Easy Chicken & Yellow Rice
I found this at allrecipes

5 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 green bell pepper, diced (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 (16 ounce) package yellow rice
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch poultry seasoning, or to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Bring water and chicken bouillon to a boil in a large skillet

Add chicken breasts and bell pepper; simmer over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes

Remove chicken and pour remaining broth into a 9×13-inch baking dish

Stir rice, plus the included seasoning packet, and olive oil into broth

Arrange chicken breast over rice and season with black pepper and poultry seasoning

Bake in the preheated oven until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 45 minutes

Fluff rice with a fork before serving

Thoughts
When my kids were growing up I made chicken & yellow rice all the time using leg quarters (I removed the skin, bones, and yuck before adding it to the yellow rice) and it tasted amazing.  I stopped eating it when I started eating boneless skinless chicken breasts years ago. The other day out of the blue I got a craving for it so I decided to find a recipe for that used boneless skinless chicken breast and was quick and easy. I wasn’t sure how it would taste without the skin, bones & fat but thought I’d give it a try.

I didn’t use bell pepper but other than that I followed the recipe. We both thought the chicken was too dry but the flavor was good & the yellow rice tasted really good. We had leftovers so the next night I shredded the chicken and put it and the rice in a saucepan. Then I brought a cup of water  to boil and  added 1/2 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules, stirred well and poured it in the saucepan with the chicken & rice and heated it. This time it was a big hit! So, the next time I make it I’ll use shredded chicken instead of breasts and make it on the stove.

Weekend Cooking is hosted @ Beth Fish Reads

Jack’d Up Smoked Meatloaf @ Hey Grill Hey

Servings: 6 people

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 medium red onion grated
2 cloves garlic minced
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons Jack Daniels whiskey
1 Tablespooon homemade steak rub (recipe  below) or favorite steak rub
1/4 cup milk
6 oz pepper jack cheese cut into strips

For the sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Jack Daniels whiskey
1 Tablespoon homemade steak rub (recipe  below)
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Homemade Steak Rub
2 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsbp crushed coriander seeds (not ground)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well to combine
Press into steaks or use as desired
Store unused rub in an airtight container for several weeks

Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F for indirect smoking. This meatloaf is awesome with hickory or oak wood.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, red onion, garlic, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, Jack Daniels, and milk.

Mix gently with your hands until just combined. Don’t overwork the meat or your meatloaf will be tough and chewy, just gently mix.

Spread half of your meatloaf mixture on the bottom of a grill basket.

Layer on the pepper jack cheese, leaving about an inch of meatloaf on all sides.

Top with the remaining meatloaf mixture and press the edges together to seal completely. Any exposed holes and the cheese will leak out while cooking.

In a small bowl. combine the ingredients for the sauce and then pour over the top of the meatloaf, letting it run down the sides a little bit.

Place the meatloaf on the smoker, close the lid, and smoke for 4 hours or until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees F.

Let the meatloaf rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Thoughts
My son found this recipe and said he wanted to try it. I was skeptical because he does NOT like hamburgers or anything with cheese melted inside, or spicy food.

I didn’t follow the recipe 100%. I used less garlic and baked it (350° for an hour) instead of smoking it.

I couldn’t find ground corriander so I had to buy the seeds and crush them myself. And since I don’t drink I got the whiskey from my daughter & son in law who love JD.

The meatloaf turned out really good. I thought it was really spicy but my son loved it. He also didn’t mind the cheese melted inside, so it was a big hit. Since there are only two of us I think if I make it again I’ll half the recipe.

If you like meatloaf and wouldn’t mind it a bit spicy, you should try this.

Weekend Cooking is hosted @ Beth Fish Reads

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty

Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Amistad (August 1, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062379291
ISBN-13: 978-0062379290

A renowned culinary historian offers a fresh perspective on our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry—both black and white—through food, from Africa to America and slavery to freedom.

Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who “owns” it is one of the most provocative touch points in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine.

From the tobacco and rice farms of colonial times to plantation kitchens and backbreaking cotton fields, Twitty tells his family story through the foods that enabled his ancestors’ survival across three centuries. He sifts through stories, recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents, and travels from Civil War battlefields in Virginia to synagogues in Alabama to Black-owned organic farms in Georgia.

As he takes us through his ancestral culinary history, Twitty suggests that healing may come from embracing the discomfort of the Southern past. Along the way, he reveals a truth that is more than skin deep—the power that food has to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can discover the real America together.

Thoughts
This is not a true cookbook, it’s also a mix of historical non-fiction, the African Slave experience, how and what the slaves cooked and what they used to cook it. It’s about how the author became so obsessed with food and his need to to learn about his ancesters who were slaves.

The book is funny, sad, thought provoking and at times a tough read. I learned a lot from this book. But the library wanted it back sooner than I wanted to let it go, and so I rushed through it. Because of that I feel the need to re-read it, slowly next time. I want to take my time and enjoy it completely.

I love the photos that were in the book.

Here are the first two things I plan on making from the book:
Kitchen Pepper: Goes in everything in place of just pepper
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground mace
1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger

Mix together and store in a cool place

Mr. Wesley Jones’s Barbecue Mop
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 large yellow or white onion, well chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp coarse black pepper
1 pod long red cayenne pepper or 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
1 tsp dried basil leaves or 1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1/2 tsp crushed coriander seed
1/4 cup dark brown sugar or 4 tbsp molasses (not blackstrap)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan
Add onion and garlic and saute on medium heat until translucent
Turn heat down slightly and add vinegar, water, and the salt and spices
Allow to cook gently for about thirty minutes to an hour
To be used as a light mop sauce or glaze during the last 15-30 minutes of barbecuing and as a dip for cooked meat.

I highly recommended this book, and I also recommend his blog, Afroculinaria 

Weekend Cooking

Brunswick Stew from The Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking

 
My husband loved Sonny’s  and really loved their Brunswick Stew (not all Sonny’s have it). I never made it at home, but when I saw this quick and easy recipe I decided to make it. I can’t imagine any restaurant making it with just canned ingredients, but I like quick and easy.

Brunswick Stew
2 (15-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
2 (15-ounce) cans creamed corn
2 (13-ounce) cans chicken
2 (10-ounce) cans BBQ pork
1 (14-ounce) bottle ketchup
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for two to three hour

Serve with Jiffy cornbread  or Ritz crackers

Thoughts
Since this was made with canned ingredients my expectations weren’t that high. Plus, it uses a 14 oz. bottle of ketchup. I like ketchup, but…

I was really surprised at how good it was. Even my son Anthony said it was pretty good, and he’s never been a fan of any kind of stew.

It couldn’t have been any easier. Open some cans and measure in some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and apple cider vinegar. Heat. Voila.

I was going to use my slow cooker but decided at the last minute to make it and it would have taken too long, so I just did it on the stove, and we loved how it turned out. I also used saltine crackers because that’s what I had on hand.

I plan on making this again. Quick, easy, and yummy!

I just wish my husband was still here so he could try it 🙁

Weekend Cooking

Souper Sundays