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White Christmas Peppermint Cake-The Baking Bible Review and Giveaway

I received a copy of The Baking Bible Bible and Rose's Heavenly Cake strips to review and try out a recipe. No other compensation was provided. All opinions, as always are my own. 

Recently I was given the great opportunity to receive a copy of Rose Levy Beranbaum's new book, The Baking Bible, and was asked to make the White Christmas Peppermint Cake (p 31). Since I've admitted several (hundred) times here that I'm not a baker, I have to admit that until a few months ago I never heard of Rose Levy Beranbaum. A friend of mine got to interview her and mentioned it on Facebook, and I said "Who?" I could pretty much hear my friend laughing at me through Facebook. Turns out she's an award-winning baker and author of many cookbooks, including The Cake Bible and The Bread Bible. So, imagine the irony when I was giving this opportunity a few months later.

Now, I'm really not joking when I say I'm not a baker. I'm also a horrible cake decorator. I could lie and say I loved making this recipe and the photos are great, but I won't and they aren't.

White-Christmas-Peppermint-Cake

 

What I will say is this book is for the baking enthusiast, those that really enjoy baking! It would make a great Christmas gift for the bakers in your life (or yourself!). It includes all kinds of cakes, pies, cookies, candy, breads, and pastries. She even threw in a few recipes for preserves. The book also includes all kinds of tips to ensure success when making these recipes, or just baking in general, and the end of the book is a section on ingredients (what type to use, how to store, measure, etc).

 

Sliced-White-Christmas-Peppermint-Cake

 

Today I'm giving away a signed copy of The Baking Bible and a set of Rose's Heavenly Cake Strips, made by Harold Import Company. The cake strips are designed to keep cakes from over browning, reduce doming, and keep cakes moist.

Rose's-Heavenly-Cake-Strip

 

I plan on sharing with you how making the cake was for me, and have decided to include it in a separate post, which will be up soon. For now, at the bottom of this post, you can find the PDF of the recipe for the White Christmas Peppermint Cake right from the cookbook, used with permission from the publisher. I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my technical support assistant, Charles Smith. He's been working with me behind the scenes for a few months now, doing all the technical stuff that I don't have a clue how to do, and he's responsible for helping me get the PDF readable for you.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. 

 

It appears you don't have a PDF plugin for this browser. You can download the PDF here. 

Spicy Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken

Juicy, flavorful Spicy Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken. Spicy cayenne pepper breading with a hint of buttermilk, this passes the "cold chicken" test.

Spicy Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken- Juicy, flavorful fried chicken brined in buttermilk.

 

What is the best fried chicken you ever had? Around here the pickings are slim. We have a KFC, a few of them actually and I have to admit that I love them, minus one bad experience years ago but that was out of state so I digress, and a few local restaurants make it, plus there's Walmart's chicken, but none of them really stand out for me. This spicy buttermilk brined fried chicken is supposed to be like Popeyes, but I don't know because I've never been to a Popeyes. A quick search just now tells me the closest one is 40 miles away. Update: Since I originally posted this, we have gotten a Popeye's around here and I don't think it's exactly the same. I believe the coating on this version is thicker. 

Spicy Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken

Juicy, flavorful Spicy Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken. Spicy cayenne pepper breading with a hint of buttermilk, this passes the "cold chicken" test.

 

I chose to buy chicken already cut up rather than butcher my own (why butcher if you don't have to, right?), brined it in buttermilk for several hours, coated it in seasoned flour, dipped the pieces in a hot sauce mixture, then back in the flour. Double coating in the flour makes the breading thick and crispy. I recommend letting the battered chicken sit for 5-10 minutes before frying. This ensures that the breading sticks! I don't usually use peanut oil, but I love the flavor it gives fried chicken, so I did here. Most of the chicken will reach 165 degrees around 18 minutes, but if your breasts are particularly large....go ahead, snicker, I'll wait.....okay, are you done yet?.....sorry, dirty mind....Anyhoo, they might take up to 25 minutes. As you can see by the platter the breasts are much darker than the rest of the chicken, but they aren't burned, just extra crispy and I love it.

For my 5 year old, I took the breading off before serving it to her. It's not overly spicy, just not suited for my picky little girl. It's weird, at age two she was eating hot wings and raw onions, now she won't touch anything spicy.

The breading on the chicken is amazing, the chicken itself is juicy with just a hint of buttermilk flavor, and my husband says it passes the "cold chicken" test. Just don't reheat it in the microwave, or it will be soggy! I would put it in the oven at 350 degrees until just hot, 10-15 minutes.

Do you love chicken as much as my family? Check out my 12 Best Chicken Recipes for more ideas.

WANT EVEN MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM MYSELF AND MY FAVORITE FOOD BLOGGERS? FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, OR FACEBOOK, WHERE I SHARE NEW RECIPES DAILY. YOU CAN ALSO SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL TO GET NEWLY POSTED RECIPES FOR FREE!

Adapted slightly from From Away , as found on Meg's Everyday Indulgence.

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Spicy Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken

Delicious Spicy Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Southern American
Servings: 6
Calories: 1195kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 6 pounds chicken pieces (breasts, wings, thighs, and legs)
  • 2 quarts peanut oil
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • 4 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup cayenne pepper sauce (I used Franks Red Hot)
  • ⅓ cup water

Instructions

  • Place the chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl or a deep baking pan, pour buttermilk over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate, turning at least once, for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
  • Combine flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a gallon size freezer bag. Steal the bag tightly and mix well. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cayenne pepper sauce, and water.
  • Working a few pieces at a time, remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk, allowing excess buttermilk to drip off. Place the chicken in the bag, steal tightly, and shake well. Remove chicken pieces from the flour mixture, shake off excess, dip in cayenne pepper mixture, then back in the flour, shake again. Place on a large plate. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (to keep chicken warm while frying remaining pieces). Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot like a cast-iron pot, over medium high heat to 350 degrees. Fry the chicken, a few pieces at a time without overcrowding, turning carefully several times, until golden brown and 165 degrees F. Remove to a large platter lined with paper towel to drain, then keep warm in the preheated oven until all the chicken is done.

Notes

Adapted from From Away

Nutrition

Calories: 1195kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 73g | Fat: 67g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 328mg | Sodium: 1590mg | Potassium: 919mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1505IU | Vitamin C: 35.8mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 7.6mg

Beef Mushroom Stew

This tender Beef Mushroom Stew with carrots and onions in a red wine gravy is the perfect Winter comfort food. Serve with mashed potatoes on the side for a complete meal. 

Photo of Beef Mushroom Stew in a white bowl with blue trim on a wood table

There are a few things you need for really good beef stew. The first is to simmer the stew meat for a long time. The second is wait to add the vegetables until the meat has been simmering for at least an hour. The third is, if you want potatoes in the stew, cook them separately rather than in the stew, and then add them only to the stew you are serving immediately. Or better yet, don't put potatoes in the stew at all, instead serve them with mashed potatoes on the side.

This beef and mushroom stew isn't the prettiest looking dish, instead it's comfort food at it's finest. Winter will be here before you know it, and this stew would be perfect for a snowy day.

Here is how to make beef stew with mushrooms: 

Start by cutting up boneless chuck roast, trimming the excess fat off, into chunks no bigger than 1 ½ inches. The smaller the pieces of meat, the quicker they will become nice and tender.

 

Beef-Stew-Meat

Then coat the meat in flour seasoned with salt and pepper,

Photo of flour coated beef cubes

and brown in a dutch oven with some olive oil, removing once browned.

Photo of beef cubes cooking in a cast iron pot

Add in beef broth and red wine, scrapping up the browned bits at the bottom of the dutch oven, then return the browned meat to the pot, add some tomato paste, bay leaves, and thyme, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for an hour before adding your veggies.

Photo of beef mushroom stew simmering without vegetables added

After an hour, add in chopped carrots and onions,

Photo of Beef Mushroom Stew with carrots and onions added

but wait another half hour to add the chopped mushrooms and garlic. The mushrooms will shrink quickly.

Photo of Beef Mushroom Stew with mushrooms and garlic added

 

Beef Mushroom Stew 

 

Beef Stew Simmering

^Old photo. I like to torture myself by leaving them up. 

Simmer for half an hour more, then remove the bay leaves (I forget to do that ALL THE TIME!) and serve.

You might wonder why I used 1 and ¼ cup of red wine in this beef stew recipe, instead of just 1 cup. It's because that's exactly what was left in the bottle of wine, and I didn't think my husband would be too happy if I only left ¼ cup of wine in the bottle! Or if I drank it instead, then I would just want more, and then I'd probably decide to forget about the Beef Mushroom Stew, and dinner wouldn't happen, and it would just be a big mess. So, yes, 1 and ¼ cup red wine.

Here are some mashed potatoes recipes to serve with the Beef Mushroom Stew:

Cream Cheese and Parsley Mashed Potatoes 

Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes 

Ranch Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes 

Original photo from October 2014. Post updated January 2019.
Beef Mushroom Stew

WANT EVEN MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM MYSELF AND MY FAVORITE FOOD BLOGGERS? FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, OR INSTAGRAM,  WHERE I SHARE NEW RECIPES DAILY. YOU CAN ALSO SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL TO GET NEWLY POSTED RECIPES FOR FREE! 

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5 from 1 vote

Beef Mushroom Stew

This tender Beef Mushroom Stew with carrots and onions in a red wine gravy is the perfect Winter comfort food. Serve with mashed potatoes on the side.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes
Course: Soup/Stew
Cuisine: American
Keyword: beef and mushroom stew recipe, homemade beef stew
Servings: 8
Calories: 464kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds boneless chuck roast ,trimmed and cut into chunks no bigger than 1 ½ inches
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 2 cups chopped baby portabella mushrooms
  • 2 cups chopped carrots
  • 1 ½ cups chopped red onion
  • 3 cloves garlic ,minced
  • 1 ¼ cup red concord grape wine
  • ½ cup flour
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 4 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

  • In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Place cut chuck roast on a large plate, sprinkle the flour mixture over the beef, tossing with your hands to coat evenly in the flour. Shake off excess flour. Add two tablespoon olive oil to a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, brown the beef, working in batches, adding additional olive oil between batches. Remove browned beef to a large plate, set aside.
  • Once all the beef is browned, add the beef broth and red wine to the dutch oven, scrapping up the browned bits from the bottom with a large spoon. Stir in tomato paste. Return the browned beef to the dutch oven, add the bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
  • After 1 hour, add the chopped carrots and onions to the dutch oven, continue to simmer, uncovered for ½ hour. Add the chopped mushrooms and garlic, simmer for an additional ½ hour, uncovered, or until the beef and carrots are tender. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 818mg | Potassium: 951mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5490IU | Vitamin C: 4.2mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 4.8mg

 

Mini Apple Pies Fall Favorites

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Price Chopper #BakingAdvantEdge. All opinions are mine alone.

The only thing I like about Fall is the recipes. Pumpkin, apples, soups galore! Heating up the oven to do some baking, even though I'm always looking for new Baking Ideas since it really isn't my strength. I find a lot of my ideas on Pinterest, and have fallen in love with the Price Chopper's Fall Baking Giveaway and Fall In Love With Fall boards. When I do bake, I like it to be as simple as possible, and take short-cuts like using Pillsbury Crescent Rolls as pie dough. I like the sweet flavor the crescent rolls give, and even more I like that I don't have to make dough!

Price Chopper helps me with all of my baking needs, and this fall they are looking for great Fall recipes and giving away 10 KitchenAid Mixers along with $100 Price Chopper Gift Card to the creators of ten recipes chosen at random. You can enter your recipe by following the instructions located here. The contest is open now until November 1. You can also check out the Price Chopper Baking AdvantEdge page for more info.  Thanks to #CollectiveBias for letting me share my Fall inspired recipe today!

 

Mini Apple Pies

 

For these Mini Apple Pies, I used Pillsbury Crescent Rolls as the base, canned apple pie filling, and topped them with a mixture of brown and white sugar crumbled together with just a little bit of Crisco butter flavor baking sticks.

Price Chopper Crescent Roll Collage

First, I rolled out the dough, and then used a rolling pin to close up the seams,

 

Rolled Out Crescent Roll

 

cut the dough into circles with a 3-inch cookie cutter, and placed them into my muffin pan lined with silicone liners (regular liners are fine, too!).

 

Crescent Roll Dough in Cups

 

Then, I chopped up about a cup of apple pie filling, and topped each dough round with 1 tablespoon of filling.

 

Mini Apple Pie Filling

 

Topped with the sugar mixture, and baked them in a 375 degree oven for about 18 minutes.

 

Baked Mini Apple Pies

 

Let them cool on wire racks, and immediately devoured them! Or, I should say, my best friends husband immediately devoured them. He said "These are really good!" with a full mouthful of one, and their son liked them, too!

 

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5 from 2 votes

Mini Apple Pies

Mini Apple Pies made simple with Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 12
Calories: 140kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
  • 1 cup apple pie filling ,diced
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour ,plus extra for dusting
  • 2 teaspoons Crisco Butter Flavor Baking Sticks ,plus extra for greasing pans
  • dash ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Carefully roll out crescent rolls onto a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to seal the pre-cut seams. Cut the dough into circles with a 3-inch cookie cutter. Place liners into a 12 cup cupcake pan, grease the liners lightly with a bit of Crisco, then sprinkle lightly with flour.
  • Place a cut out circle in each of the liners, pressing down on the dough to form a small "cup". Top the dough with one tablespoon diced apple pie filling in each of the cups.
  • In a small bowl stir together brown sugar, white sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the Crisco, then use your fingers to mix together until mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle sugar mixture over the top of each apple filled dough.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until dough is golden . Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 140kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 171mg | Potassium: 22mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.2mg

 

Slow-Cooker Acorn Squash and Apple Soup for #SundaySupper

After a busy summer, and a short blogging vacation last month, I am finally back to #SundaySupper for this weeks Slow-Cooker event hosted by Christie of A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures and Heather of Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks. The recipes being shared this week range from soups to desserts and everything in between, including a few I never would think to make in the slow-cooker!

I've been receiving a lot of squash from my CSA in the past few weeks, and some of it I had never cooked before, like acorn squash. I was determined to use something from my CSA loot for today's recipe, seeing as how I've been really bad about using all that produce (I know, horrible!) and can't even find time to freeze it, or I remember it at midnight and really don't feel like it. This Acorn Squash and Apple Soup uses two medium-sized acorn squash and sweet Gala apples, with a little sweet onion for extra zing.

After chopping up the acorn squash and apples, along with the sweet onion, chopped carrots, and garlic, I put them in the slow-cooker and covered them with chicken broth;

Squash and Apple Soup in the Slow Cooker

and stirred in just a little bit of pepper. Set the slow-cooker to HIGH and let the soup simmer for about 5 hours. Then I pureed it with my new immersion blender (my old one broke a few weeks ago, if you remember my mentioning my pure sadness over it), stirred in a half cup of milk and was ready to serve.

This soup is creamy, slightly sweet and peppery, and reminds me of the Pumpkin Soup I make every Thanksgiving, only sweeter. Don't get me wrong, it's not overly sweet, just the perfect balance!

Slow-Cooker-Acorn-Squash-and-Apple-Soup

 

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did, and find many other great recipes after this one at the bottom of this post.

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3.84 from 12 votes

Slow-Cooker Acorn Squash and Apple Soup for #SundaySupper

Savory acorn squash and sweet apples blended together with a creamy finish, made completely in the slow-cooker.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time5 hours
Total Time5 hours 45 minutes
Course: Slow Cooker/Soup
Servings: 6
Calories: 108kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 2 medium acorn squash (about 2 pounds)
  • 4 cups chicken broth or water for a vegetarian version)
  • 2 cups chopped Gala or other sweet red apple ,peeled
  • 1 carrot ,peeled and sliced (about ¼ cup)
  • ½ cup chopped sweet onion
  • 1 large clove garlic ,minced
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ cup milk or light cream
  • fresh parsley ,for garnish

Instructions

  • Using a very sharp knife, make a large slit in the tops of both acorn squashes. Place in the microwave on high for 3 minutes, turning after a minute and a half. Alternate: Place in boiling water for 2 minutes. Carefully remove. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and pulp, and then cut into wedges about 1-inch thick. Cut off the skins, getting as close to the skin as you can. Once the skins and any remaining pulp are removed, cut the squash into cubes between 1-2 inches thick.
  • Place the cubed squash, chopped apples, carrot, onion, and garlic into the slow cooker, pour in chicken broth or water, then stir in the white pepper.
  • Set the slow cooker on HIGH and cook for 4-6 hours, or on LOW for 8 hours, until squash is completely tender. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Stir in milk, ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 743mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2270IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1.4mg

 

 

Satiating Soups

Scrumptious Mains (Breakfast and Dinner)

Satisfying Sides

Scintillating Sweets

Savory Baking

Sips and Spreads

Sunday Supper Movement
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat.
To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.



Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes

Until a few weeks ago I had never cooked chorizo, but my regular grocery store started carrying it recently, and every week since I would go by it in the meat section and think about trying it. These Baked Eggs with Chorzio and Potatoes are made with Mexican chorzio, which is ground and in a casing like sausage or in bulk, which is what I used here.  This recipe is inspired by Food and Wine Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes.

Eggs with Chorzio and Potatoes

 

Mexican chorizo is spicy, like taco meat, and is prepared the same way as ground beef. Paired with simple sunny-side up eggs and finely diced potatoes, this makes a great weekend breakfast! Serve with toast or bagels with juice and coffee for a complete meal.

 

Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes

 

This recipe has only 4 ingredients, and is fairly simple to make. I chose to make it completely on the stove and cut the potatoes into small pieces to save time. These days I love nothing more than saving time!

Plated-Eggs-with-Chorzio-and-Potatoes

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

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Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes

One-pan spicy chorizo with eggs and crisp fried potatoes!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Breakfast/Brunch
Cuisine: Mexican American
Servings: 4
Calories: 667kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 1 pound bulk Mexican chorizo
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cups red potatoes , unpeeled and finely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chorizo and break into small pieces with a spoon, stirring often, until cooked through and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the chorizo from the pan and set aside.
  • Wipe out the skillet and return to the heat, adding the vegetable oil. Add the potatoes and onion powder, saute, stirring often, until potatoes are cooked through and crispy. Add the chorizo back to the pan.
  • Turn the heat down to medium/low. Make four indentations in the mixture, break an egg into each one, cover the skillet, and cook just until the eggs are set, about 5 minutes.

Notes

Inspired by Food and Wine Baked Eggs with Chorizo and Potatoes

Nutrition

Calories: 667kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 285mg | Sodium: 1476mg | Potassium: 648mg | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 2.4mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2.9mg

 

Spicy Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

I received a free copy of Southern Living Superfast Southern to review. All opinions, as always, are my own. 

I'm back from a two-week blogging break! You may notice some slight tweaks to the look of the blog, and I have more improvements in the works. Today I have a great recipe for Spicy Fish Tacos along with a review of the new cookbook Southern Living Superfast Southern for you. Enjoy!

Spicy Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa 

Spicy Fish Tacos

 

Along with some delicious sounding recipes, Superfast Southern (Oxmoor House, $19.95) offers tips for cooking with speed, including a few I need to work on myself like "Keep Your Kitchen Organized" (I try, I really do!) and "Read Over The Entire Recipe Before Shopping" (yes, even food writers can make this critical error, even with their own recipes!). As for the recipes, there are snacks like Southern Shrimp Butter with Toasted Baguette Slices, salads like Blueberry Fields Salad,which I know I'll be making soon, quick soups, skillet dinners, fast sandwiches, and even desserts.

I decided to make these Spicy Fish Tacos because fish tacos have been coming up in conversation between my husband and myself. Neither of us had ever had them, and someone told him that they had faboulous ones in California, but the ones made in restaurants around here quite honestly suck. Of course, I can't tell you for sure, since I never had them, but it had gotten me to thinking I should try a recipe from another area.

The recipe calls for flounder, which I love, and the coating for the fish is easily put together. It's really not all that spicy either, I think older children would enjoy them without thinking they are too hot. If you don't have flounder, tilapia would be great also!

 

Spicy Fish Tacos

 

While the recipe says the total prep and cook time is 20 minutes, I believe they did not include the time it takes to chop the vegetables and fruit for the salsa. If you really need a quick weeknight dinner, I suggest making the salsa on Sunday and keeping it covered in the fridge for a few days until you need it. I used 1 pound of flounder fillets, and ended up with a lot more cornmeal coating mixture than I needed to coat the fish. Luckily, I realized it was going to be too much before I started dipping the fish in it! I saved the rest in a covered container.

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Spicy Fish Tacos and Southern Living Super Fast Southern Cookbook Review

Quick, spicy fish tacos with a fabulous mango salsa great for weeknight dinners.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Southern
Servings: 6
Calories: 494kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • For the Mango Salsa:
  • 1 mango chopped
  • 1 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • For the Fish Tacos:
  • 6 6 ounce flounder fillets ( I used 1 pound, about 8 thin fillets)
  • 1 lime (I used ½ of a lime, the other half for the salsa)
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1 ½ cups plain yellow cornmeal
  • Vegetable oil ,for frying
  • 6 8-inch soft taco-size flour or corn tortillas , warmed
  • Toppings: shredded lettuce chopped tomatoes, refrigerated gaucamole, lime wedges, fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

  • Prepare the salsa ( can be made ahead):
  • Stir together all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Preheat oven to 250 degrees F ( optional, to keep fish warm). Place fish on a shallow plate. Squeeze juice from lime over fillets. In a shallow bowl, combine chili powder and next 3 ingredients. Sprinkle 1 ½ teaspoons seasoning mixture evenly over both sides of fillets.
  • Combine cornmeal with the remaining seasoning mixture, stirring well. Dredge fillets, one at a time in cornmeal mixture, shake off excess. Let fillets stand for 5 minutes after coating.
  • Heat 1 ½ inches vegetable oil in a cast iron pan to 350 degrees. Fry fillets, working in batches, 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm in the preheated oven. Cut fillets into thin strips on chunks. Serve on warmed tortillas with desired toppings.

Notes

Very slightly adapted from Southern Living Superfast Southern
Nutritional information calculated without optional toppings. 

Nutrition

Calories: 494kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1751mg | Potassium: 588mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1240IU | Vitamin C: 16.9mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 4.1mg

 

Simple Tomato Juice

Remember last week when I shared my Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce, and I told you not to get rid of the juice from the crushed tomatoes? That's because your going to use it here, for this Simple Tomato Juice!

Simple-Tomato-Juice

 

Okay, I really did mean to put this recipe up the day after I posted the marinara sauce, and it didn't happen. I hope you haven't been waiting! I think it's a great way to make use of the wonderful, sweet juice from the tomatoes you crushed for the sauce.  If you didn't make the sauce and don't want to make sauce, and you have a juicer, you can easily juice the tomatoes with it. I love tomato juice, and vegetable juice, and have since I was young. The only thing I don't like now that I'm older is how much salt is in it.  I add seasoning to my tomato juice because I just don't think it's good without them, however it's still much lower sodium than store bought juice.  The liquid from the tomatoes is reduced on the stove to thicken, and then seasoned to taste. Don't taste the juice while it's hot or even warm, the flavor will be different than with ice cold juice. Instead, test the flavor by putting a small amount in a glass with one ice cube, and let it get cold, taste and adjust the seasoning in the remaining simmering juice. Start with just a tiny amount of each seasoning, less is more with this recipe.  Since this is fresh juice, it will separate, so stir well before serving.

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Simple Tomato Juice

Fresh squeezed tomato juice, lightly seasoned to taste. Great for tomato juice lovers that want a lower sodium alternative to store bought.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time7 minutes
Total Time12 minutes
Course: Beverage
Servings: 2
Calories: 60kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 2 cups juiced tomatoes
  • salt
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • celery salt
  • white pepper

Instructions

  • Pour juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add seasonings, stir well. Taste a small, chilled amount and adjust seasonings to taste. Allow to cool and refrigerate for up to one week, or freeze for 3 months. Stir well before serving.

Notes

Additional seasonings to try:dried parsley flakes, cayenne pepper (SMALL amount), Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice

Nutrition

Calories: 60kcal | Protein: 2g | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 800mg | Vitamin A: 3000IU | Vitamin C: 57.8mg

 

Southern Living What's For Supper 5 Ingredient Weeknight Meals Review

Unless this is your first visit here, you know I often write about my struggles with getting dinner on the table, more specifically in the Summer than any other time of year. What you don't know is that I've agreed to be a full-time babysitter for my daughter's Godmother's baby, and right now her schedule has it so that she won't be picking him up from here until about 15 minutes before we normally eat dinner. Yeah, time crunch much? The baby doesn't nap well, and is quite a bit colicky, so I'm really going to have to adjust how I get things done. I'll admit, getting things done is something I've been struggling with. When I was sent Southern Living What's For Supper 5 Ingredient Weeknight Meals to look at and try out the recipes, I thought, just in time!

Lemon-Zucchini-Ribbons

The book starts with basic ingredients everyone should have on hand, including oils and sugars, then provides tips for cooking with few ingredients including looking for quality and using frozen vegetables. and my favorite time saving tip, keeping your pantry, fridge, and freezer well stocked. I don't drive, so mine are always WELL stocked, maybe a bit too much, because I usually can't just run out to the store.

There are a variety of recipes, including Grilled Chicken Caprese, No Cook Suppers like Roast Beef and Tomato Jam Wraps, a good amount of fabulous sounding pizzas (Grilled Tomato-Peach Pizza, hello!), and my favorite quick meals, breakfast for dinner! There are also side dishes and 3 ingredient desserts. Southern Living What's For Supper 5 Ingredient Weeknight Meals features gorgeous food photography, recipes with easy preparation, and tips for almost every recipe.

While I can normally figure out something quick for dinner if I have to, I have a bad habit of forgetting side dishes, sometimes until it's too late. The day I received the cookbook I knew what I was making for dinner, but didn't have any idea in mind for a side dish, when I saw Lemon Zucchini Ribbons. I could have sworn they were under "So Easy Sides" but it turns out they are under "No-Cook Suppers". Oops! Either way, they were quick to put together and delicious! You can substitute the almonds for almost any salted nuts you have on hand. I minced the garlic because I don't have a press, that's next on my list to buy.

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Lemon Zucchini Ribbons

Thinly sliced zucchini replaces pasta in the bright, seasonal, summery dish.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Side Dish/No-Cook DInner
Servings: 5
Calories: 139kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 6 medium-size zucchini (I only used three, for two adults and a 5 year old)
  • 1 large lemon
  • 2 garlic cloves ,pressed (or minced)
  • ¼ cup chopped salted almonds (I used pecans)
  • ⅓ cup torn fresh basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon table salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Grate zest from lemon to equal 1 teaspoon. Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into a measuring cup to equal 3 tablespoons. Whisk zest, juice, olive oil, and garlic together in a large bowl.
  • Trim ends of zucchini. Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini lengthwise into long, thin ribbons. Add zucchini ribbons, salt and pepper to lemon juice mixture; toss to combine. Refrigerate 1 hour. Sprinkle with basil and almonds before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 252mg | Potassium: 694mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 555IU | Vitamin C: 54.2mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1.3mg

 

Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce

This Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce with fresh tomatoes, onions, shredded carrots, and garlic is perfect for using up summer garden tomatoes.

photo of a white flower trimmed plate topped with cooked spaghetti and Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce

 

I have a serious problem with my tomato garden, too many tomatoes!! I have yet to convince my husband to stalk the plants instead of just caging them, so every year they fall over. I can almost live with it, except that the tomatoes blemish easily because they get to much water, or more so, lack of sun in the back of the garden to allow them to dry out a bit. Of course, there is nothing wrong with them, they just don't look pretty enough to give to the neighbors.

 

Blemished-Tomatoes

 

I always use blemished tomatoes to make a homemade marinara sauce recipe, but this time I didn't have time to make the sauce on the stove with having to stop and stir it often, turn it off while I picked my daughter up from the bus stop, and not have room on the stove to make dinner (since this wasn't dinner that night, it's best refrigerated for a day to thicken and let the flavors meld). So, out came my slow cooker.

This isn't a sauce to put together on a weekday morning, it takes too long, but great to put together and let simmer all day on a Sunday, then just boil some pasta and top with this Slow Cooker Marinara on a busy weeknight.

It's not overly fancy, just fresh ingredients and low and slow simmering. Crush the tomatoes over a bowl, and don't get rid of that juice, you can use it to make a Simple Tomato Juice.  It's so easy to make and adjust to your liking!

After crushing the tomatoes, put them in your slow cooker, then add olive oil, onions, garlic, shredded carrots, sugar, and parsley.

photo of crushed tomatoes, diced onions, shredded carrots, and minced garlic in a blue slow cooker pot

 

Let it cook for 8 hours on low.

Photo of fully cook Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce in a blue slow cooker pot

After simmering all day, I allowed the sauce to cool down, put it in a container, and refrigerated it overnight.

The next day I had to decide whether to leave the sauce chunky, puree it completely, or just give it a quick run through with my immersion blender to leave it slightly thick.

Photo of Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce being purred by an immersion blender

I was going to puree it completely so I added tomato paste into the pot with the sauce to thicken it up (check out my friend Ann's recipe for fresh tomato paste for more ways to use garden tomatoes. Too bad I saw it after this was done!) and started to puree it with my immersion blender.

Then it fell apart!! Not my sauce, my immersion blender, my favorite kitchen tool, broken!! It's over 10 years old, so I guess the glue holding it together finally gave up. Funeral will be held Friday at 6:30. Luckily, I was able to salvage the sauce, slightly thick.

This post and photos were updated in September 2018. You can see the photo of the thicker sauce below the printable recipe card. Here it is completely pureed:

photo of pureed Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce in a large pot.

 

After the Slow Cooker Marinara sauce is pureed, just reheat it on the stove over medium-low heat.

Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce 

photo of a plate of spaghetti topped with Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce

 

This marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes is perfect left chunky for heartier pastas like rigatoni, slightly thick for  spaghetti, or thin for angel hair pasta.

Need more pasta sauce recipes? Here are my recent favorites:

Homemade Penne Alla Vodka 

Fettucine Ragu alla Bolgonese 

Garlic Alfredo Sauce 

Pumpkin Ravioli with Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce

WANT EVEN MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM MYSELF AND MY FAVORITE FOOD BLOGGERS? FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, OR FACEBOOK, WHERE I SHARE NEW RECIPES DAILY. YOU CAN ALSO SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL TO GET NEWLY POSTED RECIPES FOR FREE!

photo of a container of thick marinara sauce
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce

Marinara Sauce with fresh ingredients slow simmered in the slow cooker all day for perfect flavor.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 45 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: marinara sauce slow cooker, slow cooker pasta sauce fresh tomatoes
Servings: 10
Calories: 72kcal
Author: Bernadette

Ingredients

  • 18 garden fresh tomatoes
  • 1 heaping cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 carrot ,finely shredded
  • 2-3 cloves garlic ,minced
  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley

Instructions

  • Cut blemished parts off of tomatoes. Crush tomatoes with your hands over a bowl to remove as much of the seeds as possible, until you have 6 cups of crushed tomatoes.
  • Add olive oil to the slow cooker, stir in all the crushed tomatoes, chopped onions, garlic, shredded carrot, parsley, and sugar. Cover and simmer on low for 8 hours. Let cool and refrigerate overnight.
  • Puree to desired consistency using an immersion blender or in batch in a stand blender. Reheat on the stove over medium-low heat until hot.  

Notes

This sauce is best prepared a day or more ahead. 

Nutrition

Calories: 72kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 544mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2865IU | Vitamin C: 30.9mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.6mg

Photos of Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce from September, 2014.

 

Slow-Cooker-Marinara-Sauce

Slow-Cooker-Marinara-Sauce-with-Spaghetti