Southern Meal: Fried Catfish, Black-eyed peas and Cornbread

FRIED CATFISH, BLACK-EYED PEAS AND CORNBREAD

On of my favorite meals--grew up on this down in East Texas, so making this brings back so many memories! I do shorten up the recipe though--I actually don't have enough time to cook all day. =) This is also really fun for my kids--they love helping me cook (and clean) and this is a great one for them to lend a hand.

I use any box of fish-fry. This one is Zatarain's Wonderful Fish fry. It creates a wonderful crispy crust! (and you just follow the recipe and directions on the back of the box!)

This is my son helping me--dipping the cat fish nuggets in egg/milk wash, then in the fish fry batter. He then puts in on a plate.

...and I did everything with the hot oil and fryin them up.

 

I made with this the black-eyed peas. Again, get a bag of dried black-eyed peas and follow the instructions. These take about 2 hours--so be prepared ahead of time.

Same with the cornbread. I just used a box of "Jiffy Corn muffin" mix and followed the instructions. This takes about 30 minutes. So be prepared. I also like throwing in a can of corn (drained) and change up the texture every once-in-a-while!

My son enjoying his southern meal!

Need a CHEAP and delicious meal? Try this one!

And I need to brag a little...guess what ELSE he does?

Fried Potato Logs

Yummy goodness in every creamy, crunchy bite!

FRIED POTATO LOGS

3 to 4 Yukon gold BIG potatoes
4 green onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon EVOO
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt & Pepper
2 eggs
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying

Peel and slice up potatoes and place in large sauce pan. Cover with water and boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain. Mash with potato masher.

In a small saute pan, heat EVOO over med-high heat, add green onions and garlic until fragrant. Remove from heat.

Combine the mashed potatoes, onion mixture, cheese and salt and pepper. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to cool.

In a shallow dish, whisk eggs and 2 tablespoons of water together. Pour crumbs in different shallow bowl.

Heat frying oil over med-high heat, about 1/4 inch deep, in a heavy-duty saute pan.

Once cool enough to touch, shape potatoes into logs. Dip in egg mixture then crumbs and place gently in frying oil. Turn until all sides a gold brown then remove. Place on rack with paper towel underneath (to catch dripping grease). Serve warm.