Grilled Garlic Sriracha Shrimp

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

   Two of my sons used their cooking talents to grill kabobs one weekend. One of them has a knack for the spicy side of food. His dish, which was my personal favorite, was very easy to make with just a few ingredients. 
   The Sriracha Garlic shrimp weren't over cooked, which would've been easy to do, but had a great flavor. They were purposely kept on separate skewers and cooked last. They weren't too hot, but had a nice little kick that said "Well hello." 
    He even brought these to a potluck at work and they went over big time with those brave souls who like it a little spicy.

Grilled Garlic Sriracha Shrimp

1 bag 30 ct. frozen cooked shrimp

soaked skewers

2-3 T. melted butter

2-3 T. Weber Garlic Sriracha seasoning

Sprinkle seasoning over shrimp until well coated. Chill about 1 hour.

On grill over medium high heat (350 degrees), cook shrimp 3-4 minutes per side. Baste with melted butter on each side every couple of minutes.

Eat immediately. Serves 5-6.

Smoked Sausage Kabobs with Potatoes

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

    Not long ago we had a kabob throw down at home. Two of my sons both grilled two types of kabobs for dinner.
    The youngest son assembled his kabobs using smoked sausage, peppers, onions and small potatoes cut in 1/8ths. All of his ingredients were very thin sliced and sprinkled with a touch of mesquite seasoning. His trick was to brush butter on the kabobs with each rotation, preferring a lower, slower flame to prevent char.
    These were simple ingredients that were easily assembled. The time it took to do all of the slicing made the outcome well worth the effort.

Smoked Sausage Kabobs with Potatoes
7-8 small Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/8th pieces
2 lb. smoked sausage, cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 onion, sliced thin
1 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
salt and pepper
onion salt
2 tsp. mesquite seasoning (McCormick's)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
3 T. butter melted

Mix seasonings and vegetable oil in a large bowl until well blended.

Put potatoes, peppers, onions and smoked sausage in bowl and toss to coat with spices.

Places alternately on skewers. Let rest until grill is hot.

Cook skewers of medium low heat, rotating as needed, brushing with butter after each turn. Continue cooking until veggies are tender and potatoes cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Serves 10-12.

Grilled Chipotle T-Bone Steaks

Photos courtesy of  the Cooking Corner.

    After what seemed like weeks of pork dishes, you know, ribs, chops and ham, not to mention brats and hotdogs, the hubby requested a break from pig. I couldn't blame him a bit. Luckily I found some steaks on sale that weekend so he was in for a treat - T-Bones.
    One of my sons had recently introduced me to a new flavor of spice rubs, so while I was getting the grill ready, I let the steaks marinade in a chipotle spice rub. It never hurts to try something new. 
   This little beef treat made the hubby happy and the steaks had a good flavor that was subtle and not overpowering at all. It was well worth the test and quite easy to do.

Grilled Chipotle T-Bone Steaks
2 T-Bone steaks (about 3/4-inch thick)
1 T. McCormick's chipotle and roasted garlic seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder

4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
cracked black pepper and Kosher salt.
 
Place steaks on a plate and season with spices and sprinkle with Worcestershire. 

Let set in refrigerator until needed.

Spray grates with cooking spray. Heat grill to 375 degrees.

Place steaks on hot grill over medium flame for 5 minutes per side. Remove to indirect heat for 3 minutes more per side for medium to medium well. (More time over indirect for well done and less for rare.)

Serves 2.
*For thicker steaks adjust as needed, increasing slightly.

Creamy Coleslaw

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

    My youngest son was home for the weekend a little while back and we did some family cooking. I was trying a cucumber salsa and his older brother was making chicken/veggie kabobs for the grill. 
    His contribution was to show us how he makes a sweet, creamy coleslaw. His secret is a touch of sugar and sour cream. It was very good and voted even better than mine.

Creamy Coleslaw

2 bags slaw mix

3/4 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1-1/2 T. sugar

3 T. vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in a large bowl and mix well, adjusting as needed.

Chill well to combine flavors. 

Serves 16. Recipe easily cut in half.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner

    Sometimes simple foods are the most favorite. During the summer, one of the simple favorites for many is green tomatoes. The most popular way by far to use these little goodies is to coat and fry them. A mix of cornmeal and flour is the most common but I wanted to try them with Panko bread crumbs. It's a bit of a lighter coating that cooks a bit quicker. They had a nice light crunch on the outside with a tender but tart inside. This is well worth a try.
 

Fried Green Tomatoes

3 medium green tomatoes, sliced thin

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 cup Panko crumbs

1/4 cup cornmeal (or flour)

1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

In medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat.

Put egg in small bowl and beat lightly. Add milk and lemon juice. Stir to combine.

In shallow pan or dish, blend Panko crumbs and salt and pepper.

Dip sliced of tomato into egg/milk mixture and let excess drip. Coat in bread crumbs.

Fry 3-4 minutes each side until lightly browned. Drain on paper towel lined plate and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Serves 4.

Cucumber Salsa

Photo courtesy Taste of Home

   Summer is in full swing and produce is starting to pop. A friend had plenty of cucumbers in his garden so he brought the extra into work and shared with us. I found a recipe on Taste of Home that sounded interesting - cucumber salsa. I couldn't quite follow directions, but came pretty close. The hubby has never been a fan of cucumbers but this turned out very good - cool, creamy and popped with a nice bright flavor. Well worth the try and it's easy to do as well.

Cucumber Salsa

4 medium cucumbers, peeled and finely diced (remove seeds)

1/2 cup tomato, finely chopped without seeds (about 1 medium)

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 T. dried parsley

1 T. dried cilantro

1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed

1 medium banana pepper, seeds and veins removed

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. lime juice

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

tortilla chips

In a medium bowl with lid, combine cucumbers, tomato, onion, parsley, cilantro, peppers and garlic. Stir to combine. Refrigerate until needed.

In a small bowl with lid, mix sour cream, lemon and lime juices and spices. Stir well.

Refrigerate until needed.

Mix both bowls together just before serving. Serve with chips. Makes about 2 cups.

Smitty's Bread Pudding

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

    When you step through the doors of Smitty's Italian Steakhouse on Franklin Street in Evansville, it's like going back to a different time, when quality mattered. What started as Smitty's Little Tavern in 2001, served bar food and had local bands. This turned into Smitty's Italian Steakhouse and fine dining in 2012. After months of recipe testing and development a variety of sauces and dishes were created that now make fine Italian dining. 
    After a meal of great pasta or steak, there is homemade bread pudding, developed by one of the owner's daughter. Smitty's was nice enough to share the recipe so we could make it at home.

Smitty's Bread Pudding

1 loaf cinnamon bread, diced in 1 inch squares

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation

Mix eggs, heavy cream, milk, sugar and cinnamon together. 

In a large buttered pan with a 2-inch edge pour mixture over bread pieces. Add water to cover the mixture. 

Preheat oven to 325. Bake 1 hour. Cool 20 minutes.

Praline Sauce Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 cup pecans

1 lb. brown sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation

Combine butter and pecans in medium saucepan and bring to boil then turn down. Add remaining ingredients and cool down. Then bring back to 230 degrees and remove from heat and stir. Top with vanilla ice cream and serve.

Cheese Stuffed Portobellos

Photos courtesy of The Cooking Corner.

    After watching grilled mushrooms being cooked at a Baby BBQ, I felt compelled to try them myself. Of course I had to give it my own touch and added some fresh garlic and a few springs of rosemary to the olive oil. 

    Now the directions that I consulted suggested scraping the gills out of the caps, so I did. Laboriously, I scraped those bad boy as clean as I could. For an extra touch, I topped them with a mix of Italian cheeses and to my way of thinking and taste, they turned out just fine.

    Of course, I was a bit impatient so there was no low heat involved, after all this was not smoked pork. But under the hubby's supervision I pulled the mushrooms off after about 7-8 minutes and they were quite shriveled, shrunk and done just fine.

Cheese Stuffed Portobellos

3 medium portobello mushroom caps

1 clove garlic, minced

3 T. olive oil

2-3 leaves of rosemary (optional)

2-3 T. Italian cheese blend

Heat grill to 350 degrees.

Scrape gills from mushroom caps.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic and rosemary if using.

Brush insides of mushrooms with oil mixture and place on grill. Cook about 5 minutes and brush tops with oil. Basting with more oil every few minutes.

Turn mushrooms with hollowed bottom up and fill with cheese. Cook another 3-4 minutes.

Mushrooms should be dark, soft and shrunk in size and cheese should be melted. Eat immediately. 

Serves 2-3.

BBQ Cheeseburger Pizza

Photos courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

 We have been attempting to master the art of grilled pizza for years with only marginally edible success. They either seem to turn out charred or undercooked. Our last attempt had been a grilled pizza using leftover shrimp fajitas. The idea sounded marvelous, but there was so much moisture in the shrimp and veggies that I think it made the center soggy.

One of our friends recommended a thin almost cracker-type crust and another friend donated a pizza stone. Both of these tips helped immensely when we pulled off our best grilled pizza to date, a BBQ cheeseburger pizza that uses a mix of ketchup and BBQ as sauce. Using leftover burgers that were already cooked speeds the process up immensely. Good luck.

BBQ Cheeseburger Pizza

1 8-inch ultra thin pizza crust

1-1/2 quarter lb. cooked hamburger

1 green onion, sliced (optional)

Pizza ingredients.

1/2 cup shredded cheese

  (I used 1/4 cup sharp cheddar and 1/4 cup colby jack)

2 T. bacon bits

1/4 cup BBQ sauce of choice

1/4 cup ketchup

1 T. cornmeal

Place pizza stone (if using) on grill. Sprinkle with a dusting of cornmeal.

Close lid and heat grill on high (400) for 20 minutes. 

In small bowl mix BBQ sauce and ketchup, stirring well. 

Place crust on round pan or plate. Spread sauce over pizza thinly but reaching to edges. 

Place 2 burgers on cutting board and cut each in half. Take 3 of the halves and cut into

small chunks. Sprinkle evenly over pizza and then top with sliced onion if using, cheese and bacons bits.

Slide pizza onto grill or stone, lower lid and cook for 4-5 minutes checking bottom and edges carefully. May require 3 more minutes for cheese to melt.

Serves 2-3.

Pizza ready for the grill.