Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob

I don't know what it is about the taste of fresh corn... on the cob! There is nothing like it! I've never grilled or roasted corn. Our grill is on the fritz again, so I decided to try oven roasting some. I left mine in a little too long so watch yours closely. 20 - 25 minutes should be plenty of time. 

4 cobs of fresh corn
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 tsp of you favorite seasonings per ear ( I used garlic powder, onion powder and basil)

salt and pepper
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 °F.

Remove husks and silk from corn and rinse off. Place ears on foil sheets, dot with pats of butter, and sprinkle with seasoning, salt and pepper (and cheese if you want). 

Bake for 25 minutes, or until soft and steaming.

Seasoned Potato Wedges

My family loves potatoes. The hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I love to bake and fry potatoes. We actually had potato wedges for lunch today... the hubby is home with a backache. This was the perfect treat for him. I like to try and get more flavor when frying, so I made up this simple coating. It turned out awesome!

4 potatoes, (I used Yukon Gold) cut into wedges
1 cup flour
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Oil for frying

Heat oil to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour and seasonings. 

Add potato wedges and toss.

Remove from flour and gently place in hot oil. The oil must be up to temp or the coating will boil away.

Cook until golden brown and floating on the surface of the oil.

Yummy!

Stuffed Biscuits

Yesterday, I found a 4 pack of canned biscuits that I had bought for the party the other week and never got around to 'whatever' I planned to make out of them. I can't even remember anymore! Maybe Monkey Bread... Hmmmm! Never mind! I made these last night instead...

I did two versions... Chicken Bacon Ranch and Greek Feta and Black Olive

Chicken Bacon Ranch Stuffed Biscuits

Canned Refrigerated biscuits, 10 per package
1/2 cup diced, cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese
1/4 cup crumbled bacon, or more to taste :-)
1/4 cup ranch dressing, or enough to bind the mixture
a sprinkle of basil
Kosher salt & pepper

Greek Feta and Black Olive Stuffed Biscuits

Canned Refrigerated biscuits, 10 per package
1/4 cup diced, cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup Feta crumbles
1/4 cup black olives, diced
1/4 cup Greek Dressing... I suggest The Black Peppercorn's Greek Salad Dressing. It's the best I've found so far! Awesome!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In two separate small bowls, mix the fillings and set aside.

Working one batch (flavor) at a time, open a can of biscuits, working one at a time. With your fingers, flatten the biscuit to about 3 or 4 inches across. Put about a teaspoon of filling in the center. I closed them two different ways.

For the Greek Biscuits, I folded them in half and closed them with the tines of a fork.

For the chicken bacon ranch, I flattened them and brought all the edges together over the filling making a ball. I prefer this method and will make them all like this next time! Bake them for about 10 minutes, take them out and brush them with some melted butter with minced garlic in it and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Pop them back in the oven for a minute or two.
 

Greek Stuffed Biscuits 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Stuffed Biscuits 

 Inside the Chicken Bacon Ranch

Inside the Greek Feta... YUM!

Country-Style Steak

When I'm at home, I fix country-style steak the traditional southern way. I coat it in seasoned flour and fry it in oil until done, then I smother it in gravy, letting it simmer until fork tender. However, when I'm cooking for my Wednesday night crowd at church, time does not permit me to fry every piece of cube steak... 60+ pieces. So, I adapted my recipe to allow me to fix it for them. Some of you may enjoy this as a healthier way to eat country-style steak. I hope you do!

Family pack of cube steak... about 6-8 pieces
Salt, pepper and garlic powder

Family size can of cream of mushroom soup (or 2 regular cans)
Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce, about 1 tsp

Sprinkle cube steak with seasonings and place in a 13x9 pan sprayed with oil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done. Do not drain. Remove meat and add soup and Kitchen Bouquet. Stir until blended and replace meat to pan. Cover and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until tender. Serve with mashed potatoes, sweet peas and biscuits for a good ole southern dinner.

Lodge Logic Dutch Oven, 5qt. (Google Affiliate Ad)

Oven 'Fried' Chicken

Well, it's hot... darn hot here in the South! The kitchen table is hot enough to proof bread! The hubby decides that he wants fried chicken! REALLY?!?!?! That raises the kitchen temp another 10 degrees, at least! So I did some research and came up with this Oven Fried Chicken recipe. I did give him the choice whether I tried this or went ahead and toughed out the heat and deep fried it. He did give in to the oven recipe :-) He brought home 6 chicken thighs. I would have used a whole fryer cut up country-style, but use whatever cut of chicken you like with this recipe.

6 chicken thighs
1/3 cup butter or margarine**
2 cups flour
Salt, to taste (I use about 2 tsp Kosher)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. While oven is pre-heating, trim the fat off the pieces of chicken and make sure all pieces of feathers are pulled out. Mix flour and spices in a gallon size zip-loc bag.

**Important... Put butter, or margarine in a large casserole dish and melt it in the oven. The butter and the dish must be hot!

Place the chicken, skin side down, in the dish. Bake for 35 minutes, then turn chicken pieces over. Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until done and well browned.

My plate with mashed potatoes and green beans :-)

Zucchini and Cheddar Tartlets

These little vegetable tartlets are so yummy and can be made with almost any veggies you may have on hand. I had yellow squash, so that's what I used!

1 cup zucchini or yellow squash, seeded and grated
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
1/4 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded fine
1 large eggs, beaten
Basil, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper, to taste
Basil leaves, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking oil. Combine ingredients in a bowl and drop by spoonfuls into pans. Pat mixture down. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Pull tartlets from pans with the edge of a knife. If stuck, run a knife around the edges and they should pop right out. Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with basil leaves.
Makes 12 mini tarts.

Cooking Rib Eyes in the Oven

My grill is history. It is just plain worn out, and I have rib eyes to cook. This is how I did them after some research. 

My Dad always had a stick of butter in the frig that was just for steaks. When he flipped the steaks on the grill, he folded back the paper on the butter and with his hand, rubbed the end of that stick all over the steak. Those were the best steaks in the world. Lightly seasoned and perfectly cooked!

• 
  
• 1 boneless rib eye steak, per person
• Vegetable oil, to coat
• Worcestershire Sauce (optional)
• Kosher salt
• Ground black pepper
• Garlic powder
• 1 T butter

• Place a grill/griddle pan in the oven
•  and heat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Bring the steak to room temperature in a plastic bag.
• I went ahead and added my seasoning,
• oil and Worcestershire sauce to the bag
• and let it sit until room temp.

I didn't get a picture of this step... it moved to quickly!

But this is the best way to clean the pan after searing... 

just add some water to the hot pan and place it back on the stove.

Use a wooden spoon to loosen bits from the bottom.

• While the oven reaches temperature, place a skillet on the stove over high heat. Coat the steak lightly with oil and Worcestershire (if desired) and sprinkle both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.

When the skillet is very hot, place the steak in the middle of the hot, dry skillet. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the steak straight into the oven on the grill pan for 2 minutes. 

Flip the steak, place a dab of butter on top,

and cook for another 2 minutes.

(This time is for medium-rare steak. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.)

Remove the steak from the pan, cover loosely with foil

• and rest for 2 minutes. Serve whole or slice thin and fan onto plate.

Serve with a nice tossed vegetable salad

and maybe a baked potato or steak fries.