Quick Bites from Taste of Gourmet

Want supper fast and scrumptious? Try these ideas!

August 25, 2010
Colonial Corn Chicken - This quick supper uses prepared Colonial Corn Chowder (made with 6 cups of chicken broth and 1 can of evaporated milk.)
Butter a baking dish. Place 6 to 8 chicken breasts, sprinkle with 1 cup uncooked rice and add 4 cups of prepared chowder. Bake covered at 350 degreesfor about 40 minutes (until rice is done.) Serves 6 but just adjust amount of chicken to serve fewer people. 

August 17, 2010
Lots of kids are back in school this week...What to do for supper? Comfort food! And what better comfort food than Mama's Meatloaf! Our box has TWO meatloaf mixes in it...for only $9.95! Each mix flavors 2 pounds of ground beef perfectly (sometimes I add a touch more meat if that's what is in the package I pick up.) Add roasted or mashed potatoes (with Chimmi Sauce) to your plate with a green vegetable and fresh tomatoes. It doesn't get any better than that!

Bake your meatloaf in a loaf pan if you want slices for sandwiches or just in a round cake pan to cut into pieces.  I use a little Jezebel Sauce or Berry Bar-B-Que Sauce in my meatloaf and rubbed on top. If that's not in your cupboard, use any BBQ Sauce, or ketchup or tomato sauce, or even jam or jelly to "glaze" the meatloaf. The flavors in our mix are the important "taste" element....the glaze is just to finish it off nicely with a touch more flavor!

August 13, 2010
Salads are HIGH on my supper menus in this heat. 100 degrees again today! 
Try these salad ideas....... Sweet Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette with:
Spinach, oranges, grapes and almonds
Mixed with pasta and chopped pepper, tomatoes and carrots
Mixed with cooked chicken, celery and pecans
Drizzled over any fresh fruit salad bowl
Sprinkled over sliced tomatoes with fresh basil and cheese
Chopped cucumbers, onions, black beans and corn
YUM!

July 6, 2010
Sausage Wraps
Grill link sausage on your patio - or in your kitchen. Use fat or thin sausage...it's all good! Keep the sausage warm (or refrigerate and warm the sausage when you are ready to use). Heat flour tortillas (and sausage). Spread the tortillas with Jezebel Sauce, then shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes down the middle.
Put those yummy grilled sausage on top, then roll up that wrap and enjoy every bite!
Try our sweet, hot horseradish mustard (called Jezebel Sauce) makes EVERYTHING better!

June 29, 2010
Our Black Bean Chili is just right for the summer!  It cooks on top of the stove in just 20 minutes....Make the Chili just like the directions tell you (I use ground turkey or boneless diced chicken thighs to keep it light in calories and fat too). Enjoy a bowl with a dab of sour cream or grated cheese or diced fresh onion! THEN refrigerate the leftovers (remember the BONUS MEAL?)
Two days later.....have a Chili Salad by pouring the "Bonus" Chili over a mound of lettuce on your plate. Add some fresh tomatoes, slices of avocado, grated cheese....all optional because the flavor's in the chili.  It's our supper for tonight!

June 22, 2010
Cool, healthy salads are perfect in this hot weather! 
For lunch after church on Sunday, I roasted some eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini and pieces of raw potato, tossed in a bit of olive oil and Sassy Seasoning Salt. I cut the vegetables in bite size pieces because I didn't want the oven on 450 degrees for more than 15 minutes. The veggies were yummy. We also had steaks...Great Father's Day meal! 
And even better.....we had "Bonus" steak and roasted vegetables the next day!

Now the Quick Bite.....
So for supper, a "Bonus Salad!"
I tossed the "Bonus" vegetables with a little Sweet Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette, added the "Bonus" steak cut in slivers, two diced tomatoes, diced cucumber for crunch and some blue cheese! Mixed it all up and piled it on a mound of fresh baby spinach and topped it with a spoonfull of Crispy Crumbles. With a couple of pieces of cold Tomato Basil Beer Bread spread with a little butter, it couldn't have been a tastier supper!

June 15, 2010 
Pasta Salad for Four: Add 1 Tablespoon of Chimmi Sauce to cooked, drained pasta (while it is still warm). Stir well, then add diced fresh vegetables of your choice: tomatoes, bell peppers, fresh zucchini or yellow squash, cucumber, jicama....  Serve immediately or refrigerate to let the flavors marinate!
   
June 8, 2010
I love roasted vegetables and they are so easy to do....tasty and healthy!  Cook on your grill OR in your kitchen with the oven set on 450 degrees. Don't worry about heating up the kitchen....It only takes about 15 minutes and the flavor is worth it!

Put 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in the roasting pan (or a bowl if using the grill). Add 1/2 teaspoon Sassy Seasoning Salt and 1/2 teaspoon Italian Spices. Mix and rub over the cut vegetables, turning them in the pan to cover each part of the vegetable. Use yellow squash, zucchini, bell peppers, onion, eggplant, tiny carrots, whole green beans...your choice! I usually cut pieces into "two-bite size" so they look pretty on the plate too! Place in the 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, stir and check, then usually about 5 minutes more makes them just soft and delicious! 

May 25, 2010
Enjoy Cookouts this summer:
Don't heat up your kitchen...Cook on the Grill!
Then top the meat when it hits the platter with our sauces and dip mixes USED as sauces! 
Peach Pecan Pepper Preserves on pork loin
Cranberry Chutney on chicken breasts
Chimmi Sauce on beef brisket or steaks or hamburgers
Garlic Herb Dip as a sauce on anything - meat or fish or scallops!

May 12, 2010
To make Jezebel Chicken:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Crushed pretzels (or crackers)
Taste of Gourmet's Jezebel Sauce

Pat chicken dry, rub with Jezebel Sauce and roll in pretzels to coat.
(Put a bit of butter on top of chicken if you choose)
Place in buttered pan and bake on top rack of oven at 375 for about 45 minutes. 
Note: You can prepare the chicken and freeze to bake later.

Jezebel Sauce is a sweet, hot, horseradish mustard that's great on
a ham sandwich, on roast beef, added to egg yolks for "deviled eggs."
YUMMY!  $8.95 per jar and you only need a little for lots of flavor.
click here for more Jezebel recipes

May 4, 2010
Great Grilling Chicken
Cut boneless chicken breasts (or thighs) in long thin strips and put in bowl. Drizzle Great Grilling Marinade over chicken and stir to flavor (use 1 Tablespoon for 2 servings, it only takes a little.) Let the chicken marinate for about 20 minutes (or marinate overnight to make supper even faster.) Rub a bit of olive oil in a skillet - get it hot and add the chicken pieces. Shake and stir as chicken browns and caramelizes. Add 1 teaspoon Great Grilling Marinade directly to the skillet as you take off heat.
Serve hot over rice or pasta or over a big salad (with our Sweet Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette of course!)

April 27, 2010
Our Dip Mixes aren't just for chips, they are delicious sandwich spreads! Think of the dip as a "flavored mayonnaise or sauce," because when you use the mayonnaise and sour cream option, that's what they are! AND you can make them with low-fat ingredients because our FLAVORS are so clear and distinct!

April 14, 2010
Garlic Shrimp
Melt 2 Tablespoons butter (or olive oil) in skillet
Add 2 Tbsp. Chimmi Sauce and stir 
Add 1 lb. fresh peeled shrimp and cook quickly - 2 to 3 min., just until the shrimp are pink...don't overcook
Serve over pasta or rice with all the juices. Yum!
Note: Also works great with pieces of chicken breast

Dessert too?
Serve fresh sliced strawberries and halved green grapes drizzled very lightly with our Sweet Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette! Bake our All-American Apple Cake and ice it with one of our Toffee Crunch Cheese Cake Ball mixes! 

Spread Deliciously Dill Dip on a ham sandwich, or a grilled fish hoagie, or sliced grilled chicken sandwich!
Let Garlic Herb Dip brighten your grilled hamburger pattie, or thin sliced roast beef po-boy, or turkey sandwich!
Try a simple grilled cheese sandwich with Garlic Herb Dip or BLT Dip ("Best Little Tomato" Dip) just spread on the bread before grilling.
Our Dip Mixes are also great finishing sauces - just like the super chefs talk about on their menus:
Deliciously Dill Dip dolloped on any grilled, baked, sauteed or fried fish! Garlic Herb Dip on grilled chicken or pork chops....

April 20, 2010
Tangy Pork Chops
Sprinkle chops very lightly with Sassy Seasoning Salt (or salt and pepper.) Heat skillet with a touch of olive oil and add chops. Shake pan to keep chops from sticking, searing chops on both sides over medium high heat.  Turn heat to low, drizzle 1 Tablespoon Tangy Tomato Salad Dressing on top of each chop, cover skillet and cook for about 10 minutes (depending on thickness of chops.) Serve hot over rice, pasta or mashed potatoes with all the juices. Fast and yummy!

Want a side dish? Chimmi Tomatoes! Cut tomatos into thick slices, place on pan to broil. Rub each slice with 1/4 teaspoon Chimmi Sauce and sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese. Broil just to heat through and serve hot.  Light and so flavorful!