Music City Foodie http://musiccityfoodie.com Life, Love, and Food in Nashville Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:40:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Don’t miss another bite. Come join us. http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/07/29/dont-miss-another-bite-come-join-us/ http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/07/29/dont-miss-another-bite-come-join-us/#comments Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:40:18 +0000 jfoster http://musiccityfoodie.com/?p=3744 If you haven’t subscribed to my new site, I would love to have you join the party.  Check out the new RSS feed here: A Cook at Heart RSS Feed.

]]> http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/07/29/dont-miss-another-bite-come-join-us/feed/ 0 Soul Food Sunday – Spicy Collard Greens with Tomatoes http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/06/05/soul-food-sunday-spicy-collard-greens-with-tomatoes/ http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/06/05/soul-food-sunday-spicy-collard-greens-with-tomatoes/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 01:35:18 +0000 jfoster http://musiccityfoodie.com/?p=3738 Be sure to check out my newest post at aCookatHeart.com.

]]> http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/06/05/soul-food-sunday-spicy-collard-greens-with-tomatoes/feed/ 0 Asian Shrimp with Peppers and Sugar Snap Peas http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/15/asian-shrimp-with-peppers-and-sugar-snap-peas/ http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/15/asian-shrimp-with-peppers-and-sugar-snap-peas/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 01:24:32 +0000 jfoster http://musiccityfoodie.com/?p=3713 Have you ever made a recipe that sounded like it should be fabulous on paper but it ended up being tasteless? That’s been my experience just about every time I’ve made stir frys. The vegetables turn out limp and lifeless and the meat has little or no taste. This time I tried something different. I’ve become a true believer in the theory of “layers of flavor”. This means to season all the different components of a dish so that the final product is more flavorful and more complex. In this instance, it added a little time to the process but it was well worth it. Marinading the shrimp for a few minutes gives the entire dish a huge boost. Also adding fresh cilantro at the end perks up flavor and pulls everything together.

Asian Shrimp with Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients

  • 1 lb cleaned and deveined medium shrimp
  • 8 oz package of sugar snap peas
  • 1 red pepper cut into 1/2 inch strips
  • 3 green onions diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tbls oyster sauce
  • 1 tbls hoisin sauce
  • 1 tsp sriacha
  • 4 tsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
  • 3 cups cooked white rice

Instructions

  1. Combine hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, sriacha and 2 cloves garlic in medium bowl. Add shrimp and mix well to coat. Marinade for 20 minutes.
  2. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add sesame oil.
  3. Add remaining garlic and ginger. Saute for 1 minute.
  4. Add peas and peppers. Cook until peas begin to soften. Add soy sauce.
  5. Add shrimp and green onions. Saute until shrimp are cooked through- about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  6. Serve stir shrimp and vegetables over rice. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Notes: Cook the vegetables just until they’re tender crisp.

]]> http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/15/asian-shrimp-with-peppers-and-sugar-snap-peas/feed/ 1 Sausage Stuffed Portobellos http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/11/sausage-stuffed-portobellos/ http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/11/sausage-stuffed-portobellos/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 10:29:39 +0000 jfoster http://musiccityfoodie.com/?p=3699

This recipe has a special place in my heart. Years ago when my husband and I were dating, I decided to make this for a reception at our church. We attend a relatively large church, so I would typically prepare for 500 to 600 people at events. I’m still not sure what made me think stuffed mushrooms for 600 people would be a good idea but I forged ahead and asked him if he would mind helping. The morning before the event we went to Costco and bought 5 or 6 cases of large white button mushrooms and headed back to the church to start cleaning them. If you’ve never cleaned a mushroom, it can be a little tedious. We cleaned mushrooms for hours and hours. It seemed like the more we cleaned the more there was left to do. I know Randy wondered what hell he had gotten himself into but he never complained – not once. He kept me laughing even after we were both worn out and sick of looking at mushrooms. After we had cleaned about 4 cases, I was pretty sure he was “the one”. Any man that would sit and help me clean and stuff 900 mushrooms, was my kind of man.

I’ve promoted this recipe from an appetizer to a main dish by using large portobello caps instead of button mushrooms. If you don’t over cook them, the portobellos stand up well to the thick filling. Add a salad and you’ve got yourself a meal.

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Sausage Stuffed Portobellos

  • 4 large portobello caps, cleaned
  • 1/2 pound ground italian sausage
  • 4 oz light cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
  • 1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dry white wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Brown sausage in skillet and set aside.
  3. In medium bowl combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, worcestershire sauce, wine and garlic powder.
  4. Combine sausage with cream cheese mixture.
  5. Divide evenly among portobello caps and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
  6. Place on baking sheet and cook for 20 to 25 minutes – until mushrooms are tender.

Make sure the mushrooms are cleaned well. Take a damp paper towel and wipe the top of the mushroom to clean off any dirt. Snap off the stem and discard. Because these mushrooms were especially dirty, I scooped out the gills to make sure there wasn’t any dirt lurking between them.

I used sweet Italian sausage for this but feel free to use hot if you like some spice. If you can’t find ground sausage, 2 Italian links can be substituted.

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Inspired by Epicurious.com 



]]> http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/11/sausage-stuffed-portobellos/feed/ 0 Spicy Honey Chipotle Chicken Thighs http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/02/spicy-honey-chipotle-chicken-thighs/ http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/02/spicy-honey-chipotle-chicken-thighs/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 08:19:20 +0000 jfoster http://musiccityfoodie.com/?p=3688 I really love chicken but sometimes it can be incredibly boring. We buy chicken in bulk from Costco and Sam’s so we usually have a ton of it in the freezer. Finding new ways to jazz up bland boring baked chicken can be a challenge to say the least. The paste in this recipe is an easy way to add alot of flavor without alot of work.  The hot/sweet combination of the smokey chipotles and the honey take baked chicken from ordinary to worthy of company.  Chipotle’s can be a little spicy bording on hot. If you don’t like hot, split the peppers open and remove the seeds to cut the heat

 

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Spicy Honey Chipotle Chicken Thighs

  • 4 Chicken Thighs
  • 3 Chipotles in Adobo
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 3 tbls honey
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Except for chicken, combine all ingredients in a food processor until it forms a smooth paste.
  3. Coat thighs with paste. Place in baking dish and cook for 35 minutes.

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]]> http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/05/02/spicy-honey-chipotle-chicken-thighs/feed/ 0 Strawberry Cream Cheese Tarts http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/04/27/strawberry-cream-cheese-tarts/ http://musiccityfoodie.com/2011/04/27/strawberry-cream-cheese-tarts/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:42:18 +0000 jfoster http://musiccityfoodie.com/?p=3672

When I was a kid, cool creamy desserts were a staple at our house during the hot summer months. Ice cream was a given but sometime my mom would want something a little more fancy. She would whip up what we called “cheaters cheesecake” on days when baking a cheese cake was just too much trouble. This cream cheese pie recipe was on the side of the Eagle Brand Sweetemed Condensed Milk can for years and was one of my childhood favorites.   It’s probably the most versatile dessert in my recipe folder and it only takes a couple of minutes to mix up. If you aren’t a fan of strawberries, subsitute whatever topping you crave.  I’ve split it into 6 tarts but you could also make it in one 9 in graham cracker crust.

 

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Strawberry Cream Cheese Tarts

Ingredients

  • 1 8 oz package low fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1 14 oz. can fat free sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 mini graham cracker crust tarts
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries

Instructions

  1. Beat cream cheese until fluffy in large bowl. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
  2. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla.
  3. Pour equal amounts into tarts crusts.
  4. Chill 4 hours or until set.

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