Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

INGREDIENTS:
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup flour
1 yellow onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup sliced okra
3 cups fish stock
2 cups clam juice
1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice
3 bay leaves
1 Tbl dried parsley flakes
1 Tbl cajun seasoning
1 Tsp dried thyme
1 Tsp dried basil
1/2 Tsp cracked black pepper
1 - 1 1/2 lb Andouille sausage
2 lbs shrimp
White rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook on low until the roux is dark brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Add the onions, celery, peppers, and garlic and sauté until translucent.
3. Mix in the okra and the remaining ingredients.
4. Simmer over medium heat until thick, about an hour.
5. Remove bay leaves and serve over white rice with Louisiana hot sauce.

Easy Chili

2 lbs ground beef
2 cans chili beans undrained
2 onions diced
1 red pepper diced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 jalapenos diced
1 can crushed tomatoes
4 Tbl chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)

1. Saute onions, garlic, red pepper, and jalapenos.
2. Add ground beef and cook through.
3. Add dry ingredients and beans to the mixture.
4. Add crushed tomatoes to achieve desired consistency.
5. Simmer over low heat for at least an hour.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP

I love my mom's zucchini stew, but Mike is skeptical about trying it (not sure why).  I bought some great zucchini at the Farmer's Market yesterday and needed a quick meal.  I am trying this take on my mom's zucchini stew.  Hopefully it is delicious. I will serve it with a salad and crusty bread.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound hot Italian bulk sausage
onions

1 clove garlic, minced

 2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 cup sliced carrots

1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained

2 small zucchini, cubed

2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS

1. In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic and onion. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
3. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

TURKEY & BEAN CHILI

This is a delicious and quick turkey chili recipe.  We made it for dinner on week night and it was so good.  Turkey chili can be blah, but not this one!  Make sure you squeeze the lime.  It is so good.  This came from the September 2010 edition of Cooking Light.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped seeded poblano pepper (about 1)
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 lime wedges

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add first 4 ingredients; cook for 6 minutes or until turkey is done, stirring frequently to crumble. Stir in chili powder and next 8 ingredients (through broth); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Serve with lime wedges

SLOW COOKER JAMBALAYA

This recipe is DELICIOUS!  I was a little hesitant since I feel like a lot of the slow cooker recipes I have been trying are blah, but this is far from blah.  It's a bit spicy, so be careful when feeding to little ones.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 large onion, chopped (I used half a bag of frozen)
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound raw/deveined shrimp without tails

DIRECTIONS
1.In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
2.Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.
3.  Serve over rice

SLOW COOKER SPICY BLACK-EYED PEAS

For years Mike has been trying to get me to make black-eyed peas on New Years.  This recipe mixes black-eyed peas with his freakish love of ham.  Hopefully this won't end up in the FAIL file. 

INGREDIENTS

6 cups water
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 pound dried black-eyed peas, sorted and rinsed
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
8 ounces diced ham
4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
salt, to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
1.Pour the water into a slow cooker, add the bouillon cube, and stir to dissolve. Combine the black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, ham, bacon, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper; stir to blend. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours until the beans are tender.

CINCINNATI CHILI

Mike has wanted to try this for a while.  He thought it was just plain chili over spaghetti.  He is now frightened due to the cinnimon debacle from the Spiced Beef Stew in the FAIL section of this blog.  Hopefully this will turn out better.  The recipe came from Food Network Magazine Nov/Dec 2008.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
Kosher salt
1 6-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon cider or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground pepper
12 ounces cooked spaghetti
1 19-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed 
Oyster crackers, for serving

DIRECTIONS
1.  Heat the oil in a medium Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and the garlic and cook until soft, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, allspice, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne and cloves. Cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add the beef and cook the mixture, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt.
2.  Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, bay leaf and 1 1/2 cups water; simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thicker. Add the chocolate, vinegar and Worcestershire and cook until the mixture is thickened but still soupy, about 15 more minutes.
3.  Discard the bay leaf and season the chili with the freshly ground pepper. Divide the spaghetti among bowls and top with the chili, fresh onion, cheddar..etc. Serve with the oyster crackers.

EASY CHICKEN CHILI

This is a staple winter meal for Mike and I. It is really easy and tastes great. We normally serve this with shredded cheese and eat with corn bread.

INGREDIENTS
2 large chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (cut into bite size pieces)
1 packet chili seasoning
1 jalepeno
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney Beans, drained
1 can corn

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large skillet saute chicken with chili seasoning, jalepeno, and diced tomatoes, until cooked.
2. Add kidney beans and corn.
3. Cook until heated through.

Yes, it is that easy!!

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

This is a great and easy chicken chili recipe. It makes a lot (serves 10-12) so we normally freeze half and have enough for dinner and lunches during the week.

INGREDIENTS
2 yellow onions, chopped (I use 3/4 bag of frozen chopped onion)
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I use a zester to grind the garlic)
2 lbs chicken, cubed
6 1-lb cans Great Northern beans
1 4 oz can chopped green chilies
3 C chicken broth
1/3 C chopped jalapenos (if you want good spice, do not de-seed)
2 t chili powder
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T cumin
1 T Cholula (Tabasco sauce would work too)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes, drained
2 t oregano
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Saute onions, then add chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Add garlic.
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat for about an hour. The mixture should be hot and well blended

TURKEY CHILI

I am sitting here looking at 20" of snow..........in October!  I made chili last night and thought it would be perfect for my first recipe on the blog.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
1 (28-ounce) can crushed organic tomatoes, undrained
2 (16-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon hot sauce
11/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper


DIRECTIONS
1. In a large skillet, saute onions, garlic and bell peppers in olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add ground turkey and cook until browned.
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
3. Serve with cornbread, cheese, and/or sour cream