Fishy Squishy Squash

Tilapia became so popular, after several months on the shelf that it is no longer a money-saver, but it is still a favorite due to its low-fat, low-fish taste and soft white meat. Not to worry, there is a larger fillet available now that sells for much less than Tilapia; Swai. The Swai possesses all the attributes of Tilapia with an added advantage, its larger—two pieces, halved, will feed twice as many people. It’s a crowd pleaser and will work equally well in Fishy Squishy Squash.

Banana Pepper

This is a 1-pan meal, combining zucchini, summer squash, and fish. It’s not difficult to make the dish, and those that don’t like fish, will be impressed with how well the dish taste. If you cannot find banana peppers, any mild pepper will work. A large tomato helps to make the sauce, and the fish does not require a heavy batter, adding only a thickening agent as the meal cooks.

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter or margarine

2 Swai fillets

Flour to coat fillets

2 medium zucchini, chopped in rounds

2 medium summer squash, chopped in rounds

1 small onion, diced

2 banana peppers

1 large tomato, fairly ripe

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric (curry might be substituted)

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp cilantro or parsley

2 tbsp soy sauce

½ cup water

2 cubes chicken bouillon

In 3 ounce sauté/fry pan, over medium-heat, add olive oil and butter—allowing to heat through, do not burn. Coat Swai in flour, and light brown both sides. Remove and rest on paper towels. Reduce heat; in the pot, add squash, peppers, and onions, allowing to sweat, approximately 10-minutes. When vegetables are soft, add tomato allowing this to heat through and begin to break down. Add spices, soy sauce, water, and bouillon, cover and allow to simmer another 10 to 15 minutes. When the mixture has thoroughly mingled, place the fish back in the pot and cook  through. Do not overcook the fish--fish flakes easily when done.

Note: White wine may be used in place of the water, adding a more acidic flavor. Serving over rice will make the meal heavier and more filling; however, it’s an excellent dish for the warm spring and summer nights. Served with salad it becomes a great evening meal that one might enjoy on the patio with a small group of friends—4 to 6 squash, double the spices and water, and use appropriate proportions of fish. It is unnecessary to increase the tomato proportion.

Those that love to fish and love the taste of fish might use the daily catch. A bass, trout, or crappies are always good on a summer night and the adrenaline of the fight will only add to the flavor on the plate. Shh, don’t tell the SPCA…

Beef, Chicken, or Sausage Stroganoff

This recipe works well with beef, chicken, or sausage and helps to stretch the budget while filling the empty growler that we know as a stomach. While it is unnecessary to drain the chicken—if using bone-less, skin-less breast—you do need to drain off the meat fat from the beef or the sausage. Using 1 cup and 2 cubes of beef bouillon for the sausage and beef, or 1 cup and 2 cubes of chicken bouillon for the chicken and sausage, will replace the lost fatty-juices from the meats. One can of cream of mushroom soup will add a distinctive flavor, very pleasant, but totally unnecessary.

Stroganoff is great over pasta—angel hair, fettuccine, or elbow noodles—or is equally delicious with rice. Noodles and rice make the meal stretch and satisfy the hunger, and save money while you enjoy a meal that sticks with you.

3 tbsp olive oil

1 lb. hamburger/ground-chuck, or 1 pkg Eckrich sausage (diced), or 3 bone-less, skin-less chicken breast (cut into bite-size cubes)

3 tbsp flour

1 cup warm water, plus 2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes

1 & ½ cup milk

1-8 oz. *can cream of mushroom soup (optional)

1 tsp ginger
1 tsp garlic

1 tsp cumin (may use cinnamon as a substitute)

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp chives

1 tsp cilantro or parsley

1 pkg Success Rice Boil-n-Bag, or noodles

In 3 Qt. sauce pan/skillet, over medium-heat, add olive oil—allowing to heat through—and choice of meat. Allow meat to cook thoroughly, drain, and place back in pan. Add flour,  mix thoroughly , coating the meat. Add water-broth, and milk, reduce heat to low and allow to thicken. Add spices and keep over warm heat until ready to serve. 

Cook Rice or noodles according to package directions. Serve stroganoff meat sauce over rice or noodles.

Note: Chicken will take approximately 10-minutes to cook thoroughly—never under-cook poultry products; salmonella. Chicken cubes should be no more than 1-inch per cut, and hamburger should be thoroughly broken apart. Halving and then cutting into halves, again, will make the sausage the appropriate size. If using *cream of mushroom soup, reduce the flour 2 tbsp, and use milk in place of water.

Adam’s Culinary Tonight and Avocado Dip

Not only have the people at Adam’s Spices come up with elegant new mixtures to accommodate the gourmet hidden within every cook, but the site features recipes to use the new spices. Had my weekend not gotten away from me, last weekend, it was my intention to use the new spices for a great Saturday evening meal…Mother Nature, however, had other plans, and her plans changed our plans.

They feature a variety of spices, and also carry the large-sizes that really save money for those that love to shop on a budget. Our household can personally recommend many of the choices from the “spice blend” section. We purchase the largest container of Brisket Rub they produce and we use it often.

The Adam’s gift packs would make a great gift for that newly married, fresh-start chef. Nothing says “love” with more emphasis than spicing up any couple’s relationship…the quickest way to a mans/woman’s heart is through their taste buds. So let’s start spicing!!!

  Avocado Dip

2-large avocados (diced)

1-small onion (diced)

1-small tomato (diced)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cilantro

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1-8 oz. container sour cream

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

In medium-size mixing bowl, add avocados and onions, mashed together with fork/potato masher until well-mixed. Add tomato and spices, mix well. Add sour cream and lemon juice, mixing well, place in refrigerator 30-minutes before serving.

What’s That Smell?

What’s that smell is a good question when you are unfamiliar with spices? Some cooks have an inherent ability to smell the spice and know the way it will taste, while others are, well, are smell-blind. At any point, while following a recipe, if you are instructed to add a large amount of spice, smell it first then take and a tiny taste. They are deadly—not in the biblical sense—and can ruin a meal for those of even strong stomachs and constitutions. Fortunately, I’m married to one of these guinea pigs.



Having cooked for over 4-decades, I’ve rarely botched a meal (lately), but the choice of a recipe that included in caraway seeds was an awful exception. The recipe called for 3-tablespoons (3 Tbsp.) of caraway seeds and seemed a bit much; however, as a recruiter of spices and not a dead-head, I went with the directions. Big, big, big mistake…never use 3-tablespoons of anything unless you use it frequently, and know how it will react with other ingredients. Sausage and Caraway seeds can fight a never-ending battle in the digestive system.



Scandinavian Ug-Free Sausage:

3-Tbsp olive oil

1-Eckrich Mesquite Smoked Sausage, cut in half-rounds

1-head of cabbage, quartered

3-tbsp butter/margarine

2-carrots, diced or julienne

1-small yellow onion, diced

2/3 c water

1-tsp garlic

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp caraway seeds (remember smell first and use appropriately)

1/3 c. Worcestershire



Heat stainless or non-stick skillet over medium-high until thoroughly warmed through, add olive oil and butter, diced onion and carrots, cook until tender and transparent; reducing heat as needed to avoid scorching. Add sausage and cabbage, add water and cover for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the amount of tenderness you wish for your cabbage. Add Worcestershire, garlic, nutmeg, and caraway seeds; continue cooking on medium heat until ingredients have been absorbed, approx. 5 minutes.



Note: We prefer our cabbage very tender and cook it 25 minutes covered.



If small children and cats run away screeching and crying, you’ve added too much caraway. Many spices—Chili powder, Cayenne, Garam Masala, Paprika, and Cumin—have very strong flavors and can, as with cumin, numb the tongue. Novices Beware: even the bland and less-odoriferous spices can be dangerous; Nutmeg, Onion powder, etc.



A good cook can throw together a meal in 30 minutes; a great cook can create a feast using simple ingredients and love.

Chicken Paprika

She’s one a-spicy chicken dish. If you took out most of the spicy spices, you would have chicken cacciatore, but you would have to add other spices…so it’s chicken paprika. My family origins are, mostly-Irish, with a little Scottish, French, and English thrown in for good measure and we love Italian food, go figure? One of my first, and favorite, cookbooks after I had tossed aside Betty’s recipes, was an Italian cookbook I picked up while grocery shopping. That’s how I learned to make a “decent” cacciatore and then extrapolated that into chicken paprika—years of making wrong choices followed.

The following recipe is not for the faint-of-heart, it is spicy and it is delicious and should be served with milk, unless you’re accustomed to Scotch Bonnet peppers.

3 tbsp olive oil
6 to 8 chicken thighs
2 tbsp Worcestershire
½ cup water
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp turmeric or curry
2 tsp cilantro
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 to 3-cubes chicken bouillon
1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce

In a Dutch oven, over medium-heat, add olive oil; allowing to heat through. Add chicken thighs—skin on—brown both sides, remove from pot and set aside. To pot, add Worcestershire, water, spices, and bouillon; stirring constantly to thoroughly mix. Add chicken back to pot, flipping pieces in mixture to coat; reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes making sure not to burn. Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, adding 1-14.05 oz can of water, allow mixture to reheat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and re-cover for 20 to 30 minutes longer until chicken begins to pull away from bone. Serve over rice, fettuccine noodles, or thin spaghetti pasta.


Adam's Spices offers starter packages for a very reasonable price. Check it out: Starter Packages.

Southwestern Surprise Soup

In Texas, there’s an inside joke that goes a little bit like this;

If it’s fresh kill, its soup…

Truth be told, there are not many dead chickens in the Road Kill category, because chickens are farm raised and generally, don’t leave the coop. Another truth, I’ve lived in Texas 48-years and have yet to meet anyone that has actually eaten road kill but don’t let it get around, we love our reputation for road kill cuisine.

We eat a pot-load of soups and stews because it’s a great meal that sticks with you through those 2-cold months of winter. We, also, eat a lot of southwestern foods; meals that combine Texas flavor with Mexican ingredients. Spices are key to the foods we eat and as such, many mirror the cuisine of Mexico; cumin, cilantro, cinnamon—an ingredient that is only sweet when sugar is added.

The surprise in Southwestern Surprise Soup is the soy sauce. You don’t find it on the Trail Boss menu but many a Texan use it. Soy sauce is a staple in our home due to its salty flavor and the ability to mimic Worcestershire.

3 –Tbsp olive oil
2 –Boneless, skinless chicken breast (medium size) chopped in 1-inch cubes
3 –small russet potatoes (diced)
½ --medium yellow onion (diced)
1/3 –cup mixed red, yellow, and orange bell peppers (diced)
2 —cups mixed or stir fry vegetables (frozen)
3 –Tbsp Soy Sauce
3 –cubes chicken bullion
2 –cups water
3 –cups milk
3 –Tbsp flour
1 –tsp cilantro
1 –Tbsp garlic powder
2 –tsp paprika
2 –tsp cumin (alternate ingredient; cinnamon)

Salt and pepper to taste

Over medium-high heat, in Dutch oven, add 3-Tbsp olive oil, potatoes, onions, and peppers. Sweat over heat, stirring constantly. When onions become transparent, add cubed chicken pieces. Cook approximately 10-minutes, uncovered, until chicken pieces are cooked through. Add mixed vegetables and soy sauce, stirring thoroughly to coat vegetables and meat with sauce. Add 2-cups of water and chicken bouillon; reduce heat to medium and cook 25-minutes, covered.

The soup base will become brownish in color and the vegetables will be warmed through and tender.

In a mixing cup, combine 3-Tbsp of flour and 3-cups of milk, mix thoroughly with a fork or whisk. Pour the mixture into pot reducing heat to low. Add remaining spices and cook approximately 15-minutes until soup thickens and is creamy.

Note: I add the spices in with the vegetables, but the thought is that spices are stronger when added last. The choice is really up to the taste of the individual. Garlic can be an overpowering. If you want more garlic taste, add it just before removing from heat.

Alternate Ingredient: Cinnamon can be used in place of cumin because the taste and the aroma are very similar. The taste is a little different and choices should be made according to the recipe. Cumin is likely a poor alternate for cinnamon in a sweet menu item, though I’ve never tried it.

If it is Bread, It Works

Aha, no Pitas, but lots of bread

In our home, if its bread, it will work and exceptions rarely occur. My husband and the cat, along with a couple of grandchildren, have one thing in common; they’re picky/finicky eaters. Two of my granddaughters eat deconstructed sandwiches (everything placed on the plate separately), and are unlikely to eat the bread, but shove it all in a pita pocket, tell them it is a taco, and they will eat without question. We like them for breakfast and have used many variations to fill them…this one is our favorite.

Pita Breakfast Pocket

1 pckg. Hormel Little Sizzlers, cook according to package directions

6 to 8 eggs, scrambled with (1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste)

1 pckg. Each shredded mozzarella and mild cheddar cheese

1 tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced or shredded lettuce

1 bottle mild salsa, tomato sauce (recipe to follow), or white sauce

1 pckg pita pockets (wheat or plain)

Tomato Sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter or margarine

1 small onion, diced (alternatives or additives might be: peppers, chives, garlic, green onions, or green olives)

1 lrg tomato, diced

1 tsp paprika (alternate spices: nutmeg, cumin, cinnamon, garam masala, and in smaller amount cayenne)

½ tsp Italian seasoning (alternate spices: cilantro, oregano, basil, rosemary, and sage)

1 & ½ cup hot water (alternative: white or red wine, or beer)

2 tbsp soy, teriyaki, or Worcestershire sauce; optional

2 cube beef bouillon (or chicken bouillon)

Salt and pepper to taste

Over medium-high heat, in 6-inch sauté pan add oil and butter; allow butter to melt and oil to come up-to temperature. Add onion allowing it to cook until transparent. Add tomato with juice and seeds, reduce heat to medium; cook 10 to 15 minutes until they have become a mush-like consistency. Add paprika and Italian seasoning. Reduce heat to low and allow to cook while dissolving bouillon in the hot water. 

Add bouillon water allow to mixture--and sauce (optional) to reduce and thicken.

Prep and Pita Assembly:

Cook sausage until golden brown, place on paper towel and store in microwave to keep warm. In bowl, add 6 to 8 eggs, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper; scramble. Cut pita pockets in half, chop sausage into bite-size proportions, and mix with scrambled eggs. Open pita pocket and fill with egg and sausage mixture, top with diced tomatoes, avocados, shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and choice of sauce/salsa, serve warm.