New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

Photos the Cooking Corner.

   Shrimp are one of my favorite little creatures to eat and any food with a New Orleans flare is good in my book. I made these one night when we were splurging on a seafood dinner made at home. If you master the knack of not over cooking seafood, it can be made cheaper doing it yourself. Sometimes it's just a bit of trick on how to prepare. 
   But shrimp are very easy to cook and they pick up seasoning well. This is a nice flavorful dish that almost anyone can master and takes little time to prepare.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp 
20 large (16/20) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 oz. canola oil
2 T. green onions, chopped
2 oz. white wine
1 tsp. garlic, chopped
4 T. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. hot sauce
1/2  tsp. cayenne
1/2  tsp. paprika

8 ounces (2 sticks) salted butter

Heat a large cast iron skillet to high.  Add oil and cook shrimp until they are just done. Cook in batches if you don't have a large skillet. Remove shrimp and set aside on a plate.

Add green onions to skillet and cook for 1 minute. Add white wine and let simmer until it is reduced by half.

When the wine is reduced add chopped garlic, Worcestershire, hot sauce, cayenne pepper and paprika. Shake the pan well and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low.

Cut butter into chunks and slowly add to pan, shaking the skillet to melt butter.

Continue to add butter and shake until all it's melted. Add shrimp back to pan and toss well to coat with butter and seasonings and to heat the shrimp. Eat immediately.

Serves 4.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

   For those of you who like chicken wings, but aren't a big fan of BBQ or buffalo sauces, here is a different twist on wings. My son made these one Sunday afternoon and we were very pleased with the outcome. There's a slight garlic flavor and the cheese coating provides a nice mellow crunch. Boiling the wings before hand seems to keep them moist (like a brine) and helps reduce baking time. It's a nice change of taste for wings.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

Cooking spray

3 quarts cold water

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup salt

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. rosemary

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 pinch salt

3 T. olive oil, or as needed

1 T. ground black pepper

2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

4 pounds chicken wings, separated at joints, tips discarded

2 T. Italian bread crumbs

1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat foil with cooking spray.

Combine water, vinegar, 1/4 cup salt, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and rosemary in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add chicken wings, return to a boil, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove chicken wings with a slotted spoon to a cooling rack and allow to dry for 15 minutes.

Mash garlic and a pinch of salt together in a mortar and pestle until smooth.

Combine mashed garlic, olive oil, black pepper and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add chicken wings and bread crumbs; toss to coat. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. 

Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Recipe can easily be cut in half.

Spicy Ritz Crackers

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

    I found this recipe somewhere floating on the internet and saved it to try sometime. Well sometime turned out to be at the last girls poker game. If you like a little heat, this will do you well. It's not your typical Ritz cracker.

Spicy Ritz Crackers
1 stick melted butter
1 packet Ranch dressing mix, dry
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 T. red pepper flakes (less if you wish)
1 tsp. garlic powder.
1 box Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss box of Ritz crackers gently with all 5 ingredients.

Spread on a sprayed baking sheet or two.

Bake in 300 degree oven for 15 minutes, stirring after 7 minutes to prevent over browning.

Slippery Nipple Pudding Shots

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

     A while back the girls and I got together for a night of cards. We all bring a dish to share. Of the variety of dishes, the real star that night was a twist on the familiar Jell-O shot, only using pudding. One of the girls brought Mudslide, Slippery Nipple and Pistachio pudding shots. How creative! 
    These are made by mixing pudding, alcohol and Cool Whip. The combinations are almost limitless and very easy to make. If you have an upcoming party this might be something to think about.

Slippery Nipple Pudding Shots
1 small box (3.4 oz.) instant butterscotch pudding
3/4 cup milk
3 oz. Irish cream liqueur
3 oz. butterscotch schnapps
8 oz. Cool Whip

Combine cold milk and pudding in a medium bowl. Mix with an electric mixer or whisk until smooth. Blend in your choice of liquors.

Fold in the Cool Whip until thoroughly blended. 

Fill cups and chill.

Holiday Cheese Spread

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner

    My department at work is great when it comes to sharing and that includes recipes. One of my crew brought in this cheese spread to share and it quickly became a favorite of everybody in the office. Now we'll share it with you.

Holiday Cheese Spread

Recipe courtesy of Diana Spear

2 pkg. 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 jars Old English cheese spread

1 jar Roka Blue cheese spread

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. parsley flakes

crushed pecans

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended.

Refrigerate in a covered dish for at least a few hours to blend flavors. 

Serve with crackers, chips or broken bread.

Honey Butter

Honey butter on the holiday dinner table.

     When the holidays rolled about, I decided to give a small new twist to breakfast. After surfing some internet sites, I came across one for Texas Roadhouse's butter. 
    I must be honest, I don't go there often and can't remember for the life of me what their butter tastes like, but I do know that this remake was good. We dipped our croissants in it and used it as a spread for rolls during the holiday dinner. 
    There's just a hint of cinnamon and it's not a overly sweet. It's well worth it to give this recipe a try. It's easy, with only a few common ingredients, and if packaged correctly could make nice little gifts.

Honey Butter
1 stick butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. cinnamon

Photos courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

Place all ingredients into a small bowl. Whip with electric mixer until thoroughly combined.

Scoop into a small bowl with lid. Refrigerate covered until ready to serve.

Use as a spread on toast or rolls.


(Based on a copycat recipe of Texas Roadhouse butter)

Spicy Stuffing Balls

Recipe and photo courtesy of Mark Short, Mt. Carmel, IL

      Anyone who really knows me would probably also know that my standard go-to dish for any group occasion is sausage balls. I make these appetizers yearly for the Christmas potluck at work and have toted them off to poker night with the girls. I serve them at almost every holiday meal. 

     Over the years I've tried a number of combinations of meats, cheeses and spices. Italian sausage and mozzarella will taste very different than a mild sausage and sharp cheddar. Chorizo sausage and taco cheese adds a Mexican flare, but hot sausage and pepper jack cheese with a sprinkle of crushed red pepper will light you right up. 

    With all of the substitutions that I've done over the years, never once have I thought of substituting the baking mix. However, one of the guys at work told me that's just what he did. Instead of your standard Bisquick, he used pork flavored "Stove Top Stuffing."  This never even occurred to me. But why not?

    He even brought me a sample. Wow, was he right. The stuffing gives it a slightly different texture, somewhat lighter, and the herbs in the stuffing mix add much more flavor. I was impressed.

Spicy Stuffing Balls

1 lb. ground hot sausage

1 lb. shredded pepper jack cheese

2 cups pork flavored Stove Top Stuffing mix (dry)

In a large bowl mix all ingredients. Form into walnut size balls and place on baking sheet.

Bake in preheated 350 oven 20-25 minutes.

Cooked sausage balls can be frozen and reheated for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sausage balls out of the oven.

Parmesan Green Bean Casserole in the Slow Cooker

Photo courtesy of the Cooking Corner.

     Over the holidays I tried a space saving recipe. I swapped out my normal green beans and potatoes simmering on the stove for a Parmesan green bean casserole made in the slower cooker. Now, it's not that green beans and potatoes are difficult by any means, but by using the slow cooker I've opened up space on the stove or in the oven for other projects.
    This slow cooker casserole went over surprisingly well. I'm convinced that it was the Parmesan and cream of chicken soup, topped off with caramelized French fried onions. It has only 7 ingredients, virtually no prep time and cooks out of the way in the slow cooker. You just dump the stuff in, plug it in and let it be. The flavor was nice and mellow and the texture creamy. It's now become a favorite of the family.

 Parmesan Green Bean Casserole in the Slow Cooker
recipe shared by Mark Short, Mt. Carmel, IL
2 cans French green beans, drained
1 can  condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can  condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 - 6 oz. caramelized French's French Fried onion rings (save 1/2 cup for topping)

In slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the reserved onion rings. Mix well to combine.

Cook on low heat for 5 hours. Top with reserved onion rings before serving.
Serves 8. Recipe easily doubled or tripled for a large event.

Note - Ingredients can be combined ahead of time.