Happy Halloween!

Halloween is probably my second favorite holiday. My ex and I used to have a huge Halloween party every year...I tried it the last couple years by myself with a huge failing.  I skipped it this year and even though its a little late, I decided to share some of my favorite recipes from these parties.

Kitty Litter Cake

• 1 box German chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare
• 1 box  white cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare
• 2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 package vanilla sandwich cookies
• 3 drops green food coloring
• 1 package (12 ounce size) tootsie rolls

Prepare cake mixes and bake according to package directions (any size pan). Prepare pudding according to package directions and chill until ready to assemble.

Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor, scraping often. Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.

When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs, and the chilled pudding. You probably won't need all of the pudding, you want the cake to be just moist, not soggy. Line a clean, new kitty litter box with a kitty litter liner.

Put cake mixture into box. Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends so that they are no longer blunt, and curve the tootsie rolls slightly. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs.

Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top. Heat 3 or 4 of the tootsie rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with some of the green cookie crumbs. Heat the remaining tootsie rolls until pliable and shape as before. Spread all but one randomly over top of cake mixture. Sprinkle with any remaining cookie crumbs. Hang the remaining tootsie roll over side of litter box and sprinkle with a few green cookie crumbs.

To serve use the clean, new the pooper scooper for a gross Halloween dessert.



Day Old Bathwater Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can (12 ounce size) frozen lemonade
• 1 can (12 ounce size) frozen pink lemonade
• 1 can (12 ounce size) frozen limeade
• 1/2 gallon rainbow sherbet

PREPARATION:

About 45 minutes before serving time, set cans of lemon and limeade and the container of sherbet out to thaw. After 15 minutes, scoop out half of the sherbet's containers contents and place it into a brownish color. Place the remaining sherbet back in.

Prepare lemon and limeades according to the package directions and pour into the punch bowl.

Carefully float spoonfuls of the brown blended sherbet on top of the lemonade mixture, spreading it around to look like dirty brown suds. Do not stir. Use a ladle to serve punch in cups.

Sicko serving suggestion: Float a handful of green, yellow and white tiny after dinner mints (tiny bars of soap), on top of your scummy punch.

Chunky Cat Barf

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 8 ounces cottage cheese
• 16 ounces Mozzarella cheese (grated)
• 8 ounces Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1 quart spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

PREPARATION:

Cook squash. Fork out insides into a giant casserole dish. Add cottage cheese, spaghetti sauce, peppers, and half of the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Mix until it looks like cat barf.
Top with the remaining cheeses.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 45 minutes.


Melted Fingers Pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 red bell pepper
• 12 sticks (1 ounce each) mozzarella
• 8 small (about 5" diam.) baked pizza crusts
• 1 cup purchased pizza sauce

PREPARATION:

Core, stem and seed pepper; cut lengthwise into 1"-wide strips. Cut each strip crosswise into 1/2" pieces (fingernails). Round corners on one end of each piece.

Cut each cheese stick in half crosswise. On rounded end of each stick (finger), cut out a 1/2"-square notch into which a pepper piece will fit to make a nail.
Lay crusts slightly apart on 3 baking sheets, each 12x15". Spread 2 Tbsp. sauce evenly over each crust. Lay 3 cheese fingers well apart on each crust: fit a red pepper nail onto each. Bake in a 450 degrees F oven until cheese just begins to melt, about 8 minutes.

Vampire's Kiss

 

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1/2 oz. dry gin
•  1/2 oz. dry vermouth
•  1 tbsp. tequila
•  Pinch of salt
• 2 oz. tomato juice

 Old Fashioned glass, shake with ice, strain over ice.

I'm here for October...barely!

Here are two for October...My Mother and Grandmother used to make these out of the leftover mashed potatoes.  I like to make them for breakfast and have them with eggs.

The second recipe is one I stole from an ex.  I always loved it when they made this. 

Also...if you are out there...let me know you are there! Send me a recipe, just say hi, follow me or something!

Mashed Potato Pancakes

• 1 egg
• 1 cup mashed potatoes (left over)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 green onion (finely chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 -2 tablespoon milk
• 2 -3 tablespoons shortening or 2 -3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1 Beat the egg.

2 Mix the beaten egg with the mashed potatoes.
3 Stir in the dry ingredients.
4 Add the milk and mix well.
5 The batter should be very thick.
6 Melt the shortening or heat the oil in a skillet.
7 Spoon batter into the skillet to form 3" to 3-1/2" inch wide pancakes, about 1/2" thick.
8 Brown on one side, over medium heat. Turn and brown on the other side.
9 Serve with ketchup.

Chicken - Rice - Broccoli Casserole  

•  1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
• 2 c. cooked, cubed chicken - I season mine with rosemary, garlic, pepper, and poultry seasoning
• 2 c. cooked rice
• 1 c. cheese, grated
• 1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup - If you don't like mushrooms use cream of chicken or celery
• 1 (3 oz.) can French fried onions
• 1 soup can milk

Combine chicken, rice, cheese, broccoli, and soup. Add 1 soup can of milk; mix well. Pour in buttered 1 1/2 quart casserole. Top with onions. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until onions are brown and crisp.

What ever happened to the Sunday Dinner?

When I was a kid on Sundays we always a  large family meal. Sometimes it was at our house, other times it was at the house of my Aunt's an hour or so away.  The thing is we got together, broke bread, and socialized over a meal.  I remember as a small child we almost always had fried chicken on Sundays.  Whether my Grandmother fried it or it came from the Colonel (as my Grandmother called it) aka Kentucky Fried Chicken aka KFC as it is now known as.

As I got older the Sunday dinner menu changed, but we still took the time to sit together, eat, and socialize.  I can't pinpoint the exact time, but the family dinner started to drift off to when it was only holidays or special occasions, and now maybe one meal when I travel home to visit once or twice a year.

Do other American families still have a Sunday dinner or even dinner together of the evening through the week any more?  In today's ever busying society, I know many people who never cook everything they eat comes from a  fast food place or is a frozen meal.  Are people like me a dying breed?  I personally love to make a big meal and have my friends and family come sit, eat, and socialize with me.

Today I am making a meatloaf...something I have covered here before.  I am also making several side dishes to go with it and have invited friends over.  I hope they show up. Then My roommate, friends, and I can sit down and share a Sunday meal, like I used to back in the day.

Who was Colonel Sanders?

Harland David "Colonel" Sanders was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken company, now re-branded as KFC. His image remains iconic in KFC promotions.

At the age of 40, Sanders cooked chicken dishes and other meals for people who stopped at his service station in Corbin, Kentucky. Since he did not have a restaurant, he served customers in his adjacent living quarters. His local popularity grew, and Sanders moved to a motel and 142 seat restaurant, later Harland Sanders Café and Museum. Over the next nine years he developed his "secret recipe" for frying chicken in a pressure fryer that cooked the chicken much faster than pan frying.

Sanders was given the honorary title "Kentucky Colonel" in 1935 by Governor Ruby Laffoon. He was "re-commissioned" in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby.

It wasn't until 1950 that Sanders began developing his distinctive appearance, growing his trademark mustache and goatee and donning a white suit and string tie. He never wore anything else in public during the last 20 years of his life, using a heavy wool suit in the winter and a light cotton suit in the summer.

At age 65, Sanders' store having failed due to the new Interstate 75 reducing his restaurant's customer traffic, he took $105 from his first Social Security check and began visiting potential franchisees.

Dave Thomas, later founder of Wendy's Old Fashioned Burgers, was offered a chance to turn around a failing Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. He helped save the restaurant, and revolutionized the fast food industry by simplifying its menu from nearly one hundred items to just basic fried chicken and salads.

Sanders later used his stockholdings to create the Colonel Harland Sanders Trust and Colonel Harland Sanders Charitable Organization, which used the proceeds to aid charities and fund scholarships. His trusts continue to donate money to groups like the Trillium Health Care Centre; a wing of their building specializes in women's and children's care and has been named after him. The Sidney, British Columbia based foundation granted over $1,000,000 in 2007, according to its 2007 tax return.

Sanders died in Louisville, Kentucky, of pneumonia on December 16, 1980. He had been diagnosed with acute leukemia the previous June. His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol; after a funeral service at the Southern Baptist Seminary Chapel attended by more than 1,000 people. He was buried in his characteristic white suit and black western string tie in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.

Since his death, Sanders has been portrayed by voice actors in Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials in radio and an animated version of him has been used for television commercials.

Are You Ready for Some Football Snacks?

It's already week two of the NFL season and I have not covered any game time snacks...Shame on me! So here they are! Enjoy!!! 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

• 1/2 Cup favorite bbq sauce
• 1 large prebaked pizza crust - I like Boboli
• 1 1/2 cups cooked/diced chicken
• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 chopped sweet pepper...green, yellow...orange
• 1-2 tablespoons sliced green onions

Spread sauce on crust, top with remaining ingredients in order listed.  Bake as directed on pizza crust packaging. Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Baked Cheesy Salsa Dip

• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
•  1 cup shredded Swiss
•  ½ cup cream cheese
•  1/2 cup light mayonnaise
•  1 7-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
•  1 4-ounce can chopped green chili peppers, drained (these will be spicy)
•  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•  1 8oz can diced tomatoes
•  1/4 cup diced yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

 **Optional: Tabasco Sauce for an added spicy kick or take out the chili peppers if you want a milder dip

Directions

1.  Stir together cheeses, mayonnaise, cream cheese, corn, chili peppers, ½ of the can of tomatoes, and garlic powder in a mixing  bowl.

2.  Spread mixture into a 9-inch pie plate.

3.  Combine the remainder of the diced tomatoes,onion, and cilantro, cover,  and chill for an hour to allow flavors to combine (this will be placed on top of the hot dip after it is cooked).

4.  Bake cheese dish in a 350 degree oven 35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbling.

5.  Spoon chilled tomato mixture in the center of the hot cheese dip right before serving.

6.  Serve with tortilla chips, corn chips, veggies, or potato wedges

The weather sucks...but this cake doesn't!

Pink Lemonade Cake...an old friend submitted it to me.  She has also sent me the Frozen Lemonade Pie...me thinks she likes lemonade.  Anyhow...this thing was freaking incredible.  Of course I had to make my own adjustments, which I will describe below.  As for now enjoy this entry and hope this fat kid survives the week of earthquakes and hurricanes in Maryland...speaking of hurricanes....that's one of my favorite adult beverages.  Think I will enjoy one with a piece of this killer cake!  

The hurricane is an extremely sweet alcoholic drink made with fruit juice, syrup or grenadine and rum. It is one of many popular drinks served in New Orleans.

 The creation of this passion fruit-colored relative of a Daiquiri drink is credited to New Orleans tavern owner Pat O'Brien. In the 1940s, he needed to create a new drink to help him get rid of all of the less popular rum that local distributors forced him to buy before he could get a few cases of more popular liquors such as scotch and whiskey. He poured the concoction into hurricane-lamp-shaped glasses and gave it away to sailors. The drink caught on, and it has been a mainstay in the French Quarter ever since. It is more commonly served in a disposable plastic cup, as New Orleans laws permit drinking in public and leaving a bar with a drink, but prohibit public drinking from glass or metal containers.   ---Got some irony to it doesn't it?

Hurricane

 Ingredients:

•2 oz light rum
•2 oz dark rum
•2 oz passion fruit juice
•1 oz orange juice
•juice of a half a lime
•1 Tbsp simple syrup
•1 Tbsp grenadine
•orange slice and cherry for garnish

 Preparation:

1.Squeeze juice from half a lime into shaker over ice.
2.Pour the remaining ingredients into the cocktail shaker.
3.Shake well.
4.Strain into a hurricane glass.
5.Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

Pink Lemonade Layer Cake

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen and Kerri

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more, for coating pans
• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons sweetened pink lemonade drink powder - I used unsweetened
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 5 tablespoons frozen pink lemonade concentrate - I added more for a better lemon taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper or waxed paper.

Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions. To the batter, stir in the lemon zest, vanilla, and pink lemonade powder. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Carefully turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting by beating together the confectioners' sugar and remaining 1 cup butter until fluffy. Beat in the remaining frosting ingredients until combined.

Transfer one cake to a cake stand or large platter. Using an offset spatula, spread the top of the cake with a layer of frosting. Place the second cake on top of the first. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of both layers.

I got fancey and garnished it for the photo!

Drunken Chicken Master

I haven't been cooking much lately. It has been disgustingly hot here in the Baltimore/D.C. corridor and by some miracle of fate, I have developed a social life. (I've been dating this pretty awesome woman, spending lots of time at PW's with Mama, and hanging with the BFF aka the Fabulous Melissa,) Also, I have been having roommate issues that are beyond the control of this fat kid. Despite all of this...I did manage to cook a decent meal Sunday. Another roasted bird...I love chicken and I like it a lot of ways, but baked low and slow on a Sunday morning is my favorite.

Now this particular bird was done beer can style on a well washed, Mello Yello can. In said Mello Yello can, I filled it with water, rosemary, garlic, and chipoltle seasoning. I dressed the bird in olive oil and a seasoning concoction I will share with you at the end of this entry. I baked it in the oven on 175 for 4 hours then increased it to 250 for another hour and a half. The last hour, I cranked the oven up to 350 to finish cooking and crisping of the skin.

And, just in case there are readers that aren't familiar with beer can chicken...here is a brief history of it:

Beer Can Chicken is made by standing a prepared chicken upright on a partially filled can of beer and cooking it slowly in a barbecue or oven. The can goes into the opening of the chicken so that the beer evaporates and permeates the cooking chicken. It received the name dancing chicken due to way the chicken wobbles once the beer has evaporated and due to the fact the chicken is flavored with evaporated beer. The wobbling and falling usually indicates the chicken is done.

 

 

J.J.'s Chicken Rub

Measurements are approximate as I never measure.

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary
• ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• ¼ teaspoon chipolte season
• 1 teaspoon Season Salt
• ¼ teaspoon sage

Left for the roommate so she wouldn't screw
with my chicken!

Beautiful! Those drippings made a
delicious gravy!

Simple and delicious!

The One Year Birthday Entry...

Hard to believe it's been a year since I started this blog and I have managed to post at least once a month for a whole year. I hope to make this place bigger and better in the next year. If you want to give Cooking with J.J. A great birthday present...tell your friends, follow me on twitter, or like my fan page on Facebook. Thanks for reading this fat kids ramblings!

Now for the nitty gritty...Who doesn't love copy cat recipes? I know I do. This is one of my favorites. Who doesn't love those yummy little biscuits they give you baskets of at Red Lobster? Thats right folks, I present you:

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

This recipe is a variation of Red Lobsters "Cheddar Bay biscuits". Honestly, I like my way better. They are so GOOD!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450.
2. Combine Bisquick, milk, and cheddar cheese.
3. Stir together.
4. Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I usually use parchment paper.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
6. In a small sauce pan combine butter, garlic powder and old bay seasoning.
7. Heat until butter is melted.
8. Spoon butter mixture over hot biscuits.
9. Eat em' up! 

And since it is still summer and the dog days as they call them...lets talk lemonade. I love lemonade...pink, plain, strawberry, or raspberry. My favorite lemonade being from Chick fil a. If you live in an area that doesn't have a Chick fil a...all I can't say is...I'm sorry.  

Pink Lemonade Lemons

As a kid, I thought lemonade came in a powder form in a pack or a canister. As I got older...I discovered real lemonade. Now when I am feeling lazy or I have kids at the house, I do fall back upon the Kool-Aid or Country Time brands. Now for myself...I need real lemons and real sugar and real water and real ice. It doesn't get much more basic than that folks. You can can control tartness Vs sweetness when you make real lemonade. Did you also know there is such a thing as pink lemonade lemons? They are really pink! I learned this a few weeks ago on Martha Stewart when I was too lazy to change the channel...I guess that annoying bitch is useful after all!

Here are a couple recipes I enjoy...

Lemonade

• 2 quarts plus 3/4 cup cold water
• 3/4 cup sugar - of course you can use as little or as much sugar as you like!
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced 

1. In a small saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup of water with the sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature.

2. In a large pitcher, combine the remaining 2 quarts of water with the lemon juice and sugar syrup. Add the lemon slices and refrigerate until chilled. Serve the lemonade over ice.

Strawberry Lemonade

• 2 large strawberries
• Ice
• 3 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 ounces water
• 1 1/2 ounces Simple Syrup
• 2 lemon wedges 

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries. Add ice and the lemon juice, water and Simple Syrup. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Garnish with the lemon wedges.

J.J.'s Adult Lemonade

• 6 oz Jack Daniel's® Tennessee whiskey – I'm not a whiskey fan...I use vodka.
• 2 oz sweet and sour mix
• 20 oz Sprite or 7Up
• 4 splash grenadine syrup

Pour the Jack Daniels, Sweet and Sour over ice into a collins glass (or similar). Now pour in the Soda allowing the soda bubbles to do all the mixing. Drink and enjoy! Adding a splash of Grenadine Cherry Syrup over the top will give it a sweeter flavor, almost like "pink-lemonade."

Serves Four