What's in My Pantry

Photo from my archives

The key to being able to cook amazing meals, throwing together a cheese plate for unexpected company, or creating a quick desert to take to a sick friend is to have a well stocked pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. From staples that are always in my home, I can make almost anything at a moment's notice.

Figuring out everything you need can be daunting, so I am sharing with you what I keep on hand at all times. This does not include freezer meats (I always keep frozen shrimp and scallops on hand for a quick dinner).

My list is by no means going to work for everyone, but I think it is a solid starting point for anyone wanting a solid starter or base grocery list for all the must-have ingredients.

I am posting this as a photo so that it can be printed out and used as a shopping list.

If you can't afford all this at once, add 1-2 items to your basket each time you go to the grocery store. Here are a few great tips for gathering ingredients on a budget:

• Spices can be found in the ethnic aisle for much less than in the baking aisle!    
• Coriander is actually cilantro seed and is easy to grow. When the cilantro matures it becomes coriander again (never ending supplies of both)! 
• Fresh mint (such as peppermint and spearmint) can be grown anywhere in the yard and will come back year after year. It is easy to harvest and dry so that it is available during winter months.
• Rosemary is a hearty year-round plant that makes a great landscaping bush and will give it's piney flavored stems all year. 
• Oregano can be grown in a planter, harvested many times, dried, and jarred for all year use.
• Go in with a friend and buy in bulk. I do this with garlic, lemons, and potatoes. Often you will pay half the price for bulk items as you would for a single family size at places like Sam's Club. 
• Keep green onions in a glass with a little water in the kitchen. Snip off what you need, and it will last indefinitely by regrowing right in the kitchen!

I tend to stay away from spices in discount stores because as spices age, they lose their flavor. I would rather pay retail and have the flavor in my food.

Please, let me know if you think anything should be added! Also, please feel free to share by using the below links to Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!

I hope you enjoy! And I hope you have a very spicy weekend!

Kartoffelsala (German Potato Salad)

 

The first time I ever had Kartoffelsala was at a theme park. I don't recall if it was King's Dominion or Busch Gardens, but it was many, many years ago. The warmth of the potatoes, the sweetness of the onions, and the slightest vinegar "bite" drew me in and held me captive.

This German potato salad recipe is a great option when you want something different. It goes with everything from sausages to burgers. It's fairly simple too!

 Kartoffelsala (German Potato Salad)

Level: Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 lbs potatoes diced into bite sized pieces, peel on.

(red potatoes are traditional, I used russet)

2 quarts water (for boiling potatoes)

3 Tbsp kosher salt (for boiling potatoes)

3 slices bacon, diced 

1 medium onion, sliced

1/4 Cup chicken (or vegetable) broth

1/4 Cup vinegar

1/4 Cup sugar

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Bring potatoes to boil in 2 quarts water and 3 Tbsp Kosher salt. Cook about 10 minutes, or until fork tender, but not falling apart. 

 Meanwhile:

 Render bacon fat in a cast iron skillet. Remove bacon with slotted spoon when browned and set aside.

Cook onions in bacon grease until soft and translucent, 5-6 minutes. 

Whisk together broth, vinegar, sugar, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour into pan with onions and reduce by 1/3.

When potatoes are done, drain off water. Pour onion mixture over potatoes, sprinkle with bacon, and mix together. Transfer to serving bowl. Serve warm.

Please, let me know if you try this recipe! I would love to hear from you!

Garlic Ginger Chicken Thighs

I've mentioned before how much I love to grill. During the Summer, of course, but I like to keep my grill active all year long. Food cooked on a grill delivers extra flavor and color that other methods of cooking just can't. 

Today's recipe is a Garlic Ginger Chicken Thigh with a glaze reminiscent of Asian cuisine. These succulent pieces of chicken bathe overnight in the deliciousness of this sauce which is both the marinade and basting liquid.

Garlic Ginger Chicken Thighs

Level: Easy

Time: 30 minutes active

24 hours inactive

Ingredients

1 lb boneless chicken thighs

(other chicken pieces will work, but I like the flavor of the thighs best)

1/4 Cup packed brown sugar

1/4 Cup low sodium soy sauce

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions

 Mix all ingredients together except chicken thighs. 

Place thighs in a Ziploc bag, pour in liquid mixture, and remove all air possible. Place in a container in refrigerator over night, turning over occasionally.

The next day....

Preheat your grill to medium-low

Place the chicken thighs on the grill, reserving the liquid. Turn occasionally, basting generously with the marinade mixture.

Cook thighs thoroughly, until a thermometer, inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, reads 165°.

 Baste one last time before removing from grill.

 This goes wonderfully with a buttered baked potato and fresh corn on the cob.

As always, please, let me know if you like this recipe! Follow, comment, and share with your friends!

Enjoy!

Down South Baked Beans with Ground Round

 

There is nothing like a big pot of baked beans to go along with your grilled burgers, hot dogs, steaks, or pulled pork. This recipe makes up a huge batch, perfect to share at a picnic, or enough to freeze in individual servings to enjoy later on. One word of warning though: they might disappear before your eyes!

This is a super easy dish that is packed full of sweet and savory flavor. The Worcestershire cuts a bit of the sweetness and tames the vinegar. Kick the heat up a notch with a bit of crushed red pepper if you like a little spice!

Down South Baked Beans with Ground Round

Level: Super Easy

Time: Prep :15 minutes

Inactive :45 minutes

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, diced

2 lbs ground round 

(if you use less than 80/20, drain after browning)

1 medium onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 large (53 oz.) can Van Camps Pork & Beans 

1 Cup ketchup

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup vinegar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

 

 Brown diced bacon in a medium- high heat Dutch oven, rendering the fat in the bottom of the pan. Remove the bacon into a bowl, leaving the bacon fat in the Dutch oven.

Add ground round, onion, green pepper, and garlic to pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium-high heat until browned.

 When ground round is cooked, pour in ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and beans; stir until thoroughly mixed together. This is a good time to add the red pepper flakes, if you like them. Otherwise, leave them out. 

Toss cooked bacon back in the pot as well.

Put the whole thing in the oven, cover, and allow to bake for 45 minutes.

Make yourself a bowl before putting it out for everyone else. This may be your only opportunity.

If you like this recipe, let me know!

Y'all enjoy!

Apple & Brown Sugar Pork Chops

I opened my package of pork chops today to find something extra. There, poking out from under the tender, pink meat, was a small package containing a sort of thermometer. The package claimed that its contents would let me know when my pork was "done".

 

"Cook'd Right™ Instructions:

1. Insert tip into meat while cooking, wait 10 seconds, remove & check if done. 

2. Continue cooking and checking until done. Done when dot matches red arrow. 

Discard sensor when finished."

Let's see how this little piece of plastic technology works while making this recipe. 

Apple & Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Time: 15 minutes prep time

30 minutes cook time

Level: Easy

Ingredients

Pork chops (bone in for more flavor)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp ginger

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp corn starch

Directions

Preheat grill to medium.

Bring all above ingredients (except pork chops) to a boil in a small saucepan. 

Allow to cook until reduced by half.

Brush one side of pork chops with glaze and place, glazed side down on the grill. Allow to cook until good grill marks appear on bottom side.

When grill marks appear, turn chops 90° to make cross marks. 

Brush top of chops with more glaze and turn over. When grill marks appear on second side, turn 90° again to make cross marks.

Continue to baste chops with remaining sauce until done. Chops are done when the internal temperature reaches 145°.

So how did our plastic thermometer do? I checked the temperature with both the plastic thermometer and my digital thermometer. When my chops were actually done, the digital thermometer reading was at 146.7. 

At that same time, the dot on the end of the plastic apparatus had not changed. 

I did not continue to cook my chops to see at what temperature the plastic thermometer read as "done", as I didn't want to dry out my chops. 

This chop was cooked to juicy perfection, completely white throughout and not a bit dry.

Verdict:

Don't trust the "ready when" technology included in meat packaging.

 

Have a great 4th of July weekend, y'all. I'll be back next week!

God bless America... and God bless you too!

 

 

Super Easy Glazed Cornish Hens

  

Cornish Hens are fairly new to the culinary world. Having only come about in the latter part of the 1950s by special breeding, they are late to the feast, but were well worth the wait.

A Cornish hen is a perfect choice and presents well for anything from a small dinner for two, to a large gathering of people. It may be offered on individual plates, whole, with sides and garnishes for a very elegant look. It may also be cut in half down the backbone and served cut side down for a smaller portion. It is a perfect size for a single person to make for dinner, and have a little left over for lunch the next day, without having to eat leftovers for a week.

With a main dish so versatile, what could possibly make this better? Simplicity! Everything that I used in this recipe is probably in your pantry right now! Prep only takes 5 minutes, and you get to sit back and forget about it until it is done!

This is how I prepared tonight's hen:

Super Easy Glazed Cornish Hens

Time: 1:15

5 minutes prep

1 hour inactive

Level:

Super Easy

Ingredients

3 Tbsp soy sauce 

(I like low sodium, so I can control the salt)

3 Tbsp ketchup

2 Tbsp honey

1 clove garlic, minced

2 whole cloves garlic, peeled

1 tsp. dried rosemary

2 large fresh rosemary sprigs 

2 Cornish hens, washed and dried throughly

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°

In small bowl, mix together soy sauce, ketchup, honey, minced garlic, and dried rosemary. Set aside.

Stuff each Cornish hen with 1 sprig rosemary and 1 clove whole garlic.

Place hens in a shallow baking dish, breast side down. 

Baste the glaze lightly on each, then turn over (back side down).

Divide remaining glaze between the hens, making sure to cover them well.

Roast in oven for 1 hour, or until thermometer inserted into thickest part of the bird reads 165°.

Baste once with drippings from pan before plating.

Enjoy! 

Coquilles St. Jacques (Scallops in Cream Sauce)

Coquilles St. Jacques is a rich, indulgent classic recipe that has become somewhat of a unicorn in the culinary world. It has fallen away from popularity, not because it isn't delicious, but because by modern standards, it breaks the rules of cooking seafood. And it's fattening. Very fattening.

I have heard time and again that seafood cannot stand with heavy would-be contending ingredients such as rich cheese sauces, onion, and mushrooms. Coquilles St. Jacques thumbs its nose at this silly idea, and features the scallop as the star flavor, not just in spite of, but because of all of its other hearty supporting ingredients.

This Coquilles St. Jacques recipe is not for the timid. Get a real understanding of the ingredients and the steps before proceeding, (I screwed up one step) but do proceed. You will be glad you did.

Coquilles St. Jacques

Time: 1 1/2 hours

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

Ingredients

1/2 lb mushrooms, minced

1 stick unsalted butter, divided

1 small red onion, minced very fine

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1 Tbsp minced terragon

1 Cup dry vermouth (dry white wine is fine too)

1/2 Cup water

1 bay leaf

10-12 sea scallops (the big ones)

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 Cup heavy cream

2/3 Cup grated Swiss cheese

Juice from 1 lemon

Directions

Preheat broiler to high. 

Heat 6 tbsp. butter, in medium skillet. Add onion, mushrooms, salt, and pepper to pan. Saute', stirring occasionally, over medium heat, until mushrooms are well browned and onion is softened. 

Stir in tarragon and parsley. Pour contents of pan into shallow gratin dishes. 

Bring, vermouth, bay leaf, salt, and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add scallops and poach until just firm, about 3 minutes. 

(note the onions in the pot... I did this by accident and had to strain them out. Yep. I made an oops)

Remove scallops and nest on mushrooms in dishes. 

Continue boiling cooking liquid on high heat  until reduced by 2/3, about 15 minutes.

Heat remaining butter in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, whisking constantly, until a blonde roux is achieved. Add cooking liquid and cream. Reduce until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in cheese, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and pour the sauce over scallops. 

Broil until browned and bubbly, about 4 minutes.

This serves well with a baked potato or salad.

Enjoy!

A Twist on Southern Sweet Tea

There are many things that are done in the South that are done better than anywhere else on the planet! Fried chicken, cornbread, squash, grits, and black-eyed peas, are just a few of those things that come to mind.

 

Sweet tea is a Southern staple, and has been around for over a hundred years. In the late 1800s, sweet tea was considered a luxury, as the ingredients were so rare and expensive. At that time in our history, ice had to be imported, and was a very rare treat, indeed. Serving beverages with sugar, and especially ice, was a way to show off one's wealth to company and business contacts, and was considered the highest form of Southern hospitality. Today, sweet tea can be made for pennies, and is so simple to put together that every self-respecting Southern girl has learned to make this refreshing libation.

There is always room for variation, and while keeping sweet tea Southern, I am going to forsake the traditional recipe of steeping black tea in hot water for something a little more fun.

Twisted Sun Tea

Time: 5 minutes active

8 hours inactive

Level: Easy

What you will need:

Mason jars with lids and rings

Tea bags in flavors of your choice

Mint sprigs, lemon slices, strawberry slices, or other flavorings and garnishes

Sugar, honey, sorghum, or other sweetener

Cold water

Ice

 (this can still be imported, but I wouldn't bother)

Directions:

Put sweetener of choice into the bottom of each mason jar. This is to your taste, and amounts may be adjusted. I used 2 Tbsp of white sugar in each 1 pint jar.

Put one tea bag per pint into each of the jars. Again, there are no rules here. Use black tea, peppermint tea, green tea, or any other tea you desire. I am using peppermint tea today.

Add lemon slices, peppermint sprigs, raspberries, strawberries, or any other flavoring that you desire. Again, this is to your taste! Be imaginative, get the little ones involved in making their own! Have FUN!

Fill jars with water, leaving enough room at the top to add ice later on! Place the lids on the jars and screw the rings on, just hand tight.

Leave in the sun to steep for six hours, shaking once to mix in sugar about half way the steeping process, then refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. 

When ready to serve, remove the tea bag, finish filling the jar with ice, add a straw, and enjoy this refreshing sweet tea the Southern way; right in the mason jar!

And as always, please let me know if you try this!