Off The Menu

Kayla from Georgia was gracious enough to submit a recipe for me to cook. As the initial recipes rolled in, I'm pleased to announce that Kayla from Georgia, being the first recipe to arrive, just got her Slow Cooker Jambalaya recipe cooked. This is brought to you courtesy of your friends here at Off The Menu. How did this Jambalaya recipe from Georgia turn out? I have to say, for the first recipe that I received, that it went above and beyond my expectations. I've been to Georgia a couple times over the years, and Kayla's Jambalaya had that down home southern taste that I've always enjoyed in my visits there. I'm very grateful for your response Kayla as I'm working hard to bring my reader's recipes to life. Now as way of saying thank you for your time in submitting the recipe, please enjoy a wonderful slow cooked meal that became a reality in my kitchen. Please keep those recipes coming in and I'll take care of the cooking so your meal will also become a reality.

To try this for yourself and you won't regret it, you'll need:
2 frozen chicken breasts (slice it the way you will)
1 lb smoked sausage or sausage of your choice
28 ounces of canned diced tomatoes with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, canned diced tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, and thyme.
2. Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.
3. Serve over rice if you so desire or without if that is your style.


A very early morning preparation goes into this meal if you have to go to work early and are wanting it to cook while you're at work thinking about it! A very useful tip for you working folks is to mix the ingredients in plastic containers the night before and store it in the refrigerator overnight. Then, when you wake up and dinner is furthest from your mind, you can throw all prepared ingredients into the old crock pot while still in your PJ's! The above is what you'll see before you walk out the door. This also works if you don't have to work in the morning, and just want to enjoy the morning smelling it, instead of preparing it! Remember, this recipe literally cooks itself!


This is what you'll come home to and dinner will definitely be on your mind then!



You can't take a picture of food without at least one up close shot. Can you smell it? I certainly still can!

I'm going out on a food limb with this blog and trying something radically different. This blog will continue to feature all kinds of "Food For Thought" items as already posted but I want this idea I'm about to purpose to be one of the key features. The idea as you might of guessed is for you "my readers" to submit recipes for me to cook at home and I will cook them up for you and post them. The way you would do this is to either leave me a comment on a post or email me at: luckyhabit@gmail.com with your recipe. The recipe doesn't even have to be anything fancy, you can just submit something to me as simple as saying for example, "I want you to cook me apple pie or lasagna". Or you could say for example, "I want you to cook me this and here is the recipe". It's entirely up to you. I will cook it for you and if you want, I'll mention your first name or whatever in the post with the recipe or you can say you want to be anonymous. Again, it's entirely up to you. I think this is a great idea because you can control to a certain extent what I post and interact with this blog. Seeing your recipes posted and pictures of them, I think will be a satisfying experience for you and for me. That brings me to my last announcement which is that I'm changing the official name of this blog to "Off The Menu" to reflect the nature of this new feature of submitting recipes. The URL to find my blog will still be same at: http://actualfoodforthought.blogspot.com/ so don't worry about that.
Get those recipes in so I can start cooking you something OFF THE MENU! I'm very grateful for your response and for your continued support of my blog. Thank you!

What's the best theme restaurant on earth to fly away to if you had a private plane? If you answered Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville in Panama City Florida, I’d play a Jimmy Buffett song for you and pass you another Margarita. There is no need for me to do that because there is plenty of Jimmy Buffett songs and drinks to go around at the Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville in Panama City Florida. Like, I mentioned in a previous a post, you cannot pass up the opportunity to be a part of a one of a kind experience as far as theme restaurants go. Forget that, I’d venture to say that when I was a recent Parrothead there (note: the noun that being a Jimmy Buffett fan will turn you into… Parrothead) I was completely blown away because I’ve never quite had a dining experience as fun as that one!

It’s hard to explain the atmosphere of a place that pulls you in from the moment you step in the door and stays with you hours and months after you go there especially if you go for the first time. I simply can’t stop thinking about the experience from 6 months ago when I was vacationing in Panama City Florida. Images of giant LCD screens playing the best of Jimmy Buffett and the beautiful decor of a tropical paradise flash through my head at million miles per second. Maybe not that fast, but it’s definitely an experience you’ll remember. I swear I’m not a sucker when it comes to theme restaurants because I’ve been to a few in my life and they didn't come close to impressing me like Margaritaville.

You might be asking me ok, the atmosphere is all well and good but what about the food? Does it match the atmosphere? I’d have to take another sip of my Margarita, look you straight in the eye, and tell you yes. It’s hard to explain a theme restaurant because to me, I think it reverses the rules of a good restaurant experience. When it comes to theme restaurants....it’s like the age old question, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Here I’d have to tell you that the atmosphere transcends the food and almost comes first. Luckily though, you don’t have to worry about that in Jimmy Buffett's world. The food is very top notch for a theme restaurant! You haven’t had quite a cheeseburger like the Cheese Burger in Paradise that Margaritaville is famous for. It was super tasty and only if I could of stayed in Panama City for more than a night, I would of come back for days just to sample everything good on the menu but hey that in itself gives me a reason to go back so I’m doing pretty good for a Parrothead.

I could go on and write more about this unique restaurant but I feel that if I do that, I would almost spoil the experience for you because of fun that you have to experience to believe so to speak. I'd be like spoiling a movie and I’m never one to spoil a movie for anybody.... I’ll leave that to someone I know but I won't mention names! To become a Parrothead, get to the nearest Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville (there’s several in the USA) immediately. You can find one here at: Margaritaville or you can always hop on that private plane and go to any. :)

Manicotti is almost too good. My Italian mother made it the best when I was growing up and now I must treat myself to it on occasion. Speaking of occasions, this dish goes over very well with having guests over. You almost can't go wrong at least in my family when people eat it because you don't hear a single complaint just the occasional, "oh this is so good" or "this hits the spot". Another plus about this Italian meal is that it's not too hard to make! My mother on the other hand would tell you otherwise but take it from me, it's not a whole lot of work because stuffing the shells can be done pretty quickly and by the time you know it, it's in the oven cooking! If you're looking for something Italian to make besides making spaghetti all the time, please by all means give this meal a go and treat yourself to something different for any occasion!

Ingredients:
1. Manicotti shells
2. Ricotta cheese (I suggest at least low fat to regular to make this dish taste as good as you can)
3. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
4. Parmesan Cheese
5. Parsley, salt, and black pepper to season
6. Don't forget your favorite spaghetti sauce in a jar or you can always be a true Italian chef and make your own! Steps to a wonderful Manicotti occasion are as follows:


1. Throw all the Ricotta, Permesan, Mozzarella cheese in a bowl and add your fresh parsley, black pepper and salt to season like above.


Look at this lovely cheese blend after you mix it, you can just tell it's going to be good.


2. After you've boiled the shells like you would do spaghetti then it's time to stuff them. Don't be afraid to get your hands in the cheese mix to do the stuffing, it's easier than you might think to stuff the shells. This is what the result should look like.


3. Just before putting them into the oven, put the sauce on top and spread it over the stuffed shells.....be generous with the sauce because it doesn't hurt. Put these in the oven for about 40 minutes on 350 and Enjoy! By the way, while you're at it, celebrate with a little wine on the side for whatever occasion you're celebrating..... hey any occasion is a good excuse to eat delicious Manicotti!

Chicken Flautas are a Tex Mex favorite of mine but usually I only get them at restaurants because they can be a little challenging to make....not because they are complicated but because it involves using hot oil. Yes, watch out because you could get burned! You know, sometimes...not usually but sometimes I'm up for a little risk so I decided to try them out at home. Was it challenging? You betcha, and kind of messy but that first bite told me it was all worth it...even if I got slightly burned....no...hardly I'm exaggerating, got the tip of my finger but barely....yes honestly I yelped but only a bit!!! Check these out for yourself and don't be afraid to make them but please take your time and DON'T turn the pan with oil up too much. Slow and low wins the race!

Ingredients:
1. Corn Tortillas
2. Frozen Chicken Breasts
3. Canola Oil, Minced Garlic in jar, Sea Salt, Pepper, and Taco Seasoning for chicken marinade
4. Shredded Mexican Style Cheese

Tips for making the chicken taste right:
1. Defrost chicken breasts.
2. Poke holes in the chicken with a fork to allow marinade to get inside.
3. Slice up that chicken into little strips.
4. Marinade strips with canola oil, minced garlic from a jar, sea salt, pepper, and taco seasoning.
5. Throw chicken strips in a already hot pan until nice, tender, and done.

Picture by picture steps for doing flautas are as follows but first thing, warm up your corn tortillas in the microwave for under a minute because if you don't your tortilla will break when you try and wrap the chicken...I know because I learned the hard way....now follow these steps and ENJOY a Tex Mex favorite......



1. Just before my flauta found its way into the pan! Gotta get plenty of shredded cheese in with the chicken, almost covering it up because it's like glue and holds the flauta together when you put it in the pan (after you wrap it like a burrito)....very important! Also, use corn tortillas to do these...trust me..it's easier to fry right!


2. Notice a lot of gooey cheese inside and the flauta staying together! Turn them over when brown on one side to do the other. I would recommend using canola oil to fry these. Remember, fry using low heat! Be safe!



More than enough tasty flautas to go around. You know you want some! Bring the Margaritas and it's a party! It's summer and it's time to have fun with cooking!

Ok, it's summer right.. it's finally here! You can't deny that if you're like me that you might be craving a beach somewhere! I have to tell you that I'm still craving from my first trip to Panama City last winter, where I wasn't expecting very much in the way of beaches. In this case though, reality ate expectations for lunch and never looked back. The beaches in Panama City Florida amazed me way more than I thought a Texas boy with high expectations could be amazed (ie that Texas boy being me). One step onto the beach here, and I wanted to become the resident beach bum in Panama City and keep in mind... I went there at the start of winter so imagine how I would of felt if those warm summer feelings had been a piece of the equation. Yes, you guessed it, I probably wouldn't of left! Why was I so amazed? Let me present the evidence in 3 simple steps to beach heaven....


3. Yes, it's empty in this picture but imagine what it's like during Spring Break! Winter is not beach time obviously but who says a beach can't be enjoyed anytime of year but hey don't worry about that now because Summer 2009 is upon us!



2. Look at that beautiful shoreline and picture yourself on it. Then picture yourself in the water, during summer of course... maybe even this summer!




1. Last but not least, let me show you the number one reason I'd make myself home on Panama City Beach Florida... this picture doesn't do it justice but trust me when I say that this sand is about as white as your going to get in the USA outside of course Hawaii. I consider myself a beach fan and I've been to plenty of beaches in the other Panama this one being in Central America and you have to believe me that the sand there, wasn't as good as this. The quality of beach sand is very important to a beach but you have to go to this beach to really know what I'm talking about...but to give you a brief idea...think...sugar white! Seashells can be found in the sand so I can't go without touching on this subject. For all you seashells fan out there, I admit that I'm also very prone to collect seashells and as one might see in this picture, there is plenty of those to be kept on Panama City's beach! I mean and I do mean..."every where" I looked close to the shore there were seashells galore and beautiful ones too! Do yourself a beach and go to a beach in Panama City this summer of 2009!

Travel Tips: You can't go to the beach in Panama City without noticing that there is this place and it's called Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville (which I will post a review for later mind you!) Umm...you'd be missing out if you didn't pay this restaurant a visit before or after your visit to the beach that is right across from it......yes it's within walking distance of that sandy white beach! Or maybe just maybe you could go before you visit the beach and after visiting the beach....yes it's that cool!