Humpty Dumpty

Here's another great idea for our preschoolers!
Make some deviled eggs by boiling the 5 eggs, cooling them, peeling them and cutting them in 1/2. Take the yolk out and smash it; add 1 T. of Mayo and some salt and pepper. Re-stuff the eggs and decorate with sliced pimento filled olives, tiny slices of red bell pepper and celery greens.

To build the wall:
Use a fully cooked ham steak, chopped into bricks (~1"x1/2") Mix together 3 T. brown sugar 2 tsp. yellow mustard and 2 T. of honey. Allow the honey to completely soak into the sugar until the mixture has a "mortar-like" consistency. Build the wall, staggering the ham bricks and using the mortar all around each brick (except the top).

To make the green rice:
2 cups water to 1 cup long-grain white rice. After the water comes to a full boil add ~1/4 tsp. of the Wilson green food coloring. Pour the rice into the water and cook for 15-20 min.

To build Humpty Dumpty:
Fluff the rice and place it around the ham wall. Scatter the Humpty Dumpties around the wall! Have fun!!!

Alligator Meatloaf

In 2005, after Katrina hit NOLA our church and 3 others decided to make our way there to help with the rebuilding process. The kids worked really hard to build portions of 3 houses during that week. At night they were starving, but even so there was a very small group of highschoolers who would come through the buffet line at night and ask several questions or have a comment about the food: what's in there? Ew, it has vegetables...that sort of thing. I had a skeleton kitchen staff so we were exhausted after the 1st day. We were feeding over 320 kids and the "Ew, vegetables" kids got to us by the end of the week. We decided to descreetly start a rumor that we would be serving alligator at the end of the week. We made this meatloaf and mac and cheese - not with alligator meat but beef. Instead of a buffet that night we served family style. We placed all the vegetables and bread on the tables as the kids arrived and had them sit down. My kitchen staff and I formed a procession holding the platters of alligators with the mac and cheese. Some kids actually screamed when they saw the platters. Everyone pulled out their cameras and took pictures. It was one of the funniest moments of my life! Have fun with this one!!

2 1/2 lbs. ground meat

1 cellaphane pkg. of Ritz crackers, crushed

1 cup ketchup

2 eggs, beaten

Mix all the ingredients together and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hr and 15 min. Cool and carefully transfer to a platter.

For the Mac and Cheese:

I use Kraft mac and cheese. I also use Wilson food paste- it has a more vivid color. I mix the food coloring into the mac and cheese when I add the cheese, butter and milk. (Be careful tho- this food coloring stains everything it touches!)

M.O.P.'s

I will be speaking to the MOP's group at our church on October 1st so for the next few entries I will be posting some great kid-friendly meals. I already have a few posted for you such as the meatloaf and pineapple chicken but I will be expanding that collection. Stay tuned for more fun stuff!!!

Mini-vacationers

I haven't posted any recipes in the past 3 days because we were priviledged to have my oldest daughter and her 3 babies come on a small vacation with us! This is the baby, Evan at the gas station...it looked like he really wants to drive!!!

This is Ainsley and Ky watching Nemo and waiting for their very first breakfast in bed. They liked playing with the little containers of syrup and honey more than the pancakes!

And this is what Bubba called "the essance of Ainsley". If you look closely she has a busted, swollen lip on the right side of her mouth from running through the lobby while talking. For this shot she wanted to lay on the lounge chair backwards. She is what my mom calls a ring-tail-tooter!
A great time was had by all!!

Fresh Egg Noodles

I've had numerous questions about making fresh pasta. Let me say that different regions of Italy make different types of pasta...and noodle that you choose depends entirely on the "condiment" or dish that you want to make. Having said that, more often than not I make egg noodles, but if I need a hearty noodle (one that can stand-up to a lamb or beef stew) I make semolina noodles (1 1/2 cup semolina or hard wheat flour and 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour) mixed with 3-4 egg whites. The process of mixing the dough is still the same.
The picture above shows how I dry the noodles. These are fresh egg noodles: 3 cups flour to 3 beaten eggs; poured into the "well" of the flour and slowly drawn together with the eggs to form a dough. I wrap the dough and let it rest for ~15-30 minutes and then slowly roll it out with my Kitchen Aide pasta attachment. The attachment also comes with a devise that cuts the fettuchini into perfect widths. I separate the noodles and dry them on this rack. The whole process takes less than 30 minutes.
When Jac and her friends are in town or my grand babies are here, Fettuchini Alfredo is always a favorite.

The Alfredo sauce is very simple if you remember to keep whisking so that it doesn't get lumpy!
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 cup cream
1/2 cup whole milk
Melt the butter on medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in the flour and stir until combined. Cook the flour for ~2-3 minutes so that your sauce will not be gritty. Pour in the cream and whisk until the sauce becomes thickened. Add the milk just until the sauce is the consistency of ketchup. You can refrigerate the sauce at this point if needed.

The above picture contains two chicken breasts, cooked and cubed with ~5-6 oz. of frozen peas. I added this into the Alfredo sauce and then poured it into a large skillet to which I added the drained noodles. If the sauce becomes too thick just add a little pasta water to it to thin it out. Serve warm! People LOVE it!!

Eggplant, Creole Cream Cheese and Spinach Rollatini

The tartness of the creole cream cheese in this recipe sends it to a whole other level. It's an easy recipe but (like a lasagna) there are a lot of pots and bowls involved. It's wonderful - especially if you can make it a day or so before baking!

1 eggplant, sliced thinly lengthwise into 12-13 slices
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper
2 cups Corn Oil

For the filling:
6 oz. creole cream cheese
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 lb. ground veal, browned and drained
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 Cup Marinara Sauce
Parmesan Cheese

In one large bowl mix the Panko and seasoned bread crumbs together; season with salt and pepper. In another large bowl mix the eggs and milk together. Dip the eggplant slices one at a time first in the egg wash and then in the bread crumbs. Set aside.
Pour ~ 1/4" of the oil into a large cast iron skillet and wait until the oil is hot (~360 degrees). Brown the eggplant slices on both sides. Remove the slices and drain. Add more oil if necessary and repeat.

Mix the all of the filling ingredients together and place 2-3 T. at the top of each eggplant slice. Roll up and place in a 9x13" glass baking dish. Cover with Marinara sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

If you're making this dish more than 24 hours before serving do not put the Marinara sauce or Parmesan cheese on until just before baking. The crust on the eggplant will get soggy.

Creole Cream Cheese Ice Cream

When I was 16 years old I met Bubba for the first time. It was love at first sight. The next year he asked me to come with his family to meet his extended family in New Orleans and attend Endymion's Ball at Mardi Gras. I wore one of my prom dresses and borrowed a jacket from my mom. It was thrilling!! That was the same trip that I tasted creole cream cheese ice cream for the first time. It was also thrilling!! I didn't like sour flavors much at the time but I loved this!! If you have an ice cream maker (make sure yours is a stainlees steel one as the cream cheese will react with steel and give you a matalic taste to your ice cream)  you really need to try this!! It's GREAT on the side of fruit pies!!...but it's better all by itself!

12 oz. Creole cream cheese
 2 cups whole milk
1 cup cream
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 T. vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and eggs. Whisk until fluffy and pale yellow.  In a sauce pot, combine the milk and cream and gently warm. Temper the egg mixture and pour it into the milk mixture, whisking all the while. Cook until the cream is thickened. Pour through a sieve into a stainless steel bowl and cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours. When ready to use blend the Creole cream cheese into the ice cream mixture and whisk until all the lumps are removed. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. Place in the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.