Bam chicken

This is another thing we make on the fly. It's so simple, but I couldn't help but share it because it really does turn out great.

Ingredients
Chicken - However much you have on hand that's thawed and ready to be cooked for dinner
Bam - Use as liberally as you'd like

You can leave the chicken as breasts, or whatever cut you have, or you can cut them up into tenders or smaller, chicken nugget-type bites. Sprinkle Bam on your chicken, coating both sides, then cook in a frying pan with a little oil. Voila.

Excuse the lovely photo. I think we were already done with dinner, when I thought to myself, "I should post our Bam chicken." and took a lovely photo of the chicken serving plate, completely with bam-colored oil and juices. It's so simple and is packed with flavor. A great chicken addition on the fly.

Chicken and Rice Soup

This is another Emeril recipe. It turned out pretty great. A very chicken-noodley-comfort-food feel to it.

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Baby Bam
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 Bay leaf (I don't have individual Bay leaves, so I just dump some of my crushed bay leaves in.)
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (If I don't have this, which is usually the case, and I make it with water and chicken boullion, I leave out any additional salt.)
1/4 cup uncooked long-grain rice (I only had plain rice. Not instant, but not long-grain)
10-12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (until I have a garden, mine's never fresh)

Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add the olive oil and, when hot, add the onion, celery, and carrots. Saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, Baby Bam, Italian Seasoning, bay leaf, and crushed red pepper. Saute for 2 more minutes. (Do not allow garlic to brown.) Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil, Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the rice and stir well to combine. Cover and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until just cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the parsley, stir well, and serve.

I had never made a soup that cooked the meat product like that. I was a bit skeptical, but it worked great. I have since done it a few more times in different recipes and I love this method. This was a great soup. Definitely going to eat it again.

Breaded Pork Chops

Another Emeril. This one is pretty easy and I really like it. I really like the technique he uses to bake them. It's handy and I've already used it for other things.

Ingredients
1 5 oz. box plain melba toast (I just use bread crumbs instead)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp Baby Bam
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
6 thin center-cut pork chops (about 2 1/4 lbs)

Preheat oven to 400. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top (the kind you cool cookies on.) Place the melba toast in food processor (if using) and pulse to form coarse crumbs. Transfer the crumbs (or bread crumbs) to a large plastic bag and add the italian seasoning, 2 tbsp baby bam, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, and vegetable oil. Close the bag and shake to combine.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs and remaining 2 tbsp of baby bam with a fork. Using your hands, dip the pork chops one at a time into the eggs, then place in the bag, close, and shake to coat on both sides, pressing so that the crumbs adhere. Place the chops on the wire wrack in the baking sheet. Bake until the chops are cooked through and the coating is golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.

Cheese Enchiladas

This is an Emeril recipe. I didn't know how I would like it. I'm not a corn tortilla person. (Unless they're my mom's homemade chips.) But I really did like this recipe.

Ingredients
5 tbsp vegetable oil, split
1 (28 oz) can peeled whole tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp Baby Bam
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
12 corn tortillas
8 ounces white cheddar cheese, grated (I couldn't find this. Didn't even know it existed. I subbed it with another white cheese. You can use Monterrey, Mozzarella, Colby [I think that's a white one]. If any of you find white cheddar, let me know. I didn't look in the deli however. They have more specialty cheeses there.)
8 ounces yellow cheddar cheese, grated
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion (I don't think I used this part. Mine was all in the sauce.)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I use freeze dried if I don't have fresh on hand, although I learned it needs water to rehydrate or you can't really taste it, so you might not use it in this recipe. The sauce might do the trick, but fresh is always best.)

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with 1 tbsp of oil. Set aside. In a blender, puree the tomatoes on high speed. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, cumin, oregano, and Baby Bam and cook, stirring until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the pureed tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring until slightly thieckened, about 5 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper and stir. Reduce the heat to very low. Simmer to keep warm, stirring occasionally, while you assemble the enchiladas. Heat a second medium skllet over low heat. Place the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a small bowl or dish. With a pastry brush, lightly brush both sides of each tortilla with the oill. Place on tortilla at a time in the skillet until just warm and softened, about 2 to 5 seconds per side. (I thought this would be horribly tedious but did it in the spirit of a first time recipe. It wasn't bad and works well to keep the tortillas from cracking. Although the same effect might come from microwaving them.) Remove tortilla with tongs and palce it on a large palte. Continue with the remaining tortillas and oil. Combine the white and yellow Cheddar cheeses in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the mixed cheese in a line along the middle of each tortilla. If using the finely chopped raw onion, (which I would still recommend) sprinkle a heaping teaspoon into each tortilla. Fold one side toward the middle to enclose the filling, then roll up the tortilla to form a cylinder. Place tortillas seam side down in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the filled enchiladas, spreading with the back of a spoon to distribute evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top of the enchiladas. Bake until bubbly, about 10-12 minutes. Using oven mitts or pot holders, remove the baking dish from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. To serve, divide enchiladas among plates and garnish, if desired, with the cilantro.

If you haven't realized yet, you will, Emeril's recipes are long and wordy. The cookbook is made to be a simple step by step so kids can use it with parents. I cut down when it's easy to make it simpler, but in general I just put it the way it is. So that's why it's so wordy. But make sure you read it all the way through before you start. His recipes are ones that I get in trouble with because I dont't read it all the way through before I start cooking.

Baby Bam

Here's a separate post for Baby Bam. It's used in lots of Emeril Lagasse recipes. It's an all-purpose spice with kick. I just make it up and keep it in an empty spice container.

Ingredients
3 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp celery salt

This obviously makes a bit. It lasts for a while. I'll eventually put up more recipes that use Bam. I've also used it randomly. It's a nice all-purpose seasoner with kick.

Junior Wellingtons

This is one of those recipes I found in a cookbook I happened to have and decided to give it a go. It's a bit heavy on the meat (which can be adjusted easily), but it's really flavorful and we all like it!

Ingredients
1 ½ lbs lean ground beef
3 egg yolks
¼ cup buttermilk
4 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Baby Bam
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
3 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 tbsp water
6 slices American cheese

Combine the beef, 2 egg yolks, buttermilk, Worcestershire sauce, Baby Bam, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt. Stir well. Divide the meat into 6 equal portions. Form into patties. Brown thoroughly on both sides in skillet. Refrigerate browned patties for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out pastry sheets to 1/16-inch thickness and cut into four even sections. Combine remaining egg yolk with water and beat with whisk to make egg wash. Place 4 pastry sections on baking sheet and paint a border of egg wash around each section. Place a chilled hamburger patty in the middle of each section and top with 1 slice of cheese. Top cheese with remaining pastry sections, pressing the edges together with a fork to seal. Paint the top with egg wash and cut an ‘X’ in the top of each Wellington. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

That's the official recipe. However, when I did it I only used 1 lb. of meat, 2 pastry sheets and 4 pieces of cheese. I didn't alter the seasoning too much. It still came out great. I don't bother cutting out circles. Then you have leftover pastry sheet with nothing to do with it. What a waste! I just cut mine in squares and use the whole thing. The patties are 1/4 lb, so they're pretty meaty. So for me, the more pastry, the better the balance. I think next time I'll even add some grated carrots. Anyhow, it's a flavorful meal, the pastry sheets are fun and add variety. Oh, here's the recipe for "Bam". (If you didn't notice, this is an Emeril recipe.)

Ingredients

3 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp dried parsley

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp celery salt

This obviously makes a bit. It lasts for a while. I'll eventually put up more recipes that use Bam. I've also used it randomly. It's a nice all-purpose seasoner with kick.