Author: Michael

Categories
Disney Recipes Drinks Featured Recipes

Lapu Lapu from Disney’s Tambu Lounge

lapu lapu from www.jasonscooking.com

Lapu Lapu from www.jasonscooking.com

BackgroundThe Best Drink Served from a Pineapple at Disney World
Jason with an official Disney Lapu Lapu
Jason with an official Disney Lapu Lapu

The next time you visit Walt Disney World, you should make a point to stop at the lounge outside of Ohana in the Polynesian for a tropical drink or two. Can’t decide which one to get? I suggest the Lapu Lapu. It’s a rum drink reminiscent of a Hurricane that is served in a pineapple. I had one for the first time last year and decided that I needed to make it for the blog!

Obviously I forgot about that until I was listening to an episode of America’s Test Kitchen Radio and they were talking about a pineapple corer/slicer that they liked. It was only $6 so I hopped on the Amazon ordered it, bought some pineapples and rum and set out to recreate this signature drink.

If you don’t have pineapples or a pineapple corer (and don’t want to get one), serve these in a glass with a little umbrella and some pineapple slices for garnish. I went authentic with the hollowed out pineapple for my Lapu Lapu.

The RecipeRecipe
Lapu Lapu from Disney's Tambu Lounge
 
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Recipe type: Drinks
Ingredients
  • 1 Pineapple, hollowed out with this
  • 2 oz Myers Rum
  • 2 oz Orange Juice
  • 3 oz Pineapple Juice
  • 1 oz Sour Mix
  • 1 oz Bacardi 151 floated on top
Instructions
  1. Shake everything except the 151 with some ice to thoroughly chill it
  2. Pour the drink into a hollowed-out pineapple (or glass if you have to)
  3. Top with the 151 and serve
Tips and TricksTips and Tricks

When you’re done drinking your Lapu Lapu from your pineappley cup, cut the pineapple into wedges and feast on the goodness within. There should still be some flesh in there that has absorbed a bit of the drink.

Feed the FreezerFreezer Tips Make a Pitcher!

To make a pitcher of Lapu Lapus, change the ounces to cups and leave out the 151. Serve over ice and top the individual drinks with a 151 floater.

Fun FactsFun Facts

A pineapple’s outer color doesn’t have anything to say about the tasty pineapple inside so look for plump and fresh looking pineapples. Pineapples don’t ripen any more than they are when they are picked.

Categories
Dessert Featured Recipes Snacks

Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats

Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats from www.jasonscooking.com
Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats
TemperatureLow HeatTime30 minutes

Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats

BackgroundBackground

This morning, Jason asked me to come up with some ideas for Halloween-themed snacks. We brainstormed some clever ideas, like spiders made out of pretzel-sticks (the legs) and chocolate covered strawberries (the bodies). However, nothing sounded quite right. At the same time, I have been craving some Rice Krispies Treats lately so I was trying to come up with a Halloween-themed snack involving Rice Krispies Treats. Suddenly, it hit me – color and shape them like candy corn!

These Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats are surprisingly easy to make and are the perfect snack for your Halloween party!  Give them a try and let us know what you think.

The RecipeRecipe
Candy Corn Rice Krispies Treats
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 32
Ingredients
  • 6 Tbs Butter, Divided
  • 1 16oz bag of Large Marshmallows, Divided
  • 6 Cups Rice Krispies, Divided
  • Red and Yellow Food Coloring
Instructions
  1. Line a 9x9 baking dish with aluminum foil and spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

For the White Layer
  1. In a small pot over low heat, melt 1 ½ Tbs butter and 14 marshmallows, stirring frequently.
  2. Once the marshmallows and butter have melted, remove from heat and mix in 1½ cups of Rice Krispies, stirring until they’re completely coated.
  3. Scoop the Rice Krispie mixture in the foiled pan and press into the pan using a bit of parchment paper.
  4. Clean the pot with hot water and make the next layer.

For the Orange Layer
  1. In a small pot over low heat, melt 3 Tbs butter and 28 marshmallows, stirring frequently.
  2. Once the marshmallows and butter have melted, add 6 drops of yellow food coloring and 3 drops of red food coloring and mix until the color is evenly distributed.
  3. Remove from heat and mix in 3 cups of Rice Krispies, stirring until they’re completely coated.
  4. Scoop the orange layer onto the top of the white layer press to evenly cover using a bit of parchment paper.
  5. Clean the pot with hot water and make the next layer.

For the Yellow Layer
  1. In a small pot over low heat, melt 1 ½ Tbs butter and 14 marshmallows, stirring frequently.
  2. Once the marshmallows and butter have melted, add 4 drops of yellow food coloring and mix until the color is evenly distributed.
  3. Remove from heat and mix in 1½ cups of Rice Krispies, stirring until they’re completely coated.
  4. Scoop the Rice Krispie mixture in the foiled pan and press into the pan using a bit of parchment paper.

Cool, Cut and Shape
  1. After completing all three layers, allow Rice Krispie Treats to cool for about 20 – 30 minutes.
  2. Lift the Treats out of the pan using the foil and cut into 32 pieces (4 rows and 8 columns).
  3. Using more parchment, squeeze the sides of each treat into a triangular shape to look like candy corn. The small part of the triangle should be the white layer.
Tips and TricksTips and Tricks

Fill your baking dish with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. This will make it easier to get the rice krispies out and will result in one less dish that requires clean up!

When layering rice krispies mixture, use parchment paper to press each layer in the baking dish. Also, use parchment paper to help shape the rice krispies treats. This will keep them from sticking to your fingers.

Feed the FreezerFeed the Freezer

Rice Krispies Treats can be frozen and enjoyed later. When ready to thaw out, remove from freezer and let stand for 10-15 minutes. They also taste good cold!

Fun FactsFun Facts

The original recipe for Rice Krispies Treats was developed by an employee of Kellogg, Mildred Day, in 1939.

 

Categories
Appetizers Featured Recipes

Chicken Salad Tarts

Chicken Salad Tarts from www.jasonscooking.com
Chicken Salad Tarts

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It’s #PartyWeek! at Jason’s Cooking!  Every day this week, we will feature recipes for appetizers and snacks that are a great addition to your party menu.   Whether you’re hosting a tailgate, shower, or book club these recipes are a classy twist on some southern party food staples.

I love chicken salad and enjoy trying all the different kinds that are out there.  Most of the time the differences between one chicken salad and another are the ingredients, like fruits, nuts, veggies and spices.  However, there is another difference in all the chicken salads out there.  I affectionately refer to this as its “pastiness.”  Some chicken salads are chunky and some are more pasty due to a finer chop and a little extra mayonnaise.  I enjoy pasty chicken salads more than chunky chicken salads not because of the extra mayonnaise, but due to the fact that I find pasty chicken salads to be easier to eat (less messy) and more delicious as the ingredients are all “pasted” together.

These chicken salad tarts feature aforementioned pasty chicken salad and are a great finger food for your party menu.  We used frozen filo dough cups for a no-fuss vessel for the chicken salad that adds a bit of crunch.  Give them a try at your next gathering.

The RecipeRecipe
Chicken Salad Tarts
 
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Recipe type: Appetizer
Serves: 45 - 60
Ingredients
  • 2 ½ - 3 Lb Chicken, Cooked Very Finely Chopped
  • 1 Cup Celery, Rather Finely Chopped (about 3 ribs)
  • ½ Cup Pecans or Walnuts, Toasted and Chopped
  • 1 Cup Red Seedless Grapes, Quartered
  • 1 Cup Mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • 45 - 60 Frozen Filo Shells
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°
  2. Thoroughly combine everything except for the frozen tart shells in a large bowl. Taste, adjust seasoning as needed, and set aside.
  3. Cook the shells in a single layer on a sheet pan for 4 minutes to crisp them up a bit. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely. Depending on the size of your pan, you may have to do multiple batches.
  4. Fill the shells with some of the chicken salad and serve!
Tips and TricksTips and Tricks

Don’t use a food processor to chop up the chicken or you’ll end up with a unappetizing chicken pâté rather than a delicious chicken salad. Trust me!

Feed the FreezerFeed the Freezer Make Ahead

Cook your chicken and mix the chicken salad up to two days prior to your event, cover and store in the refrigerator.  About an hour before your event, heat up the mini-tarts and fill them with the chicken salad – you want to fill these as close to service as you can to maintain their crispiness.

Fun FactsFun Facts

The average American eats over 80 pounds of chicken every year.

Categories
Featured Main Dishes

Steak & Muenster Sandwich

TemperatureHigh HeatTime20 mins

091614_mains_steaksandwich

BackgroundBackground

Who doesn’t love steak? Well, I guess non-meat eaters. But for everyone else, steak is a popular favorite. When preparing and eating steak, most probably think of a nice filet or strip grilled to perfection. However, there are many other ways to prepare steak. I am a big fan of the steak sandwich. I’m actually a big fan of all sandwiches but this post is about a particular steak sandwich that combines three of my favorite ingredients: steak, muenster cheese, and bread!

If you’ve seen our previous blog post, Steak in a Cast Iron Skillet, cooking steak in a cast iron skillet is a quick and easy way to prepare steak, especially if you don’t feel like firing up the grill. When cooked this way, you get a great sear on the steak and it’s the perfect method for this sandwich.

Bonus: You only need one steak for 4 sandwiches so this is a great way to save money and still have steak night!

The RecipeRecipe

Steak & Muenster Sandwich
 
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Recipe type: Mains
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 12 oz Strip or Filet Steak
  • 4 Slices Muenster Cheese
  • 4 Wheat Kaiser Buns (or your favorite bread)
  • Mayonnaise
  • Lettuce
Instructions
  1. Season steak liberally with salt and pepper on both sides.
  2. Let the meat come to room temperature.
  3. Put about a tablespoon of oil in the cast iron skillet and spread it all over the bottom of the pan with a paper towel.
  4. Heat the cast iron skillet on medium-high to high heat.
  5. When the skillet is hot, put the steak in the pan and cook for 4 minutes/side for medium-rare, 4.5 minutes/side for medium and 5 minutes/side for medium well. Walk away from the cooking meat and only flip the steak one time!
  6. Let steak rest on a cutting board for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. If you were just put into a skillet, you'd want a rest too when you got out.
  7. Slice steak into thin strips.
  8. Cut the rolls in halve and spread mayonnaise on each side.
  9. Place a slice of muenster cheese onto each roll and top with a quarter of the sliced steak.
  10. Add lettuce and enjoy!

Tips and TricksTips and Tricks

Because you only need one steak and most steaks come in a 2 pack, you can either freeze the second one or get the supermarket to split the package.  They’ll happily open the package and reseal it with just the one cut that you want.

Feed the FreezerFeed the Freezer

Freeze raw steak in a zip-top bag for up to 6 months.  When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator over night or under cold water for about an hour, season and let it come to room temperature.

Fun FactsFun Facts

Muenster is a semisoft cow’s milk cheese with an orange colored rind. Its flavor ranges from mild when young, to quite strong for well aged cheeses.

Categories
Featured Main Dishes Michael's Favorites Recipes

Garden Turkey Burgers

Temperature350°Time15 mins

Turkey Burgers

BackgroundBackground

Shortly after moving to the area about ten years ago, I discovered this amazing burger restaurant, The Counter, in Roswell, Georgia. Basically, you design your own burger, from the type of meat to the toppings, spreads and bun. This is where I first fell in love with turkey burgers. I’ve always enjoyed turkey in its non burger forms, but it wasn’t until I could pimp out my own burger that I really fell in love with the turkey burger. In addition to being delicious, turkey burgers are also a healthier option than beef though this in no way detracts from their deliciousness.

Soon afterwards, I started creating my own turkey burgers at home and experimented with several different ingredients until I found the perfect combination. By mixing green onions, parmesan cheese and Worcestershire sauce (among other things) into the ground turkey and topping with Swiss cheese and carrot strings, I now have my very own special recipe. I present to you my favorite Garden Turkey Burger.

The RecipeRecipe
Garden Turkey Burgers
 
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Recipe type: Main
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 lb Ground Turkey Breast
  • 1 Egg
  • 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Cup Chopped Green Onions
  • ⅓ Cup Bread Crumbs
  • ⅓ Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
  • ½ tsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ tsp Black Pepper
  • 4 Slices of Swiss Cheese
  • 1 Cup Carrot Strings
  • 4 Buns
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • Preferred Burger Condiments (eg mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the grill to high heat.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, egg, green onions, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and seasoning until well blended.
  3. Create four equal size patties.
  4. Cut buns in half and spread butter on each halve.
  5. Place each patty on the grill and cook for 4 - 5 minutes. Flip each patty and cook for another 4 - 5 minutes. The burgers are done when they reach an internal temperature of 160°.
  6. Before removing burgers from grill, place a slice of cheese on each patty.
  7. Place buns on grill or in oven at 350° for 1 minute until lightly toasted.
  8. Place burgers on buns and top with carrot strings.
  9. If desired, add mayo, ketchup and mustard.
Tips and TricksTips and Tricks
  • You can also add diced bell peppers, garlic or grill seasoning for extra flavor.
  • This turkey burger recipe can also be used for meatballs and meat loafs.
  • If you are worried that the turkey burger isn’t cooked all the way through, use a meat thermometer. Ground turkey should be cooked to 160°.
Feed the FreezerFeed the Freezer

You can easily freeze the turkey burgers patties and have them ready to thaw and grill at a later date. You can also freeze the cooked burgers for later to be eaten as burgers or used as ingredients for other dishes, like tacos.

Fun FactsFun Facts

Turkey burgers will typically have less calories, fat, sodium and protein than an equal sized beef burger. However, turkey burgers will have more cholesterol and calcium.

Categories
Appetizers Featured Recipes Side Dishes

Cindy’s Strawberry Feta Salad

Cindy’s Strawberry Feta Salad

BackgroundBackground

My sister Cindy doesn’t really enjoy cooking, but when she does, she comes up with some delicious recipes. She recently had us over for dinner and made this strawberry feta salad. It’s easy to make and not a combination I would have thought to try, but it is the perfect combination of sweet, savory, crunchy, and healthy. She also made her own balsamic vinaigrette dressing which was the perfect addition to an already tasty salad.

The RecipeRecipe
Cindy’s Strawberry Feta Salad
 
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Recipe type: Salad
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 bag of mixed greens
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 2 cups fresh strawberries
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
  1. Chop or slice red onion.
  2. Slice strawberries.
  3. Toss the greens, red onions, stawberries and feta cheese with ¼ cup of your favorite salad dressing in a large bowl and you’re done!
Tips and TricksTips and Tricks

Try this salad with the bacon vinaigrette dressing in our Green Bean with Pecans recipe.

Feed the FreezerFeed the Freezer Make Ahead

This salad will hold in the refrigerator for a couple of days without the dressing. When ready to serve, add the dressing and toss.

Fun FactsFun Facts

Jason isn’t a big fan of feta cheese.  He says that anytime he has feta cheese it makes him wish it was goat cheese.

 

Categories
Appetizers Featured Recipes Snacks

Michael’s Onioney, Onion Dip. With Onions!

Oniony, Onion Dip.

BackgroundBackground

There are a lot of recipes on the backs of ingredients that are themselves tasty and can also be doctored up for a taster recipe.  For example, onion soup mix has a recipe for onion dip on the back of the box that consists of onion soup and sour cream.  My family used to make this dip a lot when I was a kid and I really liked it.

I love onions, especially red and green onions. If you’ve ever bought green onions you usually end up with a lot more than you can probably use before they go bad. That being the case, I decided to enhance the back of the box onion soup dip recipe with some left over green onions. Now the onion dip is more onioney! I added some buttermilk and mayonnaise to make it creamier, seasoned with salt and pepper and ended up with my very own dip.  I call it Michael’s Onioney, Onion Dip. With Onions!

The RecipeRecipe
Michael's Onioney, Onion Dip. With Onions!
 
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Recipe type: Appetizer
Ingredients
  • 1 package of onion soup mix
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • ½ cup of green onion
  • ⅓ cup mayonaise
  • ⅓ cup buttermilk
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Mix together all ingredients and chill for 2-3 hours prior to serving.
Tips and TricksTips and Tricks

Add other vegetables to the dip, like carrot strings and you’ll get [Your Name]’s Michael’s [Your Vegetable]ey Onioney, Onion Dip. With Onions and [Your Vegetable]!

Feed the FreezerFeed the Freezer

Thawed sour cream kind of separates and turns into a gross and grainy mess so don’t freeze it when it’s the star of the recipe.  You can absolutely freeze it when it’s just an ingredient in something like a casserole.

Fun FactsFun Facts

According to Alton Brown in the Good Eats episode Dip Madness, “In order to qualify as a dip, the candidate substance must be able to maintain constant contact with its transport medium over three feet of white carpet.”

Categories
Featured Jason's Favorites Recipes Side Dishes

Roasted Broccoli

Roasted Broccoli from www.jasonscooking.com
Roasted Broccoli
Temperature350°Time10-15 mins

Roasted Broccoli

BackgroundBackground

Every healthy meal should include at least one vegetable, but let’s face it in our busy lives we often opt to skip the vegetable in favor of the quicker, easier and tastier option. But I’m here to tell you that vegetables can be all three of these things and roasted broccoli fits this description perfectly. Roasted broccoli will help keep your meal more balanced, is quick and easy to prepare, and most importantly delicious to eat. This is the broccoli you make for people that don’t eat broccoli.

The RecipeRecipe
Roasted Broccoli
 
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Recipe type: Side
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 Heads of Fresh Broccoli, Trimmed (or a bag of pre-cut broccoli)
  • 2 Tbs Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Shredded Parmesan Cheese for serving
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°
  2. If not using pre-cut broccoli, chop the broccoli into preferred sizes.
  3. Place broccoli pieces into a bowl and pour olive oil over it.
  4. Sprinkle salt and pepper over broccoli. Make sure to use enough to cover all the broccoli.
  5. Mix broccoli with a wooden spoon so that all pieces get equal coverage of oil and seasoning.
  6. Lay out broccoli on a shallow cooking sheet.
  7. Roast the broccoli for 10 - 15 minutes until the edges start to brown.
Tips and TricksTips and Tricks

Try different seasonings, cheeses or sauces to make this roasted broccoli even tastier!

Feed the FreezerFeed the Freezer

Broccoli freezes quite well (see the frozen vegetable aisle of your local grocer) however it is just as easy to roast fresh broccoli as it is to reheat the frozen broccoli.

Fun FactsFun Facts

Broccoli is actually part of the cabbage family and is high in vitamin C and dietary fiber… Hence the healthiness.