Good Living 123

My latest cookbook has just been released in paperback and digital formats.  “Lobacious Lobster” is packed with 200 decadently delicious and super simple recipes, plus more than 100 color photographs.

I literally could not help but create a new word to aptly describe lobster.  “Lobacious” says it all!

Enjoy this recipe from the collection!

Bodacious Bacon Lobster Bites

Bodacious Bacon Lobster Bites

12 (1-1 ½”) squares of cooked bacon

12 buttery crackers (such as Ritz or Pepperidge Farm)

12 slices (½“-thick medallions) fresh, warm lobster tail meat

¼ c favorite bottled “con queso” sauce, heated (or make your own by blending cream cheese, Jack cheese, & diced jalapeños)

At serving time, place a piece of bacon on each cracker; top with a piece of lobster, followed by a drizzle of warmed con queso.  Serve immediately.  Makes 12 bites.

Lobacious Lobster is available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and more.

Fresh Cranberries

‘Tis the season to start savoring the tartly delectable cranberry!  My Cranberry Cooking cookbook (in paperback and digital formats) celebrates one of America’s most under-rated fruits.  Whether you enjoy them in breads or desserts, sweetened in a sassy sauce, nestled into a perfect pork or poultry entree, or sprinkled over a sweet potato casserole, “yum” comes to mind with all these recipes, more than 100 in categories from breakfast to dessert, and this is the time of year when we can enjoy them with all their popping crisp freshness.  Naturally I love giving a couple of the recipes free, because while we don’t mind paying for good cookbooks, FREE is always appreciated, I know.

We just had some friends over for a rack of lamb dinner party, so lamb is on my mind right now.  While most folks typically think of cranberries in sauces, desserts, breads, or beverages, their entrée applications are marvelous.

Lamb with Cranberry Chutney
2 T olive oil
¾ c sweet onion, diced
1 c fresh or frozen cranberries
1/3 – ½ c orange marmalade
2 T brown sugar
2 T orange juice
Salt
6 lamb rib chops
In the olive oil in a heavy sauce pan, sauté onion 3-5 min over med heat, stirring frequently.  Stir in cranberries, marmalade, brown sugar & orange juice; salt to suit your taste.  Cook over med heat 5 min, stirring frequently, till sugar dissolves & cranberries pop.  Remove from heat; set aside.  Arrange lamb chops on cooking-spray coated grilling rack in foil-lined, shallow roasting pan.  Broil 6” below heat source for 2-4 min per side, or until desired degree of doneness.  Serve chops with chutney.  Makes 2 servings of 3 ribs each.

KISS Tip:  Broil 2 min per side for med-rare, 3 min per side for medium, and 4 min per side for med-well.

Now, I realize that lamb may or may not be a favorite of yours, so I also include a poultry entrée to tantalize your tastebuds.

Cathy’s Crocked Cranberry Chicken
I created this recipe in 2007, inspired by a childhood favorite that used apricot preserves. 
4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat & folded around your favorite stuffing with ½ c dried cranberries & ½ c chopped apple added
Paprika
1 env dry onion soup mix
16 oz whole berry cranberry sauce
1 bottle cranberry vinaigrette
¼ c cranberry liquor, peach schnapps, or Grand Marnier

Place stuffed breasts in bottom of slow cooker.  Sprinkle liberally with paprika & soup mix.  Spread cranberry sauce over them; pour on the vinaigrette.  Cover the cooker; cook on low for 4-5 hrs.  Pour liquor over top & stir a bit.  Cook 5 more min & serve with long grain & wild rice and a green vegetable.

To further entice you, here is a list with a few of the other recipes from Cranberry Cooking:

Appetizers:  Cranberry Orange Hazelnut Dip, Turkey Cranberry Brie Quesadillas, Cranberry Crab Rangoon

Baked Non-Dessert:  Cranberry Kissed Cinnamon Rolls, Spiced Cranberry Muffins, Sweet Potato Praline Coffee Cake

Beverages:  Frozen Cranberry Margarita, Hot Percolator Punch, Smooooth Cape Cod

Desserts:  Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes, Cranberry Streusel Bars, Crumbling Cranberry Peach, Baked Cranberry Apples, Peachy Pecan Foster, Cranberry Mousse, White Chocolate Cranberry Tart

Entrees:  Maple Cranberry BBQ Sauce, Cathy’s Cranberry Stuffed Chicken Rolls, Spirited Pork Chops, Cranberry Turkey Burgers

Fruits:  Blushing Cranberry Pears, Cranberry Apple Dumplings

Salads:  Cranberry Waldorf Salad, Cranberry Orange Spinach Salad, Cranberried Broccoli Salad, Cranberry Wild Rice Salad, Cranberry Vinaigrette

Sandwiches:  Caramelized Cranberry Apple Peanut Butter, Zippy Cranberry Turkey Wraps

Sauces and Condiments: Honey Cranberry Barbeque Sauce, Mushroom Cranberry Sauce, Chunky Cranberry Apple Rhubarb Sauce, Tex Mex Cranberry Salsa

Side Dishes:  Roast Turkey and Cranberry Sausage Stuffing, Spiced Sweet Potato and Cranberry Couscous, Wild Rice Cranberry Pilaf

Snacks:  Nutty Snack Mix, Spiced Cranberry Popcorn

Soups:  Cran-Apple Turkey Stew, Cranberried Turkey a la King

The Keep It Super Simple kitchens delighted in compiling this collection of scrumptious cranberry recipes… from appetizers and sauces to salads and entrees… for the KISS™ cookbook Super Series from Quiet Thunder Publishing.  Cranberry Cooking, plus all the other books in the Super Series are conveniently bound in a handy 5×8” format.  If you prefer digital editions, you will also find them on Kindle.

Cranberry Cooking is a special book of Super Simple recipes to help make Good Living as easy as 1-2-3.  Enjoy… with love and laughter!

Dockside Dining: A Second Helping

Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com are two of the places where you can find both cookbooks.  So savor summer forever by breaking out the barbeque!  This handy little series was developed for those who love life on the waterways, but these goodies work for anyone who wants easy cooking.   I have been very busy in the final days of summer finishing up Dockside Dining: A Second Helping, packed with more original recipes and clever classics. If you buy Volume 1 or Volume 2 in paperback on Amazon, you actually can get the Kindle eBook digital edition absolutely FREE.

Many recipes provide make-ahead tips; others are perfect for last-minute preparations.  Dockside Dining brings you dozens of original recipes that make creative dining Super Simple for weekend warriors, die-hard boaters, and backyard grillers.  (Naturally, I will include a couple of recipes here to whet your appetite!)

Dockside Dining: Round One

We started with Dockside Dining: Round One, featuring more than 170 recipes.  Dockside Dining: A Second Helping brings you more than 150 additional Super Simple recipes… perfect for outdoor or take-along dining.  Whether you are on the boat, dock, or deck, you now have lots more tasty options to take you from breakfast and lunch to Happy Hour and dinner… and beyond.

Among the recipes in Volume 2 are these sample titles:

Appetizers:  Raft-Perfect Piggy Poppers,
Crabby Cream Cheese,
Nacho Mama Hot Off the Grill Nachos,
Panama Beach Parmesan Tenders,
Porky’s Seared Peach Wedges,
Mmm-Mmm Good Grilled Potato Skins,
Ham-It-Up Portobellos,
Tangy Peach Soup with Seafood Ceviche

Beverages:  First Mate Forbidden Fruit

Breads:  Muskoka Mustard Cheese Toasts,
Spinnaker Spiced Zucchini Muffins

Breakfast & Brunch:  Western Port Spamalot Omelet,
Bayside Bacon and Egg Muffins,
Nutty Cinnamon Apple Grilled Sandwich,
Berried Treasure Breakfast Crepes,
French Toast on the Grill

Lunch:  Hot Ham ‘n Cheese Buns,
Caramelized Onion Cheeseburgers,
Buffalo Chicken Pizza,
Nutty Hawaiian Pizza

Salads:  Super Simple Spinach Citrus Salad,
Peg Leg Pete’s Pea Salad

Entrees:  Grilled Polynesian Steak,
Grilled Stuffed Burrito,
Main Deck Meatloaf,
Safe Harbor Salmon Skewers,
Grilled Citrified Tuna,
Super Simple Grilled Lamb Chops,
Caesar Shrimp Pasta,
Florida Coast Pork Ribs,
Almost Legal Grilled Chicken,
Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu,
Grilled Shrimp Cocktail,
Relished Lobster Tails

Sides & Veggies:  Georgetown Gingered Carrots,
Ben’s Bodacious Cheesy Potato Bake,
Cruise Ship Creamed Spinach,
Crow’s Nest Summer Croquettes

Sauces & Condiments:  Jazzy Ketchup,
Incredible Cranberry Chutney

Your Just Desserts:  “Come About” Instant Cookie Bites,
Stuffed Strawberry Blossoms a la Spatt’s,
Carmen Miranda Banana Crisp,
Crispy Pudding Bites,
Grilled Pirate Rum Pineapple Kebabs,
Grilled Peaches and Cream Pound Cake

Get one volume, or get them both… either way you’ll have a great collection of Super Simple recipes to make your deck-side or dockside dining sizzle.

Following is a small sampling of the recipes in Dockside Dining: Round One, which was released earlier this summer:

Appetizers:  Super Simple Cheese Crisps,
Baja Bacon-Wrapped Barbeque Shrimp,
Ceviche Martini Roatan,
Yachters’ Yakitori,
Galley Ready Instant Snacks

Beverages: Sparky’s Sparkling Sea Breeze

Breads: Loafin’ Land-Lubber,
On Deck Onion-Cheesy Bread

Breakfast & Brunch: Hammock Time Ham and Egg Sandwich,
Pontoon Potato Pancakes

Lunch:  BLT Lettuce Wraps,
The Hull Truth Steak Tacos

Salads:  Crabby Fresh Corn Salad

Entrees:  Grilled Steak Perfecto,
Sweet and Saucy Salmon,
Mary Had a Little Lamburger,
Cheesy Macaroni on the Grill,
Fireworks Special Ribs,
Wining Garlic BBQ Chicken,
Grilled Shipwreck Shrimp,
Grilled Clams & Mussels

Vegetables: Kool and Kickin’ Corn,
Grilled and Chilled Veggies

Sauces & Condiments:  Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce,
Dills Gone Jazzy a la James

Your Just Desserts:  Captain Jack Sparrow Spiced Rum Kebabs,
Go Bananas Foster Bites,
Super Simple Tiramisu Dip

Now, as promised, I must leave you with a couple recipes… Failing to give you a FREE taste or two from Dockside Dining: A Second Helping just wouldn’t be me.  Enjoy!

Nacho Mama Hot Off the Grill Nachos
I love nachos, but I get frustrated when restaurants pile on the chips and skimp on the cheesy toppings.  I always tend to make a single layer of chips, so every chip has plenty of goodies.  My suggestion is to prepare a single layer.  If you want more layers, just repeat the layering process once more.  My personal preference is to make more trays of single layer nachos.

Flat corn tortilla chips
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Canned black beans, drained & rinsed
Diced plum tomatoes
Pickled jalapeño pepper slices
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Thinly sliced green onions (green portions)
Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish, if desired
Salsa, sour cream & guacamole, for serving

Place a single layer of chips in a large grill-safe pan or heavy foil disposable pan.  Sprinkle liberally with Cheddar cheese.  Then sprinkle with beans, tomatoes & peppers, followed by Jack cheese.  Sprinkle lightly with green onion slices.  Place on grill that was preheated to med-high.  Close the cover & shut off heat directly under nachos.  Cook 3-4 min to melt cheeses.  Garnish with cilantro & serve with salsa, sour cream & guacamole.

KISS Tip:  Instead of black beans (or in addition to), try cooked bits of beef or chicken.  Nachos make a great way to use such leftovers from the previous night’s grilling adventures.

Grilled Pastrami Reuben

Mini Pastrami Reubens
I love these as one of the options when folks want to nibble a variety of items for lunch, rather than having one big sandwich.  They’re also super for a dockside Happy Hour.

4 T butter, melted
4 slices thin, firm rye bread, crusts removed
2 T Dijon or spicy brown mustard
8 slices (3/4 lb) Swiss cheese
10 slices (1/2 lb) pastrami
6 heaping T canned sauerkraut

Brush 2 T butter on one side of 2 slices of bread; turn over & spread mustard on the other side.  Top mustard with 2 slices of cheese, 5 slices pastrami & sauerkraut, followed by 2 more cheese slices.  Place remaining 2 bread slices on top & brush tops with remaining melted butter.  Place on a grill griddle (or pan) preheated to med-high.  Cook 3-4 min.  Carefully turn with a spatula & cook another 3-4 min.  Remove from grill.  On a cutting board, cut each into 3 strips.  (For tapas, cut each strip into 3 small squares.)  Makes 6 strips or 18 tapas.

KISS Tip:  You can also opt to simply serve them as two traditional sandwiches.  Serve with dill pickles & potato chips on the side, along with some Thousand Island dressing, if desired.