'Tater Gook

This is certainly a favorite around our house. And so easy to make. These are all that you will need.

Cut up as many potatoes as you want, cover with a couple of inches of water, and bring to a boil. You can use any type of potato you like and you can take the skin off or not. We like to use the reds because they are a little firmer.

Boil the potatoes for fifteen minutes.

In the meantime slice up an onion.

After the potatoes have boiled for fifteen minutes add the onions to the pot and boil for five more minutes.

Drain into a colander.

And return to the pot.

Now add some ranch dressing; about this much.

Stir the mixture together until it looks like.....well, gook.

We like to cut in some fresh chives just because we have them (purely optional).

And it's ready to serve.

 How hard was that? Looks good beside some ribs!

Chicken Diablo

You'd pay good money in a restaurant for this dish, yet still it is easy to make. You'll need four large boneless skinless chicken breasts and these.

First you'll need to chop eight ounces of mushrooms (2 ounces per breast) into small pieces.

Now would be a good time to beat your meat.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.

Add a coupe of cloves of garlic and saute for thirty seconds or so, then add the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms until they begin to release their moisture. Stir in enough balsamic vinegar to season all the mushrooms, stirring frequently. Continue to cook and stir until all the moisture is absorbed, about five minutes. Spoon mushrooms into eight ounces ( two ounces per breast ) of softened cream cheese.

Mix together well.

Lightly oil a casserole dish.

Spoon an equal amount of cream cheese mixture onto each pounded breast.

 Lightly roll chicken breasts and secure with toothpicks (you're basically going to pull both ends together). Place in dish.

Repeat with the rest.

Cover with Dijon mustard.

And the brown sugar.

And top with pecan pieces.

Bake uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 35-45 minutes, until done. It will look like this.

And serve with your favorite side. Be sure to spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken.

Very Chocolate Martini

In honor of Marie (Mama's) birthday, we're posting her favorite drink.  To make it you'll need these.

Drizzle a frozen martini glass with chocolate syrup.  Don't be stingy, it's chocolate!

To a shaker add a handful of ice, one jigger of vodka, one jigger of Martini Gold Chocolate Mixer, a splash of 1/2 and 1/2, a tablespoon of vanilla ice cream and of course, a squeeze of chocolate syrup.  Shake well. Place a Hershey Kiss in the bottom of the glass and strain the mixture into the glass.  Top with whipped cream and another Hershey Kiss.

Cheers!

Dad's Spaghetti

This is one of my favorite dishes. Although it is tomato and meat sauce based, this is not your traditional Italian style pasta. For this dish you will need these.

In a twelve inch skillet heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.

To this add a whole yellow onion chopped.

Saute for a minute or two, then add a couple of cloves of garlic and cook for a minute longer.

 Now add a 14.5 ounce can of whole tomatoes (squish 'em up in a bowl first), a 14.5 ounce can of tomato sauce (we used two 8 ounce cans of salt free), a half a can of water, a dash of hot pepper sauce, a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce, 3/4 teaspoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of sugar, a tablespoon of Italian seasoning crushed, and  eight ounces of sliced mushrooms.

Bring sauce to a low boil and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Set a timer for twenty five minutes. At the twenty five minute mark start browning a pound to a pound and a half of ground sirloin (don't chinch out here; you don't want a greasy mess). Lots of twists of ground pepper.

As soon as it is browned

Drain off the liquid and stir into the sauce. Correct the seasonings (You'll probably need a little salt if you used salt free tomatoes).

Place a cover loosely over the sauce and reduce the heat to keep a low simmer.

Begin cooking eight ounce of vermicelli as per the box instructions. Drain (do not rinse) and stir into the sauce.

Mix well, cover the mixture tightly, and reduce the heat to warm. Wait at least ten minutes and it should look like this.

And into a pasta bowl it goes. I like a little parm cheese on mine.

Now I know some of you are going "I don't like my pasta and sauce mixed together". Well, get over it bitches! The vermicelli expands as it absorbs the sauce and that's what makes this so good. It's even better the next day when you nuke it. I've tried using whole wheat and/or healthier pastas but I have not found one that will absorb the sauce. If you know of one please let me know.

Baby Back Ribs

Here's a quick and easy way to get that great smoky flavor in your ribs without spending a lot of time doing it. And you can use your favorite BBQ sauce too! This is all you will need.

Soak some wood chips (we like hickory but you can use whatever you like) for at least 20 minutes before you're ready to put the ribs on the grill.

Of course you'll need some good baby backs.

First salt and pepper both sides. I cut these in half so that they would fit better.

Time to throw 'em on the grill.

In the mean time mix up a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water in a small bowl.

After about six or seven minutes flip 'em over and baste with the vinegar/water mixture, add some wood chips to the fire and smoke away. I've done this on a gas grill and it works but not quite as well. Don't know why...... This will slow down the cooking time, allow the meat to absorb the smoke, and prevent the meat from burning. Repeat this for about 35 minutes or so or until desired doneness. (A quick note about cooking times. I know some of ya'll are going " I don't grill by time. 'Piece a meat like that I just smoke a cigarette and then flip  it". Or a bigger piece of meat might be "When I finish this beer it'll be ready to turn". Or my favorite: "I gonna take a leak and then she'll be ready!". It's not an exact science. What ever works for you.). So now it will look something like this.

Time to add your favorite BBQ sauce We like this on ribs. You can find it at Fresh Market.

Slop it on good on one side, flip it over and do the other.

After about two minutes you should get a char like this.

Two minutes on the other side and it's time to take 'em up.

Let's eat!