Shrimp Cheese Grits Casserole

This post was from awhile ago…but making for Christmas gang also!  I am exhausted! I had 30 wonderful kids with me all weekend as we all went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  My daughter, Haley, invited 30 of her friends from Wash U in St. Louis to come experience Mardi Gras for the first time.  Many had never even been to the South so of course I had to have lots of food!! We had 5 king cakes and I cooked our classic Louisiana dishes that feed a crowd. I made Shrimp and Cheese Grits from Freezer Friendly Meals, ahead of time and froze so I didn’t have to spend hours in the kitchen when everyone got there.  I also had to make our favorite appetizers kids love to dig into – Hamburger Dip and Super Salsa…both with only a few ingredients and so easy. Of course they were gobbled up! It was a whirl-wind weekend full of fun but good to be back in my routine too!

Shrimp and Cheese Grits for a House Full

Sweet Potato Cornmeal Biscuits

Recipes from my newly released book:  Too Hot in the Kitchen: Secrets To Sizzle At Any Age!!!  On Wednesday of this week I am filming 3 segments for This Week in Louisiana Agriculture. Filming just one segment is a lot of work… filming three is exhausting! On Monday, my intern, Joni, came over to help me start preparing some ingredients and organizing pots and dishes. We ended up cooking most of the recipes so we could photograph them that afternoon. Y’all have heard me Tweet about her before… this girl can eat! My mother-in-law, Mae Mae, came over to help as well… I thought I was going to have to break up a fight over the Pulled Chicken Open Face Sandwiches! It was hysterical! These two women are so polite concerning everything else, but don’t make them share my cooking! Thankfully there were plenty of the Sweet Potato Cornmeal Biscuits to go around… I think they each snuck some home in to-go bags!

Besides the lunch time fiasco, we had such a great time. It was Joni’s first time helping me in the kitchen, and I was glad she was there to keep me motivated! Tuesday, Mae Mae is coming to help me finish up the prep work and then Wednesday morning is the big day, or busy day, whichever!

Sweet Potato Biscuits cause food fight-Too Hot in the Kitchen

Holly appeared on a 25 city satellite media tour on Trim & Terrific Cooking and Entertaining. She does two tours yearly.

On Tour

On Tour

Holly’s Satellite Media Tour, New York June 2003

Ochsner Cancer Support Group

In October of 2006 I had the pleasure of working with the Ochsner Cancer support group. I gave them food advice for them to pass along to patients and we cooked recipes from my Eating Well Through Cancer book. It was a really touching day and I’m so thankful I got to be a part of such a meaningful group.

Ochsner Cancer Support Group

I always have so much fun filming my segment, ‘Holly’s Kitchen’ on “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture.” Louisiana has amazing fresh ingredients such as beef, rice, crawfish, and of course sweet potatoes! For March I showed how to make Steak Tacos with Cucumber Avocado Salsa with delicious Louisiana beef. Also, from my new cookbook out this fall, I made the incredible Berry Good Oatmeal Cookie Cake, so you will get a sneak peak of a great new recipe! Check out when the show airs on your local station or watch it online at TWILAtv.org.

Holly’s Kitchen on “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture”

Chicken and Dumplings

My husband loves to pitch in and help in the kitchen, but after he had knee surgery last week he has been faithfully recovering on the couch. My mom came in to help out last week, and by helping out, I mean testing loads of her new recipes on us – which of course were delicious! This week I jumped at the chance to feed him home-cooked comfort food to help him heal! After flipping through my mom’s cookbooks I remembered the classic Chicken and Dumplings – my all time favorite growing up!

Chicken and Dumplings from The New Holly Clegg trim&TERRIFIC Cookbook

This Southern comfort dish is great in the winter months and popular in my home. If you prefer a thicker soup, mix a little soup and flour together; then return the mixture to the pot. If you like lots of dumplings, double the recipe and add them all to the soup.

Makes 6 – 8 servings

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small serving pieces

3 quarts water

Salt and pepper to taste

2 (103/4-ounce) cans 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup

6 chicken bouillon cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 celery stalk, cut into pieces

1 onion, quartered

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cups self-rising flour

2 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 cup skim milk

1. Place chicken in large pot with water, salt, pepper, mushroom soup, bouillon cubes, all-purpose flour mixed with little water to make smooth paste, celery, onion, and carrot slices. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cook 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender.
2. Meanwhile, make dumplings. In small bowl, combine with fork self-rising flour, oil, and milk. Turn onto floured surface, roll dough 1/8-inch thick. Cut into thin strips. Remove celery and onion, bring broth to boil, drop in dumplings. Cook on medium heat, covered, 10 minutes or until dumplings are done. Serve in big bowls.

Nutritional information per serving

Calories 368, Protein (g) 32, Carbohydrate (g) 40, Fat (g) 7, Calories from Fat (%) 18, Saturated Fat (g) 1, Dietary Fiber (g) 2, Cholesterol (mg) 70, Sodium (mg) 1,869 Diabetic Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 2.5 starch, 1 vegetable

Quick Tip: If you’re watching your sodium intake, use a smaller amount of the bouillon cubes, or cut them out of the recipe entirely.

Chicken and Dumplings

White Chocolate Bundt Cake

I am so excited to partner with Walmart to create easy, healthy, and affordable meals – all with one-stop shopping! Today I am an official cover girl (hahaha)featured on the www.walmart.com homepage. I use Walmart’s Great Value brand with all my testing and have been impressed with the quality of the ingredients and  the selection.  I always keep a well stocked pantry and the price point makes it more affordable to do so…gives me extra dollars to treat myself!  

On of my favorite products is the Great Value Black Bean and Corn Salsa–most people already know about it-I made the Hamburger Dip for the 30 people at my house this past weekend and used this salsa to add more pizzaz to the recipe.  I look forward to sharing more of my recipes with cooking videos on  www.walmart.com/greatvalue, all under $1 per serving!

Wait until you try these recipes:

One Step Macaroni and Cheese-one dish and no boiling noodles-time saver!
Easy Chicken I make this recipe when I need a quick and easy delcious meal
Pizza Rice-leftover rice-turn into another quick recipe with few ingredients
Yummy Yogurt White Chocolate Bundt Cake-indulgence and easy-my daughter Haley makes our favorite cakeall the time in college.

Working with Walmart-the BEST CAKE!!

Ooey Goey Squares

Who Dat!!! Go Saints, it’s a black and gold Super Bowl!!! My husband and I had some friends over to watch the game last night and we used our new grill (a gift from Chad’s parent’s for our wedding anniversary). It’s the new infared kind, he couldn’t wait to use it and I must say it produced some juicy steaks. I’m sure it didn’t hurt they were Omaha Steaks, but they were so moist! We also made a green bean casserole, salad and yummy cresent roll bread dish. And of course we had dessert, Ooey Gooey Squares, from my mom’s The New Holly Clegg trim&TERRIFIC Cookbook, and I don’t think I overcooked them this time. Finally…

Also, we ate at two really good restaruants this weekend with some friends. A FAVORITE of mine Victor Tango’s and Si Tapas which I’d never been to (both in Dallas)! At VT’s we had miso glazed sea bass scewers, chicken and waffles, ahi tuna nachos, and braised short rib with a rutabaga mash, which I must admit was awesome and i thought was some type of mashed potato at first. We had a vareity of tapas at Si Tapas, however, I really wanted the Paella, a favorite meal of mine. Next time, Chad said he’d go back with me

Who Dat and some good food!

Chicken Orzo Salad from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Gulf Coast Favorites

Makes 12 (1/2-cup) servings

This is one of those main dish entree salads that I make on television for a mouth-watering enticing recipe or I prepare at home when I want a delicous easy to make salad…sometimes you want something hearty yet light and this recipe fulfills all my requests.  And, anyone that knows me, knows I think Rotessiere chicken was the greatest invention ever…making this salad an easy toss together meal.  I always keep a bag of frozen edamame in my freezer as I love the crunch (and nutrition) it adds to any recipe…and what could be bad when you toss in sun-dried tomaotes and feta?  I can’t wait for you to try this easy, healthy and delicious recipe!!

Featuring chicken, edamame, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta, this fantastic, marinated light pasta salad combines bold flavors with great ingredients.

2 cups orzo pasta
2 cups diced, rotisserie, skinless white chicken
1 cups frozen peas, thawed, or shelled edamame
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
8 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, sliced, reconstituted, reserving 1/3 cup water from reconstituting tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons Nakano seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain.
2. In large bowl, combine orzo, chicken, edamame, green onions, feta, cucumber, tomatoes, dill.
3. In another bowl, whisk together reserved sun dried tomato water with remaining ingredients.
4. Toss with orzo mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Calories 300, Calories from fat (%) 18, Fat (g) 13, Saturated Fat (g) 5, Cholesterol (mg) 26, Sodium (mg) 148, Carbohydrate (g) 42, Dietary Fiber (g) 6, Sugars (g) 4, Protein (g) 29, Diabetic Exchanges 2 starch, 3 vegetable, 1.5 fat

Terrific Tidbit:  To reconstitute the tomatoes, pour 1 cup boiling water over them and let sit for 15 minutes or until soft.

Chicken Orzo Salad

Out of Oven Room-Prepare This Festive Wild Rice Holiday Side

 For a quick and easy holiday side, I love to throw this dish together. Perfect to make when your oven is busy and there is no oven space left, since it’s cooked on top of the stove. While the rice is cooking, sauté the peppers and toss together in no time at all. For an even quicker version, try instant wild rice; it tastes just as good. Wild Rice adds a delicious nutty flavor to the dish, while the peppers add a natural sweetness. Did you know that all peppers are loaded with Vitamin C, and red peppers even have more Vitamin C than an orange?  And, with pecans having more antioxidants than any other nut, this satisfying and nutritious dish is a delectable and colorful side on any holiday table.  

 Wild Rice with Peppers and Toasted Pecans from Holly Clegg trim&TERRIFIC Diabetic Cooking

The colorful peppers liven up this festive side while the toasty pecans add a nice toasty crunch.

 8 servings/serving size: 1 cup

 1 cup chopped onion

1 cup wild rice

1/2 cup rice

3 1/4 cup fat-free low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

1 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Salt and pepper to taste

 1. In medium nonstick saucepot, bring onion, wild rice, rice, broth, and thyme to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 25 minutes or until rice is done.

2. Meanwhile, in nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, sauté peppers for 5–7 minutes or until tender. When rice is done, stir in peppers and pecans and season to taste

 Nutritional information per serving

Calories 159, Protein (g) 6, Carbohydrate (g) 29, Fat (g) 3, Calories from Fat (%) 27, Saturated Fat (g) 0, Dietary Fiber (g) 3, Sugars (g) 3, Cholesterol (mg) 0, Sodium (mg) 28, Diabetic Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

No More Oven Space-Try Festive Wild Rice Side