Summer's End Stuffed Fried Okra With Cheese and Jalapeno Peppers

Well hello to all you foodies out there in web land, its MadJon again with another neat recipe. I hope all is well and school is under way for you all.   I have been busy planting my garden for fall and I put in Cabbage,  Rutabaga, Spinach, and Purple Tip Turnips.  I planted them about 3 days ago and they are starting to come up out of the earth.  Yea.  Chicken Poop really works!  I also added Epsom Salt-Magnesium Sulfate- a wonderful compound.  We added Lime as well.  The Okra plants are over 6' tall, amazing isn't it?  I will take some pictures when the plants come up more.  We have had so much okra, its coming out of our ears.  I have try ed a few new recipes this year and I liked all of them.  One is a french style and its kind of like stewed Okra Texas style with rice cooked in it.  I made it a Indian style which was good as well.  So I decided to make it stuffed so first I had to clean out the seed pods from the Okra and then I boiled it for about 2-3 minutes.  You cut the heads off the Okra, then cut a split on the side of the pod.  Then remove most of the seeds, boil, drain and let pods cool.  Then you fill them with the cheese mixture, dip it in beaten eggs and a dry mixture of corn meal and bread crumbs.  Fry it in oil till golden brown and it is fab baby fab!  Am willing to give you the recipe so here goes.

MadJon's Stuff Fried Okra:

10 pods fresh Okra, split and cleaned
2 ozs. Feta Cheese
4 ozs. Monterrey Jack Cheese, finely grated
2 Jalapenos, finely minced
1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
2 beaten Eggs

Dry Mixture:

1 C. Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Corn Meal Mix
1 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2 Strips Crisp Cooked Bacon (Optional)

Clean and cut the Okra and remove most of the seed pods.  Mix the cheese's, jalapenos, and seasonings, together, for the wet ingredients, pulse with a blender would be nice to use, you want it smaller to stuff easier,  then fill the Okra where you split the side of the pod.  Then mix the dry ingredients with spices all together till well blended. Then roll a filled Okra in egg and then in the dry mixture and place in hot oil and fry till golden brown.

I hope you try this recipe and please let me know what you think of them. I love hearing from you all, write me at madjon51@aol.com and please watch me TV show at http://aikenstandard.com/astv/madjon/ .  Visit me on my Fan Page on Face book, "Cooking With Madjon and Friends".  Am in a rush am baking something in the oven for tonight and I need to finish.  Just want to say Happy trails to you and yours until we meet again.  Just remember that if you have a dream don't let anyone stand in your way of it.  Sometimes my hubby or relatives are the ones that stand in my way.  Just push them aside and keep climbing that ladder to your dreams.  Hugs, Eileen Hutson, MadJon.

Garden Over Flowing With Eggplant (Baked) Taste like Fried Yea Yea

Hello to all you foodies out there in webland its Me, MadJon again and I hope you are liking the cooler weather.  Am up to my ears in Eggplants from our garden and they are so pretty.  If I can find the pictures that I loaded onto the computer I will let you all see.  Sometimes I think my head is empty up there.  Do you ever feel that way.  We have a shoot to do tomorrow so am going to write this faster then I would but anywho I planted some of my fall garden with cabbage, turnips with purple tops,and rutabaga, I think that is right, hehe.  I will keep you posted on the process of the food bank called a garden.  Am learning how to put up some pictures for you all because a few of you have been asking for them.  Go see my TV show at http://aikenstandard.com/astv/madjon/ and find some more recipes and I have about 30 plus more to add to the 30 I just sent them for this season.  I've had a busy week with baking in the buff, have you ever not had time to get all the way dressed when your rushing around the kitchen, cooking on a deadline plus I had a meeting to get to by 12:30 and my hubby comes in on Friday and says what are you doing and I said am baking what do you think?  He then says the grass is being delivered and I was wondering why the guy kept going to the back of the house (he was just joking) so we also had 18 pallets of grass to get out and we will be busy this Saturday as well with 18 more.  Busy, busy, busy.  Does your life ever get like that?  Mine does.
Any who let's talk about the eggplant well I make eggplant parmesan for the hubby and am trying to cut down on fried foods in our diets so I started baking the eggplant and it comes out crisp just like it was fried but with out the calories.  So here is the reicpe for you all.

Fried (Baked) Eggplant:

1 Eggplant , cut in rings
1 Egg, beaten
1 cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs
1 cup Panko
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tsp. Onion Powder
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 Parmesan Grated Cheese
3 T. Olive Oil
Cooking Spray

Cut up eggplant and place into bowl with salted water and cover with a plate afor about 2 hours.  Pour off the water, it will be a brown color.  Beat Egg.  Now place the dry ingredents into a bowl with spices and mix together till blended.  Pre-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Take a baking sheet and place the olive oil onto the sheet and spread on bottom of pan.  Then take a piece of the eggplant and place in eggmisture, then into the bread misture and place on pan and repeat proces until all the eggplant is coated with bread mixture.  Then spray the top of the eggplants and then place in oven and cook for about 15 minutes then turn the eggpants over and spray again and bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown.  You may eat them just like this or serve them with your favorite pasta sauce.  I make Eggplant Parmesan ou of them. 

Please give this recipe a try my hubby loves it.  Please send me a email with a recipe to try and let me know how you like this one.  My email address is madjon51@aol.com and also visit me on FB and like my fan page called, "Cooking With Madjon and Friends".  Hope all is well with you and again happy trails to you and yours until we meet again.  Eileen F. Hutson, MadJon.

9/11 Hero's and Eatting Home Made Pop Tarts Okey Doekey

Hello to all my foodies friends out there in webland I hope all is well with you and yours.  We are here to talk a little about our state of affairs here in the USA and we will talk about that wonderful breakfast food called a Pop Tart, but is it just for breakfast?  Mine are home made and everyone loves them down here in SC and people also love them in the DC area there on 9th street.  However we are getting ahead of ourselves.  This is the 10th annivarsary of 9/11, which I really don't have to remind anyone of that today of all days but I do want you to know that when I think of that day many things come to mind.  One thing is the tears that come to my eyes when I remember the scenes on TV and I remember the fear I had when I could n't get a hold of our son Chris who lives in DC and also lived across from the pentagon in a building that the airplane that went into the building had flown right over him.   It was a long day for us here in SC and all over the states before we heard from our loved ones that they were safe.  That said I will always remember and pray for the lives lost in 9/11 and the lives of our 9/11 generation that loses their lives everyday fighting for our freedom and the freedom around the world.  The freedom that I have isn't mine because I deserve it, its mine because someone fought and died for that freedom so please let us try and work together to keep that freedom and that means from the North, South, East, and West of these United States I say let's all fight to keep freedom in our land for the future generations of Americans that will someday have to stand up and be as strong as our generations past.  I say thanks to all of you who serve our nation for the freedom that we have.  What happened on 9/11 may have shaken us but it did not defeat us.  Our tears are still falling and the bell is still ringing but I say God Bless to all the fallen Hero's from our past generations and the Hero's of our future generations.   I hope they hear the freedom bell ringing.  I will never forget! Let freedom ring.
Am heading on another subject for now and its called the wonderful Pop Tart that my children loved and now my grandchildren love.  They are made by Kellogg and introduced to us in 1963 and they are made to pop in the toaster as a breakfastfood, however that said we were in DC last November to visit Chris and we ate at a resturant  that serves pop tarts as a dessert and man were they good.  So I decided to do them for one of my TV shows,"Cooking With Madjon and Friends".  I made the filling as well but you don't have to you can get a pie-filling or use a jam that you like.  I also made them today for a wedding brunch we attended here in the neighborhood.   I made some Cherry filling and a Chocolate Chips with Hazelnuts, mum, mum. Recipe Follows:

Crust for Pop Tarts:  Serves 12

4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1 Stick Butter, softened
2 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour,shifted
1 tsp. Salt
1 egg
3 T. Milk
3 T. Sugar

Filling your choice

Icing:

1 cup confectionary Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. Water or Milk

Cream butter and cream cheese together till blended.  Add flour, sugar, salt and blend with butter and cheese.  Then add the egg and mix, add the milk and stir to foam a ball.  Dust with light flour. Roll into about 12 balls the same size.  Then roll out each ball on a flour surface, fill with jam or fruit and turn to ends and press with a fork to seal.  Spray pan and place in a pre-heated oven for about 20 mins at 375 degrees or until brown.  If you wish you may brush the tops with a beaten egg before baking.  Let cool.  Make icing by placing sugar in a bowl, add the Vanilla and water or milk and stir until blended.  Ice the Pop Tarts.  If the icing is to thin just add more sugar to the mix and enjoy!  These taste great!

Please visit my fan page on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CookingwithMadjon and watch the TV show at http://www.aikenstandard.com/, ASTV 95, "Cooking With Madjon and Friends".  Write me at madjon51@aol.com if you have any questions about cooking or my recipes.  Send me recipes to try on TV and for my blog if yu wish.  If you have a recipe that isn't working for you please forward ti to me and I will tryo help you.  Hope you enjoy this blog and God Bless to you and yours.  Happy trails to you until we meet again.  Eileen F. Hutson, MadJon.

Is It Dinner or Supper? Aiken Brewing Company And Beer Bread

Well hello to all my foodies friends out there in webland I hope all is well and that we all got though Labor day just fine.  Summer's weather will be leaving us soon an dI for one will be missing it.  I love the HOT and I don't mean fire.  We are going to talk about a recipe I developed from a TV show we did with the Aiken Brewing Company located in downtown Aiken.  Which I must say has some great tasting brewed Beer,  They were nice enought to let us come in on a Sunday and film the show and I say a great Big Thanks.  They were jsut great and I had alot of free beer and am not complaining but I had a show to talk about and it was kind of hard after about three-fourths of the way though it.  Anywho we also got to watch them make their signature Beer Cheese Soup which I must say was very tastey and we had a beer or two to get it down.  Someone should have followed me home. Anywho it was great fun to watch them and they gave me some samples of the grains that they use to brew the beer with so I made up a recipe for the next TV show I did with the grains that they gave me, which reminds me I need to go see if they have any of the morsels left after brewing on Sunday, just kidding.  I will have to add a Pinch of Herbs to the next Beer Bread that I make.  Anywho go visit them on Laurens Street in downtown Aiken, its worth the trip.  Tell them I sent you.  By the way I was thinking what do you say is it Dinner or Super for your evening meal?  You should goggle it you may be surprized about the history behind that question.  I call it supper because that is what my family did.  For the English dinner is lunch and supper is the later meal, at least I think it is, I was so confussed after I started reading what the whole world does!  Anywho let's make some good old Beer Bread.

MadJon's Beer Bread

3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup granulated Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1 (12oz. ) can Beer
2 T. Melted Butter
3 T. Wheat Flour
1 tsp. Onion and Garlic Powder
1 Cup grated Cheddar Cheese
1 T. Pinch of Herbs

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a loaf pan.  Combine all ingredients, mixing well.  Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour or untill done.

If you like a nice strong tasting bread with a bite this is the recipe for you.  My hubby lovs it.  If you can't find the grains just add some Pinch of Herbs spice to it.  You may also add any spices that fit you pallet.

Please if you have any questions about this recipe you can e-mail me at madjon51@aol.com I love hearing from you all.  If yu have any questions about recipes or would like to share some for us to try please feel free to fly them our way.  Visit us at https://www.facebook.com/CookingwithMadjon?ref=ts and hit the LIKE butoons on our fan page. Watch our show on the aikenstandard.com ASTV 95, Cooking With Madjon and Friends.   Happy trail to you and your until we meet again.  Eileen Hutson, MadJon.

Minnesota American Indian Wild Rice With Mushrooms WOW!

Hello to all my foodie friends out there in webland I want to said a big hello to you all.  Its labor day and I hope you all enjoyed your grilling out with family and friends.  I spent the day shopping with a friend for the household items we both needed to get.  I hate to shop but it is more fun with a friend but however that said, I seem to spend more money with a friend. Well my hubby will just have to get over it after all it was for the house.  I bought dishes for the TV show and linens for the house.  Then we all went to dinner.  So anywho let's talk about Minnesota again a little bit.  The wild rice we bought is not cultivated rice it grows wild right there near the waters in Minnesota.  It is harvested by the local Indians and locals and is state regulated as to how it is harvested.  It is still hand harvested in the traditional indian way by taking a canoe with one pole for power and two rice beater sticks to knock the seeds into the canoe. Boy, I call that the hard way to go. Did you know that its not really a rice its a grain and is called water grass seed, zizania and  that is what am told anywho by the locals.  Interesting it seems that is how their fathers did it and so on and so on.  Neat how they keep that up.  Anywho I made some for my hubby and I the other night and made up the reicpe for all of us so here it is:

Wild Rice

1 Cup Wild Rice
2 1/2 Cups Water or Chicken Broth
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 T. Butter
1 pound fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teas. dried Thyme
1/2 teas. dried Rosemary
1 teas. Onion Powder
1 Onion, chopped
4 fresh garlic gloves, minced
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

Melt the butter in a pan, add to that onions, garlic, mushrooms, and cook till clear. and add rice,stir . Then add the spices, water or broth, soup and anything I forgot to meantion, lol.   Then pour into a greased pan  and bake in a pre-heated oven at about 350 degrees for about an hour of until the broth has reduced and stir.  It should be creamy.

My hubby loved this recipe and he says it had alot of flavor and texture.  Its meaty as I call it.  Please email me with any questions at madjon51@aol.com.  I enjoy hearing from everyone.  Send me recipes to try if you wish and come like my fan page on facebook called Cooking With Madjon and Friends, come on in and join the fun.  Watch my TV show on the web at aikenstandard.com ASTV 95.  I hope you all have a safe and happy week to you and yours.  Happy trails to you and yours until we meet again.  Thanks its been a pleasure.  Oh am still looking for TV sponsors out there in webland.  Eileen Hutson, MadJon.

Minnesota Trip Indian Okra and Rhubarb Cake Globe Dog Erik Bendi

Hello there to all my foodie friends out there in webland.  Its MadJon again and we are here to talk about Minnesota and some food.  We just got back from the wonderful state of 10,000 lakes and boy do they have them.  While we were on our way to do some much needed fishing I spyed a man walking along the highway pushing a very large world globe and walking with a dog.  I wanted to stop and talk and get a picture but of coarse my hubby was to busy getting to the fishing however I found out that he is walking for charity to raise awareness about diabetes and his name is Erik Bendi and if you would like to know more about him just goggle him.  Way to go Erik!!!  It was a amazing trip with the food that I tasted like at Bobbie's Kitchen, I ate their Fried Cheese Curds and the coating tasted just like a donut, yum.  We ate smokin B.B.Q. at Vegas Lou's, in Lebanon Junction, K.Y.  We ate at the Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, MN.  It was family style atThe Italian Gardens Trattoria and I understand that Oprah Winfrey was there a couple of weeks ago to attend a wedding.  Great food there.  We ate from the South end to the North end and in between.  We ate at Sue Clark's house and what a great cook she is.  It is her recipe for Rhubarb Cake that I will be giving you with a couple of changes.  The Okra recipe comes from Michael who owns The Plum Pudding in Aiken.  We also ate some thick bacon that came from Thieles Meat Market that you can order on line and I heard that Oprah and M.S. buy Bacon from them.  Am just sayin.  Did you know that they drink Pepsi up there and also have something called a "Minnesota Minnow Shot" and no am not brave enough to try one of them.  They do talk like the Fargo movie and I loved the accent and how friendly everyone is.  They have what they call hot dish and spam is the Minnesota meatloaf and say things like pop, you bet'cha, and Don'cha know.  Anywho if you ever get a chance to visit up I highly recommend the trip.  Take your fishing pole and some spray for the bugs that do bite a little bit.  Anywho that is my trip to Minnesota and on with the recipes for you all.

Indian Okra

3 T. Butter
1 Onion, chopped
1 pound fresh Okra, sliced
1/2 teas. ground Cumin
1/2 teas. ground Ginger
1/2 teas. ground Coriander
1/4 teas. Black Pepper
1/2 teas. Cayenne Pepper
1 Fresh Pimento Pepper, chopped
Salt to taste
Bacon Bits (Optional)

Melt butter in a pan and add chopped onions and pimento, cook till clear.  Add okra, spices and cook till nice and browned.  Top with bacon bits if you wish.

Rhubarb Cake

1 Yellow Cake Mix
4 cups chopped Rubard
1 cup Sugar
1 Pint Whipping Cream
1 teas. Cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Pre heat oven to 350 degress and bake cake at about 55 minutes.  Need a 9"-13" pan and spray with oil.  Now mix cake according to directions but add the cinnamon to the cake mix.  Pour cake into pan, add the rhubarb, pour the sugar on top of that and then pour the whipping cream on top of that.  Then bake for about 55 minutes or until done.

I hope that you have enjoyed your trip with us today and  please try the recipes and I love hearing from everyone.  Send me some recipes to try or if you have any questions about a recipe please email me at madjon51@aol.com and visit my TV show at the aikenstandard.com ASTV 95 Cooking With Madjon and Friends.  Visit me on facebook.  Happy trails to you and yours until we meet again, Happy Eatting to you all.  Eileen F Hutson, MadJon.