Jill's Famous Summer Yogurt Fruit Salad

Now this right here is the bomb!!! I truly love this fruit salad. Especially on those hot Summer days! The first time I made this was about at my Housewarming Party in NYC...about 5 years ago and I've been making it ever since! I switch the fruit flavor yogurt and the fruits from time to time depending on the season. I make this all year around! Truly delicious my friends!

You just peel and cut up some cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, seedless red and green grapes, watermelon, red and green apples, and peaches. Pour 1 juice or 2 of a lemon in the bowl; add 2 to 3 cups of fruit yogurt (here I used peach); and mix it all together! Yummy! I want some right now!  As you can see I got a little fruit happy besides myself with the fruit and had to transfer to another bowl.  LOL!  Oh well, it was worth it and not a drop was left over! 

Enjoy!


Jill's Comfort Zone

Grilled Corn with Chive Butter

 Rachael Ray Magazine

 I saw this recipe in one of Rachael Ray's magazines and just had to try it.  Sorry I didn't take a picture but I'm way over due with grilling so you'll have one to look at soon!  ;)

6 medium ears sweet corn, in husks
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsps snipped chives
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsps lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Soak corn in cold water for 1 hour.  In a small bowl, combine the butter, chives, sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Carefully peel back corn husks to within 1 inch of bottom; remove silk.  Brush with butter mixture.  Rewrap corn in husks and secure with kitchen string.

Grill corn, uncovered, over medium heat for 25-30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Enjoy!


Jill's Comfort Zone

Navy Beans and Turkey Necks

I love me some comfort food! This dish reminds me of my Grandma...the Carolina days! I truly miss this woman! Talking about cook!!! Oooooooooo...this lady use to cook her butt off! Mmmmmm...my she R.I.P.! I miss you so much!

When I first made this I was looking for something fulling and I didn't have much in the house at this time. I was being lazy and didn't feel like going food shopping! LOL! Who doesn't love beans and every southern family loves them some neck bones! Now you know you have to have some neck bones or turkey necks on hand at all times! Never know when you're ready to make some collard greens, corn bread stuffing, or whatever! It's hard to find fresh turkey necks here in Pittsburgh when it's not around Thanksgiving and Christmas. What a shame!

This is yet another recipe that I just eye ball the ingredients. The longest part to this dish is soaking the beans. I usually soak my beans over night. So I would start here first...soaking the beans so you don't have to cook them all day long! Each time I make these beans I add something different to it. So whatever you taste buds are calling for throw it in! ;) I think I'm going to make these beans in the crock pot next time!

Get you a bag of dried white or navy beans. A pack of fresh Turkey Necks or Neck bones. Chop up some onions, green peppers and garlic. Throw every thing in a pot. Add some EVOO, beef broth, salt, pepper, paprika and red crushed peppers to the pot and cook for about 2 and a 1/2 hours.

Enjoy!




Jill's Comfort Zone

Stewed Salmon Steaks

I just love this dish!!!  When me and my daughter, Jazzie's, father (Magic) was dating I started adoring stewed dishes.  Yes, they call him Magic...he got that name from playing Soccer he told me.  I gather he did magical things with the Soccer ball.  I don't know...I forgot the story.  LOL!  He's from Jamaica and their always eating stew fish, stewed chicken, stewed oxtails, beans...you name it they were stewing it!  Well it was always delish!  The spices, aroma, taste...I just love it all!  He was heavy handed on the plum tomatoes but since the girls and I don't really like tomatoes that much I use it lightly in my dishes.  Growing up from a family who always fried or baked most of their meats and seafood this was very different for me.  Don't get me wrong I've had stewed food before but more like stew beef, etc.  My Step dad, Pablo (R.I.P.) use to make stewed dishes as well.  He was from Honduras.  But he use to stew fish heads and stuff like that and I wasn't with that...at the time.  LOL!  I mean he use to leave the eye balls in and it freak me out!!!  As I got older and on my own I started testing the waters.  Not as much with stewed fish heads but fried!  Very tasty! 

Well there's nothing to this recipe.  I don't have measurements...you just go with the flow!  

I just season the steaks with salt, pepper, cayenne (if you like it spicy; you can also use red pepper flakes too instead of the cayenne) and paprika. Brown the in a sauce pan with olive oil. Remove to the side; draining on some paper towel.





Then I chop up some onions, green and red peppers, garlic and tomatoes season with salt and pepper. Sauté the onions, peppers first until soft then add the garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes. Don't burn the garlic. You can use canned or fresh tomatoes. Then you add the tomatoes to the onion mixture (if you use the canned tomatoes, pour the juice in too) with some fresh lemon or lime juice.




Bring to simmer then return the salmon to the pan and cover. Cover for about 5 to 7 minutes more. I like a little crust on mines so I sometimes take the sauce pan and put it in a 350 degrees oven and bake uncovered for about 5 minutes or so.  And that's all to it! 

I served this with some french cut green beans, baked potatoes with cheese, sour cream and sprinkle of dried parsley and some salad.

Enjoy!

Jill's Comfort Zone

Herbed Crusted Rack of Lamb

FineCooking.com

Well Jill was feeling a little fancy this evening! Earlier that day I was at the supermarket and I had a craving for some lamb chops. Now I've made lamb chops several ways but I've never had nor made a Rack of Lamb before. Yes, it was a little pricey but like I said...I was feeling a little fancy. LOL! So I came home and started searching the Internet for a recipe. I ran across this Herbed Crusted Rack of Lamb recipe on Fine Cooking website. Of cause I never stick to the exact recipe so I added my touches to it and BOOM...a master piece! It was truly delicious!

The funny part about this dish was the responses I got on Facebook when I posted the picture! hahaha! My cousin, Michael Robinson, asked me what kind of meat was this! He thought I cook up a rodent! LOL! I won't post what kind because I don't want to turn anyone off from trying this recipe...lets just say it has four legs! CTFU!!!! Ok...back to the recipe.

Ingredients:

*1 rack of lamb, trim of fat but leave a little on
*Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*Red onions, diced
*1/8 cup dried parsley
*1 Tbps. dried thyme, crushed
*1 Tbps. dried rosemary, crushed
*1 cup breadcrumbs


*Celery, diced
*Baby carrots
*3 Tbps. butter, 1 Tbps divided

 Rinse Rack of Lamb.

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 475°F. Season the lamb with salt and pepper.

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a sauce pan. Combine the garlic, parsley, thyme, red onions and breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Moisten the mixture with enough butter to make the mixture hold together.

Melt 2 Tbsps butter in a large dry skillet over high heat. Put the lamb, meat side down, in the skillet. With tongs, hold the lamb against the skillet for a minute to give it a nice brown crust. Turn the meat to sear it on all sides for a total of 4 minutes. Remove the meat from the skillet.  Roll the meat in the herb mixture to coat it. 

Roll the meat in the herb mixture to coat it.

Transfer the rack to a roasting pan just large enough to hold them. Place veggies around the rack.  Cover the rib bones with strips of foil so they don't burn and roast until medium rare, 20 to 25 minutes (120°F internal temperature). If you want a crispier crust, finish cooking under the broiler for 2 minutes. Let the rack rest for 5 minutes before carving.  Toss the veggies out. 

Use a carving knife to cut between the rib bones. Arrange the chops on warm serving plates. Serve hot. (The chops will cool quickly, so the best strategy is to carve the racks at the table.)

I served it with Roasted lemon asparagus, white rice and rolls.

Enjoy!



Jill's Comfort Zone

Italian Style Ravioli Lasagna Part 2

Last January I tried this delish one dish meal again.  Fabulous!!! I've switched up the ingredients but it was still yummy! Awesome once again! You must try this...I did and continue to make it whenever I'm craving for it and it fits in my budget!

Ingredients:

2 pks of Family size frozen Sausage Ravioli
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp paprika
2 tsps minced garlic (Don't used the garlic powder if your using the minced garlic.  I should have taken that out of the picture.  Sorry.)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsps EVOO
1 1/2 to 2 lbs ground sirloin, pork and veal
2 jars of spaghetti Sauce or homemade
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pot of water to boil, season heavily with salt and some EVOO.

While your waiting for the water to boil, saute your onions, green & red peppers in the heated sauce pan with EVOO.  Then add the minced garlic...cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.  In a frying pan add the meat mixture and brown up the meat.  A few minutes before you finish cooking the meat mixture add the sauteed veggies to the pan and mix well.  Remove the meat mixture to a strainer and drain the grease.  Return meat mixture to the frying pan, pour in the sauce, mix and simmer for about 4 minutes, until bubbly.


Cook Ravioli for about 6 minutes, until almost cooked through. Drain and lay flat one a plate to avoid them from sticking together. Set aside until ready to assemble the lasagna.  Pour some sauce to the bottom of the baked dish. Put some ravioli on top of sauce, then cheese, and more sauce. Repeat method 2 more times! After the last layer of ravioli, pour more sauce and then finish off with the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly.





I served it with garlic bread and salad.  Yummy!




Enjoy


Jill's Comfort Zone

Slow Cooker Corned Beef Brisket

Being that St. Patrick's Day just past I thought I'd start with this recipe first this morning. I'm different so I didn't have the traditional cabbage side dish with this meal. LOL! Call me spunky! Nor did I serve this on that special Irish day. Maybe next year!

This was my first attempt at making a corned beef brisket December 2010! I've never really had the real thing until now. I want to thank my foodie friends (Robin, Krista, Doug, Jessie, Siiri and the gang for convincing me to give it another try!!! This was truly delish and so simple to make! I've tried that canned stuff when I was little and it sucked! Grossed me out so I never tried it again! SMH! What was my mother thinking! LOL! But I don't remember her buying it again. Love you dearly mom! It was you who inspired me to create my own Comfort Zone and I've never looked back! Thanks Margy Alexander! I come from a line of great cooks! My Aunt Shirley gets it cracking in the kitchen as well!!! Love you guys!

Well there's nothing to this recipe! It's pretty much whatever floats your boat. So I'm just going to breeze through this one...the ingredients are simple. I used to package that came inside the corned beef brisket package, added some salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of cayenne pepper (my favorite ingredient), and a little beef broth to coat the bottom of the crock pot.


I seasoned the brisket with the ingredients listed above. Poured the beef broth into the crock pot. Placed the brisket, with fat side facing up, in the crock pot and cooked for 5 to 6 hours on low.

Because I don't like wet meat that much I put it in a preheated oven 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until the top becomes brown and crispy! I must have so crisp to my meat! ;) And that's it folks!!!! Truly delish!!!!!

Crispy on the outside....

And nice and juicy on the inside....

 I served this with yellow rice, collard greens, Baked Macaroni and Cheese , and corn muffins!

Enjoy!

Jill's Comfort Zone

Crab Legs with Garlic Butter Sauce

 allrecipes.com

 What a beautiful Saturday!!!! Yes, blogging, watching movies with the girls and the sun is shining!!! We had an early dinner tonight! Delicious, short and simple! This recipe was really great! I've done crab legs this way before but never thought about cutting a slit into the crab legs! Well I tell ya what!!!!! You don't need to make a butter sauce to dip the crab meat in anymore if you slice a little slit into the legs! OH MY...all the seasoning seeping right inside!!!!! PERFECT!  Thanks for sharing your recipe on  allrecipes.com  Tamarlynn!!! 

My cousin Sylvia is coming to visit next month and I can't wait!!!!  Two cousins who loves to burn and always trying new recipes is coming together in ONE kitchen!!!!  Whew!  This is going to be tough because Lord knows I don't like sharing my Comfort Zone but this is an exception!!!!  Stay tuned!  ;) 


Ingredients:

*2 pounds Snow Crab clusters, thawed
*1/2 cup (1 stick of butter) butter, I used salted butter
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 Tbsp dried parsley
*1/4 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper

Cut a slit, length-wise into the shell of each piece of crab.

Melt the butter in a large skillet (I used a large sauce pan) over medium heat; cook the garlic in the butter until translucent; stir in the parsley, salt and pepper. Continue to heat mixture until bubbling. Add the crab legs; toss to coat; allow to simmer in the butter mixture until completely heated, 5 to 6 minutes.

I served this with a lemon butter sauce, fried shrimps and fries! Keep it simple!

Enjoy!

Jill's Comfort Zone

Sausage, Peppers, Onions and Potato Bake

Good evening readers! I truly miss blogging and need to get back on my game. I enjoy sharing recipes. Thursday I was looking for something different and I found it! Allrecipes.com had this recipe for Italian Sausages call Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Potato Bake. Something quick and simple for a weekday evening. The girls and I truly enjoyed this dish and so will you. I serve this with some salad. Of cause I adjusted measurements and ingredients to my liking.

Ingredients:

*2 tsps EVOO
*2lbs Hot Italian sausage links, cut into pieces (you can use mild, reg. or sweet sausages if you like)
*1/4 cup EVOO
*4 large potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
*1 large green and red pepper, seeded and cut into wedges
*1 1/2 large onions, cut into wedges
*1/2 cup white wine
*1/2 cup chicken stock (I used chicken broth)
*1 tsp Italian seasoning
*Pinch of cayenne pepper
*Sprinkle of smoked paprika
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Sprinkle of garlic powder


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 2 tsps EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the sausages until browned. Transfer the cooked sausages to a large baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup of EVOO into the skillet, and cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Place the potatoes into the baking dish, leaving some oil. Cook and stir the green and red peppers and onions in the hot skillet until they are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the veggies to the baking dish. Pour wine and chicken broth over the veggies and sausage, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, cayenne, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Gently stir and mix everything together.

Bake in oven until hot and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!




Jill's Comfort Zone