Mambo sauce

 • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

• 2/3 cup ketchup

• 2/3 cup white sugar

• 1 cup pineapple juice

• 1 cup distilled white vinegar

• 1 lemon, juiced

• 1/4 cup honey

• 2 tbsps soy sauce

• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

• 1 tbsp paprika 

Directions:

Place tomato paste, ketchup, sugar in a saucepan. Pour in pineapple juice, white vinegar, lemon juice, and honey into the pan. Add soy sauce, grated ginger,  paprika, and cayenne pepper.

Whisk together thoroughly.

Place pan over medium-high heat. As soon as mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking occasionally, until mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.Remove pan from heat; allow to cool about 10 minutes or so.

Pour sauce through a fine strainer to eliminate solids. Allow to cool and drizzle over your fried chicken wings.

Collard and Cabbage mix

 

Collard cabbage mix

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large bunches collard greens {about 2 to 2 & 1/2 pounds total}
• 1 small cabbage {about 1 1/2 pounds}
• 1 T. olive oil or canola oil
• 2 smoked turkey tails 
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 c. (32 oz.) chicken broth
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. Seasoned salt
• pinch crushed red pepper flakes {optional}
• INSTRUCTIONS:
• HOW TO COOK SOUTHERN COLLARDS & CABBAGE MIXED GREENS
• Prepare the cooking liquid: Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot. I used a stock pot. Sauté onion about 5 minutes until it is tender. Add chicken broth, sugar, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes the turkey tails and Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for one hour . Or until you are done cleaning the greens.
• Now Wash & cut the collards: While the cooking liquid simmers, wash and cut the collard greens. Separate the collard leaves; place in a very large bowl or clean sink and cover leaves with warm water. Add 2 teaspoons salt to act as a scrubbing agent. Gently scrub the collard leaves with your hands and then rinse. 
• One at a time or stack em like I do 🤣, lay each leaf upside-down and spread out flat on a cutting board. Cut along each side of the spine in the center, cutting each leaf into two halves and completely removing the tough spine at the bottom of the leaf. Discard spines.
• Pile the cut collard leaves into several stacks and roll up each stack lengthwise. Slice each roll into 1-inch pieces, cutting the collard greens into ribbons.
• Cook the collards: Add collard greens to the pot and stir them into the cooking liquid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.
• Prepare & cook the cabbage:  While the collards cook, rinse the cabbage and chop it into shreds.  After the collards have cooked for 1 1/2 hours, add shredded cabbage to the pot and stir into the collards and cooking liquid.  
• Increase the heat to return the pot to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 30 minutes until cabbage is tender but not mushy.
• When done cooking transfer the greens to a serving bowl.
• Now you are ready to eat unless you are still waiting for that cornbread to come out of the oven.

About Recipe momma

 My name is Linda , I have 7 sisters. I am the baby , I am 56 . I have three kids and I got married at 22 and we are still happily married. My sisters and I We all love to cook. 

Growing up we would visit my grandmother on the south side of Chicago and have Sunday dinner. My mom made dinner every night. Growing up in Chicago if I didn’t want liver and onions I would walk up to church’s chicken and get my own dinner because I was spoiled.😂😂 back then the women catered to the men. So dinner was more about what my dad wanted for dinner. When I make dinner I like to incorporate the foods my kids like. I have a 12 year old grandson know who I love so much.

My entire life was about cooking. Being in the kitchen with my mom who made a big dinner every Sunday. And the tradition is real ! Growing up us sisters took turns making dinner and cleaning the house and if I didn’t feel like making dinner I pretended to be sick 🤒 . And In my house if you were sick my dad would not let you in the kitchen. I knew how to play the game. 😂😂

I met my husband and he moved me about a hour outside of Chicago, I my boys were not born in Chicago but I brought my kids back to Chicago every weekend to visit we would sit on the porch with the boombox and they would love it ! I made sure they were introduced to everything I was introduced to in Chicago, like the snowball stands, the taste of Chicago.

 I have three kids ( 38 , 31, and 21). When they were growing up we sat down everyday and had dinner and that way we got to talk to them and see how things were going in their life. 

My mom is 90 years old and suffers from dementia now . My dad passed over 10 years ago.I am so blessed to have had the chance I did to be in the kitchen with my mom when she would bake a cake and give me the bowl to lick.🥰 we would pick greens together.

When we were not driving to the south side of Chicago we were driving to Mississippi. To visit Big Mama. My dad’s mom. Meridian Mississippi. We would go to Mississippi every year. I would get to see my cousins, ❤️ my mom is from Mississippi also.

We get together at my house for holidays and we have a great time. My family has gotten bigger over the years.

Creamy Ranch Chicken

 

Ingredients

Chicken

• 2 large boneless/skinless chicken breast
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• Salt/Pepper
• 3 Tablespoons butter melted
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil can sub vegetable or canola oil

Sauce

• 10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 cup sour cream at room temp
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 oz. packet Ranch seasoning mix about 3 Tablespoons

Instructions

Season/Sear the Chicken:

• Slice the chicken into 2-3 thinner slices. Pound with a meat tenderizer if needed, the chicken will plump up more when cooked. Aim for ½ inch thick slices.
  
• Sprinkle each side of the chicken with Italian seasoning and salt/pepper. Brush one side of each piece with melted butter, make sure the butter isn’t too hot.
  
• Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 pieces of chicken, (buttered side down), leaving room around each. Sauté for 4-5 minutes per side, until a golden brown crust has developed. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
  
• Pro Tips: Make slight adjustments to the heat, (up or down), as needed during cooking. Add an additional splash of oil if needed throughout cooking. Try to leave the chicken undisturbed as it cooks to get a nice crusty sear. Don’t force it up from the pan, it will release when the crust has formed.
  

Make the Sauce

• Add the sauce ingredients to the same skillet over medium heat.Stir until combined. Let it bubble gently and reduce for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and spoon the sauce on top.
  
• Cover the skillet partially and let the chicken heat through and absorb the flavors from the sauce, about 10 minutes.

Seafood boil

 Ingredients

• 6 clusters Snow crab
• 2 pounds Large Shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined
• 3 pounds Crawfish
• 2 links Andouille or Beef sausage
• 12 baby Red potatoes
• 6 ears Corn on the cob
• 6 large Eggs, boiled (optional but recommended)
• 2 tablespoons Old bay seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

Seafood Boil Sauce

• 3 sticks Butter, unsalted
• ¼ cup Olive oil
• 1 whole Onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons Garlic, diced
• 1 Lemon, juiced
• 3 cups Chicken or Vegetable broth (or water)
• 3 tablespoons Old bay seasoning
• 3 tablespoons Paprika
• 2 tablespoons Chili powder
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Cayenne pepper (more or less for spice)
• 1 tablespoon Red pepper flakes (more or less for spice)
• 1 tablespoon Lemon pepper seasoning
• 2 tablespoons Sweet Chili sauce

Instructions

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. 

Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add the old bay seasoning, Cajun seasoning, and garlic powder into the water.

Once the water is boiling, add in the potatoes and corn. Cook them for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. 

If you are adding boiled eggs, add them to the boiling water for the last 7 minutes. Remove everything from the water and set aside.

While the potatoes and corn are cooking, make the seafood boil sauce.

Garlic Butter seafood sauce: 

• Melt one stick of butter and olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced or chopped onions and sauté them until they become translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds to one minute, be sure to stir constantly so the garlic doesn't burn. Add juice of the lemon, and all of the seasonings. Adjust cayenne and red pepper to your level of desired spiciness.

If using additional butter, add the additional sticks now (see notes above about healthier options).

Pour in the chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water now (choose either-or, not all three). Simmer the sauce until the butter is melted and the sauce reduces a bit, about 10 minutes.

Prepare the seafood boil bags:

• Assemble the seafood bags on a baking sheet that is large enough to hold all 6 bags.
• Cut the sausage up into thin slices. Add some of the sausage, one cluster of crab, a handful of shrimp, and some of the crawfish into each bag. 
• Next, add two potatoes, and a corn on the cob to each seafood boil bag. 
• Pour about ¼ cup of sauce into each bag, and close tightly with the ties that come with the oven bags. There should be some sauce leftover for serving. 
• Place the baking sheet in the oven, and bake the seafood for 15 minutes.  
• Peel the boiled eggs and set them aside. Remove the seafood bags from the oven. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the zip tie. 
• Add a boiled egg into each seafood boil bag. Sprinkle some Cajun seasoning and garlic powder over the seafood (if desired). 
• Serve the remaining seafood boil sauce in small bowls to dip the seafood in. 
• And enjoy!