Sunday Football

Here in the USA, you know fall is coming when football season begins.  Everyone sporting their jersey's, t-shirts, and whatnot of their favorite team.  Tailgate parties going on all over town.  Just a lot of fun and making memories. It's really something special for us football fans.

Yesterday was the first game of the season for my Baltimore Ravens. You saw purple everywhere! (Oh, by the way, we won.) Folks were very excited to see the Ravens come back after last year's horrible season.  All of our best players were out with injuries from torn Achilles to fractured hips, to broken arms. It was a really bad time for us.  But it looks like things are getting back to normal.  All of our injured guys were back and looking as healthy as ever.  And if they keep playing like they did Sunday, I'm pretty sure we will make the playoffs and possibly, dare I say it, the Super Bowl.

Every Sunday or Thursday, or Monday - whatever day our Ravens play - during football season, my friends and I get together to watch football.  It is so much fun watching the game with friends.  Lots of laughter and screaming at the television, doing the Raven's chant every time they score a touchdown, "Oh, oh oh oh, oh oh."  Not to mention the enjoying a refreshing beverage and eating yummy dishes each person contributes. At the end of the evening, I usually have no voice.

Since it was such a lovely Sunday afternoon, we cranked up the grill. We had Italian sausages, hotdogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, bbq chicken, spareribs, tossed salad, macaroni salad, a few other dishes I can't seem to remember right now, and my Spicy Italian Crescent Ring.

It was easy to make and only took minutes to put together.  Here's how.

Ingredients
Salami
Prosciutto (The recipe called for capocollo but I couldn't find it)
Ham
Banana peppers
Red roasted peppers
Provolone cheese
2 cans of crescent rolls
Black pepper

Using a round pizza pan, I first unrolled each can of crescent rolls and laid them out in a circle. Be sure to lay the dough so that the wider ends are facing inward and the smaller ends are facing outward (Taking the shape of the sun). Then on the wider end I layered the roasted peppers, half slices of provolone cheese, salami, prosciutto, ham, banana peppers and topped it off with the other half slices of provolone cheese.  Like this:

Next just pull the ends of the crescents up over the deli meats and tucked them under. Finally sprinkle a little black pepper over the top and let bake in the oven for 22 minutes at 375 degrees.

And Voila!!!

My friends really enjoyed it.  I was even asked to make one for a housewarming party next month.

I found this dish on Facebook, but you can get the entire recipe here.

Pineapple Jerk Chicken Recipe

I am so excited that fall is only a few weeks away.  The summer has been extremely hot and I am so done with hamburgers, hotdogs, pasta salads and all those other summer foods.  I'm ready for some warm, homemade comfort food like meatloaf, chili and chicken & biscuit casseroles.   I have been waiting for a nice day when I could go into the kitchen to cook and I finally got my wish this week and decided to try a new recipe. It's not a dish I would categorize as "comfort food" but it was better than eating a burger or hotdog.  Let's call it an "in-between seasonal dish." Plus it was easy to make and tasted really good too.

Grilled Pineapple Jerk Chicken Thighs (http:/erecipecards.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup jerk chicken spice mix
1 cup pineapple chunks w/juice
8 chicken thighs
salt and pepper

Because I live in an apartment (grills are not allowed), I baked mine's in the oven.  Also in the recipe they used chicken thighs with the skin on, but I used boneless/skinless thighs.

For the jerk spice I used my favorite:

It comes in mild or hot and you can find it in any grocery store.

First I placed the chicken thighs in a 9x13 baking dish. I seasoned the chicken with a little salt and pepper, then added the jerk seasoning/pineapple mixture.  I let the thighs cook for about 25 minutes, covered, at 350 degrees making sure the meat didn't dry out.  Then I uncovered the dish and broiled the chicken for 2-3 minutes so that it would get a nice browning on top.  They didn't brown as much as I wanted however.  Probably because they were skinless.  And that's it really. I wish I had taken a picture of the chicken when it first came out of the oven. Must remember that for my next dish.

To compliment the chicken I made coconut rice, green beans, plantains and macaroni and cheese. Cabbage is a favorite side with Caribbean dishes like jerk or curry chicken but I have not mastered making that yet. I'm always told it's simple. One day I'll give it a try.  The macaroni and cheese was a last added side. I had made a big pan to take to our office cookout and decided to make a small pan for home.

I found this recipe on Pinterest but you can get the full recipe here.  Give it a try!

Freezer Meals

Hey there, it's me. Back with an update on what I've been up to since my last post.

For several weeks I have been whisking away in the kitchen, preparing meals and stuffing them in the freezer, and I have to say I am so proud of how much I've accomplished.  With fall just around the corner, and all the holidays coming up (Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas) I will be quite busy and won't have the time to plan out meals, much less cook.  Having everything prepped ahead saves me time, I get a warm, comfort meal and the big plus, I save money by not stopping at fast food restaurants.

As you can see my freezer is filled to capacity.

When I started, everything was nice and neat.  But as I added more it became a bit unorganized. Messy, I got everything in there. lol

So you're probably wondering what on earth all I have in there? Well let me tell you.

• Cajun Lasagna
• Chili
• Pineapple Jerk Chicken
• Fixings for Chicken Cheesesteak
• Fixings for Chicken Gyros
• Hamburgers
• Fixings for hotdog sauce
• Fixings for a Taco Ring
• Shrimp egg rolls
• Meatloaf
• Salmon cakes
• Crab Cakes
• Meatballs
• A 3 pound chicken

There's also 2lb bags of flounder and salmon fillets for recipes I am going to try.  Then I have a few bags of frozen vegetables such as corn, green beans, broccoli, and mixed vegetables.  A 5lb bag of wing parts. Three pounds of bacon for a couple of breakfast as well a dinner recipes. Several packs of beef hot dogs. A couple of sirloin steaks. Plus a bag of french fries and onion rings for when I make an onion ring cheeseburger (A recipe I found on Pinterest). I may make a pot of soup, once I clear out the freezer a little.  I'm not really a soup person but I did find a recipe I would like to try.  Oh and I would like to make chicken & dumplings. 

I just love trying new recipes.  Since I've been planning and cooking meals at home over the last few years, it has really opened my pallet to a lot of things I thought I didn't like .  For instance asparagus.  I even have my boyfriend eating it. I find myself making asparagus a quite lot.

Well that's all for now.  Can't wait to tell you about the pineapple jerk chicken I plan on having for dinner some time this week.  Til then, bye-bye!