Salmon Sockeye It To Me Quiche will pair nicely with a salad  and a glass of viognier or pinot grigio for evening meal.   Which white wines are your favorite? Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling or Pinot Grigio may be on the standards list.

Step outside of your comfort zone and try French Viognier or Vouvray. If you need help stepping out of your comfort zone, visit The Wine Wankers.  Conrad and Drew are all about the wine, without the wankery. Love a guy with a sense of humor.

What do I cook after a busy day?

Whichever wine you may select popping a Quiche in the oven will help with the dreaded “what do I cook?”After a busy day of work or shopping a simple meal that does not consist of fast food is what I want. Cooking at home will allow you to control the sodium, fat or address any food allergies and diet restrictions.

This time of year D-I-E-T is a ugly four letter word that no one wants to talk or think about especially me. Sadly, every time I step on the scale I jump off again. A couple of times, I stepped back on thinking I had failed to step on it correctly.  Ha!  Can you give me a new number, pretty please?

Apparently, my scale numbers don’t work well going down. Surely it must be broken. I may need a new one. Another item to add to my shopping list. In between work or shopping, buy ingredients to make Salmon Sockeye It To Me Quiche. Quiche recipes are great to make ahead, cook and then freeze. A busy life makes for an extra busy wife. Precooked meals are nice to have in the freezer for those hectic days that sock-it-to-you.

Alexa Shout out to Isley Brothers for  a classic , Its Your Thing.

Lagniappe: Double recipe and make two pies. Cook both at the same time. Eat one and reserve one for freezer.

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Watching the meal planning exercise and execution with your adult child is educational. It is  amusing to hear her make comments to me about the need to cook healthy. What?  Me the Mom who has received more than my share of eye rolls, snarky comments and blank stares when I have made simple comments like:

-limit drinking soda’s or totally avoid
-stay away from junk food
-drink plenty of water
-limit fried foods

What is best way to add new healthy habits?

Learning to merge healthy habits into  your diet and cooking is a process. My belief is that adding in healthy habits are sustainable if you adjust over time. A total change overnight is harder to keep going after the “new” wears off. Cooking healthy is vitally important to our overall health. Healthy food assists our bodies to work properly and in boosting our immune system.

My girl has introduced her own healthy suggestions into our home. We are never too old to learn, even from our children. I requested muffins, meat-loaves and new chef recipe to be used on my site and a healthy mix of vegetables for our meal.  Quickly, my new chef stated that the menu would consist of ground turkey for the Muffins, Meatloaves and New Chef recipe.

Off she went to the grocery to buy items needed for dinner. Time for me to put my feet up, I could get use to this. Is it time for wine?  I moved to the couch and my computer while I waited for my new chef to whip up a recipe.

My girl and I chatted about pans, ingredients and typical meatloaf recipes in general. The healthy addition to her meatloaf recipe was ground turkey. Prior to this, Muffins, Meatloaves and New Chef recipe, ground turkey was MIA from my kitchen. In our house, we love whole turkeys baked in the oven, grilled on the egg and in the slow cooker.

But, ground? This tiny piece of information would be on the “need to know status” for Grill Man.  Certainly the meat-loaves cooked in a muffin pan would be delicious. This had been on my list to try for some time. My favorite part of a traditional meatloaf is the crispy end or edges where all the flavor concentrates. The black-ish part that appears  too burnt to eat but is oh so delicious. The multiple muffin tins would allow for more crispy edges to share less crispy to negotiate over.

To use Ground Turkey or not in Muffin Meatloaves ?

My girl had experience cooking with ground turkey therefore I was not worried about the taste. Since Grill Man was traveling, she would have time to complete the dish before he discovered the ground turkey secret. How would he like the meatloaf? Would he notice the  turkey before we shared the secret with him? Over time would he want to eat the meatloaf again after he found out it was turkey? Inquiring minds want to know.

Muffins Meatloaves and New Chef recipe is a hit. Grill Man and I loved the flavor of the meatloaf. Muffin tins provide more crispy bits of heavenly flavor to fight over. The turkey secret remained intact until I decided to share with Grill Man.

As with most “food dislikes” once the person learns of additional add of “item to avoid” they may or may not want to eat the item again. Over time, a person with “food dislikes” may change their opinion and learn to love an item once avoided. Then again, some times not. Food like and dislikes is a very personal choice.

Muffins Meatloaves and New Chef recipe is yummy with turkey.  In lieu of turkey swap out your favorite ground meat. The spices may need to be adjusted accordingly. For a completely different type of meatloaf which includes meat, meat and more meat visit Meatloaf Trifecta Beef, Spicy Sausage and Bacon

Alexa Shout out to Peter Frampton  for Wind of Change. I tried to search for the newest album Acoustic Classics but Alexa isn’t that hip yet. Grill Man has this album and loves it.

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My Grandfather was the first person that I met who canned and preserved foods. Any visit would always include our family returning with Preserved Figs, Sweet Pickles and green beans.  My Grandfather had a massive garden at his home.

As an adult, I do not know how he took took care of his garden. I don’t remember my Grandfather having help but surely his garden size dictated a helper or two? Picking produce from his garden is a memory that is indelibly imprinted on my brain. At the time, I did not appreciate the value of the garden, the labor required to maintain seemed excessive in my young mind.

Gardening or preserving was not very exciting to a child. Sadly, by the time I became interested in the happenings of a kitchen, he had moved on to greener pastures. The loss of a loved one leaves a void and some opportunities evaporate with their death. When one door closes another one opens. Occasionally, we have to knock the door down to keep moving.

Fig Chess Pie Recipe and lessons from Granny

In addition to moving and never stopping, my Granny certainly taught me a thing or two about southern cooking. I learned to always cook more than you need because you never know when you may have an extra guest. Lord knows, I needed to learn this one. Cook simply and with the best ingredients that you may afford. Serve your guests with a smile and give a southern welcome.

I love preparing standard Chess Pie and serving at any gathering. My friend Jazz Girl is particularly fond of my plain-jane Chess Pie.  First of all, I knew that figs would blend well in an updated version of the Chess  pie. Figs have a sweet delicate flavor that marries well with dairy products.

In this recipe, I included a small amount of figs to the recipe for a delicate flavor. Depending on your taste and harvest, the figs could easily be doubled to increase the fig flavor. Southern Chess Pie is an old-fashioned dessert that holds up against the most discriminating palate.

In summary, simple with minimal ingredients, Fig Chess Pie recipe will entice your guests. A dollop of homemade whipped cream or a scoop of delicious ice cream would pair nicely with this pie. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Shout out to Alexa  Jillian Jacqueline for her song- Reasons

Jilliam is part of the Listen Up Campaign. https://www.jillianjacqueline.com/

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Porch time is a fan favorite at our house and almost mandatory for guests. The porch allows for slow and easy conversation while enjoying the birds and squirrel chatter. Perhaps, a lovely place to while away the morning with a cup of coffee. Add in a pitter-patter of rain on the tin roof and it is music to my ears.

Last weekend was Round 2 of my March company.  My Uncle and two of my cousins from Louisiana were visiting with their families, Funny Girl and Lil Rouge. A quick and easy breakfast was certainly on my list. Cooking Spicy Sausage Cheese Egg Pie in the kitchen with them was a joy. Having extra hands in my kitchen is not common but I love and cherish it when I do.

Lil Rouge and Funny Girl made quick work of the Spicy Sausage Cheese Egg Pie recipe that I created for making  two Egg Pies. If you only need one, you may freeze the second pie after you bake. Pie in the freezer is great to have on hand for breakfast, lunch or deliver to a friend in need.

Over the course of our weekend, we had a grand time telling tales of our childhood days and teenage mishaps. Reminiscing about our loved ones that had moved on was bittersweet yet softened by the retelling of our family stories.  Sharing delight in the telling of our tales is a common thread in our group.

No weekend around my family can occur without the occasional game or cards whether it is Shanghai, Canasta or Poop-head. For the record, I was not the Poop-head!

Card playing allows for plenty of conversations, tale-telling and cocktails, of course. My brother was able to join us for lunch, tale-telling and such. Funny Girl whipped up a  delicious white coconut cocktail that I loved. She also whipped up something she called Kidney infection. Oddly, Funny Girl and I didn’t drink that one but Lil Rouge managed it somehow.

Between hands of cards, we discussed our ancestors and looked at old photos.  Sargent Granny would have smiled had she been sitting with us. Sharing time together is sometimes hard to organize with family and friends but so worth the effort. Living in different cities and states adds to difficulty of organizing  schedules, just do it. Your Granny will smile, I know mine is.

Alexa Shout out to Leon Bridges.

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Waste Not Want Not Series:
potatoes, corn, carrots, garlic and  mushrooms

“Waste not want not” is a hats off tribute to my Irish Grandmother Theda Faye who was the Queen of Thrifty. In our childhood home, my Dad was not a fan of eating leftovers which certainly went against the grain of Theda’s Faye’s entire philosophy.

I recall hearing my Mother state that my Dad “refused to eat leftovers”. This would always horrify my Grandmother and would elicit comments  about how she would handle my Dad. Granny had her work cut out for her.

I am pretty sure that my Mom never took Granny’s suggestions.  Granny was a strong woman and not shy about sharing her opinion. Although, I am speculating entirely based on the premise that my parents are still married after all of these years.

As an adult, I realized that “leftovers” were only food ingredients that required repackaging in the kitchen and presented in a different recipe. This is easy to do whether you use the ingredients the next day or throw in a storage bag, and freeze for later. Always label your freezer ingredients for easy identification and date. I have learned this the hard way playing the freezer game of “what is that?”

The crawfish and shrimp boil over the weekend yielded an excess of shrimp, corn, potatoes, carrots, garlic and mushrooms. I peeled the leftover shrimp and threw in my freezer. This would be used later for Shrimp Dip. This shrimp recipe is my favorite childhood food memory and is hauntingly delicious. Warning: It is addictive.

The remaining ingredients from the shrimp boil would make a great addition to my shrimp chowder. I also wanted a one pot dish for dinner so that I could move to the “couch for a spell”. One pot was all the energy that I could muster. The fun-filled weekend had “worn me out”. Using the leftovers was great and a soup was what I needed, then my couch.

Of course, the recipe made from fresh ingredients in lieu of shrimp boil leftovers will be great too. If using fresh vegetables, add the  seafood stock to separate pot and boil until tender. Then prepare white roux and combine ingredients. Adjust the seasonings, since the boil process adds seasoning to vegetables.

Shout Out to Alexa for U2 for a bit of Bono.

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Fresh Gulf shrimp make amazing shrimp recipes. Shrimp is a great start to a delicious appetizer recipe or meal. I am fortunate to live near the Gulf Coast and fresh seafood is a special treat.  The shrimp, crabs, craw-fish, oysters and the wide range of  fish is a bonus when cooking and developing recipes.

It is a luxury that many may afford whether they buy or catch their own seafood. On the coast, we have multiple markets that offer the Gulf’s finest fish and shrimp for your dining pleasure. You may still enjoy our fresh seafood even if you live far away from the coast.

Most markets will ship seafood out-of-state fresh or frozen directly to your door.  No one should have to long for fresh quality shrimp or seafood, ever. Alabama Gulf Seafood  has a great web site that details how to find, catch, cook and see Alabama seafood.

On occasion, I have had the pleasure of fishing in Gulf waters off shore  and loved it. Being a guest on a charter boat is  always  exciting. There is nothing like a fresh catch whipped into a great recipe on board. A fish  that was recently swimming turned into a ceviche recipe before your eyes is “as good as it gets”. Add this to your list, it will get no fresher than that.

There is nothing like dragging in a big ‘ole fish. I am not a fan of the entire bait process but it is hard to fish without bait. The next time you’re in the area, charter a boat and  experience the joy. You not be disappointed, unless you’re a “lilly-livered-land-lubber”.

If your lucky enough to own a boat then you know what it is like to wander on the Gulf waters, as you please. Perhaps it helps to have “coördinates of fishing honey holes” or a great charter captain so that you always find and catch fish.

The Gulf is a great big place and fish know where to hide. Finding and catching fish is part of the challenge.  Sometimes it is hard to find a “mess of fish”. Find a local market and place your order. Fish and shrimp are plentiful and easy to manage for transport or preserving to cook your favorite fish and shrimp recipes.

Forrest Gump on Shrimp Recipes

Who could say it better than Gump? Forrest Gump said, ” Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey’s uh shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep-fried, stir fried, There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. ”

Shout out to Alexa for Light Jazz, it has been a long day and I need to start my shrimp recipe in a rich sauce.

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