by Crisitn Davis

I believe the key to creating sizzle in the kitchen is learning how to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen. 

You see, I am extremely unqualified to write a post on cooking or kitchens in general. I’m what I like to call a hit or miss cook. Sometimes my dishes turn out amazing by sheer luck and at other times even the dogs refuse to eat my cooking. I tend to think measurements are merely guidelines and sometimes throw in extra ingredients just because they happen to be in the vicinity. Once when I was in my early twenties an older lady attempted to teach me the culinary art because she said I’d “never catch a man” unless I learned to cook. I wanted to tell her my desire to catch a man was only marginally less than my desire to catch the flu and, should I change my mind, I was pretty sure even without culinary skills I already had some adequate bait and tackle. There are many ways to a man’s heart and only one of them is through his stomach. I didn’t tell her this, though, because I’m from the South where ladies aren’t supposed to say such things and I was tired of living on boxed macaroni and cheese. Anyway, in spite of all her efforts, my cooking didn’t improve although I did eventually find a man worth catching. Thankfully, we’ve been married for over a decade and not only is he a good catch and a good cook but also very diplomatic when it comes to describing my culinary creations…not to mention tall enough to disable the fire alarm until I’ve managed to get the kitchen cleared of smoke when I forget I was cooking something.

I’ve discovered two simple recipes that have never let me down and utilize some ingredients grown in my own backyard. When prepared while wearing a cute retro apron they can also create more than one kind of sizzle in the kitchen.

First up is what I’ve always called “Those Awesome Tomato Things”. My husband introduced me to these as a snack when we were dating. Now it’s our favorite go-to dinner on hot summer nights when the kids are at the grandparents’ and we have burgeoning tomato vines. Tomatoes are the official fruit and vegetable of Arkansas so I can’t think of a better way to show my state some love. It’s also light enough to keep the two of us from spending date night passed out on the couch in a romance fizzling food stupor. 

Open-Faced Fresh Tomato Sandwiches

• 4 slices bread *
• 1 large tomato sliced ½” thick  
• 4 slices or 1 cup shredded cheese**
• 12 fresh basil leaves
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Place 1 tomato slice on bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Arrange 4 basil leaves on top of tomato.
3. Top with one slice or 1/4 cup shredded cheese. 
4. Place directly into toaster oven or bake at 350 degrees in regular oven until cheese has completely melted. 
5. Serve immediately. 

 Notes:

*I’m lazy so I tend to use store bought whole wheat or Ezekiel bread. If you’re not lazy I recommend homemade or artisan bread. 
**I prefer sharp cheddar, Swiss or chevre but anything that melts easily works perfectly.

I like to chop any leftover tomato and serve these sandwiches with a salad. In my opinion, if you add a salad to a meal it qualifies as health food even if it is smothered in cheese. I also consider cheese a condiment, though, so you should take my opinions with a grain of salt. 

It’s not healthy, low fat or organic but I’ve found this recipe a marriage saver. You see, I have pet chickens and while I love my chickens my husband, well, let’s just say he tolerates them. We agreed I could have my own incubator only if I promised to practice population control by butchering and cooking the extra roosters myself. The problem with this arrangement is I always put it off as long as possible. I pretend this is because one doesn’t really know what a rooster will look like until he’s gone through his second molt but really I just hate butchering chickens. Either way, by the time I get around to dispatching these surplus roosters they are usually past prime eating age.  There are many different ways to tenderize meat but I designed this recipe to help any of those along. My preferred method for cooking old rooster is to fill a large pot with water and simmer the entire chicken for at least 3 hours. These fowl are skinless but that’s only because I hate plucking so I skin my birds instead. The most important thing to remember is that high heat causes protein fibers to harden even further, so low heat and long cooking times are important.  If you’re using a young or store bought chicken you can skip this step. The only thing that really matters is the entire chicken is fully cooked.

Foolproof TexMex Rooster Casserole

• 1 whole skinless chicken, cooked, boned and shredded* 
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes**
• 1 large jalapeño pepper, sliced 
• 3 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese***
• 1-large bag tortilla chips

1. Place shredded chicken in a large bowl.
2. Using a food processor or blender combine garlic, tomato and sliced jalapeño until well blended but not pureed. 
3. Pour the tomato, jalapeño and garlic blend over the shredded chicken and mix well. 
4. Empty the entire bowl into a large saucepan and simmer 1-3 hours. ****
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Empty half bag tortilla chips into an ungreased 11×7 baking pan and crush until you have a fine layer ½” thick, adding more chips if needed. 
7. Pour chicken mixture over chips and spread evenly. 
8. Cook in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
9. Remove pan and top with an even layer of cheese.
10. Place dish back in oven until cheese is completely melted- usually 5-10 minutes. 
11. Remove from oven and serve.

Notes:

*The chicken can be baked, broiled, boiled…whatever works for you. I’m sure it goes without saying that it doesn’t have to be a rooster, but I’ll say it anyway. This is not a sexist recipe. Hens are welcome. The flavor is greatly improved when you use fresh chicken, though, so if you don’t raise them I’d recommend buying locally produced poultry.

** You can also replace the fresh tomatoes and jalapeño with two 10 oz. cans diced tomatoes and green chilies. Simply drain the cans and use as you would the fresh ingredients.

***Once again, I’m lazy so this is what I use most of the time. It also works well with cheddar or queso fresco. 

**** When it comes to this step, I feel the longer you simmer the better your end result if you are using a tough old bird. The acid in the tomato juice helps further tenderize chicken and also infuses it with more flavor. Store bought chicken has a tendency to go mushy, though, so cooking time depends on your meat.

You can, and I usually do, use stale tortilla chips. I have an awful habit of buying 5 bags to save an extra dollar or two and so I sometimes end up with chips that aren’t past their expiration date but are a tad too stale to serve alone.  

These recipes are best served hot and sizzling right out of the oven.      

Cristin is a mediocre gardener, obsessive book collector, chicken enthusiast and mom who happens to be both blonde and really, really awkward.  She has adult onset fitness, loves babies and other wild creatures, has ridden bulls and trained horses but refuses to call herself a cowgirl. She’s from the South so she says ‘ya’all” a lot and tries very hard to be ladylike. This is undermined by the fact that she has the sense of humor of a two year old and usually has some sort of animal poop on her shoes. Cristin is also fond of fashion and wearing too much eye make-up. She knows a little about a lot of things and a lot about practically nothing, therefore she considers herself an expert on everything. She lives beside a lake in central Arkansas with her husband, 2 sons, 3 dogs, 3 horses and an ever changing number of chickens.