Southern Fried (Baked) Chicken ~ à la Blue Bloods

Bubba knows my weaknesses ~ 

cookbooks and “Blue Bloods!”  

 He surprised me with this 

great cookbook 

for Christmas and I could tell 

this "fried" baked chicken recipe 

would be a winner!

Southern cooks and barbecue pitmasters may want to skip right past this recipe, because it’s a bit of a Southern cooking sacrilege, per The Blue Bloods Cookbook.

Lightened up Chicken Parmesan

I love the Italian-American classic, Chicken Parmesan ~ breaded, then fried and smothered in mozzarella cheese and served alongside a plate of pasta.  

This recipe is sort of like it, just lightened-up.

Light and Crispy Fried Catfish a la Air Fryer

It was love at first bite when I started cooking with my air fryer about a year ago, and it continues to amaze me how easy it is to operate and how delicious and crisp the food is.

I’ve made a variety of foods in it from a whole chicken to vegetables to frozen french fries.  Food cooks faster in it, browns better and crisps up on the outside perfectly.

This time I air fried catfish.  Panko, the light and crispy Japanese bread crumbs, is one of the secrets to creating crispy catfish in the air fryer.  I have also used cornmeal instead of Panko and the results are just as delicious and crispy.  Substitute your favorite herbs and spices for the seafood seasoning to vary the fish. 

Fresh Tomatoes à la Hasselbacken

You’re most likely familiar with Hasselback potatoes ~ what about Hasselback tomatoes?

This trendy little side dish might make you hesitate, but once you try it, you may be sold on it!

“Hasselbacking” has been around since the 1950’s, when cooks at the Hasselbacken Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden, were peeling and partially slicing large potatoes, brushing them with butter, sprinkling them with bread crumbs, and baking them. 

Not only did patrons like the looks of the vegetable, they enjoyed the savory taste and variety of textures it offered.  To this day, it’s still on the hotel’s menu.

Instead of potatoes, this Cook’s Country  recipe focused on tomatoes.  They doubled-down on, flavors, and stuffed the tomatoes with savory pesto and tangy pungent Gruyère cheese. 

 

Instead of baking the concoction, the tomatoes were given a short blast under the broiler to lessen oven time, allowing the tomatoes to retain some summery freshness.

Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead when I wanted to take photos of cutting the slices in the tomatoes.  See the same method here with potatoes, showing the wooden spoon handles used to guide the knife when slicing the tomatoes.

 The end result was fresh-tasting tomatoes, melty cheese, and crunchy crumbs.  A great side dish for you tomato, pesto and Gruyère lovers out there!

Yield: 4-6 servingsAuthor: Pam

Hasselback Tomatoes

Accordian-like tomatoes, filled with pesto and Gruyère cheese, a great side dish for your dinner table!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 ripe plum tomatoes, cored
• 7 ounces Gruyère (1-1/4 cups) shredded
• 1-1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 6 tables extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and seasoned pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set wire rack in sheet, set aside. On a cutting board or plate, using serrated knife, cut 1/4-inch-thick slice from 1 long side of each tomato. Turn tomatoes onto cut sides so the sit flat, then slice crosswise at 1/4" intervals, leaving bottom 1/4" of each tomato intact.
2. (Place the handles of wooden spoons on either side of tomato to prevent the knife from cutting through.)
3. Process 1/4 cup Gruyère, basil, oil, panko, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in food processor until smooth, scrapping down sides of bowl as needed, about 10 seconds.
4. Adjust oven rack 6" from broiler element and heat broiler. Combine 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a bowl. Carefully open tomato slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using small spoon, spread basil mixture evenly between tomato slices (about 2 tablespoons per tomato.)
5. Arrange tomatoes on prepared wire rack. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over tomatoes. Broil until cheese is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
   Serve

Created using The Recipes Generator

Enjoy!

Crispy Homemade Shake 'n Bake Pork Chops

You may remember way back in the day, back in 1965,  when “Shake ’n Bake” first appeared on the grocery shelf…
 
Shake ’n Bake provides a healthier, less-greasy alternative to frying.  

Vintage 1976

Manufactured by Kraft Foods, the flavored bread crumb-style coating for pork and chicken mimics the texture on the outside of fried foods.  It comes with its own baggie for you to shake the meat in order to cover it with the breading mixture.  

My homemade version is a copycat of the classic dish, only a hundred times better than the packaged version!

If you like crispy, savory chops, the crunch of these baked pork chops will be just the thing for you.  

No marinating needed ~ all that’s required is a resealable bag for covering the chops in the panko breadcrumb coating, made from ingredients right out of your pantry.

Serve the chops with rice and vegetables for an easy, delicious weeknight meal!

Yield: 4Author: Pam @Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner

Crispy Shake 'n Bake Pork Chops

This homemade Shake 'n Bake is easy and cheap to make. It makes a great crispy breading for your pork chops that is utterly satisfying.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 pork chops, about ¾” thick
• 1½ panic bread crumbs
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400° and set wire rack on baking sheet.
2. To a large resealable plastic bag, add panko and remaining ingredients, blend well.
3. One at a time, place pork chop in bag and shake until evenly coated in panko mixture.
4. Place chops on wire rack.
5. Bake until pork is cooked through and bread crumbs are golden, about 25 minutes.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Enjoy!

Green Onion Crab Cakes

Ask 50 cooks and you’ll get 50 recipes for crab cakes…

Sometimes, they end up tasting like all of the ingredients, except the crab meat.  This crab cake recipe actually brings out the great crab flavor, which is just what it should do, even if it is canned crabmeat.  It’s not exactly a penny pinching meal, so I want it to have the flavor that is intended!

Living here in a small town, just Northwest of Chicago, we don’t have access to the great fresh crab that you all enjoy on the coast lines.  So I am curious ~~~ what type of crab do you think is best, and why?  Is it Maryland Blue Crab or Dungenous Crab in San Francisco?  I just know I’m jealous of all of you that enjoy it fresh!

Maryland blue crab

San Francisco dungeness crab

Our "fresh" crabmeat

These green onion crab cakes are nice and crispy on the outside and tender, moist and chock full of crab meat on the inside.  A good simple meal!

Green Onion Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons green onion tops

3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

1 teaspoon brown mustard

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and picked over for shells

4 teaspoons milk

6 saltine crackers, finely crushed

¾ cup Panko bread crumbs for coating

3 tablespoons olive oil or butter, for frying

Tartar sauce or lemon wedges

Method:

In a small bowl, combine egg, onions, chili garlic sauce, brown mustard and mayonnaise well.  Set aside.

Lightly break up crabmeat in a medium bowl.

Add milk and toss to coat crabmeat.

Add egg mixture to crabmeat and toss gently.

Add cracker crumbs and combine.

Gather mixture and form into 6 patties.

Coat crab cakes with Panko bread crumbs.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before frying to prevent the crab cakes from falling apart as they cook.

Fry until golden.

Serve with tartar sauce or lemon wedges.

ENJOY!!!

Panko Breaded Cod

If you’ve never breaded any fish with Japanese panko bread crumbs, you must try it!

Panko bread crumbs are perfect in low-fat recipes as it gives food the crunch that comes from breading and frying fish in deep fat.  The panko crumbs have a light, flaky texture that’s a change from the traditional heavier bread crumbs. 

Cod is high in protein, calcium, potassium and vitamin B6, yet low in sodium, fat, and carbohydrates making it a great healthy food.  

Deep frying that cod filet turns it into a greasy piece of fish that is about as good for us as smoking.  There is nothing you can do to make fried foods healthy and that's why it's good to consider using panko bread crumbs.

In this recipe, swiping the cod through a mixture of garlic and onion powders, paprika, ground red pepper and lemon juice adds flavoring for the cod.  Then coating the filets with panko bread crumbs and baking the fish delivers a crispy texture.  

Covering the baking sheet with cooking spray eliminates the need for any oil and here’s the bonus:   you will not have a messy stove top from the splattering grease to clean up, nor the aroma of grease in your kitchen!  Cod is delicious but any whitefish would work just as well.

Panko Breaded Cod

Ingredients:

4 cod filets, 4-6 ounces each

¼ cup flour

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 tablespoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper

1 egg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

With flour, combine garlic and onion powders and salt and pepper on a plate for dredging.

Mix together Panko, paprika and red pepper on another plate.

In a bowl, whisk the egg and lemon juice well.

Pat filets with a paper towel.

Dredge through the flour mixture.

Swipe through the egg mixture.

Coat with the Panko mixture.

Place cod on a baking sheet that has been coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes, turning half way through baking.

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes. 

Herb Crusted Tilapia and a Baby Shower

Aside from the 15 degree temperature and VERY windy, snowy weather here yesterday, it was a fantastic fun day for Bill and me!  If you follow my blog, you may recall that I am going to be a grandmother for the first time. 

Kathy’s baby shower was held yesterday and what great amazing gifts she and Matt received for their baby boy who is expected the middle of February.  I had no idea there are so wonderful things for a baby! 

I’m hoping the little guy will like fish as he grows up as baked fish is a great choice for any meal and healthy too!  Tilapia is popular and noted for its capability for absorbing other flavors, especially herbs; dried and fresh. 

This recipe is easy and tasty.  It has a kick of flavor from the light coating of Dijon mustard along with herbs and horseradish.  Panko bread crumbs makes a delicious crunching topping for the tender flaky tilapia.    I’m crazy about baked tilapia!

Herb Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients:

2 pounds tilapia filets

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon horseradish

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

½ teaspoon thyme

½ cup Panko bread crumbs

Olive oil

Method:

Pat dry tilapia with a paper towel.

Mix mustard, horseradish, onion powder, parsley and thyme in a small bowl.

Spread mixture over filets.

Scatter bread crumbs over top.

Drizzle over all with olive oil.

Bake 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until fish is fork tender and golden.

Enjoy!!!

Be sure to enter my Tate’s Bake Shop giveaway that was posted on December 3^rd!

Also, check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking.  She is also hosting a Tate’s Bake Shop giveaway!

Mustard-Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

You know how people brag about their great steak recipe, their great chicken recipe but, who have you heard brag about their great pork tenderloin recipe?  We love pork tenderloin and I’m bragging about this recipe ~ it’s great!

The tenderloin is the leanest and most tender cut of pork and I love the way it almost melts in your mouth.  Dijon mustard is the perfect ingredient for it.  In this recipe, the mustard is brushed on the tenderloin, and then the pork is coated with a crumb mixture for a savory, succulent meat dish for dinner.  This has become our favorite way to enjoy pork tenderloin!

Here’s a little “pork” trivia for you:

Do you know?

… How Wall Street got its name?

 Free-roaming hogs were famous for rampaging through the valuable grain fields of colonial New York City farmers. The Manhattan Island residents chose to block the troublesome hogs with a long, permanent wall on the northern edge of what is now Lower Manhattan. A street came to border this wall -- named aptly enough, Wall Street.

… Where the saying "living high on the hog" came from?

It started among enlisted men in the U.S. Army, who received shoulder and leg cuts of pork while officers received the top loin cuts. So "living high on the hog" came to mean living well.

. . . What's the origin of the saying "pork barrel" politics?"
The phrase is derived from the pre-Civil War practice of distributing salt pork from huge barrels to the slaves. By the 1870's, congressmen were referring to regularly dipping into the "pork barrel" to obtaining funds for popular projects in their home districts.

. . . How "Uncle Sam" came to represent the U.S. Government?
During the war of 1812, a successful New York pork packer named Uncle Sam Wilson shipped a boatload of several hundred barrels of pork to U.S. troops. Each barrel was stamped "U.S." on the docks, and it was quickly said that the "U.S." stood for "Uncle Sam," whose large shipment seemed to be enough to feed the entire army. 

. . . What President Truman had to say about hogs?
"No man should be allowed to be President who does not understand hogs."

 Brushed, coated and ready for the oven

Here’s the recipe:

Mustard-Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1½ pounds pork tenderloin

½ cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1½ tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard, divided

Method:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick foil.

On a sheet of wax paper, mix panko bread crumbs with garlic, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Brush the pork with 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.

Coat with crumb mixture.

Brush bottom of tenderloin with remaining tablespoon of mustard and coat with remaining crumbs.

Place on prepared pan.

Roast pork 30 minutes until crust is golden and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 160 degrees.

Let pork rest 5 minutes; slice.

Serve

ENJOY!!!

Be sure to enter the $65 CSN giveaway I posted on Sept. 15^th!

Check out my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great recipes and cookbook giveaway ~ 4 cookbooks she's giving away!

Tangy Tilapia

Most people are fans of tilapia and it is one of the most versatile, mild-flavored fish that I can think of.  The price is usually right and is readily available.   It is un-fishy and tends to take on the flavor of whatever sauce you use.

There are more uses for tilapia than just dining on them.  They are becoming the plant control method of choice due to their consumption of undesirable plants and algae.  Arizona stocks tilapia in the canals that provide water to Mesa and Phoenix, among others.  The water is purified by the tilapia ingesting the vegetation and detritus.  Arkansas stocks many public lakes and ponds for the same reason and to the enjoyment of anglers as well. 

This citrus tilapia is filled with just that ~ lots of good lemon, lime and orange flavors blended with honey that combine perfectly with the fish.  There’s a hint of spiciness with the garlic and chili powder.  What I really like is adding the panko bread crumbs before baking; it gives the fish a little crunch texture on top and I love the way this blackens a touch due to the honey. 

Tangy Tilapia

Ingredients:

1½ pounds tilapia

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon lemon zest

¼ teaspoon orange zest

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup orange juice

¼ cup lemon juice

1/3 cup honey

Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup panko bread crumbs

Method:

Melt butter in micro or a saucepan.

Add the remaining ingredients, except salt, pepper and bread crumbs.

Blend well.

Place fish in a baking dish.

Pour sauce over the fish.

Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

It’s refreshingly delicious!

Butternut Squash Gratin

It is doubtful if the Pilgrim’s had potatoes on their Thanksgiving table but, they most likely did have squash that the Indians brought with them to the feast.

Norman Rockwell, Freedom from Want

In fact, most of the food at their first Thanksgiving, being American foodstuff, was new to the Pilgrim’s.  The main meal was corn meal mush with nuts and fruit, probably deer and game birds, squash and pumpkin.  

"Squash, so American that its very name is Indian:  it is a shortening of the Narragansett 'askutashquash.'  As this means literally something that is eaten raw, we are entitled to believe that this was the way the Indians ate it."  - Eating in America, by Waverley Root and Richard de Rochemont

Did you like squash when you were a kid?  I do not remember ever eating squash as a child, maybe Mom did cook it occasionally but that doesn't mean I ate it.  

I probably changed when I ate a Squash Casserole somewhere and then learned to eat it baked with spices and Parmesan cheese and loved it. 

So now, Thanksgiving, is the perfect time for this delicious squash dish!  It is wonderful with all the seasonings, panko and the tasty cheese topping.

Think of squash this way, "You can enjoy it with the added advantage of not needing a tennis court or a racquet."  And if you don't have storage room for it, it will feel right at home sitting in your wine rack!

Butternut Squash Gratin                                                                                

Ingredients:

1 T. butter

½ white onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 ½ lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ¾” chunks

1 t.brown sugar                                                     
½ c. chicken broth

4 oz. Gruyère cheese, shredded

4 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

½ c. panko bread crumbs

¼ t. dried sage

¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese

 Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  
Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Melt butter in skillet, stir in onions and garlic.  
Cook until onions are soft and golden, about 10 minutes.

Add squash and brown sugar.

Continue cooking and stirring until the squash begins to brown on the edges, but is still somewhat firm in the center, about 10 minutes more.

Scrape the squash into prepared baking dish and pour in the chicken broth.

Wrap tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in oven until the liquid has been absorbed and the squash is tender, about 45 minutes.  
In a bowl, toss together the Gruyere and cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs and thyme until evenly combined. 

Remove foil from the baking dish and sprinkle cheese mixture over squash.

Sprinkle Parmesan on top.

Place back in oven and bake uncovered for 15 minutes, until the top is slightly crunchy and golden brown.

Serves 6

ENJOY!