Ghoulishly Good Pumpkin Pie

Kris is a master in the making! I am not going into the details on how the pie was made, you can find that recipie elsewhere. But take some small sized cookie cutters with cute Halloween cutouts and the pie has a life of its own...It's Alive! Bats, pumpkins and kittys make this a spooky good dessert!

A stuffed pablano pepper - good stuff!

Okay, if you are the kind who likes bland stuffed bell peppers, skip this one. BUT, if you want to read about a KRIS ORIGINAL....read on. This one is...mucho bueno!

Pablano peppers have a little kick to them. It's size is about of a bell pepper, but comes to a point, much like a jalepeno...and has the spice to go with it. The smaller the pablano, the hotter it gets. Clean all the seeds and tibs out of the pepper. Instead of the top, cut the pepper on it's side, leaving a stuffing cradle.

Stuffing: Pre-cook jasmine rice and add chopped green and red bell peppers, chopped green onion, chunks of sauteed chicken in olive oil, canned corn, drained, black pepper, cummin, a little salt and 8 oz of softened cream cheese.

The stuffing was placed in the pablano open-faced and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minitues. Remove and top with Monterey Jack cheese. Bake for another 20 minutes. This will keep the pablano crispy and add texture to the meal. If you want a softer pablano, cook for about 25 minutes more. Add sour cream and a sliced avocado or black beans and you have a meal just South of the Border...American style!

Ribeye Steak and veggies...

Sorry we haven't posted for awhile. We took some time off to celebrate my 50th birthday and go on a little day trip.

So it's late and I will get to the point. Tonite, Kris made ribeye steak with sauteed mushrooms, baked fresh asparagus drizzled with a honey mustard sauce and shaved potatoes with onions, topped off with a dollop of sour cream. For dessert, birthday cake and ice cream!

On a scale of 1-10....this is a 25! Take that Ruth's Cris!

Caribbean Jerk Pork and fresh green beans

Take tender pork loin, marinade it overnight in a store-bought jerk chicken marinade, place the marinaded pork in a pan and cover. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Of course, you can go the fresh route on the marinade. Blend lime, papaya, red pepper, olive oil and spices to make a good caribbean jerk concoction.

The beans are very fresh, right from the farmers market. Sautee the beans in bacon, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. The beans stay crisp and are not soggy. Add butternut squash or salad to complete this flavorful fall meal. Yum, yum!

Chicken Squares: A meal in minutes

Before I begin, gracious credit for this meal needs to go to " The Toid" - Kris's friend for the past 20-plus years. It has been modified from the original recipie, but it's one of those things that I put as an 11 on a scale from 1-10.

Ingredients are readily available at super Wal-Mart or other food store. They are:

1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 can of white meat chicken

1 8 oz brick of cream cheese

1 of each - green, yellow and red bell pepper, chopped

2-3 green onions, chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

Cajun seasoning - we use Tony Chacheres

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a bowl, combine chicken, cream cheese, peppers, onions, celery and spices and let sit to allow the favors to combine (overnight in the refridgerator is even better.) Take the 8 crescent roll triangles and kneed 2 triangles into one square. This will give you 4 squares. Then, divide the mix into 4 parts and place them in the middle of the squares. Fold the squares to the middle, pinching them in the center. It is okay if they do not completely cover the mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes, depending upon your oven, until the squares turn a nice golden brown. Allow 10 minutes to cool before serving.

You will have your friends talking about these for a long time to come. Bon appetit!

Bonus: Stuffed Portabella & more

We will be offline tomorrow as I have to be in Conroe for a movie shoot....yes I am in front of the camera doing a character...a zombie. Yeah, I am not really proud of this but when you have an opportunity to break into mass media and movies, you take what you can get...as long as I don't have to take my clothes off, I'm okay with it. Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson came out this weekend and maybe there will be a Zombieland 2 in the future. If so, I have a portfolio.

Back to the foodies from the Bayou City. I found these great portabella mushrooms while Kris was getting white and shitake mushrooms for our weekly meals. We asked what the price was and would you believe, 2 for one dollar! Well, that was enough for us to get 2. Kris had made portabella caps before and man alive, were they good. Take sweet and spicy sausage, red and green bell pepper, onion, garlic, parmasian and romano cheese, bread crumbs. Baked in the oven at 300 degrees for 45 minutes and Voila! A meal any fungus lover would be jealous of.

Add to that the side dish, fresh asparagus and garlic wrapped in a bacon strip and for dessert, blueberry crepes with rasberry and white chocolate ice cream, you can see why I won't be heading off to Gold's Gym anytime soon! Bon appetit!

Real Men DO Eat Quiche!

Bruce Feirstein got it all wrong. This author and New York quiche hater had no idea about the scrumptiousness that is inside this delightful cornacopia pie. Bruce must have been served some bland spinach quiche that would make any male question his manhood.

Kris knows how to combat emasculative entrees by taking a frozen Pillbury pie crust and adding ham or sausage, chopped onion, spinach, fresh-sliced mushrooms and swiss cheese, gelatinized with eggs and cream. I am sure she can also make a quiche fit for a bunch of guys huddled around the TV watching football. It's just that good!

So Bruce, if you get the chance to read this, I have to tell you your 1980's manifesto is sooooo out of date. Maybe you could write a retraction? Otherwise, don't come around me, you might just get such a pinch!

Gormet Beef Stroganoff

Tonite we feasted on the glorious collection of choice sirloin steak, wide egg noodles with sour cream, buttressed with fresh-from-the-farmer's-market white and shitake mushrooms. The mushrooms were first sauteed in crisp white wine, butter and olive oil, prior to being introduced to the creamed beef concoction.

One short sentence will describe this meal fit for any Swedish king....Sorry you missed it!

Tomorrow we return to the farmer's market where we can determine the menu for next week's extravaganza!

Due to middle-age technical difficulties....

Our chapter of Pea Pods Porridge has been interrupted. Not by burning the toast mind you, but by the forgetfulness of one of the peas, namely Mike (that be me!) I talked to Kris at lunchtime and she requested that I take out the steak to defrost when I got home; to which, I agreed. WHY DO GUYS ALLOW THEMSELVES TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THESE THINGS? After a grueling afternoon of trying to catch up on my work, only to be given 16 more items to track down and report, I simply forgot to take out the entree when I got home.

I accept full responsibility for what happened. The nice part is that we can now write about our Friday dinner, and accompaning cheerful demeanor that the weekend has finally arrived, then to bemoan about what could have been Thursday's culinary delight!

By the way, the LEFTOVERS were fantastic! :)