Strawberry Shortcakes

I dedicate this post to my college roommate, Abby (Martin) Norris. Growing up, my family always just ate the store bought shortcakes so that is all I knew. Then in college, Abby introduced me to Bisquick's Strawberry Shortcakes. Although this is not an original Beasley recipe, it is definitely a keeper! (Note: This recipe can be found on the back of a Bisquick box.)

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/3 cups Original Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
Stir Bisquick, milk, 3 Tbsp sugar and butter until dough forms. Drop by 6 spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Top shortcakes with strawberries and a dollop of whipped topping. Or instead of whipped topping, Abby pours a little milk over the shortcakes. I know it sounds weird, but it is good!

Enjoy!

Bistro Burger and Garlic Parmesan Fries

Bistro Burger

1 1/4 lbs of ground beef
1 T. ketchup
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. basil
1/2 t. thyme
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. Cavenders
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, using your hands, combine the beef with all ingredients. Divide into 4 patties and grill to likeness. (Side note: We used our indoor grill pan due to excessive heat! If you don't have one, you need one.)

Meanwhile, slice 1 small onion and 1 cup of mushrooms. Saute in 1 T. of butter until browned. Once burgers are cooked, top with sauteed mushroom and onions then finish off with a slice of Monterey Jack cheese.



Garlic Parmesan Fries

2 large baking potatoes
2 T. vegetable oil
1 t. salt
2 T. butter
1 1/2 t. garlic powder
2 T. parmesan cheese
1 t. dried parsley

Using a mandoline or by hand, cut potatoes into strips leaving the skin on. Then toss potatoes with oil and salt. Spread on greased cookie sheet and bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees turning potatoes over after 20 or so minutes.

Place butter, garlic powder and dried parsley in a small bowl and microwave until butter is melted. Toss butter mixture with cooked fries and top with parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Kim

(Disclaimer: My photos are in no way professional! Good thing our blog is about food and not photography.)

Kim's Chris Filet Mignon

This is my cousin's recipe for an exceptional Filet Mignon (or any steak for that matter). It makes one great steak that rivals any that you would get at Outback, Fleming's or Ruth's Chris. The marinade is simply a combination of soy sauce and garlic powder. It depends on how many steaks you make to the measurements. For six steaks I used one 10 oz. bottle of Soy Sauce and 3 tablespoons of garlic powder. Lay the steaks in a baking dish and pour marinade over steaks. Marinate for 1 hour turning over at 30 minutes. Before placing steaks on the grill I added a bit of Cavender's for a bit of peppery taste that is not too overpowering.

Heat the grill to medium high heat (some people say high heat, but I think it's too dangerous to cook the steak too fast and make it tough). Grill steaks for 5-10 min. on each side (depending on how you like your steaks cooked). A trick to make grill marks on the steaks is to turn the steaks 90º to create the cross-hatch look.

We cooked some baked potatoes and grilled some corn on the cob to go along with the steaks.

- Enjoy the Steaks! They are phenomenal!
Alex

Beasley's BBQ Chicken

One morning Alex was on his way to work and a car happened to pass him that was advertising Beasley's Best Bbq Sauce. Fast forward a couple of months and we just happened to find the Bbq sauce at a little general store in downtown Wake Forest. We went to our local grocery store and bought a whole bone-in chicken to grill.

To grill the chicken:
Season the chicken with salt, pepper and seasoned salt.
Place chicken on the grill on low heat (heat too high will dry the chicken out).
For the final 5 minutes, baste the chicken with Beasley's BBQ Sauce.
Make sure chicken is cooked through (or heated to internal temperature of 160-170 degrees).

Take chicken off grill and enjoy! We also grilled some corn on the cob and diced potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil with onions and garlic.

Stuffed Chicken

3 pieces of chicken breasts
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of sliced grape tomatoes
1 cup of mozzarella cheese
1 box of bow tie pasta
1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes
1 cup of heavy cream
Seasonings: Italian seasoning and rosemary

Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken between two pieces of saran wrap then pound flat a meat tenderizer (or whatever you can find). Layer the cheese, seasonings, mushrooms and tomatoes on each piece of chicken. Carefully fold the chicken in half then stick several toothpicks through the top of the chicken to hold everything together. Place chicken in a greased 9x13 dish and cook for 45 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to box directions.

Sauce: In a blender (or we use the magic bullet!) crush the can of diced tomatoes. Mix crushed tomatoes with heavy cream in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then let simmer on low heat stirring occasionally.

Serve chicken (don't forget to take out the toothpicks!) over pasta and drizzle sauce over the chicken.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Tacos

This was my first recipe I came up with. When Kim and I were first dating, I flew from Raleigh to San Antonio to see her at her grandparents house. On the way back, I had a 3 hour morning layover in Dallas at the DFW Airport. Of course, to pass the time I got a bite to eat at the TGI Friday's and ordered breakfast tacos (they don't serve anymore) and they were fantastic! As I ate the tacos and reflected on my wonderful weekend with my beautiful girlfriend Kimberly (now my wife) I thought to myself, "I could make those..." And so once I got back to my apartment I made them, and they were even better than the TGI Friday's version if I do say so myself.

Here's the recipe:
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 lb red potatoes, diced
1/2 lb sausage, crumbled
5 eggs, scrambled
1 cup or so shredded cheddar cheese, for topping tacos
Spices (Chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, Cavender's Greek Seasoning (my favorite), Seasoned Salt, Salt and Pepper, and Italian Seasoning)
4 Taco size flour tortillas

Heat oil in large skillet and place potatoes in the skillet. While the potatoes are cooking, season the potatoes with all the spices (the main two to use the most of are chili powder and italian seasoning). Don't be afraid to season liberally because the potatoes are where the seasoning comes from in the tacos. Next, cook the sausage and the eggs in separate skillets. Finally brown tortillas in a buttered skillet. After the potatoes, sausage, and eggs are cooked thoroughly, place them in the tortilla and top with cheese. Fold tortilla like a taco and enjoy!

- Alex

Restaurant Review: Catch 31

Alex is on Easter Break from school so we made a quick getaway trip to Virginia Beach, VA. We had some great seafood there and one of the restaurants we ate at was Catch 31 at the Hilton Oceanfront Hotel. (Don't worry we stayed at the Comfort Inn...)

We had a wonderful lunch sitting outside overlooking the beach. Our appetizer was french fries tossed in herbs and butter served with a side of chipotle ketchup.

I ordered the fish tacos which served as a tasty, light lunch. On the other hand, the tacos did not contain as much fish as I would have liked.

Fish Tacos

Alex ordered a soft-shell crab sandwich. Although it looks like they fried the thing alive, it was absolutely delicious! It was simply a soft-shell crab deep fried (real healthy, I know!) served on a bun with mayonnaise and tomatoes. It definitely made for a great sandwich. He also had a side of sweet potato fries.

Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich

Overall we would give Catch 31: 4 out of 5 stars.

We're Alive!

Sorry we haven't updated in awhile. Life has been somewhat hectic for the past week and a half with a wedding and the birth of our new nephew, Philip Joshua.

We will be posting a new recipe shortly...Stuffed Chicken. You do not want to miss it!

In the meantime, you can "ooh" and "aah" over this sweet picture!

Love, Kim

Shrimp Tacos

Springtime is here! This is a delicious and easy meal to eat one summery afternoon.

1 lb of shrimp (we used frozen shrimp)
1 pkg of fajita style flour tortillas
1 avocado
1 bunch of cilantro
1 lime
pico de gallo
butter

If cooking from frozen, de-thaw shrimp. Place shrimp on skewers and season according to taste. We used chili powder, Cavenders (surprise, surprise), garlic powder and season salt. Grill shrimp 5-10 min. each side. Meanwhile, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter per tortilla in skillet and lightly brown the tortillas.

Chop the cilantro and slice the avocado. Place several shrimp on tortilla and top with sliced avocado, pico de gallo, cilantro and squirt with lime juice. Pour yourself a glass of iced sweet tea and enjoy!

Southwest Chicken Pasta

This is Alex's signature dish which he threw together one night and it turned out to be quite a delight! (I get so jealous that he can just create a new recipe from thin air, but I am so thankful he can!)


1 box (16 Oz. Box) Penne Pasta
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 pound Chicken Breast
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder, divided
2 Tablespoons Cavenders, divided
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 Tablespoons Onion Powder, divided
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper, divided
1 jar (15 Oz. Jar) Alfredo Sauce
½ cans (10 Oz. Can) Rotel

1. Cook the pasta according to directions on the box.

2. In a 12″ skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

3. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces then put the chicken in the skillet once the oil heats.

4. Season the chicken with 2 tablespoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon Cavenders, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 tablespoon black pepper.

5. While the chicken is cooking, in a 1 1/2 qt. sauce pan, pour the Alfredo sauce, Rotel, and remaining seasonings. Cook on medium to medium-low until chicken is fully cooked.

6. After draining the pasta, return the pasta back to the stock pot. Then combine the chicken and sauce with the pasta.

7. Pour pasta in a serving bowl and serve hot.

(Note: Ingredients can be changed to taste. We like ours a tad bit spicy! We don't measure our spices so the measurements are an estimate.)

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

1 frozen pizza dough (thawed)
2 cooked chicken breasts (shredded)
1/2 diced onion
1/4 c. feta cheese
1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce (adjust to liking)

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Place pizza stone (if you have one) in oven to heat for 5 minutes. While stone is heating, flour a clean surface and roll out dough to form the crust. Take pizza stone out of oven and lightly dust with cornmeal to avoid the crust sticking to the stone. Lay dough on stone and evenly spread Frank's Red Hot sauce on the dough. Next, top with shredded chicken. Add onion and feta cheese. Then finish with the mozzarella.

Turn oven down to 400 degrees and bake for 12-15 minutes or until crust/cheese are brown.

(Side note: We like to dip our crust in ranch dressing mixed with Sriracha chile sauce--just a few drops.)

Enjoy!

Restaurant Review: Kanki

Sushi!!!!

Kim and I love eating sushi! (Kim likes the fried the best though...) Located in Raleigh's Crabtree Valley Mall, Kanki has something for everyone. You have the option of sitting either in the casual lounge area (where we sat) or at one of the many teppanyaki hibachi grills where a chef cooks your food in front of you.




We ordered two sushi rolls and fried rice. Their fried rice was exceptional especially with the Japanese Yum Yum Sauce on it! The two sushi rolls were the Deep Sea Roll and the Kanki Roll.

The Deep Sea Roll: Spicy tuna and avocado, tempura batter fried with spicy mayo, seasoned sweet soy sauce and green onions. - this was fantastic, especially if you like your sushi fried.

Kanki Roll: House Special Shrimp & Krab Meat topped with Red Masago

The price was reasonable for sushi. You can expect to spend around $15-$20 for two full sushi rolls (depending on what kind you order). We would recommend Kanki to anyone needing a to go out on a date night without breaking the bank. The food was superb and the restaurant was pleasantly delightful.

Overall, we give this restaurant 4 out of 5 stars.

Strawberry-Banana Smoothies

Kim and I make this smoothie as a semi-healthy after dinner desert and as alternative to cookies (although you can never go wrong with chocolate chip cookies!). We use non-fat vanilla yogurt instead of ice cream. It gives it a creamy consistency while adding the vanilla flavor. This is an excellent and simple indulgence especially in the summer. Enjoy!




1 cup of ice
12 whole frozen strawberries
1 banana
1 cup of 1% milk
1/2 cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup of sugar









Posted by Alex
Go Cardinals!

Taco in a Pan

This is one of our easy, go-to recipes for those 'I don't want to cook' type nights. Alex is the chef in our home so if I, Kim, can make this by myself then you know it must be easy!

1 lb ground beef (we use ground turkey)
2 cups water
2 cups minute rice
1 cup Mexican cheese (Alex is a cheese hog and adds extra)
1 can black beans drained
1 can green chilis
1 cup chopped plum tomatoes
handful of chopped green onions
chopped cilantro
**Seasonings (we don't measure how much seasoning we use so just add to liking): chili powder, cavenders, pinch of cayenne pepper (watch out it's hot!), garlic powder, nature's seasoning, salt, pepper and anything else that makes your heart happy.

Brown meat in large skillet. Then season up your meat. Add water; stir. Bring to boil then stir in rice. Cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Then stir in your beans and green chilis and let cook for a few minutes. Top with cheese, tomatoes, green onions and cilantro. Once cheese is melted then it's ready to eat! We like to top ours of with a dollop of sour cream and salsa then serve with Tostito chips. Enjoy!