I grew up with a mama who was busy being mom of the year with carpool, mom's club, field trips, maintaining her house well, making sure we had a home cooked dinner every night, and basically running every errand on earth!  I remember as a kind eating her amazing crawfish etoufee and thinking...wow my mom is better than yours because she is from Jennings, LA and makes crawfish stuff! It wasn't until I was much older that I realized it was a cheat version, and if it is taste that good then who cares right?!!

So, I recently this dish twice to which two of my friends replied, 'I don't make that anymore because I just don't have time to make that roux'! I hesitated because part of me thought, do I give away my secret and let them know I cheat, and the more dominant side of me felt if I didn't tell I'm a lame friend! If you know me, you know I love MY FRIENDS and if I can help make their life easier, I do it. So here it is....enjoy!

 Ingredients:

• 1 bag of crawfish tails
• 2 cans of low fat cream of mushroom soup or 1 jar of Classico Creamy Alfredo
• ½ cup chopped celery very fine
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic or fresh pressed garlic
• 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Tony's Seasoning
• 1 cup of water 
• 1 cup of skim milk
• Optional: 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste

Directions: 

Sautee the vegetables until they are very soft. Add minced garlic and simmer another 5 minutes with the vegetables. Add in the crawfish tails, water, and soup or Alfredo and mix well with a whisk. Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes. Serve over rice.

* Can sub Shrimp if not a crawfish fan!

Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes. Serve over rice.

Get'n FANCY with your hamburger.....[Turkey] Hamburger Steaks

Ingredients: 
1 lbs of ground turkey
1/2 cup of bell pepper finely chopped
1 cup of yellow onion chopped
1 tablespoon of pepper
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 cup of roma tomatoes chopped
1 cup of mushrooms chopped
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1/8 cup of Worcestershire
1 packet of organic gravy mix

4 red potatoes cubed and boiled


Take ground turkey meat and mix in Worcestershire, garlic powder, pepper, bell pepper, and 1/4 cup of onions. Mash and mix well. Cook these patties in a skillet and set aside.

Gravy:
Sautée onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until onion are soft.

Add in gravy packet and water required (see back of gravy packet). Mix well.

Boil red potatoes until soft. Then mash with a little butter, skim milk and salt until like mash potatoes.

Serve your turkey hamburger steak over mash red potatoes. Top with the gravy. Sautee some fresh green beans and garlic to place on the side to add some green to your plate!

WINE TIP: Serve with my new favorite red Chianti at Trader Joe's. And I know Chiantis are normally dry but I served this Saturday night and everyone loved it!!! GREAT PRICE TOO! TRUST ME...IT'S GOOD!

Sweet Bites BUT Even Sweeter ... they're GUILT FREE!

ADDICTING RAW SWEET BITES!

RAW | PALEO | VEGAN | ORGANIC

These cute little deceiving chocolate looking treats are very very good! Deceiving as in you will want to eat a lot of them but the best part is they are guilt free. They are good for you in many ways such as protein, energy, dairy free, etc etc etc.... Caden absolutely loves them, which makes for a me being a much happier mom knowing his sweet tooth actually has some nutritional value. That is so much better than watching your child scream because he wants candy, popsicles and chocolate.

These are also PERFECT for entertaining for the holidays and even as party favors or small teachers gifts, just putting a few in a cellophane bag with cute ribbon and voila! See these CUTE AND INEXPENSIVE BAGS Cute bags

RECIPE:

1 cup raw almonds
14 medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup raw cacao nibs
1/4 cup of unsweetened cacao chips
2 tbsp. coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of Agave
1/8 cup flax seed

Set aside another 1 cup of shredded coconut for when you roll the balls into it for the final step

1. Almonds
Probably the most nutrient-dense in the nut family, they are a rich source of fiber and protein, omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, and niacin, and of course, vitamin E, an important antioxidant that helps to neutralize free radicals.

2. Dates
Another great source of fiber and protein, dates are also rich in mood and energy boosting B-vitamins, iron, heart-healthy potassium, and thanks to their naturally occurring sugars, provide a great energy boost. Dates also contain antioxidants known as tannins, which have anti-infective and anti-inflammatory properties.

3. Cacao nibs
The mother ship of chocolate, cacao is probably one of the most nutrient and antioxidant-dense foods on the planet.  Cacao contains neurotransmitters that are associated with a healthy mood: serotonin, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. Is it any wonder chocolate makes us happy? In addition, cacao has been linked to improved cardiovascular health, containing polyphenols – the same beneficial antioxidants found in red wine. The key to remember here is cacao {the raw completely natural and unprocessed form of chocolate} is the superhero – not the processed bar that you’re buying at the store.

4. Coconut oil
A rich source of healthy fats that has been linked to enhanced  metabolism, immune system, and blood sugar stabilization, among other things. I’ve spoken at length about my love affair with coconut oil before.

5. Unsweetened shredded coconut
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, see #4 above. After all, coconut oil is a by product of coconut meat {which is what the shreds are}.

6. Flax seeds
Another favorite of mine, flax seeds are great source of fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants.

Set aside the 1 cup of shredded coconut on a plate. 

Place all ingredients into food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes, until mixture becomes similar to very fine {sticky} pebbles.

About a teaspoon at a time, roll into 1-inch balls. 

Lastly, roll the balls in the shredded coconut to lightly cover entire ball.