Prep Time:  30 minutes     
Serves: 4

Ingredientsfor Grilled Filet Mignon

4 Choice cut Filets (these were Black Angus)
Seasonings: Tony’s Creole Seasoning, Sea Salt, and Garlic Powder
Mesquite wood chips

Cooking Directions for Grilled Filet Mignon

(See our Grilling Tips video for best grilling practices.)

Soak a handful of wood chips in a bowl of water for 30 minutes. 

Prepare your grill and charcoal. 

Spray the grill with canola oil spray. 

Season the Filets Mignons with Tony’s, Sea Salt, and Garlic powder.  Not too much. 

Place the meat on the grill.
 
Grill covered for 9 minutes.  Flip the meat and grill another 9 minutes. This is medium rare.

Remove meat to a platter add a pat of butter to each. Let sit 5 minutes and serve with your favorite side items.

Ingredients for Eggplant Casserole

4 Eggplants
2 cups Cajun Trinity
1 stick of butter or 2-3 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 pound ground round
1/2 pound ground pork
Tony’s Creole Seasoning
2 cups bread crumbs
1-2 cups chicken stock

Cooking Directions for Eggplant Casserole

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Spray a casserole dish with spray oil.

FIrst start by peeling the eggplant.  Cut in half and then cut into strips.  Then, cut crosswise into 1 inch cubes. 

Heat in a large pot about 2 cups chicken stock. 

Place in the pot the cubed eggplant. 

Season with Sea Salt and  a sprinkle of Tony’s Creole Seasoning.  Let simmer for 15 minutes. 

Stir occasionally. 

Once tender, mash with a whisk or a potato masher to get the lumpy pieces. 

Meanwhile, heat 1 stick of butter on medium heat (#6) in a deep skillet. 

Cook the ground round beef and ground pork by chopping up with a flat edged wooden spatula.  The meat should all be brown and no pink.

Pour the meat mixture into the eggplant pot.  Stir well. 

Then, add in 1 cup of bread crumbs. 

Stir to mix all ingredients evenly. 

Add seasoning if needed.

Pour into casserole dish and sprinkle with another cup of bread crumbs. 

An optional step would be to also sprinkle on parmesan cheese. 

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. 

Serving Suggestions for Eggplant Casserole

Serve as a side dish in a small bowl or serve with a good butter cracker or whole wheat cracker for a party.

Other Options for Eggplant Casserole 

Replace ground meat with boiled or sautéed shrimp, crawfish, or crabmeat.  The seafood really makes for a tasty party dip.

Ingredients for Steamed Cauliflower

1 head fresh Cauliflower (it should be firm and free of brown spots on the top)
1 cup water
Dash of Sea Salt
Butter (optional)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)

Cut off the green leafy part attached at the bottom of the Cauliflower. Cut off as much of the stem as you can. You may have to insert a paring knife at an angle to get down to the stem. Rinse well to remove any grit.

Heat 1 cup water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil.

Place Cauliflower in water. Sprinkle some Sea Salt.

Cover and lower the heat to medium-to-low #3. Cook for 8-12 minutes or until soft enough to run a knife through the stem. Ours took about 12-15 minutes.

Serving Suggestions for Steamed Cauliflower

Cut into serving wedges and top with cheese. A dash of Tony’s Creole Seasoning adds a great kick also. Our daughter, Alexandra likes Tony’s on everything.

Happy eating and don’t forget to dance while you cook. We have so much fun!

Surf & Turf

Ingredients for Surf and Turf

2 Lobster Tails (fresh or frozen)
2 Petite Beef Filets
1/2 stick butter
Chopped green onions
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Tony’s Creole Seasoning
Lime or Lemon juice

Cooking Directions

• Melt butter. Add Lime juice, green onions and garlic. Stir well. Turn heat to low.
• Take thawed lobster tails and using kitchen scissors cut the tails down the middle either on the belly side or the outside. We cut open the belly side since it was softer.
• With a sharp knife, cut the tail meat down the middle.
• With a brush or a spoon coat the tails with the lime butter sauce.
• Run a skewer through each tail for easier handling on the grill and keeps from curling.
• Place Lobster tails and Petite Filets on a platter. Season with Sea Salt, Garlic Powder and Tony’s.
• Place evenly on grill.
• Grill the Lobsters for 5 minutes each side.
• Grill the Filets for 10 minutes each side.
• Return to a platter and bring inside.
• Pour lime butter sauce over the lobster tails or pour the lime butter sauce in custard cups for dipping the lobster meat.

Serving Suggestions for Surf and Turf

Serve with a steamed vegetable, Twice Baked Potatoes or Homemade Macaroni & Cheese.

Ingredients for Twice Baked Potatoes

4 medium – large Idaho potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 small broccoli crowns or 1/2 bag frozen broccoli crowns – steamed
2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tablespoons butter
Bacon bits (optional)
Sea Salt
Tony’s Creole Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Wash potatoes.  Wrap in foil. 

Bake for 1 1/2 hours turning over half way through cooking. 

In the meantime, steam broccoli crowns. 

Remove potatoes from oven and open from foil.  Let sit a few minutes.

Cut potatoes in half and separate.  Allow to cool a bit in order to handle. 

Take a small spoon or ice cream scooper and hollow out the potato halves.  Put in a large mixing bowl. 

(Do not scoop all the way to the skin so that you have a stable base.)

To the potatoes, add butter, sour cream, broccoli, green onions, cheese, and seasonings. 

With a potato masher or a large whisk, mash all the ingredients together well.

Place the mixture back into the potato shells. 

Place on a baking sheet or casserole dish. 

Top with more shredded cheddar cheese. 

Bake 5-10 minutes to re-heat and melt the cheese.

Remove from oven and serve. 

Serving Suggestions for Twice Baked Potatoes

A typical serving is a half potato for each person. 

Enjoy with a steak or seafood or anything you like.

Ingredients for Fresh Steamed Spinach

1 bag of Fresh Baby Spinach leaves (Serves 2)
or 1 large container of Fresh Baby Spinach
2 Tablespoons butter
small amount of water; maybe 2 tablespoons
dash of Sea Salt

Melt butter and add small amount of water on medium heat. 

Add spinach and cover to allow steam to build up and actually cook the spinach. 

Should only take a few minutes. 

Serving Suggestions for Steamed Spinach

Stir and serve with Steak, Chicken or Pork.

Asparagus comes in a variety of colors such as green, white and purple. When purchasing asparagus, look for them to be displayed standing up in shallow water. The stems should be moist and firm.

Ingredients Needed to Cook Fresh Asparagus:

1-2 clusters of fresh asparagus
Butter
Sea Salt
Tony’s Creole Seasoning (optional)
1 cup water

Thoroughly rinse fresh asparagus in cold water leaving the bottom rubber band on. Asparagus can be sandy or gritty, so important to carefully rinse.

On a cutting board, cut the bottom 2-3 inches off the asparagus. Keeping the rubber band on helps to keep the ends from flying all over the place when you cut them off.

In a deep skillet, pour in one cup water and bring to a boil.

Place the asparagus in the skillet – spread out all in the same direction.

Place a few pats of butter over the shoots. Sprinkle a dash of Sea Salt and Tony’s Creole Seasoning. Lower the heat to medium-low (#3 or #4).

Cook about 5-7 minutes.

Serving Suggestions for Fresh Asparagus:

Carefully serve using a large serving fork or spatula.

Um Um it’s so good! We usually end up eating the asparagus before the steak.

Take a look at other healthy asparagus recipes

Baked Potatoes are easy to prepare, but do take some time.  There is sometimes a misconception that a real Baked Potato can be achieved in the microwave.  This is simple not true.  Give these baked potatoes a try and you will be eating the skins too.

Ingredients for Skin Eatin’ Good Baked Potatoes:

Large Idaho Potato (one per person)
Canola or Olive Oil Spray
Sea Salt
Tony’s Creole Seasoning
Italian Seasoning (optional)
Aluminum Foil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To prepare – thoroughly wash the potatoes and scrub the skin with a vegetable brush.  Do not dry off.  Place each potato on an ample piece of aluminum foil at an angle. 

Spray the potatoes thoroughly with spray oil.  Sprinkle with Sea Salt and Tony’s Creole Seasoning.  Add any other seasonings you might like.  Wrap each of the potatoes and seal tightly. 

Place potatoes on a baking sheet (starch may leak out while baking). 

Bake for 40 minutes.  Turn potatoes over and bake another 40 minutes. 

With a pot holder, test the potatoes for doneness by squeezing.  They should easily be squeezed. 

Carefully remove from oven and unwrap from foil. 

Serving Suggestions for Skin Eatin’ Good Baked Potatoes:

Slice down the middle with a knife.  With pot holders grasp each end of the potato and squeeze toward the middle and push down to open up.  This is how they do it in the restaurants. 

Fill with your favorite potato toppings: butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chopped green onions and shredded cheddar cheese.  Don’t forget to eat the skin too!

Ingredients for Homemade Mashed Potatoes:

White Potatoes (2 medium potatoes per person)
¼ teaspoon Shrimp & Crab Boil (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup sour cream
½ milk or cream
Sea Salt
Tony’s Creole Seasoning

Prepare a large pot of water. Add dash of sea salt. Bring to a boil.

Peel potatoes. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Rinse in a colander.

Place in boiling water. Cook for 10-15 minutes until potatoes break apart with a fork.

Carefully drain in the sink in a colander. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

Add butter, sour cream and milk.

With an electric mixer, mix on high until creamy smooth. Voila and Bon Appétit!

Do you know what is in that box that allows it to sit on the self so long? One of the main ingredients is MSG (monosodium glutamate). In other words, a poisonous fake flavor enhancing substance that is made at a chemical factory instead of a real, natural food.

Anyway, making fresh chicken stock is so easy and freezable for later use. Give it a try and you will taste the difference.

Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Stock:

Any piece of the chicken (thighs, drumsticks, or breasts) with bones and skin on.
2 Tablespoons Tony’s Creole Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
1 Onion – cut in quarters
Garlic – several whole cloves
3-4 Bay Leaves
Also, if you have vegetable discards, throw those in also.
Large Stockpot

Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil. Toss in chicken, seasoning, onion, garlic, and bay leaves.

Boil for one hour.

With a mesh wire strainer, begin to pour out stock into bowls to allow to cool. Once cooled, dip into plastic storage container. Freeze for later use.

When you need some stock, just thaw and there you go.

Note:
Question – What do I do with the leftover chicken?
Answer – Make Chicken Salad.

Occasionally, I travel for my job to places that have no clue what good Cajun cooking is.  So, the first thing I want to do coming from the New Orleans airport is stop in Gonzales, Louisiana at Mike Anderson’s and get some Fried Crab Claws and Crab Meat Au Gratin.

Mike likes the Shrimp Norman.  I’ll have to show you how to make that soon.  Anyway, here is my version of Crabmeat Au Gratin.  Enjoy!

Ingredients for Crab Au Gratin:

1 lb Fresh white or lump crab meat
4 Tbl butter
4 Tbl flour
2 cups Cajun Trinity
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 quart Half & Half
3-5 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
Green onions – chopped for mixture and garnish
Parsley – chopped
¼ teaspoon each
 Nutmeg, White Pepper, Sea Salt and Tony’s Creole Seasoning
4-6 Oven safe baking dishes (4 cups)
Deep skillet
Baking sheet

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

Place your baking dishes on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and sauté the Cajun Trinity and garlic until well wilted. 

Gradually add 4 tablespoons of flour and stirring for 2 minutes or so. 

Add in Half & Half mixing well. 

Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes to form a thick white sauce. 

Stir constantly to prevent scorching or burning.

Turn off the heat.  Stir in seasoning at ¼ teaspoon each, 3-4 cups of cheese, small amount of green onions and parsley.  Mix well. 

Fold in the crabmeat.  Spoon the mixture into individual baking dishes.  Cover with additional cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. 

You can probably bake longer for a darker browning on top.  You just need to watch it to keep from burning.  Also, optional after the 15 minutes, turn the oven on broil to brown the cheese on top. 

Carefully remove from the oven and garnish with chopped green onions or a parsley sprig.

Serves well with a steamed vegetable or side salad and crusty French bread.

Note:  The leftovers reheated well and were fantastic served with crackers like an appetizer. 

Do you remember back in the 70’s and frozen foods were really only able to be cooked in the “real oven”? There were no microwaves back then so for Chicken Pot pie you had to wait the long 45-50 minutes to eat that oh so crusty pie crust and tasty pot pie filling inside.

Well, rather than have that small frozen food portion, you can easily make Chicken Pot Pie from scratch and big enough for your family. It will still take about an hour, but so much better and it’s a complete nutritious meal in one pie shell.

Ingredients for Chicken Pot Pie:

1 package forozen prepared deep dish pie shells – usually 2 in the pack.

1 lb bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1 full grilled chicken breast – cubed

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

White pepper

Sea Salt

¾ cup sharp cheddar cheese (finely shredded)

Deep skillet or saucepan

Saucepan to cook the vegetables

Baking Sheet

Foil

Early in the day place your frozen pie shells in the refrigerator to thaw.

At cooking time, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the frozen vegetables according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a deep skillet, melt the butter on medium heat (#6). Gradually add the flour and stir well cooking for about 1-2 mins. Slowly add 2 cups milk. Stir well and constantly for 10 mins. You should have a thick soup consistency white sauce. Turn off heat. Add about a ¼ teaspoon or to taste white pepper and sea salt.

Whisk in cheddar cheese. Stir in vegetables and cubed chicken. Mix well.

Pour mixture into one pie shell and pat down.

Cut off the crust edge of the second pie shell. Carefully peel the pie shell to position on top of the pot pie mixture. Seal the two crusts together with a fork. You can dab your fork in warm water to help the sealing process.

Cut 2-3 slits in the top of pie crust to vent; otherwise the white sauce will come leaking out wherever it can escape.

Place the Chicken Pot Pie on a baking sheet lined with foil. There is nothing worse to clean than burned on Pot Pie on you baking sheet or the oven. Take the empty pie tin and place on top of the Chicken Pot Pie. This will prevent the top pie crust from baking faster than the bottom pie shell. Bake covered for 30 mins and 20 mins uncovered for a total of 50 mins baking time.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 mins.

Serving Suggestions for Chicken Pot Pie:

Cut into sections and serve. Since Chicken Pot Pie consists of all the nutritious elements such as meat, vegetables, milk, and bread – it’s a complete meal in one. Of course a cool side salad is a nice accompaniment.

Enjoy this wonderful and easy Chicken Pot Pie recipe, which is a great reminder of what some call “comfort food”. We just call it “some good groceries”.

P.S.: You can substitute making the white sauce with a can of mushroom soup. I can’t eat canned soup because of the preservatives and MSG. But this is a quick alternative.