Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomatoes

We have been loving our Grow Alabama boxes this summer. It has provided us with very fresh, varied produce that is all organically grown in Alabama and the surrounding states. A few weeks ago we got some green tomatoes and one of Jason's co-workers brought some fresh okra into work to share so we took the challenge and fried up our first ever batch of fried okra and fried green tomatoes! I went to my trusted recipe source of Tasty Kitchen and found two recipes and went with them.

The okra was pretty good. We should have added a little more spice into the breading because we added salt and pepper afterwards but we were scared to go too spicy with our first batch. In the future we'll know. This was a traditional southern recipe and it did taste like the fried okra that you get at the local country restaurants.

The fried green tomatoes were really good. This recipe is NOT the traditional southern recipe. The parmesan cheese gave it a different kick that was really good once you realized you shouldn't expect the typical tomato fare.

Overall, both great recipes that we will try again. It might be next summer before I have the desire to make that mess again, but we will try it again eventually!

Southern Fried Okra
Serves 2
1 lb fresh okra pods
2 whole eggs, beaten
1/4 c Buttermilk
1 c All-purpose flour
1 c Cornmeal
2 t Baking Powder
1 t Salt
1 dash Black Pepper
3 c Oil for frying
1. Wash and slice okra; pat dry with paper towels.
2. Combine eggs and buttermilk; add okra, and let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
4. Drain okra, small portions at a time, using a slotted spoon.
5. Dredge okra in flour mixture.
6. Pour oil to depth of 2-4 inches in a Dutch oven or fryer and heat to 375 degrees F.
7. Fry okra until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
Panko-Parmesan Crusted Fried Green Tomatoes
Serves 6

2 whole green tomatoes
1 cup Buttermilk
1/2 c All-purpose flour
1/3 c Panko Bread Crumbs
1/3 c Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
5 T shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 t Kosher Salt
1/2 t Ground Pepper

1. Slice the tomatoes into about 1/2 inch thick slices. Place in a bowl and cover with buttermilk while you combine the other ingredients.
2. Place flour in a shallow container and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Combine panko bread crumbs, Italian bread crumbs, and parmesan in a shallow container. Season well and also season with salt and pepper.
4. Bring about 1 inch of oil up to 350-375 degrees F in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven.
5. Dredge the buttermilk-soaked tomato slices through the flour, back into the buttermilk, then into the bread crumb mixture. Fry until golden brown, turning once and being careful not to knock off the breading.

Greek Chicken Pasta

When I was on the tail end of being sick a few weeks ago Mom called and told me that she had made a pasta dish and they had lots of leftovers and she wondered if we wanted them. I'm always up for not having to cook a meal, especially when I'm not feeling 100%, so I jumped on the opportunity. I'm sure glad I did because this was one of the best pasta dishes I've had in a while! Thanks Mom for the recipe!

Greek Chicken Pasta
Makes 5-6 servings
2 cups uncooked penne pasta
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
3 cups cubed rotisserie chicken
1 jar (7.5 oz) marinated, quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup sliced, pitted Greek olives
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1. Cook pasta according to package directions
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter.
3. Add onion; saute until tender. Add garlic and cook about a minute more.
4. Stir in the flour until blended; gradually add broth.
5. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the chicken, artichoke hearts, cheese, tomatoes, and olives.
6. Drain pasta; stir into the pan. Broil 3-4 inches from the heat for 5-7 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley.

Chicken Enchilada Ring

This recipe is from Kelly Stamps' Mom. I made it over the weekend and our entire family -- including Charlotte! -- loved it! I didn't have all of the ingredients (like the tomato and the lime) but it was great without and made even better with a little salsa on top of it. This is a super easy recipe that your family will definitely love.


Chicken Enchilada Ring

2 cups cooked chicken
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 small can chopped chilies, undrained
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package taco seasoning
2 rolls of crescent rolls
1 small chopped tomato
1 lime (juice)
2/3 cup finely crushed tortilla chips

1. Chop chicken and add olives, cheese, chilies, sour cream and taco mix. Seed and chop 1 tomato and add 2 tablespoons lime juice; add to chicken mixture. Reserve 2 Tblsp. crushed chips and add remaining chips to mixture.
2.Unroll crescent dough and separate triangles. Arrange on round baking stone or cookie sheet making a circle with wide ends OVERLAPPING in the center and points toward outside. ( I did lightly spray oil on the cookie sheet I used). There should be a 5 inch diameter opening in the center.
3. Spread chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle.
4. Bring points of triangles up and over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at the center of the ring. Sprinkle with 2 Tblsp. crushed chips. ( I put shredded cheese all on top!)
5. Bake @ 375 for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with tomato and serve with salsa and sour cream.

Charlotte's Corn

I've been working hard to deplete my canned food stores in my pantry since a family of 10 could probably live a year on the cans that I have in there! I'm the worst about planning a week of meals, buying what I need, and then not completing the whole week of meals and having items left over and just making a whole new list of meals for the next week. So, when I checked we had like 8 cans of corn in the pantry so I went looking for a corn recipe. I love the Cotton Country Baked Corn with Sour Cream (it's my favorite corn dish of all time!) but it takes a little while and I was looking to try something different. While I was on my search I found a recipe that I knew I had to try... Charlotte's Corn! It is a local Delta Zeta alumnae chapter cookbook and so I modified the original recipe by using canned corn instead of frozen but kept the amount the same. No pictures (I'm a slacker, sorry!) but it was pretty good.


Charlotte's Corn
3 boxes of frozen corn
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 pint Whipping Cream
1 tablespoon flour
Mix whipping cream and flour with melted butter. Add corn. Pour into casserole dish and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Stir once half way through baking.
Variations that were given included substituting creamed corn for some of the corn so I did use a can of creamed corn in mine.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

I saw a version of this on Tasty Kitchen and I made it a little simpler based on what I had on hand and what Jason and I both like. Turns out that this is a fantastic and really easy pizza. If you're pressed for time and are wanting something a little different try this, it's great!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

1 Pizza Crust (we use the Pillsbury Refrigerated Dough)
Olive Oil
Ranch Dressing
Pre-cooked chicken pieces/slices
Bacon (we use the ready made kind)
Mozzarella Cheese

- Spread dough out onto pan
- Spread olive oil on top of pizza dough
- Spread ranch dressing on top of dough until you have a thin layer
- Place chicken evenly on top of pizza
- Cover pizza with cheese
- Crumble/cut bacon on top of cheese

Bake at 400 degrees (or 425 based on your type of pan) for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown.

Summer Squash Casserole

Until last week I had never made a vegetable casserole. But with Grow Alabama providing us with veggies like squash and cucumbers pretty much weekly I had to come up with something new to use the veggies in. So I went to my trusty Arab Mother's Club cookbook that Jason's grandmother gave us when we got married and found a Summer Squash Casserole that turned out to be divine. Even Charlotte loved it which I guess means that she's like her mother in that if you put mayo and cheese on it she'll eat just about anything! So this will now be my go-to recipe for Squash when we're tired of onion squash. I hope you enjoy it also!
Summer Squash Casserole
Yields: 6 servings

2 lbs summer squash, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
3/4 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix

Boil squash and onion in water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mix with mayonnaise, cheese, salt, and pepper. Turn into buttered 1 1/2 quart casserole and sprinkle with stuffing mix. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Brown Sugar Pork Chops

I will be the first to tell you that this recipe is not your typical southern fare. However, Jason had a brown sugar tenderloin on our first trip to The Masters and he talked about how interesting it was so I thought I'd try to come up with a recipe that was similar. They turned out really good but you need to be prepared for a sweet main dish. I will serve mashed potatoes with them next time instead of onion potatoes and green beans because you kind of need a thick, blander starch to counteract all of the sugar. Mac and Cheese would probably go great with it also. I did really like them though and will probably try the recipe on chicken sometime soon. If you do it before I do I would love to hear how it is on chicken! I hope you enjoy them! I did make this up so it's very unprecise and open to your own interpretation.

Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Pork Chops
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Brown Sugar
Maple Syrup (our's was light maply syrup -- any kind of breakfast syrup should be fine)

1. Trim fat from pork and tenderize with mallet or fork
2. Drizzle olive oil on one side, turn over and do the same
3. Lightly salt and pepper one side, turn over and do the same
4. Heap 1 - 2 teaspoons brown sugar on each side of pork rubbing into meat, turn over and do the same
5. Drizzle mape syrup over pork chops until the tops are barely covered
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to a couple hours to let the pork absorb the juices
7. Bake at 350 for 30 - 45 minutes depending on the thickness of your pork chops