Chicken Etouffee and Bumbleee Stew

Happy Mardi Gras!  What better way than to celebrate with some delicious cajun food.  The chicken etouffee recipe is from Emeril Lagasse, and it has lots of spice and awesome flavors.  The bumblebee stew is on the sweeter side and together, they balance perfectly.

While the etouffe looks like it has a lot of ingredients, it's really not hard.  If you can make a roux, you can make this!  Basically, throw everything in, and let it just get more delicious the longer it simmers.

Chicken Etouffe

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse, Food Network

Serves 6, easily

Image Source

Ingredients

1 4 lb chicken cut into 8 pieces

salt 

Cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup flour

1 cup finely diced onion

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bottle dark lager or amber beer

1 quart cold chicken stock

1 can minced tomatoes

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/4 cup hot sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

Season the chicken pieces with salt and cayenne pepper.  Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat and sear chicken on both sides until it is golden brown.  Remove to a platter and reserve.

Add butter to pan and when melted, add flour and stir to combine well.  Continue to cook roux, stirring constantly, until chocolate brown, about 12-15 minutes.  (It is helpful to use a whisk until the roux is complete and until the liquids have been thoroughly mixed in.)

Immediately add onion and bay leaves and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes, then add the beer and stir well to loosen any browned bits from the bottom.  Add the stock, brown sugar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, return chicken pieces to the pot and simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the chicken is very tender.  

Remove chicken pieces to a platter and when cool enough to handle, remove the chicken meat from the bones.  Return the chicken meat to etouffee and continue to cook another 30 minutes until sauce is thickened and flavorful and chicken is beginning to fall apart.  Add chopped parsley and stir to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve immediately over rice.

Bumblebee Stew

Adapted from Freakishly, Fabulous Favorites

Serves 6, easily

Image Source

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 stick butter

1/2 - 1 package frozen corn, I like Trader Joe's roasted sweet corn

2 cans black beans

1-2 can diced tomatoes

Directions

Saute the diced onion in the butter.  Add remaining ingredients.  Heat until it simmers; you are done. Serve alongside the chicken etouffee on top of the rice.  Garlic bread is also a nice addition!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Week Six

I'm back today with another week of recipes for you to try out.  I'm a week behind, so here's what we had last week.  I find this week's food to be particularly tasty, and I've had them all before, so I know that they taste good.

Monday: Guinness Roast Beef 

• Okay, this was A-mazing!  And it was a splurge, but who cares because it tasted so good.
• I had the onions, garlic, spices, and corn starch.
• I bought a chuck roast ($9), beef broth ($2), 2 bottles of Guinness ($4), 4 carrots ($1), and a head of cabbage ($1.50).

The total was $17.50, but I had leftovers and I reused the meat for another day.

Tuesday: Cajun Fettucini Alfredo (I will post this recipe soon)

• For this recipe, I had the alfredo sauce and the spices. - (I froze this a month or two ago, and when it defrosted, I just added some more cream and some more parmesan cheese to even out the consistency.)  It tasted totally fine - I was leery to freeze that type of thing, but it worked!
• I bought the chicken ($12) and the fettucini ($2).

This recipe cost $14, and I had enough for lunch the next day.  For the spices, I used Penzey's spices red and black spices.

Wednesday: White Chicken Chili

• For this recipe, I had all of the spices, the onion, the garlic, the olive oil, dried beans, the chicken from last night and 4 cups of chicken broth.
• I purchased the parsley ($2) and another container of chicken broth. ($2)

My total for this meal was $4, and I froze two more containers of it.  That will be two more dinners for us, and 3 lunches for me!

Thursday: Open Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

• For this, I had the roast, the gravy, the bread, and I simply bought the potatoes to make mashed potatoes ($2).  

The total is $2 for the dinner, and we definitely had enough for a lunch too!

And, this recipe is pretty self-explanatory.  Toast bread, add roast, put mashed potatoes on the side, drown the whole thing in gravy... you're set.

Friday: Butternut Squash stuffed Shells with Brown Butter Sauce

• For tonight's dinner, I had the ricotta cheese, the pasta shells, garlic, parmesan cheese and the butter.
• I bought butternut squash ($2), a container of spinach ($2), and the sage ($2).

This meal cost $6, and we had way too much of it.  It was good on day one, so make a half portion because this is the dinner that never ends.

Saturday: Waffles with strawberries and whipped cream

• I had everything for this recipe (flour, milk, eggs, cinnamon, rice krispy cereal, vanilla, vegetable oil, baking powder, salt and heavy cream) except for the strawberries ($2).
• I use the heavy cream to make fresh whipped cream, I cut up the strawberries, and the secret weapon is Trader Joe's sugar-coffee grinder.  Grind some on top of your waffles, and you will not be disappointed!

Dinner = $2.

Sunday: Stuffed Shells Again for free!

The meals this week cost $45.40  I'm pretty impressed with this one if I don't say so myself. :)

Have a great week!

All pictures are from Pinterest.

Week Three Recipes

We've almost reached the end of August, and it has been a busy week!  Hence the lateness of this post. Last week was a little tricky too.  I planned on making the chicken, but something came up, and well, truth be told, I forgot to defrost it. It was okay though because we had tons of leftovers and parents came to visit us.  Needless to say, we'll be having chicken this week.  And so, here are the recipes for this week.

Monday: Fettuccine with Sausage & Leeks; Cucumber Salad

• Since I forgot to defrost the chicken, I had the leeks and cucumbers.
• I bought fettuccine ($2), parsley ($2) and sausage ($2.50).
• I made the Italian Salad Dressing --- oh my goodness this is so easy.  I usually buy a packet because my grandma always did.  Well, I thought I had some mix, but I did not.  I found this recipe, and it tastes exactly the same except there are limited ingredients and I can pronounce them.  It is literally as easy as the packet.  Just slice up the cucumber, and pour the dressing on top.
• Meal for two, plus two lunches = $6.50... and may I say this tasted fantastic.

Tuesday: Spaghetti Squash with Kale and Kidney Beans

• I bought a spaghetti squash ($3), garlic (.50) and kale ($2).
• I had a can of kidney beans so I used those instead.
• I had olive oil, red pepper, salt and parmesan.
• Meal for two, plus two lunches = $5.50. (Another delicious choice).

Wednesday: CG - Coca-Cola Cake.... Cracker Barrel Style

• I bought buttermilk($1) and coke ($1).
• I had everything else.
• We had 1/4 of the sheet cake left after group, so that means we get dessert!! ($2)

Thursday: Roast Chicken or Roast Chicken, Purple Cabbage and Carrots

• I bought cabbage ($2) and carrots ($2).  Add some butter, seasoned salt and sauté for a tasty vegetable medley. 
• I had the chicken and seasoning.
• Dinner plus leftovers = $4.

Friday: Bubble and Squeak (Please try this.... it is true comfort food!)

• I bought bacon ($4), jalepeno cheese ($3), and 2 large potatoes ($1).
• I had cabbage and carrots.
• Meal plus two lunches = $8.

Saturday: White Bean Chili

• I bought an onion ($1) and a jalepeno (.50), and a bag of dried white beans ($2).
• I had carrots, I made the chicken stock, and had all of the other spices.
• Dinner plus two more dinners to freeze = ($3.50)

Sunday: Leftovers

• Already paid for!

Dinner for the Week = $29.50

Week Two Recipes

Last week's recipes went really well!  As I hoped, I used up almost everything that I had purchased, and all left overs were eaten.  But I also acquired new items and had a few things left.  Here are my dinners for this week, and how I'm going to use up all those remaining items.

Monday: Fettuccini Alfredo

• I used the other half of the pasta that I bought last week.
• I used heavy cream that I bought last week to make caramel sauce.
• I had parmesan cheese.
• I made honey dijon dressing for our salad.
• I bought spinach from the salad bar because we usually don't use the whole bag. 
• Dinner = $1, plus 1 lunch and half of the alfredo sauce left.  I froze it to use at a later date!

Tuesday: Adobo Pulled Pork with Poblano Peppers, Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Lime Rice

• I bought the pork.  This recipe has onions (I had), orange juice (I bought), chipotle peppers (I had), lime juice (I bought), and a variety of spices (I had).
• I bought two sweet potatoes.
• I bought two poblano peppers.  (I just dice the sweet potatoes and poblanos.  Sauté the potatoes on the stove top in a little oil for about 15 minutes, then add the peppers for about 5 minutes.
• I had rice, but I bought cilantro.
• Dinner = $15

Wednesday: CG Dinner - I am taking a strawberry mozzarella salad. *This was a splurge... I love this, and I wanted to make it while strawberries were still in season!

• I bought strawberries, mozzarella, mint and almonds.
• I had olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
• Dinner = $10

Thursday: Pork Tacos with Pickled Onions and Black Beans  I added lots of seasoning to this recipe... cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and chili pepper.

• I used the pork from Tuesday (free), got some taco shells (bought), pickled some onions (free), and chopped up cilantro for the tacos.
• I'm using the leftover rice from Tuesday tonight.
• I bought a bag of dried black beans (cheaper than buying a can). 
• I'm also going to freeze any remaining cilantro in a touch of olive oil to use later. 
• Dinner = $3

Friday: Roast Chicken and Quinoa Salad  I still have some left over pork, so I am adding that to some sweet potato and black bean soup that I had in the freezer.  I'm also going to add any remaining sweet potatoes, black beans and rice.

• I bought a whole chicken.  I had the butter and herbs to season it.
• I bought a container of blueberries, a cucumber and a mango.
• I had the quinoa.
• Dinner = $14.50

Saturday: Spinach Artichoke Soup - find this recipe in a post next week.  Roast Chicken

• I am using yesterdays chicken for this (free).
• I am making chicken broth from the chicken bones (free).
• I am buying a container of spinach and a leek.
• I am buying a bag of frozen artichokes.
• Dinner = $6, plus 2 containers to freeze for leftovers later!

Sunday: Eat Leftovers!  Spinach Artichoke Soup

• I'm not sure what will be left, but I know that there will be some in the fridge... take advantage of resting on Sunday and simply reheat what you already have.

That's a whole week's worth of meals plus lunches and 3 full frozen meals for later for just $50.  Please note that my meat was bought local, so your costs will probably be lower if you purchase them at a grocery.

Why Have I Waited So Long?

Over the past few months, I have pinned way more things that I ability to make, do or create, so I have made it a goal to at least tackle my dinner board.  Before I go to any other source, I've tried to start filtering through those ideas so that I can keep some and get rid of other recipes.  Tonight, I made chicken, kale and the creamy curried beans that I am writing about.

I can't believe I waited so long to make these.  They are so insanely good!  Even though I had chicken, I could have just eaten a bowl of these with some corn bread...it's like a new southern dish.  The sauce that the beans are in is truly delicious.  It has garlic, curry, ginger, garam masala and some cayenne pepper to give it some heat... and it has heavy whipping cream to make it extra rich.  I could go on and on, but I really think that you should just make them yourself.

Creamy Curried Beans

Source (Recipe & Photo) Let's Dish

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup onion

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

3/4 teaspoon garam masala

dash or so of cayenne pepper

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

chopped cilantro

Directions

Melt butter and saute onions for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, and saute another 2 minutes.  Add all spices, and let them simmer for 2 minutes.  Add cream, lemon juice and beans.  Simmer until the sauce thickens.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with cilantro.  

Easy Peasy!  I hope you enjoy!

Super Bowl Preview

Yesterday was our cooking club to celebrate the upcoming Super Bowl! We made lots of treats, but the best thing, in my opinion, were the Southwestern egg rolls. They were spicy, but they were also full of spinach, black beans, corn and a little cheese. The kids loved them, and I could have made a meal out of them. I found the egg roll wrappers in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods, and I got whole frozen spinach there. (I don't like when it's all chopped up.) I bought roasted corn at Trader Joe's to make them a little more Southwestern. They were amazing!

Source: Annie's Eats

To see the recipe for Southwestern Egg Rolls, click here.

We also made:

Cincinnati Chili
Cold Veggie Pizza
Texas Caviar
Ham and Cheese Sliders
Strawberry Pizza

Celebrating the New Year

I've always heard that a traditional New Year's meal should consist of black eyed peas. I think they are supposed to bring luck, so this year I thought I'd give it a shot. I especially wanted to make this dish while black eyed peas are readily available because my wonderful mom in law gave me a most fabulous cookbook. It's called "The Kentucky Fresh Cookbook" by Maggie Green. It's perfect because it goes month by month and focuses on seasonal dishes that are traditional to the state of Kentucky. I've always wanted to cook through a cookbook, and I think this will be the one I do it with. So tonight was the first recipe, and being January 2nd, I thought it was a good time to start with this new year's tradition.

The recipe is a vegetarian dish, and it's main ingredients are black-eyed peas and kale. It was spicy and peppery-- an altogether wonderful dish for a really cold night. I made the salad on the following page to go with it as well. It had arugula and oranges... very tasty too. The arugula is quite peppery, but the citrus tames it. It also has a nice Dijon vinaigrette to go on top. I really enjoyed both dishes, and so did my husband, but we like the heartiness that these types of vegetables provide. I would highly recommend this dish especially because it tastes great, and you can easily make a few meals of it.

Spicy Stewed Black-Eyed Peas and Kale
12 servings

2 Tb. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 ribs celery (didn't use - Scott doesn't like celery)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
6 ounces diced ham (didn't use -- wanted a true veggie meal)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried thyme
1 bay leaf (I used 2 because mine were small)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
2 12 oz bags frozen black-eyed peas (I used two cans)
3 cups chopped fresh kale
6 cups chicken broth

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the ham (or not), garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt and cayenne pepper.
Cook and stir for 1 minute.

Add the peas, kale and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat the low, and simmer, partially covered, until the beans and kale are tender.

Photo Source

Winter Citrus Salad with Arugula
3 servings

3 cups arugula
2 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds
2 oz Parmesan shreds

Dressing
2 Tb. red wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. fresh pepper
-1 added 1 Tb. sugar and 1 Tb. honey
(It was a little tart for my taste, but you may like it as it is.)

Arrange arugula onto 3 individual plates. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Drizzle a tbsp. of dressing onto each salad, lay the oranges, and drizzle another tbsp. Sprinkle a little Parmesan on each salad, and give one last drizzle.

Photo Source

Enjoy!

Bean Soup & Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread

Tonight for dinner I made a very easy meal, and it was really delicious. I found a recipe for Tuscan Bean Soup on the Better Homes and Gardens website, and to accompany it, I made Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread from the Let's Dish blog. This was the perfect Sunday dinner because all that I had to do was chop up a few ingredients, and dinner was good to go. It was filling and my farmer's market spinach tasted so fresh on top of my hearty soup.

Here's how to make the soup:

Tuscan Bean Soup
adapted from BHG

*2 carrots, coarsely chopped
*1 small onion, chopped
*3 Tbsp. olive oil
*2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
*1 32-oz. box reduced-sodium chicken broth
*2 t0 3 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
*1 5-oz. pkg. baby spinach
*Freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a 4 quart pot. Add onions and carrots and cook until onions are translucent. Add beans, broth and seasoning. Simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil. Toss spinach until it is just wilted. Ladle the soup and top with the sauteed spinach.

And here is the cornbread:

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread
adapted from Let's Dish

*3 cups flour
*1 cup yellow cornmeal
*1/4 cup sugar
*2 tablespoons baking powder
*2 teaspoons salt
*2 cups milk
*3 eggs, lightly beaten
*1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
*2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
*1/2 cup sliced scallions, divided
*3 tablespoons fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

Directions:

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until most of the lumps are dissolved. Do not over-mix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated cheddar cheese, about 1/3 cup scallions and the jalapenos. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Potato-Stuffed Poblanos

Saturday, my husband downed a huge milk shake, a plate of fries, a huge piece of pizza, a cannoli and multiple other delicious things that are not the most health friendly; so Sunday, he declared that we not eat meat. Wanting to oblige, I found this delicious recipe for stuffed poblano chiles with a black bean saute. They were so stinkin' good! I love the poblanos that are deep fried and stuffed with cheese, and I like to think that these are a slightly more healthy variation. The filling (potatoes, cheese, jalapenos... need I say more?) is what makes these taste *amazing*, and the smokiness of the poblano isn't too shabby itself. Fine Cooking 's Chicken & Rice Version

Potato-Stuffed Poblanos
Cuisine at Home
Issue No. 85

2 large poblano chiles
Filling:
2 cups cubed red potatoes (skins on)
1/2 cup sliced yellow onion
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped scallions
3 Tbsp. cream cheese
3 Tbsp. canned diced green chiles
1 Tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Roast poblanos over a gas burner or under a broiler until skin blackens. Transfer to a bowl and steam for 10 minutes. (Cover with plastic wrap.) Peel off skin.
3. Cut a slit down one side of pepper. Discard seeds.

4. For filling, bowl potatoes and onions together until potatoes are cooked through. Make sure moisture is evaporated.
5. Mash potatoes with all of the filling ingredients.
6. Divide filling between poblanos and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
7. Bake until cheese is golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Black Bean Saute

Soften 1/2 cup onion in oil with 1/2 tsp. cumin and 1 bay leaf. (5 minutes) Stir in one can black beans (rinsed), 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1/4 cup scallions, 1 tsp. minced garlic; heat through. Stir in 2 tsp. lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Scott nor I could finish ours, so you may be able to save some for the next day too...

Enjoy this hearty vegetarian meal that no one will complain about! Until next time...

Creamy Italian White Bean Soup

So sorry for the long absence! School has started again...so my time here has been few and far between. :( Despite my schedule, I am have no excuse to not make this. I think from the moment I started until the moment I finished, it took about 20 minutes to make! So try it for yourself. Hopefully I'll see you again soon!

Image Source

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3(16 ounce) cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (32 ounce) cartonchicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring. Stir in beans, chicken broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside.
In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, (it helps to remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape.) Once blended pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans.
Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat and serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top.