Fish Sticks & Tartar Sauce

Fish sticks are a classic kid’s food. We grew up eating them at home and in the school cafeterias. But, as a child you don’t really notice that fish aren’t really the shape of a 1” by 3” rectangle. Also you don’t seem to notice the lack of flavor and well, basically, as a kid you don’t seem to notice that frozen fish sticks suck!

I am a huge fish lover and I love making my homemade fish sticks with of course homemade tartar sauce. When I was first starting to cook, my mom got me a cook book just for kids. In that cook book was a recipe for making homemade fish sticks! I loved it! But, that recipe actually was a somewhat unhealthy. So, I created my own and that is what I give you today!!

What You’ll Need for the Fish Sticks:

1 Package of Tilapia

3 Eggs

2 Cups of Italian Style Bread Crumbs

½ teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning

1 Cup of Flour

What You’ll Need for the Tartar Sauce

1 Cup of Mayo

2 Tablespoons of chopped Parsley

2 Teaspoons of Mustard

½ Teaspoon of Pepper

1 Teaspoon of Salt

2 Teaspoons of Dill

1 Small Jar of (Sweet Midget) Pickles, minced

2 Teaspoons of Pickle Juice

2 Teaspoons of Lemon Juice

What You’ll Do for the Tartar Sauce:

§  Whisk all of the ingredients together in the bowl…it’s that easy.

§  I like to make the Tartar Sauce first and place in the refrigerator so all of the flavors can marry!

What You’ll Do for the Fish Sticks:

§  Make a dredging station. (You can see a more detailed how-to here!)

§  Add the Old Bay Seasoning to flour.

§  First, cut the fish into two pieces, right down the middle

§  Next, dredge the fish in the flour, egg, and then bread crumbs.

§  Place on a baking sheet that has been spread with a non-stick cooking spray.

§  Bake on 375° for 15-20 minutes

I love making homemade fish sticks for my family and friends when I can! It is such an easy meal to make that looks like it took some time! Let’s be honest, not many people make their own fish sticks and you could definitely impress your friends!

Enjoy

-SW

Corn Bread

Alright Alright Alright, it is time for some cornbread lovin’.

Last week, as you should know, we had 5 alarm chili. With that 5 alarm chili I made Cheddar-Jalapeño Corn Bread. And well, here it is….

Oh! By the way, it is simple to make and makes a lot too…thought you should know!

What You’ll Need:

2 boxes of corn bread mix

½ cup of frozen corn kernels

¾ cup of shredded cheddar cheese

½ jalapeño (deseeded and minced)

2 eggs

2/3 cups of milk

3 tablespoons of honey

2 tablespoons of butter (not pictured)

What You’ll Do:

ü  First dump the corn bread mix into a bowl

ü  Add the two eggs and milk

ü  Whisk until combined

ü  Add the corn, cheese, and minced jalapeño

ü  Mix until all is combined

ü  Next, grease a loaf pan and add the corn bread batter

ü  Bake on 400° for 40-45 minutes

ü  When the corn bread has 8-10 minutes left, add butter and honey in a small pot and cook until both are melted.

ü  Once you pull the bread from the oven, pour the honey-butter mixture over the top

Like I said earlier, I made this for the 5 Alarm Chili that Josh and I made. This would go great with a traditional chili or a great side for any comfort meal.

Also, instead of using a loaf pan, you could use a 13X9 pan or a muffin tin.

Enjoy

-SW

5 Alarm Chili

Okay, I am sorry that I have been MIA lately. Between a busy December and small vacation back home visiting with my family; I am now back in blog business. For this blog I have chosen a chili recipe that Josh and I made together. This is our take on 5 Alarm Chili. We got this recipe from a television program called Cook’s Country. Yet, we’ve made a few small changes to it to fit our palate.

The five alarms: Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder, Chipotle Peppers, Jalapenos, and Ancho Chilies

Personally, it is not that spicy. It has more heat to it than spiciness.

What You’ll Need:

28 ounce whole peeled tomatoes

3 ½ cups of water

3 cans of pinto beans (drained and rinsed)

1 ½ cups of beer

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons of chili powder

2 Spanish onions (chopped)

2 ounces of chipotle peppers

2 teaspoons of adobo sauce (in the chipotle pepper can)

2 teaspoons of sugar

2 jalapeños (minced, save seeds from one jalapeño)

6 cloves of garlic (minced)

3 dried ancho chilies

1 pound of ground beef

What You’ll Do:

·        First, you need rehydrate the ancho chilies. Place the whole chilies in a bowl with 1 ½ cups of water in the microwave. Heat until the peppers bend and become soft. Then cut off the tops and deseed. Cut the flesh into 1 inch pieces.

·        In a food processor or blender, add the tomatoes, 2 cups of water, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and ancho chilies. Blend until smooth and set aside.

·        Next, brown the ground beef in a pot with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper.

·        Once browned and cooked through, drain the fat from the meat and set aside.

·        Add the chopped onions and minced jalapenos (and seeds from one pepper) to the same pot with 2 more teaspoons of olive oil. Cook until the onions are very tender and translucent.

·        Once the onions are done, add in the minced garlic, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and sugar. When adding the seasonings make sure you are constantly stirring.

·        When all combined, add in the beer. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 3 minutes. This will help cook out the alcohol taste.

·        Next, add the ground beef back and the pinto beans too.

·        Lastly, add the tomato chili sauce.

·        Let everything come to a boil and reduce the heat on low for 15 minutes.

This chili has tons of flavors layered within each bit and you will soon find out why it is called five alarm chili.

We ate ours with corn bread, crackers, and topped with cheese.

Enjoy

-SW

THANKSGIVING FEAST

Happy Thanksgiving!! Well, 6 days ago! I’m posting this later then what I wanted too but, none the less here it is!! This is the Thanksgiving feast that I cooked for Josh and I. A few years ago, when we were still dating, I started to cook “our” Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us a few days before Thanksgiving. So, for this year this is what I made. I hope you enjoy and I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as well!!

What I Made:

Cornish Hens

Mashed Potatoes

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

Sweet Potato Gratin

Cornish Hens

2 Cornish Hens

1 Onion

Salt

Pepper

Butter

Italian Dressing

I cooked the Cornish Hens in the oven for about an hour in a cast iron skillet. I put sliced onion on the bottom of the pan and put the hen on top. I rubbed the hen with butter; I even put some under its skin. I sprinkled salt and pepper and poured about ¼ cup of Italian dressing on each bird.

Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes

Milk

Butter

Salt

Pepper

I peeled, cubed, and boiled 4 potatoes. I blended them up with a half a stick of butter, ½ cup of milk, 2 teaspoons of salt, and a ½ teaspoon of pepper.

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

Baby Carrots

Whiskey

Brown Sugar

Butter

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

First, I tossed about a bag of baby carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I then roasted them in the oven until tender. I then added a ½ cup of whiskey to a hot pan. Let the alcohol cook out and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is almost completely melted add ¼ cup of brown sugar. Add the carrots back in and coat.

Sweet Potato Gratin

Sweet Potatoes

Cream

Syrup

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Brown Sugar

Flower

Butter Pecans

Thinly slice 3 sweet potatoes and layer in a casserole pan. In a stock pot add in 1 cup of cream, 3 tablespoons of syrup, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then pour over sweet potatoes. In a bowl combine ½ stick of cold butter cubed, ½ cup of four, ¼ cup of brown sugar, and ½ cup of chopped pecans. Combine with hands until crumbly. Add over the sweet potatoes and cook of 375° for 30 minutes.

I hope you all enjoy this menu and try some of the recipes.

-SW 

Onion Rings

The best onion rings I have ever had are my homemade onions rings. I know that sounds conceded but, it is true. I think it is the way I layer the flavor throughout every step. Seriously, these are the best onion rings I have had. Plus, I make this delicious dip for them too. The dip was created this July with the help of my family. So let’s get down to business…

What You’ll Need for the Onion Rings:

Italian Bread Crumbs

Panko Bread Crumbs

Salt

Pepper

Eggs

Sweet Onion

Flour

What You’ll Need for the Onion Ring Dip:

¼ Cup Mayonnaise

¼ Cup Ketchup

2 Tablespoons of Sour Cram

1 Teaspoons of Tabasco Sauce

¼ Teaspoon of Salt

½ Teaspoon of Pepper

What You’ll Do for the Onion Rings:

Ø  First, slice the sweet onion into rings.

Ø  Then crack your eggs into a bowl. *I added a little water to mine*

Ø  Next, put your flour on a paper plate. Also, add about a teaspoon of salt and a ½ teaspoon of pepper.

Ø  On another paper plate add half Italian bread crumbs and Panko bread crumbs.

Ø  Set up your station so that your onions will be tossed in flour first, dipped in egg secondly, and tossed in bread crumbs last.

Ø  Repeat that until all of the onion rings have been coated.

Ø  Next, I deep dry my onion rings. You can pan fry if you do not have a deep fryer. *Fry until the bread crumbs are golden brown*

Ø  Put, oven on warm and keep your fried onion rings on a cookie sheet in a warm oven until all of the onion rings have been fried.

What You’ll Do for the Onion Ring Dip:

Ø  Mix together all of the ingredients into a bowl.

Ø  Make it as spicy and hot as you want with the Tabasco Sauce.

Like I said above, this onion ring recipe is layer upon layer of flavor and I think that is why it is so good. Plus the mix of Italian bread crumbs and Panko bread crumbs give them flavor as well as being super crunchy. Also, the cleanup is easy too because we used paper plates for the breading! I really hope you try this, they are soooooo good! 

Enjoy!

-SW

SUSHI

Hope everyone is staying warm! For this week’s Dinner at the Weavers, we’ve tried to broaden our horizon, we made homemade sushi! To be honest, it is pretty easy, but takes a lot of practice. From this experience, it definitely isn’t a meal I would make often but, something I would do to entertain guest.  

What You’ll Need:

Rice

Nori

Crab Meat

Green Pepper

Mushrooms

Spinach

Carrots

Celery

What You’ll Do:

v  Before you start anything, you need to cut your vegetables and cook your rice. The rice needs to be sticky, add a little more water than the package says. Also, your vegetables need to be very thin strips.

v  Getting the nori slightly wet, smoosh down about two tablespoons of rice. Make sure you leave about a half an inch at the end rice free.

v  Layer in the vegetables. If you do not like any of the vegetable I have chosen then use anything you would like. Below is a link for other sushi recipes.

v  Now roll the sushi up towards the end without rice.

v  With wet hands, make sure the end is combining to the roll and won’t unravel.

v  Net cut the sushi roll into bit size sections.

I know these directions are a bit vague but, here is some links that will help you more. I am no sushi master but it’s fun and inexpensive to make!

How to Make Sushi

Sushi Recipes

Hope you enjoyed this week’s attempt to broaden our horizon. J

-SW

Soft Taco Casserole

Happy Halloween!! Even though this post is a few days late due to Halloween festivities, I hope you still enjoy it! Josh and I had Soft Taco Casserole. Anything and everything that deals with tacos goes into this lovely dish J It is so good! If you love tacos you are in for a good treat and a change of the norm!!

What You’ll Need:

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 small can of green chilies

1 medium jar of salsa

1 can of refried beans

1 small container of sour cream

2 avocados

1 bag of cheese

1 bag of tortillas

What You’ll Do:

Ø  First, add you ground beef, chopped onion, and minced garlic to a skillet. Cook until the meat has no pink and the onions are translucent.

Ø  Next, add the taco seasoning mix with the amount of water that the back of the package says. Also, add in the green chilies at this time.  

Ø  Next, it is time to layer everything in a casserole dish. First, you will add a layer of tortillas and then a layer of refried beans.

Ø  Another layer of tortillas, layer of ground beef, tortillas, salsa, tortillas, sour cream, cubed avocado, tortilla, and cheese.

Ø  Lastly, I took my last tortilla and cut it in the shape of a pumpkin.

Ø  Bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes. You want the top to be bubbly and the top tortilla to be crispy.

I hope you all enjoy this Halloween inspired Dinner at the Weavers. Also, you can make this dish for any event or holiday. For Valentine’s Day you could do a heart instead of a pumpkin. Or a Christmas tree or cross for Holiday Parties. The creative possibilities are endless!!

Enjoy,

-SW