Cooking in 2011... Where did the year go???

Wow! 2010 is almost over. Where did the year go? No really, I'm still trying to figure where the month of September went! Okay, so we can't get time back, but we can plan for our future. I'm sure most of us are planning to rock 2011 off the hinges. I hear many people making New Years' Resolutions. You know the promises that we make to ourselves at the end of each year and usually abandon somewhere between January 15 and March 31?

I personally stopped making resolutions at the year's end years ago. But this year I do have some things I want to do differently. Lifestyle changes rather than resolutions. No, I'm not going to tell myself or anyone else that I'm going to the gym to work out or walking around the neighborhood or giving up some of my favorite indulgences; but I am going to look at small ways (or maybe large ways) to change the things I do everyday.

As this blog is about cooking and food, two of my favorite indulgences, I'll focus there. The biggest change I plan to make is to cook with more natural ingredients and eat out less. I'd been working towards this and then the busy-ness of the end of year and holiday festivities came and blew it out of the water.

I just read an article that stated at the end "EAT RIGHT RULE: If your food can go bad, it's good for you. If it can't go bad, it's bad for you." (SHOCKING: The truth about your food--and unintended weight gain: http://su.pr/5IhjK0) While reading this article, I had many things that I had found out about processed food in 2010 brought back to the forefront of my mind. So, my goal in the upcoming year - to cook more with natural ingredients. My search is officially on for recipes that are simple and that are natural.

Now as this is no small undertaking, and I am still a single parent, there will processed shortcuts in some of the recipes I use. But the goal is to get better, not be perfect.

Thanks so much for all of your support this year and I look forward to sharing pics and recipes with you in 2011!

Live well, eat well, enjoy!

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Lemon pepper flat iron steak

A quick after a busy work day that's very tasty!

Flat iron steak is an inexpensive cut and this recipe is very flavorful.

To cook the potatoes, I have four golden potatoes and slices them very thin. Sliced a half of an onion. Placed them all in a flat baking pan or sheet pan. Coated them in Olive Oil seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley flakes and place the pan in a pre-heated 400 degree oven. Cook until tender. Quick, easy and totally yummy.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Egg drop soup

recipe on www.food.com

Chicken fried rice

recipe on www.food.com

Chicken and dumplings

Thanksgiving Dinner

Turkey, Ham, cornbread dressing, rice dressing, macaroni and cheese, greens, potato salad, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad (my grandmother's recipe) and homemade rolls

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

The big holiday meal

Like most cooks, I planned a big Thanksgiving feast this year. As I discussed holiday plans with friends, I heard many complain about how difficult and time-consuming it is to cook a big holiday meal. People would say things like “The cook doesn’t get to enjoy the holiday because she’s working all day cooking.”

(By the way, I know men cook big holiday dinners too. Please don’t think I’m biased in my thoughts about cooking. I love a man who can cook a good meal. So umm…. Oh wait I digress.)

The secret to enjoying the holiday meal that you’ve cooked for your family and friends is planning. I’ll be honest here; it took me several years to figure this one out. But with age and practice, comes wisdom.

Planning starts as soon as you decide dinner is at your house. First decision to make – are you cooking alone or splitting the cooking tasks between guests/family members. I decided, this year, that I wanted to cook the meal. That led to the second decision – what’s on the menu. You cannot wait until three days before Thanksgiving (or whatever the holiday) to make this decision.

So I planned my meal. My parents were coming to dinner so I didn’t have to worry about dessert, mom said she would bring those. (My mom is an awesome cook and anytime she offers to bring peach cobbler and sweet potato pies, I say “yes!” very enthusiastically.) This may seem tedious, but I actually wrote the menu down. Then I took a fresh piece of paper and began to make a list of the ingredients I would need to make each item. Why? Because I can streamline my grocery shopping list when I know exactly what I need.
With my ingredient list in front of me I started to arrange the ingredients by the aisles in the grocery store. Most stores have list/map for customers, in case you don’t have the aisles memorized. The timing for this list was about three weeks before I would be shopping (note I didn’t say cooking here).

So when do you shop for your big meal? As early as possible! I went to the store the Saturday before Thanksgiving and it was a regular shopping day. I picked up the turkey that day so it could start defrosting in the refrigerator. (Cooking 101 – frozen turkeys take DAYS to thaw in the refrigerator. Buy yours EARLY.) I went back to the same store two (2) days later on the Monday before Thanksgiving and I was in the middle of a “holiday” shopping crowd. YIKES! There were people EVERYWHERE. It was crazy busy, but I was prepared. I had my list (organized by aisle) and was ready to take on the crowd.

Let me take a moment to explain my life, I’m a single mom with two teenagers (yeah one is 18, but who said that meant he was an adult???). I work full-time, 40+ hours a week and have very active children. I am also a semi-professional jazz singer. So, I go to the grocery store whenever I can squeeze it in. The weekend before Thanksgiving I had a jazz gig where I was singing on Sunday evening (visit cynsingsjazz.blogspot.com for more info). Monday was the earliest I was going to make it to the store for a “big shop.”

I found everything on my list, except collard greens. It took me three stores and two days to find some. (I made a note to myself to buy collard greens when I buy the turkey next time. Even I make adjustments.) While I was shopping I saw common holiday cooking items flying off the shelves and employees stocking as quickly as they could. Which means people that are shopping the day before a big holiday, will probably not find everything they need.
Another reason I bought my ingredients as early as I could… I wanted to start prepping things early. This is the real key to enjoying the holiday meal that you’ve cooked. Do the prep work early.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Shrimp Scampi

So, I was recipe searching again (big surprise, right?), and I decided I wanted Shrimp Scampi. I found this recipe on Food.com (there are really some great recipes here, go to the site!), Shrimp Scampi.

The recipe had great reviews and was so easy to make and best of all, it was good! Everyone here in FineMamaland loved it. The sauce on the shrimp was so good a certain unnamed cook was seen cleaning the bowl with a piece of garlic bread for breakfast/ brunch one morning.

If you like scampi, try this one.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Chicken marsala

I've made this one and blogged it before. I have to share the pics this time because it was a stellar cooking day. Yes, my cooking mojo has returned and the eating is good!

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Flat iron steak

I hear, from my foodie resources, that flat iron steak is the new and exciting steak product in supermarkets. I know I've seen it around for a while, but it is really nice to now find so many recipes for cooking this inexpensive meat.

I picked up a couple of packages on a trip to the grocery store and had no idea how I was going to cook it. I searched for recipes and found one that looked exciting and tasty. I was right! I found this one on Food.com, Lemon Garlic Pepper Flat Iron Steak. The recipe was quick and easy and oh my goodness good!

To partner with the flat iron steaks, I diced red potatoes and roasted them in the oven with some sliced onion. I seasoned the potatoes and onions with Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb flavor seasoning and a little salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and bake until tender at 400 degrees. I also sauteed some fresh spinach with garlic and red pepper flakes for a little kick.

This meal was incredibly good and it was easy enough that cooking after work was easy. Try the steak recipe, it's worth it.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Chili mac

One day I wanted a quick, easy, and comforting meal. My answer: Chili Mac.

Now you're probably thinking, "What's exciting about Chili Mac?" I wondered that myself, but it's what I wanted and I was not going to pay for it someplace else. Soooo....

I surfed my usual recipe websites, Food.com, Foodnetwork.com (I love both of these). The recipes all looked similar. Some had a "special" chili recipe others didn't. I decided to do Chili the quick and easy way that I usually do. I use two packets of chili mix (the inexpensive packets) one hot and one mild. I made the chili according to the package, doubling everything since I use two packets. I cooked and drained the elbow macaroni, then I mixed the finished chili with the macaroni. Really simple, right? But so, incredibly good!

Serve with shredded cheddar and onions, if you like. This was another big hit at my house. I promise it didn't last long. I'm looking for a "go to" chili scratch recipe. if you know of one or have one of your own, please feel free to share.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Pork Chops and Broccoli, Rice and Cheese redone

Okay! So, this time I can tell you about the pic. As the title says, Pork Chops and Broccoli, Rice and Cheese redone. I mentioned the rice dish in the post before (told you I would share it soon). The pork chops are simply a thin pork chops fried traditionally. A quick and easy (and tasty) protein.

The rice dish is new and exciting. I created this one day when my cooking creative juices were flowing. I made Rice-A-Roni. I followed the directions on the box with one exception, I used 2 tbsp of Olive Oil instead of 2 tbsp of butter (because I was out of butter, oops!) When the Rice-A-Roni was almost done, I stirred in some broccoli florets. It helps if the broccoli is already cooked, but not overcooked where it's mushy. To complete the dish I added freshly grated Romano cheese. Add as much as you like, I love the taste of Romano so I added liberally. The end result? A lightly cheesy, creamy broccoli, rice and cheese dish. A very refreshing change from the traditional version of the dish. I'll be cooking this re-mix often. The family loved it and so did I. Hopefully you will too...

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

I was creating when I made this....

If I remembered what I did here, I'd share it. I went back and looked at the pic on this and drew a blank! Ugh! The meat here is chicken and I cooked it in a Sherry and mushroom sauce (i think). I do remember the rice dish here...

Think Broccoli, Rice and cheese completely redone... I'll share the recipe to the rice dish on another post, as I've made it a time or two since the first time pictured here.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Catching up...

Greetings all,

I've had an incredibly busy couple of weeks, but I've been cooking. You'll see several posts today and over the next few days where I'm catching up with blog posts. As always, I hope you find the recipes, food and of course my rapier wit (lol) enjoyable.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Last Piece of Quiche

It's been a little while since I've updated my blog. I was enjoying life and cooking for birthdays. Then school started and well, you get the picture. In the midst of all that "life", I found an excellent quiche recipe. The quiche was a big hit at my house and the picture above is the Last Piece of Quiche. This quiche was made with spinach, ham and mushrooms and it was so delicious I had to take the last piece to work with me to enjoy.

I wanted to take a quiche to my Sunday morning brunch with the girls, so I began searching all of my favorite recipe sites for a simple, quick and easy recipe. I was amazed at how many different recipes there were and how complicated some of them were. When I found this quiche recipe on Food.com I thought "I've found the one I want." It was perfect. Quick and easy, simple ingredients and suggestions for add ins.

I made two quiches on that Sunday and left to go to an appointment (with instructions that only one of the quiches was available for cutting). I came to home to half a quiche gone. At brunch we at half a quiche, between four of us. Both quiches were completely gone by Tuesday. Did I mention it was good?

I've since made this one other time and it was just as good, just as quick, just as easy. Hmmmm, I may need to go and make one tonight for breakfast tomorrow and the weekend. I hope you try this recipe and I hope you enjoy it. Have fun with it and add your favorite ingredients.

By the way... I back in the kitchen and back on the 'blog.'

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Company for dinner

Have you ever been faced with the dilemma of cooking a nice meal for company on a week night? What to cook? How to cook it quickly? What do I have at home already? (We all know a couple of hours in the store after working all day usually means dinner isn’t being cooked at home.) Last week this was my dilemma.

First question: What do I have at home already? This is where is pays to know what you have in your refrigerator and pantry. (It also helps to have teenagers at home to ask, but this time I wasn’t so lucky.) I didn’t want to cook the quick meals that feed my family for company, not that they lack taste (of course they taste good, I’m Fine Mama!), but I wanted a nice meal for company. I sat at my desk at work and mentally went through my refrigerator, pantry and cabinets. I remembered that I had four ribeye steaks in the frig. My original intent had been to grill the previous weekend, but it was darn hot and I never got around to it. So I decided we were having steak for dinner. Easy to cook, pretty quick. But I was feeding six people and had four steaks. Dilemma: How to make it stretch?

I decided I would get back to the question of how to feed six people with four steaks and moved on to the side dishes. Again, I mentally went through the pantry and remembered I had five microwave “baked” potatoes I could cook. (You know the kind you buy where the potato is sealed in plastic wrap and you “bake” it in the microwave.) Again five potatoes, six people… I’ll figure that out in a bit. (See a pattern here? Lol)
I mentally continued through my frig and remembered the bags of spinach I had purchased over the weekend. I had an “aha!” moment as I went through the ingredients for the yummy spinach salad that I like and I realized (cause I knew what was at home) that I had most of the ingredients at home. Sweet!

So, I had a menu but a menu with challenges. Four steaks, five potatoes, six people. As I thought about it I realized that I could twice bake the potatoes. That would give me 10 servings of potatoes instead of just five and I decided that instead of cutting steaks in half or trying to divide them evenly, that I would grill them and slice them. That was it! I had my “company meal.” I made a quick list of what I need to pick up on the way home (and believe me it was a short list) and I was set.

This is where I usually get home, after a stop at the store and find that someone at home (usually my kids) has eaten one or more of the things I thought I had available to use. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case this time. (Saved by the “I don’t feel like cooking” attitude of teenagers. Lol)

I fired up my grill, starting microwaving my potatoes, and slicing the ingredients for my salad. (I might add that while I was outside with the grill I put on my big girl shoes and killed a really big and nasty spider. Not with my shoes though. Notice super woman cape blowing in the wind here.)

Once I was inside again (dang spider!), I gained composure (and washed my hands, of course) and proceeded to season my steaks. I seasoned the steaks with McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning and nothing else. I let the steaks rest and come up to room temperature and let the seasoning “sink in” to the steaks.
The evening went quickly from there. I put the steaks on a nice hot grill and left them. Sliced my potatoes in half and scooped them out. Mixed them according to the recipe and filled the potatoes shells with the mixture. Pause on potatoes… Flip the steaks. (That’s right one flip, no more) Back to the potatoes: top with shredded cheddar and the extra flavor of crisp bacon. (Yeah, I cooked bacon too. Remember this was a “company meal”.) Put the potatoes in the oven, made the salad dressing according to the recipe and took my steaks off the grill to let them rest. Tossed the salad in the dressing, took the potatoes out of the oven and with a nice sharp knife, sliced the steaks and the bias.

The end result? A delicious, and relatively quick meal, that was elegant and tasty. It was enjoyed by all.


Live well, eat well, enjoy…
Cyn aka Fine Mama

Cooking Music

It can be said that I have two passions in life: cooking and music. You have undoubtedly determined that I have a passion for cooking. Those who know me "beyond the blog" know that music is an equal, if not greater, passion. That being said, when I cook you will usually hear music in the background. The genre will vary depending upon mood, but there's something "inspirational" playing. I like so many different genres of music and I love to sing. If I need to practice a particular tune for a performance, I play it and sing while I cook.

Saturday mornings you may hear old school hip hop. A little Heavy D or Biggie to get the day flowing. Saturday afternoon you may hear jazz. There's a broad genre for you, but if I'm playing jazz, it's probably the classics sung by one of the great vocalists: Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, etc. Of course, there are classic R&B days (Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan).

Music allows my "creative juices" to flow which is a necessary component of good cooking. Cooking allows me to create masterpieces made with love.

A friend recently told me that whether I'm cooking or singing, I'm making people feel good and making them feel loved. I like that. Music in the kitchen, for me at least, is an extension of love...

What do you listen to when you cook????

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Guacamole

This is the easiest and most tasty guacamole recipe ever:

2 avocados
salsa (with tomatoes like pico de gallo. I use the Fiesta brand at Braum's)
lime
salt
cilantro

dice the avocados and smash with a fork
add a few spoonfuls of the salsa (not too much you can also add more but can't remove it)
stir together. Squeeze the juice of one lime in the avocado mixture. Stir again. If needed add a little more salsa and salt to taste. Stir in chopped fresh cilantro for an extra fresh taste.

Tip: Put one of the avocado pits in the center of the guacamole to prevent it from turning brown.

Live well, eat well, enjoy

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Pork Fajitas

The question of the day: What to cook for dinner? I'd been rolling an idea around in my head for a couple of days and decided I'd try it today. My idea? Pork fajitas. Sounds simple and it was! My first challenge was what spices to use. Most of the recipes I read called for a marinade. Marinades are great for adding flavor, but in my opinion makes prep time much longer. So, I opted for a rub of spices. The question was still, which spices?

Here's what I came up with:

Cain's BBQ Spice
Chili powder
Onion powder
Oregano
salt
pepper

Now I can't tell you how much of each of these. I didn't measure. But it was roughly 2 parts BBQ spice to 1 part of the other spices with salt and pepper to taste.

I rubbed this spice mixture on boneless pork chops and grilled them on my stove top grill. I set them aside and let them cool a bit. (You don't have to cook them all the way through because they are going back in the grill pan in a bit.) When the pork chops have cooled enough to touch, slice them diagonally for the chop to make strips that look like fajitas.

Next I sliced long-wise a red, yellow and green bell pepper and one medium to large size yellow onion. I grilled these in the same grill pan I used for the pork and used the seasoning mixture on them.

When the onions had softened and browned I added the sliced pork to the grill pan and let it all cook together for about five minutes.

I used my tortilla pan and browned flour tortillas, made guacamole, added sour cream and salsa and dinner was ready.

Oh, and for a nice touch of flavor, I sprinkled fresh chopped cilantro over the top of the fajitas.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Chicken Marsala and Tomato Feta Salad

So I found a great recipe for Chicken Marsala on www.foodnetwork.com. It's quick and easy and tastes delicious. I've used this recipe once before. This time was even better than the first. I believe the biggest reason for the increased flavor was my being more comfortable with the recipe. Once you've cooked something, especially following a recipe, it's usually much easier to do it the next time and gets easier, and thus better, each time. I didn't use pasta with this one. No special reason, I wasn't really in the mood for pasta. But I did pair this with a FABULOUS salad. The Tomato Feta Salad seen here is incredibly delicious and unbelievably simple. You have simple got to try this one. Click here for the salad recipe and click here for the chicken marasala recipe.

I hope you enjoy these as much as my family did.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Cajun Shrimp and Rice

Cajun Shrimp and Rice

Live well, eat well, enjoy... Cyn aka Fine Mama

The weekend

I haven't posted a lot lately, but I have been cooking. Let me tell you about the meals from the last few days...

There were the onion cheeseburgers.... Wow! These were so good! You'll notice in the recipe that I use a very lean beef. I rarely buy anything more fat than this. I like the taste better and I have more meat left after cooking. It's also a little bit healthier than the commonly used 80/20.

The recipe:
2 lbs 93/7 ground beef
one medium yellow onion (Vidalia onion if you can get it) chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Mix ground beef and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Make thin hamburger patties (about 9). You want these to be thin so they cook through quickly.

Place the hamburgers patties in the hot skillet (no oil) and leave them. When patties are brown, turn and let the other side brown. When patties are almost done (and it doesn't take long) place a slice of cheese on top to melt. I used American cheese, but you can use any melty cheese that you like. Remove patties from skillet and place on a plate to rest. Continue until all patties are cooked.

In a separate skillet, brown hamburger buns. (I used my tortilla pan) Melt butter in the skillet/pan, butter the buns and place on the skillet. Remove when buns are toasted and lightly brown.

Slice tomatoes and tear some leaf lettuce for toppings.

Last step: Build your burger. Use whatever condiments you like and enjoy!

Another night I cooked smoked sausage with peppers and onions over rice. If you follow me on Facebook, you know that my Saturday meal was a Southern classic: Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, collard greens, rolls, sweet iced tea AND peach cobbler for dessert.

I remove all of the skin and as much fat as I can before I fry the chicken. I wouldn't call it healthy frying, but I figure I'll remove as much of it as I can before I fry it. (It sounds healthy, right? lol)

I didn't take pics, but you get the picture.

Live well, eat well, enjoy... Cyn aka Fine Mama

Sunday brunch with the girls

So, my friend Amber mentioned hosting brunch for a group of us at her house, but she needed someone else to do the cooking. My response? "What do you want?" Yep, I volunteered to cook the brunch. She took care of a vital part of brunch though: the Mimosas and Bloody Mary's! (lol)

So, I went to Amber's house this morning (Sunday of course) and went to work.

Yes, that's me in the pink dress at the stove. The end result was scrambled eggs, hashbrowns with onions, bacon and sausage. Oh, and waffles... There was also fresh fruit and a cucumber and tomato salad that was delicious and biscuits and toast. You can see we had quite a spread.

I'll point out that while there are no specific pics of the Mimosas and Bloody Marys, the Mimosas, at least, were delish! We had a blast. Thanks to Tiffany for taking these pics!

Live well, eat well, enjoy... Cyn aka Fine Mama

Pork tenderloin with couscous and green beans

Today I wanted to cook something quick and easy, and of course tasty. One of my favorite meals, to meet these specifications, is roast pork tenderloin.

Today I modified a Rachel Ray recipe and used my own seasonings, but the cooking technique was from the recipe. To season today I used McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning and Emeril's Essence, Original . The combination was unbelievably delicious.

The sides this evening were couscous and green beans. I followed the directions on the package of couscous. I did use chicken broth instead of water and added about a tsp of olive oil when I added the couscous to the chicken broth. I've learned that couscous is much tastier when you add flavor and couscous takes on flavors like a champ! Today I added chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh thyme and the green tops of scallions (green onions). The result, delicious! I completed the meal with steamed whole green beans (the quick kind you can do in the microwave) and seasoned them with McCormick Perfect Pinch Lemon and Pepper Seasoning.

The meal was delicious and done in about 40 minutes.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama

Lasagna

Years ago I was fortunate enough to be given a recipe for home marinara and lasagna. I lived overseas at the time. Unfortunately on the move back to the US, the recipe was lost. A few months ago I started to search for a recipe that was as good as the one I lost. Here’s the recipe I found and, oh man, it is good.

Taco night

One of the quickest and easiest meals for working cooks to prepare is tacos. It was taco night at my house this evening. The challenge of taco night is to make the meal taste like more than the seasoning packet. There are several things you can do to make taco night go from blah to wow!

I use lean ground beef (90/10) and a package taco mix. (Remember the goal is to be quick, easy and flavorful.) When the beef is simmering, I heat tortillas for soft tacos on my tortilla pan (Lodge Logic Pre-Seasoned 10-1/2-Inch Round Griddle). You may be thinking "Why use a tortilla pan? The microwave works just fine. Yes, the microwave will warm the tortillas, but using the tortilla pan gives more flavor to the tortillas. I use a silicone basting brush (Set of 3 Silicone Basting Brushes)to coat the pan with oil. It doesn't take much oil. I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but you can use any light oil you like.

Place a tortilla on the hot tortilla pan for about 30 seconds and flip to the other side. You want both sides to be lightly browned. This step adds a layer of flavor to the meal that you just don't get using a microwave and you can do this with both corn or flour tortillas. Some nights I do both to accomodate the tastes of my two teenagers. As you take the tortillas off the pan place them on a piece of aluminum foil. When you have all of the tortillas done, wrap them in the foil to keep them warm.

For toppings I use shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheddar and my extra fun addition, fresh cilantro. Of course you can add salsa, sour cream and/or guacamole depending on your taste (and what's in your frig).

By using a quality meat, taking a little time with the tortillas and using fresh toppings like cilantro, taco night is much more tasty. And, I was still finished with the meal in 30 minutes. I've also done this meal with left over pork tenderloin... Talk about wow!

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama


bowl of olive oil

silicone basting brush on tortilla pan

a lightly browned corn tortilla

Fried Chicken and Waffles

I haven't had to cook this week. See the Holiday BBQ post and you'll understand why. But I'm sure I'll be crafting something tasty soon. In the meantime, I'm sharing creations from the past.

On a whim one evening I decided to make Fried Chicken and Waffles. This meal was a hit at my house. So I thought I'd share the pic. I am often asked what type of pan I use to fry chicken or how I fry chicken. When I fry chicken I season the chicken and coat in flour and I use a cast iron skillet. I love the way the skillet stays hot, an important thing when frying. I also grew up watching my mother fry with a cast iron skillet. There is something to be said for tradition. Because you want your chicken cooked through, I recommend frying on a medium to medium high setting or flame, but make sure you keep the oil in the pan hot.

At any rate, I hope you will try to make this. It is really as simple as frying chicken and making waffles in you waffle maker. I had so much fun the night I did this and I'll be doing it again sooner, rather than later.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...
Cyn aka Fine Mama

Roast Pork Tenderloin and mixed veggies

This wasn't today's dinner, but a pic of a meal from several month's back. This particular recipe is one I adapted from Food Network's Rachel Ray. The recipe is supposed to be done in 30 minutes cooking the tenderloin at the high temp of 425 degrees. I have found that it actually needs a little more time in the oven, more like 45 minutes, to be done. I occasionally change the seasonings to give some variety. I also brown the tenderloin in a blazing hot cast iron skillet before I put in the oven. This gives a wonderful crust and color to the tenderloin and seals in all of the tasty juices.

All in all, it's one of the easiest recipes I use.

Live well, eat well, enjoy...

Cyn aka Fine Mama