Shrimp and Grits - Recipe

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SHRIMP & GRITS

For the Shrimp:

3 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed

2 lbs cubed bacon (sausage or ham work also)

2 yellow onions OR 5 medium size shallots, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms (I like Baby Bellas!)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

5 Tbsp Cajun seasoning

1 cup red cooking wine

2 tsp red cayenne pepper (to taste)

For the Grits:

1 cup grits (quick or old fashioned)

4 cups whole milk

Pinch of salt

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp cajun seasoning

Directions:

Start with the grits....

1. Cook the chopped bacon (or sausage or ham).  Drain the meat, set aside the bacon grease.
2. Start with grits.  Bring milk to a boil, add grits and salt. 
3. Reduce heat to medium, cover let cook to desired consistency. 
4. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
5. When grits reach desired consistency, remove from heat.
6. Stir shredded cheese into hot grits, once removed from heat.
7. Add 1 tsp of cajun seasoning to the grits.  
8. Set aside until ready to serve.

While the grits are cooking, start on the shrimp...

1. Sauté garlic, onion and bell pepper in bacon grease (or use olive oil). Until they begin to soften.
2. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of cajun seasoning on the vegetables.
3. Add the mushrooms.  Cook all together until they become soft.
4. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of cajun seasoning on to the shrimp.  Stir to coat the shrimp with the seasoning, then add to cooking vegetables. 
5. Add the shrimp and continue cooking until shrimp are 90% done (mostly white, but not completely.  They will continue cooking when we add the red cooking wine.)
6. Add the cooked bacon and stir all together.
7. Slowly pour in red cooking wine.
8. **If you want your dish to be more flavorful, continue adding cajun seasoning 1/2 - 1 Tbsp at a time until it is as spicy as you like it.
9. If desired, sprinkle in 1 - 2 tsps of red cayenne pepper for additional kick to the dish. 

Serve shrimp and vegetable mixture on top of creamy, cheesy hot grits.  Enjoy!!

Happy Cooking,

CL

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SHRIMP & GRITS / CAJUN FOOD / LIVE COOKING (YouTube)

Cajun Chicken Pasta (Recipe)

Hey Everybody!

Here's a quick, easy dinner.  Total cook time is less than 30 minutes!  You can make it extra spicy or with a mild kick.  Enjoy and please let me know how it turns out. 

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked pasta (I like penne)

1 1/2 lbs cubed chicken

1 each - red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion

2 - 3 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning

2 cups cream

1/4 - 1/2 cup flour

Salt to taste

Directions:

• Cook pasta; drain and set aside.
• Sauté vegetables in hot olive oil.  Season with 1/2 - 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning while vegetables are cooking.
• Cook until soft.
• Season chicken with cajun seasoning.
• Add to soften vegetables.  Add additional olive oil if needed.
• Cook until chicken is 80 - 90% done.
• Slowly add cream to chicken and vegetables. 
• Bring to a rapid boil, then begin sprinkling in flour until desired thickness is achieved.
• Serve over cooked pasta

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Happy Cooking,

CL

CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA (YouTube)

PESTO GRILLED CHEESE / MINI VIDEO (YouTube)

Buttermilk Cornbread - Recipe

Here's my recipe for basic Buttermilk Cornbread.  Everybody needs to know how to make cornbread!  Hope you enjoy.

Be sure to Like and SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. 


BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD (basic recipe)

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
2 Tbsp baking powder
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
5 Tbsp melted butter (or bacon grease!!)
1 egg
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients. Combine well with whisk.
Add melted butter, egg and buttermilk.  Don't over stir…batter should be a little bumpy.
Stir in corn.
Pour into sprayed baking pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for approx 35 minutes.
Brush top of cornbread with melted butter when done cooking. 



Happy Cooking,
Chef Lorious

BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD - FROM SCRATCH!! (YouTube Video)

Time for Thyme

I was cooking dinner the other night and I needed some thyme. So I went into my refrigerator, and there it was: stems and stems of fresh thyme, just waiting to be used. Ninety-nine percent of the time I use fresh herbs and spices when I cook. (I like the fresh flavors.) But when it comes to thyme, I usually end up reaching for a jar. I’ve tried all kinds of gadgets and whatnot to make it easier/convenient…whatever. None of them seem to work. I end up with some strange back and neck pain, from being in an uncomfortable position for too long.

So I had this conversation in my head that went like this: 

"This is silly. It makes no sense to stand here messing around with these little stems and little leaves when a jar of thyme leaves will do the job. Why do I keep doing this to myself. My back is going to be killing me. There’s really not that much difference in the taste….they’ve done a lot to ensure that herbs in jars are fresh. Yes! That’s it! I’ll stop right now and get the jar out of the pantry. Well….I’m almost done now, and it will taste so good with fresh thyme…” 

You get the picture. By the time I finished this song and dance routine in my head, I had removed the leaves from the stems and was one my way cooking….sore back and all. But you know what, it was so worth it!

Happy Cooking,
CL

Sausage Tortellini Soup - Recipe

Delicious warm, comfort food...perfect for winter days and nights!

Sausage Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb mild ground sausage

1 lb sweet ground sausage

2 cups Tortellini

1 chopped onion

1 chopped green bell pepper

1 Tbsp garlic (minced or chopped)

3-4 cups spinach

1 cup mushrooms

1-2 cups flour

8 cups Chicken broth

2 Tbsp parsley

3 Tbsp Basil

1 Tbsp oregano

Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Italian Cheese, for garnish

Directions:

Cook Tortellini in boiling water briefly and set aside. 

Sauté garlic, onion, green bell pepper and mushrooms in hot olive oil until soft

Add ground sausage to vegetables and continue cooking until sausage is fully cooked

Add 1 cup of flour to sausage and vegetables. Combine well.

Add parsley, basil and oregano.  Combine.

Pour in chicken broth.  Stir to combine.

Bring to a simmer (right before boiling) and add spinach slowly, allowing the broth to reduce the spinach.

After all spinach is added and has cooked down, add cooked Tortellini.

Bring all to a boil and add flour slowly as desired to thicken soup to desired consistency.

Garnish with shredded Italian cheese.

 Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. Press to go to YouTube

Happy Cooking!

Too Much Garlic.....Is That Even Possible?!

So I was talking to a good friend of mine today who has been watching my videos on my YouTube channel and he made the strangest comment....."You put too much garlic in your shrimp tacos".

I was actually dumbfounded.  This isn't a rant, because this is a really good friend and we laughed about it.  I asked a couple of other folks we know at the time it happened, and we all shook our heads.  But it got me thinking, is it possible to use too much garlic?

For the record, I used a tablespoon of minced garlic in my shrimp taco recipe.  Which I honestly don't think is too much.  Garlic is one of the best flavors on earth.  Every time I have a thick juicy steak (one of my favorite foods), I stop and do a little happy dance for the garlic.  I particularly enjoy roasted garlic.  Roasted garlic is delicious with vegetables or with bruschetta...to name a few.

There is one draw back to too much garlic--the breath situation!  So that's real.  If you eat too much garlic, it can 'stay with you' for a while.  All the Crest and Colgate in the world can't help you, and you just need to chew some gum for 24 hours straight.  But that's a small price to pay for the deliciousness that garlic brings.  I know for a fact that this was not my friend's concern with the garlic.  He loves hoagies with onions, so trust me, garlic is the least of his concerns!  (And no, I'm not talking about him behind is back...we're good friends and we talk freely!).

So what say you?  Outside of the breath situation, is there such a thing as too much garlic?    Responses are welcome...let's start a conversation!

Happy Cooking,
Chef Lorious

Where is "Calibama"?

I'll bet you're wondering what and where in the world is "Calibama"?  It's my home-town.  Let me 'splain...  My family is originally from Alabama, but I was born and raised in California.  Oddly enough, my parents are from the same Gulf Coast Alabama city, grew up within 10 miles of each other....but met and married in Sacramento, Ca.  How does that happen?!  LOL

So when my husband and I were dating, I cooked some collared greens for him one day.  He was impressed with my ability to roll them up super tight and cut them with precision (and they tasted good!).  Later he became truly awestruck with my pie making abilities.  He would often say "No one from California can make a sweet potato pie like that!"  I would just laugh and shrug my shoulders.  Because I definitely make a mean sweet potato pie, and I am definitely from California.  Then one day, he had a stroke of creative genius (he has lots of these...he's awesome!)...  He declared:  "You're from Calibama!  That's it...California and Alabama mixed together"

We laughed so hard, we could hardly stand it.  To this day he proudly says: "My wife is from Calibama".  So now you know.  Just a little fun fact I wanted to share.

Have a blessed day and Happy Cooking,
Chef Lorious

SHRIMP TACOS - Complete Meal

Mac & Cheese Balls

Mac & Cheese Balls

Here's a quick, easy appetizer for the big game this weekend.  The recipe for basic Mac & Cheese is in here:  Basic Mac & Cheese. 

Stop just before you bake it...and let it sit (at least 30 mins...or more) to firm up.  The longer it sits, the firmer it will become. 

Breading
2 eggs + 1 Tbsp whole milk
Panko bread crumbs + 2 tsp salt

Directions
Roll the mac and cheese into balls (about the size of a scoop of ice cream)
Dip the ball in the egg mixture, then roll it in the panko mixture
Place ball in hot oil for frying (I use peanut oil, but vegetable or canola work just as well!)
Fry until golden brown. 
Turn them over in the oil to make sure they are completely brown on all sides.

Serve however you want to!  You can use marinara sauce, ranch dressing.  As the song says, "...It's your thang...do what you wanna do!"

Happy Cooking,
Chef Lorious

ChefLorious@gmail.com
@Chef Lorious - FB, Twitter, IG, Snapchat

Easy Super Bowl App - Mac & Cheese Balls

Mac and Cheese - Creamy, Delicious, Homemade - YouTube Video

Macaroni and Cheese - Recipe

Macaroni and Cheese

Here's my basic macaroni and cheese recipe.  You can do so much with this.  This is basically a cheese sauce, that you combine with noodles.  Once you get the basics of the cheese sauce, you can make that with other things too...like creamed spinach!  Please share your variations; I'd love to hear what you've made.  The YouTube video will be listed under separate entry.

Ingredients

1 lb elbow macaroni

2 cups heavy cream (or half-and-half, evaporated milk, whole milk)

1 cup pasta water

1 stick melted butter

1-2 Tbsp flour

1/4 cup sour cream

4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• Boil macaroni noodles. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water after noodles are done boiling.
• Combine melted butter and flour in stock pot over medium-high heat.  Combine with whisk until it begins to boil.  Do not overcook.
• Slowly pour in heavy cream.  Bring to boil until cream mixture begins to thicken.  Turn off heat.
• Stir in sour cream.
• Stir in shredded cheese.  Combine pasta water a 1/4 cup at a time as needed to achieve desired consistency.
• Pour into 13 x 9 baking dish (sprayed with cooking spray).
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes (until bubbling).

NOTES:

You can use any cheese you'd like.  Nice variations are smoked gouda, gruyere, Havarti, etc.  ALL cheese is your friend!

Happy Cooking,

Chef Lorious

Corn Chowder - YouTube Video

Corn Chowder - Recipe

Corn Chowder

(YouTube video in following post) 

Ingredients

1 lb bacon, cut up into small pieces

2 medium onions, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

5 - 6 medium jalapeños, diced (about 1 cup)

6 large potatoes, cubed

5 cups corn (frozen or fresh)

1 cup Flour

8 cups Chicken broth

2 cups Heavy cream (or Half & Half)

1 Tbsp cilantro

1 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste

2 tsp salt, to taste

Shredded cheese, for garnish

Directions

• Cook bacon in soup pot.  Set aside some of cooked bacon for garnishing soup when serving.
• After bacon is done cooking, leave in pot, add onions and jalapenos.  Cook until translucent.
• Add 1 cup of flour.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a slight boil.
• Add chicken broth. (Start with 3-5 cups, add additional as you go along)
• Bring to a boil, add potatoes.
• Cook potatoes in soup pot for about 10 minutes, until you can stick a fork through the potatoes.
• Add corn. 
• Add cream.  Stir to combine.
• Add cilantro, cayenne and salt.
• Stir all ingredients together.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium to simmer for 20-30 minutes as soup thickens.
• Stir frequently to avoid sticking at the bottom of the pot.

Garnish with shredded cheese, reserved bacon pieces and cilantro.

NOTE:  If you want the soup to be thicker, add flour (about 1/4 at a time) to boiling soup.  Stir well to dissolve the flour.

If you want the soup to be thinner, use less than 1 cup of flour.

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FB:  Chef Lorious

IG:  cheflorious

Blog:  ChefLorious.blogspot.com

Post any questions or comments below, or email me at ChefLorious@gmail.com.

Happy Cooking!

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos - Recipe

Here's a family favorite for big games and fun times.  Enjoy!

BUFFALO CHICKEN TAQUITOS

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast*
4 ozs cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese
3/4 cup buffalo wing seasoning sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cilantro
Salt to taste
*1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
20 small corn tortillas approx
Vegetable oil (any oil for frying)

Directions:

• Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in large skillet.
• Combine shredded chicken, cream cheese,sour cream and chili powder in mixer. (Include cayenne pepper if desired)
• Stir in shredded cheese.
• Add buffalo wing sauce; combine in mixer.
• Add salt to taste. 
• Fill each corn tortilla with 1 Tbsp of filling; roll tightly.
• Place in frying pan, seam facing down.
• Fry until golden brown, turning once.
• Remove from oil; place on paper towel to remove excess oil.
• Serve with sour cream

*Kitchen Hack:  Place cooked cut up chicken breasts/tenders in mixer and mix on low until chicken shreds. Gradually increase speed as the chicken comes apart.

Super easy!  The link to the YouTube is in the following post (I'm still learning...be patient!)

Follow me on social media:
IG:  ChefLorious
YouTube:  ChefLorious

Email:  ChefLorious@gmail.com

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos - YouTube video

First Video is Up!

Well, I did it.  I posted by my first video.  It's actually a pretty funny story.  My husband and I were taping a test run.  We wanted to see how to do it, etc.  Well, when we finished it and started learning how to edit, my oldest son, said "Mom, you should publish it just like that".  Easy for him to say, right!  LOL

But I thought about it some more, and the truth is, I'm a normal woman with a family.  I don't have a television studio.  I'm at home in my kitchen.  So, in the spirit of authenticity, I published it.  Now, in the future, I'll try to be better about the 'stuff' that's shows up. 

Hopefully in the years to come, I'll look back on this and laugh.  I hope you enjoy it. 

Have a blessed day,
Chef Lorious

So here's the deal, my Dad used to say that cooking expresses love.  It's one of the ways we take care of ourselves and the people around us.  I've discovered over the years, that food is how I demonstrate love and concern.  (If you're familiar with the "5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman, my love language is "acts of service").  Whenever someone is ill, or facing difficulties, or celebrating life...my first thought is always "what can I fix that will help them feel loved?". 

This piece of my heart has increased over the years, and with it I've developed a love for cooking.  Cooking is part of who I am.  People usually enjoy my food (that's a plus!!).  Frequently I'm asked how to make something or asked to prepare a specific dish for someone.  I'm often surprised by how many people are intimidated by cooking.  So I got to thinking, there are all kinds of needs - working moms, people who like to entertain, people who want to learn to cook, etc, etc, etc.  I used to be intimidated in the kitchen too...so I decided to share what I have learned.  Here's my Golden Rule of Cooking:  "Put your heart into every dish you prepare." 

Make every thing you prepare an extension of you.  That may sound deep and overwhelming, but I promise you it isn't.  Whether bringing someone a meal, or baking a cake, or hosting a football party, my secret ingredient is love and care.  So let's do this together.  Fear be gone!  Intimidation get out! (As Beyoncé would say, "to the left, to the left")! 

I'll post links to my YouTube channel - Chef Lorious.  Please be sure to SUBSCRIBE and LIKE videos.  Post comments to this blog, my YouTube channel or email me at ChefLorious@gmail.com.

Let's show some love through cooking.  Welcome to my "Love Lab", or some would call it, my kitchen. 

Happy Cooking,
Chef Lorious