5 Recipe Series Available Worldwide for the Holidays!

The first two books in the 5 Recipes series are ready to help you through the holidays. Find everything you need to keep your guests and family well fed and happy! Available for Kindle, Worldwide at Amazon.com.

Five Recipes Every Southern Cook Should Master: Armed with the basic five recipes and their variations you will impress your family, even the mother-in-law, prepare foods that are easy on the budget yet tasty, be prepared for any Southern event.

5 Slow Cooker Recipes Every Southern Cook Should Master: With these slow cooker recipes you will impress your guests and have the time to spend with them. All the recipes are quick to prepare and require little to no supervision. Build your Southern Kitchen Repertoire with these great eats!

Release Day…Five Recipes Every Southern Cook Should Master

Five Recipes Every Southern Cook Should Master…Armed with only these five recipes you will impress your family, even the mother-in-law, prepare foods that are easy on the budget yet tasty, be prepared for any Southern event.

The very first Tea and Cornbread book is available on Amazon for Kindle download. I hope this book helps new and established cooks to get in and out of the kitchen in record time, all the while dazzling your family and friends with amazing dishes.

I use each of these 5 recipes with my family and they are husband and teen approved. Enjoy!

Roasted Sweets…Veggies That Make’em Smile…In 1 2 3

Lisa’s Roasted Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

1. 2-3 large sweet potatoes chopped into small pieces (I leave the skin on)
2. 3-6 oz of baby carrots cut lengthwise then in half
3. 1/8 cup of canola oil (or coconut oil melted)
4. salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dump all the cut veggies on to a cookie sheet or large roasting pan. Pour the oil over the top and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 30 mins. In my convection oven this takes more like twenty mins. You want the veggies to be fork tender. Eat them as is or at this point they can be used as the base of a root veggie mash or mixed with nuts and honey as an alternative to the standard Thanksgiving marshmallow covered candied sweet potato dish.

Lisa’s Chunky Coleslaw

• Half a head of cabbage chopped into fine ribbons
• 3 oz of baby carrots sliced into rounds
• ¼ cup of Macadamia nuts roughly chopped
• Olive oil mayonnaise
• Rice vinegar
• Sugar
• Salt and pepper

Place all the veggies and nuts into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix 3 Tbsp mayo, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar,  2 -3 tablespoons of sugar (honestly some people like coleslaw sweet, some not so much. It is up to you), salt, and pepper to taste. Pour over the veggies mixture and toss to coat. Chill for at least 2 hours.

The great thing about coleslaw is you can add whatever you like. Some people like onions, shallots, or green onions. You can try other nuts or mix your cabbages. I think one with nappa and purple cabbages would be beautiful on white plates. The cabbage in the picture is green and I think the light celadon color looks beautiful with the bright orange of the baby carrots. Remember you have to not only enjoy your food, you have to feed the eyes.

Tea and Cornbread’s round up of the best and most nutritious salad recipes on the net!

Here is a head start for your New Year’s resolution to get fit and eat healthy. Tea and Cornbread‘s round up of the best and most nutritious salad recipes on the net! We have something for everyone…Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, and Carb-lovers.

1. Savory Watercress Berry Salad
2. Bacon Balsamic Vinaigrette over Roasted Butternut Kale Salad
3. Loaded Carrot Salad
4. Anti-inflammatory Kale Salad
5. Hot Bacon & Sweet Potato Salad
6. Green Beans, Olives & Sun Dried Tomato Salad
7. Chipotle Chicken Caesar Salad
8. Not Your Mama’s Niçoise
9. Artichoke Heart & Caper Chicken Salad Radicchio Cups
10. Avocado Egg Salad
11. Lacinato Kale, Radish, and Apple Salad
12. Carrot, Pistachio and Cranberry Slaw
13. Autumn Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette
14. Grapefruit & Avocado Salad with Shrimp
15. Chicken and Dragon Fruit Salad
16. Chicken, Avocado, and Blueberry Salad
17. Fig Salad
18. Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette
19. Red Fruit Salad
20. Power Packed Oriental Salad

Smacktacular Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup of butter, softened or your favorite butter spread (for a Vegan option use coconut oil)
• 1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 1 cup of cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs (vegan egg substitute)
• 3 cups of self-rising flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the butter and sugars together until a past is formed. Add vanilla and eggs and incorporate completely. Dump in the flour and mix carefully until a dough is formed and all the flour in the bottom of the bowl is mixed in.

Line your cookie sheets with foil and spray with nonstick. Using a tablespoon, measure out 9 cookies per pan, evenly spaced. Cook for 10-12 min or until just golden on the edges. Cool before eating.

Fiesta Chicken and Rice…Easy, Cheap, Fast-Food

I have fallen in love with my go-to lunch…Fiesta Chicken and Rice. I am telling y’all it is the easiest lunch under the sun. And the best part? It is easy, cheap, shelf stable, HEALTHY, and yummy!

Fiesta Chicken and Rice

• one bag of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice–Jasmine
• one can of Swanson’s White Chicken Breast in Water (pop top can)
• Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend (All of the blends are great)
• Salt (if needed for flavor…some people just can not abide salt free meals)

Cook the rice per the package instructions. This takes 90 seconds or 1 min in a lower wattage microwave. Be careful it will be very hot and steamy. If you are in a jam you can mix this up right in the Uncle Ben’s bag, or you can do what I do and dump all the steaming rice into a bowl.

Drain the chicken and mix with rice, 1-2 teaspoons of Mrs Dash, and salt if you need it.

That’s it…the whole thing happens in less than 2 mins! You can eat all of it or if you want to use it as a side dish divide it in half.

Calories calculated by My Fitness Pal.

Double Moist Cornbread

Let me tell you about a new ingredient that I am going to add my pantry staples list…Chia Seeds. Now, no I have not lost my mind and gone on some Hippie bender. Chia seeds are an old, ancient, ingredient that has seen a revival in culinary use in the last few years. I will admit right here that I did not buy the bag that I have in my house. One of my Hubs’ friends gave him a bag and the Hubs has been using it in his smoothies. But the bag kept calling to me. 😉 Finally I succumbed to the Chia’s siren song and I used it in a bowl of oatmeal…and it was good! It added a bit of nutty flavor and just a hint of crunch. My experiment got me thinking what other uses I could come up with for the tiny miracle seeds. Miracle seeds? Yes! They aren’t really on the miracle scale of the Parting of the Red Sea or say Water into Wine…but they are a nutritional powerhouse of Omega-3 fatty acids (more than flax), calcium and numerous other minerals, protein, and one serving has nearly half the fiber a person needs for one day. Ok but why add them to cornbread? When Chia seeds are added to liquid a gelatinous coating develops around each seed. This not only adds size and loft to the seeds but it makes seeds a great way to add more moisture to the overall recipe. The seeds are even the base of a drink south of the border called Chia Fresca which is considered an energy drink. As any Southern cook can attest, only so much moisture can be added to cornbread before the cohesion of the cooked product is destroyed. The addition of the chia seeds to the milk a few minutes before mixing adds moisture and the chia gel binds with the cornmeal. This small addition of chia gives you what I will be calling: Double Moist Cornbread.

Double Moist Cornbread—Lisa M. Collins

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. oil
2 cups Aunt Jemima Self-Rising White Cornmeal Mix
¼- ½ cup of chia seeds (less if you are new to using them)
1-1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425. In a 9-10 inch cast iron skillet add 2 tbsp. 
of oil and heat in the oven for 5 mins. In a large bowl add cornmeal mix, 
chia seeds, 1 tbsp. oil, milk, and eggs. Beat until just incorporated. 
Pull the hot skillet out of the oven CAREFULLY. Slowly pour the batter 
into the hot oil, then place back in the oven and bake for 20-25 mins 
or until as golden as you like.
*recipe is copyright Lisa M. Collins 

Cabbage Week Finale! Asian Cabbage made from our Classic Southern Side,Cabbage and Onions

As promised earlier this week on the Tea and Cornbread Facebook page here is the adaptation recipe photographed below. This recipe shows our philosophy that recipes should be adaptable and easy on the wallet and skill-set. The first recipe this week was Cabbage and Onions…Old World Side Dish for Your Updated Table. The second one was Turkey Egg Rolls…made from a classic Southern Side Dish. The third is today’s Asian Cabbage.

Asian Cabbage

• One head of green cabbage, chop 1/3 of the head into bite size pieces
• One small yellow sweet onion, chop into small dice
• 1 Tablespoon of oil…I use canola
• One teaspoon of curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of honey (For a vegan version use agave syrup.)
• 1 Tablespoon of natural peanut butter (Note if you use a peanut butter with added sugars you may want to reduce the honey or agave to one tablespoon.)

Heat a cast iron skillet to medium, add the oil and onion. Saute until the onion becomes translucent. To this add the chopped cabbage and toss to coat with the oil. Season the veggies with the curry powder, coriander, salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low and stir occasionally until the cabbage begins to turn golden at the edges. You do not want the cabbage to brown or it will become bitter.  At this point add the soy sauce, honey, and peanut butter. Turn off the heat and mix until the additions become incorporated into a sauce that lightly coats all the cabbage and onions. Serve over noodles or rice.

In my photo I also added ground turkey. What I like about this recipe is that you can have a meal that can be enjoyed by vegan, vegetarian  or meat eaters. All it takes is one simple substitution and you can serve the meat on side for those who want to add it to their plate.

Turkey Egg Rolls…made from a classic Southern Side Dish

Sometime you just want something super yummy but healthy. That is where my Turkey Egg Rolls come in as the pinch hitter! They are crunchy, salty, easy, and oh so very tasty.

Some of the recipes that I have read for egg or spring rolls are so complicated that they will send you screaming with your hair on fire to your local Chinese restaurant or the frozen section at the grocery store. Well not so with mine. The basis of the recipe is actually a wonderful Southern side dish…cabbage and onions.

Turkey Egg Rolls

• One pan of Cabbage and Onions (click for recipe)
• One package of egg roll wrappers
• One package of ground turkey (I like 97% fat free). You will need 8oz of the package.
• One tablespoon of canola oil
• Two teaspoons of garlic powder
• One teaspoon of curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
• Salt and pepper
• Soy sauce
• Honey
• Tabasco

Let the pan of cabbage and onions either cool or bring it up to room temp if you made it ahead of time. In a cast iron skillet heat 1 tablespoon of canola to medium heat and add your Ground turkey. Sprinkle the raw turkey meat with garlic powder, curry powder, ground coriander, and lightly with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly in the skillet and brown. When done mix in a large bowl with the cabbage and onions. Let cool completely. (Although I must admit I have burned my fingers before making this when I was too hungry to wait!)

Now we need to prepare our egg rolls. Most of the wrapper packages have directions on how to fold the rolls. But here are some pictures to show you the basic fold. Its looks very similar to a paper envelope.

The next part is up to you. You can deep fry, pan fry, or bake the rolls. I like to bake mine at 425 on a cookie sheet lined with foil. I put down a spritz of cooking spray on the foil. Brush or spritz the top of each roll and bake them for 15 minutes or until golden.

I like to make a light dipping sauce. In a small bowl mix Tabasco, honey, and soy sauce.

Enjoy!

Click on the pictures to see the detail.