Corn and Potato Chowder!!

My Grandmother made the best potato soup and sadly it was a recipe she took with her when she died. I have tried quite a few versions that came close to her recipe, but none have really come close to her type of soup. Then I found this recipe from LaaLoosh and it has been the closest to the way I remember her soup tasting, so much so I may be done searching. The recipe is from Weight Watchers and is worth 3 points in the old point system, for those counting calories such as my self it's around 370 calories for a cup and a half. Which makes it a wonderfully healthy recipe that really filled me up and kept me satisfied with out being loaded with calories. Of course to top it off it when the wonder full Tot Approved!

I made a couple of variations from the recipe at LaaLoosh, but I'm still going to post the original recipe with notes of the changes I made.

Ingredients
2 cups potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large carrot, diced
1 cup leeks, chopped, white part only (I omitted this)
1 medium garlic clove, minced (Could use another clove on the next batch)
4 cups fat-free chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked barley(I omitted this and substituted with 1/2 cup of frozen corn kernels)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp black peper
4 oz Canadian-style bacon, cutinto 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 oz fat-free half-and-half

Directions
In a slow cooker, combine potatoes, carrots, leek, garlic, broth, barley, bay leaf, thyme, pepper and bacon; cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
Stir in evaporated milk and half-and-half; heat through, uncovered, about 10 minutes.

Memorial Day Boiler!

On Memorial Day we had a family get together and rather then fire up the grill, as I grill all year long, I decided to try do something I hadn't tried personally and do a Low Country Shrimp Boil. It was a blast and super easy to fix, not to mention we all ate way more than our fill.

I also had to take this opportunity to try some homemade corn bread, you need something to help soak up some broth, right?


Shrimp Boil
large stock pot, a turkey fryer setup works best
1lb Andouille sausage
3lb's red potato
1 jalapeno
5 ears of corn, cut each ear into thirds
3lb's shelled shrimp
Shrimp Boil seasoning
Garlic
Salt 1tbsp
Pepper 1 tbsp

1.Coat the bottom of the pot with oil and brown the sausage, about 5 minutes. Add the water till the pot is about half full; followed by the potatoes, shrimp boil spice, salt, bay leaves, and black pepper. Let the pot come to a good rolling boil and let the potatoes cook for about 15 minutes. Add the corn and cook till tender, approximately another 15 minutes.
2. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and firm, about 5 minutes.
3. Drain off the water, remove the seasoning pouch, and serve.

Traditionally the boil is spread out on news paper or butcher paper and every one pulls up a chair and digs in. As my family seems to have some fears of germs, I dumped into bowls and dished it out on paper plates.

Corn Bread
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 to 3 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. Add the 1 tbsp butter to a 10 inch cast iron skillet or a 9x1-1/2 inch round baking pan. Place in a 400º oven about 3 minutes or until butter melts. Remove pan from oven; swirl butter in pan to coat bottom and sides of pan.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine eggs, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour batter into hot skillet or pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Now this cornbread was delicious, but I like mine a little sweeter and I put in 3 tbsp of sugar, so either up the sugar or add a tbsp or two of honey for a little sweeter corn bread.

Grilled Tot's and Corn on the Cob!

I've been wanting to expand just what I'm cooking on the grill this year and I came up with the idea of trying tator tot's on the grill. Now I know this is probably taking things a bit far, but they were absolutely delicious! They were a huge hit at dinner and added a wonderful flavor that baking in the oven just doesn't have. I cooked them on a grill sheet that is stainless steel and has a bunch of the wholes to allow the heat and smoke to come through and into the food. I also sprayed them down with some Pam and used a large flipper to continually turn them to help prevent them from burning. This is one of those dishes that can not be left unattended as they can burn quite quickly and need to be turned a lot to keep them cooking even. I hope you give it a try because it's so worth trying.

I also cooked some corn on the grill that night and it was the first time that our little girl had corn on the cob, she was thrilled to get the chance to try it. When I told her that she was going to get to try corn on the cob for dinner she began dancing and jumping around the room yelling "Yea! Corn on the Cob!!!". It was so much fun to see her so excited to get to try something new and she loved it. I cut the ear of corn into thirds and she cleaned off her one serving with a grin and butter from ear to ear.

This is how I fix my corn on the cob and my wife loves it, mainly because she LOVES garlic.Tear enough foil to cover one ear of corn, coat the corn with a thin layer of butter, season with garlic salt and wrap in foil. It's that easy! Now just place the corn on the grill for about 25-30 minutes at medium-high heat and your done. I found that placing the corn on the warming rack of my gas grill before I put anything else on or even have anything else ready to go is the best way to do it. The corn comes out tasty, not over cooked, but cooked through and perfect every time.

New BBQ Rub!

While attending the Festival of Smoke I had the fun opportunity to mix together a very basic all purpose KC Dry Rub. It's a sweet rub with a very subtle bite and salt making it great for pork and poultry, in my opinion. I used it the moment I got home on some pork chops I had set out for grilling that night. It gave them a real nice color and balanced well with the pork flavor. Now here's the funny thing, my little girl absolutely loved it! So I now have a BBQ Rub that has been Tot Approved! How cool is that?

My wife picked out these pork chops, I had no idea they sliced pork chops so thin. It looks like some one ran over it with steam roller.

I also tried something new with my mashed potato recipe, I added just 1 tsp of garlic powder to the mix and it came out wonderful!

Ingredients
3 tbsp superfine sugar
2 tsp seasoning salt
2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp celery salt
2 tsp onion salt
4 tsp paprika
2 tsp chili powder, dark
1 tsp black pepper, table grind
1 tsp lemon pepper
pinch sage, ground
pinch dry mustard
pinch thyme ground
pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients together and store in an airtight container until needed
Makes 1/2 cup.

Mashed Potatoes
5 lbs potatoes
butter 1 stick
milk, about 1/2 cup
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

Peel and cube potatoes, place in large pot filled with water and boil until chunks are easily sliced with a kitchen table knife. Remove potatoes from the stove and drain water. Place Potatos in a mixer bowl with butter. Turn on mixer to stir and slowly begin adding milk till potatoes are creamy. when most of the chunks are mashed work the mixer up to high. Add the salt and garlic, allow to be well mixed and then serve.