Recipe of the Week - Football Edition

Happy Monday before SEC Football everyone!!!!!

Anyone who knows Nancy & I, knows that we are slightly obsessed with College Football - More specifically Auburn Football... Since this weekend we will be celebrating our first Auburn Tailgate of the 2010 Season, I decided that the Recipe of the Week should have a football theme!!!!

When I think of football food, one of the first things that comes to mind is Nachos - But when your traveling, grilling, and tailgating, nachos become kind of difficult to prepare! So I came up with a Chicken Nacho Dip that works perfectly for Tailgates! You can also try this recipe with ground beef.... Happy Tailgating ...ENJOY!!!!

Chicken Nacho Dip

3 cups Chicken, cooked & shredded
2 Tbs Butter
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Oregano
1 can Black Beans, rinsed & drained
1/4 cup Pickled Jalapenos, chopped
1 (8oz) container Sour Cream
1 can Rotel Tomatoes, drained
1 can Sliced Black Olives, drained
3 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Tortilla Chips or Fritos for Dipping

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over Medium heat. Add bell peppers, onion, and garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Season with cumin & oregano and cook for 3 minutes.
2. In a large bowl combine chicken, pepper mixture, black beans, sour cream, rotel, black olives, jalapenos, and 2 cups of cheddar cheese. Mix well.
3. Spray a baking dish (For tailgates, we use the disposable tin baking pans!!!) with non-stick spray. Pour chicken nacho mixture into baking dish. Cover with remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes. If you are tailgating with this dish - Heat the dip on your grill for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted!
5. Serve with Tortillas or Fritos!!!

"It is a spirit. It is an attitude. It is a way of looking at life and at one another. It is, almost, a way of living. Unless you have experienced it, you will never know what it is; you will never understand it. Once you have experienced it, you will never be the same. A part of you will, forevermore, be an Auburn man or an Auburn woman."

-David Housel

Recipe of the Week

Hello everyone, hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Last week a great friend of mine emailed me asking for quick & easy weeknight dinner ideas... Since we are all so busy and have no time to cook, I thought that some of you might be in need of the same thing! So I decided to share one of my favorite weeknight dishes for Recipe of the Week!! If you don't like spicy foods, leave out the chilies....ENJOY!!

Chicken Enchiladas
Yield: 16 Enchiladas

4 cups Chicken, shredded **Time Saving Tip - Use a rotisserie chicken**
1 pkg Taco/Chili Seasoning
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
1 Red Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 can Corn, drained
5 Whole Green Chilies, chopped
4 Chipotle Chilies, chopped
1 (28oz) can Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 Tsp All Purpose Flour
16 Corn Tortillas
1 1/2 cups Enchilada Sauce
1 cup Cheddar-Jack Cheese, shredded
Garnish: Chopped Cilantro, Sour Cream, Chopped Scallions, or Chopped Tomatoes

1. In a large bowl mix shredded chicken with seasoning packet.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil and saute onion and garlic 3-5 minutes. Add corn, chilies, & tomatoes, cook 3-5 minutes. Mix shredded chicken in with the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle flour over chicken/vegetable mixture to help it set.
3. Microwave tortillas to make them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (9x13) baking dishes with Enchilada Sauce. Pour rest of Enchilada Sauce into a shallow bowl. Dip each tortilla into Enchilada sauce to lightly coat, spoon 1/4 cup of chicken mixture into each tortilla, fold Enchilada over, seam side down, into the baking dish.
4. Top Enchiladas with remaining sauce and cheese.
5. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F or until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream, scallions, or tomatoes.

Recipe of the Week

Happy Monday everyone, hope you all have had a fantastic weekend! This week's "Recipe of the Week" was inspired by an appetizer that I had this weekend at an amazing restaurant in the Forest Park area called Little Savannah! Little Savannah is a quaint, Southern bistro that incorporates fresh, local produce into their gourmet menus. They also have a fantastic wine list and their menus change week to week depending on what's fresh and in season!

The appetizer was Fried Green Tomatoes with an Okra & Corn Pico, Red Onion Marmalade, & Crawfish Remoulade - It was amazing! So I pulled out my recipes to find a "not so fancy" version of Fried Green Tomatoes.... ENJOY!

Fried Green Tomatoes with Crawfish Remoulade

1/4 cup Lemon Juice
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
1/2 cup Green Onion, chopped
1/4 cup Celery, chopped
2 Tbs Horseradish
3 Tbs Whole-Grain Mustard
3 Tbs Yellow Mustard
3 Tbs Ketchup
3 Tbs Parsley, chopped
Salt & Cayenne Pepper to taste
2 Tbs Butter
1/2 cup Onion, minced
1 lb Crawfish Tails
12 slices Green Tomatoes, cut 1/4 inch thick
Black Pepper to taste
1 cup Flour
2 Eggs, beaten with 1 Tbs milk
2 cups fine Breadcrumbs
Creole Seasoning to taste
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1 Tbs Green Onion, chopped (Garnish)

For the Remoulade (Yield 2 cups):

1.Combine the lemon juice, oil, onions, green onions, celery, horseradish, mustards, ketchup and parsley. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Place in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process for 30 seconds. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Remoulade will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

2. In a large saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Add the crawfish tails and season with salt and pepper. Continue to saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the Remoulade. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Keep warm over low heat.

For the tomatoes:

3. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Season the flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs, separately with Creole seasoning.

4. Dredge each slice of tomato in the flour. Dip each slice in the egg wash, letting the excess drip off. Finally, dredge each slice in the breadcrumbs, coating completely.

5. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, pan-fry the tomatoes, in batches, until golden and crispy on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Season with Creole seasoning.

6.To serve, lay three tomatoes in the center of each plate. Spoon a quarter of the sauce over each plate of tomatoes. Garnish with green onions.

Recipe of the Week

One of my favorite things to do is try out new, different recipes and foods! So as part of our Blog, I wanted to share with you a "Recipe of the Week" each week so that you can explore new and exciting foods too!

I love using ingredients that are in season and fresh! For those of us who live in the South - Peaches are ripe & perfect for picking right now! When I was little, my grandmother made this dish whenever we had fresh peaches... It's one of my personal favorites!!! Try it topped with vanilla ice cream for an extra summer treat!!! ENJOY!

Peach Cobbler
Yield: 8-10 Servings

4 cups Fresh Peaches, sliced
2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup Water
8 Tbs Butter
1 1/2 cup Self-Rising Flour
1 1/2 cup Milk
Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Combine peaches, 1 cup of sugar, & water in a sauce pan. Mix well. Bring to a boil & simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Put the butter into a 3-quart baking dish and place in the oven to melt.

4. Mix remaining 1 cup of sugar, flour, & milk together slowly to prevent clumping. Pour this mixture over melted butter - Do not stir!!! Spoon peaches on top, gently pouring in syrup . Batter will rise during baking.

5. Sprinkle top with cinnamon! Bake 35-45 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Sweet Magnolias Debut

Hello Friends & Family...

Nancy & I are so excited to present to you, our long-awaited dream, Sweet Magnolias!

Sweet Magnolias is a new catering & take-home dinner company located in Hoover, Alabama. A lot of people have asked where we got the idea for Sweet Magnolias - And the answer is from our friends!!! Every time we hosted or helped host an event, our friends urged us to "start our own catering business..." So finally we decided to listen and here we are today!

All of our casseroles, soups, side dishes, & appetizers come frozen for your convenience - Making them perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, fast party food, or ready-made tailgate snacks!

Take a look at our wonderful menu, place an order, and let us know what you think!