Vanilla cinnamon pancakes

Vanilla cinnamon pancakes 2 cups Flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/4 cup milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cinnamon 3 tablespoons melted butter Mix all ingredients well, preheat your cast iron skillet or pan to medium heat and add a tablespoon or so of butter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet and flip when it starts to bubble and you see the edges turning crispy and golden brown. Repeat until done and serve your pancakes with warm maple syrup.

Crawfish Rigatoni

Crawfish Rigatoni 1 small chopped onion 1/2 chopped red, green bell peppers 1 large clove finely minced garlic Salt Pepper Old bay Basil (dried) Accent (optional) Heavy cream Half n Half Parmesan cheese Cream cheese 1 pound packaged Louisiana crawfish tails 1 16 oz box Rigatoni or Pasta of your choice Put large pot of salted water to boil (for pasta) In a preheated pan with EVOO, sautee onions and peppers until the onions are translucent, toss in minced garlic halfway through (If you like, pour in a couple of splashes of white wine at this point and let it reduce to half) then Add about 3/4 of a pint of Half n Half, 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon accent (optional), 1/4 teaspoon basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons old bay, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese and a half pint of heavy whipping cream and let simmer on med low heat for 5 minutes. ON THE SPICES........use your judgement, you may like a bit more or less of either. Place pasta to boil Add in the entire package of peeled crawfish tails including the liquid, give it a good stir, add a couple tablespoons of cream cheese, stir until combined, cover and let simmer about 10 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat, stir in cooked pasta, cover and let sit 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot with some crusty garlic bread and/or whatever sides you may like. I often fry fish with these pasta dishes.

Steak, shrimp and chicken lo mein

Steak, shrimp and chicken lo mein Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs steak (your choice sliced into strips I used a strip steak) 1 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp 1 boneless chicken breast (sliced into strips) 2 carrots (sliced) 2 cups broccoli 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1/2 cup soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 Tablespoon Hoisin sauce 1 cup chicken or beef broth 1 small onion sliced 1 small chopped red and green bell pepper 2 tablespoons cornstarch EVOO salt pepper green onion 1 pound lo mein noodles (I could not find so I used linguini). Directions: Season chicken, beef and shrimp with salt, pepper and garlic powder In a heavy sauce pan add EVOO bring to high heat and add your sliced chicken, cook about 5 minutes until done remove from pan and add the steak cook about 3 minutes then remove from pan. Add onions, peppers, carrots and garlic after veggies start to soften reintroduce the chicken. Add broth, sesame oil, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce and stir for a couple of minutes. Mix the cornstarch well with a little water and stir into the pan, lower the heat to medium and allow to thicken. Reintroduce the steak. Add in the shrimp and broccoli. After simmering a few minutes toss in your boiled noodles. (follow package directions for cooking) Serve hot! Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro if you like.

Crispy fried Chicken

Crispy fried Chicken 8 pieces legs and thighs (Use what you like) Salt pepper garlic and onion powder paprika accent cayenne pepper poultry seasoning 1 beaten egg flour to coat (add a pinch of salt and pepper) Use your judgement as to how much of the spices you want, add and/or omit whatever you and your family likes. Cooking oil (Use whatever kind you like) I washed (yes I wash chicken) and seasoned the chicken then placed in a storage bag and refrigerate overnight. I also remove my chicken from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking so it's not so cold. (Don't ask me why lol My mom did it so I do it, she used to say that putting really cold meat in hot oil shocks the meat and makes it tough) Preheat CI skillet to medium Pour the beaten egg right into the storage bag over the chicken making sure it all gets coated then add the flour into the same bag and shake well until the chicken is coated in the flour. Doing this is what gives it a flaky crust Oil should be 350 -360° Do not overcrowd the skillet Fry chicken 15-18 minutes turning several times.

Buttermilk cornbread

Buttermilk cornbread 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 stick melted butter 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 3 large eggs Combine all dry ingredients well then add in your oil, buttermilk and eggs. Mix until batter still slightly lumpy then pour in your well oiled preheated hot CI skillet and bake at 400° for 20 minutes then decrease heat to 350 for another 15 minutes until golden brown.

Louisiana red beans

Louisiana red beans 1 pound red beans 1 large onion 1 large bell pepper 3 stalks celery 4 cloves garlic 3 bay leaves Salt Pepper Slap ya Mama seasoning 1 or 2 large Smoked ham hock 1 pound Good quality smoked sausage Placed smoked meat and chopped seasoning on a sheet pan lined with foil. Wrap tightly and place in a preheated 375° oven for an hour. (Feel free to boil your meats if that's what you prefer.) Add red beans to a large heavy pot and cover with about 2 quarts of water. Add salt, pepper and bay leaves. Cook uncovered on med high heat for about an hour. Remove smoked meat and seasoning from the oven and carefully add the meat, vegetables and the liquid to the beans. Season to taste, cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook an additional hour and a half or so until beans are nice and tender and the broth is thickened.

GROUND BEEF TERIYAKI RAMEN

GROUND BEEF TERIYAKI RAMEN 1 pound ground beef 85/15 2 tablespoons garlic minced 1 tablespoon ginger minced 1/4 cup white wine (I use Sake, but this can be hard to source) 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup mirin 1/2 cup light soy sauce 2 packets ramen discard the seasoning packet 8 ounces broccoli florets sesame seeds optional Brown the ground beef in a heavy bottomed skillet on medium-high heat until cooked through (roughly 6-8 minutes). Add in the garlic and ginger, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the white wine, sugar, mirin and soy sauce. Let reduce on medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until reduced by half the volume. While the sauce is reducing cook the ramen for 1 minute shy of the instructions in a microwave safe bowl. Steam your broccoli slightly in the microwave for 1-2 minutes in a covered microwave safe bowl. Add the ramen and broccoli to the skillet and toss together before serving. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.