Canjun Chicken Cakes

If you asked me what my favorite meat was I would say hamburger. Seriously, if given the option and if burgers were suddenly healthy, I could and would eat a burger everyday. Breakfast burger, lunch burger, dinner burgers. Love me some burgers! If you asked my table counterparts what my favorite meat was they would say chicken. Whole chicken followed closely by ground chicken. Chickens (yes, chickens not chicken) is good, I have to admit. Chicken and Rice, Green Chicken Enchiladas, and Chicken Spinach Feta Garlic Pasta are just a few of my T&T favorites. These Chicken Cakes might quickly become a favorite, too.

Modifications Made:

To start, the recipe was halved. Poultry seasoning was swapped for Tony Chachere. Tabasco sauce, parsley, dijon, and mayo were omitted. Breadcrumbs and eggs were omitted, too.

If you read the instructions you will never cook these. The recipe is not complicated if you follow my procedure.

Sautee all bell peppers and onions in teaspoon of butter. When cooked add minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and Tony's. Stir in ground chicken till just incorporated. Place in fridge to cool.

When chicken veggie mixture is cold, stir in coarse ground crackers. Form chicken into patties and fry.

Scaled for Likability: Good

Good for a first attempt. With a few alterations on the next go around, thee cakes could easily be great. Ritz crackers are too soft for these cakes and will be swapped for crushed saltines instead, green or red onions for white onions, and green bell peppers will be swapped for orange.

The key to a a good patty that is light and airy yet doesn't fall apart when cooking is to not over mix the meat. This is true for burger, meatballs, salmon croquet. Saltines absorb the moisture allowing the patty to stick to itself while maintaining a crunch for texture. Cooking the veggies ahead of time low and slow removes excess moisture. When patties are cooked this lack of moisture keeps the patty from falling apart. Cold well form patties fried in correct temperature creates a hard crunch exterior trapping moisture from meat inside.

Cajun patties were perfect as a side to a salad but would be fabulous as a burger, too! Pilled high with cold iceberg lettuce, freshly sliced avocado, and a slather of spicy mustard on Texas toast would be scrumptious.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green be

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Cover and reduc

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese and did not contain enough onion, garlic,

Eating Waffles

Search This Blog