April means “to open” so it’s only fitting that while the trees are blooming, the tulips are smiling and the cherry blossoms are springing alive, steaks, burgers, chicken, fish and vegetables are waiting to be seasoned! The best rule of the grill? Season first then fire up the grill, giving the meat ample time to soak in the flavor of your seasoning choice. J.O.’s Venison Steak Seasoning is not just for steak! And don’t be afraid of the “venison” part as it was initially developed as part of the Wild Game Line but has since evolved into one of the most popular ways to season steaks, burgers, and potatoes on the grill!

J.O.’s Rib and Chicken is great when you are making skewers, kabobs, etc!, -sprinkling a little on the onions, peppers, pineapple just adds a magical touch to your meal. For the perfect marinade, first sprinkle liberally all over the meat of choice, let sit for about 15 minutes, then add an oil-based marinade. A customer review says to use the “Gazebo” brand dressing (the Greek is my favorite) and that she’s used it on ribs with the J.O. Rib and Chicken. Season first, then fire up the grill. Cooking Tip: when you are cooking ribs, it’s best to go slow, as they become tender and delish, not burnt to a crispy crisp!

Want an excellent side accompaniment to seasoned-just-right-protein? Vegetables grilled to perfection! Asparagus, zucchini cut in halves, red or sweet onions and of course potatoes are Soooooo good on the grill. Most veggies are best grilled with a liquid marinade and on a hot, hot, hot fire, only need a few, like 1-2 minutes to get just right (unless you like them char-grilled, up to you!) but potatoes usually do take longer – just prick with a fork to test for doneness. The best, easiest seasoning? J.O. Garlic Pepper, and a sprinkle of lime or lemon juice to enhance the garlic….Yum!Yum!Yum!

What are you cooking on the grill tonight?

I’m hungry, how about you?

🙂 Pamela

J.O.’s Fried Chicken is a simple, delicious recipe! All you need to do is marinate/season, dip, fry and enjoy! I used to think fried chicken was only something to buy in a restaurant because frying foods scared me! Nowadays though, it’s hard to find good, delicious fried chicken on the menu -maybe because it takes about 45 minutes? Besides, comfort food is best served at home!

You need about a pound or two of chicken (what’s your favorite? The beauty of a grocery store or meat market is that you can buy the pieces you love: leg, thighs, breast or wings!) and start with either a dry rub, just basic salt and pepper or a J.O. Specialty Seasoning – I would suggest the J.O. Rotisserie. Do that step the night before, in the morning or at least 20 minutes beforehand so the flavors have time to soak into the chicken, obviously the longer you let the meat soak in the flavor, the more delicious your dinner will be!

J.O.’s Fried Chicken is best breaded with the J.O. Seasoned Southern Style Fish Fry (it’s not just for fish!) or the “absolute best” batter in the world: J.O. Golden Batter. I’m quoting customers who walk into the store and exclaim that it’s the best and so happy it’s available in a 5LB box!

Some people use milk, or buttermilk for the “wash” part of the batter steps but that will produce a soggier batter due to the milk solids browning too fast.

Some will use an egg wash and mix in some J.O. Garlic Pepper, Eagle Wingz hot sauce made with J.O. #1 (yes, of course, we sell the best hot sauce around!) or just use the egg!

Heat up your oil in a deep pot, to about 350 degrees. Don’t fill to the brim with oil, only about half, depending on how much chicken you are frying. Very Important Tip: Make sure your chicken is at room temp before frying. Once the oil gets to the right temp, if you put cold chicken in, it will drastically lower the frying temp, and your results will not be great J.O. Fried Chicken!

• Dark meat (thigh and leg) takes about 13-15 minutes, and white meat (breast and wing) takes about 8-10 minutes

To recap:

1. Marinate/Season overnight or at least 20 minutes prior in seasoning or salt/pepper/hot sauce
2. Prepare egg wash and batter
3. Dip your chicken in batter
4. Place room-temp chicken in preheated oil and fry until chicken is 165 degrees

Comfort food at its finest!!

Enjoy!

🙂 Pamela

Summer means BBQ and a great sauce is what makes the chicken, ribs, and pork a delectable hit! Knowing when to put on the sauce is also key to a great BBQ meal ~ the sugar content in most sauces will just burn on the grill instead of caramelize if you put it on the high heat or hot coals. Instead, start off with a spice rub. It can be as simple as salt and pepper. Better yet, try one of J.O.’s specialty seasonings as all of them can be used as a rub —

   – my personal favorite is the Caribbean Jerk as I love the flavor, Kathleen prefers the Rib ‘n Chicken while Jenn loves the Rotisserie. The spices are blended just like any rub – so don’t be swayed by the fact that they aren’t named “Rubs”. They are perfect for spicing up your chicken salad to rubbing on your meat as you get ready to BBQ, roast or bake in the oven.

Once the meat is cooked to your liking, either on the grill, in slow-cooker or oven, than put on your sauce and cook an additional 25 minutes or until sauce has mixed nicely with the meat. When I say it’s cooked to your liking, cooked until the minimum to be done but if you’re like me and your ribs should fall off the bone or your meat should be so tender it melts in your mouth -you cook the meat until it reaches an internal temp of 170 and then you let it cook at a lower temperature so that the meat gets tender and the sauce gets really hot, thick, and delicious. The best part of a summer BBQ is that you can do it more than once and learn your tricks because who wants to cook inside?

Tell us your favorite spice, seasoning or rub!

Happy BBQ spicing,

🙂 Pamela

Introducing Eaglewingz Chesapeake Brand Hot Sauce made with J.O. Spice! This product is made by a great family man in Delaware.

We are excited to distribute this new product created by another small family business. It’s a great sauce for chicken wings, chicken tenders, and probably ribs, fish and more although I’ve not had the chance to try since I just love how it tastes on chicken wings!

Eaglewingz Chesapeake Brand Hot Sauce was created in 1988 by Rick Ewing using a “little of this, a little of that” and once his family and friends tasted the sauce, they knew what he had to do: bottle it, sell it and get it to market! It’s a local favorite in the Delmarva area and in 2010 it finally became a bottled name. It’s offered in Rick’s store: Something Hot Specialty Sauces, on our very own website and in many areas across Delmarva.

We offer the original Eaglewingz Chesapeake Brand Hot Sauce but there are 3 others: Extreme, Pineapple Teriyaki and Cayenne Cassie. Once you’ve put this sauce on your chicken wings, chicken tenders, chicken bites, chicken “buffalo” dip, you won’t bother with any other hot sauce. With the right combination of butter, spice and sauce all included in one bottle, there’s really no need for anything else but a napkin (okay, maybe a beer!).

Pick some up today, before it sells out! Once the word is out, the bottles are off the shelves and we have to eat boring pasta- oh wait, we might have a way to spice that up too! 🙂

Happy chicken wings are sauced with Eaglewingz Chesapeake Brand Hot Sauce!

Enjoy,

🙂 Pamela

J.O. Spice’s Let’s Go Crabin’ Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 package Let’s Go Crabin’ Pasta

2 stalks of celery, diced *optional*

4 juicy tomatoes, diced, AND reserve the juice – the juicier the tomatoes, the less need for mayo!!

1 green or red pepper *optional*

2-5 green onions, diced (to your taste) *optional*

1-2 tsp. J.O. Spice #1 Seafood Seasoning (for the salad) – More for steaming.

1-2 LBS Shrimp (medium count) – Steamed using J.O. Spice #1

½ c. Mayonnaise (more depending on your taste)

Steam the shrimp using J.O. #1 Mars, Green Valley Marketplace, & Giant all steam shrimp w/J.O. (Ask!) DIY: steam until pink/opaque. Add your desired amount of spice –some people like a few tablespoons, others just a sprinkle. After cooled, peel, chop – leave a few shrimp whole for garnish/presentation.

Whatever water is left from the steamed shrimp, add to your pasta water! Cook the pasta, using a little salt (or J.O. #1) in the water until al dente/ your preference. Drain; cool slightly, about 8-10 minutes.

Put your vegetables, shrimp, tomatoes, juice from tomatoes, and pasta in a bowl. Sprinkle w/ 1 tsp. #1. Then add the mayo. Stir. Taste. How’s the consistency? How’s the spice? To your liking? You’re done, Garnish! Like your salad a little more mayonnaisy – add more by tablespoonful! Needs more J.O. #1? Add by teaspoonful!

ENJOY!

🙂 Pamela

Ready for a super easy recipe that requires little prep and little planning? Make your chicken parm healthy! Baked spaghetti squash is a great, healthy veggie that tastes and looks like comfort food!! This recipe cuts the cheese in half, allows a low-fat ricotta to take center stage so you don’t miss the layers and layers of cheese but you gain ALL the flavor, if not more! Ricotta is the great kind of cheese that you can mix your seasoning into and the flavors are so intense that you don’t need a huge pile of cheese to make you believe you are eating comfort food!

For a healthy chicken parm, all you need is a spaghetti squash, leftover rotisserie chicken, low-fat ricotta, your choice of seasonings, tomato sauce, and Parmesan cheese for sprinkling. Got a bottle of J.O. Garlic Pepper yet? (it’s so delish you really should!) It just makes the spaghetti squash that much more enjoyable!

Cooking the spaghetti squash is super easy….Cut in half. Scoop out the seeds in the middle. Sprinkle with J.O. Garlic Pepper and drizzle olive oil. Roast in 375 oven for about 45-75 minutes, until tender, depending on size. This is one of those perfect recipes that you can do in stages if you feel that an hour is too long – but on school nights, putting the squash in the oven while you monitor homework makes you feel so accomplished!

Let it cool. Take a fork and “shred” out the inside and it really looks like spaghetti noodles, hence the name.

~If you don’t have leftover rotisserie chicken (I have a dog who adores chicken in every capacity so I rarely have leftovers), bake some chicken in J.O. Rotisserie Seasoning or J.O. Rib ‘n Chicken Seasoning until chicken is nice and tender. You can do this at the same time you are roasting your squash.

~Mix the ricotta cheese with J.O. Italian seasoning, J.O. Basil or J.O. Oregano – or all 3!

Layer some spaghetti squash on your plate or in a baking pan, ricotta mix, top with a spoonful of tomato sauce, sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and either cut up the chicken or shred it depending on how long you baked/how tender it is, and add some more sauce and cheese to your liking. If it’s just on your plate – microwave until the cheese/sauce is hot/melted to your liking. If in a baking pan, bake until the cheese is melted and sauce is hot.

It has a lot of flavor and you’d be very, VERY surprised how hearty and filling the squash really is – and yummy. It’s a delicious way to lower calories, and as long as you are conscious of your salt content regarding the sauce and how much cheese you are putting in/on, you are having a fairly decent meal that is healthy compared to the fried chicken patty and the pasta that usually accompanies a chicken Parmesan!

Don’t be afraid to try something new,

🙂 Pamela

What better way to start off a week than to make some crab quiche? Even better when you are making the quiche for a few dinners so you are ahead of the weeknight dinner game! Making dinner ahead of time makes for a better commute and knowing that you have something delicious, fun and satisfying waiting for you to re-heat just makes the week even better.

Crab Quiche with the right amount of spice, cheese and crab is a go-to recipe for anyone who has leftover crab (I’ve actually seen it happen so I know that’s why you need these great recipes!) and wants something crabby, cheesy and easy to re-heat for a great weeknight dinner. The great news? This recipe makes 2 so you’re covered for a family of 5!

Crab Quiche : This recipe makes two 9″ pies

2- 9″ deep pie crusts (baked 3 minutes and cooled)

What you’ll need:

1 lb. lump crab meat

4 eggs 

2 Tbsp. flour 

1 cup mayonnaise 

1 cup whole milk 

8 oz. shredded Swiss cheese – Ginger would replace with a milder cheese unless you love swiss. She found it overpowering.

8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese 

2 tsp. J.O. #1 or J.O. 50% less– ( Ginger used 3 and extra to sprinkle on top)

1- Tbsp. finely chopped onion 

1- Tbsp. finely chopped green onion

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º – par bake your crust for 3 minutes. We used Pillsbury pie dough and it worked out great. We did spray the pie pans with cooking spray to keep the crust from sticking.

2. Combine eggs, flour, mayonnaise and milk, mix well. Add remainder of the ingredients (except crab meat) and mix well. 

3. Fold in crab meat and try not to separate the lumps of crab meat too much. Pour into 2 separate pie crusts, sprinkle with additional J.O. Seasoning. 

4. Bake at 350º for 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. (Check at about 40 minutes to avoid burning, since ovens vary)

Enjoy being ahead of the weeknight dinner game! What did you make tonight? What spice did you use?

Share recipes on Facebook! We love to see what you create!

🙂 Pamela

When you think of Gumbo Jambalaya do you just think tomatoes, shrimp and Andouille sausage? I didn’t know the difference until I read that Gumbo is the soup/stew that is served alongside rice while Jambalaya is a casserole with the rice cooked inside. Either way you make it, do you know how you can make the best Gumbo Jambalaya party? Spice it up with a little variety!

Have you ever made Gumbo Jambalaya with J.O. Spice #1 All Purpose Seafood Seasoning? It’s a soup with shrimp so why not?

Add a dash of J.O. Garlic Crab to your Gumbo Jambalaya party along with some J.O. Cayenne and J.O. Cajun! Tried making the sausage for your Gumbo Jambalaya with any of the J.O. Sausage seasonings we’ve got to add a different twist to your recipe? The Gumbo Jambalaya party is not complete unless you really spice things up.

Have you ever bought the J.O. Maryland Crab Soup Mix and instead of using the crab, made it with shrimp and Adouille sausage? Always make sure to have some more J.O. #1 All Purpose Seafood Seasoning on hand as you never know if you need to spice it up with your taste!

With a simple twist, gumbo or jambalaya can be a favorite go-to, easy meal to make. It’s tomato based and in the summer, fresh tomatoes are in such demand…and you can only make so much spaghetti, salsa and tomato jam! Stewing tomatoes with J.O. #1 is another twist that will add so much to your chicken cacciatore, beef stew, chili, etc!

Happy Gumbo Jambalaya partying,

🙂 Pamela

Spice up your life so you are never bored. Spice up your life so your taste buds are always intrigued. Spicing up meals with different spices creates so many different meals using the same cut of meat! Spicing up your kitchen with fun decor, engraved paring knives, cutting boards or glassware adds a zest of zippity-do-da to your meals, too! How do we know? Because a cute, custom paring knife and cutting board always makes you smile! 

Spice up your life is just as easy as sprinkling J.O. Rotisserie all over your chicken salad. Or try this trick: Buy a pre-roasted Rotisserie Chicken from your local supermarket, rub the Rotisserie Spice all over the chicken, the cavity and underneath the skin, stick in oven to warm…the smell permeates the kitchen and makes it seem as if you’ve been slaving for hours and hours! Served best with potato salad (did you know the trick about sprinkling some J.O. Celery Seed all over a store bought brand makes it taste homemade?) and green beans.

Spice up your life by trying something new. Re-decorate your kitchen in crabs of all sizes and shapes. If you don’t want to customize a cutting board, buy one of the tempered glass boards on jospices.com. Something as simple as grabbing a new kitchen towel can make all the difference. We’ve had people come in to add on to their engraved glassware because they love to drink out of “their very own” personalized glass. Engraving takes no time at all to do and yet it makes all the difference in a gift, in a kitchen and in a person’s life!

Spiced up casseroles are an easy go-to dinner. The trick to spicing up your casseroles is finding a spice you love and then expanding on the taste. Garlic, pepper and salt are a given in most dishes but what about marjoram, oregano, coriander, cumin? Adding a spice you’re unsure about almost always guarantees a sure thing or a complete screw-up! How else ya goin’ know unless you try? I don’t like tarragon or dill and that took me forever to figure out because they are in a lot of my families recipes but once I did, whew, what a difference it made to my cooking!

Simply adding J.O. Ginger to soy sauce can make a stir fry so much better. J.O. Oregano, J.O. Marjoram and J.O. Parsley to spaghetti sauce. Don’t forget the J.O. Cumin to your chili! Even a fennel seed or a celery seed can make a difference! It’s so fun to cook! If you don’t know what you are doing, you know you can call “Team Spice” at J.O. and we’ll help you out!

Spice up your life with engraved gifts and kitchen items, a variety of spices and by simply trying something a little different.

Have fun spicing up your life!

🙂 Pamela

On a snowy day where the roads are covered and the state has declared emergency-only driving and you stay off the roads…remember, it’s all in the soup! There are so many ways to make soup and there are so many versions of something so basic as chicken noodle, that it just takes a spice like J.O. Cajun Seasoning to make it taste completely different!

What special ingredient or spice do you use so that it’s all in the soup? I never stray from J.O. Garlic Pepper because it has the garlic, the pepper and the other ingredients that satisfy the tastebuds and add that special something to everything I am making. Sprinkling J.O. #1 in your soup is another very popular choice – it’s not just for seafood inspired soups – there’s chicken tortilla soup, butternut squash soup, potato soup, creamy chicken chowder, chili and chicken chili just to name a slight few.

It’s all in the soup today because soup is so easy. What do you have on hand? I had leftover beef and I combined that with beef broth and a package of frozen mixed vegetables, added J.O. Thyme, J.O. Marjoram and of course some J.O. Garlic Pepper and voila, there was a hearty meal that catapulted my ordinary beef into soupy spectacular!

Here’s a great soup and one you can definitely say, It’s all in the soup!

J.O. Shrimp Chowder

Ingredients: