Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemon and Asparagus Recipe

Well, hubby is out of town again but I cooked supper anyway. We had too much leftover of course so I called our wonderful neighbor whose whole family we just adore to come and take some of the food off our hands. She loved the dish and I so I emailed her the recipe. Well I thought I'd share it with other moms too. So here it is (and it really is very delicious.)

Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Lemon and Asparagus (A Martha Stewart recipe)

1 1/2 lbs. new potatoes halved
3 tablespoons of butter (I used more)
salt and pepper
1 package of chicken legs
1 bunch of asparagus trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 lemon cut into 8 wedges
thyme (calls for fresh, but I just use ground 'cause it's in the pantry)

1. Preheat oven 475 degrees. Place potatoes and half the butter in a shallow roasting pan (less than 3 inches deep). Season with salt and pepper. Roast tossing once until potatoes are golden about 20 minutes.
2. Place chicken skin side up on top of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until chicken begins to brown about 20 minutes.
3. Scatter asparagus, lemon, remaining butter and sprinkle lightly with ground thyme on top of chicken. Roast until asparagus is tender and chicken is opaque throughout, about 15 minutes more.
Serve drizzled with pan juices.

Enjoy ya'll!

Georgia Girl Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I'm a Georgia Girl--a Southern Belle--a Georgia Peach. Yep, that's me. I'm a proud Southerner, and I know from experience that there's nowhere else I'd rather be. I've lived in the South all my life (except for a very brief time in Southern California which cannot possibly be confused with the South and right now living in Orlando, FL which may be in the South but isn't like the South I know at all--but anyway). I love the South. I love its warmth, its charm and its hospitality. I love the people, the culture, the homes and the food. Oh, the food. I can't think of anywhere that has yummier food than the South with its BBQ, fried chicken, fresh vegetables that go straight from the garden to the table, warm buttermilk biscuits drenched in melting butter and peach cobbler that makes you wonder if you've died and gone to heaven.

Well the Georgia Girl is going to share another recipe with all of you so you can have a little taste of the South-- wherever you may be.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Here's what you'll need to serve 8 people:

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

4 cloves minced garlic

8 soft sandwich rolls

Your favorite BBQ sauce if you want it, but you probably won't need it. This BBQ is so moist and flavorful, we don't use any store bought sauce with it.

Directions: Cook low and slow-- APPROXIMATELY 300 degrees for 3 hours. All great Southern cooks just know how to check it and know when it'll be done. That's something your Mama's gotta teach ya.

1. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cayenne, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and then rub over the pork.

2. Place pork in 5 qt. Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot.

3. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, garlic, 1/2 cup water and pour over the pork. Cover pot and place in oven. Bake until pork is very tender and easily pulls away with your fingers.

4. When done, remove pork to work surface and save the pan juice. Let pork cool enough to pull apart with your fingers. Pull pork and place in a large bowl. Toss with pan juice to moisten. You probably won't need all of it, but be sure to save the juice for moistening your leftovers.

5. Split rolls, pile on the pork and top with extra sauce if you like.

These Southern sandwiches are my family's favorites. They are simple and they are good. You just can't beat that.

I hope you all enjoy them as much as we do.

Sweet Italian Sausage Quiche--So Easy and So Good

So I decided that my daughter Taylor's 2nd birthday this year should be a Birthday Brunch since we had family visiting us the weekend of her birthday, and they would need to leave early that day to head back home. I had never hosted a brunch and so the mad search for recipes began. I wanted a variety, and I wanted to be sure I would have things other than Publix's donuts for the kids to eat. In my searching, I came across a recipe for a quiche. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it was close--so I changed it up a little and made it my own. It was a big hit at the party, and I have made it so many times now that I've got it down to perfection. I've even got a secret tip for you, but you'll have to read to the end to find out what it is. Here is the recipe.

Sweet Italian Sausage Quiche

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

4 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 cup sour cream
2 frozen, unbaked pie shells

Set out pie shells to thaw. Squeeze sausage from its casing onto skillet sprayed with non-stick spray. Fry sausage meat, scrambling it into small pieces. Drain. In a bowl, mix eggs and milk. Add cheeses, sour cream and cooked sausage to the bowl and mix together. Pour into thawed pie shells and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Ovens vary so watch closely.

The key ingredient to this recipe is the Sweet Italian Sausage. This quiche just isn't the same if you substitute regular breakfast sausage. And now here is that tip I promised you--bake the quiches the night before so you don't have to get up an hour before everybody else and cook. Bake them, let them cool completely, cover them with some aluminum foil and place in the fridge. The next morning you can either reheat them in the oven or serve onto plates and reheat them in the microwave. We wake up hungry in the mornings so we usually use the microwave method, and the quiche takes great. So leave the cereal boxes in the pantry and try something different one morning. Or if you are like us and like having breakfast for supper on occasion, you'll love this quiche so much you'll eat it for supper too.

Enjoy!!!

Corn Chowder for the Crew

For the moms like me who live in SEC country, you know that every Saturday during football season is Game Day and whether you are watching the Georgia Bulldogs play (like we are) or some other team, the day is devoted to football, friends and food. Many Saturdays you find yourself hosting a small crowd and I'm not just talking about your husband and your kids. If your husband is like mine, he likes to watch the game with friends. And if the friends aren't available that day, you still have to have the food. So here is a recipe that is easy, delicious and feeds a crowd. Your husband will love it. His friends will love it. And most importantly, your kids will probably even eat it.

Corn Chowder*

serves 20

1 diced red bell pepper

1 diced green bell pepper

1 diced yellow bell pepper

1 medium diced onion

4 stalks diced celery

1 small can undrained cream style corn

1 small can undrained whole kernal corn

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

2 bay leaves

2 qt chicken stock

1 qt whipping cream

2 cups roux (50/50 ratio of fat and flour)

3/4 cup sugar

salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, saute the peppers, onion, celery, corn, cayenne pepper, black pepper and bay leaves--sweating the vegetables. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Add the roux and simmer 10 - 15 minutes. Gradually add the heavy cream as you stir. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

*This recipe is an adaptation of the recipe for Corn and Crab Chowder found at Flamingo Cafe in Destin, Florida. To create the original recipe, simply add desired amount of crab upon serving the chowder. We tried the recipe both ways and prefer the corn chowder minus the crab.

I made a pot of this chowder a couple of weeks ago and shared it with our Georgia Southern alumni neighbors who also loved it. They are a family of five and we are a family of four--and we were all still eating on it days later. Each day it tasted better and better because the ingredients had time to come together so feel free to make this ahead of time, store it in the fridge and warm it up before the guests arrive. This is one of those great dishes to make on game days, over winter vacation or anytime you are entertaining a crowd. Try it--you won't be disappointed.