Citrus Marinade

We grilled out chicken for Father's Day and used this Citrus Marinade. It is awesome!! I have always used it with chicken, but I can't imagine why it wouldn't work for pork too.

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Citrus Marinade

2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. grainy mustard
1/4 cup vinegar
1 or 2 limes
1 lemon
6 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper

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This is good for about 6 chicken breasts. I marinade for about 4-6 hours. If it goes longer than that, I start to worry about the acid from the vinegar and lime/lemon juice starting to "cook" the chicken. I heard that once on the food network and now I have some strange "phobia" about letting meat sit in acidic substances too long....strange I know.

We use this a TON during the summer when grilling. It is so yummy!!! Enjoy!

Mamaw's Carrot Cake

Jim's Mamaw has the best carrot cake recipe. She makes it for Christmas each year. I wasn't sure I could make it as good as her...and I was right it isn't as good as hers....but it's pretty darn close :o)

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Carrot Cake
1 1/2 c. Crisco Oil (she uses oil, so I use oil... I am not sure what it would be like with the solid crisco)
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups grated carrots (I use the food processor for this. It makes the texture more fine, which is how I prefer it!)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix oil and sugar with hand mixer until blended. Add the eggs and mix some more. Sift dry ingredients together and add them to the oil/sugar/egg mixture. Fold in carrots. Grease pan, pour in batter and bake for 35-45 minutes.

Icing (also known as the best part!)
2 cups powdered sugar
8oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 stick of butter (softened)
1 tbsp. lemon juice (I leave this out because I usually don't have lemons laying around)
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese and butter until creamy and combined. Add powered sugar in small batches until incorporated. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and whip until fluffy!

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Mamaw bakes the cake in a 9x13, flips it out of the pan (think pineapple upside down cake) and then icings it. The few times I have made this, my cake always sticks in some places and my cake is no longer a perfect little rectangle. I am not sure what her trick is, since I grease my pan thoroughly...maybe you all will have better luck! (If you figure out a trick, please let me know!)

We had this for father's day, and it was a huge hit!

White Bean Burgers

Okay, I have always been intimidated by "veggie burgers" thinking they would be hard to make and gross to eat. But tonight I tried them and they were super easy and delicious- it tasted like a real hamburger somehow.

Anyways here is the recipe (Emeril's), please try it :)

Yield: 4 veggie burgers ( I made 8 small/medium)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon minced chives

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1/2 cup dry unseasoned breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Emeril's Original Essence or other Creole Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Hamburger buns, for serving

Sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce leaves, pickles, avocado, etc., for garnishing, as desired

Condiments for serving, such as ketchup or salsa, mayonnaise, mustard, as desired

Method:

In a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and saute the onion, bell pepper, celery, carrot, and garlic until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the beans with the back of a fork. Stir in the cooled vegetables, egg mixture, chives, parsley, breadcrumbs, and seasonings and mix well.

Divide the mixture into 4 patties. Wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

When ready to serve, heat the remaining olive oil in a large nonstick skillet and cook the burgers until golden on both sides and heated through, about 2 minutes per side. Serve hot, on lightly toasted buns, garnished with desired condiments.

I mixed light mayo with some fresh dill for the sauce.

Pimento Cheese

I used to be one that wouldn't touch pimento cheese with a 10-foot pole. I am not sure what changed. Maybe the recipe I use now is better than when I was younger or maybe my taste buds have changed, but I can't get enough of this stuff. I take it to school for lunch on days when another turkey sandwich might make me sick, and I love it during the summer with crackers.

Pimento Cheese

This is really more of a method than a recipe, which is strange because I usually like to follow recipes... I guess this is my exception! You can mix and add what you like to make it your own and it can easily be doubled! As far as measuring goes, I just keep adding ingredients until I get it to the taste and consistency I like!

1 block of cheddar cheese (I usually use medium or sharp cheddar, but you can use whatever you prefer)
1 cup or so of Mayo
a couple table spoons (or globs) of sour cream
1 jar of pimentos drained (they come in different sized jars, pick the size you want depending on your love for them!)
a sprinkling of garlic powder
quite a bit of pepper (I like to see the black specks...)
some splashes of hot sauce (if that's your thing)

I sometime add green olives chopped up or green onions!

Serve with crackers, make a sandwich, use as a dip, eat it with a spoon, whatever you'd like! :o)

Okay, here is the crucial part...you have to grate your own cheese. Notice I didn't say a "bag" of cheese... I said a "block". I set mine on my kitchen counter when I know I am going to make it so the block can soften. I may or may not forget about it sitting out before I make it, but that is beside the point! :o) Then, use a hand grater and grate the cheese once it's soft. This will help the spread/dip be creamier!