Daniel's Garlic Fried Rice:

Use rice made from the day before after it’s been refrigerated.

Lots of chopped garlic (I used 7-10 cloves for 3c of dry rice)

Fill the pan/wok with oil. Maybe ¼ - ½ c.

Heat up and add garlic. Once it’s crisped up a bit add the rice and constantly mix (I like to use 2 wooden spoons) until rice has sucked up most of the oil and is a bit crispy (also add some salt and pepper in this step). You can top with chives and fried garlic and use as a side rice. Or make a meal out of it and add whatever you want to it. Usually for breakfast Filipino’s add eggs and longanisa (chorizo/sausage).

Sumeyya’s Chickpea recipe:

Sauté 1 diced onion in about 1 tbsp oil until the onions are brown. Add garlic and ginger. Let it fry for a bit. Add about  ½ cup crushed/diced tomatoes, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cayenne powder, ½ tsp turmeric. Mix together and let simmer for 1 minute. Add diced potatoes and 3 cans chickpeas. Mix together for about 1 min. Then add enough water to cover the chickpeas & potatoes. Cook on medium/low about 20 mins or until potatoes are soft. Mix one or twice during the 20 mins. Garnish with cilantro. (I didn’t use measuring spoons so all measurements are approximate J)

Royal's BBQ Chicken Wings recipe:Time:-          Prep time: 15 minutes
-          Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients:-          Fresh organic chicken wings (smaller the better, tend to be more tender than regular wings)
-          Salt
-          Pepper
-          Lemon Pepper
-          2/3 Vinegar based BBQ Sauce (go with local sauces like George’s, Scott’s, etc.)
-          1/3 Stickier BBQ Sauce (think Memphis style) – used to help stick the sauce to the wings and add a touch of sweetness to cut the vinegar
Directions:1.       Set your grill to as low of heat (~ 300 degrees) as it can get and let warm up for about 10-15 minutes
2.       While grill is warming, combine wings into a large bowl and season/toss the wings with Salt, Pepper, and Lemon Pepper (to taste…I use a hefty amount of lemon pepper)
3.       Coat the grill grates with your favorite non-stick spray or olive oil to keep the wings from sticking – do this right before you put them on (you want to keep the skin crispy!)
4.       Cook the wings on one side for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on one side
5.       Flip wings and cook for another 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on that side
6.       Mix your 2/3 vinegar based BBQ sauce and 1/3 stickier BBQ sauce in a bowl
7.       Dip wings in the sauce and then put them back on the grill for another 10-15 minutes flipping halfway through (I personally like mine crispier with some burnt edges so I learn toward the higher end of time)
8.       After the wings are cooked to your preferred sauciness, pull them off the grill and let them rest for about 5 minutes before serving
PRO TIP: Remember the adage for cooking chicken and pork….”low and slow”. This simply means cook on a low temperature for a long period of time (slow). This method keeps the chicken from drying out and makes the meat fall off the bone. Enjoy!

Edgar's Valdosta Muffins

Valdosta Muffins

2c Self-Rising Flour

1c Unsalted Butter

1c Sour Cream (or Plain Greek Yogurt)

Preheat oven to 350°F

Melt 1c Butter and mix with 1c Sour Cream.

Mix together with 2c Self-Rising Flour until combined, do not overmix.

Grease mini-muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake on 350°F for 30 minutes.

Makes ~30 mini-muffins

Roberta’s Corn Casserole

1 Box Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1 Stick Butter, melted
1 Can Whole Kernel Corn, drained
1 Can Creamed Corn
1 Egg
1 cup Sour cream
Mix all together well, bake in 9x13 dish about 30-40 minutes until firm in middle.

Jerky Chicken

Best with dark meat, but okay with chicken breasts, too

1/2 cup each malt vinegar (can use apple cider or balsamic if needed) and soy sauce
1 tsp rum flavoring (optional but adds a lot of depth)
4-5 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp thyme
10 green onions (1 Tbsp onion powder can be a poor substitute)
1 tsp each: cloves, allspice and nutmeg
3 seeded and chopped jalapenos (or 2-3 Tbs ground red pepper)


Mix, marinate overnight and grill (can bake/broil if needed)

Dad's Guac

3 Avocados - ripe but not overripe (this is key)
1 Lime - juiced
1/2-3/4 tsp sea salt, ground
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper (or more if you like it hotter) - seeded and chopped
3 fresh Roma tomatoes diced
1/2 medium yellow or white onion
2 tsp. fresh chopped cilantro
1 large clove garlic - pressed
Dash of cayenne (omit if using more jalapeno)


Scoop avocado, press and mix with lime juice.  Mash all ingredients and mix together.  Chill well (if you can wait that long!) and serve with tortilla chips.