Piggy Tots

 

Memphis Tennessee is known for two of the best things in the world.  St. Jude's for the finest medical care for those precious children and Memphis Bar-B-Que!

I'm a Tennessee lady that loves smoked pulled pork.  This recipe was made with my favorite Bar-B-Que from Trollingers in my home town of Paris, Tennessee.  It's a dry smoked pork.  You don't want the sauce wetting your tots.

This easily feeds 2 so if you're feeding a crowd, you might want to double this recipe.  I like it best served from a cast iron skillet.  You use whatever's handy at your house.

• You'll need:
• 1 32 ounce bag frozen tater tots
• ▢2 cups pulled pork roughly chopped
• ▢4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• ▢4 ounces shredded monterey jack or pepper jack cheese
• ▢1/4 cup thinly sliced jalapeños
• ▢4 green onions sliced thin
• ▢1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• ▢optional toppings: guacamole salsa, crema, and cotija cheese

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spread the tater tops across a large baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, until golden and slightly crisp.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle half the cheese over the tater tots. 

Distribute the pulled pork evenly over the cheese layer and top with remaining cheese. 

Scatter jalapeños over the top. 

Bake until the cheese melts completely, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with green onions and cilantro. 

Add the additional toppings of your choice. 

Enjoy!

Strawberry Tiramisu

It's February and love is in the air!  February is our wedding anniversary, Valentines Day, the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500!  We celebrate all things with gusto! 

This tiramisu is so easy to make and there's no baking involved at all!  This would be a fun thing to do with your kids!

You'll need:

24-30 ladyfingers
8 oz mascarpone cheese

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ cup of orange juice
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
8 oz cool whip

1. In a large mixing bowl beat heavy cream until soft peaks form
2. Add in the mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until stiff, set aside
3. Line the ladyfingers in a single layer, in the bottom of 9×13 or similarly sized baking dish
4. Brush half of the ladyfingers with half of the orange juice
5. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and layer with half of the sliced strawberries
6. Repeat the steps again
7. Cover with cool whip and garnish with sliced strawberries
8. Place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight

Jambalaya

Happy New Year Ya'll!  I am starting 2021 with Sass and Seasoning!  I wanted to make you something that is easy to do and has enough flavor to hold up to the challenges of your day.  There are tons of recipes for Jambalaya and I've read the all!  In the end, I did what I normally do - winging it!  Recipes are largely for inspiration anyway!  I started with the "trinity" and then went my own sassy way!

You'll need:

2 boxes Zatarain's Jambalaya Mix
1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

4 stalks celery

1 bunch green onions

1/4 small red onion 

1 stick butter

4 cups chicken stock

4 cups of water

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 bags instant white rice

1 lb smoked sausage

1 lb diced ham

1 lb medium shrimp

1 pinch red pepper flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

This all starts with your biggest stock pot you own!  (Next year, I'm asking Santa for a bigger one!)  Make your trinity by dicing your celery, peppers and small red onion.  I'm not an onion fan so I only used 1/4 a small onion.  If you love onion, add the whole thing!  Add the trinity and one stick of butter to your stock pot with 1 cup of chicken stock and simmer until tender.  This takes about 15 minutes or so.

Add remaining chicken stock, the two cans of diced tomatoes (including the juice) and 2 cups of water - bring mix to a boil.  Add the Zatarains, cover and turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes.  Watch your liquids and add additional water as needed.  The rice in the Zatarains will soak up a good bit of your base.

While you are simmering your base, slice and brown your sausage and drain off excess grease.  Dice your ham and cut the tails off your shrimp.

After a thirty minute simmer, add the sausage and ham.  Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Reduce to a low simmer for an hour.  Stir frequently and keep your liquid levels up. 

Chop the green onions while your one hour simmer is going and set them aside for a final garnish.   

Add shrimp and simmer for 15 minutes then serve. Make your white rice in the microwave while your shrimp is tendering.  I like to serve my Jambalaya over a bed of white rice and sprinkle the green onions on the top.  It makes a pretty presentation and is extra filling for my family.  

I have to confess that this recipe got bigger than my stock pot so I split it into two pots.  No big deal, just keep going and it'll all come out fine.  My house smells heavenly and I am so happy to serve this to my family tonight.  

You can switch up your veggies as you like.  My hubs love okra but I drew the line on that addition. You can also change your meats to what you have on hand.  Chicken is great in this too - I just used what I had in the freezer!  Luckily our garden produced an abundance of peppers so I was in good shape even before the grocery run.

I'm on a mission to make 2021 a year of fabulous and this dish is right at the top of the list to kick off our new year!  I wish you and yours health, happiness and prosperity in the year ahead!