Corn Pudding

Corn pudding is great and this is a very easy recipe.

1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup sour cream (don't use Lite)
1 16oz.can cream-style corn
1 16oz.can whole kernel corn (undrained)
2 eggs
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix


Preheat oven to 350. Mean while melt butter or margarine. then pour into a 9x13 glass dish and let cool for a min.

In another bowl mix sour cream and both cans of corn.
When mixed well stir in muffin mix.

Pour into the 9x13 glass dish and smooth out to the corners.

Bake at 350 for 50 mins. or until golden brown.

Macdaddy

Marinated Chicken Breasts

I saw this recipe and thought it looked pretty good.

But I haven't tried it yet.

2 cups lemon-lime soda
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Prepared horseradish
6 boneless skinless breast halves- you can use thighs or skin on chicken

Mix all of your ingredients together in a bowl.
Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour in marinade.

Seal bag almost shut and remove as much air as possible then seal shut.
Turn bag to coat chicken and refrigerate overnight, turning bag from time to time.

When you are ready to fix dinner remove the chicken from the fridge and let it warm up to take the chill off.

When the grill is heated and ready to go, place chicken on the grill - discard marinade.

Grill till juices run clear.



Macdaddy

Fried Rice with Bacon

2 medium leeks (white part only) washed and chopped
1 medium onion peeled and chopped (I like sweet onions or you can use garden onions)
2 tbs. Olive oil or extra light olive oil
4-1/2 cups cooked white rice ( Minute rice is fine)
1 egg, lightly beaten
5 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
Salt & pepper to taste


In a large skillet, saute leeks and onion in oil until tender.
About 10 mins.

Add the cooked rice and salt; cook till lightly browned (med.low heat you want to fry it not burn it so watch it if it looks like it's browning to quickly turn down the heat) stirring often.

Pour in the egg and mix well.
Continue cooking and stirring until egg is cooked.

Add pepper stirring one more time, then top with bacon.
Makes 6 servings:

Note: You can use Hickory smoked bacon or peppered bacon, either is fine.

Macdaddy

Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend is here.

A lot of people will hit the back yards firing up the grills, the smokers, the music, and feeding friends and family and enjoying the pool or the lake, taking in some rays (don't get sun burnt) and " sucking down some brew as you check out the view."

Relax, have fun and unwind.

But remember that this is also a day to remember lost loved ones - Sisters, Brothers, Moms, Dads, Sons, Daughters, Husbands, Wives, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and most importantly our Veterans (present and past) that have done so much for us.

Look up at the sky, give a salute and say "Thank You".

Then fire up that grill, pop that top and have a great "Safe" weekend!!!!

Macdaddy

A little more info about meat

Let me talk about meat a little more.

When you marinade your meat in the fridge (6 to 24 hrs.)
or, you are just going to cook it naked, before you throw it on the grill or smoker,
let it set out and come to room temperature.

Don't take it right out of the fridge and toss it on the grill or smoker.

Why?

It will be cold on the inside.

It will cook on the outside but will not be done on the inside and take a whole lot longer to cook (char-broiled on the outside, still mooing on the inside)

So as you are pre heating your grill and fixing whatever else you are serving, let it warm up to take the chill off the meat.

It will cook better, now don't let it sit out all day, but take it out and let it warm up 25 to 30 mins.

If it has been in the fridge for more than 6 hrs.

Trust me..it makes a difference.

When cold meat is put on the grill or smoker you play a guessing game.

And that ain't good.

Macdaddy

Honey-Dijon Chicken

8 skinless,boneless chicken breast halves (see note below)
1/2 cup white Zinfandel wine, apple juice, or apple cider
1/4 cup olive oil or cooking oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon-style mustard
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. Salt

1. After washing, place chicken breast in a resealable plastic zip lock bag.
For the marinade, in a small bowl combine wine or apple juice,oil,honey,mustard,garlic,pepper and salt.
Mix well.

Pour marinade over chicken and seal bag (removing as much air as possible)
Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, turning bag occasionally.

2. Drain chicken, discarding marinade.

Place chicken on pre heated grill on medium heat.
Grill for 12 to 15 minutes turning once, or till no longer pink. (170*F)
Makes 8 servings

Note: A friend asked me if you could use bone in chicken breast. Yes you can, you can use bone in chicken breast with skin or thighs or Leg quarters. Just up the cooking time a bit. You could also use this on whole chicken if you want to do a rotisserie style bird.

Prepping the meat

You are ready to cook, now what?

Steaks, chicken, burgers, ribs, pork loin, pork chops, grilled cheese.

Well lets talk about seasonings.

I like to use a combo of things.

My primary seasoning is Morton Nature's Seasons seasoning blend.
I mix a little extra garlic powder and Spice Islands fine grind black pepper into the mix.

(this is a great mix)

I use this on all my meats.

As far as salt goes I use Sea salt.

I use Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce to marinade my steaks in.

I have a fine collection of hot sauces, and many other spices.

I make my own barbecue sauce (a recipe I will share)

I like my things HOT, but I have to tone things down for my wife.
(I love her all the same in spite of this).

But you choose what you like.

Not because I say I do this or I add that.

You have your own taste.

I'm just telling you what I use. (You can go from there).

Seasoning is very important to meat and vegetables.
They can make or break your reputation for great cooking real quick.



You must be careful and pay attention to what you are doing,
(many years of trial and error on my part)

so choose your spices wisely.

More later.

Macdaddy

Ok, are we ready? " Yes we are"

Ok, now we are ready to do some cooking!

Everything is in place.

You have got your stuff, it's done, "Lets do it"

You got it.

Next I will talk about prepping the meat, and seasonings and what to do.

Stay tuned...

Macdaddy

Lets talk a little more about things

OK, let me talk a little more about equipment.
What is a smoker?

A smoker or pit or offset is used to do "QUE"
An offset is a cooker that has the fire box off to the side (this means it is not under the cooking grids like a grill, although some pits do cook under the grids)

Most back yard barbecue people use a WSM or offset cooker.
When you do barbecue you want to cook at the lowest temp.(low and slow) Pulled pork, or brisket, or even ribs.

The temps. are around 225 to 250, sometimes 300, but more toward the lower end of 225.
With a smoker or pit you will cook a whole lot longer, at a lower temp.
(anywhere from 3 hrs. to 10 hrs. sometimes 16 hrs. depending on what your cooking)

Now if you do true barbecue in a pit it may take longer,with a grill you will cook a lot faster.

Most people use real wood on their pits, (Hickory, Pecan, Mesquite or Oak)

If you use a WSM most use Lump or Hardwood Charcoal with wood chunks thrown in.

I will give you recipes for the grill, for the kitchen, and for the smoker.
Stick with me and you will be cooking like a pro. (no lie) you will be the best cook on your block.

People will ask you "Where did you learn to cook like this?"

Tell 'em Macdaddy taught me.

And then drink a beer for me.

Macdaddy

Now we get to talk about food,yummy

So you have done everything, your grill, smoker, and cooler are ready for that big cook out.

So what are you going to cook?
Steaks, chicken, pork, seafood, hamburgers, roast?
(yes you can do roast on a grill)

Do you have all your tools?
Tools?
What tools?

Well, do you have your tongs?
(do not use a fork to turn meat,EVER)

Do you have a towel to wipe your hands?

Do you have your beer huggy?
(Ain't nothing worse than hot beer)

Do you have a thermometer?
(best thing you can ever buy)

Well I think your smart enough to know what you need.

So lets do some recipes and some cooking.
(My favorite part)

I'll meet you at the grill.

Macdaddy

Now what?

What ever you have bought, you must break it in.

You must burn off the oil and cure the paint, so fire it up to high heat for 1 hour or longer.

Let her burn and smoke, you have got to cure it.

Then let her cool down and clean her (clean the cooking grids real good)

Hey now you are ready to cook with the big boys.

Now we get to talk about recipes.

Grab a beer and lets get started. Woo-Hoo!!!

Macdaddy

So do I need a grill or a smoker?

Do you need a grill or a smoker.

Are you going to cook steaks all the time?

(invite me to your house PLEASE)

Or hamburgers? Or ribs or chicken?

What is a smoker?
A smoker cooks at a much lower temp. than a grill.

A smoker cooks at 225 to 250 degrees.
(this is the temp. that you want to hold it at)

There are off set smokers (the fire box is off to the side)
They can range from semi trailer size to backyard size, so what is the best smoker?

The debate on this question will live on forever, but what I have learned is the WSM ( Weber Smokey Mountain) is the preferred smoker for the back yard BBQ'er and it is also used in competition cooking (with great results)(which I don't do)

To grill or to smoke? Both are great.

But you must figure out your needs.
What do you want to do?

I do both, and love every minute of it, grill or smoke, as long as the food is great, my wife is happy, I'm happy, and everybody I feed is happy.

You can't ask for anything better than that (and the beer is cold)

Just look before you spend your hard earned money and don't fall for all the bells and pretty extras that come with them.

Ok so you have made your choice.

Lets prep that bad boy and get ready to do some cooking. I can smell it aready. (I love it)

Macdaddy

What's a good temp?

Did you know that some grills can reach close to a 1000 degrees?

Throw it on, flip it, take it off. (two sips of beer and your done!!)

Charbroiled on the outside, still Mooing on the inside.

Most gas grills cook at 450 to 800 degrees.
What's a good temp?

The lower the better.


A lot of people say to sear the meat (high temp) throw it on take it off.

Well... I respectfully disagree.

The lower the temp. the better.


Have you ever cooked something that looked great on the outside but was not done on the inside?

Grilling is the same way.

Why burn the outside if the insides not going to be done?

So what is a good temp?

325, 350, 400.

(this is the best range in temp.to grill)

it gives the food a good chance to cook evenly outside to inside, longer and slower is so much better than hotter and faster.

Macdaddy

What kind of grill?

What kind of grill should you buy. Charcoal? LP? Or natural gas?

Well it depends.

How much are you going to cook?
Every other weekend?
Every day?
Every other day.
Once a month?

As the old adage goes, you get what you pay for.

Me I prefer Lp. (I have had all three types of grills) I like Lp for the constant temp. that it provides.

Charcoal is good also, but if you get a charcoal grill use Hardwood charcoal instead of regular charcoal.

Why? Because hardwood charcoal burns cleaner, and has a better flavor.
It burns longer and gives your food a better smoke flavor.

Now on gas grills to get a good smoke flavor you have to add wood to provide smoke.
This is done by wood chips ( hickory, oak or pecan) I will talk about this later.

When you buy a grill just think about what your going to cook, how much, and how often.

Does it fit your needs?

Look long and hard, this will be in your back yard for a long time (or maybe not)



Macdaddy

Let's talk grills

Do you like to grill? How much are you willing to spend for your grill?

Do you want fancy? (5,000 dollars) or something that does a good job within your back yard budget.

All grills are NOT created equal.

I have 2 Hollands and a Great Outdoors smoker.
The best grill I ever had was a TEMCO, (same as AmberLight or Charm glow)but these grills are not made anymore. (what a shame).

Holland makes a great grill (in my opinion) they were about 600 dollars a piece. (but well worth the money) the cooking temp. is always around 325 to 350. Just right for outdoor grilling.

You don't need 50,000 btu's to grill. You don't need all the crap that comes on today's grills. All you need is a grill that is predictable every time you fire it up.

I will talk about temps. and time for grilling meats later.

Macdaddy

Welcome to my kitchen

Hello, my name is Terry. All my friends and family call me Macdaddy. Our daughter calls me Bigdaddy because she can't say Mac yet but that's ok. So anyway I will tell you I love to cook. I'm 46 yrs.old and have been cooking for a long time. I like to look at recipes and try to improve on them. It took me awhile to learn this craft of cooking (I had Pizza Hut on speed dial just in case) but now I can cook with the best of them. I will share with you my recipes and what I have learned through the years of trial and errors. We'll talk about a lot of things and have a grand old time in the days to come. We will also talk alot about Barbeque or BBQ or "QUE" and other great foods. Again, welcome to my kitchen. Macdaddy