Jason On A Shtick » You Gotta Eat

Jason’s award winning “Slightly Southwest Spicy” chili

jason — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:06:45 +0000

This one is a variant of my “Frito Pie” chili – use the same instructions as that one with these ingredients (pasta and Fritos optional):

One pound of ground beef (I prefer extra lean if they have it)
One pack of Brooks “Secret” chili seasoning – Original flavor
One can of Brooks Chili Beans – Hot
One can of Brooks Chili Beans – Hot & Spicy
One can of Bush’s Best dark red kidney beans
One can of Del Monte diced tomatoes – Garlic & Onion style
One jar of Newman’s Own salsa – Medium Black Bean & Corn flavor

This one has just the right amount of kick to it and a slightly southwest tang owing to the salsa. Enjoy!

Dog cake

jason — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 01:22:08 +0000

Saw this cake at a party… the dog is icing over peanut butter cake and the rug is a big sugar cookie. Outstanding!

Coronary heart disease

jason — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:55:24 +0000

1,330 calories, 86 grams of fat, 3,150 milligrams of sodium. Welcome to America!

Fruit Pirates Of The Caribbean

jason — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 02:59:17 +0000

My scurvy mates next door had this melon ship at their son’s pirate themed birthday party. Ahoy!

Mom’s fried cornbread

jason — Sun, 03 May 2009 02:52:53 +0000

One of the nice things about getting older is that you start to have an appreciation for the little details that you didn’t pay much attention to when you were younger. Case in point: my mom’s delicious fried cornbread. I’ve had this stuff many times, but only in recent years have I come to truly enjoy it. There’s nothing like going home to visit mom and dad and being treated to some real down home cooking.

I gave mom’s cornbread recipe a shot this weekend and it turned out pretty good. Here’s what you’ll need:

One and a half cups of Quaker white corn meal
Half a cup of flour
One egg
One cup of buttermilk
Two teaspoons of baking powder
One teaspoon of salt

In a bowl, mix everything with a whisk to a consistency a little thicker than pancake batter. Heat a skillet to medium heat and melt Crisco to cover the bottom – yes, Crisco! I started with half of a one cup shortening stick.

Scoop two or three tablespoons (I used one large serving spoon) of the batter into the skillet to make one cornbread patty. You can probably cook four at a time and this recipe makes eight patties. Watch for the bottom of the patties to start getting brown – it only takes a few minutes. As they brown up, flip each patty one time with a spatula. As the second side gets brown, remove each patty and place it on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb a little of the grease – hey, we’ve gotta draw the line somewhere!

Melt the other half of the Crisco stick for the second set of four patties. Rinse and repeat the scooping and flipping process.

I made them a little big in the first batch, but you can’t argue with the results! Thanks mom!

A couple of points that folks have made to me after reading this one:

You don’t have to use Crisco; I have followed my mom’s recipe and she has tried other things, but they just didn’t taste the same to her.
The importance of a cast iron skillet cannot be understated – it spreads heat evenly and of course can be “seasoned” for flavor!