Baked Hot Wings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 bottles of Texas Pete Hot Sauce

1 tablespoon Honey

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon of onion powder

1 tablespoon of ginger

1/2 tablespoon of sea salt

1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 tablespoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

One or two peppers from the Texas Pete Pepper Sauce

Olive oil or vegetable oil

**You can add a tablespoon of paprika for color

Preheat oven 450 degrees. Combine all the spices in a small pot on medium. Stir until butter is completely melted. Then remove from heat.

Use a little olive or vegetable oil to lightly coat the chicken.

Pour sauce on the chicken and toss.

Bake for 30 mins. Toss them again in the sauce.

I drizzled a little more sauce on my wings… lol

July 23, 2018 1

Pita de Jour —- a Dining Review

Pita de Jour has been around I feel like forever here in Killeen. Its location is downtown right off Rancier near the scary H.E.B. But don’t let the location stop you. There is a slow rebuilding of the Downtown area. Now granted more expansion of the city is focusing near the airport. But do not I repeat DO NOT sleep on the great eats over there! I happened to find out about it because years ago I worked in downtown Killeen. History has a way of repeating itself so here I am again working back downtown in 2018 and I remember that super fat pita spot!!

Don’t let the dated building fool you it’s the example of never judging a book by its cover. It really has delicious food and large serving sizes. It’s not really greek nor mediterranean cuisine. It’s a more Americanized version of the concept. There are still American staples like fried chicken wings and french fries. You can completely customise your pita with a variety of veggies, meats, cheeses and sauces. Definitely call ahead because the food is made fresh to order so if you are on the clock be proactive about it. Due to the high temperatures lately it’s been a little hot in the restaurant so I would just grab and go until the weather breaks. Nevertheless check it out if you’re in the Killeen area for a super savory bite and pleasant conversation with the owner while you wait.

I had a lamb pita with pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, jalapeños, onions and spicy ranch sauce. Also you can choose between a regular ketchup or a spicy ketchup. I went with the spicy and large fries.

Pita de Jour

904 N Gray St, Killeen, TX 76541

(254) 616-1873

July 18, 2018 0

Pan Seared Tilapia with Couscous

So my friend told me I take forever to make anything. Whether it be sandwich or a meal. I can’t help it! I enjoy the whole prepping of the food thing. The chopping and dicing and mixing. It is so cool to me and I view it more like recreation or therapy. Yeah food is my therapy. I imagine the flavors first in my head how they blend together. I think of previous issues I have had with dishes and what I can do to improve. Problem solving so to speak. Well her number one thing is that in my household nothing is done with haste. We take our time getting dressed. Cleaning up. Going to run errands. Everything is always a process. So this time I wanted to prove her wrong. I wanted to make a quick and easy to put together meal. I decided on fish, a salad and couscous. Fish is a super quick unthaw. I’m going to pan sear it. Chop up a salad. Lastly couscous is simple boil and it takes 5 mins to soak up the flavors. So I went into the kitchen like a whirlwind to prove the bestie wrong! LOL.

Ingredients:

The Tilapia

Breading- equal parts flour, cornmeal, panko breadcrumbs, 1 egg beaten

Seasoning- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, oregano

Vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of butter

The Couscous

1 cup couscous

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons coconut water

1/4 cup diced green pepper

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup frozen green peas

A few black olives chopped

1 clove garlic finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon turmeric

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Put your tilapia in a large bowl and coat with the beaten egg and lemon juice. Then season to taste with sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder. In a small bowl mix flour, cornmeal and panko breadcrumbs. Batter the fish and pan sear in a skillet with butter and vegetable oil until each side is a golden brown. Remove and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the oil. Sprinkle over top with oregano. BOOM!

Now for the couscous. In a small pot, saute onions, black olives, garlic, green peas in a little vegetable oil. Sprinkle a little salt and black pepper over the veggies and stir. Add water, chicken broth, coconut water, cumin, tumeric and bring it to a boil. Add the couscous and stir quickly. Remove from heat and cover for 5 mins. Let the couscous soak up the mixture. Then after the 5 minutes stir again to make sure the veggies are evenly distributed. Taste it and sprinkle salt and pepper to your preference. POW!

Serve with simple salad of your choice. DONE!

#IBEATYOU

July 10, 2018 0

Roasted Cornish Hens

Cornish hens are like the cutest food. My eldest son loves them for the simple fact everyone gets there own. This a very easy recipe and you can use it for a romantic night in to a nice dinner after Sabbath breaks.

Ingredients:

4 Cornish hens

1 onion chopped

3 carrots sliced

1 green pepper

4 whole cloves of garlic

1 shot of dark rum

1/2 stick of butter

Olive oil

Hungarian paprika

Black pepper

Sea salt

Garlic powder

Basil

Oregano

Preheat oven 450 degrees. Wash the hens throughly with water and place in your roaster. Place a clove of garlic inside each ones cavity. Arrange vegetables around them in the pan. Then brush each hen with olive oil. Melt butter in a separate bowl and mix with the shot of rum. Pour over the hens. Then season over top with oregano, garlic powder, basil, paprika, black pepper and sea salt to taste. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

July 8, 2018 0

Black-eyed Peas and Mixed Greens

I love black-eyed peas and I’m still a southern girl at heart. I do crave my fried chicken, potato salad, and greens. The love is still there. Not too long ago a sister of mine posted a picture of her dinner on social media. It used a combo of greens and black-eyed peas. All I could think of is that must taste soooo good. I have got to try that combo!! Whenever I make greens or black-eyed peas I always use smoked turkey. You can still enjoy the smokey taste that people want from ham hocks. The meat will break up or you can cut it up once it cooks at least 3 hours. So it’s meat too in almost every bite!!

Ingredients:

3 packs of 16 oz frozen black-eyed peas

2 bundles of turnip greens (little over a lb)

2 bundles of mustard greens (little over a lb)

2.25 lbs of smoked turkey tails

1 large onion diced

4 cloves garlic chopped

garlic powder

sea salt

black pepper

H-E-B Originals Steak Seasoning Spice Blend

2 tablespoons of paprika

2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

Equipment: A large stock pot

Wash your greens, chop off the ends and slice them so you won’t have large pieces. Don’t chop them up because nobody likes mushy greens! I have come across this way too many times at North Carolina BBQ restaurants. Yuck!

Everything goes in the pot covered with water. Add the seasonings after about 2 hours of boiling on high. The measured ingredients will be added once. The steak seasoning, sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder is added liberally. These are really the core seasonings. Add a large glass of water. Stir occasionally making sure to bring the bottom vegetables to the top throughout the process. After 3 hours taste the broth and add more sea salt, steak seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper to your preferences.

Then turn down to medium heat and let it cook for another hour. Taste the actual greens this time so that you aren’t over salting and are pleased with the taste. Add based on your preference. This is one of those meals that doesn’t need you as much to turn out well. Your family will love it and you really haven’t done much at all.

I paired it with rice made in the rice cooker and baked BBQ chicken. So yeah I binged watched Nurse Jackie episodes, with a beer, and had my feet kicked up the entire time.

June 27, 2018 5