Ham & Brie Souffle

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did! My dad flew into town and stayed with me. We had a lovely Christmas breakfast casserole and then a huge lunch at my in-laws. I brought a white chocolate and cinnamon cream brulee that I will post soon! Happy New Year!

 

 

 Ham & Brie Souffle

 

Ingredients:

 

Butter, room temperature, for greasing the souffle
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup thinly sliced ham
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups milk, hot
4 large egg yolks
6 ounces Brie cheese or any other cheese you have on hand
4 egg whites plus 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Use room temperature butter to grease an 8-inch souffle mold. Add the grated Parmesan and roll around the mold to cover the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small saucepan, heat the butter. Allow all of the water to cook out.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and kosher salt. Whisk this mixture into the melted butter. Cook for 2 minutes.
Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. Temper the yolks into the milk mixture, constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese and ham. Whisk until incorporated.
In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Add 1/4 of the mixture to the base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently.
Pour the mixture into the souffle. Fill the souffle to 1/2-inch from the top. Place on an aluminum pie pan. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

Bruschetta Pasta

This dish I made on a rainy Friday night, I had the ingredients in the fridge and opted to make it healthy and vegan! I used whole wheat noodles and no meat. I found this recipe on Pinterest but decided to tweak it to my liking! Christmas is coming and I'm not trying to look like Santa, but if you would like to make this the regular way you would use chicken breast and regular noodles. Merry Christmas Y'all!

Bruschetta Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lb wheat noodles I used Spiral
2 tbs Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tomatoes diced into small pieces
10 basil leaves shredded by hand 
1/4 cup diced mozzarella fresh is best


Directions:

Cook noodles according to package and set aside. Heat the oil and garlic in a skillet till it is fragrant, then add the tomatoes,salt and pepper and cook for 4 minutes or until they wilt down. Remove from heat add in the noodles then toss in basil and cheese. Serve with Parmesan! 

Even the cats wanted some! The orange one is Keypo and Calico is Sushi ;o)

Claytie Williams

It is getting close to Christmas and I was doing my normal sales work, delivering my clients breakfast and sitting down and chatting. In the middle of my chat with one of the execs at the oil company Clayton Williams Energy, and he told me that Clayton comes in every Christmas and he hands out money and kisses. Right after he said that, none other did the one and the only Clayton Williams came into the office I was at and said, "WHO ARE YOU! You are beautiful!" I stood up and walked over and tried to shake his hand...that quick 82 year old man went right in for the kiss and hug. I introduced myself and he asked what I did for a living, I told him I was in sales. He blurts out, "WELL I bet you make a lot of money!" I laughed and he asked what I sold and he said he will take all of them! We said bye and happy holidays and as he was walking out the door he turned around to me and said, "You sure know how to make an old man nervous!" Today is a day I will never forget. I met a legend and a pioneer in the oil industry! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Everyone!

Trisha's Chicken Fried Filet Mignon & Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

This is one of my favorite dishes my mom makes! Not only is is fantastic its great for your thighs! I am just kidding but it is well worth the splurge of calories. Speaking of calories that reminds me of a funny story! I have been cooking decadent meals since I was in elementary school, my next door neighbor growing up was my best friend Ava. After school Ava would come over and I would offer to make her a snack before we jumped on the trampoline. Her job if she wanted a snack was she had to peel the potatoes and I would do the rest. Potatoes?? you say, as a snack?! Yes we would make homemade mashed potatoes with cream cheese and a rack of baby back ribs everyday after school. Then would jump on the trampoline with roller blades and dish soap then go home and eat dinner as usual.That was way back then, I wish my metabolism was like that...darn it!

Deep Fried Filet Mignon

Ingredients:

1 Pound sliced Filet Mignon
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tbs Tiger sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes 
1/2 cup Flour
2 tsp garlic powder
4 Eggs beaten in a bowl
salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying

Directions:

In a ziplock bag add the sliced meat, Worcestershire, tiger sauce, and red pepper flakes. Marinate over night. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, till the oil is bubbly. In a separate bowl mix flour with salt pepper and garlic powder. Dip the meat in eggs, then the flour then add to the oil, cook 4-5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Remove and place on paper towels, salt again. Serve with mashed potatoes. 

Here is the amazing and delicious mashed potato recipe of your life. This is a staple in our house hold and maybe one day it will be in yalls. My mom adds horseradish but I hate that so I skip it, so if you like horseradish put in 1 tbs to the mixture before mixing.  Here she is!

Moms Creamed Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes (Peeled and Cubed into 1 inch cubes)
1 8oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Warm Milk
4 Tbs butter
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

In a empty pot, add in the cubed potatoes add in water till they are more than covered. Place on stove and crank her up to high with a lid on. After she boils take it down to medium and cook them till you can poke a knife in one and they slide off. Then, drain the potatoes and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine the cheese, milk, butter, salt, pepper then add in the potatoes. Using a hand mixer or a kitchen aid whip them for a good 3-5 minutes till they are fluffy and not lumpy. Serve along side any meat dish and enjoy!

Homemade Guacamole Restaurant Style

Dustin and I love to go to Mexican restaurants and we always order guacamole table side. They bring over their little cart and make you fresh guacamole. I watched how they made it millions of time, so now that I can replicate it. If you like hot add more jalapeno, or less if you want! Serve with really good tortilla chips.

Guacamole Restaurant Style

Ingredients:

2 Ready Avocados (You can tell by pulling out the pit and seeing if it  is green then it is ready)
2 Roma tomatoes diced
1 handful cilantro diced
1/4 of a jalapeno diced
1/4 cup diced white onions
salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, put in all the ingredients except the tomatoes. Take two wooden spoons and smash everything till its creamy and smooth. Finally add in the tomatoes and gently mix around. 

Egyptian Kosharie (Pasta with Tomato Sauce)

When Dustin and I were in Egypt this was his favorite meal he grew up with. Its simple and very tasty. It may not sound so enticing but I promise you it is. I make him huge pans of this when he goes out to work and he is such a happy camper! So if you are feeling adventurous give this a try, its actually Italian!

Kosharie

Ingredients:

2 Cups cooked white rice
2 Cups Dentalini (short tube noodles) Cooked
1 Cup brown lentils Cooked
1 Cup Chickpeas from a can
1 Small onion diced
1 small can Frenches fried onions
Salt, and White pepper
18oz can peeled diced tomatoes
1/2 onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp oil
salt, pepper, oregano

Directions:

For the tomato sauce, heat the oil in the pan, saute the onion and garlic, till soft. Add the tomatoes salt, pepper and oregano. Simmer till the Kosharie is done. Heat the butter and other onion till its soft., add in the noodles, rice, chickpeas. Then add the tomato sauce to the mixture. Serve with the fried onions and smoke some hooka!

Engagment Dinner Shrimp

Last January my now Husband took me to Cancun on a surprise vacation! It was so nice and he had it all planned out, all he told me to do was pack a swimsuit and my passport. The first night we got there he told me to just throw on a dress because we were just grabbing dinner. We walked down to the beach side restaurant and the host walked us past the restaurant and all the way down to the beach to our private table on the sand. There was candles lit and a bottle of my favorite wine waiting for us. I had no idea anything was going to happen, we had a 5 course meal coming! The 1st course was a grilled shrimp over a perfectly cooked scallop with a creamed spinach on top. After our 1st course Dustin asked the waiter to take our photo and that is where he purposed! Here is the recipe for the shrimp!

Grilled Shrimp and Scallops

Ingredients:

8-10 Shrimp ( Peeled and Devained)
8-10 U-10 Scallops ( washed and dried)
1 package frozen creamed spinach
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbs butter
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan 
 Salt and Pepper
Lemons

Directions:

Grill the shrimp till it is a pretty pink with some grill marks. Next heat a hot skillet with the butter till it sizzles, add the scallops turn after 2 minutes. Remove scallops, in the same pan add the garlic Parmesan and creamed spinach. Cook down for 5-10 minutes, salt and pepper when necessary. To assemble place a drizzle of the spinach cream sauce on the bottom of the plate then place a scallop, on top of the scallop add a teaspoon of the spinach, then top with the grilled shrimp. Drizzle with lemon serve hot.