Fried Ravioli

We were in clean up and de-clutter mode at out house the other day. Going through the fridge and freezer we find items that need to be used before that expire. This round was some frozen cheese ravioli and some pasta sauce. My wife and I have had the fried ravioli from restaurants and so we  decided to try it at home. Here is our thrown together fried cheese ravioli recipe that turned out pretty darn good!

Fried Cheese Ravioli  
Ingredients
Frozen Ravioli - thawed (we had cheese but can use any). We let it sit out on the counter then finish in the fridge as it started to soften.
1 Egg beaten
1 Tbsp Water
1 C All purpose flour
1 C Yellow Cornmeal
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/3 C grated parmesan cheese
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Oil - enough for frying, we used Wesson oil in a cast iron skillet (about 1/2" worth)

Directions
Heat oil to frying temp.
Beat eat and add 1 Tbsp water
Combine and mix flour, cornmeal, italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
Take thawed ravioli, dip into egg and place into flour mixture. (I did about 8 at a time since that was the size of the container I used.) Once your oil is ready for frying (test with a small pinch of flour, if it bubbles, its ready. If it doesn't, it's not.... that simple). Retrieve your coated ravioli shaking off excess back into the flour. Slowly place into the hot oil with tongs or a slotted spoon. Allow them to fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. (NOTE: As they cook, they will "puff up") Once they have reached a light golden color and have "puffed" some. Remove from oil and place on plate that has been lined with a paper towel. Cover with tinfoil until ready to serve. Serve as as you can.

Heat some marinara for a dipping sauce. You can also use ranch dressing for a dip.

Hope you and yours enjoy!
As always, thanks for looking.
@Batteman87

Nuclear Stress Test

Nuclear stress test... Yeah me! I did survive the full 14 minutes on the treadmill but the lungs were pretty depleted. Ticker kept on ticking so that's a good thing. Still waiting on the "official" results, but I hope no acute news in sorta good news. Will have a follow up with the MD in the next few days/weeks. 

So the elephant in the room should be I'm too young for this right? Well I had some shortness of breath and some fluttering in my chest up to my throat. That accompanied with a bout of light-headed-ness got me thinking I should get it looked at. I plan on being around for my daughter and wife for a long time.  Why post this? Well consider it just a friendly reminder for everyone to keep a check on themselves. If you have something going on, it's better to ease your mind or catch it early. Hope everyone is well. Will continue to post some tid-bits more as the holidays rapidly approach this year!  

Stress Test summary

Sign in

Insurance cards and info given 

Triage weight, height, complaints.

Insert IV and Radioactive particles/isotopes to show an image once they have time to circulate.

Sit for 45 minutes - Twitter, Facebook

Sit in a fancy recliner like chair with Left arm on L shaped imaging machine for 9 minutes to get images of heart at work.

Hit the treadmill room and get base line blood pressure and get hooked up to EKG machine to read what your heart is doing. 

Start walking on the treadmill as the pace and incline increases over the next 14 minutes. The nurse/tech takes BP measures about every 2 minutes. 

Test ends and recover sitting on the table as BP is taking once more. 

Head back to the fancy reclining chair for more images while the heart is still recovering from exertion. This should take 2 minutes but takes me 4 since I had to retest because I coughed. 

Finished... Total ~ 2 and 1/2 hours. 

If anyone has questions about what happens in the test, feel free to ask. 

@Batteman87

BBQ POT ROAST OVER CHEDDAR RANCH GRITS

BBQ POT ROAST OVER CHEDDAR RANCH GRITS 
(Sounds funny....but it’s deelish!)

BBQ Roast

2 tsp Garlic salt
1⁄2 tsp Pepper
1 (4-5 lb.) Boneless chuck roast, trimmed
1 (12 oz) can Coke

1 (12 oz) bottle Chili sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbsp Hot sauce
3 Tbsp Cornstarch
1⁄4CMilk

Season roast by sprinkling on garlic salt and pepper. Place roast in 6- quart slow cooker. Combine coke, chili sauce, worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Mix well; pour over roast. Cover slow cooker and cook on high 5-6 hours or on low 8-9 hours. Remove roast from slow cooker while reserving juices in slow cooker. Keep the roast warm by covering with tin foil and placing in oven at 200° F until ready to serve. Combine cornstarch and milk and stir together well; Stir cornstarch mixture into slow cooker. Cook, uncovered on high 15 minutes or until thickened. Stir occasionally as it thickens. Serve sauce over roast.

Cheddar Ranch Grits
11⁄2 C quick cook grits (not instant)
5 C chicken broth (Will start with 3 C initially, you may add more to "thin" grits)

2 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix 
11/2 - 2 C shredded cheddar cheese

In a medium pan, bring 3 CUPS chicken broth to a boil. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook 8-10 minutes while stirring occasionally. If grits become too thick before they are done cooking, add more chicken broth. Stir in ranch mix and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted. Serve immediately. We highly recommend topping your serving of grits with the BBQ Pot Roast and gravy.  But... if you're "one of those"  that need it not to touch... It's still good :-)

French Toast Casserole

With Fall fast approaching (and football season!) I thought it appropriate to post a traditional Fall/Christmas dish. We specifically serve this French Toast Casserole Christmas morning along side other great dishes. It's by far one of the most popular that morning.

This is one of the recipes that made the cut into my next cookbook (that i've been diligently been working on). While there are many variations of it,  the recipe i'm posting is the one everyone raves about at our table. It's super easy to make any little personal tweaks to get your ideal "one".

French Toast Casserole
Hot out of the oven...

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

1⁄2 tsp Ground nutmeg
1⁄2 tsp Ground cinnamon 
1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 C Milk
8 lg Eggs

2 C Half-and-half
Butter, enough to grease pan 
1 Loaf French bread (13 to 16ounces), sliced into about 1 inch slices

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9X13 casserole dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. 

Praline Topping

2 sticks butter, softened
1 C Packed light brown sugar 1 C Chopped pecans

2 Tbsp Light corn syrup 
1⁄2 tsp Ground cinnamon 
1⁄2 tsp Ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above 

Still hot and bubbly from the oven!

French Toast Casserole

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy!

@Batteman87

Batgirl!

Superhero Sunday!!!!! (Millie was sporting her Batgirl duds this morning! - can't believe she is already a year old!) Hope all is well for my readers out there. Just wanted to touch base… I've got a lot going on as many of you know. Currently working on the photo business and getting my SECOND cookbook going! I've got many great new dishes I can't wait to share! Looking to have my next cookbook finished/published by December (as long as life allows).

Either way, a goal of mine is to share a little more on here. Stay tuned for more of me/us!

God Bless!

Sensational Steak Strips & Creamy Garlic Dip (UPDATED)Pile of Steak

Ever seen this stuff on the shelf at your local grocery store? Grab it next time if you don't have it already. We use it to make an awesome appetizer steak strips! In fact it's so good, it's aways the first to disappear every time we make it for a party. It's simple to make, and it's just darn good! My wife and I will often just make this for the both of us as a dinner. Proof it goes fast, I didn't have time to get a photo of it... So I will update once I make these again.  But without further ado, here's the recipe...

UPDATE! We recently made this great dish again along with the Bloomin' Onion Bread! Below are a few images of the steak strips! Hope you enjoy! You wont regret making them I guarantee!

SENSATIONAL STEAK STRIPS & CREAMY GARLIC DIP

Creamy Garlic Dip (make first)

2 tsp minced garlic 2 tsp Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic 1 Tbsp cider vinegar 1 C Mayonnaise

Mash together seasoning with garlic to form a paste. Add vinegar and whisk until blended together. Next, whisk in the mayonnaise. Stir until it's well blended. Cover and refrigerate.

Steak Strips

4 (8 oz.) Boneless strip sirloin steaks, cut into narrow strips 2 Tbsp Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic

(Be sure to make creamy garlic dip first.) Cut steaks into narrow strips. Place into a mixing bowl and add 2 Tbsp Chef Paul Prudhomme's Meat Magic seasoning. Mix until the seasoning is evenly distributed over steak bites. Reserve strips. Prepare your grill and preheat until your coals are very hot (or if using a gas grill, make sure your temperature has stabilized.) Lay steak bite strips onto the hot grill. Cook, turning only once, until meat is seared outside but still a little rare inside. They will roughly take 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side to cook. Serve immediately with creamy garlic dip.

Thanks for looking!





@Batteman87

YUM! Steak Strips & Garlic dipping sauce! 

Pile of steak strips! 

Millie G's First Pair of Shoes!

Man the time is flying! Can't believe I'm putting a pair of shoes on this little lady already! I'm getting settled and into a rhythm of sorts in my new business (AikenHDR.com). In the mean time I've been testing recipes for my next cookbook I am going to push to get out by the end of the year. Hope everyone is doing well! Will be posting a few recipes in the next few days!

Happy Super Bowl Eve!

Hope everyone is doing well and is prepped for the BIG GAME! I've been putting some finishing touches on my photography website (AikenHDR.com). I'm excited to dig into a little tailgating junk food (Meatballs, Wings, Beet Dip, & Buffalo Chicken Dip to name a few) for the Super Bowl. The next day (Monday) I start my road to Insanity again. I will keep you posted!

No...really... this time I mean it...

Well... I thought I was off hiatus but I was WRONG! Life happens I suppose. I recently just started my own business (AikenHDR.com)! Keep all of the kind words coming for my Insanity journey and my Insanity survival guide. Thanks too for the congrats to our baby Millie.  It's indeed great to read the comments and see others progress in their Insanity journey. One of my goals this year is to get through Insanity again... and do it before Summer. Another one on my goals this year is to complete my second cookbook. As I do this, I will again be sharing all sorts of stuff here and keep most of my photography stuff on AikenHDR. Sounds like a busy year I know... and I look forward to sharing it with you. Hope you're all well... who ever is reading this.

Stay social,
Follow me on Twitter @Batteman87