Aida is the Bomb!

Okay, so I've been watching the Food Network for many years and I really like this new school set of chefs they have: Aida Mollenkamp, Sunny Anderson, and I loooove the Neelys.

Recently I tried a roast chicken recipe from Aida (Ask Aida is her show). I've been trying to get Roast Chicken right for years now. The best recipe I've had has been from Real Simple magazine, which gave me the coveted crunchy skin on the outside, but the inside never cooked completely. I tried Aida's Slow Roasted Garlic Chicken recipe from the Comfort Food episode.

This chicken was to die for! I couldn't even carve it without eating the crispy/flavorful/still had the kosher salt on it skin! It was soooo good! Even better, the inside was done! No blood any where in site. I know that's gross, but that's literally how my roasted chicken used to turn out.

The only con I discovered was that the breast was slightly dry, but just a dip in the liquid at the bottom of the pan and this was totally a non-issue! If you've been searching for a really good roast chicken recipe, you should try it!

I'm curious...who's your fav. new school Food Network chef?

Frugal Southern Salmon Cakes

Here's the recipe for Salmon Cakes to feed a family of 5-6

2 - 14oz. Cans of salmon
1 onion - chopped
1/2 tsp. dill
2 eggs
2 handfuls of bread crumbs (sorry this is how I measure, I have small hands if that helps!)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Empty the salmon into the bowl. Carefully pick out bones, don't worry about getting all the bones out they are pretty soft and edible. I mostly just get the round spine bones out and whatever other ones I can get. Lightly flake the salmon with a fork. Add the onion, eggs, bread crumbs and dill. Mix together until well blended, but don't over mix. In a separate plate mix the cornmeal and paprika. In a skillet heat the oil over medium high heat.
Shape the mixture into patties about 3 inches in diameter and coat with the cornmeal mixture. Fry the patties on each side until golden brown and drain on paper
towels.

These are a tasty frugal dinner that the kids love. I usually try to make this homemade tartar sauce http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tartar-Sauce-I/Detail.aspx from allrecipes.com

Serve with pasta and salad for a complete meal! Enjoy!

Family Loving-Waistline Hating Mac & Cheese

Disclaimer: This recipe is in no way friendly when it comes to the waistline. If you are currently on a diet, try at your own risk. Everything in moderation.

I make this on occasion when I really need a good comfort food and it gets the job done everytime. I'm not a chef, I just know what me and my family likes; this recipe was inspired by several TV chefs until I found a version that tastes the best to us. So here goes:

1 lb. elbow macaroni
3 cups whole milk (although 2% can be substituted for a little break in fat)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups + enough for sprinkling sharp cheddar cheese
Thin potato chips (I use Lays)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground mustard
Salt
Pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 13x9 baking dish or nice sized casserole dish. Boil macaroni according to package directions. (Make sure to salt the water to flavor the pasta) When the macaroni is done, pour into a strainer. In the pot, melt the butter and whisk flour into the melted butter. Cook for 3-4 minutes being careful not to let the flour brown. Slowly whisk in the milk in a slow stream. Continue whisking for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, ground mustard, salt, pepper and the cheese. Pour into casserole dish. Top with additional cheese. Crumble chips and sprinkle on top. Bake for 30 minutes.

Additional note: Asha loves this meal and it's doctor approved because she's underweight. If you have a child that needs to gain some weight, he or she will love this.

A Roast Named Chuck

Tonight's Dinner Was:
Braised Pot Roast and Garden Salad

So I actually took the chuck roast I got on sale a couple of weeks ago out of the freezer on Monday so it could thaw. Although I planned to cook this in the slow cooker I didn't get started until noon. Slow cooker pot roasts take about 8-9 hours; 8pm might be a little late for dinner, plus DH and kids probably would be starving by then. Anyway, I found this Tyler Florence recipe stashed in my makeshift cookbook. It's actually a photo album that I've cut out recipes in and instead of pictures--voila!--cookbook! I've had this cookbook for about 10 years now and I consider it to be so valuable, I'll probably leave it to my oldest daughter in my will.

Anyway, here's what I did:

• Seasoned 1 side of the roast w/kosher salt, grill seasoning, and a little pepper.
• In a dutch oven, add about 2 tbsp. olive oil over med/high heat.
• When oil is hot dropped roast in seasoned side down (very carefully...the oil pops!)
• Seasoned the other side of the roast.
• When the first side had a nice crust on it, I flipped it over and got the "crust" on the other side.
• Added to the pot: 1 can of crushed tomatoes. (I think a 14oz. can works best, I used 28oz. and there was a little too much liquid.), 1 cup of water (I'll decrease the water too next time, or use beef broth), 1 cup of sliced carrots (I like them a little bit on the rustic side--kind of thick), sliced mushrooms, 1 clove chopped garlic, and 2 stalks of celery sliced (rustic-style here too).
  
• Seasoned all w/salt, pepper and 1 tsp. of dried thyme.
• Bring to boil, then turn down to a simmer for 3 hours.
• Take the roast out and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

To serve, I just take a few slices to each plate and then scoop some of the veggies from the pot, with the tomato gravy and pour over the meat...

Served w/salad mix from the bag with grape tomatoes and some of the leftover sliced mushrooms.

This meal went over pretty well. The kids said they liked it (of course they say the same about almost everything). It was a nice warm, comforting meal on a windy, rainy day like today.

Then it was time to head out for a meeting at the school. A mother's work...