Corn and Crab Cakes

I love crab cakes, they are delicious and seem so fancy!  With this recipe they are also really easy!  They’re held together with creamed corn rather than an egg (or even mayonnaise) like other crab cakes which in my mind makes them seem healthier…though frankly I’m not sure if they really are.  Whatever, they’re delicious either way.

I made these crab cakes for the first time last year and they were a big hit!  My roommate raved about them.  I made them again for my best friend when I visited him in the magical land of Chicago for New Years and he caught the bug too!  Now this is one of his go-to recipes to impress dinner dates.  If all of this praise wasn’t enough, I’ll give you another example; I made these delicious crab cakes for my mom and sister when I was visiting them at home over the summer.  My sister really wanted crab cakes, but my mom was skeptical and said she didn’t actually like crab cakes.  Well, she tried these and loved them too!  Yep, she never really liked crab cakes before, but she loved these!  So basically the moral of the story is these crab cakes are fabulous and you should totally give this recipe a try.

P.S. These crab cakes are featured as the picture in the header of my blog.  And hasn’t that picture been tempting you every time you read a post?

Ingredients:

2 (6 oz) cans crab meat, drained

1 (8.25oz) can creamed corn

1/2 tsp hot sauce (optional, it’s totally delicious with or without)

2 green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, divided

3-4 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

1. Mix crabmeat, corn, hot sauce, scallions and 3/4 cup bread crumbs in a medium mixing bowl until well blended.
2. Spread the remaining breadcrumbs on a plate and divide the crab mixture into 8 patties. Roll each patty in bread crumbs until the surface coated.
3. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, brown the crab cakes on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.

Chicken in Coconut Sauce

I’ve had the base for this recipe bookmarked on my computer for about a year but never got the chance to give it a try.  Partially I wasn’t entirely sure my old roommate would like coconut milk and partially because I have about 50 recipes bookmarked on my computer that I’ve never tried.  I decided to give this recipe a try tonight though, and I am SO happy that I did!  My roommate loved it too and said it tasted like something she might get at her favorite Thai restaurant back home in Ohio!  With praise like that, you really don’t have any excuse not to try it.

The original recipe uses 4 whole chicken breasts and really skimps on the vegetables.  I always crave vegetables in dishes like this and am always so annoyed when recipes or even restaurant versions don’t have enough vegetables to satisfy me.  I added red peppers and mushrooms, but really any vegetable you might have left over in your fridge would be great to add into this dish.  Also when you cube the chicken it goes so much farther, so 2 breasts end up being plenty, at least for our tastes.  Feel free to add another breast or 2 though if you think the meat-t0-veggie-to-sauce ratio will be off for your tastes.  That’s a really important ratio after all.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 red pepper, chopped

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and place the cubed chicken into the hot oil. Pan-fry the chicken until they have begun to brown but are still pink inside, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts to paper towels and sprinkle them with lemon juice, ginger, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
2. Place the onions and garlic into the skillet over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and red peppers to the skillet and cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes.  Return the chicken to the skillet and add the coconut milk. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.
3. Serve over hot rice.

Spinach-Artichoke Lasagna

Love this recipe.  It is absolutely one of my go-to company recipes, especially when that company involves vegetarians.  I attempted to make this recipe last year for a lovely little dinner party I was throwing for 3 friends, 2 of which were vegetarians.  The fact that we were all teachers, however, really got in the way of that.  One of them ended up being sick (I’m gonna blame the kids for that one) and the other two had so much work to do that they had to reschedule.  This did not, however, stop me from making this lasagna, because darn it my roommate and I had our hearts set on spinach-artichoke-y goodness and the lack of company was not going to stop us!  Later that night I took some of the leftovers to my friend who was sick to make her feel better.  She seriously raved about this lasagna for a week!

I used my own homemade tomato sauce for this recipe, but feel free to use the store-bought stuff if that’s easier for you.  I’m just cheap, and I made this on a Sunday, so I had plenty of time to devote to making tomato sauce instead of just opening up a jar.

Ingredients:

cooking spray

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (14.5 oz) can vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you’re not feeding this to vegetarians)

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 (14 oz) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 (16 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1 (24 oz) jar tomato sauce, or make your own with this recipe

9 oven-ready lasagna noodles

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 (4 oz) package feta cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high. Saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp. Stir in broth and rosemary; bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.

3. Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 noodles. Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

4. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Quick Tomato Sauce

When I was planning my dinners for this week I decided to make some amazingly fabulous spinach-artichoke lasagna, a. because it’s fabulously amazing, and b. because I wanted to be sure I had awesome recipes to post up here for my first week!  That being said, when I went to the store, I was once again reminded what a scam it is to buy pasta sauce in a jar!  Last year I made the happy discovery that pasta sauce is REALLY REALLY easy to make yourself, and that cans of tomato sauce cost like 50 cents each, while jars of pre-made tomato sauce cost like $4.  Now for those who know me, if I’m anything, I’m thrifty (or “cheap” as some of my friends might put it…) so making tomato sauce rather than buying it is the obvious choice.  It’s like when I decided to stop being afraid of yeast and start making my own pizza dough.

Anyway, I whipped up this quick pasta sauce recipe this afternoon when I was getting things prepped for the lasagna.  I’d recommend sauteing half an onion or so along with your garlic if you are making this sauce to just put straight on pasta.  The only reason I didn’t was because my lasagna recipe already has sauteed onions in the mixture that I was eventually going to add this sauce to.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

½ tbsp basil

1 ½ tsp sugar

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp rosemary

½ tsp salt

¼ pepper

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, saute garlic in olive oil until golden brown.  Add tomato sauce and stir in bay leaf, basil, oregano, rosemary, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for 30 minutes (but frankly simmer for as long as possible, the longer the better).

2. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Chicken and Dumplings…nom comfort food…

One of my roommates FINALLY decided to take me up on my suggestion that we split groceries and then cook together (read I cook for her and she cleans up).  Apparently she didn’t believe me when I said I LOVE cooking when I get home from school and that it’s way easier to cook for two than it is to cook for one.  We went to the store the other day, and before I went I was trying to plan a tentative menu for the week and running my ideas by her.

“Oh, it’s been a little chilly recently (read mid-70s), why don’t we have chicken and dumplings?!”

“What’s are dumplings?  I think I’ve heard of that, but I’ve never had them before…”

Yes my friends, my roommate (who is from Ohio, which makes this even less acceptable in my opinion) has NEVER in her 23 years of life had chicken and dumplings.  This isn’t the first time I’ve had someone tell me they’ve never had chicken and dumplings.  But seriously, every time I hear it I am astounded.  If you’re reading this and have also never had chicken and dumplings before, you absolutely MUST make this recipe.  It is ridiculously easy (as all slow cooker recipes are) and fabulous.  Plus, it’s a wonderful comfort food!  And who doesn’t need that every once in a while?

I like to make my chicken and dumplings with mixed veggies so I don’t feel too unhealthy about eating it.  If there’s veggies in it it’s automatically better for you…right?  But if you want a more “authentic” chicken and dumplings, just omit the mixed veggies, it’ll still be delicious.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 (10.5oz) can cream of chicken soup and

1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

2 (14.5oz) cans mixed veggies

1 onion, chopped

1 (10oz) package refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place chicken, soup, veggies, and onions in a slow cooker and top with enough water to cover.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 8-9 hours (ie while you’re at work…).

2. About an hour before serving shred the chicken breasts with a pair of forks.  Then, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker and switch temperature to high (if it’s not already there).

3. Cook until biscuits are no longer raw in the center.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Yum.

White Bean Penne

This is possibly one of the easiest recipes I have ever made.  If you can boil water, open cans, and do a little chopping, then you’re golden.  Seriously, that’s it. I gave this recipe to a friend of mine who isn’t exactly kitchen savvy—she literally came up to me one day and excitedly told me about successfully baking frozen french fries—and even she can make this pasta!

Don’t let the ease of this recipe fool you, though.  It is delicious and definitely impressive!  If you’ve got last minute company (especially if you’re like me and that last minute company often includes vegetarians), this recipe is a go-to!  In about 25 minutes you will have a delicious pasta dish that is far from ordinary.

Ingredients:

1 lb penne pasta (I like to use wheat pasta because it’s healthier, but the regular stuff is delicious too)

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 can cannellini beans, undrained

1/2 cup roasted red peppers

1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved

1 tbsp dried parsley

black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, or to taste (just omit the cheese to make this vegan)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute until golden.  Add beans with their liquid (I know this sounds slightly gross, but trust me, it works), olives, and roasted red peppers.  Stir to mix and simmer until heated through.

3. Transfer 1/2 cup of pasta water from pot to skillet.  Drain pasta and add to skillet along with parsley and black pepper.  Toss to mix and coat (or just be lazy and put the sauce on the pasta once it’s on the plate.  I do that sometimes…it’s better if you toss it though).  Sprinkle with cheese to serve.

Easy Pico de Gallo

This post is titled easy pico de gallo…but I seriously doubt it’s possible to make pico de gallo difficult.  This recipe is once again adapted from one I originally found on allrecipes.com, but I made a few changes based on what I had (that’s why there’s lemon juice and not lime juice as you might expect.  Whatever, it still tastes delicious!).

I actually made another batch of this pico last week to finish off a few tomatoes before I headed down to New Orleans for labor day weekend.  That batch was not nearly as good though.  Why?  Well, remember how I live in the Mississippi Delta?  Yeah…Wal-Mart is basically my only option to buy groceries.  And while my favorite big box store had cilantro the week before, there wasn’t any to be found last week when I made batch #2.  Sad day.  Take my advice, don’t skip the cilantro.  And if you can’t find any at your Wal-Mart either, well frankly you should probably drive to another store and get some if you’re dead set on making this recipe tonight.  It’s passable without it, but doesn’t have that real pico de gallo flavor.

Ingredients:

3 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 a medium onion, diced

1-2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped*

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro, salt, and lemon juice. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator before serving.

*Fair warning, be super careful cutting hot peppers!  I don’t wish that burning eye pain on anyone!*

Green Chile Pork

I receive daily emails from allrecipes.com (a fabulous recipe site, by the way, I highly recommend it) and I found the basics of this recipe in one of those emails a few weeks ago.  I love (Americanized) Mexican food, it is delicious and comforting and easy!  Plus, when you skip the copious amounts of cheese it’s really pretty healthy!  I didn’t really have any good Mexican recipes under my belt, so I thought this one would be great to try out.  Plus the pork made a great break from chicken…I was getting a bit bored of chicken.

I used this pork to make tacos, but it would work equally well in burritos or enchiladas.  I topped it with black beans, corn, and homemade pico de gallo and served with rice.  It was fabulous and (like all good slow-cooker recipes) made my entire house smell AMAZING.  I assure you, my roommates were incredibly jealous.

Ingredients:
1 white onion, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder roast or loin roast
1 (16 oz) jar green salsa
2 bell peppers, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 jalapeno peppers (or serrano peppers if you want even more spice), or to taste, cut into quarters*

Directions:

1. Layer the sliced onion into the bottom of a slow cooker. Season the pork with salt and pepper and place on top of the onions. Pour the green salsa over the pork and add sliced bell peppers. Sprinkle the the cilantro over the salsa and pork. Drop the jalapeno pepper quarters into the slow cooker.
2. Cook on Low until the meat falls apart easily, about 8 hours. Remove the pork to a cutting board. Strain and discard about half the remaining liquid from the slow cooker, reserving the rest.
3. Shred the pork with a pair of forks. Mix the pork with the reserved liquid from the slow cooker to serve.

*Please be careful when you are cutting hot peppers!  My eyes stung for 2 days when I took out my contacts after having touched hot peppers!  And that’s AFTER washing my hands about 5 times!*

Really, Laura? You’re starting a food blog?!

Why yes.  I am starting a food blog.  Now I don’t expect people to read this blog religiously or anything, and I seriously doubt I’ll develop any sort of devoted following.  But I love to cook.  I’m currently teaching high school and cooking dinner after I get home from school is one of the main ways I de-stress!  My friends are always interested in the delicious recipes I try out, so this seems like the most effective way to share recipes and ideas with people.

So what kind of food blog is this?  I’m not one of those preachy folks who things everyone should be a vegan and only eat locally grown organic food.  That’s all well and good if you’re into that, but most of us aren’t.  Plus, I live in Mississippi.  Well, actually, I live in the Mississippi Delta.  If you’ve ever been to the Delta, you know the distinction is necessary.  Let me assure you, if I was the vegan-locally-grown-organic type…well, I’d most likely starve.  There aren’t a lot of choices here in the Delta to get your food, that’s why this blog is called Grocery Store Gourmet (thanks for the title Ken!).  Basically everything I use in my recipes comes from the mainstay of our lives here in the Delta, Wal-Mart.  If I can’t buy an ingredient at my super Wal-Mart then it’s not going into one of my recipes.  Simple as that.

I love making soups.  It’s probably the Ohioan in me.  I’ll start making soups by October, even though it won’t get cold enough here in Mississippi for proper soup weather until December.  I also firmly believe that slow-cookers are the best appliance ever invented.  If you don’t own one, seriously open up a tab, go to your favorite store website and order one NOW.  You can get a decent one for under $30, trust me, you won’t regret it.  Other things I love: pasta dishes, pizzas, chicken, and vegetarian recipes.

I hope y’all enjoy!