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

Looking for some easy impressive recipes!  My Meaty Italian Dip (freezes well if any left) is a crowd pleaser that takes minutes, yes minutes, to prepare…if you can open up cans and jars-done.  And if you love that sweet salty combination, wait until you try my three ingredient Sweet Potatoes Wrapped in Proscuitto-make ahead and pop in the oven when ready to serve.  My new book has all easy and quick recipes:  Too Hot in the Kitchen:  Secrets To Sizzle At Any Age–I can’t even decide my favorites….there’s more recipes on my website from Too Hot!

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Christmas Cooking Video-Two Favorites-Sweet Potatoes and My Meaty Italian Dip

Crawfish Goes Southwestern:  Freezer friendly recipe  Also, Southwestern Guacamole

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From Holly Clegg’s trim& TERRIFIC Gulf Coast Favorites Cookbook-all Louisiana and southern recipes for everyday cooking.

My Favorite Crawfish Enchiladas Cooking Video

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

I have been in Dallas, this week, at my daughter and son-in-law’s house helping out while my son-in-law had knee surgery. Everyone is so thoughtful and keeps bringing over sweet treats to enjoy. But of course I couldn’t resist cooking and testing lots of recipes from my new women’s lifestyle book coming out this fall – which I cannot wait because it is SO GOOD! My daughter said she loved the Home-Style Chicken with gravy and rice and my facebook friends have requested I share this dish early…nothing beats smothered chicken and gravy, and of course, its super easy to make. It will be your family’s new favorite!

Home-Style Chicken
Smothered chicken in a tasty gravy goes great with rice or potatoes. 

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (2.0-ounce) package Onion Soup mix (one envelope)
1 1/4 cups water plus 2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup white wine or chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Season chicken, coat lightly with flour. 
2. In large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, brown chicken on both sides, remove from skillet. Add onion and green pepper, scraping sides, sautéing until tender. 
3.  Return chicken to skillet. In small bowl, combine soup mix, 1 1/4 cups water, and wine. Pour over chicken.  Bring to boil, lower heat, cook, covered, over medium low heat until chicken is tender, 20-25 minutes. 
4. In small bowl combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water, add to sauce.  Return to boil, boil one minute.  Serve chicken and sauce.

Home-Style Chicken – By Request!

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Recipes from:  Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Freezer Friendly Recipes

One-dish Freezer-Friendly Soups Cooking Video: Taco Soup and Shrimp and Corn Soup

Best Beef Brisket

Ever needed a great dish to feed and please lots of people? Best Beef Brisket is a delicious make-ahead recipe that will win over men and women of all ages. And you will never believe how easy it is as all you do is season the meat, pop it in the oven, and forget about it! This is great served with Roasted Vegetables and use leftover brisket…that is if you have any…to make the best sandwiches! And, someone just sent me Black Truffle Barbecue Sauce-and wow is it good with the brisket, or probably even with a spoon!

Best Beef Brisket from Holly Clegg’s trim&TERRIFIC Freezer Friendly Meals
The sweet-spicy sauce infuses the brisket with tons of flavor.

Makes 12 – 14 servings

1 (5-6 pound) trimmed beef brisket
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup grainy or Creole mustard
1 cup diet cola
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey

1. Season brisket with salt and pepper, set aside.
2. In small bowl, mix together onion, ginger, garlic, mustard, cola, ketchup, soy sauce, and honey. Spread over brisket, cover, refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven 325°F. Place brisket and marinade in oven in heavy pot. Bake, covered, 5 – 6 hours or until brisket is very tender.

To Prepare and Eat Now: Slice against the grain and serve.
To Freeze: Cool to room temperature, then transfer both the brisket and the sauce to a freezer container, label, and freeze. Freeze up to 4 months.
To Prepare After Freezing: Remove from freezer to defrost. Preheat the oven to 325°F. and bake, covered, with sauce. Slice against the grain to serve.

Nutritional information per serving: Calories 286, Protein (g) 41, Carbohydrate (g) 9, Fat (g) 9, Calories from Fat (%) 28, Saturated Fat (g) 3, Dietary Fiber (g) 0, Cholesterol (mg) 83, Sodium (mg) 507, Diabetic Exchanges: 6 lean meat, 0.5 other carbohydrate

Best Beef Brisket

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!!

My kids are all coming in for the week of Christmas with my three granddogs (when will they have kids)–between book signings and parties–who has time to cook so I turn to my My trim&TERRIFIC Freezer Friendly Meals Cookbook  that not only includes recipes, but everything you wanted to know about freezing but didn’t know where to look.  Also, check out quick breads as I have those in my freezer for those unexpected gift-Chocolate Zucchini Bread-yum!  To the kitchen to make a chili, lasagna, of course gumbo, and some sweet treats…this way there is no stress in my kitchen

Here’s my freezing tips:  

Food must be at room temperature before freezing.

• Avoid freezing high sodium foods as salt lowers freezing point of water
• Don’t overload your freezer.
• Do not put cold glass or ceramic dish in a hot oven as dish may possibly break.
• Allow room for food to expand as food freezes
• Air and moisture cause freezer burn—use freezer plastic containers and freezer plastic bags for moisture proof and airtight freezing.

Home for the Holidays-Make ahead and freeze

Potato Latkes with Apple Walnut Topping-Chunkah