From an old post The top of the love cake. Click on pics to get a bigger view.

Chicken wings, potato salad and bake beans.

You can make your own wings at home it is easy and less expensive. If you like to cook, you get to create your own sauce. I made four different kinds, so simple because you prepare all the wings the same way then add your different sauces to each batch. Cook in no time and smells, taste and looks amazing.

No need to create a new BBQ sauce if you already have one, simply add a little pineapple juice and let those wings bathe in its goodness.

Honey Mustard: Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and honey. I am sure any mustard would be OK, I just used the one I had

Some mustards are more tart however, Dijon has a milder taste.I don't measure ingredients much so I am just giving you the ideas.

HOT AND SPICY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hot wings- mixture of sriracha hot sauce (Asian store) generous amount, honey, red pepper sauce, (Asian market), little soy sauce and pineapple juice. The red pepper sauce has some sweetness to it so use the hot sauce as your base and add the other ingredients sparingly until you have a good combination of flavors.

We decided to have a wing night; Awesome each wing dish has a different flavor

Jalapeno sauce - Is a combination of grated garlic and jalapeno infused in vegetable oil
at the end add little pineapple juice. OK so I use pineapple juice a lot but it is naturally sweet and it is a wonder of essence that add flavors and tenderness to dishes.

BBQ







Check it out, what is your flavor? we have-very red one is HOT WINGS

the rectangular plate is BBQ

Bowl with the Jalapeno is GUESS?

The one that looks sort of yellow is HONEY MUSTARD

Crockpot Lasagna and Facaccia

I never thought of making Lasagna in a crockpot but a friend brought it to a potluck and it was very good. So I made it. Well it is not a dish I have perfected because I made it one night and I fell asleep and it cooked too long and so the edges and bottom burnt a little, the rest was very good. I made it from my recipe and added extra homemade sauce. I think I will make it again some time. It is easy because I usually cook my noodles first and this time I just layered it ( like a casserole dish) in the crock pot and leave it to cook.

One of my sons made the facaccia bread with herbs . It was very good and it went well with the lasagna.. Have quite a few self made chefs in the family.

Trying new recipes are awesome. Crock pot meals are perfect for the family who don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. Use your crock pot more this season. There are so many wonderful recipes you can make in the crock pot from entrees to dessert. You don't have to worry about keeping your food hot. It will keep hot in the crock pot and you can remove the dish right to your table without dish it into a serving dish. Even for a more elegant setting the crock pot can still be used just create a covering around the dish and set on the table. Have fun.

Vegetable salads always brighten a meal. This a colorful salad that goes well with all these dishes whether they are served together or alone. They are healthy and just add a fresh taste to the meal. When you make your meal sometimes just think of what vegetables goes well with a dish.

Salmon, tuna puppies penne and salad

This meal was thrown together with not much consideration. I thought for a moment why am I making pasta with fish . I heard no complains because the tuna puppies ( I call them) or hush puppies goes well with the pasta and the fresh, salad wow!!!!!

So I made tuna puppies , I really need to look up where the name hush puppies came from but since I made mine from a can of tuna, I am just going to continue calling them tuna puppies. This is what I did.

Recipe

I got a box of chicken stuffing mix, small can of tuna in oil, two tbsp. of cornmeal, bowl with extra cornmeal for coating, oil for frying. ( do not add salt). Hydrate the stuffing in hot tap water, mix with your hand till it is mushy, add cornmeal and tuna (don't pour off the oil that the tuna is in, add it as well) mix well, form mixture into balls then take them and toss one ball at a time around loosely in your hand with cornmeal, letting the excess meal fall through your fingers back in the bowl. Deep fry in your favorite oil. I just use vegetable oil.

Don"t you think salmon is awesome. Well the way I cooked it here may be a little unusual but I took the pic while it was still cooking. It is in garlic infused oil, seasoned with pepper and salt. Does not need much more than that. If it will make you more comfortable just remove the skin and you will have a nice salmon steak. The easiest way to remove the skin is to rest skin portion on the surface you are handling the salmon; hold skin at the beginning of one end. Place the blade of the knife between the flesh and the skin, pointing the sharp side of the blade away from you and slightly pointing down, cut the flesh from the skin. Salmon cooks in minutes and is delicious and nutritious. Fresh herbs are a great enhancement to salmon dish. Infused garlic in oil and salmon has the perfect marriage.

This is a quick dinner, but oh so good!

Chinese food

How I made the sweet and sour chicken. I placed the chicken breast on a baking sheet, sprinkle chicken with a little salt and pepper. Place in a preheated 350 degrees oven. I removed them just when they are done do not over cook. Then cut into three pieces lengthwise, then across into squares about the size of the sweet and sour chicken pieces you get at the restaurant. then dip the pieces into lightly seasoned flour. Then dip into a pancake batter with the consistency that stays on the chicken and deep fry.

Broccoli and beef , I cut the thin slices of beef into strips ,braise in a little oil and when cooked I tossed in the broccoli with little soy sauce and corn starch mixed in water. Do not over cook the broccoli. The sauce for the sweet and sour chicken, I use pickled red chili and cherry juice, and little water.( depending on how much you want to make. Bring cherry juice and and chili sauce to a boil then strain return to the burner on low heat, and mix in the corn starch mixture a little at a time to get the right consistency like the restaurant.

Home made Chinese food

sweet and sour chicken

Lets make it a Chinese food night. I made broccoli beef, sweet and sour chicken and rice awesome!!!!!

Johnny cakes

Johnny cakes have some similarities to the Native American fried bread. This is the Jamaican or Caribbean fried bread. It is simple to make. No one uses measuring utensils. Everyone's estimation may vary but I have never really tasted one that was not good. It is simply a mixture of flour, baking powder and salt. (secret ing. pinch or two of baking soda) not a secret any more, lol. Make a dough take off pieces and form into little balls then flatten and round the edges fry and serve . It is like a heavy biscuit. It is served on the island with breakfast mostly. But frankly I can have it at any meal. It is just a bread, right?

.

Roast beef

Thanks giving has moved on lets save the left over turkey for another time. this roast beef is tender and succulent. The carmelization on the meat is excellent and it is bursting with flavor. It is cooked with fresh herbs and spices. Let me share a little secret with you. if you want the best flavored meat, try this before cooking, make a little seasoning of your own with chopped green onion, black pepper and salt and thyme fresh time is best. Grind all this together, and punch holes in meat at random spots, do not make holes wider that the knife blade because you don't want juices to escape, make the holes deep but not all the way through the meat then stuff the holes with the season mixture and cook with the the hole sides down to seal them while cooking.With this method a cheap cut of meat when sliced will look like an expensive dish and amazingly good. One of the ways we cook it in Jamaica.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So who is making the cocktails this year?

Well done guys for since we don't consume
alcoholic beveraages, grape juice is a good

start. But we need more lol. Thats my

moms favorite drink. Love you mom wish

you were here.

Isn't that a beautiful centerpiece. The colors are joyful. But look at that soup. Creamy pumpkin soup, just warm up as you come out of the cold and wonderful smells of foods makes you salivate and prepare your taste buds for the feast.

Stuffing made by one of my sons.

What is your family tradition on Thanksgiving? For us one of the things we do is each immediate family member and partner makes a dish of choice. Thanksgiving can become pretty interesting at times. We do always have the traditional foods as well. It is fascinating because everyone gets involved in the planning and become so creative.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!

click on pics for a better view

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!

This year we served our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday instead of Thursday. We had many families so we made it less formal and used paper plates and utensils that looked very good. Place some of the foods on pedestal to take the eyes from the simple setting. So most eyes are looking down instead of side view so the plates still look pretty but the foods are amazing enough to carry the show. Lay the plates and utensils out it accents the table cloth. Do not stock them in a corner. tacky tacky. Containers that are not table worthy like foil containers, (like in the pic) simply use a towel and make a basket around it. Be creative. Place your bowl in the plates if you are having soups. Once the food is tasted everyone forgets the paper plates ( don't really like paper plates and plastic forks but in this case sure saves on clean up) Plus we had families coming at different times so it worked out well. We had more times together this way, because Fridays are our kind of happy hour, we bring in the Sabbath with songs of praise and worship and we are not hampered with more work of cleaning up.

Carob Cake

Cake in Mins.

Chocolaty good

Delicious

This Carob cake is delicious and so pleasing to the eyes. Carob is a great substitute for chocolate and it is much healthier. In this particular recipe I also used stuvia as the sweetener. Perfect for any one who is cutting back on sugar. Healthy can also be delicious.

Breakfast for a hungry son

My youngest son was having a hungry morning. I thought I would make him this delicious breakfast. He loved. It is not extravagant but hearty. I thought I would make the pancakes my way so I decided to add some cooked turkey bacon that I cut into tiny bits. The great thing about pancakes you can make them any way you want them. So fluffy and light and scrumptious