In my absence . . .

Hello,

It is I, your Super College Chef, Liz.

Long time, no post. For the last several months I've been dealing with a personal family tragedy. I really don't want to get into it to much. My Nanna, the best thing in my life, my best friend and favorite person is gone and I need some time to deal with this. It's something I'll never get over, just a kind of grief I have to learn to live with.

Super Easy Recipes for College Students will be back soon with lots of yummy recipes to satiate your holiday cravings. Sneak peak: I got a new 6-qt. slow cooker, so be prepared.

Love,

Liz

BBQ Meatloaf Done Right

I love meatloaf! A long time ago, my Mama gave me her recipe for BBQ Meatloaf. She actually took an original Martha Stewart recipe and made it much much better with her Mama powers.

As a testament to my love for the loaf of meat, I've revamped an old post of a classic favorite. I added a little bit of my own twist on the recipe. So, get 'cher tummies rumblin' because here we go!

You will need:

• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 4 slices of white or wheat bread, diced
• 1 tsp. of Grey Poupon Mustard
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp. honey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place your bread bits in a medium sized mixing bowl, as seen above. Next add your ground sirloin, onions, egg, and brown sugar. If you want your meatloaf with a kick, add the red pepper flakes now or sprinkle some on after it's done.



Wash your hands because you're about to be wrist deep in raw meat. The best way to mix all the ingredients together is with your bare hands. I know it's gross, but grow up. Thoroughly mix 1 cup of BBQ sauce and Grey Poupon mustard into the meat with a spoon.

Take all the meat out of the mixing bowl and form it into a loaf shape on a greased baking pan. I don't like putting meatloaf in a loaf pan, you might as well be cooking your loaf in a bucket of grease. Moving on, in a small mixing bowl, combine the extra BBQ sauce and honey to make a tasty glaze. Pour the glaze  over the length of the meatloaf. Pop it in the oven for 50 minutes.

Yum! See? And all the grease leaked out. I suggest a side salad and some scalloped potatoes on the side of this meaty treat. Don't forget! The leftovers make fantastic sandwiches!

Love,

Liz

BBQ Cajun Turkey Melt

I don't want to brag, but I've been asked: How come when I make a sandwich it doesn't look as good as yours? There are two simple ingredients every sandwich needs, love and attention. You can't just slap a pile of ham on a piece of bread, slather on some mayo and except to be wowed. The key to a successful lunch is in you, my child.

You don't need gourmet ingredients to make a good sandwich. Start with the basics; bread, meat, vegetables, cheese, condiments. Spring on some bakery bread next time you're at the grocery store. It costs just as much as a regular loaf, except it's fresh baked every day! Try some new deli meats in the deli section. I guarantee it's better than whatever Oscar Meyers-Frankenstein creation they sell by the hotdogs.

To make this Cajun Creation you'll need to make a trip to the bakery and the deli, so get familiar with these locations! These are just the ingredients I prefer, feel free to substitute your own. But if you want the real deal, follow the list below.

You will need:

• 1 fresh baguette
• Tennessee Whiskey BBQ Sauce (or your favorite kind)
• Cajun Turkey Breast, sliced thin
• Shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese mix (or your favorite kind)

 Cut the baguette into two 4-5 inch halves. Lightly drizzle BBQ sauce on the inside of each half of the baguette and the sprinkle some cheese on top. This cheese will act like a delicious glue to hold the turkey inside.

Add a pile of turkey on one of the bread halves. Stack it low, stack it high - just stack that turkey, guy. Drizzle some more BBQ sauce over the turkey and sprinkle on a good amount of cheese.

Pop the halves in the toaster oven at 250 degrees for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. Carefully assemble the hot sandwich halves and enjoy!

Love,

Liz

My Nanna's Twice-Baked Potatoes, Simply Satisfying!

One night, I was on the phone with my Nanna complaining about my boyfriend's eating habits. Here's the thing; I love mashed potatoes and gravy, but my boyfriend prefers baked potatoes. My Nanna suggested a compromise. "Why not make twice baked potatoes? They're just as soft as mashed potatoes but still baked on the outside!"

My Nanna is a genius. She's also the best chef in the world so of course she had a recipe. It was simple, tasty, and was sure to please the most discerning of potato lovers! Right off the top off her head, she told me . . .

 You will need:

• 2-4 large Idaho potatoes
• 1-2 cups shredded cheese (your choice!)
• Butter
• Paprika
• Seasoning Salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry your potatoes. Use a tooth pick or a fork to poke several holes in them. Don't forget that part because potatoes can explode. That's a fact, look it up, brosef. Wrap each potato individually in foil then place in the oven. Bake for about 1 hour.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Use a butter knife to cut a criss cross pattern in the potatoes. Do not cut through the potato skin or the whole thing will just fall apart. Place a few small pads of butter, about 1/3 of a TBSP thick (just look on the label to see how much a TBSP of butter is, they usually mark for us) on the potatoes. Sprinkle on a little seasoning salt and some paprika, like so.

Place the seasoned potatoes back in the oven on an aluminum covered tray. Bake for 1 more hour. Remove them from the oven and sprinkle on your cheese of choice. Place back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

Hopefully, yours Twice Baked Potatoes come out a little cheesier than mine did. Mmm, but they were still so good! These cheesy spuds make a great side for a steak or they can be a meal of they're own!

Hm, you know all this talk about Twice Baked Potatoes reminds me of a recipe I came across a few years ago. They may not be Nanna-fide, but they are most certainly bona fide in flavor!

Stay tuned to more Super College Chef and more Super Easy Recipes for College Students! Sorry, I think I've been watching The Hub too much. So many cartoons.

Love,

Liz

Hot Crackers: WARNING, Highly Addictive Snack

During the holidays I took a trip down to Jasper, TX on the border of Louisiana to visit my boyfriend's family. I love these people! We have homemade waffles and sausages for dinner whenever we come in to town.

Mema, the matriarch of the family, is a collector and keeper of some of the most scrumptious, down-home country recipes I've ever had the privilege to taste! One of her most famous creations is a snack so spicy, so tangy and crunchy you can't resist. Hot Crackers are my new favorite snack. I'm completely addicted!

Get'cher fixin's:

• 1 box of Saltine crackers
• 1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch dry seasoning
• 1 1/4 cup of canola oil (no exceptions!)
• 4-5 TBSP crushed red pepper
• 1 big Ziplock bag

Dump out all the crackers into the Ziplock bag. In a small mixing bowl, combine the dry ranch seasoning, crushed red pepper, and canola oil with a whisk. Drizzle the mixture over the crackers as evenly as you can. For this next step, make sure the bag is closed tight.

Now get to shakin'! Toss that bag over and over in your hands to distribute the seasoning on the crackers. Don't shake too hard or you'll end up with a bunch of broken Hot Crackers. Keep shifting the crackers around in the spicy-tangy mixture every 20 minutes or so for about the next 4 hours.




Hot Crackers are great with chili, a sandwich, or on their own! It takes less than 5 days to finish off the whole bag in my house. Oops! Somebody's a piggy (it's me!).

Love,

Liz

Beefy Potatoes Au Gratin: THE MOVIE

Created by the incomparable Allison McWilliams, this a companion piece to the new Beefy Potatoes Au Gratin recipe. Enjoy this new edition to the Super College Chef Video Library! You can also click here to see a larger version.

Love, Liz

Beefy Potatoes Au Gratin, My Favorite!

This was one of the very first recipes I posted on Super College Chef oh-so many years ago and it is time for an overhaul. Beefy Potatoes Au Gratin is the easy, cheesy dish that's perfect for a meat-and-potatoes kind of gal like me. I love this meal so much, I honestly make it a couple times a month. The best part about this dish is that it takes minutes to prepare!


You will need:

• 1 lb. ground sirloin
• 1 box of Potatoes Au Gratin
• 1 cup shredded Taco Mix cheese
• milk
• butter
• water

Preheat the oven to 400.

While you brown the ground sirloin in a skillet, take a look at the direction on your box of Potatoes Au Gratin. Every brand differs, but most boxed Potatoes Au Gratin require varying amounts of water, butter, and milk. Follow the stove top directions almost until you find your potatoes simmering in a cheesy sauce.

Drain the grease from the ground sirloin, then pour it into an 8x8 in. casserole dish. Use 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to cover the meat. Carefully pour the cheesy potato concoction over the cheese and meat. Spread the potatoes evenly over the top. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the potatoes.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. Then, remove the aluminum covering and place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Finally, it's done! Almost, not yet, eager beaver. Let it set for 10 minutes to let the cheesy sauce solidify and so you don't burn your little tongue.

The great thing about thing recipe is that it's so versatile! You can substitute ground turkey, Scalloped Potatoes, Mozzarella cheese for an entirely new flavor. Don't get me started on toppings; salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, chutney, really anything goes with meat and potatoes!

I truly hope you love this dish as much as I do. Keep eating, my friends!

Love,

Liz

P.S. Photos provided by our own lovely and talented Allison McWilliams!

Easy No-Bake Chicken Parmesan, LEAP DAY!

Happy Leap Day, everyone! To celebrate this rare occasion I present to you a quick and simple no-bake Chicken Parmesan dish.

You will need:

• 3-4 thin chicken cutlets
• 2 cups flour
• 2 TBSP lemon pepper
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 TSP salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 16 oz. box of Ziti pasta
• tomato sauce
• grated Parmesan cheese to garnish

Be it store bought or homemade, you'll need some sort of tomato sauce to smother your cheesy, chicken concoction.

Rinse off the chicken cutlets and place them on a paper towel to dry. Season the cutlets with salt. Combine the flour, lemon pepper, and salt in a large Ziplock or plastic grocery bag.


Heat the vegetable oil in a medium sized skillet on medium-high heat. Wait until the oil has a chance to get hot. When that chicken hits the oil, you want it to sizzle!

Take a chicken cutlet and drop it in the flour mixture and shake it up. You're going to want to keep a firm grasp on that bag so you don't get flour all over your kitchen. Make sure the cutlet is totally covered in flour. Place it in the hot oil. Repeat with each cutlet. Let them cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove them from the oil and let them dry on a bed of fresh paper towels. These will soak up the extra oil.

While the cutlets are still hot, sprinkle on the Mozzarella cheese and smother them with tomato sauce. Serve with a side of pasta. Don't forget, it wouldn't be Chicken Parmesan without some Parmesan cheese on top!

YUM! Enjoy-a this-s simple-a recipe-a, from-a me to-a you! That's my Italian accent. ENOY!

Love,

Liz

Lily's Chili

As you should well be aware of, we're hosting a Chili Cook-Off Reader Giveaway!! Send in your 100% original chili recipes for a chance to win! The winner of the Chili Cook-Off will receive a free copy of The Parchment Paper Cookbook! The Chili Cook-Off ends February 14 so get your recipes in time for Valentine's Day for we all know chili is the food of love.

In the spirit of the Chili Cook-Off, I decided to throw my hat in the ring (of course, I can't win). Last night I gave my sister, the Queen of Soups, if she had a chili recipe and what do you know, she did! I tweaked it a little bit, but pretty much, this is Lily's Chili.

Gather up your fixin's:

• 1 lb. ground round
• 1 fat clove of garlic (diced)
• 1 medium white onion (diced)
• 1 green bell pepper (sliced and cut into bite size)
• 1 14.5 oz. can pinto beans
• 1 14.5 oz. can kidney beans
• 1 packet chili seasoning
• 2 red chili peppers (sliced & optional)
• 3-4 14.5 oz. cans stewed tomatoes

Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the bottom of a big sauce pot and set the heat to medium-low. Brown the ground round with the diced onions and garlic, mix thoroughly. Once the meat is browned through and the onions are translucent, drain the grease out and return the meat mixture to the pot.

Dump out all the stewed tomatoes into a blender or food processor. Give them a couple of quick pulses just to chop them up a bit. Pour the tomatoes into the pot as well as the diced, green bell peppers, chili peppers, beans, and chili seasoning.

Stir up the ingredients well. Keep the pot on medium to medium-low heat at a steady simmer. Stir often and make sure none of the chili is sticking to the bottom. Simmer the chili for 30-90 minutes.

Chili is one of the most versatile foods and one of my favorites. There's so much you can put on it and so much to put it on! Hamburgers, baked potatoes, tortillas, nachos, french fries, and my personal favorite, the CHILI DOG!

As for my chili dogs and my chili fries, I need it with as many toppings as I can fit. Sour cream, shredded cheese, chives, tortilla chips, diced onions, crackers, or jalapenos, whatever you got - I'll top it on.

A recipe that takes a long time to cook always seems a little daunting to prepare. I hope I've successfully demonstrated how truly easy it is to make. The total preparation time couldn't have taken more than 15 minutes!

I hope this inspires you all to turn in some terrific chili recipes for the Chili Cook-Off and Reader Give Away. Don't forget to get those recipes in before 2/14/12, that's this Valentine's Day! Good luck and good appetite.

Love,

Liz

Super Chef Super Update! CHILI COOK-OFF!

Happy New Year, Everybody!

I kind of dipped off the radar for a while during the holi-daze, but Super College Chef is coming back strong for the new year! As tradition dictates, we're going to cover some old business before we get to new business.

Chili Cook-Off

Didn't get so many responses for last Reader Give-Away. I've decided to change the contest to be a Chili Cook-Off! In this chilly willy winter, there's nothing better to warm you up that a hot bowl of chili. Send in your Chili recipe for a chance to win a copy of The Parchment Paper Cookbook. All recipes must be 100% original, no cheaters, yo.

Chili is so amazing. Whether you make it meaty, beany, spicy, cheesy, I want your recipe! Don't feel left out, vegetarians. There's plenty of meat-free chili options that I would love to try. Send in your Chili Recipe today and win a copy of The Parchment Paper Cookbook!

That's all for now. Remember to send in your chili recipe for the Super College Chef Chili Cook-Off (or SCCCCO) by February 14th. Please enter all submissions to lizquerusio@yahoo.com. Good luck and good appetite!
Love,


Liz

P.S. Check out both chili recipes here on Super College Chef for some inspiration! Try Not My Mama's Chili and the newly added Lily's Chili for a couple ideas on some easy chili bases.