Stephen's Stew

This week Stephen made me a really tasty [and very healthy] lunch. It had a juicy stew consistency, and a slight BBQ sauce taste. The main components of the stew are chicken, red beans, tomatoes, and okra. For those of you who have only had fried okra, or never had okra at all, they are the green chili shaped things in the pot. However, they aren't hot like chili's at all! Okra is a green veggie that is VERY tasty and it very good when cooked in juices or even in a frying pan with some light butter/oil and salt. It is somewhat hard to describe the taste so you will just have to try some yourself!

The meal was so delicious that I wanted to feature Stephen's handy work!

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 tablespoons of your favorite dry grill seasoning

1 pound of chicken breast tenders

2 and 1/2 cups of drained red chili beans

1 can (8 ounces) of diced tomatoes

1/4 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce (We love Sweet Baby Ray's)

1/3 cup of chicken stock

1/4 cup of grated Cheddar cheese

1 package of Okra

Directions

1. Steam the okra on medium heat in a small pan with a little butter and water. It should take about 8 - 10 minutes for the Okra to soften, but check the consistency of the Okra after 5 minutes. 

2. Season the chicken with the grill seasoning and then sear them in a medium-hot nonstick skillet that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Cook about 2 minutes per side.

3. Reduce the heat to low and add the chili beans, tomatoes, barbeque sauce, and chicken stock. Stir well to blend.

4. Let the mixture simmer for 8 minutes while stirring occasionally. After 8 minutes, add the steamed Okra and simmer for 3 more minutes.

5. Sprinkle with cheese and then serve!

Makes about 5 servings.

Enjoy!

Yummy French Toast

I found this recipe on a blog that I love called Grilled Cheese Social. You should check it out! Each post gives a whole new meaning to grilled cheese. MacKenzie (the blog's creator) posted a recipe on Valentine's Day that really caught my eye and I decided I must try it. So here is my rendition of her "La La Love You" French Toast.

 Ingredients:
• 3 pieces of bread (Mackenzie made hers into hearts, but I couldn't manage it with my bread)
• french toast batter (I used Mackenzie's batter: 2 eggs, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla, & 1/4 tsp cinnamon) 
• sliced strawberries
• Nutella
• butter
• Mascarpone cheese
• whipped cream (optional)

1. Dunk each piece of bread in the batter and lightly brown in a frying pan using a small pad of butter with each piece.

2. Let the bread cool a bit, then spread some of your cheese on to one piece of bread.

3. Lay on some of your sweet sliced strawberries.

4. Spread Nutella on to the second slice of bread.

5. Lay it on top of the strawberries and spread more Nutella on the other side of the bread.

6. Lay on more strawberries.

7. Spread more cheese on the third slice of bread.

8. Lay it on top and add whipped cream if you wish!

9. Enjoy! We sure did. Thanks MacKenzie!

Emma's Green Bean Bites

I came across this recipe by Emma from her food blog called From Scratch. Emma has a wonderful blog with many lovely recipes, and this one caught my eye as the perfect finger-food for Super Bowl Sunday. Now, football doesn't thrill me, but pot-luck food gatherings do make me excited! I was in a bit of a rush to make these because I had to attend a meeting before I went off to my Super Bowl gathering, but I think they turned out pretty good!

Check out Emma's blog for the recipe!

Chocolate Mint Crinkles

These made delicious Christmas cookies. I found this recipe from Recipe Girl. They were pretty simple and fun to make. I highly suggest getting the mint truffles kisses like the recipe suggests.

Enjoy!

Stephen's Mom's Delicious Oatmeal Cookies

These are probably the best oatmeal cookies I have ever made. They are so soft and are neither too sweet nor too bad for you.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of softened butter

2 eggs

1 c. raisins

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. oatmeal

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 c. flour

3/4 c.  broken walnuts or pecans

[Makes around 70]

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare the raisins in a dish by adding a few drips of water and putting them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften. 
3. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time.  
5. Beat the raisins in once they are cool. 
6. Loose the mixer and stir in the cinnamon, flour, and baking soda with a wooden spoon. 
7. Stir in the oatmeal and nuts [this may be hard because the mixture will be thick]
8. Put spoonfuls of the mixture on to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. 
9. Cook for about 12 minutes. 

Be sure not to over-bake if they seem too light or soft. The cookies shouldn't be browned when they come out... they actually might be a little mushy and seem under baked. This is okay! Let them cool for a few minutes and they will harden.

Enjoy!